Game Notes: (MBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/25/20)

Final Score
NCC 90, Millikin 55

Game Summary
This was a contest for maybe the first ten minutes or so as, despite giving up the opening basket, the Big Blue (4-14, 1-8) got out to an early 9-4 lead. But The Belt^TM-holding Cardinals (15-3, 8-1) retook a two point lead at 16-14, and after Millikin tied the game at 16 with 10:24 to play, we figured we'd be in for more of the same the rest of the half. But then the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run, forcing a Big Blue timeout, and after a couple free throws by them, a 12-0 Cardinal run put North Central in total command, as they took a 41-21 lead into the locker room. The Big Blue scored the first basket of the second half, but then never trailed by less than 20 after that point. A second chance dunk with just under seven to play served as the dagger, allowing Todd Raridon to call off the dogs, and the guys on the end of the bench got into the party as well.

Key Players

• Connor Raridon (NCC): 4-7 FG (1-1 3PT), 5-5 FT; 14 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 8 ast. Ho hum. Connor did a majority of his damage (8-4-3) before halftime, with all eight of his points coming late in the half as the Cardinals were putting the Big Blue away early. His eight rebounds were a game-high, as were the assist numbers (more on that shortly).
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 4-6 FG (3-4 3PT), 1-1 FT; 12 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 stl. If Wednesday against Augie was Meredith's coming out party for the year, Saturday was a confirmation that he is indeed back, which might spell trouble for the rest of the CCIW. Other than his 5-8 day up in Kenosha back in December, this might have been Blaise's best outside shooting performance of the season to date, and he continued to wreak havoc on the defensive end as well. If he's truly back... look out.
• Sam Stichnote (MIL): 7-8 FG (1-2 3PT), 0-1 FT; 15 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 1 ast. The Big Blue freshman had himself a pretty good game in this one. He hit one three early in this one, then went off in the second half as the only real offensive threat for Millikin. His five rebounds were also a team high. He gives the Big Blue a good piece to help build around for the future.

Key Stats

• NCC: 25 assists. I could have gone a few different ways here: the Cardinals shot 50 percent from both the field (30-60) and beyond the arc (16-32), but the assist numbers have to be mentioned. That's 25 assists on 30 field goals, which is a ridiculous level of efficiency that was really only topped by assisting on 40 of 47 against Greenville earlier this year... which of course comes with an asterisk. That 25 assist number also needs to be put in the context of the Cardinals committing just five turnovers all game. That's a 5:1 ratio, which is absurd.
• MIL: 14 turnovers. In context, 14 turnovers isn't a ton for a 40 minute men's basketball game. It's a little high, but I usually wait to criticize it when you get closer to 20. But when those 14 turnovers lead directly to 24 Cardinal points... that's a problem. And of those 14 turnovers, eight came off Cardinal steals, which also didn't help.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• ELM 98 (17-1, 8-1), @ NPU 73 (3-15, 1-8)
• AUG 69 (12-6, 6-3), @ CRL 65 (9-9, 2-7)
• WHE 67 (12-6, 6-3), @ CAR 65 (11-7, 3-6)
• Bye- IWU (11-6, 5-3)
• WBK: MIL 74 (12-6, 5-4), @ NCC 73 (8-10, 4-5)
• WBK: @ NPU 57 (15-3, 8-1), ELM 38 (7-11, 2-7)
• WBK: AUG 69 (9-9, 4-5), @ CRL 56 (6-11, 2-7)
• WBK: WHE 68 (13-5, 6-3), @ CAR 57 (8-10, 3-6)
• WBK: Bye- IWU (12-5, 6-2)

Final Thoughts

I didn't really touch much on The Belt^TM in this one. I almost feel like I'm taking It^TM for granted, now that it's taken up residence in Naperville for almost three weeks. But It^TM seems to have taken a liking here for now, as the Cardinals have won 11 in a row, including four straight Belt^TM defenses.

