Ben Krikke

#23 Ben Krikke

Pos. F
Ht. 6-9
Wt. 235
Yr. Sr.*
Hometown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
High School [Prev. School] Jasper Place

2022-23 CSC Academic All-America Second Team 
2022-23 NABC All-District Second Team
2022-23 All-MVC First Team
2022-23 MVC Most-Improved Team 
2022-23 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team 
2021-22 All-MVC Third Team
2021-22 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team
2020-21 All-MVC Third Team
2020-21 MVC Most-Improved Team
2020-21 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team
2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team

2022-23: Led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring at 19.4 points per game overall and 21.0 ppg in conference play... Pulled down 5.9 rebounds per game... Shot 55.2 percent from the field and 79.6 percent from the free-throw line... Also had 67 assists (2.1 per game), 28 blocked shots and 17 steals... Started all 32 games... Named to the All-MVC First Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, the only player in the conference to earn all three honors... Named All-District Second Team by the NABC... Became the fourth Academic All-American in program history by earning those honors from College Sports Communicators (CSC)... In addition to scoring, ranked among the league leaders in rebounding (11th), field-goal percentage (second), free-throw percentage (10th), blocked shots (ninth), offensive rebounding (ninth) and minutes played (second)... Scored 622 points during the season, the sixth most in a single season in program history... Had 244 made field goals, the fourth most in program history and the most by a Valpo player since 1971-72... Finished the season with 1,596 points, seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list... Closed the season with a career field-goal percentage of 54.1, the sixth highest in program history... Wrapped up the season with 632 career made field goals, a total that ranks sixth in Valpo lore... Became just the third Missouri Valley Conference player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent from the line and 50 percent from the field, joining Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley and Creighton’s Doug McDermott... Scored in double figures in 30 of his 32 games including 13 outputs of 20 points or more and 26 games with 15 points or more... Finished the season with 20 consecutive double-figure scoring outputs and was in double figures in all 20 league games... Named the MVC Player of the Week on Jan. 30 and Feb. 20... Scored 30 or more points on three occasions – Dec. 4 vs. Murray State (31), Jan. 28 vs. Evansville (30) and a season-high 34 on Feb. 19 at UIC... Had double-doubles on Nov. 7 at Toledo (18-13) and Feb. 19 at UIC (35-10).

2021-22: Named to the All-MVC Third Team for a second straight season while also earning MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors for the second consecutive year... After missing the first three games of the season due to an ankle injury, started the remaining 29 contests... Averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor, 84.3 percent from the free-throw line and squeezing 4.5 rebounds per outing. Also blocked 23 shots and swiped 23 steals... One of three players in the MVC to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor and 80 percent or better from the free-throw line, joining Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State and Malevy Leons of Bradley while owning the highest field-goal percentage of that elite group... Finished his junior year with 974 career points, 26 away from 1,000... Finished the season with a career field-goal percentage of 53.4, a mark that ranks seventh in the program record book... Ranked 11th in the MVC in scoring average, eighth in field-goal percentage and fifth in free-throw percentage... Scored in double figures 22 times including a 12-game double-figure streak that was snapped in the final game of the season, the MVC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Missouri State... Had seven performances with 20 points or more and paced the team in scoring on 11 occasions... Led the team in rebounding eight times... Scored a season-high 26 points on Nov. 27 vs. Trinity Christian and posted his D-I high of 25 in his season debut on Nov. 22 vs. Jacksonville State in the Bahamas... Corralled a season-high nine rebounds on Jan. 30 at Southern Illinois... Gave out a season-high five assists twice, Jan. 26 vs. Bradley and Feb. 19 at Evansville.

