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Late game thread. 

Just a typical Normal game.

Need grit from 5 guys for 40 minutes.

Connie Felton Bretscher is out of eligibility.

Traveling through Ohio.. I'll try to do a better preview for the Rags reunion game on Wednesday

Here we go... another winnable game.

It's late on a Monday... and Brandon already wrote my lead...so with proper credit to his expertise...

Southern Illinois prevailed 66-62 in the only clash between these two teams last season (Feb. 14 at the ARC) to take a 15-14 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1928. The Salukis also took a slight 6-5 edge in the 11 games that have occurred since Valpo joined The Valley. SIU has won four straight head-to-head meetings in a series that has seen four of the last five decided by four points or fewer. These two teams will face off in two of the next five games as Valpo will make the return trip to Carbondale on Jan. 24.

Scouting the Salukis

Own a five-game winning streak including MVC wins over UIC (62-50), Belmont (73-63) and most recently Illinois State on Saturday in Normal (71-64).
Did incur a 77-48 setback to Indiana State for their lone league loss on Nov. 28.
Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year candidate Xavier Johnson is the league's leading scorer at 24.3 points per game.
Picked ninth of 12 in the MVC preseason poll despite going 23-10 and 14-6 in MVC play a year ago.
=========
They are 9-1 at home, only 1-2 on the road.

They have these wins
Kentucky State 88-57
Queens College 91-68
Chicago State 71-55
New Mexico State 81-54 (Cancun)
Saint Louis 101-62
Oklahoma State 70-68
North Dakota State 79-63
Southern Indiana 81-50
UIC 62-50
Belmont 73-63
Illinois State 71-64

Losses:
James Madison 82-76 (Cancun)
@Indiana State 77-48
Austin Peay 70-68
Wichita State 69-68


Diving into their last box score with Illinois State
Their GoToEverything guy.  #10 Xavier Johnson.  played 39 minutes, scored 26 points 5-11 from 2-point range, 4-7 from 3-point range and 4-4 from the line, 5 rebounds, 9 assists

The other guy you need to guard is #24 Trent Brown, he played 38 minutes, scored 20 on 6-7 from 3-point range

There other starters garnered 2, 2, 2 respectively.  Jarrett Hensley scored 9 points on 18 minutes.

They wound up 53.2% for the game, and 53.4% from 3point going 11-22.  They also shot 10-11 from the line.

They only had 24 points in the paint, 5 second chance points, 2 fast break points, 9 points off turnovers.   They allowed Illinois State 42 points in the paint.

Starters in their last game:

00 Troy D'Amico, 6-7 Jr -Started every Game
04 Clarence Rupert 6-8 Jr - Started every Game
10 Xavier Johnson 6-1 Grad St - Started every Game
24 Trent Brown 6-2 Grad St - Started every Game
30 Kennard Davis 6-6 Fr - Started last 10 games

and 32 Jarrett Hensley 6-8 Sr

Johnson is the only person on the roster averaging in double figures at 24.3 ppg, to go with 92 assists, 53 turnovers and 25 steals.

We know what we have to do.  Can we?

Come to the game and help us celebrate Connie Felton Bretscher's 103rd birthday.

Flames Conference Record   0-3
Beacons Conference Record 0-3

Somethings gotta give.

UIC Valley Losses: 
at Murray State 85-73
at Southern Ill 62-50
home vs Illinois State 69-64

FLAMES NET ranking is 151, overall 6-7 record

Full schedule:
Cincinnati lost by 11
wins over:  Little Rock, Loyola, non-D1,

Bahama's Tournament:
Beat Middle Tennessee 70-40 
Beat George Washington 89-79
Lost to NC Greensboro (NET 155) 58-57

Lost to Green Bay (70-68) at home
Beat Western Michigan 89-68
Lost to Incarnate Word (NET 300) 67-66 at home

Best Win:  Loyola NET 146

Looking at Personnel, in the Murray State game on Tuesday night,
#5 Toby Okani 20 points in 33 minutes on 13 shots, also had 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals

#1 Isaiah Rivera, 13 points in 33 minutes on 14 shots, (3 of 8 from deep)

Off the bench, #50 Filip Skobalj, 14 points in 22 minutes 4 of 5 from deep.

As a team, they shot 5 of 10 from 2-point range and 9-18 from 3 point range and 9 of 12 from the line.

28 P in the P, only 3 fast break points, only 8 points off turnovers.

For the Year, Comparison
              UIC      VALP
FG%      45.6%     39.8% 
3pt         37.5%    30.4%
FT %      65.4%     70.4%
REB/gm  35.9        34.7       
Shots/gm  57.6      61.0
Turnovers   176      167
assists        212      171

Home Att    1660    1377


Starting Lineup from Murray State
1  Isaiah Rivera   6-5 210 Sr Trf from Colorado State
3  CJ Jones  6-5 195 So
4  Ethan Pickett 6-4 205 Jr
5  Toby Okani 6-8 210 Trf from Duquesne
33 Jaden Brownell  6-9 230 So

Off the bench
2  Steven Clay 6-4 185 Soph from Milwaukee
50 Filip Skobalj  6-7 235 Jr Don Bosco Grad from Belgrade Serbia
54 Cameron Fens 6-10 255 So

Rivera, Okani and Pickett have started all 14 of the games.

SO... another "winnable" game.  but then again, they are all winnable.

One of these two teams will win their first Valley game of the year.  They are 1-2 on the road, and have not won on the road since opening night at Birmingham.

They started off with a 6 game winning streak, including wins over UAB (OT), Utah State (OT), Tulane, UTEP and Vermont...then December came...

Braves lost at Murray State 79-72 and at home to Indiana State 85-77 in the early-December games.   They followed up those losses, with losses at Akron by 15, at home to Cleveland State by 7 and at LeBron James' High School Arena to Duquesne by 2.   Then righted the ship with an 11 point win at home over SIUE and on Thursday, they beat Truman State by 22. so they are 8-5 overall.

