The Total Athlete Tip-Off from Xenia, Ohio

Four very successful college basketball programs came together for the inaugural Total Athlete Tip-Off hosted on the campus of Athletes in Action in Xenia, Ohio and the action didn't disappoint. The event tipped off the 2024-25 college basketball season featuring the likes of recent Final Four team Florida Atlantic, the defending Missouri Valley champions Indiana State, an ever-dangerous Liberty program, and an eager Valparaiso Beacons team. Basketball may have been the focus on Monday night, but there was also a much deeper and more impactful message being shared throughout the event (check out the final section for more on this).

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Game 1 - Valparaiso vs. Liberty

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"Eager" is perhaps the correct phrase for a Valpo team that finished just 7-25 in head coach Roger Powell's first season. The Beacons have made nine NCAA tournament appearances but it's been almost a decade since their last trip to the Big Dance and they haven't produced a lot of success in their time in the Missouri Valley conference. So, facing a tough Liberty Flames team was a known challenge entering Monday's game, and that challenge was realized.

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The Flames have posted several successful seasons under Ritchie McKay who enters his 12th season in Lynchburg. 226 wins under his belt with the Flames alone, he and his coaching staff hit the transfer portal hard in the offseason and the results were both positive and immediate. Owen Aquino quickly made his presence felt in the first half, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. Comparatively, the Flames were much bigger than their Valparaiso opponents and they took advantage of the size discrepancy with a 28-19 lead despite a 1-8 start from the three point line.

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Zach Cleveland is a versatile forward for Liberty and he demonstrated all of his skills early, tallying 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal with several minutes left on the first half clock. Perhaps it was because I was situated directly behind the Liberty bench, but the energy on defense was fantastic and the Beacons had all kinds of difficulties getting the ball in the basket.

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Somehow, Valparaiso found themselves down only 10 points at halftime after being significantly outplayed. The scrappy Beacons could only hold up for so long, especially since it wasn't until well into the second half that the first three finally fell for Valpo. The Flames lead continued to grow. Roger Powell admitted as much in the post game press conference, lamenting lack of outside shooting, "make some shots and it's a lot different game." 

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Liberty increased their lead by 10 more points in the second half and finished a coast-to-coast 83-63 victory in style with 7'0" freshman Kai Yu seeing playing time, much to the delight of the roughly 1,500 fans that packed the Wooden Family Fieldhouse. Aquino registered a double-double on near perfect shooting (8/9), finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Another transfer, Jayvon Maughmer, poured in 14 points including three triples. Maughmer transferred to Liberty in the offseason after multiple successful seasons at Division II Cedarville, where he was named the G-MAC Conference Player of the Year last season. Given Cedarville's closeness to Athletes in Action both in distance and mission, Maughmer had a large contingent of fans supporting him.

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You'd never know that the Flames added seven incoming transfers in the offseason including Aquino and Maughmer. The team played as a cohesive unit the entire night and the fluidity and ball movement was notable for their first regular season game. After the game, Zach Cleveland remarked "I can genuinely say we love each other on and off the court, and that's our superpower." Liberty will participate in the Field of 68 Tip-Off event that will be streamed on YouTube. The Flames will also participate in the Paradise Jam the week of Thanksgiving.

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Game 2 - Indiana State vs. Florida Atlantic

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Less than two years ago, the Florida Atlantic Owls took college basketball by storm with their remarkable run to the 2023 Final Four. A few months from being bounced in overtime by Northwestern in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, the Owls look quite different. John Jakus steps in as head coach for a predecessor now coaching the Michigan Wolverines. While FAU brought back a loaded roster from that Final Four team last season, this year the roster is almost completely turned over. 

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It's a complete rehaul for the Indiana State Sycamores, too. They were snubbed from the NCAA tournament and made a run all the way to the NIT Championship, topping 30 wins all while becoming a fan favorite team. As is the predicament facing mid-major teams who find success, they also bring in a new head coach in Matthew Graves and feature an almost entirely new roster.

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So, which new roster would claim their first victory of the season? At first, it seemed as though the full 40 minutes would be required to determine the answer. Indiana State picked up right where they left off from last season (the top three-point shooting team in the country) and scored their first 15 points all from behind the arc. The Owls matched with multiple threes of their own and after the dust settled on a frantic pace fraught with turnovers on both sides, the game was tied 18-18. 

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Unfortunately for Indiana State, that's the last time the game was close. Florida Atlantic embarked on a seemingly impossible 28-3 run that stretched over several minutes. The young Sycamore team turned the ball over nearly once a minute which led, predictably, to disaster. The Owls quickly flexed their muscle as well as their ability to run in transition. What made them so dangerous, as both coaches pointed out after the game, was their ability to push the ball with any player on the court. That included Baba Miller, a 6'11" junior from Spain who claimed 13 points and 9 rebounds all while shooting perfectly from the field. Niccolo Moretti added a fiery 19-point performance that won him the player of the game. 

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At halftime, the lead was stretched to 53-28 in favor of FAU. If Indiana State had hopes of winning the second half to build positive momentum into their next game, the Owls had no plans of letting the Sycamores realize those dreams. The onslaught continued, and when the dust settled, the Owls won the second half 44-36 and claimed a decisive 97-64 victory. All five starters finished in double digits for FAU in a shooting. clinic that included 11 of 23 from deep. Meanwhile, an Indiana State team that was guided by the triple all season long last year finished just 35.1% from behind the arc.

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Should a team that won 30+ games last season panic following their worst loss in over two years? Not according to Matthew Graves. "Don't panic, this is test #1, there are 31 other guaranteed tests [on the schedule]." He's right, and he's right too that "we"re on a journey." Yes, the Sycamores put together a remarkable season last year, but expectations need to be leveled out in light of the talent that left in the offseason.

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On the other side, Florida Atlantic looked not unlike the two prior teams that each made NCAA Tournament appearances. Graves commented that the ability of the Owls to play small ball "took us away from some of the actions we like to run, it really stagnated us." That defense, which included a +10 discrepancy on the boards and 21 turnovers, led to plenty of offense. It's easy to overreact to one game and especially the first game of the season, but it's hard to not be impressed by the complete game FAU put together. The Owls will face several key tests in the month of November when they face both Charleston and Liberty in the Field of 68 Tip-Off and in the Charleston Classic, where they are guaranteed to face Oklahoma State and could even meet up with in-state opponent Miami in the second round.

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More than Basketball

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For a coach like John Jakus, this event was meaningful beyond the basketball played on the court. Athletes in Action, the host of the event, is a Christian sports organization whose mission is "to see Christ-followers in every sport, on every team, in every nation." He emphasized the importance of getting to share his faith with his team in the post-game press conference and reflected back on the impact Athletes in Action has had on him and his family. He joined the staff of AiA and served overseas with the organization. 

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Take it from a coach that reached the highest possible point in the sport (a national championship while on staff with the Baylor Bears). As great and amazing as basketball is, there's more to life than bouncing a basketball. There's a God who loved you so deeply that he sent his Son into the world to take the punishment that you and I deserve for falling short of His glory and perfection. Instead, God adopts us as His children and through Jesus, we can spend eternity with Him. I'm essentially paraphrasing John 3:16 here, but I highly highly encourage you to read John 3, and frankly, the whole book of John. Jesus can change your life. 

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