WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[BruinFan]

Attendance numbers from Round 2 box scores.
George Fox     2300
Hope              1755
Oglethorpe     1150


Thomas More's gym capacity according to d3hoops is 1200.

[oldknight]

FDF's prediction that Thomas More would host was on the mark. Considering the Saints' central location for the teams left in this bracket, and their overall record of 28-2, it makes sense for them to be the host.

Thomas More and Hope have two common opponents--Calvin and Washington & Jefferson. Back in November when Calvin was still healthy and had won their first five games, the Lady Knights experienced their first loss of the season at Crestview Hills, 73-60. Here's the link to the article written by Jeff Febus on November 29, along with the box score:

http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/womens-basketball-falls-at-thomas-more/

TM split their two regular season games with the Presidents, before beating W & J in the PrAC conference tournament. None of the games appear to have been routs. TM lost to Oglethorpe by 8 in Atlanta, the team Pat Coleman has coming out of this bracket. I rate Hope as the slim favorite to get back home with a chance to win a national championship on their own floor.

[hopefan]

fair is fair - no team should be given the possibility of playing all 6 NCAA tournament games on their home court.   Here's to Hope taking two on the road this coming weekend and playing in the final four in front of two sell-outs the following weekend!!!

[sac]

fair is fair - no team should be given the possibility of playing all 6 NCAA tournament games on their home court.   Here's to Hope taking two on the road this coming weekend and playing in the final four in front of two sell-outs the following weekend!!!

It was perfectly fine for years.

[hopefan]

Could this be Progress??  from our friends at the NCAA?

[sac]

Could this be Progress??  from our friends at the NCAA?

It could certainly be considered that, yes.  I just really don't see the big deal, when its been done numerous times before.  Seedings wise I'm not sure Hope deserved to host a sectional in either 08 or 09 though.  But they certainly could have played last years sectional just as easily in Holland as Brownwood, TX.  We'll never know how much hosting the final four factored into that decision, but I think the general consensus was that it did.

I think most in Holland are just gratefull that after having numerous top rated teams for the past 6 trips to the tournament, we finally were rewarded with a set of home games.

Untill this weekend, I think it had been 16 straight NCAA tournament games on the road, going back to 2001.

[WWWRHH]

I understand why it seems unfair to some for Hope to have the opportunity to play six games on their home floor.

However, having a team strong enough to be considered a strong possiblity to make the final four the same two years the finals are hosted at your location is somewhat of a coincidence. 

Should Hope be penalized relative to teams of similar strength by not getting the opportunity to play the first four games at home?  After all, to play the national championship game you have to make the final four so why it is necessarily more fair to make it difficult for a team to get through the sectionals.

Of course, the team that consistently comes up short in the current system is George Fox whose fans and families are condemed required to travel and incur signifcant expense on a regular basis.  The TX and west coast schools must sometimes wonder about the advantages of D3 affliation. 

I know that D3 does not generate the revenue of D1, but the travel cost for D3 tournaments could not be more than a rounding error in the NCAAs annual budget.  It would seem, at least to me, more logical to have the geographic sectional locations predetermined in a manner similar to the final four.  The sweet 16 could be re-formulated after round two to minimize the travel for all to the greatest extent possible.  On some occasions a team may catch a break by playing at home - but with locations determined years in advance these occurences would be earned while at the same time having an element of randomness. 

Next year, IWU fans may find themselves in the same position as Hope does today.

For now everyone has to work within the current system, so Dutch fans make your reservation, pack your bags, burn a personal or vacation day and show up to cheer the girls to victory.

[cmlundy]

My source was the NCAA.org website. 

[Erm Schmigget]

WWWRHH: excellent posts. +k

cmlundy: Prior to the regional games, the regional hosts all had asterisks next to their school names, too.

FDF:  Your host prediction was correct.  Care to predict the sectional champ? 

[NW Hope Fan]

I personally think if Hope didn't host, GF should have!!! They got rooked!!! 

One of these days I may see a Hope game in the PNW...

