Coming together for Valparaiso

On the same night that the Miami Hurricanes beat a number one-ranked basketball team for the first time in school history,  a much less noticed game in the midwest propelled a basketball team nobody wants to play come March into undisputed possession of first place in the Horizon League.  In Coral Gables, Florida, the Miami Hurricanes crushed Number One Duke, 90-63, and took over first place by itself in the tough ACC.  In Valparaiso, Indiana the hometown Crusaders beat back a late surge by Green Bay with a last-minute blitz of their own, and scored an impressive 73-61 victory that enabled them to take sole possession of first place in the Horizon.  The Crusaders, who beat back Butler and Detroit to claim the regular season crown last season - the final year that powerful Butler played in the Horizon before jilting it for the Atlantic 10 - had beaten previous frontrunner Wright State last weekend.  Wright State lost its second straight on Tuesday night to Youngstown State.