Game Notes: (WBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/19/25)

Final Score
IWU 79, NCC 55

Game Summary
Things were okay for the first couple minutes. The Cardinals (10-14, 6-9) were able to get across half court against a pressure defense and get a couple baskets while keeping the Titans (23-1, 14-1) into mostly halfcourt sets. A Cardinal layup cut it to 7-6 with 6:14 remaining in the first quarter. And then the wheels fell off. Titan pressure began forcing turnovers, and the Titans capitalized to the tune of a 23-0 run, with the Cardinals only managing a free throw to ultimately kill that run. Illinois Wesleyan pushed the lead as high as 31 in the second quarter, but the Cardinals cut it to 27 by halftime. NCC cut it to 21 quickly out of the second half gate, but a Mia Smith timeout stopped the bleeding and the Titans pushed the lead back up. The Titans' largest lead of the game came at the end of the third at 73-36, and Smith called off the dogs with about six minutes to go. The Cardinals' reserves managed to get the deficit back down to 20, prompting an angry Smith to use her final timeout with about two minutes to play before the Titans added a couple last baskets to close out the scoring.

Key Players

• Sawyer White (IWU): 6-9 FG (2-4 3PT), 1-1 FT; 15 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 7 stl. Take your pick; this is an incredibly balanced Titan team, so we'll highlight their defensive master and the game's leading scorer. White picked off numerous ill-advised Cardinal passes, tying her season high in steals (done two other times this year) and is up to 78 on the year in 24 games. She's still 34 shy of her own single season program record in that category, but if my math is right, her final steal in this game moved her into second for a career in program history; Rebekah Ehresman's mark of 296 will be shattered probably by January of 2026.
• Lauren Huber (IWU): 5-12 FG, 2-2 FT; 12 pts, 11 reb (8 off), 2 ast, 3 stl. With five Titans in double figures, the other player to focus on has to be Huber. I saw the double-double and figured this was a no brainer, but the other number that jumped out was the eight offensive rebounds. I knew the Titans had gotten quite a few, but I didn't remember Huber specifically getting that many. Not the best shooting night, but she contributed in other ways as well.
• Biz Daly (NCC): 6-10 FG, 2-3 FT; 14 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl. Daly probably had the best night out of anybody. She was able to get a few wide open looks for easy layups, though after the outcome was pretty much decided. The rebounding numbers leave a little to be desired, but she filled the stat sheet enough elsewhere. It's been a good sophomore campaign for Daly, and I hope she can continue to develop into a serious All-CCIW caliber player.

Key Stats

• NCC: 28 turnovers. Look, it starts and ends here. Nine of the 28 came in the final six or so minutes of the first quarter after Megan McClure's layup made it a 7-6 ball game, including a couple stretches of three straight giveaways. As you'd expect, those 28 turnovers turned into 46 Titan points. For comparison, the Titans did commit 20 turnovers of their own, but the Cardinals only turned those mistakes into 14 points.
• IWU: Outrebounded NCC 39-28. I probably could have gone a couple different ways here, but this was another thing that jumped out to me during the contest. The Titans ended up with 14 offensive rebounds in the contest (including the aforementioned eight by Huber). Ultimately this didn't end up harming the Cardinals too badly, as they only gave up 12 second chance points, but it kept the ball in Titan hands and didn't allow the Cardinals to try to cut into the deficit.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 75 (15-8, 7-8), CAR 67 (16-8, 8-7)
• @ WHE 64 (13-11, 8-7), MIL 53 (8-16, 7-8)
• WHE clinches a CCIW Tournament berth
• CRL 97 (17-7, 12-3), @ NPU 51 (3-22, 0-16)
• BYE: AUG (10-14, 6-9)
• MBK: NCC 80 (14-10, 7-8), @ CRL 76 (8-16, 4-11)
• NCC clinches a CCIW Tournament berth

Final Thoughts

I came into the game with tempered expectations; the Cardinals had lost to the Titans down at the Shirk Center a little over a month before, but the margin was single digits. I figured the Cardinals could give the Titans a game. That was true for about four minutes, and then the Titans showed why they're one of the best teams in the country. This is a team with legitimate national title aspirations, and if they play the way they did on Wednesday, they can beat absolutely anyone.

Meanwhile for the Cardinals, Wednesday was about the worst case scenario we could have seen. While the loss wasn't unexpected, it was what happened elsewhere that poses a problem. Elmhurst's victory puts the Blue Jays in the drivers' seat for a tournament bid, and Millikin has a head to head sweep over the Cardinals that would get the Big Blue in ahead of them. Needless to say, Saturday is win-or-go-home for the Cardinals, but they need a ton of help, in particular from Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll (and possibly from Carthage depending on exactly how three-way tiebreakers play out), to play a 26th game.

