- Men’s basketball on a roll, in conference lead
Picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League prior to the start of the 2010-2011 season, the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team has put league foes on notice with a 6-1 start in league play. The Crusaders sit alone atop the Horizon League standings and come home for three straight games at the Athletics-Recreation Center over the next two weekends.
Valpo is 14-5 overall this season following Sunday’s win at Detroit, just one win shy of matching its total from a season ago with at least 13 games left to play. The Crusaders have won four straight games on three different occasions this year and currently are on a four-game win streak, which includes a home win over a Cleveland State squad ranked first in the Mid-Major Top 25 at the time. On the most recent road trip, Valpo also won at Wright State to move to 4-1 on the road in league play so far this year.
The Crusaders have won games this year with a much-improved defense from a year ago, giving up just 65 points per game this season. Thirteen of their 14 wins have come while holding opponents under 70 points. But the Valpo offense continues to roll as well, averaging 73.5 points per game this year. The Crusaders are led by junior guard Brandon Wood (16.1 ppg) and senior forward Cory Johnson (15.9 ppg), both of whom have earned Player of the Week honors from the Horizon League this season.
With the 14-5 record and the 6-1 mark in Horizon League play, Valpo has moved up a number of national rankings as well. The Crusaders came in at No. 48 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, joining fellow Horizon League schools Butler and Cleveland State among the top-50 in the nation in RPI. In addition, Valpo continues to rise in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll, checking in at No. 20 in this Monday’s polling.
The Crusaders return home to the ARC the next two weekends, starting the homestand by hosting Milwaukee this Friday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. On Sunday, Jan. 23, Green Bay comes to town for a noon tipoff, and then in-state rival and last year’s national runner-up Butler comes to the ARC for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 29 for the Horizon League Game of the Week.
Tickets are available for all three games by visiting http://www.valpoathletics.com/tickets/. Fans who can’t make it to the ARC can watch Friday’s game live on http://www.espn3.com, while the other two games will be available via the Horizon League Network at http://www.horizonleague.com. The Butler game will also be telecast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and other stations throughout the Horizon League regions. All three games can also be heard live on the Valpo Sports Radio Network.
