Great mid-major game on tap for tomorrow! Will the Crusaders come out strong with the momentum of Fridays final minutes? Or will the early season cobwebs continue being cleared out? Most of all, will class of 2011 grads like me finally be able to move on from the 2011 CIT game!?! Crowds can be hard to come by on Sundays, here's hoping for a great atmosphere and another Valpo victory!
The spread: Valpo -8.5
Game thread from the Iona message board:
http://ionahoops.proboards.com/thread/2924/valparaiso-game-thread?page=6 (http://ionahoops.proboards.com/thread/2924/valparaiso-game-thread?page=6)
Times game day story:
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/vu-s-adekoya-ready-to-return-to-his-familiar-role/article_cb06438c-9493-5227-bae0-07be13b77604.html (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/vu-s-adekoya-ready-to-return-to-his-familiar-role/article_cb06438c-9493-5227-bae0-07be13b77604.html)
VU's Adekoya ready to return to his familiar role
Valparaiso (1-0) vs. Iona (0-0)
When: 1:30 p.m. today
Where: Athletics-Recreation Center
Radio/Internet: WVUR-FM (95.1, Valparaiso)/valpoathletics.com
Video: ESPN3.com
Twitter: @NWIOren
Notes: Valparaiso and Iona are meeting for the first time since the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Tournament when the Gaels won 85-77 at the ARC. ... Iona is picked to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season and are viewed as one of the top mid-major teams in the country alongside Valparaiso. ... Valparaiso and Iona are meeting as part of the Beaver Showcase, an event which will also include home games against IU-Kokomo and Trinity Christian next week as well as a game at Oregon State on Nov. 24.
VALPARAISO | With Vashil Fernandez in early foul trouble and Derrik Smits in a walking boot, Friday night was nothing but business as usual for Jubril Adekoya.
The reigning Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year provided a boost off the bench in Friday's 78-64 victory over IPFW, scoring eight points and adding seven rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
If Smits' ankle injury sidelines him for any length of time, perhaps the entire season, Adekoya will once again be called on to be Valparaiso's primary backup in the post.
"It's nothing new," Adekoya said. "Defensively, I might have to bang against some bigger guys, but it's something that I'm used to. Really just whatever the team needs me to do."
Smits suffered an ankle injury in practice last week and has been walking with a noticeable limp while in a protective walking boot. The freshman center went for a MRI on Tuesday according to Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew and the fifth-year coach said on Friday night that they were awaiting one more evaluation before making a decision. Drew affirmed that shutting Smits down for the entire season was a possibility if surgery was required.
As for Fernandez, the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year was limited to just six minutes in the first half and finished the night with four points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.
"Jubril was excellent for us," Drew said. "We didn't expect Vashil to go out that quickly. Jubril played a lot of minutes and did a good job attacking the rim. He had an excellent summer."
Valparaiso entered the season with perhaps its best depth in years. With Smits out, that depth will be tested, but Drew isn't concerned with how Adekoya or the rest of the post players will adapt.
"The great thing is those guys played a lot together last year," Drew said. David (Skara) slipped over to the four a little bit. Familiarity helped us."
The Crusaders don't have time to lament over injuries as Iona comes to town Sunday afternoon. The Gaels enter the season as favorites in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and are one of several teams on Valparaiso's nonconference schedule receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
"They're going to come in here looking for a win and we know about Iona," Adekoya said. "They're talented, they play fast. We're the type of team that's going to rise to the challenge. We're excited when a team like this comes in wanting to beat us."
But do Paul a favor! Click the link!
Quote from: wh on November 14, 2015, 08:05:41 PM
Game thread from the Iona message board:
http://ionahoops.proboards.com/thread/2924/valparaiso-game-thread?page=6 (http://ionahoops.proboards.com/thread/2924/valparaiso-game-thread?page=6)
Six pages! Is their community just that active? Or is that how big the target is on our backs?
They are doing a better job than we at collecting links
http://www.midmajormadness.com/2015/11/10/9703744/mid-major-game-week-iona-valparaiso-preview-streaming-predictions (http://www.midmajormadness.com/2015/11/10/9703744/mid-major-game-week-iona-valparaiso-preview-streaming-predictions)
Did the Indy Star article make the rounds here? I missed it - nice piece.
