In North Carolina way back in the hills, there lived my pappy and he had him a still. "White Lightning" - The Big Bopper
Valparaiso Beacons
66 – 59
FINAL Conference
UIC Flames
Missouri Valley Conference · Athletics-Recreation Center · January 4, 2026
Betting Lines
Spread VAL -2.5 Home covered
O/U 144.5 Under
Money VAL -155 / UIC +130
Model Predictions
Spread Total VAL win
Actual VAL +7 125 Won
Massey VAL -3.6 (+3.4) — —
Massey Totals — 140.9 (-15.9) —
Bradley-Terry — — 72% ✓
Weighted B-T — — 69% ✓
Baseline Plus ML VAL -2.8 (+4.2) 139.5 (-14.5) 66% ✓
Efficiency Plus ML ★ VAL -3.1 (+3.9) 140.9 (-15.9) 63% ✓
Baseline Tuned ML VAL -2.4 (+4.6) 136.3 (-11.3) 61% ✓
Baseline ML VAL -2.2 (+4.8) 136.9 (-11.9) 64% ✓

Predictions use only rating snapshots dated before tip-off. Parenthesised values are the signed error vs. the actual result. Model performance →

Last 5 Meetings

Feb 21, 2026 VAL 71 – 67 UIC
Mar 7, 2025 VAL 67 – 50 UIC
Mar 2, 2025 UIC 77 – 73 VAL
Jan 18, 2025 UIC 81 – 74 VAL
Jan 20, 2024 VAL 84 – 77 UIC

Team Comparison

Record & Ratings VAL UIC
Overall 18-15 19-16
Conference 11-9 12-8
Home 13-4 9-5
Away 4-10 7-9
Neutral 1-1 3-2
Last 5 0-5 0-5
Streak L1 L2
Avg Pts For 71.2 73.9
Avg Pts Against 71.9 71.2
Massey -2.6 (#208) -2.4 (#204)
Bradley-Terry -1.17 (#269) -1.47 (#288)
W. Bradley-Terry -1.30 (#251) -1.41 (#259)
RPI 0.428 (#301) 0.440 (#276)
Shooting & Four Factors VAL UIC
FG% 38.6% 41.3%
3PT% 28.1% 30.1%
REB / G 38.5 36.2
OREB / G 13.7 14.7
AST / TO 1.03 0.95
Four Factors — Offense
eFG% 44.0% 46.7%
TOV% 15.6% 18.9%
ORB% 33.7% 38.9%
FT Rate 24.8% 30.5%
Four Factors — Defense
Opp eFG% 48.0% 51.0%
Opp TOV% 17.4% 20.1%
DRB% 68.6% 60.8%
Opp FT Rate 30.9% 28.5%

Game Analysis

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