Diving into their last game,

#14, Malevy Leons, 6'9" Graduate Student from the Netherlands, 32 minutes, 15 point and 8 rebounds, 1 of 5 from 3 point range
#21, Duke Deen, 5'8" Senior, 34 minutes, 13 points 4 rebounds, 3 of 11 from 3 point range
#35, Darius Hannah, 6'9" Senior,  25 minutes, 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals, no 3 point shots
#5,  Christian Davis, 6'7" Junior,  32 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 of 6 from 3 point range
#10 Connor Hickman, 6'2" Junior, 16 minutes, 2 points, no rebounds, 0 for 2 from 3 point range

Davis is the only starter not averaging double-digit points... he's at 9.2ppg.
As a team, they were 8 of 30 from three point range and 9 of 18 from the free throw line.

Off the bench, #1 Almar Atlason, 6'8" freshman from Iceland,  was 3 of 5 from three point range, played 21 minutes

They collected 17 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points, and their bench scored 19 points.

Need to focus on Malevy... Was named to the 2022-23 MVC All-Defensive Team and was also named 2022-23 MVC Defensive Player of the year after becoming the first player in the history of the MVC to record 50+ block, 50+ steals in the same season • Leons was also the only player in the NCAA to have 50+ block, 50+ steals, and 200+ rebounds in 2022-23.

Can't find a line yet...

Btw, 1pm CT tip off.

Another on of those teams.  Undefeated at home.  Winless on the road.

Starting line up goes 6-1, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 6-10.

Only got 18 points in the paint vs south Carolina.   2 of 14 from 3pt range.

Need to guess which non-starter will go off for 25 points...

These guys beat IUPUI 86-72. 

not up to my usual preview... let's hope for the best, and no injuries going into the valley.

Updating through game #12 - Samford...

Edwards - 15.5 points and rebounds   106+72   14.83   UNDER
Palm - 5.7 rebounds per game   46   4.18   UNDER
Barrett - 0.9 3ptrs per game played   1/3   .33   UNDER
Weatherspoon - 41.6% from the floor   27/77   .377   UNDER
Ajiboye - 1.5 Blocks and Steals/game   10+9   1.58   OVER
DeAveiro -120.5 assists (3.88/GM)   67   5.58   OVER
Williamson - 1.5 assist per turnover   12/6   2.00   OVER
Schweiger - 11.25 points per game   130   10.8   UNDER
Stafford - 16.5 points per game   194   16.2   UNDER
Team Field Goals Attempted 60.5/gm   744   62.00   OVER

There are 10 categories...

Historyman with 8  Missed on DeAveiro and Williamson
ValpoPal with 7 Missed the same two, plus the shots per game
Vu84v2 and Humble Opinion with 6

Merry Christmas to one and all

We are 2-2 against the bulldogs historically, last time in the ARC was 21 years ago (December 14, 2002), VU taking it in Double OT 87-79;  In that game, Raitis Grafs scored 28.   Valpo scored 20 points in the second overtime.  Stalin Ortiz had 10, Ali Berdiel and Seth Colclasure each had 6 in the Overtimes.  Stalin hit a layup with 0.1 on the clock at the end of the first OT to tie it.  Valpo wound up 29-37 from the line.  Shooting 71% from the field in the overtimes.  Enough about living in the past...

This is not the same Samford Team. 
They have not won a true-road game this year! 
Bulldogs come in on a 9 game winning streak, after opening with two losses (@Purdue and @VCU).

Their 9-game win streak all at home include wins over Mississippi College 96-52, South Carolina State 89-72, Alabama State 99-67, Merrimack 79-71, North Carolina A&T 101-83, Louisiana 88-65, LaGrange College 128-82, Alabama A&M 118-91.and Belmont 99-93


While Valpo was playing CSU, Samford was hosting Belmont.  Here's their recap of that win:


The Samford men's basketball team earned its ninth-straight win in a thrilling 99-93 win over Belmont Saturday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center. 

The nine-game win streak marks the longest for Samford since the 1998-99 team won 13-straight contests. Samford improved to 9-2 with the win. Belmont fell to 8-4 with the setback.

Samford had six players score in double figures in the win. A.J. Staton-McCray led the way with 19 points. Riley Allenspach had a career-high 15 points, followed by Achor Achor with 14 points, Rylan Jones with 13 points, Garrett Hicks with 12 points and Nathan Johnson with 11 points. Jermaine Marshall led the team with 12 rebounds.

"This was a good win by our guys," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "We've got a lot of good players, so anyone is capable of going in double figures any night. I'm proud of our guys, we played our way, got up and down, won our way and that's always fun to do."

For Belmont, Cade Tyson led all players with 31 points, to go along with nine rebounds. Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 18 points for Belmont, while Keishawn Davidson had 13 points and Malik Dia added 11 points.

Belmont jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with 16:31 left in the first half after two free throws by Tyson. Samford answered with an 11-0 run to take a 15-9 lead with 13:18 to go in the half following a jumper by Hicks. Samford extended its lead to 10 points at 24-14 with 9:06 left in the first half following a dunk by Achor.

The Bulldogs led by 12 points at 32-20 with 6:49 left in the half after a three-pointer by Johnson. Belmont scored the next four points to close to within eight points at 32-24 with 5:16 to play in the half after a layup by Brigham Roberts. Samford led by as many as 12 points down the stretch in the first half and the Bulldogs took a 44-36 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Samford opened up a 15-point lead at 51-36 with 18:09 left in the game after a layup by Allenspach. Belmont scored the next five points to close to within 10 points at 51-41 with 17:02 to play. Samford then went on a 12-4 run to push its lead to 63-45 with 14:32 to play following a three-pointer by Johnson. Belmont then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead back to 10 points at 63-53 with 13:17 left after a three-pointer by Tyson.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 15 points at 81-66 with 6:44 to go after a turnaround jumper by Hicks. Belmont fought back to cut the lead to eight points at 84-76 with 4:34 left after two free throws by Tyson. Samford pushed the lead back out to 12 points at 93-81 with 2:13 left following a layup by Staton-McCray. Belmont then went on a 12-4 run to cut the lead to four points at 97-93 with 11 seconds left after a three-pointer by Davidson. Two late Samford free throws by Hicks made the final score 99-93.


They are AVERAGING  91.5 Points per game
They have an average Margin of Victory of 14.3 and that includes a 98-45 beatdown by the Boilers... so they are winning big.

