MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[northb]

Reasons why I think Hope has a better chance of winning tonight:

Home crowd.  Last night, the crowd participation was AWESOME!!!  Only one old lady turned around early and told my brother-in-law she thought he was kind of loud.  She quickly learned that she was in the minority, and kept her thoughts to herself the rest of the night.  And hats off to the OWU crowd for bringing a spirited fanbase as well.  They were just over powered by us Hope fans.

Scoring balance.  Limit Raymond, and you only have 2 others that might pose a scoring threat.  Klein's defense lately has been covered, so 'nuff said.  Wiele had a clear advantage in size and height last night, but only scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting.  MVH only gives up 1" and 0# to him, and has outplayed plenty of other opponents' low posts.   But who does Wheaton focus on?  Hope's last 4 games have been led by 4 different starters, with at leats 24pts each time.  And the 5th (Klein) has led with >20pt efforts of his own twice this season.

Defense.  I mentioned it above.  Klein has shut down Hope's opponents' biggest guns in this post season run, and MVH is doing his part in the post.  With only 2-3 real scoring threats any given night, Hope's defense will be too much for Wheaton to handle.  With the ball, Hope has been challenged by some tough defenses this year as well.  But they got the job done last night, and if Wheaton plays like "nice boys" again tonight, they may see the game slipping away early.

Team.  The Hope team that we see this year has that something extra that will earn them a trip to Salem.  Like the Hope ladies, this team is about the team.  There is no single superstar carrying the team on his shoulders.  They pull together and use their abilities collectively to produce a win...then move on to the next project.  Together.  They have faced teams featuring superstars like Nate Stahl, and exposed their weaknesses.  That's what they will do tonight.

I'll be the first to admit that I am a fan, so my view is a bit slanted.  But I've seen them win so many different kinds of games this season, in many different ways, I feel confident that my observations are pretty close to the mark.

Go HOPE!!

I'm a Calvin fan, but I would agree with you, Erm.  I see no reason why the National Championship tally will not go to 2-1.

[realist]

NB:  Like you I have just had a feeling since last fall that this might just be Hope's year.  Lots of things are happening just right for them, and winning it all takes a very, very good team that gets a break here or there.  There are several teams left that could cause considerable problems for Hope, and they all seem to feature about the same strenghts.

[sac]

I just have to clear up some non-factual statements by the Sentinel (surprise) about the scoring record Kent Raymond set.  It is true 47 is the new DeVos record, however supplement facts were incorrect.

The previous record was not 30 by Jeff Jayson or Marcus Vanderheide as stated in the Sentinel this morning, the record was 36 by Derrius Shavers of Trinity International vs Marygrove earlier this season on 12-7-07.

The Hope record is 28 by Stephen Cramer vs Calvin 2-24-07 and was tied by Jesse Reimink last weekend vs Capital.  Marcus Vanderheide's 30 came against Calvin at Calvin........that would mean it was not in DeVos Fieldhouse, it was only a few weeks ago, kind of hard to forget.

The record vs Hope is 30 by Jeff Jayson on 12-10-05

All of this information is fairly easy to gleen if you have access to the internet which I'm sure the Holland Sentinel staff must have since they have a website.

Might want to bookmark it.

http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/mbb/mbbdevosrecor.html

Thanks

[NW Hope Fan]

Kudos, Thanks and +Karma to my loyal friends for their text updates through the game. There were several times I got nervous when my phone beeped, but appreciate being kept in the loop. My family thought I was funny...

Tonight (or this afternoon for me here) I get to listen and watch live stats!  8)

[BrainOfJ.]

Reasons why I think Hope has a better chance of winning tonight:

Home crowd.  Last night, the crowd participation was AWESOME!!!  Only one old lady turned around early and told my brother-in-law she thought he was kind of loud.  She quickly learned that she was in the minority, and kept her thoughts to herself the rest of the night.  And hats off to the OWU crowd for bringing a spirited fanbase as well.  They were just over powered by us Hope fans.

Scoring balance.  Limit Raymond, and you only have 2 others that might pose a scoring threat.  Klein's defense lately has been covered, so 'nuff said.  Wiele had a clear advantage in size and height last night, but only scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting.  MVH only gives up 1" and 0# to him, and has outplayed plenty of other opponents' low posts.   But who does Wheaton focus on?  Hope's last 4 games have been led by 4 different starters, with at leats 24pts each time.  And the 5th (Klein) has led with >20pt efforts of his own twice this season.

