MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

oldknight · February 22, 2014, 05:44:00 PM

Remember those Mike Turner led Albion teams that featured non-stop physical play, lots of off the ball contact, holding, and bumping? Well, they're baa-ack, or at least they were for one game. Possibly Jody May took exception to sac's commentary of the other day. It didn't help the Brits as they couldn't buy a hoop for much of the first half. The tone was set early, as on the very first possession of the game Albion clanked a wide-open three attempt leading to a 1-10 opening 20 minutes from the arc. The secret to beating Calvin this year isn't much of a secret: make some shots from the arc and compete well on the boards. Albion didn't show either one of those qualities today. While Calvin led by 27 at the break, I credit Albion for not mentally checking out. As sac noted the other day, Jody May's team seems to have a quicker guard court and Albion used that in the second half to force Calvin to continue to execute and not relax. The final score (83-57) was equal to the half time margin. Tyler Kruis did nothing to hurt his chances for an MVP award, scoring 15 on 6-7 from the floor, grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking 2 shots in only 25 minutes.

Happy Calvin Guy · February 22, 2014, 08:19:54 PM

Mark Ghafari with 46 in the final game of his college career. Finishes the season with over 500 points. Congrats to a guy who seems like he'll succeed in his next steps as well.

sac · February 23, 2014, 01:47:32 AM

Trine 82 Olivet 70

Tie game with about 9 to play, Will Dixon took over and scored 14 straight points and Olivet couldn't execute on their end. If Dixon played for Hope or Calvin we'd be hearing a lot more about him. This was my first time seeing him live, I was very impressed. He's going to be a very good player for the next 3 years. Finished with 27, could have had 40, a lot of tough misses he'll make as he gets stronger.

Olivet could have won this one, didn't execute offensively when the game was being decided, had a couple tough misses go in and out that could have swung momentum a little. 3 big turnovers in Dixon's run of points.

Hope 73 Adrian 56

Adrian played hard and physical, made Hope really work for this win, felt a lot like a tournament game in some ways. Hope's second unit, for lack of a better description, was outstanding and probably was around +30 in point margin. Caleb Byers probably played his best game in a Hope uniform, can't think of a better one off hand.

Hope turned the game with a really solid second half of defense and just offensive execution Adrian can't answer right now with their youth and lack of offensive punch.

Adrian Sr. Wesley Reed played hurt in his last game, he was warrior, 3.5 GPA. Sr. Drew Torrey 3.9 GPA in bio-chemistry.

Good reminder today of what the D3 philosophy embodies, student athletes with the opportunity to play their sport for no other reason than their love of the game. I watched two teams that had absolutely zilch to play for today but pride and they both played their tails off against that are just flat out better than them.

sac · February 23, 2014, 02:09:32 AM

Quote from: oldknight on February 22, 2014, 05:44:00 PM
Remember those Mike Turner led Albion teams that featured non-stop physical play, lots of off the ball contact, holding, and bumping? Well, they're baa-ack, or at least they were for one game. Possibly Jody May took exception to sac's commentary of the other day. It didn't help the Brits as they couldn't buy a hoop for much of the first half. The tone was set early, as on the very first possession of the game Albion clanked a wide-open three attempt leading to a 1-10 opening 20 minutes from the arc. The secret to beating Calvin this year isn't much of a secret: make some shots from the arc and compete well on the boards. Albion didn't show either one of those qualities today. While Calvin led by 27 at the break, I credit Albion for not mentally checking out. As sac noted the other day, Jody May's team seems to have a quicker guard court and Albion used that in the second half to force Calvin to continue to execute and not relax. The final score (83-57) was equal to the half time margin. Tyler Kruis did nothing to hurt his chances for an MVP award, scoring 15 on 6-7 from the floor, grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking 2 shots in only 25 minutes.

Interesting. A neutral observer at this game agreed with me about Albion. Potato, Potatoe I guess.