Shooting 48.8% from the field, 40% from 3 and 76% from the line.
Rebounding at 38.7/gm, assists 20.9/gm, and averaging 21.5 Points of Turnovers/gm
They have 11 players averaging over 11 minutes per game.

Weird Roster Cumulative Statistics... They have 18 different players with at least 3 games played for the year.  10 played against Belmont on Saturday.

#14 Achor Achor, 6'9" 227 lb, Jr From Melbourne, Australia,  averaging 14.4/gm is their leading scorer
#5 A.J Staton-McCray, 6'5" Junior from Delray Beach, FL, scored 19, shooting 88% from the line, 45% from the field
#35 Riley Allenspach, 6'11" 247 lb, Freshman from Charlotte, NC scored 15 off the bench
#21 Rylan Jones, 6'1" Graduate transfer from Utah State, scored 13.  Leads the team in minutes/game at 22.3 with an Assist/TO ratio of 51/17 that's easy to understand!

Another Starter,#12  Dallas Graziani, 5'8" Sophomore from Pembroke Pines, FL. with an Assist/TO ratio of 35/16

Another Starter #4 Germaine Marshall 6'6 225lb Senior, grabbed 12 rebounds against Belmont

And off the bench, they have Baylor transfer, 7'0" 240lb Sr #32 Zach Loveday... he did not play against Belmont

These guys are a scoring machine.  Hoping our defense can stifle whomever they have to guard.

[19-22]

Here's the CSU box score from the win...


Chicago St. 75
##   Player                      GS   MIN   FG   3PT   FT   ORB-DRB   REB   PF   A   TO   BLK   STL   PTS
01   Cardet, Jr., Wesley        *   37   13-21   3-9   1-2   0-4   4   0   4   6   0   2   30
24   Corbett, Jahsean        *   39   4-15   2-6   7-8   2-4   6   1   3   1   0   2   17
15   Crawford, Noble                *   34   2-3   1-2   4-4   2-6   8   3   1   2   1   2   9
12   Davis, Brent                *   33   2-5   1-3   4-4   3-3   6   4   1   1   0   3   9
22   Jernigan, Cameron        *   16   2-2   0-0   0-0   0-3   3   5   0   2   2   2   4
10   Neal, A.J.                      20   1-2   1-2   3-4   0-0   0   2   0   0   0   0   6
05   Green, Kedrick              21   0-2   0-1   0-0   0-0   0   3   4   2   0   2   0
TM   TEAM                      0   0-0   0-0   0-0   1-1   2   0   0   0   0   0   0
Totals   -   200   24-50   8-23   19-22   8-21   29   18   13   14   3   13   75

17 points off turnovers
32 points in the paint

CSU is playing inspired basketball... they went on a 10-0 run to make a game of it...led by as many as 5 before the cats started hitting some shots. 

CSU is turning defense into offense... very "Handsy"...and they can jump!  very athletic.   Reminds me of the Central Michigan team... uh oh.

Tonight (Wednesday) on the BigTenNetwork is the Northwestern-Chicago State game if you want to see them in action... Cats are favored by 24.5

Most of their team is back... Here's their box score from the CSU Win last year... notice the free throw shooting 27 of 28
Leads: 0
Chicago St.
NO   STARTERS   POS   MIN   FGM-A   3PM-A   FTM-A   OREB   DREB   RB   AST   STL   BLK   TO   PF   PTS
00   Weaver,Elijah   G   34   4-10   2-3   6-6   0   2   2   1   0   1   2   4   16
01   Cardet,Wesley   G   34   5-8   2-2   12-12   1   3   4   1   0   2   5   2   24
12   Davis,Brent   G   24   3-4   3-4   2-2   0   1   1   2   1   0   0   2   11
23   Cole,Teshaundre   F   20   1-3   0-0   0-0   0   3   3   0   2   1   0   3   2
24   Corbett,Jahsean   G   37   2-8   0-3   4-5   1   7   8   0   0   0   4   2   8
NO   BENCH   POS   MIN   FGM-A   3PM-A   FTM-A   OREB   DREB   RB   AST   STL   BLK   TO   PF   PTS
02   Jean-Charles,Deshawn   G   24   5-7   1-2   3-3   1   0   1   1   0   0   0   2   14
03   Johnson,Bryce   G   22   4-5   2-2   0-0   1   5   6   1   1   1   0   1   10
04   Meran,Faheim   G   1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0
05   Green,Kedrick   G   4   1-1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   2
TM   TEAM         -   -   -   1   2   3            2   0   
TOTALS   25-46   54.3%   10-16 62.5%   27-28 96.4%   5   23   28   6   4   5   13   16   87

so... coming off finals week.  Will there be a new starting line-up?   Let's take a numbers look at the opponent.  The Cougars are the only D1 Independent - No Conference Affiliation.

Hoping for not a repeat of the historically bad loss to EwwyPewwy earlier... the Cougars are an up and DOWN team.

3-9 on the season, 1-5 on the road, 1-3 at home and 1-1 Neutral court, with one game to play before heading to the Vale of Paradise... they get to travel to Welsh-Ryan-Northwestern on Wednesday night.

So far:
Lost at Bowling Green 70-41
Lost to Mercer 66-61 at home
Beat Southern Indiana 78-67 in Evansville
Lost to Cal-State Northridge 74-64 at home
Lost at SIU-Carbondale 71-55 in the Cancun-Challenge
Lost to Northern Colorado 78-77 in Overtime in Cancun
Beat Morgan State 84-83 in Cancun
Lost to UT-Martin 94-71 at home
Lost to Loyola 62-53 at the Gentile
Lost to Delaware State 76-69 at home
BEAT Stetson 77-54 at home  (a home-home, going to Florida 1/15)
Lost to University of St Thomas Tommies at home 66-50

They have 2 more home D1 games this season.  UT-RioGrande on 12/18 and Bethune Cookman on 12/20.   They have three home non-D1 games in 2024 (East-West, St Xavier and finish their season on 2/19 against IUN.  More Scheduling Fun... Tuesday 1/2 they play at Kansas State and Wednesday 1/3 they play at Oklahoma State.

