A 18-10 (conf: 8-7) Bradley team comes to town on Saturday. They're 1-3 in their last 4 games and just beat a shorthanded IL St team at home last night. We're now firmly in the bottom 7 seeds but we can still try and build some momentum and confidence going into Arch Madness.
We've been playing better of late and if we can put together a more consistent 40 minute performance, we could pick up the W in our last 3 games.
Predictions
barttorvik: Valparaiso -0.6, 66-65 (52%) http://barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Valparaiso
espn matchup predictor: gives us a 59% chance of winning
Bradley is a strong defensive team. They're long/athletic and disruptive on defense but aren't nearly as efficient on offense.
Let's pick up the W and have a great turnout! It's a Saturday game so Students SHOULD be out there in full force! No excuses! It's also Hall of Fame Night!
I'll give us a 74-60 win.
The students have done a nice job lowering our expectations to 0.
HOF will amp things up somewhat, especially for the players. We have played well at home and we are on a good trend.
I think an 8 point win. Will say 76-68.
We're playing on Thursday no matter what so let's not worry about pressure or expectations. Just play your best ball and let's have some fun shaking up the standings. If we do that there may be a postseason berth in our future. Go Valpo!
https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/964297161134493697
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/964627112220086272
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/964627581155921920
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/964628022384058369
https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/964628022384058369
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964628183420203010
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964628538111545344
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964628777409097728
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964629426272112640
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964629614189531140
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964630038359543810
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/964630552371396608
gotta stay upbeat
Valpo 71
Bradley 63
Let's get the win...and Bakari please keep your mouth shut when you get called for a foul. Sometimes you really do commit a foul. With a technical foul now considered a personal foul also, we need you on the floor.
I didn't see the Bakari T at the end of the Loyola game but someone mentioned he was trying to discuss a call with the ref and didn't give the ball to him right away after trying to discuss something with the ref. It didn't sound too egregious but not wise. I think he's actually been better in recent games with the body language and controlling his emotions on the court. We need him to not get too down on his teammates when there is a blown defensive assignment or a call doesn't go our way. I think I've seen some maturity lately but he needs to continue down that path. I'm excited about Bakari's future.
Probably one of the most accurate article title I've seen in a while.
https://twitter.com/bradleyhoops/status/964637150405799936
Valpo's winter of discontent
By Dave Reynolds
Journal Star sports reporter
Posted at 4:49 PM
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20180216/valpos-winter-of-discontent
Predictions for this game?
I'm predicting a Valpo win. VU 67, BU 64. Tevonn is going to have a big game.
Prediction for Student attendance tonight? I've been burned before but it's a Saturday so I'm say 75% full student section with more students scattered around in different sections. I'm also predicting they'll have no clue what to do or know any of the cheers considering the student section "leaders" admitted to not knowing any cheers. ::)
Bradley game thread: http://www.pjstarforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=103222&sid=c505cbfa8f88ec0593d03c92eb36646b
Marty is in warmups at shoot around. Not sure we'll see him get minutes tonight. Maybe.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/965019728753381376
Quote from: VU2014 on February 17, 2018, 06:30:38 PM
Marty is in warmups at shoot around. Not sure we'll see him get minutes tonight. Maybe.
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/965019728753381376
Games @ 8PM central right?
Yes
A little bit of disappointing turnout tonight for a saturday night game. Weather was pretty bad.
Quote from: VU2014 on February 17, 2018, 07:55:19 PM
A little bit of disappointing turnout tonight for a saturday night game. Weather was pretty bad.
Check that it started to fill up more closer to the game.
Not a great start to the game. Bradley 15, Valpo 5, 13:41 min left in1st half.
Valpo half court is a BAD in the early going...
It's apparent Bradley is more athletic.
Attendance is pretty solid for a bad Valpo team. Smits really needs to learn how to play defense and rebound...
Wondering if we will get to 20 points or 20 fouls+turnovers first.
Who would have thought free throw shooting would be the reason we're in this game lol
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/965060083435671552
Would have been nice if we had played more than the last 5 minutes. Still, only down 5 at half. Given the way we played in the first 15 I'll take it. Decent free throw shooting kept us in the game (Bradford made his!). And Sorolla surprised me in that he showed he can dunk if he has enough time to think about it with no one around him.
