Valparaiso (8-8, 1-3 MVC)
at Loyola (11-2, 2-0 MVC)

Game No. 17 – Tuesday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (4,486) – Chicago, Ill.

Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will compete in the first of consecutive nationally-televised contests this week on Tuesday night by making the short trip to Rogers Park to battle Loyola on CBS Sports Network. This marks Valpo’s third road game in the team’s first five Missouri Valley Conference dates with the three away tilts coming against the teams picked in the top three in the league’s preseason poll. Tuesday may be the toughest test yet as the Ramblers were just outside the Top 25 (28^th AP, 29^th USA Today Coaches’) in the Jan. 3 polls and may advance further when this week’s polls are released prior to Tuesday’s game. Please note that all spectators are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination upon entering Gentile Arena.

Last Time Out: After trailing by 16 points with 8:08 remaining, Valpo battled back to get to within two with 1:22 to go on Saturday night against Southern Illinois, but the Beacons went 0-for-5 from the field in the final 40 seconds, misfiring on five efforts to tie or take the lead in a 63-60 setback. That came after Valpo had scored on seven straight possessions starting at the six-minute mark. After missing the previous two games due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Thomas Kithier posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kobe King scored 13 of his 18 points after halftime including eight in the final four minutes. Ben Krikke used 10 first-half points en route to a 16-point performance on 7-of-12 shooting.

Following the Beacons: Television – CBS Sports Network – John Sadak (play-by-play) and Bob Wenzel (analyst)

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

Twitter updates - @ValpoBasketball

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

Head Coach Matt Lottich: Matt Lottich (91-86) 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.

Series Notes: Loyola leads the all-time series 43-16 including a 9-1 edge in matchups that have occurred since Valpo joined the Missouri Valley Conference. The Beacons are 0-8 against the Ramblers in regular-season MVC matchups with Valpo’s lone win coming 74-73 in overtime in a March 6, 2020 MVC quarterfinal in St. Louis. Eron Gordon beat the buzzer with a game-winning layup to close out OT as part of Valpo’s improbable run to the MVC title game. Four out of the last five matchups between these two nearby foes have been decided by three points or fewer. Valpo is 8-21 all-time when visiting Loyola and 0-4 in road Valley matchups with the Ramblers. The last time Valpo went on the road to beat Loyola was Feb. 19, 2013 (85-76), the final Horizon League collision between the two teams before Loyola departed for The Valley. Two of the most heartbreaking games in recent Valpo memory have come at Gentile Arena. Last season, Goodnews Kpegeol appeared to tie the game and send it to overtime with a last-second put-back, but he was called for a foul and the nationally-ranked Ramblers escaped with a 54-52 victory. The year prior, Valpo came from 14 points down with 7:54 remaining to create an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the game’s final possession. The visitors had the ball with 11 seconds remaining down 70-68, but Loyola’s Marquise Kennedy came up with a steal on the final play of the night, and the ball rolled into the Valpo backcourt as time expired.  

Starter Shuffle

• After starting point guard Trevor Anderson missed Saturday’s game with an injury, no Valpo player has started every game this season. Anderson was the only Beacon to start each of the first 15 contests.
• Valpo has used seven different starting lineup combinations this season including unique lineups in each of the last four games.
• The only three players who have played in all 16 contests are Kevion Taylor, Sheldon Edwards and Eron Gordon.
• Gordon has played in all 79 Valpo games since the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
• The latest player to the join the starting lineup is true freshman Preston Ruedinger, who made his first collegiate start on Jan. 8 vs. SIU. Ruedinger became the second nonscholarship player to start a game for Valpo during the Matt Lottich Era as John Kiser started on March 4, 2017 vs. Milwaukee at the Horizon League Tournament in Detroit as a freshman walk-on before earning a scholarship prior to his sophomore campaign.

Kithier’s Comeback

• Thomas Kithier showed little sign of rust in his return to the court on Jan. 8 vs. Southern Illinois after missing the previous two games due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
• Kithier enjoyed his second collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Salukis, his first such effort since a 28&11 game on Nov. 13 vs. UIC.
• The Michigan native reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season and enjoyed his second straight 12-point output. Over his last two games, Kithier is 10-of-13 shooting for 76.9 percent.
• The 10 rebounds marked Kithier’s third double-figure effort on the boards this season and first since Nov. 23 vs. Coastal Carolina at the Nassau Championship in The Bahamas. Kithier has squeezed six or more caroms in seven straight outings and in 10 of his 14 games this season.
• His performance on the boards in his return to action provided a needed lift in that area for the Beacons, who outrebounded SIU 33-29 for the team’s best rebounding margin against a DI foe this season.

