Valparaiso (0-2, 0-0 MVC)
at Stanford (1-1*, 0-0 Pac-12)
*Entering Monday vs. San Jose State 

Game No. 3 – Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. CT
Maples Pavilion (7,392) – Stanford, Calif.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: Valparaiso University head men’s basketball coach Matt Lottich will make a return visit to his alma mater this week as the Beacons head to the west coast for a Wednesday evening date with Stanford. This will mark the first time Lottich has coached against his former team as he returns to a place where he enjoyed a standout collegiate playing career that concluded in 2004.

Last Time Out: Valpo outscored UIC 30-25 in the second half to force overtime, but the visiting Flames never trailed in the extra session and prevailed 74-70 on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Thomas Kithier provided Valpo’s biggest bright spot, going off for a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double on an efficient 11-of-16 shooting. UIC scored the final seven points of the first half and the first two of the second half to take a seven-point lead, but Valpo orchestrated an 11-0 run early in the second to jump back in front. UIC led by seven with 4:24 to go, but the Beacons held the Flames off the scoreboard for the rest of regulation while going on a 7-0 run. Neither team scored over the final 2:03 of regulation.

Following the Beacons: Streaming – PAC-12 Network – Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Mike Montgomery (analyst)

Valpo Radio – 95.1 FM, WVUR, ValpoAthletics.com, TuneIn Radio App – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (analyst) 

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (83-80) is in his ninth season overall at Valparaiso University and sixth as the head coach of the men’s basketball program in 2021-2022. The 2020-2021 season saw Valpo improve its Arch Madness seeding for the fourth straight year as the program continued to make positive strides in each season as a Missouri Valley Conference member. The team earned a first-round bye in the State Farm MVC Tournament for the first time since joining the prestigious league. Valpo upset previously-undefeated Drake, the nation’s No. 25 team, 74-57 on Feb. 7, 2021 at the ARC, the fourth win over an AP Top 25 team in program history and second under Lottich. The Bulldogs were one of three undefeated teams in the nation prior to that setback, joining Gonzaga and Baylor. Just two years removed from finishing in last place and being knocked out in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as a first-year Valley member, Lottich’s team did more than hold its own in 2019-2020, ascending into a tie for sixth in the league standings before finishing as the conference tournament runner-up. Valpo became the first team in the history of Arch Madness to reach the title game after playing in the opening round. Lottich, hired as the 22nd head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program in April 2016, graduated from Stanford University in 2004 and New Trier High School (Illinois) in 2000.

Cardinal Connection

• Valpo head coach Matt Lottich enjoyed a standout career at Stanford that spanned from his freshman season in 2000-01 to his senior campaign in 2003-04.
• He still ranks tied for 11^th in program history in career made 3-point field goals (169) and tied for eighth on Stanford’s single-season chart for made 3s with 79 in 2002-03. To this day, he also owns the ninth-best 3-point field goal percentage by a freshman in program history at .407 in 2000-01.
• Under the direction of head coach Mike Montgomery, Lottich’s teams went a combined 105-24 (.814) over his four-year tenure, including a 30-2 mark his senior season. The Cardinal reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons and won at least one game in each season including an Elite Eight appearance his freshman year.

Double-Double Details

• Michigan State transfer Thomas Kithier was a major bright spot in Valpo’s 74-70 overtime loss to UIC on Nov. 13. Kithier posted a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds.
• Kithier shattered a rebounding career high after previously squeezing seven boards on four occasions. After owning a personal best of 10 points (vs. Binghamton in 2019-20) during his three-year Spartan career, Kithier has established new career watermarks in each of his first two Valpo games, scoring team highs against both Toledo (16) and UIC (28).
• The 6-foot-8 forward’s 28 points were the most by a Valpo player in a single game since Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 29 on March 7, 2020 vs. Missouri State. It was the highest single-game output by a Valpo individual other than Javon since Bakari Evelyn scored 30 on Nov. 25, 2017 vs. UNCW.
• Kithier’s 28 points were the most scored by a Valpo player in a double-double since Freeman-Liberty had 30&13 on Nov. 12, 2019 at SIUE.
• The Macomb, Mich. native became the first Valpo player with a 25&10 game at the ARC since Alec Peters on Jan. 27, 2017 vs. Wright State. Kithier joined Peters, Freeman-Liberty and Ben Krikke on the short list of Valpo players with 25-point double-doubles during the Lottich Era.

