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 (9-8, 2-2 MVC) Date Opponent Time/Result at UNI (14-2, 3-1 MVC) Oct. 19 Cedarville (exhibition) W 85-65 Game No. 18 – Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 – 7 p.m. CT Nov. 5 Toledo ESPN3 W 79-77 McLeod Center (7,018) – Cedar Falls, Iowa 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: A challenging test awaits the Valparaiso Nov. 17 North Dakota ESPN3 W 74-60 University men’s basketball team, which will look for its second straight victory Nov. 22 vs. Grand Canyon! FloHoops W 78-74 Nov. 24 vs. Nevada! FloHoops L 84-59 on Wednesday night at UNI. The Panthers are the highest regarded team in the Nov. 25 Cincinnati! FloHoops L 81-77(ot) conference by a variety of metrics and own an unblemished 9-0 record at home. Nov. 27 Trinity Christian# ESPN3 W 98-71 After already eliminating one lengthy skid this season by winning at Evansville Dec. 3 at Eastern Michigan ESPN+ L 85-79 for the first time since 1969, Valpo will look to snap a 13-game skid at UNI Dec. 8 Central Michigan ESPN+ W 77-55 and earn its first ever win when visiting Cedar Falls. UNI is receiving votes Dec. 16 at Charlotte 49ers TV L 67-57 nationally in the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Dec. 18 at High Point ESPN+ W 87-72 Dec. 21 at Arkansas No Video - WVUR Only L 72-68 Dec. 30 Loyola* The Valley ESPN+ L 66-63 Last Time Out: Valpo went 18-of-20 at the free-throw line and held Drake to Jan. 4 at Evansville* The Valley on E+ W 81-79(ot) 2-of-20 from beyond the 3-point arc en route to a 66-61 victory over the Bulldogs Jan. 7 at Southern Illinois* ESPN+ L 63-50 on Saturday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Drake held a late 61-60 Jan. 11 Drake* ESPN3 W 66-61 lead, but Valpo scored the final six points of the game at the foul line. Valpo Jan. 15 at UNI* ESPN+ 7 p.m. ran a “home-run play” to help secure the triumph as Javon Freeman-Liberty Jan. 18 Indiana State*The Valley on ESPN+ 7 p.m. used a lightning-fast burst of speed to run down a ball that was chucked into Jan. 23 at Missouri State*CBS Sports Network 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Evansville* MVCTV Network 4 p.m. the forecourt on a baseline inbounds by John Kiser. Kiser also hit perhaps the Jan. 29 at Bradley* ESPN+ 6 p.m. biggest shot of the night, a go-ahead trey with 3:01 remaining, the team’s first Feb. 1 Illinois State* ESPN3 7 p.m. lead of the second half after trailing by as many as seven. Donovan Clay finished Feb. 5 UNI* ESPN+ 7 p.m. with team highs in both points (18) and rebounds (seven). Feb. 9 at Loyola* CBS Sports Network or ESPNU TBA Feb. 12 Southern Illinois* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Following Valpo Basketball: Video –ESPN+ – Eric Braley (play-by-play) and Feb. 15 at Illinois State* MVCTV Network 6 p.m. Johnny Moran (analyst) Feb. 19 at Drake* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Feb. 22 Bradley* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Radio – WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Feb. 25 Missouri State* ESPN+ 7 p.m. Brandon Vickrey (analyst) Feb. 29 at Indiana State* TV TBD TBD Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball March 5-8 MVC Tournament% TBD Links for the audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. All times Central. : Matt Lottich (63-52) is in his seventh season Home games in bold and played at Head Coach Matt Lottich Athletics-Recreation Center. overall at Valpo and fourth as head coach in 2019-20. Lottich led the team to ! – Paradise Jam (U.S. Virgin Islands) 15 victories in his third season in charge in 2018-19, the program’s second # - Paradise Jam non-bracketed game campaign in the Missouri Valley Conference. In his first year as head coach $ - Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge (2016-17), Lottich guided Valpo to its fifth Horizon League regular season % - 2020 MVC Tournament (St. Louis) championship in a six-year span as he led the team to 24 wins and an at-large * - indicates Missouri Valley Conference game berth into the NIT. Lottich, hired as the 22nd head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program in April 2016, graduated from Stanford University in 2004 and New Trier High School (Illinois) in 2000. 