Messages

Glad I stopped by.  The turn in this thread is comical. 

Based on that schedule, there's really no reason for Valpo to lose at home.  They'll lose some games on the road, but if they can limit bad road losses, they could easily be 26-5 heading into the HL tourney.  With the non-con schedule, that should be enough for an at-large bid, IMO.

I think you lose 4 of the road games.  This means you would be going 15-1 in the Horizon?  Maybe, but doubtful.  If you do, the RPI in the league will be so low...... along with the non-existent RPI boost of your home schedule......... you will still have to win the league tourney. 

We will see Nildogg...your board is blinded just as much with Butler passion.  You get 2 national title game appearances and automatically assume that you have been there forever, and always will be.  You are not Duke, yet a lot of your fans put you in the same league.

Yet ask anyone who is in the Horizon League, and all they know is that Butler is in it.  Why, because of 2 national title game appearances.  What is Valpo known for nationally?  The shot.  We see it every year in March and will continue to see it.  No one outside of Valparaiso even remembers who won the regular season league title last year.  And this will continue until someone in this league wins a couple of games in the dance.  Yeah...... TWO NATIONAL TITLE GAMES IN SUCCESSION...... a feat never before accomplished by any Indiana school.  Duke?  Show me ONE fan that puts Butler in the same league.

Truly disappointing to read most of this thread.  ALL boards have knuckleheads, including Butler and Valpo.   I like the Crusader's program and I hope Butler keeps up the series.  Valpo, you had better sweep the season and league tournament next year....... as you are pretty much guaranteeing it now.

As for rankings, it is Butler that has top 25 rankings already in many polls, so I guess someone out there sees something you guys don't want to see. 

As for the MyIndy TV coverage,  90% of those games were HOME games...... very rarely did AC and company do a road game, so let's get the facts straight. 

Stay classy Valparaiso!

OK, time to sound elitist.  Why does America know anything about the Horizon League?  Not because Butler emerged from a doormat in the 90's to go to multiple NCAA tournaments.  Not because they swept the conference 2 years ago. 

It's because a small, private university in Indianapolis defied tremendous odds and went to not one, but two consecutive NCAA championship games.  The games we are watching in this year's tournament........ Ohio U., Norfolk State, Lehigh........ Butler did that almost EVERY GAME 2 consecutive years.  Not only is it unprecedented for a mid-major, it may never happen again. 

This is why America knows the Horizon League.

If ya' all think they can be easily replaced I have no hope for you.

It was the ugliest game I've seen in a long, long time.  Butler vs. Pitt Wednesday........ if the Bulldogs play like this again it will be a 30 point beatdown by the Panthers.

"...especially since this school is located in the Eastern portion of the Czech Republic".  Yea, if they were in the western portion, you never know.

A3uge, you should write for the onion. 

Valpo would veto that admission........ interferes with their recruiting base.  8)

Lots of reports floating around that this may be a done deal.  I expect Butler to move quickly, if indeed they do have an offer.  With all the national attention Valpo is getting for their league championship and NIT appearance, Collier knows the window of opportunity for a move like this is closing quickly.

I've spoken to 3 sources within the Butler Athetic Department, and while 2 of them cut their conversations short to finish cleaning the restrooms, one did say, under condition of anonymity that Butler AD Barry Collier has specifically noted fear (and this person emphasized fear - as he pointed out Collier was trembling and sweating at the time) in Valpo's emerging national presence, in his motivation to "run" from the Horizon.  This person only chose to share this under the veil of anonymity - so we cannot widely publicize this news - but it does appear to have credibility. 
I am confident Butler is leaving the conference for no other reason than that they know they cannot continue to compete with such a power as Valpo, and the A-10 was the next best option.  It was no secret that major Butler advertisers Erie Insurance, and G Thrapp jewelers are leaving after this year for the "HOT" Valparasio market... which compounds the situation.  This is a move that Butler has to make.

this..... and the fact the sponsors love the dirty brown and gold colors of Valpo.  It's a win/win proposition.

[With all the national attention Valpo is getting for their league championship and NIT appearance]

Lots of reports floating around that this may be a done deal.  I expect Butler to move quickly, if indeed they do have an offer.  With all the national attention Valpo is getting for their league championship and NIT appearance, Collier knows the window of opportunity for a move like this is closing quickly.

All the attention?  From who?  I must have missed that. 

Big East?  Really?  No mature poster on the Butler Board EVER proposed such a thing.

Are you calling Title a child? 

