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Men's Rivalry: The History

1975 Calvin vs Hope basketball gameThe all-time series

  • Spans 85 years
  • 169 games
  • Hope leads series 86-83

Fast facts*

*Updated March 3rd, 2008

  • Through 169 games, Hope leads the series 86-83.

  • Just 91 points separate the teams over 169 games, a difference of only 0.538 points per game!
    Hope has scored 11, 419 points, an average of 67.568 per game.
    Calvin has scored 11,328 points, an average of 67.029 per game.

    • Decade-by-decade

    • 1920s – Hope won 6-2
    • 1930s – Hope won 9-5
    • 1940s – Hope won 8-2
    • 1950s – 10 games each
    • 1960s – Hope won 11-9
    • 1970s – Calvin won 21-0
    • 1980s – Hope won 14-9
    • 1990s – 13 games each
    • 2000s – Hope leads 15-12

  • The series started in 1920-21 with a 31-13 Hope victory.

  • Calvin once defeated Hope 22 consecutive times (1969-70 until the second game in 1979-80). Hope's longest winning streak was 10 games, from the start of 1994-95 through 1997-98 season).

  • In 1964-65 Hope beat Calvin 104-102 in the series' highest scoring game.

  • The series' lowest scoring game was a 26-11 Hope win in 1924-25.

  • Hope was the first team to score 100 points, winning 100-90 in 1954. The most points was by Calvin - 105-71 in 1964. There hasn't been a 100-point game since 1972 when Calvin won, 102-89.

  • Hope's biggest margin of victory was 54-20 in 1921-22.

  • Calvin's biggest margin of victory was 85-43 in 1951-52.

  • The teams met five times in 2006-07. Hope won the series 3-2 in the most unusual way. Hope defeated Calvin twice on the Knights' home floor and Calvin defeated Hope twice in games at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse. The fifth-game "rubber match" was played on a neutral floor in Aurora, Ill. with Hope prevailing 80-64 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

  • The teams met for the first time in the championship game of the Select Bank Hall of Fame Classic in November, 2006 with the Flying Dutchmen prevailing 76-54 on Calvin's home court.

  • The teams have met eight times in the MIAA tournament since it began in 1992. Hope owns a 6-3 advantage and are 5-1 when the game determined the tournament champion. In 2006-07, the Knights defeated the Flying Dutchmen in the tournament finals 78-76 at Hope. In 2007-08, Hope defeated Calvin 88-72 in the MIAA Tournament Championship game.

  • The teams have met six times in the NCAA playoffs with Calvin winning four of the five -- 92-90 ot in 1987, 95-68 in 1990, 84-79 ot in 1991 and 91-88 in 1992. Hope posted back-to-back victories in 2006 (70-67) and 2007 (80-64).

  • There have been eleven overtime games with Hope holding a 6-5 advantage.

  • Hope coach Glenn Van Wieren versus Calvin (since 1977-78) is 42-38.

  • Calvin coach Kevin VandeStreek versus Hope (since 1996-97) is 13-21.

  • Calvin owned a 33-16 advantage in the 43 years of play at the Calvin Fieldhouse from the 1965-66 season through the 2007-08 season.

  • Hope hosted Calvin at the Holland Civic Center for 51 years (1954-55 thru 2004-05), Hope owning a 31-24 advantage.

  • Hope moved to its new Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse for the 2005-06 season. Hope won the first meeting 73-55 and again in an NCAA tournament game 70-67. Through 2007-08, Hope is 4-2 versus Calvin at DeVos.

  • Calvin owns a 3-2 advantage when the game is played on a neutral floor. The most recent neutral floor game occurred in 2007 with Hope defeating Calvin 80-64 in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Aurora, Ill.

  • The January 29, 1997 game at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids, a 70-56 Hope triumph, established an NCAA Division III single game attendance record with a capacity crowd of 11,442.

Facts complied by Tom Renner, Hope College, and Jeff Febus, Calvin College