Messages

so... as a side note.  one of Homer's first games against a ranked team... resulted in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jMzLovPgc8

[exhibition]

OK, so we beat Green Bay (DON'T call us UWGB, or Wisconsin-Green Bay) and showed some real spark at times.   Here's another game thread for your dancing and dining pleasure.

BTW, no band last night due to flu-like symptoms running through the group, including the director and Chuck-on-drums.   They only had 8 or 9 healthy players.


So... it's on to the Host of the MTE (that includes Southern and Western Illinois for us).  The Illini are a good team.

Beat Ottawa College of Kansas 116-65 in the first exhibition game.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 25 Illinois never trailed in the second half enroute to an 82-75 victory over No. 1 Kansas in the Maui Strong Relief Matchup exhibition at State Farm Center on Sunday night.

Followed up with 80-52 win over Eastern Illinois
Followed up with 64-52 win over Greg Kampe's Oakland Grizz's

and last night, they hosted #4 Marquette.   Here's the recap of that 7-point loss.   I had not realized that the Southern Illinois stud Domask had moved up to Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 23 Illinois came up short in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, falling at home to No. 4 Marquette, 71-64, in front of a sold-out State Farm Center crowd on Tuesday night.

Marcus Domask finished in double digits for his first time as an Illini, recording 18 points and six rebounds. Domask nearly reached double figures in the first half alone, notching nine before the break before accounting for nine of Illinois' first 16 points of the second period of play. He also accumulated one steal and one block.

Luke Goode recorded a career-high 13 points, which included four 3-pointers, a mark that also set a new career best despite coming off the bench. Goode scored a team-high 10 points in the first half before eclipsing his career-best mark in the second half with his fourth triple of the night.

Terrence Shannon Jr. ended his night in double figures for the 13th consecutive game, tallying a team-high 21 points, including 14 in the second half and nine in the final five minutes. Shannon also amassed two assists, two steals, and a block.

Ty Rodgers set the tone on defense while also recording six points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.

Quincy Guerrier grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, his second straight game with double-digit boards, while Coleman Hawkins made an Illini-most three blocks.

Illinois knocked down a season-high 11 3-pointers as a team, while the Orange and Blue made seven blocks and six steals on the defensive end of the floor.

The No. 23 Fighting Illini (2-1) return to State Farm Center on Friday night, when former Illinois star and current Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell Jr. and the Beacons come to town. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT on B1G+.

So, I'm sure we can probably agree that UofI can write any final score they want in this game.   I'm hoping our freshmen don't come out with complete deer-in-headlights.   Hope we can enjoy the atmosphere... and look forward to picking up some good tips and bring'em back for the Leathernecks next Tuesday.

Valpo favored by 3, o/u 133.5...

Will also be interesting to follow the IUPUI game at Indiana State.   Trees favored by 17.5.

ok, if we don't win on Tuesday, this will be my last game thread starter of the year. 

This is not the UWGB-Valpo battle for the conference lead type of game.   We haven't played them since February 4, 2017, and they clobbered us at the Resch center 86-69.   Two weeks earlier, we beat them at the ARC 80-56. 
We haven't lost to them at the ARC since January, 23 2011.  The Phoenix won that one 63-61.

They have played two completely different games.  A blow-out loss and an expected margin over a lower division team.

This year, GB was given a lesson by Iowa State, 85-44. and they beat St. Francis (Illinois) 72-56.

They are led by Guard Noah Reynolds (Wyoming Transfer) at 18.5 and Elijah Jones with 11.  Sundance Wicks was named the ninth head men's basketball coach in program history on March 14, 2023. Wicks joins the Phoenix after three seasons as an assistant coach at Wyoming.

GBs tallest players are 6'8", their leading rebounder, Marcus Hall, is a 6'6" Freshman.

Against St. Francis, GB out scored them 42-22 "in the paint"
Against Iowa State, The Cyclones outscored GB 42-8 "in the paint"

Against Iowa State, GB was 5 of 13 from 2-point range and 8-33 for 3ptrs.

I guess we'll all have to come out Tuesday night.  Bring the Noise to the ARC and keep the pressure on. 

