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Post by fwalum on Jan 15, 2011 22:49:36 GMT -5
Did not get to watch the game live because of attendance at a high school game. I had been looking at this thread during the game and was not happy to see that we had once again dug ourselves a hole in the first half. Was pleasantly surprised when I later checked on ESPN mobile that we were up 7 in the 2nd and that the lead grew and held until the 11 point final. Watched the game today on ESPN3 replay and loved what I saw. Intangibles can make the difference between an ok season and a good maybe even great one. We are seeing the confidence of this team grow almost every day and it makes all the difference in the world. Yes the defense, passing and effort are all better than last year and in many ways they are better because they have the confidence to make them so.
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Post by valpofan56 on Jan 15, 2011 23:54:27 GMT -5
Did not get to watch the game live because of attendance at a high school game. I had been looking at this thread during the game and was not happy to see that we had once again dug ourselves a hole in the first half. Was pleasantly surprised when I later checked on ESPN mobile that we were up 7 in the 2nd and that the lead grew and held until the 11 point final. Watched the game today on ESPN3 replay and loved what I saw. Intangibles can make the difference between an ok season and a good maybe even great one. We are seeing the confidence of this team grow almost every day and it makes all the difference in the world. Yes the defense, passing and effort are all better than last year and in many ways they are better because they have the confidence to make them so. This wasn't the typical "Valpo digging themselves a hole in the first half" game. While we didn't execute perfectly by any means in the first half, the deficit was more about WSU shooting out of their minds. Our defense was far less than stellar in the first half, but it's still hard for a team to shoot 65% no matter what defense is out there. The law of averages more than caught up with WSU in the second half. Combine that with tougher defense from us and you get the results from last night.
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Post by fwalum on Jan 16, 2011 3:33:15 GMT -5
Did not get to watch the game live because of attendance at a high school game. I had been looking at this thread during the game and was not happy to see that we had once again dug ourselves a hole in the first half. Was pleasantly surprised when I later checked on ESPN mobile that we were up 7 in the 2nd and that the lead grew and held until the 11 point final. Watched the game today on ESPN3 replay and loved what I saw. Intangibles can make the difference between an ok season and a good maybe even great one. We are seeing the confidence of this team grow almost every day and it makes all the difference in the world. Yes the defense, passing and effort are all better than last year and in many ways they are better because they have the confidence to make them so. This wasn't the typical "Valpo digging themselves a hole in the first half" game. While we didn't execute perfectly by any means in the first half, the deficit was more about WSU shooting out of their minds. Our defense was far less than stellar in the first half, but it's still hard for a team to shoot 65% no matter what defense is out there. The law of averages more than caught up with WSU in the second half. Combine that with tougher defense from us and you get the results from last night. You are correct, it wasn't "typical". This team is becoming anything but typical.
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Post by bbtds on Jan 16, 2011 13:05:30 GMT -5
Milwaukee is not typical either but they are way too "up and down" or as dylan put it "schizophrenic." Of course not in a good way. They beat Butler by 24 on a Butler off night but just lost to Loyola (with only 1 conference win previous to the game at Milwaukee) Saturday. Valpo is continuing to move forward which is good for Valpo fans. None of this up and down stuff.
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Post by dylanrocks on Jan 16, 2011 20:09:58 GMT -5
Stop the roller-coaster, I want to get off. Congratulations, fellas, on all you've accomplished this year. What we have at the moment are three teams (or kings, if you will ) with legitimate high-level postseason aspirations (why in the world did Valpo have to lose to Toledo?) and two with bona fide NCAA tournament at-large hopes. Keep winning and you never know what might happen.
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Post by bbtds on Jan 19, 2011 10:23:42 GMT -5
One thing I noticed after watching the 2nd half of this Valpo @ WSU game is that the Crusaders survived several offensive mistakes by Buggs, Rogers & Harris in the 2nd half. Wood really pulled out some great floater shots in that 2nd half. Our defense was at least in their face but Valpo was lucky the Raiders shot so poorly.
