Game 32: Green Bay at Joe Louis Arena - Horizon League Semifinals - 3/7/16

[valpotx]

Geez, this will be a sad atmosphere for the championship game.  I respect Donlon and Darner, but these are not the best teams in the HL playing for the bid, and both would struggle in the NCAA tourney.

[a3uge]

Big fat "I told you so" to the Horizon League.

[justducky]

I never was a fan of the double bye and you just saw why. Its just like I commented last summer. The home court advantage is the biggest factor and the double bye can be too much of a good thing.

As for March Madness these two teams have peaked at the best time and I wish them luck.

[wh]

Congrats to WSU and GB. They both played great basketball tonight. The fact that they played as well as they did in their 3rd game in 3 nights against good teams with fresh legs is a real head shaker. Very impressive!

[Smj]

What a joke. ...   If the league gets a one game and out 15 seed and they don't admit this year's tournament was a failure then they do not understand how this all works. ...   

Also, I will watch the final on ESPN but it will probably look like a joke compared to if it was at a home team site with a sold out venue.

(Maybe everyone should be vocal on the horizon league Facebook page after the first round of the ncaa - I hope we do well but it will be an even larger up hill battle as a 15 seed.  Maybe wright state will get some credit for beating us twice. )

Go Valpo!

[a3uge]

I would imagine the game gets flexed to espn2...

[valpotx]

It is a sign of progress that the #3 and #4 seed are playing for the bid!!  Never mind the conference RPI ranking of 20, and the pending 15 seed that we will get.  I look forward to that packed house that Detroit will bring, since it can bring all fans together

[nkvu]

Can't wait to see all those empty seats on tv for the final. Great promo for the league. Imagine the sound people will have fun dealing with the echoes of an empty arena. Will be a challenge for the camera to find shots that make it seem that there is a crowd.

[justducky]

Maybe wright state will get some credit for beating us twice. )

Watching how much we struggled without Tevonn I wonder if I would have even considered them a favorite against WSU. Several of our poorest played games have been associated with his absence. I think we had one loss this year when we had the 9 healthy bodies.

[oklahomamick]

hate to see it.  Vashil and Alec are once in a decade players for us.  We may not have such a stacked team for another 10 years.

[HailVU2014]

Quick comments: I was at the game tonight and enjoyed the general atmosphere of the tournament. It wasn't as hostile as I thought it would be, but the rental Green Bay/Detroit High School Band was getting on my nerves... I mean if you are going to vote for the neutral site tournament, shouldn't you be obligated to bring your own band? The GB Band is actually quite good and was in Valpo in 2013 and 2015...

Oakland did not bring as many fans as expected and even their student section wasn't full. We clearly gave too much of a home court advantage to them. It was loud for Oakland but not home game loud.

Also, STILL haven't seen Oakland win a game in person... 0-5 when I am in attendance. Hmm...

I think tonight was the kiss of death to the double bye. The format will be the same as Arch Madness for 2017. You can bet on it now.

I could not stand the swarm of Oakland people that immediately began to overtake Section 122 after our game was over. I paid for the ticket, it's my seat. You aren't wearing Valpo, so don't expect me to move so you can sit closer to your team. This also opens up the arguement of how the HL needs to arrange seating for these games...

I cannot wait for this tourney to be at the new Detroit facility.

Donlon is a fantastic coach and should have been COY. Darner is a rising star and will be moving up quickly in the coaching ranks.

Let's destroy the NIT and get to MSG in New York at the end of the month!!! Go Valpo!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[justducky]

I look forward to that packed house that Detroit will bring, since it can bring all fans together

Our last hope for attendance is that LeCrone vs 1100lb Grizzly halftime wrestling match. I hope that bear hasn't been fed for a while! Will that be televised on ESPN?

[nkvu]

So instead of a packed house and a great atmosphere in the higher seed's home court and, if it were Valpo, a likely 11 or 12 seed with a realistic chance to win a game in the dance to the benefit of the entire league we have a final in a pretty much empty arena which will result in a seed with little to no chance to win a game in the dance. Brilliant business decision Horizon league. I sure hope whatever financial arrangement the league negotiated with Detroit to move the tournament there will make up the difference for all the schools in the league.

[StlVUFan]

I would imagine the game gets flexed to espn2...

It was always scheduled for espn2

[StlVUFan]

I think tonight was the kiss of death to the double bye. The format will be the same as Arch Madness for 2017. You can bet on it now.