Should be a fun one to watch, for sure. Looking forward to English and up-tempo.
How can we take advantage of their inexperienced front court?
We have to avenge the infamous CIT game. Does Jay Harris still have another year of eligibility?
I will be interested in watching today's introduction of the starting lineups. At the Indianaolis game they used last year's video with this year's faces plugged in. They didn't show any video at the IPFW game. The house lights weren't turned down in favor of spot lights on the players as they were introduced, which I guess is a permanent change. Last, but not least, rather than standing for the NationalAnthem immediately prior to the player introductions, they had it separately about 10 minutes before game time. The bottom line is that the air has really been taken out of the building for the buildup to the opening tipoff.
Yeah, I didn't understand the intros at all.
I assumed a lot of the changes for game 1 were because of banner raising. I saw that, but not the anthem or video at all. I assume there was an anthem. Did the moment of silence happen? Oren tweeted there was going to be one.
The new video's on youtube, couple of 3D animations. Has it not yet been shown in the ARC? I was a bit late to the exhibition.
The lights are an ESPN thing, I believe.
But, yes, I agree. A better emotional buildup would be good.
I hope Smits is OK. Would hate to lose him for season before he plays a meaningful game.
Valpo 77
Iona 66
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nothing earth shattering in this piece, but good to see the continuing coverage
http://www.midmajormadness.com/horizon-league/2015/11/14/9735204/valparaiso-crusaders-iona-gaels-preview-things-to-watch-fernandez-skara-english (http://www.midmajormadness.com/horizon-league/2015/11/14/9735204/valparaiso-crusaders-iona-gaels-preview-things-to-watch-fernandez-skara-english)
EVN dressed and warming up.
Well that should end any doubts. Total domination and actually won the second half by 8. Hope E and David will be OK.
A win at RI and we gets lots of votes for the top 25. :cheers:
Boom. Made a good team look bad today.
First time poster here. I've been reading for a while, but with the excitement this year, decided it's time to join in the conversations. Great game today. They dominated from beginning to end with class. Excited for the Rhode Island game and the season! I also hope Skara and EVN are fine and their injuries aren't too serious.
Quote from: valpolaw on November 15, 2015, 04:01:22 PM
First time poster here. I've been reading for a while, but with the excitement this year, decided it's time to join in the conversations. Great game today. They dominated from beginning to end with class. Excited for the Rhode Island game and the season! I also hope Skara and EVN are fine and their injuries aren't too serious.
Welcome to the board! I think you'll find most discussions very interesting. Compared to most college boards the members are classy and way above average intellectually!! ;D
Sundays are long in the life of a Pastor. I will look forward to savoring the victory on ESPN 3 this evening!
What a difference a dominant defensive center makes. 7 blocks and how many redirected? He just completely shut down the inside. Another huge difference - more depth. 9 or 10 guys rotating in and out with basically no fall off in talent. That said I'm sure Iona will get things figured out in short order and win a ton of games this year, just like Murray State did last year after we beat them by 30.
By the way, the Gaels players and coaches joined ours for our traditional post game prayer at center court. Everyone from both teams locked arm in arm with one of our assts leading the prayer. What a classy thing for them to do, especially after just suffering the disappointment of a loss. There were no losers in that circle, believe me!
Wow! Max with his best game. EVN came out of nowhere. Where did Shane find his 16 points? Was it 5 or 6 different players who took turns guarding English? Was 7-1 for November too conservative?
A fantastic start to the season. Valpo is one of the most athletic mid-major teams. They were simply bigger, faster, and stronger than Iona. Iona is a very good mid-major team that will have a great chance at getting back to the tourney in March.
The only thing this team may be sub-par at is free throw shooting, and today they did a great job in the category anyways. Nice win against a very good team. Now time to turn the attention to Tuesday morning in Rhode Island infront of a nation audience, all-be-it a waking up one, but still a national stage.
Vashil's defense was off the charts. He altered MANY shots and they simply could not get to the bucket because of him. There were many times we you could see the defender driving and then stop and pull it back out. There was a lot of hesitation going to the rim.
I don't think Iona came into this game prepared. During pregame warmups all they did was dunk over and over. Seemed to be more fun than focus before the game.
