Game Notes: (MBK) Benedictine University @ North Central College (11/26/24)

Final Score
NCC 86, Benedictine 78 (OT)

Game Summary
In another tight contest that the annual Battle for Chicago-Maple Avenue continues to provide, the Cardinals (4-1) jumped out to the early lead. While the Eagles (1-5) were able to keep it close for a while, they couldn't get over the hump, partially thanks to a technical foul, but managed to stay within four at 40-36 going into halftime. The Eagles scored the first four points of the second half to tie the game, but a 10-0 Cardinal run sparked the home crowd. North Central would push the lead as high as 15 with about 13 minutes to play, but the Eagles slowly chipped away, and eventually took their first lead of the game at 71-69 with just over a minute to go. But a Terrance Moncrief layup tied it at 71 with 49 seconds to go. Benedictine missed a go-ahead three, and with a chance to win, NCC briefly coughed up the ball before heaving an ill-advised prayer to result in an extra session. The Cardinals proceeded to score 10 of the first 11 in the extra session and iced the game at the line to bring the Bill Warden-Tony La Scala Trophy home.

Key Players

• Terrance Moncrief (NCC): 8-15 FG (0-2 3PT), 2-2 FT; 18 pts, 6 reb (2 off), 4 ast, 1 stl. The senior has been a big part of NCC's 4-1 start to the campaign. After hitting a layup at the buzzer to beat Whitman in Washington a couple weeks ago, Moncrief has continued to play well, and his relentlessness in attacking the basket has helped open up opportunities for his teammates.
• Drew Gaston (NCC): 2-6 FG (0-1 3PT), 9-10 FT; 13 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk. Gaston played 20 minutes off the bench last night, but was a key part in lifting the Cardinals to the win. His eight rebounds were second-most on the team behind only Ethan Helwig's nine, but it was his work late at the charity stripe that iced the contest. Gaston through five games is 30-31 from the line.
• Noah Mason (BEN): 8-11 FG (2-3 3PT), 4-9 FT; 22 pts, 6 reb (3 off), 2 ast. Just a freshman, Mason looked really good in this contest. He arguably should have been assessed the technical foul for a dead ball shove (the tech was assessed to Ryan Tucker, who may have also done some shoving), but otherwise played very well both inside and out, though he would eventually foul out of the contest. The one number that should jump out at you though? Don't worry, we're getting there.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded BEN 49-34. I debated about the rough showing from three in this game (7-26, including missing their final 12 in the second half), but for a team that was getting outrebounded by about five per game through the first four contests to win that battle by 15 was a good sign. This bore out in second chance points too, with the Cardinals outscoring the Eagles 18-5 in that category.
• BEN: 20-32 FT (62.5%). This was the big one. Down 15, Benedictine did what you should be doing in that situation: attack the basket, draw fouls, and try to score with the clock stopped. It got a bunch of North Central players into foul trouble, with two Cardinals fouling out. There's just one problem: during their second half comeback, the Eagles repeatedly split their pairs of free throws and managed to hit just 12 of 21 in the second half. In a game where you went to overtime missing that many... you do the math.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ UW-Platteville 77, Augustana 50 (3-1)
• MSOE 88, @ Carroll 80 (2-4)
• @ Carthage 76, Ripon 66 (3-2)
• @ Elmhurst 82 (3-2), St. Mary's (MN) 68
• @ Millikin 49 (2-3), Aurora 45
• @ North Park 72 (2-3), Anderson 64
• Hope 73, @ Wheaton 46 (3-4)

Final Thoughts

Photo by Chris Kohley

The Battle of Chicago-Maple Avenue always seems to produce some weird results, and this is arguably one of them. Just a few days after this North Central team went up to Platteville to take on the Pioneers, the #2 team in the country, lead by double digits, before ultimately falling in overtime up there, the Cardinals needed an extra session again against a team that had one win in the bank so far this season. Unlike this past Saturday though, the Cardinals were able to pull it out.

I'm not sure how good this Cardinal team truly is. A couple of their wins should probably have been by more, but it's early enough in the season that I'm not too worried about things yet. This team has beaten who they should have so far, and has a few more tuneups prior to their CCIW opener in a week.

Game Notes: (WBK) Benedictine University @ North Central College (11/26/24)

Final Score
NCC 76, Benedictine 63

Game Summary
Finally getting to play in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the Cardinals (3-2) pulled out to a comfortable eight point lead late in the first quarter and kept that margin at the end of the frame. The lead would grow to double digits in the second quarter before the Eagles (2-2) made a run and cut it to three right before the break, but a quick answer on a layup pushed it to a 33-28 Cardinal lead at the intermission. North Central opened the second half on a 13-4 run to pull away, and the Eagles would not threaten the rest of the way.

