Round 3.
7:30 CT, on ESPNU
brad stevens hasn't lost a game in march since 2009 when butler lost the hl championship game to csu and then in their first round game in the tourney to lsu.
Valpo 67
Butler 61
Though Butler will not have as tired of legs as I would like, I think playing back-to-back days will help us get an early lead that we will cling to throughout the game. Hoping for a raucous environment!
i want a repeat of last friday. in the first half last night, butler didn't shoot the ball much better than they did last week against us. at one point, they were only 6/23 from the field. if we can force them into bad shots, and run our offense, like we did last week, there's no reason we can't win.
but kevin and richie will HAVE to do a better job stopping the passes to the rim where marshall can just flush them than milwaukee did last night. that baseline backside cut was open all the way to the basket all night long. that's why butler had 52 points in the paint.
i hope to see a completely insane environment at the arc tonight, and the whole while i'll be wishing i was there.
Any idea if this game is available on HLN or ESPN3? I don't get ESPNU, unfortunately. I see on the ESPN scoreboard it lists only ESPNU for our game while it lists both ESPNU and ESPN3 for the first game.
This should be a heck of a game. We've lost 2 home games this year (Oakland and Milwaukee) each by 2 points, so we really "Defend our Court" like the sign in the locker room says.
This game has huge implications not only for this season but for the future of the program. If we win 2 games and make the tournament, we can possibly start a cycle of success that will last for years to come.
Thinking about making the long drive over. Obvious sell out...any chance to find a ticket once I get there?
Quote from: drewsaders11 on March 03, 2012, 10:53:44 AM
Any idea if this game is available on HLN or ESPN3? I don't get ESPNU, unfortunately. I see on the ESPN scoreboard it lists only ESPNU for our game while it lists both ESPNU and ESPN3 for the first game.
It is also on ESPN3.com
Quote from: cruiser01 on March 03, 2012, 11:11:58 AM
Thinking about making the long drive over. Obvious sell out...any chance to find a ticket once I get there?
Looks like still a few available. Boys high school sectional championship rounds are also tonight and I am sure that some Valpo and Butler fans will be watching high school games instead. Try the ticket office if you can still make it over 219-464-5233 or you can print your own from the E-Tix portion of the VU basketball web.
Good to know its on espn3...that will be the only way I can see it live.
The Vegas line favors Butler by 1-1.5, which seems natural since Butler is the defending champion and the home court advantage for Valpo will be diluted by so many Butler fans in town. Also, Butler has tournament experience lacking in the Valpo players. In addition, there is the theory that it would be very difficult to beat Butler three times in a season. This is going to be very tough.
However, if the Crusaders win, this game would boost the program and give VU added publicity because Valpo would be the team to knock Butler out of the NCAA after its two consecutive runs to the finals. I hope the team isn't rusty after the gap since its last game and that they start off the way they did last week.
Quote from: valpopal on March 03, 2012, 12:33:00 PM
The Vegas line favors Butler by 1-1.5, which seems natural since Butler is the defending champion and the home court advantage for Valpo will be diluted by so many Butler fans in town. Also, Butler has tournament experience lacking in the Valpo players. In addition, there is the theory that it would be very difficult to beat Butler three times in a season. This is going to be very tough.
However, if the Crusaders win, this game would boost the program and give VU added publicity because Valpo would be the team to knock Butler out of the NCAA after its two consecutive runs to the finals. I hope the team isn't rusty after the gap since its last game and that they start off the way they did last week.
Thanks to the favorable position they've been in in recent HL tournaments, their players have no experience playing a do-or-die game on 21 hours rest against a fully rested opponent. I doubt it will have much negative impact their shooting percentage (it can't get much worse), but tired legs could at least keep them from having an unusually good shooting night. Hopefully they will also tire out from constantly chasing our perimeter players in our motion offense. If they can beat us in spite of these designed disadvantages, my hat is off to them.
Quote from: valpotx on March 03, 2012, 10:02:40 AM
Valpo 67
Butler 61
Though Butler will not have as tired of legs as I would like, I think playing back-to-back days will help us get an early lead that we will cling to throughout the game. Hoping for a raucous environment!
I don't think tired legs would impact the start of the game. If anything adrenaline would enable Butler to look fresh for awhile. I agree that the motion offense will take its toll on the Dogs, so Butler will HAVE to shoot better than they have most of the season to take this to the wire.
Sportsnetwork.com has Valpo 67 - Butler 63.
The Vegas line has been mentioned. (I guess it's about 63-62? I've never quite figured out O/U.)
