2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as third-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference.[1] They finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC Tournament, they defeated Evansville, Loyola–Chicago, and Missouri State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley.

2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2019–20 record19–16 (9–9 MVC)
Head coachMatt Lottich (4th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Luke Gore
  • Rob Holloway
  • Matt Bowen
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Northern Iowa14–4 .778  25–6  .806
Loyola–Chicago13–5 .722  21–11  .656
Indiana State11–7 .611  18–12  .600
Bradley †11–7 .611  23–11  .676
Southern Illinois10–8 .556  16–16  .500
Missouri State9–9 .500  16–17  .485
Valparaiso9–9 .500  19–16  .543
Drake8–10 .444  20–14  .588
Illinois State5–13 .278  10–21  .323
Evansville0–18 .000  9–23  .281
† 2020 MVC Tournament winner
As of June 27, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2018–19 season 15–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 9 seed in the MVC Tournament, they defeated Indiana State in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.[2][3]

Offseason

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Micah Bradford1G6'2"190JuniorBradley, ILLeft program
Deion Lavender2G6'3"190RS SeniorAlton, ILGraduated
Bakari Evelyn4G6'2"180RS JuniorDetroit, MIGraduate transferred to Iowa
Markus Golder5G/F6'6"195RS JuniorPortland, ORGraduate transferred to Portland State
Langston Stalling12G6'3"210FreshmanGary, INLeft team to concentrate on academics
Jaume Sorolla14C7'0"240JuniorTortosa, SpainGraduate transferred to Cincinnati
Derrik Smits21C7'1"240RS JuniorZionsville, INGraduate transferred to Butler

In addition to the departing players, assistant coach Todd Townsend left the program after the 2018–19 season, citing family reasons. Matt Bowen, who had spent that season as the Crusaders' director of basketball operations, was promoted to a full assistant position.[4]

Roster
2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Javon Freeman-Liberty 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoWhitney Young HS Chicago, IL
G 1 Sigurd Lorange 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrMetis Videregaende Skole Trondheim, Norway
G 2 Zion Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrKenwood
UNLV/Wabash Valley		 Chicago, IL
F 3 Brock Pappas (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoWashington Township HS Valparaiso, IN
G 4 Daniel Sackey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoThornlea Winnipeg, MB
G/F 5 Donovan Clay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrAlton HS Alton, IL
G 10 Eron Gordon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS JrCathedral HS
Seton Hall		 Indianapolis, IN
C 11 Emil Freese-Vilien 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrFalkonergardens Gymnasium Copenhagen, Denmark
G 15 Luke Morrill (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMontini Catholic HS Lombard, IL
F 22 Mileek McMillan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrMerrillville HS Merrillville, IN
F 23 Ben Krikke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrJasper Place HS Edmonton, AB
G 25 Nick Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrKenwood
Saint Joseph's		 Chicago, IL
G/F 33 John Kiser 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrNoblesville HS Noblesville, IN
G/F 35 Ryan Fazekas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS JrMarquette Catholic HS
Providence		 Chesterton, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Luke Gore (Bethel)
  • Rob Holloway (Eastern Illinois)
  • Matt Bowen (Indiana)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: September 23, 2019

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Canadian exhibition tour
August 10, 2019*
 at McGill W 84–78 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
August 11, 2019*
 at Concordia W 94–90 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
August 13, 2019*
 at Carleton W 83–80 OT
 
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
August 14, 2019*
 at Quebec W 81–68 
 
