Valpo

Bryce Drew has done a great job at Valpo and this might be his best team yet. They entered the day 21st in KenPom, largely based on being 2nd overall in defense. We named Valpo as a mid-major to watch prior to the season and they've proved it.

They should be the favorite in the Horizon coming off an impressive win at Oakland last night. Their best wins are at Oregon State and Rhode Island. They have 3 losses, all on the road. Losing to Oregon is no bad loss but we'll see how Ball State and Belmont look come March.

This is a team predicated on defense. 2nd overall in KenPom on defense, they hold opponents to an effective fg% of 43.5, 15th best. They're 12th in rebounding %.  You don't make many shots against them nor do you get many 2nd chances.

They're not as efficient on offense and they'll give me pause as we move into March. They were excellent against a good Oakland team last night. They're below average at protecting the ball and aren't good at offensive rebounding.

Alec Peters, the junior big man is their best player and a name you should know. The kid does it all. He scores and rebounds. He can knock down the 3.  He's 44% from 3 this year. 

Brian has them on the 12-line right now. Depending on how they push through the Horizon that can maybe go up a line. They're pretty solid favorites the rest of the way. Good team that will be a popular spoiler come March