This game was kind of a must-win with Elmhurst routing North Park earlier in the day, so the Cardinals keep pace in the race for the top of the conference. It was actually a day full of chalk, so things stay more or less the same as we come to the end of January. The Cardinals still hold the tiebreaker over Elmhurst at the moment with a head-to-head victory, which means that February 8th is getting furiously circled on my calendar as that's when the Blue Jays come calling.

But we can't look ahead too far yet. The Cardinals are off to Bloomington on Wednesday to take on Illinois Wesleyan. The Cardinals won the first matchup between the two, taking The Belt^TM in the process, and have won four straight down at the Shirk Center, including a thrilling comeback last season. Elmhurst, for its part, is off to Rock Island for a rematch with Augustana, so if there's ever a chance to get a little breathing room... this might be it.

Attacking the Gauntlet Once More

Somehow, someway, I keep coming up with new titles for this annual post.

Like many of the conferences in Division III, the CCIW plays a double round robin in men's and women's basketball. Everyone has played eight games to date: one against every other opponent. So as we make the turn into the second half, this is where I start to write a little bit more on a weekly basis, beginning with this one. The regional rankings don't start coming out for another couple weeks yet, so we still have to wait for that, but this is where we start to look at postseason prospects for everyone, North Central in particular.

Game Notes: (MBK) Augustana College @ North Central College (1/22/20)

Final Score
NCC 54, Augustana 53

Game Summary
In another classic between these two rivals, the Vikings (11-6, 5-3) opened the game on an 8-2 run, including a couple early triples that prompted a quick timeout. That timeout from the Cardinals (14-3, 7-1) stopped the bleeding, and they climbed out of the hole, turning the game into a back and forth affair with one tie and five lead changes over the next several minutes, before the Cardinals finally took a little control, leading by as many as five before settling into the break with a 28-25 advantage. The Cardinals couldn't quite pull away in the second half, but managed to create a little breathing room from time to time, getting a couple big threes early in the half for that space. With about ten minutes to go the Cardinals had pushed the lead to eight, and a three point play a minute and a half later gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at nine. The Vikings slowly clawed their way back, pulling within one a couple times, including at that final margin with 38 seconds to go. The Cardinals missed a corner three on the ensuing possession, and Augie called for time with about 11 seconds to go needing one score to win. The Cardinals' defense played it perfectly for the first ten seconds, but after a little bit of a fumble, Augie got off a three before the buzzer... that just rimmed out, allowing the Cardinals to retain possession of The Belt^TM and first place in the conference.

Key Players

• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 6-9 FG (2-4 3PT), 2-5 FT; 16 pts, 11 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 blk. I've spent a chunk of the year talking about how Blaise has kind of struggled this year... but he showed up to play last night. He had 10 points and eight rebounds at the break, including hitting an early three to help set the tone, and followed that up a few minutes later with a beautiful stepback three. Later in the game, he was able to attack the basket and get some nice layups. The free throws could have been a little better, but when he attacked the rim and the glass with the impunity he did last night, he's a big reason why the Cardinals escaped with a win.
• Pierson Wofford (AUG): 4-12 FG (0-4 3PT), 7-8 FT; 15 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 1 ast. Wofford was a big reason why the Vikings stayed close in last year's classic, so I was a little surprised that he seemed invisible early on in this game. But he made his presence felt as the game went on, leading his team in rebounding and getting to the basket and the line. He's been a good three point shooter as well this year (37.3%), so to go 0-4 from deep was huge in this one, but he definitely made his presence known.
• Micah Martin (AUG): 3-6 FG, 1-3 FT; 7 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 blk. Martin presents a unique challenge for opponents in his 6'11" frame, especially against this North Central team that doesn't have a true big. But Martin really struggled early in this one, missing three of his four first half shots, pretty much all of them early and right at the rim when he should have made them. You also expect a guy of that size to dominate the boards... but he finished with just two. Part of that was due to foul trouble, as he only played six minutes in the first half, sitting with three fouls the rest of the time. He played a clean second half, including getting a couple key layups during Augie's desperate comeback.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded 42-26. I feel like this is relatively normal for an NCC-Augie game the past couple years, given Augie's hoarding of bigs and outsizing the Cardinals, and sure enough, the numbers agree. The Vikings managed a ridiculous 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second chance points (NCC had four offensive boards for seven second chance points, by comparison). For the Cardinals to win in spite of this is something. Normally I'd put this in Augie's section, but another stat tells the Vikings' tale a little better.
• AUG: 5-23 3PT (21.7%). As a team, the Vikings are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc this season, so it's a little surprising to see a total this low. Credit the Cardinals for playing good defense, but let's make this number from last night really jarring. The Vikings hit their first two threes of the game, spanning the first two and a half minutes. Over the remaining 37 and a half minutes... that's a 3-21 mark, a 14.3% clip. That usually won't win you games.

Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch

It's time for my favorite feature of the season: The Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch! If you're new to Confessions of a Sportscaster or Division III basketball in general, you may not be too familiar with the gentleman pictured here. This is Grey Giovanine, longtime head coach at Augustana. During his tenure, Augie has become one of the perennial powers at the D-III level, largely due to the coaching of Giovanine. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a coach, but it's always fun when Augie comes to town, because watching Grey traverse the sideline is a show in and of itself... especially early in the game because the sport coat he starts the game with is coming off. It's just a question of when.

That question has prompted me to run a pool the past few years (and I even put it up on Twitter with mock gambling lines on Sunday). Tonight, I managed to to actually see the glorious moment with my own eyes: with 15:13 left in the first half, Grey Giovanine removed his jacket following a Micah Martin offensive foul. I had been peeking over shortly before this, feeling like we were on the verge of it, and I tried to swing my head immediately after the offensive foul was called... and sure enough, Giovanine was in the process of ripping his sport coat off. I've never been happier at a basketball game. I ran a pool of probably about ten people last night, with many figuring the jacket was coming off much later in the first half. Kevin, our official scorer, and I both won that pool, figuring the jacket was coming off about seven minutes in. But the 31 percent of respondents who correctly called it on Twitter... you guys also win.

Illinois needs to hurry up and legalize sports betting, because I want to start making this a prop bet.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 89 (16-1, 7-1), IWU 72 (11-6, 5-3)
• @ WHE 58 (11-6, 5-3), CRL 54 (9-8, 2-6)
• @ NPU 72 (3-14, 1-7), CAR 68 (11-6, 3-5)
• Bye: MIL (4-13, 1-7)
• WBK: NCC 70 (8-9, 4-4), @ AUG 63 (8-9, 3-5)
• WBK: WHE 62 (12-5, 5-3), @ IWU 59 (12-5, 6-2)
• WBK: NPU 66 (14-3, 7-1), @ CAR 59 (8-9, 3-5)
• WBK: ELM 64 (7-10, 2-6), @ MIL 53 (11-6, 4-4)
• WBK: Bye- CRL (6-10, 2-6)

Final Thoughts

I don't know that my heart rate has totally gone down from last night. Let's watch that final sequence again.

Final from Naperville: North Central 54 Augustana 53 #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/6JxGLvGAJQ

— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) January 23, 2020

Breathe, Cardinal fans. You escaped with a win. That makes three in a row over the Vikings, the longest win streak since they won seven in a row from 2011 (the last basketball game I ever called for WONC, incidentally) through 2013, including a pair of CCIW Tournament wins. The win also keeps the Cardinals in first place, albeit tied with an extremely good Elmhurst team. I'll go into the CCIW at the halfway point tomorrow and dig into the numbers a little bit deeper.

This was a good win though, and it was nice to see the Cardinals hang on in a game where their closing out of an opponent wasn't as good as it has been on prior nights. It also marks the third straight defense of The Belt^TM for the Cardinals, who seem to like having a supernatural totem hanging out in Gregory Arena.

They'll kick off the second half of CCIW play on Saturday at home, getting Millikin for the second time in ten days. The Cardinals won the first matchup by ten down in Decatur, and that was a tight one at times, so we'll see if the home cooking can give the Cardinals a little more of an edge.

The Legend of The Belt(TM)

We take a break from posting about Division III basketball games to posting about... Division III basketball games, in a sense.