The Valparaiso Beacons (1-0) play the IUPUI Jaguars (1-0) as 4.5-point favorites on Friday, November 10, 2023 at 9:00 PM ET on ESPN+. The point total in the matchup is 142.5.

I'll take the over on both the spread and the total.  That line is predicting a 73-69 kinda game... Heck, we put 62 up in the first half the other day...

I'll take the under on the 3200 attendance.  Might get a spike due to the Volleyball game, but late Friday night start, with VHS playing in the Regional football game at Merrillville.  Might also get a spike from all of the parents in town for the senior day at Football on Saturday.   Hoping the 6th man student section is out in force. 

I'll take the OVER on the 3 pointers. 

The last time we played them...we won 89-69... I'm feeling a repeat. 

Valpo at #3 seed Notre Dame Saturday 11/11  5pm Central (6pm Eastern)
Winner advances to play winner of
LSU - #6 seed Memphis

does feel strange that the Valley (or Missouri Conference as was reported at the pairings) only got one bid, and the Ivy League got FOUR?   

[YOUR BASKETBALL TICKETS ARE GOOD FOR THIS GAME TOO!]

The LAST time we will ever play this team....

We have not played them since 12/20/2012, when we beat them 89-69.   We had 5 players in Double Figures:  Broekhoff, Kenney, VanWijk, Boggs and Capobianco.   Vashil Fernandez played 1 minute and got 1 rebound.

SO... You ask "Why are we tipping off so late?"   Have we got a deal for you!    Friday night is a double-header in the ARC.  the OUTSTANDING Volleyball team has a revenge match with Drake starting at 5pm.  YOUR BASKETBALL TICKETS ARE GOOD FOR THIS GAME TOO!     What a great opportunity to support the Volleyball program. 

The Jaguars played Spaulding University Eagles (Downtown Louisville, 1500 students) at the IUPUI home arena (Indiana Farmers Coliseum) for their regular season opener on Monday night...

IUPUI (1-0) plays in front of a record crowd of 4,867 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum:  Fun Fact:  That attendance is more than the total number of people to watch Spaulding during ALL of 2022-23 season combined home and away.

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI basketball team kicked off all of college basketball with a home court win over visiting Spalding on Monday (Nov. 6), 70-63, before a record setting crowd of 4,867 on NCAA 'Readers Become Leaders' Day. Junior Jlynn Counter tallied a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Abdou Samb added 10 points and four boards off the bench in the win.

"It was very exciting, just being out (there)," graduate transfer Qwanzi Samuels said following his IUPUI debut. "It was definitely exciting with all the kids. I'm just happy we got the win, really.

"We played together as a team. We've got things to work on, but excited we got the win today."

Anthony Dillard paced three Spalding players in double-digits with 19 points and eight rebounds.

IUPUI shot a respectable 43.1 percent from the floor and led from wire-to-wire against the NCAA Division III opponent.

The Coliseum was lively from the outset as elementary school kids began piling into their seats nearly an hour before the 11:00 a.m. tipoff, which marked the first game in the nation for the 2023-24 season. The Jaguars didn't disappoint, surging out to a 12-2 lead in the opening six-plus minutes. The lead stayed in double-digits for the bulk of the first half before Spalding cut it to 33-25 at the break.

IUPUI (1-0) tried to land an early knockout blow behind Counter, but consistently saw the Golden Eagles counterpunch to keep within striking distance. An 11-0 run pushed the lead out to 64-47 with 6:50 to play as DJ Jackson scored six points during the burst and John Egbuta capped it with a driving layup on the left side.

The Jaguars went scoreless over the final three-plus minutes with the outcome in hand as Spalding cut the final margin to seven.

Vincent Brady II, Jackson and Kidtrell Blocker all finished with eight points and Qwanzi Samuels and Yves Nkomba closed with six apiece in starting roles. Samuels grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in 22 minutes.

"It felt being out there with the team. We went through a lot of obstacles but, just overcoming them and we got the dub today," Blocker said. "We're still getting into our roles, but I just feel like there's chemistry overall."

IUPUI held Spalding to 42 percent shooting and just 2-of-10 from three-point range. The Jaguars bench scored 30 of the team's 70 points as reserve firepower came in the form of Samb, Brady and Jackson. Jackson's eight points came in under 12 minutes on 3-of-6 shooting.

