MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[CalvinChelseaMom]

Calvin 66
Alma 55

Final  Woo-hoo!

[realist]

As always a very interesting night in the MIAA.  Calvin gets a bit of breathing room, but can't let up.

[ziggy]

First place has one loss
second place has two losses
third place has three losses
fourth place has four losses
eighth place has eight losses

Its those 5/6/7 places that are messing up the pattern

[Dark Knight]

First place has one loss
second place has two losses
third place has three losses
fourth place has four losses
eighth place has eight losses

Its those 5/6/7 places that are messing up the pattern

Yeah. Too bad Adrian didn't beat Kalamazoo.

So what's the deal with sprained ankles this season? Now Veltema is down. This is the most injury-laden season for the Knights in several years. The good news is that Veldhouse is improving and may be back close to full strength on Saturday.

[hope1]

now next weeks game schould be a good game i think hope has to win that one and olivet beat calvin or calvin will host

[realist]

Just looked at the box score of the Hope game.  Even having watched it on the video it is hard to believe anyone was able to keep Riemink at 13 points.  It will be interesting to read the analysis of some of the Hope faithful that actually were at Kresge.
hope1,  You raise a good point.  Calvin has Hope, and Albion at home, and Olivet at their place.  Between injuries, and suspension all the Calvin starters have missed at least 1/2 of one game, and most a full game or two.  Strangely all the adversity almost seems to have brought this team together. 
I still expect Hope to put up a valiant fight, and to come at the rest of their games with guns blazing.  It is no where near over yet.

[almcguirejr]

So what's the deal with sprained ankles this season? Now Veltema is down. This is the most injury-laden season for the Knights in several years. The good news is that Veldhouse is improving and may be back close to full strength on Saturday.

Someone told me that Nike Shox cause more ankle sprains.  I googled that premise and there is a study done by some trainers that refute that.  But, you never know who funded the study.  I believe this is the 3rd ankle sprain in a month. 

Here's that opinion:
http://www.nata.org/jat/readers/archives/43.3/attr-43-03-230.pdf

Here's a different opinion:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/259007/shoe_review_nike_shox_and_sports_performance.html

more opinion; quiz tomorrow
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Prevent-Ankle-Sprains---Risk-Factors-(Part-3)&id=1436666

[GoKnights68]

I didn't get a chance to listen to the Calvin post-game show.  Did KVS comment on Veltema's injury.  How serious is it?  Anybody know?


Still a good amount of games left to be played in the MIAA.  There will be no gimmies for Calvin...

[sac]

Albion 70 Hope 68


I've always felt I had a good feel for Hope/Albion games, they just tend to be so typical in so many ways.  Two or three times now I've sat in the north endzone of Kresgy and realized not even 5 minutes into a game it just wasn't going to be Hope's night.  Tonight was one of those.  Maybe it was the turnovers (a baffling 9 in 10 minutes), the missed in and out shots,.....even Peter Bunn's first two missed FT's was a bad omen,  ....... but mostly I think it was just the look on the Albion players' faces.  They were into it, they were communicating and focused.  They just wanted it more.

I've seen Albion's last 3 games, I did not see this team at any point in the previous two.  They played a whale of defensive game, not lock down as has happened before but they just made Hope work very hard for everything.   You can try and simulate that kind of intensity in practice but I imagine its never quite the same.  It took awhile for Hope to find their legs in this one, but by that time the team across from them was in 100% belief mode they could win tonight.


The first half was pretty ugly, as happens frequently in this series.  I was pretty pleased that Hope was tied all things considered.......pleased masking the burning rage I was feeling directed at African horse like creatures that is.........those guys could have saved Peter Bunn alot of aggravation by just telling him to stay on the bus untill the 5 minute mark...........how the heck he logged 22 minutes I'll never know.   Cruse, Holmes, Reimink, Bunn all spent time on the bench in the first half with foul trouble.  Thats not in anybody's interest.

The last 13 minutes was probably the best 13 minutes I've seen this year.  Both team's just kept topping each other's clutch shots.  I mentioned to someone at the half that I thought for Hope to win they had to step out and hit some 3's, which they certainly did.  The problem was Albion matched them going a phenomenal 6-7 from 3.  Most impressively 5 different guys took 1 three and hit it during the game, thats a team effort.

Speaking of team efforts, I think I counted 4 different Albion players that took turns guarding Jesse Reimink.  They didn't give him much room, infact they didn't give Hope much room anywhere.   Also Albion had some guys step up big today, as always in these games it was the big man, tonight Dave Elliot had 12 on the interior, he avg's 5.6.  Jake Siebert scored his first 6 points of the season tonight.  So Albion really got 18 from the 5 spot and that hurt Hope alot.

The final score will say Hope lost by two, the mere fact it was even that close and Hope had a chance to tie or win is just a testiment to Hope's grit in the last 5 minutes.   Hope blocked four Albion layups, essentially erasing 8 points from the board.   Peter Bunn hit a deep 3 with the shot clock winding down, down by 5 to give them a slight chace to tie, and Albion abliged by missing a key 1-1 FT.   Albion should have really locked this one up a little earlier.

