Last time out: Valpo downed UIC 60-55 in Chicago, capping off a successful road trip there. Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk competed with each other in who had the best game. This time it was Van Wijk, who is flying is flying a little under the radar considering his recent dominance. The Junior from the Netherlands ended up with 20 points and 6 rebounds - quite a nice stat line. Sophmore Jay Harris also found himself getting back on track by scoring 13 points on 5-12 shooting. Valpo mostly controlled the game, but UIC made a run in the 2nd half. This was answered by a 10-0 Valpo run that put the Crusaders up for good.
Looking to Green Bay: The Wisconsin trip is always challenging for the Crusaders, and considering the position they sit in right now (1st in the league), this is going to be an important couple of games. Green Bay is having a bit of a down year, but let us not forget how quickly they got back into the game when Valpo hosted them at the ARC. Alec Brown is really beginning to blossom into a sensational big man in the Horizon, and honestly, I don't think Kevin Van Wijk matches up with him very well defensively. After all, it is not everyday you draw a defensive assignment against a 7 footer who can step back and hit jump shots, has good quickness and footwork, and can block shots like he's swatting flies. Nevertheless, Green Bay is not a team that is loaded with talent, and I feel Valpo has much greater depth. Any given night can be a night where a player like Jay Harris, or Matt Kenney, or Will Bogan, etc. steps up big on the offensive end. I'm looking for Valpo to continue to stay consistent offensively, but it may be possible they encounter some shooting woes again. Broekhoff will be the man, as usual, and Van Wijk will get his. It is going to come down to the effort of the role players, like Richie Edwards (especially if Van Wijk gets in foul trouble).
Prediction: Horizon League games are more often battles than shootouts, and like Hank mentioned before, I rarely (if ever) pick against Valpo.
VU wins 66-60
Just an observation: GB is 0-11 this year on the road, but 7-1 at home. Watch out
ReplyDeleteIt is very tough to win a conference game on the road. I'm guessing it will be another HL game that goes down to the wire.
DeleteThey are a real threat to beat us tonight. I am definitely just as worried about this game as I am the UWM game on Saturday because they are such a good home team. As a matter of fact I think I picked them to beat us in this game in our preseason predictions.
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