Dude airballed a dunk and fell down...they have a guy named Koch Bar...there are 25 loud students in DD and would make great additions to the student section (this isn't a complaint I've enjoyed their enthusiasm)
Now that was truly an enjoyable second half to watch. I've gotten so used to the other team making the clutch shots toward the end of the game to clinch it that it was great to see us doing it. Clutch free throw shooting too. They are playing hard and getting better and it payed off tonight. Good job.
A GREAT WIN!!! If we can put together a full 40 minutes like we play in the 2nd half we could make some noise in Arch Madness!!
Markus Golder had a great 2nd half. Max did too and Jay on the defensive end.
(https://media.giphy.com/media/tLQfm7dmGqxfa/giphy.gif)
As good a second half as we have played all year. An the free throws? 25-28 after going 18-20! Someone put something in the cool aid!! Wonderful performance!!
Mileek scores too many points too quickly in the second half...I don't know.
It was nice to see one inbounds play work tonight in that Smits lay in.
I hate that Lottich appeared to be trying to apologize to Wardle for the Golder dunk.
Not sure if I'm upset that Bakari passed to Sorolla to intentionally not get the turnover on him in the book or if it's amusing.
Great second half by Golder and Bakari. Golder even scored moving to his left once!
Micah hit at least 4 free throws that I can remember. I want to say he hit a few last game too.
Things are looking up for this young team. My optimism is growing. We are still alive for the postseason. We may even get into the 8\9 game. Depending on the matchups we could make a deep run.
Seriously though What a second half! We must have shot something like 80%. Several plays had me jumping out of my seat. Evelyn and Golder were amazing. Max Smits Jay Mileek Bradford Kiser Tevonn all solid. Great rebounding tremendous defense. Wow! What a difference since that Evansville loss at home dropped us to 2-8. It's like a different team showed up! I believe!
Shooting was 73.9% in the second half (17-23); 25-28 from the line for the game. 21-0 run (it was 60-56 Bradley at 6:25... then it was 77-60 with about 30 seconds to go. That Evelyn 3 at the shot clock buzzer was HUGE.
If you're interested... Channel 201 Comcast in Valpo has the replay RIGHT NOW (started at 11pm)...
A great effort in the second haLf...21 straight points to break it open...51 points in the second half! and we made free throws!!!!!!!! I hope our young team gets a big time boost after coming back tonight after they beat us by 9 at their place. And wasn't it great to see the tech on Warddle...just like the old days in the HL! I imagine he loves to come to the ARC :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTr4gDp0ZwY
I wonder if Wardle flashed back to his slip-and-fall broken ankle when he stepped off the bus? Or, might he have relived Ryan's game winning 3 against his "prevent" defense?
From where we sit a few rows up from the visitor's bench, we had a bird's eye view of Wardle's antics. He hasn't changed a bit. Yells and screams at his players in the huddle. Told his very meek assistant to sit down and shut up. Insulted the refs several times throughout the game. Same old Class-A a$$hole.
Late run pushes Valparaiso over Bradley
Paul Oren Times Correspondent
1 hr ago
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/late-run-pushes-valparaiso-over-bradley/article_32d7f3d3-c5b9-5b37-8400-09d3f5cfe75c.html
I thought Sorolla played great defense in the second half. Much more aggressive. Seems to me during the off season he and Smits should live in the weight room. Maybe Sorolla can get his vertical into whole numbers instead of fractions. Smaller players have little problem backing Smits down and scoring over him. At the same time additional strength might help Smits finish when he does go to the basket.
Sorolla needs work on being more assertive on offense. When he gets the ball in the post or on the rare occasion he gets an offensive rebound he seems almost frantic to kick the ball out. Seems to me a 7 footer's first look should be to score if he gets the ball deep then kick if it's not there.
It also seems to me a 7 footer should have a bully attitude around the basket. Getting stronger can only help these two, particularly Smits. But a change in attitude is also necessary. The paint is your house. Take it as an insult if somebody comes into your house. And if you get the ball around the rim slam it! And own every rebound. I don't see that yet but if they do the work in the off season, maybe they can get there.
