MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[calvinknightfan]

In regards to the Bryan Powell dunk, I think that was the second best play I have every witnessed of Calvin basketball.  The first being Caleb Veldhouse's game-winning 3-pointer top beat Hope his freshman year.  Still, that dunk was a big-boy dunk from our point guard.

[ziggy]

Essentially Hope decided today's game beginning at the mid point of the first half when, over the next six minutes, the Flying Dutchmen went on a 17-0 run to turn a 22-19 deficit into a 36-22 lead. Hope is really good at transitioning from defense to offense, but it was during this run that they repeatedly beat Calvin down the floor after a turnover or rebound. Other than that stretch, I thought Calvin played fairly well considering the fact that their best player never showed up and KVS is forced to give important minutes to kids who would normally be exclusively playing JV ball. Hope certainly did nothing to make me think they don't deserve their number one ranking.

There are a couple of positives for Calvin coming from today's game. The Knights dominated the board 43-29, including a phenomenal 23 on the offensive end. I don't imagine Matt Neil is very happy about that. Also, Bryan Powell certainly should have gained everyone's repect with his play against Hope's deep and talented back court--and I'm not talking about his eye-popping tomahawk dunk over Coach Neil's son. Powell still puts up the occasional untimely shot but when he plays that hard every moment of the game I can put up with it. It would be nice if Calvin's most talented player took a lesson.

Let it be known that the player that "never showed up" was the game's leading rebounder. I'm sure Tommy will take no solace in that, nor should a 1-for-11 shooting performance be overlooked, but calling it a no-show is harsh.

[ziggy]

Quote of the game from Terp, "Powell is 5 foot 8 in boots!"

Steve Bell called him 5'10" in a tweet and the Calvin roster lists him at 6'1".

Any other opinions?

[Flying Dutch Fan]

OK - I think your best player showed up, you just didn't recognize him covered with the 32 & 12 orange jerseys. Great D by Seiler and Neil.

[bballfan13]

Quote of the game from Terp, "Powell is 5 foot 8 in boots!"

Steve Bell called him 5'10" in a tweet and the Calvin roster lists him at 6'1".

Any other opinions?

I don't know his exact height but I've been right next to him and 6'1" is stretching it for sure.

[sac]

Hope 83 Calvin 70

http://www.miaa.org/mbb/stats/1112/0211cahp.htm

I thought this one was well played on both sides.  Maybe the difference from the first game was that when Calvin started off hot this time shooting the ball, Hope was equally as proficient and maybe better.  For a large portion of the first half Hope flirted with 70% shooting, phenomenal.    Staying close early allowed Hope to play just the Calvin team and not its crowd as well.  When Calvin cooled off a bit, Hope kept scoring and then put on a nice run of its own. 

The worst break of the game for Calvin might have been the halftime buzzer.  Calvin had some momentum and the crowd was into it, the halftime kind of killed that and when Hope started out the second half building that lead back to the 13-14 range I think most people in that building realized it would be really difficult for Calvin to come back that much.

This was the first time I've seen Hope battle some serious foul trouble on the interior.  I thought Calvin did a nice job really taking the game inside on Hope, while they missed a few shots they made up for it by dominating the glass.

In the end I think Hope just kind of kept Calvin at arms length and did a great job managing the last 10 minutes of the game, along with managing their foul trouble.  From 8 minutes left to 4 minutes Hope scored points on each of its 6 possessions, it really killed off any chance of a last Calvin rally.  Actually last 7 possessions if you count Peter Bunn's 3 which followed an offensive rebound.   That was a cold, cold dagger in Calvin's hearts.

I'm pleased to say I think Hope really came to play well today, and play well they did.  It's great to see a team play that kind of game in a tough environment.

[sac]

I have a little different take on Tom Snikkers, I thought it was pretty clear from the first possession Hope wasn't going to let Tom get any easy shots today and make other Calvin players beat them.   I'll watch again latter, but I think Tom had one open look and that was the layup he made, otherwise it looked to me like Hope was all over him. 


Who was #24 for Calvin?   He didn't hurt Calvin at all, in fact he looked like he was enjoying himself out there.
---------------------------

Taking a look at the efficiency ratings for the two games so far, (points per 100 possessions.)

@ Hope, Hope 116.55    Calvin 96.15
@ Calvin, Hope 116.33    Calvin 96.82

Scores were 81-65 and 83-70, that's pretty remarkable. 