Anyway... Who are these guys?

Here's the recap of their big win over Stetson...
he Chicago State men's basketball team beat Stetson 77-54 Sunday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. The Cougars took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime and used an early second-half 14-0 run and maintained the lead through late pressure to increase the margin to 20 for the eventual 23-point victory.

Four Cougars players were in double figures led by Jahsean Corbett with 23 points. Wesley Cardet added 16, Noble Crawford 13 and Brent Davis 12 while both Crawford and Corbett each pulled down nine rebounds.

The Cougars will be back in action a week from today, Sunday, December 10, at home against St. Thomas with tip set for 2 p.m. at the JCC.

1st Half - Chicago State 31, Stetson 25
-Noble Crawford opened the scoring in the game with a dunk on the Cougars possession and Stetson answered with a layup before Greg Spate, making his first collegiate start, hit a three to put CSU up early, 5-2
-The Hatters responded with a dunk and a three to take their first lead, 7-5, at the 16:45 mark
-Brent Davis hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 7-7 when Stetson went on a modest 4-0 run to lead 11-7 at the 14:32 mark
-Deshawn Jean-Charles then ignited a 9-2 Cougars run with a three with additional buckets by Jahsean Corbett (2) and  Davis to turn the four-point deficit into a three-point lead, 16-13, with 11:03 remaining until the end of the half
-Stetson stopped the run with a three to knot the game at 16-16 when CSU went on another run, this time 7-0, with two hoops by Corbett and a Davis three and the Cougars led 23-16 at the 8:24 mark
-Both teams failed to score for the next two minutes when Stetson stopped the drought with a jumper and free throw to cut the margin to four, 23-19
-The Cougars responded with a 6-2 run with four points from Corbett and a driving layup by Jean-Charles to CSU led by eight, 29-21, with 2:54 until half
-The teams exchanged hoops with Wesley Cardet providing the Cougars score and the Hatters closed the scoring for the half with a pair of free throws and Chicago State led 31-25 at the half

2nd Half - Chicago State 46, Stetson 29
-The Hatters came out of the halftime locker room hitting back-to-back buckets to cut CSU's lead to two, 31-29, just a minute into the half
-Chicago State responded with an 14-0 run with Cardet, Crawford, Jean-Charles and Corbet contributing to the scoring and Chicago State led by 16, 45-29, with 13:36 remaining in regulation
-Stetson stopped the run and ended a scoring drought of nearly six minutes with a dunk before Corbett made a pair of free throws and CSU's lead was 16 at the 12:55 mark
-Chicago State scored on their next possession, a driving layup for Cardet and CSU's was 18. The teams exchanged scores when Stetson hit a three and, following a Cougars score, a Hatters hoop and pair of free throws left the score 55-42 with 7:49 left in regulation
-The Cougars then went on a 7-0 run with scores by Corbett, Crawford and Jean-Charles and CSU led 62-42, at the 5:32 mark
-The Hatters responded with a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 16, 64-48, at the 4:23 mark
-Crawford hit a three and the lead was back to 19 and climbed to 21 following a Davis rebound, 70-51, with 3:02 left to play and cruised to a 23-point win, finishing with 44 points in the paint

=====
#1 Wesley Cardet  6'6", 204lb Jr, Tallahassee-Transfer from Samford two years ago.  17.3 ppg, 5 rb/gm 36 minutes/game, 46% from the field, 33% from 3, leads the team in both Assists and Turnovers (29 and 24)

#24 Jahsean Corbett  6/7" 210lb Jr, Orlando. 13.0 ppg, 6.8 rb/gm, 35 minutes/game is second on the team in assists and turnovers (18 and 23).  41% from the field, 26% from three.

#12 Brent Davis, 6'3" 190lb Jr, Miramar, Fl9.7 ppg, 3,3 rb/gm, shooting 49% from the field, but is only 8 of 42 from 3pt (19%), so he's 31 of 45 from inside the arc, 69%.

#2 Deshawn Jean-Charles, 6'7" 200 Sophomore, Fort Lauderdale.  7.4 ppg, 35% from the field 26% from 3, playing 28 minutes/gm.

Yes, those 4 starters are all from Florida.  Practically their entire team is from Florida.  Exceptions:
Cameron Jernigan a Junior from Gary
Tehshaundre Cole a Sophomore from Toronto
Alex Raiford, Junior from Chicago

and...

Their 5th starter (Kedrick Green) hasn't played in 2 weeks, and they've tried several others in that role.  He's from Georgia.

Their tallest players are twin 6'9" freshman brothers... who have not played all year.

team stat comparison
        CSU      VALPO
PPG   65        67.8
FG%  40.2     39.7
FG/Gm  22     24.6
Shots/gm 55.1    62.0

3pt % 27.6     30.7
3pt /gm  5.6    6.7

FT % 68.6      69.2
FT /gm  15.1   17.2

Reb/gm 31.7    36.1

Asst/gm  9.5     12.1
TO/gm  14.0      11.3
Steals 9.6         7.2
Blocks 2.6        4.4

CSU Average Home Attendance:   156  (not a typo)
Valpo Average Home Attendance:  1,458

Twice this year, they have MADE 27 free throws in a game, against Delaware State they were 27 of 26, and at Morgan State, they were 27 of 39. and they were 20 of 30 against Mercer.

In their last game, they were only 7-12 against St.Thomas.

They have MADE more Free Throws (181 of 264) than we have attempted (119 of 172), in two more games.

NET ranking: 
Chicago State 327 (RPI 352)
Valpo 296  (RPI 286)

I'm going to the game... hope their concessions are good... gonna be cutting it close to tip-time to get.  We'll be in the Valpo Gold Sweatshirts!

[Central Michigan was without two of its starters in Markus Harding and Aidan Rubio.]

Ojiboye's former teammates are 2-5, including 0-1 at home... in fact, back to last year, they have dropped 5 in a row at the McGuirk Arena (Capacity 5,300, • Courtside seats (42)• Premium Seats (724) • Club seats (88) • Reserved seats (1,308))

• With 14 points, the Chippewas were picked to finish 12th out of 12 teams in the MAC preseason coaches poll. 