Defense.  I mentioned it above.  Klein has shut down Hope's opponents' biggest guns in this post season run, and MVH is doing his part in the post.  With only 2-3 real scoring threats any given night, Hope's defense will be too much for Wheaton to handle.  With the ball, Hope has been challenged by some tough defenses this year as well.  But they got the job done last night, and if Wheaton plays like "nice boys" again tonight, they may see the game slipping away early.

Team.  The Hope team that we see this year has that something extra that will earn them a trip to Salem.  Like the Hope ladies, this team is about the team.  There is no single superstar carrying the team on his shoulders.  They pull together and use their abilities collectively to produce a win...then move on to the next project.  Together.  They have faced teams featuring superstars like Nate Stahl, and exposed their weaknesses.  That's what they will do tonight.

I'll be the first to admit that I am a fan, so my view is a bit slanted.  But I've seen them win so many different kinds of games this season, in many different ways, I feel confident that my observations are pretty close to the mark.

Go HOPE!!

I'm a Calvin fan, but I would agree with you, Erm.  I see no reason why the National Championship tally will not go to 2-1.

Actually, the record could go to 3-1. The women won it back in 1990 in the Civic Center

[NW Hope Fan]

I think that was 2(Calvin-men)-1(Hope-men)

[Hopester]

Keys for the Dutchmen tonight:

Reimink and Klein: We have to figure that those two will be guarding Raymond all night, can they force Raymond to take tough shots or pass the ball to somebody else. Also, how is Reimink feeling, will he be healthy enough to play like he did last weekend against Capital?

Vanderheide and Osburn: These two will be guarding Wiele can they keep him off the offensive glass? Also it will appear the Vanderheide will have a huge speed advantage on Wiele will he be able to take advantage and score both inside and outside. He needs to be a beast on offense.

Wolfe: Where has he gone this tournament? He has struggled to get his jumper going, which has closed the driving lanes that he excels in hitting. He will need to come back.

Van Solkema, Carter, Bosch: Can they handle the ball effectively and not commit turnovers. Will Derek hit some timely threes to help keep the momentum like he did in the first half last night.

Bench: Can they play effectively in the time they are on the floor. The starters will need breaks, can they play effectively offensively and defensively to get the starters some much needed rest.

Raymond: Will he play like he did last night? Does he know how to miss?

Wiele: Can the Dutch stop him on the glass and get him in foul trouble.

If HOPE can do a lot of this then we will be punching our ticket to Salem tonight.

[northb]

I think that was 2(Calvin-men)-1(Hope-men)

This is, after all, the men's board.  I understand there is a different board for the womens' programs.

If we are expanding the board into other (team) National Championships, Hope (2) has a way to go to catch up to Kalamazoo (7), still slightly behind Calvin [8].  But I have heard we should keep this board on the Men's Basketball, so I will not mention it further.   

[NW Hope Fan]

Boy... have not seen stinger's butt  in here for a few days northb... 

[northb]

Boy... have not seen stinger's butt  in here for a few days northb... 

This is always a rough time of year for ol' Stinger.....

[ChicagoHopeNut]

God bless the Hong Kong airport! Only place I have ever seen computer kiosks with free internet. Everyone here keeps looking at me funny as I gasp and moan while watching livestats and waiting for my plane but I think they'd understand if I explain later on! GO HOPE!

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Congratulations Hope College on a Final Four.  Enjoy Salem and good luck!

[NW Hope Fan]

On to Salem!!!    8) Millsaps leading Wash U.

Now we need to root for the ladies!

[ChicagoHopeNut]

Hope Dances to Salem!!!!

I look forward to getting tickets somehow upon my return stateside and hopefully there will be a chance to meet many of you in Salem.

I can't open pdfs here. Can anyone tell which game winner Hope will match up against on Friday?

[kiltedbryan]

Hope Dances to Salem!!!!

I look forward to getting tickets somehow upon my return stateside and hopefully there will be a chance to meet many of you in Salem.

I can't open pdfs here. Can anyone tell which game winner Hope will match up against on Friday?

It'll be the winner of Wash U and Millsaps.  Millsaps leads by 9 at half, I think is what I heard.