NCAA Tournament March Madness

#193 Valparaiso

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

Valparaiso’s résumé reads like a team that can compete but has been hurt by some ugly losses and a thin slate of signature wins. Its road victory at Cleveland State and the solid performance against Western Michigan are the program’s clearest résumé builders, and a tight game at Marquette and the close loss to UNC Wilmington show the group can hang with better competition. Those positives are undercut by the lopsided defeat at Kentucky and a string of tough road losses at Northwestern and Northern Iowa that will stick in the committee’s mind. The remaining schedule hands the team clear chances to repair the profile with road tests at Murray State and Belmont and the pair of matchups with Illinois State, while home dates against Illinois Chicago and Evansville are must-wins to generate momentum. The difference between getting credit and being dismissed will come down to whether Valparaiso can earn at least one quality result away from home and avoid any more damaging setbacks.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/4E Illinois316W66-63
11/7@Kentucky25L107-59
11/12Nicholls St209W68-63
11/16Bryant313W68-50
11/19@Cleveland St324W90-75
11/26Southern Indiana330L64-56
11/29W Michigan263W84-55
12/2@Marquette118L75-72
12/13UNC Wilmington120L73-70
12/16@Northwestern61L86-70
12/21Murray St89L85-79
12/29@Northern Iowa86L58-48
1/1@S Illinois115L75-70
1/4IL Chicago205W66-59
1/7Illinois St8128%
1/10@Murray St8914%
1/13@Belmont7312%
1/17Northern Iowa8630%
1/21S Illinois11542%
1/28Belmont7327%
1/31@Indiana St19239%
2/3@Bradley13626%
2/6Evansville28377%
2/9@Drake15632%
2/12@Illinois St8113%
2/15Indiana St19261%
2/18Bradley13647%
2/21@IL Chicago20542%
2/25Drake15654%
2/28@Evansville28357%