Wright State at Valpo (2/4) Game Thread

[covufan]

We need to continue the good offensive play.  Wright State will be good defensively, and may try to slow things down.  On defensive boards we need to push the ball a little before WSU sets up their defense. 

Valpo  -  73
WSU   -  60

[valpopal]

Surprisingly, the early Vegas line has Valpo as a 10 point favorite. I think the Crusaders will avenge their loss on the road at Wright State. I'm hoping the team builds on the momentum from the last two big wins over Milwaukee and Detroit, plus they feel inspired to play well in front of Homer and the new VU Hall of Fame members.

Wright State   60
Valpo             70

[valpotx]

Valpo 78
Wright State 62

After our bad loss at their place, team comes out sharp.

[MattCarter]

Valpo builds a nice lead and then lets it slip toward end of half.  2nd half Wright State with a 10 point lead and Valpo wins with last second play.

58-56

[sectionee]

The line is at 9 right now. I will say 73-61.

[VUfan]

 Today this Is the most Important game of the year! A close game
VU 71 Wright State 66

[bbtds]

If Valpo wins this game it means the Crusaders have beaten each of the other teams in the conference. It means no other conference team will have swept Valpo which is incredibly important if it comes down to ties at the end of the conference season as far as seeding for the tournament. Remember how 2nd seed came down to a tie-breaker last year.

Wright State 66
Valpo          71

[vu84v2]

Another tough game.  Valpo does not cover the spread, bit wins the game. 

Valpo 71
Wright State 66

Note that I was one point off on the Detroit game.  As they say, the blind squirrel finds the acorn every once in awhile.

[crusaderjoe]

To complete the prediction trifecta in this thread, I'll say VU 71 WSU 66.

[vu84v2]

I cannot believe that I duplicated someone else's prediction.

[VUfan]

a win! now on to the next most Important Game CSU This was a Grinder!

[StlVUFan]

a win! now on to the next most Important Game CSU This was a Grinder!

First let's tend to the walking wounded 

[okinawatyphoon]

How was the crowd in the ARC?

[valpospartan]

How was the crowd in the ARC?

4727 And pretty noisy.

[vu72]

Just my impressions, based somewhat on Todd's comments.  We will find out more in tommorrow's newspapers.  But, it seemed to me that Ryan was hurt or not feeling well.  Kevin apparently almost threw up so he wasn't exactly 100% either.  Still, the guys stepped up in spite of a turnover  mess.  How was the induction ceremony?  We were treated to more Valpo propaganda for the entire half time.

[sectionee]

Good to see us win despite all the turnovers and KVW and Rowdy not reaching their averages.  Very encouraging play by Edwards lately!
http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2012/02/game-wrap-up-bench-mob.html

[valpopal]

What a strange game tonight! If someone told me before the game that Rowdy would have only 3 field goal attempts, that Kevin would be sick, that the team would commit 23 turnovers, and that Wright State would have 22 more field goal attempts, I would have thought Valpo had no chance to win.

However, the team shot well from the 3-point line again (47% and six players making at least one), and they hit almost every 2-point shot in the game (13-15), taking some of the pressure off Rowdy and helping out Kevin, with much of the credit going to Richie and the good passing when not throwing the ball away (18 assists on 21 field goals). Also, the team seems to be playing better defense lately, so a high score wasn't needed.

Still, the performance tonight was not good enough to beat Cleveland State, especially on the road. Let's hope everyone is healthy and the team has a good 5 days of practice preparing for Thursday's important game. Nevertheless, the win tonight gives me some confidence that the team will be more likely to secure a top-2 seed even if they lose to Cleveland State.

[covufan]

What a strange game tonight! If someone told me before the game that Rowdy would have only 3 field goal attempts, that Kevin would be sick, that the team would commit 23 turnovers, and that Wright State would have 22 more field goal attempts, I would have thought Valpo had no chance to win.

However, the team shot well from the 3-point line again (47% and six players making at least one), and they hit almost every 2-point shot in the game (13-15), taking some of the pressure off Rowdy and helping out Kevin, with much of the credit going to Richie and the good passing when not throwing the ball away (18 assists on 21 field goals). Also, the team seems to be playing better defense lately, so a high score wasn't needed.

