@valpopal I get the sentiment, but the game was simply too close to sacrifice defense in that scenario IMOP. 3 points is still a 1 possession game. 22 seconds is a lot of time left on the clock to sub out for more offense. Especially when Drake is going to run some quick sets which Hopoi has been especially productive in cherry picking from behind on quick scoring sets. the free shots would have made it a 5 point game with 22 seconds. Plenty of time for Drake to try and get some quick points. On the other end. Hopoi would not have been inbounding or receiving an inbound anyhow to somehow get to the line for a second time.
@valpopal I get the sentiment, but the game was simply too close to sacrifice defense in that scenario IMOP. 3 points is still a 1 possession game. 22 seconds is a lot of time left on the clock to sub out for more offense. Especially when Drake is going to run some quick sets which Hopoi has been especially productive in cherry picking from behind on quick scoring sets. the free shots would have made it a 5 point game with 22 seconds. Plenty of time for Drake to try and get some quick points. On the other end. Hopoi would not have been inbounding or receiving an inbound anyhow to somehow get to the line for a second time.
Hoppoi was likely not going to be the defender down the court. The shots for Drake would come either from Quinn, who had scored 33 points, and should be guarded by Servilus, or Shetlar from the outside (also not guarded by Hopoi) since he already had 15 points on 5 3-pointers. Drake couldn't believe their luck that Powell left Hopoi on the court to be fouled and miss his 2 free throws, which gave Drake a chance to tie. Fortunately, they failed to make their shots or we would be having a different discussion.
It’s “Fire Henderson” over on the Drake forum 😂. A lot of “I can’t believe we lost to Valpo”. Makes me smile a bit after having to hear most of the OLD Valley team fans degrade Valpo at every opportunity.
Valpo comes out ahead again by the same recent winning pattern of getting to the free throw line. Even though VU only shot 67%, their 18-27 topped Drake's 9-14. In their 7 conference wins Valpo has averaged 28 free throws taken per game. On a related note, why in the world was Hopoi on the court with 21 seconds left when we knew Drake was going to foul? That could have cost the game!
The Hopoi question is a great one. Our staff has done an amazing job learning with the team how to close out close games. We struggled terribly in close games in non conference but now have pulled out 3 or 4 recently. It is hard to question what the staff is doing BUT this one question is logical. If the staff wanted a big in the game up 3 and inbounding the ball, then it should have been Shon. At least he shoots 75% from the foul line. Or just put Pettigrew at the 5 for the inbounds and sub in Carter when we get fouled.
The good news is that it doesn’t matter. Incredible that we are 7-7 in league with a whole new team. Just an amazing effort by all involved so far in league. We are one game out of 4th which is just wild.
let’s keep it rolling. Illinois State is a mess but they are certainly due to play better. We are looking at 9+ wins in league and probably should find our way to at least 10.
Well some of our play deserved some degrading, even though people seem to have recency bias as we owned the Valley in non con when we were in the Horizon. At this point, I agree with our formula, get to the line, rebound. I would add win by committee as we have the luxury of 4-6 guys that can score for us. Im still holding out that everyone might click offensively in the same game.
We have a truly unique team this season. It seems we win and lose by narrow margins. Carter and Sader consistently play exceptional defense and are formidable rebounders. I strongly believe that Carter and Sean's athleticism allows them to capitalized on scoring opportunities near the basket with dunks. Historically, our bigs have missed easy shots that have been frustrating. What’s the story with Mark Brown Jr.? I joke that he’s only allowed to play every other game, and Keyonte Thomas is limited to 1-3 minutes per game. I love this team, and we are fully capable of finishing in the top half, if not the top quarter, of the Valley. When we put all the pieces together, we have what it takes to be champions.
It’s “Fire Henderson” over on the Drake forum 😂. A lot of “I can’t believe we lost to Valpo”. Makes me smile a bit after having to hear most of the OLD Valley team fans degrade Valpo at every opportunity.
It is obvious they were significantly better coach last year under McCollum. The Drake fans are in reality very friendly - I had a Valpo hoodie on and a few Drake alums welcomed me to Des Moines, despite that I live in a suburb 20 min northwest. Drake basketball buzz in Des Moines is certainly down this year - less attendance, less enthusiasm.
it was a fun to see the Crusaders pull it out. Powell is doing a very good job as coach, and Valpo may surprise in the MVC tournament.
Looking at schedules Im guessing that ISUr would be the easiest to pass for us to move up in seeding (now 7th). That is because their upcoming opponents are the highest quality. I don't want to play UNI or UIC in the 4-5 game so maybe the 6th seed position is best because of our player depth? How many Valley wins we achieve still isn't my primary concern.Welp. Every game from here on out is a must win scenario to knock UIC out of that 5th place bye spot. Drake is a beatable team, but facing any MVC team on the road is always a challenge. Will need to spread the minutes as there are 3 games this week.
CURRENT MVC TOURNEY BRACKET
Powell is doing a good job. Look at his record over his 3 years as head coach after 25 games.
2023-24 6-19 and league record of 2-12. kPom rating of 282. Offense 68 ppg and defense 74.4 ppg.
2024-25 10-15 and 3-11 record. kPom of 234. Offense 75.4 and defense 74.8 ppg.
2025-26 13-12 and 7-7 record. kPom of 152. Offense 71.4 and defense 70.2.
With this win. Valpo moves to....
NET: 155
KENPOM: 152
TORVIK: 153
MVC:7th
One thing of not....there is currently a log jam of 8-6 teams all the way up to 4th place in the league. All teams which Valpo has beaten at the ARC. Getting a game up the 2 teams (UIC and ISUr) remaining in the log jam is critical for the bye spot.
