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Post by fwalum on Jan 9, 2011 16:40:38 GMT -5
We were in such a wonderful rhythm on offense and then we tried to take the air out of the ball. This seems to affect our entire psyche. The turnovers start, the other team scores, and the screws start to tighten and we get tense. It just seems to feed on itself. Staying closer to our regular offense and continue to attack the basket might be what this team has to do to in order to finish. In our case the best defense at the end of games might be a good offense.
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Post by govalpogo on Jan 9, 2011 16:51:18 GMT -5
I know there still weren't many of us...but did you all enjoy the increased energy (after we scored the 9th and 10th points) from the student section? We haven't been into a game that much since Detroit last year.
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Post by agibson on Jan 9, 2011 17:03:30 GMT -5
Did anybody get that quote? "It was like a bear running over a racoon?" Hilarious! From the chat session, weathernerd has it as, "a bear toppling over a raccoon" Whatever it was, pretty hilarious! Pogue makes a reasonable facsimile of a bear. Raccoon's not the first animal to come to mind when I think of Buggs, but a pretty funny image!
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rink
Bench Warmer
Posts: 198
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Post by rink on Jan 9, 2011 17:26:44 GMT -5
Couldn't watch any of the game, but I'm liking the final score. Four-way tie for first in the HL? Not bad. Now let's drop two of those four teams on the road next weekend!
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Post by wh on Jan 9, 2011 18:51:26 GMT -5
Just got home. Some thoughts: -- Everyone is right to be frustrated by not being able to close out the game. That said, other than those closing few minutes, we totally dominated play in the second half. Our defensive intensity was amazing. Our guys must be exhausted right now. Without a doubt, the better team won today. -- Erik Buggs is just getting better and better. As fast as we all know he is, he looked even faster today. He was everywhere on defense. -- Ditto for Jay Harris. He IS the pure shooter we thought he would be. He did a great job of running the point under constant pressure, distributed the ball well, AND made CSU's guards pay when they slacked off or doubled down on Cory. What a great new weapon. -- Brandon and Cory are just studs. I don't know who scored what, but it doesn't matter. -- I had the privilege of meeting vu72 in person at today's game. I love meeting fellow optimists! Have a safe trip home, '72!
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Post by lowposter on Jan 9, 2011 18:51:55 GMT -5
Wow, what an interesting game. Ugly at the first and at the end, but enough in the middle to walk away with a win. A few observations... 1. Where was the crowd. The attendance of 3700 listed on the Yahoo sports box score must include the sold tix. This wasnt a very good Valpo crowd for a Sunday afternoon game. No students. 2. That being said, it was a great touch that the VU players went to the student section after the game. Having not been a regular in a couple of seasons, is that normal? 3. I saw Kyle, but didnt know it was him...the suit and sneakers tipped me off, but i didnt know about his attire until after getting back. Bally wasnt there,...perhaps under the weather, or under the table. 4. Thanks to rlh for the tix. 5. Is free throw shooting a lost art? 6. Cory Johnson simply was a mismatch against either of the 2- 300 pounders out there. His quickness and craftiness near the basket was a thing of beauty. 7. However, Cory was thrown around like a rag doll on the defensive boards. Pogue had a nice game with the offensive rebounds, but PUT A BODY ON HIM. 8. Howard Little has now entered my Top 5 list of all time favorite VU players. No need to explain why, just watch this young man play. He gets it. 9. Our transition game worked well in 2H, but we had three 4 on 2 breaks in 1H and got 0 points. This team can move up and down the court. 10. Lets finish a little stronger. Big 3 by Ryan (and a great block), but we do not execute well by dribbling down to 7 seconds and hoping to convert. 11. Can anyone hit a free throw? 12. This team's defense has improved greatly since last year and this will enable us to compete in the HL. Great win, not always pretty, but very satisfying. lowposter
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Post by crusadermoe on Jan 9, 2011 20:26:18 GMT -5
Kudos to the team! Gutsy effort by them to come back and sustain the great D during thier horrible dry stretch at 8 points.
Big thanks also to the FEW (yet proud and the brave) students who showed up. Govalpogo has a great attitude toward his school and I agree that the student fan energy was a big key in the home win against Detroit last year. Not sure what other students who live on campus were doing today on their first weekend after a long break. But they missed a great game.
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Post by govalpogo on Jan 9, 2011 20:48:09 GMT -5
Kudos to the team! Gutsy effort by them to come back and sustain the great D during thier horrible dry stretch at 8 points. Big thanks also to the FEW (yet proud and the brave) students who showed up. Govalpogo has a great attitude toward his school and I agree that the student fan energy was a big key in the home win against Detroit last year. Not sure what other students who live on campus were doing today on their first weekend after a long break. But they missed a great game. I appreciate that moe. Once again...we're trying to increase attendance. The most common excuses I got for today were, "I have too much homework," and "NFL playoffs." It's a good thing that we are away this upcoming week, our undermanned, ragtag sideline militia needs to recover from this weekend. None of us are going to be able to talk for awhile. I really think that these last two wins will go a long way as far as future student turn out goes though...excitement is starting to brew around campus. We shall see...