List of 25-Point Double-Doubles Under Lottich

Player                          Date                Opponent                    Pts-Reb

Thomas Kithier          11-13-21         vs. UIC                        28-11

Ben Krikke                 1-24-21           at Illinois State            25-15

Javon Freeman-Liberty  11-12-19         at SIUE                       30-13

Alec Peters                 1-27-17           vs. Wright State          25-14

Alec Peters                 1-22-17           vs. UIC                        30-10

Alec Peters                 12-22-16         vs. Santa Clara            35-13

Alec Peters                 12-17-16         vs. Indiana State         29-15

Alec Peters                 12-10-16         at Missouri State         27-11

Alec Peters                 11-23-16         vs. BYU                      26-12

Alec Peters                 11-12-16         vs. Trinity Christian   36-15

Facing the Conference of Champions

• Valpo holds a 2-10 all-time record against current members of the Pac-12 Conference.
• This marks Valpo’s first game against a Pac-12 team since falling 76-54 at No. 4 Oregon on Nov. 17, 2016.
• The 2015-16 season saw Valpo come up just shy in a 73-67 loss at Oregon before knocking off Oregon State 63-57 on Nov. 24. The program’s other victory over a Pac-12 squad came against Washington in the opening round of the 2008 CBI.
• The Missouri Valley Conference and the Pac-12 have the same number of Final Four appearances since 2010 (two each).

Valpo vs. Power Conferences

• Valpo’s last win over a power-conference opponent was 68-60 vs. Alabama at the Men Who Speak Up Main Event in Las Vegas on Nov. 21, 2016.
• The win over the Crimson Tide marked Valpo’s third triumph over a power-conference opponent in a two-year span. During the 2015-16 campaign, the team went on the road to beat Oregon State and then took down Florida State at the ARC in the second round of the NIT.
• Prior to 2015-16, Valpo hadn’t beaten a power-5 opponent since the 2008 win over Washington in the CBI.
• Two of Valpo’s last four power-5 wins have come against the Pac-12.
• Nine of Valpo’s last 12 victories over power-5 opponents have come on neutral courts.

A Golden State Date

• This will mark Valpo’s first game in the state of California since falling 73-60 at UC Riverside on Dec. 20, 2017. That closed out a two-game California swing that also featured a 76-68 victory at Santa Clara.
• Prior to the 2017-18 voyage, Valpo had not ventured into the Golden State since competing in a multi-team event at San Francisco back in 1987.

Glancing Ahead – Bahamas Bound Beacons   

• After visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands two years ago and not competing in a multi-team event last season due to the pandemic, this year’s MTE will take Valpo to Nassau, The Bahamas for three games following this week’s visit to Stanford.
• The Beacons will participate in the Nassau Championship, one of several MTEs being hosted by Baha Mar Hoops in Nassau.
• The team will head to the Bahamas on Saturday in advance of Monday night’s game against Coastal Carolina.
• The eight-team field also features Toledo, Charlotte, Drexel, Tulane, Abilene Christian and Jacksonville State.
• Coastal Carolina went 18-8 in the Sun Belt and won a pair of games in the CBI last season. Valpo could end up with a second matchup this season against Toledo, which is coming off a 21-9 record and NIT appearance and won this year’s season opener at the ARC. Abilene Christian won the Southland Conference title last season and upset third-seeded Texas in the NCAA Tournament. Drexel is the defending Colonial Association champion and reached the NCAA Tournament last season. Jacksonville State finished 2020-21 with an 18-9 record and 13-6 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Playing Shorthanded

• Valpo started the season with a pair of close home losses to Toledo and UIC, and there’s little question that the absence of leading returning scorer Ben Krikke played a factor.
• Krikke, who left Valpo’s opening exhibition game with an ankle injury, was named to the 2021-22 Preseason All-MVC Second Team. He earned All-MVC Third Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team laurels last season, the lone player in the league to receive all three honors.
• Valpo did add depth with the return of sophomore Connor Barrett for the Nov. 13 game vs. UIC after Barrett had missed both exhibition games and the season opener vs. Toledo with a shoulder injury.
• The Beacons are also without Kobe King for the first nine games of the season. The Wisconsin transfer, who averaged 10.0 points per game over 19 starts for the Badgers in 2019-20 including a team-high 12.6 points per game in Big Ten play over nine contests, will become eligible for the Dec. 7 game vs. East-West.

Dusting Off the Suitcase

• After a pair of home exhibition games and back-to-back home dates to open the regular season, this will mark the first time Valpo hits the road this season.
• This will mark one of just three true road games over the first 15 games of the season and one of just two true road games on the nonconference docket.
• Last season started in the opposite manner, as Valpo opened up with road trips to Vanderbilt, UIC and Purdue before finally lifting the lid on the home slate.
• This marked the first time Valpo opened up with back-to-back home games since 2017-18 (North Park and Trinity Christian) and the first time the team did so with back-to-back Division-I home contests since 2015-16 (IPFW and Iona).
• This week represents the program’s first travel since falling in the opening round of the MVC Tournament in St. Louis last March. The team’s last true road game was Feb. 22 of last season at Southern Illinois.

