2021 Exhibition Games

[municup14]

Evansville beat there old D2 rival Ky Wesleyan 74-64. Wesleyan lost to Kentucky
earlier by 19 points.We also had Newton, our starting had to be carried off the court
with a possible ankle injury.

[BCPanther]

At least the other 5 Valley teams in action tonight all won by double digits.

I don't think any of the other teams played a team of the same caliber as Flagler but that doesn't matter. D1 teams should beat D2 teams regardless of circumstance. Full stop. Maybe one night (like the Ashland game where Ashland shot the ball amazingly well) could be forgiven maybe just losing to the #2 ranked team in D2 would be something that might be excusable but not both. Everyone has an off night but you certainly can't lose TWO of these games. Like I said this is a 10 seed until they prove they are worthy of more consideration. Shorthanded or not new faces or not good D2 teams or not if you're as good as we fans were led to believe you have to win these games.

The thing that bothered me the most was Lottich saying 'they'd beat lots of DI teams'. Well, yes, Matt they probably would because there's lots of shitty DI teams out there and I don't think you want to throw yourself into that group.

I have no doubt they'll get better but it's going to be too late. You can't tank the non-con and then figure it out in league play and kill everybody else. It's like having Marty back in the league.

[Bulldog4life24]

This is exactly what will happen. They'll kick it into gear just in time for the last 5 games and scuttle a few teams' post season hopes.

I think someone said this earlier or in another thread, but its pretty embarrassing that Valpo is getting beat in the hustle stats, not just points. No D1 team should be outrebounded by a D2. It just shouldn't happen.

At least the other 5 Valley teams in action tonight all won by double digits.

I don't think any of the other teams played a team of the same caliber as Flagler but that doesn't matter. D1 teams should beat D2 teams regardless of circumstance. Full stop. Maybe one night (like the Ashland game where Ashland shot the ball amazingly well) could be forgiven maybe just losing to the #2 ranked team in D2 would be something that might be excusable but not both. Everyone has an off night but you certainly can't lose TWO of these games. Like I said this is a 10 seed until they prove they are worthy of more consideration. Shorthanded or not new faces or not good D2 teams or not if you're as good as we fans were led to believe you have to win these games.

The thing that bothered me the most was Lottich saying 'they'd beat lots of DI teams'. Well, yes, Matt they probably would because there's lots of shitty DI teams out there and I don't think you want to throw yourself into that group.

I have no doubt they'll get better but it's going to be too late. You can't tank the non-con and then figure it out in league play and kill everybody else. It's like having Marty back in the league.

[Majik45]

Bradley looked solid last night in their 30 point win. Lots of new faces on this Bradley team, so was great to get to see them in person. Wardle got to play with lots of different line-up combinations, as he was playing 9 players for the first 3/4 of the game. It would have been 10 but Ville Tahvaneinen is still out with an ankle/foot injury.

Most impressive player based on expectations was freshman guard Connor Hickman from Indiana. He started at the point guard, and was aggressive in attacking the hoop. He also had a nice looking outside shot. He scored the games first 5 points.

Juco All American Malevy Leons had one of the quietest 15 points performances I have ever seen.

Bradley definitely has the players to stay out of the play-in game. I don't think there is a path to cracking the top 4 in the Valley barring injuries to other teams though.

[goramblers2011]

The year after they made it to the Final Four, Loyola lost an exhibition to D2 UIndy and then a home game to kenpom 327 Coppin State....so bad/embarrassing losses do happen. They won a share of conference that season.

I still think Valpo will be right on the 6/7 border this year...if Krikke can stay healthy and King can play.

[TheDrake]

That’s the frustrating part about it. If they were just going to suck all year it would be one thing, but I’m guessing they’ll struggle mightily in the non-con and then hand Drake, Loyola or UNI a sub 200 RPI loss when they finally put it together down the stretch. Hopefully I’m wrong.

[BCPanther]

The year after they made it to the Final Four, Loyola lost an exhibition to D2 UIndy and then a home game to kenpom 327 Coppin State....so bad/embarrassing losses do happen. They won a share of conference that season.

