Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball

Valparaiso Crusaders

2012–13 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

University

Valparaiso University

Conference

Horizon League

Location

Valparaiso, IN

Head coach

Bryce Drew (2nd year)

Arena

Athletics-Recreation Center
(Capacity: 5,432)

Nickname

Crusaders

Colors

Brown and Gold

Uniforms

Home

Away

Alternate

NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

1998

NCAA Tournament appearances

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2013

Conference tournament champions

Summit League
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004

Horizon League
2013

Conference regular season champions

Summit League

1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

Horizon League
2012, 2013

Butler–Valparaiso rivalry

Butler Bulldogs

Valparaiso Crusaders

Sport(s)

Men's basketball

Total meetings

103

Series record

Butler leads, 67–36

First meeting

1934-35
Butler 41, Valparaiso 25

Last meeting

March 3, 2012
Valparaiso 65, Butler 46

Largest win

Valparaiso, 85–49 (1945-46)

Longest win streak

Butler, 15 (1957–1964)

Current win streak

Valparaiso: 4 wins (2011-2012)

Trophy

none

The Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2004. The Crusaders are currently coached by Bryce Drew, who is in his 2nd year. Bryce replaced his father, Valparaiso coaching legend Homer Drew, in May 2011. The Crusaders play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a capacity of 5,432.

1 History
2 Postseason
3 Radio
4 Crusaders in the NBA
5 See also
6 External links

History [edit]

The beginning [edit]

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 [1]. 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 would also be the year that the Crusaders defeated Number 19 Notre Dame in a game that came to be known as "The Lutheran Miracle."

The tallest team [edit]

The 1944-1945 team was billed as "The World's Tallest Team."[2] That year, they defeated Long Island University in a game played in Madison Square Garden.

Conference affiliation [edit]

The Crusaders would join the Indiana Collegiate Conference for the 1950-1951 season. The Crusaders advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1961-1962. In 1968-1969, they hosted an NCAA tournament game for the first time.

Division I [edit]

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 members of the Horizon League.

Postseason [edit]

NCAA tournament [edit]

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 would go on to win their second round game against Florida State University before losing in the Sweet 16 to the University of Rhode Island. The Crusaders would win 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 they lost to the University of Iowa in their first game televised by ESPN. They would play in the title game of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament every year between 1995 and 2004.

All time NCAA tournament results [edit]

The Crusaders have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–8.

Year	Seed	Round of 64 Winner		Round of 64 Loser		Round of 32 Winner		Round of 32 Loser		Sweet 16 Winner		Sweet 16 Loser
1996	14	Arizona	90	Valparaiso	51
1997	12	Boston College	73	Valparaiso	66
1998	13	Valparaiso	70	Mississippi	69	Valparaiso	83	Florida State	77	Rhode Island	74	Valparaiso	68
1999	15	Maryland	82	Valparaiso	60
2000	16	Michigan State	65	Valparaiso	38
2002	13	Kentucky	83	Valparaiso	68
2004	15	Gonzaga	76	Valparaiso	49
2013	14	Michigan State	65	Valparaiso	54

NIT Results [edit]

The Crusaders have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2003	Opening Round	Iowa	L 60–62
2012	First Round	Miami (FL)	L 50–66

CBI Results [edit]

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 [edit]

The Crusaders have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2011	First Round	Iona	L 77–85

Radio [edit]

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 [edit]

External links [edit]

v t e Valparaiso University

Academics	Valparaiso University School of Law

Buildings	Chapel of the Resurrection Christopher Center Heritage Hall

Culture	Brauer Museum of Art WVUR

Athletics	Valparaiso Crusaders Men's Basketball Baseball Football Brown Field Athletics-Recreation Center Emory G. Bauer Field "The Shot"

Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball head coaches

Sidney Winters (1917–1919)
George Keogan (1919–1922)
Earl Goheen (1922–1923)
W. P. Shadoan (1923–1925)
Millard Anderson (1925–1926)
Conrad Moll (1926–1927)
Earl Scott (1927–1929)
J. M. Christiansen (1929–1941)
Loren Ellis (1941–1947)
Emory Bauer (1947–1948)
Donald Warnke (1948–1949)
Wilbur Allen (1949–1951)
Kenneth Suesens (1951–1958)
Paul Meadows (1958–1964)
Gene Bartow (1964–1970)
Bill Purden (1970–1976)
Ken Rochlitz (1976–1980)
Tom Smith (1980–1988)
Homer Drew (1988–2002)
Scott Drew (2002–2003)
Homer Drew (2003–2011)
Bryce Drew (2011– )

v t e Horizon League men's basketball

Teams	Cleveland State Vikings Detroit Titans Green Bay Phoenix Milwaukee Panthers UIC Flames Valparaiso Crusaders Wright State Raiders Youngstown State Penguins

Championships & awards	Horizon League Men's Basketball 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 1999–00 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