The Valparaiso Beacons Fan Zone Forum

Following is the Crusaders November game schedule:

NOV 10 North Park (H)
NOV 13 Trinity Christian (H)
NOV 15 SIUE (A)
NOV 19 Southeastern Louisiana (H)
NOV 21 Samford (H)
NOV 24 Kent State (N)
NOV 25 UNCW (N)
NOV 28 Utah State (H)

What will our record be?

One thing that stands out about the schedule is that it ramps up pretty nicely in terms of difficulty (though Samford may have come a little too early).

I voted 7-1.  No top 100 opponents (KenPom) and only true road opponent is horrible.  I think Kent or UNCW neutral site games will be the biggest challenges.   

Yeh, I went 7-1 but not sure which one will be the One.  Too many unknowns for a moonshot...would love to be 9-0 at the beginning of the season...

I went 6-2. Figured we'd lose one of our home dates with SELU, Samford, or USU. Also, being that this is the first serious road trip for this new squad, we'd lose to either KSU or UNCW on a neutral court in a close one.

I look for November to be the final audition for establishing our regular rotations. By March we may be viewing some of this necessary experimentation as being akin to alchemy. But to find all the combinations that do work we have to eliminate all that do not. This will take time and I see no pressing reason to rush the process. Matt should give everybody plenty of opportunity to earn MVC playing time.

Because we should neither expect or need sudden answers for March I will best guess 5-3 for November.

I'd go to 7-1 or 6-2. Samford, SELA, UNCW & USU are games that Valpo legitimately has a chance to lose. Even Kent State probably won't be a push over. I'll say 6-2, hopefully we'll go 8-0.

NOV 10 North Park (H) - W
NOV 13 Trinity Christian (H) - W
NOV 15 SIUE (A) - W
NOV 19 Southeastern Louisiana (H) - W
NOV 21 Samford (H) - L
NOV 24 Kent State (N) -W
NOV 25 UNCW (N) - L
NOV 28 Utah State (H) - W

Quote from: VU2014 on November 01, 2017, 07:45:15 PM
I'd go to 7-1 or 6-2. Samford, SELA, UNCW & USU are games that Valpo legitimately has a chance to lose. Even Kent State probably won't be a push over. I'll say 6-2, hopefully we'll go 8-0.

NOV 10 North Park (H) - W
NOV 13 Trinity Christian (H) - W
NOV 15 SIUE (A) - W
NOV 19 Southeastern Louisiana (H) - W
NOV 21 Samford (H) - L
NOV 24 Kent State (N) -W
NOV 25 UNCW (N) - W
NOV 28 Utah State (H) - W

5-3, how many ppg do we return? 16?  Growing pains gents.

Quote from: FieldGoodie05 on November 01, 2017, 09:18:14 PM5-3, how many ppg do we return? 16?  Growing pains gents.

Yes, but how many MVC teams are replacing their lost scoring with a 4* and two 3* players, two of which have been practicing with the team for a year.  Yes, we will have growing pains.  I like our chances this year.

Sweep  :thumbsup:

6-2 losses on the road getting to know each other.

8-0!

Love the optimism of the 5 brave souls who think we'll go undefeated in November!

Quote from: wh on November 07, 2017, 04:01:46 AM
Love the optimism of the 5 brave souls who think we'll go undefeated in November!

The UNC-Wilmington game will be the real test.  While we lost much of our minutes, scoring and rebounding from last year, having two transfers (a 4* and a 3*) that practiced with the team and a 3* freshman will be fun to watch.  Yes, we'll have some growing pains, I just hope that the pain is having multiple hot scorers in which to distribute the ball!

Quote from: wh on November 07, 2017, 04:01:46 AM
Love the optimism of the 5 brave souls who think we'll go undefeated in November!

I'm one of them.  I couldn't bring myself to say one of the opponents stood out as especially formidable, especially with a home-court advantage.  Furthermore the schedule increases in difficulty so gradually, that there's less likelihood for the Crusaders to trip up early or win a fierce one, only to succumb in a trap game.  I suspect anybody who picked a loss did so more because of the general difficulty of not slipping up.  I didn't feel like going there.

After watching both a practice and a game and listening to another game, I have become very optimistic about this team.  It is still very difficult to leave home with a new or unusual routine and then win on the road in an unfamiliar and hostile environment.

One thing that I love about our program is that we've built a culture of high expectations from the fans, to the players, to the coaches and all the way up to the top of the Athletics Department. That's so important for College programs.

"There's an expectation to win around here. We don't shy away from it," Crusaders coach Matt Lottich said. "We embrace it and want to build on it. They understand that we know how to do it. We're buying into each other and the coaching staff. Success breeds success."
https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/basketball/2017/11/06/rocky-ground-well-valparaiso-basketball-still-valparaiso-basketball/837001001/

What I love is the quality of the people from MLB down through Matt to the last kid on the bench. That's why I follow this program.

Voting closes at 1:45p.  Final call!

6-2....a couple losses for growing pains.  Hope I'm wrong though and it's 8-0.

Quote from: valpolaw on November 10, 2017, 10:38:29 AM
6-2....a couple losses for growing pains.  Hope I'm wrong though and it's 8-0.

I'm with you. I think we go 6-2 but hoping for 8-0. I think we lose one of those Neutral Site Tourney games against either UNCW or Kent State. And I could see us dropping a game to one SELA, Samford and USU.

I predicted 7-1 and thought that was probably a stretch. Now, I will be pretty disappointed if we don't go 8-0. Funny how your sight lines change.;)

Quote from: wh on November 24, 2017, 10:56:02 AMNow, I will be pretty disappointed if we don't go 8-0. Funny how your sight lines change.

I think almost everyone on this board relates with this!

To the 6 people who voted 8-0
(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/UnawareShinyCollardlizard-small.gif)

8-0 is obviously great but I would trade an undefeated November for an undefeated March every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

What do I win?

 :twocents:

Quote from: VUOR63 on November 29, 2017, 11:54:26 AM
8-0 is obviously great but I would trade an undefeated November for an undefeated March every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Bold statement, considering that would mean we're in the Final Four.

Quote from: VU2014 on November 29, 2017, 10:13:57 AMTo the 6 people who voted 8-0 (https://thumbs.gfycat.com/UnawareShinyCollardlizard-small.gif)

Thank You.