Saw both games last night, my thoughts:

Both games were what college basketball at the Division III level should be about...  Great effort, solid officiating, great heart from all four teams.  The two better teams won last night.

Albion killed themselves with free throw shooting.  Everytime they threatened to get back in the game after Hope's 17-0 run, they would head to the line and miss a few freebies, which just killed their ability to generate any momentum.  Also, anyone notice how league MVP (if he is voted as such) Brandon Crawford let Andy Phillips by him for 5 offensive boards?  I thought Hope used the extra possessions to their benefit, especially in the second half.

Calvin just had too many horses for the Hornets last night.  Kzoo went cold for about 10 minutes in the second half and that was all she wrote.  Not bad for a team that lost its two top scorers from last year's team and was picked to finish last in the league.  I thought the Kzoo student section was funny, engaged, and the banter back and forth between them and the Calvin student section was very entertaining.  That is what college basketball is all about.  Ever see a Duke-UNC or Duke-Maryland game?

Best of luck to both teams this evening and whoever makes the NCAA's.  If Calvin struggles shooting the ball (38% last night) they will have a hard time winning.  However, if they hang around, it will go down to the wire again.

And finally, any non calvin fan has to be HATING the idea of Veldhouse for 3 more years.  That kid is just special, especially for a freshman.

Find someone with a cell phone who will be at the game and give them a call...  Email me if interested, I will be up at both games.

It was nice to see a Hope fan admit to seeing some bias at times!  Some of us who root for the underdog may agree that it is not there all the time, but there are times when the team that is "expected" to win, gets the benefit of the doubt at crunch time.

Just like if there is contact in the post, 99% of the time, Brandon Crawford is going to head to the line.  Even if he initiated the contact and got an advantage from it.  However, I guess that just means that people are going with the "Hack-a-Shaq" technique.

Looking forward to the trip to GR this evening to see some quality basketball.  

I find it so funny that the best teams in the league (and their backers) find it so easy to "play above" the officiating.  For the underdogs in the league, we know we have to have a perfect game from our players, and then a good game from the officials to pull off the upset.

History, I guess, is written by the winners.  Doesn't make it right.

Have to chime in on the Albion-Kzoo debate concerning the game Saturday...  Watch the film if you care to, first possession of the game, Crawford travels, contact is made, foul called on Hornets' Mat Kellogg.  It's all right there, everyone in the gym saw it.  Crawford is a good player, but he was creating contact all afternoon and spent it at the free throw line.  NO hack a Shaq strategy was used or intended, trust me on that.  However, if they call a foul on the first possession and pretty much everytime there is contact, what is to stop Albion from just throwing it into the post everytime?  Hence the free throw discrepancy.  If you let someone act like a bull in a china store and reward him for it by sending him to the line, why go away from it.

And anyone who was at the game (any of the Albion fans posting, were you there?) would recognize that the Technical of Herman was a joke.

A few notes on the Albion-Kzoo game yesterday...

The tone was set on the very first possession when Albion (big surprise) threw the ball into the post to Brandon Crawford.  He subsequently traveled, only to see the officials call a foul on Kzoo's Mat Kellogg.  Just the way the day went.  Just check the stats to see the free throw discrepancy.

However, without bashing the way the game was called too much, the real turning point occurred in the 2nd half with about 4:30 to go when after a turnover, Kalamazoo's Tim Herman was assessed with a technical foul for bouncing the ball towards an official.  At the time, The Hornets held a 50-49 lead.  Michael Bailey calmly hit both free throws to give Albion the lead, and more importantly, all the momentum.  I am not sure there was more than one person in the gym who felt that Herman deserved that technical, especially at that time of the game.

The game, which was a classic college basketball game, deserved a better effort than what one certain official gave yesterday.  And a shame to see two classy kids, Herman and Konwinski, end their home career on such a sour note.