All told, it's been somewhat of a disappointing season for North Central. They started fairly strong, but lost some games they probably shouldn't have over the course of the season. Nonetheless, there's still some good pieces in place, and Maggie McCloskey-Bax has done a good job reloading talent. This group will be in the mix again next year. But for now, my eyes shift to Wheaton on Saturday and hope for an extended season.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/5/25)

Final Score
NCC 72, IWU 64

Game Summary
Early on it seemed like the the number two team in the country in the Titans (18-3, 10-2) would run away with this one as they jumped out to a 12-2 lead just three and a half minutes into the game. But Vince Kmiec called a timeout to stop the bleeding, and that reset got the Cardinals (12-9, 5-7) back on track. The Titans kept in front, leading 19-13 with a little over 12 minutes to go, but then the Cardinals went on an extended 18-0 run to take command of the contest. All told the Titans went seven minutes without a field goal before hitting a three to cut it back to single digits, though the Cardinals would hit a long two to go into the locker room up 41-30. The start of the second half was all Titans again, as they opened on a 14-2 run despite another Kmiec timeout, grabbing the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. That was short lived, as Sean Molloy hit a fallaway from the paint to retake the lead, and that sparked a 7-0 Cardinal run. The Cardinals kept a five point lead with about four minutes to go, but the Titans fought back to tie the contest at 60 with just over three minutes to go. Drew Gaston answered with a fallaway on the ensuing possession, and the Cardinals would lead the rest of the way for the upset.

Key Players

• Tyler Swierczek (NCC): 7-9 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 19 pts, 3 reb (1 off). With Ethan Helwig and Alejandro Diaz out of the lineup, someone needed to step up for the Cardinals, and Swierczek filled that role. He scored eight, including a couple threes, during that critical 18-0 run, and added a couple big baskets during the second half.
• Terrance Moncrief (NCC): 6-16 FG (1-3 3PT), 4-4 FT; 17 pts, 5 reb (2 off), 4 ast, 3 stl. It wasn't the most efficient night for Moncrief, as Hakim Williams did a good job on him on the perimeter. But Moncrief filled in in other ways, and when he was needed he was able to get his points. All four of his free throws came in the closing seconds to ice the game away.
• Drew Gaston (NCC): 5-9 FG (1-3 3PT), 3-3 FT; 14 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast. Getting the start with Diaz out, Gaston played admirably. The Titans though might be seeing baseline fadeaway jumpers in their nightmares as Gaston hit a couple key ones. He gave the Cardinals that 62-60 lead, then added another one with under a minute to go to make it 66-62.

Key Stats

• NCC: 15-17 FT (88.2%). On a night where you're playing the number two team in the country, you need to take advantage of free throws when gifted them by your opponent. And the Cardinals, who Alex Campbell mentioned on the broadcast are the #11 team in the country in free throw percentage, lived up to that reputation. And when the Cardinals needed them the most in the closing minute, the Cardinals went 6-6 to seal the win.
• IWU: 16 turnovers. If there's an Achilles heel to this Titans team, it's taking care of the ball. They're averaging 14 giveaways per game this season, and that theme held true in this game. The Cardinals notched eight of those on steals, took advantage of a couple early offensive fouls on the Titans, and one of those turnovers was the result of a Harrison Wilmsen technical foul. The Cardinals scored 18 points off of those 16 turnovers, while the Titans managed just nine points off six Cardinal giveaways.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 78 (10-11, 6-6), MIL 68 (11-10, 5-7)
• WHE 102 (4-16, 1-10), @ NPU 89 (14-7, 9-3)
• Soren Richardson (WHE): 53 pts
• CAR 84 (15-5, 9-2), @ CRL 75 (6-14, 2-9)
• BYE: AUG (12-8, 5-6)
• WBK: NCC 62 (8-13, 4-8), @ CAR 50 (15-6, 7-5)

Final Thoughts

At least once a year, something magical happens at Merner.

Last night is why I do this. #whyd3 #d3hoops https://t.co/F6IQI0WLPt

— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) February 6, 2025

When these two teams met in Bloomington last month, the Cardinals ended up forcing triple overtime before the Titans finally escaped with a victory. It's been a rough month on the whole for the Cardinals since the drubbing of Wheaton a month ago, with two other overtime losses in addition to that previous game in Bloomington. So in what was an energetic, packed house, this one might have meant just a little bit more. Vince Kmiec cracked after the game that we'd just won a national championship. While that's obvious hyperbole, it was a much needed win, and the fact that it was an upset against the second-ranked team in the country was the proverbial cherry on top.

That proverbial cherry also keeps the Cardinals season alive. There's a clear top three in the Titans along with North Park and Carthage, then a dropoff. Elmhurst is a game clear for the four seed, and the Cardinals are fighting with Augustana and Millikin for the last two spots. NCC has a split with both, but the advantage the Cardinals now have is with this win over the Titans, this win will likely give the Cardinals the edge over both as we get down to the nitty gritty.

Senior Night will be on Saturday as the Cardinals welcome in North Park for another critical game. The Vikings have dominated the series in recent years, but are coming off a shocking loss at home to previously winless in conference Wheaton. The Vikings are just a game out of first with the two teams above them playing, so it's a game both teams need.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (12/15/21)

Final Score
IWU 73, NCC 48

Game Summary
The Cardinals (4-3, 1-1) opened the game with back to back threes and had me optimistic about the proceedings. But the Titans (8-1, 2-1) fought back and for a brief moment it seemed like we'd have a nice back and forth on our hands. The Cardinals scored to go up 12-9 with 13:35 to go in the first half. And then it all went to hell, as North Central went without a basket for ten minutes as the Titans scored 25 unanswered points. A late Cardinal surge cut it to 36-20 Titans by halftime, and a decent early push in the second half got it to 39-26 IWU. But the Titans slowly built the lead back up and the Cardinals would get no closer.

Key Players

• Peter Lambesis (IWU): 6-8 FG (0-2 3PT), 3-3 FT; 15 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl. Hard to pick just one or two guys given the good balance this Titan team had, but Lambesis led all scorers in this one and got his teammates involved. A good performance.
• Cory Noe (IWU): 4-7 FG (all 3PT); 12 pts, 1 reb, 1 blk. I could have gone with Luke Yoder (13 pts) or Matt Leritz (11-7), but Noe hit a few big threes for this Titans team that really got the Titan fans in the building going. Again, sheer balance.
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 4-9 FG (1-5 3PT), 1-3 FT; 10 pts, 7 reb, 1 stl. Not a lot of good picks for the Cardinals tonight. Blaise hit a three on the opening possession and seemed poised for a good night, but he struggled the rest of the way on offense. He got his rebounds and tied for the game-high there, but that was about it.

Key Stats

• NCC: 17-52 FG (32.7%). That includes a 4-23 mark from three (17.4%). The Cardinals missed 15 in a row during that almost ten minute drought. And that was pretty much the ballgame.
• IWU: 27 points off 16 NCC turnovers. That's an impressive number. There were a few fast break opportunities for the Titans, but they also took advantage of dead ball turnovers as well. North Central, for its part, forced 16 turnovers as well, but only got nine points off them.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• WBK: @ IWU 74 (5-4, 3-0), NCC 59 (4-6, 1-1)

Final Thoughts
I'm just gonna leave this here.

https://t.co/uJ4IOeKSrr pic.twitter.com/siiXBJoQ0J

— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) December 16, 2021

There wasn't much to get excited about as a Cardinal fan. This Titan team came in ranked fourth in the country, and showed they deserve that ranking. This was a butt kicking.

The Cardinals are off on the road now for a while, with a game at Millikin on Saturday, a swing through Michigan to hopefully right the ship, then a couple games in Orlando before gettting back into the gauntlet. They'll need to be ready on this trip, because they need to get right with some tough games on the docket.

Game Notes (WBK): Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/6/21)

Final Score

IWU 77, NCC 52

Game Summary

Catching up from this past weekend, the Cardinals (0-5) started this one out pretty well all things considered. While they struggled offensively, they did a good job keeping the Titans (1-1) under wraps despite giving up a layup right off the opening tip. The Titans did get out to a 7-0 lead early, but the Cardinals fought back to within 11-6, the Titans started to get cold from the floor... and then the bottom fell out. A careless outlet pass was easily picked off, turned into an Illinois Wesleyan three, and a couple more gave the Titans a 20-6 edge after ten minutes. The Titans led by as many as 19 early in the second, but the Cardinals tried to fight back, cutting the deficit to ten with under a minute to go in the half. A fast break Titan layup made it 12, the Cardinals couldn't cash in on their last try, then compounded matters with a dumb foul on a halfcourt heave, with all three free throws falling to make it 38-23 at the break. After again surrendering an immediate layup to open the third, the Titans unleashed their press, and despite the Cardinals pushing to stay within 15, a late Titan surge opened the floodgates for a 25 point lead after three. Mia Smith called off the dogs early in the fourth, the Cardinals responded, and the Cardinal end of bench played well enough to not let the lead get higher than 31 briefly.

Key Players

• Kendall Sosa (IWU): 6-13 FG (0-2 3PT), 4-5 FT; 16 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl. Sosa is IWU's best player, and in her other games has lit opposing defenses up. So to hold her to just 16... is something of a victory, especially since it was on a reasonable field goal percentage. I'm probably reaching a bit for moral victories in a game we lost by 25, but I think this was a good sign.
• Samantha Munroe (IWU): 4-8 FG (4-6 3PT); 12 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast. I could have gone with Brooke Lansford here (also 12 points), but Lansford turned it over seven times, while Munroe did only once, and Munroe hit some big threes to put the Titans in command of this game.
• IxChel Leeuwenburgh (NCC): 1-4 FG (0-1 3PT), 3-6 FT; 5 pts, 16 reb (6 off), 1 ast, 1 stl. On a day where no Cardinals hit double figures, you have to go with the game high rebounding total. Leeuwenburgh dominated the glass in this one, and while it doesn't crack the top five of rebounding performances in program history, it's the most in a game since Jamie Cuny matched that mark back in 2015-16.

Key Stats

• IWU: Outscored NCC in the paint 38-20. There was some good post play, but the slashing game worked pretty well for the Titans as well in this one. Illinois Wesleyan opened three of the four quarters with possession, and got a quick layup on all three (plus one on their first possession of the second quarter, which they did not start the ball with). It was a good way to get the Cardinals on their heels early.
• NCC: Outrebounded IWU 50-42. On a day where the team shot poorly throughout (25.2% from the floor, and just 4-24 from deep), the one bright spot was a good performance on the glass. The Cardinals actually doubled up the Titans on second chance points too (10-5). Ultimately the Titans proved to be too much, but this was a positive to take away.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• MIL 73 (4-1), @ CAR 51 (0-4)
• @ WHE 69 (4-1), ELM 54 (1-4)
• @ CRL 57 (3-1), NPU 49 (3-1)
• BYE: AUG (3-1)
• MBK: @ IWU 91 (2-0), NCC 77 (3-2)

Final Thoughts

Watching your team get blown out is never fun, but honestly, I thought the Cardinals played pretty well, all things considered. The Titans were clearly the better team on Saturday, it showed in the final score and through a lot of the statistics, but the Cardinals didn't just go quietly into the night. They played fairly well defensively, occasional breakdown to allow a layup and some careless turnovers aside. They kept the turnover battle fairly close, won on the glass, which to me seems like a rarity, and didn't just roll over from the third quarter full court press. It's been frustrating for a team that I figured could win five or six games to have none to this point, but they've been in almost every game except this one, and even early in this one it took a bit before the Titans pulled away.