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Post by rlh on Jan 9, 2011 21:08:42 GMT -5
Kudos to the team! Gutsy effort by them to come back and sustain the great D during thier horrible dry stretch at 8 points. Big thanks also to the FEW (yet proud and the brave) students who showed up. Govalpogo has a great attitude toward his school and I agree that the student fan energy was a big key in the home win against Detroit last year. Not sure what other students who live on campus were doing today on their first weekend after a long break. But they missed a great game. I appreciate that moe. Once again...we're trying to increase attendance. The most common excuses I got for today were, "I have too much homework," and "NFL playoffs." It's a good thing that we are away this upcoming week, our undermanned, ragtag sideline militia needs to recover from this weekend. None of us are going to be able to talk for awhile. I really think that these last two wins will go a long way as far as future student turn out goes though...excitement is starting to brew around campus. We shall see... I'm glad you brought it up about the students. i wanted to, but don't need to be chastized again for asking a simple question. The student section was fantastic today and coach Drew gave it a lot of credit after the game for it's energy and influence on the players. My question again is why so few? The section wasn't more than half full. I guess I don't understand and probably won't ever...but then the "adults" in the area didn't show either. Very disappointing crowd for a game that meant so much.
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Post by vuweathernerd on Jan 9, 2011 21:15:33 GMT -5
i wanted to be there. really wanted to be there. being a graduate sucks sometimes.
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Post by valpofan56 on Jan 9, 2011 21:41:25 GMT -5
Well, now that I'm home from watching the Packers game, my thoughts:
Ugly, ugly, ugly for 3/4 of the first half. I've never seen scholarship athletes miss such easy shots, luckily it didn't matter. I actually shut the game off for a little while because it was so frustrating to me. Once they got it down to five before the end of the half, I started watching again, which was much better for my blood pressure.
Great second half besides the last 3 minutes. I just don't get why when you've built such a big lead by attacking the basket do you decide to just stop doing what worked. Chucking up bad shots as the shot clock ran down and then committing some dumb fouls on defense almost cost us. Like I said after the Oakland game, why was Buggs in for as long as he was in that end of the game situation?! He simply cannot make free throws. I love the way Erik plays and think he's a great part of this team, but the last place he needs to be is on the court in the last couple of minutes of a close game. Huge three for Ryan was a dagger!
Imagine how good this team could be if they actually played a full 40 minutes!! As weak as it sounds, they actually appear to be crapping themselves a little less each time at the end of games. Hopefully they'll figure out how to really put a team away this week on the road.
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Post by dylanrocks on Jan 9, 2011 22:21:39 GMT -5
Folks, it was one Milwaukee victory over the Phoenix away from being a perfect sports weekend. With the win today, Valpo has an NIT-worthy profile (This, of course, is a fluid thing and still very much dependent upon future results).
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Post by justducky on Jan 9, 2011 22:38:17 GMT -5
Well, we all know that since Butler beat CSU by 23 and that Butler beat Valpo by 17 that the point differential will be six in Valpo's favor. Why should Valpo be scared of Cleveland State? ? It's Milwaukee I don't want to see Valpo play at Milwaukee. Oh Boy! :-) Once again with the 6 point victory your reasoning and predictive powers have proved to be flawless, and this time unrevisionary. What's your line on the next 2 games so we can get our bets placed?
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Post by staxawax on Jan 9, 2011 22:53:21 GMT -5
Congrats Crusaders on a great win! It's going to be a wild ride in the HL this season as I think any one is capable of winning any game (especially at home). Butler's Jekyll and Hyde continues as they haven't really developed an identity yet. Nored is the coach on the floor and he needs to take control and get this team playing more to it's potential every game. Valpo continues to impress and Detroit and CSU have shown weaknesses this year. This could be a 1-2 Indiana finish in the league (notice I'm not picking who is 1 and who is 2). Wouldn't that be something! Go Crusaders and get Wrong State and Detroit next week as we will try and do the same. BTW, what is the prognosis for Matt Kenney?
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Post by stlvufan on Jan 9, 2011 22:58:17 GMT -5
Congrats Crusaders on a great win! It's going to be a wild ride in the HL this season as I think any one is capable of winning any game (especially at home). Butler's Jekyll and Hyde continues as they haven't really developed an identity yet. Nored is the coach on the floor and he needs to take control and get this team playing more to it's potential every game. Valpo continues to impress and Detroit and CSU have shown weaknesses this year. This could be a 1-2 Indiana finish in the league (notice I'm not picking who is 1 and who is 2). Wouldn't that be something! Go Crusaders and get Wrong State and Detroit next week as we will try and do the same. BTW, what is the prognosis for Matt Kenney? Good to hear from you stax. I was confident YSU would wilt down the stretch. We were told by Todd on the radio broadcast that Kenney should be ready for the game at WSU on Friday. Here's hoping - he's definitely a spark plug.
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