MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Dark Knight]

Congrats to the knights for a great mid-season turn-around.

Thanks and congrats to DeVries, Meckes, and Snoeyink.

Congrats to Hope. Represent the MIAA well!

[GoKnights68]

Speaking of seniors for Calvin, was that the 14th time that Meckes played Hope if I counted correct? Wow! Snoeyink and DeVries 12 times ?


Second straight sweet 16 appearance for Hope.


EDIT:  I guess Meckes was on JV most of his freshmen year I remember so it may also be 12 times.  Still a lot of times.

[knights2000]

Speaking of seniors for Calvin, was that the 14th time that Meckes played Hope if I counted correct? Wow! Snoeyink and DeVries 12 times ?


Second straight sweet 16 appearance for Hope.


EDIT:  I guess Meckes was on JV most of his freshmen year I remember so it may also be 12 times.  Still a lot of times.

Meckes played one scrimmage on JV his freshman year, otherwise he was on varsity. He got in for the last few minutes on the game at the Civic, and did not play in the game at Calvin, so I believe it would be 13. That was the year Hope lost to Adrian in the semis and we only had two meetings.

[GoKnights68]

Just checked and Cramer has been the high scorer for Hope 5 out of the last 6 match-ups.

[RastaRob]

So, when and where is the Sweet 16 game??

[knights2000]

So, when and where is the Sweet 16 game??

If I had to guess, I'd say Wisconsin.

[John Gleich]

So, when and where is the Sweet 16 game??

It will come out tomorrow afternoon.  Chances are, yes, it will be in Stevens Point, based on many factors, due to Point's season thus far, the chance that the gym will be full (the same would definately be the case at Hope as well, I realize), the fact that Point got the bye, implying a higher seed...

[Grutte Dirk]

I would have also never predicted that Calvin vs. Hope V would be taking place in Aurora, IL for that matter!

Can't the two teams drive back tomorrow morning and play the game in west Michigan?

I wish the NCAA would've let them come back north and play at the higher ranked team's house ... then Calvin would've had a better chance to win.

[GoKnights68]

As a Calvin fan, this is pretty painful losing to Hope for 2 straight years in the second round because I think Calvin would've had a good chance at going to Salem last year and this year(although WSP seems very tough) if they got past Hope in my opinion.  But long-time Hope fans have got to know what this feels like because this happened 3 times in a row in the early 90s in the tourney.  In a fifth match-up in one season, the team has the  best player and the team that played the best all season will most likely win the game and that belonged to Cramer and Hope. 


Wisconsin Stevens Point will be a tough team to beat for any team, as they have a chance to win their 3rd national championship in 4 years this season,  but Hope has to beat Carroll first.

Looking forward to next season already.

[John Gleich]

Regardless where the game will be played, in the Elite 8, if Hope gets by Carroll, they've got at the very least a 50% chance from playing UWSP.

Here's a reposting of something I typed up a little differently for the MIAC page earlier this week when asked:

How did Stevens Point lose to Oshkosh in their first meeting?

This probably would be of more interest to Hope fans instead of just what Point does well!

But anyway, the way Point lost...


...Point scored fewer points...

But seriously, Oshkosh found a way to slow Point down.  Point scored just 55 points in this game (12 and 13 points less than their next-lowest outputs against La Crosse and 27 less than the season average).

The WAY they slowed Point down was by controlling the tempo, playing BIG defense (I'll qualify this in a bit), keeping Point to their lowest shooting percentages of the season, and by shooting extremely well.

Controlling the tempo: Oshkosh would pound the air out of the ball for 25 seconds on the shot clock, then dump the ball into Gibson.  If Point doubled, that left someone open.  If they didn't, then Gibson usually made the shot (9/13).  When he missed, the slashing guards Johnson and Marsh collectively got 7 offensive rebounds.

Playing BIG defense:  With 7'1" Gibson on the inside (5 blocks), it really kept Point's guards from driving and cutting, which forced Point to take more three's out of rather stagnant offense.  For the season, Point is 4th in the country at 3 point percentage at 42.3%, and 42.5% of their shots are from deep.  They make 10.7 3's per game (8th in the country).  In this game, Point shot 31 3's, only making 12, and their 31 3's were 58.5% of their total shots.  Also, even in a slowed down game, Oshkosh forced more turnovers (11) than Point averages (leading all of college basketball at 8.4... this is better than 1 TO fewer than the next-closest team in D3).

