Sunday, February 10, 2019, 3:00 p.m.
Athletics-Recreation Center, Valparaiso, Indiana
The Valparaiso Crusaders came out of the gate at the start of conference season and seized sole possession of first place in the MVC with a 4-0 start. The Crusaders may have lucked out on a half-court miracle shot that completed a late 10-point comeback over Illinois State in the conference opener, but they comfortably beat Bradley at home and captured impressive road wins at SIU and Missouri State. Valpo lost their top scorer, 6’7” junior forward and Providence transfer Ryan Fazekas, to an ankle injury in the game against Bradley, which presented a huge setback. Since they faced the Ramblers on Jan. 15 in a 71-57 defeat at Gentile Arena, Valpo is 2-5.
Last time out-- even without Fazekas (who might be nearing a return)-- Valpo defeated the Redbirds in Normal with a convincing 69-53 win. Valpo scored the first 14 points of the game and survived a late ISU push for their third road victory of the season. Freshman Javon Freeman torched Illinois State for 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Derrik Smits was 8-for-10 from the field with 16 points. The Crusaders got Phil Fayne to foul out with 6 minutes left in the game and held Malik Yarbrough to nine points—no easy feat at Redbird Arena.
The Crusaders are likely to start the same lineup as when they faced Loyola in January: 7’1” junior center/forward Derrik Smits; 6’5” senior guard/forward John Kiser; and guards Markus Golder (6’6” senior), Daniel Sackey (5’9” freshman), and Javon Freeman (6’3” freshman). Valpo has a talented and experience bench, including guards Bakari Evelyn, Deion Lavender, center Jaume Sorolla, and forward Mileek McMillan.
Loyola is coming off another strong home showing against Drake on Tuesday night, showing complete dominance at certain key points in the 86-64 win. But home games haven’t really been the problem—the problem for the Ramblers has been inconsistent performances on the road. Loyola is 2-3 in conference on the road, with an average offense in the losses of 46.7 points, 37.5% field goal shooting, and 19% three-point shooting. In the road wins, Loyola shot 58.3% from the field and 53.8% on threes, but won by an average of only 9.5 points.
Valpo has lost their last two home conference games, scoring less than 60 points in each game. Valpo is 1-7 on the year when scoring fewer than 60 points, the one exception being the win on the half-court miracle shot against ISU. Loyola has held opponents under 60 points eight times, and under 50 points five times (including four in a row). When the Ramblers hold opponents under 60, they’re 6-2.
With Illinois State playing at MSU at the same time on Sunday, the Ramblers have a chance to open up a commanding two-game lead in the conference with a win at Valpo and a Missouri State win over ISU. Conversely, an Illinois State win in Springfield and a Loyola loss would drag the Ramblers into yet another tie for first in this muddled, unpredictable MVC conference race.
Loyola game notes: https://loyolaramblers.com/documents/20 ... df?id=8336Valparaiso game notes: http://cdn.streamlinetechnologies.com/v ... _Notes.pdfTV/Streaming video: ESPN U
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3478016/ ... valparaiso Live stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=237500Vegas odds: Loyola by 3