MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Gregory Sager]

Looking at the path through this region, I think I'm rooting for Hope to get moved out of region even if they then don't get to host.

If Hope gets moved out of the region, there's only one direction that they can go: West, across the lake. In other words, if Hope isn't bracketed with the likes of Wooster, Bald Wally, Wittenberg, Calvin, Albion, etc., they'll be bracketed with the CCIW schools, the WIAC schools, and Lawrence. Is that your idea of the Anchor People catching a break from the selection committee, Andersdy?

Anything is going to be easier than those 5.

Don't be too sure about that.

I gotta believe that many of us "Anchor People" consider avoiding Bald Wally a good thing - and it really has nothing to do with which teams we feel are better.  Heartbreak can last a lifetime   

True, but revenge is sweet. Wouldn't it be more fun to whip Bald Wally and earn retribution for that 1995 loss than to triumph over UW-Whatever?

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Looking at the path through this region, I think I'm rooting for Hope to get moved out of region even if they then don't get to host.

If Hope gets moved out of the region, there's only one direction that they can go: West, across the lake. In other words, if Hope isn't bracketed with the likes of Wooster, Bald Wally, Wittenberg, Calvin, Albion, etc., they'll be bracketed with the CCIW schools, the WIAC schools, and Lawrence. Is that your idea of the Anchor People catching a break from the selection committee, Andersdy?

Anything is going to be easier than those 5.

Don't be too sure about that.

I gotta believe that many of us "Anchor People" consider avoiding Bald Wally a good thing - and it really has nothing to do with which teams we feel are better.  Heartbreak can last a lifetime   

True, but revenge is sweet. Wouldn't it be more fun to whip Bald Wally and earn retribution for that 1995 loss than to triumph over UW-Whatever?

No doubt the revenge would be sweet - but it would also make that nightmare very real again

[Stinger]

Albionmascot, of course its unlikely. Im not saying the Hornets will go in and win, I am saying they can win.  But, they need to take care of business at Olivet tomorrow. No let downs. After tomorrow night, I'll talk upsets.

The current Prop 48 allows students who graduate in 4 years to get back that lost year of eligibility. See Matt Trannon for the Spartans (Beat Iowa!)

Why dont you guys concentrate on wrapping up the MIAA title and the MIAA Tourney.  There are two big games left with a lot of implications. 

[Carl Yastrzemski]

I guess I need to post my mandatory VanSolkma post to remain eligible for the board.

A coach should not chop off his nose to spite his face. Playing time goes to those who are deserving, the players all know who should be on the floor. You create a potential problem by not playing the best. The only kid that will be disappointed and a potential problem is the one losing the minutes. This is no different than a freshman starting the season ahead of a so, jr, or senior. Same scenario.

Yes almcgajr an AD should hire the best possible coach available. However Chuck Daily and Goldmember were spotted together at the Wayside last Saturday so I am sure they have similar hatred for the Dutch. So I do not see Coach Daily wearing an Orange Blazer anytime soon.

SuperSweetness Hall of Fame is opening its Academic wing next weekend. The first display is the Albion College History Department. The names of the professors are: Marcy Sacks, Wes Dick, Geoff Cocks. We are currently trying to find the individual responsible for the hires of this group. This person will be an instant honary member of the SSHOF. This is no joke checkit out at www.albion.edu

For those of you that didn't know, last Thursday Sac was named adjunct History Professor at Albion College. The head of the department said he would be a great fit.

[devossed]

Knight Slappy---the 200 mile rule won't hurt Calvin as much as the 18 point loss back in Jan to Hope.  Thats still a little bit of a trump card to go with the slightly better regional record and QOWI.

Slightly better regional record?  I think that Calvin's 9-1 mark (.900) is better than Hope's 13-2 (.867) according to the percentages.  I just Hope the comittee does not overlook the fact that Calvin also won two of the same games that Hope did.

KS--please correct yourself and remember it's only (1) win that Hope got that Calvin didn't. Carthage doesn't count for either school's regional record.

[ziggy]

Knight Slappy---the 200 mile rule won't hurt Calvin as much as the 18 point loss back in Jan to Hope.  Thats still a little bit of a trump card to go with the slightly better regional record and QOWI.

