MVC Week 1

[DUBulldog]

Parity in the MVC.....after 2 games, there's only 1 undefeated team (Loyola) and 1 team that's 0-2 (UE)...everybody else 1-1

[VUGrad1314]

Loyola through 2 conference games.
22 fouls agains them, and 45 fouls agains their opponents.
56 free throws for them and 12 free throws for their opponents.

Won 2 close games. Go Loyola, so much talent you just can't stop them without fouling.

When you have the best big man in the league plus a lot of guys who attack the hoop rather than shoot 3's (because they aren't very good at 3's), you tend to be fouled a lot. Add the fact that Loyola had leads in both games down the stretch so there were quite a few intentional fouls.

I haven't seen a lot of Valpo or MSU fans complaining about egregious officiating. Some questionable calls? Sure, but those are always present and go both ways.

Honestly most of us Valpo fans are more concerned with seeing our coach pull his head out of his hindquarters to get the team to play a full 40 minutes and actually finish games on a consistent basis than complaining too much about officiating. We've encountered our fair share of tough calls but that wasn't the reason we lost to Loyola. We're seeing the same issues in year 4 of the Lottich era that we saw in year 1 back in the HL days after Alec Peters went down late in the year and that is very concerning. These same issues have plagued us throughout our time in the MVC so far as well. We're happy to have the win today, especially on the road since we haven't won down in Evansville in FOREVER (since 1969 22 trips), but one has to wonder if we win the game if McCarty is on the other sideline. I'm going to say no. This is a game where not having him really hurt the Purple Aces and I suspect that will be a theme going forward for them which is sad given the potential they showed early in the year.

[mvfcfan]

I think Lottich has kind of been put in a difficult spot. If Valpo was still in the HL they would probably win that league this year. The MVC is just a lot better than the Horizon League.

Same thing is true with Murray State. I think they would have a little trouble early on and I seriously doubt they would win the MVC most years.

[Adunk33]

With the exception of my Redbirds laying a massive egg yesterday at SIU, no MVC game was decided by more than 5 points. Should be a fun year in the league. Currently an 8-way tie for 2nd place.

[ahunte1]

Loyola would have an even bigger FT advantage if we could make the front end of a 1and1

[VUGrad1314]

I think Lottich has kind of been put in a difficult spot. If Valpo was still in the HL they would probably win that league this year. The MVC is just a lot better than the Horizon League.

Same thing is true with Murray State. I think they would have a little trouble early on and I seriously doubt they would win the MVC most years.

With the exception of my Redbirds laying a massive egg yesterday at SIU, no MVC game was decided by more than 5 points. Should be a fun year in the league. Currently an 8-way tie for 2nd place.

I love this league. Fans care about their team\school and show up for games. The games are close competitive and intense. The board is active and full of good conversation. And we do well in the nonconference and in March relative to the leagues Valpo has been a part of (especially after Butler departed the HL for the A10). What the MVC has been able to do even after sustaining the losses of Creighton and Wichita State is a testament to how great these programs and this conference as a whole are. I totally agree that it is a huge step up and much more competitive. MVC teams used to be our best non con home games that we could hope for most years. Having them every year in conference is a dream come true. Lottich is in a tough spot I agree but still he leaves much to be desired in the X's and O's department for the most part. We often feel like he gets outcoached by his peers in the MVC and we really want to see him improve enough where that doesn't happen so often. I am with mvc fan that Murray State would likely struggle some years but I have no doubt that they add value. They travel well are good for attendance also in St Louis and at the top of their cycle they would be another UNI this year or Loyola two years ago (not guaranteeing another final four or even a sweet 16 run but I am saying they would be about as talented and probably win about as much and add quality games to everyone's resume.) They are worthy of membership here and it's sad that they are left out in the cold at least for now. I hope our waiting pays off in a suitable 12th or one emerges. Maybe Wright State could be the answer? They bring a pretty good all around profile but it's a stretch of the footprint for a team that would probably be middle of the pack most years. They do spend to MVC levels though and their attendance at home games is usually very solid. How much of that is due to having so many close rivals however remains to be seen, as is their willingness to give that up for MVC membership. However from past interactions with their fanbase it sounds like there would be plenty of support if such an invite were to come. I'm not advocating for it but it's a name to watch that wouldn't be horrible.

[scotte101]

Loyola through 2 conference games.
22 fouls agains them, and 45 fouls agains their opponents.
56 free throws for them and 12 free throws for their opponents.

Won 2 close games. Go Loyola, so much talent you just can't stop them without fouling.

When you have the best big man in the league plus a lot of guys who attack the hoop rather than shoot 3's (because they aren't very good at 3's), you tend to be fouled a lot. Add the fact that Loyola had leads in both games down the stretch so there were quite a few intentional fouls.

I haven't seen a lot of Valpo or MSU fans complaining about egregious officiating. Some questionable calls? Sure, but those are always present and go both ways.

MSU fan here. I complained on Saturday about the officiating. They definitely missed some stuff in the game (both ways), but I don't think they decided the outcome. MSU played a great first 15 minutes and then crapped the bed. MSU is boggling a lot of us right now with what they are allegedly trying to do...and by that I mean that no one seems to know...fans, players, coaches...no one.

Dana was VERY animated in his postgame radio interview. He basically called out his seniors for not doing what they're supposed to be doing and said he's not going to watch them try to play 1 on 5 much longer. We'll see if he does anything about it or not.

He also mentioned the officiating. He was pretty livid with them as well. there were a couple good soundbytes in his interview. I'm not sure if it's online or not.

[BCPanther]

Loyola through 2 conference games.
22 fouls agains them, and 45 fouls agains their opponents.
56 free throws for them and 12 free throws for their opponents.

