They Shouldn't Have Let Us In

A week ago, I was looking at CCIW Tournament scenarios, and lamenting how North Central had its fate not in its own hands. I talked a little bit on Thursday about NCAA Tournament scenarios, but for North Central, the formula was simple: win and in. Admittedly, I didn't think it would happen. But, like many members of the Cardinal basketball team expressed on social media Saturday night and Sunday morning, "They shouldn't have let us in."

The Cardinals avenged their two February overtime losses, nearly blowing a 23 point lead against Carthage on Friday before Aiden Chang played hero with a floater at the buzzer to send the Cardinals to the title game. There, they engaged Augustana in a back and forth affair where the Cardinals took control late, had some more free throw trouble, but locked down on defense enough late and did hit enough that they beat the Vikings and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. This Cardinal team is now a very dangerous opponent that I'm sure no one wants to see.

This morning, the NCAA unveiled the bracket for this year's tournament. I knew the CCIW was going to be in some rough water with regards to getting any at large bids. But for the tenth straight season, the CCIW will send multiple representatives to the Big Dance, as Augustana joined the Cardinals. North Central itself had a long wait, as they were the final team to go up on the board, but the drama was just left to seeing who the Cardinals would play this weekend.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at North Central's pod for the weekend and what to expect from the Cardinals' opponents standing in the way of their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2013.

First and Second Round Site

Collier Arena (Horner Center)
Hanover College | Hanover, IN

It's hard to get much of a read on Collier Arena, since Hanover's website only has a picture of the outside of the Horner Center. From what I can tell though, it's a pretty nice facility and should be a suitable first weekend site.

So now let's scout out North Central's opponents for the weekend.

College of Wooster Fighting Scots
21-7 (15-3); 2nd in NCAC, Won NCAC Tournament

The Scots had a good year, avenging two of their three conference losses in the NCAC Tournament en route to the automatic bid. They're arguably one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 15 of their last 16 games, but they have to deal with a tough North Central team on Friday. We have one fascinating matchup as 6'6" forward Dan Fanelly (19.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 61/42/79 shooting splits) will have his hands full against another stretch-5 in Alex Sorenson. Wooster also boasts solid guard play in Spencer Williams (14.6 PPG, 46/38/76) and Danyon Hempy (10.1, 48/45/78). This is a very high scoring team (85.4 PPG) that plays tough defense (71.3 PPG), but they're going up against an elite Cardinal defense that has done a good job pretty much all season of taking away the other team's best options. Guys like Reece Dupler and Eric Bulic will need to step it up as well if the Scots want to advance.

Westminster College Blue Jays
19-8 (13-5); 2nd in SLIAC, Won SLIAC Tournament

The Blue Jays had a little trouble in the SLIAC towards the end of the season, and were 0-2 against top seeded Greenville, a System team, but Westminster hit 62.5 percent of its shots in the conference title game to punch their ticket. This is a relatively balanced team led by 6'9" junior Sean O'Brien (16.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 60/35/60) and junior swingman Romo Tabb (15.5, 5.9, 57/38/76). Sharpshooter Jimmy Villalobos (12.6 PPG, 39.6 percent from three) rounds out a solid Big Three, as Villalobos is also a solid rebounder for his size. I'll be interested though to see how they handle life outside the SLIAC; though they finished 6-3 in non-conference, two of those wins came against CCIW bottom feeders Elmhurst and Millikin, and they can have some problems against up tempo teams.

Hanover College Panthers
23-3 (16-2); 1st in HCAC, Won HCAC Tournament

Winners of their last nine and 12 of 13, the Panthers earned hosting rights for the opening weekend behind their second place ranking in the Great Lakes region. This offense, however, wasn't quite as potent as some of the others coming to Indiana this weekend, though they were more efficient: the Panthers shot 51.5 percent as a team and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc, while holding opponents to 42.9 and 35.2 percent, respectively. They definitely rebound bigger than their size, and have a matchup nightmare in Wes McKinney (18.3 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 51/41/77) to lead the way. Sophomore guard Cam Fails (15.2 PPG, 48/40/77) provides some support in the backcourt, while point guard Colin Smith (6.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 53/31/73) is a good supporting piece, especially given his rebounding skills. If opponents can also contain Corey Muchmore (13.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 64 percent shooting), Hanover will be in trouble.

Video for the NCAA Tournament will be available through Hanover's website (this post will be updated later with the link to their tournament page). Hopefully the Cardinals can go beyond one-and-done, and advance to a second weekend!