Game 20- Valparaiso

[Rawls]

Jan 20, 2011 23:26:42 GMT -6 formerseasonticketholder said:

I agree. The often cited 20 win season last year has always seemed a bit watered down to me because it was accomplished with league tourney wins not in the regular season.

How is Valpo's perimeter D? Is there a reasonable chance our Panthers will get some open looks from three?

If it's watered down, it's because of the Hillsdale and Concordia wins, imo, not UIC and CSU.

Valpo holds its opponents to .312 from beyond the arc. So good, but not really noteworthy. They do hold their opponents to just .406 from the field, which as an average in quite impressive. Valpo leads the HL at .484 from the field themselves, but 9th at just .317 from 3. The Crusaders' 15.8 apg is tops of the league and their 8 spg is 3rd, well ahead of 4th.

So, keys to the game.
Force their 3 -- the difference in fg% and 3pt% means Valpo is uncomfortable with the 3.
Hit our 3 -- As the top long range team in the HL going against a middle-of-the-pack 3 defense, hitting the treys will be crucial.
Kaylon -- Brandon Wood leads Valpo with steals, assists, and points. How Williams plays offensively and defensively will decide this game.

[GoPanthers33]

Let's go get this one Panthers!

[Rawls]

Wood's not playing??

[Rawls]

Great. More missed 3-footers. 6:24 in and we're 0-for the field.

[GoPanthers33]

We look terrible...

This may be one of those inconsistent bad games

[Pounce Needs Pals]

0-7 from the field and 7 turnovers. This game is over already.

[Pounce Needs Pals]

UWM has not won a game this season, shooting less than 40%

[Super King]

Current.y 24-6.

I think it's safe to say we looked past this one. For whatever reason.

[Pounce Needs Pals]

7:44 left in the first half, no made shots for the Panthers.

[Rawls]

Pathetic.

[Super King]

Just take nothing but 3-pointers. See our current offensive strategy through to its logical conclusion.

No really. Remember that West Virginia game last year where all of their first half points were 3-point shots?

[Rawls]

Has Allen played yet?

[Super King]

I don't have a good enough connection for the ESPN3 feed, but the Gamecast is showing a 4-guard starting lineup for Valpo. A question for those watching: Does the 4-guard look have something to do with this?

[Rawls]

Doubt it, King. Just terrible shooting/shot selection.

[nohopspanther]

Jan 20, 2011 21:57:49 GMT -6 Super King said:

Anywhere from 3rd to 7th is up in the air at this point, and there's not that much difference between either -- just like last year. We overestimated the entire league, not just ourselves.

20 wins is out of the question, but our 20-win total last year was misleading, given that it was attained in the postseason and that our conference record was barely over .500. 20 wins didn't make our year successful last year; our great late-season push did. And that's something that could definitely happen this time. We finish with a bunch of road games, yes; but three are against bad teams and one is against Cleveland State, a game we should be angry for.

Lot of time left.

Bust out your shovel, after Valpo and Butler blow us out this weekend the team will be finished. Given the large road stretch to finish the season, they won't be getting a home game in the first round.