Next Up in Valpo Basketball: There aren't many mid-major matchups featuring two teams off to better starts to the season than Wednesday's battle between the Valparaiso University men's basketball team and South Dakota State. The Beacons will look to follow up their epic 83-80, double-overtime (and double-buzzer-beating) victory at RV/No. 24 Purdue by extending their season-opening winning streak to three. However, in order to do so, Valpo will have to get through a team that has already pocketed a power-conference win of its own, as the Jackrabbits started the season with a 68-66 success story at Kansas State. This will be a battle of two teams that are both ranked in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
 
Last Time Out: Rakim Chaney scored a career-high 35 points while pouring in eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Beacons to a come-from-behind, 83-80 victory over RV/No. 24 Purdue on Friday night at Mackey Arena. Head coach Roger Powell Jr. and the players on the team have restored Valpo's winning tradition, and they've also restored the tradition of Valpo buzzer-beaters. The first overtime ended with a corner 3-pointer by Rakim Chaney to tie the game at 70, and the second ended as Justus McNair beat the buzzer with a contested, right-wing triple that sent the college basketball universe into a state of delirium. Valpo trailed by as many as 15 before storming back to silence a Mackey Arena crowd of 14,876.
 
Glancing Ahead: The Beacons will have four days between games before returning to the court on Monday night by hosting CCSJ at the ARC at 7 p.m. on Military Appreciation Night. CCSJ, an NAIA opponent, is coached by former Valpo player and assistant coach Jason Hawkins.
 
Following the Beacons: Streaming – Midco Sports Plus – Tyler Merriam and Brad Newitt
Radio – WVUR 95.1 FM Valparaiso, TuneIn Radio App, ValpoAthletics.com – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (analyst)
X updates – @ValpoBasketball
Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
 
Head Coach Roger Powell Jr.: Roger Powell Jr. (42-59) is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Valpo men's basketball program. After helping guide Gonzaga to a 121-13 record during his four seasons as an assistant coach, Powell returned to Valpo, where he was part of head coach Bryce Drew's staff from 2011-2016 and led the team to 124 wins in five seasons, including a program-record 30 victories and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game appearance in 2015-16. He was part of head coach Mark Few's Gonzaga staff as the Bulldogs reached the 2021 national championship game after winning their first 31 games of the season. During Powell's first season on staff in 2019-20, Gonzaga was 31-2 at the time the NCAA college basketball season was halted due to COVID-19. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet Sixteen in each of his final three seasons on staff, including two Elite Eight appearances and the aforementioned trip to the 2021 national title game. Prior to his arrival at Gonzaga, Powell served as the associate head coach at Vanderbilt University under Bryce Drew from 2016-2019. During his stint as an assistant at Valpo, he was part of four Horizon League regular-season championships in a five-year period while also leading the 2012-13 and 2014-15 squads to Horizon League tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A product of Joliet West High School and a native of Joliet, Ill., Powell capped a prolific collegiate playing career at Illinois with a national title game appearance in 2005 before going on to a successful professional playing career. In the second season of the Powell Era in 2024-2025, Valpo over doubled its overall win total from the previous season and doubled its conference win output before earning a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal berth. The Beacons finished with 15 wins, the team's highest total since 2019-20 before upping that to 18 in his third season in 2025-2026. That season saw Valpo achieve its highest Missouri Valley Conference win total since joining the league. After leading the Valpo surge in 2025-2026, Powell was named a finalist for the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award and finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year voting.
 
Series Notes: Valpo is 1-2 all-time against South Dakota State, most recently losing 61-50 on Nov. 25, 2022 as part of a multi-team event in Savannah, Ga. Valpo picked up a home 83-72 win over the Jackrabbits on Dec. 13, 1976 after falling 76-74 on Dec. 22, 1975 in the team's most recent visit to South Dakota State.
 
Scouting the Jackrabbits  

• Spoiled former Belmont head coach Casey Alexander's Kansas State debut with a 68-66 road victory in the season opener before downing Briar Cliff 71-49.
• Led in scoring by Davis Kern at 17.0 points per game.
• Have made seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 2012, going to the Big Dance as recently as 2024.
• Rated 190 in the KenPom.
• Picked to finish third in the Summit League Preseason Poll.
• Ranked No. 18, one spot ahead of Valpo, in this week's Mid-Major Top 25.

Strong Start

• With a win on Wednesday, Valpo would own a 3-0 start for the first time since starting 8-0 in 2017-18. Valpo is already off to its first 2-0 start since that season.
• Should Valpo prevail on Wednesday, it would improve to 2-0 on the road for the first time since 2006-2007 (wins over IPFW and Niagara).
• Last week, Valpo won its road opener for the first time since 2017-18 and its home opener for the 21^st time in the last 22 years.