RealTimeRPI's computer prediction is similar to Vegas, Butler 66- Valpo 65.
Wait... confusing. They have a second prediction engine? Which as it Valpo 73-66. With Valpo given a 62% chance to win.
Butler's.... 7-8 on the road this year?
Having a week to get ready for this game is the biggest advantage in my opinion.
I like Butler's chances if we can play the inside game that we did yesterday, but its going to be a grind down to the very end.
This is the most interested I have been in a HL game in a long time... looking forward to my trip up North to join the fun.
The injury situation for Valpo is reportedly under control.
Quote
VU, meanwhile, should be at full strength. Matt Kenney (shoulder) was fine in practice, shooting again after taking several days off. Kevin Van Wijk (knee) and Erik Buggs (hamstring) also are both good to go.
From Lazerus in the Post Tribune,
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/11017976-419/butler-dominates-milwaukee-sets-up-rematch-with-valparaiso.html (http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/11017976-419/butler-dominates-milwaukee-sets-up-rematch-with-valparaiso.html)
Remarkable that our 103rd meeting against Butler is the first in the postseason: _counting_ conference tournaments as post-season, of course.
Are conference tournaments a recent innovation?
Quote from: Nildogg on March 03, 2012, 03:12:16 PM
Having a week to get ready for this game is the biggest advantage in my opinion.
I like Butler's chances if we can play the inside game that we did yesterday, but its going to be a grind down to the very end.
This is the most interested I have been in a HL game in a long time... looking forward to my trip up North to join the fun.
No question this is a huge statement game for the future. If Butler wins, they are still the kings of the Horizon League. The fact that we have beaten them 3 times in a row will be rendered basically meaningless. If we win, we go into next season as the favorites to win the league for the 2nd consecutive year. It doesn't get much bigger than this. By the way, Detroit will still have more talent than anyone else next year. If their play on the court ever rises to the level of their recruiting, we're all in trouble.
I don't know if I agree with Detroit having the most talent in the league next season. They will lose Holman, Simon Lowe, and Foster. The first three of which have been big contributors all season and Foster, in my opinion, played very well last night against YSU. Not saying they won't be a threat, just saying I believe Valpo will have the most talent next season.
Quote from: agibson on March 03, 2012, 03:53:52 PM
Are conference tournaments a recent innovation?
Here is a summary of conference tourney's, per Kyle Whelliston's "One Beautiful Season" (he of the mid-majority). The Southern Intercollegiate Ath. Assoc. (incl Kentucky, Georgia, the Carolinas, and others) had the first conf. tourney in 1921, to declare a champion, since travel amongst all members wasn't possible. They would gather in one place so there could truly be a champion. The SEC and ACC, as well as the SoCon, were early adapters of the conference tourney, back when autobids were the only way to get to the tourney. Some conferences sent their regular season champion for a long time (the pac-10/12 had a tourney for four years in the late 80's, then didn't again until 2002). The Big 10 didn't start tourneys until 1998. One of the main reasons tourneys are so prevalent is all tv money thats in it. All the power conference games are on tv in some capacity, while the final and sometimes semis of lesser conferences are televised as well. The only conference that doesn't have a tourney is the Ivy League. The HL has had a tourney for nearly all of its existence.
"Talent" is a highly subjective word in college basketball.
Detroit will have the biggest, strongest, and probably most athletic team in the league next season. Even with the losses of Simon, Lowe and Holman, they'll still have Minnerath, McCallum and Anderson, not to mention Juwan Howard Jr. They won't be quite as imposing down low as this year, but they'll still be more athletic than the rest of the league. I believe that individually, they do have the most "talent" in the league this year, and likely still will next season.
Valpo will have the most highly skilled team. I'm not trying to say that they have zero athleticism, but certainly they don't necessarily do things that make your eyes fly out of your skull like Detroit's players can. They are able to make up for that though with how well they move the ball and the fact that at least the 2-4 guys can shoot from 3 or take it to the rim, and Buggs and KVW complement it all very well and they play together as a single unit. It's truly a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
After that, the real interesting teams IMO are going to be Butler, Green Bay and Cleveland State. All will have good pieces in place, but all will likely be stuck somewhere between the athleticism of Detroit and the skill of Valpo.
Erik Buggs for 3!
Broekhoff going for a double double in the 1st half.
(tonight he'll tie the single season record?)
Boggs looking uncomfortable defending the post.
And the likes of Jay Harris looking _very_ uncomfortable defending the post when they get stuck under.
