MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Gregory Sager]

With an 18-9 record, Calvin is bound to have one of the lowest seedings of the region.

No, it's 14-6. Again, people, regional record is the only thing that matters. Please put aside your urge to post your team's overall record when you're discussing tournament matters. As far as the selection committee is concerned, those other games do not exist at all.

As for Calvin getting matched up with Lake Erie, that could very well happen. But the two schools are on opposite sides of the region, and it might be more tempting for the committee to move Calvin westward to meet the likes of Aurora or Chicago.

[AndersDY]

Despite a similar regional ranking, the committee did send Lake Erie to the wolves at Wittenberg last year, so I think they realize how inflated that ranking is because of uneven competition. I don't think they will be "rewarded" with the lower ranked Calvin matchup.

I don't have a whole lot of guesses for tomorrow night, probably 3 teams taking a trip to Wooster? Hope and Calvin will see only road games for certain, wherever they are sent.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Augustana has held on to beat Elmhurst in the CCIW championship game. This is very good news for Hope as Augie would have been a lock for a Pool C bid had it lost tonight. Elmhurst came into the game at #5 in the Midwest Region but its regional record will fall to 15-6 after tonight. Although Elmhurst will probably be in the conversation Hope compares much more favorably with Elmhurst than it would have with Augie.

[Grutte Dirk]

I have a feeling that Calvin will not advance past the first round of the tournament. They won't be playing against Hope, and therefore won't be able to get up for the game. Without orange and blue staring them in the face they will again be the lackluster team that that really are.

Sorry to say ..... the Knights seem to need the extrinsic motivation to git'er done.  Win or go home could be a big motivator for those that seem to lack focus when they need it.  I wonder how the captains will handle this:

Caleb Veldhouse   
Kyle Snoeyink   
Josh Meckes

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana has held on to beat Elmhurst in the CCIW championship game. This is very good news for Hope as Augie would have been a lock for a Pool C bid had it lost tonight. Elmhurst came into the game at #5 in the Midwest Region but its regional record will fall to 15-6 after tonight. Although Elmhurst will probably be in the conversation Hope compares much more favorably with Elmhurst than it would have with Augie.

True, inasmuch as Hope has healthy edges over the Bluejays in QOWI and RW%. However, Elmhurst has a clear edge in common opponents:

Carthage: EC 2-0, HC 0-1
Wheaton: EC 2-1, HC 0-1
Alma: EC 1-0, HC 2-0
Albion: EC 1-0, HC 2-0
K'zoo: EC 1-0, HC 2-0

TOTAL: EC 7-1, HC 6-2

I don't think it'll come down to that, because I don't think Elmhurst will even get to the table. The Bluejays are done for the year ... and the CCIW, in spite of having a 66-22 (.750) non-conference record and three or four teams ranked in the Top 25 all year long, is only going to have one representative in the tourney.

[oldknight]

In a game that was remarkably similar to the last matchup (except that Calvin didn't build their early lead quite so large) Cramer showed why he is the league's MVP. Single handedly he kept Hope in the game, hitting big shot after big shot. Unfortunately for Hope, Calvin had a player who was doing the same for them with Griffin proving to be unguardable down the stretch. In Hope's defense I will say that VanderHeide clearly was slowed by an injury (presumably his ankle) because every time he came out to defend Griffin at the arc, Derek penetrated the lane and Marcus couldn't stop the dribble penetration. The last time these teams played Griffin found it a lot more difficult to penetrate with Marcus guarding him. VanderHeide clearly was not 100% and, when on offense, appeared to be running in sand when dribbling to the basket.

Calvin did show a new wrinkle I can't remember seeing all year. In the second half the Knights bagged the high post screen for the ball handler and sent the 4 players without the ball wide giving the ball handler room to operate. This was a great adjustment and rendered useless Hope's constant doubling teaming of the ball out high, especially with a gimpy VanderHeide. I also think DVS--who had a miserable night--was laboring but his poor start seemed to cause him to press to do something spectacular. Hope would have been better off benching him in favor of Jager.

Tip of the hat to FDF who I was able to speak to for the first time--and to CM whom I was unable to get to during the halftime break.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Calvin did show a new wrinkle I can't remember seeing all year. In the second half the Knights bagged the high post screen for the ball handler and sent the 4 players without the ball wide giving the ball handler room to operate. This was a great adjustment and rendered useless Hope's constant doubling teaming of the ball out high, especially with a gimpy VanderHeide. I also think DVS--who had a miserable night--was laboring but his poor start seemed to cause him to press to do something spectacular. Hope would have been better off benching him in favor of Jager.

I was thinking the same thing about DVS and mentioned that a few pages ago but I doubt many people will take the time to read through everything. Whether or not DVS was slowed by last night's injury he just had a really off game tonight and didn't provide Hope with the spark he had in the other Calvin games.

I didn't hear about the Calvin gameplan wrinkle but it sounds like a good idea. I have always been impressed by KVS's in game coaching adjustments. I think he is by far the best in the MIAA at half time adjustments and that that has hurt Hope more than once in the last 8 match ups.

[arena]

In a game that was remarkably similar to the last matchup (except that Calvin didn't build their early lead quite so large) Cramer showed why he is the league's MVP. Single handedly he kept Hope in the game, hitting big shot after big shot. Unfortunately for Hope, Calvin had a player who was doing the same for them with Griffin proving to be unguardable down the stretch. In Hope's defense I will say that VanderHeide clearly was slowed by an injury (presumably his ankle) because every time he came out to defend Griffin at the arc, Derek penetrated the lane and Marcus couldn't stop the dribble penetration. The last time these teams played Griffin found it a lot more difficult to penetrate with Marcus guarding him. VanderHeide clearly was not 100% and, when on offense, appeared to be running in sand when dribbling to the basket.