LOL!   No.  But he is not a realist.  He looks at numbers and ratings and instantly declares Butler has far and away the best talent in the league and will win it easily.  He often forgets the game is played on the court by 18-21 year olds.

If Butler leaves (hope so) it will be because we drove them out. 4 in a row in MBB, and 2-0 in WBB this year. Now, a win in the PFL would be the icing on the cake,or the slobber on the Bulldog. GO VALPO!

One bad season for Butler Men's Basketball (Which has dominated the league the past few years) wouldn't mean that Valpo drove them out.

One sensible post in this entire thread.

Big East?  Really?  No mature poster on the Butler Board EVER proposed such a thing.  The only thought about Big East schools were the basketball only schools around the midwest forming a BBL only league........ Dayton, X, Marquette, Butler, St. Louis, Depaul among others.  It makes too much sense so it will never happen.  I'm not even going to acknowledge the rest of the self-serving ignorant posts on this thread.  You guys are embarrassing yourselves.

As far as the A-10, if it happens then fine.  Barry Collier has been the orchestrator of many positive changes for Butler's athletic program.  I'm sure if this happens it's been in the plans for awhile.  If not, I'm fine with staying in the Horizon.  And, I enjoy playing Valpo every year, even when you guys win. 

Please don't turn in to most of the other schools message boards in this league and declare supremacy just because you have recent success against the benchmark team.  Finish the deal first and win the dang tournament........ or else you'll end up in the NIT seeded BEHIND Cleveland State.  Yeah, that just happened.

OK, my rant is done.  Most of you know I'm usually pretty even keeled and complimentary of Valpo's program, coaches, team and most of these posters.......... not this time!

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.

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.

Well, if that didnt cement Mr. Basketball, I dont know what it would take. 

It is an outstanding senior class of Indiana High School talent.

lowposter

I would absolutely agree with this.  Every voter in the state can see "the play' on ESPN.  That's exposure!  It would take a quick out by HSE (maybe by Carmel?) and something amazing by Ferrell or Dunham to change anyone's minds.

Dunham is not in the Mr Basketball race. I have it from a source that should know. It's expected to be a two horse race between Harris and Farrell, both rated significantly higher than Dunham on every service, including ESPN.

Love the "source" quote.  Why do we even bother now?

Dunham is in the race.  He will be a 50/50 IF his Pendleton Heights Arabians win the state 4A title.  HSE/North Central play tomorrow night, so Gary Harris' team might be watching the rest of the tournament.  Harris is the stud athlete, but going out of state to play college may not sit well with the voters.  Ferrell's only chance is IU bias....... he plays for a 2A private school that has a shot at winning the 2A title.  Both PHHS and Ferrell's Park-Tudor teams have beaten North Central.  HSE split with North Central, PHHS lost twice to HSE, the 1st with 3 starters out and the 2nd in OT in the Hall-of-Fame tourney.  Winning state goes a long way....... look at Luke Zeller.  His half-court game winner for a state title helped him beat out Josh McRoberts and Dominic James..... 2 players that were CLEARLY better than Zeller in high school.

Funny thing, the same exact post was on the Wright State board by "UdFlyerandButlerFan".  Coincidence?  I don't think so.

http://raiderroundball.yuku.com/topic/2827/Butler-s-dominance#.T0r7GocgfTA

Butler will be a preseason Top 10 team next year.

The team will be more dominant than the 09-10 that went 18-0.

Coming in is an all-SEC guard and a another top 50 small forward who is going to win Mr Basketball.  He's the best shooter in the country, hands down.

This is really the last year for about 3 years where there was a reasonable chance of a team knocking Butler off.

Thanks for making my evening dawgsfan.  I almost spit up laughing when I read this.  No doubt Butler will be a much better team next year, but NONE of those things are going to happen. 

I have long suspected Bobby Thong either uses a website or software to come up with these.... he sometimes has to do a new batch in 36 hours between games.  Even though they are quite comical, there are always a few in every batch that are DEAD ON..... it's just unbelievable.  Just goes to show the old saying that we all have an identical twin somewhere in the world. 

He doesn't do this to make fun of Butler's opponents, just make light of things and take a little edge off of sometimes an over-reactive board.  I'm sure he could do quite a number on the Butler roster and coaching staff if he so chose.

(from another thread but I thought it fits better here)

The thing that no one has mentioned is that Butler won all of their games except 2 in their current winning streak at home in Hinkle. They still have not shot well from 3 range. The way they are winning is by gaining the momentum with physical play and athletic play down low from Kyle Marshall and Roosevelt Jones. Jones has not played this well all year. Marshall was hurt a good portion of the season.