D. Walker looks to be a little off but not worried as he will get it going.
Anyone else see the look Alec had on his face after he drained the 3 before half? Seemed pissed they went on a run and wanted to put a stop to it.
Tough test on Tuesday. Nothing like a early morning road game less than 48 hours from your last.
Much better performance than the IPFW game on Friday. The balance was amazing and it was great to see Tevonn getting on track. We are much better when Alec doesn't have to shoulder the load. Too much talent to have a 20 ppg scorer. Really scared that Skara might be on the shelf for a while and not liking what we are hearing about the potential season ending injury to Derrik. Also hope we didn't just get Nickerson back for only one game this season. Iona was completely unprepared for the way we shut down English. You would have thought they took notice of the Green Bay games last year and what we were able to do with Sykes. Not being able to run their offense through English caused them real problems. They are a long and fairly quick team, but could not handle us physically.
Quote from: govalpogo on November 15, 2015, 04:13:23 PM
Sundays are long in the life of a Pastor. I will look forward to savoring the victory on ESPN 3 this evening!
Caught 2nd half myself at the ARC after the congregation annual meeting. But, indeed, watching the replay right now with my pastor.
Quote from: FWalum on November 15, 2015, 07:04:30 PM
Much better performance than the IPFW game on Friday. The balance was amazing and it was great to see Tevonn getting on track. We are much better when Alec doesn't have to shoulder the load. Too much talent to have a 20 ppg scorer. Really scared that Skara might be on the self for a while and not liking what we are hearing about the potential season ending injury to Derrik. Also hope we didn't just get Nickerson back for only one game this season. Iona was completely unprepared for the way we shut down English. You would have thought they took notice of the Green Bay games last year and what we were able to do with Sykes. Not being able to run their offense through English caused them real problems. They are a long and fairly quick team, but could not handle us physically.
[/b]
I keep reading about us being a really good "mid-major" but at the same time I'm wondering how many "majors" could matchup with us physically. At points today, if I'm not mistaken, we had Vashi; at 6'10", Alec at 6'9". E at 6'8" and Shane at 6'7" plus a short guy, probably only 6'1". The length and quickness has got to give all those team who hope to run their offense through a 6'2" guard, cause for reflection. Imagine Keifer Sykes trying to get on course with a guy like E or Shane breathing down your neck.
I'm new to the board but a long time Valpo fan. I graduated from DePaul and had season tix for years and then they really soured. So my daughters and I came to Valpo to give my wife a break and enjoy "good" basketball for a change. Because of those trips, my daughter is now a Freshman here and a Crusaderette. I couldn't be prouder nor as a parent, any prouder for her picking a GREAT institution for higher learning.
The best being I get to go every home game!!! As a hoops fan, our FT shooting needs to improve as the season wears on but more succinctly soon. We get Belmont twice, Rhode Island (down their best player) and the 2 Oregon State schools. We can make a mark OOC and while we should win the Horizon, wins here give us RPI points to maybe get an at large.
What I saw today was complete team basketball. When Alec Peters is in single digits well into the second half, that is actually great for us as it shows the depth we have. We literally dominated a team that is going to win to some serious basketball games. Plus as another poste said, our team and Iona "squared" off in prayer and that impressed me more than any play on the court. God bless every one of those kids and U.S. To for,that matter!!!
Man it's great to be a Crusader!!!!
QuoteI keep reading about us being a really good "mid-major" but at the same time I'm wondering how many "majors" could matchup with us physically. At points today, if I'm not mistaken, we had Vashi; at 6'10", Alec at 6'9". E at 6'8" and Shane at 6'7" plus a short guy, probably only 6'1". The length and quickness has got to give all those team who hope to run their offense through a 6'2" guard, cause for reflection. Imagine Keifer Sykes trying to get on course with a guy like E or Shane breathing down your neck.
We ran this with Skara in place of EVic today, and also against IPFW. All sorts of interesting possibilities.
Watching the replay, interesting to see that Iona was doing several things well in the opening minutes. English drew fouls on Valpo in their first... three possessions?
And their press turned us over on their first two made baskets.
It's a good thing our defense was forcing them to throw up such awful shots. Definitely kept us in the game in the early going.