North Central doesn't get to let up though, as next up comes a double header against a feisty Millikin squad that's had their number the past couple years, and even split with Illinois Wesleyan already this season. The Cardinals did play them tough at home last year, though Thursday's date is in Decatur before they come back and play at Merner on Saturday.

2020 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

The women's tournament preview is in the books. Let's move onto the men.

This is one I'm more able to write about, as I didn't get to see a ton of women's games this season (though I still tried to follow as best I could). For the men though, I saw every home game and chunks of many road games, and this is maybe the most excited I've been for a conference tournament in a long time.

Of course, there's a reason for that as we go into the second year with the six team format. As with the women, the top two teams get byes to the weekend, while the higher seeds host the play in games on Tuesday.

2020 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament Preview

I'm trying to get these out a little earlier this year. For one thing, North Central is playing Tuesday, so I need to preview that. For another... the fact that this is now a six team tournament means I want to get with the program a little quicker.

This is actually the second year that the CCIW has used the expanded tournament; in prior years this was a four-team affair, but the six team group gives more teams a chance not only for an automatic bid, but also to bolster their resumes for at large selection into the NCAA Tournament.

So below I'm going to preview the entire CCIW Tournament field. I'm only putting the weekend site on here; the weekend part of the tournament hasn't changed in that the conference champion hosts the semifinals and finals, but the past couple years the Tuesday play-in games have had higher seeds host.

One More to Go: A CCIW Update

The regular season concludes tomorrow for the CCIW... which means we have to look at how the CCIW Tournament races are shaping up.

This is an annual feature for me where I look at all the different clinching scenarios. Earlier this week I had thought about trying to crunch numbers with two games to go for odds of each team getting certain tournament seeds. The math proved to be a little too much for me, but I will include the numbers here now that there's just one game to go and the math becomes much more simple.

As usual, a lot of the tournament spots have been claimed already, but seeding is all still well up for grabs. I consider it the advantage in Year Two of having a six team tournament instead of only four. Let's have a look.

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) 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.

2019 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

To be honest, this year's preview is coming a little late. Last year I did it on a Friday and things were fine, but last year the CCIW Tournament was only four teams. This year it's six, and quarterfinal games were played on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the home teams advanced to this weekend's festivities. That meant eliminations for fifth-seeded Carroll, who finally got to the CCIW Tournament after falling just short in prior years, and sixth-seeded Elmhurst, who couldn't live up to preseason expectations.

With the North Central women already eliminated, I'm not touching on the women's tournament, which is too bad, because Wheaton College is on my way home from work and I'd totally go see them play the Thunder in the late semi. But enough about that; let's get to the men's tourney.

One More to Go: A CCIW Update

Part of my annual series on North Central basketball includes a final look at the conference tournament picture. So with one more day of games on the docket, let's get to work on this.

I need to give a ton of thanks and credit to Greg Sager, play by play guy for North Park athletics and frequent contributor to D3Boards, who did pretty much all of the legwork on the various scenarios.

We've had years on opposite ends of the spectrum in the past when I've run this feature. Some years it's a simple "Win and you're in" prospect. Other years, you have teams with absolutely zero control over their own postseason fate because of the weirdness of tiebreakers. This year, with the expansion of the conference tournament from four to six, it made more games meaningful but also opened up a whole new world of clinching scenario possibilities.

Details come after the jump, but suffice it to say that the men's clinching scenarios are a lot simpler than the women's. If you're curious, you can view the CCIW tiebreakers here.

Game Notes: (WBK): Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/13/19)

Final Score
IWU 78, NCC 68

Game Summary
This game got off to an interesting start as the Cardinals (7-17, 5-10) and Titans (20-4, 13-2) traded leads in the early going, with North Central taking an 18-13 edge late in the frame with some solid three point shooting before the Titans bounced back with some three point shooting of their own, but the Cardinals boasted a 20-19 lead after one. The second quarter saw more of the same as the two teams stayed even, going into the locker room tied at 31. But once again it was the third quarter that proved the difference, as the Titans scored six points in the opening minute-plus, forcing a North Central timeout to try and stop the bleeding, but while the Cardinals were able to cut the lead back to four a couple times, the Titans embarked on the decisive 11-0 run midway through the frame and led by as many as 18 before going into the final frame up 55-39. The deficit was too much for the Cardinals, though they did cut it to single digits a couple times before reaching the final ten point margin.

