With wins over Rose-Hulman and Washington University this weekend, the Cardinals made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. This is saying a lot for a 150 year old school, but when you look at the championship banners in Merner Fieldhouse, it's almost all for Track and Field and Cross Country (especially of late). This team has been an exciting one to get behind. I didn't get to catch any of the games the past couple days, but every account has been positive.
These last 2 games have proved that the Cardinals are one of those very tough teams. They play solid defense, and while not being able to pull away very much in either of these games, they have been able to close them out with solid defense. On the offensive end though, this team is scary. When you go through this roster, the Cardinals have 6 guys that can kill you. On Friday against the Engineers, it was Landon Gamble getting feeds down low and proceeding to score at will. Last night Kevin Gillespie put the team on his back again, but Gamble had a double-double, and Raridon and Tiknis were also in double figures. Vince Kmiec was ice cold last night, but had 5 assists. CJ Goldthree is somebody who can score both inside and out off the bench, and when Gamble is tired or in foul trouble, Charlie Rosenberg is more than a capable backup.
Looking at the bracket overall, there have been some big upsets already. On Friday, the teams D3hoops.com ranked #10 through #13, along with #17, #18, and #25 all lost. Such is what happens in the NCAA Tournament; anything can happen. Saturday, NCC beat Washington (#19th), and we also saw #14 fall... and the top team in the nation fell last night to... Illinois Wesleyan! I have to take back my doubts about them making the dance; they've proved they belong. Wheaton also won their way to the exclusive party, proving once again that the Gauntlet is one of the best conferences in all of D-III.
So like I did last week, I will go over the teams North Central will be on location with for next weekend's portion of the tournament. The NCAA announced this afternoon that The College of Wooster (Ohio) will host the sectional rounds at the Scot Center.
Wittenberg Tigers (23-6)
Defeated Birmingham Southern 63-56, defeated Carroll 87-70.
The Tigers made it as an at-large team out of the NCAC, led by senior forward Clayton Black (14.2, 6.8) and Josh McKee (10.6, 3.9). They're a very good defensive team, allowing just 61.4 points a game, while scoring 67.4. They have a pretty good interior presence with Black and Alex Brandt, who both shoot over 50 percent from the field. As a team, they shoot about 44%, but they're an average team from 3 (33.6%) and not the greatest from the line 68.8%). This is NCC's matchup on Friday, and should be a fun battle between Black and Gamble in the paint.
Wooster Fighting Scots (26-4)
Defeated Maryville 70-63, defeated Capital 92-79.
The NCAC Tournament champions might be the scariest team out of this sectional, especially playing at home. They have an insane +12.4 point differential (not sure where that ranks nationally, but wow.), scoring 75 a game while only giving up about 63. They are led by the 3-headed monster of Justin Hallowell (14, 6.8), Xavier Brown (13, 3.5) and Josh Claytor (11.1, 5.3, 61.7% FG). It's a perfect trio; Claytor is your killer down low, and Hallowell and Brown can get you both inside and out. What will happen against tough defenses of the CCIW is hard to say, but this team got this far for a reason.
Illinois Wesleyan Titans (21-7)
Defeated UW-Stevens Point 69-61, defeated Hope 108-101 (2OT)
You know this team is legit when they knock off the top ranked team in the nation... but also when they survived the Gauntlet. I saw these guys play Wheaton in the CCIW semis, and they played well, but lost largely because Wheaton was unconscious from the field in the first half of their matchup, and IWU didn't exactly light up the floor either, so the lead was just too much to overcome. You may know their resume if you follow CCIW hoops; unanimous All-CCIW 1st Team-er Jordan Zimmer (15.8) leads a well-rounded team, with guys like Victor Davis (10.6, 5) and John Koschnitzky (9.4, 3) backing him up. This is a good defensive team (66.8 ppga) that has almost as good a point differential as the Scots (77 ppg for a +10.2 differential). This is another game that will be fun. Just think, we have the possibility of conference rematches for the right to go to the Final Four!
I'm assuming once again that the FM89 crew will be making the trek out to call these games. This is the biggest weekend in men's basketball history for the school, and the biggest basketball moment since the women's team won the 1982-83 title. Go Cardinals!
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