The Victory Bell

The Victory Bell

One & Not Fun

Column: Historical loss at Kentucky illustrates hard truth about current state of college basketball

Paul Oren's avatar
Paul Oren
Nov 12, 2025
∙ Paid
Rakim Chaney’s gold uniform pops in a sea of blue. How long will members of the 2025-26 Valparaiso men’s basketball team keep their uniforms?

Friday night was the third time the Valparaiso men’s basketball team has taken the floor with the Kentucky Wildcats.

I’ve been in attendance for all three of the meetings.

The first came in the 2002 NCAA tournament. The game was the culmination of the first act of the post-Bryce Drew era (as a player) of Valpo basketball. The 2001-02 Crusaders were a collection of upperclassmen searching for their own March Madness moment.

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