On The Horizon

Jim Squire

The Morning Dish – Wednesday, November 25, 2015--Hoopville

Side Dishes
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Valparaiso concluded its Oregon swing with a split, posting an impressive 63-57 win over Oregon State in a game that wasn’t that close most of the way. Valpo is far from the Alec Peters show anymore; Tevonn Walker and Shane Hammink both scored 15 points each to lead the offense.
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A 5-0 team you need to keep an eye on: South Dakota State, which already has handled Illinois State and TCU on the road and routed Houston Baptist 92-68 last night. Most surprising 5-0 team? Perhaps Southern Illinois, which defeated a good Oakland team 97-88 Tuesday.

Morning News: Another Ohio St Loss, Another Ben Simmons Wasted Performance, Smashed Backboard, And More--Basketball Predictions

Valparaiso Shuts Down Oregon State Oregon State is a Tournament-quality team, yet Valparaiso won this game despite a poor shooting day both from outside (4-for-16 on threes as a team) and from star Alec Peters (3-for-12). They did it with suffocating defense, holding Oregon State to 0.86 PPP, despite a stat-stuffing 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals from Gary Payton III. Valparaiso's defense has been great all season long (Pomeroy currently ranks it 6th in the nation).

Valparaiso is a team that would be good enough to earn an at-large bid in a tougher league. Unfortunately, it will be almost impossible for them to pull it off out of the Horizon League when their best non-conference wins will be over Oregon State and Rhode Island. The Selection Committee just does not properly value road games. Via the Sagarin ratings, a road game at Horizon League foe Milwaukee is approximately equal to home games against Georgetown, Wisconsin, or Florida State. We can be damn sure the Selection Committee won't see it that way, though. A home win over Georgetown would be an RPI Top 50 "quality win", while a loss to Milwaukee will be an RPI 100+ "bad loss".

Oregon State, in contrast, will get plenty of chances to pick up quality victories in conference play. They still look like a team destined to be in the bubble mix in February and March.

Cleveland State looks for second straight win in Cancun: Local College Basketball 2015 (photos)--Cleveland Plain Dealer

Vikings Continue Roadswing At Niagara On Friday--csuvikings.com

Perseverance Paying Off For Brundidge--detroittitans.com

Green Bay holds on to beat Akron 66-63--CBS Sports
Oakland men lose second straight on road trip, falling to SIU--The Oakland Press
GOLDEN GRIZZLIES SHOW OFF NEW BLACKTOP COURT AT THE O'RENA--ougrizzlies.com

Flames Welcome Chippewas To Pavilion--uicflames.com

Defense leads Green Bay to victory over Akron--Phear The Phoenix

LATE NIGHT SNACKS: Vanderbilt advances; N.C. State tops LSU--CollegeBasketballTalk