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 Series Notes: The all-time series is tilted heavily in UNI’s favor, He has 349 with 17 games played and at least 15 games remaining, though only four of the 28 meetings have come after 1991 so most putting him on pace for 656 points if he sustains his current scoring of the history between the two foes is in the distant past. Valpo is average. The school record is Bruce Lindner in 1969-70 at 725, just 3-25 all-time against the Panthers, but one of those victories followed by Alec Peters in 2015-16 at 679 and Peters in 2016-17 came 75-66 last season at the ARC. UNI owns three of the four at 666. Freeman-Liberty is also on pace for one of the Top-10 point games since Valpo joined The Valley, including a 64-53 triumph last totals by a sophomore in Missouri Valley Conference history. If year at the McLeod Center to salvage a season-series split. With a he remains at his current pace, Freeman-Liberty has a chance to 22-game losing streak that dated back to 1969 in games played at eclipse the 1,000-point milestone for his career by the end of his Evansville already snapped this season, this version of the Valpo sophomore season. Entering Wednesday’s game at UNI, he is 15 men’s basketball team could reverse the ghosts of the program’s points away from already matching his season point total from his past in another house of horrors on Saturday. Valpo is 0-13 all-time rookie campaign. in games played at UNI. Scouting the Panthers The Stripe a Key: The team’s success in the win column has been - Hold an unblemished 9-0 home record this season. tied closely with its success at the free-throw line this season. Valpo - Only two losses of the season came vs. West Virginia 60-55 in is 6-1 when shooting free throws at 70 percent or better, with the Cancun and 76-70 at Illinois State in the MVC opener. only defeat coming in overtime against Cincinnati. Conversely, the - Coming off a dominant 80-57 road win at Missouri State, the team is 2-7 against Division-I opponents when shooting below 70 preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. AJ Green percent at the foul line. Valpo went 18-of-20 at the charity line in led the way with 28 points. the team’s 66-61 victory over Drake on Jan. 11, marking the third - Off to their best 16-game start since also holding a 14-2 mark in time this season and second in the last three games the squad has 2014-15. shot free throws at a clip of 90 percent or better. - Led in scoring by AJ Green at 18.8 points per game and rebounding by Austin Phyfe at 7.4 boards per game. Guarding the Arc: Valpo held Drake to 2-of-20 from behind - Under the direction of longtime head coach Ben Jacobson, who the 3-point arc (10 percent) on Jan. 11, the team’s second-best is a three-time MVC Coach of the Year and ranks in the Top 5 in performance this season in terms of 3-point defense behind a Dec. MVC history in coaching victories. 8 victory over Central Michigan where the Chippewas went just 1-of-17 (5.9 percent). That Central Michigan team had previously Wrapping Up Jan. 11 vs. Drake made at least four 3s in every game this season, and that was Valpo’s - After scoring a career-high 21 in Valpo’s first MVC home game, lowest opponent 3-point percentage since Jan. 26, 2015 (Milwaukee freshman Donovan Clay followed with an 18-point effort in the 1-of-17, 5.9 percent). Drake’s two made 3s on Jan. 13 at the ARC second home conference contest of the campaign. He has led the was the team’s lowest total since Feb. 17, 2015. team in scoring twice this season, the aforementioned MVC home games against Drake and Loyola. Finding a Way to Win: Valpo shot just 33.3 percent on Jan. - Clay went 7-of-7 at the free-throw line, becoming the second 11 vs. Drake, but did enough right to withstand a cold shooting Valpo player to go perfect at the stripe with at least seven attempts performance in a 66-61 victory.