VALPARAISO — The Horizon League regular-season title? Even the program record for wins?
Worthy accomplishments for Valparaiso, for sure.
But mere appetizers ahead of the main course, ultimately.
A coveted NCAA tournament bid will be on the line when No. 1 seed Valparaiso (27-5) plays No. 2 Green Bay (24-7) in the conference tournament championship game on Tuesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
“The competitiveness that we strive to play at, it’s huge,” Alec Peters said. “It’s all or nothing for us.
“This is make or break — we either make it to the dance or we don’t. That’s going to weigh on our minds not only (Monday night) but before the game (Tuesday). But hopefully once the game starts, our team is ready to go.”
It appears unlikely that guard Tevonn Walker will be ready to go because of an unspecified right knee injury suffered with nine minutes left in the first half of Saturday’s semifinal against Cleveland State.
Crusaders coach Bryce Drew termed the Horizon League all-freshman team member “doubtful,” but stopped short of ruling him out.
“It’s day to day, he’s getting some therapy,” Drew said.
The athletic Walker emerged as Valparaiso’s top perimeter defender, and averaged 10.7 points in his 31 full games. The only game he has not started was against Trinity International.
If Walker doesn’t play, Keith Carter figures to return to a starting role. After injuring his left big toe against Youngstown State on Jan. 4, he missed 10 games over six weeks, coming off the bench for the last five games since his return.
The lineup of E. Victor Nickerson, Carter, Darien Walker, Peters and Vashil Fernandez played 17 minutes against the Vikings. The Crusaders, who also lost point guard Lexus Williams to a torn left ACL over the summer, previously had used that group for a total of 10 minutes, including just 31 seconds in league play.
“It’s mainly because of how close we are, and how much we love playing with each other,” said Carter, who estimated his health at 80 percent, when asked about Valparaiso’s continued success. “We know this is a unique group, and we can go far as long as we stay together.”
Carter missed both regular-season games against the Phoenix, who he called “probably the most athletic team in the conference,” with the teams splitting.
Green Bay held on for a 51-50 win on Jan. 23 at the Resch Center. Valparaiso came away with a 63-59 win on Feb. 13 at the ARC, with Tevonn Walker scoring a game-high 20 points.
Early in that second game, Keifer Sykes hurt his left thumb, two days after suffering a cut above his left eye at Youngstown State that required stitches. The two-time league player of the year is healthier now, and Drew said he’s playing as well as he has in his career.
“It’s going to be a physical game,” fifth-year Green Bay coach Brian Wardle said. “It’s going to be a mental game in the sense of which team is going to beat themselves.
“If Valpo beats us, they beat us. But we can’t go in there and make repeat mistakes, and we have to do the little things well. That’s critical against a well-disciplined team like Valparaiso.”
The Crusaders, who have gone 14-1 at home and undefeated against league opponents, have won five straight against the Phoenix at the ARC.
“They won’t be fazed at all,” Drew said. “We know they’ll come in probably even more focused than they’ve been all year.”
Green Bay has reached its first league final since 1998, last winning in ’95. The Phoenix last made the NCAA tournament in 1996.
“To win the game on Saturday (against UIC) was big for us, but we were here not to win one, but to win two,” Wardle said. “We have to be mentally disciplined and prepared for a very good Valparaiso team that we have a lot of respect for.”
The Crusaders are seeking their second NCAA tournament trip in three seasons.
“It’s a championship game, so for Brian, for myself, there’s probably not a lot that we can say,” Drew said.
“In a game of this magnitude, we know both teams are going to be ready.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff
