Spartan Invite- Recap

On November 17, 2018  at the IM Sports East (804 E Shaw Ln, East Lansing, MI 48825) some of the top teams in the country battled it out at the Spartan Invite, hosted by Michigan State University. There were several close matches and several teams that surprised. Let’s take a look at the results for the day. Continue reading “Spartan Invite- Recap”

Michigan State Open Tournament Recap

The first weekend of NCDA Dodgeball is in the books, with events hosted in three different regions on opening weekend.  In the Michigan Region, Michigan State University hosted a five-team tournament titled the Michigan State Open.  This tournament, which featured all four Michigan schools plus Kentucky, was very competitive, and yielded some surprising results.  Before we dive into the recap, here are all the final scores from the games that took place in East Lansing last Sunday:

Results:

CMU def MSU 4-3 OT
SVSU def UK 5-1
SVSU def MSU 3-2 OT
GVSU def UK 4-3
CMU def UK 2-1
GVSU def MSU 4-1
CMU def SVSU 4-3
UK def MSU 2-1
SV-JV def GV-JV 3-2
GVSU def CMU 4-0
GV-JV def MSU-JV 4-3 OT

Recap:

This tournament, as mentioned above, did not go exactly as planned.  According to the Gonzalez Rankings, there was only one technical upset (UK over MSU), but if you asked anyone that follows College Dodgeball closely, a few results from the tournament stood out as major surprises.  Below is a recap of each official game that took place at the Michigan State Open, along with an “All-Tournament Team” listed at the end of the article: Continue reading “Michigan State Open Tournament Recap”

Rectification- Recap

At the Rectification last Sunday, March 25, several teams went head to head to show off their skills and show who was the best.   The results of the matches were surprising at times with some very competitive matches.  The following teams that took part in this tournament were: GVSU, CMU, SVSU, MSU, GVSU Alumni, and UWP.  Here are the results for the ranked matches for the day. Continue reading “Rectification- Recap”

Rectification Tournament Preview

Yes, Wisconsin Platteville’s name was left off this tournament banner. Picture Credit: GVSU Club Sports

The following article was co-authored by Chief of Content Kevin Bailey and Erik Zander (UWP Captain).

This Sunday, Grand Valley State University will host one of the most anticipated late season tourneys prior to Nationals.  In attendance will be some of the top dodgeball teams in the country.  GVSU will obviously be there to protect their home court.  Central Michigan will also be in attendance, looking to avenge their most recent loss to the Lakers.  Along with these two top teams, Michigan State will make the trip to Allendale as they look to make some improvements heading into Nationals.  Wisconsin Platteville will travel around the coast of Lake Michigan up to GVSU’s campus after competing in Chicago just last weekend.  And lastly, Saginaw Valley State will be in attendance, with an opportunity to play against GVSU and CMU for the first time since the fall.  Along with these five NCDA teams, there will also be a Grand Valley Alumni Team participating in the tournament, with exhibition games scheduled vs. CMU, MSU, and GVSU.

Below, Erik Zander and Kevin Bailey will discuss each official matchup at Rectification, and will provide predictions as well:


Continue reading “Rectification Tournament Preview”

2018 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview

Photo Credit - Alan Holben
The 14th Annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup will take place this Sunday at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

This Sunday, Michigan State University will host one of the most significant tournaments of the season: The 14th Annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup.  In attendance this year will be 3 of the top 10 teams in the country according to the official NCDA Standings (and the most recent power rankings).

#1 Central Michigan (also #1 in the Power Rankings), #2 Grand Valley State (#2 PR), and #10 Michigan State (#8 PR) all bring a different dynamic to this tournament, as it promises to be an intriguing set of games.

Before we get into the preview, the schedule for this tournament is listed below:

10:15 a.m. – MSU vs. GVSU

11:30 a.m. – CMU vs. MSU

12:45 p.m. – GVSU vs. CMU

Now, on to the preview.  Let’s start by talking briefly about each team in attendance. Continue reading “2018 Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview”

Spartan Invite- NCDA

This Sunday, November 5, 2017, Michigan State University will be hosting the Spartan Invite. It is a tradition to host this event on a Sunday and it should be a good one (marks the ninth in MSU history). The teams in attendance are: Central Michigan University (CMU), Michigan State University (MSU), DePaul University (DePaul), and Bowling Green State University (BGSU). The rankings of these teams currently stand at: CMU #1, MSU #9, DePaul #27, and BGSU #5.  The games will be played at the IM West at Michgan State (393 Chestnut Road, East Lansing, MI)  Here is the schedule for the day: Continue reading “Spartan Invite- NCDA”

King of the Mountain Tournament 2

Well, it is the weekend and that means it is tournament time with some of the top teams in the country going head to head at the King of the Mountain 2.  This means it is time for another preview by the top content writer in the NCDA. (I know Kevin Bailey, Colby Briceland, and Hunter Ford are jealous, as they should be).

