Men's Basketball Release #21 -- CBI Quarterfinal Preview
March 24, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
College Basketball Invitational Quarterfinal: (#4) Valparaiso at (#3) HoustonHouston, Texas / Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion / Monday -- 9 p.m. (ET)
Valparaiso 22-13 (Horizon League: 9-9) * Houston 23-9 (Conference USA: 11-5)
-- Valparaiso advanced to the quarterfinals with a 72-71 victory at Washington on Wednesday. The Crusaders held UW scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting over the final 3:10 of the game.
-- Freshman forward Bryan Bouchie led the way with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Junior forward Urule Igbavboa added 17 points and six rebounds, while junior guard Brandon McPherson had 18 points and four assists.
-- Valpo shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field in the second half. Senior forward Shawn Huff was held to eight points but hit the eventual game-winning basket to give Valpo a 72-71 lead with 2:45 to play.
-- Valpo has lost only three non-conference games, all to teams in the top 25 (at North Carolina, at Vanderbilt and at Wisconsin), having been ahead or tied in the second half of all three games.
-- The Crusaders boast the Horizon League's top scoring offense (71.2 points per contest) and rank among the national leaders with an average of 9.23 three-pointers per game (second in the League behind Butler's 9.38 average). Five players own double-digit scoring rates for Valpo (including sophomore guard Samuel Haanpää, who has missed the team's last ten games but has been cleared to resume activity).
-- Valpo has made ten or more three-pointers 15 times this season, shooting 39 percent behind the arc. Huff leads the Horizon League and ranks among the national leaders with his 47.8 percent touch from long range.
-- Houston edged host Nevada 80-79 in the first round of the tournament. Senior guard Robert McKiver scored 22 points and senior guard Dion Dowell added 19 points and 14 rebounds. UH shot only 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field but hit 14 of 35 three-point attempts.
-- McKiver is averaging 26.7 points in his last seven games, including 52 in one contest (versus Southern Mississippi on Feb. 27) and 41 in another (a 101-99 loss at UAB on Feb. 20).
-- The Cougars average 10.94 three-pointers per game and force 16.46 turnovers per contest, boasting a turnover ratio of plus-5.27 per game. Nearly half of Houston's field-goal attempts (974 of 2007) have come from three-point range.
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Key Players:
ValparaisoShawn Huff, Sr., F -- 12.7 ppg., 4.5 rpg., .478 3FG% (89-186)Jarryd Loyd, Sr. G -- 11.9 ppg., 2.7 rpg., 3.97 apg., 51 3FGUrule Igbavboa, Jr. F -- 10.9 ppg., 7.3 rpg., .544 FG%, 1.31 apg.Brandon McPherson, Jr. G -- 10.1 ppg,. 2.1 rpg., 2.29 apg., .413 3FG%Bryan Bouchie, Fr. F -- 7.1 ppg., 3.4 rpg., .513 FG%, 0.63 bpg.
