MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Civic Minded]

It is nice to win games by a nice comfort margin, but come NCAA time you also need to know how a team is going to respond should things not go as they planned.  Rest assured it happens every year that a team with a glitzy W/L record loses one early in the tourney to some lesser team that didn't know they were supposed to be intimidated.

OK, I know it has been a while and not often.  But both games Hope played against Aquinas went to the end.  Obviously, the loss to Albion also woke the Dutchmen up.  And I assume that tomorrow's game, no matter the outcome, should be a great test and prepare Hope well for challenges down the road.  So what does that all mean? 

Does a close game really favor Calvin?  Obviously they have played in more of them.  But then again, Hope has a number of veterans that have played in tight Hope/Calvin games before.  It should be a good game tomorrow night but I am not sure I buy the "keep it close and Hope will fold" sentiment that has been said this week.  Both teams are going to want it (or at least should) and we will just have to see how it come out.

This Hope team has really impressed me with its ability to hang tough and win in close situations.  They also had a tough win against Lakeland, IIRC.  In recent years, Hope has had a tendency to fold if the game got close -- they just had trouble hanging on in pressure situations.  Not so this year.  Their loss to Albion has been the anomoly (and don't forget, they did hang on to "win" the 2nd half by two points).  It gives me great HOPE for any post-season play they may encounter.

Calvin has a chance if they can get the Dutchmen to panic early, but I think the loss to Albion and the opening lack of focus when playing Albion at home will serve the Dutchmen well.  Hopefully there were great lessons learned in those situations, and they won't be repeated on Wednesday.

Can't wait.  GO HOPE!   

[GoKnights68]

For all you non-Calvin and non-Hope fans out there, who will you be rooting for if you had to root for someone?

[chicagoknight]

This is my first time posting on this site, but I've been following Calvin & MIAA hoops all year (and a lot of years in the past) and I'm amazed at how far the Knights have come. Its a testament to the coaching job that Coach VS has done with them. As I've been flipping through past posts, I've seen others saying similar things, but with the youth and lack of size, I'm VERY impressed with the results. Coach must have them playing hard and together.

GO KNIGHTS! I'll be cheering from across the lake! 

[bulldogalum]

For all you non-Calvin and non-Hope fans out there, who will you be rooting for if you had to root for someone?

I will be rooting for Hope.  Both of my parents went to Hope, and the thought of cheering for Calvin is enough to turn my stomach, despite the fact that I respect Calvin's program tremendously.   This is probably the only game all year where I root for Hope.

[sac]

I was glad to see B-W move up into the Top 5 with a first place vote.  I know we argued about this early in my posting career but they are a very good team with a great post player in Tori Davis... I've seen most of the good teams in the OAC, MIAA and the NCAC and believe B-W will cause some problems at the end of the year.

I think I just heard SAC's pulse quicken a tad...

He he he........guess I can't get away from being ribbed about BW.

True Story..........a poster who's identity will be protected recently took a vacation in Florida and chased down........no, dare I say stalked a young man wearing a Bald Wally sweatshirt and asked for his picture.  Poor kid.........just so they could present this "gift" to me.  Good chuckles anyway.

I can only imagine the young mans reaction was similar to the young woman I asked to take my picture in front of an inocuous building on the campus of Montana State Univ in Bozeman last summer.  I tried to explain the building was named after my Great Grandfather but it didn't seem to faze her........or impress her.  But she politely snapped the photo and quickly road away.

.........by the way have I mentioned how much this Hope team reminds of 1995.

[sac]

For those hopeing the Knights handle the tough environment of a Hope/Calvin game better than before.........I think the same can be said for Hope.  Hope's one road trip to a hostile environment was Albion and they folded their tent fast.  So Hope has something to prove on the road as well.


Realist----Hope's actually had a number of gut checks, only 1 in MIAA play and that was Olivet when it was a 4 point game early in the second.  There were some nervous folks last Wed. in DeVos for about 2 minutes.