Welcome to the board, Dad89. Great 1st post. Keep them coming! :thumbsup:
Quote from: ValpoDad89 on November 15, 2015, 09:58:53 PM
I'm new to the board but a long time Valpo fan. I graduated from DePaul and had season tix for years and then they really soured. So my daughters and I came to Valpo to give my wife a break and enjoy "good" basketball for a change. Because of those trips, my daughter is now a Freshman here and a Crusaderette. I couldn't be prouder nor as a parent, any prouder for her picking a GREAT institution for higher learning.
The best being I get to go every home game!!! As a hoops fan, our FT shooting needs to improve as the season wears on but more succinctly soon. We get Belmont twice, Rhode Island (down their best player) and the 2 Oregon State schools. We can make a mark OOC and while we should win the Horizon, wins here give us RPI points to maybe get an at large.
What I saw today was complete team basketball. When Alec Peters is in single digits well into the second half, that is actually great for us as it shows the depth we have. We literally dominated a team that is going to win to some serious basketball games. Plus as another poste said, our team and Iona "squared" off in prayer and that impressed me more than any play on the court. God bless every one of those kids and U.S. To for,that matter!!!
Man it's great to be a Crusader!!!!
Welcome Dad! Your daughter and your family made a great decision. Valpo is a special place, as you will find out over time. Some of us graduated "many" years ago yet find great pride in knowing that Valpo is always "home" for us.
I know we have members of the athletic dept. staff following the board, so I'll mention this here. There is a problem with the sound system in the the post game press conference room. There is a loud humming sound in the background causing significant distortion and making it difficult to hear/understand what the players are saying. This was not a problem at all last year.
Great win. Iona is going to be a good team as the season progresses and this win will look better and better in the coming months.
Time for Rhody with national TV exposure!
I understand that was Iona's first game and they will improve and have a good chance to play in the ncaa tournament at the end of the year. In my opinion, they looked like a bad version of Detroit. They threw up shots and lacked discipline on both sides of the ball, yet athletic. They were Detroit but less athletic and even less disciplined. :twocents:
I simply cannot comprehend how a sub-par LSU team (at that time) did not renew Shane's scholarship and did not play him! The only complaint I have on him right now is that is has a tendency to push the ball up a little too quickly and can get himself into awkward situations that can lead to turnovers. I have a feeling this is something he will get under control in the next few games and is simply a side effect of sitting out last year and not getting much game time at LSU.
I really hope that Nickerson's wrist is ok as he looked better than ever last night. I have a feeling that it is simply going to hurt him all season and that just like with his hips, it will be a pain management sort of thing. I really hope this was not a case of putting an injured player out there too soon...
Darien appeared to be the odd man out at the 2/3 positions yesterday for the more important stretches of the game. If Skara and Nickerson are not 100% by Tuesday he will obviously get a lot more playing time.
Quote from: SanityLost17 on November 16, 2015, 09:45:42 AMI really hope that Nickerson's wrist is ok as he looked better than ever last night. I have a feeling that it is simply going to hurt him all season and that just like with his hips, it will be a pain management sort of thing.
Luke, in the post-game, said that the ice was an expected precaution. That he'll probably be icing his wrist after every game. Having it happen during the game was presumably just a sign that he wasn't needed any further yesterday, with Lexus and Nick getting some minutes.
So, hopefully everything is OK. I'm more worried about Skara, short term. But, I suppose there's a chance that an EVic reinjury could have long-term consequences.
Quote from: agibson on November 16, 2015, 12:23:22 PM
Quote from: SanityLost17 on November 16, 2015, 09:45:42 AMI really hope that Nickerson's wrist is ok as he looked better than ever last night. I have a feeling that it is simply going to hurt him all season and that just like with his hips, it will be a pain management sort of thing.
Luke, in the post-game, said that the ice was an expected precaution. That he'll probably be icing his wrist after every game. Having it happen during the game was presumably just a sign that he wasn't needed any further yesterday, with Lexus and Nick getting some minutes.
So, hopefully everything is OK. I'm more worried about Skara, short term. But, I suppose there's a chance that an EVic reinjury could have long-term consequences.