Looking at schedules Im guessing that ISUr would be the easiest to pass for us to move up in seeding (now 7th). That is because their upcoming opponents are the highest quality. I don't want to play UNI or UIC in the 4-5 game so maybe the 6th seed position is best because of our player depth? How many Valley wins we achieve still isn't my primary concern.Welp. Every game from here on out is a must win scenario to knock UIC out of that 5th place bye spot. Drake is a beatable team, but facing any MVC team on the road is always a challenge. Will need to spread the minutes as there are 3 games this week.
CURRENT MVC TOURNEY BRACKET
Sure. Depth is nice, but I would still rather play 1 less game rather than 1 more game.
Last night’s results could definitely have seeding implications in St. Louis, but the bigger takeaway is just how little separation there is in the Valley this season. With Belmont, Murray State, and Illinois State all losing, UNI and Bradley were able to capitalize and put themselves in stronger positions for a higher finish.
Illinois State on the road will be tough. At the same time, Valpo has already shown it can beat Illinois State and win away from home. And honestly, we still don’t know which Illinois State team is going to show up on any given night. Beyond that game, it’s not unrealistic to think we could win out. UIC is a solid team, but Valpo has already beaten them once. Chicago is just down the road, and it’s a place our players are excited to play. It’s close enough that we could probably get a forum group together and make the trip—I like our chances there.
I think many of us realized after the first half of conference play that if we could take care of business early in the back half of the schedule, momentum, excitement, and optimism would start to build. Watching how we’re playing now, you can see real opportunity in the remaining schedule. If we can win four or five of the final six games—which is absolutely doable—we’d finish above .500 overall and possibly 10–10 in MVC play. That puts you right in the conversation for a fifth-place seed. A lot still depends on how other teams perform, but it’s exciting to even be talking about it.
As for the “old Valley” teams and their fans, I want to be clear: I’ve never experienced disrespect toward Valpo in person. Most fans I interact with at games enjoy the friendly banter. At the Evansville game, I talked with Turnbull before tipoff. I told him I couldn’t cheer for Evansville, but that I’ve always enjoyed watching his elite defense on TV and in person. I told him it sucked that he was out and that I was rooting for him to get back on the court. He patted me on the shoulder and thanked me for the support. Road fans have been great too—even tolerant of my yelling.
My issue is more with the online fan communities of opposing programs—mainly Drake, Bradley, Illinois State, SIU, and occasionally UNI. Many of those fans are openly critical of Valpo over the smallest things, while ignoring similar issues within their own programs or failing to acknowledge that many of the same problems are universal across the league. There’s a noticeable level of disrespect toward our program on other Valley forums.
That’s why wins like going into Drake and coming out with a victory feel different than winning at home. Murray State and Belmont don’t get that same level of criticism, nor do those fan bases give it, UIC and Valpo do, largely because they haven’t had as much success in a relatively short time since joining the league. You can look at any program in this conference and find down years before success, but to many Valley fans, Valpo simply “doesn’t belong.”
Because of that, these wins mean more to me than most. They matter—not just in the standings, but for the respect and credibility of the program.
It's interesting to me to see how Roger's team evolve over a season. As an example look at the starting five in game one v. current. Game one saw Brown and Barnes in the starting five and now (even if Barnes were healthy), neither get little or no court time. Same thing last year. First game had Ellis and Shaw in the starting five while by seasons end neither saw the court.
It has a lot to do with starting over from scratch relative to player expectations. Going in you are relying on past performance most likely at a different level, coupled with a handful of practices. By now we can see the rotations which, because of our depth, probably change a little more to better match the opponent on a game by game basis.
My issue is more with the online fan communities of opposing programs—mainly Drake, Bradley, Illinois State, SIU, and occasionally UNI. Many of those fans are openly critical of Valpo over the smallest things, while ignoring similar issues within their own programs or failing to acknowledge that many of the same problems are universal across the league. There’s a noticeable level of disrespect toward our program on other Valley forums.
The online fan community laments about Valpo "Swindling the League" because Valpo promised arena upgrades as a condition to join. From my understanding, these upgrades were planned and on the route to being implemented....then covid hit and the university has not had the financials to invest money into an area or ARC upgrades. Frankly, I think a lot of the online MVC contingent has this weird gross obsession with arenas and measures the weight of their words in how big and flashy their gyms are. We understand the ARC sucks, but the thing about that is, you only have to play there 1 time out of 2 games...the MVC crowd just needs to put their big kid pants on and suck it up. A lot of the conversation surrounding who to add to the MVC comes down to "who has the nicest place to play" and not "who would add value to the MVC.
I got a lot of flak for claiming that the Ford Center and Carver Arena were middle of the pack arena wise because "ThEy BiGgEst" when in all reality. They have some pretty terrible sightlines caused by the hockey ice. The response to this was "They are hockey arenas, what did you expect" and my response to this is that U Mass and St Thomas seems to be able to convert their hockey arenas into a basketball format no problem. Why does UE and Bradley get the benefit of the doubt for using removable bleachers and tarping off entire sections of seats
Valpo also got caught joining the league at a bad time. Being the replacement to Wichita was never going top be an easy task
@rezynezy - ok, I get it - but Valpo in all MVC sports since they have joined have overall been dead last. I understand Valpo is broke, but objectively I can see why MVC fans have been questioning Valpo's commitment to the conference and their inadequate facilities. Men's hoops is improving thanks to Powell, but other sports are lacking, particularly a 0-24 women's team.