Kobe’s Kingdom?

• After missing the first nine games of the season in order to gain NCAA eligibility, Kobe King is averaging a team-high 15.4 points per game in seven contests (six starts).
• Most recently, King finished with 18 points on Jan. 8 vs. SIU, doing the bulk of his damage in the second half. He scored 13 second-half points including eight in the final four minutes of the game.
• Also on Jan. 8 vs. SIU, King tied a rebounding career high that was set in the previous game. He did not reach nine rebounds in any of his first 68 career games, but now he’s pulled down nine boards in consecutive contests (Jan. 5 at UNI, Jan. 8 vs. SIU).
• King has scored 17 points or more in four of his first seven games in a Valpo uniform. He has reached double figures in six of seven including four straight.
• King has gotten to the free-throw line regularly of late with 18 free-throw attempts over his last two games. He has double as many free-throw attempts over the last two games as he did in his first five appearances (nine total).
• King also established a career high with three steals in the Jan. 8 game vs. SIU.

Close Calls

• Half of Valpo’s eight defeats this season have come by four points or fewer, including the Jan. 8 63-60 loss vs. Southern Illinois.
• The setback to the Salukis continued a string of close matchups between those two squads, as the teams have played in three straight one-possession games with both of last year’s showdowns also coming down to the wire.
• Valpo’s last two trips to Loyola have resulted in two-point losses. Four of the last five matchups have been decided by three points or fewer.

Milestone Met: During the Jan. 8 game vs. Southern Illinois, Kevion Taylor surpassed 1,800 points for his collegiate career (split between D-I and D-II). He became just the 32^nd active player at all levels of NCAA college basketball to reach the 1,800-point threshold. Taylor became just the 16^th active player in the NCAA (all three divisions) with 1,800 points and 600 rebounds. 

Taylor Tossing in Treys

• Kevion Taylor has made multiple 3-pointers in 12 out of 16 games this season. He’s hit at least one triple in all 16 contests. The 16 straight is the longest stretch of games with a made 3 for a Valpo player since Javon Freeman-Liberty’s 19 in 2019-20.
• Taylor is the first Valpo player since at least the start of the 1989-90 season (nearly all the way back to the addition of the 3-point line) to make a 3 in each of his first 16 games of a season. He surpassed the program’s previous longest season-opening streak of 14 by Larry Barker in 1994-95. Three other Valpo players made a 3 in each of the first 13 games of a season – Bryce Drew (1995-96), Casey Schmidt (1992-93) and Mike Jones (1989-90).
• Taylor is currently on a streak of seven straight games with multiple made 3s after opening the season with a stretch of five in a row with multiple triples. The last time Valpo had a player make multiple 3s in seven straight was Javon Freeman-Liberty (9, 2019-20).
• Overall, he has made a 3 in 79 consecutive contests dating all the way back to Dec. 15, 2018 while playing for Winona State in a game at Concordia St. Paul. The highest of the NCAA records (Division I, Division II or Division III) for consecutive games with a made 3 is 93 and belongs to Daniel Park of D-II Rollins from Jan. 26, 1994 to Feb. 28, 1997. However, Taylor’s streak would not be recognized in the NCAA record book should it reach that point since it is split between Division I and Division II.
• If Taylor’s streak came in all D-I games, it would rank third in Division-I history. The D-I record is held by Mack Smith, who Valpo played against on Dec. 5 at Western Michigan. Smith set the record while at Eastern Illinois. Second is Corey Bradford of Illinois (88).

Balanced Scoring

• Valpo has featured incredible balance among its scorers this season with six players averaging in double figures through 16 games – Kobe King, Ben Krikke, Sheldon Edwards, Kevion Taylor, Trevor Anderson and Thomas Kithier.
• The last time Valpo finished a season with five or more players averaging in double figures was the 2007-2008 campaign – Shawn Huff, Jarryd Loyd, Urule Igbavboa, Brandon McPherson and Samuel Haanpaa.
• Valpo hasn’t had six players finish a season averaging in double figures since at least 1988-89.

Valuing the Rock

• Valuing possessions and capitalizing on giveaways have been strengths for the Beacons this season as they rank at or near the top of the conference in turnovers per game (10.8), turnover margin (+2.1), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and steals per game (7.4).
• The Beacons tied a season low with six turnovers on Jan. 8 vs. Southern Illinois, matching their effort on Nov. 22 vs. Jacksonville State in the Bahamas. That marked the second straight season Valpo has committed just six turnovers in a game against Southern Illinois as they held the turnover total to six in a 66-65 victory on Feb. 21 of last season.
• Valpo has won the turnover battle in nine of the last 10 games including eight straight prior to Jan. 5 at UNI.
• The eight straight games winning the turnover battle was the team’s longest such streak over the last 28 seasons, surpassing a seven-game streak from the 2015-16 campaign.
• The Jan. 5 game at UNI represented a rare aberration from the norm as Valpo committed 18 turnovers, its second most this season behind 19 on Nov. 17 at Stanford.
• The Beacons have given it away 10 times or fewer in 10 of their 16 games this season.
• Valpo is 7-4 when winning the turnover battle and 1-4 when losing it this season.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Jan. 8: Southern Illinois 63, Valpo 60

• Kobe King (18) and Thomas Kithier (12) were joined in double figures by Ben Krikke, who scored 10 of his 16 points prior to halftime.
• Krikke has been in double figures in three straight games and nine times in his 13 contests this season. Of his nine double-figure outputs, seven have featured more than 15 points.
• Valpo nearly erased all of a 16-point deficit with 8:08 remaining, getting to within two with 1:22 to go before missing the team’s final five shots of the contest.
• Had Valpo completed the rally, that would have come as no surprise as the Beacons have come from double figures down to win 18 times during the Matt Lottich head coaching era (sixth season) including twice this season (Tulane and Eastern Michigan).
• The Beacons struggled to knock down 3-point shots, going just 5-of-22 for 22.7 percent. That marked the team’s lowest 3-point shooting clip since the Nov. 9 season opener vs. Toledo and second-lowest of the season.
• The 60 points matched a season low (Nov. 17 at Stanford).
• Winning both the rebounding battle and turnover battle helped Valpo create 10 more shot attempts than Southern Illinois, the first time Valpo was +10 against a DI foe in field goal attempts this season. However, the Salukis shot 55.6 percent to Valpo’s 40 percent.
• Valpo is 1-5 this season when missing either Trevor Anderson, Ben Krikke or Thomas Kithier. When all three play, Valpo boasts a 7-3 mark.

Scouting the Ramblers

• Received votes in the AP and USA Today Coaches’ polls on Jan. 3 and could have a chance to crack the Top 25 in the Monday, Jan. 10 polls prior to Tuesday’s game.
• Rallied to beat Bradley 78-71 in overtime on Saturday, overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit.
• Have won 29 straight games on their home court and 22 home games in a row in Valley play.
• Earned a 79-74 win over San Francisco in a neutral-site game on Thursday, Jan. 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The nonconference battle between two of the nation’s top mid-majors was a last-minute schedule addition when both schools had opponents unable to compete due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
• Ryan Schwieger is averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, while Lucas Williamson (12.1 ppg) and Aher Uguak (10.1 ppg) are also in double figures.
• Went 26-5 overall and 16-2 in MVC play last season en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.
• Picked second behind Drake in this year’s MVC preseason poll.

Valpo vs. AP Top 25 Opponents

• Valpo has never won a true road game against a nationally-ranked opponent.
• Last season, Valpo went 1-2 against ranked opponents with both losses coming by three points or fewer.
• Valpo earned its fourth victory in program history over an Associated Press Top 25 team on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, upsetting previously undefeated No. 25 Drake 74-57. Two of the four victories against nationally-ranked opponents have come under head coach Matt Lottich’s watch as his team knocked off No. 21/25 Rhode Island 65-62 in 2016-17, Lottich’s first season at the helm.
• Prior to Lottich assuming head coaching duties, Valpo was just 2-65 all-time against ranked teams (1998 NCAA Tournament "The Shot" vs. Ole Miss; 1988 "Lutheran Miracle" vs. Notre Dame).
• Of the 22 head coaches in Valpo Basketball history, only Matt Lottich and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Famer Homer Drew have coached the team to wins over nationally-ranked opponents. Lottich and Drew have two Top 25 wins apiece, with Lottich’s coming in his first five seasons while Drew finished with two during his 22-year run.
• Valpo has won two of its last three home games against Top 25 teams with the loss coming by just three points to Drake in the Saturday, Feb. 6 matchup.

