Richmond, Nevada, Oral Roberts. Half of eighth-year Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self’s six Allen Fieldhouse losses have come in nonconference games against opponents nobody in the stands believed had any chance of beating the Jayhawks.

Funny things happen early in college basketball seasons. A Marchello Vealy can catch fire, make his first seven three-pointers, score 22 points and lead Oral Roberts to a 78-71 mega-upset against Kansas, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, on Nov. 15, 2006.

That would be the same Marchello Vealy who had made one of 13 three-pointers in his career before torching the fieldhouse nets.

Self had warned his players ORU was a legitimate opponent capable of shocking the world. Still, it’s difficult for athletes to get the adrenaline flowing when not facing a name foe.

That’s one of the many factors that makes veteran coach Homer Drew’s Valparaiso Crusaders dangerous 22-1/2-point underdogs in tonight’s nonconference matchup in Allen Fieldhouse.

The gigantic spread will lull the crowd into thinking it will witness Kansas beating up on another overmatched sparring partner. It might even keep students from taking in the game, figuring this no-name opponent won’t make for interesting viewing. A flat crowd can lead to flat play from the home team.

Valparaiso was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League, and not many people really remember it was a Horizon League team, Butler University, that came within a shot of winning the national-title game against Duke.

In much the same way Cornell did a year ago when it came into Allen Fieldhouse and threw the Jayhawks a scare, Valpo brings a great deal of experience onto the court. The Crusaders return 82.8 of their scoring and 91.2 of their rebounding from last season’s team.

First-team Horizon League selection Brandon Wood, a 6-foot-2 guard from Kokomo, Ind., led the conference in scoring (17.7), hit 1.8 threes per game and shot .813 from the line. Cory Johnson, a 6-7, 225-pound senior from Duluth, Minn., who transferred from Iowa State, shot .512 from three last season and averaged 15.6 points.

Kansas has won 60 in a row in Allen Fieldhouse. The record is 62. If the Jayhawks can get past Valpo, the record will fall without a challenge. It’s a bigger if than most realize. Valpo is capable of getting hot and scoring in spurts.

The Crusaders don’t have a player of the caliber of ORU’s Caleb Green or Nevada’s Nick Fazekas, but they do have three-point marksmen, and the three is college basketball’s great equalizer.

On Jan. 22, 2004, Mike Skrocki hit four of Richmond’s 10 three-pointers and scored 23 points to enable the Spiders (10-8) to become the first unranked team since 1999 to win in the fieldhouse.

Another sneaky factor that makes Valpo tougher than the name suggests: The Crusaders made a preseason trip to Cancun in August, which gave them permission to have 10 days of practice in preparation for the trip.

This game is not an uncontested layup. Valpo can play.