VALPARAISO, Ind. – One of the ways to test your program’s preparedness for the season is an exhibition matchup against a Division I opponent, a scenario that Great Midwest Athletic Conference programs don’t shy away from despite considerable odds.
 
For Ashland men’s basketball, picked conference runner-up with four first-place votes, it was a nice first impression to make as the Eagles downed Missouri Valley Conference affiliate Valparaiso on Saturday, 87-78.
 
The Eagles had all five starters score in double figures and shot above 61 percent from the field while making 13-of-21 attempts from three-point territory.
 
Ashland led 45-43 at halftime while the game was tied five times and the lead exchanged four different possessions.
 
Ashland was one point away from being the conference preseason favorite when stacked up against last year’s Atlantic Region top seed Hillsdale. The strength of the conference will be a bright spot as teams compete for bids in the Midwest Region while trying to make the Great Midwest Championship tournament bracket and March Madness.
 
Even though the games don’t count in preseason, it provides some kind of idea for what other teams are going to be expecting this year. Tiffin, picked 11th and last in the preseason coaches poll just a few days ago, threw a scare into Bellarmine and played Butler tough at storied Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
NABC Top 10 nationally-ranked Hillsdale knocked off the preseason rust against Toledo from the MAC and Findlay nearly defeated the Rockets over the weekend at Croy Gymnasium in a five-point final. Kentucky Wesleyan went up against Kentucky and Trevecca Nazarene was only down by two against Tennessee State at halftime.
 
Cedarville looks forward to an upcoming test against Dayton on Monday while more Division I schools like Wright State, Ole Miss, Northern Kentucky and Evansville, loom ahead before the regular season tips off.