MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

Davenport 81 Hope 67

Well.....that didn't go well.  A year ago Wheaton came to Hope and put together what I thought was one of the most timid rebounding efforts I had ever seen, Hope won that battle 45-27 and the game handily 77-52 and not surprisingly Davenport's advantage tonight on the glass was a similar 44-26  but it was an incredible 25-8 at halftime.   Also not surprisingly this might have been the most timid effort on the glass I've seen from Hope team.......  Hope just didn't compete for rebounds in the first half.

The only other disappointing thing tonight was all the easy baskets Hope gave up, and by all the easy baskets, I mean all the baskets were easy.  Davenport was credited with 20 Fg's in the first half, 15 of them were layups and the last two were jumpers.  Many of those layups for sure are a credit to Davenport's desire to get inside, size advantage, get putbacks etc, etc.    Hope just didn't come to play defense or rebound and they were harshly punished for it.

Very clear to me was the difference in game readiness, Davenport looked well seasoned and in game condition, like a team playing its 8th game.  Hope looked like a team playing game number 1.  For sure a factor, 8 games from now Hope would compete better with this team.

With all that said, Hope hung around and played a better 2nd half.  By no means great, nor was the outcome ever in danger.  As mentioned Krombeen stood out for Hope, along with Dickerson and I thought Coltan Overway handled the point very well for his first varsity game, only 1 turnover in 20 minutes.  In fact the brightest spot was the 10 turnovers as a team.....hooray!   Bowser and Tanis struggled a little bit, no particular reason why, although I though Davenport did a good job defending both of them.


Unfortunately the team reminded me a little of the 2005 Dutchmen with 1 major player out, and a few others hobbled.  This team without Peter Bunn is not as good as the team with Peter Bunn, a big duh, but they really missed him out there.  With Peter out an indefinite period of time, the current group will struggle a little bit, especially with this early schedule. 

Cornerstone will present an even bigger challenge Friday night.

[sac]

Siena Heights 71, Adrian 65
Heidelberg, Ohio 66, Albion 62
Davenport 81, Hope 67
Manchester, Ind. 78, Kalamazoo 63
Trine 59, Mount Union, Ohio 55



Not a total disaster, I felt 3 of these could go either way, didn't think Hope of Kzoo would win.  Trine's win is pretty big, it being in-region.

League is 11-13, (4-6 in region) it starts to get tougher this weekend.

[sac]

Davenport is going to win a lot of games this year in the WHAC -- a tough opener for both the Knights and the Dutchmen on successive Tuesdays.

Looking at DU's schedule, it really isn't too hard to see them only losing to Cornerstone the rest of the way....or no one at all. 

[Dark Knight]

We've got some tough NAIA competition in GR this year. Making a rough estimate of the power of Cornerstone, Davenport, and Aquinas, I figure Cornerstone would be about #3 in D3, Davenport about #8, and Aquinas in the top 25. They have all been playing some tough competition. And let's not forget Grace Bible who would be in the receiving votes category.

Calvin and Hope could well end up meeting in the consolation game on Saturday...

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Davenport is going to win a lot of games this year in the WHAC -- a tough opener for both the Knights and the Dutchmen on successive Tuesdays.

Looking at DU's schedule, it really isn't too hard to see them only losing to Cornerstone the rest of the way....or no one at all.  

If DU is as good as everyone is saying here, then I am VERY encouraged that our Baby Knights had the lead after nearly 35 minutes of play against them in our first game, and on their home floor.  Remember that DU had several games under their belt at that point as well.  I think the DU-Calvin final score belies how close the game really was, and just judging on the game flow, it seems that the Hope-DU final score belies how much of a blowout it really was.  

Certainly Hope-Calvin in the consolation game this weekend is a possibility, but don't be surprised if the Knights give Aquinas a tough game on Friday night.  I do have a hard time seeing Hope challenging Cornerstone at this stage of the season with the current status of their roster.

A couple of things I'd like to hear from anyone who attended last night's game at DU since I'm merely reading the box score:  how did Bowser look?  1 rebound in 28 minutes and 4-11 from the line seems to indicate that something is amiss.  How did Krombeen's shot look?  He seemed uncomfortable shooting from the outside last year, but 8-13 last night is impressive.  I am just not sure if those were drives to the hoop or outside jumpers.  If he can become consistent shooting from the outside, he becomes a very dangerous player.

[Knight81]

Super Dutchman summed the game up very well.  Welcome to the board SD!

Rebounding became a bit timid after several early under the basket fouls.  Still, the discrepency wasn't entirely the fault of foul trouble. 

Glad to have a first game under our belts, finally.  On to Friday.

Not to take anything away from Davenport, Grace, et al, but it doesn't help that those schools have played 6, 7, 8 games, and Hope and Calvin are playing their first or second game of the year.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

As others have shared, a very disappointing start to the season and to the game last night.   First half was just painful.  The second half a vast improvement.  "They" always say that teams improve the most between the first and second games.  If Hope improves as much between last night and Friday as they did between the first and second half last night, things will be fine.   

[oldknight]

D3 hoops has a report on last night's Skidmore win over Southern Vermont--the longest game in D3 hoops history--with Skidmore winning in 7 overtimes.

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2010/11/longest---game---ever

Click the link to the box score and it's mindboggling. Eight players fouled out (four from each team), 230 shots from the floor, and 103 free throws taken. S. Vt. won the battle of the boards 87-79. The most amazing stat line is minutes played. S. Vt. had 4 four guys play at least 64 minutes led by Lance Spratling who went the full 75. It's a good thing these teams don't have another game until next week.

