my.nwi.com

My plan for Sunday was simple. I was going to walk from my apartment to BW3, where I was sure the game would be on one of the four big screens, and I was hoping I could convince the wait staff to put the Green Bay Packer game on another big screen. Given that the Bears already attempted to play this week and the Colts were playing in the prime time game, I figured this was a reasonable request.

I got into BW3 around 2:15 p.m., searched out a seat that would put me in good view of two of the big screens, and then asked a server that I knew (I'm a bit of a regular) if he could put the games on at 3 p.m. Our exchange went something like this... 

Me: Can you make sure the Packer game is on a big screen next to the Valpo game so I can watch both at the same time?

BW3 server: Uhh, Valpo game?

Me: Yeah, they're playing North Carolina on Fox Sports South. 

BW3 server: Uhh, North Carolina?

Me: Yes. The defending national champions. Are you guys going to have the game on?

BW3 server: Uhh, we weren't planning on it.

Me: Are you kidding me? The campus is less than a half mile from here. 

BW3 server: Uhh, I don't know. 

Needless to say, and nothing against the fine people or food at BW3, I closed out my bill and was off to Buffalouies, where they do in fact have it all, including the VU game as well as the Packers. 

After having to wait out the Alabama/Arkansas women's volleyball match, Fox Sports South joined the game in progress with Valpo trailing 18-12. 

Buffalouies was a great atmosphere to watch the game. There were a large contingent of Valpo fans in attendance, including four members of the women's basketball team, a handful of volleyball players, women's basketball coach Keith Freeman and VU freshman Hrvoje Vucic. 

The place erupted once the game came on, and everytime Valparaiso scored. When the Crusaders came clawing back in the second half, the restaurant was louder than I've heard the Athletics-Recreation Center in five years.

After spending much of the last five years watching VU men's games as a reporter, it was a little tricky watching the game without a stat sheet being handed to me after every timeout (this is why I don't like going to NBA games). I knew that Brandon Wood was hot, but I had no idea that he had 30 points until I saw the box score online. 

Some other statistical tidbits that I found interesting.

* In 83 combined minutes of play, Wood, Brandon McPherson, Erik Buggs and Tommy Kurth had zero assists. In 29 minutes, Cory Johnson had four assists and in 19 minutes, Cameron Witt also had four assists.

* For the second consecutive game, the Crusaders only had nine turnovers. Last year against the Tar Heels, Valparaiso had a season-high 25 turnovers. Furthermore, there were only four occassions last season when the Crusaders had single-digit turnovers and never in back-to-back games against Division I opponents or in the same calendar year. On Dec. 30, Valparaiso turned the ball over nine times against North Park and then on Jan. 3, the Crusaders had just nine miscues against No. 25 Butler.

* For the second straight game, the Crusaders have had two players scored 20 or more points as Wood had 30 and McPherson had 20. Before Friday night, the last time Valparaiso had two 20-point scorers in a game was the double overtime thriller against Miami (Ohio) two seasons ago. I asked Aaron Leavitt, the associate director of sports media relations, the last time Valpo had two players scored 20 in a regulation game and he wasn't sure. I haven't even attempted to ask the last time that VU had back-to-back games of the feat. 

* Valparaiso has given up 88 points in three straight games, two of them in the regular season. The last time the Crusaders gave up the same points in consecutive games was in 2008 when Valparaiso defeated Green Bay 75-67 in the first round of the Horizon League tournament and then knocked off Wright State 72-67 in the quarterfinals. The last time that the Crusaders surrendered the same amount of points in back-to-back losses was in 1990 when Valparaiso lost to Eastern Washington 77-66 on Nov. 24 and 77-51 to Evansville on Dec. 1. Is it even more interesting that 88 and 77 are both comprised of identical numbers, or do I just have too much time on my hands? For the record, there has never been a time in program history that the Crusaders have lost three consecutive games while giving up the same number of points. Sure, the exhibition game doesn't count in real standings, but we all just witnessed a "once-in-a-lifetime" event. 

So opening weekend is in the books and the Crusaders are sitting at 0-2. I can't say that I'm surprised at the results, but I am surprised with the way the team has played. Time will tell how good Ball State will end up being (same with UNC I suppose). For now, I'll look at the loss to the Cardinals much like I look at the Green Bay's loss to the Bengals earlier this season. At the time it looked like a bad loss to a team that didn't have a whole lot of expectations. Fast forward to Week 10 and Cincinnati has swept Baltimore and Pittsburgh, so suddenly Green Bay's loss doesn't look so bad. If Ball State continues to play well, then it's a tough loss on the road against a good team. If the Cardinals falter, then maybe it's a different story. 

The Crusaders should have no trouble with IU-South Bend on Thursday night and then comes a trip to Michigan State. I think the Spartans will play Valparaiso much tougher than UNC did, simply because Tom Izzo always has his team ready when MSU is playing schools not named Grand Valley State. After that comes the trip to Georgia and if the VU that played on Sunday afternoon shows up, there is no reason that "tournament" can't be a three-game sweep. 

That's all for now. I'll be back later in the week with a health update and anything else that might be happening around the ARC.