The Miracle at Mackey: Valpo 83, Purdue 80 (F/2OT)

• This marked Valpo's first true road win over a Top-25 opponent ever (previously 0-44).
• This marked Valpo's first win against a ranked team since beating Drake on Feb. 7, 2021 at the ARC.  
• This marked Valpo's fifth all-time road win against a top-25 team, improving to 5-67. Valpo's previous wins: Feb. 7, 2021 vs. No. 25 Drake; Nov. 29, 2016 vs. No. 21 Rhode Island; March 13, 1998 vs. No. 13 Ole Miss (NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Bryce's Drew's "The Shot") and Dec. 17, 1988 vs. No. 19 Notre Dame (The Lutheran Miracle).
• Valpo beat Purdue for the second time ever (third if you count a December 1995 game that was later ruled a forfeit in Valpo's favor.) The last time Valpo beat Purdue in a game was Dec. 22, 1965, a 114-96 Valpo win at home. Valpo snapped a 10-game head-to-head losing streak to the Boilermakers (12 if you count the game that was later forfeited by Purdue as a Valpo loss.)
• This marked Valpo's first win over a power-conference opponent since Nov. 21, 2016 vs. Alabama (neutral).
• This represented Valpo's first road win over a power-conference opponent since Nov. 24, 2015 at Oregon State
• This was Valpo's first win against a Big Ten opponent since Dec. 28, 2004 against Penn State. Valpo had dropped 19 straight against the Big Ten Conference.  
• Purdue had won 19 straight home games vs. MVC foes dating back to Nov. 27, 1978 (Indiana State).
• This snapped a 22-game Purdue winning streak against nonconference, instate foes dating back to a November 2001 loss to Butler. Matt Painter was 19-0 against instate nonconference foes before that game.
• The win snapped Purdue's 23-game home winning streak in the month of November.
• Purdue owned its longest active winning streak against an individual opponent, having won 12 straight (or 10, depending on how you count the forfeit) against Valpo prior to the upset.
• Prior to Valpo's victory, the Big Ten had won eight straight over The Valley since Indiana State's 76-64 win over Minnesota on March 24, 2024. This marked The Valley's first road win at a Big Ten school since Nov. 10, 2017 (Indiana State at Indiana), snapping a 20-game losing streak by the MVC in road games against Big Ten competition.
• Purdue went to the Elite Eight last season, has appeared in three straight Sweet 16s including a national runner-up finish in 2024 and has made seven Sweet 16 appearances in the last decade.

Beating the Buzzer

• This marked just the second time nationally in the last nine seasons that any Division-I team made a game-tying and game-winning 3-point buzzer beater in the same game. The other instance was last season in Missouri's 88-87 win over Oklahoma in overtime, when Trent Pierce hit a 37-foot 3-pointer to send the game to OT before Mark Mitchell made a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game (Jan. 24).
• This marked Valpo's 26^th game-winning shot in the final five seconds of a game since the start of the 1992-93 season and first since JT Pettigrew had one in the final five seconds against Drake last season.
• Since the start of the 1992-93 season, this marks the program's ninth true buzzer-beater. The only Valpo players with multiple true buzzer-beaters are McNair and Bryce Drew. Others with one include Jamie Sykes, Greg Tonagel, Erik Buggs, Ryan Broekhoff and Markus Golder.
• McNair hit the second true buzzer-beater of his career, as this marked Valpo's first true buzzer-beater since McNair beat Western Michigan 76-73 on Dec. 20, 2024.

Valpo Basketball Game-Winning Shots in Final Five Seconds
Date                Player                          Opponent        Score
11/6/26            Justus McNair*           at Purdue         W 83-80(2ot)
2/25/26            JT Pettigrew               Drake              W 74-71
2/19/25            All Wright                  Missouri St     W 68-64
12/20/24          Justus McNair*           at WMU          W 76-73
11/27/22          Nick Edwards             v. James Mad. W 81-79(ot)
3/6/20              Eron Gordon               v. Loyola         W 73-73(ot)
11/5/19            Javon Freeman-Liberty Toledo          W 79-77
1/2/19              Markus Golder*          Illinois State   W 58-56
2/28/16            Shane Hammink         at Green Bay   W 70-68
3/9/13              Ryan Broekhoff*        Green Bay       W 70-69
11/20/12          Kevin Van Wijk         at Kent State   W 88-83(ot)
1/6/12              Erik Buggs*                at Detroit        W 73-71
12/31/09          Brandon McPherson   Milwaukee      W 55-54
3/1/08              Shawn Huff                Wright St        W 75-73(ot)
2/1/07              Shawn Huff                Oral Roberts   W 70-67(ot)
1/24/02            Lubos Barton              at IUPUI          W 74-73(ot)
2/12/00            Ivan Vujic                   Oral Roberts   W 60-59
1/11/99            Greg Tonagel*            Belmont          W 71-68
12/5/98            Lubos Barton              UMKC W 66-63
3/13/98            Bryce Drew*               v. Ole Miss     W 70-69
11/17/98          Bryce Drew*               Buffalo            W 82-80
1/4/98              Bill Jenkins                 Northeastern Ill. W 72-69
11/30/97          Jamie Sykes*              v. Pacific         W 75-73
1/11/97            Bob Jenkins                at Northeastern Ill. W 82-80
11/13/96          Craig Brunes               at CCSU          W 79-76
3/1/93              Lance Barker              at Western Ill. W 104-100(ot)
*-true buzzer-beater (no time on clock)
 
