It’s now September and Calvin’s official online Men’s Basketball schedule still doesn’t list game matchups for the Tip-off Tournament, the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Tournament, and the Elmhurst Classic. I was getting impatient so I scoured the web for the schedules of other key participants to get the matchups.
It looks like Calvin will stick to the traditional format for the Tip-off Tournament. Calvin will host Grace Bible in one “semifinal” and Heidelberg and Ohio Wesleyan will square off in the other. The Grace website says lists Calvin and Grace as the 7:30 game (in keeping with tradition), but Ohio Wesleyan’s site lists it as the early game. I’m going with Grace on the game times until I hear otherwise. They both agreed on the matchups.
I pilfered the matchups for the GRSHOF tournament from Hope’s website. They list the games as Calvin-Aquinas and Hope-Cornerstone. I can’t find times listed anywhere, but I’d be willing to bet that Aquinas gets the 8:00 game since they’re the host. That would mean Hope and Cornerstone play at 6:00.
DePauw University’s basketball website spilled the beans for the Elmhurst Classic. They list Calvin as their opening round opponent, which makes Elmhurst and Benedictine our final matchup.
All of this means that Calvin will have 17 guaranteed in-region games (one game against Heidelberg/Ohio Wesleyan, one game against DePauw, 14 conference games, and one MIAA tournament game) with the possibility of up to 21 (a chance meeting with Hope in the GRSOF tourney, a possible matchup with Elmhurst, and two more potential MIAA tournament games). Calvin ended last year with a 15-4 record in 19 regional games, and barely missed out on an at large (Pool C) tournament bid.
