Hopefully the guys are well rested and have located their jumpers for this afternoon's ga
E. See you there!
Duquesne has had a longer weekend than we have had. The game on Friday against UDC was closer than the score indicates, and then they played Akron on Sat.
If we hit the offensive glass and our 3-pt shots, I think we'll have a good shot.
Valpo - 73
Duquesne - 71
Some stat comparisons for today's game from Teamrankings.com:
http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/matchup/dukes-crusaders-2011-11-20 (http://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/matchup/dukes-crusaders-2011-11-20)
I think that the key here will be getting inside points from Van Wijk, finding good interior defense and rebounding, and hitting three pointers. Van Wijk should be well rested, Bogan looked good shooting the three last night (albeit against a weak opponent), and I think the team will come out enthused and playing hard (Bryce is doing a good job there).
Valpo 74 Duquense 72
Vegas has Duquesne favored by 3, but we have beat the spread in every game thus far. I'm hoping we surprise the odds makers again with an upset:
Duquesne 73
Valpo 75
Valpo 79
Duquesne 72
still learning,
Valpo 70
Duquesne 72
Size-wise we match up better with Duquesne than we did with Akron. That said, Duquesne's backcourt is better than Akron's - good shooters with ability to penetrate. On Friday we were sitting in the same section as their team. They left at half time except one asst., who continued to scout and take notes. Just based on that one game and knowing how poorly we have shot the 3 this year, I have to believe their no. 1 goal is to collapse on Kevin and force us to hit outside shots (not rocket science). We got lucky the other night with Marshall getting into foul trouble, but realistically we are not going to win any more games shooting 0-14 from 3. Our best proven outside shooter is Ryan - if he continues to struggle from outside, we are going to be in trouble. If he happens to get hot, I see a 6-8 point win.
Sagarin has the Dukes ranked #33. We are 84th. Accordingly, they are a 4 point favorite straight up.
I like the fact that Bogan hit some 3's yesterday although Ryan's shooting of late is troubling. Matt hit a couple but we don't have that many shooters. I agree with wh. We need to keep them off balance via the 3, if not we will have our hands full.
Just finished my Sunday afternoon nap, ready for game time I'll go with:
Valpo: 69
Duquesne: 66
We win on a buzzer beater three pointer by, oh I don't know, Jay Harris.
Final
Valpo 84
Duquesne 68
Looks like our 3 pointers finally fell this time!
Great win for Valpo over a very good Duquesne team. Gives us some great momentum going into Ohio State. Considering that Edwards is coming back, we might have a good chance to break our losing streak against Top 25 teams.
Missed the whole game doing what I was told to do! So, was it as dominating as it looks? Did they look like a #33 team or did we look like a top 25 team?
Not sure we are ready for Ohio State, they aren't a top 25 team, they are a top 3 team. But, who knows, this team could be something very special and does anybody actually want to say Bryce isn't the right guy now? We should get some top 25 votes and should easily move to the top 50 in the Sagarins! GREAT WIN!!
This could be a truly exceptional team next year at full strength! That said, this year looks like it's shaping up quite well also! Very convincing win, raised my confidence a bunch!
Quote from: vu72 on November 20, 2011, 05:23:57 PM
Missed the whole game doing what I was told to do! So, was it as dominating as it looks? Did they look like a #33 team or did we look like a top 25 team?
Not sure we are ready for Ohio State, they WIN!!
We looked very good. Everyone contributed. Harris, Broekhoff, and VanWijk were especially impressive.
Very impressive win. Ryan and Kevin were almost unstopable. Harris , Kenney , Buggs also had good games. And I must give Vucic a well played game. Rebounded with authority and also contributed 4 points. If he can do that consistently it will make Kevin all the better. Overall great defense and a well conceived offense plus great intensity. Could be a very good year in the making.
Bryce completely outcoached his counter part tonight. Valpo ran the same play for KVW for the final 25 minutes of the game. Everyone to one side of the court the either lob it over the defense if they front or feed him and let him go to work iof they play behind. Outstanding play tonight, more after the boys go to sleep.
Just a note that Duquesne was picked 9th in their preseason conf rankings.
There is an obvious difference with Bryce as coach. This team runs much more than teams in the past. They push the ball.
Also, while he didn't score hardly any points, Buggs at the point caused them problems. They had trouble keeping up with them.
Quote from: vu72 on November 20, 2011, 05:23:57 PM
Missed the whole game doing what I was told to do! So, was it as dominating as it looks? Did they look like a #33 team or did we look like a top 25 team?