1.  Good.
2.  Then why did they suddenly *add* the double-byes to the women's tournament this year??

[HailVU2014]

I think tonight was the kiss of death to the double bye. The format will be the same as Arch Madness for 2017. You can bet on it now.

1.  Good.
2.  Then why did they suddenly *add* the double-byes to the women's tournament this year??

Was unaware of that for the HLWBB tourney. Just like the tourney was changed within one year, I presume the the format can change just as quickly, even if the WBB double bye never sees the light of day?

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[bbtds]

We dominated this league in 18 games.  Only a few teams have won this league by 3 games.  We set new records for the HL.  Dominated the  season, did not in tournament game. 

To me that says something about the coaching. Of course no one wants to criticize our respected coaching staff too much but I do feel it let us down greatly in the tournament and the two games against WSU.

[StlVUFan]

I think tonight was the kiss of death to the double bye. The format will be the same as Arch Madness for 2017. You can bet on it now.

1.  Good.
2.  Then why did they suddenly *add* the double-byes to the women's tournament this year??

Was unaware of that for the HLWBB tourney. Just like the tourney was changed within one year, I presume the the format can change just as quickly, even if the WBB double bye never sees the light of day?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Yeah it can, I just don't understand why they switched if they're going to decide to scrap it

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[justducky]

Of course no one wants to criticize our respected coaching staff too much but I do feel it let us down greatly in the tournament and the two games against WSU.

This shorthanded loss to a hot shooting GB will not be remembered as the decider. Having no answer for the WSU defense is going to stick with me for a long time.

[gbfan69]

First off, I just want to make it clear, I'm not coming on here to rub it your faces, it was a great game. Trust me, us GB fans know how u feel. We thought the 2013-2014 team was destined for the Big Dance but a few ill timed injuries cost us a shot at that.

Now lets be honest, you guys did not lose this game because it was played at a neutral site, or because you had 8 days off and had a double bye. You were outplayed and out coached. And please quit criticizing the conference because they will have a "empty arena" for the championship game tomorrow night. Who cares, i'm sure the "National audience" will be so sad they don't get to watch a game played in a glorified high school gym. Also some of you have said the winner of tomorrow nights game will probably be a 15 seed or maybe even a 14 and go 1 and done in the tourney, and you might be right. But theirs no guarantee that Valpo would have done anything either. I understand all of you guys are upset tonight and rightfully so but these excuses and criticism of the conference are a joke. You had it all set up for you guys and unfortunately you picked a bad time to lay an egg.

1 thing I want to bring up about the game that no one is really talking about is Keith Carter fouling out. Obviously that effected you guys in OT. You guys were down 3 at the time with just under a minute to go and had you just played solid defense and got a stop would have had a chance to tie with a 3. I also get why you would foul there, make GB make FT's, (which they didn't do too well) extend the game, etc. I guess I just don't understand why Carter would intentionally foul with that much time left knowing that he would be disqualified, someone else could have easily committed the foul and kept Carter in the game.

Oh well, good luck in the NIT. Unfortunately I think we will lose tomorrow night and be headed to the CIT or CBI. Either way, still a great first year for Linc Darner. 

[chef]

One of the most egregious coaching errors I've seen all year came at the end of regulation when nobody from Green Bay's bench instructed Cooper to intentionally miss the second free throw, which would have allowed Valpo nothing more than an 80 foot heave. Remember Valpo was out of timeouts and there was only 2.1 seconds left. There's never a more clear cut time to miss a free throw, yet not a single coach, player, or manager said a word to Cooper. Thus allowing Valpo the home run pass and overtime. Seconds after Peters made the layup Greg Kampe looked at me and simultaneously we said "why did he make that free throw?"

[usc4valpo]

LeCrone is a clown, and a final in Detroit in front of a few hundred is  a joke. That being said, Valpo has only themselves to blame. They played flat, did not play defense like they did all season, and blaming officiating for the loss is a copout.

[usc4valpo]

This sucks for the Horizon League and Valpo, but that excuse is a copout. If you want to be the champion and make it to the tournament, you have to prove it. GB outplayed us and Valpo's defense was lacking.

[a3uge]

I would imagine the game gets flexed to espn2...

It was always scheduled for espn2

No.

[a3uge]

Also, Green Bay doesn't shoot 12-22 from deep at the ARC, and Valpo likely doesn't shoot 9-29. I didn't think that was an outlandish opinion...