Valparaiso (5-4, 0-0 MVC)
Game #10 - Dec. 8, 2018 - 3 p.m. CT
at George Washington (2-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Charles E. Smith Center (5,000) - Washington, D.C.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team looks to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon as it travels to Washington, D.C. to face off against George Washington. It is the first time Valpo and GW have matched up since the 2016 NIT championship game.
Last Time Out: Valpo rallied from a late seven-point deficit to tie Tuesday’s game with High Point at the ARC on a 3-pointer by Ryan Fazekas with 19 seconds to play, but the Panthers’ Brandonn Kamga banked in an off-balance jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to give High Point the 55-53 win. Valpo, which shot just 32.7% for the game, wass paced by 14 points and 12 rebounds from Derrik Smits.
Following the Crusaders: Video – ESPN+ – Geoff Arnold and Dante Verme
Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Todd Ickow and Aaron Leavitt
Links for the video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (44-30) is in his sixth season overall at Valpo and third as head coach in 2018-19. Lottich led Valpo to 15 victories in his second season in charge in 2017-18 and guided the Crusaders through the move to the MVC, which ended the campaign ranked eighth nationally in conference RPI. In his first year as head coach, Lottich guided Valpo to its fifth Horizon League regular season championship in the last six years as he led the Crusaders to 24 wins and an at-large berth into the NIT.
Series Notes: Valpo and George Washington are meeting for the second time in the all-time series. The first matchup came in the title game of the 2016 NIT at Madison Square Garden, a game the Colonials won 76-60 to claim the tournament championship. Valpo was within one of GW at the half of the game before the Colonials pulled away in the second half. Alec Peters led Valpo with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Vashil Fernandez posted six points, six rebounds and five blocked shots in his final collegiate game.
@ValpoBasketball...
...and @ValleyHoops
- Valpo was selected to finish in seventh place in the MVC preseason poll with 173 points.
- Valpo has finished worse in the final standings than its preseason projection just once in the last eight years.
...looking back at last year
- Valpo went 15-17 in its first season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
- The Brown and Gold posted a 6-12 record in MVC play in a conference which ended the season ranked eighth in the nation in conference RPI.
- The 2017-18 campaign marked the first time in the last eight years that Valpo has not earned a bid to postseason tournament play.
- Sophomore Bakari Evelyn was named to the MVC’s All-Newcomer Team, while sophomore Markus Golder earned a spot on the conference’s All-Bench Team.
...in the loss to High Point
- Valpo trailed by seven (53-46) with 2:37 to play, but scored seven in a row, capped by Ryan Fazekas’ 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go, to tie the game at 53 before Brandonn Kamga hit an off-balance jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to win it for High Point.
- Valpo earned its largest lead at 38-30 with 14:15 to go in the second half, but then scored just two points over the next seven and a half minutes as the Panthers came back to take the lead.
- The loss was the first regular season defeat at home for Valpo this season after winning each of its first three home games of the year.
- Derrik Smits recorded his second double-double of the season, pacing Valpo with 14 points and leading all players with 12 rebounds.
- All five Valpo starters scored at least eight points, but Smits was the only Valpo player to score in double figures.
...in the win over UC Riverside
- Valpo trailed for just 18 seconds in the win over the Highlanders, taking the lead for good 1:35 into the game.
- Valpo led by as many as 14 in the first half and by as many as 13 in the second half, but UCR cut the lead to just five points with 2:39 to play. The Highlanders would get no closer though.
- Valpo dominated the paint, doubling the Highlanders’ output from in close, 44-22. Valpo also out-rebounded UCR, 32-24, and tallied 17 assists against just 10 turnovers.
- Five Valpo players scored in double figures, led by 18 points from Derrik Smits - the fourth time Smits has paced Valpo in scoring in the last five games.
- Markus Golder matched his season high and finished just two points off his career best with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers.
...looking ahead
- Valpo is off for finals week before returning to action at the ARC Monday, Dec. 17 against Ball State.