The only empty seats in the house seem to be in the Butler student section.
Go Valpo!
Quote from: agibson on March 03, 2012, 08:39:27 PM
Erik Buggs for 3!
Broekhoff going for a double double in the 1st half.
(tonight he'll tie the single season record?)
Boggs looking uncomfortable defending the post.
And the likes of Jay Harris looking _very_ uncomfortable defending the post when they get stuck under.
The only empty seats in the house seem to be in the Butler student section.
Go Valpo!
is the crowd mostly pro valpo?
The 3 large African American women behind Stevens makes me think it's most a pro-Butler crows. :lol:
We want Shelton!
What's the valpo 1 game rebound record?
Or highest X for X points X rebounds?
Crowds _very_ pro Valpo!
we completely shut them down on the glass and in the paint, which was how they pwned milwaukee. gave them a taste of their own medicine. and kudos to buggs and harris for both hitting a pair of 3s. aside from a bit of a slow start, valpo really dominated that game.
The King is dead. Long live the King! It had to happen sooner or later. Good luck BU next season... :thumbsup:
A splendid birthday gift from the Crusaders to me! All smiles on the Valpo front right now! =)
"We're gonna run the picket fence at 'em!". How about the double screen play to free Harris up? All around well played game, sans for the first two minutes. Proud to be a Valpo alum.
Yes, an extremely pro-VU crowd. Only empty seats were the Butler student section as mentioned. Butler only had a few things to cheer about at the beginning, otherwise their fans were able to sit comfortably on their hands most of the game ;).
Andrew Smith is absolutely terrible btw. Anytime he was in, he got beat by someone on just about every play, and couldn't do anything within 5 feet of the basket. They tried the hack-a-buggs with 8-9 minutes left, but it didn't help because they fouled so much. I am sure they are going to complain about the fouls, but everything was justified on both sides. Butler was just playing a better team this year, and looked like a JV versus us all game. I have not enjoyed a game like that in some time, so definitely worth the trip up from Texas! I really look forward to the VU/Butler battles next year, but we are by far the best HL team this season. Detroit didn't look that impressive in the first game, so I see us taking the game on Tuesday. What a great experience, and love our student section actually talking back to the Butler section all game. Need to keep that up!!
Quote from: valpotx on March 03, 2012, 10:52:41 PMWhat a great experience, and love our student section actually talking back to the Butler section all game.
What was our student section saying towards the Butler section? Please fill us in. Some aren't as fortunate and didn't get to experience this beat down and environment.
Butler's students kept copying all of our students ("you can't do that," etc), so as we pulled away our students got more bold in their comments. From hearing them saying certain players suck in unison throughout the game, to the end where they were saying 'why so quiet' to Butler's fans, as well as 'same as last week.' Absolutely loved it, as I would have done the same while I was in school :). Butler's fans were giving it to the refs at the end, but the refs had nothing to do with the result. Butler just stunk up the joint, and we looked above them in all aspects.
Quote from: valpotx on March 03, 2012, 10:52:41 PMOnly empty seats were the Butler student section as mentioned.
It really seemed like a full house (opposing student section aside), but the box score lists attendance at merely 4716. Odd.
Fantastic game! Great to give Butler a thumping! Four in a row!
The "hack a Buggs" game really sort of bothered me. That Smeathers character (0?) really went at him rather viciously, in the back court, to start it off.
It was really something to watch Smith on the bench most of the game. And then to watch Stevens bench his starters, to put in the likes of Smeathers. He really seemed to be trying just anything to get his team going. And then, with something like four minutes remaining, to watch Stevens call off the dogs, and let Buggs dribble out a whole shot clock.
Walk-ons! Great to get Shelton and Stegelmann in.
It felt like Broekhoff hardly sat at all, until maybe 7 to go when Rowdy and KVW both went to the bench, and we _still_ stretched the lead. But, in fact, Ryan only played 33 minutes.
Too bad I'll have to watch the championship on TV.
Quote from: agibson on March 03, 2012, 09:34:38 PMWhat's the valpo 1 game rebound record?
Or highest X for X points X rebounds?
So, it was Ryan's top rebounding game (previous high 14).
But, of course, not close to the overall Valpo rebounding record, Chris Ensminger, 24, in 1996.
I do wonder about the "X points X rebounds" record at Valpo - not sure if that's easy to track down. Cougill at Green Bay has done better this season: managing 19 and 19 against Idaho. And Khyle Marshall put up 21 and 16 against Ball State.
