NCAA Tournament March Madness
#196 Valparaiso
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Projection: need to automatically qualify
Valparaiso’s résumé is a study in contrasts, with a road victory at Cleveland State and a convincing home performance against Western Michigan proving the team can close out games while a lopsided trip to Kentucky and a home loss to Southern Indiana stand out as damaging blemishes a committee will remember. Nonconference wins over Nicholls State, Bryant and Eastern Illinois do little to bolster the top end of the resume, while a narrow defeat at Marquette showed the roster can compete against higher‑level opponents. The remaining slate includes true road tests at Northern Iowa, Belmont and Northwestern plus conference dates against Murray State and Illinois State, so there are clear, meaningful opportunities to establish better road credentials. Avoiding any more bad home results and picking up signature wins on hostile floors is the clearest path to altering how this résumé is viewed.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/4 | E Illinois | 329 | W66-63 |
| 11/7 | @Kentucky | 19 | L107-59 |
| 11/12 | Nicholls St | 265 | W68-63 |
| 11/16 | Bryant | 312 | W68-50 |
| 11/19 | @Cleveland St | 301 | W90-75 |
| 11/26 | Southern Indiana | 303 | L64-56 |
| 11/29 | W Michigan | 263 | W84-55 |
| 12/2 | @Marquette | 86 | L75-72 |
| 12/13 | UNC Wilmington | 102 | 35% |
| 12/16 | @Northwestern | 56 | 8% |
| 12/21 | Murray St | 114 | 38% |
| 12/29 | @Northern Iowa | 91 | 15% |
| 1/1 | @S Illinois | 133 | 24% |
| 1/4 | IL Chicago | 199 | 61% |
| 1/7 | Illinois St | 116 | 39% |
| 1/10 | @Murray St | 114 | 19% |
| 1/13 | @Belmont | 85 | 14% |
| 1/17 | Northern Iowa | 91 | 32% |
| 1/21 | S Illinois | 133 | 45% |
| 1/28 | Belmont | 85 | 30% |
| 1/31 | @Indiana St | 202 | 40% |
| 2/3 | @Bradley | 129 | 24% |
| 2/6 | Evansville | 295 | 77% |
| 2/9 | @Drake | 121 | 23% |
| 2/12 | @Illinois St | 116 | 20% |
| 2/15 | Indiana St | 202 | 62% |
| 2/18 | Bradley | 129 | 44% |
| 2/21 | @IL Chicago | 199 | 39% |
| 2/25 | Drake | 121 | 42% |
| 2/28 | @Evansville | 295 | 57% |