Three games without even reaching 70% at the free throw line (63, 66, 65) should be seen as sacrilegious for a Valparaiso team. It may not have made a difference in any of these games, but in close games of MVC play it could be crucial.
Well, the emotional roller coaster of November basketball continues. After the incredible win at Purdue, Valpo came back down to earth Wednesday night with an 81-69 loss at South Dakota State.
The Beacons struggled to consistently get the offense going, while the Jackrabbits seemingly had an answer every time Valpo tried to make a run. Carter Hopoi continued his strong start, JT Pettigrew battled foul trouble, and there were still some positives despite the loss.
I broke down what went wrong, some encouraging individual performances, and why there’s no reason to overreact to one tough November road game.
Full recap: Back to Earth: South Dakota State Hands Valpo Its First Loss, 81-69
Long season, 49 first half points given up! Not going to beat anyone when you give up that many first half points. Game was lost the last 7 minutes of the first half. Earned win at Purdue, but very improbable ending and Purdue's bad shooting. Carter H, shows tremendous progress but our guards got dominated! Long season
This was not the same team we saw against Purdue. Chalk this one up to mental fatigue. 5 days of Purdue this and Purdue that really didn't help. I told a number of people this would be a problem, especially on the road. Defense was excellent against Purdue and a step slow against SDSU. I expect the better defensive team to be the norm.
Really people..... Checking out on the season on game 3. Really.....