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
Record15–18 (7–11 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Luke Gore
  • Todd Townsend
  • Rob Holloway
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Loyola Chicago126 .6672014  .588
Drake126 .6672410  .706
Southern Illinois108 .5561715  .531
Missouri State108 .5561616  .500
Bradley99 .5002015  .571
Northern Iowa99 .5001618  .471
Illinois State99 .5001716  .515
Indiana State711 .3891516  .484
Valparaiso711 .3891518  .455
Evansville513 .2781121  .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 Current redshirt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrCathedral HS
Seton Hall
Indianapolis, IN
G Nick Robinson Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrKenwood Academy
Saint Joseph's
Chicago, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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
L 71-83  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
L 63-69  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 L 41-79  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 L 54-71  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 L 53-70  12–8
(5–2)
Hulman Center (3,460)
Terre Haute, IN
Jan 26, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Drake L 59-70  12–9
(5–3)
Athletics–Recreation Center (4,160)
Valparaiso, IN
Jan 29, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Missouri State L 54-55 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 L 82-87 OT 13–13
(6–7)
Athletics–Recreation Center (3,014)
Valparaiso, IN
Feb 16, 2019
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Drake L 79-84  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 L 53-64  14–15
(7–9)
McLeod Center (3,812)
Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 27, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley L 42-67  14–16
(7–10)
Carver Arena (5,867)
Peoria, IL
Mar 2, 2019
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Evansville L 63-65  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
L 54-67  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]

References

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