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Post by browntown on Jan 19, 2011 10:34:47 GMT -5
One thing I noticed after watching the 2nd half of this Valpo @ WSU game is that the Crusaders survived several offensive mistakes by Buggs, Rogers & Harris in the 2nd half. Wood really pulled out some great floater shots in that 2nd half. Our defense was at least in their face but Valpo was lucky the Raiders shot so poorly. I said it on another post, but there are two things that have keyed everything: 1. Cory Johnson arrived in the Oakland game and hasn't let up since. It's really quite amazing. 2. The Defense has been unbelievable. They were great in the Oakland game (obviously the coaching staff had them more ready for a game since Washington in the CBI), they took a break for the Butler game, and they've been stifling ever since against Horizon opponents.
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Post by bbtds on Jan 19, 2011 10:49:59 GMT -5
One thing I noticed after watching the 2nd half of this Valpo @ WSU game is that the Crusaders survived several offensive mistakes by Buggs, Rogers & Harris in the 2nd half. Wood really pulled out some great floater shots in that 2nd half. Our defense was at least in their face but Valpo was lucky the Raiders shot so poorly. I said it on another post, but there are two things that have keyed everything: 1. Cory Johnson arrived in the Oakland game and hasn't let up since. It's really quite amazing. 2. The Defense has been unbelievable. They were great in the Oakland game (obviously the coaching staff had them more ready for a game since Washington in the CBI), they took a break for the Butler game, and they've been stifling ever since against Horizon opponents. You really don't believe that the defense of Butler and the loss of Kenney had much to do with the loss at Butler? Not a statement but a question for you.
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Post by browntown on Jan 19, 2011 11:25:23 GMT -5
I said it on another post, but there are two things that have keyed everything: 1. Cory Johnson arrived in the Oakland game and hasn't let up since. It's really quite amazing. 2. The Defense has been unbelievable. They were great in the Oakland game (obviously the coaching staff had them more ready for a game since Washington in the CBI), they took a break for the Butler game, and they've been stifling ever since against Horizon opponents. You really don't believe that the defense of Butler and the loss of Kenney had much to do with the loss at Butler? Not a statement but a question for you. No, I didn't say that. My honest opinion as to why we lost at Butler has everything to do with poise under pressure, which is something Valpo teams have not performed with when we play supposed "big" teams. I'll point to the Purdue and Butler games: way too many unforced errors. There ought to be a stat for unforced errors, because our totals would be higher in those two games than in any other game we've played this season. I was actually shocked we were poised enough to take down Oakland, but that's a game that didn't have a chance for any hype, being it was a tournament game and they had to prepare quickly. It's all about perception of one's opponent. While playing last year's national runner-up on their home floor is enough to add extra pressure, playing a ranked team (even at home) is added pressure. I know everyone gets pumped for big games, including the coaching staff, but there needs to be a certain level-headedness that keeps said excitement bottled up for the sake of the players looking ahead at a big match-up as if it were just another game. As far as Butler's defense, it was good (not great in that game), but take away our unforced errors, the game would've been much more competitive. The loss of Matt Kenney does indeed matter, and did matter for the Butler game. He's consistently shown his dribble-penetration moves to be among the best on the team, and he definitely would've made a difference in that one.
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Post by crusadermoe on Jan 19, 2011 11:49:17 GMT -5
You mention wilting under pressure in big games. I think Matt Kenney loss vs. Butler was huge because he seems to thrive in the big games. He is a great 3rd option in tight games after Brandon and Cory. Also relentless on D. All the players seem to have been improving since Oakland game. Rogers still a puzzle to me, but he is doing better also. I guess the late start in playing hoops just makes it real tough to flow and play without "thinking" first. He does great when he has room to move and doesn't need a strong first step. Also great athlete who can help cover the quick 2s and 3s.
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