100th meeting. Both have lost 4 in a row coming in. Not a good matchup for VU - EU has size and athleticism at the 5. Their three bigs (two 6-10 and one 6-11) all scored in double figures in their 3 point home loss to Belmont. And their 6-7 guard came down with 9 RBs and dealt 11 assists.
Aside from the thinking that any 5 guys on the court is a tough matchup for Valpo for which there is an element of truth to, I don't see how this should be a tough matchup for Valpo. Evansville has lost to teams Valpo has beaten and lost to teams who've beaten Valpo by greater margins so the size doesn't seem to help all that much considering this front line is probably amongst the biggest if not the biggest in the conference.
While the conference beyond maybe 4 programs is fairly evenly matched, a loss by Valpo to Evansville would be an indicator that things really haven't improved all that much.
@jd24 Basically, I had only one point to make in my post: We don’t match up well with how EU plays down low and that will be the challenge. I didn’t indicate that the game is unwinable. My point is valid and that has been echoed by many on this board and even Roger himself — too often we get outplayed down there.
Though none of their bigs appear to be classic rim protectors, just based on their last games against Belmont and then UIC on Wednesday [In brackets] as an example, here’s what Coop and Kaspar are up against down there.
Their 3 bigs:
>> shared 62 playing minutes [59 minutes]
>> scored 33 of Belmont’s 82 points - 40% [22 of 67 - 33% ]
>> shot 69% (11/16) from the floor, (60% from the arc 3/5) [ 49% (8/17) - 20% (1/5)]
>> grabbed 10 RBs (out of 33) [9 of 30]
>> committed 53% (8/15) of the PFs [10% (2/19)]
>> accounted for 100% of their blocks (though only 4) [100% - 2]
They’ll muscle Coop out of comfortable shots and are prepared to share a lot of fouls down low because they can. The game will need to be won by our other three position players on the court. There we are more evenly matched, so it’ll come down to which team has a better shooting afternoon and limits their turnovers (duh 🙄).
I think Cooper and Sepp average more than the 3 headed monster listed. There's matchup advantages/disadvantages with all games and Valpo's is unlikely to be inside in any game.
Valpo 76
Evansville 66
Louth and/or Scroggins will hopefully get some run to spell Sepp and Cooper, given their size.
Valpo 71 Evansville 65
Sure hope the old folks that dread sitting by me each game don’t continue to yell at me to sit down when I’m cheering in game 🤣🤣. Last two games they apparently forgot that I like to support the team and hype the guys up. See you all court-side to start this winning streak today!
@valpotx I honestly think Devon and Carson are the next two best front court players. Always like to see Scroggins and Louth though!
@iyellatgames I just say that if I wanted to go to church, Id walk down the road
It is true that the Aces have better size etc, but their results have indicated that they have not been as competitive as Valpo of late. Valpo has not really been blown out of any conference games thus far and UE has. The line is Valpo -7.5. I could see this being nip and tuck the first half and Valpo pulling away the last ten minutes for a cover. Agreed, a loss today would be extremely disappointing and thwart some of our progress made this year. Look for the team to really control tempo and push the basketball after misses as Aces like to play more methodical.
78-67 Valpo
Need a win. Can we win rebound battle. Get them in foul trouble and get to the FT line.
Valpo 74
E’Ville 61
This is gonna be tough , Ace’s are not as bad as their record suggests , guard play is important, If Darius makes 2+ 3s we win lol. I think it turns defensive ..
Valpo 69
Evan 65
Valpo 80
Aces 72
we are at home!
@iyellatgames are u sure you and I aren’t the same person. I have the same issue around me in the chair back section. 
Evansville hitting a ton of low quality three pointers early on. Cant imagine that continues.