We have a couple of naturally passive bigs. Smits attitude seems to be that he is a three in a five's body. I would bet that the player he would most like to emulate is Dirk Novitsky. Sorolla on the other hand seems to want to apologyse for being so big, so he kicks and tips rather than taking advantage of his size and establishing himself. In my experience I would always prefer toning down the aggressive guy to trying to get the passive guy to be more assertive. But that's why they pay the coaches the big bucks to solve these problems.
Tevonn had only two field goal attempts in the second half, and the offense looked as good as it has all season. He had only eight field goal attempts on the game, way less than his season average. I hope this becomes a trend.
Our offensive game planning should not start with Tevonn as a primary scoring option anymore. The days of him taking 15 or 16 shots a game should be over. The notion that he can be a primary scorer has to be completely retired after almost an entire season's worth of him attempting to be such and -- sorry to have say it -- failing miserably. I love Tevonn's determination and grit, but his shooting under 40% from the field and well under 30% from three means that he ought to be very judicious with his shot selection.
Bakari and Golder are our primary scorning options now. If we want to have a chance in Arch Madness, run the offense through them. For the most part, I also like the emphasis on trying to get Smits involved in producing offense.
The play inside for the reverse layup by Mileek and his ability to shoot the 3 make me very optimistic for his future and the team. This team can play defense around the perimeter. Now the offense is starting to find points. Rebounding consistently and defense inside the paint will be key.
Something that doesn't get old for me is introducing the Hall of Fame inductees at the game. At the banquet on Saturday afternoon, Todd did a great interview with one Amy Cramer, one of the greatest college soccer goal keepers of all time...
https://www.facebook.com/valpoathletics/videos/1569727433082968/
Valpo needs to bottle this interview and give it away to all of the prospective students.
As others have noted, the second half was about as well played as possible: 74% field goal, 75% 3-point field goal, 92% free throw, 3 steals, 5 blocked shots, and despite virtually no opportunity for an offensive rebound because all the shots were going in the basket, out-rebounded Bradley 17-11. Congrats to the team! I wish we could bottle that performance.
The shot of energy certainly was welcomed, and the crowd noise seemed at last to reach near levels known in the past, especially when Bakari hit his long 3-point shot. Having said that, I have to be realistic and suggest the attendance again was disappointing. The official overall crowd number was just barely above 3,000 (3,021: down more than 300 from the Illinois State game last week), thanks in part to the good following of Bradley fans. Also, the student section was at least two-thirds empty. All credit to those in attendance and displaying enthusiasm! (And I don't want to hear the reason that some students sit elsewhere: that was true in the past as well.)
All season we have heard that the attendance, especially by students, would be there whenever a Saturday night game on television came along. Well, that does not seem true. The students who did not show missed a great game!
Quote from: nkvu on February 18, 2018, 01:20:14 AMI thought Sorolla played great defense in the second half. Much more aggressive.
His half court defensive coverages were executed at a dead run. I have never seen him cover so much ground so quickly. This is what he and Derrik must do for this team to play man to man which is the defense which best suits our overall team quickness and speed.
Now Derrik must match this half court defensive effort or watch the game from the end of the bench. If both of these guys can defend and rebound like forwards our center play in the MVC will become overpowering.
The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to glimmer. :thumbsup:
https://twitter.com/pjstarsports/status/965099077091319808
Second-half meltdown dooms Bradley men yet again
By Dave Reynolds
Journal Star sports reporter
Posted Feb 17, 2018 at 10:18 PM
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20180217/second-half-meltdown-dooms-bradley-men-yet-again
Lottich's reaction to Evelyn's 3 is great!
Are you still wondering about lack of support at our home games? Maybe this will answer some questions regarding lack of attendance....THE NWI Times had nothing LET ALONE GAMES NOTES OR WHATEVER...IT DIDN'T EVEN MENTION WE WERE PLAYING. Then the Sunday edition, granted it was a late starting game, NOTHING! NOTHING! If one picked up a paper in Valpo on Saturday or Sunday you would not even know that Valpo had a men's basketball team, let alone a scheduled home game.
I think that stinks! Purdue Northwest even had a short article telling how they were blown out by 40 at home againsgt Ashland. Are you kidding me? For those of you who read that paper, I wonder how much other news, sports or whatever, you are missing. Come on Paul...what's going on?
