2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record19–16 (9–9 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Luke Gore
  • Rob Holloway
  • Matt Bowen
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
Seasons
2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Northern Iowa 14 – 4   .778 25 – 6   .806
Loyola Chicago 13 – 5   .722 21 – 11   .656
Indiana State 11 – 7   .611 18 – 12   .600
Bradley † 11 – 7   .611 23 – 11   .676
Southern Illinois 10 – 8   .556 16 – 16   .500
Missouri State 9 – 9   .500 16 – 17   .485
Valparaiso 9 – 9   .500 19 – 16   .543
Drake 8 – 10   .444 20 – 14   .588
Illinois State 5 – 13   .278 10 – 21   .323
Evansville 0 – 18   .000 9 – 23   .281
† 2020 MVC tournament winner

The 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as third-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference.[1] They finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville, Loyola–Chicago, and Missouri State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley.

Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2018–19 season 15–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 9 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Indiana State in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.[2][3]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Micah Bradford 1 G 6'2" 190 Junior Bradley, IL Left program
Deion Lavender 2 G 6'3" 190 RS Senior Alton, IL Graduated
Bakari Evelyn 4 G 6'2" 180 RS Junior Detroit, MI Graduate transferred to Iowa
Markus Golder 5 G/F 6'6" 195 RS Junior Portland, OR Graduate transferred to Portland State
Langston Stalling 12 G 6'3" 210 Freshman Gary, IN Left team to concentrate on academics
Jaume Sorolla 14 C 7'0" 240 Junior Tortosa, Spain Graduate transferred to Cincinnati
Derrik Smits 21 C 7'1" 240 RS Junior Zionsville, IN Graduate transferred to Butler

In addition to the departing players, assistant coach Todd Townsend left the program after the 2018–19 season, citing family reasons. Matt Bowen, who had spent that season as the Crusaders' director of basketball operations, was promoted to a full assistant position.[4]

Roster

2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Javon Freeman-Liberty 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Whitney Young HS Chicago, IL
G 1 Sigurd Lorange 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Metis Videregaende Skole Trondheim, Norway
G 2 Zion Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Kenwood
UNLV/Wabash Valley 		Chicago, IL
F 3 Brock Pappas (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Washington Township HS Valparaiso, IN
G 4 Daniel Sackey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Thornlea Winnipeg, MB
G/F 5 Donovan Clay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Alton HS Alton, IL
G 10 Eron Gordon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Cathedral HS
Seton Hall 		Indianapolis, IN
C 11 Emil Freese-Vilien 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Falkonergardens Gymnasium Copenhagen, Denmark
G 15 Luke Morrill (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Montini Catholic HS Lombard, IL
F 22 Mileek McMillan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Merrillville HS Merrillville, IN
F 23 Ben Krikke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Jasper Place HS Edmonton, AB
G 25 Nick Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Kenwood
Saint Joseph's 		Chicago, IL
G/F 33 John Kiser 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Noblesville HS Noblesville, IN
G/F 35 Ryan Fazekas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Marquette Catholic HS
Providence 		Chesterton, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: September 23, 2019

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Canadian exhibition tour
August 10, 2019*
 at McGill W 84–78 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
August 11, 2019*
 at Concordia W 94–90 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
August 13, 2019*
 at Carleton W 83–80 OT
 
