# 2012–13 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2012–13 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cruasaders, led by second year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. The season finished with 26–8 in overall, 13–3 in Horizon League to become Horizon League Regular Season Champions. They were also champions of the Horizon League tournament, defeating Wright State in the championship game, for the first Horizon League title in school history. They received an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament, their first tournament bid in 9 years, where they received a 14 seed and lost to 3 seed Michigan State in the second round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct. 27* 7:05 pm | | Saint Joseph's (IN) | W 90–62 | – | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,198) Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov. 3* 7:05 pm | | Robert Morris (IL) | W 92–64 | – | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,546) Valparaiso, IN |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 9* 7:30 pm, HLN | | Georgia Southern | W 85–54 | 1–0 | Athletics-Recreation Center (3,864) Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov. 13* 7:00 am, ESPN | | Northern Illinois ESPN College Tip–Off Marathon | W 69–46 | 2–0 | Athletics-Recreation Center (2,445) Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov. 15* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | L 48–50 | 2–1 | Bob Devaney Sports Center (6,324) Lincoln, NE |
| Nov. 18* 1:00 pm, mac-sports.com | | at Kent State | W 88–83 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,858) Kent, OH |
| Nov. 23* 7:05 pm, HLN | | Chicago State | W 67–46 | 4–1 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,477) Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov. 24* 7:05 pm, HLN | | Bethune-Cookman | W 77–64 | 5–1 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,088) Valparaiso, IN |
| Dec. 2* 3:30 pm, FSN Midwest | | at St. Louis | L 49–62 | 5–2 | Chaifetz Arena (6,357) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec. 5* 7:05 pm, HLN | | IPFW | W 63–52 | 6–2 | Athletics-Recreation Center (2,179) Valparaiso, IN |
| Dec. 8* 8:00 pm, Root | | at No. 18 New Mexico | L 52–65 | 6–3 | The Pit (15,244) Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec. 15* 7:05 pm | | at Missouri State | W 62–54 | 7–3 | JQH Arena (5,465) Springfield, MO |
| Dec. 17* 6:00 pm | | at Oakland | L 68–70 | 7–4 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,065) Rochester, MI |
| Dec. 20* 7:05 pm, HLN | | IUPUI | W 89–69 | 8–4 | Athletics-Recreation Center (1,644) Valparaiso, IN |
| Dec. 22* 1:35 pm, HLN | | Purdue Calumet | W 79–51 | 9–4 | Athletics-Recreation Center (1,681) Valparaiso, IN |
| Dec. 29* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Murray State | W 66–64 | 10–4 | CFSB Center (4,343) Murray, KY |
| Jan. 2 7:05 pm, HLN | | Loyola–Chicago | L 54–63 | 10–5 (0–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,119) Valparaiso, IN |
| Jan. 4 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Cleveland State | W 74–50 | 11–5 (1–1) | Athletics-Recreation Center (3,676) Valparaiso, IN |
| Jan. 9 7:00 pm, HLN | | at UIC | W 75–70 | 12–5 (2–1) | UIC Pavilion (3,040) Chicago, IL |
| Jan. 12 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 76–52 | 13–5 (3–1) | Klotsche Center (3,048) Milwaukee, WI |
| Jan. 17 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Detroit | W 89–88 | 14–5 (4–1) | Calihan Hall (3,418) Detroit, MI |
| Jan. 19 7:00 pm, HLN | | Wright State | W 69–63 | 15–5 (5–1) | Athletics-Recreation Center (4,860) Valparaiso, IN |
| Jan. 23 7:05 pm, ESPN3 | | Green Bay | W 73–61 | 16–5 (6–1) | Athletics-Recreation Center (2,803) Valparaiso, IN |
| Jan. 30 6:05 pm, ESPN3 | | at Youngstown State | L 68–80 | 16–6 (6–2) | Beeghly Center (2,584) Youngstown, OH |
| Feb. 1 7:05 pm, HLN | | Milwaukee | W 71–40 | 17–6 (7–2) | Athletics-Recreation Center (4,013) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb. 5 7:05 pm, HLN | | UIC | W 86–61 | 18–6 (8–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,626) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb. 9 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Cleveland State | W 80–72 | 19–6 (9–2) | Wolstein Center (2,403) Cleveland, OH |
| Feb. 12 6:00 pm, HLN | | at Wright State | W 68–61 | 20–6 (10–2) | Nutter Center (4,301) Fairborn, OH |
| Feb. 16 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Detroit | L 74–84 | 20–7 (10–3) | Athletics-Recreation Center (5,166) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb. 19 7:00 pm, HLN | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 85–76 | 21–7 (11–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,986) Chicago, IL |
| Feb. 23* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | Eastern Kentucky ESPN BracketBusters | W 82–60 | 22–7 | Athletics-Recreation Center (3,329) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb. 26 7:05 pm, HLN | | Youngstown State | W 73–64 | 23–7 (12–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,410) Valparaiso, IN |
| Mar. 2 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Green Bay | W 75–56 | 24–7 (13–3) | Resch Center (4,868) Green Bay, WI |
| 2013 Horizon League tournament ||||||
| Mar. 9 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | Green Bay Semifinal | W 70–69 | 25–7 | Athletics-Recreation Center (3,285) Valparaiso, IN |
| Mar. 12 8:00 pm, ESPN | | Wright State Championship Game | W 62–54 | 26–7 | Athletics-Recreation Center (4,457) Valparaiso, IN |
| 2013 NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar. 21* 11:15 am, CBS | No. (14 MW) | vs. No. 9 (3 MW) Michigan State Second Round | L 54–65 | 26–8 | The Palace of Auburn Hills (18,863) Auburn Hills, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region MW=Midwest. ||||||