Key Players

• Maddie Merritt (IWU): 8-14 FG (1-3 3PT), 9-10 FT; 26 pts, 12 reb (7 off), 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk. It was another night of filling the stat sheet for Merritt, but she was once again brilliant at the line. In the Titans' two games against North Central, Merritt went 24-26 from the stripe, but she also made a ton of trouble on the glass for the Cardinals.
• Ashley Schneider (IWU): 7-13 FG (1-1 3PT), 3-6 FT; 18 pts, 6 reb (3 off), 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk. I'm trying to remember whether it was Merritt or Schneider, but one of the two of them prompted a comment from our official scorer about how nice her touch on her jumpers was. Given they had similar lines, I honestly can't remember, but Schneider was a nice complementary piece in this one.
• Allison Pearson (NCC): 7-14 FG (4-8 3PT), 4-4 FT; 22 pts, 6 reb (4 off), 2 ast. I think Pearson is one of the freshmen on this squad that is least talked about relative to her importance. She put up a career high in this one with an excellent shooting night, and is one of the best free throw shooters on the team. She should be another fun player to watch develop over the next couple years.

Key Stats

• NCC: 8 pts in 3rd quarter. Just days after managing only four points in the third quarter against Wheaton, this frame did the Cardinals in once again as the offense went cold, going just 4-17 (23.5%) for the quarter. That's not going to get it done against the cream of the CCIW. For the season now, the Cardinals have a -79 point differential in the third quarter, their worst quarter of the year.
• IWU: 16-31 FG in 2nd half (51.6%). I mentioned North Central going cold in the third quarter, but there's two sides, and the Titans took advantage of some size, scoring 14 of their 24 points in the frame in the paint and notching 30 in the paint for the game. Capitalizing on layups is key... and it's something North Central can struggle with sometimes.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ NPU 62 (9-15, 5-10), ELM 58 (9-15, 5-10)
• CAR 65 (16-8, 10-5), @ CRL 59 (9-15, 4-11)
• Carroll is eliminated from the CCIW Tournament
• WHE (20-4, 14-1) @ MIL (8-15, 4-10) POSTPONED
• Rescheduled for Thursday 2/14 at 7pm
• Bye: AUG (13-11, 7-8)
• With NCC's loss, Augustana clinches the #4 seed in the CCIW Tournament
• MBK: NCC 85 (19-5, 11-4), @ CAR 54 (8-16, 3-12)
• NCC clinches the #2 seed in the CCIW Tournament

Final Thoughts

I talked to head coach Maggie McCloskey-Bax briefly after the game, and I guess Titan coach Mia Smith told her postgame that she thinks the Cardinals are the most improved team in the CCIW. I have to agree, and I'm sure Maggie agrees as well, but we both wish that it had resulted in more than just five conference wins. Despite the loss though, the Cardinals are still in the thick of the hunt for a CCIW Tournament berth. I'll touch on the scenarios tomorrow with the Wheaton-Millikin game in the books as that will help narrow down the possibilities.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/6/19)

Final Score
IWU 72, NCC 64

Game Summary
This one started as many games at Gregory Arena are wont to do, as the Cardinals (18-4, 10-3) scored on the opening possession to grab the early lead. But the Titans (14-8, 7-6) followed that up with back to back triples to take control before the game went into seesaw mode. The Cardinals led 18-13 halfway through the frame before the Titans worked their way back. The teams traded leads a few more times before the Cardinals went on a little roll to take a 36-31 lead into the locker room. But this time it was the Titans who came out of the break strong, opening the second half on a 13-2 run and would push their lead as high as seven. The Cardinals hung around though, getting within one with about six minutes to go and back within two with four and a half to play. But a fast break layup pushed it back to four, and after a pair of free throws cut the lead in half again, the Titans got another layup to pretty much put the game away and clinch a CCIW Tournament berth.

Key Players

• Doug Wallen (IWU): 6-11 FG (2-4 3PT); 14 pts, 12 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 1 stl. I don't know if I want to call this a "breakout" game for the sophomore, but considering he came in averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, it might have been. His shooting stroke seemed a little weird when he fired, but he was effective both inside and out.
• Brady Rose (IWU): 5-13 FG (3-8 3PT), 3-4 FT; 16 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl. The fifth year senior put on a nice show in his final trip to Naperville, hitting that early pair of threes to get the Titans going and set the tone. Chipping in on the glass and distributing the ball helped too.
• Tommy Koth (NCC): 8-15 FG (5-9 3PT), 3-5 FT; 24 pts, 6 reb (2 off), 1 blk, 3 stl. The Legend of Tommy Koth: Titan Killer was nearly extended last night. After he killed the Titans in Bloomington back in January, he had another monster performance despite not getting left wide open by Alex O'Neill on three straight possessions again. He chipped in on defense as well, but fouled out late. Alas.

