MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

Calvin and Hope have had eight common opponents so far. In each game Hope's point differential has been better than Calvin's. Here's what the games look like (giving an additional 2-points for home court):

Cornerstone: 21 points
Aquinas: 8 points
Carthage: 29 points
Wheaton: 6 points
Adrian: 12 points
Alma: 17 points
Albion: 22 points
Kalamazoo: 4 points (only difference here was home court)

So, on average, Hope has out performed Calvin by 14.9 points. 13.8 points for the conference games.

[sac]

The Rivalry, Chapter 180

In 2005 Hope entered this game 7-9, its the last time I could find when Hope entered this game with a losing record.   That Hope team suffered from many of the same ailments that the 2012 Calvin team is going through, although in a slightly different fashion.  They lost Greg Immink before the season even began.  Had to play through a few suspensions early, and the last blow was losing Andy Phillips to a finger injury midway through the season, though he returned he was never quite the same player that year.   I'll always remember that team for lots of reasons, mostly because it was the team that laid the building blocks for a successful run from 06 to 08, and probably still lingers in this 2012 teams DNA.  But also because it was the one time as a fan that I thought Hope was dead in the water before the season even began. 

Hope lost the first game of the Calvin series that year 66-54 in front of a crowd of 4,500 at Calvin's Fieldhouse.  Back when 4,500 meant 4,500 right on top of you, not 2,000 right on top of you and 2,500 somewhere in the building.  I miss that place as a venue.  After that game Hope was 7-10 with 3 MIAA losses, it looked pretty bleak.  Hope rallied to win its next 5 games, including a win over MIAA Champions that year Albion.  An inexplicable loss at Olivet left Hope with no hope of somehow sneaking an MIAA title out of an otherwise rough season.

The return Rivalry game in Holland must have been a classic, Hope won 71-68 in front of 2,700.  Back when 2,700 meant 2,700 right on top of you and not 3,500 right on top of you but in a more comfortable setting.   Hope's win handed the MIAA Championship to Albion, which broke a ridiculously long streak of either Hope or Calvin winning the MIAA Championship.  I don't remember a damn thing about the game even though it seems like I should.  Since 2005 Hope and Calvin have played 22 times, an incredible number for only a 6 year stretch.

My memory correctly blocks out the details of most Calvin's seasons but I had forgotten that last year's Knights entered this game just 6-7, yet walked off the DeVos floor with a 95-81 victory.  Before that, Oldknight is probably the only one who remembers the last, last time Calvin had a losing record entering this game.

This Rivalry has taught me many lessons about basketball, about how rivalries are supposed to be, how the things you could count on are sometimes not the things you get in these games.  Rivalries are the life blood of college sports, its why we pay attention.  Hope and Calvin is woven into the fabric of life in West Michigan, its the two dates that are always circled on everyone's calender with any connection to either school.  It is good, painful, joyous, heartbreaking, enthralling, gut-wrenching and any of about 1,000 other adjectives all at once.

At about 8pm tonight, 10 guys will step on the court and  they will know each other better than any other opponent they will face this season.   Their hearts will race, our hearts will race, every breathe will feel like a chore.  For two hours they will battle, for two hours our emotions will swing wildly with each gripping possession.  Anything that's happened before today will not matter.  For the first time in 3 months the records are Hope 0-0, Calvin 0-0.  They way its supposed to be.

[goodknight]

Nice, sac.
Very nice.
See you in the comfy barn tonight.
I'll be the guy in the Harry Potter tie.

[hope_hoops1]

A nice trip down memory lane, Sac.  That game was the one where ESPN was there to do coverage and was also the last Rivalry Game at the Civic Center.  The best moment was the "where's your banner" cheer to which someone in the Dew Crew held up a replica of Calvin's banner and began chanting back.  It was one of best games from a back-and-forth student section cheering that I can remember and obviously a great game (at least for the Hope fans).  It was a glimpse at what could have been that season with a largely underachieving squad that had been dealt a tough deck (albeit, some self-inflicted).

[scottiedawg]

It IS possible for it to be a rivalry game and a hypothetical Vegas line to be set at something greater than 10 right?

[GoKnights68]

It IS possible for it to be a rivalry game and a hypothetical Vegas line to be set at something greater than 10 right?

Now that you mention it, I think I've always been the guy that sets the hypothetical Vegas spread here.  I can't say I've seen nearly enough games of either team this season, so I'll leave that up to someone else for tonight.

[sac]

The Hope/Calvin rivalry site......hopecalvin.com or calvinhope.com is saying this game is on World Harvest Televsion.

WHT's programming schedule is not showing that as scheduled but it seems like I ran into that same issue last year and they still showed the game.  But that may have been the satellite game.

I think your best bet to watch the game is through the links provided on miaa.org or http://hope.edu/pr/athletics/

[sac]

WZZM ran a nice little piece about the 1997 game at Van Andel Arena.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/194869/128/Look-back-at-Hope-vs-Calvin-at-VanAndel-Arena


I was in Vegas.

[Civic Minded]

The Hope/Calvin rivalry site......hopecalvin.com or calvinhope.com is saying this game is on World Harvest Televsion.

WHT's programming schedule is not showing that as scheduled but it seems like I ran into that same issue last year and they still showed the game.  But that may have been the satellite game.

I think your best bet to watch the game is through the links provided on miaa.org or http://hope.edu/pr/athletics/

The Hope College Alumni Association is also stating that you can watch here:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/calvin.portal.  FDF has checked it out, and it seems they will be streaming the WGVU broadcast here.

[KnightSlappy]

It IS possible for it to be a rivalry game and a hypothetical Vegas line to be set at something greater than 10 right?

Of course. I'd set this one at Hope -17.5. Over/under at about 136.5.

[sac]

The Hope/Calvin rivalry site......hopecalvin.com or calvinhope.com is saying this game is on World Harvest Televsion.

WHT's programming schedule is not showing that as scheduled but it seems like I ran into that same issue last year and they still showed the game.  But that may have been the satellite game.

I think your best bet to watch the game is through the links provided on miaa.org or http://hope.edu/pr/athletics/

The Hope College Alumni Association is also stating that you can watch here:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/calvin.portal.  FDF has checked it out, and it seems they will be streaming the WGVU broadcast here.

Thank goodness Calvin can figure out how to stream games from Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse.  That's not embarrassing or anything.

[scottiedawg]

WZZM ran a nice little piece about the 1997 game at Van Andel Arena.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/194869/128/Look-back-at-Hope-vs-Calvin-at-VanAndel-Arena

Thanks for the link sac!

[sac]

In other news.....

Kalamazoo plays at Albion tonight.  Looking at the standings and schedule if Kzoo is going to be in position to make the MIAA tournament the really need to win tonight.  Saturday Kzoo hosts Adrian, this is a really big week for the Hornets.

Sitting 1-5 would make the uphill trek to make the tournament maybe a little too formidable.

[GoKnights68]

It IS possible for it to be a rivalry game and a hypothetical Vegas line to be set at something greater than 10 right?

Of course. I'd set this one at Hope -17.5. Over/under at about 136.5.

Guessing the money will be going in towards Calvin with 17.5 points, which will move the line to Hope -14 by tip-off time.  Just a feeling.

[KnightSlappy]

Nice, sac.
Very nice.
See you in the comfy barn tonight.
I'll be the guy in the Harry Potter tie.

Just the tie? I was thinking you could pull this off: