Game Notes: (MBK) University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh @ North Central College (3/7/20)

Final Score
NCC 84, UW-Oshkosh 82 (OT)

Game Summary
In an outstanding game worthy of being played in a later round, the Cardinals (23-5) scored the game's first basket and held some early leads in a back and forth affair, settling for their biggest advantage at 18-15 about nine minutes in. But the Titans (20-9) seemingly grabbed firm control over the next five minutes with a 15-0 run. They would lead by as many as 15 at 40-25 with 3:52 to go, but the Cardinals fought back, getting within seven, but no closer as the Titans took a 46-35 lead into the locker room. A strong early start to the second half for the Cardinals cut it back to seven, but the Titans kept getting clutch baskets and pushed the lead back as high as 13 as late as 10:43 to play. But then the Cardinals made their move, using a 10-0 run to make it a one possession game, but a Class B technical for a flop helped the Titans push it back to six moments later. Still, they couldn't put the Cardinals away, and North Central finally tied it up at 67-all with just under three minutes to play, and a minute later the Cardinals got their first lead since the first half with a huge three. Back to back Titan layups gave them a one point lead with just under a minute to go, but the Cardinals answered from distance again to go up two with 15 seconds left. Oshkosh would get a putback with just two seconds left to tie it. A last second deep three was blocked, forcing overtime. The Cardinals more or less controlled the extra session, building their biggest lead at 82-77 with just under two minutes to go. But the Titans fought back, tying the game with 43 seconds left and seemingly giving themselves the advantage. But the Cardinals got an offensive rebound on their go-ahead attempt with under 20 seconds to go, giving them a second chance with the shot clock off, and after a timeout, drew up the perfect play for a beautiful back door cut for the go-ahead layup with 3.2 to play. Oshkosh's inbounds pass was not cleanly handled, and the Cardinals escaped to the Sweet Sixteen.

Key Players

• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 8-20 FG (3-7 3PT), 4-6 FT; 23 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl. On a night where Connor Raridon and Matt Cappelletti were limited by foul trouble, someone needed to take over for the Cardinals... and Blaise stepped up big time. He had 10 in the first half, came up with 11 big ones, including two as part of the 10-0 run, and he hit the three that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the second half. He also scored the first points of the extra session to keep the Cardinals' momentum going. All in all, maybe his best game of the year.
• Mike Pollack (NCC): 6-8 FG (5-6 3PT); 17 pts, 4 reb (2 off). After a quiet first round game against Adrian, the Cardinals needed somebody else to step up on the offensive end... and Pollack, who in three years has built an illustrious history of big shots, came through. He hit two threes as part of the 10-0 run to get the Cardinals back into it, hit a third after the Class B technical, and added a fourth to cut the deficit to two with about four and a half to play. But he saved the best for overtime: his three after an Oshkosh offensive foul gave the Cardinals that five point lead, and on the final play of the game, he cut back door of a good Matt Cappelletti screen, and had a wide open layup that won the game for the Cardinals. Big Shot Mike strikes again.
  

  Video credit to my dad of Mike Pollack’s game winner for @NCCMBB. Great cut, and a nice screen by Matt Cappelletti to spring him free. #WeAreNC #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/Dc1PvCz3KN

  — Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) March 8, 2020

• Jack Flynn (UWO): 10-20 FG, 3-3 FT; 23 pts, 10 reb (6 off), 2 ast, 2 blk. After serving as a dominant force down low on Friday in their win over Transylvania, Flynn looked like the key to the Titans making it back to the Sweet 16. Especially as the game went on, Oshkosh repeatedly fed Flynn down on the left block, with Will Clausel being tasked with slowing him down. Flynn got his... but he had to work hard for it, though his rebounding was a big reason why the Titans were able to build that lead in the first place.

Key Stats

• NCC: 12-24 3PT (50.0%). That's an absurd number. The Cardinals shot fairly well from deep in the first half (5-12, 41.7%), but went bonkers in the second half (6-10, 60.0%) and split their pair in the extra session. When you're hot... good things tend to happen.
• UWO: Outscored NCC in the paint 52-32. When you have an edge on the glass (41-36 Oshkosh) and outscore your opponent by 20... you're going to win a ton of ballgames. Flynn was a monster, but Levi Borchert hit a few big shots through fouls, and guys like Adam Fravert were able to get to the bucket as well. It just wasn't quite enough tonight.

NCAA Tournament Scoreboard Watch

• CCIW Teams
• Elmhurst 84 (25-5), Grove City 66 (21-9)
• Elmhurst retains possession of The Belt^TM
• Nebraska Wesleyan Pod- Sweet 16 Opponent
• Washington University 79 (22-5), Nebraska Wesleyan 58 (25-4)

Final Thoughts

I'm still absolutely wired two hours after witnessing the end of this. It was pretty hard to stay neutral as per NCAA rules... but I did. They can't stop me from fighting back tears as this one came down to the wire, though.