Key Stats

• NCC: Last field goal with 4:34 remaining. Originally I was going to put North Central's three point shooting down on here, but I feel like I do that every time, and while those percentages (7-24 for the game, 2-13 in the second half) play a role, the fact that North Central managed just two free throws in that four and a half minute span just isn't going to get it done. Credit the Titans for playing good defense.
• IWU: 13-15 FT (86.7%). When these two teams met in Bloomington, the Titans went 16-23 at the stripe in a game where they led by eight with two minutes to play and went on to lose. Last night they made sure it didn't happen with some clutch shots at the stripe late: the team went 12-13 in the second half at the line. Good teams know how to close out, and after some mid season hiccups, the Titans might be finding their stride again.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ AUG 93 (21-2, 13-1), WHE 83 (16-7, 9-5)
• Augustana has clinched the #1 seed in the CCIW Tournament
• ELM 91 (12-10, 7-6), @ NPU 64 (4-18, 2-11)
• Elmhurst has clinched a CCIW Tournament berth
• North Park has been eliminated from the CCIW Tournament
• @ CRL 60 (10-13, 6-8), CAR 57 (7-15, 2-11)
• Carthage has been eliminated from the CCIW Tournament
• Bye: MIL (10-11, 4-9)
• WBK: NCC 60 (7-15, 5-8), @ CAR 58 (14-8, 8-5)
• North Central wins at Carthage for the first time since February 11, 2006
• Based on other results, Carthage has clinched a CCIW Tournament berth

Final Thoughts

You might remember from last year's contest that I had my first experience of a player vaulting over the table when Jason Gregoire's momentum from chasing a loose ball brought him between me and SID Clark Teuscher and took out Clark's chair. I went to talk to Jason postgame and jokingly thanked him for not doing so again this year. He responded that he was glad he didn't have to go over. During the game he was pretty fired up, yelling at the table about the officials, but flipped a switch postgame and couldn't have been nicer.

To be fair, Gregoire may have had a point, as both coaches were clearly upset with the officiating. At the halftime buzzer, Ron Rose ran out almost to midcourt to complain, but Todd Raridon was in their ears all night as well. All told, I don't think the crew was too bad, and it clearly didn't impact the outcome. North Central's offense went cold in the final four and a half minutes, and credit the Titans for making enough plays down the stretch to win.

The Cardinals have been playing with fire to some degree for much of the season. They had to come back from down 13 at halftime to beat Elmhurst a few weeks back, needed the aforementioned late rally to beat the Titans in Bloomington, and needed some miraculous shots to beat Millikin down in Decatur. Eventually, regression to the mean was going to hit. It's just unfortunate it had to be last night.

Big picture though, this one hurts. Earlier in the day the Cardinals had been ranked third in the Central region, and to drop a game immediately after that is going to push the Cardinals closer to the bubble. It also gets the Titans better position in the CCIW race, something I'll touch more on next week when there's just a single game left.

The Cardinals have to put this one behind them quick, because Aston Francis and Wheaton are coming to town, and with Senior Night on the docket, emotions will be high for this critical game.

Once More Unto the Gauntlet

I'm running out of titles. I was going to go with "Once More Unto the Breach," but I used that in 2015.

One of my many annual features as a part of NCAA Division III basketball season is a checkin on the rest of the conference at the halfway point. This will be followed up in the next couple weeks when the NCAA regional rankings drop, where I'll look at how North Central fares in that arena as well.

But for now, with a single round robin complete, let's look at how North Central is doing.

2018 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

Tonight... the madness begins.

I suppose it has technically already begun; many conference tournaments around Division III are already well underway. But the CCIW, with just four teams surviving beyond the 25 game gauntlet, waits until the weekend to decide its automatic entrant into the NCAA Tournament. Enjoy this; it's the last time the top four are guaranteed entry into this contest.

I've only written about the ones North Central makes, so there's no writeup for the women's tournament being held down in Bloomington this weekend. I do, however, want to take a look at one taking place out west starting tonight.

One More to Go: A CCIW Update

It's an annual tradition, though maybe not unlike any other.

Tomorrow is the final day of the regular season in the CCIW, and actually the final time that we'll have regular season games on this day after just two years of the return to nine teams in the conference. Next season, the conference tournaments will expand from four teams to six in both men's and women's basketball. It's going to make more games matter at the end and possibly bolster resumes when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. But that's next year.

With the final day approaching, I always take the time leading up to it to look over the conference and see what the tournament scenarios are. This is where it's handy to have access to the list of CCIW tiebreakers, which was last updated in the fall of 2014 and may need to be updated slightly with Carroll's return. Fortunately, any updates that would need to be made won't impact either race. Also, compared to prior years, this year's post will be so much simpler than any other. As with last year, my thanks goes to the D3Boards community for helping sort through all of this.

Once More Into the Gauntlet

I'm running a little behind on this feature, but it's one that I need to run.

Ever since I took over the PA gig at North Central, I've always taken a look at the conference standings at the halfway point of the schedule. It's good to get a look at what's going on and see where everyone stands with seven (or now, eight, with Carroll's return to the conference) games to play.

In a week and a half I'll have a look at where North Central stacks up regionally, but that's only because that's when the NCAA releases its regional rankings. For now, we're going to stick with the conference standings, for both the men and the women. Pictured at the start of each section will be a screenshot of the conference standings pulled from the Confessions of a Sportscaster sidebar as of Monday, January 22nd.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (12/9/17)