Won 2 close games. Go Loyola, so much talent you just can't stop them without fouling.

When you have the best big man in the league plus a lot of guys who attack the hoop rather than shoot 3's (because they aren't very good at 3's), you tend to be fouled a lot. Add the fact that Loyola had leads in both games down the stretch so there were quite a few intentional fouls.

I haven't seen a lot of Valpo or MSU fans complaining about egregious officiating. Some questionable calls? Sure, but those are always present and go both ways.

MSU fan here. I complained on Saturday about the officiating. They definitely missed some stuff in the game (both ways), but I don't think they decided the outcome. MSU played a great first 15 minutes and then crapped the bed. MSU is boggling a lot of us right now with what they are allegedly trying to do...and by that I mean that no one seems to know...fans, players, coaches...no one.

Dana was VERY animated in his postgame radio interview. He basically called out his seniors for not doing what they're supposed to be doing and said he's not going to watch them try to play 1 on 5 much longer. We'll see if he does anything about it or not.

He also mentioned the officiating. He was pretty livid with them as well. there were a couple good soundbytes in his interview. I'm not sure if it's online or not.

#SaturdayNightintheValley

It's just something we have to live with in this league. The P5 take all the top refs on Saturday and we end up with either very young, very old or part time guys on Saturdays. You just have to live with it and move on. Yelling about it on the radio or to the press doesn't do a thing. Frankly with Malham, Crenshaw and Durham that game probably had the best crew comparatively to the rest of the league, at least Malham and Crenshaw are full time guys that sniff a couple Big 12 games every year.

[goramblers2011]

Loyola through 2 conference games.
22 fouls agains them, and 45 fouls agains their opponents.
56 free throws for them and 12 free throws for their opponents.

Won 2 close games. Go Loyola, so much talent you just can't stop them without fouling.

When you have the best big man in the league plus a lot of guys who attack the hoop rather than shoot 3's (because they aren't very good at 3's), you tend to be fouled a lot. Add the fact that Loyola had leads in both games down the stretch so there were quite a few intentional fouls.

I haven't seen a lot of Valpo or MSU fans complaining about egregious officiating. Some questionable calls? Sure, but those are always present and go both ways.

MSU fan here. I complained on Saturday about the officiating. They definitely missed some stuff in the game (both ways), but I don't think they decided the outcome. MSU played a great first 15 minutes and then crapped the bed. MSU is boggling a lot of us right now with what they are allegedly trying to do...and by that I mean that no one seems to know...fans, players, coaches...no one.

Dana was VERY animated in his postgame radio interview. He basically called out his seniors for not doing what they're supposed to be doing and said he's not going to watch them try to play 1 on 5 much longer. We'll see if he does anything about it or not.

He also mentioned the officiating. He was pretty livid with them as well. there were a couple good soundbytes in his interview. I'm not sure if it's online or not.

Interested to hear any specific officiating complaints--i.e., specific plays where a foul was called on MSU that shouldn't have been or a no-call on LU that should have been. I think there were a few close plays that went both ways throughout the game. MSU shot more than twice as many 3's as Loyola did. Loyola attacked the paint. That, plus intentional fouls late in the game when trailing, explain the foul discrepancy.

Dana should be answering questions on his gameplan. On defense, MSU should have been doubling Krut with Prim/Tulio and forcing Loyola to win on the outside (where it has struggled this year). Instead, they played Krut soft allowing him to continually get open looks. He missed more bunnies than he usually does or else he would have finished with 30+ points. That's on Dana, imo.

And on offense, the gameplan seemed to be to stand around until the shot clock was under 10, then either chuck up a 3 or drive. With the occasional tossing it in to Prim and hoping he can do something. With the talent on the team, there needs to be better ball movement and cutting.

[scotte101]

Interested to hear any specific officiating complaints--i.e., specific plays where a foul was called on MSU that shouldn't have been or a no-call on LU that should have been. I think there were a few close plays that went both ways throughout the game. MSU shot more than twice as many 3's as Loyola did. Loyola attacked the paint. That, plus intentional fouls late in the game when trailing, explain the foul discrepancy.

Dana should be answering questions on his gameplan. On defense, MSU should have been doubling Krut with Prim/Tulio and forcing Loyola to win on the outside (where it has struggled this year). Instead, they played Krut soft allowing him to continually get open looks. He missed more bunnies than he usually does or else he would have finished with 30+ points. That's on Dana, imo.

And on offense, the gameplan seemed to be to stand around until the shot clock was under 10, then either chuck up a 3 or drive. With the occasional tossing it in to Prim and hoping he can do something. With the talent on the team, there needs to be better ball movement and cutting.

oh i totally agree with you on all points. I don't know why MSU doesn't attack the basket more. I'm guessing because Cook and Tulio can't seem to slash and take more than 2 dribbles without losing the ball (for the love of all that is good and holy...take care of the ball). And yes, we seem to have a game plan of stand around and watch whoever has the ball (paging Paul Lusk).

Dana is saying all the right things about "we have to do this" and "we can't keep doing that", but nothing is changing...so at this point, it's lip service.

the one specific play Dana mentioned was a shot clock violation on MSU that Loyola caught the rebound and the refs didn't blow the whistle to stop play. all MSU players stopped, and Loyola got a wide open breakaway layup. I'll have to go back and watch, but Dana and Art Hains said that the buzzer went off while the ball was in the air and that the play should have been blown dead. Dana also said that whoever got the outlook pass traveled on the play as well. Again, I'll have to go back and watch it to see if he is correct or just angry and had to express it somewhere.