This year's results

Lost at Oklahoma 89-59
Lost at home to UL-Monroe in the MAC-SunBelt Challenge, 74-64
Lost at Florida State 94-67 in the Sunshine Slam
BEAT South Florida (RPI #333) 68-63 in Tampa
BEAT Siena (RPI #362) 70-56 at Stetson's Tournament
Lost at Stetson 71-61
Lost at Ohio State 88-61

They did play 2 exhibition games, beating Northwood 81-55 and Alma College 97-32.  Both Games were advertised as "Open Door"... "No Admission" ... and they packed in 327 and 411 fans respectively.

From the Ohio State game:
Central Michigan was led by Jemal Davis' (#4  Junior 6'8" 205-pound Forward) career-high 15 points off the bench. Davis set career-highs for scoring (15 points) and 3-point field goals made (two). Paul McMillan IV came off the bench to register his third double figure scoring game with 12 points (5-9 FG) and Brian Taylor added his third straight double figure scoring game with 12 points, along with five rebounds. Anthony Pritchard finished with nine points and four assists before fouling out and Derrick Butler added eight points in this first career start. Central Michigan was without two of its starters in Markus Harding and Aidan Rubio.

CMU was looking for its second consecutive victory over a Big Ten opponent as it defeated Michigan last year in late December.

With Ohio State up one point, 22-21, the Buckeyes put together a 15-0 run. Thornton started the run with seven straight points as he converted two pull-up jumpers and a 3-pointer. Okpara followed with two free throws, Okpara scored on an alley-oop dunk, Dale Bonner hit two free throws and Okpara scored on another dunk before CMU's Pritchard ended the run with a jumper.

===From The  CMU Game Notes===
• Central Michigan is an entirely different team from last year. CMU finished 10-21 overall and 5-13 in the MidAmerican Conference. The Chippewas tied for ninth place in the MAC.
• CMU returns just three lettermen and three starters from last year's team. Those three players include guard/forward Brian Taylor, center Markus Harding, and guard Max Majerle, (yes, the son)
• The Chippewas add 12 new players. Of those 12 players, two are transfers from NCAA Division I schools, four are junior college transfers, and six are freshmen.
• Valpo and CMu meet for the 10th time in men's basketball. Central Michigan holds a 5-4 advantage in the series which began in 1926.  The Chippewas have also claimed four of the five matchups played in Mount Pleasant.  The last time the two teams met was on Dec. 12, 2020, an 84-79 victory at McGuirk Arena.

=== Uh Oh ===
When CMU makes more 3s................................2-0
When made 3s are even......................................0-1
When CMU opponents make more 3s...........0-4

=== Who to Watch on CMU ===
• Graduate student guard/forward Brian Taylor (#0  6'6" 220 Pound) returns for another season. He graduated in May 2023 but decided to return.   Last year, Taylor made an impact as he averaged 14.4 points (third-highest on the squad) and team-highs of 6.1 rebounds per game and 33 steals. He ranked seocnd on the team in blocked shots with 25.  Taylor's strength is his mid-range game, where he cuts to the basket, jump stops and uses his athleticism to elevate over defenders for a shot.

• Last year, Markus Harding, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound Junior transfer from Eastern Florida State  (His Kid Brother, Freshman Hunter is 7'0" also on the roster) College, proved to be a key scoring force in the low post. Even though he missed six games from Nov. 17-Dec. 7, 2022, Harding emerged as a key playmaker down low for the Chippewas.  Already, Harding is back to form, averaging 11.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and  shooting 58.8 percent (20-34) from the floor through five games.

Tulsa transfer Anthony Pritchard (#30 6'2" 185 Junior) has already emerged as a key leader at point guard for Central Michigan after seven games. Pritchard leads the Chippewas in four separate statistical categories: scoring (13.7 ppg.), assists (36), steals (16), and field goals made (39). He also ranks second on the squad in rebounding (5.1).  Pritchard has registered 36 assists and 21 turnovers for an outstanding 1.71 assist:turnover ratio.  Through seven games, Pritchard has led the Chippewas in scoring four times, rebounding three times and assists six times.

• Sophomore Paul McMillan IV (#34  6'2" 175) provides Central Michigan scoring and shooting off the bench.   Through seven games, McMillan, a transfer from NJIT, has registered double figure scoring three times and ranks No. 4 on the squad in scoring at 7.7 points per game.   As a senior at Woodward Career Tech, McMillan IV was named Ohio's Gatorade State Player of the Year after he 2,658 career points, the sixth most points in Ohio high school basketball history.

Team Stat Comparison
           CMU   VU
FG%   42.8     39.6
3pt%   31.2     32.4
FT %   65.5     68.4

Shots/Game   55.4    63.4

Reb/gm  30.9     37.9
Asst/gm  10.1     12.1
Turn/gm  15.1     10.6
Steals/gm  6.9     7.0
Blks/ gm   3.4     4.8


Back to Harding.... missed the last two games.  before, he was shooting nearly 60% from the field and 5-10 from 3pt.  I can't find any details about why he's been out of action.  He missed a bunch of games last year due to injury.

They have 10 players averaging 10 minutes or more per game.... but only 5 players have played in all 7 of their games.  Three of their starters have started every game, Pritchard, Taylor and Cayden Vasko.  Cayden is a 6'6 190-pound Freshman from LOWELL - Bosco Institute and Lowell High School.   Selected Central Michigan over offers from Akron, Army West Point, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Missouri-Kansas City.  He's averaging 25 minutes and 5 points per game.



OK, ONE LAST Tidbit for THOSE people on this board...

Is Central Michigan University enrollment down?

CMU officials said preliminary enrollment numbers showed 14,411 students are attending the Mount Pleasant-based institution's classes this fall.   Central Michigan University student enrollment drops to half ... CMU hit its all-time enrollment peak in 2015, when 25,528 students attended classes there. But there's silver lining in the fall 2023 figures, officials said. While enrollment dropped by 11,117 students the last eight years — a 43.5% decrease — the size of the annual decreases shrank considerably in recent years.  Jennifer DeHaemers, CMU's vice president of student recruitment and retention, said university officials predict the closing gap in enrollment losses indicate enrollment will increase in fall 2024.

