The 218th edition of the Calvin-Hope men's basketball rivalry is set to tip off Saturday afternoon at Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tipoff for the classic rivalry is set for 3:09 p.m. A limited amount of tickets are still available through the Calvin Box Office.

BROADCAST COVERAGE - Saturday's game is being broadcast on Michigan Sports Radio (Michigansportsradio.com) , FM 96.1 The Game Radio (https://961thegame.iheart.com/) and WXSP-TV. The game will also be live streamed through the Calvin YouTube channel and feature live statistics at: Calvin-Hope Men's Basketball Live Stats. 

ALL-TIME SERIES - Hope leads the all-time series 111-106 in a series that dates back to the 1920-21 season. Calvin won the first meeting of the year, an 80-65 decision back on January 24 at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse. Over 217 games, Calvin has outscored Hope by just 16 point (14,717–14,701) which works out to a difference of just 0.13 points per game. Calvin head coach Bill Sall is in his seventh year as head coach. He is 8–8 against Hope. Hope head coach Greg Mitchell is 13–16 against the Knights. As a player at Calvin, Sall was 7–3 against Hope. As a player at Hope, Mitchell was 4–5 against Calvin.

CALVIN COACHES SHOW - Fans of Calvin basketball should mark their calendar for each Monday night in February.   Big E's restaurant on East Beltline is the home for "Inside Calvin Basketball" – a 30-minute program featuring men's coach Bill Sall plus coaches and players from the men's and women's basketball teams.  The show airs live on 96.1 The Game and Michigan Sports Radio.  Fans are welcome to join the live audience and enjoy the delicious menu items from Big E's.

THE CALVIN COACH-Bill Sall is in his seventh year as head coach of the Calvin men's basketball program. He has led Calvin to four straight 20-win campaigns at the helm of the Knights. A 1994 Calvin graduate, Sall is in his 24^th year as a head collegiate men's basketball coach with an overall career won-loss record of 368-299 heading into tonight. He was 177-148 in 11 seasons at Ferris State and 61-102 in six seasons at Northern Michigan. He is currently 130-48 at the helm of the Calvin men's basketball program. In his first year as Calvin men's basketball head coach, he led the Knights to an overall record of 15-11 including a second-place finish in the MIAA and a trip to the MIAA Tournament semifinals. He followed with a second straight trip to the MIAA Tournament semis in 2021. In 2023, he led Calvin to an MIAA regular season championship and an overall record of 23-5. In 2022, he guided Calvin to a 22-9 record, a berth in the NCAA III Tournament and a trip to the Sweet 16 round of the national tournament. His 2023-24 team captured a share of the MIAA regular season title and advanced to the Elite 8 round of the NCAA III Tournament, finishing 25-5 overall. His 2024-25 team went 21-7 overall, winning MIAA regular season and MIAA Tournament crowns while reaching the NCAA III Tournament for the third time in four years. Sall is also a legendary Calvin men's basketball player. A two-time NABC Division III All-American and a two-time MIAA MVP, Sall ranks second on the Calvin career scoring list with 2,003 points. As a senior during the 1989-90 season, he led Calvin to an outright MIAA title and the school's first trip to the NCAA III Final Four.

OFFENSE/DEFENSE – Hope averages 76.08 points a game on offense while giving up 72.29 points a game on defense. The Flying Dutchmen are shooting 45.5 percent from the floor including 28.1 percent from three-point range. Hope is allowing opponents to shoot 44.1 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from three-point range. Calvin averages 78.67 points a game on offense and is allowing 66.12 points a game on defense. Calvin is shooting 48.0 percent from the floor while limiting opponents to a 36.5 percent field goal shooting. Calvin is shooting 31.9 percent from three-point range with its opponents shooting 29.1 percent from beyond the long line.

