Oral Roberts at OU
Matchup: Oakland University 9-15, 4-7 Mid-Continent; Oral Roberts 14-9, 9-2.
Tip-off: 7 p.m., Athletics Center, Rochester.
Overview: Oral Roberts defeated Oakland on Jan. 19, but the Golden Eagles may still want revenge for their 61-60 loss in the final of the Mid-Continent tournament last year. The game knocked Oral Roberts out of the NCAA tournament and into the NIT. Golden Eagles junior sensation Caleb Green is the conference player of the week after leading his team to three straight conference victories. He's averaging 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. OU catches a break because star guard Ken Tutt will miss the game because of a leg injury.
Oakland’s Billings finally gets going--The Oakland Press
By CRYSTAL EVOLA Of The Oakland Press
ROCHESTER — Big things were expected out of Rick Billings when he transferred to Oakland University.
And those expectations almost cost him his starting job.
But a short visit to the bench combined with a reduction of personal pressures allowed Billings to get his game back on track heading into tonight’s game against second-place Oral Roberts at the Oakland Athletics Center.
After making some adjustments to his game, most of which were mental, Billings has been an impact player for OU.
Billings shot 9-for-11 from the field in matching his career-high with 19 points during Saturday’s loss at IUPUI.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard has scored in double figures in six of his last nine games. Billings is averaging 16.3 points and shooting 81 percent in his last three games. He’s committed just three turnovers and had 10 assists during that span.
“We predicted big things for Rick,” OU coach Greg Kampe said, “and everybody was down on him, including me, because he wasn’t playing well when he first started playing.
“Part of that was me trying to find out how to handle him and how to coach him, what I can and can’t do to him, what I can and can’t say to him, what his feelings are, what he thinks. It’s all part of coaching. I’m not sure I did a great job of coaching him when he first started.
“I think he put a lot of pressure on himself to be great. He was so good in our practices before the season started, we had such high expectations for him, and now he’s slowly coming along.”
Billings has started 15 of his 16 games since becoming eligible to play on Dec. 19 after sitting out a year to comply with NCAA transfer policies.
A coaching change and a lack of playing time prompted Billings to transfer from Ohio State a year ago. He averaged 3.8 points in 30 games, including eight starts, for the Buckeyes in his sophomore season. He made eight appearances for OSU last season, averaging just 5.5 minutes, before transferring.
That in itself was an adjustment, considering he averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists en route to being the 2002 Detroit Public School League Player of the Year as a senior at Detroit Rogers Academy.
The adjustments continued at OU.
Billings had a combined 13 points, four turnovers and no assists in his first two games back on the court. A lack of defense limited him to just 14 minutes in his OU debut.
“I thought that I would just be able to step in and already be adjusted, since I’m a junior now and I’ve been out there for a long time,” Billings said. “It was surprising that I wasn’t out there like I wanted to be in the beginning.”
The surprises seem to be gone now.
Billings is third on the team at 11.2 points and 24.3 minutes per game. He ranks fourth with 30 assists and third with 56-percent shooting from the field.
“I found out to just slow myself down and let the game come to me, and it’s getting better,” Billings said. “I was so in a rush trying to score points and trying to get the steals and trying to do something, and I wasn’t really doing anything well. So I slowed myself down, played solid defense. That’s what I’ve been doing, and I think I’ve been playing a lot better.”
Oral Roberts at Oakland men--The Oakland Press
When: 7 tonight
Where: Oakland Athletics Center, Rochester
Broadcast: www.ougrizzlies.com
Records: Oral Roberts 14-9 (9-2 Mid-Con); Oakland 9-14 (4-7)
Overview: Oakland will look to rebound from Saturday's 87-72 loss at first-place IUPUI. ... OU beat Oral Roberts in last season's Mid-Con championship game. ... The Grizzlies played the conference's first-place team on Saturday, they get the second-place team tonight and the third-place program (UMKC) on Saturday. ... OU has attempted 100 free throws in its last three outings. ... Oral Roberts leads the all-time series against OU, 10-6, and has won five of the last six against the Grizzlies. Those contests have been decided by nine points or fewer. ... The Golden Eagles have won nine of their last 11 games even though they're playing without Ken Tutt, their second-leading scorer. ... ORU's Caleb Green, the 2005 Mid-Con Player of the Year, is averaging 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds.
Up next: UMKC at Oakland, 6 p.m. Saturday, Oakland Athletics Center
— CRYSTAL EVOLA
Climbing higher--The Indy Star
Hart, Hoosier recruits turn around IUPUI basketball--The Indy Star
MEN’S BASKETBALL: VU seeks payback after big letdown--The Post-Tribune
Feb. 9, 2006
By Justin Breen / Post-Tribune deputy sports editor
The last time Dan Oppland stressed the importance of a game, Valparaiso went out and blew out Oral Roberts 80-60 on Jan. 9.
Oppland feels tonight’s tilt at IUPUI is just as significant.
“It’s something to look forward to,” Oppland said after Saturday’s 76-64 victory over Southern Utah. “We definitely got a chip on our shoulder going into that game. There’s a lot of factors that should motivate us going into that game.”
The greatest of all is how Valpo blew a 22-point second-half lead to the Jaguars on Jan. 28, when IUPUI prevailed 87-82 in overtime at the Athletics-Recreation Central. That loss was the Crusaders’ fourth straight at the time, but they have won two in a row since then.
