Refs Route Valpo 97-88

Valpo lost a tough game against IUPUI at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly known as Conseco Fieldhouse) 88-97.

I would like to tell you that the combination of Young and Thomas was too much to handle and that we just got out played, but unfortunately from my viewpoint that is not what happened. This is one of those rare games that the refs played the decisive role in the outcome. IUPUI was called for 19 fouls and were given 48 free throws while Valpo was called for 33 fouls and went to the line for 24 freebies. 33 FOULS to 19!?!? TWICE AS MANY FT ATTEMPTS!?! The refs were absolutely awful. They called Valpo everytime they touched a member of the Jaguars all the while letting IUPUI throw Valpo players to the ground. I think the Summit League just sent a message through their refs that they are still not happy about Valpo leaving their league. Give IUPUI credit because they made 41 of the 48 attempts they got at the foul line, but their physical play should have netted Valpo at least 20 more FT attempts.

Just to put this into perspective Valpo won nearly every other statistical category. They out offensive rebounded, created more steals, and had less turnovers. Those are typically the stats that should decide a game, not the number of fouls. IUPUI plays a much more physical style than the Crusaders and at least half of their 10 blocks were gained by fouling.

Where do the Jaguars deserve credit (because they certainly deserve some)? They chose their shots much better than the Crusaders did on this day. Alex Young is an undeniable star no one outside of the Summit League may ever hear about, but after seeing him in person I can tell you he is a real deal NBA prospect. We simply had no defensive answer for him. They also came out to play as Valpo looked extremely flat the first 10 minutes of the game. They are extremely athletic as on numerous occasions they out jumped taller Valpo players.

This was certainly a frustrating day for the Crusaders who did manage to tie the game up at 54 at the 12:03 mark in the second half on 3 consecutive 3 point shots by Will Bogan. A lone bright spot on this day.

If you read the play by play of the game it reads like a who's who of missed lay ups. But the problem with that is that it does not tell the story of how many of those layups were missed because the would be Valpo scorer was fouled.

A note of concern is that Broekhoff started the game with his left hand wrapped up and just didn't look right all day as IUPUI was allowed to absolutely bully him around without consequence (with the one exception being that an IUPUI player was given a technical for elbowing him in the face).

Will Bogan was the player of the game for the Crusaders as he shot 5-9 from the field including 4-7 from behind the arc scoring 15. Kevin Van Wijk managed 19 despite being fouled nearly every time he touched the ball. Coach Drew was also called for a technical after a ridiculous missed call on a Matt Kenney missed layup at the 7:15 mark in the second half that happened in front of 2 of the 3 refs.

All in all, when a team goes to the line twice as many times and makes twice as many FT as their opposition when they play a more physical game they will not lose. On this day the Jaguars were handed an early Christmas present by the Summit League officiating crew. I'm not saying that Valpo would have won had the officiating actually been fair, but then again, they did make 21 more FT's and only won by 9...

A special thanks goes out to Erik Buggs who got Hank and I tickets for the game!

The Horizon League play begins in earnest after Christmas with Valpo taking on UWM at home on Thursday December 29. Game time is 7 pm CST. Make sure you get there and cheer loudly to make up for the on break student section.