MORE ON CALVIN - Calvin is led in scoring by senior center Jalen Overway.  He was named MIAA Player of the Week and to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week on January 20 for his play in conference victories over Kalamazoo and Albion. Overway averages 23.4 points and 10.7 rebounds a game while connecting on 62.6 percent of his field goal attempts.  Senior forward Trevin Winkle averages 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game. Senior guard Luka Ressler averages 8.9 points and 4.5 assists a game. Sophomore guard Jordan Scott averages 8.7 points per contest. Junior forward Parker Schwartz contributes 8.7 points a game.

Scouting the Opposition – Hope is led by head coach Greg Mitchell who is in his 12^th year as head coach of the Hope men's basketball program. He is 215-104 in his tenure as Hope head men's basketball coach. He previously served as head boys basketball coach at Laingsburg High School in the Lansing, Michigan. Area. He is a 1989 Hope graduate where he was a four-year member of the men's basketball program, playing on MIAA Championship team in 1987 and 1988. He is the Hope career three-point shooting percentage (.464) leader. Hope is led by junior forward Parker Hovey who averages 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds a game while connecting on 50 percent of his field goal attempts. Freshman shooting guard Brendan Cargill has come on strong for the Flying Dutchmen, averaging 12.7 points a game while connecting on 35.7 percent of his three-point field goal attempts. Senior Marcus Wourman averages 11.4 points and 3.0 rebounds game followed by sophomore post Orion Yant who averages 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing. Senior guard Justice Mims contributes 6.7 points a game.

LAST GAMES – Calvin rolled to a 92-63 win at Alma on Wednesday as the Knights connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts (33 of 66). Seven Knights scored seven points or more led by Jalen Overway's 18 points. Zion Ruckard scored a career-high 17 points off the bench with Luka Ressler adding 15 points to go with four assists and no turnovers. Hope secured a 73-70 victory at Albion after trailing 40-32 at halftime. Hope had five players in double digits in scoring led by Parker Hovey, Marcus Wourman and Orion Yant with 12 points apiece. Hope also received 24 bench points led by Simon Neuhaus with 11 points and Avery Sanchez with 10 points.

MIAA Stat Lines – In conference games, Jalen Overway is No. 1 in the MIAA in scoring average (24.5 ppg) and second rebounding average (9.7 rpg). He leads the league in field goal percentage (.652). Luka Ressler is second in total assists (54) and second in assists-to-turnover ratio (2.0). Parker Hovey is sixth in the MIAA in scoring average (16.3 ppg) and fifth in rebounding average (7.6). Trevin Winkle is fourth in total assists (40) and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.6). In conference games only, the Knights are 2^nd in the MIAA in scoring offense at 81.4 points per game and second in scoring defense (68.9). Hope is fourth in scoring offense (77.3 ppg) and third in scoring defense (69.7 ppg).

JAMMING WITH JALEN – In overall games, Calvin senior center Jalen Overway averages 23.4 points and 10.7 rebounds a game. He has 13 double-doubles this season including 42 in his career. He has 1,653 career points, 835 career rebounds and 87 career blocks heading into the weekend. He sits 7^th on the Calvin career scoring list. He is now sixth on the Calvin career rebounding list and 10^th on the Calvin career blocked shots list. He is ranked third nationally in field goals made (214), 14th nationally in Division III this season in double-doubles (13), 11^th in field goal percentage (.626), 21st in rebounds per game (10.7) and 15th in points per game (23.4). He was recently named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List. The award is presented annually to the player with the finest overall season within Small College Basketball, which includes NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA institutions. Considerations include season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.

MAY I ASSIST YOU - Calvin senior Luka Ressler has a season-high 108 assists on the season going into Saturday's game. His previous season high was 56 a year ago. Ressler surpassed the 300 career assist mark in a February 11 contest at Olivet. He has a current career total of 313 which places him fourth on the Calvin career list. He joins Matt Harrison (443), Jim Timmer (421) and Jeremy Veenstra (329) as the only Knights with 300 or more assists.