Final Score
IWU 68, NCC 66

Game Summary
This one started out okay as the Cardinals (3-4, 1-2) scored the game's first four points and held the Titans (7-1, 2-1) off the board for the first three and a half minutes. But North Central's offense struggled to build off the early momentum, and the Titans shook off any rust they had and built a 16-8 lead just over ten minutes in. They poured it on with an assault from beyond the arc, using an 11-0 run to build a 17 point lead. The Cardinals were unable to really cut into that lead and the Titans took a 39-23 advantage into intermission. Wesleyan would push its lead as high as 19, but the Cardinals made a game of it again with a 9-0 run. The Titans would push the lead back to 17, but the Cardinals wouldn't go away, hitting back to back threes just after the midway point of the half to trim the deficit to seven. They cut it to two with just under six minutes to play, but missed a couple gimme layups that could have tied the game, and the Titans were able to preserve their lead. An Aiden Change three with about a minute to play made it 66-65, and after a Titan miss, the Cardinals got the ball back with 38 seconds to go. Mike Pollack missed a contested mid range jumper from the left wing, but Connor Raridon grabbed the offensive rebound and the Cardinals called timeout to set up a final play. Rather than hold for the last shot though, they got it in quickly to Alex Sorenson by the basket, where he was fouled. He hit his first free throw to tie the game, but missed the second, and Colin Bonnett of the Titans grabbed the rebound, threw it to a teammate before he fell out of bounds, then off a perimeter pass broke through the defense to kiss home a layup at the buzzer to break the hearts of every fan in red.

Key Stats

• Colin Bonnett (IWU): 5-9 FG (1-2 3PT), 4-4 FT; 15 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast. Bonnett isn't the first option on this Titan team, but he's a key piece in the backcourt, and he showed why with a solid outing, leading his team in scoring, and serving as the center of the mob scene after his game-winner. It was a fantastic individual effort that saw him grab a rebound off a missed Sorenson free throw, find Jaylen Beasley to save a turnover, then beat Erwin Henry one on one to save the win for the Titans.
• Jaylen Beasley (IWU): 4-7 FG (3-4 3PT); 11 pts, 5 reb (1 off). It's possible there were other guys I could have gone with here, but Beasley earned the mention with his early work to build that huge lead. He's been kind of an underrated player in the conference for a couple years, but has really turned into a key piece for this Titan team. After his heroics at Wheaton on Wednesday, I was worried every time he launched from deep, and he showed why in this one by hitting his first three attempts from out there.
• Connor Raridon (NCC): 6-14 FG (1-2 3PT), 7-9 FT; 20 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 7 ast, 3 stl. I almost went with Alex Sorenson here (15 points on 6-8 shooting, 14 rebounds, all apparently with the flu), but Raridon had a phenomenal all around floor game. He did most of his damage in the second half, with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in the final 20 minutes, though the two were probably both just as responsible for keying the comeback. Raridon's key offensive rebound with about 18 seconds left set the stage for Sorenson's potential heroics. Alas.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• Wheaton 98 (6-2, 2-1), @ Elmhurst 95 (5-2, 2-1) (2OT)
• Augustana 70 (6-1, 2-0),@ Carthage 61 (5-3, 2-1)
• @ Millikin 57 (5-3, 1-2), Carroll 54 (2-4, 0-2)
• @ Coe 77, North Park 69 (1-6, 0-2)

Final Thoughts

I'll start with the fun note first. I've embedded the video from Saturday's doubleheader above (something I've done the last two years so you can watch the full game for yourselves). Obviously, the women's game precedes the men's, so you'll have to skip forward to watch this thriller. But there was a great hustle play captured by NCTV and tweeted out as the short clip by Illinois Wesleyan alum and basketball guru Bob Quillman. Commentary to follow. (You can also skip ahead to it on the YouTube video).

Jason Gregoire’s hustle play pic.twitter.com/lxiZ6AuH56

— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) December 11, 2017

On a North Central offensive possession with the score 22-10 Illinois Wesleyan, Erwin Henry tried to deliver an entry pass to Kane Wildermuth in the post. Titan defender Jason Gregoire jumped up and knocked it away, then gave chase, saving it before taking a tumble over the scorers' table. The NCTV cameraman did a perfect job following the play and capturing the hustle. What that camera, sadly, can't show you is the reality of being up close and personal to a play like that. I'm right at center court on top of the action. Basketballs come out our way from time to time (I made a nice play on one last year that earned a shoutout on both NCTV and WONC). We've also had players come running full speed towards the table, but in every prior circumstance I've been involved in, they've been able to brace themselves at the table before vaulting over. That did not happen this time. Gregoire was able to use his momentum to catapult over right in between myself and SID Clark Teuscher. We tried to brace his fall as best we could, with the only casualty of the play being Clark's chair. Nothing really prepares you for that moment, and even though a player is coming at you full speed, everything kind of slows down. I knew it was coming, but nothing really prepares you for a 205 pound man coming right at you when there's nothing you can do about it. This is now something I can cross off my bucket list, though.

Big picture, this one hurt. The Titans were figured to contend for a CCIW Tournament spot, but with the CCIW appetizer schedule out of the way, they're in one of the best spots in the conference to this point. Meanwhile, North Central is in a bad 1-2 hole; they beat a bad North Park team they were supposed to beat, but have lost back to back games to contenders in Augustana and the Titans. The fact that North Central put itself in a huge hole early didn't help matters. They did a great job coming back, but they missed a couple open layups that could have completely changed the outcome of this one. I'm also haunted by Sorenson playing defense up in the high post on the final possession and being unable to slide down and help Henry defend Bonnett's game-winner. I don't blame either player for it; it was a perfectly drawn play by head coach Ron Rose, and Bonnett executed that last play perfectly. All you can do is tip your cap.