"We really believe next year we will turn that corner," she said.

Thanks WH for, dare I say, Volunteering, to start this game thread...

Taking a dive into Belmont's pool...

Recapping what they did to UNI last night...

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - - In one of its most complete performances in recent memory, Belmont University men's basketball earned a 90-70 victory at Northern Iowa Wednesday night from the McLeod Center.

The Bruins earned a third consecutive victory – and improved to 3-0 all-time against the Panthers – behind an impressive blend of defense, unity and shotmaking.

Belmont held Northern Iowa to one field goal the first four-plus minutes of the game as four of the five Bruins started scored during a stirring 14-2 start.

Two more Cade Tyson 3-pointers extended the margin to 22-9 as the Bruins forced contested shots and rebounded with force.

The Bruins were active and purposeful; making effort plays at the rim and on the floor.

Keishawn Davidson and Malik Dia provided quality production off the bench, as five straight Dia points made the score 33-19 with 6:33 left in the first half.

After Nate Heise closed the margin to 33-29, Dia made a baseline jump shot and Tyson added a tough basket.

Belmont led 37-31 at halftime.

Belmont shot 48 percent (14-for-29) in the opening 20 minutes – including 5-for-12 from 3-point distance.

Tyson made another impressive move to open the second half before Brigham Rogers tacked on a layin as the Bruins maintained an eight-point lead.

Tytan Anderson scored inside to get Northern Iowa within 43-39 with 16:53 left, before Belmont responded.

A confident 3-pointer from Isaiah Walker sparked another huge Belmont run.

Featuring dazzling drives from Ja'Kobi Gillespie, determined Tyson finishes and more strong play from Dia and Davidson, the Bruins pushed the lead to 64-44 with 11:47 left on a Davidson straight-on 3-pointer.

Belmont's attentive team defense on Northern Iowa's outstanding guard duo of Bowen Born and Nate Heise forced the Panthers to make offensive adjustments.

The Bruins maintained defensive focus and consistency, as two Jayce Willingham free throws made the score 76-51 with 6:26 left.

All told, Belmont shot 53 percent (30-for-57) from the field – including 11-for-22 from 3-point distance.

Belmont outrebounded Northern Iowa, 38-27, and held the Panthers to four second-chance points.

The Bruins also limited Born and Heise to 5-for-19 shooting.

Tyson led four Bruins in double figures with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Gillespie had 18 points, three assists and three steals.

Dia had 16 points and four rebounds while Davidson had a season-high 14 points and two assists.

Willingham had nine points and five rebounds while Walker had eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers in an impressive floor game.

Trey Campbell led Northern Iowa (2-5, 0-1 MVC) with 13 points.

Belmont (5-3, 1-0 MVC) returns to game action Saturday vs. Valparaiso.

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT from the Curb Event Center. Game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. The live play-by-play of Steve Layman can be heard on Belmont Bruins Radio on iHeartRadio. In-game updates will be available via Twitter @BelmontMBB.


AND... taking a look at the Bruin season...

Beat GA State 89-87 - HOME GAME
Lost to Furman 99-76 - AWAY
(squashed Berry College 93-59) - HOME GAME
Got squashed by Arizona 100-68 - AWAY
Lost to Monmouth 93-84 - Neutral
Beat Penn 84-79 in OT at the Palestra
Beat Lafayette 79-69 - Neutral
Beat UNI 90-70 - AWAY

NUMBER CRUNCH

Shooting 49% from the field (valpo 39)
Shooting 38% from 3pt (valpo 32)
Shooting 68.4% from the line (valpo 68.7)
Rebounding 34.9/game (valpo 38.9)
Turnovers 13.3/game (valpo 10.6)
Steals 8/game (valpo 6.4)
Average Home Attendance:  1,871 (valpo 1458)... including last night, 1,474

PLAYER STATS

10 Tyson Cade (6'7" sophomore)  Averaging 18.6/ppg, 46% from 3, 89.5% from the line, averaging 31 minutes/game, Asst/TO: 14/7

00  Ja'Kobi Gillespie (6"1" sophomore)  averaging 16.5/ppg, 38% from 3, 83% from the line Asst/TO  31/25, and 19 steals

04  Malik Dia, (6'9" 240 pound sophomore, Vanderbilt)  averaging 16.3 ppg, leading rebounder at 5.3/game, 56% from the line, Asst/TO 9/18 ! has 9 blocked shots

05  Jayce Willingham (6'5" 220 pound Graduate Student), averaging 9.5 ppg, 49% from the field, 45% from 3, leading offensive rebounder, 68% from the line Asst/TO 14/5

01  Isaiah Walker, averaging 6 ppg,  along with Ja'Kobi, only other player to start all 8 games


6th man is Keishawn Davidson, the only true Senior on the roster transfer from Tennessee Tech, and they have no juniors!

After Valpo, the rest of their schedule is close to home:

Lipscomb - home
Middle Tennessee State - away
Samford - away
Arkansas State - Home

Line up to 13.5
Ou is 143.5... so like 78-65 is the better line

I hear we have some NBA scouts in the building...wonder why.

Thursday, at Northern Colorado.   Onward!

@ Virginia Tech (5-1) Wins:  Coppin State, Campbell, Wofford, Boise State, Iowa State, Loss:  South Carolina
Before Valpo:  Auburn, Louisville

and, At noon (CT) on Sunday, VT will be on ESPN in the Championship Game of the "ESPN Invitational" against Florida Atlantic.

Valparaiso 4-2 beat Southern 71-59
Missouri State 5-1  beat South Carolina State 92-74
Evansville 6-0 beat Southeast Missouri State 93-74 in Chattanooga, TN
UIC 5-1  beat George Washington 89-79 in the Nassau Championship
Belmont 4-3 beat Penn at the Palestra 84-79
Drake 5-1 beat Texas Southern 77-71

Bradley ... coming in undefeated, including wins over RPI #15, #59, #60, tonight Vermont, RPI 29, and the braves come away 79-70...

a Perfect 7-0 for the Valley !

MVC Non-Conference D1 record is 40-20, and the meaningless RPI ranking is #7,

only Belmont, Illinois State, Murray State and Northern Iowa have losing records against D1 opponents.

