What an MDC Championship Would Mean for Each Team

MDC-Trophy

Ask any dodgeball team in Michigan what their #1 goal is for the season and they will say win a national championship. Goal 1B is to win the Michigan Dodgeball Cup. Currently, as far as I know, there are only two trophies in the NCDA, and they correspond with both of the previously mentioned tournaments. The MDC means more to the state of Michigan than any other tournament does to any other team in the league (perhaps biased but I think most would agree to that claim). So for the final MDC preview article I am going to look at what taking home the Michigan Dodgeball Cup would mean to each of the four teams.

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Michigan Dodgeball Cup Pt 2: Predictions and X-Factors

 

Photo Credit - Alan Holben
Photo Credit – Alan Holben

As our very own Kevin Bailey touched on beautifully, the parity that has gone on in the state of Michigan this season has been one for the books. Never have all four squads been so close in talent. While many believe that Saginaw Valley State University is on a tier below Central Michigan University, Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, they have shown on more than one occasion that they can compete with any team in the country. Pt. 1 of the Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview focused on the past match-ups that had taken place so far throughout the season and how they will have an impact on each match that takes place on February 27th. This article won’t focus on such nonsense. The winner of the MDC will be the team that comes to play, makes few mistakes and leaves everything they have on the court. Period.

So lets get started… Continue reading “Michigan Dodgeball Cup Pt 2: Predictions and X-Factors”

BEAST V Preview

On Sunday, Feb. 28th, James Madison University will play host to four other East Coast Region schools in the fifth annual BEAST Tournament.  BEAST V was scheduled for earlier this year, but due to gym renovations at JMU, the tourney was rescheduled for the 28th.  Despite this sudden change, JMU managed to get a 5-team event planned, and it should be a very telling weekend for East Coast dodgeball.  Here is a brief game-by-game preview of BEAST V with brief analysis and predictions from Sean Smith (TU) and myself:

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Gonzalez Exchanges for BEAST V

BEAST V! I remember the first Beast way back when, and I’m always excited to see how events grow and evolve. We’ll be seeing a new Member Team’s inducting matches at this one, University of Virginia. Exciting. They come in with a Gonzalez rating of 40. Let’s see how it pans out… Continue reading “Gonzalez Exchanges for BEAST V”

Zanderthon Throw-Down Recap

By: Erik Zander and Matt Bautch (both UWP) with Zigmas Maloni in parenthesis for minor additional commentary.

So Saturday, February 20, 2016, three teams came together to battle in the Zanderthon Throw-Down.  These teams were Platteville, Nebraska, and DePaul, it was a mix of very different styles of play which made for some good matches. Here is the breakdown of the matches from that day.  Continue reading “Zanderthon Throw-Down Recap”

Zanderthon Throw-Down Preview

Erik Zander [UWP-C] writes…

I would first like to say thanks for the teams that are making Platteville’s first ever real home tournament possible.  The teams involved on Feb 20, 2016 at Williams Field House are: Platteville Pioneers, DePaul Dodgeball Society, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

10:00am UWP-JV UNL
11:15am DePaul UNL
12:30pm UWP DePaul
1:45pm UWP UNL

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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.

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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:

 

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Perception in the NCDA

ncda_logoIt seems that more than ever this year teams in the NCDA are travelling to a variety of tournaments while staying as close to home as possible. Teams in the more Midwest area of the league are staying in states like Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. Teams further west like DePaul and Wisconsin make it to as many as they can, but can’t travel with the ease of an Ohio State or Grand Valley. While they are capable of making the drives, the teams on the East Coast seem relegated to battle amongst themselves the majority of the season per usual.

As the dynamic of league travel evolves into more condensed areas, so too can perception of teams. Those who get to see more know more and typically have different ways of seeing each and every member team. Using two prominent teams, Michigan State and James Madison, it seems more appropriate than ever to examine how perception plays a major role in the NCDA. Continue reading “Perception in the NCDA”