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This week the university has begun its demolition of Strongbow's restaurant. I have fond memories of that place.

A small but important step toward securing the university's future.

The losses don't bother me in the slightest. Let's remember that Roger inherited a completely broken program with 1 part time starter from a year ago who couldn't score. To make matters worse, the search committee slow walked the process to where the apple tree had been picked nearly bare by the time Roger accepted. I love watching our guys with their great energy and never say die attitude.

[What the heck does that even mean in the context of cuts?]

I get why they're doing it, but this Orwellian language is bonkers. Program and job cuts will help us "build," leading to us being "stronger" and "more agile." What the heck does that even mean in the context of cuts?

Program and job cuts (cost reduction initiatives) will help us "build (survive)," leading to us being "stronger" (less paralyzed) and "more agile (less encumbered)."

Typical corporate phraseology spun up in the public relations department.

[LOOKING AHEAD | 2024Valpo's downtown will continue to evolve in 2024]

LOOKING AHEAD | 2024
Valpo's downtown will continue to evolve in 2024


https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/valpos-downtown-will-continue-to-evolve-in-2024/article_fd313852-a335-11ee-b336-03b04058cf38.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Apparently GCU has once again (shocking I know) misrepresented the cost of their programs and degree.  I know we've had some previous discussions regarding the academic quality of GCU degrees and wasn't sure where to post this.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/politics/biden-grand-canyon-university-tuition/index.html

I have read through the extensive GCU statement on this issue. As someone who has attained a PhD as a student and taught graduate courses as a faculty member, I have to say my initial reaction would be to side with the university. The GCU statement seems clear and comprehensive in its refutation of the Department of Education's accusations.
https://news.gcu.edu/press-releases/government-agencies-unjustly-targeting-gcu/

I have been closely following this, as well. IMO this is a politically motivated witch hunt that will ultimately be settled by the SCOTUS in favor of the university.

[Elon University falls 49 spots in U.S. News 'national universities' ranking]

Elon University falls 49 spots in U.S. News 'national universities' ranking
Elon drops in 7 other categories in 2024 college report

According to the article they fell from 84 to 133. Undoubtedly, Valpo (#201) would like to have Elon's problem.

https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2023/09/elon-university-falls-49-spots-us-news-national-universities-ranking

Also, somebody help me out here.   After this season the average age of the college athlete should drop, right?    Or is next year the last year for COVID extra eligibility?   It is a tough time to be a freshman right now.   This team would be doing better 5 years ago when they were not encountering as many 5th or 6th year seniors.   Just a thought.   

Next season is the last. We have two that are eligible, Connor and Palm.

The NCAA's decision to award an extra year to players before even knowing how COVID was going to impact the 2020-21 season was ridiculous. Connor and Palm have been on scholarship for 4 seasons and have had an opportunity to play for 4 seasons. Valpo doesn't OWE them a 5th year. If they want to continue playing, put your name in the transfer portal. Truthfully, I highly doubt anyone in the country will bite, which means it's time to get on with your life, like everyone else in the world. Roger didn't recruit these guys; he inherited them. Look how Rick Pitino cleaned house at St. John, or Prime at Colorado. If they weren't worried about blowback, why should Valpo? Speaking of which, our image couldn't possibly get worse than it is now. Roger has been handcuffed enough by the complete mess he inherited without making it worse than it already is.

This team is young and completely inexperienced.  I really enjoy watching this team and I'm not giving up on them.  They are getting beat up and going thru growing pains.   They have to be one of the youngest teams in D1.

You can see the talent is there and they are being thrown into the fire as freshman and sophomores. 

I truly enjoy watching this team, more than any valpo teams in the last 5 years.   

Agreed. This season is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for next year. In the meantime it's fun to watch this young group buying into the process and working their tales off.

Kouts HS band is here. Haven't heard a band that good since the last time a HS band was here.