Congrats Crusaders on playing a great game at both ends of the floor. Collapsing the middle each time Butler penetrated is basically textbook defense against the Bulldogs........ making Rob Jeter look like a middle school coach. Despite the fact I hate your high school gym (nothing you can do about that unless your community gets behind the program) AND those ugly school colors, you had better take care of business Tuesday as you are indeed the best the Horizon League has to offer.
What s*cks for you is you are probably doomed to a 15-seed if you are in the dance...... meaning a 1st game matchup with a top ten team. Huge mountain to hurdle. I'll be rooting for you.
Thanks, stax, and I can actually vouch for your comments about the venue a little bit. The sight line from my J/F/1 seat was kind of bad, not to mention it is hard for those going to and from concessions to keep from blocking your view. This is a problem all over the ARC, I think.
Yep, IUPUI, IPFW, and other and losses really kill our seed chances (personally, I don't buy Oakland as a bad loss). The best we can do is stack up one more emphatic win on Tuesday and hope scores us a point or two on selection sunday. Iffy at best, probably, but at this point, that's the only chance we have to improve our seeding.
You were pretty close to my gf and I. We were in J/L/7 & 8 (last ones by railing).
I agree that our venue could be better, but that atmosphere is hard to beat due to how the sounds just carry to the court. The team really feeds off of that energy.
nice win, tues on ESPN will be fun o watch
What's left now, a Solid game against a good Detroit team to wrap up a Horizon League title and show all that we are the best in the Horizon League. Then have some fun in the NCAA's ::)
http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2012/03/game-wrap-up-any-more-doubters-out.html (http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2012/03/game-wrap-up-any-more-doubters-out.html)
That was fun last night. A lot of fun!
Ya know, after reading some posts on the Butler board, I wonder if chemistry is an issue with the bulldogs. I mean, come on, they returned three starters from a National runnerup, a USA team member, and some very highly rated recruits. Did they have a disaster year? Not even close. A very solid 20 wins including wins over Purdue and Stanford. If we had the same result, based on our expectations at the beginning of the year, I think any of us would take it and move on to the CBI or CIT.
My question had more to do with the lack of performance at key moments for guys like Marshall, Smith and Stigall to name three. Sometimes, when things start to unravel, you have to consider team chemistry as they just seemed to give it up. The talent level of the Butler team was higher than their final result. Shooting woes can also get into one's head and that certainly seemed to be what happened to the Bulldogs. I feel particularly bad for Nored, who is a bright, respectful kid who plays all out all the time. They will certainly miss his drive and leadership. If they actually think Aldridge is the answer, I think they might consider other options. Our friends from Australia told me he wasn't that highly regarded from the start.
Clearly, the Bulldogs will be a tough out next year, but if they don't play as a team the results may be similar. Just sayin...
Quote from: oklahomamick on March 03, 2012, 10:57:09 PMQuote from: valpotx on March 03, 2012, 10:52:41 PMWhat a great experience, and love our student section actually talking back to the Butler section all game.
What was our student section saying towards the Butler section? Please fill us in. Some aren't as fortunate and didn't get to experience this beat down and environment.
My favorite chant was "Same as last week, clap clap clap clap clap, same as last week...."
Quote from: valpotx on March 04, 2012, 01:13:17 AM
You were pretty close to my gf and I. We were in J/L/7 & 8 (last ones by railing).
I agree that our venue could be better, but that atmosphere is hard to beat due to how the sounds just carry to the court. The team really feeds off of that energy.
Dang, need some better way to know how to hook up with each other, especially when we haven't met in person.
Atmosphere was certainly fantastic, and in my opinion the Dawg Pound has nothing to be ashamed of. They held their own pretty well.
Congrats, guys. Very dominating performance by the Crusaders last night. Whether you end up in the NCAAT or NIT, good luck and represent the Horizon well.
What was with the reversal of student sections? Butler was where the Valpo students always are. They had room to spread out, and only half of the section was filled, while Valpo students were jammed in the make-shift bleachers, with a considerable amount of overflow. It wasn't like that when we played Detroit last year, so I'm really curious as to who made that decision. I was actually surprised there were that many students there, considering it was spring break. It would have been awesome to see the place during school time (on the correct side), but with spring break already started on a cold campus, I'll take what we had. Tuesday will be interesting. I imagine over 95% of the students don't live within an hour radius of Valparaiso. Hopefully enough will come back to cheer for a HL championship. The whole place was rocking. During the rare Butler successes, it didn't seem like Butler had that large of a crowd. The AD tweeted earlier in the day that Butler gave back tickets and Valpo was looking for extra ticket-buyers. It doesn't surprise me that the ARC was over 80% Valpo fans, because while Butler was busy focusing on the tanking University of Wisconsin Hyphen Milwaukee, Valpo was busy selling tickets for the game.