It’s Early

• Valpo will look to avoid starting 0-3 for the second straight season, something that previously hadn’t occurred since 2004-05. However, there’s still a long way to go for this year’s edition of the Beacons.
• Valpo is 0-2 with both losses coming at home for the first time since 1997-98. That season turned out quite alright, as the program put together its famous run in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen after victories over Ole Miss and Florida State.
• Valpo has dropped its first two home games in a season for the first time since the 2003-2004. However, it should be noted that the Homer Drew led 2003-2004 squad recovered from the 0-2 home start and eventually won the Mid-Continent Conference title and reached the NCAA Tournament.

Series Notes

• This will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between Valpo and Stanford with the Beacons seeking their first victory.
• These two teams have not hooked up since 1997-98, when the No. 15 Cardinal prevailed 70-65 as part of the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii.
• The two teams also met in a multi-team event back on Dec. 28, 1971 with Stanford winning 80-66 as part of the Motor City Tournament in Detroit.
• The first matchup occurred on Dec. 27, 1956, a 68-51 Stanford win as part of the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami.
• This marks Valpo’s first visit to Stanford as all three prior showdowns have come on neutral floors.

Inside the Cardinal

• Picked to finish ninth of 12 in the Pac-12 preseason poll.
• Opened the season with a 62-50 victory over Tarleton State before falling 88-72 at Santa Clara and hosting San Jose State on Monday night.
• After facing the Beacons, Stanford will visit Baylor, which is under the direction of former Valpo head coach Scott Drew, on Saturday.
• Went 14-13 overall and 10-10 in conference play last season.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Nov. 13: UIC 74, Valpo 70 (OT)

• This marked Valpo’s first overtime game since a double-OT affair on Jan. 28, 2021 vs. Bradley, a 91-85 victory. It was Valpo’s first OT defeat since Feb. 19, 2020 at Drake (77-75) and the team’s first OT loss at home since Feb. 13, 2019 vs. Indiana State (87-72).
• Sixth-year senior Eron Gordon squeezed seven rebounds, while Kevion Taylor had six to go along with his 16 points and team-high four assists.
• Sheldon Edwards was Valpo’s third double-figure scorer with 13 while also blocking a career-high four shots. A Valpo player blocked more than three shots in a single game just once last season, when Donovan Clay had five against Purdue Northwest. Edwards’ four rejections were the most by a Valpo individual against a D1 team since Jaume Sorolla on Feb. 16, 2019 at Drake.
• Redshirt junior Joe Hedstrom, a Wisconsin transfer, made his Valpo debut, while sophomore Connor Barrett logged his first action this season.
• Valpo was outscored 13-2 on fast-break points.
• The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes.

Beacon Bits

Random off-the-court facts on each Valpo player.

• #0 Thomas Kithier – Is an avid Detroit Lions fan and can name every player on the roster... Mother Jane played college volleyball at Eastern Michigan... Works in Valpo Athletics in ticketing, marketing and sports information.
• #1 Cam Palesse – Enjoys building fish-tank ecosystems.
• #2 Preston Ruedinger – Is an avid golfer in his spare time... Has an interest in coaching in the future.
• #3 Connor Barrett – Is also an avid golfer whose best score is a 73.
• #4 Darius DeAviero – Father David is the former head coach at McGill University in Montreal and is now the head coach of the Ryerson Rams.
• #5 Keyondre Young – Enjoys observing nature and sightseeing... Enjoys watching movies and lists Blue Chips as his favorite.
• #10 Eron Gordon – Comes from a basketball family including brother Eric who has played in the NBA since 2008 and is currently a member of the Houston Rockets... Enjoys editing videos and podcasting.
• #11 Emil Freese-Vilien – Civil engineering major who spends a lot of time drawing blueprints and houses... His first basketball practice came at age 14... Played serious badminton growing up.
• #12 Kevion Taylor – High school teammates with Tyler Herro of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
• #13 Sheldon Edwards – Has six siblings... Enjoys listening to music... Played for his uncle Louis Graham at TLAP Sports Academy for one year prior to coming to Valpo.
• #15 Luke Morrill – Walk-on who enjoys wakesurfing.
• #20 Tyler Fricke – Walk-on whose father Scott coached Matt Lottich in high school and brother Zach pitches for the Valpo baseball team.
• #21 Trevor Anderson – Father Scott was his high school coach at SPASH and played at UW-Stevens Point... Enjoys visiting coffee shops, traveling and cheering for the Dallas Cowboys.
• #22 Brock Pappas – Walk-on who is majoring in nursing and hopes to one day become a pediatric nurse and work at Riley Children’s Hospital.
• #23 Ben Krikke – Spent over 100 days in quarantine before and during the 2020-2021 season... Enjoys mountain biking and chess, which he learned from his grandfather... Credits his father’s Michael Jordon DVD set for helping hone his skills.
• #32 Joe Hedstrom – Is an avid fisherman and Valpo’s proximity to Lake Michigan added to his desire to play at Valpo... Grandfather Burt Hedstrom played basketball, football and baseball at Northwestern University (1944-47) and both of his parents played college basketball, mother Sharon (Bethel) and father Peter (St. Olaf).
• #33 Trey Woodyard – Maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, earning a place on the honor roll every year.
• #35 Kobe King – Father Chris played collegiately at Wake Forest and was a second-round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1992 NBA Draft. He played professionally from 1993-2008, seeing action for Seattle, Vancouver and Utah in the NBA as well as stints overseas in the CBA... Cousin Jimmy King was a member of the University of Michigan’s Fab Five and played professionally for 10 years... Enjoys making music and writing song lyrics.

