Valpo knocks off Murray State

Valpo went on the road and finally won a game against a supposedly better opponent.  This was Murray’s first lost at home to a non conference team since the dinosaurs were roaming the Kentucky hills.  Here’s a look at each teams main players and their overall score as a unit.

Player	School	Minutes	+	-	PPS
Ryan Broekhoff	Valpo	35	1.03	0.31	0.72
Lavontae Dority	Valpo	28	0.61	0.57	0.04
Kevin Van Wijk	Valpo	22	1.09	0.55	0.54
Bobby Capobianco	Valpo	18	1.00	0.22	0.78
Ben Boggs	Valpo	23	0.61	0.22	0.39
Matt Kenney	Valpo	22	0.64	0.18	0.46
Erik Buggs	Valpo	22	0.59	0.41	0.18
Jordan Coleman	Valpo	16	1.38	0.56	0.82
Will Bogan	Valpo	14	0.21	0.14	0.07
Team	Valpo	200	0.83	0.36	0.47

Valpo dominated on the boards.  Jordan Coleman had a nice score, but his score is a bit inflated due to his lower (16) minutes.  Kevin had a nice + score, but his inability to stay out of foul trouble really hurt him. Lavonte Dority’s – score is so high because he missed 10 fg attempts.  As a team Valpo scored a bit under what they had averaged to this point, mainly due to their 10 assists vs. 17 turnovers and 66.7% ft%.

Murray State	School	Minutes	+	-	PPS
Isaiah Canaan	MSU	39	1.21	0.49	0.72
Ed Daniel	MSU	24	1.25	0.38	0.87
Stacy Wilson	MSU	31	0.55	0.39	0.16
Dexter Fields	MSU	34	0.62	0.12	0.50
Brandon Garret	MSU	22	0.36	0.36	0.00
Jeffrey Moss	MSU	21	0.29	0.24	0.05
Team	MSU	200	0.71	0.34	0.37

Valpo’s defense really came to play today.  They did a nice job contesting nearly every shot Canaan and company threw up there. They also managed to limit Daniel’s minutes (I called for that here, http://sectionee.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-beat-murray-state.html) and really made him a non-factor on the defensive end. Valpo’s depth proved to be the difference and I suspect that opposing Horizon League teams will face a similar fate when they face off against the league’s top team.

11 Game Wrap Up

With the first 1/3 or so of the season behind us I thought now would be a good time to break down some statistics.  The team's 7-4 record is not bad, but many fans (and probably players and coaches) were expecting a little more.  The Crusaders should be favored in 2 or their final 3 non conference games before beginning conference play on January 3rd leading to at least a 9-5 record heading into that first conference game against Loyola. 

On to the numbers.  The Crusaders' play has not been anywhere near what we were hoping for.  Only Kenney (30 assist/27 turnovers) and Buggs (46 assist/32 turnovers) have more assists then turnovers.  In fact, the assist/turnover ratio of .76 is the biggest factor in the team not having more success.  The high rate of turnovers as well as the high amount of fouls the team is committing is what is keeping the team's PPS lower then it should be.

Player	School	PPS-O	PPS-D	PPS
Lavontae Dority	Valpo	1.2222	0.5000	0.7222
Ryan Broekhoff	Valpo	1.1633	0.2865	0.8768
Kevin Van Wijk	Valpo	1.2451	0.4047	0.8405
Bobby Capobianco	Valpo	0.9664	0.4706	0.4958
Ben Boggs	Valpo	0.5598	0.2819	0.2780
Jordan Coleman	Valpo	0.6991	0.2963	0.4028
Matt Kenney	Valpo	0.6598	0.3527	0.3071
Erik Buggs	Valpo	0.5710	0.3218	0.2492
Will Bogan	Valpo	0.3420	0.2305	0.1115
Alex Rossi	Valpo	0.7097	0.2581	0.4516
Vashil Fernandez	Valpo	0.4159	0.2832	0.1327

Dority, Capobianco, and KVW's PPS-D (this is the bad stuff they do on the court) are all way to high for guys expected to play big roles.  If they can cut down on fouling (KVW/Capo) and turnovers (all) those PPS-D will drop and the team will see more success.  I think with Dority's addition we will see Kenney's turnovers drop, Bogan's shooting % rise, and the overall efficiency and success of the team improve.  These last three games need to be used to get a normal rotation set, and to get Dority and everyone else comfortable with their roles.