MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[wiz]

That bald guy has got to go.  Technical on May was rediculous.  He was chewing out his own player for a stupid foul and the ref gave coach the T.  Oh yeah, it was the bald guy again.  And the other two were two dumb to over turn it.

He quickly made up for his error by calling an offensive foul on Veltema on Calvin's next possession.   

Well, we knew that was coming when coach May took his entire full time out to talk with the other two refs about the dumb technical.  The bald guy went down to the other end of the court and wouldn't even look at them.

I wouldn't be surprised if May and VandeStreek file a joint complaint.  It was that bad.  I've watched MIAA basketball for many, many years as this was as bad as I can remember.  Does anyone remember Hoffman?  These guys made him look like an All American official.

[oldknight]

I'm pretty sure the Calvin players who are veterans of Albion basketball expected a war tonight and that's exactly what they got. Even by the standards of the usual hardnosed, in-your-face, Briton defense we've come to expect, this game was exceptionally physical. It was Albion basketball on steroids with every dribble, shot, pass and rebound contested. It was excruiatingly difficult to watch and the refs had a challenge. They didn't meet the challenge as well as the players did that's for sure.

You've got to admire Jody May's crew. They not only played hard from start to finish, they took advantage of their opportunities well. If the Britions played tonight's game against every opponent they wouldn't lose very many that's for sure. They pose many matchup problems on offense for Calvin and the Brits never, ever quit. Kolin Kazen was a revelation and not just because he went 5-6 from the arc. He's a terrific freshmen and I'm afraid he's going to be a problem for years to come.

If Calvin played this game 6 weeks ago the Knights lose by 20. They won because they simply perservered through their own inconsistencies and that of the officiating crew who was hard to figure out. Mental toughness is an attribute that gets you through the tough spots in games and Calvin showed that attribute in spades against Albion. 37-42 from the stripe didn't hurt either. I can't say enough good things about the veterans who willed Calvin to this win--Mantel, Rodts, Salo and Veltema. The last 10 minutes the Calvin players simply looked fresher and more poised than their friends from Calhoun County. If the Knights go on to win the conference, this game will be Exhibit A for the reason why.

[almcguirejr]

I thought Veltema and  Rodts were very good tonight. A combined 10-14 from the field and 12-12 from the line.  Mantel also was good tonight.  It was the 3 most experienced players coming through in an extremely physical game.

Trent Salo is a role player on this team so he doesn't get mentioned very often. He has only turned the ball over 16 times in 17 games.  He is averaging 24+ minutes a game.  He has 5 turnovers in 6 league games and 4 of those came against Adrian.  He does a nice job of just doing what is expected of him

[calvinite]

Please pardon this presumptuous question, but who would host the MIAA tournament if Calvin loses to Hope and Albion but finished 12-2 assuming Albion runs the table and also finishes 12-2?

[almcguirejr]

Please pardon this presumptuous question, but who would host the MIAA tournament if Calvin loses to Hope and Albion but finished 12-2 assuming Albion runs the table and also finishes 12-2?

Don't think about losing 2, let's think about going 2-0 every week for four more weeks.

[OC_SID]

Not sure, but it might come down to where Hope finishes.

[KnightSlappy]

Not sure, but it might come down to where Hope finishes.

Under that scenario Albion would have beaten Hope meaning they would be at least a game back. Since Calvin and Albion would have each lost to Hope and each other then the tie could not be settled by the first tie breaker which compares records from the top down. I don't know if there is any other tie breaker other than a coin flip.

[Galahad]

I would agree that the officials struggled with physicality of the Albion/Calvin game.  It appeared that they let quite a bit go in the first half and when they tried to regain control it was a lost cause.  Phantom fouls were called, others missed - it was ugly from either vantage point.


P.S. beautiful rendition of the National Anthem by John Mantel's mom and cousin

[ziggy]

Today's performance from the charity strip puts Calvin at .798 (142-178) for the conference season which would rank #2 all time. 5 Knights currently find themselves in the top 10 in conference free throw shooting.

BEST TEAM FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
.802       Kalamazoo, 1990-91 (275-343)
.793    Calvin, 1990-91 (256-323)
.785    Olivet, 1971-72 (281-358)

[northb]

How can a team shoot so well from behind the arc and so poorly from the free throw line??

The T was a bad call, but the officiating was bad all around. Calvin had 21 turnovers, which is too many, but some of them should have been fouls. The refs just couldn't call them fast enough.

They called 29 fouls on Albion......how many more do you want?

about 10-12 more

[ziggy]

How can a team shoot so well from behind the arc and so poorly from the free throw line??

The T was a bad call, but the officiating was bad all around. Calvin had 21 turnovers, which is too many, but some of them should have been fouls. The refs just couldn't call them fast enough.

They called 29 fouls on Albion......how many more do you want?

about 10-12 more

Perhaps it didn't come across on the video feed because the question deserves the literal interpretation of the past few responses. It truly was the worst/most frustrating officiating performance I can remember, both ways, no winky faces.

[oldknight]

P.S. beautiful rendition of the National Anthem by John Mantel's mom and cousin

Agreed. +k to Mom Mantel and John's cousin. The best rendition I've heard this year at any venue.

[ziggy]

I thought Veltema and  Rodts were very good tonight. A combined 10-14 from the field and 12-12 from the line.  Mantel also was good tonight.  It was the 3 most experienced players coming through in an extremely physical game.

Mantel was good, which is nice to say because I believe he was limited to just two free throws in the first half. It was the type of game that shows his growth over the last few years. Early in his career he was prone to disappear when he didn't get off to a great start. I thought he got stronger as the game went on.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

How can a team shoot so well from behind the arc and so poorly from the free throw line??

The T was a bad call, but the officiating was bad all around. Calvin had 21 turnovers, which is too many, but some of them should have been fouls. The refs just couldn't call them fast enough.

They called 29 fouls on Albion......how many more do you want?

about 10-12 more

I agree, every time I see Albion play they basically dare the refs to foul out every one of their players in the first half.  In order to avoid making a mockery of the game, the refs have all kinds of rough stuff go.  This style of play comes back to bite them when they give up 20 points on free throws in the final 7 and a half minutes to lose the game.  I love to see it go down that way--I don't believe it's "aggressive" defense, I think it's borderline dirty, and good basketball prevailed tonight.

[sac]

Please pardon this presumptuous question, but who would host the MIAA tournament if Calvin loses to Hope and Albion but finished 12-2 assuming Albion runs the table and also finishes 12-2?

If you assume Albion runs the table that means they would beat Hope, giving Hope 3 losses, leaving Albion and Calvin tied................you go down the standings until the tie is broken........under this scenario we dust off the MIAA Tournament hosting coin and flip.

If Hope were to run the table and tie with Calvin at 12-2, again assuming Calvin's two losses come at Albion and Hope, Hope would win the tiebreaker if Albion finished ahead of Olivet in the standings because Hope would have 2 wins over Albion...........Calvin would win the tiebreaker if Olivet finished ahead of Albion because Calvin would have 2 wins over Olivet.

Hope and Albion are not likely to run the table..........and  Calvin still has 4 road games @ Hope, @ Adrian, @ Olivet, @ Albion........those will all be tough wins.

8 games left in the season seems early to be worrying about tiebreakers