2019-20 Men’s Basketball Game Notes Contact: BRANDON VICKREY Office: 219.464.5396 Valpo Sports Media Relations [email protected] www.valpoathletics.com Athletics-Recreation Center 1009 Union Street Valparaiso IN 46383 2019-20 Schedule and Results Valparaiso (8-7, 1-1 MVC) Date Opponent Time/Result at Southern Illinois (7-8, 1-1 MVC) Oct. 19 Cedarville (exhibition) W 85-65 Game No. 16 – Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2019 – 7 p.m. CT Nov. 5 Toledo ESPN3 W 79-77 Banterra Center (8,284) – Carbondale, Ill. Nov. 9 at Saint Louis FOX Sports MW/ESPN+ L 81-70 Nov. 12 at SIUE ESPN+ W 89-76 Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Carbondale is the next stop on the current road Nov. 17 North Dakota ESPN3 W 74-60 swing for the Valparaiso University men’s basketball team as the squad faces off Nov. 22 vs. Grand Canyon! FloHoops W 78-74 Nov. 24 vs. Nevada! FloHoops L 84-59 with Southern Illinois on Tuesday night. Valpo will attempt to win in Carbondale Nov. 25 Cincinnati! FloHoops L 81-77(ot) for the second straight year after sweeping the season series from the Salukis Nov. 27 Trinity Christian# ESPN3 W 98-71 a year ago. This will mark the final game of a stretch where Valpo has played Dec. 3 at Eastern Michigan ESPN+ L 85-79 five out of six on the road with only one home game over a month’s time. Dec. 8 Central Michigan ESPN+ W 77-55 Dec. 16 at Charlotte 49ers TV L 67-57 Last Time Out: Valpo snapped a 22-game losing streak in games at Evansville Dec. 18 at High Point ESPN+ W 87-72 that dated back to 1969 by going into the Ford Center and beating the Purple Dec. 21 at Arkansas No Video - WVUR Only L 72-68 Dec. 30 Loyola* The Valley ESPN+ L 66-63 Aces 81-79 in overtime on Saturday night. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 19 Jan. 4 at Evansville* The Valley on E+ W 81-79 (ot) of his team-high 25 points after halftime, leading four Valpo players in double Jan. 7 at Southern Illinois* ESPN+ 7 p.m. figures. The Brown & Gold trailed by eight points with under four minutes to Jan. 11 Drake* ESPN3 3 p.m. play, but rallied to tie the game at 70 and force the extra session. Eron Gordon Jan. 15 at UNI* ESPN+ 7 p.m. (11) and Ben Krikke (10) both reached double figures off the bench, while Jan. 18 Indiana State*The Valley on ESPN+ 7 p.m. Donovan Clay (10) made it four Valpo players with 10 points or more in the Jan. 23 at Missouri State*CBS Sports Network 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Evansville* MVCTV Network 4 p.m. thrilling victory over a team that had gone on the road and upstaged No. 1 Jan. 29 at Bradley* ESPN+ 6 p.m. Kentucky earlier in the season. Feb. 1 Illinois State* ESPN3 7 p.m. Feb. 5 UNI* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Following Valpo Basketball: Video –ESPN+ – Connor Onion (play-by-play), Feb. 9 at Loyola* CBS Sports Network or ESPNU TBA Mike Trude (analyst) and Trey Reamer (sidelines) Feb. 12 Southern Illinois* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Feb. 15 at Illinois State* MVCTV Network 6 p.m. Brandon Vickrey (analyst) Feb. 19 at Drake* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Feb. 22 Bradley* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball Feb. 25 Missouri State* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Links for the audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. Feb. 29 at Indiana State* TV TBD TBD March 5-8 MVC Tournament% TBD Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (62-51) is in his seventh season overall at Valpo and fourth as head coach in 2019-20. Lottich led the team to All times Central. 15 victories in his third season in charge in 2018-19, the program’s second Home games in bold and played at Athletics-Recreation Center. campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference. In his first year as head coach ! – Paradise Jam (U.S. Virgin Islands) (2016-17), Lottich guided Valpo to its fifth Horizon League regular season # - Paradise Jam non-bracketed game championship in a six-year span as he led the team to 24 wins and an at-large $ - Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge berth into the NIT. Lottich, hired as the 22nd head coach of the Valpo men’s % - 2020 MVC Tournament (St. Louis) basketball program in April 2016, graduated from Stanford University in 2004 * - indicates Missouri Valley Conference game and New Trier High School (Illinois) in 2000. Series Notes: Valpo is 5-3 all-time against the Salukis in a series that began in 1929. Valpo