MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Really thought Olivet would have faired better. I was expecting a win vs Greenville and a better fight against NWU. Maybe if the games were switched, they have had a better shot at NWU. I suppose playing back to back nights with the Greenville game first will always effect your second game. Disappointing.

Given the frenetic pace that NebWes prefers, I doubt that it makes any difference whether you play the Prairie Wolves before or after Greenville.

To be fair ... NWU doesn't mind any pace. They can win a game going upspeed with a ton of scoring. They can also slow things down and win a game in the 70s if they need. That is another reason that makes them so dangerous. That and their depth.

[KnightSlappy]

I watched both of CUs games this weekend and they looked like two different teams. Friday they looked like they were all in a turkey hangover. Saturday they played great D and efficient O, and looked to be in mid season form. Yes, I realize who they were playing is a part of that, and Calvin played a very good game, but I’d put up some serious $$ (were I a betting man) that CU would beat Calvin in a rematch.

I tend to agree somewhat. I told Mrs. KS after the game that I thought the result had about as much to do with Cornerstone playing badly as it did Calvin playing well.

I'll give Calvin major credit for two things though: (1) They took advantage early and seemed to come out hungry to show something and (2) they didn't panic for a moment when Cornerstone cut the lead to a single possession with 8 or 9 minutes to play. They kept with their game and extended the lead back out to 10 and then closed it out.

Alex Bos in particular was rallying his teammates to keep up the intensity throughout the game and KVS continually implored his team to play tough and forget about the scoreboard.

[maroonandgold]

After looking at the overall league standings, I noticed that Albion and Adrian along with Trine have the best win-loss records so far.  We have not been hearing much from those teams.  Are the opponents they defeated quite good, or have they just been winning because of weak competition?  From the few teams I recognize, it appears that they are beating some very decent teams.  More information would help.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

After looking at the overall league standings, I noticed that Albion and Adrian along with Trine have the best win-loss records so far.  We have not been hearing much from those teams.  Are the opponents they defeated quite good, or have they just been winning because of weak competition?  From the few teams I recognize, it appears that they are beating some very decent teams.  More information would help.

Weak competition (maybe even very weak) from what I see.  Those 3 MIAA teams have played a total of 13 games, and only 1 of them (an Albion loss to Case Western) was to a team with a winning record. 

Adrian - opponent cumulative record - 3-14 - record of teams they defeated - 2-11
Albion - opponent cumulative record - 6-14 - record of teams they defeated - 3-13
Trine - opponent cumulative record - 5-11 - record of teams they defeated - 3-9

Massey's current SOS (Strength of Schedule) rankings (total of 427 ranked DIII schools).  Pretty strong schedules for the first 4 listed

Alma - 2
Calvin - 4
Olivet - 12
Hope - 33
Trine - 163
Albion - 217
Kalamazoo - 291
Adrian - 347

[sac]

Albion's next 2 D3 games should give us a much better picture of their team   Dec 8 vs Chicago, Dec 19 vs North Central.  They also play a game at D1 Evansville this Saturday.

[maroonandgold]

After looking at the overall league standings, I noticed that Albion and Adrian along with Trine have the best win-loss records so far.  We have not been hearing much from those teams.  Are the opponents they defeated quite good, or have they just been winning because of weak competition?  From the few teams I recognize, it appears that they are beating some very decent teams.  More information would help.

Weak competition (maybe even very weak) from what I see.  Those 3 MIAA teams have played a total of 13 games, and only 1 of them (an Albion loss to Case Western) was to a team with a winning record. 

Adrian - opponent cumulative record - 3-14 - record of teams they defeated - 2-11
Albion - opponent cumulative record - 6-14 - record of teams they defeated - 3-13
Adrian - opponent cumulative record - 5-11 - record of teams they defeated - 3-9

Massey's current SOS (Strength of Schedule) rankings (total of 427 ranked DIII schools).  Pretty strong schedules for the first 4 listed

Alma - 2
Calvin - 4
Olivet - 12
Hope - 33
Trine - 163
Albion - 217
Kalamazoo - 291
Adrian - 347

Thanks!  That information along with SAC's comment are very helpful in having a clearer picture of how things stand at this point.  I am assuming that the third record is Trine's rather than a Adrian's.  It is encouraging that we are receiving more input from more school's fans in recent years.  We could use a little more from Adrian and Albion at this point of the year.  It seems to me that we have heard comments from fans of each of other schools, and that is a good thing.

[sac]

Adrian hosts Ohio Wesleyan on Dec 15, and have a trip to Mt. Union (middle of OAC?) in late December, they'll also play Thomas More there. 

Trine hosts Baldwin Wallace (top 5 OAC?) on Dec 17, and have the same trip as Adrian to Mt. Union.


All other games for those 2 look very winnable.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

After looking at the overall league standings, I noticed that Albion and Adrian along with Trine have the best win-loss records so far.  We have not been hearing much from those teams.  Are the opponents they defeated quite good, or have they just been winning because of weak competition?  From the few teams I recognize, it appears that they are beating some very decent teams.  More information would help.

Weak competition (maybe even very weak) from what I see.  Those 3 MIAA teams have played a total of 13 games, and only 1 of them (an Albion loss to Case Western) was to a team with a winning record. 

