# 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as third-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville, Loyola–Chicago, and Missouri State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley.

## Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2018–19 season 15–18, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 9 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Indiana State in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Micah Bradford | 1 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Junior | Bradley, IL | Left program |
| Deion Lavender | 2 | G | 6'3" | 190 | RS Senior | Alton, IL | Graduated |
| Bakari Evelyn | 4 | G | 6'2" | 180 | RS Junior | Detroit, MI | Graduate transferred to Iowa |
| Markus Golder | 5 | G/F | 6'6" | 195 | RS Junior | Portland, OR | Graduate transferred to Portland State |
| Langston Stalling | 12 | G | 6'3" | 210 | Freshman | Gary, IN | Left team to concentrate on academics |
| Jaume Sorolla | 14 | C | 7'0" | 240 | Junior | Tortosa, Spain | Graduate transferred to Cincinnati |
| Derrik Smits | 21 | C | 7'1" | 240 | RS Junior | Zionsville, IN | Graduate transferred to Butler |
In addition to the departing players, assistant coach Todd Townsend left the program after the 2018–19 season, citing family reasons. Matt Bowen, who had spent that season as the Crusaders' director of basketball operations, was promoted to a full assistant position.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Canadian exhibition tour ||||||
| August 10, 2019* | | at McGill | W 84–78 | | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| August 11, 2019* | | at Concordia | W 94–90 | | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| August 13, 2019* | | at Carleton | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| August 14, 2019* | | at Quebec | W 81–68 | | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 19, 2019* | | Cedarville | W 85–65 | | ARC (1,637) Valparaiso, IN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 79–77 | 1–0 | ARC (2,412) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 9, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | L 71–80 | 1–1 | Chaifetz Arena (6,159) St. Louis, MO |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 89–76 | 2–1 | Vadalabene Center (778) Edwardsville, IL |
| November 17, 2019* 1:30 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota | W 74–60 | 3–1 | ARC (2,504) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 22, 2019* 12:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Grand Canyon Paradise Jam quarterfinal | W 78–74 | 4–1 | Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| November 23 or 24, 2019* 4:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. Nevada Paradise Jam semifinal | L 59–84 | 4–2 | Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| November 25, 2019* 4:45 pm, FloSports | | vs. Cincinnati Paradise Jam 3rd place game | L 77–81 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | Fitness Center St. Thomas, VI |
| November 27, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Trinity Christian | W 98–71 | 5–3 | ARC (1,824) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 3, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 79–85 | 5–4 | Convocation Center (1,237) Ypsilanti, MI |
| December 8, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 77–55 | 6–4 | ARC (2,880) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 16, 2019* 6:00 pm | | at Charlotte | L 57–67 | 6–5 | Dale F. Halton Arena (2,740) Charlotte, NC |
| December 18, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | W 87–72 | 7–5 | Millis Athletic Convocation Center (928) High Point, NC |
| December 21, 2019* 7:00 pm, 15,630 | | vs. Arkansas | L 68–72 | 7–6 | Simmons Bank Arena (15,630) North Little Rock, AR |
| MVC regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Loyola–Chicago | L 63–66 | 7–7 (0–1) | ARC (4,364) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 4, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 81–79 $^{OT}$ | 8–7 (1–1) | Ford Center (5,615) Evansville, IN |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 50–63 | 8–8 (1–2) | SIU Arena (3,856) Carbondale, IL |
| January 11, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drake | W 66–61 | 9–8 (2–2) | ARC (3,190) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 78–88 | 9–9 (2–3) | McLeod Center (4,057) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 86–77 | 10–9 (3–3) | ARC (2,805) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 23, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Missouri State | L 60–67 | 10–10 (3–4) | JQH Arena (4,536) Springfield, MO |
| January 26, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 67–65 | 11–10 (4–4) | ARC (3,044) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 69–80 | 11–11 (4–5) | Carver Arena (5,038) Peoria, IL |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | W 80–70 | 12–11 (5–5) | ARC (3,220) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | L 51–63 | 12–12 (5–6) | ARC (2,030) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 9, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 68–70 | 12–13 (5–7) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,622) Chicago, IL |
| February 12, 2020 7:00, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 55–38 | 13–13 (6–7) | ARC (2,374) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 15, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State | W 65–62 | 14–13 (7–7) | Redbird Arena (4,529) Normal, IL |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 75–77 $^{OT}$ | 14–14 (7–8) | Knapp Center (3,783) Des Moines, IA |
| February 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 90–78 | 15–14 (8–8) | ARC (3,237) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 89–74 | 16–14 (9–8) | ARC (2,476) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 58–71 | 16–15 (9–9) | Hulman Center (4,114) Terre Haute, IN |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2020 8:35 pm, ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (10) Evansville First round | W 58–55 | 17–15 | Enterprise Center (5,212) St. Louis, MO |
| March 5, 2020 6:05 pm, ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (2) Loyola–Chicago Quarterfinals | W 74–73 $^{OT}$ | 18–15 | Enterprise Center (6,521) St. Louis, MO |
| March 6, 2020 5:05 pm, CBSSN | (7) | vs. (6) Missouri State Semifinals | W 89–82 | 19–15 | Enterprise Center (8,145) St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2020 1:05 pm, CBS | (7) | vs. (4) Bradley Championship | L 66–80 | 19–16 | Enterprise Center (8,016) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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