The 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

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 The Athletics–Recreation Center, also known as the ARC, is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It serves as the home court for Valparaiso Beacons men's and women's basket ...

as third-year members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. 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 Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, Loyola–Chicago, and

Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

to advance to the championship game where they lost to

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

Previous season

The

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

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 Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

in the first round before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

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.

Roster

Schedule and results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valparaiso Crusaders men's Basketball Team 2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball season 2019-20 2019 in sports in Indiana 2020 in sports in Indiana