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Tonight, for the first time in a regular season game, the fans at the Athletics-Recreation Center will get a first-hand look at the player who has scored 55 points in his first two games as Brandon Wood and the Valparaiso men's basketball team take on IU-South Bend in the Crusaders' home opener.

Wood began his career with a 25-point performance in a 88-78 loss at Ball State six days ago. On Sunday, Wood poured in 30 points in a losing effort to North Carolina. Tonight I don't expect Wood to get anywhere close to 30 points or 30 minutes in what should be a blowout at the ARC.

The last time Valparaiso played the Titans, the Crusaders won 111-41, setting a new team record with 36 assists and recording the second-highest margin of victory in program history. Tonight should be a night for the second and third units to pad their stats.

One player who is not expected to play tonight is sophomore Erik Buggs. The Memphis native is dealing with a nagging leg injury. Buggs is currently taking part in warmups and is moving fine, but there is no reason to risk injury against an NAIA school.

It also sounds like we'll see a change in the starting lineup tonight as freshman Ryan Broekhoff is expected to replace junior Michael Rogers in the opening five. Broekhoff scored seven points in 11 minutes against UNC, but frankly, this move might have more to do with Rogers and his start to the season than it does with Broekhoff. Rogers scored six points against Ball State, but was on the bench for much of the second half and the junior only played 20 minutes against the Tar Heels, missing all three shots he attempted. I'd expect to see a strong performance from Rogers tonight as he has to know that his minutes have a giant bullseye on them.

While he won't be in the starting lineup, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Matt Kenney tonight. The freshman was thrown into the fire against UNC, playing 24 effective minutes and finishing with eight points, three assists and two steals. Sure, the Crusaders missed out on Zack Novak, but they might have gotten the next best thing with Kenney. He's a do-everything player who is always in the right spot at the right time.

I'll be back closer to tip as we set the starting lineups from Valparaiso's home opener against IU-South Bend.

6:55 p.m. -- The lineups are in and Broekhoff is in fact starting in place of Rogers. The rest of the normal lineup includes senior Brandon McPherson, juniors Howard Little and Cory Johnson and sophomore Brandon Wood.

6:58 p.m. -- Time for my prediction. I'm currently 2-1 on the year including both men's and women's games. Should be a blowout tonight, but I don't think Valpo gets to 100. I say VU wins 88-55 and that Brandon Wood will finish with 14 points. I'm also going to guess that we see at least two attempts at an alley-oop. Here we go with the anthem.

7:01 p.m. -- Urule Igbavboa in the house! Welcome home big man.

7:07 p.m. -- The dawn of a new era at the ARC...kind of. Most of the gym, including the chairbacks, stood until Valpo scored their first basket. This is the norm at some schools, but has never been done at Valparaiso. The problem is, the chairback fans really didn't understand the concept and many sat down when Wood hit a free throw to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead. I think you can't sit until an actual basket is made.

7:11 p.m. -- Little has four early points as the Crusaders lead 7-5 with 15:48 remaining. Johnson, despite a pulled muscle, has been a beast so far with two points, two rebounds and a block.

7:21 p.m. -- The Crusaders have rattled off a 7-0 run and lead 14-7 with 11:37 remaining. More importantly than the offense has been the defensive pressure that Valparaiso is exhibiting. The players are playing every possession strong and making the Titans work for the entire shot clock.

7:32 p.m. -- Well, I'm throwing my prediction of a 88-55 victory out the window. I forget this was Valparaiso and the Crusaders don't blow anyone out anymore. IUSB is up 19-16 with 7:56 remaining and the Crusaders look absolutely lethargic.

7:39 p.m. -- The Titans have just drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 27-22 lead with 5:03 remaining. An interesting moment happened after a VU basket and assistant coach Bryce Drew was yelling at Rogers down the floor. Once Rogers got set defensively, Bryce shouted at him again, Rogers turned his head and by the time he turned back, his man just hit a 3-pointer. Rogers shot a look of disgust to the Valpo bench.