- The Brown and Gold then face a quick turnaround, flying down to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M on Wednesday, Dec. 19
...on the road
- Saturday is the third of 13 true road games for Valpo in the 2018-19 regular season, as it is currently 1-1 following a win at UNLV in its last road outing.
- Valpo went just 3-12 in true road games last season.
- Prior to last year, Valpo had finished above .500 in true road games in four of the last five seasons.
@GW_MBB
- George Washington enters Saturday’s game at 2-7 on the season, most recently edging Towson on Wednesday, 68-64.
- The Colonials are averaging just 61.2 points per game, but have three players scoring double figures, led by 14.1 ppg from DJ Williams.
- Amaldo Toro is nearly averaging a double-double, as he enters Saturday at 10.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
There Is Nothing I Do Better Than Revenge
- Sunday’s win over UC Riverside kicked off what can be viewed as a revenge tour for the Valpo basketball program during the month of December.
- Valpo fell at UC Riverside last season by a 73-60 final and trailed 34-13 18 minutes into that contest.
- Coming up Saturday, Valpo will play at George Washington in a rematch of the 2016 NIT championship game that the Colonials won 76-60.
- Monday, Dec. 17 brings Ball State to the ARC - the Cardinals beat Valpo last season, 71-70, thanks to a 3-pointer by Taylor Persons with 3.3 seconds to play.
Shooting - The Highs and the Lows
- Valpo has seen a wide variance in its shooting numbers over the last three games.
- In last Wednesday’s win at UNLV, Valpo connected at just a 37.1% rate from the field - its worst performance in a victory since hitting 36.2% in a win over Southern Utah to open the 2016-17 season.
- In Sunday’s win over UCR, Valpo improved its shooting percentage by over 20 percentage points, finishing at an even 60% clip from the floor - Valpo’s best against a Division I opponent since hitting at a 60.4% mark in a win over UIC on Jan. 8, 2015.
- Then on Tuesday against High Point, Valpo shot just 32.7% from the floor and was just 3-of-22 from 3-point range after going 9-of-18 from the 3-point line against UCR.
High Five!
- Graduate transfer Deion Lavender has been a steadying influence in Valpo’s backcourt and makes his presence felt in all aspects of the game.
- Lavender finished with 12 points and game highs of seven rebounds and seven assists in Sunday’s victory over UC Riverside.
- For Lavender, it was his fourth game out of nine this year where he posted at least five points, five rebounds and five assists.
- Matt Kenney in 2011-12 was the last Valpo player before Lavender to record four such games in the same season.
- On the year, Lavender ranks second in the MVC with 5.4 assists/game and is also averaging 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Forcing Miscues
- Valpo pressured UNLV into committing 25 turnovers in last Wednesday’s win, scoring 32 points off of the Rebels’ miscues.
- The 25 turnovers was the most by a Valpo Division I opponent since Chicago State coughed the ball up 25 times in March of 2002.
- Valpo’s 32 points off of turnovers was its highest output against a D-I foe since scoring 32 points off of 23 turnovers in a 93-70 win over Maine in November of 2014.
- Valpo is one of just three Division I teams to go on the road this year and force 25 or more turnovers by the hosts.
Dominating On Both Ends
- Junior Derrik Smits continued his strong recent run of play on Tuesday against High Point with a team-high 14 points and matched his career high with 12 rebounds.
- Smits, who currently ranks in the top-10 in the MVC in both scoring and rebounding, has now paced Valpo in scoring in five of the last six games.
- Smits’ first career double-double came in the win at UNLV, where he posted 20 points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
- Smits tallied 20 points and blocked a career-high five shots in Valpo’s game at West Virginia, becoming the first Valpo player to hit those marks in the same game since Zoran Viskovic posted 27 and seven in a win over Northern Illinois in January 1998.
- Earlier this year, Smits scored a career-high 23 points against Wake Forest.
