2018–19 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by third-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as second-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the 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 in the quarterfinals.

2018–19 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2018–19 record15–18 (7–11 MVC)
Head coachMatt Lottich (3rd season)
Assistant coaches
  • Luke Gore
  • Todd Townsend
  • Rob Holloway
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Loyola–Chicago126 .667  2014  .588
Drake126 .667  2410  .706
Southern Illinois108 .556  1715  .531
Missouri State108 .556  1616  .500
Bradley99 .500  2015  .571
Northern Iowa99 .500  1618  .471
Illinois State99 .500  1716  .515
Indiana State711 .389  1516  .484
Valparaiso711 .389  1518  .455
Evansville513 .278  1121  .344
2019 MVC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2017–18 season 15–17, 6–12 in MVC play to finish in last place in their first season as members of the MVC. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Tournament to Missouri State.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Parker Hazen0F6'7"210FreshmanColumbia City, INTransferred to Daytona State College
Tevonn Walker2G6'2"210SeniorMontreal, QCGraduated
Max Joseph3G6'1"210SeniorMontreal, QCGraduated
Joe Burton10G/F6'8"210RS JuniorPorter, TXLeft the team due to personal reasons; transferred to Georgetown
Marten Linssen12F6'8"240FreshmanDüsseldorf, GermanyTransferred to UNC Wilmington

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Deion Lavender2G6'4"190RS SeniorAlton, ILTransferred from UAB. Was eligible to play immediately since Lavender graduated from UAB.
Eron GordonG6'3"200JuniorIndianapolis, INTransferred from Seton Hall. Under NCAA transfer rules, Gordon had to sit out for the 2018–19 season, after which he had two years of eligibility.
Nick RobinsonG6'6"195JuniorChicago, ILTransferred from Saint Joseph's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Robinson had to sit out for the 2018–19 season, after which he had two years of eligibility.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Javon Freeman-Liberty
#41 SG
Chicago, IL Whitney Young 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
Daniel Sackey
PG
Winnipeg, Canada Thornlea Secondary School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