Slightly better regional record?  I think that Calvin's 9-1 mark (.900) is better than Hope's 13-2 (.867) according to the percentages.  I just Hope the comittee does not overlook the fact that Calvin also won two of the same games that Hope did.

KS--please correct yourself and remember it's only (1) win that Hope got that Calvin didn't. Carthage doesn't count for either school's regional record.

Not according to the d3hoops schedule
http://www.d3hoops.com/school_info.php?school=Hope&team=m

[AndersDY]

If Hope gets moved out of the region, there's only one direction that they can go: West, across the lake. In other words, if Hope isn't bracketed with the likes of Wooster, Bald Wally, Wittenberg, Calvin, Albion, etc., they'll be bracketed with the CCIW schools, the WIAC schools, and Lawrence. Is that your idea of the Anchor People catching a break from the selection committee, Andersdy?

I was perfectly aware that this moves us into the Illinois and Wisconsin territory for the tournament. Once you're in the NCAAs, you can plan on every team being quite capable of beating you, so it's nearly impossible to avoid a matchup that isn't scary except for maybe you're first game out of the gate. Sure Lawrence is the only undefeated left, but Augustana, IWU, etc. have seen regular upsets this year and appear to be relatively beatable.

Looking to Ohio, you have Witt who has lost to a single team all year. That particular team appears to be playing like a steam-roller, having beaten Witt the second time, on the road, with their best player playing limited time in his first game in 3 weeks following an injury. Oh, and tCOW has 3 or 4 guys with Andy Draayer/Tyler Wolfe quality 3-point cannons on the floor at any given point. They themselves have only lost to one team, who happens to currently be dominating the rarely dominated OAC.

Yes there are certainly hard games out west, but I don't like the odds of getting through multiple teams in the Great Lakes region one bit. Besides, if Hope could be moved far enough across the bracket that a Hope-tCOW matchup wouldn't occur until Salem... well I dare not dream that big yet   

[midline]

Geez, I miss 3 days of posts and have to filter through 10 pages. You guys stay busy!

Couple of thoughts about the K/Albion game on Saturday.

1. K absolutely got screwed by the stripes. I rarely pin a W or L on the refs, but the tech against Herman should NEVER have been called. It completely changed the momentum in favor of Albion and cost Kalamazoo the win.

2. Pat Clancy is becoming a very solid clutch player. It seems that every one of his buckets comes in a crucial moment (lead change, shot clock low, etc.).

3. Tough to see Herman and Konwinski loose what is likely their last home game at the AAC. Classy young men.

4. I hope K sees Albion in the tourney. They match up well against them and have a better chance of beating Albion than Calvin or Hope.

Stinger said it best. Beat Olivet and then worry about traveling to Calvin. The first matchup between the Hornets and Comets was sloppy (remember the 15-10 halftime score?) with both squads playing better ball in the 2nd half. K is playing solid team basketball right now. If the Hornets continue to play within Passages's system, they'll get the win.

[AndersDY]

Pat, or any of our other local D3hoops authorities, is there a picture of the new bracket for the NCAAs drawn up? I was reading the breakdown on the front page, and it seems to make sense, but have the brackets been drawn up to show the whole setup including the dates of the games and which games would be hosted by a home team, or at a grouped regional site, etc.? I still can't quite picture the entire setup. Or is it not yet possible to put in bracket form because the location of the byes depends on who they are awarded to? Still, might their be a hypothetical bracket to look at?

[realist]

On DVS my mind says to let the guy play if he is better, but my heart kinda says otherwise.  I trust that either GVW or KVS or any other coach would do what is best for his program, and team, and it might differ from person to person and year to year.  However, if DVS did call KVS, and was told he would sit this semester than his going to Hope fits, and verifies KVS on the integrity issue.  It may also mean that GVW held out the hope of playing time contrary to what he may have said to others.
On the NCAA tourney.  Last year Calvin went west, and came right back to Albion.  In 00 Calvin stayed home, and almost got beat by Franklin, and then got Wooster and Mc Murry.  so in one region they faced the # 3 & 4 teams, and # 2 was beat the weekend before by the 4th team in that sectional.  You are going to play a Witt or wooster sooner or later.