[goodknight]

Calvin's #24 is freshman T.J. Huizenga from Randolph, Wisconsin.  He was pulled up to the varsity when Mitch Vallie and Mickey DeVries both became unavailable.  He is starting to see some action, and he looks like he may be a nice contributor for the Knights over the next few years.

[sac]

Albion 53, Kalamazoo 48
Hope 83, Calvin 70
Trine 74, Olivet 49
Alma 69, Adrian 68


standings with +/-........+1 for road wins/-1 for home losses

Hope          12-0       +6--MIAA Champion and #1 seed
Adrian        7-5        +1
Calvin         7-5         0
Trine          7-5        +1
Albion         6-6         0
Alma          4-8        -1--eliminated
Kzoo          3-9        -4--eliminated
Olivet         2-10      -3--eliminated

I have to admit I never ever thought I'd see someone have a 5 game lead in this league.  I think this is probably very rare for an 8 team league.  Kind of crazy.  Hope, still the MIAA Champion.

Despite Alma's win today at Adrian, the Scots have been eliminated from the post-season because Trine won at Olivet.  An 8 team tournament would be a lot more fun with the Scots around I think, who would really want to play them right now?

Albion stays alive with another 2nd half rally, up next a trip to Alma.  With Trine playing Calvin and Hope this is going to come right down to the final weekend one would think, which I suppose is good.   I think its actually possible for Adrian or Calvin to miss the tournament now(though unlikely).   Adrian has now dropped 3 of their last 4, all at home.



Wednesday, February 15
Kalamazoo at Adrian, 8 p.m.
Albion at Alma, 8 p.m.
Hope at Olivet, 8 p.m.
Calvin at Trine, 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 18
Adrian at Albion, 3 p.m.
Kalamazoo at Alma, 3 p.m.
Calvin at Olivet, 3 p.m.
Trine at Hope, 7:30 p.m.



What's left

Adrian:    KZOO, @Albion
Albion:     @Alma, ADRIAN
Alma:       ALBION, KZOO
Calvin:    @Trine, @Olivet
Hope:      @Olivet, TRINE
Kzoo:      @Adrian, @Alma
Olivet:      HOPE, CALVIN
Trine:       CALVIN, @Hope

[scottiedawg]

Does anyone know if Calvin's "On Demand" video ever works?

[oldknight]

OK - I think your best player showed up, you just didn't recognize him covered with the 32 & 12 orange jerseys. Great D by Seiler and Neil.

I have a little different take on Tom Snikkers, I thought it was pretty clear from the first possession Hope wasn't going to let Tom get any easy shots today and make other Calvin players beat them.   I'll watch again latter, but I think Tom had one open look and that was the layup he made, otherwise it looked to me like Hope was all over him. 
 

I was actually thinking mostly of his body of work on the other side of the floor. You can't decide it's time to play defense only after you let your man get the ball and you can't just mozy downcourt following a change in possession. I agree Hope defended him very well.

[sflzman]

Does anyone know if Calvin's "On Demand" video ever works?

I don't know about Calvin. But alma also uses stretch and their on demand works you just have to give it about 24 hours for the broadcast to be loaded into there...

[sac]

OK - I think your best player showed up, you just didn't recognize him covered with the 32 & 12 orange jerseys. Great D by Seiler and Neil.

I have a little different take on Tom Snikkers, I thought it was pretty clear from the first possession Hope wasn't going to let Tom get any easy shots today and make other Calvin players beat them.   I'll watch again latter, but I think Tom had one open look and that was the layup he made, otherwise it looked to me like Hope was all over him. 
 

I was actually thinking mostly of his body of work on the other side of the floor. You can't decide it's time to play defense only after you let your man get the ball and you can't just mozy downcourt following a change in possession. I agree Hope defended him very well.

Ah that I understand.

Does anyone know if Calvin's "On Demand" video ever works?

I started watching the DVR of it and am simply amazed Tom Clearly said Hope will be the bigger team most of the day about 1 minute into the broadcast.

[scottiedawg]

Does anyone know if Calvin's "On Demand" video ever works?

I don't know about Calvin. But alma also uses stretch and their on demand works you just have to give it about 24 hours for the broadcast to be loaded into there...

I can watch it; it just buffers every minute or so. Pretty low grade.

[alexj35]

if anyone says they saw that bryan powell dunk coming, they'd be lying.  this neutral observer had to pick his jaw up off the floor after that.  very glad they showed multiple replays on the broadcast.  if there's been a better play in D3 this year, i'd love to see it...

also, can anyone that was at the alma/adrian game describe the final sequence of events? the livestats guy seemed to be off his rocker