Valparaiso Basketball: 2017-18 preview for the Crusaders

Key Non-Conference games

Nov 25 – UNC Wilmington

Nov 28 – Utah State (Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge)

Dec 7 – at Purdue

Dec 14 – at Northwestern

Dec 18 – at Santa Clara

Valparaiso is an unlikely at-large candidate, but these games will be important to get ready for conference play. There may be more motivation as the new member to get the win against Utah State, a team with capable guards. The return game to Santa Clara is a rematch of last year’s surprising overtime loss where Jared Brownridge went point for point with Peters.

Key Conference games

Dec 31 – Missouri State

Jan 13 – at Northern Iowa

Jan 17 – at Missouri State

Jan 21 – Loyola

Feb 11 – at Illinois State

Feb 14 – at Loyola

Game days switch up a bit differently than before with the Horizon playing more on Fridays while the Valley plays on Sundays. The time zones remain the same though. The crowd sizes are roughly similar with the conference tournament held in a neutral location.

Because of the transitioning phase of many teams in the league, it’s not yet known who the top teams are. The top player though is Alize Johnson of Missouri State, the frontrunner to win the top individual award. Valparaiso plays the Bears in the second game of league play, and a win would send a big statement to everyone else.