| Game Five | |
|---|---|
| Who | Cornerstone Golden Eagles |
| What | GRSHOF Classic |
| Where | Cornerstone University |
| When | Friday -- 8:00 |
| Video | none (that I know of) |
| Audio | Stretch Internet |
| Live Stats | DakStats |
When We Last Met
Calvin defeated the Cornerstone Golden Eagles 81-76 in last year's Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Tournament Championship game. It was the first loss of the year for a Cornerstone team that would only lose four games all season and eventually claim the NAIA-II National Championship.
About Cornerstone
The Golden Eagles aren't having the season they had last year. They graduated a few key members from last year's team, and started this season 0-4 before winning their last two games (although one of those wins was against Kuyper, so we can't really count that). In fairness to Cornerstone, their four losses all came against relatively strong competition.
Four Factors
Cornerstone's schedule has been a bit harder overall than Calvin's has been, so keep that in mind while looking at the Four Factors comparison.
Cornerstone shoots the ball at a higher percentage than Calvin has, but they're having troubles of their own with offensive efficiency. Still, the Golden Eagles will hold a strong advantage in shooting percentage.
Both teams have been on the wrong side of average in turnover rate, but Cornerstone is only turning the ball over slightly more often than you'd like to see. Calvin's problems with turnovers have been more pronounced.
The Knights look to have a strong advantage in rebounding. Cornerstone has been perhaps an average team on the glass, while Calvin has been quite good all year.
When it comes to free throw rate, Calvin is slightly better, but both teams are very close.
Team Stats
| Team | eFG% | PPWS | FTr | ORb% | Rb% | Ar | TOr | Blk% | Stl% | OEff | DEff | POS | POS/40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calvin | 0.441 | 0.98 | 0.35 | 0.44 | 0.58 | 0.69 | 0.23 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 99.5 | 98.2 | 313 | 73.5 |
| Cornerstone | 0.471 | 1.01 | 0.34 | 0.35 | 0.53 | 0.46 | 0.21 | 0.05 | 0.15 | 97.9 | 94.2 | 456 | 73.5 |
The two teams have played this season at about the same average pace (pos/40). Each team will probably get 70-75 possessions in this game, which will feel quite normal to us.
Looking at offensive efficiency numbers -- both teams are below 100 -- this game could become a defensive struggle. I'll say that Cornerstone has the advantage, but this looks to be an interesting matchup.
Sure-to-be-Wrong Prediction
Massey says Cornerstone by 6
I'll say Cornerstone by 4
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