Not sure we are ready for Ohio State, they aren't a top 25 team, they are a top 3 team. But, who knows, this team could be something very special and does anybody actually want to say Bryce isn't the right guy now? We should get some top 25 votes and should easily move to the top 50 in the Sagarins! GREAT WIN!!
We were dominant at every position. Ryan was the player of the game IMO. He had a double-double in the first half and set the tone with his shooting and amazing rebounding. He also had an amazing block after a lazy in bounds pass after a made basket was stolen by their point guard. He went up for what surely looked like an uncontested layup and Ryan came out of nowhere to make the block.
Quote from: chairback on November 20, 2011, 06:32:11 PMJust a note that Duquesne was picked 9th in their preseason conf rankings.
9th in a 14 team conference, mind you. And one that sent three teams to the NCAA last season. Duquesne finished tied for 4th last year, and went to the second round of the CBI (their RPI last year was 108 to our 77).
This year, realtimerpi forecast the game as an eight point win for us - huh.
Anyhow, a fantastic win. Ryan and Kevin looked pretty dominant. Jay was really feeling it - great to see.
Against a team from a conference that's perennially in the top 10, this is a good game to schedule for RPI. And, of course, a great one to win.
If the guys can consistently play like they did tonight, the season could be something special.
http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2011/11/game-wrap-up-down-go-dukes.html (http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2011/11/game-wrap-up-down-go-dukes.html)
Lets see how the road treats us for the next couple weeks.
Great game by VU. Whenever they went on a little run to close the gap, VU answered to extend it right back. Everyone played well. A nice surprising contribution by Vucic. To that end, I have to admit I kind of enjoyed that "you're gonna put your seven foot guy in from Europe then we're gonna put our seven foot guy in from Europe" exchange with about a minute to go at the end of the first half.
Nice to see Valpo beat a team from the MAC and A-10 in one weekend. Now lets see if we can continue to carry this momentum away from home in a more hostile environment.
Quote from: crusaderjoe on November 20, 2011, 07:51:23 PMGreat game by VU. Whenever they went on a little run to close the gap, VU answered to extend it right back. Everyone played well. A nice surprising contribution by Vucic. To that end, I have to admit I kind of enjoyed that "you're gonna put your seven foot guy in from Europe then we're gonna put our seven foot guy in from Europe" exchange with about a minute to go at the end of the first half.
I enjoyed watching those two go at it - their guy was _big_! Was a more striking physical specimen, but Vucic had a fine game.
Quote from: agibson on November 20, 2011, 08:03:05 PM
Quote from: crusaderjoe on November 20, 2011, 07:51:23 PMGreat game by VU. Whenever they went on a little run to close the gap, VU answered to extend it right back. Everyone played well. A nice surprising contribution by Vucic. To that end, I have to admit I kind of enjoyed that "you're gonna put your seven foot guy in from Europe then we're gonna put our seven foot guy in from Europe" exchange with about a minute to go at the end of the first half.
I enjoyed watching those two go at it - their guy was _big_! Was a more striking physical specimen, but Vucic had a fine game.
I saw some article this past week in Pittsburgh that said this was the first game he would be eligible to play. As I recall, it said he weighs 300 lbs. I didn't see an ounce of fat on that frame. He looked like Ivan Drago's big brother.
We were trying to guess who was taller, of the pair. I looked it up online during the game (I dig the wifi in the ARC - but was a little disappointed at the lack of opponents rosters in the program), and their guy, also, is listed at 7'1". And, indeed, they might have been about the same height-wise. But, very different builds!
Good stuff from the Akron board:
For the conspiracy theorists, Valpo dismantled Duquesne tonight, 84-68. A blistering 9/20 on 3s, and 58% from the field overall was too much for the Dukes to get past.
On a side note, Valpo shot 25 free throws to Duquesne's 14. The Dukes were called for 6 more fouls, 19-13.
;D
Duquesne's Coach Everhart compliments the Valpo players in his postgame press conference:
Ron Everhart following the 84-68 loss at Valparaiso (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwnxbDzlsME#ws)
vu72, I do like your optimism, now that we're 5-1, but I'm going to disagree with our getting a lot of Top 25 votes, or us being a Top 25 team, because 2 of our 5 wins came against teams that were NAIA quality. I mean if we were 5-1 against high mid-majors and Arizona, then I might lean more towards us getting votes for the Coaches Poll.
I missed the second half, but what I saw in the first half, including the points when we let the Dukes have the lead, I thought were very impressive. I really believe this team will rise above our projected 5th place finish in conference, but I want to see more of the four teams projected ahead of us first.
By the way, Iona dismantled Maryland today after their close loss to Purdue.
