MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[almcguirejr]

I'm not sure what difference it would have made for Calvin this year, but scheduling only 6 home games out of your first twenty-three games should not be repeated. 

[oldknight]

I'm not sure what difference it would have made for Calvin this year, but scheduling only 6 home games out of your first twenty-three games should not be repeated.

Especially true for those who are season ticket holders.

[sac]

Weird night in the MIAA with 4 mens and women's double-headers.  Support your local MIAA program.

[pointlem]

So, http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2016/02/17/second-ncaa-regional-ranking/ indicates that Hope, though #6 in DIII Hoops poll is fifth in its region. I understand that the two rankings have utterly different methodologies. But perhaps KnightSlappy or Sac could explain the computation that has Hope (19-1 against DIII opponents) trailing Alma (18-5)?  Is the SOS difference such a big factor that Alma's slightly better SOS overwhelms the significant difference in their records?  Just curious . . .

[KnightSlappy]

So, http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2016/02/17/second-ncaa-regional-ranking/ indicates that Hope, though #6 in DIII Hoops poll is fifth in its region. I understand that the two rankings have utterly different methodologies. But perhaps KnightSlappy or Sac could explain the computation that has Hope (19-1 against DIII opponents) trailing Alma (18-5)?  Is the SOS difference such a big factor that Alma's slightly better SOS overwhelms the significant difference in their records?  Just curious . . .

Alma's .050 SOS advantage is pretty significant. They've also played 7 regionally ranked opponents to Hope's 2 (I think this is double counting given the SOS, but these are the criteria). In the end it won't matter. Whoever does better in the MIAA Tournament will end up above the other, probably. Especially if there's another H2H game.

[KnightSlappy]

Calvin tops Adrian 72-68. The Knights stay alive in the MIAA Tournament hunt, but they'll need to beat Hope and get help with a Trine loss (at home vs. Albion) to force a tie for fourth. Adrian also needs a win (home vs. Kalamazoo) and a Trine loss to force a tie. (Even with tiebreakers that not be enough if Calvin can somehow beat Hope, not sure how the MIAA will rule).

This is all assuming Trine can hold off Olivet tonight. If they do, they'll be win and in come Saturday.

Hope beats Kalamazoo 90-79 and Albion topples Alma 71-66. That gives Hope the #1 seed in the MIAA Tournament (they split with Alma and will have a better record vs. the #3 team in the conference). Alma will be #2 and will match up with Albion in the first semifinal.

[oldknight]

A tough season for Calvin's Knights got a bit of redemption with a come-from-behind 72-68 win over an exceptionally athletic Adrian Bulldog team that had seemed to be in control for much of the game. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why Calvin was able to mount a late comeback but some seated in my end zone were quick to credit the second half appearance of HopeConvert who wandered in after attending the MIAA swimming and diving championships held today at Calvin. Prior to HC exchanging his seat at the pool for one at VNA, the Knights couldn't seem to guard anyone nor keep Bulldog rebounders off the boards. That all changed shortly before the mid-point of the second half when HC singlehandedly inspired a comeback that was fueled by much improved defense. After giving up an unacceptable 45 points the first half, Calvin limited Adrian to 14 the last 14+ minutes of the game. That, along with better three point shooting than we've seen lately, was enough for Calvin to overcome an 11 point halftime deficit. Other game notes:

--as sac has noted, Christian Coville is a significant offensive force, possibly the most difficult to defend player in the MIAA this year. After pouring in 24 the first half, he slowed down a bit as Calvin defenders (mostly Daley and Kronemeyer) limited the second half damage to 9 points.

--speaking of Kronemeyer, he re-emerged after hardly playing the last three games and had a solid, composed effort for Calvin. It seems KVS has decided to go with the veterans the final week of the season as the two freshmen guards who played major minutes the last few games never got on the court tonight.

--no one player was key to the win but several played important roles, not the least of whom were Drews, Welch and Wilks, all of whom played better games than they've had recently. Drews had 16 points and some big threes to close the gap, Welch finishing nicely around the rim the second half, and Wilks (11 points) had several tremendous-effort rebounds, none more important than the gritty offensive board he managed with 21 seconds left in a tie game. Michael got fouled in the corner after keeping the ball alive and then calmly swished two free throws to give his team a two point lead. A few seconds later Wilks added a defensive board and two more throws to seal the win.

