2020–21 Valparaiso University men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Valparaiso University men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Valpo, led by fifth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC Tournament, they lost to Missouri State in the quarterfinals.[1]

2020–21 Valparaiso University men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2020–21 record10–18 (7–11 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Luke Gore
  • Rob Holloway
  • Matt Bowen
Home arenaAthletics–Recreation Center
2020–21 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 17 Loyola Chicago †16–2 .88926–5  .839
Drake15–3 .83326–5  .839
Missouri State12–6 .66717–7  .708
Indiana State11–7 .61115–10  .600
Evansville7–11 .3899–16  .360
Valparaiso7–11 .38910–18  .357
Northern Iowa7–11 .38910–15  .400
Bradley6–12 .33312–16  .429
Southern Illinois5–13 .27812–14  .462
Illinois State4–14 .2227–18  .280
† 2021 MVC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

In February of 2021, the school officially retired the use of the Crusaders name and mascot due to its use by certain hate groups.[2][3]

Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2019–20 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[4] to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley.[5] All further postseason play was canceled shortly thereafter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

Offseason

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Javon Freeman-Liberty0G6'3"175SophomoreChicago, ILTransferred to DePaul
John Kiser33G/F6'5"205SeniorNoblesville, INGraduated
Ryan Fazekas35G/F6'7"220RS SeniorChesterton, INGraduated

Incoming transfers
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Goodnews Kpegeol0G6'5"200RS SophomoreSt. Paul, MNTransferred from Southwest Mississippi CC.

2020 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Sheldon Edwards
#13 SG		 West Palm Beach, FL Palm Beach Lakes / TLAP Sports Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Jacob Ognacevic
#34 PF		 Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan Area Lutheran 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Connor Barrett
#35 SG		 Chicago, Illinois Loyola Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 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
    2020–21 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Goodnews Kpegeol 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoNorth HS
    Kansas State/SW Mississippi CC    		 St. Paul, MN
    G 1 Sigurd Lorange 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoMetis Videregaende Skole Trondheim, Norway
    G 2 Zion Morgan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SrKenwood
    UNLV/Wabash Valley    		 Chicago, IL
    G 3 Steven Helm 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS SoValparaiso HS
    Carroll    		 Valparaiso, IN
    G 4 Daniel Sackey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrThornlea Winnipeg, MB
    G/F 5 Donovan Clay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoAlton HS Alton, IL
    G 10 Eron Gordon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS SrCathedral HS
    Seton Hall    		 Indianapolis, IN
    C 11 Emil Freese-Vilien 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)255 lb (116 kg) SoFalkonergardens Gymnasium Copenhagen, Denmark
    G/F 12 Tyler Fricke (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrBuffalo Grove HS Arlington Heights, IL
    G 13 Sheldon Edwards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrPalm Beach Lakes HS
    TLAP Sports Academy    		 West Palm Beach, FL
    G 15 Luke Morrill (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoMontini Catholic HS Lombard, IL
    F 21 Brock Pappas (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrWashington Township HS Valparaiso, IN
    F 22 Mileek McMillan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) SrMerrillville HS Merrillville, IN
    F 23 Ben Krikke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) SoJasper Place HS Edmonton, AB
    G 25 Nick Robinson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrKenwood
    Saint Joseph's    		 Chicago, IL
    F 34 Jacob Ognacevic 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrSheboygan Lutheran HS Sheboygan, WI
    G/F 35 Connor Barrett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrLoyola Academy Chicago, IL
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster
    Last update: January 1, 2021

