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My main sentiment from this game is that this is the Brandon Wood and the Cory Johnson that we thought we'd be getting, not the ones we saw in the Indianapolis game. That being said, where was Brandon McPherson for the first 30 minutes of the game and where was Michael Rogers tonight?

Perhaps once Valparaiso coach Homer Drew realized that Johnson and Rogers couldn't stop Jarrod Jones and Malik Perry together, he decided to go small and play a lot of sets with McPherson, Wood and Erik Buggs/Tommy Kurth together. Ball State coach Billy Taylor even commented after the game that because Valpo went small, the Cardinals were forced to play a smaller lineup. 

Looking at the scoring line for Rogers: six points, 2-3 FG, 2-2 FT, two defensive rebounds, one assist, one steal in 12 minutes...it makes me wonder if his minutes were sacrificed to try to force Ball State into a smaller lineup.

Johnson looked very similar to Dan Oppland tonight and after what I saw this evening, I'd take Johnson over Urule Igbavboa. He was tenacious on the offensive glass, grabbing four boards on Valparaiso's side of the court. He followed his shots, was able to finish his putbacks and even had three steals.

In terms of Wood's performance, the numbers are there, but so are the three turnovers. Each products of him dribbling the ball for too long in certain spots. I made a note in the live blog as well as my print version that the most shots attempted in a game by a single player last year was 15. Wood had 23 tonight and Johnson had 14. My thought is that if Wood is going to score 25 a night, he can have the 23 shots. He was also a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.

In terms of the freshmen production, had you told me that Kurth and Kenney (41 minutes) would have had more playing time than Little and Rogers (32 minutes), I would've laughed at you. Kurth missed all three of his 3-pointers, even throwing up a horrible wide-open airball, but the Penn product had five assists and didn't turn the ball over (unless you count the airball as a bad pass). Kenney was aggressive from the moment he came on the floor till the moment he left and finished with two points, two assists, two rebounds and one steal. He will develop more over time. 

Ryan Broekhoff missed his first 3-pointer, knocked down his second and then missed his next two, including another tough airball. He played nine minutes and will no doubt get more time as the season goes on. Kenney and Kurth looked more advanced than Broekhoff, but you can guarantee there will be games that he will be counted on to score. Finally, Chris Halvorsen came in for a minute and he was really just in the game to foul.

Before I get to my final topic, I have to point out that Ball State shot 48 free throws off 30 fouls from Valparaiso and after the game, members of the "Ball State media" had the nerve to say that the officials didn't call the game fairly for Ball State. One guy actually argued with me that the officials let way too much go as far as Valparaiso was concerned. I guess some people will never be happy.

My final point is on the play of Erik Buggs. Over the last week I started to hear rumblings that Kurth passed up Buggs in the rotation and that the sophomore wasn't going to play much. When the game started, Buggs was seated at the end of the bench with walk-on Nick Shelton and sure enough, Kurth got the call before Buggs did. I was anxious to see how Buggs would play when, and if, he got in.

Buggs came in with 10:12 remaining and the Crusaders were down 13. Immediately the deficit got trimmed to eight. When Buggs reentered the game late in the first half, Valpo was down nine and by the time the half ended, the Crusaders were down just four.

Buggs stepped up the defensive intensity and was lauded by Drew after the game. Drew thought enough of Buggs' performance to change his starting lineup in the second half, something that he rarely does, and start Buggs over Little. Buggs ultimately only played 12 minutes before fouling out and his line (one assist, one turnover, one steal) doesn't look like much, but he was the key to Valparaiso getting back in the game after trailing by 14 points.

That's all from Muncie. Tomorrow I'll check in from Brown Field as the Crusader football team attempts to garner their first home win of the season and then I'll be live blogging from the VU women's season opener against Indiana Tech. Then maybe I'll see you at Buffalouie's for the North Carolina game on Sunday.