Having gone to North Central, a team that has been a perennial contender in the CCIW for basketball, I became familiar with the program even before taking on the mantle of PA announcer. In reading through things on D3Hoops, I had seen stuff about a message board, but didn't join it officially until February of 2016. And even then, it took me forever to stumble upon the greatest thread of all time: that of the Division III Championship Belt^TM. I've talked a little bit about The Belt^TM in the past week or so, but I feel like a full primer on it is necessary at this point.

Game Notes: (MBK) Carroll University @ North Central College (1/11/20)

Final Score
NCC 63, Carroll 55

Game Summary
Tipping a few hours early due to inclement weather, the Belt^TM-holding Cardinals (12-3, 5-1) were able to score the game's first basket, but the Pioneers (9-6, 2-4) were able to keep pace until a key sequence about seven minutes in when the Cardinals picked up an and-one, and Carroll coach Paul Combs ran onto the floor to argue it, picking up a technical foul. Both technical free throws were hit, turning the three point play into a five point play, and the Pioneers went into chase mode, as the Cardinals pushed the lead to ten just over two minutes later and would lead by as many as 11. Carroll managed to keep it reasonably close, pulling to within five a couple times before going into the break down 31-23. The Cardinals came out kind of cold to start the second half, allowing the Pioneers to make it a one possession game less than four minutes in, but an 8-0 Cardinal run pushed it back to double digits and forced a Pioneer timeout. Again, the Pioneers refused to go away, answering with a 13-2 run that tied the game at 42, and split free throws on each side forced another tie at 43 with nine minutes to go. A sustained 10-0 Cardinal run spanning three minutes seemed to put the hosts in the driver's seat, but Carroll again closed the gap, managing to pull back within one at 56-55 with about two and a half to play. But that was all they'd get, as a good look at a go-ahead three their next time down missed, and free throws plus a clutch corner three was enough for the Cardinals to close it out and defend The Belt^TM.

Key Players

• Connor Raridon (NCC): 3-6 FG (0-1 3PT), 6-6 FT; 12 pts, 7 reb (1 off), 6 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. Just another day at the office for number 32. He only played 38 minutes in this one, but made the most of it, splitting his dozen point evenly between the halves and picking up four of his six dimes in the second half. Adding in the second-highest rebounding total for the game, plus wreaking havoc on the defensive end, and the preseason All-American showed why he was.
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 1-6 FG (1-5 3PT), 4-4 FT; 7 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. This has still been a major offensive struggle all season for Blaise, but Saturday had to give him a little more confidence. After going 0-8 in his last three games, he narrowly missed a three early that rattled out, and the one he did hit came at a key moment during that 10-0 run and seemed to stun him given his reaction. He was also clutch at the line, hitting a pair during the aforementioned run, and hitting a pair right after the missed go-ahead three attempt by Carroll to make it a three point game. I think his confidence is there, hopefully Saturday was a stepping stone to him starting to heat up.
• Kale Maupin (CRL): 8-12 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 21 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 3 stl. Maupin had a really good game for the Pios, displaying a great inside-out game on offense and playing good defense on the Cardinals' bigs. He was a key part of the comeback effort, hitting one during the Pio rally to tie the game at 42, and he had a wide open look to pull his team within one with two and a half to play. He also had a good look at that go-ahead one Carroll's next time down, but he was just a bit off, and Carroll's dreams of a road upset died with that miss.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded Carroll 30-20. It's rare for the Cardinals to really possess a size advantage, per se, but they kind of did in this one, and made the most of it to the tune of a +10 margin on the boards. North Central had seven offensive rebounds in the game, leading to eight second chance points. Carroll, for their part, had just three offensive boards, none resulting in second chance points. You do the math.
• CRL: Forced 15 NCC turnovers. Carroll started the game with man defense, but spent a significant chunk of the game in a 3-2 zone with Maupin at the top, and I think it really messed with the Cardinals to some degree. Those 15 turnovers led to 16 Pioneer points and helped get them back in the game more than once.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 96 (13-1, 4-1), NPU 81 (2-12, 0-5)
• AUG 83 (9-5, 3-2), @ MIL 58 (4-11, 1-5)
• Was postponed to Sunday 1/12
• CAR (10-3, 2-2) @ WHE (9-4, 3-1)- PPD
• Makeup scheduled for 5:30pm Monday 1/13
• BYE: IWU (9-5, 3-2)
• WBK: @ NCC 62 (6-9, 2-4), CRL 60 (5-9, 1-5)
• WBK: NPU 80 (11-3, 4-1), @ ELM 75 (6-8, 1-4)
• WBK: @ MIL 75 (10-4, 3-2), AUG 71 (8-7, 3-3)
• Was postponed to Sunday 1/12
• WBK: CAR (8-5, 3-1) @ WHE (9-4, 2-2)- PPD
• Makeup scheduled for 3:30pm Monday 1/13
• WBK: BYE- IWU (10-4, 4-1)