    Schedule and results
    Date
    time, TV    		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    November 27, 2020*
    6:00 pm, SECN    		 at Vanderbilt L 71–77  0–1
    		 Memorial Gymnasium (0)
    Nashville, TN
    December 1, 2020*
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at UIC L 50–66  0–2
    		 Credit Union 1 Arena (0)
    Chicago, IL
    December 4, 2020*
    6:00 pm, BTN    		 at Purdue L 61–68  0–3
    		 Mackey Arena (0)
    West Lafayette, IN
    December 6, 2020*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Judson W 85–45  1–3
    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (66)
    Valparaiso, IN
    December 9, 2020*
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 SIU Edwardsville W 80–58  2–3
    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (60)
    Valparaiso, IN
    December 12, 2020*
    3:30 pm, ESPN3    		 at Central Michigan L 79–84  2–4
    		 McGuirk Arena (0)
    Mount Pleasant, MI
    December 16, 2020
    6:00 pm    		 Eastern Michigan
    Canceled due to lack of available scholarship players for Eastern Michigan[7]    		 Athletics–Recreation Center 
    Valparaiso, IN
    December 17, 2020*
    5:30 pm, ESPN3    		 Purdue Northwest W 89–71  3–4
    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (74)
    Valparaiso, IN
    December 19, 2020*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Toledo L 57–71  3–5
    		 Savage Arena (0)
    Toledo, OH
    December 21, 2020
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Mount St. Joseph
    Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols[8]    		 Athletics–Recreation Center 
    Valparaiso, IN
    January 9, 2021
    1:00 pm, ESPN+    		 Missouri State L 68–81  3–6
    (0–1)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center 
    Valparaiso, IN
    January 10, 2021
    1:00 pm, ESPN+    		 Missouri State L 68–78  3–7
    (0–2)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (80)
    Valparaiso, IN
    January 16, 2021*
    3:00 pm, FS1    		 at DePaul L 58–77  3–8
    		 Wintrust Arena 
    Chicago, IL
    January 20, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN+    		 Loyola–Chicago L 39–75  3–9
    (0–3)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center 
    Valparaiso, IN
    January 23, 2021
    5:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Illinois State W 69–60  4–9
    (1–3)    		 Redbird Arena 
    Normal, IL
    January 24, 2021
    5:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Illinois State W 70–66  5–9
    (2–3)    		 Redbird Arena 
    Normal, IL
    January 28, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Bradley W 91–85 2OT 6–9
    (3–3)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (77)
    Valparaiso, IN
    January 31, 2021
    3:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Evansville L 52–70  6–10
    (3–4)    		 Ford Center 
    Evansville, IN
    February 1, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 at Evansville L 51–58  6–11
    (3–5)    		 Ford Center 
    Evansville, IN
    February 6, 2021
    1:00 pm, ESPN3    		 No. 25 Drake L 77–80  6–12
    (3–6)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (123)
    Valparaiso, IN
    February 7, 2021
    1:00 pm, ESPN+    		 No. 25 Drake W 74–57  7–12
    (4–6)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (119)
    Valparaiso, IN
    February 10, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Bradley L 52–76  7–13
    (4–7)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (88)
    Valparaiso, IN
    February 13, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN+    		 at Northern Iowa W 70–57  8–13
    (5–7)    		 McLeod Center (713)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    February 14, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN+    		 at Northern Iowa L 60–74  8–14
    (5–8)    		 McLeod Center (953)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    February 17, 2021
    7:00 pm, ESPN+    		 at No. 22 Loyola–Chicago L 52–54  8–15
    (5–9)    		 Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
    Chicago, IL
    February 20, 2021
    4:00 pm, ESPN+    		 at Southern Illinois W 66–65  9–15
    (6–9)    		 Banterra Center 
    Carbondale, IL
    February 21, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN+    		 at Southern Illinois L 64–67  9–16
    (6–10)    		 Banterra Center 
    Carbondale, IL
    February 26, 2021
    6:00 pm, ESPN3    		 Indiana State L 43–58  9–17
    (6–11)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center 
    Valparaiso, IN
    February 27, 2021
    5:00 pm, ESPN+    		 Indiana State W 70–58  10–17
    (7–11)    		 Athletics–Recreation Center (128)
    Valparaiso, IN
    MVC Tournament
    March 5, 2021
    8:00 pm, ESPN+    		 (6) vs. (3) Missouri State
    Quarterfinals    		 L 55–66  10–18
    		 Enterprise Center 
    St. Louis, MO
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    Source[9][10][11]

    References
    1. "Valparaiso vs. Missouri State - Box Score - March 5, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    2. Correspondent, Paul Oren Times. "Mascot debate at Valparaiso has proponents and opponents, just as it did in the 1940s". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    3. "You are being redirected..." www.athleticbusiness.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    4. "Valparaiso vs. Missouri State - Game Recap - March 7, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    5. "Valparaiso vs. Bradley - Game Recap - March 8, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    6. "NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
    7. "EMU-Valparaiso Men's Basketball Game Canceled". emueagles.com. Eastern Michigan Athletics. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
    8. "Valpo Men's Basketball Announces Schedule Change". valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso University Athletics. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
    9. "Men's Basketball Schedule". valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso University Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
    10. "2020-21 Valparaiso Crusaders Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
    11. "2020-21 Valparaiso Schedule | ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
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