# 2014–15 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. Valpo finished the season 28–6, 13–3 in Horizon League play to win the Horizon League regular season championship. The Crusaders defeated Cleveland State and Green Bay to win the Horizon League tournament championship. Valpo received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a #13 seed and lost in the second round to Maryland.
Senior center Vashil Fernandez was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, and sophomore forward Jubril Adekoya was the Sixth Man of the Year. Bryce Drew was named the league's Coach of the Year.

## Previous season

The Crusaders finished the 2013–14 season with an overall record of 18–16, 9–7 in Horizon League play to finish in fourth place. Valpo advanced to the second round of the Horizon League tournament where they lost to Milwaukee. The Crusaders were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Columbia.

## Schedule

The 2014–2015 Valparaiso University men's basketball schedule is:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2014* 7:00 pm | | Grand Valley State | W 60–52 | – | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,087) Valparaiso, IN |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2014* 7:30 pm | | East Tennessee State | W 90–76 | 1–0 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,912) Valparaíso, Indiana |
| 11/16/2014* 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | L 41–56 | 1–1 | Mizzou Arena (5,369) Columbia, Missouri |
| 11/19/2014* 7:00 pm | | IU South Bend | W 91–55 | 2–1 | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,051) Valparaiso, IN |
| 11/21/2014* 3:30 pm | | vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff Central Michigan Tournament | W 62–43 | 3–1 | McGuirk Arena (2,115) Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| 11/23/2014* 8:45 am | | vs. Maine Central Michigan Tournament | W 93–70 | 4–1 | McGuirk Arena (1,556) Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| 11/28/2014* 5:00 pm | | vs. Drake Challenge in Music City | W 66–46 | 5–1 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (N/A) Nashville, Tennessee |
| 11/29/2014* 7:30 pm | | vs. Murray State Challenge in Music City | W 93–58 | 6–1 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (N/A) Nashville, Tennessee |
| 11/30/2014* 1:00 pm | | vs. Portland Challenge in Music City | W 70–55 | 7–1 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (239) Nashville, Tennessee |
| 12/03/2014* 6:00 pm | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 72–66 | 8–1 | McBrayer Arena (2,600) Richmond, Kentucky |
| 12/06/2014* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Mexico | L 46–63 | 8–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,227) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/10/2014* 7:00 pm | | Trinity International | W 79–54 | 9–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,044) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/13/2014* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 65–62 | 10–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,752) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/20/2014* 6:00 pm | | at IPFW | W 75–72 | 11–2 | Gates Sports Center (1,249) Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 12/21/2014* 1:30 pm | | Goshen | W 82–55 | 12–2 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,014) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/29/2014* 6:00 pm | | at James Madison | W 79–52 | 13–2 | JMU Convocation Center (2,757) Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| 01/02/2015 6:00 pm | | at Oakland | L 75–89 $^{OT}$ | 13–3 (0–1) | Athletics Center O'rena (2,873) Rochester, Michigan |
| 01/04/2015 1:30 pm | | Youngstown State | W 79–64 | 14–3 (1–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,988) Valparaiso, IN |
| 01/08/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UIC | W 85–56 | 15–3 (2–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,863) Valparaiso, IN |
| 01/10/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | W 58–56 | 16–3 (3–1) | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,155) Valparaiso, IN |
| 01/17/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wright State | W 66–56 | 17–3 (4–1) | Nutter Center (7,664) Fairborn, Ohio |
| 01/20/2015 6:00 pm | | at Youngstown State | W 77–62 | 18–3 (5–1) | Beeghly Center (1,719) Youngstown, Ohio |
| 01/23/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Green Bay | L 50–51 | 18–4 (5–2) | Resch Center (4,916) Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| 01/26/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Milwaukee | W 73–48 | 19–4 (6–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,137) Valparaiso, IN |
| 01/31/2015 2:00 pm, ASN | | at UIC | W 70–65 | 20–4 (7–2) | UIC Pavilion (5,731) Chicago |
| 02/04/2015 7:00 pm | | Detroit | W 78–70 | 21–4 (8–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,905) Valparaiso, IN |
| 02/08/2015 2:00 pm, ASN | | Oakland | W 82–76 | 22–4 (9–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,267) Valparaiso, IN |
| 02/13/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Green Bay | W 63–59 | 23–4 (10–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,920) Valparaiso, IN |
| 02/15/2015 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 62–55 | 24–4 (11–2) | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (3,375) Milwaukee |
| 02/21/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wright State | W 55–48 | 25–4 (12–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (5,050) Valparaiso, IN |
| 02/25/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Detroit | L 60–63 | 25–5 (12–3) | Calihan Hall (1,855) Detroit |
| 02/27/2015 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Cleveland State | W 56–53 | 26–5 (13–3) | Wolstein Center (4,133) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Horizon League tournament ||||||
| 03/07/2015 8:30 pm, ESPNU | | Cleveland State Semifinals | W 60–55 | 27–5 | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,629) Valparaiso, IN |
| 03/10/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN | | Green Bay Championship game | W 54–44 | 28–5 | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,713) Valparaiso, IN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/20/2015* 3:40 pm, TNT | No. (13 MW) | vs. No. 12 (4 MW) Maryland Second round | L 62–65 | 28–6 | Nationwide Arena (18,417) Columbus, Ohio |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region MW=Midwest. ||||||