Keeping Point to their lowest shooting percentages of the season- Pretty self explanitory, but again, largely due to the fact that easier baskets were very hard to come by due to Oshkosh's size and defense... Point had just 14 points in the paint, and while they don't have a dominating big man, cutters routinely get open off of back cuts, curls, drives, and dishes.  Point leads all of college basketball in assist to turnover ratio at 2.04:1 assists:TO's.  This is because Point's players can all take the ball off the dribble and they are a very good passing team, but they are also very unselfish.  All 5 starters can hit the 3, and each have hit at least 19.  Point guard El-Amin has been hitting his three's of late, he's 10/19 in the last 6 games, and in his last 5 games he's got 27 assists to 3 TO's.  He's leading the WIAC at 3.13 A:TO ratio... but he's not alone.  Starters Brian Beamish and Steve Hicklin are 2 and 3 in the league, and Krull is 5th.  Even Pete Rortvedt, Point's leading scorer, who takes the plurality of Point's shots has a 1.45 A:TO ratio.

But Rortvedt is a much bigger shooting threat.  He's averaging 3.37 3's per game (his 91 for the season has already broken Nick Bennett's single season record, and he's on pace to shatter Bennett's school record and the conference record as well), which is 19th in the country, and he shoots them at a 42.5% clip.  But Steve Hicklin, who plays opposite P.R. on the other wing is shooting 50%, which is good for a tie for second in the land.  Jon Krull will bang inside and at 6'4" is a bit undersized at the post... but he typically posts up in the short corner and uses his quickness to get around bigger defenders and his toughness to muscle the shot up.  But he also can step out and hit the long ball... he's hit 46 on the year and is shooting 44.2%.

Finally, when the game is winding down, in close games, Point seals games by shooting 81.8% from the free throw line.  This actually is down from 84% during the year, but if you're forced to try and foul and play the 3 for 2 against Point, it isn't going to work too well...

Well, here's a tidbit about Point... there's lots more that I could say, but this just a taste.  The only losses Point has had, they were beaten as I stated above, and they were simply outscored by D-2 Northern Michigan.  Any insights on Hope that could be posted on the WIAC board?  Especially if lots of Hope fans are planning on go to whichever Sectional site hosts next weekend's games, the chance to give a bit of a preview may not be available.

[NW Hope Fan]

Guess Calvin fans didn't like me tonight...   



Sorry if I offended... Just replying to :

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.

[GoKnights68]

Guess Calvin fans didn't like me tonight...   



Sorry if I offended... Just replying to :

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.

I don't think any Calvin fan that has been around Calvin basketball for some time ever agreed or would agree with that statement that you quoted as GVS has a winning record vs KVS.  Some of the critisism on GVW did come from your own fans.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Another great win for Hope!!! I had a good feeling going into last night based on Cramer's dominant play on Friday night. I feel he is going to take Hope as far as they can go. Congrats on a great season finish by Calvin and let's GO HOPE!!!!

[Greek Tragedy]

I'm looking forward to seeing the MIAA's player of the year, Cramer, take on the Midwest Conference's player of the year, in Carroll's Drury.  Both are guards, coincidently, but I don't see them guarding each other. 

Carroll College

Drury:  32.7 mpg, 75-206 from 3-land, 4.5 rebs, 117 asts, 95 TOs, 39 stls, 20.1 ppg

Hope College

Last five games:  17 pts, 32, 16, 22, and 23

Cramer:  25.9 mpg, 49-113 from 3-land, 3.1 rebs, 51 asts, 57 TOs, 17 blks, 31 stls, 16.3 ppg

Last five games (most recent first):  26 pts, 32, 28, 11 and 12

[SKOT]

If the is true, it might be a new attendance record for a Hope/Calvin or Calvin/Hope game.....Straight from the box score on miaa.org

Date: 2/3/07        Site: Aurora University Thornton Gymnasium  Attendance: 0