Detroit @ Valpo 3/6/12 8PM CST Game Thread

[drewsaders11]

Detroit player down, Kenney puts his hand down to help him up.  ESPN cuts to Detroit fans chanting "F*** You".  Essentially sums up these two institutions, regardless of the outcome.

[rink]

No kidding. Stay classy, Detroit.

Rough game for our 2 guards Kenney and Boggs. For that matter, our PG play has been pretty bad, too.

[agibson]

Tough second half.  KVW's injury didn't help.

Very tough end to a very good, though not epic, season. 

Let Detroit have the 15 seed.  (Could they manage a 16?)

Can Valpo get motivated for the NIT?

[valpotx]

Yes, we played like absolute crap, missing open 3 after open 3.  However, I will not root for Detroit in the NCAA tournament regardless of how much money a win gets our conference.  Ray McCallum is an absolute piece of s*$%.  Who in the world would dunk with time running out in the game and everyone else on the court is shaking hands...but Ray Jr?  Not only that, but he purposefully is dribbling on our logo, much like TO did on the Cowboys star years ago.  McCallum Sr. needs to look himself in the mirror in the morning, and realize that though he raised a good basketball player, he raised an absolute POS of a person as a son.  Congrats on making the tournament Ray Jr, and I hope that you get injured before you can boast about yourself on more national television events...

Edit:  You could tell that the announcers were totally confused as well, as they had just talked about how his boasting is a good thing.  They sounded so beside themselves that he did that at the end. The basket should have counted as you could hear the basket before time ran out, but the refs probably were already off the court as well.

[okinawatyphoon]

Most classless team in the Horizon, hands down.

[a3uge]

Disappointing loss. Eh, there's some good power teams this year, so I thought we'd get trounced by a 2-3 seed. Detroit finished a letdown season back on top, but their poor play at the beginning of the season will earn them a 15 seed. I would wish them luck, but they proved to be a bunch of goons, so I will enjoy seeing them fighting with their own players and coach on CBS.

Let's tear up the NIT. Returning literally everyone next year... Going to be hungry for a tourney bid next year with hopefully a shot at a lot higher seed.

[valpotx]

Man, I am fine that we lost as we did not deserve to win with how we played, but I can't get over how immature Detroit's team is.  I would rather lose to Butler by 30 points than to those thugs by any amount, as Butler's players at least play with class.  With Detroit as our representative, our league is going to look so thuggish. 

[milanmiracle]

Yep, Detroit won the game, and that's fine. However I have to agree that Detroit is about as classless as they come. I've cheered for whomever won the league in the NCAA's, but not this time. I hope they lose, and lose badly.

Well time to get ready for the Not Invited Tournament, at least this was a good building block for next year.

[vuweathernerd]

best coaching job of the year by ray sr? quite possibly. but detroit's players and fans can kiss my @$$. i won't wish them harm. but i certainly won't wish them well either. stay classy, thug city.

[bbtds]

Lets give Ray McCallum credit for assembling a highly talented team. Despite not doing it with as much grace as we would like to see they are acting no different than a bunch of teams in the big six conferences. Detroit has incredible talent and they stay composed enough to win it all on Valpo's floor with having to play 4 games in conference which is a huge climb up in the double bye HL tourney. They really accomplished a great deal. I wish they could win their first round game. We'll see who they get. There will be a 2/3 seed that will be beatable and certainly won't want to play the Titans.

Congrats Detroit!

[swiftmutiny]

This is terribly disappointing, Detroit is the only team in the Horizon League that I absolutely cannot stand. Hopefully they get blown out by 35 in the first round and Ray gets a shot blocked directly into his arrogant face.

Detroit aside, we've had a wonderful surprise of a season and we should be proud of our guys. Next year is only going to be even better. Hopefully this loss lights a fire in their bellies and propels them to great success in the NIT. 

[78crusader]

Two thoughts: First, I would agree that Detroit has no class. Second, I thought their Coach made a good adjustment at half by putting on the half court trap defense.

Paul

[govalpogo]

There is little to no poetic justice about this win...but such is the way of the real world I suppose.  Once KVW was injured and the threes didn't start falling...trouble.  Detroit kept their intensity long enough and seemingly crushed our will.  Steal after steal after dunk after block gets hard to recover from after awhile.  Congrats to Detroit who played a very good basketball game and showed their superior athletic ability.  I'm sure the Catholic University of Detroit Mercy was very...proud...of the way their students showed support for their team...Alas, perhaps some sour grapes about the injustice of it all...but wow. 

It was still a pleasantly surprising  season overall though, a reg season championship, COY, POY, and an NIT bid are steps in the right direction.  Let's win a game or two or three or four in the NIT!!! 