[gordonmann]

Not to open old wounds, but when I spoke with a representative of the NCAA selection committee last year, she indicated Hope played where it did because of how they were seeded relative to Howard Payne, not because Holland was hosting the national semis.

NW Hope Fan: I like the quote at the bottom of your messages.

I'm headed to Thomas More for what should be a very exciting two days of hoops.  If anyone else will be there, stop by and say hello.

[cmlundy]

Erm Schmigget:

I wouldn't had posted what I did if I wasn't 100% sure of where the sectional was going to be.  I just want to defend my position on this.  I decided to check the ncaa.org bracket where I noticed that where the sectional tournament starts there was an asterisk next to Thomas More.  George Fox, Olgethorpe nor us had a star.  Also 3 other teams in the final 16 had an asterisk. 

I made a common sense judgement.  Also before I posted, I checked the men's bracket just to make sure and they had ## next to the host site. 

A 1200 seat arena should prove interesting.  Hope and T.More have some common opponents, but outside of Washington and Jefferson, the league was less than impressive.

[WWWRHH]

Questions for the Calvin Fans Re: Thomas More:

What were the primary factors contributing to Calvin's loss to TM earlier this year?

From the box score I noted that TM shot 24 FTs vs. 12 for the Knights.  Was the free throw disparity a case of home court reffing vs. an out of region opponent (not that I have ever seen that happen) or just difficulty handling the big post player and the guard #33 Thiem.

It looks like Harris had a geat game, but Van Eck struggled.  Was this just a bad night for her (my assumption) or a matchup issue?

From her photo and roster listing of 6-0, it looks as if #21 Dickman is shorter than Knox and Snikkers, but is a little stockier than Hope's posts.  Is she agile and strong?  Would I be correct in assuming that Carrie with her height and shot blocking ability may be better suited for matching up inside than Marcia and Brook?  Will Knox's "physical" style of play be helpful against TM?

I also assume that Greene might be able to put the breaks on Thiem better than the average defender.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

PS:  If there are any W&J fans following the boards, your thoughts are also welcome.

[Erm Schmigget]

Erm Schmigget:

I wouldn't had posted what I did if I wasn't 100% sure of where the sectional was going to be.  I just want to defend my position on this.  I decided to check the ncaa.org bracket where I noticed that where the sectional tournament starts there was an asterisk next to Thomas More.  George Fox, Olgethorpe nor us had a star.  Also 3 other teams in the final 16 had an asterisk. 

I made a common sense judgement.  Also before I posted, I checked the men's bracket just to make sure and they had ## next to the host site. 

A 1200 seat arena should prove interesting.  Hope and T.More have some common opponents, but outside of Washington and Jefferson, the league was less than impressive.

My post could have been taken as supportive, reaffirming that the use of an asterisk next to the host teams' names is a positive indicator of the fact they were the host.

I agree, the relatively diminutive host site should be interesting, coming off a few seasons in the DeVos.  Does anyone remember the capacity of the Dow Center when it was used to host NCAA tourney games?  I would bet it was more than 1200.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Here's a quick team stat comparison between Hope and Thomas More

Offense	% 2pt	% 3pt	% FT
Hope	44.2	35.9	69.6
Thomas More	55.4	34.9	73.9
Defense	% 2pt	% 3pt
Hope	33.4	30.3
Thomas More	33.4	30.7
Rebounding	Team	Opp	Margin
Hope	45.3	37.2	8.1
Thomas More	40.8	28	12.8
Scoring	Team	Opp	Margin
Hope	77.9	54.6	23.3
Thomas More	72.7	50.9	21.8
3 point shooting	Attempts	Made	Made/game
Hope	435	156	5.6
Thomas More	558	195	6.5
Blocks	Total	per game
Hope	163	5.8
Thomas More	107	3.6
Steals	Total	per game
Hope	395	14.1
Thomas More	230	7.7
Turnovers	Total	per game
Hope	477	17
Thomas More	511	17
Assists	Total	per game
Hope	444	15.9
Thomas More	493	16.4
Assist/Turnover
Hope	0.93
Thomas More	0.96