Flying Dutchmen Game Notes
NCAA Regional at UW-Stevens Point
Friday and Saturday, March 5-6, 2010
The Flying Dutchmen (21-7) are playing in the NCAA Division III tournament for the fifth year in-a-row and for the 21st time in school history. Hope has an all-time record of 26-22 (.542) in NCAA games. The Dutchmen were the national runnersup in both 1996 and 1998.
Hope, with 21 tournament appearances, is one of only five schools to appear in the NCAA championship more than 20 times. The leader is Wittenberg, Ohio with 24 appearances, but none since 2006. The others are Scranton, Pa. (22 times but not 2010), Salem State, Mass. (22 times but not 2010), and Franklin & Marshall, Pa. (21 times including 2010).
The Flying Dutchmen gained the NCAA automatic berth of the Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) by defeating rival Calvin in the league
tournament championship game 78-74. It marked the second consecutive year that Hope
was runner-up to Calvin in the regular season and then the conference tournament champion.
Hope is enjoying its fifth straight 20-win season and the 18th in 33 seasons under coach Glenn Van Wieren. The Flying Dutchmen over the past five seasons have a 124-27 cumulative record.
The tradition-rich Hope program came into the 2009-10 season as one of the most successful in all of Division III -- #5 by winning percentage (1,429-712, .667) and #6 by victories (now 1,450 entering this weekend).
Hope versus Regional Field
° In their only meeting, Hope defeated St. Norbert 54-53 in a first round game of the 2002 NCAA tournament at DePere, Wisc.
° Hope has never played Carleton in men's basketball.
° Hope has never played UW-Stevens Point although the Flying Dutchmen played on the Pointers' court in the 2007 NCAA Sectional tournament posting an 89-77 win over Carroll, Wisc., but bowing to Washington-St. Louis 58-55.
Both Hope College basketball teams are playing in the NCAA Division III championships for the fifth consecutive year and for the seventh time since 2002. The Flying Dutch are hosting a women's regional this weekend.
Junior Peter Bunn of Lansing (Lansing Christian HS) was voted to the men's All-MIAA first team while senior Chris Nelis of Zeeland (Zeeland East HS) received All-MIAA second team recognition.
Hope Stat Rankings in Division III (404 teams): #1 in team blocked shots per game at 4.4 (Middlebury is leader at 7.3)... #34 in team free throw percentage at 74.2% (UW-Oshkosh is leader at 80.6%... #40 in team three-point field goal percentage at 37.6% (Williams is leader at 45.0%)... #41 in fewest team turnovers per game at 12.3 (UW-LaCrosse is leader at 9.4)... #48 in team field goal percentage at 47/2% (Williams is lead at 52.5%... Peter Bunn ranks #22 in free throw percentage at 97.2% (Matt Hilton of Ursinus is leader at 93.2%)... Nate Snuggerud ranks #45 in blocked shots per game at 1.9 (Marcel Esonwune of York, N.Y. is leader at 4.3).
Stat Shorttakes: Peter Bunn's .872 (123/141) free throw shooting percentage is curently the third best in a season at Hope. The single season record is .888 (95/107) by Eric Elliott in 1989-90. Elliott has the second best too at .873 (124/142) in 1990-91. Bunn's .872 euals the .872 (75/86) of Tom Dykstra in 1968-69... Andy Venema's (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) 51 blocked shots puts him in the top ten at Hope for a season. The single season blocked shot record is 95 by Don Overbeek in 2002-03.
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