Starting this after the Valpo Win over Southern, and while watching Drake trying to hold on at home against winless Texas Southern.  Bulldogs led 43-30 at the half, ... was trailing 69-68... and now has a 72-70 lead with 1:53 to play...  Drake was favored by 16.5, and won it 77-71

Starters:  Points/Rebounds
Brodie  18-6
DeVries  14-7
Wright   9-4
Overton  6-3
Enright  5-3

Ferguson off the bench with 9-3, Garland 8-3

As a team, shooting 59% from the field, only 1 for 11 from 3  TexSo was 10 of 31 from 3 point range.

Other Drake games this year:
Lipscomb:   85-70 win
(D3) W 87-67
Oakland - 85-77 - Cayman islands - win
Stephen F Austin - 92-68 Cayman Islands - LOSS
Akron - 79-59 - Cayman Islands - win

So, the nemesis comes in 6-1; we will be their first true road game.

Including Tonight's Game, here is what the starters have accomplished:

Tucker DeVries - 6'7", 210 pound Junior Forward Averaging 19.8, and just under 7 rebs, 30+ minutes/game

Kevin Overton - 6'5" 180 pound freshman Averaging 14.4, 30+ Minutes / game

Atin Wright - 6"1" 185 pound junior,  Averaging 15.2  30+ minutes / game

Darnell Brodie 6'10" 275-pound Graduate Student- Averaging 12.8 (did not play in their non-D1 game against Southwest Minnesota State)  23 Minutes/game

Conor Enright - 6'0" 180 pound Sophomore Averaging 6.2, shooting 58% from 3, 23 minutes/game


As a team, they are averaging just over 80 points per game and over 30 rebounds per game, and shooting 77% from the line.

going into tonight's game, no player on Drake has committed more than 10 fouls in their first 5 games

We need the crowd to get behind this team on Wednesday.   I haven't seen the full event list... but the game day experience will be worth the weeknight trip to Union Street.

We've played Drake 18 times, and we are 8-10 all time... including that crusher double overtime loss in the ARC last year 85-82.  Bulldogs have won 4 straight since our 74-57 win on February 7, 2021 during the weird covid back-to-back games in the ARC.   The last Valpo win over Drake with a crowd in the ARC was 1/11/2020 66-61.

That was NOT the first time we played Drake on back-to-back nights.  December 22, 1944, we beat them in Hilltop 62-42; and then on December 23, 1944, we beat them 66-41 in a game played in Michigan City!   

This is NOT the first time we played Drake in November.  November 28, 2014, we beat them 66-46 in the opening round of the Challenge in Music City (Nashville, TN)

They are averaging 2,779 at home.

They have NO Indiana Players on their roster
They have ONE Iowa Player on their roster (DeVries)


OK.  Can We Put a Stamp on this team and pull the upset?

so... after 6 games.  I believe most of the followers would be OK with a 4-2 record heading into the Valley two-step...

Here are the statistics for the O/U event through 6...

Edwards - 15.5 points and rebounds   52-40   15.33   UNDER - barely
Palm - 5.7 rebounds per game   39   6.50   OVER - barely
Barrett - 0.9 3ptrs per game played   0-3   0   UNDER - Not wearing the boot today
Weatherspoon - 41.6% from the floor   12-36   .333   UNDER - looks comfortable
Ajiboye - 1.5 Blocks and Steals/game   8+4   2.00   OVER - earning the minutes
DeAveiro -120.5 assists (3.88/GM)   28   4.66   OVER - showing the leadership
Williamson - 1.5 assist per turnover   7 / 5   1.16   UNDER - barely
Schweiger - 11.25 points per game   71   11.8   OVER - All Freshman Team candidate
Stafford - 16.5 points per game   105   17.5   OVER - Newcomer of the Year candidate
Team Field Goals Attempted 60.5/gm   376   62.66   OVER - barely

Standings:
Leaderboard:
ME, AlaskaCrusader19, and CoVuFan with  7
HumbleOpinion, HistoryMan with 6


So we have 4 wins... and these games ahead of the valley

@ Central Michigan  (2-4) Wins:  South Florida, Siena, Losses:  Oklahoma, ULM, Florida State, Stetson
Before Valpo:   @ Ohio State

@ Virginia Tech (5-1) Wins:  Coppin State, Campbell, Wofford, Boise State, Iowa State, Loss:  South Carolina
Before Valpo:  Auburn, Louisville

Chicago State (2-6) - 3pm December 16th    Wins:  Southern Indiana and Morgan State (both are winless).  Losses:  Bowling Green, Mercer, CalState Northridge, Southern Illinois, Northern Colorado
Before Valpo:  Tennessee-Martin, Loyola, Delaware State, Stetson, St.Thomas(MN), Northwestern

Samford (4-2) 1pm Tuesday December 19th     Wins:  South Carolina State, Alabama State, Merrimack, North Carolina A&T; losses:  Purdue (by 53) Virginia Commonwealth.
Before Valpo:  Louisiana, Alabama A&M, Belmont

@Elon (3-3)  Wins:  East Tennessee State, IUPUIIII, Holy Cross, Losses:  Wake Forest, North Dakota, Winthrop
Before Valpo:  Presbyterian, Radford, NC-Greensboro, South Carolina,

Can we go 3-2 in these 5 games?

For the second time this year, we play the Jaguars...this one, from the SWAC.   I'm guessing they do a significant amount of their school funding through their Buy Games...

Their head coach knows the ARC...Kevin Johnson spent eight seasons at Centenary College from 1997-2005, the first two as an assistant under Billy Kennedy and the next six as head coach. At the helm of the program, Johnson compiled a 50-17 record at home, and in 2003-04, guided the Gents to a perfect 13-0 mark in the Gold Dome and a second-place finish in the Mid-Continent Conference. In 2000-01, Ronnie McCallum led the nation in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game, and finished his career second on the school's all-time scoring list with 2,524 points. Another player under Johnson's watch at Centenary – Andrew Wisniewski – finished as the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,758 points and was a Mid-Con First Team selection in 2003-04.
Valpo was 5-1 against the Gents during his tenure, 3-0 at home.