Still, the performance tonight was not good enough to beat Cleveland State, especially on the road. Let's hope everyone is healthy and the team has a good 5 days of practice preparing for Thursday's important game. Nevertheless, the win tonight gives me some confidence that the team will be more likely to secure a top-2 seed even if they lose to Cleveland State.

Strange indeed!  I didn't get a chance to watch the game, but just glanced at the box score.  24 turnovers, only 1 offensive board, and we still won. 

[StlVUFan]

What a strange game tonight! If someone told me before the game that Rowdy would have only 3 field goal attempts, that Kevin would be sick, that the team would commit 23 turnovers, and that Wright State would have 22 more field goal attempts, I would have thought Valpo had no chance to win.

However, the team shot well from the 3-point line again (47% and six players making at least one), and they hit almost every 2-point shot in the game (13-15), taking some of the pressure off Rowdy and helping out Kevin, with much of the credit going to Richie and the good passing when not throwing the ball away (18 assists on 21 field goals). Also, the team seems to be playing better defense lately, so a high score wasn't needed.

Still, the performance tonight was not good enough to beat Cleveland State, especially on the road. Let's hope everyone is healthy and the team has a good 5 days of practice preparing for Thursday's important game. Nevertheless, the win tonight gives me some confidence that the team will be more likely to secure a top-2 seed even if they lose to Cleveland State.

Strange indeed!  I didn't get a chance to watch the game, but just glanced at the box score.  24 turnovers, only 1 offensive board, and we still won. 

You don't need a lot of offensive rebounds if your first shot keeps going in.

[VUfan]

we made 21 of32 Shots add in the turnovers and we scored 26.6 of the times we had the ball.

[covufan]

What a strange game tonight! If someone told me before the game that Rowdy would have only 3 field goal attempts, that Kevin would be sick, that the team would commit 23 turnovers, and that Wright State would have 22 more field goal attempts, I would have thought Valpo had no chance to win.

However, the team shot well from the 3-point line again (47% and six players making at least one), and they hit almost every 2-point shot in the game (13-15), taking some of the pressure off Rowdy and helping out Kevin, with much of the credit going to Richie and the good passing when not throwing the ball away (18 assists on 21 field goals). Also, the team seems to be playing better defense lately, so a high score wasn't needed.

Still, the performance tonight was not good enough to beat Cleveland State, especially on the road. Let's hope everyone is healthy and the team has a good 5 days of practice preparing for Thursday's important game. Nevertheless, the win tonight gives me some confidence that the team will be more likely to secure a top-2 seed even if they lose to Cleveland State.

Strange indeed!  I didn't get a chance to watch the game, but just glanced at the box score.  24 turnovers, only 1 offensive board, and we still won. 

You don't need a lot of offensive rebounds if your first shot keeps going in.

Yes, I realize we didn't have that many opportunities for offensive rebounds, but we could have done a little better on the defensive boards.  Just surprised by the number.  They also had many more opportunities for offensive rebounds, as they couldn't hit anything.  We'll need to get a handle on the TO's before the tournament.

[StlVUFan]

Just watched it again, and I have to say I'm pretty impressed.  Wright State played good defense and ran their offense fairly consistently.  They made us work hard most of the time.  We had numerous mental lapses in the first half on offense, but our defense bailed us out more often than not.  Didn't panic as far as I could see, kept plugging, took what they gave us and made our shots.

If we can play with that amount of poise and keep the turnovers down a bit more, I like our chances down the stretch, assuming Ryan and Kevin are okay physically, which is a big if.  Still waiting with baited breath for word that Ryan might not be ready to go on Thursday (haven't heard anything, just gun-shy, that's all).

I could have sworn I counted 22 out of 36, but I'm sure I miscounted somewhere.

[valpopal]

If we can play with that amount of poise and keep the turnovers down a bit more, I like our chances down the stretch, assuming Ryan and Kevin are okay physically, which is a big if.  Still waiting with baited breath for word that Ryan might not be ready to go on Thursday (haven't heard anything, just gun-shy, that's all).

I am told Ryan is okay and ready to go on Thursday. Kevin should be fine by then as well.