Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball

Butler–Valparaiso rivalry
Sport	Men's basketball
Teams	Butler Bulldogs; Valparaiso Crusaders;
Trophy	none

Valparaiso Crusaders
Valparaiso Crusaders
	2015–16 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
University	Valparaiso University
Head coach	Matt Lottich (1st season)
Conference	Horizon League
Arena	Athletics-Recreation Center ; (capacity: 5,432)
Nickname	Crusaders
Colors	Brown and gold;
Uniforms
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1998
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1998
NCAA tournament appearances
	1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2013, 2015
Conference tournament champions
	Mid-Continent Conference; 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 'Horizon League; 2013, 2015
Conference regular season champions
	Mid-Continent Conference; 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Horizon League; 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016

The Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Horizon League. The Crusaders play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23rd, 2016 in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2015.

On April 7, 2016, the school promoted former assistant coach Matt Lottich to the head coach position following Bryce Drew accepting the head coaching position at Vanderbilt on April 6, 2016.^[2]^[3]^[4]

History

The beginning

The Crusaders' first game was in 1917. Under the coaching of Sidney Winters, the team lost to Chicago. The team would finish 7-2 that year.^[5] In 1988, Homer Drew took the job as head coach and remained until retiring in May 2011. He was then succeeded by his son Bryce. 1988 was also the year that the Crusaders defeated 19th-ranked Notre Dame in a game that came to be known as "The Lutheran Miracle."

The tallest team

The 1944–45 team was billed as "The World's Tallest Team."^[5] That year, they defeated Long Island University in a game played in Madison Square Garden.

Conference affiliation

The Crusaders joined the Indiana Collegiate Conference for the 1950-1951 season. The Crusaders advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1961–62. In 1968–69, they hosted an NCAA tournament game for the first time.

Division I

The Crusaders joined Division I before the 1978–79 season. After four years as an independent, they became charter members of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities, now known as The Summit League. In 2007, Valparaiso became a member of the Horizon League.

Championships

Statistics overview
Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Valparaiso (Mid-Continent Conference) (1982–2007)
1994–95	Homer Drew	20–8	14–4	1st
1995–96	Homer Drew	22–10	13–5	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1996–97	Homer Drew	24–7	13–3	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1997–98	Homer Drew	23–10	13–3	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1998–99	Homer Drew	23–10	10–4	T–1st	NCAA 1st Round
1999–00	Homer Drew	19–13	10–6	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2000–01	Homer Drew	24–8	13–3	T–1st
2001–02	Homer Drew	25–8	12–2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
2002–03	Scott Drew	20–11	12–2	1st	NIT Opening Round
2003–04	Homer Drew	18–13	11–5	1st	NCAA 1st Round
Valparaiso (Horizon League) (2007–present)
2011–12	Bryce Drew	22–12	14–4	1st	NIT First Round
2012–13	Bryce Drew	26–8	13–3	1st	NCAA Second Round
2014–15	Bryce Drew	28–6	13–3	1st	NCAA Second Round
2015–16	Bryce Drew	29-7	16-2	1st	NIT Final
Total:
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament

Under coach Homer Drew, the Crusaders became a conference power. They won their first Mid-Continent championship in 1995, led by star player Bryce Drew. However, the team was not invited to the NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders won the 1996 conference championship and received their first invitation to the Division I NCAA Tournament. In the 1998 Tournament, the Crusaders won their first Tournament game, defeating the University of Mississippi on a last second shot by Bryce Drew. The Crusaders won their second round game against Florida State University before losing in the Sweet 16 to the University of Rhode Island. The Crusaders won the Mid-Continent Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament every year until 2001, when Southern Utah University won the conference tournament. In Coach Scott Drew's only year as head coach, the team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament where, in their first game televised by ESPN, they lost to the University of Iowa. The Crusaders played in the title game of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament every year between 1995 and 2004.

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Crusaders have appeared in nine NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–9.

