Today I'm looking at the tournament North Central did make, so let's preview the CCIW Tournament.
2017 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament
Tarble was my first road experience in the CCIW, and it's a nice facility on a beautiful campus. This marks the first time since 2010 that Kenosha has played host to the CCIW Tournament. It's a fitting locale for what should be a hard fought and exciting two nights of basketball.
Semifinal #1
Record: 18-7 (11-5); 1st tournament appearance
With a history as illustrious as North Park's (they won five national titles in the 70's and 80's), it's a little surprising that they've never been to this stage before. But this program was awful when I was an undergrad, and under Tom Slyder they've undergone a nice resurgence. They have a sweep of Augustana to their name this season and boast probably the best 1-2 punch in the conference: Most Outstanding Player Jordan Robinson (22.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 3.6 APG, 54/43/69) and All-CCIW First Teamer Juwan Henry (18.5 PPG, 41/32/68) form a dangerous duo to defend. They're a smaller team, but Robinson plays bigger than his size, and when you add in the quickness of T.J. Cobbs (9.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 60/36/62) and the shooting of Colin Lake (12.8 PPG, 41/39/80), they're a tough team to beat. In their first CCIW Tournament, they're going to be a tough out.
Record: 18-7 (11-5); 12th tournament appearance (12th consecutive), 5 titles
Another year, another Grey Giovanine sighting. Augie was supposed to take a step back this year after graduating their entire starting five that had made the Elite Eight in back to back years and made the 2015 national title game. They did take a step back, but that step wasn't as big as the other CCIW contenders were hoping. Nonetheless, Augie had multiple chances to clinch a third straight #1 seed and couldn't do it, including getting absolutely blown out by Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday. They still find themselves in the CCIW Tournament, and they still have a good group to work with. Unanimous All-CCIW First Teamer Chrishawn Orange (13.8 PPG, 48/39/79) leads the way, and he's got a good supporting cast in All-CCIW Second Teamers Jacob Johnston (13.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 52/32/81) and Dylan Sortillo (12.9 PPG, 41/37/82) back him up, and Nolan Ebel (10.4, 44/44/86) is an excellent complementary piece. Missing Pierson Wofford (dismissed from the team) hurts them a little bit, but it should still make for a compelling first semifinal game.
Semifinal #2
Record: 18-7 (11-5); 3rd tournament appearance (1st since 2014), 1 title
Okay, I wasn't very high on Carthage back in November, but I acknowledged a good young freshman class they brought in, and it resulted in them shocking a lot of people in CCIW circles by not only making the tournament, but winning a share of the CCIW title. All-CCIW First Teamers Mike Stevenson (16.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 46/38/84) and Brad Kruse (9.6, 6.1, 52/33/60) lead an imposing frontcourt, combined with Freshman of the Year Brad Perry (9.9, 6.6, 61/NA/66), and they've got the best trio of bigs in the conference. Kienan Baltimore (11.5 PPG, 44/37/80) would be the Sixth Man of the year if the CCIW had such an award, and they play pretty good defense. They've got as good a shot as any to make the Dance.
Record: 15-10 (9-7); 9th tournament appearance (3rd consecutive), 3 titles
To an extent, the Cardinals should consider themselves lucky they made it. The preseason favorite, North Central blew a pair of winnable road games in the final minute to go on to lose in overtime, games that if they win, they're the #2 seed and the tournament is at North Park. Instead, they had to overcome losing Connor Raridon in December to a hand injury. That meant preseason All-American and unanimous All-CCIW First Teamer Alex Sorenson had to step up, and as the year went on he did (17.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 48/32/67). Erwin Henry also elevated his game to All-CCIW Second Team status (13.4, 6.2, 46/40/76), and boast a dangerous backcourt with the shooting of Aiden Chang (10.6 PPG, 40/34/89) and the speed of Jagger Anderson (10.6 PPG, 42/34/59) to go with his underrated shooting. The team also got a huge lift with the play of Matt Cappelletti (7.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 42/31/79) filling Connor's spot in the starting lineup and posting four straight double-doubles in consecutive starts. This is a team that certainly has the talent to take home the title this weekend, but the question is if they have the ability to make clutch plays down the stretch to do so.
Tournament Predictions
The two semifinal matchups were sweeps in the regular season; North Park swept Augustana this year to kind of shock the conference, and with Augie down a key piece I don't think they have the firepower to keep up with Robinson and Henry. The Chicago Vikings move on to the title game. The Carthage-NCC game scares me, because the Cardinals played like crap in Naperville in that loss, and blew the game in Kenosha within the last few weeks. I feel like there's a matchup nightmare there, but the Cardinals should be rested and ready to go. If they can somehow get Connor Raridon back for this one... it might just be enough. I don't know his status though, and as much as I'd love to see a "Run the table" type performance this weekend, I don't know if it'll happen. That leaves Carthage and North Park in the title game, which I think the Vikings take even though Carthage swept them this year. The Red Men have the size advantage, but with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line? Give me North Park to grab the auto bid, and Carthage does well enough that they get an invitation as well.
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