Twenty minutes in Champaign

MBB: Beacons start strong, fade late in Powell's return to Illinois

CHAMPAIGN - Twenty minutes.

For 20 minutes on Friday night, the Valparaiso men’s basketball team showed what it could be. For 20 minutes on Friday night, the Beacons showed what they are.

For 20 minutes on Friday night, Isaiah Stafford couldn’t miss. For 20 minutes on Friday night, the Beacons couldn’t hit the ocean if they were knee deep in saltwater.

For 20 minutes on Friday night, the famed Orange Krush student section was hushed. For 20 minutes on Friday night, the Beacons were silenced.

Following Valparaiso’s 87-64 loss to No. 23 Illinois, the question for first-year coach Roger Powell Jr. is which 20-minute segment is going to become the norm for the 2023-24 Beacons.