Yeeeeeeeeeeah time to get out the dancing shoes #GoCards— Alex Sorenson (@AlexSCOREnson) February 29, 2016
Let's dance!— Connor Raridon (@ConnorRaridon) February 29, 2016
The at large bid marks the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Cardinals since that legendary 2013 run to the Final Four, and with the Augustana automatic bid and Elmhurst also getting an at large bid, the CCIW got three teams in for the second straight year. It's a testament to how much of a gauntlet the conference truly is.
North Central is heading up to Wisconsin this weekend to advance, and they avoid both of their conference rivals, who are on the other side of the bracket, as well as Benedictine, who looms as a potential Elite Eight matchup. So as is my tradition, the questions are plentiful. What do we know about North Central's opponents? I dug into the stats and have a preview of the weekend ahead,
First and Second Round Site
My initial reaction in looking at this picture: it reminds me a lot of R.A Faganel Hall at Elmhurst. Hoeft Arena seats 2500 people and will be buzzing this weekend. It's obviously a high-caliber facility; the Midwest Conference has hosted its conference championships a lot lately, so getting to go up a step to NCAA Tournament stages is a good sign.
So here's a look at the hosts this weekend as well as the other two teams making the trip up.
18-9 (14-6), 2nd in MIAC, won MIAC Tournament
The Oles had a very tough schedule to kick off their season. After a 1-3 start St. Olaf started to get on a little bit of a roll with the exception of the other top teams in the MIAC, going 0-4 against St. Thomas and St. John's, who finished first and third, respectively, in the conference. Then of course, they knocked off St. John's in the MIAC semis before handing St. Thomas just its third loss of the season in the conference title game to swipe the automatic bid, though being ranked 5th in the West Region in the final public regional rankings had them in decent shape for an at large. The Oles boast a lot of height, led by 6'8" senior Ben Figini (18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 49.5 percent shooting), though they also benefit from 6'6" senior Riley Aeikens as a swingman (14.7 points, 5.2 rebounds per game with 51/43/83 shooting splits). The other main threat comes from senior guard Justin Pahl (15.4 points per game on 44/38/84 shooting splits). This is a team that can score, averaging 72 points a game with team splits of 48/37/74. Obviously since they got past St. Thomas this is a dangerous first round opponent for North Central, but despite that ton of height this is a team that only averaged 30.1 rebounds a game while allowing 31.3. When your two best rebounders are combining for just over 10 boards a game, and the Cardinals' third best rebounder is on pace with the Oles' combined top two rebounders, that could be the weakness for North Central to exploit, especially if Alex Sorenson can hit some outside shots to draw Figini away from the basket.
23-2 (18-0), 1st in MWC, Won MWC Tournament
St. Norbert has recently made the national scene on the back of another Midwest Conference title, but more so based on the fact that they haven't lost a game against a Midwest Conference opponent since 2013. The conference isn't a bunch of scrubs, as Carroll went 20-5 and 15-3 in its final year in the league, but the Knights' two losses were to teams that North Central went 1-1 against: UW-Stevens Point and Alma. This is a dangerous team that boasts four scorers in double figures D.J. DeValk (15.8 points per game on 46/39/87 shooting splits). To me, the guy to really watch out for is Terrence Garner. He's a 6'4" guard, who isn't an outside threat, but clearly either gets to the rim of has a great midrange game to the tune of 10.6 points per game on 53.5 percent shooting from the floor while also leading the team in rebounding and assists. Add to that the scoring prowess of Ben Bobinski (11.9 points per game on 43/37/80 shooting splits) and Mitchell Reinthaler (10.8 points per game on 47/27/74 shooting splits), and this is a pretty balanced attack for the Green Knights. Despite a relative lack of height, they outrebounded their competition very well and held opponents to just 41.4 percent shooting for the season. Of course, they aren't in the Midwest Conference any more, but they've got the experience at this stage, making their fourth straight NCAA Tournament and sixth in seven years, though not past the first weekend in that stretch.
22-5 (12-4), 2nd in UMAC, Won UMAC Tournament
A Sweet 16 team a year ago (which included a win over Elmhurst), the Eagles romped through their non-conference opposition, with their only loss outside the UMAC coming to Bethel, but they had some struggles in conference before righting the ship at the right time, taking out third seeded North Central of Minnesota before toppling St. Scholastica in a blowout for the UMAC's automatic bid. The Eagles are one of the top scoring teams in the country, averaging 81.4 points per game on an even 50 percent shooting from the floor. What's more impressive is the fact that they boast a whopping six players averaging double figures. It's very balanced between the inside and the outside as well; guard Michael Carney leads the team with 13.4 points per game on 45/46/70 shooting splits, while 6'6" forward Kyle Ooms controls the paint to the tune of 12.2 points per game on 65 percent shooting while also pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game. The other high scorers are also balanced between guards Cody Sprenger (11.0 points per game on 45/35/70 shooting splits plus the leader in assists) and Porter Morrell (11.0 points per game on 47/41/71 shooting splits) and forwards Will Gisler (10.4 points per game on 47/34/76 shooting splits in addition to 6.3 rebounds per game) and Clay Elrod (10.2 points per game on 51/38/74 shooting splits). Those six do the lion's share of the scoring but there is a little bit of depth there as well, especially with forward Peter Maring (only 4.8 points per game, but on a whopping 72 percent shooting, plus 20 blocked shots this season). St. Norbert is going to have to bring it defensively if they want to survive the first night.
Coach Todd Raridon is already hard at work scouting out St. Olaf, and the team is getting prepared while not taking anything for granted. Coverage of the NCC-St. Olaf game as well as the Northwestern-St. Norbert game should be available on St. Norbert's live video channel. The NCC game is scheduled for a 5:00 tipoff, while the hosts will play immediately afterwards.
Good luck to North Central this weekend as they begin their quest for an NCAA Championship!
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