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
1996 CBS	No. 14(W)	vs. No. 3(W) Arizona First Round	W 90–51	0–1	ASU Activity Center Tempe, AZ
1997 CBS	No. 12(W)	vs. No. 5(W) Boston College First Round	W 73–66	0–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center
1998 CBS	No. 13(MW)	vs. No. 4(MW) Mississippi First Round	W 70–69	1–2	Myriad Convention Center
1998 CBS	No. 13(MW)	vs. No. 12(MW) Florida State Second Round	W 83–77 ^OT	2–2	Myriad Convention Center
1998 CBS	No. 13(MW)	vs. No. 8(MW) Rhode Island Sweet Sixteen	W 74–68	2–3	Kiel Center
1999 CBS	No. 15(S)	vs. No. 2(S) Maryland First Round	W 82–60	2–4	Orlando Arena
2000 CBS	No. 16(MW)	vs. No. 1(MW) Michigan State First Round	W 65–38	2–5	Wolstein Center
2002 CBS	No. 13(E)	vs. No. 4(E) Kentucky First Round	W 83–68	2–6	Edward Jones Dome
2004 CBS	No. 15(St. Louis)	vs. No. 2(St.Louis) Gonzaga First Round	W 76–49	2–7	KeyArena
2013 CBS	No. 14(MW)	vs. No. 3(MW) Michigan State Second Round	W 65–54	2–8	The Palace of Auburn Hills
2015 TNT	No. 13(MW)	vs. No. 4(MW) Maryland Second Round	W 65–62	2–9	Nationwide Arena
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed..

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Crusaders have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament five times. Their combined record is 7–5.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1962	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Kentucky State Concordia (IL) Sacramento State	W 75–61 W 75–72 L 54–61
1966	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Saint Procopius North Dakota	W 107–76 L 82–112
1967	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Colorado State–Preblo Indiana State Missouri State	W 89–52 W 80–77 L 72–86
1969	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Concordia (IL) Illinois State	W 91–81 L 87–103
1973	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Capital Kentucky Wesleyan	W 69–64 L 66–74

NAIA tournament results

The Crusaders have appeared in the NAIA Tournament two times. Their combined record is 1–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1938	First Round Second Round	Western Oregon Central Missouri	W 57–48 L 24–44
1943	First Round	Eastern Washington	L 42–45

NIT Results

The Crusaders have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times. Their combined record is 4–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2003	Opening Round	Iowa	L 60–62
2012	First Round	Miami (FL)	L 50–66
2016	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	Texas Southern Florida State Saint Mary's BYU George Washington	W 84–73 W 81–69 W 60–44 W 72–70 L 60–76

CBI Results

The Crusaders have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2008	First Round Quarterfinals	Washington Houston	W 72–71 L 67–91

CIT Results

The Crusaders have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2011	First Round	Iona	L 77–85
2014	First Round	Columbia	L 56–58

Radio

All Crusader games are broadcast for free on the Valparaiso website at valpoathletics.com. WVUR-FM, the student-run campus radio station, also broadcasts select Crusader games on 95.1 FM and on the station's website.

Crusaders in the NBA

References

^ "Valpo University Color Palettes". July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
^ "Sources: Vandy, Bryce Drew reach 6-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
^ "Commodores hire Bryce Drew to lead basketball program | Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Basketball". vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
^ Tribune, Chicago. "Valparaiso promotes Matt Lottich to be its men's basketball coach". Post-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
^ ^a ^b "2006-2007 Men's Basketball Guide" (PDF). 2006.

External links

Official website
"NBA players who attended Valparaiso". Basketball Reference.
Pahl, Justin (March 17, 2015). "Countdown to March: Life and Death with a Small-Town Team". SBNation. Retrieved March 18, 2015. Archived 2015-03-18 at the Wayback Machine.

[1] "Valpo University Color Palettes". July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.

[2] "Sources: Vandy, Bryce Drew reach 6-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-04-05.

[3] "Commodores hire Bryce Drew to lead basketball program | Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Basketball". vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-06.

[4] Tribune, Chicago. "Valparaiso promotes Matt Lottich to be its men's basketball coach". Post-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-14.

[0607guide-5] "2006-2007 Men's Basketball Guide" (PDF). 2006.

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v t e Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
Venues	Hilltop Gym (1939–1984) ARC (1984–present)
Culture & lore	"The Shot"
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Valparaiso University
Presidents	O. P. Kretzmann (1940–1968) Albert G. Huegli (1968–?) Robert V. Schnabel (?–1988) Alan Harre (1988–2008) Mark A. Heckler (2008–2020) Colette Irwin-Knott (2020-2021, interim) José Padilla (2021- )
Academics	Valparaiso University School of Law (1879-2020)
Buildings	Chapel of the Resurrection Christopher Center library Heritage Hall
Culture	Brauer Museum of Art Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center WVUR
Athletics	Athletics department Men's basketball Women's basketball Baseball Football Men's soccer Brown Field Athletics-Recreation Center Emory G. Bauer Field "The Shot"

v t e Horizon League men's basketball
Teams	Cleveland State Vikings Detroit Mercy Titans Green Bay Phoenix IU Indy Jaguars Milwaukee Panthers Northern Kentucky Norse Oakland Golden Grizzlies Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Robert Morris Colonials Wright State Raiders Youngstown State Penguins
Championships & awards	Conference tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24