--I'm not sure Daley has returned to form after taking the shot to the head at Alma last week. He didn't play badly (9 points) but didn't look like Calvin's best player which he has been all season.

--After 350 minutes of playing time, we found out Nate Drews actually can shoot free throws and he is now a perfect 2-2 on the season. As much as I appreciated the points, I was kind of rooting for Nate to go 0-0 for the year.

--Several offers of a ticket to Saturday's game were made to HC--as long as he promised to sit in the same seat he did tonight.

[sac]

Albion 71  Alma 66

Story of this was Albion's Fr. Nathaniel Collins who tallied 19 points on 5-8 3-point shooting.  If you haven't heard of Nate you aren't alone.  Nate's played in all of 4 varsity games for the Britons this year and this was his first major game action.  He was money tonight, prior to tonight his claim to fame was lighting up Calvin's JV team with 46 points a few games ago.  To beat a good zone you need to knock down your 3's and Robert Ryan also chipped in his 4-4 performance behind the arc.  Between those two it was 9-12 and 39 points.

Boxscore says 2nd chance points was 4-2 but that has to be wrong, Albion had 13 offensive rebounds to 3 with most of that damage done by Oakes and Herron.  They had to have scored more than 4 points on those extra possessions.


Hard to find fault with Alma's performance other than to say their end of game execution wasn't the best.  I always try to find a moment when games kind of turn and this one turned with Alma up 7 and about  7 1/2 minutes left.  Albion had just missed a jump shot and Scott Nikodemski raced down the court and missed a layup with a couple Britons all over him, just 7 seconds into the shot clock.  Can't really fault that because the lane was there for the taking.  Albion missed another shot and again Alma came down and took a shot 7 seconds into the shot clock, a miss by DJ Beckman that was wide open.  Robert Ryan makes a 3 for Albion and all of the sudden its a 4 point game and Kresge gets pretty noisy.  That seemed to fray the nerves of the Scots a bit, about a minute later another 3 goes in for Albion and just that quick a game they were leading by 7 and in control and ready to put away was suddenly just 1.

Albion scored points on 9 of its last 10 possessions, Alma 6 of its last 10 with 3 turnovers.  That really was the difference.


I've watched both games these two have played and they've both been really good competitive hard fought games.  Albion has some nice ideas to attack Alma's zone and threw a couple tweaks in there tonight they didn't use up at Alma.  But bottom line to beat a zone you have to knock down 3's and Albion did that tonight.   The 3pm semi-final next Friday shapes up to be an interesting game.

[sac]

+1 for road win, -1 for home loss
Alma      11-2     +4
Hope     12-1     +5
Albion    9-4       +2
Trine      6-7        0
Adrian   5-8        -1
Calvin    5-8       -1
Olivet     2-11     -4
Kzoo      2-11     -5

Home teams are 33-19  (11 of those losses belong to Kzoo, Olivet)

Remaining games:

Hope:      @Calvin
Alma:       @Olivet
------------------------
Albion:     @Trine
------------------------
Trine:       Albion
Adrian:     Kzoo
Calvin:     Hope
------------------------
Olivet:      Alma
Kzoo:       @Adrian


Alma/Hope---Alma blinked first,  Hope wins a share of the MIAA Championship and will now host the MIAA semi-finals.  Hope can win it outright with a win at Calvin.  Alma has locked up the #2 seed, can also share their first MIAA Championship since 1978 with a win at Olivet and Calvin win over Hope

------Albion has clinched the #3 seed in the MIAA tournament

-----If I am not mistaken, and I might be, Trine has clinched at least a spot in a 4/5 play-in game.  As KS pointed out if Trine beats Albion at home Saturday Trine clinches the #4 seed regardless of other results.  (I've recommended to influential powers at Albion to take a dive Saturday, we'll see)

-----A Calvin win over Hope and if Trine loses to Albion would not only  put Calvin in a play-in game, they would host it with the "best win" tie-breaker over Hope.   