2020-21: Earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and All-MVC Third Team, the only player in the conference to receive all three honors… Also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, one of six honorees in District 5 spanning the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, becoming the third player in program history to achieve that honor, joining Alec Peters (three times) and Dan Oppland (twice)… Featured in the MVC Scholar-Athlete Spotlight on Dec. 16… Started all 28 games, the only Valpo player to do so… Led the team in scoring both overall (12.3 ppg) and in conference-only action (13.1 ppg)… Boosted his scoring average by 5.6 ppg from the previous season… Is on pace to become a 1,000-point scorer as he has 563 career points through two seasons…Shot at a 51.9 percent clip overall and 52.7 percent mark in conference play… Ranked eighth in the MVC in free-throw percentage at 79.7 and ninth in blocked shots with 23… Scored in double figures 21 times during the season including seven of the team’s last eight games… Led the team in scoring nine times and paced the squad on the glass in five contests… Made his second career start and first against a Division-I opponent in the Nov. 27 season opener at Vanderbilt. Finished with 13 points, all in the second half, in a career-high 34 minutes... Scored in double figures in each of the first two games of the 2020-21 season (at Vanderbilt, at UIC), the first set of back-to-back double-figure outputs in the sophomore’s collegiate career. His second straight double-figure showing featured 11 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting on Dec. 1 at UIC... Had his fourth double-figure scoring output in the season’s first six games with 12 points to go along with a career-high three blocked shots on Dec. 12 at Central Michigan... Posted 16 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting in the Dec. 19 game at Toledo. The eight field goals marked a career high and the 16-point game was two shy of a personal best at that time... Shattered his previous season high by halftime with 17 first-half points on Jan. 9 vs. Missouri State on his way to a career-high 21. He joined Javon Freeman-Liberty, Tevonn Walker and Alec Peters as the only four Valpo players with 17+ points in a first half during Matt Lottich’s head coaching tenure (fifth season)... Became just the third Valpo player in the last 25 years with a 25-point, 15-rebound game on Jan. 24 at Illinois State... Was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 26, the first weekly conference honor of his collegiate career... Enjoyed his third straight game of 18+ points by scoring 18 on 7-of-9 shooting to lead the team on Jan. 31 at Evansville, then equaled a career high with four assists on Feb. 1 in the second game of the back-to-back against the Purple Aces... Scored in double figures for the 20th time this season in the Feb. 27 regular-season finale, scoring 14 points in the win over Indiana State… Rounded out his season with a 12-point performance in the MVC Tournament opener on March 5 vs. Missouri State… Received Valparaiso University Presidential Academic Honors and member of MVC Academic Honor Roll. 

2019-20: Appeared in 33 games and made one start during his freshman season… Averaged 6.7 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per contest while blocking 15 shots, coming away with 15 steals, shooting 79.2 percent at the foul line, draining 14 3s and handing out 22 assists… Shot 55.0 percent from the field, finishing fifth in the conference and second among freshmen in field-goal percentage… Scored in double figures nine times including three games with 15+ points… Had eight instances of five or more rebounds… Led the team in scoring in three games, rebounds in two and assists in one… Made his collegiate debut in the Nov. 5 season opener vs. Toledo... Didn’t make a field goal over the first three games of his career, but he knocked down five on 11 attempts against North Dakota on Nov. 17. He finished with 11 points, one of four Valpo players in double figures... Scored a team-high 18 points to establish a season watermark in the Nov. 27 win over Trinity Christian. Also had four boards and four assists while snatching two steals against the Trolls... Collected five rebounds on Dec. 18 at High Point, marking his second five-rebound effort in a three-game span... Reached double figures for the first time since Nov. 27 vs. Trinity Christian, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in a Jan. 4 win at Evansville... Drained three 3s on Jan. 15 at UNI to finish with 13 points, his highest total against a Division-I opponent. That equaled his previous season total for made 3s, as he entered the evening 3-of-14 for the season... Became the first Valpo freshman since at least the start of the 1989-90 season to lead the team outright in points, rebounds and assists in a single game on Feb. 1 vs. Illinois State. He set Division-I season highs in all three areas and surpassed his overall season high in rebounds with his line of 17 points, eight boards and four assists... Had a team-high 15 points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds on Feb. 12 vs. Southern Illinois, his third time this season and second in a four-game span leading the team in scoring… Had two double-figure outputs in the MVC Tournament including an 11-point effort that featured seven made free throws in the March 7 MVC semifinal vs. Missouri State.

Prep: Led Jasper Place H.S. to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association provincial championship… Earned a spot on the BioSteel All-Canadian game roster… Was the MVP of the Alberta Basketball All-Star Showcase, scoring 37 points… Competed internationally for Team Canada at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina, averaging 9.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game while helping Canada to a fourth-place finish. He was the only player from outside of Quebec or Ontario to make the roster... Has played against NBA players like Jalen Green, James Wiseman and Scottie Barnes.

Personal: Loves to go hiking and see wildlife when he’s home in Edmonton... Enjoys using the ESPN app to watch the Edmonton Oilers play, giving him a piece of home... Has several friends who are highly successful business people... Does a lot of biking to stay in shape when he’s back home, will be out for an entire morning and go 40 miles...  Father Kent is a physical education teacher and former college basketball player. He has run a basketball camp in Alberta for over 20 years... Hobbies include fishing with his dad and cheering on the Toronto Raptors, his favorite pro team... Majoring in finance... Hails from Edmonton, a very devout hockey city, but says basketball there is on the upswing... Never played ice hockey, but did compete in badminton, volleyball and various track & field events... Enjoys mountain biking and chess, which he learned from his grandfather.