Bunn 16, Bowser 14, Reimink 13, Venema 11

Elliot 12, Homes 9, Bridges 9, Thelen 9

This one felt like a loss all night, Hope just got outplayed and thats not to say Hope didn't play well, just not well enough to win vs that Albion team tonight.

[sac]

Thoughts

***   There are several people who can verify I called Bunn's 3 during the last timeout.  It was kind of obvious, and I can only imagine how satifying that would have been given the grief the stripes gave him tonight.    Somehow he kept his head in the game, I wasn't sure that was going to happen just before he came back on the floor.  He scored 7 of Hope's last 10 points.   (I think his HS coach was in attendence as well)

I can't fault the strategy or the shot to win, Hope wasn't going to win an OT game tonight..............I'm still 0 fer my lifetime in seeing Hope win on a last second shot. <sigh>


***   Albion has now put themselves into a good position, a win Saturday over Olivet puts them 2 ahead for the 3rd spot and with Calvin/Hope II looming, and god knows what other craziness.........Albion isn't out of this.  Albion still has a trip to Grand Rapids ahead of them, another chance to muck up the race.  If Albion plays with that kind of effort the rest of the year they'll be awfully tough to beat.


***  Moving tribute to an Albion student who passed away last semester.  The Albion dance team performed a routine she helped choreograph and left her space open on the floor.  With what I assume was her sororiety, friends and family looking on.....they were flawless.  Very moving.  It made the empty seat next to me seem a little more occupied.


***  Wrigley's will be getting a long angry letter soon.........if anyone knows where to buy extra gum in the traditional foil packs and not the stupid boxes let me know.  I know someone who will pay top dollar.   

[sac]

Updated standings through Wed.  w/remaining sched

Calvin 8-1    (+4)   adrian, hope, @olivet, albion, @kzoo
Hope 7-2     (+2)   kzoo,  @calvin, adrian, @alma, @trine
Albion 6-3    (+1)   olivet, @trine, @kzoo, @calvin, alma
Olivet 5-4     (+1)   @albion, kzoo, calvin, @alma, adrian
Alma 3-6      (-2)    @trine, @adrian, hope, olivet, @albion
Adrian  3-6   (-2)    @calvin, alma, trine, @hope, @olivet
Kzoo 3-6      (-2)    @hope, @olivet, albion, @trine, calvin
Trine 1-8      (-2)     alma, albion, @adrian, kzoo, hope

Saturday, February 7
Adrian at Calvin, 3 p.m.
Alma at Trine, 3 p.m.
Kalamazoo at Hope, 3 p.m.
Olivet at Albion, 3 p.m.

***  Olivet bounced back in a big way tonight, balanced scoring and holding Weir to just one 3.   Says something when you can bounce back after such a big loss like Saturday's.  First MIAA win at the new digs.

*** Olivet v Albion game is pretty big on Saturday, the loser will have a tough time catching the teams above them.   

***  With the two game gap between #5 and #4 it doesn't seem likely one of the 6 loss teams can catch Olivet.  All 3 will have their shot at the Comets

[hopehoopfan]

One bright note out of Hope this morning is that the JV team is still undefeated in the MIAA after 9 games. They are playing very well as a team and might have a few players able to make the step up to the Varsity next year. The most notable being Logan Neil, who is putting together a very solid season.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Big disappointment at Albion last night - yet it's never unexpected.  Felt an awful lot like 2/2/08 (a 56-62 win for the Brits over Hope).  IMHO the outcome of the game came down to 2 big factors (already mentioned by sac).

1 - Albion wanted it more - that may be over simplifying it, but they played a full 40 minutes, every man, full out, in your face defense.  As I watched, I waited for their intensity to dip, and Hope to take advantage of it.  Well the dip never happened.  Kudos to the entire Brit team, and coaching staff for being totally ready for this game.

2 - It's raining 3's.  Hope allowed Albion too many wide open looks from 3 in the second half, and the Brits drained them.  Talking with sac before the game, he predicted that if Hope allowed that to happen, the Dutchmen would be in trouble, and they were.


And speaking of the prognostication genius of sac - he did indeed call the final play (amazingly, with hand signals across the gym). 

[ziggy]

Not to open up a can of worms, but Pat posted this link in the comments on the regional ranking page.

https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/miles

This is the mileage calculator the NCAA uses for determining distance between schools.
Calvin to Wheaton: 205 miles (google says 203 miles, yahoo says 211 miles)
Hope to Wheaton: 176 miles
Hope to Carthage: 215 miles

Sorry if this was posted before, but it was the first time I had seen it.

[Dark Knight]

Not to open up a can of worms, but Pat posted this link in the comments on the regional ranking page.

https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/miles

This is the mileage calculator the NCAA uses for determining distance between schools.
Calvin to Wheaton: 205 miles (google says 203 miles, yahoo says 211 miles)
Hope to Wheaton: 176 miles
Hope to Carthage: 215 miles

Sorry if this was posted before, but it was the first time I had seen it.

Google maps reports 203 miles by car, but only 196 miles walking. If we can take a ferry across a frozen lake, why can't we walk?