Back to this year, Southern opened at TCU - Lost 108-75 - Led by Brandon Davis with 20, Tai-Reon Joseph with 15

Then went to the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas... AND BEAT UNLV 85-71, Tai-Reon Joseph led with 22 points on 9 of 21 shooting, three other players in double figures.

Then went to Tucson and became one of Arizona's victims, 97-56, Tai-Reon Joseph scored 22 points on 8 of 20 shooting in 23 minutes

Then went to Western Illinois (for this MTE thingy) and lost in Overtime 88-80.  Tai-Ronn Jpsehp with 23 points on 8-20 shooting in 44 minutes.  had 7 players with over 20 minutes of playing time.

Then went to Illinois (for this MTE thingy) and lost 88-60 and tai-Reon Joseph scored 16 points on 7 of 23 shooting in 37 minutes.  They played a full 10-man rotation, and were down 45-27 at the half.

From Valpo, they head to Marquette and then Mississippi State.... before playing a 4 of their next five games against NAIA schools at home in Baton Rouge.

For the season, they are shooting 27% from the field, 32% from 3 and 61% from the line.  They are being Out-Rebounded by 17.6 boards per game.  They are only committing 13 turnovers per game and 13 assists per game.  They are averaging 10.6 steals per game, and 1.6 blocks per game.  They have not played a home game yet.

Starters against Illinois

#3 Joseph   6'3" junior  19/6 ppg
#1 Wilkens  6'8" senior  (twins on the roster:  JaRonn and Jariyon #5) 7.8 ppg
#35 Muon   6'8" freshman  6.6 ppg
#22 Dioumassi  6'4" junior   6.4 ppg
#2 Jacks   5'9" junior   1.8 ppg

#00 Brentay Noel is their big, 6'10", leading rebounder with 3.6 per game.

10 players averaging more than 10 minutes per game

so... Get your Valpo Shopping out of the way, and rest your weary legs in the ARC for this 3pm tip.

Next up in the Illinois MTE is an old foe... Western Illinois Leathernecks.   A Tuesday night with no students on campus.

Western is also 2-2 on the year.  two road losses:   78-68 to UT-San Antonio and 90-53 to SMU in Dallas.   Then they came home, beat NAIA St. Ambrose 94-59 to cure what ailed them... and while we were in Champaign, WIU was playing Southern in the other first round game, and won it 88-80 in Overtime.  Shooting 56% from the field and 35% from three.

Here's the recap
MACOMB – Only a handful of days after getting head coach Chad Boudreau his first win as Western Illinois coach, the Leathernecks were able to get the coach his first win against a Division I foe, putting in a little extra work on Friday night, topping Southern University 88-80 in overtime. The win is the second straight for Western, which now hits the road for three-straight games, playing at Valparaiso on Tuesday, Illinois on Friday and Wisconsin next Monday.

"I got a big life insurance policy, but I need a bigger one," Western Illinois coach Chad Boudreau. "But we did it down the stretch. We stuck with it, I thought the guys, we talked before the game, it's like a boxing match, it's going to be head shots, body shots and I thought we did a good job sticking to it.

"We talk about holding the line, not too high, not too low, but we did a good job holding the line down the stretch."

Things were rolling early for the Leathernecks (2-2), who took a lead as large as nine in the game's first five minutes. But Southern managed to hang around, trailing WIU, 35-32 at the break.

Turnovers plagued Western Illinois in the first half, as 16 miscues allowed the Jaguars to hang around. In the second half, it was free throw shooting that hurt WIU as Southern took a lead as large as seven after intermission, but the Leathernecks were able to fight back into the game.

"Turnovers were killing us, 16 in the first half and we were struggling offensively, but we were still leading," Boudreau said. "Kyle, Chris and Clancy have been all over me because they're doing the defensive stuff, but we have to score some points, so despite that many turnovers and that many missed free throws, to still score 88 points is awesome."

Southern led 64-57 with 4:47 to go, but a 9-0 Leatherneck run gave Western a 66-64 advantage as Quinlan Bennett's (18 points, seven rebounds) bucket helped Western Illinois regain the lead with three minutes to go.

From there, it was back and forth as Southern led by four with under a minute to go. But James Dent Jr. (24 points, eight rebounds, three assists) hit a runner, then made a pair of free throws with one second left to force overtime.

"My teammates stayed on me, the first half wasn't really a good half for me but my teammates knew I would pick it up, they stayed on me all the way," Dent Jr. said. "Q (Quinlan Bennett) had a good game, Q kept us in the game. With Jesiah (West) in foul trouble, other players had to step up, Ryan (Myers) had to step up, he was big, we had everyone come together as a team."

In the extra session, Dent Jr. continued his clutch play, scoring Western's first seven points of overtime. After a JJ Kalakon free throw, Dent Jr. hit a pair from the line, giving the Leathernecks an 82-76 lead.

On Southern's ensuing possession, Drew Cisse (12 points, nine rebounds), recorded his fourth block of the night, setting the stage for the Leathernecks to ice the game at the line.

Ryan Myers (20 points) hit a pair of free throws, followed by for straight from the line by Dent, capping the final scoring.

...
James Dent:  (6'5" guard, junior) 24 points on 6 field goals and 11 free throws - 42 minutes
Ryan Myers:  (6'1" guard, junior) 20 points on 6 field goals - 41 minutes
Quinlan Bennett: (6'4" guard, 5th yr senior)  18 points - 34 minutes
Drew Cisse: (6'11" center, senior) 12 points - 37 minutes

They are averaging 17 turnovers per game (valpo 10)  and 9 blocks per game (valpo 7)... and a home attendance averaging 638 (valpo 1639)

They don't shoot FT's particularly well.  22 of 34 against Southern, 13 of 27 against SMU. (WIU % 57.3%, Valpo 70.5%)
They are averaging 15.5 offensive rebounds per game (valpo 13.8)


We've played them 57 times... winning 34 of them.  We have not played them since the 2006-07 season, that year we beat them 80-56 at home and 78-60 in Macomb.  We haven't lost to them at the ARC since January 22, 2000 (64-50)... after which we won 12 of the next 13 games before losing to Michigan State in the NCAA.

The line is 26.5 and the o/u is 133.