First go-around in MVC has been tough for Valpo
Let?s play a game. Try to identify the coach who said the following in this week?s Missouri Valley Conference coaches teleconference.
?We?re making a lot of mistakes and with the way that we defend? Everyone has to do their job. It just seems like every possession there?s one guy who isn?t executing their assignment.?
Sounds a lot like Indiana State coach Greg Lansing, doesn?t it? In fact, it?s Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich.
Lansing has had similar laments at various points of ISU?s season, including the Sycamores? last two games, ones in which their opponents exceeded 80 points in each contest.
Though ISU is mired in a two-game losing streak, Valparaiso, whom ISU visits at 8 p.m. tonight, has bigger problems.
The Crusaders, who began their season with an 8-0 start, have found their first trip through the MVC to be a very difficult one.
Valparaiso has won just two conference games, home wins over Southern Illinois and Drake, and have lost five in a row.
As Lottich mentioned, defense has been an issue. In conference games, the Crusaders are giving up 71.8 points, second-worst in the MVC.
The Sycamores are third-worst at 70.6, but ISU has compensated by being the MVC?s highest-scoring team in conference games at 73.4 points. The Crusaders are also in the bottom half of the league in scoring at 66.2 points.
It?s no surprise, then, that the Crusaders don?t have any individual scorers in conference games as Tevonn Walker ranks 11th at 14.4 points. Conversely, ISU?s Jordan Barnes (17.7 in MVC games) and Brenton Scott (16.7) are the only pair of teammates among the Valley?s top five scorers.
The problems don?t stop there. Valparaiso has been out-rebounded by an average margin of 6.2 boards in its conference contests.
The MVC campaign was damaged before it started when starting guard Joe Burton, who averaged 11.5 points in 10 games, was dismissed due to academic issues.
?We thought we?d be more competitive in the league, but we thought we?d have different players too. We happen to be really young and lost some key members. That?s been the biggest surprise for us,? Lottich said.
ISU handed Valparaiso their first MVC defeat with a 73-64 win at Hulman Center on Dec. 28. The Crusaders were 2-3 in the MVC on Jan. 10 after a win over then-first place Drake, but the slide since then has been significant.
In Valparaiso?s last four games, it has lost by double-digit margins in each of the games, including a 76-65 loss at Illinois State on Saturday.
?It?s hard to perform when you?re not as confident. A lot of what we?ve told our team is to try and get that back,? Lottich said. ?This league is a lot different than the one we came from. Every team can beat you all the time. It?s been a bit of a shock.?
Lottich does feel confident that the Crusaders aren?t going to be weighed down by the accumulation of losses.
?The one thing you can?t do and we haven?t done yet is feel sorry for yourself. You have to keep fighting. You have no other choice,? Lottich said.
Lansing can probably relate. ISU has been a good road team in the MVC, even if it doesn?t always get the results. All of ISU?s MVC road games have been decided by five points or less as the Sycamores have earned wins at Evansville and at first-place Loyola.
Lansing isn?t falling back on that, however. ISU?s defensive issues bother him and the Sycamores? inconsistency makes it clear that even with positive road performances, history can?t necessarily be a predictor of future performance.
?We haven?t played well of late and we have to play a lot better to have a chance to go in there and win on Wednesday,? Lansing said.
One thing that has bothered Lansing is the lack of bench contributions. In ISU?s last two losses, the Sycamores? bench players accounted for 15 points against Southern Illinois and 14 in Sunday?s home loss to Bradley.
?Those guys coming in off the bench have to bring something to the table and bring value to our team. Right now we?re relying too heavily on a few guys,? Lansing said.
Of course, those ?few? guys are primarily Barnes and Scott. Lottich knows who he needs to stop.
? Both them can get hot enough to beat you on their own, so we?re going to try to run them off the 3-point line and try to prevent them from getting good looks,? Lottich said.
The game at Valparaiso begins an important swing of three games in the span of six days. ISU travels to Northern Iowa on Sunday and then hosts preseason favorite Missouri State next Tuesday.
