Fall Semester Review

First off, the standings for the first semester of the 2012-2013 season:

1. Kentucky (13-1-0) 26 points
2. Kent State (12-6-0) 24 points
3. Michigan State (7-2-1) 15 points
4. James Madison (6-1-1) 13 points
5. Saginaw Valley (4-3-1) 9 points
6. Grand Valley (4-1-0) 8 points
7. Central Michigan (3-3-0) 6 points
8. Maryland (3-4-0) 6 points
9. Ohio State (2-6-0) 4 points
10. Moody Bible (1-1-0) 2 points
11. Depaul (1-4-0) 2 points
12. Western Kentucky (1-4-0) 2 points
13. Towson (1-5-0) 2 points
14. Bowling Green (1-6-0) 2 points
15. Miami (0-7-0) 0 points
16. Virginia Commonwealth (0-5-0) 0 points

• The top six of the standings are the same top six that finished last year, just in a different order. All six schools made the National Quarterfinals.
• Kentucky has more points already this year than they did during the regular season last year. Michigan State is one point short, and James Madison is two.
• There were 40 games played this time last year. There have been 64 games played so far this year. Last year there was a total of 147 games played (including Nationals), but the 2012-2013 season could feature the most dodgeball games yet.
• There has been 315 points scored this year (in 62 combined Varsity and JV matches) compared to 765 last year (in 147). This means we are actually scoring less points per match than last year (by ~.2 points per game). This could be attributed to a more concentrated effort on the defensive end and ball control style of play by some schools.

Tournament recaps:

• OSU Round Robin featured host school Ohio State, Kentucky, Kent State, Saginaw Valley, and MSU. All four schools appeared in the Nationals 2012 Quarterfinals, and as such it was one of the deepest tournaments of the Fall. Kentucky rolled over the competition, going 4-0, MSU went 3-1, Kent 2-2, SVSU 1-3-1, and OSU 0-4.
• The BGSU Invite had BGSU, GVSU, SVSU, CMU, and Miami. Grand Valley won the tournament, going 3-0, while SVSU and a ten-man CMU squad both went 2-1. Miami and BGSU went 0-3, playing each other in a scrimmage at the end of the day.
• The first big tournament on the East Coast was at Maryland, where the Terrapins hosted JMU, Kentucky, Towson, Kent State, and VCU (playing in their first tournament.) Kent State went 4-0, JMU went 3-1-1, UK went 2-1, Maryland went 2-2, Towson 1-3, and VCU 0-4.
• The MSU Invite was the next tournament on the docket, featuring Michigan State, Depaul, CMU, BGSU, and Kent State. MSU went 4-0, Kent State went 3-1, CMU and BGSU went 1-2, and Depaul went 0-3.
• Kent State would then play their third tournament in a month at the UK Invite, joined by Kentucky, WKU, and Miami. Kentucky would win the tournament, going 3-0, Kent 2-1, WKU 1-2, and Miami 0-3.
• The final tournament of the Fall was the Miami Round Robin. Along with Miami was Ohio State, Kent State, and Kentucky. Kentucky would go 3-0, OSU 2-1, Kent 1-2, and Miami 0-3.

Thoughts:

• The new overtime rule is really exciting. The two I personally saw (the SVSU/Kent and GVSU/MSU games) were some of the most exciting dodgeball action I’ve seen. The GVSU/MSU overtime point capped possibly the most exciting regular season game ever, and the SVSU/Kent overtime point had multiple team catches, direct catches, and a controversial ending.
• The non-Michigan schools are catching up, if they haven’t already. Kentucky may be the best team in the country, and Kent State and JMU will both challenge for the title as well. WKU and Ohio State definitely are dark horses, and Maryland could be as well.
• That said, Michigan is still the best state of dodgeball. CMU may only have 10 players right now, but they’re 10 strong players. Then you have SVSU, who, after a disappointing start to the season, has come back with a force. MSU had a seven game winning streaks and their only losses have come to UK and GVSU. Grand Valley is the deepest team in the NCDA, and can definitely go toe to toe with anyone.
• Slow ball is “in” right now.  Many of the top teams in the league have slowed it down, focusing more on defense and ball possession. Whether or not that will work, as previous attempts to slow down teams like GVSU have not worked out as well as teams have hoped. However, it is getting wins so far this season, so it is unlikely to change.
• A team with a losing record you can’t count out- Ohio State. The Buckeyes are always a threat, and with the talent they’ve got you can’t expect them to continue at their .2500 win percentage. They looked good in spurts at their home tournament, beat Kent State, and have some cannons to go with their always great catching. They could definitely be a threat to win the ODC.
• Things to look forward to for next semester: the CDO as always features a great lineup, but JMU may be playing five games in one day. The MDC as always is wide open, as all four teams have a ton of talented players. The second annual BEAST has a terrific field as well, with a mix of Midwest and East Coast schools. The Richmond Dodgeball Cup will begin next semester as well, giving VCU an opportunity to host a tournament.
• Team to watch next semester- James Madison. They had one of the best first years of any school, and they look to be building on that success. However, the only team with a .500 record they’ve beaten is a Kentucky team that was mostly reserve players. The only other school with a .500 record they’ve played is Kent State, who they lost to in overtime. That’ll change next semester when they get Grand Valley and Michigan State at the CDO, and possibly SVSU, CMU, UK, and Kent State at the BEAST. Some wins will give them some big street cred, a lack of wins will hurt their standing for Nationals.

Author: hiller87

Former Captain of the MSU Club Dodgeball Team, former NCDA Chief of Content. View all posts by hiller87