MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[ziggy]

Another great rivalry game. Congratulations to Hope on a great effort and victory.

I'm not one to point to a game as a "good loss" but the result could actually end up being to Calvin's benefit if Hope can grab a spot in the regional rankings. The first set made it quite clear Calvin can't rely on a strong WP and better performance against common opponents with Wooster so even a 1-1 against regionally ranked figures to help their case, hopefully for hosting and seeding and not Pool C, but that as well.

[goodknight]

Nate VanArendonk was very good, as were Hope's young guards.  I also though Chase DeMaagd gave the Dutch some very clutch play in the first half when Calvin threatened to run away and hide.  He really kept them competitive at a crucial juncture.

[almcguirejr]

Calvin and KVS once again lay an egg against Hope in front of an international satellite audience.  Embarrassing

You have to give credit to Hope.  Their whole team competed today.  I thought Calvin was starting to take some control in the first half when they went up by 7.  It was about that time when Chase DeMaagd was in right spot every time and scored 10 points in the last 4 minutes of the half.
Hope got excellent play from a lot of different players.  Ben Gardner was much improved over what he was in the first game.  Gardner was much better defensively this game.  NVA also played well giving Hope 35 good minutes by far his best game. I agree with GK that Hope worked harder than Calvin today. 

Calvin had a couple opportunities in the last 20 seconds where they should have made a play and didn't.  The first was Mickey De Vries rebound of Brink's missed 3 point shot and allows a Hope player to knock it out of his hands and off his leg and the ball goes to Hope.  The second opportunity was on the ensuing inbounds pass when Powell let a terrible pass get over his head.  That ball should have been intercepted and Calvin would have had 13 seconds to try and tie it or win it.

It seemed to me that Calvin was weak with the ball in their hands today.  They allowed Hope to knock it loose on several rebound attempts and a couple of times when Snikkers had the ball.

Calvin still controls their own destiny.  They need to come back next week and win 2 at home.

[almcguirejr]

Just finished watching the entire Hope/Calvin game on World Harvest TV - DVR'd it and got to skip through the timeouts, commercials, etc.  Quite a luxury for a D3 game!

I think I was about as neutral of an observer as you'll find in this one - I had zero rooting interest, just wanted to 1) enjoy the rivalry atmosphere, and 2) get a little better feel for Calvin.  There has been some discussion about Calvin's placement in the Great Lakes regional rankings so was looking to see for myself what kind of team the Knights are.  I didn't think the officials were biased either way in this one.  Like any game, there were some bad calls, and other bang-bang type calls that could have gone either way, but it seemed balanced to me.

I enjoyed watching the game.  Great atmosphere.

I would agree on good close game, great atmosphere and the reffing being unbiased except for those under the basket calls I previously alluded too.  It's one thing to call a loose ball foul under the basket when guys are fighting for a loose rebound but making that call against the defensive team multiple times AFTER the ball has gone through the hoop and on what was clearly borderline contact and boxing out seems to be a pretty big anomaly compared to most games.  I just think they got suckered, multiple times, into what should have non-calls.  It's one thing if it was a clear loose ball and a Hope player was clearly prevented from getting an offensive rebound, those calls they should make.  But in those multiple calls there was some acting going on and the ball was NEVER even in play for a rebound on top of that.

I have to agree with you on those calls.  It's rare to see that called once in a game but I think it was called 5 times (4 against Calvin) today. 

[wiz]

Officiating was horrible, but...it was equally bad on both sides.  A number of teams I commented to the biased Calvin fan sitting next to me with "that was a gift."  Calvin did not lose because of officiating or rebounding.  The one thing completely in Calvin's control is free throw shooting and they could do no better than 50%.  At a meager 70%, Calvin wins by 2 instead of losing by 3.

[almcguirejr]

Olivet 84
Trine 79

Ian Jackson with 44 points in a losing effort.  He was 17-23 from the line.

Kalamazoo 78
Albion 76

[arena]

Officiating was horrible, but...it was equally bad on both sides.  A number of teams I commented to the biased Calvin fan sitting next to me with "that was a gift."  Calvin did not lose because of officiating or rebounding.  The one thing completely in Calvin's control is free throw shooting and they could do no better than 50%.  At a meager 70%, Calvin wins by 2 instead of losing by 3.

True, and some improved shot selection would have helped.  That 3 by Brink at the end of the game was rushed.  There was time to work at a better shot.  Calvin did not need a three at that point.  Decision making was poor.

[Knightmare]

Officiating was horrible, but...it was equally bad on both sides.  A number of teams I commented to the biased Calvin fan sitting next to me with "that was a gift."  Calvin did not lose because of officiating or rebounding.  The one thing completely in Calvin's control is free throw shooting and they could do no better than 50%.  At a meager 70%, Calvin wins by 2 instead of losing by 3.