IUPUI has been the surprise Mid-Continent Conference frontrunner most of the season. With five games left, the Jaguars (15-7, 10-1) hold a one-game lead over Oral Roberts (14-9, 9-2), with UMKC (10-12, 7-4) and Valpo (13-8, 6-5) in third and fourth, respectively.
In the loss to IUPUI at the ARC, Mohamed Kone, Ali Berdiel and Ron Howard each fouled out, while Oppland had a game-high 27 points.
IUPUI was led by George Hill’s 26 points, while Brandon Cole and Matt Burks each notched 17. Valparaiso High School’s Bill Van Senus and West Side’s Brandon Cameron did not score.
Valpo coach Homer Drew said teams sometimes go through slumps — as the Crusaders did in January — due to the length of the campaign.
“You’ve started since September,” Drew said Saturday. “The team that can persevere can really do something special at the end of the season.”
Valparaiso at IUPUI
When: 6 p.m. today
Records: Valparaiso 13-8 overall, 6-5 Mid-Continent Conference; IUPUI 15-7, 10-1
Where: IUPUI Gymnasium, Indianapolis
Radio: WVUR (95.1-FM), WEFM (95.9-FM), WAKE (1500-AM, Relevant Radio (1270-AM)
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Van Senus fully rearmed--The Post-Tribune
Feb. 9, 2006
By Justin Breen / Post-Tribune deputy sports editor
The first things Bill Van Senus III’s parents heard were a loud moan and cry.
The shrieks of pain were so loud, they thought the then-Valparaiso High School center had broken his back or neck.
But on Jan. 7, 2003 — in a game at Kankakee Valley — Van Senus had in fact broken the radius and ulna in both arms after attempting to dunk a ball and falling down on his arms in pushup-like fashion.
“I showed the team the video later, and it was really bad,” Van Senus said.
It’s taken time for Van Senus to recover from the massive injury, but now he’s at his ultimate destination: playing Division I basketball.
The redshirt sophomore 7-footer serves as a reserve for IUPUI, which hosts Valparaiso University tonight in a key Mid-Continent Conference game.
“Bill has made major, major strides since stepping on our campus,” IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. “The more his game continues to grow will dictate his minutes on the floor.”
At first, Van Senus thought he might never play another minute of organized hoops. He spent most of the rest of his senior prep season in arm casts — one bright pink, the other purple. He dressed for the sectional, but his arms weren’t strong enough to compete.
Van Senus’ mother, Vicky, said several schools were interested in her son’s services before the injury. But after the double-broken bone experience, almost all of the calls stopped coming.
Van Senus did have an offer from Chicago State and the Naval Academy, but neither were the right fit, so he decided to be a walk-on at IUPUI. He briefly played as a freshman, redshirted last season and was awarded a scholarship this season.
“After what happened with my arms, I knew playing right away would be hard,” said Van Senus, who has played 63 minutes in 14 games this season, averaging 0.8 ppg. “It’s taken awhile, but I’m at where I want to be now.”
The Jaguars, who sit in first place in the Mid-Con — four games ahead of fourth-place Valpo — have never beaten the Crusaders in Indianapolis, going 0-7.
Van Senus said tonight’s game, along with Saturday’s tilt against second-place Oral Roberts, are critical to the Jaguars’ season.
“The problem down here is our fans have never seen us beat Valpo,” Van Senus said. “They always do well down here.”
Van Senus, who has two years of eligibility remaining, said he has no side effects from the injury to his arms. Pushups are the only thing he can’t do, and, through lifting, he’s become a 270-pound muscular force.
“We are very proud of his hard work and dedication to the sport of basketball,” Vicky Van Senus said. “He loves his life, school and team, and we are very grateful that it all has worked out for him.”
Contact Justin Breen at 648-3122 or jbreen@post-trib.com
Stricklett on her way to the hall--The NWI Times
Scouting VU men's basketball--The NWI Times
He hasn't got time for the pain--The NWI Times
ADVERTISEMENT
Thunderbirds hope to solve road woes--The Spectrum
Today's games--The Salt Lake Tribune
Southern Utah
at Chicago State
At the Dickens Center, Chicago, Ill.
Tipoff: 6:05 p.m. MST
Radio: 91.1 FM, 590 AM
Records: SUU 7-16, 5-5 Mid-Con; Chicago State 4-16, 3-7 Mid-Con
Series: SUU leads, 19-6
Last Meeting: SUU 73, Chicago State 59 (Jan. 28)
About the Thunderbirds: They are seventh in the country in three-point shooting with a 42.2 percentage. They rank 46th in field goal percentage at 47.1.
About the Cougars: They have last three straight games, all on the road, including an 82-81 setback in overtime to UMKC on Monday night.
Men's Basketball to Face Southern Utah on Thursday--Chicago State Athletics
FIRST PLACE JAGS TO HOST VALPARAISO ON THURSDAY NIGHT--IUPUI JAGUAR ATHLETICS
Oakland Hosts Oral Roberts Thursday--OUGrizzlies.com
Golden Eagles Open Key Road Trip Thursday at Oakland--Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles
VALPO HOSTS WESTERN ILLINOIS WITH FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE AT THE ARC ON SATURDAY--www.valpo.edu
VALPO HEADING SOUTH TO MEET MID-CON LEADING IUPUI--www.valpo.edu
Rietema Named to Academic All-District V First Team--www.valpo.edu
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