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Exhibition
October 19, 2019*
 Cedarville W 85–65 
ARC (1,637)
Valparaiso, IN
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Toledo W 79–77  1–0
 ARC (2,412)
Valparaiso, IN
November 9, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Saint Louis L 71–80  1–1
 Chaifetz Arena (6,159)
St. Louis, MO
November 12, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at SIU Edwardsville W 89–76  2–1
 Vadalabene Center (778)
Edwardsville, IL
November 17, 2019*
1:30 pm, ESPN3		 North Dakota W 74–60  3–1
 ARC (2,504)
Valparaiso, IN
November 22, 2019*
12:00 pm, FloSports		 vs. Grand Canyon
Paradise Jam quarterfinal		 W 78–74  4–1
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 23 or 24, 2019*
4:30 pm, FloSports		 vs. Nevada
Paradise Jam semifinal		 L 59–84  4–2
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 25, 2019*
4:45 pm, FloSports		 vs. Cincinnati
Paradise Jam 3rd place game		 L 77–81 OT 4–3
 Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, VI
November 27, 2019*
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Trinity Christian W 98–71  5–3
 ARC (1,824)
Valparaiso, IN
December 3, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Eastern Michigan L 79–85  5–4
 Convocation Center (1,237)
Ypsilanti, MI
December 8, 2019*
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Central Michigan W 77–55  6–4
 ARC (2,880)
Valparaiso, IN
December 16, 2019*
6:00 pm		 at Charlotte L 57–67  6–5
 Dale F. Halton Arena (2,740)
Charlotte, NC
December 18, 2019*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at High Point W 87–72  7–5
 Millis Athletic Convocation Center (928)
High Point, NC
December 21, 2019*
7:00 pm, 15,630		 vs. Arkansas L 68–72  7–6
 Simmons Bank Arena (15,630)
North Little Rock, AR
MVC regular season
December 30, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Loyola–Chicago L 63–66  7–7
(0–1)		 ARC (4,364)
Valparaiso, IN
January 4, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Evansville W 81–79 OT 8–7
(1–1)		 Ford Center (5,615)
Evansville, IN
January 7, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Southern Illinois L 50–63  8–8
(1–2)		 SIU Arena (3,856)
Carbondale, IL
January 11, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPN3		 Drake W 66–61  9–8
(2–2)		 ARC (3,190)
Valparaiso, IN
January 15, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Northern Iowa L 78–88  9–9
(2–3)		 McLeod Center (4,057)
Cedar Falls, IA
January 18, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Indiana State W 86–77  10–9
(3–3)		 ARC (2,805)
Valparaiso, IN
January 23, 2020
7:30 pm, CBSSN		 at Missouri State L 60–67  10–10
(3–4)		 JQH Arena (4,536)
Springfield, MO
January 26, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3		 Evansville W 67–65  11–10
(4–4)		 ARC (3,044)
Valparaiso, IN
January 29, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Bradley L 69–80  11–11
(4–5)		 Carver Arena (5,038)
Peoria, IL
February 1, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Illinois State W 80–70  12–11
(5–5)		 ARC (3,220)
Valparaiso, IN
February 5, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Northern Iowa L 51–63  12–12
(5–6)		 ARC (2,030)
Valparaiso, IN
February 9, 2020
3:00 pm, ESPNU		 at Loyola–Chicago L 68–70  12–13
(5–7)		 Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,622)
Chicago, IL
February 12, 2020
7:00, ESPN+		 Southern Illinois W 55–38  13–13
(6–7)		 ARC (2,374)
Valparaiso, IN
February 15, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Illinois State W 65–62  14–13
(7–7)		 Redbird Arena (4,529)
Normal, IL
February 19, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Drake L 75–77 OT 14–14
(7–8)		 Knapp Center (3,783)
Des Moines, IA
February 22, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Bradley W 90–78  15–14
(8–8)		 ARC (3,237)
Valparaiso, IN
February 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Missouri State W 89–74  16–14
(9–8)		 ARC (2,476)
Valparaiso, IN
February 29, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Indiana State L 58–71  16–15
(9–9)		 Hulman Center (4,114)
Terre Haute, IN
MVC Tournament
March 5, 2020
8:35 pm, ESPN+		 (7) vs. (10) Evansville
First round		 W 58–55  17–15
 Enterprise Center (5,212)
St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2020
6:05 pm, ESPN+		 (7) vs. (2) Loyola–Chicago
Quarterfinals		 W 74–73 OT 18–15
 Enterprise Center (6,521)
St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2020
5:05 pm, CBSSN		 (7) vs. (6) Missouri State
Semifinals		 W 89–82  19–15
 Enterprise Center (8,145)
St. Louis, MO
March 8, 2020
1:05 pm, CBS		 (7) vs. (4) Bradley
Championship		 L 66–80  19–16
 Enterprise Center (8,016)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[5]

References
  1. Weinstein, Robbie. "Valparaiso faces more scheduling challenges as Vanderbilt, George Washington buy out". nwi.com.
  2. TN, Streamline Technologies | Nashville. "Valpo Pulls Away From Indiana State For Win in Arch Madness Opener". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  3. TN, Streamline Technologies | Nashville. "Men’s Basketball Season Comes to an End Friday in St. Louis". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  4. "Valpo Basketball Announces Staff Promotions" (Press release). Valparaiso Crusaders. August 20, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  5. "Men's Basketball | Schedule | Official Website of Valpo Athletics". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
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