WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[realist]

While I don't like the final score I am very pleased by what I saw from Calvin.  The Hope we saw in the second half is the real Hope, and when they play both halves they are going to be very good.  I give Calvin lots of credit, and I also think this was a good game for Hope.

[Roundball999]

I hadn't seen Calvin yet this year but if they continue to build on tonight's play, they'll be just fine.  I'm not sure the press helped them much against Hope but it didn't hurt them either and it will surely cause trouble for lots of teams.  The eye opener for me was how well the Knights moved the ball, especially with dribble penetration then kicking out to the corners, and the points they racked up.  They had a lot of open shots against what is normally a much tighter Hope defense.  Hope started out very poorly, looking confused on defense and with far too much one on one on the offensive side.  They looked nothing like the team I saw this past weekend, though of course that was probably mostly due to Calvin.  But in the end, I have to give them lots of respect for coming back from a big early deficit, settling down and pulling out the win on Calvin's court.  Overall, I'm sure this game gives both teams a lot of insight on what they have to work on and what they can build on.  Definitely not a work of art, but a good game for both teams.

[sac]

Pretty impressive to come back from 18 down on your rivals court.  Hope didn't panic or get down on themselves, they just kept playing.

The starts by both teams were opposite ends of the spectrum.  Up to the point Calvin led 27-9 with 8 minutes left in the first half,  Hope was 4-20 while Calvin was 12-21 which actually included a stretch of missing 4 in a row.

From that point on Hope really dominated the next 20 minutes of game play outscoring the Knights 58-30 to lead by 10 with 7 minutes left.  Pretty even the rest of the way yet Hope still needed a clutch 3 from Brittany Berry to regain the comfort of a 6 point lead with a couple minutes left.  Surprised Calvin didn't try more 3's down the stretch, Hope seemed content to give up the easy 2's and maintain a 2 possession lead.

Hope does not shoot it well in the first half at Calvin
http://miaa.org/wbb/stats/1213/0112cahp.htm
http://miaa.org/wbb/stats/1112/1712caho.htm

For November 20 I was impressed with the level of play.
Angelique Gaddy is a keeper, she had some veteran buckets in this one.
Rebekah Llorens 5th foul was horse crap!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Rebounding margin tells the story pretty well.  Calvin outshot Hope percentage wise (45% to 41%) and the turnovers were pretty even (15 for Calvin, 12 for Hope).  Rebounding margin was +18 for Hope, with 27 offensive rebounds.  That lead to Hope putting up 14 more shots than Calvin, which more than made up for the difference in shooting percentage.

[sac]

Rebounding margin tells the story pretty well.  Calvin outshot Hope percentage wise (45% to 41%) and the turnovers were pretty even (15 for Calvin, 12 for Hope).  Rebounding margin was +18 for Hope, with 27 offensive rebounds.  That lead to Hope putting up 14 more shots than Calvin, which more than made up for the difference in shooting percentage.

Yeah, the second half was a pretty brutal 31-9 advantage for Hope, including 18-4 on the offensive end.

[NACfan215]

I was at the Calvin v LC game, yes it was a 20 point game at the end, however it was a much closer game than it ended up, only an 8 point lead at halftime.  Calvin did run a fullcourt press for the entire game creating a 35-16 turnover differential. However, that was against an LC team that is playing young and inexperienced gaurds, particularly the PG with starting a freshman and having a sophomore as a backup.  Calvin scored 31 points off of the 35 TO's, you cut those TO's down and take away half the points off TO's and this is a couple possession game at the end.  If any team they face has experienced ball handlers and can easily break the press then Calvin will struggle to win, their halfcourt D is not as good and their Offense was suspect at best (again against a team who is also weak on defense).  I believe if this game was a half court only game then LC would have had the advantage.  With that said, if Hope is as good as people anticipate, then I believe they win by 20+ tonight.  I would find it hard to believe that Calvin remains a top 25 team for the remainder of the year... but I have been known to be wrong before, lol.  Hopefully that gives a little insight from someone who saw some live action last weekend.  Good luck to both teams the rest of the year.