Final Thoughts
Carroll is always a tough out, and they were once again on Saturday. Their 2-4 CCIW record doesn't really do them justice. For reference, their four losses:

• @ Augustana- by two in overtime
• vs Elmhurst- by one in double overtime, required a 35-40 have by the Blue Jays' Derek Dotlick at the buzzer
• vs Carthage- by eight, trailed by two with about two minutes to go, missed a game-tying layup with about a minute to play, then gave up four points in 15 seconds
• @ NCC- see above

With a six-team conference tournament, the Pios can certainly make it, but they'll likely have to win a road game against a 3 or 4 seed to do so... but we're getting way ahead of ourselves.

For the Cardinals, this was a good, gutty win. They didn't play as complete a game as they did against Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, but did just enough to pull it out. These were the kind of games the Cardinals lost earlier in the season. Now, they find themselves on an eight-game win streak after having held serve at home against some tough opponents. It doesn't get a lot easier to close out the first half of CCIW play, as North Central heads down to Decatur to take on Millikin this Wednesday, then after a Saturday bye... we begin the Jacket Watch.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (1/8/20)

Final Score
NCC 82, IWU 69

Game Summary
With The Belt^TM in the building and up for grabs, this was an important one, as the holders in the Titans (9-5, 3-2) kept pace in the early going with a trio of one point leads in the first five minutes. But the Cardinals (11-3, 4-1) had their offense going early and used an 8-0 run to take a 17-10 lead about six minutes in. A Titan timeout stopped the bleeding as the Cardinals went into a five minute dry spell and the Titans tied the game at 20, but the Cardinals closed the half strong, regrabbing the lead and not looking back en route to a 34-27 advantage going into the break. North Central scored five quick points out of halftime, forcing another timeout, and while the Titans were able to push back a little bit, an extended 11-2 Cardinal run put North Central in complete control. The Cardinals led by as many as 22 before a late Titan rally got the home crowd a little nervous: an 11-0 run got the margin back down to single digits, but late free throws helped seal the deal and give the Cardinals possession of The Belt^TM for the first time in program history.

Key Players

• Matt Helwig (NCC): 8-12 FG (2-3 3PT), 4-4 FT; 22 pts, 4 reb (2 off), 2 ast. The juco transfer grabbed the mantle of "Titan Killer" left by Tommy Koth with an outstanding game. He split his points evenly between halves, getting to the basket early in this one and hitting a three to give the Cardinals that early 17-10 lead. He came out of the locker room in the second half guns blazing as well, hitting a three and following that up with a nifty layup that forced the Titans to regroup. Said layup was what prompted the claiming of the mantle:
  

  Beware the guards from Aurora: Matt Helwig is @IWUhoopscom’s new nemesis. #d3hoops