7:45 p.m. -- This one is getting out of hand in a hurry. IU-South Bend is now up 33-25 with under two minutes remaining. The Crusaders are racing the ball up the floor, taking the first available shot and coming up empty. A truly uninspired performance so far. Little just hit a shot after Valparaiso made a couple of passes and now the Crusaders trail 33-27 with 1:09 remaining in the first half. Two alley-oops have been attempted, one was good and one was an oops.

7:49 p.m. IU-South Bend 33, Valparaiso 30, Halftime. The Crusaders actually closed the half on a 5-0 run. That's the good. The bad is that Valparaiso has 10 turnovers, one more than they had against North Carolina...in the entire game. In 2005, the Crusaders gave up 41 points to IUSB while scoring 111. The Titans have eight points to go to reach their mark while Valparaiso has to score 81 in the second half to keep par. At this point I'll just take VU outscoring IUSB by four in the second half.

8:06 p.m. -- Well things just got interesting at the ARC. Buggs has made his first appearance of the game after multiple people told me he'd be out tonight. Drew starts the second half with Buggs, Kenney, Rogers, Little and Johnson, only two of which started the game. You read correctly that Wood and McPherson are on the bench. Message sent. Message received? I guess we'll find out. 

8:12 p.m. -- For as much as the Crusaders struggled last year during a 9-22 season, I've never seen the players yell at each other as much on the floor as they are tonight. During an defensive set in the first set in the first half, Johnson screamed at Rogers when Mike was out of position. After two quick IUSB baskets, Wood flipped the ball defiantly to McPherson so the senior could inbound the ball. Then during a timeout on the floor, McPherson screamed at Buggs to come to the huddle. It was not a friendly scream. IUSB 43-34 with 15:10 remaining.

8:18 p.m. -- Things have changed here in a hurry as McPherson has drained three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the score at 43. The ARC was rocking even before Johnson took a big-time charge. Of course the Crusaders turned the ball over on the next possession. 43-43 with 13:20 remaining.

8:24 p.m. -- That's now 11 straight points for McPherson as the Crusaders take their first lead since they were up 16-15. Wow, another 3-pointer for McPherson and Valparaiso is up 48-43 with 10:43 remaining. 14 straight points for the senior.

8:29 p.m. -- The run is finally over...at 21-0. McPherson hit a fourth 3-pointer of the stretch and is up to 23 points. Not quite as good as the 26-0 run against Milwaukee last season, but still impressive. Valparaiso up 57-46 with 7:57 remaining.

8:35 p.m. -- McPherson just knocked down another shot while getting fouled. A look to the bench showed all of the Crusader players jumping up and down in approval. Kurth was just shaking his head in amazement. VU up 59-50 with 6:51 remaining.

8:40 p.m. -- The yells of anger have turned into shouts of joy following an impressive two-possession swing. Wood drove to the lane and missed a layup before Johnson came soaring in and followed with a two-handed flush. Buggs then picked up a rebound and threw ahead to Rogers who paused and knocked down a big 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 66-50 lead with 4:59 remaining. I wonder how that halftime conversation went, and it looks like McPherson received the message with his second-half benching.

8:44 p.m. -- For those scoring at home, the Crusaders are on a 34-7 run over the last 11:09. McPherson has 25 while Johnson has 15 and Wood has 12. Combined, the trio are shooting 17-27 from the floor. That's just four more shots than Wood took in the season opener.

8:50 p.m. -- Broekhoff is off with a bloody nose, and here comes Chris Halvorsen. Fans have been waiting patiently to see the Minnesota native. He played one minute against Ball State and finished with two fouls, but he has yet to touch the ball in his Crusader career. McPherson checks out with a career-high 25 points.

8:54 p.m. -- Valparaiso 78, IU-South Bend 56. Disaster averted at the ARC, and more importantly, I move my prediction record to 3-1 on the season. Absolute dominant performance by McPherson in the second half as the senior went on a 14-0 run and scored 19 of his career-high 25 points in the second 20 minutes.