True, and some improved shot selection would have helped.  That 3 by Brink at the end of the game was rushed.  There was time to work at a better shot.  Calvin did not need a three at that point.  Decision making was poor.

Agree with you on the shot selection.  Expanding on that I thought there were multiple times were Calvin took a 3 that was contested and early in the shot clock.  In those instances they weren't good 3's at all, if shot clock had been running down they would've been understandable.  I know for sure that Snickers and Powell both had a couple instances of this...should've worked it around a bit of the shot clock to get a better shot, the 3's they jacked up early in shot clock with man closely guarding them are shots that anyone could get at anytime...because they weren't that great of opportunities.

Also, agree with some previous posters on Chase DeMaagd.  His contributions were very underrated and more importantly was the timing of them.  He kept Hope in the game for that stretch and that changed the entire complexion of the contest, especially considering Hope had an all freshman back court that played well but could've got rattled if they got down early considering what happened in the previous Calvin vs. Hope game.  Chase was defiantly Hope's unsung hero and it was a great final rivalry game for a senior to go out on.

[almcguirejr]

Mlive article:
http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2013/02/hope_sheds_embarrassment_goes.html#incart_flyout_sports

[sac]

Quite a little rivalry we have going. 

That one had a lot of tense moments.  I looked up at the clock at 61-61 with 4:47 to play after both teams had just traded 3 pointers twice and thought to myself 'well, this is pretty much what everyone came to see'.  The entire afternoon's efforts came down to the final handful of possessions and Hope executed one or two plays better.

The final two ft's of this were stroked perfectly by a guy who has struggled at the line for most of his time at Hope.  If you wrote up a scouting report on Hope you circled Billy Seiler's name as the guy you wanted to foul.  Since the game at Olivet I noted on my blog Billy had changed his FT approach, since that game he's gone 12-14.  I didn't go down to talk to any of the players afterwards, because I really don't, but I lingered in my seat and could tell from a court length away the biggest smile afterwards belonged to Billy among a sea of really big smiles.

Hope got everything thing they needed from everyone plus a little something extra from a couple guys and still only won by 3.

Could not feel any better for a bunch of guys who haven't had a lot to feel great about this year.

[sac]

Just finished watching the entire Hope/Calvin game on World Harvest TV - DVR'd it and got to skip through the timeouts, commercials, etc.  Quite a luxury for a D3 game!

I think I was about as neutral of an observer as you'll find in this one - I had zero rooting interest, just wanted to 1) enjoy the rivalry atmosphere, and 2) get a little better feel for Calvin.  There has been some discussion about Calvin's placement in the Great Lakes regional rankings so was looking to see for myself what kind of team the Knights are.  I didn't think the officials were biased either way in this one.  Like any game, there were some bad calls, and other bang-bang type calls that could have gone either way, but it seemed balanced to me.

I enjoyed watching the game.  Great atmosphere.

I would agree on good close game, great atmosphere and the reffing being unbiased except for those under the basket calls I previously alluded too.  It's one thing to call a loose ball foul under the basket when guys are fighting for a loose rebound but making that call against the defensive team multiple times AFTER the ball has gone through the hoop and on what was clearly borderline contact and boxing out seems to be a pretty big anomaly compared to most games.  I just think they got suckered, multiple times, into what should have non-calls.  It's one thing if it was a clear loose ball and a Hope player was clearly prevented from getting an offensive rebound, those calls they should make.  But in those multiple calls there was some acting going on and the ball was NEVER even in play for a rebound on top of that.

All in all a good rivalry game (though wish the result would've gone the other way), and nice to be able to see the game up here in Northern MI from the comfort of my own family room.  Also pretty strange to see that Hope is gonna have an all lefty shooting back-court for the next few years, don't see that often.

I'm going to watch this again tomorrow and I'll pay attention to these because it was quite curious to see I think 4 of these called in one game.

The one that really caught my attention was on a Hope ft late in the first half, on the first free throw Mickey DeVries got his arms up and into Chase DeMaagd's face as the ball went through the net.  The official came right over to him and probably said something like 'don't do that'.  Mickey nodded his head.  On the second ft he does the same thing and the ref called it.  That really isn't the refs fault.

[oldknight]

Calvin and KVS once again lay an egg against Hope in front of an international satellite audience.  Embarrassing

I assume you forgot to use this emoticon  because you can't be serious. Either that or you're confusing Calvin's loss with the one U of M suffered today.

Did Calvin play their best today? Nope, but it was hardly embarrassing. They were, after all, playing a Hope squad that wanted to win too and whose play may have had some impact on Calvin's game. I thought Calvin really lost this one the first 5 minutes of the second half when Hope turned a three point deficit into a five point lead, causing the Knights to play catchup the rest of the way. There was just too much standing around and Calvin's off-the-ball movement was pretty stagnant. Mention has been made of Snuggerud's banked three pointer at the 5:35 mark (and late in the shot clock) but I thought the one Seiler hit the prior possession--also late in the shot clock--was tougher and just as big. Calvin played excellent defense for 70 seconds on back-to-back possessions and Hope came away with six points.