[sac]

D3 hoops has a report on last night's Skidmore win over Southern Vermont--the longest game in D3 hoops history--with Skidmore winning in 7 overtimes.

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2010/11/longest---game---ever

Click the link to the box score and it's mindboggling. Eight players fouled out (four from each team), 230 shots from the floor, and 103 free throws taken. S. Vt. won the battle of the boards 87-79. The most amazing stat line is minutes played. S. Vt. had 4 four guys play at least 64 minutes led by Lance Spratling who went the full 75. It's a good thing these teams don't have another game until next week.

Skidmore's coach is going to be on ESPN's First Take at 11:40 this morning according to the Skidmore website.

[hoopdreams]

a few quick thoughts about last night-
contrary to the vibe thus far, and giving grace that this was the first game, I was not overly impressed with Overway, especially in the 1st half and defensively.  He did handle DU's token pressure well, and showed some very athletic moves to the paint but shooting poor from the perimeter (tanis and bowser) is different than missing 2 point-blank layups.  I do think he is going to be a very solid player, unfortunately he got thrown into the fire. (Lack of scrimmaging REAL teams hurt Hope tonight).  In his behalf, he played much better in the 2nd half, once the jitters were gone.

There were some major defensive lapses due to lack of communication, not necessarily from what DU was doing.

Obvious athletic differential in the paint and it showed, boxouts were great at times, poor other times.

4-11FT's, 1 board.....

Krombeen survived the "sophomore" funk and looked outstanding.

If jared isn't healthy enough to practice, or play in the first 37 minutes, why risk it?

Dickerson looked like a completely different player, amazing what a little confidence can do.

I liked the fact the the subbing patterns weren't predetermined or black/white.  Logan subbed in for tanis in the 1st half and bowser the 2nd.  There was a flow to the rotations, although the game lacked it at times- 1st game rust.

This team needs to make a conscious effort to set great screens, not go through the motions.  Much of what they do is predicated on them and they need to be perfected not token.

If this team can stick together and improve through the first stretch, they will be more than fine. 

CU left the gym feeling pretty good about Friday, hopefully they'll come in overconfident.

Not at all surprised with the result considering the circumstances.  We can use the Bunn hypothetical as much as necessary, bottom line he ain't in the lineup and Hope had a month to prepare without him.  Everyone needs to step up and if/when peter returns, we shall see what happens.

[pointlem]

Sac and Hoopdreams,

Thanks for your good write-ups of Hope v. Davenport.  You saw the same game I did (terrific game by David Krombeen, a weird inability to contend for rebounds, and lots of open little puppy shots by Davenport—in the first half). 

I hadn't realized how big and modern Davenport U. now is.  Driving into Davenport we were guided by a string of parking attendants with lighted batons.  The game announcer had an NBA quality voice.  And as we exited the game women students had baskets of mints to offer their departing guests.  Pretty classy from start to finish.

[wiz]

Sac and Hoopdreams,

Thanks for your good write-ups of Hope v. Davenport.  You saw the same game I did (terrific game by David Krombeen, a weird inability to contend for rebounds, and lots of open little puppy shots by Davenport—in the first half). 

I hadn't realized how big and modern Davenport U. now is.  Driving into Davenport we were guided by a string of parking attendants with lighted batons.  The game announcer had an NBA quality voice.  And as we exited the game women students had baskets of mints to offer their departing guests.  Pretty classy from start to finish.

Women with mints?

[northb]

Sac and Hoopdreams,

Thanks for your good write-ups of Hope v. Davenport.  You saw the same game I did (terrific game by David Krombeen, a weird inability to contend for rebounds, and lots of open little puppy shots by Davenport—in the first half). 

I hadn't realized how big and modern Davenport U. now is.  Driving into Davenport we were guided by a string of parking attendants with lighted batons.  The game announcer had an NBA quality voice.  And as we exited the game women students had baskets of mints to offer their departing guests.  Pretty classy from start to finish.

Women with mints?

From now on, when you get Hudsonville Ice Cream at Calvin, your napkin will be folded like a swan.

[David Collinge]

Sac and Hoopdreams,

Thanks for your good write-ups of Hope v. Davenport.  You saw the same game I did (terrific game by David Krombeen, a weird inability to contend for rebounds, and lots of open little puppy shots by Davenport—in the first half). 

I hadn't realized how big and modern Davenport U. now is.  Driving into Davenport we were guided by a string of parking attendants with lighted batons.  The game announcer had an NBA quality voice.  And as we exited the game women students had baskets of mints to offer their departing guests.  Pretty classy from start to finish.

Women with mints?

From now on, when you get Hudsonville Ice Cream at Calvin, your napkin will be folded like a swan.

And Hope is switching to Grey Poupon.

[Dark Knight]

Certainly Hope-Calvin in the consolation game this weekend is a possibility, but don't be surprised if the Knights give Aquinas a tough game on Friday night.  I do have a hard time seeing Hope challenging Cornerstone at this stage of the season with the current status of their roster.

I think there's a real danger here of overlooking Aquinas because of their 3-4 record. Don't let that fool you; all their games have been against tough competition.

The easiest team on their schedule by a fair margin (according to last year's Massey power) was Olivet, whom they beat by 7. Olivet was just about as strong as Calvin last year.

Their Massey power (based on last year's numbers for opponent strength) would be about 10.3, while Calvin's would be about 11 so far. I'd call it a toss-up, except that this is a home game for Aquinas, so I'll call the Saints a 2 point favorite.

Calvin will have to continue to improve to win this one.