IUPUI will return to action on Friday (Nov. 10) when it treks to Valparaiso for an 8:00 p.m. Central (9 Eastern) tip-off on ESPN+.

##   Player               GS   MIN   FG   3PT   FT   ORB-DRB   REB   PF   A   TO   BLK   STL   PTS
0   Counter, Jlynn         *   29   8-13   1-2   3-7   1-3   4   2   2   2   0   1   20
8   Blocker, Kidtrell         *   23   3-7   0-2   2-2   0-1   1   1   2   4   0   1   8
7   Samuels, Qwanzi      *   22   2=5   0-2   2-2   3-4   7   2   0   2   0   0   6
15   Nkomba, Yves         *   14   2-2   0-0   2-2   1-1   2   1   0   1   0   1   6
4   Monroe, Bryce         *   16   0-4   0-1   0-0   0-1   1   2   0   0   0   1   0
9   Samb, Abdou              22   2-4   0-0   6-7   3-1   4   0   0   0   1   0   10
1   Brady II, Vincent           24   3-8   2-6   0-0   0-2   2   2   1   2   0   1   8
13   Jackson, DJ              12   3-6   0-0   2-2   1-2   3   1   2   1   0   1   8
2   Egbuta, John              16   2-7   0-2   0-0   2-0   2   2   1   0   0   1   4
12   Jarrard, Armon              15   0-1   0-1   0-0   0-2   2   0   1   1   0   2   0
10   Dewitt, Cooper                6   0-1   0-1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   0   0   1   0
14   Allen, Braden                1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
TM   TEAM                       0   0-0   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
   Totals   -              200   25-58    2-10     17-22   11-17   28   13   9   13   1   10   70

        SU   IUPUI
FG%       .424   .431
3FG%     .200   .176
FT%     .846   .773
RB     32   28
TO     20   13
STL       6   10

Spaulding had more:   Second Chance Points: 17 (8)   Fast Break Points: 13 (12) Points off Turnovers: 19 (16)

After calculating the huge database that comes from the blowout last night... which included sitting a bunch of our regular rotation guys for most of the second half...

OVER UNDER 2024   through 11/6   REALITY DATA   STATUS
                                                        
Edwards - 15.5 points and rebounds   16+3=19   OVER
Palm - 5.7 rebounds per game   5   UNDER
Barrett - 0.9 3ptrs per game played   0-3   UNDER
Weatherspoon - 41.6% from the floor   1-9   UNDER
Ajiboye - 1.5 Blocks and Steals/game   1+2   OVER
DeAveiro -120.5 assists (3.88/GM)   6   OVER
Williamson - 1.5 assist per turnover   1 / 0   OVER
Schweiger - 11.25 points per game   9   UNDER
Stafford - 16.5 points per game   20   OVER
Team Field Goals Attempted 60.5/gm   72   OVER


Talksalot  (ahem ) and CoVuFan are tied with 7 of 10 correctly prognosticated, and Historyman at 6.

GO AHEAD... tell me it's too early.... pass me the Kool Aid... and a straw.   I saw a brotherhood out there.  When Barrett pulled a "Diebler" EVERYone was right there.   If you don't know what a "Diebler" is...sorry.    Whenever Anthony or Connor took a 3?  EVERYONE on the bench stood up ready to explode. 

Our Starters had an AVERAGE +/- of 36.6, everyone at 30 or higher and Isaiah was a +46.

Yes, Exhibition game... not on the Valpo site... but the Notre Dame site... August 12th
https://fightingirish.com/sports/wsoc/schedule/

NCAA pairings will be announced Monday at 3pm.  The last two times, we got to play Notre Dame. The Irish beat us 5-0 a few months ago.

In the Trinity Troll Classic... game two was Saturday night against "East West"   67-66 win for the Trolls in OVERTIME

- although I can only tell that by the "minutes played".  The box score does now show an extra period.     But... Trinity's total player minutes was 288, East West's total was 225.

but they come into the ARC Undefeated... 2-0.  This is an exhibition game for them.  Not for us.