E sounded like it was no big deal during the post game presser. David may be slowed but these kids heal pretty quickly and tape is a marvelous thing! So I was wondering why Livingston-Simon didn't get into the game during mop up. He appeared to have a face mask on top of his head so maybe he got hit during practice and just din't want to risk a further injury.
Quote from: vu72 on November 16, 2015, 12:41:21 PMSo I was wondering why Livingston-Simon didn't get into the game during mop up. He appeared to have a face mask on top of his head so maybe he got hit during practice and just din't want to risk a further injury.
Yeah, I saw the mask too. Have we _ever_ seen him on the floor? I was beginning to think it was a "minutes are precious, we're going to save them for the top 12" sort of situation.
Sort of like Lexus being sidelined out of the top 10. But maybe injuries are a factor.
I don't know what the official attendance was, but I'll categorize it as typically underwhelming and borderline pathetic. Regardless of the day of the week or time of day, 2 Top50 teams playing In what was billed as the national Mid Major game of the week should draw better than 3500 (or whatever). The ValparAiso community doesn't deserve a top notch local bb program. Come to think of it, it doesn't deserve a top notch university in its midst either.
Quote from: wh on November 16, 2015, 05:09:42 PMI don't know what the official attendance was
It's listed as 2769. After a good crowd for IPFW, I have trouble explaining it. I guess at lunchtime on Sunday, people just aren't thinking basketball? The _quality_ of the crowd in the upper deck Sunday was high - informed, interested viewers, say. But the numbers weren't there.
Quote from: wh on November 16, 2015, 05:09:42 PM
I don't know what the official attendance was, but I'll categorize it as typically underwhelming and borderline pathetic. Regardless of the day of the week or time of day, 2 Top50 teams playing In what was billed as the national Mid Major game of the week should draw better than 3500 (or whatever). The ValparAiso community doesn't deserve a top notch local bb program. Come to think of it, it doesn't deserve a top notch university in its midst either.
From afar I think that the problem was the time: 1:30? As mentioned by some, too close to post church. meeting / family lunch time. For non-church goers, it was right in the middle of the weekend yard work day -- got to rake those leaves. IMO a 3:30 (or even a 2:30) start would have drawn better.
This game would also have been a great opportunity for a pre-game tailgate. Oh, wait...... we don't do that at Valpo. Again, an opportunity to create enthusiasm and develop local/fan/alumni excitement stiffled by policies that undermine the very thing that the university is striving for.
Quote from: oklahomamick on November 16, 2015, 09:19:41 AMI understand that was Iona's first game and they will improve and have a good chance to play in the ncaa tournament at the end of the year. In my opinion, they looked like a bad version of Detroit. They threw up shots and lacked discipline on both sides of the ball, yet athletic. They were Detroit but less athletic and even less disciplined.
I don't think that your opinion is completely wrong but didn't Detroit beat us late last February?
So Valpo has a population of 32,000 plus (as of 2013-it was the first number I saw) and you expect more then 10% of them to show up for a game against Iona? I mean considering the large group of Iona grads in our town I guess that's realistic.
Same might be said for the percentage of students attending the first two games. We probably have a larger percentage of our student body present than would most B10s. And kudos to the students for their support in the first two games; they lead the fan support -- and when student support is weak the crowd is less involved as well.
Quote from: justducky on November 16, 2015, 05:59:12 PMI understand that was Iona's first game and they will improve and have a good chance to play in the ncaa tournament at the end of the year. In my opinion, they looked like a bad version of Detroit. They threw up shots and lacked discipline on both sides of the ball, yet athletic. They were Detroit but less athletic and even less disciplined. I don't think that your opinion is completely wrong but didn't Detroit beat us late last February?
Indeed they did. Iona could beat Valpo as well and things may have been different if the game was played at Iona. (Our lost to Detroit late in the season was at Detroit). My point was the style was similar to Detroit.
Gaels just tried to do too much by themselves instead of sharing the ball. Quote from SB nation. Isn't that similar to Detroit? [/size]You could see it from the start as the best player on Iona, [/size]A.J. English (http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/players/175745/a-j-english)[/size] tried to kickstart the offense on his own early. Another Quote from SB nation and yet similar to the J. Howard and JR days.
Iona lost by 20 points to Oregon St last night.