[KnightSlappy]

While it is true that GL teams going out west have to come back and play the tough GL teams the west can provide an easier route.  Last year Calvin went out west to play Wheaton, Aurora, and Mississippi College in that order before playing Albion.  Wheaton was by far the best of those three teams.  After the close game to the Thunder the Knights ended up with two wins (after overcoming first half struggles at Aurora) that were fairly easy.  Calvin still had to beat Albion but did not have to go through schools like Wooster or John Carrol.

[David Collinge]

Pat, or any of our other local D3hoops authorities, is there a picture of the new bracket for the NCAAs drawn up? I was reading the breakdown on the front page, and it seems to make sense, but have the brackets been drawn up to show the whole setup including the dates of the games and which games would be hosted by a home team, or at a grouped regional site, etc.? I still can't quite picture the entire setup. Or is it not yet possible to put in bracket form because the location of the byes depends on who they are awarded to? Still, might their be a hypothetical bracket to look at?

There's a blank bracket in Appendix A of the Men's Championship Handbook.  It's not terribly exciting, though; it looks just like a standard 64-team (i.e., D1) bracket, with five of the lines for first-round teams removed.

[Carl Yastrzemski]

K-Zoo is 0-2 vs Albion this season in league play. It seems bad calls by the refs were the main reason for both of the losses if you ask any K-Zoo fan. Based on the law of averages I would be willinging to say possibly one of the games was swayed by the officials, however both losses by K-Zoo due to the refs is a little far fetched.

I will propose a measuring stick for officals determining the outcome of games. If a call or calls during the course of the game are = to  or greater than  that of the end of the 1972 Olympic US vs Russia Gold medal game you have the right to question the officials.

Instead of players not making shots, coaches recruiting good players, coaches developing players, admissions reps turning down good players, K-Zoo fans blame all losses on a certain group of individuals that in their current carrers are 0-0 from the field, 0-0 from the free throw line,have a total of 0 rebs, played a total of 0 mins. I find it hard for someone to control a game with a stat line like that.

In my last post, no joke those are the names of the history professors, how can I lose karma for typing the truth  http://www.albion.edu/history/asp/faculty.asp.

I just got back from watching a couple of University of Colorado spring practices. They look like they have a good squad, however I would bet the farm that Kordell Stewart couldn't throw a football more than 40 yards in the air. For some reason he doesn't have a good long ball. Great runner just not a great passer.

[kakaty]

Yaz -

Because your measuring stick doesn't make any sense, it's tough to decide whether or not Kalamazoo fans have the right to question the officials.  Can you flesh out the formula a bit more?

Regardless of the Nobel Prize-worthy new "call or calls greater than or equal to USA v. Russia" theory, I'm not sure that Hornet fans can be blamed for questioning the officials based on the two Albion games.

In game 1, which Albion won by six at home, Albion outshot Kalamazoo from the free throw line 27-4.

In game 2, which Albion won by 4 on the road, Albion outshot Kalamazoo from the free throw line 31-12.

So, for the season, Albion has outscored the Hornets by 10, while outshooting them from the line by 42 (58-16).  Even given the big advantage on the interior presented by Crawford, that seems a bit extreme - extreme enough that it doesn't seem that "far fetched" to suggest that the officials had an impact on the two games.

Don't get me wrong though, Yaz - if it were my team that had a 58-16 free throw advantage over two games, I would probably pretend to believe that the disparity was reasonable, too. 

[John Rusnak]

While I realize that there are no real statistics to back this up, I would argue that Calvin is one of the top 3 teams in the region right now.

It's hard to not give #1 to Wooster, even though we don't really know how good they are.

2nd place could go to Hope, Cavin, BW, or Witt.  All four teams are very strong and have a legitimate chance to come out of the region.

Since we know the committee is going to do something stupid, all we can hope for is at least some kind of rational shifting.

It seems to make sense to move Wooster out east and try to push Calvin or Hope out west.  While there's no question Wooster deserves to host, the nation is better off letting them go out there and walk their way into Salem.

While the west/midwest is a tough crowd, at least it gives teams a chance to face different opponents and somebody pointed out Calvin's success last year.  Given their travels in the past and their run to Salem, they have earned the right to make Hope go out there.

BW should host since it's semi-centralish.  Plus they have run through a difficult conference, although I would argue the OAC isn't a strong this year as it normally tends to be.

CMU will get stuck in this region somewhere, but that's ok, if they are going to lose it might as well be a short trip back home.