I still think Valpo will be right on the 6/7 border this year...if Krikke can stay healthy and King can play.

In the worst year the league has had since the late 90s where computer numbers didn't matter because we were only getting one bid.

Not a great comp.

[Loyola_Fan]

What's the eta on Krikke's return?

[Adunk33]

Here's the rundown from the Redbirds' 85-59 win over D2 Davenport.

During exhibitions I tend to not look at the stats or scoreboard much during the game. Boy was I surprised to see 34 from Antonio Reeves. The kid was scoring at all three levels. He wasn't just limited to standing around the perimeter, he drove, made some layups, and hit his free throws. He seemed calm and confident and has grown, literally and figuratively. He's picked up an inch or two. Has to be one of the most efficient games we've ever seen from Reeves.

Mark Freeman seems to be a legit floor general. I think its easy to forget he averaged 17 a game last year at Tennessee State but he made some passes that made me say "wow." With Howard Fleming out (due to what Muller calls a minor violation of team standards, Muller said its nothing serious or to be worried about), the team has no back up PG. That was evident. They looked lost without him on the court. Freeman did a really nice job of managing the game. Ten assists with only 4 turnovers in your first game with a new team is impressive.

Kendall Lewis (App State xfer) is going to be a fun player when he settles in. He did delay the start of the game by 5-10 min or so when he couldn't find his jersey. That was....something. He's a long player that seems to have a good knack for rebounding (8) and blocking shots (4). He had a couple blocks that he sent out of bounds that he could've easily just caught with both hands.

Josiah Strong had a nice game shooting, 50% from 3 (4-8). He and Reeves did something we didn't see much of last year, and hit their open shots (combined for 10-18).

In the first half I thought Liam McChesney (Utah State xfer) showed some really nice BBIQ. He really seemed to be pressing and knew what he was supposed to do, but was just nervous and it didn't translate well to the game. His development will be really interesting. His health the past couple years had hindered it significantly. I was surprised he was in the Top 8 rotation.

The starters were Freeman, Strong, Emon Washington, Lewis and Sy Chatman. Next 3 were Ryan Schmidt (juco xfer), Reeves (team standards, didn't start, expected poor practice habits), and McChesney. Defensively, they started in a 2-2-1 full court zone press and fell back into man. In the second half, they played really strong defense to start and that's what widened the gap in score. There was a mix of man and zone. They looked okay, but still need work. Offensively, didn't show much. Mostly the same weave-style motion that we've seen in the past. Schmidt is a true post-5 big man and I have no idea how he can be used in this offense. Obviously in the P&R but his foot speed would need to drastically improve for that to happen. Seems like he would be more useful in a traditional 1/2 court set where he can have his back to the basket.

I left with a couple minutes left in the game but (soph walk-on) Jayden Johnson made the most of his time. Played 2 minutes and scored 4 points. He was by far the bright spot of Hoopfest. Seems he's gonna leave his mark any time he steps on the floor. Not much more you can ask from a walk-on.

I look forward to seeing what they do against D1 teams.

[goramblers2011]

The year after they made it to the Final Four, Loyola lost an exhibition to D2 UIndy and then a home game to kenpom 327 Coppin State....so bad/embarrassing losses do happen. They won a share of conference that season.

I still think Valpo will be right on the 6/7 border this year...if Krikke can stay healthy and King can play.

In the worst year the league has had since the late 90s where computer numbers didn't matter because we were only getting one bid.

Not a great comp.

Wasn't comparing 2018-19 Loyola to 2021-22 Valpo, or 2018-19 MVC to 2021-22 MVC.

Moreso making the point that just because Valpo lost these two games does not mean they will be a sub-200 type team that could tank UNI/Loyola/MoSt/Drake at-large chances with an ugly loss. It's obviously not a great sign, and we really do not want any MVC team to be a "really, really bad" type of loss. But I am not going to read too much into their exhibition games.