The No-Quit Beacons

• Valpo overcame a 15-point deficit in the win at Purdue, the team's largest comeback since coming from 16 down to win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 22, 2025.
• Per KenPom, Valpo's win probability was 0.9 percent late in the first half. That marked the third-lowest win probability in a victory over the opening week of the season (East Texas A&M 0.6 vs. Oklahoma, South Alabama 0.7 vs. Jacksonville State).
• The win probability dipped back down to 1.7 percent during the first overtime.
• Valpo was one of eight teams nationally to erase a deficit of 15 points or larger during the opening week of the season.
• The matchup ranked 11^th in terms of KenPom's "excitement" factor during the opening week of the season at 3.00.
• The victory was the third-largest upset nationally during Week 1, per KenPom, at a 6.3 percent pregame win probability. (East Texas A&M 0.7 percent at Oklahoma, Northern Illinois 2.9 percent at Dayton).

Overcoming Adversity

• Valpo prevailed on Nov. 6 at Purdue despite finishing the game without Rakim Chaney, Carter Hopoi and Kai Yu, all of whom fouled out. Plus, JT Pettigrew was sidelined for a significant stretch due to cramping.
• Valpo won at a sold-out Mackey Arena on Homecoming Weekend. Purdue entered the game with a 140-19 (.881) home record over the last decade, the ninth-best home court record nationally. Purdue owned the fourth-best homecourt winning percentage in the last decade among power-conference teams, behind Houston, Kansas and Duke.
• Valpo won despite Purdue shooting 32 free throws to Valpo's 16. This marked Valpo's first win when facing a -16 free-throw attempt disparity since Nov. 27, 2022 vs. James Madison (-29). Valpo had lost five straight under those circumstances.

Chaney's Epic Performance

• Sophomore Rakim Chaney had 35 points in the Nov. 6 win at Purdue, the most by a Valpo player since Alec Peters had 35 on Dec. 22, 2016 vs. Santa Clara. The last time a Valpo player had more than 35 points in a game was Peters' 39-point performance on Jan. 10, 2016 at Detroit.
• Chaney became the first Missouri Valley Conference player to score 35 points against a Big Ten team since Illinois State's Tyler Brown had 36 on Nov. 24, 2012 vs. Northwestern.  
• Chaney had 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists and no turnovers, going 14-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3 before fouling out in 41 minutes. He had Valpo's first 35-point, eight-rebound, six-assist game on record.
• Chaney became the first Division-I player nationally with a 35-point, eight-rebound, six-assist, no-turnover game since Colorado State's Antwan Scott on Jan. 16, 2016. Prior to that, it was Arizona's Ivan Radenovic on March 3, 2007 at Stanford.
• Chaney well exceeded his previous career high of 24 on Nov. 12, 2025 vs. Nicholls. His eight rebounds matched a personal best set on Nov. 16, 2025 vs. Bryant. His six assists were one shy of a career high.
• Chaney tied for the fifth-highest single-game scoring output nationally in the first week of the season.

Recognition Pours After Beacons Beat Boilermakers

• Sophomore Rakim Chaney earned significant individual accolades for his role in Friday's 83-80, double-overtime victory at RV/No. 24 Purdue. Chaney was named the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week, becoming just the third Valpo player in the last decade-plus to earn a National Player of the Week nod, joining Cooper Schwieger and Alec Peters.
• Chaney was named the national "non-P5 MVP" for Week 1 of the season by College Basketball Report.
• Chaney was tabbed the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, Valpo's first since Cooper Schwieger on March 3, 2025. Chaney joins Schwieger, Ben Krikke (three times) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (three times) as Valpo's Players of the Week since joining the league.
• This marked Chaney's third career MVC weekly award, as he also earned the MVC Freshman of the Week distinction twice last season (Nov. 17 and Nov. 24).
• College Basketball Report listed the Valpo victory as the National Game of the Week.
• NCAA March Madness and Andy Katz named Valpo the Cinderella Team of the Week.
• Basket Under Review named Valpo one of the National Teams of the Week, joining East Texas A&M, Memphis, UCLA and Notre Dame.
• Bracket Busters highlighted Valpo in the "Week 1 Heat Check," listing the Beacons in the "On Fire" section.