Notes Wrapping up Nov. 9: Toledo 69, Valpo 61

• Thomas Kithier scored 16 points in his Valpo debut to achieve a collegiate career high. He did it on 8-of-11 shooting and chipped in five rebounds. Kithier’s previous career high came on Nov. 10, 2019, when he scored 10 points in a Michigan State game against Binghamton.
• Trevor Anderson hit double figures for the 13^th time in his collegiate career (11 points) while reaching the five-assist threshold, pulling down five rebounds and committing no turnovers.
• Kevion Taylor tallied double figures for the 82^nd time in his collegiate career with his 12-point showing, while Sheldon Edwards scored 10 points for his 10^th career double-figure game.
• Valpo played without Preseason Second Team All-MVC choice Ben Krikke, who missed the game due to an injury.
• Six of the nine Beacons who saw action were newcomers.
• Eron Gordon made his 32^nd collegiate start (31^st at Valpo) while playing in his 112^th college game.

Forward Trajectory

• Valpo has improved its conference tournament seeding in each of its four Missouri Valley Conference seasons.
• The team entered Arch Madness as a No. 10 seed in 2017-18, a No. 9 seed in 2018-19, a No. 7 in 2019-20 and a No. 6 in 2020-21.
• With Year 4 in The Valley now in the books, Valpo has surpassed Loyola’s conference win total over its first four seasons in the league. Valpo garnered its 29^th MVC victory in the 2020-21 regular-season finale vs. Indiana State.
• The Ramblers went 27-45 over their first four seasons before going 57-16 over the following four seasons.
• Valpo has improved its conference finish in each season during the four-year transitional period after elevating to the prestigious and competitive conference.

More on 2020-21

• The 2020-21 season was highlighted by an upset victory over previously-undefeated Drake, the nation’s No. 25 team, 74-57 on Feb. 7, 2021 at the Athletics-Recreation Center, the fourth win over an AP Top 25 team in program history and second under Lottich. The Bulldogs were one of three undefeated teams in the nation prior to that setback, joining Gonzaga and Baylor.
• Valpo came close to two other victories over ranked foes, falling 80-77 vs. No. 25 Drake on Feb. 6 and 54-52 at No. 22 Loyola on Feb. 17.
• Valpo closed the regular season with a stretch of 16 Missouri Valley Conference games in a 39-day span. By comparison, Valpo had played three games over the previous 31 days before beginning the stretch of seemingly nonstop competition. Six of Valpo’s first eight MVC games were postponed due to COVID-19, causing the backlog of makeup games during the busy stretch.

2021-22 Preseason Picks

• Ben Krikke was named to the Preseason All-MVC Second Team.
• Valpo was picked seventh in the 10-team league based on a preseason survey of the conference’s head coaches, media members and sports information directors.
• Drake was tabbed the preseason favorite to win the league, while UNI’s AJ Green earned Preseason Player of the Year accolades.

Sustained Home Success

• The Athletics-Recreation Center has provided a distinct homecourt advantage over the years as Valpo has not finished with a losing mark at the ARC since 1991-92.
• Thanks to a victory in the 2020-21 home finale vs. Indiana State, the program finished with a record of .500 or better at home for the 29^th consecutive season.
• Valpo enjoyed double-figure home win totals in nine of 10 seasons prior to the unusual, pandemic-altered 2020-21 season. Due to health and safety regulations, fans were unable to pack the ARC as they have in years past.
• The ARC is back open to spectators without any capacity restrictions during the 2021-22 season, restoring the home court advantage Valpo has come to expect over the years.