BTW: I finished up my evening licking my wounds (and a libation) at OBI, a fine establishment that I'm told is owned by Tim Overway, Colton's father. I hope the senior gets out of his boot very soon.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Fabulous game yesterday - don't remember ever seeing a game with 11 guys in double figures.  Truly a pleasure to watch both teams battle so hard.  From my Hope perspective, total team effort from the Dutchmen.  So much so that I wonder if they didn't just read some of sac's blog - since they literally did everything he said they would need to do to beat Calvin.

IMHO the rebounding advantage Hope had was key to the win.  Calvin came in leading the nation in rebounding margin, only to have Hope out-rebound them by 8.  Credit that to the entire Hope team - hitting the boards hard with every guy. Add to that the huge FT advantage Hope had, and it's a Hope win. 

Looking at the stats, it's easy to see the huge contributions from the 6 guys who scored for Hope, all in double figures.  Good luck to anyone trying to pick a player of the game for Hope. 

Without Chase DeMaagd in the first half, it might have been a double digit Calvin lead.  Seiler's rebounding and that big 3 late and FTs.  Snugs with a big three late, NVA with some big baskets, and some amazing assists (6),  Edison's hustle and late FTs, and Gardner leading in scoring and leading this team. 

And that's not to overlook 7 good minutes from Denham spelling Gardner (how awesome is it that these guys are just freshman).  And 17 huge minutes of defense and hustle from Neil.  Diving on the floor to tip the ball off Snikkers, and then the soccer style long throw in to Eidson.

Well done Dutchmen!!

[almcguirejr]

Holland Sentinel coverage of the game:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/sports_hope/x1037508178/Nate-VanArendonk-Nate-Snuggerud-big-for-Hope-College-mens-basketball-in-upset-of-Calvin-College

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/sports_hope/x1037508176/Calvin-College-mens-basketball-laments-loss-of-rebounding-control-vs-Hope

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports_videos/x1037508316/Hope-mens-basketball-postgame

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports_videos/x1037508367/Calvin-Postgame

[HopeConvert]

Unable to watch the game live, I was forced to watch it at a well-attended satellite party with a large Hope contingent. The upside is you can drink beer while you watch the game and talk to some people you haven't seen in awhile. The downside is diminution of atmosphere and the talking sometimes interrupts your game-watching. I thought the game really came down to DeMaagd's first half scoring and Van Arendonk's improved play. Hope started off well but then its offense stalled until Chase picked it up and kept Hope in the game. Without his contributions it could have been a bad halftime deficit. I thought VanArendonk had an overall really good game. I've said it in this space before: I think the kid can play. He needs some coaching on fundamentals, and he needs to keep working hard. He's got a DI body and a nice soft touch on turnarounds and baby hooks. I was glad to see him perform as well as he did.

Looking at the game stats some of the following items stood out to me:

• Calvin shot better from the floor than Hope: 28-61 vs 25-56. They also shot better behind the arc. The difference for Hope points-wise was at the stripe.
• VanArendonk played 35 minutes. I don't know he's ever done that in a Hope uniform. And only two fouls too yet.
• Grant Neil played 17 minutes(!)
• Hope's assist to turnover ratio was a problem. Gardner, who had a very good game overall, had one assist and five turnovers. He occasionally dribbled himself into trouble. I love his energy and grit, but in time he'll have to improve on assists and turnovers.
• Snuggerud hit that big, improbable 3-pointer, but otherwise it was a pretty uninspired game from him. He's simply not the player he was last year.
• Billy Seiler: 3-3 from the line, 9 rebounds, and good defense on Snikkers. Good game for him.

All in all, a great win, but I still think Hope can get better and I still have some questions about some of their rotations. Honestly, after the Olivet game I thought this was a lost season. I'm pleased to see they've turned it around, and both the players and the coaching staff deserve credit for doing so. I'd still be surprised if they can make the NCAA's, but it's now not unthinkable.

On a separate note, and since the argument has been made on this site before, the end of regulation in the Michigan/Wisconsin game is, as far as I'm concerned, evidence that you guard the passer on an inbounds play. After the game Bo Ryan said: "The best thing was Mike's pass on the dime on the run, didn't have to reach back for it, able to catch it all in one motion." That probably wouldn't have happened had they guarded the inbounds pass. I think it adds a significant margin of error into end-of-game opportunities. Mind you, the UW guy hit an unbelievable shot, but he was also in a position to do so. It reminded me a lot of the Evan Turner play in the B1G tourney a couple of years ago.