MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Greek Tragedy]

Calvin heads to Platteville. 1st round is against a dangerous WLC team, while the hosts play Grinnell.

Possible rematch of the memorable season opener...or forgetful.

[wiz]

Superor coaching confirmed

https://calvinknights.com/news/2025/3/3/calvins-bill-sall-named-miaa-mens-basketball-coach-of-the-year.aspx

[GoKnights68]

Game is at 5:40 ET / 4:40 local on Friday , per KnightSlappy's Xitter

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Per Massey:
Calvin 56% probability to beat Wisconsin Lutheran in opening game. Most likely score 74-72.

Platteville pod probabilities:

UW-Platteville 61.6%
Calvin 19.5%
Wisconsin Lutheran 14.0%
Grinnell 4.9%

[sac]

Superor coaching confirmed

https://calvinknights.com/news/2025/3/3/calvins-bill-sall-named-miaa-mens-basketball-coach-of-the-year.aspx

Now they both have one.

[Grutte Dirk]

Superor (sic) coaching confirmed
https://calvinknights.com/news/2025/3/3/calvins-bill-sall-named-miaa-mens-basketball-coach-of-the-year.aspx

Now they both have one.

Well done.

[Captain_Joe08]

Should be a good game regardless of outcome. Second overall meeting between WLC and Calvin on the men's side with the other game being in 2000 (know WLC and Calvin women have met quite a bit over the past decade plus).

[Dark Knight]

Calvin and Wisconsin Lutheran sit right next to each other in the Massey rankings, at #17 and #18. WLC has the better record, at 25-3 compared to Calvin's 21-6, but Calvin has had a more challenging schedule, against teams that are 4.5 points stronger on average. WLC's average margin of victory is 15.4 vs Calvin's 12.0.

Calvin is 4-2 against Massey top-25 teams (with 6 losses over all), and WLC has not played any teams in Massey's top 25.

Massey gives Calvin a 56% chance of winning, with a most likely score of 73-71. Over the last 5 games, Calvin has played with Massey power 18.5, to 11.3 for WLC. That would suggest a 7 point win for Calvin.

WLC has starters who are about as experienced as they come: one senior and four graduate students. There are three players who score in double figures on average,

#33, 6'8" forward Ryan Broeckel, who averages 17.8 points and 8.7 rebounds,
#2, 6'0" guard Jacob Stoltz, who averages 16.9 points per game, and
#20, 6'3" guard Grayson Goetz, who averages 15.8 points per game.

If you think that's a lot of high-scoring players, you are right. WLC averages 84.5 points per game, while Calvin gives up 62.7. WLC plays only a little faster, with an adjusted tempo of 73.8, compared to Calvin's 71.5. It will be interesting to see which end of the 62.7...84.5 spectrum they end up closer to.

[goodknight]

WLC also has a starter who played for Calvin alum Scott Plaisier at Timothy Christian High School in Elmhurst, IL. Looking forward to a very competitive game this afternoon.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Massey gives Calvin a 56% chance of winning, with a most likely score of 73-71. Over the last 5 games, Calvin has played with Massey power 18.5, to 11.3 for WLC. That would suggest a 7 point win for Calvin.

To compare and contrast (not much contrast), D3datacase (KnightSlappy & ziggy) give Calvin a 55% chance to win with a predicted score of 72-71. Definitely expect a tight game. 

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran leads Calvin 38-20 at half.

Calvin is limiting WLC to 38% shooting but is only shooting 31% themselves and WLC is out-rebounding Calvin 26-15.

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran beats Calvin 73-61.

Heck of a game from Calvin. Great season Knights.

[goodknight]

A sad, sudden end to a highly satisfying season for the Knights, who needed to learn how to win without their medical redshirt and two-time league MVP Jaylen Overway. The 20-game win streak was exhilarating after a 0-5 and 1-6 start to the year. But Wisconsin Lutheran put to rest any dreams of another deep run in the national tourney this year.  The Warriors were terrific and their pressing/trapping defense effectively kept Calvin off-balance and uncomfortable throughout the game. WLC's bruising big man Ryan Broeckel was unstoppable both inside and out. The Knights had no answer for him.
Still, it was a season to remember and celebrate -- and pay tribute to those whose Calvin basketball days have come to an end:
League MVP Uchenna Egekeze, a defense-first dervish who developed into a skilled scorer over his 5 seasons in the maroon-and-gold uniform.
Ty Horky, the grad transfer from Kalamazoo College, who contributed important minutes off the bench and steady, heady ball handling under pressure.
Daane Harvey, typically inserted for his defensive prowess, who enjoyed one mystical game this season against the Comets of Olivet when he tossed in 6 of 8 from behind the arc.
And, most likely, this year's leading scorer Owen Varnado who, although a junior in athletic eligibility, will gain his undergrad degree from Calvin this spring and is currently weighing his graduate school options.
Thanks to all of this year's Knights and to Coach Bill Sall and his assistants for an exciting year. This Calvin fan is already looking forward to next season.


 

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Always sad when the season ends - it is always so abrupt.  I wanted to thank all of the seniors across the league for their efforts and giving us the njoyment of watching them play the last few years. 

Being a Hope fan, I also wanted to thank Zach, Eli, Josh, Ben, and Gabe.  Surely not the final seaon you had all planned, way too many injuries for that, but still you left it all out on the court every game and we Hope fans appreciated the chance to watch.  That senior night game will be remembered for a long time!

Lastly, some kudos specifically for Gabe.  After a FR year (short season mid-Covid) with 15 total points and 14 total rebounds over 11 games, he scored 1205 points and had 715 revounds the next 3 years!  Gabe leaves his name all over the Hope record book - in the following categories:

Points - 1220 (20th)
Pts/G - 12.4 (20th)
FG Made - 471 (13th)
FGA - 828 (24th)
FG% - 0.569 (9th)
FTA - 331 (25th)
Reb - 729 (4th)
Reb/G - 7.4 (3)
OReb - 253 (6th)
DReb - 476 (4th)
Blk - 120 (6th)

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Fun season. 20 game win streak, 14-0 in MIAA, MIAA tourney champs, 3-0 sweep vs Hope, overall enjoyable team to root for. A too-soon exit from NCAA tourney but still a memorable season in many ways.

Regarding prior post about Quillan, terrific career. My (least) favorite memory is the 7 threes he hit in Grand Rapids in the 2024 MIAA tournament championship game.

Any news about 2025 incoming freshman, or transfers in/out?