has won three of four over SIU since joining the Missouri Valley Valpo Men’s Basketball @ValpoBasketball #GoValpo 2019-20 Men’s Basketball Game Notes Contact: BRANDON VICKREY Office: 219.464.5396 Valpo Sports Media Relations [email protected] www.valpoathletics.com Athletics-Recreation Center 1009 Union Street Valparaiso IN 46383 Conference, including a pair of tight triumphs a year ago. The Brown Close Calls: Valpo has played three games in a row decided by four & Gold prevailed 65-61 in Carbondale and 55-52 at the ARC in points or fewer, with each game getting progressively closer – a 2018-19. Prior to Valpo’s addition to The Valley, the two teams had 72-68 defeat at Arkansas, a 66-63 setback vs. Loyola and an 81-79 not faced off since 1980. win at Evansville. Seven of Valpo’s 15 games have been decided by six points or fewer this season. This is the first time Valpo has Double-Figure Figures: The game at Evansville was Javon had a stretch of three straight games decided by four points or fewer Freeman-Liberty’s 15th straight double-figure scoring output, while since the 2011-12 season (Dec. 29-Jan. 6; L 57-55 vs. Milwaukee, Donovan Clay hit double figures for the eighth time this year and W 90-87 vs. Green Bay, W 73-71 at Detroit Mercy). seventh time in his last eight games. Eron Gordon had his fifth double-figure point total, all coming in the last eight games. Ben A Victory in Carbondale Would: Give Valpo consecutive wins Krikke’s double-figure effort was his third of the year and first since in true road games for the first time since winning at Southern Nov. 27 vs. Trinity Christian. Freeman-Liberty has scored 20 points Illinois on Jan. 12 of last season… Allow Valpo to win its first two or more in nine of the team’s 15 games this season, and Saturday conference road games of the year for the second straight season… marked the fourth time he’s accrued 25 points or more. Give Valpo back-to-back road wins in succession (no home game in between) for the first time since Jan. 12-14, 2017, a sweep of a Stopping the Streak: With Valpo’s 81-79 overtime victory over Horizon League swing to the great state of Ohio that featured wins Evansville, the team stopped a five-game head-to-head losing streak over Youngstown State and Cleveland State. against the Aces and garnered its first win against Evansville since joining the Missouri Valley Conference (previously 0-4). But most More Notes Wrapping Up Evansville (Jan. 4) noteworthy of all was the 22-game losing skid in games played at - Redshirt junior Nick Robinson had his second straight seven-assist Evansville that came to an end. Matt Lottich became the first Valpo game, matching the season high that he established in the conference coach to win at Evansville since the legendary Gene Bartow led his opener against Loyola. He had more than three assists in a game just team to a 101-95 victory on Feb. 1, 1969. During the years (or more once over his first 12 outings and had 19 total assists in his first dozen accurately, decades) between those victories, five Valpo coaches games before stringing together back-to-back seven-assist outputs. went winless in the River City: Bill Purden (0-6), Ken Rochlitz - Freshman Donovan Clay squeezed seven rebounds, his highest (0-3), Tom Smith (0-5), Homer Drew (0-4) and Bryce Drew (0-1). total against a Division-I opponent this year. He led the team in No member of the Valpo team or coaching staff was alive the last rebounding for the second time and first against a D-I foe (eight on time the program won in Evansville before Saturday. Nov. 27 vs. Trinity Christian). In addition, Eron Gordon matched a season best with five boards. Decade Openers: On Jan. 4 at Evansville, Valpo tipped off a - Junior Mileek McMillan buried three 3s in just 12 minutes of new decade with a win for the first time since starting the 1970s action before fouling out, his first game this season with multiple by beating Brown. Valpo had lost its first contest of the 1980s (at makes from beyond the arc. His 3-for-4 shooting showing from Milwaukee), 1990s (at Notre Dame), 2000s (at UMKC) and 2010s long range gave his 3-point percentage a boost after he entered the (at Green Bay). Javon Freeman-Liberty will hold the distinction evening at 6-for-30. of being the leading scorer in the first Valpo game of the 2020s. - Valpo made a dozen 3s in the game, tying its most prosperous Brandon Wood (2010s), Milo Stovall (2000s) and Mike Jones performance from long range on the campaign.