Trinity Christian 67                                          
##   Player          GS   MIN   FG   3PT   FT   ORB-DRB   REB   PF   A   TO   BLK   STL   PTS
33   Loerop, Brady   *   43   4-10   0-0   4-6   3 - 5   8   2   0   1   0   1   12
2   Staskunas, Dan   *   40   3-15   2-12   1-2   0-1   1   2   2   3   0   1   9
45   Schutt, Colton   *   45   1-10   0-3   4-4   0-3   3   2   1   0   1   1   6
35   Doyle, Joe           *   32   3-5   0-0   0-2   4-5   9   2   1   0   3   1   6
32   Simpson, Bryce   *   37   1-5   0-0   1-2   0-7   7   1   1   1   1   1   3
22   Williams, Jadon      17   4-5   1-1   2-2   1-3   4   1   1   0   2   1   11
34   Dieck, Johnny      29   2-3   1-1   1-2   1-3   3   2   1   2   0   0   6
10   Hudak, Dustin      24   1-4   0-0   4-6   3-3   6   1   2   4   1   1   6
5   Peasley, Malachi      16   3-4   0-1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   2   0   0   6
3   Hunter, Quinton      5   0-0   0-0   2-4   0-1   1   0   0   2   1   1   2
TM   Team              0   0-0   0-0   0-0   4-4   8   0   0   0   0   0   0
   Totals   -        288   22-61   4-18   19-30   16-34   50   13   9   15   9   8   67
                                          
50 rebounds and 9 blocked shots

They have one Indiana player:  #10, Dustin Hudak from Lowell.

[SEE NOTE BELOW]

The annual return of Jason Hawkins to the ARC with the Trolls of Trinity Christian.

did you see what Loyola did to the Trinity Trolls the other day?   104-44.
did you see what South Suburban Community College did to the Trinity Christian Trolls on 11/1?  128-37 - SEE NOTE BELOW
Then again, on Friday night, Trinity bounced back with a 77-49 win over Moody Bible Institute.

led in scoring off the bench by 6'4" Junior Jon Dieck
led in rebounding by 6'10" Junior Joe Doyle out of Corliss High School in Chicago
Their two starting guards are each 6'2" freshmen

##   Player             GS   MIN   REB   PF   A   TO   BLK   STL   PTS
3   Hunter, Quinton   *   20   3   3   1   3   0   0   11
2   Staskunas, Dan   *   22   1   1   1   2   0   0   9
45   Schutt, Colton   *   20   8   0   7   0   2   1   7
32   Simpson, Bryce   *   16   2   3   0   3   1   0   7
35   Doyle, Joe           *   18   11   0   0   1   1   2   4
34   Dieck, Johnny      21   6   0   3   0   0   4   13
10   Hudak, Dustin      16   8   3   0   0   0   0   7
22   Williams, Jadon      17   1   3   1   0   0   0   6
5   Peasley, Malachi      12   1   2   1   0   0   1   6
4   Smith, Tyrone      13   5   0   2   0   2   0   5
20   Kietzmann, William   10   1   1   0   1   0   0   2
31   Kveck, John      5   1   0   0   0   0   0   0
23   Henthorn, Chris      4   0   0   1   0   0   1   0
21   Eathan Peacock      3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
43   Clay Carter      3   1   0   0   1   0   0   0
TM   Team              0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0
   Totals   -          200   51   16   17   11   6   9   77


In the Loyola Game at the Gentile Center, The ramblers had: 
Points in the Paint: 58   
Fast Break Points: 37   
Points off Turnovers: 30   
Bench Points: 49
Led 56-25 at the half.


NOTE: 
did you see what South Suburban Community College did to the Trinity Christian Trolls on 11/1?  128-37
The TIMES reported this score.   They failed to mention that Trinity Christian only used their JV Team against the defending National Champions.  This was not an official game for the Trolls.

I remember as a kid growing up waiting for the Sears Catalog to appear in the mailbox.  My siblings and I would go through all 1100 pages one at a time...

Well... NOW it's the Over Under Podcast that brings a similar joy of anticipation where the skies are always blue...

The Victory Bell and the Chef have once again not let me down with the best 52 minutes of the week...