The Cardinals get a pretty quick opportunity to rebound though, as they head out west of the Fox River for the annual non-conference rivalry game with Aurora University tomorrow at 7. While a win in this one wouldn't help their CCIW situation, it would be a key win in region and also serve as a confidence booster going into the rest of the non-conference slate.

Game Notes: (WBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (12/9/17)

Final Score
IWU 94, NCC 47

Game Summary
This one started out reasonably enough as the Titans (7-2, 3-0) scored nine of the game's first 11 points. The Cardinals (1-6, 1-2) showed resolve though, scoring seven unanswered to tie the game. Wesleyan regained control and despite a late three that cut North Central's deficit to three, the Titans answered with one of their own at the end of the frame to make it 19-13. After those fairly optimistic first ten minutes, plus a Lyndsay Brennan jumper to cut it to four, the Titans went on a 12-2 run and put on a continued offensive clinic from there, taking a 46-22 lead into the locker room. It was more of the same in the third as after Natali Dimitrova opened the second half with a layup, the Titans scored 20 unanswered points to turn the game into a laugher. In garbage time, North Central at least proved competitive, only getting outscored 23-18 in the final ten minutes.

Key Stats

• IWU: 40-72 FG (55.6%). Combine this with the fact that 56 of the Titans' 94 points came in the paint, you do the math. The Titans got way too many open looks at the basket, and converted on basically all of them. They also had an efficient day from deep (6-16, 37.5%).
• Ashley Schneider (IWU): 7-8 FG (1-1 3PT), 1-3 FT; 16 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 2 stl. You could basically take your pick of any of the Titan regulars and they would be a fit in the key stats section. Schneider earned the nod after having the most efficient day out of anyone, and she did all this damage in just 25 minutes of action.
• IWU: Outrebounded NCC 54-30. With no Cardinal really having a good day by any stretch of the imagination, this was another number I was curious to see about, and wasn't terribly surprised by, other than maybe that the disparity was this great. Part of it was a poor shooting night by NCC, but the Titans also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. The amazing thing is how spread out the rebounding duties went. Four different players tied for the team lead with five boards apiece, four other players grabbed four, three grabbed three apiece, and the team low was two, tied for by two guards who play towards the bottom of Mia Smith's rotation. North Central's Brennan led all rebounders with seven, for what it's worth.

North Central "System" Watch

• IWU Turnovers: 14. Just your usual, disciplined outing for a fundamentally sound Titan team. The Cardinals were able to rack up eight steals, led by a pair from Bekah Foley. For comparison's sake, the Titans picked up 14 steals on their end as a part of forcing 20 Cardinal turnovers.
• NCC 3PT: 4-24 (16.7%). Occasionally you'll have bad shooting days, even like this, but I can't remember the last time the Cardinals shot this poorly from deep. They didn't take a ton of shots, but they also made very few of them. It's hard to win on a day like this, though this wasn't the sole reason they lost.
• NCC FT: 5-11 (45.5%). Again, not a major factor in the defeat, but the alarming trend continues. This is a team that will lose close games because of things like this (and they have already this season). For the year, the team is at 51.0%.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Elmhurst 71 (4-4, 2-1), Wheaton XX (4-3, 1-2)
• @ Carthage 74 (5-3, 1-2), Augustana 67 (5-2, 1-1)
• Carroll 69 (2-6, 1-1), @ Millikin 65 (3-4, 0-3)
• @ Chicago 78, North Park 36 (5-2, 2-0)

Final Thoughts

During the five years North Central ran The System, they sported a 5-6 overall record against the Titans, with the difference being their 2016 CCIW Tournament meeting. The Cardinals only won a pair in Gregory Arena, but boasted three victories down in Bloomington in their last four trips. This game, however, harkened back to the 2012 and 2013 matchups with the Titans, when Illinois Wesleyan won a national title and carried over a bunch of players from that team the following year. The talent level isn't quite that disparate, but I think the energy level definitely was. Sadly, this isn't the first time these Cardinals have come out flat at home. But after the thrilling win on Wednesday, I expected some level of momentum to carry over. I wish I had an answer for why it didn't.

North Central closes out the first part of their CCIW schedule at 1-2. It matches last year's mark at this stage, and honestly is about where I would have pegged them, even going into the campaign. If you look at the standings on the main page (if you're reading this on mobile, scroll to the bottom and cBut I fear the team that I'd pegged for a minimum six wins in the conference (and officially predicted nine for) may be fighting to even hit that threshold of six. They've got a few weeks to continue to get the kinks out, but it won't be easy.

The Cardinals are right back at it tonight, taking on a UW-Stevens Point team that doesn't have as strong a record as I feared they would, but I'm sure will still pose a very tough test for a Cardinal team that desperately needs to find a spark.

One More To Go: A CCIW Update

I didn't get to watch any of it live, but I'm reveling in the upset pulled off by NCC against Illinois Wesleyan. I guess if you maybe want to get technical, both of them.

The regular season all comes down to Tuesday, and while most of the CCIW Tournament field is filled, the seedings are still very much up for grabs. And so as I like to do on an annual basis going into the final game, here are the scenarios for seedings in next weekend's CCIW Tournament.

I do want to express my thanks to the D3Boards community for working out all of the men's scenarios, which greatly helped my understanding of how Tuesday's stuff was going to work.