  — Lucas Mitzel (@northsider89) January 9, 2020

• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 6-11 FG (3-6 3PT), 2-2 FT; 17 pts, 4 reb (2 off), 1 ast. I was going to say that Cap has struggled a little bit this season (he was at 13.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG coming into last night, bearing in mind that the Greenville game skews things a bit), but he played really well in this one. He was able to hit from beyond the arc and was able to get to the basket when he needed to as well. 11 of his 17 came in the first half, including all three of his triples, and he did enough after halftime to help the Cardinals grab firm control of the game.
• Luke Yoder (IWU): 0-9 FG (0-6 3PT), 2-2 FT; 2 pts, 3 reb (2 off), 6 ast. Normally I'd put one of the Titans who played well in this spot, and there were a couple good candidates.  Cory Noe (21 pts on 5-9 shooting, including 4-5 from beyond the arc and 7-10 from the line) helped the Titans avoid the blowout loss, and Charlie Bair (14 pts, 3 reb on 6-10 shooting) was pretty good inside, but I have to note this. With starting point guard Grant Wolfe out with a concussion, the onus was on the hometown freshman to step up, and for much of the season he has. In 13 games going into last night (six starts), Yoder was averaging about nine points a game on absurd 54/52/94 splits. Then Todd Raridon sic'd Blaise Meredith on him for a good chunk of the game and he and his Cardinal teammates made Yoder's night a living hell. His six assists were a career high, and he only turned the ball over twice, but the highly touted Yoder struggled in this one. He'll get better, to be sure, but this was not his best game, to put it mildly.

Key Stats

• NCC: 21-26 FT (80.8%). With one important note about this: all of these free throws came in the second half. For their part, the Titans only took two first half free throws, so it's not like there was a disparity or anything. This was a big reason why the Cardinals were able to pull away: they got to the line a bunch and made the most of it. It helped too that the Titans went into intentional foul mode late, making the final minute or so borderline unwatchable.
• IWU: 7-24 3PT (29.2%). I had a hard time picking out a stat here. The Titans won a bunch of categories in this game (points off turnovers by four, second chance points by three, bench point by five), but a team that came into the game shooting about 36 percent from three should have hit a couple more triples in this one. I don't know how much it would have helped in the grand scheme of things other than maybe preventing the Cardinals from pushing their lead to 22, though.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 80 (12-1, 3-1), AUG 71 (8-5, 2-2)
• CAR 73 (10-3, 2-2), @ CRL 65 (9-5, 2-3)
• MIL 69 (4-10, 1-4), @ NPU 64 (2-11, 0-4)
• Bye: WHE (9-4, 3-1)
• WBK: @ MIL 74 (9-4, 2-2), NCC 53 (5-9, 1-4)
• WBK: @ IWU 82 (10-4, 4-1), NPU 51 (10-3, 3-1)
• WBK: @ AUG 63 (8-6, 3-2), ELM 58 (6-7, 1-3)
• WBK: @ CAR 74 (8-5, 3-1), CRL 57 (5-8, 1-4)
• WBK: Bye- Wheaton (9-4, 2-2)

Final Thoughts

I need to write up a special post about The Belt^TM, because I feel like there's no real context of it on Confessions of a Sportscaster and I need to bring some more context besides the brief blurb I wrote after the Wheaton game. I didn't bring it up in the scoreboard watch today because, as mentioned above, North Central now has possession of The Belt^TM for the first time in program history.

For the game itself though, this was probably the best game I've seen the Cardinals play this season. They played tremendous defense for much of the contest and, unlike on Saturday where Connor Raridon pretty much willed the team to victory, his teammates got involved. It was weird to see Raridon without a single point in the first half, but he made up for it in the second half and put up a typical Connor Raridon line (13 points, seven rebounds, nine assists).

We also had some fun last night, as North Central is celebrating National Championship Week this week. Last night at halftime, the school honored its newest national champions:

Here’s the full halftime ceremony for @football_ncc from tonight. This was fun. #WeAreNC pic.twitter.com/HcebuROMrz

— Lucas Mitzel (@northsider89) January 9, 2020

There will be more honorees on Saturday, as we celebrate the women's triathlon team's three-peat. That will take place at halftime of the game against Carroll. The Pioneers are 2-3 in the CCIW, but two of their three losses have required extra time, and one of those two they lost on a 35-40 foot Derek Dotlich heave at the buzzer this past Saturday. They've been a tough out for much of the conference, North Central included, so it should be a fun one as the Cardinals defend The Belt^TM.

Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/4/20)

Final Score
NCC 74, Wheaton 71 (OT)

Game Summary
This one lived up to the billing going in, with the Cardinals (10-3, 3-1) scoring the game's first four points. But the Thunder (9-4, 3-1) answered with seven straight, settling us into a dogfight. The lead changed hands a few times in the half before the Cardinals settled into a 32-27 advantage going into the break. The Cardinals kept that one-to-two possession advantage for a few minutes, but the Thunder used a 12-2 run to grab a lead of their own about seven minutes into the half. A key off-ball foul on a made three extended their lead to six at 54-48, and Wheaton would lead by as many as eight at 58-50 with about seven minutes to go, but then the Cardinals mounted their comeback. North Central got a bunch of points back at the line, but the Thunder were more or less answering each time, but a missed one up 63-58 with four minutes to go opened the door. The Cardinals scored five unanswered over the next couple minutes to tie the game, and neither offense could muster a successful possession, forcing extra time. The bonus session prompted a back and forth affair for the first few minutes, but another Wheaton missed free throw opened the door, and a three with just under a minute to play gave the Cardinals a one point lead. Wheaton turned it over on the other end, with the Cardinals calling a timeout to avoid a jump ball which would have given the Thunder the ball back. After emptying their reserve of timeouts, a full court pass ended up out of bounds, but good hustle forced Wheaton to go the length of the floor, and a fallaway for the lead bounced off the rim, with a pair of Cardinal free throws sealing the deal.

Key Players

• Connor Raridon (NCC): 10-19 FG (1-2 3PT), 15-15 FT; 36 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl.  This might have been the best game I've seen Connor play. On a night where the rest of the team struggled from the field (15-41, just a tick below 40%), he took the game over, attacking the basket and getting to the line again and again, where he made the Thunder pay. His 15 made free throws were the second-most of his career, tied for the sixth-most in program history, and is the fifth time Connor was perfect at the line in a game with at least ten attempts (first since the NCAA Tournament loss to Loras this past March). The Cardinals needed Connor on Saturday, and he responded in the biggest way.
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 4-13 FG (0-5 3PT), 1-2 FT; 9 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl. This season has been a bit of a struggle for Blaise; he's only averaging about seven points a game on 34/32/59 splits, but it's not for a lack of trying. He has the confidence, as evidenced by his five three attempts in this one, which were pretty much all on line, but drew back iron. Even with that, he still tied for the team lead in rebounds, drew a couple charges, and some of the buckets he hit were huge, opening the scoring in overtime and getting a big bucket plus a foul with his team down eight to spark the comeback effort. I fully believe the threes will start to fall, and when they do... look out.
• Cade Alioth (WHE): 6-12 FG; 12 pts, 11 reb (4 off), 6 ast. I could have gone a few different directions with my Wheaton pick; Tyson Cruickshank and Luke Anthony led the team in scoring with 17 apiece, while Nyameye Adom put in 14 for the Thunder. But Alioth was a presence for Wheaton, playing some decent interior defense and leading the game in rebounding. He hit a few tough shots throughout the game, and the final play was called for him, but the Cardinals did a great job swarming him, and his fallaway hit off the back of the rim and bounced away.

Key Stats

• NCC: 18 points off 18 WHE turnovers. Wheaton shot better in this game on the whole (46/48/73 for the Thunder, 42/29/90 including Connor for the Cardinals) and outrebounded North Central. Normally those metrics give you a win, but Wheaton did not take care of the ball in this one. They were called for about half a dozen travels, mostly in the first half, prompting a complaint from Wheaton coach Mike Schauer (after each team had been called for one late in the half, he was yelling, "Don't call either one of those!")
• WHE: 11-15 FT (73.3%). Normally, I'd be fine shooting 73 percent at the line, and only missing four isn't bad. But when you lose by three in overtime... you start to nitpick. Wheaton hit both of their first half attempts, then went 7-9 in the second half. Luke Anthony split a pair with the Thunder up four, only extending the lead to five at 63-58, and Nyameye Adom missed the front end of a one-and-one about a minute later, then turned it over to set up North Central's tying rally. Then in overtime, Adom split a pair with about three minutes to go, ending up tying it instead of putting his team up one, and Anthony split a pair with just under a minute to play, only giving his team a two point lead, setting the stage for Connor Raridon's heroics. Misses can be forgiven, obviously, especially when you shoot well for the game, but if Wheaton makes even one of these... I may be writing about a North Central loss.