    Roster

    2018–19 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) FrWhitney Young HS Chicago, IL
    G 1 Micah Bradford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)155 lb (70 kg) JrBradley–Bourbonnais HS Bradley, IL
    G 2 Deion Lavender 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SrMarquette Catholic HS
    Southern Illinois/UAB
    Alton, IL
    G 3 Daniel Sackey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrThornlea Winnipeg, MB
    G 4 Bakari Evelyn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS JrSouthfield Christian School/Nebraska Detroit, MI
    G/F 5 Markus Golder 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrClackamas HS
    North Idaho College
    Portland, OR
    G 12 Langston Stalling (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrBowman Academy Gary, IN
    C 14 Jaume Sorolla 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrSunrise Christian Academy (KS) Tortosa, Spain
    C 21 Derrik Smits 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)240 lb (109 kg) RS JrZionsville HS Zionsville, IN
    F 23 Mileek McMillan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoMerrillville HS Merrillville, IN
    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
    G Eron Gordon  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrCathedral HS
    Seton Hall
    Indianapolis, IN
    G Nick Robinson  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrKenwood Academy
    Saint Joseph's
    Chicago, IL
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)
    • Luke Gore (Bethel)
    • Todd Townsend (Marquette)
    • Rob Holloway (Eastern Illinois)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    Nov 1, 2018*
    7:00 pm
    Indianapolis W 60–57 
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,256)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 6, 2018*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Concordia University Chicago W 121–65  1–0
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,098)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Nov 15, 2018*
    4:00 pm, ESPNU
    vs. Western Kentucky
    Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals
    W 81–73  1–1
    HTC Center (3,620)
    Conway, SC
    Nov 16, 2018*
    5:30 pm, ESPN3
    vs. Monmouth
    Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 2nd round
    W 64–53  2–1
    HTC Center (2,830)
    Conway, SC
    Nov 18, 2018*
    9:30 am, ESPNU
    vs. Wake Forest
    Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 5th place game
    W 69–63  2–2
    HTC Center (639)
    Conway, SC
    Nov 21, 2018*
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    SIU Edwardsville W 75–70 OT 3–2
    Athletics–Recreation Center (1,940)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Nov 24, 2018*
    1:00 pm, ATTSPT
    at West Virginia
    Myrtle Beach Invitational non-bracket game
    L 76–88  3–3
    WVU Coliseum (9,188)
    Morgantown, WV
    Nov 28, 2018*
    9:30 pm, ATTSNRM
    at UNLV
    MW–MVC Challenge
    W 72–64  4–3
    Thomas & Mack Center (7,587)
    Las Vegas, NV
    Dec 2, 2018*
    1:00 pm, ESPN+
    UC Riverside W 82–73  5–3
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,112)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Dec 4, 2018*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    High Point L 53–55  5–4
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,479)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Dec 8, 2018*
    3:00 pm, ESPN+
    at George Washington W 82–79  6–4
    Charles E. Smith Center (2,107)
    Washington, D.C.
    Dec 17, 2018*
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    Ball State L 61–77  6–5
    Athletics–Recreation Center (3,636)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Dec 19, 2018*
    7:30 pm, SECN+
    at Texas A&M W 71–49  6–6
    Reed Arena (6,684)
    College Station, TX
    Dec 29, 2018*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    Purdue Northwest W 97–61  7–6
    Athletics–Recreation Center (1,925)
    Valparaiso, IN
    MVC regular season
    Jan 2, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    Illinois State W 58–56  8–6
    (1–0)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (3,818)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Jan 5, 2019
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Missouri State W 82–66  9–6
    (2–0)
    JQH Arena (4,179)
    Springfield, MO
    Jan 8, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    Bradley W 61–50  10–6
    (3–0)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,535)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Jan 12, 2019
    3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
    at Southern Illinois W 65–61  11–6
    (4–0)
    SIU Arena (4,671)
    Carbondale, IL
    Jan 15, 2019
    7:00 pm, NBCSCH
    at Loyola–Chicago W 71–54  11–7
    (4–1)
    Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,412)
    Chicago, IL
    Jan 19, 2019
    3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
    Northern Iowa W 75–66  12–7
    (5–1)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (3,160)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Jan 23, 2019
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Indiana State W 70–53  12–8
    (5–2)
    Hulman Center (3,460)
    Terre Haute, IN
    Jan 26, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Drake W 70–59  12–9
    (5–3)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (4,160)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Jan 29, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    Missouri State W 55–54 OT 12–10
    (5–4)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (1,333)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Feb 2, 2019
    1:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH
    at Evansville L 53–64  12–11
    (5–5)
    Ford Center (5,805)
    Evansville, IN
    Feb 5, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    at Illinois State W 69–53  13–11
    (6–5)
    Redbird Arena (4,662)
    Bloomington, IL
    Feb 10, 2019
    3:00 pm, ESPNU
    Loyola–Chicago L 51–56  13–12
    (6–6)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (5,148)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Feb 13, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Indiana State W 87–82 OT 13–13
    (6–7)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (3,014)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Feb 16, 2019
    2:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Drake W 84–79  13–14
    (6–8)
    Knapp Center (4,035)
    Des Moines, IA
    Feb 20, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    Southern Illinois W 55–52  14–14
    (7–8)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,371)
    Valparaiso, IN
    Feb 23, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Northern Iowa W 64–53  14–15
    (7–9)
    McLeod Center (3,812)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    Feb 27, 2019
    7:00 pm, ESPN+
    at Bradley W 67–42  14–16
    (7–10)
    Carver Arena (5,867)
    Peoria, IL
    Mar 2, 2019
    1:00 pm, ESPN+
    Evansville W 65–63  14–17
    (7–11)
    Athletics–Recreation Center (2,592)
    Valparaiso, IN
    MVC Tournament
    Mar 7, 2019
    6:00 pm, ESPN+
    (9) vs. (8) Indiana State
    First Round
    W 77–55  15–17
    Enterprise Center (0)
    St. Louis, MO
    Mar 8, 2019
    12:00 pm, ESPN+
    (9) vs. (1) Loyola-Chicago
    First Round
    W 67–54  15-18
    Enterprise Center (0)
    St. Louis, MO
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    Source[1]

    gollark: I had to hastily swap potatOS over to using the evented API.
    gollark: It seemed to be missing in one CCEmuX build.
    gollark: No.
    gollark: It's way past 2.
    gollark: PotatOS may need major reworks soon™ as I found a somewhat wide ranging possible sandbox escape regarding provided APIs.

    References

    1. "Men's Basketball Schedule". valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso University Athletics. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
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