Mid-Major Polls

• Valpo cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 this week, as the Beacons are ranked No. 19 among mid-majors nationally.
• This marks the first time Valpo has cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 since early in the 2017-18 season, when the team was ranked as high as No. 5.
• Rocco Miller of Field of 68 listed Valpo at No. 1 in his mid-major Top 60.
• T3 Bracketology listed Valpo at No. 12 in its Mid-Major Top 50.
• Valpo is ranked sixth nationally in terms of "wins above the bubble" by 801 Bracketology (among all programs, not just mid-majors).

KenPom Update

• Valpo is up to 121 in the KenPom ratings after starting the season at 142.
• This marks Valpo's highest KenPom rating since Dec. 20, 2017, when Valpo was at 102.

The Media Frenzy

• The Valpo/Purdue finish went viral on social media, and was highlighted prominently on ESPN's SportsCenter that evening.
• McNair's buzzer-beater checked in at No. 9 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. This marked the program's first Top-10 play since Isaiah Barnes (No. 4, dunk on Feb. 21, 2026 at UIC). McNair previously had the No. 1 play on Dec. 20, 2024 with his halfcourt buzzer-beater against Western Michigan.
• Other recent Beacon hoopers to appear on SCTop10 include Devon Ellis (poster dunk on Nov. 27, 2024 vs. Northern Illinois) and Kobe King (long heave from well past halfcourt that went in at the buzzer even though that was not a buzzer-beater as Valpo still lost; Dec. 11, 2022 vs. Charlotte).
• Valpo appeared on SportsCenter's Top 10 in back-to-back days, as Valpo football player Nic Lendino was featured at No. 3 the next day for a one-handed interception in a game against Dayton.
• The Valpo/Purdue highlights were featured on WGN-TV, ABC-7, NBC-5 and CBS-2, the majority of the major Chicago television stations.
• Valpo alum Adam Amin is NFL on FOX broadcast partners with legendary Purdue quarterback Drew Brees. Amin ribbed Brees on air about the Valpo victory during Sunday's Indianapolis Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys game, which aired on FOX across most of the country.
• The first interview Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. did after the big win was on the court with Big Ten Network television analyst Bruce Weber, Powell's former head coach at the University of Illinois.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 6 – Valpo 83, RV/No. 24 Purdue 80

• In addition to Chaney's game-high 35, McNair scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, while Pettigrew had 11 points and eight boards. Pettigrew has scored in double figures in 10 straight games dating back to last season.  
• Valpo played its first double overtime game since the final game of the 2025-26 season, a 90-84 MVC Tournament loss to Bradley. Valpo picked up its first double overtime victory since beating Indiana State 79-72 on Feb. 5, 2022.
• Valpo is off to a 2-0 start to a season for the first time since 2017-18. This marked Valpo's first win in a road opener since Nov. 15, 2017 at SIUE (94-69), snapping an eight-game road opener losing streak.
• Valpo won despite being outrebounded 46-37. The Beacons won the turnover battle 11-9. Valpo committed single-figure turnovers despite playing two overtimes.
• Valpo held Purdue to 37.5 percent from the field and 17.9 percent from 3.

Raising the Bar

• After being picked to finish last and far exceeding expectations last season, Valpo was voted fifth in this year's Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
• That marked Valpo's highest preseason projection since joining the Missouri Valley Conference prior to the 2017-18 season.
• Preseason accolades from a variety of sources poured in for the Beacons, who placed JT Pettigrew, Rakim Chaney, Justus McNair and Carter Hopoi on the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Players to Watch List.
• Pettigrew was also named to the Preseason All-MVC First Team by Blue Ribbon Magazine, Basket Under Review and Lindy's.
• Chaney was named to Lindy's Preseason All-MVC Second Team and the Basket Under Review Preseason All-MVC Third Team.
• The Field of 68 listed Rajan Roberts as its preseason Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year prediction.

2026-27 MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Favorites (Top 6)

1. Murray State (32)... 517
2. Illinois State (7)... 471
3. UIC (6)... 466
4. Belmont (1)... 353
5. Valparaiso (1)... 343
6. Bradley (1)... 313

Valpo MVC Preseason Poll History
Year                Preseason Projection
2026-27           5^th/11
2025-26           11^th/11
2024-23           10^th/12
2023-24           12^th/12
2022-23           9^th/12
2021-22           7^th/10
2020-21           8^th/10
2019-20           9^th/10
2018-19           7^th/10
2017-18           6^th/10
 
KenPom Progress

• Prior to the season, Valpo was rated 140^th nationally and fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to KenPom metrics.
• Last season, Valpo had a preseason KenPom rating of 284. The 144-place jump from the beginning of last season to the beginning of this season ranks fifth nationally in terms of largest improvement in Preseason KenPom rating.
• Valpo's preseason KenPom rating of 140 was the program's highest preseason rating since 2018-19 (132).