Adrian - opponent cumulative record - 3-14 - record of teams they defeated - 2-11
Albion - opponent cumulative record - 6-14 - record of teams they defeated - 3-13
Trine - opponent cumulative record - 5-11 - record of teams they defeated - 3-9

Massey's current SOS (Strength of Schedule) rankings (total of 427 ranked DIII schools).  Pretty strong schedules for the first 4 listed

Alma - 2
Calvin - 4
Olivet - 12
Hope - 33
Trine - 163
Albion - 217
Kalamazoo - 291
Adrian - 347

Thanks!  That information along with SAC's comment are very helpful in having a clearer picture of how things stand at this point.  I am assuming that the third record is Trine's rather than a Adrian's.  It is encouraging that we are receiving more input from more school's fans in recent years.  We could use a little more from Adrian and Albion at this point of the year.  It seems to me that we have heard comments from fans of each of other schools, and that is a good thing.

Yes - fixed it above - thanks!

[realist]

After this past weekend, it looks like the coaches prediction of Trine as the likley champ looks quite likely.  They seem to have been the most consistent with an established mix of experienced players.  Olivet could have raised some questions about their reliability.  What ever happened to the player who was division I star quality?  I never hear about him playing.  Hope and Cavin look good at times and weak at others.  If I could take this weekend as an accurate indicator of where the teams stand, it would really look good for Calvin.  But the weeks before show a lot of inconsistency.  Calvin has a lot of young players or players new to the rotation that look good at times and show their lack of experience often.

After these two wins for Calvin I am much more optimistic about how they will fare going forward than I have been for quite some time.  Like others I have often thought that Calvin's problem did not stem from lack of talent, but more from lacking self confidence, and understanding that they are capable of playing with the big boys.  Not sure who deserves the credit for the marked improvement in how Calvin responded on Fri., and Sat. night,.  Both nights the players and the coaches all seemed to be on the same page, and carried and conducted themselves like they were having fun playing the games, and expected to win.

KVS?

It would appear that the current group of players are much more amenable to KVS and his coaching style.  Some recent players, like the Morrison brothers, were not subtle in expressing their displeasure with the way he was coaching them, and the games.  Some previous players did not seem well suited to the style game KVS coaches.  Time will tell if the current mix does better than some recent editions.

[HOPEful]

Yes, I would say Sluis and Cornerstones overall length was an issue for Hope. Beckman scoring below his average had a lot to do with being guarded by Riley Costen who is 6'5".

I watched both of CUs games this weekend and they looked like two different teams. Friday they looked like they were all in a turkey hangover. Saturday they played great D and efficient O, and looked to be in mid season form. Yes, I realize who they were playing is a part of that, and Calvin played a very good game, but I'd put up some serious $$ (were I a betting man) that CU would beat Calvin in a rematch.

I think Cornerstone and Simpson both have the team makeup that is ideal for giving Hope fits. It's clear that Mitchell is determined (often looks more like forcing) to have Preston as a focal point on offense. I get why, since Hope becomes very 1 dimensional if they abandon the inside game. But Reiter, Simpson's 6'8" center and VanderSluis were clearly up to the task of stopping Preston's offensive game. For both Cornerstone and Simpson, their ability to shut down Beckman as well was kryptonite for Hope. Bruns was also able to shut down Preston for the most part, but ONU's inability to contain Beckman was Hope's saving grace. Hope will struggle this year in any game they can't get consistent production out of Preston, Beckman, and Lewis. Personally, I'm really hoping Teddy Ray will help with this as his health improves.

[Jameswys]

Olivet 78 Carthage 72

Weird final minute of play. Lots of odd calls and Tracy Edmond picked up a technical foul with about 6 seconds left. Olivet looked good for about 28 minutes in the middle of the game. Trevor Manuel looked the best I've seen him this year. His rebounding stats weren't super impressive tonight but he was creating rebounds for teammates by using his length to tip balls out to them. If he keeps improving (or getting back to full speed) he could be more of a difference maker than I thought. But his passing is pretty atrocious, he didn't get credit for as many turnovers but I felt he put Tracy in bad position and Tracy got the turnover. Olivet shot 30-59 from the floor with 11-22 from behind the arc.

[KnightSlappy]

Calvin over Anderson 75-54 but KVS was not pleased with his players for most of the night. I think KVS is demanding a lot from his team right now because they have a chance to be good by the end of the year if things come together.

[Young Knight 14]

I agree, I believe I even heard a "worse half of basketball all year" out of KVS shortly before halftime. Shot selection and some defensive errors seem to be the main reason. Would have been nice to come out of halftime a little more inspired instead of letting Anderson cut the lead to single digits, but never the less still a 20+ point win.

[KnightSlappy]

It appears that Owen Handy's two technical fouls last night were his first two of the season. The venerable John Creek wasn't having any of it last night.

[goodknight]

It appears that Owen Handy's two technical fouls last night were his first two of the season. The venerable John Creek wasn't having any of it last night.

You can scarcely blame Owen for not wanting to watch his struggling Ravens last night. Not sure, but I think I might have heard him spit out "NEVERMORE" as he departed the VNA court for the solitude of the locker room.