I wonder what MLaB thinks about that.
Quote from: valpo64 on February 18, 2018, 06:00:58 PM
Are you still wondering about lack of support at our home games? Maybe this will answer some questions regarding lack of attendance....THE NWI Times had nothing LET ALONE GAMES NOTES OR WHATEVER...IT DIDN'T EVEN MENTION WE WERE PLAYING. Then the Sunday edition, granted it was a late starting game, NOTHING! NOTHING! If one picked up a paper in Valpo on Saturday or Sunday you would not even know that Valpo had a men's basketball team, let alone a scheduled home game.
I think that stinks! Purdue Northwest even had a short article telling how they were blown out by 40 at home againsgt Ashland. Are you kidding me? For those of you who read that paper, I wonder how much other news, sports or whatever, you are missing. Come on Paul...what's going on?
I wonder what MLaB thinks about that.
You're correct. The sports department has been decimated by layoffs/firings/retirements. They don't replace people. There are only four full-timers that I know of to cover all of Lake and Porter counties.
In the mid-late 90s, we had five full-timers for Porter County alone.
They made a decision at some point this year to not even run game-day feature articles. And last night's 10:15 p.m. finish was past the print deadlines (that's a whole different discussion). Oren's story is online, and I would imagine they are running it in Monday's print edition.
In addition to a VU home game, there were many marquee high school events. State wrestling with four Porter County individual champions; two sectional swim meets; Duneland Athletic Conference gymnastics; Girls semistate basketball played at Valpo High School. That doesn't even count the numerous boys high school basketball games, including Valpo High's double-OT win at Concord that didn't get in the paper. Brandon Newman scored 45 points, the second highest individual game point total in school history - that didn't make it in today's print edition either.
Times, and The Times, have changed obviously. If you're under 40, you rely on electronic devices to obtain information. Print editions of newspapers are dying a slow death.
Quote from: VUGrad1314 on February 17, 2018, 11:15:12 PM
Things are looking up for this young team. My optimism is growing. We are still alive for the postseason. We may even get into the 8\9 game. Depending on the matchups we could make a deep run.
We are no doubt playing better lately. Only team I think we just can't beat no matter what on a neutral floor is Loyola. I think they are simply out of pur league. Everyone else we at least have a chance if shots are falling.
Quote from: nkvu on February 18, 2018, 01:20:14 AM
I thought Sorolla played great defense in the second half. Much more aggressive. Seems to me during the off season he and Smits should live in the weight room. Maybe Sorolla can get his vertical into whole numbers instead of fractions. Smaller players have little problem backing Smits down and scoring over him. At the same time additional strength might help Smits finish when he does go to the basket.
Sorolla needs work on being more assertive on offense. When he gets the ball in the post or on the rare occasion he gets an offensive rebound he seems almost frantic to kick the ball out. Seems to me a 7 footer's first look should be to score if he gets the ball deep then kick if it's not there.
It also seems to me a 7 footer should have a bully attitude around the basket. Getting stronger can only help these two, particularly Smits. But a change in attitude is also necessary. The paint is your house. Take it as an insult if somebody comes into your house. And if you get the ball around the rim slam it! And own every rebound. I don't see that yet but if they do the work in the off season, maybe they can get there.
We have a couple of naturally passive bigs. Smits attitude seems to be that he is a three in a five's body. I would bet that the player he would most like to emulate is Dirk Novitsky. Sorolla on the other hand seems to want to apologyse for being so big, so he kicks and tips rather than taking advantage of his size and establishing himself. In my experience I would always prefer toning down the aggressive guy to trying to get the passive guy to be more assertive. But that's why they pay the coaches the big bucks to solve these problems.
Smits has been in this program for 3-years, he ain't getting any stronger (physically). He needs the round things to drop, and I'm not speaking of the basketball.
I think he is what he is at this point on the defensive end. He went from fouling everyone last year and complaining about it, to hands up and backing away from contact this year. I'd rather his defense be suspect than he get into foul trouble most games I suppose.
Zero to 16: Markus Golder's big second half sparks Valparaiso past Bradley
Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune
February 18, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mens-basketball-valparaiso-bradley-st-0219-20180218-story.html