PEORIA — It has been a rough welcome to the Missouri Valley Conference so far for new member Valparaiso, which is 0-2 entering Wednesday night’s game at Carver Arena against Bradley.
The early losses to Indiana State (73-64 at Terre Haute) and Missouri State (67-50 at Valpo that snapped a 13-game home winning streak) ended a forgettable 1-6 December for the Crusaders after a sparkling 8-0 season start in November.
"It’s been a tale of two months for us," said Valpo coach Matt Lottich. "We were playing a lot more confident in November. In December we lost our best player, Tevonn Walker, to mono and our best outside shooter in Joe Burton. We weren’t the same team."
Walker is back after missing four games and totaled 30 points and nine rebounds in the two Valley games.
Burton, an Oklahoma State transfer who averaged 11.5 points in 10 games this season for Valpo, has been suspended the last three contests for academic reasons. He won’t play Wednesday and sources say his future with the team is in doubt.
"I’ve been pretty pleased with our defensive effort, but right now we’re not shooting with a lot of confidence," Lottich said. "It’s hard to win young. We have 10 freshmen and sophomores.
"But I think we belong in the Valley because the way we approach the game is very similar to the other Valley teams. Teams take you out of (offensive) actions because everyone scouts extremely well. It seems like everyone in the league is well-coached and has disciplined players."
Even with the loss of national power Wichita State, prompting the addition of Valparaiso last spring, the MVC has boasted tremendous balance this season.
The conference ranks No. 8 in the RPI. Notably, the Valley joins the Big 12 and the SEC as the only leagues this year with no teams rated 200 or worse among the 351 Division I squads.
BU coach Brian Wardle is familiar with the Valpo program from his years coaching in the Horizon League at Green Bay. He was 5-7 vs. the Crusaders.
"Valpo has always been a very physical team," Wardle said. "They’re a very good defensive team with good size. They have a winning culture. We’ll be facing a team that’s very eager to get a win in Valley play. We have to be ready for a physical war."
The Crusaders (8-6, 0-2) are the biggest team in the league in the post with a pair of 7-footers — Jaume Sorolla and Derrik Smits — sharing time at that spot. Between them, they average 12 points and eight rebounds. Smits is the son of former NBA player Rik Smits.
Of course, Washington native Alec Peters — the Crusaders’ all-American forward who graduated last year — is now on a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns and the Northern Arizona Suns of the G League.
Valpo has felt Peters’ absence in myriad ways, but particularly on the perimeter where he hit 42 percent of his 3-pointers for four years, making an average of 72 per season. This year, the Crusaders rank last in the Valley in 3-point percentage at .319. Their 94 conversions are ninth in the league.
"(Against Bradley), we’ve talked about how we can score because they’re very good defensively and are very well-coached," Lottich said. "Defensively, we have to run them off the 3-point line and make them finish over our size in the interior. They shot well against Northern Iowa (a 72-53 win Sunday). The game looks a lot easier when you’re making shots."
Now that the calendar has been flipped, Lottich is hopeful of a reversal of fortune for his team.
"We have to take that lid off the basket to win some of these games," Lottich said. "And we have to keep trying to defend well."
Do those two things well — as Valpo has for years on end in the Horizon, winning five regular-season titles in the last six seasons — and winning is guaranteed. Despite their current struggles, don’t write off the Crusaders just yet as they adjust to their new league.
They’ve been too good for too long.
Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at davereynolds2.