The guard play of Nored, Stigall and others has been excellent in this winning streak but the Bulldogs are not shooting from 3 nearly as well as Broekhoff, Bogan, Edwards, Kenney and others. Butler was 2 for 11 from 3 against a weak UIC. I think the key will be how well the Valpo defense can stop Marshall and Jones under the basket and if they can challenge them physically and athletically under the basket for rebounds and putting on enough defensive pressure to make them miss under the basket. Our guard play and ball handling will have to be a lot better than the Crusaders have played lately. Butler has played excellent defense lately and if Valpo starts making mistakes like throwing bad passes or letting Buggs dribble into trouble or forcing things when caught in a move to the basket not knowing what they were going to do with the ball then Butler will get a big lead and not relinquish it.

On the other hand if Valpo can keep it close by playing some tough defense like Butler, play physically & athletically tough under the basket, make free throws, not make a lot of turnovers, hit those important 3 pointers near the end of the game to thwart Butler's momentum then Valpo can squeak out a win and send Butler to the #3 or #4 seed in the HL tourney which is also not at Hinkle this year except the first round game which they wouldn't lose at Valpo or Hinkle.

Wow,  a headache trying to read this.  Shorter sentences are your friend, historyman!
Offensively, Butler is finally playing an inside/out game.  Pound it or drive it down low, then kick it out if need be.  3-point % hasn't really improved all that much, but Fromm and Hopkins are getting more consistent and Stigall is going to break out a good game someday.   As far as defense goes, Butler has made the national finals two years in a row because of it's defense.  They are playing that quality of defense now.  So, the opponent or the sight makes little difference.  A Butler win is like a shot across the bow of Valpo's boat.  The real battle will be the league tourney finals.
Sorry StlVUFan, I will not be able to make the drive this year.  I'll be watching on ESPNU.

.....wanted to get thoughts from the board on how this game will go.  It means nothing as far as "need" for Valpo and everything for the Bulldogs, who could finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th.  How will Bryce treat this game?  You know you will get Butler's best shot and they are playing very well right now.  Are there any players the Crusaders need to rest?  Do they feel a need to sweep Butler and send a message?  Or perhaps incentive to move Butler down in the standings? 

http://buhoops.yuku.com/topic/7921/Dr-Homer-Drew---wife-Janet-Drew--diagnosed--cancer#.Tpdqp3Isr6c

Hard to imagine what the family and the entire community is going through right now.  All the Drew's and the extended basketball family (which includes all of you) have our prayers. 

Oops ... I don't like where this discussion is heading.  Just like extras in an old Western movie, I'm running for cover before the gunfight breaks out on the main street!   

So right haze.......... I'm done here and should have just let the Pamida comment go.  I'm just not smart enough to figure these things out sometimes!  Peace Valpo!

I shouldn't have gone down that road as I did exaggerate.  But, I'm glad you get such delight at beating Butler in baseball.  Did Valpo win any league championships this past season, or are they still "0-for"?

Horizon League
Titles per University
Milwaukee    106
Butler    93
UIC    56
Detroit    44
Loyola of Chicago    42
Green Bay    41
Wright State    36
Cleveland State    22
Youngstown State    13
Valparaiso    0

Yeah, I know..........just 5 years in the league.  But something, anything.

.........which is precisely why Butler would only work in a BBL only conference if it looked elsewhere. 

I'll give you your clever "Pamida" reference, but it only makes the rest of the HL look like the corner liquor store, considering the mid-major rest of our program still dominates the league.

A Pamida eh?   Whatever floats your boat.  The "get out of the Ho League" thread pops up every year, sometimes multiple times.  I'm sure 'ya all wanted out of the old Mid-Con for quite a few years. 

As usual on a message board, the few that are ignorant of what's at stake are singled out and quoted on another board.  Most of us know Butler is not going anywhere, much less the A10.  Am I happy with the Horizon?  No.  Is there a current alternative out there?  No.  It would take a major shakeup of the A10, MVC and Big East......... then a basketball only league with Butler, Xavier, Marquette, Dayton, Depaul, Memphis, WKU, SIU........ schools within a days drive of Indy that don't play D1 football to satisfy me.  Yes, I know this won't happen, so, as I've said many a time on the Butler board, the alternative is to improve the play in the Ho League.  Valpo, CSU, Detroit (except for it's coach) and maybe Loyola (which has quite a few nice recruits interested) are doing their part. 

Calling Butler a Pamida might get some laughs, but it shows there is ignorance on every message board.  Pamida's don't go to the championship game once, let alone consecutive years.