I was at the game as well and didn't see it exactly the same way as you.  But let's be honest, I was wearing my Calvin glasses and it sounds like you might have been wearing your Lakeland glasses   

I think the end result was reasonable to how the game went.  Yes, if LC cuts down those turnovers then Calvin doesn't get as many points off of them, but that is what the full-court press is designed to do.  Calvin accomplished the goal of winning the turnover battle and did it impressively.  Now the season is still extremely young and being the first game for both teams can play into the result as well.  Both teams definitely have things to improve on and that is expected.  Calvin is far from a finished product as they have changed their whole system.  I thought the press looked good for being their first game and only really practicing it for a few weeks.  It is completely different than anything Calvin has run under Coach Ross.  Their offense is also new this year as they do not have the dominate post play this year as they have had in the past.  Calvin missed their first 7 shots the other night and it kept the game close at the beginning.  Their shots started to fall but nothing was consistent.  Their shooting percentage won't be as high as it has been the past few years because they won't generate as many points in the paint.  But I think the percentage will go up from the other night.

I thought Lakeland was a young team that has things to improve on just like Calvin, but I think the better team won by the margin that showed. 

That being said, Lakeland College were great hosts and the fans and people around the college and towns were great!

As for the Calvin vs Hope matchup tonight I think Hope has a slight edge.  They looked impressive when they should have last weekend in the game against Bluffton.  From my perspective you almost have to throw out the game against North Central due to the system they run.  Don't get me wrong and think I'm discounting the way and margin by which they won the game, it is just more of an outlier for comparison IMHO.  They did what they had to in that game, but it really isn't the same.  Both teams still have things to improve on but I think Calvin has a bit more due to the big changes they have made.  As a fan of the Rivalry I wish the game was being played a little further into the season to have more polished teams, but you have to be ready for any game in the season.  Here's to wishing for a great game being played tonight!

I agree with this, and it appears that as usual I was off in my prediction for the Calvin v Hope game, it appears Calvin played a much cleaner game.

[NACfan215]

It appears Lakeland will have their second consecutive matchup with an MIAA school as they travel to Alma for a friday night game.  Hopefully the Muskies can have a better showing this time around.  From the looks of it Alma is a pretty young team this year, after seeing the Calvin v LC game how does this game shake out?

[NACfan215]

After another look at the schedule it appears there is also a matchup between the leagues perenial powers with Hope traveling to WI to take on Wisconsin Lutheran College, which should be a great matchup on saturday afternoon, very interested to see how this game turns out.

[Roundball999]

Hope wins 84-57 against game but overmatched Hiram.  The end of Hope's bench saw action in the first half.  It will be a much tougher game tomorrow, playing Wisconsin Lutheran on their home court.  Unlike Hiram, WLC has the size to match up with Hope.

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran and Hope are heading to overtime tied at 66. Melissa Klemm nails a desperation three with about four seconds left to tie the game.

[Captain_Joe08]

Hope escapes with a 78-72 overtime win over a tough Wisconsin Lutheran team.

[Roundball999]

Hope escapes with a 78-72 overtime win over a tough Wisconsin Lutheran team.

WL played a great game, sustained their intensity and toughness throughout.  Yesterday against WashU they had a few minutes here and there where I thought they let down and it cost them.  That 3 pt well defended bank shot at the end of regulation was monster, seemed at that point fate was on their side.  But Hope made a couple of big shots and seemed to ratchet it up a bit as well, with a bunch of big offensive rebounds in OT.  Great game for both teams, it will serve them well later in the season and for SOS.

[Roundball999]

It seems way too early to say this, but Hope at Olivet tonight is a big game that could go a long way toward deciding the league championship.  Olivet seems to be playing very well and appears to be a serious contender in the league.  With a win at Calvin already under its belt, and Hope's record at Devos, it would appear a win at Olivet would give the Flying Dutch a commanding position in the early league standings.

That said, I expect a tight game.  Olivet looks much improved and Hope's defense seems to be more vulnerable than last year.

[bballforever]

Looking at the stats, I agree.  Both Hope and Calvin's defense is SUSPECT.  In fact, where is the defense this year?  Most teams are letting the other teams score >20 more points per game than last year.  I miss defense.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Meant to post this late last Friday but forgot.  Friday's game versus Hiram was the 500th game the Flying Dutch have played with Coach Mo at the helm.  No biggie - he's just 430-70 in those 500 games - a winning percentage of 0.860!!!!!

Congrats Mo!!