2026-27 MVC Preseason KenPom Ratings
MVC   Rating  Team
1          97        Murray State
2          106       UIC
3          127       Illinois State
4          138       Belmont
5          140       Valpo
6          142       UNI
7          146       Drake
8          170       Bradley
9          184       Southern Illinois
10        195       Indiana State
11        260       Evansville
 
Largest KenPom Improvement, Preseason 2025-26 to Preseason 2026-27
Rank    Jump   Team
1          172       Central Arkansas
2          154       Texas State
3          150       Buffalo
4          149       Penn
5          144       Valpo
 
Who's Back?

• At a time when retaining talented players is a challenge for mid-majors, Valpo brought back the majority of its key players who had eligibility remaining following last season.
• Among players with eligibility remaining, 70 percent of last season's minutes and 77 percent of last season's scoring returned.
• Last season's five-member freshman class all returned this season – one redshirt and four key contributors from last season including two starters.
• Junior Justus McNair is the program's longest-tenured player, as he is back for his third season sporting the brown and gold.
• Valpo did lose three starters from last season, two of whom were graduation losses with no eligibility remaining.

Quotes from Valpo's Returners

• JT Pettigrew: "One of the biggest things for me is that I believe in what Coach Powell is building. Last year throughout the season, the support grew and Valpo Basketball became bigger. My story with Valpo wasn't finished. We still have more to do. The Valpo community is very special and they've made me feel very welcome. Last season, the group that we had was very special – it was probably the closest group of guys that I've played with. Seeing others come back means something; we have a special group that can do something this year."
• Rakim Chaney: "It's very special for us to come back together; Valpo hasn't had that in the past few years. I feel like now that we have that, the fan base and community feel like they can trust us and believe in us a lot more. You look at the Northern Iowa team that won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship last year, and a lot of them stuck through it with each other. I love the people here at Valpo. There's not a dollar amount in this universe that is worth more than the relationships that I have on campus and with the fans, and the memories and bonds that I've been making at Valpo. There's not a price that can be any bigger than that."
• Justus McNair: "One thing that made me stay is valuing the memories and winning and the people around you more than the money. I believe the 'bag' or more money will come later down the line in my career because I trust in God. We believe winning this year is crucial for us. We love being around each other and battling for each other, and we believe in staying with each other and coming back and winning this year. The memories and the winning are more valuable than any amount of money you could have."
• Sader Servilus: "I really love the fans and the support they give us each game. I want to help make Valpo great again. The fact that we were fighting for each other, playing for each other and we get along led me to return. After practice, we talk about our lives in the locker room. I like my teammates. I know for a fact that we are going to be good and make a run this year."  
• Carter Hopoi: "I really like our team; I think we had a good connection last season, especially us freshmen. Seeing the announcements of the other freshmen coming back made me excited to come back. We got a glimpse of what we could do last year, and now having a full offseason and a previous season together, it looks good for what we can accomplish this season."  

Capital Rak

• Valpo sophomore guard Rakim Chaney was selected to represent the Missouri Valley Conference at the Protect College Sports Act Press Conference in Washington, D.C. in September.
• PCSA is a bipartisan bill designed to establish uniform national standards for collegiate athletics by creating a level playing field, setting a five-year eligibility period, creating reasonable transfer limitations, developing sustainable, fair revenue sharing, instituting practical tampering rules and ensuring reasonable enforcement.
• Chaney had the unique opportunity to spend significant time with Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Jeff Jackson during the trip.
• Chaney: "I want to be a leader. I want to stand out and speak up for my peers. There are a lot of student-athletes who agree with this, so I wanted to be one of the people representing Valpo and our league. The student-athletes who spoke at the press conference did a really good job, and it was good to be standing right behind them supporting them."

Beacons in the Bahamas

• Valpo played two August exhibition games in Nassau, The Bahamas as part of the Baha Mar Summer League, beating defending Canadian national champion Carleton 66-54 and downing Dalhousie 90-70.
• Valpo improved to 13-1 all-time in preseason Foreign Tour games.
• Valpo was one of six NCAA Division-I programs participating in the Baha Mar Summer League. They were joined by Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
• Valpo previously played at Baha Mar as part of a regular-season multi-team event in November 2021.
• This marked Valpo's fourth all-time Foreign Tour, joining Cancun (2010-11) and Canada (2015-16 and 2019-20). The 2010-11 trip preceded a 23-win campaign that culminated in a postseason berth, the 2015-16 led into a 30-win season and an appearance in the Postseason NIT title game at Madison Square Garden. The 2019-20 season was also a memorable one, as Valpo won 19 games, made it to the title game of the MVC Tournament and earned a postseason berth before all postseason tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19. 
• This marked the first summer foreign tour of the Roger Powell Jr. head coaching era.