Home-Heavy Schedule

• The historic home success is good news for Valpo this season, as the team will play 17 home games.
• The nonconference slate will be comprised of eight home dates, two road games and three neutral-site contests.
• Valpo most recently played 17 home games during the 2016-17 season. This will mark the team’s busiest home calendar since joining the Missouri Valley Conference.

Big Ten U

• Prior to this season, Valpo had just a pair of Big Ten transfers join the program over the last two decades (Bakari Evelyn and Bobby Capobiano).
• This year, the program has been bolstered by four additions from the Big Ten Conference. Trevor Anderson, Joe Hedstrom and Kobe King have all come in from Wisconsin, while Thomas Kithier joins the fold after beginning his career with three seasons at Michigan State.
• Four of the five transfers that have come in join the team from the Big Ten, while a fifth impact transfer began his career with four seasons at Division-II Winona State. Kevion Taylor was a three-time all-conference performer and was his conference’s preseason player of the year in 2020-21.
• King started all 19 games he played at Wisconsin in 2019-20, Anderson appeared in 60 of Wisconsin’s 62 games over the last two seasons and Kithier appeared in 86 games and made 19 starts for Tom Izzo’s team over his three seasons in East Lansing.

Who’s Back

• Although the team features five freshmen and the five aforementioned transfers, five scholarship players do return from last season.
• The squad brings back 47.9 percent of its scoring and 42.4 percent of its rebounding.
• Four of the team’s top six scorers are back.
• A pair of MVC postseason award winners remain in the fold for the Beacons as Sheldon Edwards was a member of the 2020-21 MVC All-Freshman Team, while Ben Krikke earned All-MVC Third Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, the lone player in the league to receive all three honors.
• Seven letter winners are back from last year’s team, while nine have departed. Three starters return and three left. (Note: Starters based on top five players in number of games started. Six players were considered starters due to a tie for fifth).

Staff Sidebars

• Associate head coach Luke Gore is in his 20^th year on staff and has served under four different head coaches. The Valpo veteran has helped the team to eight postseason berths in the last 11 years and was on staff for the three winningest seasons in program history. He serves as the team’s defensive coordinator in addition to leading Valpo’s scheduling and scouting efforts.
• Assistant coach Matt Bowen returned to Valpo’s staff in 2018-19 after previously spending four seasons with the Brown & Gold from 2002-2006. He was the head coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth from 2012-2018. Bowen coordinates the team’s offense.
• Assistant coach Rob Holloway is back for his fourth season after spending the previous two years on staff at Eastern Illinois, his alma mater. He serves as the “special teams” coordinator, which includes presses, press breaks and out-of-bounds plays.
• Director of Basketball Operations Peter Funk is in his first season in that role after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant and the three years prior to that as a student manager.
• Bob Brooks is in his 18^th year as Valpo Director of Strength & Conditioning at Valpo and returned to oversight of men’s basketball strength & conditioning in 2020-21. He has worked with Valpo teams since 1994.
• Athletic trainer Ken DeAngelis is in his third season full-time at Valpo after previously earning his master’s degree from the University in 2012 while spending two years as a graduate assistant athletic trainer.

Tradition of Excellence

• Valpo has 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and four NIT berths in the program’s proud history, with the team’s postseason success highlighted by a Sweet Sixteen run in 1998.
• The program has produced nine All-Americans, won 18 regular season conference championships and 10 conference tournament crowns.
• Valpo also boasts eight NBA players, 10 conference players of the year and 20 20-win seasons.
• Nine of the team’s NCAA appearances have come since 1996.
• Valpo has qualified for the postseason eight times in the last 11 years, including 2019-20 where Valpo accepted a postseason berth but the tournament was not played due to COVID-19.
• Valpo has developed a myriad of professional basketball players over the last quarter century, most notably a pair of NBA players in the last four years. Ryan Broekhoff (class of 2013) signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2018 after spending five seasons playing internationally in Russia and Turkey. Alec Peters (class of 2017) was the 54th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Peters appeared in 20 games for the Suns in 2017-18, highlighted by a 36-point performance in the season finale against Dallas – a new single-game high by a Valpo alum in the NBA. He has gone on to a successful career overseas with CSKA Moscow (2018-2019), Anadolu Efes (2019-2020) and Kirolbet Baskonia (2020-present).
• Valpo has produced over 50 professional players in the last 25 years.