As far as the actual game goes... what a slaughter. Valpo absolutely embarrassed them. Stevens was throwing the kitchen sink at Valpo, even trying to play the foul game with 6 minutes left. Butler would go on a short 5 point run and Valpo would push the lead back to 20. Valpo swarmed the ball like hawks. Butler, who isn't a good shooting team to begin with, had contested shots each time down. Ryan Broekhoff looked like an absolute beast. 16 boards? Are you kidding me? He was getting rebounds Spiderman could only dream of getting. It looked like he had a trampoline under his feet, and Gorilla Glue on his hands. He weaved in and out of defenders like Barry Sanders and scrapped it out with defenders like he was Bob Probert. Brilliant game.
I think it's official. Butler has a Valpo problem. That's four straight wins against the Bulldogs. 428 days and counting. Valpo beat Butler three times in one season, each win by a bigger margin than the last. Bryce clearly knows how to beat this team, and exploited them greater and greater each time.
The reversal of student sections is a conference rule for the "neutral floor" of the conference tournament. While it was "technically" a home game for us, the athletic department has to treat it as a neutral site game, so our student section and band had to be on the same side as the team. I don't know how well Detroit will travel for this game, but yes, there might have to be some tickets sold inexpensively to students from the surrounding high schools, so it looks like there might be a rowdy student section on the Detroit side of the court.
In a similar circumstance about getting more seats filled, I always found it hilarious when Chicago State would pay local schools in Kansas City to come out and root for them at Kemper (including their HS band). They had some interesting fans come out lol.
Quote from: a3uge on March 04, 2012, 11:48:18 PM
I was actually surprised there were that many students there, considering it was spring break. It would have been awesome to see the place during school time (on the correct side), but with spring break already started on a cold campus, I'll take what we had.
the athletics department successfully talked reslife into keeping the dorms open an extra day due to the saturday night game, so the dorms didn't actually close until sunday at noon instead of saturday noon like they normally would. and students were also allowed to apply for break housing to stay until wednesday in order to be around for the game tuesday night. i don't know how many took advantage of this opportunity, but i hope it was a lot. i guess we'll see for sure when they start giving away the 200 student tickets at the union starting at 11am. they ran out of tickets for saturday's game in only 45 minutes. i'm sure it'll take longer today, but who knows.
nerd, the students don't 100% need reslife to bend and shake to provide housing. Students that want to stay, but don't live close enough, have dorm mates/class friends who live around Valpo with an available couch/bed/floor space, or if they know someone in a frat, they could bum a couch there for a couple days.
Quote from: valporun on March 05, 2012, 12:26:51 PM
nerd, the students don't 100% need reslife to bend and shake to provide housing. Students that want to stay, but don't live close enough, have dorm mates/class friends who live around Valpo with an available couch/bed/floor space, or if they know someone in a frat, they could bum a couch there for a couple days.
i completely agree. but it's been an issue in the past, and it's just nice to see reslife finally accommodating athletics in this regard. this just makes it easier for more students to stay.
I just wanted to post again how great it felt to watch us beat the crap out of Butler on Saturday, especially in person :)
I think reslife only budged because we were hosting. If it was at UIC, Loyola, Butler, or anywhere else, they wouldn't have done this.
Quote from: valpotx on March 05, 2012, 01:16:37 PM
I just wanted to post again how great it felt to watch us beat the crap out of Butler on Saturday, especially in person :)
I'll add an Amen to that!!!
Quote from: valporun on March 05, 2012, 02:50:01 PM
I think reslife only budged because we were hosting. If it was at UIC, Loyola, Butler, or anywhere else, they wouldn't have done this.
undoubtedly. but hey, gotta win the battles we're given. this was an important step.
Extremely fun game to watch, one heck of a game, reminded me of the ESPN BracketBuster against Missouri St last year. It was refreshing to see the inside game be so dominant instead of relying on chucking up threes. Good post position all night and some really sweet drives to the hoop ... and finishes! ... no missed bunnies. Sprinkle in a few clutch triples and FT shooting just good enough to maintain a comfortable lead down the stretch, and it was just about perfect. In Bryce I trust. As a specator, the only problem was the potential heartbreak that losing such a lead -- to Butler -- would have been ... I spent the game half loving it and half waiting for the worst to happen.