Reaching New Valley Heights in 2025-26

• Year 3 of Roger Powell Jr.'s head coaching tenure at Valpo saw the Beacons take a major step forward. After he inherited a rebuilding project that saw the team go 3-17 in league play in Year 1, double its MVC win total to 6-14 in Year 2 and finish Year 2 with an MVC semifinal appearance, the Beacons nearly doubled their league win total again, finishing at 11-9 in Year 3.
• Valpo finished the 2025-26 season with its highest winning percentage in league play since joining The Valley prior to the 2017-2018 campaign. This marked the program's first winning season in MVC play.
• Overall, Valpo won 17 regular-season games in 2025-2026, the program's highest regular-season win total since its final season in the Horizon League in 2016-2017, Alec Peters' senior year.
• From Feb. 15 to Feb. 25, Valpo put together a four-game winning streak, the program's longest since a five gamer during the 2018-2019 campaign. Valpo tied its longest winning streak in league play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, matching the 2018-2019 team, which started 4-0 in Valley play.
• Valpo posted a winning record, the team's first since 2019-2020.
• Prior to the Feb. 28 regular-season finale at Evansville, Valpo had won six out of seven games, the program's first stretch with six wins in a seven-game span in conference play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference. All told, Valpo entered the league tournament after going 6-2 in its final eight regular-season games.
• Valpo finished with a 13-4 home record, which marked the team's highest home win total since 2016-17.
• Valpo finished tied for sixth and just one game out of a tie for third in a tightly-packed MVC after being picked to finish last in the 11-team league. 

Beacon Breakthroughs in 2025-26

• Valpo swept both regular-season matchups from UIC, winning 66-59 on Jan. 4 at the ARC and 71-67 on Feb. 21 in Chicago to sweep the Flames for the first time since UIC joined the MVC in 2022-2023.
• Valpo won both matchups over Indiana State, winning 76-72 in overtime in Terre Haute on Jan. 31 and 76-75 at the ARC on Feb. 15. This marks just the second time since joining The Valley that Valpo has swept Indiana State in the regular season, something the team also achieved in 2021-2022.
• The 77-71 win over Illinois State on Jan. 7 at the ARC allowed Valpo to knock off the MVC preseason favorite and secure the program's best win in terms of KenPom rating in five years.
• The 81-76 victory at Drake on Feb. 9 was Valpo's first success in Des Moines since 2018 and first win over the Bulldogs in any location since 2021. That snapped an eight-game head-to-head losing streak. Valpo went on to sweep the season series from Drake for the second time since joining the MVC and the first time since Year 1 in the league in 2017-2018. 
• Valpo ended a 10-game head-to-head losing streak to Bradley by beating the Braves 79-72 on Feb. 18 at the ARC.

Mostly Close Calls in 2025-26

• Last season, Valpo had an affinity for close calls, as 13 of the team's last 14 games were decided by single figures.
• In league play, 18 of Valpo's 20 games last season were decided by 10 points or fewer, and 20 of 22 games against MVC opponents if you include the conference tournament.
• Valpo's last nine wins were decided by seven points or fewer.
• All 11 Missouri Valley Conference wins were decided by 10 points or fewer, and all 12 wins against MVC opponents (including Arch Madness) were decided by 10 points or fewer.

Inside the Roster

• This year's roster is comprised of eight returning players and eight newcomers.
• Six of the eight returning players are scholarship players, and five of those were letter winners last season with one redshirt.
• Half of the eight newcomers are true freshmen, while the other half are transfers.
• Half of the team hails from the state of Illinois, while 11 of the 16 players are from either Indiana or Illinois.
• Four players hail from outside of the United States – Saders Servilus (Canada), Carter Hopoi (New Zealand), Kai Yu (China) and Bruno Alocen (Spain).
• Only one player on the roster hails from within the United States but outside the states of Illinois and Indiana – Terron Garrett (St. Louis, Mo.). Valpo has recruited Missouri in the past. In recent years, All Wright hailed from the state of Missouri. Going further back to the early 2000s, brothers Mike and Dan Oppland were St. Louis natives.
• Alocen is Valpo's first player from Spain since Jaume Sorolla in 2018-19, while Yu is the program's first player from China.
• This year's roster is comprised of five freshmen (one redshirt), six sophomores, four juniors (one redshirt) and one senior.

