Game Preview: Detroit

It will be uber-athleticism vs. team work when Valpo heads north to take on underachieving Detroit on Friday night.  Valpo will have their hands full with the talent of Ray McCallum, Chase Simon, Lamarcus Lowe, Doug Anderson, and Eli Holman.   Valpo has had success against the Titans recently and if they can pull out a road victory here that will help ease the uncertainity some of us might be feeling about this team.  Be sure to tune into ESPN3.com on your computers or on the greatest home entertainment system available, the XBox 360.

The following couple of paragraphs were taken from the email preview from Mr. Leavitt in the media relations department.  Sorry for the lack of effort on this post on my end, it's been a busy week.

Series Notes: Valpo owns a narrow 9-7 edge in the all-time series over Detroit, but has held a significant advantage since joining the Horizon League, going 7-3 against the Titans over the last four seasons.  Included in those seven wins were three victories last season, as the Crusaders downed Detroit in both regular season meetings before completing the season sweep with an 88-78 win in HL Quarterfinal action on March 4, 2011.  Valpo set a HL Championship record with 15 3-pointers and was led by a 30-point effort from Brandon Wood.

The Road Ahead: This Horizon League weekend concludes for the Crusaders Sunday afternoon at Wright State at 2 p.m.  Valpo then returns home for its only home games this month, hosting Youngstown State on Friday evening and Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon.

Scouting Detroit: The Titans enter Friday night’s clash at 7-9 overall and 1-3 in Horizon League play, having earned their first league victory of the year last time out with a 65-54 win at Loyola.  An up-tempo team, Detroit averages 73 points per game, but also surrenders 68.8 points per contest.  Three regulars average in double digits, led by 15.7 ppg from Chase Simon.  Ray McCallum posts 14.6 ppg, while Doug Anderson adds 10.4 ppg.  Eli Holman, who missed the season’s first 10 games, averages 12.0 ppg and 6.7 rpg as well.