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The Valparaiso Crusaders only have two conference losses this season and sit alone atop the Horizon League with a record of 11-2. One of those conference losses came at the hands of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on January 6th and there’s no doubt the Crusaders will be looking to avenge that loss this week.
Valparaiso is 21-5 on the season and comes into this matchup on a two-game winning streak. Oakland is second in the Horizon League right and has gone 9-4 in conference play. The Crusaders are close to wrapping up the conference title and a win here would pretty much end any hopes of the rest of the teams in the chase.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, February 17, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at the Athletics Center Orena in Oakland, Michigan. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
Valparaiso is 21-5 straight up and 13-10 against the spread. The Crusaders have played in eight true road games on the season and have covered in five of them. Valparaiso is 10-8 against the spread as the favorite on the season and 3-2 against the spread as the underdog.
Oakland is 19-7 straight up and 10-12-1 against the spread. The Golden Grizzlies are 5-7 against the spread as the home team on the year. They have played in 19 games as the favorite and covered in eight of them. Oakland has been the underdog four times, covering twice and pushing once.
Last Meeting
Oakland led from the jump in these two teams’ last meeting, outscoring Valparaiso 40-32 in the final half to cruise to 78-66 win. Golden Grizzlies’ junior Martez Walker tied his season high, finishing with 25 points in the victory and fellow junior Stevie Clark added 16 points.
Things stayed tight for most of the first half and early in the second as well. After trailing only slightly at halftime, Valparaiso came within five points with 12 minutes to go before Oakland made its final push.
Valparaiso shot just 36.2 percent from the field in the loss compared to Oakland’s 47.3 percent shooting that day. The Crusaders also had 16 turnovers.
Player to Watch
Alec Peters -- The Valparaiso forward has been an invaluable piece of the Crusaders’ squad this season, averaging a double-double this year with 23.1 points and 10.7 rebounds a game. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the first matchup against Oakland.
Peters has the ability to do some major damage to opposing offenses and, at six-foot-9, is also an imposing threat in the paint. He has four games where he scored 30 points or more including a season-best 36 points and 15 rebounds against Trinity back in November.
In Valparaiso’s most recent matchup against Youngstown State on February 11th, Peters finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. There’s no doubt he will be a big part of the Crusaders’ quest for revenge in this matchup against Oakland.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Valparaiso is leading the pack and seems to be in good shape to make the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. However, if Oakland can sweep the regular season series, it will certainly make things a lot more interesting.
The Crusaders lost the first matchup at home and that is concerning. However, their track record throughout the regular season has been very impressive. Don’t let one matchup earlier in the season have too much weight.
Valparaiso has been the better team, and even though Oakland is a really good team with the home court advantage, take the Crusaders in a close one to help wrap up the regular season conference title.
College Basketball Odds: Valparaiso 76, Oakland 73
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