[valporun]

The Doug Anderson dunk with about 10:23 remaining was the thing that deflated us. We just didn't do anything after that.

McCallum is the reason the rest of the HL is picking whatever #2 seed they'll be matched up against, if Detroit doesn't get a play-in game.

I was definitely tired of Mark Jones and Stephen Bardo with their "jobbin'" Detroit the whole game, from the locker room lead-in to a lot of points during the game itself. They had no real observations or interests in anything good that Valpo would have done, or that Valpo actually really did during the game. Did anyone remember to bring a cake and ice cream to celebrate Ray Sr.'s 51st birthday by chance?

[valpo92]

They seem pretty classless, but they get get credit for completely taking apart what the Crusaders wanted to do. They were totally outplayed in the 2nd half.   

At least this year we know VU gets a consolation prize

[SanityLost17]

Man, I am fine that we lost as we did not deserve to win with how we played, but I can't get over how immature Detroit's team is.  I would rather lose to Butler by 30 points than to those thugs by any amount, as Butler's players at least play with class.  With Detroit as our representative, our league is going to look so thuggish.

Ageed!  I don't recall Haward, Howard, Mack, or Nored making love to the camera after every made basket.  Nored shows a lot of emotion clapping his hands and getting his team back on defense.  Ray Jr. on the other hand specifically finds the camera to flex, pound his chest, and talk about how awesome he is.  I watched the game with 6 people who have never seen Valpo or Detroit play and they all walked away respecting his play, but lacking respect for him as a person.  As stated by my co-teacher at the high school I work at, "Who is that A** Hole on Detroits team?  He is a good player, but I dislike everything about him."

[KL31NY]

There is little to no poetic justice about this win...but such is the way of the real world I suppose.  Once KVW was injured and the threes didn't start falling...trouble.  Detroit kept their intensity long enough and seemingly crushed our will.  Steal after steal after dunk after block gets hard to recover from after awhile.  Congrats to Detroit who played a very good basketball game and showed their superior athletic ability.  I'm sure the Catholic University of Detroit Mercy was very...proud...of the way their students showed support for their team...Alas, perhaps some sour grapes about the injustice of it all...but wow. 

It was still a pleasantly surprising  season overall though, a reg season championship, COY, POY, and an NIT bid are steps in the right direction.  Let's win a game or two or three or four in the NIT!!! 

Jesuit I think, not that it makes it any better 

I'll give credit to the team for winning. They hit shots and made plays consistently and we couldn't. They made the adjustments and they're off to the NCAAs. Given who they had to beat to get there, and having to win 4x in eight days and beat the top two seeds in the process, good for them. An attitude adjustment wouldn't hurt though to make that passion a little more constructive

And to valporun's point on "jobbin," I agree that the coverage was clearly slanted. I posted on the interactive page that you'd think Detroit was the #1 seed they way that broadcast started.

[mj]

We played like crap. 18 turnovers and shooting 2-18 from behind the arc is a recipe for disaster. It was a game that really reminded me of the Wright State shellacking earlier in the year.

The only thing that was worse than our play was the attitude of the Detroit team. Running up the score when the game was already decided? Dunking at the buzzer? It shows a real lack of class.

[govalpogo]

There is little to no poetic justice about this win...but such is the way of the real world I suppose.  Once KVW was injured and the threes didn't start falling...trouble.  Detroit kept their intensity long enough and seemingly crushed our will.  Steal after steal after dunk after block gets hard to recover from after awhile.  Congrats to Detroit who played a very good basketball game and showed their superior athletic ability.  I'm sure the Catholic University of Detroit Mercy was very...proud...of the way their students showed support for their team...Alas, perhaps some sour grapes about the injustice of it all...but wow. 

It was still a pleasantly surprising  season overall though, a reg season championship, COY, POY, and an NIT bid are steps in the right direction.  Let's win a game or two or three or four in the NIT!!! 

Jesuit I think, not that it makes it any better 

I'll give credit to the team for winning. They hit shots and made plays consistently and we couldn't. They made the adjustments and they're off to the NCAAs. Given who they had to beat to get there, and having to win 4x in eight days and beat the top two seeds in the process, good for them. An attitude adjustment wouldn't hurt though to make that passion a little more constructive

And to valporun's point on "jobbin," I agree that the coverage was clearly slanted. I posted on the interactive page that you'd think Detroit was the #1 seed they way that broadcast started.

St. Ignatius would be proud!   

[KL31NY]

Side note, did Ray's dunk at the end count before the buzzer? We may have some controversy...