Let?s play a game. Try to identify the coach who said the following in this week?s Missouri Valley Conference coaches teleconference.
?We?re making a lot of mistakes and with the way that we defend? Everyone has to do their job. It just seems like every possession there?s one guy who isn?t executing their assignment.?
Sounds a lot like Indiana State coach Greg Lansing, doesn?t it? In fact, it?s Valparaiso coach Matt Lottich.
Lansing has had similar laments at various points of ISU?s season, including the Sycamores? last two games, ones in which their opponents exceeded 80 points in each contest.
Though ISU is mired in a two-game losing streak, Valparaiso, whom ISU visits at 8 p.m. tonight, has bigger problems.
The Crusaders, who began their season with an 8-0 start, have found their first trip through the MVC to be a very difficult one.
Valparaiso has won just two conference games, home wins over Southern Illinois and Drake, and have lost five in a row.
As Lottich mentioned, defense has been an issue. In conference games, the Crusaders are giving up 71.8 points, second-worst in the MVC.
The Sycamores are third-worst at 70.6, but ISU has compensated by being the MVC?s highest-scoring team in conference games at 73.4 points. The Crusaders are also in the bottom half of the league in scoring at 66.2 points.
It?s no surprise, then, that the Crusaders don?t have any individual scorers in conference games as Tevonn Walker ranks 11th at 14.4 points. Conversely, ISU?s Jordan Barnes (17.7 in MVC games) and Brenton Scott (16.7) are the only pair of teammates among the Valley?s top five scorers.
The problems don?t stop there. Valparaiso has been out-rebounded by an average margin of 6.2 boards in its conference contests.
The MVC campaign was damaged before it started when starting guard Joe Burton, who averaged 11.5 points in 10 games, was dismissed due to academic issues.
?We thought we?d be more competitive in the league, but we thought we?d have different players too. We happen to be really young and lost some key members. That?s been the biggest surprise for us,? Lottich said.
ISU handed Valparaiso their first MVC defeat with a 73-64 win at Hulman Center on Dec. 28. The Crusaders were 2-3 in the MVC on Jan. 10 after a win over then-first place Drake, but the slide since then has been significant.
In Valparaiso?s last four games, it has lost by double-digit margins in each of the games, including a 76-65 loss at Illinois State on Saturday.
?It?s hard to perform when you?re not as confident. A lot of what we?ve told our team is to try and get that back,? Lottich said. ?This league is a lot different than the one we came from. Every team can beat you all the time. It?s been a bit of a shock.?
Lottich does feel confident that the Crusaders aren?t going to be weighed down by the accumulation of losses.
?The one thing you can?t do and we haven?t done yet is feel sorry for yourself. You have to keep fighting. You have no other choice,? Lottich said.
Lansing can probably relate. ISU has been a good road team in the MVC, even if it doesn?t always get the results. All of ISU?s MVC road games have been decided by five points or less as the Sycamores have earned wins at Evansville and at first-place Loyola.
Lansing isn?t falling back on that, however. ISU?s defensive issues bother him and the Sycamores? inconsistency makes it clear that even with positive road performances, history can?t necessarily be a predictor of future performance.
?We haven?t played well of late and we have to play a lot better to have a chance to go in there and win on Wednesday,? Lansing said.
One thing that has bothered Lansing is the lack of bench contributions. In ISU?s last two losses, the Sycamores? bench players accounted for 15 points against Southern Illinois and 14 in Sunday?s home loss to Bradley.
?Those guys coming in off the bench have to bring something to the table and bring value to our team. Right now we?re relying too heavily on a few guys,? Lansing said.
Of course, those ?few? guys are primarily Barnes and Scott. Lottich knows who he needs to stop.
? Both them can get hot enough to beat you on their own, so we?re going to try to run them off the 3-point line and try to prevent them from getting good looks,? Lottich said.
The game at Valparaiso begins an important swing of three games in the span of six days. ISU travels to Northern Iowa on Sunday and then hosts preseason favorite Missouri State next Tuesday.