Valpo Basketball, All-Time AP Top 25 Victories

Opponent                               Date                Score

1. #25 Drake 2-7-21 W 74-57
2. #21 Rhode Island 11-29-16 W 65-62
3. #13 Ole Miss* 3-13-98 W 70-69
4. #19 Notre Dame 12-17-88 W 71-68 (OT)

*NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Success at the Stripe

• Trevor Anderson is one of two players in the MVC shooting 90 percent or better at the foul stripe this season (Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State is the other). Only one player in the history of the program has finished a season at 90 percent or better at the foul line with a minimum of 75 attempts – Casey Schmidt (92.6 percent) in 1993-94.
• Valpo enjoyed a perfect 16-of-16 performance at the free-throw line in the Jan. 2 overtime win over Illinois State. That marked the second time in a four-game stretch that the Beacons had gone unblemished at the foul stripe after a 14-of-14 showing on Dec. 11 vs. Charlotte.
• The Charlotte game was Valpo’s first perfect day at the stripe since February 2018 vs. Evansville (5-for-5) and first with at least 10 attempts since Nov. 17, 2016 at Oregon (14-of-14).
• Valpo became just the sixth team in the nation with a perfect free-throw shooting game with 15 or more attempts. The Beacons joined Villanova, Montana, Detroit Mercy, Purdue Fort Wayne and Charleston Southern on the list of teams that had achieved that feat at that juncture in the season.
• Valpo had two perfect games at the free-throw line with more than seven attempts before any other team in the MVC had turned the trick once.

Other Notes Wrapping Up Jan. 5: UNI 92, Valpo 65

• Kobe King hauled in a career-high nine rebounds to pace the team on the boards. That topped his previous personal best of seven vs. Eastern Michigan on Dec. 20 of this season. He also scored 14 points.
• Kevion Taylor (17) led the team in scoring for the third time this season while turning in his eighth double-figure scoring output of the year and the 89^th of his collegiate career.
• Sheldon Edwards swiped three steals, his second straight game with three and his third time this season reaching that number.
• Edwards made multiple 3s for the third straight game and the 10^th time in 15 outings this season. He had a streak of 11 straight games with a made 3 to open the season.
• Ben Krikke scored 10 points and had a season-high four assists, tying a career high with his fourth career four-helper performance.
• Preston Ruedinger nailed a 3-pointer for his first collegiate basket.
• Valpo held MVC Preseason Player of the Year AJ Green to just nine points on 3-of-7 shooting.
• The 92 points allowed on Jan. 5 at UNI represented a Valpo rarity as it marked the first time the Beacons surrendered more than 90 points in a game during the Matt Lottich Era. It was the most points Valpo has given up in a contest since March 7, 2016, a 99-92 overtime loss to Green Bay in the Horizon League Tournament in Detroit.

Century Mark in Sight: Valpo head coach Matt Lottich earned his 91^st career win on Jan. 2 vs. Illinois State. He needs just nine more to become the fourth head coach in program history to reach 100 career victories, joining Homer Drew, Bryce Drew and J.M Christiansen. Lottich currently ranks fifth in program history for career head coaching victories and needs just two more to tie Gene Bartow for fourth.

#SCTop10 Again: Kobe King nailed a three-quarters court shot to beat the buzzer on Dec. 11 vs. Charlotte. Although the desperation heave was not enough as Valpo fell 68-67, the play checked in at No. 9 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays that evening. It was highlighted again two days later on ESPN’s popular “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” show. This marks the fourth time in a three-year span that Valpo basketball has produced an #SCTop10 play. The previous appearance came courtesy of a Sheldon Edwards dunk in a victory over No. 25 Drake on Feb. 7 of last season. Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference, Valpo Athletics has been featured on the iconic daily countdown on 10 occasions spanning five sports – men’s basketball (four times), softball (twice), volleyball (twice), women’s basketball and soccer.

#ChampionsInCommunity

• The Valpo basketball program received recognition from the Valparaiso University Student Philanthropy program on Sunday, Nov. 14.
• The team was recognized as part of the University’s annual Generosity Awards Celebration. Head coach Matt Lottich’s group was selected as the 2021 Athletic Team Awardee for the program’s community service and engagement.
• The team’s community engagement activities include participating in the Popcorn Fest, Valparaiso Downtown Trick or Treat, Valpo Day of Caring and beach cleanup at the Indiana Dunes National Park.
• In addition, the team hosts youth camps in the summer, working with children ages 6-14 to provide a fun and positive basketball experience.
• The program makes it a priority to attend as many Valpo Athletics events as possible to support other teams. The Beacons also make an effort to actively participate in the University community and support student organizations while also having an active presence as members of the broader City of Valparaiso and Northwest Indiana communities.
• Of the six core values that make up the foundation of the Valpo men’s basketball program, servanthood and appreciation are among the most prominent.

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 DeAveiro – 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 –Enjoys making music and writing song lyrics.

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.
• 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.