Elmhurst was tight untill late, Aquinas was a war, they were down 17 to Carthage, they should have lost to Lakeland.  All were W's.

By the way Lakeland hadn't  lost since their meeting with Hope untill this past weekend, 11 in a row.


The arguement about wheather a close game favors Calvin is a no brainer to me......of course it does.  Does anyone really think Calvin will win big over Hope?

There are lots of keys but the biggest is how the Knights shoot period.  Calvin almost always shoots well at home and if they're able to put pressure on Hope to score they can win.

[David Collinge]

I assume both schools will have internet radio broadcasts of the game.  Can I get an unbiased opinion as to which one is the better broadcast for an impartial fan who wants to tune in?  Taking into account all factors such as broadcast quality, professionalism of announcers, etc. 

[sac]

Sac, you missed a great day at DeVos.  Have you been making other games (even when giving in-game updates . . . from a Blackberry?)

Sorry I didn't respond earlier, but yes I've been to most games.  I missed the Elmhurst, Calvin and Albion games..........interesting that these were the 3 biggest  .  I went to Alma and Kzoo and will probably go to Adrian this weekend.

My updates came from my home computer, I "watched" the Albion game via the live scoreboard while chasing by neice and nephew around.


.........and if anyone wants to sell me their ticket for tommorrow night I'll be glad to take that ticket off your hands  

[sac]

I assume both schools will have internet radio broadcasts of the game.  Can I get an unbiased opinion as to which one is the better broadcast for an impartial fan who wants to tune in?  Taking into account all factors such as broadcast quality, professionalism of announcers, etc. 

Try Calvins's broadcast, the quality is better since its an FM station.  Not that the Hope guys aren't bad but Mr. Wentworth is an excellent announcer.  You'll get a better feel for the atmosphere as well

Just make sure you have ice cream handy because you'll likely have an inexplicable craving for ice cream during the game. 

[ziggy]

I assume both schools will have internet radio broadcasts of the game.  Can I get an unbiased opinion as to which one is the better broadcast for an impartial fan who wants to tune in?  Taking into account all factors such as broadcast quality, professionalism of announcers, etc. 

Gotta go with Dougy Fresh on the Calvin call

[Civic Minded]

I assume both schools will have internet radio broadcasts of the game.  Can I get an unbiased opinion as to which one is the better broadcast for an impartial fan who wants to tune in?  Taking into account all factors such as broadcast quality, professionalism of announcers, etc. 

Gotta go with Dougy Fresh on the Calvin call

Dougy Fresh...now I have to clean cola off of my monitor...

[oldknight]

I assume both schools will have internet radio broadcasts of the game.  Can I get an unbiased opinion as to which one is the better broadcast for an impartial fan who wants to tune in?  Taking into account all factors such as broadcast quality, professionalism of announcers, etc. 

Try Calvins's broadcast, the quality is better since its an FM station.  Not that the Hope guys aren't bad but Mr. Wentworth is an excellent announcer.  You'll get a better feel for the atmosphere as well

Just make sure you have ice cream handy because you'll likely have an inexplicable craving for ice cream during the game. 

I agree; go with WFUR on the Calvin site. Mr. Hudsonville Ice Cream will give you Calvin's perspective of course, but if the Knights stink and Hope looks great he isn't so biased that he won't say so.

And have your ice cream at the ready. I havn't heard the flavor of the night yet but I recommend French Silk.

[oldknight]

I don't know if any of you Hopesters remember this but back in 1979 a Hope coed named Janet Chandler, working as a night clerk at the Blue Mill Inn, was abducted and murdered. I remember it well and the crime was never solved. Channel 8 reports that the police now have a suspect and the AG's office will have an announcement tomorrow. I hope (the right word here) they will catch the b@#$%&* who did that.

[hope1]

oh yes wfur  dose a lot better whtc   it is hard to get whtc in holland some times

[samitysse]

yes they do have 5 transfres on the team