The last month and a half to two months have had 56 games, all leading up to this. Four teams, three games. One team will win both of its contests this weekend, and get one of 43 automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament. The other three need to hope they put together a good enough resume to capture one of 19 at large spots that are up for grabs to enter the NCAA Tournament. I won't go into tournament chances today though; that comes on Wednesday when the final public regional rankings are released by the NCAA.
So like we did yesterday for the women, let's set the scene for the CCIW Tournament and look at the four squads who will enter the fray.
2016 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament
Carver Center- Augustana College (Rock Island, IL)
Huh. This looks familiar. I pretty much just copy-pasted this description again. I haven't made the trip out to Rock Island, but I have heard a lot of good things about the Carver Center, and it is going to be rocking this weekend once again. This is the second straight year Augustana has hosted the tournament and fifth time overall.
Semifinal #1
Record: 19-6 (12-2); 8th tournament appearance (2nd consecutive), 3 titles
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect out of this Cardinal team, but they went up against a ridiculously tough schedule and ran through everyone in the CCIW except for Augustana. They boast unanimous First Team All-CCIW forward Alex Sorenson, who was fourth in the conference in scoring (15.4 points per game on 52.6 percent shooting, including a 42.4 percent clip from beyond the arc). He's got quite a bit of help in CCIW Freshman of the Year/Second Team All-CCIW forward Connor Raridon (12.9 points per game on just shy of 50 percent shooting) and Third Team All-CCIW guard Jayme Moten (10.8 points per game with a 40.9 percent clip from beyond the arc). This is a team that has plenty of secondary options should foul trouble or other issues emerge, as players like Kevin Honn (10.4 points on 53.7 percent shooting) and Erwin Henry (9.1 points on 52.7 percent shooting) can take over games if needed, and they have a solid floor general in Jagger Anderson (9.3 points per game). The biggest concern with this team is a bit of a lack of depth at forward behind Sorenson and Honn, but more importantly is the free throw shooting. As a team the Cardinals did shoot about 70 percent from the line, but that's despite Sorenson and Anderson both shooting in the 50's from the stripe. The team rate is a little higher than I expected, but that's based on anecdotal evidence.
Record: 20-5 (10-4); 6th tournament appearance (2nd consecutive), 0 titles
After a 16-1 start to the season (with the lone loss coming at home against undefeated Benedictine), the Blue Jays fell off a cliff a little bit, going 4-4 the rest of the way including an 0-4 stretch against the other three tournament teams. This is still a dangerous team though that led the conference in scoring at over 83 points per game, and their rotation is almost entirely composed of seniors who have been here before. They're led by First Team All-CCIW guard Kyle Wuest (15.2 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting), Erik Crittenden (12.6 points on 46.3 percent shooting) and Third Team All-CCIW guard Bryant Ackerman (10.6 points on 41.6 percent shooting), but go nine or ten deep, including with Second Team All-CCIW center Will Nixon (9.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game). The great part is that there is no love lost between the Blue Jays and the Cardinals, and given Elmhurst's recent struggles they are going to be desperate this weekend. If they can keep their composure against the Cardinals, they could steal a win and get themselves back more firmly into NCAA Tournament conversation.
Semifinal #2
Record: 24-1 (13-1); 11th tournament appearance (11th consecutive), 4 titles
This team needs little introduction. They made the national championship game last year and followed that up with a monster regular season whose only blemish was in overtime at Elmhurst when Elmhurst was at their peak. This is a very dangerous squad led by CCIW Player of the Year in Hunter Hill (14.2 points per game with 48/44/89 shooting splits), and he might not even be their best player. Unanimous First Team All-CCIW forward Ben Ryan led the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game on 56.9 percent shooting. The Vikings then have three other players averaging at least eight points a game, including a pair (Tayvian Johnson and Brandon Motzel) who are shooting over 60 percent from the floor. This is just a very disciplined team that shoots well, rebounds well, and will make you pay for any mistake you make.
Record: 13-12 (7-7); 9th tournament appearance (7th consecutive), 0 titles
The Titans are somewhat indebted to North Central, who needed to beat North Park on Saturday to get the Titans in, and they did. They struggled against the other tournament teams, only going 1-5 against the top three, but they did play a few of them tough. The Titans are led by Second Team All-CCIW forward Trevor Seibring (14.6 points per game on 61.2 percent shooting), but he has a pretty good supporting cast led by senior guard Bryce Dolan (13.4 points per game with 46/44/86 shooting splits) and junior guard Andy Stempel (9.5 points per game on 43/37/84 splits). This is a team with a lot of experience, as this is their seventh straight tournament appearance, but they are the clear underdog in a top heavy field.
Tournament Predictions
Back in 2012, North Central went 12-2 in the CCIW, with both of their losses coming to Wheaton, a subplot that set up the Kevin Gillespie Game and North Central's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. I'm not quite sure we'll see a similar ending. I think the Cardinals will do enough to handle Elmhurst; the Blue Jays have had some trouble with the Cardinal defense and Connor Raridon is in Erik Crittenden's head. I think the Cardinals take care of business in a game that might spell the end of Elmhurst's tournament hopes, while Augustana is able to handle a valiant effort from Illinois Wesleyan. In the title game though, I think the Vikings' experience will prove to be the difference. While we won't see a 33-2 outburst again and hopefully the Cardinals have learned to never leave Hunter Hill wide open (much less on back to back possessions in a tight game), but I think Augie will prove to be just a little too much in Rock Island as the Cardinals wait for Selection Monday to learn their fate.
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