MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

Kruis doesn't look to be injured.  Maybe he is having a reaction to the In-N-Out burger.

I hear the out is the worst part.

[calvinite]

Kruis subbed out of the Redlands game with 8 seconds left in the game -- so I don't think it was a game injury -- although I suppose one is just as likely to get injured with 8 seconds left in the game as any other time -- maybe more likely if one figures injuries are more likely to occur when players are tired. Didn't Marsha Harris get injured in a big Calvin-Hope game with a minute or two left in the game. I think there was also a season ending injury for one of the Calvin women volleyball players a year or two ago -- also against Hope -- and I think that injury was literally on match point.

[oldknight]

An ugly offensive half. It's amazing how much different Calvin looks on offense when Tyler Kruis doesn't play. The Knights are 7-28 from the floor and got out-boarded 20-15. They're fortunate to only be down 26-20.

[sac]

When they announced Dan starting, I wasn't surprised because he's not only from CA, but I think he's from this part of California. I am surprised to see Kruis in street clothes. Anyone have any information about this?

Not that it matters a lot, Southern California is Southern California, but Escondido is a little North of San Diego.  Claremont-Mudd is just East of Los Angeles.  Its a little under 100 miles from Dan Stout's home.

[calvinite]

An ugly offensive half. It's amazing how much different Calvin looks on offense when Tyler Kruis doesn't play. The Knights are 7-28 from the floor and got out-boarded 20-15. They're fortunate to only be down 26-20.

Hey, it could be worse. Calvin's already scored 8 more points than Champion Baptist scored the entire night.... and their opponent scored 116.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/record-setting-blowout-southern-won-basketball-game-104-033719733--ncaab.html

[calvinite]

...and it's getting worse...

[oldknight]

...and it's getting worse...

Yup; went from an ugly offensive half to an ugly defensive one as Calvin gives up 25 points the first 9 minutes of the second frame. Time to go to bed.

[wiz]

Well, they topped the 37 point mark set at Wheaton last year.  So, that's good.

[sac]

With yesterdays results the league is 35-48 with 5 games remaining. 

Hope @ Thomas More
Trine @ Mt. Vernon Nazarene
Kalamazoo @ IPFW
Edgewood @ Hope
Trine @ Ohio Northern.

Should be favorites in 3 of those with Trine/ONU a toss-up and Kzoo a heavy underdog against the D1 Mastadons.   We've broken a string of 3 straight years at or above .500 and with the heavy graduation losses from last year I think this kind of record is about as expected.  The 10 year average for wins is going to be just about 40.

Year    W-L    W%
2005  46-38  .548
2006  52-34  .605
2007  27-51  .346
2008  34-44  .386
2009  35-46  .432
2010  38-50  .432
2011  43-43  .500
2012  44-43  .506
2013  48-39  .552

[sac]

Hope plays at Thomas More tonight at 7pm

The Saints are just 2-8 on the season after getting crushed by Cincinnati Christian (10-3) 102-68 last night.  Last year they were something like 24-4 and missed out on an NCAA bid, this year they have a new coach and I believe most of the roster from last year returned (that may not be accurate).  What's been different is a significantly more difficult schedule.
http://www.tmcsaints.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/schedule

Thomas More used this lineup last night with reduced minutes from the norm:

Starters
----------------
G/F  Drew Mumford  6-2  Jr.
G  D'Carlo Hayes  5-11 Sr.
G  Spencer Berlekamp  6-0  Sr.
F  Joseph Marshall  6-1 Sr.
F  Brandon Houseley  6-2 Sr.
-------------------------
G/F  Nate McGovney  6-2  Fr.
F  Chris Richard  6-4  Jr.
G  Jalen Clark  6-2  Jr.
G  Elliot Pipes  6-0  Sr.


Mumford and Hayes are the leading offensive threats avg'g 17 and 14 with McGovney at 10 off the bench.  TM likes to push the pace though its nothing outrageous, most of their games have resulted in at least one team reaching 80 points.

The height advantage Hope will have is pretty significant with TM giving up several inches per man.  This is likely the shortest team Hope will play this year even in the MIAA.

They appear to be struggling from beyond the arc at just 30%, Hayes seems to be the biggest threat.  Judging from overall FG% vs 3 pt % I'd say the Saints like their layups.  Given their heights you probably won't be surprised to learn TM is getting out-rebounded by about 5 per game.

Common opponent:   
Hope 75 Centre 68
Centre 85  Thomas More 64

Whatever slim shards of glass Hope has remaining of being a viable Pool C candidate rest on this game.  Lose this one and that dream is over, win and you still have a fighting chance.  That's really whats on the line here.

[KzooHornet]

Good article on Kalamazoo's Mark Ghafari...

http://www.mlive.com/sports/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013/12/kalamazoo_college_basketball_p.html

[sac]

Trine 57  Mt. Vernon Nazarene 47

Tatu 20, Dixon 14, Good 12, Holmquist 9

Tatu made 6 3's in the game......on 15 shots!

[sac]

Hope 83  Thomas More 80

Hope pulls out of the fire a game that never should have needed being pulled out of the fire.  The Saints used a 19-3 run at the beginning of the second half to erase an 8 point deficit and take an 8 point lead.  Hope battled back to win a game that was back and forth the final few minutes.  Two big defensive plays at the end were the decisive plays as TM never got off what could have been the go ahead shots in the final seconds.

An effort like that gets you about 7 MIAA losses.

Eidson 17, Benson 12, Gardner 10



On my list of questions for the seasons end is why would you not zone a team like that or camp your two 6-8 centers on the block and dare them to come in there.  All I can imagine is Hope is just that uncomfortable playing zone.


My more positive thought is Hope really pulled out a tough win under dire circumstances and made two big plays when they needed them.  They should feel good about how the win transpired, not all that great about how they got in that circumstance.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

6 days til the start of league play, so here are the rules for the 2014 version of the MIAA Pick 'Em contest.  No change in the rules from the last few years.  If you want to join - just go to the MIAA Pick 'Em page.

- Prior to the beginning of the first game on any given day, pick the winner of each game.  You must also indicate confidence points 1 through 4 (and you must use each confidence number once for each game day).  If you picked the winning team, you will be awarded the number of confidence points you put on that game (See example below).

- Any late picks will be counted as incorrect, and no points will be awarded.

- I will post a weekly update on the standings. 

- The ultimate winner to be decided by point total.  Any ties in point total will be broken by pick percentage.  If a tie still exists, the commissioner automatically wins- just kidding.

- Any disputes may be taken up with the commissioner (that's me) and I will make a final and fair ruling (I promise).


Pick Em example:

Let's say I used the picks below (the team I picked to win is bolded) and the number is my confidence points:

Team A vs Team B - 2
Team C vs Team D - 4
Team E vs Team F - 3
Team G vs Team H - 1

If the winning teams are B, D, F, and H, I would have gone 3-1 and have accrued 7 points.

Here is the slate of games for week 1:

Wednesday, January 8
Trine @ Hope, 7:30 p.m.
Olivet  @ Adrian, 7:30 p.m.
Albion @ Kalamazoo, 8:00 p.m.
Calvin @ Alma, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 11
Hope @ Calvin, 3:00 p.m.
Adrian @ Trine, 3:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo @ Olivet, 5:00 p.m.
Alma @ Albion, 7:30 p.m.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

OK, so I'll address the "elephant in the room"  - is Tyler Kruis injured?  Saw mention that he was in street clothes at the last game, and I'm curious about his status heading into MIAA play next week.