Valparaiso (7-6, 0-0 MVC)
Game #14 - Jan. 2, 2019 - 7 p.m.
Illinois State (7-6, 0-0 MVC)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) - Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team kicks off the 2019 calendar year and opens up Missouri Valley Conference play on Wednesday evening, as Valpo welcomes Illinois State to the ARC for the conference opener.
Last Time Out: Valpo returned to competition following a 10-day break from action with its final non-conference game of the regular season Saturday afternoon, defeating Purdue Northwest 97-61 at the ARC behind a balanced offensive effort which saw five players score in double figures. Ryan Fazekas led the way in the victory with 19 points, including five 3-pointers.
Following Valpo Basketball: Video – ESPN+ – Todd Ickow and David Huseman
Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Ben Ariano and Danny Dalenberg
Links for the video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (46-32) 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: Despite being a pair of mid-major programs located just 2 1/2 hours apart, Valpo and Illinois State have met just 13 times over the years, with the Redbirds enjoying an 8-5 edge in the series. The series had been dormant since 1981, until Valpo joined the MVC prior to last season. In their first season as conference foes, both teams defended their respective home courts, as Illinois State won 76-65 in Normal and Valpo won 74-58 at the ARC. Valpo’s other four wins in the all-time series all came in the mid-1940’s.
@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 win over Purdue Northwest
- Valpo never trailed on Saturday, pushing the lead to double figures less than nine minutes into the game.
- The game was Valpo’s first since playing at Texas A&M on December 19. The 10-day span between games was the most for a Valpo team in regular season action since the 2006 squad went 11 days between playing at Evansville (Dec. 5) and at Ball State (Dec. 16).
- Saturday’s win secured Valpo’s ninth consecutive winning non-conference slate.
- The Brown and Gold dominated the inside, out-rebounding PNW – which was playing the game as an exhibition – by a 50-26 margin and out-scoring the Pride in the paint, 54-16. 24 of Valpo’s 54 interior points came via 12 dunks from six different players, led by Markus Golder’s five dunks.
...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.
...looking ahead
- Valpo faces its first conference road game of the campaign on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Missouri State.
- Valpo then returns home next Tuesday night, Jan. 8, as it hosts Bradley.
...at the ARC
- Valpo has 15 regular season home games scheduled at the ARC this season and is 4-2 so far this year at home.
- Valpo bounced back last time out with a win over Purdue Northwest, snapping a two-game home losing streak (High Point; Ball State) - the first time the program had lost consecutive home non-conference games since 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 61-10 (.859) mark in home games since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Over the last 23 years, Valpo owns a 296-66 (.818) record on its home court at the ARC.
@Redbird_MBB
- Illinois State enters Wednesday’s conference opener with a 7-6 record in the non-conference slate.
- The Redbirds have dropped four of their last five games, most recently falling 77-56 at UCF on Dec. 21.
- Milik Yarbrough leads ISU, averaging 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
- Phil Fayne adds 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Josh Jefferson (11.6 ppg) and Zach Copeland (10.2 ppg) average in double figures as well.
Conference Openers
- Valpo is looking to start on the right foot in MVC play this season.
- Last year, in its first year as an MVC member, Valpo dropped its conference opener at Indiana State.
- In fact, last season, it took Valpo until its fourth MVC game (home vs. Southern Illinois) to earn its first conference victory.
- Valpo was 6-4 in its first league game of the season in 10 years as part of the Horizon League.
Changing Up the Lineup
- Valpo used just its third different starting quintet of the season last time out against Purdue Northwest.
- Bakari Evelyn missed the game against the Pride, while Deion Lavender came off the bench for the first time in his Valpo career.
- In their places, Markus Golder made his first start of the season and Daniel Sackey made the first start of his career, joining Derrik Smits, Ryan Fazekas and Javon Freeman.
- The group of Lavender, Evelyn, Freeman, Fazekas and Smits had started 11 consecutive games prior to Saturday.
- The only other starting five this year came in the season opener, when Mileek McMillan earned the starting nod and Smits came off the bench.
Shooting - The Highs and the Lows
- The difference in Valpo’s 3-point shooting in wins versus losses this year is striking - in its seven victories, Valpo is hitting 41.3% 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 three victories, Valpo has shot at least 44% from downtown, including a 15-of-27 effort from deep in its win at 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.
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 19 games remaining.
- Freshman Javon Freeman currently leads the MVC with 1.7 steals/game and has tallied 22 total steals, setting his sights on Lubos Barton’s record of 63 steals, set in the 2001-02 season.
- Meanwhile, graduate transfer Deion Lavender has totaled 70 assists (5.4/game) and is taking aim at John McIlvain and his 197-assist 1982-83 season.
- Elsewhere, Derrik Smits is shooting 63.1% from the floor so far this year, a mark which would rank third in Valpo’s single-season history.