I guess I have much more brutal, bloodied memories of those Albion teams. Maybe a few too many viewings of Braveheart.

sac · February 23, 2014, 02:21:40 AM

SCORING
## Player-Team Cl G FG 3FG FT Pts Avg/G
------------------------------------------------------------
1.Mark Ghafari-KZOOM....... SR 11 65 21 64 215 19.5
2.DJ Beckman-ALMAM......... SO 14 90 37 27 244 17.4
3.Tyler Kruis-CALVINM...... SR 14 90 7 44 231 16.5
4.Tyler Good-TRINEM........ 14 75 10 63 223 15.9
5.Jordan Brink-CALVINM..... JR 14 70 31 51 222 15.9

If you're going to win a scoring title do it scoring 46 with the guy you pass on the same floor as you. Great day for Mark Ghafari. According to kzoo.edu 46 breaks the previous school record held by John Schelske Kzoo's first scoring champion since Ron Barczak tied Steve Honderd in 1991.

Mark finishes 5th on Kalamazoo's all-time scoring list with 1,444 points.

1. John Schelske 1,712
2. Jeremy Cole 1,644
3. David Dame 1,619
4. Ron Barczak 1,544
5. Mark Ghafari 1,444

sac · February 24, 2014, 05:18:34 PM

Since 1993, youngest teams to win an MIAA Championship

Using Sr=4, Jr=3, So=2, Fr=1, divided by players

2006 Calvin 2.29
2014 Hope 2.36
2001 Calvin 2.36
2002 Calvin 2.43
2003 Calvin 2.46

2.50 would be a balanced team of upper classmen to lower classmen. These are the only 5 teams that fall below that threshold to win an MIAA Championship in the last 20 years.

Weighting minutes to playing time might change it a little.

The difference between 2.36 and 2.28 is one class.

KnightSlappy · February 24, 2014, 05:44:22 PM

Hope breaks into the poll at #24.

Calvin is the 4th ORV, which could be approximated as, but not exactly equated with, a #29 ranking.

oldknight · February 24, 2014, 06:35:51 PM

Quote from: KnightSlappy on February 24, 2014, 05:44:22 PM
Hope breaks into the poll at #24.

Calvin is the 4th ORV, which could be approximated as, but not exactly equated with, a #29 ranking.

That's not too far off today's Massey Rating which has Hope ranked 16 and Calvin 27.

scottiedawg · February 24, 2014, 07:55:38 PM

To follow up on Sac's post on young teams, here is some research I did a few days ago:

I just did a little analysis on the top 30 or so D3 teams. I looked at each team's top 4 scorers.

Augustana's top 4 scorers are 2 SO and 2 FR !! They are gonna be awesome. :-(

PCT of scoring from seniors (D3hoops rank)
1. UWSP, 86% (1)
2. Brockport State, 84% (14)
3. Wesley, 77% (10)
4. Mary Washington, 76% (19)
5. Wittenberg, 76% (22)
6. WashU, 75% (3)
7. Amherst, 72% (7)
8. Rose-Hulman, 65% (24)
9. Whitworth, 58% (13)
10. Wheaton, 57% (32)
11. St. Norbert, 56% (5)
12. Staten Island, 55% (21)
13. IWU, 54% (4)
14. Calvin, 52% (N/A)
15. SUNY-Purchase, 52% (16)
16. Wooster, 52% (8)
17. Ohio Wesleyan, 51% (18)
18. Williams, 51% (9)
19. Centre, 51% (23)
20. St. Thomas, 50% (11)
21. UWW, 48% (2)
22. Geneseo State, 48% (33)
23. Dickinson, 48% (31)
24. Texas-Dallas, 47% (17)
25. Richard Stockton, 45% (26)
26. Cabrini, 44% (6)
27. Randolph-Macon, 34% (20)
28. Albertus Magnus, 33% (15)
29. Albion, 28% (N/A)
30. WPI, 26% (12)
31. Bowdoin, 26% (27)
32. Hope, 23% (29)
33. Scranton, 20% (25)
34. Babson, 19% (28)
35. Augustana, 0% (30)
36. Trine, 0% (N/A)

