Game Plan: Green Bay

For Valpo's next opponent, the Crusaders will welcome in the Phoenix of Green Bay Wednesday night to the ARC.  Valpo has been on a roll recently with victories in their last 5 games and sit at 5-1 a top the Horizon League standings. Meanwhile, Green Bay is right in the mix sitting at 4-2.  They are unbeaten at home and have not found a W while on the road in conference play.

Green Bay features some tall bodies in Alec Brown, Brennan Cougill, and Jordan Fouse.  Fouse has been outstanding recently for the Phoenix.  His length on defense at the top of their 1-2-2 zone has cause some real problems.  Brown has been solid averaging 12 a game in conference, but his fg% is down near 40%.  Cougill (whom reminds me of the marshmallow man) has comeback from his off the court issues to average nearly 10 points a game off the bench.

Green Bay also has some outside shooting in the form of Keifer Sykes, Sultan Muhammed, and Cam Cerroni.  Sykes can be an explosive player, a future all HL member in my opinion, and Valpo would be wise to keep track of where he is at on the court.  Green Bay rebounds well, plays good defense (allowing only 58 points per game in conference play), and they have several shot blockers.  Here are their PPS for conference play only.

Conference Only
Green Bay	School	Minutes	+	-	PPS
Sykes	GB	211	0.87	0.36	0.51
Brown	GB	186	0.98	0.38	0.60
Cougill	GB	112	1.17	0.38	0.79
Mays	GB	92	0.96	0.37	0.59
Fouse	GB	159	1.02	0.35	0.67
Muhammad	GB	138	0.64	0.25	0.39
Cerroni	GB	129	0.46	0.16	0.30
Love	GB	81	0.52	0.33	0.19
Turner	GB	48	0.35	0.42	-0.07
Stefan	GB	42	0.33	0.36	-0.03
Team	GB	1200	0.82	0.33	0.49

Here is how I'd attack Green Bay.  First, I'd let Brown and Cougill shoot 3's all day if they want to.  Force those two outside for their shots.  I really think the key to beating GB is to attack the paint and attempt to get their big guys into foul trouble.  I think Valpo can get Brown and Fouse in foul trouble by creating contact with guys like KVW, Ryan, Matt, and even Erik.  Those guys like blocking shots, but fouling is a big risk that comes with the shot blocking.  I really expect to see a lot of Erik breaking down their zone off the dribble and creating a lot of open looks for his perimeter shooting teammates.  Buggs making good decisions when he gets into the lane will be key.  I expect Bogan to continue his hot shooting from the corners and KVW to have another outstanding game.

Conference Only
Valparaiso	School	Minutes	+	-	PPS
Ryan Broekhoff	Valpo	200	1.25	0.27	0.98
Kevin Van Wijk	Valpo	151	1.30	0.34	0.96
Lavontae Dority	Valpo	128	0.89	0.41	0.48
Matt Kenney	Valpo	163	0.85	0.28	0.57
Ben Boggs	Valpo	50	0.48	0.26	0.22
Bobby Capobianco	Valpo	73	0.74	0.52	0.22
Erik Buggs	Valpo	164	0.65	0.34	0.31
Will Bogan	Valpo	161	0.42	0.23	0.19
Jordan Coleman	Valpo	92	0.57	0.40	0.17
Vashil Fernandez	Valpo	18	0.67	0.33	0.34
Team	Valpo	1200	0.93	0.33	0.60

Valpo has the higher team PPS and higher individual scores.  I suspect Valpo will win this game rather easily.  I'll throw a final score of 68-59 out there.