CCIW Scoreboard/The Belt^TM Watch

I'm adding a section to the CCIW Scoreboard Watch for this season just because we've got a fun additional incentive to CCIW games this season. I'll have to do a full post about it sometime, but long story short, in 2007 someone on D3Boards came up with the idea for a Division III Championship Belt^TM, and over the past decade-plus it has morphed into a supernatural force with the legal backing of weasels. Basically, It^TM was conceived as being won by the 2006 national champion, and whoever beats the holder takes possession until they themselves are beaten. Going into the resumption of conference play, Millikin was the holder, meaning It^TM will remain in the CCIW for the rest of the regular season. As such... we are now officially on Belt^TM Watch as well. The game for The Belt^TM will be included as part of this section for the remainder of the season.

• @ IWU 80 (9-4, 3-1), MIL (BELT^TM) 71 (3-10, 0-4)
• IWU gains possession of The Belt^TM
• AUG 84 (8-4, 2-1), @ CAR 68 (9-3, 1-2)
• ELM 82 (11-1, 2-1), @ CRL 81 (9-4, 2-2)
• Chicago 85, NPU 65 (2-10, 0-3)
  
• WBK: WHE 52 (9-4, 2-2), @ NCC 40 (5-8, 1-3)
• WBK: @ IWU 86 (9-4, 3-1), MIL 81 (8-4, 1-2)
• WBK: @ CAR 90 (7-5, 2-1), AUG 84 (7-6, 2-2)
• WBK: ELM 56 (6-6, 1-2), @ CRL 55 (5-7, 1-3)
• WBK: Bye- NPU (10-2, 3-0)

Final Thoughts

It was nice to finally get to announce a game again after a little over a month off, and I got a thriller to boot. This marks North Central's 12th win in their last 13 games against Wheaton (and the one Thunder win required Aston Francis to do Aston Francis things). It also guarantees that the streak of no CCIW team running the table stays intact (the last team to pull it off were the 1973 Augustana Vikings). This is a very strong conference this year, arguably the best in the country, and we'll probably see a champion no better than 12-4, maybe 13-3 by the time it's all said and done unless someone goes on an absolute tear.

It's way too early to even start considering regional rankings and at large chances, but I can't help it... and the Central is absolutely loaded. Matt Snyder, a prominent D3 prognosticator, currently has North Central 12th in the region with an okay strength of schedule (0.529). Obviously, there a lot more data points that will come with 12 regular season games to go, plus the CCIW Tournament, so the Cardinals still have a lot of room to improve. But after some struggles early in the season, we're starting to see this Cardinal team show a ton of resiliency and heart with a couple big conference wins over Elmhurst and now Wheaton.

North Central puts its six game win streak on the line as they continue the homestand on Wednesday, welcoming in Illinois Wesleyan, so not only is this a battle for first place in the CCIW... it's also NCC's third shot this season at The Belt^TM. Needless to say... I'm excited.

2018 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Fast Forward

I have no idea of the timing of the 2019 Death to the BCS Playoffs, as once again I'm at the mercy of my simulator. But while we're waiting and hoping for that to get started... let's go back in time.

I spent a ton of time waiting for the 2018 teams to pop up as well, and I don't know exactly when they came through, but at some point they did, so I can finally go back and simulate out that postseason.

Like I did last year, instead of doing one post for each round, I'm doing the whole postseason in one go. Higher seeds get home field advantage for the first three rounds, with the title game being played in Pasadena. I will go back and grab weather conditions at kickoff from each location for each game to try and make what would have happened as accurate as possible. With my usual handicapping website that I used for injury updates not helpful for a tournament from a year ago, I'm going to go with standard starting lineups for teams unless I see something on a box score from that team's bowl game from last year that leads me to believe there was an injury at play.

All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's crown a 2018 champion.