The teams in attendance are: Central Michgan University (CMU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU), James Madison University, (JMU), and the University of Wisconsin Platteville (UWP). These teams are currently ranked: CMU #1, GVSU #2, JMU #3, SVSU #6, and UWP #10. Here is the schedule for this Saturday, November 4, 2017, at the Student Activity Center (360 E Broomfield St. Mount Pleasant, MI 48858).

Court 1 Court 2 Referee
11:00 CMU vs GVSU SVSU vs JMU UWP
12:10 CMU vs JMU UWP vs GVSU SVSU
1:20 CMU vs UWP SVSU vs GVSU JMU
2:30 GVSU vs JMU UWP vs SVSU CMU

Continue reading “King of the Mountain Tournament 2”

Michigan Region 2017-18 Season Preview

College Dodgeball, welcome back… you’ve been missed!  The 2017-18 season will be underway soon. In the meantime, let’s kick off a series of articles previewing each NCDA Region one by one.  Today I’ll briefly preview what to expect this season in the Michigan Region.  Enjoy:

Continue reading “Michigan Region 2017-18 Season Preview”

Gonzalez Preview for BW Invite

A very similar event to the Ohio Dodgeball Cup on the surface, but let’s scratch a bit deeper. There’s plenty of tests on the Gonzalez system here. First, we can take a look at how a #2 team performs against three teams that average a gap of 17 under CMU. Among 963 games there is a strong predictability that these matches won’t be upsets, all of those would fall in the top three largest exchanges.

Continue reading “Gonzalez Preview for BW Invite”

Reviewing the 2016 MDC

Grand Valley State University won the 2016 Michigan Dodgeball Cup with a 3-0 record.
Grand Valley State University won the 2016 Michigan Dodgeball Cup with a 3-0 record.

On Feb. 27th, Michigan State University hosted the annual Michigan Dodgeball Cup.  In attendance were all four Michigan schools: Central Michigan, Grand Valley State, Michigan State, and Saginaw Valley State.  The stakes were higher than ever, as all four teams were positioned in the top six of the NCDA Standings.  In fact, the schools had a combined record of 51-21 heading into the event, with exactly zero of those 21 losses coming at the hands of a team outside the state of Michigan.

The dominance of the Michigan Region is still alive and well, and anyone who may try to dispute that should take a look at that fact I just mentioned.  Michigan schools this season are a combined 30-0 against teams from other regions.  And there is a very real chance that at the end of the year, no non-Michigan team picks up a win over a Michigan Region team.  I highly doubt that has ever happened before. Continue reading “Reviewing the 2016 MDC”

2016 MDC Gonzalez Exchanges

The oldest collegiate dodgeball event is the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. This MDC will feature #1, 2, 4, 5 in the Gonzalez Standings.

Let’s start by comparing averages.

League Rating Average: 42.091 and a spread of 25.848
MDC Rating Average: 55.526 and a spread of 9.402
GVSU/CMU/MSU Rating Average: 57.690 and a spread of 1.272.

That top three is a huge fight of the top percentile; all Gonzalez ratings are relatively close and this triumvirate is fighting for 1/2/3 in the overall NCDA Ranking. The “predicted exchanges” do not have a high degree of predictability here, because there certainly is a difference between a technical upset and a statistically influential upset. GV/CMU, GV/MSU, CMU/MSU could go either way with the ratings being so close. There is a lot to gain and lot to lose. but events are rarely this influential.

Continue reading “2016 MDC Gonzalez Exchanges”

The Michigan Region’s Undeniable Parity

On Feb. 27th, four schools will battle it out in the most anticipated Michigan Dodgeball Cup of all-time.
On Feb. 27th, four schools will battle it out in the most anticipated Michigan Dodgeball Cup of all-time.

It is no secret that the Michigan Region has been the best region in the country for a long, long time.  In fact, the national champion has been a team from the Great Lakes State each of the past nine seasons.

In a way, I want to simply state that this season should be no different; as there is a chance the title game features two Michigan schools.  Historically, the Michigan Dodgeball Cup winner enters April as the favorite to win it all.  The difference between this season and seasons in the past is that there is an unbelievable level of parity surrounding the NCDA’s top region.  The Michigan Dodgeball Cup will take place on Feb. 27, and if you have been following the league at all this season, you know that it is going to be impossible to predict.

Here is an inside look at the incredibly confusing 2015-16 NCDA season in the Michigan Region:

 

Continue reading “The Michigan Region’s Undeniable Parity”