Key Players

• Biz Daly (NCC): 10-14 FG, 6-6 FT; 26 pts, 4 reb (2 off), 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl. A year ago, Biz Daly was a rotation piece for a Cardinal team that finished fourth in the CCIW; she averaged about 3 points in 10 minutes per game. Through the first five games of her sophomore campaign, she's averaging 19 a contest and has already surpassed her freshman year scoring total. The leap from Year 1 to Year 2 has been amazing, and she's even turned into a midrange threat a la Megan McClure. The future is bright.
• Jocelyn Trotter (NCC): 10-16 FG (1-1 3PT), 1-1 FT; 22 pts, 11 reb (5 off), 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl. The reigning CCIW First Year Student Athlete of the Year, one season after notching seven double-doubles just put up her second of the young campaign. Her game continues to improve, as she showed a lot of confidence both on layups and pull up jumpers. Her rebounding was exceptional, and with her as a cornerstone on this team, once they find their footing they'll be a tough out.
• Makenzie Carroll (BEN): 6-11 FG (0-1 3PT), 1-2 FT; 13 pts, 5 reb (3 off), 2 ast, 2 stl. Carroll was one of the better Eagles on the floor, tying for second on the team in rebounds and leading their offensive attack. Her two steals were also a team high.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded BEN 42-33. One game after getting crushed on the boards by Aurora, while there were some stretches that were a little bit of an issue, the Cardinals cleaned it up. Benedictine did have 15 offensive rebounds to NCC's 13, but the Cardinals outscored the Eagles 21-12 in second chance opportunities.
• BEN: 8:13 A:TO ratio. Generally you want to see better. Eight assists on 25 field goals isn't particularly good, especially combined with the 13 turnovers. They didn't have a lot of procedural turnovers; 8 of the 13 were off NCC steals. The Cardinals, by contrast, had a 23:11 ratio.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Augustana 89 (2-3), Monmouth 68
• @ Chicago 81, Carroll 70 (4-2)
• Carthage 79 (4-1), @ Lake Forest 54
• Illinois Wesleyan 84 (4-0), @ UW- Whitewater 78
• @ Knox 84, Millikin 74 (1-4)
• Wheaton 58 (4-3), @ Concordia (WI) 36

Final Thoughts

It's good to get back to writing these again. Workload for a while didn't allow for enough time to dedicate to these, but I'm finally back in a good enough place where I can.

It was good to see this Cardinal team play for the first time this season, though it's hard to gauge exactly how this year will go. After winning their first two contests by significant margins, a tough loss at Colorado College followed by getting beat up by Aurora last week gave me a little concern. Even last night, this was one the Cardinals probably should have won by a little bit more. But at the end of the day, a win is a win. I'm excited to see the growth from this group, and as they gel (and maybe, just maybe get some reinforcements) this team should prove to be a tough out for most of the rest of the CCIW.

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 13

The accelerated deadlines are on the books, which means we're at it early with our Week 13 NFL picks against the spread!

It was a mediocre week for most of us, with a number of hero picks on the docket. Ultimately I couldn't gain any ground at the top as Adam and I split our six disputed games. We're pulling away from the bottom though as Adam took four of six from Joe and I swept the two games we disputed.

Jim had the best week of all of us, which enabled him to pull into a three way tie for first place. I remain in striking distance, just two games off the pace. The gap is starting to widen at the bottom as 11 games separate the top from the bottom, and I have a four game lead on the folks behind me.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. The group as a whole split six hero picks this past week. Adam still has the most correct out of everyone but out of several more tries; I remain perfect at 4-0 when I've gone alone. Adam's group-high 12-6 mark in Superminority games (where just he and one other person picked a team) has helped buoy him, Geoffrey has a dominant 22-11 mark in Majority (4-3 split) games, and Jim has a similar 19-11 mark. We went 0-2 on consensus games this past week, and while we're still over .500 in that category, it's been trending downward.

As we get to feast this holiday, Adam and I disagree on half of the 16 game slate, Joe and I on five games, and the two of them on seven.

From all of us at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a Happy Thanksgiving! Let's get to the picks.

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 12

We're nearing the two-thirds mark of the 2024 NFL season, and the coalition continues to do fairly well on the whole, and the top of the standings remain tight.

I was feeling great around 5:30 on Sunday, and despite cooling off and dropping my last three, a dominant early slate helped lead me to the top score of last week, as I took four of seven disputed games from Adam and five of seven from Joe; Adam took four of six from Joe.

Adam and Geoffrey remain tied atop the group through Week 11, but I continue to come back from my early Great Reversal doldrums and now find myself just two games back after being seven back about a month ago. Overall, just nine games separate first from last place.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. My fortunes in hero picks, both for and against, is largely what's buoying me. Adam has the best mark by far in 5-2 split games, and Geoffrey's position tied with Adam is helped by his dominance in 4-3 split games.

As we move onto Week 12, Adam disagrees with Joe and I on six games apiece. Groupthink largely prevails between Joe and I as we only have two disputed games out of the 13. Let's get to it!

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 11

As we get into the nitty gritty part of the season, the race at the top has really tightened up. Just three games separate first place from fifth place.

I had a shot Monday night to move into a tie with Adam, but he salvaged that game, leading me to take only five of eight from him. Adam split his six with Joe, but I swept our two disputed games to pull ahead of the back of the pack.

Groupwise, Adam has moved back into a tie for first with Geoffrey, but again, it's a crowded picture as Jim drops to just a game out of first, John is just a game behind him, and I'm lurking just one behind John. I'll take hanging around for now.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. We went 4-1 combined in hero games this week, including me hitting on my third and remaining the only person perfect in those games. Adam remains brilliant in superminority games, going 11-5 so far when he and just one other person agree on a game. Geoffrey has done incredibly well in the 4-3 split games, hitting on a group-best 35 of those 65 games. Consensus picks continue to go well, as after a 2-0 week we're hitting on over 60 percent of those games.

Looking ahead to this week, I disagree with both Joe and Adam on half of the 14 game slate apiece, while they dispute six games. Let's get to it!

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 10

The second half of the season is underway and the coalition returns from the intermission to resume our quest to successfully pick NFL games against the spread!

It was a decent week for most of us. Adam and I split our six disputed games, while he and I each took three of five from Joe. The slow week though knocked Adam out of first place, though he is just a game off the lead behind Jim. A total of eight games separates the entire group, so we're all doing fairly well.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. It was not a good week for hero picks, though superminority folks had a pretty good day. Ultimately my struggles in these 5-2 split games on both sides is a big part of why I'm six games off the pace.

As we move onward, Adam's taking a shot at extending his lead as he and I disagree on eight games and he and Joe on six. Joe and I, meanwhile, have major groupthink as we only dispute two. Let's get to it!