Quote from: valpopal on November 20, 2011, 08:46:57 PMDuquesne's Coach Everhart compliments the Valpo players in his postgame press conference:
Nice! He seemed very familiar with our team (player names, etc.), even if the scouting didn't do him much good. Is the rest of the interview up, as well?
If you had told at the beginning of the weekend that we would beat both Akron and Duquesne without Edwards and only 8 scholarship players available I would have told you to say your prayers because we could easily go 0-2 against those two teams, it was going to be a long shot. And yet here we sit on Sunday night having accomplish our goal with barely more than half of a full roster. My hat is off to this team and coaches for a tough job well done, if we continue to play this kind of heady, enthusiastic and aggressive ball, they will do this university and its alumni very proud.
Van Wijk is turning in just amazing performances! Broekhoff has taken it to a higher level. It appears this "team" has really come together.
Quote from: FWalum on November 20, 2011, 09:57:24 PM
If you had told at the beginning of the weekend that we would beat both Akron and Duquesne without Edwards and only 8 scholarship players available I would have told you to say your prayers because we could easily go 0-2 against those two teams, it was going to be a long shot. And yet here we sit on Sunday night having accomplish our goal with barely more than half of a full roster. My hat is off to this team and coaches for a tough job well done, if we continue to play this kind of heady, enthusiastic and aggressive ball, they will do this university and its alumni very proud.
Van Wijk is turning in just amazing performances! Broekhoff has taken it to a higher level. It appears this "team" has really come together.
I agree whle heartedly. They were two very good wins (sandwiched around a very needed yawner). The level of play was fantastic, which I feel will continue.
While time will tell how good Akron and Duquesne really are, these are two great wins. The ball movement and offensive execution against Duquesne was great. Van Wijk and Broekhoff looked confident in everything they did and now Jay Harris is starting to show that too.
Quote from: wh on November 20, 2011, 08:37:52 PM
Good stuff from the Akron board:
For the conspiracy theorists, Valpo dismantled Duquesne tonight, 84-68. A blistering 9/20 on 3s, and 58% from the field overall was too much for the Dukes to get past.
On a side note, Valpo shot 25 free throws to Duquesne's 14. The Dukes were called for 6 more fouls, 19-13.
;D
In this game, any foul disparity was definitely due to us driving to the basket, and them chunking up shots 15+ ft from the basket after 5-10 seconds go by on the shot clock. They didn't seem to have any offensive flow whatsoever, and Bryce definitely has this team fit into their roles nicely. I like how we run part of our traditional offense, but seem to adapt to how the team is playing us more than in years past. It was ridiculous to see the lack of an adjustment by Duquesne to a simple lob over their defender, with no help coming...
I have to give a shout out to Vucic and all Vucic doubters. His 8 minutes today were very valuable, and he seems to be getting how to position his body better. For a 7'1" guy, he seems to have a good mid-range jumper too. Keep making improvements like these, and look at that, we can teach a guy how to play that not many other teams would have taken a chance on!
Quote from: valpotx on November 20, 2011, 11:09:32 PMFor a 7'1" guy, he seems to have a good mid-range jumper too.
Yeah, tonight there was one in particular: on the east side of the gym (second half, I guess), from somewhere towards the baseline, right hand side. Sort of made you think "Wow, this could work!".
FYI...on the Duquesne board they are saying that the main reason that they lost is that they were the only D1 team to agree to play UDC instead of a much weaker opponent. I think their argument is pretty weak, since it really was Broekhoff's first half overall play and great post entry strategy in the second half that won it.
One of their posters commented that our play-by-play guy must be all nose...he is not of course, but funny to hear someone's observation when that have only heard them on the broadcast.
Quote from: agibson on November 20, 2011, 09:31:16 PM
Quote from: valpopal on November 20, 2011, 08:46:57 PMDuquesne's Coach Everhart compliments the Valpo players in his postgame press conference:
Nice! He seemed very familiar with our team (player names, etc.), even if the scouting didn't do him much good. Is the rest of the interview up, as well?
It was weird to hear him call Harris by his first name, I looked it up, and Jay had a college visit to Duquesne in high school
No one should be complaining about playing time.
Vucic (or someone) is going to play a critical role for this team this year. It was great to see him play 8 minutes with contributions.
Let's face it, as long as we can pound it down low with Kevin chewing up people one on one then defensive help will have to assist. That leaves our 3 point shooters with wide open looks. I will take our chances with the shooters on the roster. At some point in time our shooting will be fine (already moving in that direction). The key is to have both an inside and outside game. Eric will be a major part of this team. Few can match up to him.
lowposter
After this weekend Valpo is ranked in the Top 25 Mid-Major poll.
http://www.midmajortop25.com/ (http://www.midmajortop25.com/)
How can Akron, after losing to us and Duquesne, be ranked higher than us? Very odd.
