VALPO (8-11, 4-3) at SOUTHERN UTAH (9-8, 2-4)

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 27 - 8:05 p.m. CT (7:05 p.m. MT)

WHERE: Centrum, Cedar City, Utah

RADIO: WEFM (95.9, Michigan City), WVUR-FM (95.1, Valparaiso) - Todd Ickow and Andy Viano announcing.

TV: none

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is guided by Homer Drew, who has a career record of 531-330 in his 28th season and a record at Valpo of 262-208 in his 16th season. Southern Utah is led by Bill Evans, who has a career mark of 179-182 in his 13th season and a record at SUU of 179-182 in his 13th season.

SERIES RECORD: Valpo leads 11-5
VALPO RECORD AT SOUTHERN UTAH: 3-4

LAST MEETING: Feb. 21, 2004 - Southern Utah won 75-58 in Cedar City, Utah

VALPO M.A.S.H. UNIT: Homer Drew has been forced to juggle a unit that has been besieged with injuries this season. Five players - senior point guard Ali Berdiel (17), freshman Shawn Huff (5), sophomore Kenny Harris (10), freshman Jarryd Loyd (4) and sophomore Jimmie Miles (4) have missed a total of 40 games due to injuries. Berdiel is out of action indefinitely. Valpo has played with eight scholarship players in nine games this season.

COLCLASURE 2nd IN MID-CON IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: Seth Colclasure stands 2nd in the Mid-Continent Conference in 3-point percentage (.488). A junior, Colclasure has made 42 of 86 from beyond the arc.

Following Monday's home victory over Oakland, Valpo continues a challenging road schedule Thursday at Southern Utah beginning at 8:05 p.m. The Crusaders are in the midst of a stretch in which they play four of five games on the road. On Thursday, Feb. 3, Valpo travels to Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to oppose IUPUI (6 p.m. CT) to conclude the stretch.

On Monday, Valpo shot better than 50 percent overall for the third straight game in defeating Oakland 82-71. Seth Colclasure scored a career-high 20 points, which included five, 3-pointers. Ron Howard recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Dan Oppland tallied 11 points, and Kenny Harris and Shawn Huff netted 10 each.

Valpo Named One of the 100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time

The Valparaiso University men's basketball program was selected as one of the 100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time by Street & Smith's specialty publications. Among 309 Division I schools which were eligible for the historical recognition, Valpo was ranked 90th.

Street & Smith's 100 Greatest College Basketball Programs of All Time is a 160-page commemorative keepsake that includes anecdotes, features and photographs of the best teams, players and coaches in college basketball history

VALPO LEADS NATION IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: Valpo leads the nation in 3-point field goal percentage through games of Jan. 24. The Crusaders are currently shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point territory (134-304). Samford stands 2nd at 43.0 and Furman is 3rd at 42.7. The Crusaders also stand 11th in the nation in free throw percentage (.754).

OPPLAND NEEDS 22 TO REACH 1,000-CAREER POINT MILESTONE: Dan Oppland, needs 22 points to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. The 6'8" junior has scored 978 career points. Oppland's 18.3 ppg. currently ranks 3rd in the Mid-Con. In addition to scoring in double figures in 17 straight games, Oppland is averaging 22.7 ppg. over the last six games.

HOWARD ON ASSIST RAMPAGE: Junior Ron Howard has become a complete player as evidenced by his increase in assists. Valpo's second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg.), Howard has averaged 7.6 assists over the last five games, including a career-high 11 Saturday vs. Western Illinois and 10 vs. Oakland in consecutive games. Howard ranks 4th in the Mid-Con with 3.89 assists per game and Jarryd Loyd (3.87) and Seth Colclasure (3.16) are 5th and 10th.