Here are the O/U categories for the year...  and I'll start.   As was stated, I'll try to keep these updated periodically through the season. 

Edwards - 15.5 points and rebounds - OVER
Palm - 5.7 rebounds per game - OVER
Barrett - 0.9 3ptrs per game played - UNDER
Weatherspoon - 41.6% from the floor - UNDER
Ajiboye - 1.5 Blocks and Steals/game - OVER
DeAveiro -120.5 assists for year - OVER  ... IF someone will score off his passes!
Williamson - 1.5 assist / turnover ratio - OVER
Schweiger - 11.25 points per game - OVER, if he can pad the stats in the Pre-Conference
Stafford - 16.5 points per game - WAY OVER
Team Field Goals Attempted 60.5/gm - UNDER, unless they can pad the stats pre-January
All Newcomer Team for MVC - 0.5 - OVER, we have so many newcomers, the odds are with us
All League Team 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 0.5 - OVER - Darius time to Shine
Valley Road Victories - 1.5 - OVER - SIU and Evansville
Final Standing in Valley - 10.5 - UNDER (Worse) - I'll stick with the professionals on this one
Total Wins - 10.5 - OVER because optimism exudes

SO...
did you see what Loyola did to the Trinity Trolls the other day?   104-44.
did you see what South Suburban Community College did to the Trinity Christian Trolls on 11/1?  128-37
Trinity is playing Moody Bible Institute on Friday, and "East-West" on Saturday before our game on Monday.

This is not a good season for Jason Hawkins and the Trolls.

[quote/]

I believe he and Bill Steinbrecher were teammates/classmates on the Cigar Bowl team.

[/quote]

I went to the source.  Bill steinbrecher lives around the corner from me.  He said no. fame. Koch was on the 4 and a half year plan.  That last semester, he was the grad assistant on the football team.  That was steinbrechers first term as a freshman.

Bill S will be at the services on Friday.   Unfortunately having to forego the chance to watch Jon Steinbrecher throw out the first pitch at the White Sox game.

Here's a link to the full obituary

https://angelcrestinc.com/obituaries/william-r-koch/

330 - 42
219 - 17

Coach Bill Koch Passed away at age 93 on Monday, August 28, 2023.

Visitation at Immanuel Lutheran Friday from 3-5pm, funeral at Immanuel starting at 5pm.

Prayers for LaDonna and family.

I'm sure more information will be posted shortly.

Bill has been a good friend for nearly 50 years.  I will miss his wit and wisdom.

I would love to see a H&H with the Tigers.  My high school graduation was in Jadwin gym.  I went to most home games in the early 70s.  My wife's first post valpo graduation job was at Princeton University employee preschool.   Lots of PU connections

And, he's playing in the PGA tour event in Minneapolis.   Currently 5 over.  No change he'll make the cut.  But still....

I sit Section C, center court.  Not more than 10ft from Talksalot.  It is very difficult to understand much of anything.  I just use context clues to piece together most of what he is saying.

Heck, I'm closer than that... and sometimes I don't know what he said either...😁

I'm sorry.. this is above my pay grade. 

I'll say the same thing i have said to others over the years.

I'm told it depends where you are sitting.  In my seat, it's hard to be judgemental.   It is a different experience for volleyball when the curtain is down. 

Compared to the United Center, I much prefer the ARC setup.  At the UC there is about a 1 second delay from talking to the microphone and it coming back.  Soldier Field is about a 2.5 second delay. 

WH, In your seat.. is the sound muffled? Not loud enough? Too loud?  I'd be interested in hearing from others who can describe the issue.

You're off by a railroad bridge. Jackson's, now called Duffys,  is on Axe Ave.... just west of IR.  that IR site started as a Sambos... then Dennys...etc.. 

[Maximus Nelson to San Francisco]

Preston Ruedinger to Green Bay and Maximus Nelson to San Francisco...

Maximus committed to Fort Wayne.

I see the problem.  Max posted he was a Don.  The FW mastaDon.  Not the San Fran Don's.

Spring game festivities will be begin at 1255pm with quick unit exercises and  starting line up intros shortly after 1pm

There will be 4 10-minute running clock quarters.

Bring a rain coat.