-----Adrian needs to beat Kzoo and needs Hope to beat Calvin and Albion to beat Trine.    In that scenario they would be in a 4-5 play-in game played at Trine. I don't think Adrian can win or be #2 in a three-way tie-breaker.

[HOPEful]

Since we are now guaranteed to have four games in Holland next Friday, and it is the women's year to play first, can we assume the schedule will be...?

1 pm - #2 Calvin v. #3 Trine (women)
3 pm - #2 Alma v. #3 Albion (men)
5 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Adrian (women)
7 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Trine/Adrian (men)

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Since we are now guaranteed to have four games in Holland next Friday, and it is the women's year to play first, can we assume the schedule will be...?

1 pm - #2 Calvin v. #3 Trine (women)
3 pm - #2 Alma v. #3 Albion (men)
5 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Adrian (women)
7 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Trine/Adrian (men)

Don't think we actually know the Hope women will play Adrian.  They are currently tied with Olivet for 4th place, and those two schools play each other on Saturday - winner will be the 4th place team.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

One quick comment after the game at Kalamazoo last night.  Hope played a really poor first half - had a 9 minute drought between baskets (with a couple of made FT in there) and shot 29.2% from the floor, 0.00% from 3, and 66.7% from the line.  An awful half, yet they trailed by only 5 points.  I was still feeling pretty confident and expected they would turn things around.

Boy did they ever, a second half in which they scored 66 points, every starter scored 9 or more points in the half (they all finished in double figures), and the team shot 80.8% from the floor, 62.5% from 3 and 75.0% from the line!!!!!

[calvin_grad]

Since we are now guaranteed to have four games in Holland next Friday, and it is the women's year to play first, can we assume the schedule will be...?

1 pm - #2 Calvin v. #3 Trine (women)
3 pm - #2 Alma v. #3 Albion (men)
5 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Adrian (women)
7 pm - #1 Hope v. #4 Trine/Adrian (men)

Don't think we actually know the Hope women will play Adrian.  They are currently tied with Olivet for 4th place, and those two schools play each other on Saturday - winner will be the 4th place team.

Nor do we know for sure that Calvin won't be the 4 seed on the men's side. (Although the odds are pretty good that they won't be.)

[HopeConvert]

A tough season for Calvin's Knights got a bit of redemption with a come-from-behind 72-68 win over an exceptionally athletic Adrian Bulldog team that had seemed to be in control for much of the game. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why Calvin was able to mount a late comeback but some seated in my end zone were quick to credit the second half appearance of HopeConvert who wandered in after attending the MIAA swimming and diving championships held today at Calvin. Prior to HC exchanging his seat at the pool for one at VNA, the Knights couldn't seem to guard anyone nor keep Bulldog rebounders off the boards. That all changed shortly before the mid-point of the second half when HC singlehandedly inspired a comeback that was fueled by much improved defense. After giving up an unacceptable 45 points the first half, Calvin limited Adrian to 14 the last 14+ minutes of the game. That, along with better three point shooting than we've seen lately, was enough for Calvin to overcome an 11 point halftime deficit. Other game notes:

--Several offers of a ticket to Saturday's game were made to HC--as long as he promised to sit in the same seat he did tonight.

Had I been a loyal Calvin fan all these years, Kevin VandeStreek would be known as the John Wooden of Division III. I - Alas! - don't seem to have the same effect on Hope's coaches.

Having been unable to procure tickets for Saturday's surprising sellout, I was able to trade on the ties of kinship to snag a few. So I'm grateful for that. But it's possible Knights fans, after I delivered them last night's victory, have insidious motives for getting me into the arena.

[HOPEful]

Don't think we actually know the Hope women will play Adrian.  They are currently tied with Olivet for 4th place, and those two schools play each other on Saturday - winner will be the 4th place team.

Nor do we know for sure that Calvin won't be the 4 seed on the men's side. (Although the odds are pretty good that they won't be.)

I agree with both of these statements. My question was more directed towards, it is the order 2 v 3 (women), 2 v 3 (men), Hope v. 4 (women), Hope v. 4 (men) set in stone?