Calvin did show a new wrinkle I can't remember seeing all year. In the second half the Knights bagged the high post screen for the ball handler and sent the 4 players without the ball wide giving the ball handler room to operate. This was a great adjustment and rendered useless Hope's constant doubling teaming of the ball out high, especially with a gimpy VanderHeide. I also think DVS--who had a miserable night--was laboring but his poor start seemed to cause him to press to do something spectacular. Hope would have been better off benching him in favor of Jager.

Tip of the hat to FDF who I was able to speak to for the first time--and to CM whom I was unable to get to during the halftime break.

I did like that switch on the offensive end.  But Hope still made it very difficult to move on O.

[oldknight]

2) How was the officiating? I know the Hope announcers were livid over a couple of no calls in the second half, particularly one on a Cramer shot and one on a Wolfe shot.

There were missed calls both ways but I thought it was fairly officiated. I've heard these announcers before and they're hardly a source of unbiased information. More than once they've broadcast a different game than the one I attended--and we were in the same gymnasium.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

2) How was the officiating? I know the Hope announcers were livid over a couple of no calls in the second half, particularly one on a Cramer shot and one on a Wolfe shot.

There were missed calls both ways but I thought it was fairly officiated. I've heard these announcers before and they're hardly a source of unbiased information. More than once they've broadcast a different game than the one I attended--and we were in the same gymnasium.

The officiating was typical MIAA - horrid - both ways.  The one call I just couldn't understand was Cramer shooting a 3 that went about 10 feet and then out of bounds.  He was clearly fouled, but the official motioned that the shot was just blocked, and then proceeded to give Calvin the ball. 

[ChicagoHopeNut]

2) How was the officiating? I know the Hope announcers were livid over a couple of no calls in the second half, particularly one on a Cramer shot and one on a Wolfe shot.

There were missed calls both ways but I thought it was fairly officiated. I've heard these announcers before and they're hardly a source of unbiased information. More than once they've broadcast a different game than the one I attended--and we were in the same gymnasium.

The officiating was typical MIAA - horrid - both ways.  The one call I just couldn't understand was Cramer shooting a 3 that went about 10 feet and then out of bounds.  He was clearly fouled, but the official motioned that the shot was just blocked, and then proceeded to give Calvin the ball. 

That was the call that the Hope radio just blew up over! Overall though it didn't sound like it was biased, just inconsistent MIAA officiating that hurt both teams.

[AlwaysHope]

Injuries played a key part of both the men's and women's game today.  

Calvin's Marcia Harris was healthy until about 7 minutes left when she and Winkle got tangled up.  Winkle kept playing and Harris limped off on one leg.   A family friend told me that they talked with her after the game, and she informed them she "blew out her knee."  A huge loss for Calvin, not only in this game but in the tournament (I am sure they will get a bid).  With her playing the entire game, Calvin probably wins, since she was soon dominating.  Harris still ended with 23 points, as did Winkle for the team lead.

On the other hand, Van Solkema was injured last night, and limped the rest of the game.  Prior to the game today I saw him massaging his knee quite a bid.  During the game he looked really slow.  He shot 0 for 5, and did not dribble past anyone.  He had been averaging 20 per game vs. Calvin this year, but ended with a total of 2 free throws.  Coach Davelaar in the post-game wrap-up verified that Derek's knee slowed him down, and I think the Calvin players knew it.  Without making excuses, a healthy Derek for 40 minutes could have made the difference.  But that's why you play the game.  So both losing teams suffered from injuries to their key players.

How even can this series get.  Last year Calvin wins the men's conference, but Hope wins the tournament.  This year is the reverse.  Hope wins the first two games at Calvin, while Calvin wins the last 2 games at Hope.  For the women, Calvin wins the conference this year, and Hope wins the tournament.  The Calvin women stop Hope's winning streak at the DeVos, while Hope gives Calvin their only loss at home.

Two great games today!

[hope1]

i also thought the charge call on tyler  was a really bad call  

[ziggy]

A couple weeks ago it was pointed out that each team winning on the other team's floor hadn't happened since 1956.  Well it has now happened twice in one season, how remarkable is that?  Probably the best game Calvin has played all year.  The last game at the dick Calvin used the big early lead to give them enough to hang on but they were a bit more consistent throughout the game tonight.  Outside of the last four minutes or so of the first half, Calvin was able to avoid prolonged scoring droughts.  Hopefully Calvin will get matched up with an over rated team and can get on a bit of a roll.  Anyway, pretty exciting end to a roller coaster season.

[northb]

I guess this year, Calvin was the better team.  My assessment of this and the last Hope loss is GVW.  I doubt even Calvin fans would argue the fact that we have more talent, and yet, we get jumped out the gate, and in a close game where we have the lead, are unable to step up with big plays and bring home a victory.  The mistakes were mental, characterized by bad passes and turnovers, and lax defense, and I think that reflects poorly on the coaching staff, specifically Glenn VanWieren.  VandeStreek has dominated VanWieren for the past two Hope-Calvin games.

p.s. DVS moved fine, no limp at all.  He just didn't play well. 

My belief for some time has been that GVW out-recruits KVS on a regular basis, but KVS gets so much more from his players.