Returnee Rundown

• Sophomore forward JT Pettigrew is the league's leading returning rebounder after ranking third in the Missouri Valley Conference with 6.8 boards per game last season. He averaged 12.5 points per game overall. Over the final month of the season (Feb. 7 to March 6), he averaged 17.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He broke the program's freshman rebounding record that had stood for over 25 years and scored the fourth most points by a freshman in program history with 411. The runner-up for MVC Freshman of the Year, Pettigrew had 23 double-figure performances, including each of the final nine games of the season. He was named to the All-MVC Third Team, becoming the first Valpo freshman to garner all-conference honors since Lubos Barton in 1999.
• Sophomore guard Rakim Chaney tied for 11^th in the MVC in assists per game (2.79), ranked fifth in steals per game (1.39), 13^th in 3-point percentage (.359) and sixth in made 3s per game (1.82). He ranked third in program history for steals by a freshman, behind only Javon Freeman-Liberty and Lubos Barton. He ranked sixth in program history for assists by a freshman with 92, the most since Jarryd Loyd had 106 in 2004-05. He made 60 3-pointers, the sixth most by a freshman in program history.
• Junior guard Justus McNair was named to the MVC All-Bench Team and Most-Improved Team in 2025-26, the only player in the league to be tabbed to both units. He increased his scoring average from 4.5 ppg as a freshman to 7.9 as a sophomore.
• Sophomore forward Carter Hopoi played in all 33 games and made two starts in 2025-26.
• Sophomore guard Sader Servilus squeezed seven rebounds in just nine minutes in a Feb. 9 win at Drake and led the team in scoring with 13 points, all in the second half, in the Feb. 21 win at UIC.
• Redshirt freshman forward Kobe Walker redshirted last season after averaging 19.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a high school senior at Normal Community, earning all-state honors. He broke his high school's rebounding record, which had stood for 52 years.
• Walk-on sophomore guard Camden Webster played in five games last season.
• Walk-on junior guard Nick Lombardi played in five games last season and three as a freshman in 2024-25.

Newcomer Notes

• Junior guard Bruno Alocen transferred in from a fellow MVC institution after playing in 64 games and makingf 24 starts over two seasons at Indiana State. He started the final nine games last season. As a sophomore, Alocen scored in double figures in four of the team's final eight contests. He made 37 3s and shot 80 percent at the free-throw line.
• Another transfer from within the conference is redshirt junior center Kai Yu, Valpo's first 7-footer of the Powell Era. After two years at Liberty, Yu played in 29 of Bradley's 34 games last season, scoring a season-high 12 points on Jan. 31 at Drake and pulling down a season-high seven rebounds on Feb. 3 at Valpo. He played in all three Valpo/Bradley matchups and participated in the NIT game against Dayton.
• Sophomore guard Terron Garrett spent last season at Mineral Area College. JUCORecruiting.com listed him as one of the top 50 junior college freshmen nationally. He averaged 13.4 points per game.
• Senior guard Dylan Moles played in 77 games and made 52 starts while averaging 10.4 points per game over three seasons at NAIA Marian University in Indianapolis. He was originally recruited to Marian by current Valpo assistant coach Jesse McClung. He totaled 800 points, 179 rebounds, 99 assists and 81 3s in his three seasons at Marian.
• Freshman Justin Curry II averaged 16.7 points as a high school senior at Noblesville before suffering a season-ending injury.
• Freshman Rajan Roberts is considered one of the highest-rated recruits in program history, according to 247Sports.
• Freshman George Richardson helped DePaul Prep to a state championship as a junior in high school, before transferring to Evanston as a senior, where he helped his team to a third-place finish at state. Last season, he was an All-American at Link Year Prep during his prep school season.
• Freshman Hudson Scroggins scored over 1,000 points in the high school ranks at Lake Forest before spending the 2025-26 season at a prep school, Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire.

Beacon Bits
Random facts on each Valpo player.

• #0 Rajan Roberts – Plays NBA 2K in his spare time.
• #1 Justus McNair – Went to the same high school as Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. (Not at the same time, obviously.)
• #2 Rakim Chaney – Father Bo played high school basketball and went on to play at the junior college level at Parkland. Both his maternal and paternal grandfathers have been involved with high school basketball in the Chicagoland area over the years.
• #3 Dylan Moles – Enjoys golfing and playing poker… Is studying finance with hopes of becoming a financial advisor.
• #4 Bruno Alocen – Began playing basketball at age 4 and was coached by his father until age 12… Majoring in sports management and wants to become a sports agent when his basketball career is over.