The HL is the only conference with 4 teams in the Top 25.
excellent! here's to hoping we can keep improving on that!
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2011, 05:21:03 PM
How can Akron, after losing to us and Duquesne, be ranked higher than us? Very odd.
If Valpo could play all 23 teams above them in the mid-majority poll I'm sure Valpo would beat close to 60% of them. Oh, wait. Valpo already beat Akron. That poll is simply ignoring the winners of the Coaches vs Cancer tournament. The voters must think the home floor advantage that Valpo has doesn't go very far on the road.
Most of the coaches who vote in the Mid-Major poll are just going on program reputation according to an assistant coach or the secretary to the head coach. These coaches polls are just a way to get hype for college sports. They don't do a whole lot, in my opinion, besides get us excited to play an ESPN/AP Top 25 team, regardless of how good our team is compared with the "ranked". I stopped caring about the polls when teams didn't really reflect being in the rankings or being ranked as high as they were.
It does seem kind of simple though. If one team loses to another team unless it's considered a real fluke and the team that won played way above their normal level or the losing team played well below their normal level that the team that won should be ranked higher than the team that lost. What does that say about the coaches and how they view Valpo?
Quote from: historyman on November 22, 2011, 06:30:53 AM
It does seem kind of simple though. If one team loses to another team unless it's considered a real fluke and the team that won played way above their normal level or the losing team played well below their normal level that the team that won should be ranked higher than the team that lost. What does that say about the coaches and how they view Valpo?
You guys are reading way too much into a poll that most of the coaches that vote for it probably don't take more than 5 minutes to fill out their ballot.
Quote from: valpofan56 on November 22, 2011, 06:37:22 AM
Quote from: historyman on November 22, 2011, 06:30:53 AM
It does seem kind of simple though. If one team loses to another team unless it's considered a real fluke and the team that won played way above their normal level or the losing team played well below their normal level that the team that won should be ranked higher than the team that lost. What does that say about the coaches and how they view Valpo?
You guys are reading way too much into a poll that most of the coaches that vote for it probably don't take more than 5 minutes to fill out their ballot.
Well, if that is truly the case then mid-majority needs to find voters who care more about the way they vote. That seems rather simple too.
Too early in the year to get hung up over polls.
It will all shake out starting in mid February.
lowposter
Quote from: bbtds on November 21, 2011, 08:55:53 PM
Quote from: vu72 on November 21, 2011, 05:21:03 PM
How can Akron, after losing to us and Duquesne, be ranked higher than us? Very odd.
If Valpo could play all 23 teams above them in the mid-majority poll I'm sure Valpo would beat close to 60% of them. Oh, wait. Valpo already beat Akron. That poll is simply ignoring the winners of the Coaches vs Cancer tournament. The voters must think the home floor advantage that Valpo has doesn't go very far on the road.
well, we did lose to arizona by only 9 on the road. granted, we had an off stretch and had to come back to make it that close, but still. they didn't show a whole lot of panic on the road against a ranked opponent.
one thing that i didn't think about until last night was how solid we played for our third game in three days. sure, it was buoyed by the iu-kokomo game on saturday, but still. the guys gave the appearance that playing so many games like that really wasn't a problem. that would be a huge lift come conference tourney time where every time we seem to get hot, we crash in the semis because it looks like we've just wiped ourselves out, there's nothing left in the tank. and a lot of those guys played minutes in all three games.
I agree with the comment on how solid Valpo played considering it was the third game in three days, but that thought needs to be tempered a little by recognizing that Duquesne played its third game in three days with a better opponent than IU-Kokomo (they had to play their regulars most of the game against UDC).
Quote from: historyman on November 22, 2011, 06:30:53 AMIt does seem kind of simple though. If one team loses to another team unless it's considered a real fluke and the team that won played way above their normal level or the losing team played well below their normal level that the team that won should be ranked higher than the team that lost. What does that say about the coaches and how they view Valpo?
Polls schmolls, IMO polls are rarely very accurate so the Mid Majority Poll surprises me only in the fact that Akron was still #18. I decided to look at a more scientific evaluation and checked the Sagarin ratings only to see that Duquesne is #60, Akron #66 and Valpo #73. This was not quite what I had expected. It appears that Georgia Southern sitting at #296 is what drags down our SOS despite beating both Akron and Duquesne. Surprised??? I was, especially since our schedules appear to be very similar.
Folks.
There is no mid-majority poll. We in mid-majority nation do not traffic in polls, but rather in human drama played out on the basketball court.
;D