PCT of scoring from seniors & juniors (D3hoops rank)
1. Wittenberg, 100% (22)
1. Wheaton, 100% (32)
1. St. Norbert, 100% (5)
1. SUNY-Purchase, 100% (16)
1. St. Thomas, 100% (11)
1. UWSP, 100% (1)
1. Wesley, 100% (10)
1. Mary Washington, 100% (19)
1. WashU, 100% (3)
1. IWU, 100% (4)
1. UWW, 100% (2)
1. Geneseo State, 100% (33)
1. Texas-Dallas, 100% (17)
1. Richard Stockton, 100% (26)
1. Randolph-Macon, 100% (20)
1. Staten Island, 100% (21)
1. Cabrini, 100% (6)
18. Albertus Magnus, 84% (15)
18. Brockport State, 84% (14)
20. Wooster, 83% (8)
21. Calvin, 82% (N/A)
22. Dickinson, 80% (31)
22. Bowdoin, 80% (27)
24. WPI, 79% (12)
25. Centre, 78% (23)
26. Williams, 73% (9)
26. Scranton, 73% (25)
28. Amherst, 72% (7)
29. Rose-Hulman, 65% (24)
30. Babson, 62% (28)
31. Whitworth, 58% (13)
32. Ohio Wesleyan, 51% (18)
33. Trine, 29% (N/A)
34. Albion, 28% (N/A)
35. Hope, 23% (29)
36. Augustana, 0% (30)

GoKnights68 · February 25, 2014, 09:56:46 PM

Quote from: sac on February 24, 2014, 05:18:34 PM
Since 1993, youngest teams to win an MIAA Championship

Using Sr=4, Jr=3, So=2, Fr=1, divided by players

2006 Calvin 2.29
2014 Hope 2.36
2001 Calvin 2.36
2002 Calvin 2.43
2010 Hope 2.43
2003 Calvin 2.46

2.50 would be a balanced team of upper classmen to lower classmen. These are the only 6 teams that fall below that threshold to win an MIAA Championship in the last 20 years.

Weighting minutes to playing time might change it a little.

The difference between 2.36 and 2.28 is one class.

Calvin won the regular season MIAA in 2010. I think you mean 2011 Hope?

sac · February 25, 2014, 10:12:25 PM

Quote from: GoKnights68 on February 25, 2014, 09:56:46 PM
Quote from: sac on February 24, 2014, 05:18:34 PM
Since 1993, youngest teams to win an MIAA Championship

Using Sr=4, Jr=3, So=2, Fr=1, divided by players

2006 Calvin 2.29
2014 Hope 2.36
2001 Calvin 2.36
2002 Calvin 2.43
2010 Hope 2.43
2003 Calvin 2.46

2.50 would be a balanced team of upper classmen to lower classmen. These are the only 6 teams that fall below that threshold to win an MIAA Championship in the last 20 years.

Weighting minutes to playing time might change it a little.

The difference between 2.36 and 2.28 is one class.

Calvin won the regular season MIAA in 2010. I think you mean 2011 Hope?

Yep, thanks and they shouldn't be on that list.

sac · February 26, 2014, 08:13:04 PM

Trine 31 Hope 25 half

Trine's taking it to Hope and Hope seems perfectly fine letting them do that. Playing tight, playing poor, very lucky this margin isn't double-digits.

Dixon 12, Bagley 8
VanArendonk 13

sac · February 26, 2014, 09:11:19 PM

Trine 59 Hope 59

Heading to overtime

KnightSlappy · February 26, 2014, 09:25:04 PM

Long line at the Calvin ticket office waiting to see where the game will be.

sac · February 26, 2014, 09:29:42 PM

Hope 65 Trine 62 OT

Pretty classic underdog vs favorite post-season game. There are a lot of ways to play this game and Trine dictated everything about this one. They were really good in their offensive sets, defended well, made Hope work hard.

Tremendous effort by Hope just to get this game to overtime, some really good stuff down the stretch of regulation by both teams. Hope showed some great poise tonight.

Will Dixon guys, could be special.

Hope: Stuive 18, VanArendonk 16, Gardner 11
Trine: Dixon 26 Good 13

Two Freshmen combined for 44 points in a tournament game.