Valparaiso (6-6, 0-0 MVC)
Game #13 - Dec. 29, 2018 - 1 p.m.
Purdue Northwest (4-8, 0-4 GLIAC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team comes off a 10-day layoff from competition with its final tuneup before the start of conference play on Saturday afternoon, as Valpo welcomes Purdue Northwest to the ARC for a matinee showdown.
Last Time Out: Valpo fell against SEC opponent Texas A&M on Dec. 19 in College Station, Texas by a 71-49 final. After scoring the first basket of the game, Valpo surrendered a 20-2 run to the Aggies and would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Following Valpo Basketball: Video – ESPN3 – Todd Ickow and David Huseman
Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Ben Ariano and Dan Stellfox
Links for the video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (45-32) 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 the program through the transition 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 team to 24 wins and an at-large berth into the NIT.
Series Notes: Saturday marks the first meeting all-time between Valpo and Purdue Northwest. PNW formed in 2016 following the merger of Purdue North Central and Purdue Calumet - Valpo played each institution once in program history. Valpo defeated PNC 98-44 on Nov. 18, 2010, a game which is tied for the eighth-largest margin of victory in program history, and beat Purdue Cal 79-51 on Dec. 22, 2012.
@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 at Texas A&M
- Valpo scored on its first possession of the game on a Bakari Evelyn 3-pointer, but the Aggies went on a 20-2 run to lead by 15 less than eight minutes into the game.
- Texas A&M led by 22 with 2:58 to play in the first half before Valpo closed the period with a 7-1 spurt to move within 34-18 at halftime.
- Valpo closed the deficit to 11 points nearing the midway point of the second half and had the ball with a chance to make it a single-digit game, but a turnover led to an Aggies 3-pointer, and Valpo would get no closer the rest of the way.
- Valpo struggled shooting the ball for the second straight game, hitting just 34% overall from the field, including just 3-of-22 from 3-point range.
- It marked the first time Valpo failed to hit the 50-point mark since its 43-41 loss to Milwaukee in the 2017 Horizon League Tournament.
- The losses to Ball State and Texas A&M marked Valpo’s first consecutive losses of the season.
...in the loss to Ball State
- The game was tied at 25 with 3:40 to go in the first half before Ball State went on a 10-0 run to close the period.
- The Cardinals then extended their lead to 17 with a 10-3 spurt to start the second half.
- Valpo cut the deficit to single digits just once in the second half, on a Ryan Fazekas 3-pointer with 2:45 to play which made it a 67-59 game, but Ball State out-scored Valpo 10-2 over the final couple minutes.
- The loss was Valpo’s second straight at home in non-conference play, the first time Valpo has dropped consecutive non-conference home games since 2006.
- Ball State held a 27-13 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing 17 Valpo miscues, and out-scored Valpo in the paint, 48-26.
- Fazekas led Valpo with 19 points, overcoming an off night from the perimeter by going 4-of-5 inside the arc and 8-of-9 from the foul line.
...looking ahead
- MVC play opens for Valpo on Wednesday, January 2, as Valpo welcomes Illinois State to the ARC.
- Valpo then faces its first conference road game of the campaign on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Missouri State.
...at the ARC
- Valpo has 15 regular season home games scheduled at the ARC this season and is 3-2 so far this year at home.
- Valpo has dropped its last two home games to High Point and Ball State - the first time the program has lost consecutive home non-conference games since losing to #8 Marquette and #18 Butler in a three-day span at the ARC in November of 2006.
- Valpo posted a 10-4 record at home last year, its eighth consecutive season reaching double figures in home victories
- Valpo has recorded a 60-10 (.857) mark in home games since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Over the last 23 years, Valpo owns a 295-66 (.817) record on its home court at the ARC.
@PNWBasketball
- Purdue Northwest enters Saturday’s game at 4-8 overall and 0-4 in GLIAC play, but most recently earned an 89-79 win over Judson on Dec. 18.
- The Pride will be playing Saturday’s game as an exhibition game.
- PNW has been involved in a number of high scoring games this year, as the Pride are averaging 83.3 points per game, while their opponents are scoring 88 points per game.
- Freshman guard Dean Tate leads PNW, averaging 11.7 points per game, while freshman forward Anthony Barnard posts 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Shooting - The Highs and the Lows
- The difference in Valpo’s 3-point shooting in wins versus losses this year is striking - in its five wins over D-I teams, Valpo is hitting 41.2% from the 3-point line, while in its six losses, Valpo is shooting just 23.8% from deep.
- Valpo has hit more than four 3-pointers just twice in its six losses and has shot better than 29% from deep in a loss just once.
- Meanwhile, in its last two victories, Valpo has shot at least 50% from downtown, including a 15-of-27 effort from deep in its last win over George Washington.
- The 15 triples were the program’s highest total against a Division I opponent since going 15-of-26 from deep in a Feb. 5, 2013 win over UIC.
Winning Non-Conference Slate
- Valpo is looking for a ninth consecutive winning record prior to the start of conference play on Saturday, as a victory would put the team at 7-6 heading into MVC action.
- The last time Valpo posted a sub-.500 record in non-conference action before the heart of conference play came in the 2009-10 campaign, when Valpo entered the Horizon League with a 5-7 non-league record.
Looking to Bounce Back
- Saturday’s game provides Valpo an opportunity to bounce back on a pair of fronts prior to opening MVC play.
- Valpo has lost consecutive non-conference home games for the first time since November of 2006 - the program has not lost three straight non-conference home games since the 1991-92 campaign.
- Meanwhile, the team has lost by 16 or more points in each of its last two games, the first time a Valpo team has dropped consecutive games by that large a margin in the regular season since losses to Butler and Purdue in December of 2009.
Record Watch
- Just past the one-third mark of the season, a pair of newcomers find themselves in position to potentially challenge program single-season records with at least 20 games remaining.
- Freshman Javon Freeman currently leads the MVC with 1.8 steals/game and has tallied 21 total steals - he would need to average 2.1 steals/game the rest of the way to match Lubos Barton’s record of 63 steals, set in the 2001-02 season.
- Meanwhile, graduate transfer Deion Lavender has totaled 65 assists (5.4/game) and would need to average 6.6/game the rest of the way to catch John McIlvain and his 197-assist 1982-83 season.
- Elsewhere, Derrik Smits is shooting 61.3% from the floor so far this year, a mark which would rank fifth in Valpo’s single-season history.