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
August 14, 2019*
 at Quebec W 81–68 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Exhibition
October 19, 2019*
 Cedarville W 85–65 
ARC (1,637)
Valparaiso, IN
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Toledo W 79–77  1–0
 ARC (2,412)
Valparaiso, IN
November 9, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Saint Louis L 71–80  1–1
 Chaifetz Arena (6,159)
St. Louis, MO
November 12, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville W 89–76  2–1
 Vadalabene Center (778)
Edwardsville, IL
November 17, 2019*
1:30 pm, ESPN3 		North Dakota W 74–60  3–1
 ARC (2,504)
Valparaiso, IN
November 22, 2019*
12:00 pm, FloSports 		vs. Grand Canyon
Paradise Jam quarterfinal 		W 78–74  4–1
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 23 or 24, 2019*
4:30 pm, FloSports 		vs. Nevada
Paradise Jam semifinal 		L 59–84  4–2
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 25, 2019*
4:45 pm, FloSports 		vs. Cincinnati
Paradise Jam 3rd place game 		L 77–81 OT 4–3
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 27, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Trinity Christian W 98–71  5–3
 ARC (1,824)
Valparaiso, IN
December 3, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Eastern Michigan L 79–85  5–4
 Convocation Center (1,237)
Ypsilanti, MI
December 8, 2019*
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Central Michigan W 77–55  6–4
 ARC (2,880)
Valparaiso, IN
December 16, 2019*
6:00 pm 		at Charlotte L 57–67  6–5
 Dale F. Halton Arena (2,740)
Charlotte, NC
December 18, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at High Point W 87–72  7–5
 Millis Athletic Convocation Center (928)
High Point, NC
December 21, 2019*
7:00 pm, 15,630 		vs. Arkansas L 68–72  7–6
 Simmons Bank Arena (15,630)
North Little Rock, AR
MVC regular season
December 30, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Loyola–Chicago L 63–66  7–7
(0–1) 		ARC (4,364)
Valparaiso, IN
January 4, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Evansville W 81–79 OT 8–7
(1–1) 		Ford Center (5,615)
Evansville, IN
January 7, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southern Illinois L 50–63  8–8
(1–2) 		SIU Arena (3,856)
Carbondale, IL
January 11, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPN3 		Drake W 66–61  9–8
(2–2) 		ARC (3,190)
Valparaiso, IN
January 15, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Northern Iowa L 78–88  9–9
(2–3) 		McLeod Center (4,057)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 18, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Indiana State W 86–77  10–9
(3–3) 		ARC (2,805)
Valparaiso, IN
January 23, 2020
7:30 pm, CBSSN 		at Missouri State L 60–67  10–10
(3–4) 		JQH Arena (4,536)
Springfield, MO
January 26, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		Evansville W 67–65  11–10
(4–4) 		ARC (3,044)
Valparaiso, IN
January 29, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bradley L 69–80  11–11
(4–5) 		Carver Arena (5,038)
Peoria, IL
February 1, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Illinois State W 80–70  12–11
(5–5) 		ARC (3,220)
Valparaiso, IN
February 5, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Northern Iowa L 51–63  12–12
(5–6) 		ARC (2,030)
Valparaiso, IN
February 9, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPNU 		at Loyola–Chicago L 68–70  12–13
(5–7) 		Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,622)
Chicago, IL
February 12, 2020
7:00, ESPN+ 		Southern Illinois W 55–38  13–13
(6–7) 		ARC (2,374)
Valparaiso, IN
February 15, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Illinois State W 65–62  14–13
(7–7) 		Redbird Arena (4,529)
Normal, IL
February 19, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Drake L 75–77 OT 14–14
(7–8) 		Knapp Center (3,783)
Des Moines, IA
February 22, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Bradley W 90–78  15–14
(8–8) 		ARC (3,237)
Valparaiso, IN
February 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Missouri State W 89–74  16–14
(9–8) 		ARC (2,476)
Valparaiso, IN
February 29, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Indiana State L 58–71  16–15
(9–9) 		Hulman Center (4,114)
Terre Haute, IN
MVC tournament
March 5, 2020
8:35 pm, ESPN+ 		(7) vs. (10) Evansville
First round 		W 58–55  17–15
 Enterprise Center (5,212)
St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2020
6:05 pm, ESPN+ 		(7) vs. (2) Loyola–Chicago
Quarterfinals 		W 74–73 OT 18–15
 Enterprise Center (6,521)
St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2020
5:05 pm, CBSSN 		(7) vs. (6) Missouri State
Semifinals 		W 89–82  19–15
 Enterprise Center (8,145)
St. Louis, MO
March 8, 2020
1:05 pm, CBS 		(7) vs. (4) Bradley
Championship 		L 66–80  19–16
 Enterprise Center (8,016)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5]

References

  1. ^ Weinstein, Robbie. "Valparaiso faces more scheduling challenges as Vanderbilt, George Washington buy out". nwi.com.
  2. ^ TN, Streamline Technologies | Nashville. "Valpo Pulls Away From Indiana State For Win in Arch Madness Opener". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  3. ^ TN, Streamline Technologies | Nashville. "Men's Basketball Season Comes to an End Friday in St. Louis". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  4. ^ "Valpo Basketball Announces Staff Promotions" (Press release). Valparaiso Crusaders. August 20, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "Men's Basketball | Schedule | Official Website of Valpo Athletics". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019.