Pretty much a must win for SIU at a Valpo team that's gotten things together lately.
Valpo started the season 6-12 and 0-7 in the MVC but have gone 5-4 since. They don't have any great wins in the MVC yet though just beating up on Evansville, UIC, and Illinois State. They do have a neutral site win against #96 James Madison earlier in the year.
Meet the Beacons:
Valpo is 81st in the country in average height (77.7") and 263rd in the country in D-1 experience (1.53 years).
What the Beacons do well:
Valpo is 28th in the country in offensive rebounding % on the defensive end (24.6%). On the offensive end, the Beacons are 102nd in the country in 2 point % (51.9%). 55.1% of the Beacons points come from 2 pointers which is 56th in the country.
What the Beacons don't do well:
Valpo has been a horrible offensive team this year. The Beacons are 287th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency (99.7). The Beacons are 342nd in the country in 3 point % (29.8%) and 238th in the country in effective field goal % (49.2%).
On the defensive end, Valpo is 321st in the country in turnover % (16.0%) and 289th in the country in block % (6.7%).
Beacons' Players to Watch:
Valpo's leading scorer and rebounder is 6-9 Senior Ben Krikke averaging 18.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. This season Krikke is 330th in the country in 2 point % (180-312, 57.7%), 280th in the country in true shooting % (58.8%), and 314th in the country in effective field goal %. If the game comes down to free throws, Krikke is 344th in the country in free throw % (90-113, 79.6%). Krikke is 54th in the country in % of minutes played (87.9%).
The Beacons' 2nd leading scorer and leader in possessions and shots is 6-4 Senior Kobe King averaging 16.3 points per game. King was a 4 star recruit out of La Crosse, WI and chose Wisconsin over offers from Iowa State and Marquette. King spent 3 years with the Badgers before transferring to Valparaiso after initially committing to Nebraska. This season, King is 191st in the country in % of possessions gone through him (26.9%) and 121st in the country in % of shots taken when on the floor (29.1%). King is 84th in the country in % of minutes played (86.5%).
Valpo's leader in assists and steals is 6-1 Senior Nick Edwards averaging 5.0 assists per game and 1.6 steals per game. Edwards spent his first 2 collegiate seasons at JUCO Northwest Mississippi Community College and his 3rd season at D2 Glenville State. This season, Edwards is 14th in the country in assist rate (35.5%), 149th in the country in steal % (3.2%), and 440th in the country in free throw rate (36.4%).
Another player to watch out for on Valpo is 6-8 Freshman Maximus Nelson. Nelson is 354th in the country in defensive rebounding % (18.4%) and in Missouri Valley play, Nelson is 10th in the conference in 3 point % (24-57, 42.1%).
Links:
Alright, time to move past Saturday. To win the conference, have to win out. Would probably split at the top. To get a bye 3/4 for sure does it and 2/4 maybe does it... Huge game, hopefully Saturday was humbling and motivating, something a team in FEB may need from time to time to refocus. Let's start a 7 game winning streak.
SIU - 67
Valpo - 60
These back-end of a road trip games are always tricky, and I don't love the logistics of playing in Des Moines on Saturday and then a decent haul to northwest Indiana on Tuesday, but hopefully any travel considerations are outweighed by the urgency the team should feel to perform after the debacle over the weekend.
Quinton Green is another player to watch for Valpo. He had 25 in their win over Illinois State on Saturday.
What really worries me about this game, aside from it being on the road is that Valpo can really pound the glass, particularly on the offensive side. This is a chronic Achilles heel for SIU. Hope we're ready.
--Insert something witty here--
Yeah, makes for a couple long travel days. Maybe they went straight to Valpo from Drake and got there Saturday night. I doubt it though. The Tuesday games after the weekends stink for the traveling team.These back-end of a road trip games are always tricky, and I don't love the logistics of playing in Des Moines on Saturday and then a decent haul to northwest Indiana on Tuesday, but hopefully any travel considerations are outweighed by the urgency the team should feel to perform after the debacle over the weekend.
Quinton Green is another player to watch for Valpo. He had 25 in their win over Illinois State on Saturday.
Tough game. Drake was lucky to get a win at Valpo
Of the teams at the top of the Valley our remaining road schedule is the easiest, so we got that going for us at least.
Saluki Insider? I barely know her!
Rodney Watson on In the Dawghouse from an Indiana Pacers game:
https://www.1035espn.com/episode/in-the-dawghouse-2-13-23-rodney-watson/
Actually the travel wasn’t bad. They chartered to DesMoines and Valpo . Both flights about an hour each way.
Rodney Watson on In the Dawghouse from an Indiana Pacers game:
https://www.1035espn.com/episode/in-the-dawghouse-2-13-23-rodney-watson/
Really enjoy Rodney's insights and this is another good listen, but I do disagree somewhat with his premise toward the end that cutting down the rotation to 8 or so guys is a big key to playing their best basketball. The fact is SIU has trimmed the rotation quite a bit the past few weeks (D'Amico, Muila and to a lesser extent Brown are the only guys who have been seeing substantial minutes off the bench), and other than the Missouri State home game, it's been a pretty bad stretch of basketball for the Salukis.
Bryan Mullins pregame:
https://siusalukis.com/watch/?Archive=6762&type=Archive&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
The wife and I will be in lower bowl section D if anyone else is able to make it. If we don't bring home a victory, I'll be giving away our UIC tickets as I'll be 0-2 at that point and can't afford risking any bad juju.
Go Dawgs !!!!!!!!!!!!!
How long of a drive is it to Carbondale for you?
Hopefully you bring some good luck to the Salukis tonight. They need it.
Supporter of the Fab 4: Scottie Ebube, Foster Wonders, AJ Ferguson & Cade Hornecker.
They’re the ones that can get us where we haven’t been in 15 years.