[Senate panel evaluates Valpo grads nominated to federal judicial vacancies]

Senate panel evaluates Valpo grads nominated to federal judicial vacancies
Dan Carden  5 hrs ago

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/nation-world/crime-courts/senate-judiciary-committee-nominees-valparaiso/article_596f3ca8-99f0-11ee-9050-73297e65a11d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Aside from our youth and inexperience, we're missing an athletic big that can rebound, protect the rim, and score down low. If we find that guy, we could become a major threat in the MVC next year. That would be a major success story in a very short time.

Excellent comeback. Turned a potential blowout loss into a positive learning experience. Nice to see Roger shakeup the lineup and the new guys deliver.

W. Michigan looked gassed down the stretch.

A shocking new low in advanced education:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AgkvFtoT4K4&si=l1YqqmcCbvLiwkrs

I see 2 issues here. The absurd assertion that censorship of students calling for the extermination of Jews is conditional. The second is where is the outrage over such behavior? Why aren't universities issuing public announcements condemning such actions against Jews? Those who don't condemn them are complicit with them.

Great pregame read, Talksalot!

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

I didn't start the thread, but let me take this opportunity to thank you again for all the pre-game insights into another opponent.

[Drake is a big 12.5-point favorite against Valparaiso,]

Odds
Drake is a big 12.5-point favorite against Valparaiso, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bulldogs as a 11.5-point favorite.

Brodie has really improved his game. I wish Valpo could a dude like that

Who knows, maybe we do have a dude like that. Time will tell. The experience and quality coaching they are receiving is something few beginning D-1 players ever experience.

I don't know if the audio system has been fixed or if someone accidentally kicked a speaker or jiggled a wire, but the sound was noticeably better yesterday. Great clarity on player intro's and loud, crisp, clear music. I'm holding my breath.

[2) Paintings get sold for a high price, and that the dorm can be built to get on-line by July 2025. But with some detective work, smart buyer agents will have the leverage because the school needs to sell on that timeline.]

Well let's enjoy the holiday season and the start of basketball!  I will see everybody in January.

Hopefully the New Year will ring in (or have rung in) good news on two topics:

1)  Tuition income (rather than just the  of students) came in better than hoped in fall 2023.  The # of students only half the story.

2)  Paintings get sold for a high price, and that the dorm can be built to get on-line by July 2025.  But with some detective work, smart buyer agents will have the leverage because the school needs to sell on that timeline.   

Lawyer in VU artwork lawsuit now looking to pressure AG's office to block sale

VU declined to comment, but a spokesperson for the university said no final decision has been made on the sale of the artwork.

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/education/lawyer-in-vu-artwork-lawsuit-pressuring-ag-to-block-sale/article_b09bb098-8978-11ee-b00c-8b274114822b.html

Are you kidding here? To President Padilla. In all due respect, stop dragging your feet. Let's get those paintings sold and get on with construction.

[as just 1.5-point underdogs.]

"The Southern Jaguars (1-4) will attempt to end a three-game losing streak when they hit the road to play the Valparaiso Beacons (3-2) on Saturday, November 25, 2023 at Athletics-Recreation Center as just 1.5-point underdogs."

With student enrollment down 35% in the past decade, it's probably unrealistic to think that the student section will ever be filled to overflowing, like it was was in our glory years.

"Enrollment Trends at VU
The student population at Valparaiso University is 2,958 (2,349 undergraduate and 609 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 1,584 over the past decade."

Despite the small crowd, the atmosphere was really good. A lot of exciting plays, fast pace on both ends. The crowd was really into it, especially down the stretch. Unfortunately, I didn't get that same vibe when I decided to watch the closing moments on TV later last night. Todd's and voices were loud almost to a fault relative to the crowd noise, which was muffled and bland and badly understated the excitement of the moment.

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.

This preview is outstanding.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=chgtRySsRV0&si=gbc17owIWhZQUZKu

Highly complimentary of Roger starting at about the 9:10 mark.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=GtVaLshFIPOGW-E3&v=eE5oQyAKsJc&feature=youtu.be

• "The 11th least experienced team in the country against the 11th most experienced team in the country."
• Top 25 P-6 opponent at their venue.

The 2nd half result is what I expected from the opening tip. Instead, our guys played a brilliant 1st half of basketball. A proud moment for a gritty group of newcomers in their infancy. I love everything about these young guys.