The live stats from CBS Game Tracker, the valpoathletics.com home page, the valpoathletics.com box score, and the first lower third with the final on the live ESPN telecast said 70-50. The dunk counted and Ray was credited with 21 points. However, the final lower third on the telecast was changed to 68-50, and the ESPN.com boxscore and the live highlights on SportsCenter all said 68-50 with Ray only having 19 points. The AP story attached to the ESPN site says 68-50 final, but that Ray still had 21 points. Also, the warning about a new reply on the forum popped up, and I check ESPN.com again and the score's been changed to 70-50 but Ray still has 19 points... very confusing.

[drewsaders11]

I don't think it has sunk in yet that our taem just lost a game at our own home court to that collection of individuals wearing Detroit jerseys.  I've been following Valpo since my freshman year in '07, and there have been several games to get geeked up about, so it had the same feel as those, but in retrospect, its kind of surreal that we essentially let our opportunity slip through our fingers.  Up nine more than halfway through the first, and then it we just collapse. 

Detroit really did start playing some solid defense.  However, they really didn't turn up their, offense, either, and we were in the game a lot longer than I felt we could be.  I kept hoping, wishing, thinking that somehow, some way, if we just got two or three shots in a row to go, we might get some momentum.  In the end, it wasn't meant to be.  The prognosticators at the beginning of the season were accurate in predicting Detroit was the best team in the conference, to some extent.  I feel they do have a collection of some of the better athletes in the conference, and their trap defense in the second half was impressive.

Am I happy they are representing us in the Dance? Definitely not. They will get no higher than a 15, unless several other teams such as Western Kentucky win their tourneys, which won't happen.  They are completely classless.  Their fans' behavior and McCallum's ridiculousness speak for itself, as does McCallum the elder's willingness to allow these actions to continue.  While in school, I am fairly certain they were the only team to ever actually recognize the student section as being there, meaning they weren't focused and well coached, imo. 

has been said before, but any other team would better represent the HL.

[drewsaders11]

I also agree that ESPN's broadcast was awkwardly slanted towards Detroit, especially the beginning.  The first two minutes were lauding Detroit.  OK, they won three games to get here.  But Valpo has the COY, POY, KVW, top seed, regular season champs at that point.  It did rub me the wrong way, and am glad it did to some others, as well.

[Valpo_Fred]

That game was hard to watch in the second half. Didn't really enjoy McCallum Jr.s jawing at the camera every made shot. But you have to give Detroit credit, they outplayed Valpo big time in the second half. I'm surprised Ray Sr. actually did a decent coaching job. It didn't help that Boggs, Buggs, Bogan and Harris were like 2-15 shooting. It was a nice run this season. At least one more game left in the post-season. Come back strong next year and win both the HL regular season and tournament.

BTW, Ray Jr. is getting shredded on Twitter right now. Not just Valpo fans either. Not surprised.

[valpopal]

Obviously, Valpo did not have its 3-point shots falling tonight, but it didn't matter much in the first half because the points were coming inside the paint, and Valpo had a commanding lead in rebounds. In fact, some of Kevin's shots were uncontested lay-ups. However, after Kevin's injury the game turned around. When he was hurt, Valpo was up by 8 or 9, and as soon as he went to the locker room, Detroit cut the lead to 3 at the half. In the second half it was clear that Kevin couldn't run full speed, and he couldn't go forcibly for rebounds. Without that, the team needed more jump shots to fall, but they did not; therefore, the team began to look lost. There was also a rumor in my section that Ryan wasn't feeling a hundred percent tonight: I don't know about that one for sure.

Nevertheless, Detroit exhibited the quickness and athleticism that everyone has mentioned since pre-season and feared would give them an advantage, and McCallum played the way everyone expected since pre-season. Give them full credit for that. Still, Detroit and its fans displayed some of the most blatant examples of classless behavior I have seen. As someone else has mentioned, it made me appreciate the class with which Butler's team conducts itself, no matter how hard-fought the game may be. That class or lack of class comes as a result of the coach and the atmosphere within the locker room.

McCallum's display throughout the game was far more offensive than the behavior that supposedly earned Edwards his ejection earlier this season. Also, the constant chanting of obscenities by the Detroit fans only gave their university a black eye on national television. Finally, the dunk by McCallum should be remembered. In fact, video of McCallum and the fans should be preserved and shown to the team before each game against Detroit next year, especially when we have the bigger bodies of Capobianco and Fernandez to pound inside.

I said earlier in the year that Valpo needed to learn to respond to teams like Detroit with a bit more attitude of their own; unfortunately, that wasn't showing tonight. I hope McCallum tries some of his antics against a team in the NCAA tournament that is less likely to tolerate the behavior; my guess is that he'll quickly be introduced to the hardwood. I know a player acting like him would have been knocked down a few times even in the YMCA games I used to play.

[Valpo10]

Rowdy posted on Facebook shortly after, mentioned "sickness or no sickness".

POY sick and Kevin hurt; no making excuses but damn.