Tag: msu

MVEC Preview

     

Oh man, what do I even say about this tournament? It feels like ever since JMU hit the national scene about five years ago that the players between these two conferences have been clamoring for a regular season blowout tournament. Ok, maybe not a blowout, but people have been hoping that as the East Coast Conference has risen the teams over here would be able to face their Midwest counterparts during the regular season. There have been some regular season matchups before (BEAST and other various tournaments), but this marks the first time I can remember that multiple teams from either region have travelled the distance to the other. Saturday looks to be a barometer for a lot of teams heading into April and Nationals. Let’s take a look at the matchups.

Continue reading “MVEC Preview”

Mark Your Calendars for March 26th

Sean Smith and the Towson Tigers will play host to many of the top teams in the country on March 26th in the first ever "MVEC" tournament.
Sean Smith and the Towson Tigers will host many of the top teams in the country on March 26th in the first ever “MVEC” tournament.

In less than a month Towson will play host to one of the most anticipated East Coast tournaments in NCDA history.  The first ever MVEC (Michigan Versus the East Coast) will take place at Towson University on Saturday, March 26th. This tournament will come only a few weeks prior to Nationals, and it should be very telling of where teams stand leading up to the season’s final event.  Below I have listed the attending teams, a few storylines to follow, and the recently released tournament schedule.  Take a look:

 

Teams in attendance at MVEC:

#1 Grand Valley State
#3 Michigan State
#5 James Madison
#8 Towson
#11 Maryland
#17 Virginia Commonwealth

Continue reading “Mark Your Calendars for March 26th”

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”

2015 Spartan Invite Film

We had MSU’s journalism/broadcast program come out and do a live production for the Spartan Invite. What ended up is four fine games caught on film. A big thanks to that program for their work and effort, and another special thanks to MSU Dodgeball. Please make sure you check out the credits at the end..

MSU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]
MSU def DePaul 4-0 [YouTube]
CMU def GVSU 2-1 OT [YouTube]
CMU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]

Check out the full results if you don’t remember what happened at IM West in November.

 

2015 Spartan Invite

EAST LANSING – IM West: In the Spartan Invite,
GVSU def MSU 2-0
BGSU def DePaul 3-1
CMU def MSU 3-1
GVSU def Kent 3-0
MSU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]
GVSU def BGSU 4-0
MSU def DePaul 4-0 [YouTube]
CMU def BGSU 3-0
CMU def GVSU 2-1 OT [YouTube]
Kent def DePaul 3-1
CMU def Kent 3-0 [YouTube]

Continue reading “2015 Spartan Invite”

Spartan Invite Preview

*This is the first of three previews for the Spartan Invite.  Previews from Colin O’Brien and Jacob Leski will be published in the near future.

The Michigan State Spartans are off to a great start this season. The Spartan Invite will be yet another opportunity to prove they are one of the best teams in the nation.
The Michigan State Spartans are off to a great start this season. The Spartan Invite will be yet another opportunity to prove they are one of the best teams in the nation.

This Sunday, Michigan State University is set to host the annual Spartan Invite at IM West.  Michigan State along with Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, DePaul, Bowling Green State, and Kent State will take part in a big-time tournament.

As we close in on the end of the fall semester, this tournament will likely determine who the top dog in the NCDA is at the halfway point in the season.  All eyes will be on the matches that take place between MSU, GVSU, and CMU.  Each of these teams has beaten the others at least once so far this fall.  The circle of parity at the top of the league is more severe than in years past, but there is still over half a season left.  If any of these schools has plans of distancing themselves to become the #1 team in the league, this tournament will certainly be a strong stepping stone in that effort.

Bragging rights will be on the line Sunday when MSU, GVSU, CMU, BGSU, DePaul, and Kent face off in the annual Spartan Invite.  Here are my predictions for this weekend’s matches:

Continue reading “Spartan Invite Preview”

Death Valley Invitational Preview

12065964_10153751370898760_1533872543269592071_nThis Sunday, Saginaw Valley State University will host their first home tournament of the 2015 season when Central Michigan, Michigan State, Bowling Green State, and Ohio make the trip to SVSU’s campus for the Death Valley Invitational (props to whoever chose the name for this event).

The schedule for this tournament is listed below, with a few comments and predictions included by yours truly.

Continue reading “Death Valley Invitational Preview”

Grand Valley Gauntlet Part 3

ALLENDALE – GVSU Fieldhouse, Grand Valley Gauntlet
UK def BGSU 2-1
GVSU def CMU 2-1 OT
CMU def SVSU 2-1
GVSU def MSU 1-0
UK def GV-JV 2-0
MSU def SVSU 2-1 OT
CMU def BGSU 4-1
MSU def BGSU 2-0
GVSU def UK 4-1
SVSU def UK 3-0
BGSU played GV-JV

Continue reading “Grand Valley Gauntlet Part 3”

Summit Street Slugfest 2: The Sluggening

KENT – SWRC: In Summit Street Slugfest 2: The Sluggening:
Kent def UK 2-1
MSU def Akron 7-0
OSU def Kent 4-0
UK def Akron 3-1
OSU def Akron 7-1
MSU def UK 4-1
Kent def Akron 6-0
MSU def OSU 1-0
MSU def Kent 2-1
OSU def UK 3-1  Continue reading “Summit Street Slugfest 2: The Sluggening”

Gonzalez Rating Exchanges

Since the Rugby World Cup is going on, i’d thought we’d highlight the Gonzalez exchanges for yesterday’s matches. The Gonzalez System uses the same rating exchange system that the International Rugby Board (IRB) uses to determine rankings for its teams. World Cup games are worth double just like our Nationals games are.

First, the initial ratings before the day’s first match:

  • GVSU = 59.202, a historically strong team and top rank at #1.
  • MSU = 51.009, still up there at #5 in Gonzalez Standings.

With home court advantage, GVSU gains 3 rating points to bring them to a hefty rating of 62.202 versus MSU’s initial rating of 51.009.  Continue reading “Gonzalez Rating Exchanges”