• #5 Camden Webster – Loves going to the lake, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, being outside, being in the water, listening to music and going to his grandmother's house. His eighth-grade team went to the Jan. 2, 2019 game when Valpo rallied from double figures down with less than two minutes remaining to beat Illinois State 58-56 on a half-court buzzer-beater by Markus Golder.
• #7 JT Pettigrew – Mother Bonnie Bremner-Pettigrew was an All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year during her volleyball career at Penn State, where she was the setter for a national championship team. His father Titcus Pettigrew played football and basketball for the Nittany Lions. His brother Trey also plays college basketball and has made stops at Nevada, Bradley and Eastern Michigan before landing at Morgan State for the 2026-27 season.
• #10 Justin Curry II – Majoring in business… Enjoys golfing and playing pickleball.
• #11 George Richardson – Is an Ohio State football fan.
• #12 Kai Yu – When he came to the United States, he spoke zero English and struggled to understand the culture, but has successfully adapted… Is a Marvel fan, and Avengers is his favorite… Has a twin brother, Sean, who played at Newman University in Kansas and is now playing professionally in China for the Shanghai Sharks.
• #13 Carter Hopoi – Growing up, played various sports including soccer, cricket and volleyball.
• #14 Hudson Scroggins – Played baseball throughout his life prior to college… Knows how to juggle… Has a pond in his neighborhood where he enjoys fishing.
• #15 Kobe Walker – Enjoys going to church, golfing and watching movies… Played AAU for Gavin Sullivan, who is close with Valpo legend Alec Peters.
• #23 Terron Garrett – Enjoys playing NBA 2K and chess.
• #32 Nick Lombardi – Is a huge fan of sports cars.
• #44 Sader Servilus – Enjoys watching Anime… Originally played soccer as a child, but transitioned to basketball because all of his cousins were playing the sport.

Inside the Assistants

• Assistant coach Matt Gordon spent two years in the Big 12 Conference at Oklahoma as Director of Recruiting and Special Assistant to head coach Porter Moser. He joined Moser in Norman, Okla. after they previously worked together for a decade at Loyola. Gordon knows what it takes to win in the Missouri Valley Conference as he played a key role in a turnaround that saw the Ramblers post a 156-80 (.661) record during his seven seasons as an assistant coach. He helped the team to two Sweet Sixteen appearances in a four-year period including a historic run to the Final Four. This marks his fourth season on Valpo's staff.
• Assistant coach Jesse McClung is in his second year on staff after a successful two-year run as the head coach at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, where he posted a 53-15 overall record and a 30-4 mark in River States Conference (RSC) play in a two-year stint leading the Pomeroys program. Under his leadership, SMWC made back-to-back NAIA men's basketball national championship appearances, the only two in school history, highlighted by a Round of 16 appearance. He was named the 2024 RSC Coach of the Year.
• Assistant coach/General Manager Quintin Garrison served as the associate head coach at Trinity International University from 2018-2023. He was promoted to his current position prior to the 2025-26 season after spending two years as Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Garrison has been on staff throughout Powell's tenure at Valpo.
• Assistant coach Sean Taylor served as SIUE's graduate assistant/video coordinator from August 2021 to May 2023. He is in his fourth season on staff and first with the title of assistant coach after having several other titles while leading scouting and video efforts for the first three seasons of the Powell Era.  
• Recruiting & Player Development Coach Lavonte Dority is in his second season on the coaching staff at his alma mater, where he finished his collegiate playing career in 2014. He was head coach Roger Powell Jr.'s first recruit during Powell's first stint on Valpo's coaching staff. He played professionally for eight years in Europe. Prior to joining Valpo's staff, he worked with Adidas Basketball. Dority was the 2012-13 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, earned first-team all-league honors in 2013-14 and garnered All-District 12 Second Team status that season. He was part of the 2013 Horizon League championship team and was a senior on a young team in 2013-14 that featured Alec Peters as a freshman.
• Jacob Lindsey (fourth season) is back as the team's creative content guru, while former Valpo football and basketball player Anthony Sciarroni (second season) and former Valpo men's basketball walk-on Joe Vick (first season) round out the coaching staff as graduate assistants.
• Seamus Glennon is in his third season as the team's sport performance coach. He previously served as a strength & conditioning assistant for the VCU men's basketball program, a position he held for the last two seasons. He also spent time at Temple and Clemson.
• Caleb Moreau is in his second season as the team's athletic trainer. He earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Virginia in 2023 before going on to earn his master's in athletic training from Virginia in May 2025.

Tradition of Excellence

• Valpo has 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NIT berths in the program's proud history, with the team's postseason success highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen run in 1998.
• The program has produced nine All-Americans, won 15 regular season conference championships and 10 conference tournament crowns.
• Valpo also boasts eight NBA players, 10 conference players of the year and 20 20-win seasons.
• Nine of the team's NCAA appearances have come since 1996.
• Valpo has developed a myriad of professional basketball players over the last quarter century, most notably a trio of recent NBA players. Ryan Broekhoff (class of 2013) signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2018 after spending five seasons playing internationally in Russia and Turkey. Alec Peters (class of 2017) was the 54th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Peters appeared in 20 games for the Suns in 2017-18, highlighted by a 36-point performance in the season finale against Dallas – a new single-game high by a Valpo alum in the NBA. He has gone on to a successful career overseas with CSKA Moscow (2018-2019), Anadolu Efes (2019-2020) and Kirolbet Baskonia (2020-2022), Olympiacos (2022-2026) and Olimpia Milano (2026-present).
• Most recently, former Valpo player Javon Freeman-Liberty saw NBA time with the Toronto Raptors in 2023-2024.
• Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last three decades.