MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Hope should retain its #1 ranking when the polls are released later today, and probably pick up a few more if not all of the first place votes. 

#2 Middlebury lost for the second straight week (Amherst), # 3 Virginia Wesleyan picked up its 3rd loss of the year, and #4 UW-Whitewater lost to UW-Superior (that league schedule seems like quite the gauntlet).  Unless any of those three teams' first place votes swing to #5 and 1-loss MIT, or go to #6 Amherst (who beat Middlebury), Hope would have the clean sweep this week. 

[goodknight]

Hope deserves to be a unanimous No. 1.

[sflzman]

Anything that puts the MIAA coin in the 'museum of things we used to do' is ok by me.

A play-in game could be a real tough thing for the winner to deal with. If they won they would be looking at a Wed. trip to the #1 seed with one day to prepare, after having just 1 day off from their Saturday season finale.

They're 20-year-olds, they can handle it. 

I agree, but 3 games in 5 days is much harder at the end of the year than Nov. or Dec.

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Bryan Powell's dunk was nice but it probably wasn't the best dunk in the region this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNv0yQghpGw


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I saw that one on SportsCenter. Heck of a bounce...that's why coaches say you can never stand around and watch a rebound though...

[wiz]

It is interesting but it looks like the MIAA has decided to only do this for men's basketball so far.  If you click on the women's basketball link on miaa.org you will not see a play-in game listed as a potential tiebreaker.

Well, duh!?  That's because women don't call it a "play-in".  They refer to it as a "play-date".

[realist]

Does anyone know when the decision was made to use this tiebreaker format?

The MIAA serves at the pleasure of the various member schools.  One suspects that enough schools requested the "special consideration" for mens bball tie breaker to make the change effective with the 2012 season.   That is the right a deliberative body has.

[sac]

Does anyone know when the decision was made to use this tiebreaker format?

I heard about the possibility of a play-in game last week for the first time, looks like they confirmed it over the weekend.

I have no idea why the women's and men's tie-breaker is different regarding the potential for a play-in game or if that is simply an error (though I doubt that).  It can only be guessed it was left up to the coaches/AD's on the men's and women's sides and the women chose not to have it as an option.  I'd be interested to hear what was the difference.

[sac]

A Week of Fourteens

Hope has a chance to accomplish a couple things this week that I think are pretty special, both dealing with the number 14.


On Wednesday Hope travels to Olivet where they have a chance to win their 14th consecutive MIAA game on the road in the regular season.  Personally I find this to be a pretty incredible achievement.  I looked but wasn't able to find anyone in the last dozen or so years who has done this.  The closest I could find was two 12 game streaks by Hope in the mid-90's.  Both were ended by Kalamazoo which probably explains my aversion to Hope games played there.  These were also the last two times K has beaten Hope, so that's pretty odd.  I think Calvin won at least 10 in a row from 99 to 01, but the archives don't designate the '99 games as home or away.  That streak also ended by K.    (The jitteryness of Hope/Calvin fans' feared trips to K become clearer).  A couple of Calvin's teams from the early 90's probably came close as well, before that I'm sure a Calvin team of the 70's won close to that many road games in a row.

So I don't know if this is record or not, I just know that after watching this league pretty closely for the last 20 years this is not an easy thing to accomplish.  Given the way the standings have looked the last 2 seasons, its probably looked easy but I don't think its been easy.


Should Hope win at Olivet Wednesday night, on Saturday night Hope will get a chance at '14' accomplishment #2 against Trine.  Finishing the MIAA season 14-0.   Only one other MIAA team has ever done this, that was Calvin in 2000.   It's also surprisingly the last time any MIAA team went unbeaten in league play.  So again for me, I think this is a pretty big deal.  It would also be the first time Hope has gone unbeaten in the league since 1997, fifteen years ago.


Just a couple more things to keep an eye on for this Hope team that is turning in one pretty impressive season.

[calvinite]

And also, any sign of the Powell dunk on YouTube yet? I want to see it again...

You can see it Bryan's Facebook page (posted there by someone else); don't need to be his Facebook friend.

[realist]

From the MIAA website:

"Winning streaks
League games only: 32 - Calvin won the last three league games of the 1972-73 season, was undefeated in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, and won the first five games in 1975-76. The streak began Feb. 17, 1973, in a 91-86 victory over Adrian and ended Feb. 4, 1976, at Alma, 78-64. "
74-75 would yield 12 road wins.  Probably one 73 win was on the road making 13 road wins, and at least 2 of the 76 wins were on the road making a total of 15, and maybe as many as 17 road wins depending on the schedules which I have not been able to locate..

Hope went 14-0 in the MIAA in 1960.  This followed the 58 and 59 seasons when Hope went 13-1, and depending on where those losses occurred may well be a long road win stretch

I agree with Sac that 14-0 is pretty special, and that many road wins is very impressive.

I also think 32 consecutive conference game wins is special, and doubt we will see that anytime soon.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Well it's not unanimous, but Hope did receive 23 of 25 first place votes (and the other 2 voters had them #2). Amherst and MIT each received one of the other first place votes.

[goodknight]

Well it's not unanimous, but Hope did receive 23 of 25 first place votes (and the other 2 voters had them #2). Amherst and MIT each received one of the other first place votes.

Effete East Coast snobs.

[sac]

5-8 in boots everyone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d1bgBDFFMg&feature=youtu.be

[sac]

It is interesting but it looks like the MIAA has decided to only do this for men's basketball so far.  If you click on the women's basketball link on miaa.org you will not see a play-in game listed as a potential tiebreaker.

Sounds like the women's tournament is supposed to include the potential for a play-in game, so what is posted on the MIAA website for the women is probably inaccurate.

[sac]

It is interesting but it looks like the MIAA has decided to only do this for men's basketball so far.  If you click on the women's basketball link on miaa.org you will not see a play-in game listed as a potential tiebreaker.

Sounds like the women's tournament is supposed to include the potential for a play-in game, so what is posted on the MIAA website for the women is probably inaccurate.

Ya know now that I look at the women's standings I see a 4th place tie is impossible.  The field of four is set.  I'm guessing what was posted is just to make sure something was posted.

Calvin        14-1
Hope         12-2
Albion        10-4
St. Mary's    8-6
Adrian         6-9

[knights2000]

It is interesting but it looks like the MIAA has decided to only do this for men's basketball so far.  If you click on the women's basketball link on miaa.org you will not see a play-in game listed as a potential tiebreaker.

Sounds like the women's tournament is supposed to include the potential for a play-in game, so what is posted on the MIAA website for the women is probably inaccurate.

Ya know now that I look at the women's standings I see a 4th place tie is impossible.  The field of four is set.  I'm guessing what was posted is just to make sure something was posted.

Calvin        14-1
Hope         12-2
Albion        10-4
St. Mary's    8-6
Adrian         6-9

Too bad too...Adrian has given both Hope and Calvin some good games and could have made for a fun tournament game (or two)