I was nervous driving to the game, and wasn't feeling great at halftime. But I talked myself into hoping, and this team rewarded me by refusing to give up, clawing their way back, and not getting down when the Titans made plays to try and hang on in this one. I was more worried when Connor Raridon picked up his fifth foul fairly early in overtime that that would be his final college basketball moment. But he said after the game, "We found a way," and that his teammates picked him up... and pick him up they absolutely did. It was a joyous atmosphere at Gregory Arena after the final buzzer, with some of the student section (who did make it back from Spring Break to catch this one) coming out on the floor to celebrate. I took a ton of pictures of the guys cutting down the nets, with every player on the roster (JV included) getting in on the action, and the coaches getting to cut it down at the other end of the floor. Tommy Koth did most of the work getting the second one down... but was super gracious in the aftermath.

I got mine. #WeAreNC #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/4vTDgflIWo

— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) March 8, 2020

As noted above, WashU clobbered Nebraska Wesleyan to also advance to the Sweet 16. That result, given the Central region rankings, means that, barring some shenanigans on the part of the NCAA, North Central will get to stay in Naperville next weekend as the Bears make the trip up from St. Louis. It will be only the one game next weekend, with four games of the round played Friday and four more on Saturday, the NCC-WashU game included. Confirmation of the host site, along with a start time, will probably come early in the week.

I'm thrilled to get one more. And given that the Cardinals came back from down 15 against the defending national champions... anything can happen, right? A win next weekend sends the Cardinals to Fort Wayne, usually the site of the Final Four and championship, but this year the site for the Elite Eight and Final Four, as the title game will take place in Atlanta alongside the D-I and D-II title games. I don't want to say book your tickets yet... but at least keep your calendars clear.

Dance Party at Chippy's House

I said I would "probably" do a writeup of the CCIW title game... that didn't happen. But in case you missed it, Elmhurst knocked off Illinois Wesleyan to get the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

This year's tournament will be a little different; kind of a blend between the normal tournament and the one in 2013. That year, the Cardinals made it to Salem, but got to play twice there with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played there before going onto Atlanta, where all three divisions played for their respective national titles on the same weekend. We have a similar situation this year, with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played in Fort Wayne, Indiana (where the Final Four and title game were hosted last year) before again going on to Atlanta. But instead of one game a week for three weeks, we're keeping the usual first and second round pods, then staggering the eight third round games between Friday and Saturday next weekend.

With North Central's loss, they were waiting with bated breath for their tournament fate... and that may be a little dramatic, because most of the experts had the Cardinals fairly safely into the field of 64. As far as I can tell, they were in fact safely in. But I think just about everyone within the program was shocked at this announcement around noon today.

Game Notes: (MBK) UW-Oshkosh @ North Central College (11/12/19)

Final Score
UW-Oshkosh 76, NCC 66

Game Summary
The first few minutes were a microcosm of the contest as the Titans (2-0) punched the Cardinals in the mouth by opening on a 9-2 run, forcing a Todd Raridon timeout. The Cardinals (0-1) were able to rally, getting it back to a one possession game once before the Titans got hot, pushing the lead as high as 13 before settling into the break with a 45-33 lead. The Cardinals came out strong to start the second half, dropping the deficit to seven before a Titan heat check got the lead back up to 13, but the Cardinals refused to go away, pulling back within six with just over seven minutes to play. But in a key sequence late, after the Cardinals were down seven, missed two open threes to cut it to four, and a jumper-stop-dagger three sequence put the game away.

Key Players

• Eric Peterson (UWO): 7-11 FG (2-3 3PT), 2-5 FT; 18 pts, 12 reb (1 off), 5 ast. On a night where Oshkosh's bigs struggled, the Titans needed their perimeter guys to step up... and step up they did. Peterson was able to get to the basket with relative ease tonight, hit a couple key threes, and dominated the glass amongst the trees. The Batavia native posted career highs in each of the aforementioned categories.
• Adam Fravert (UWO): 6-13 FG (3-6 3PT), 0-2 FT; 15 pts, 8 reb (1 off), 2 blk, 2 stl. Similar thing here for Fravert. He got some easy looks at the basket and hit a few key threes as well. It was Fravert's triple in that late sequence that served as the dagger.
• Will Clausel (NCC): 6-9 FG (0-3 3PT), 2-3 FT; 14 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 1 blk. On a night where the stars struggled some offensively, the Cardinals needed a spark off the bench, and Will stepped up. While he struggled from deep, he was able to take advantage of drives to the basket. Additionally, his post defense against Oshkosh's bigs who had a major size advantage on him was phenomenal and helped keep the Cardinals in the game.

Key Stats

• NCC: 6-23 3PT (26.1%). Sometimes it's the simple things. On a night where Oshkosh was hot from deep, the Cardinals couldn't match. They'll shoot better as the year goes on, I'm sure; Cap won't go 1-6 every night, and Mike Pollack won't miss four straight after making his first.
• UWO: 6-10 3PT in the first half (60.0%). It's pretty much this simple. The Titans got hot early and that helped them build the lead. In a game where a lot of other things were even (Oshkosh won the rebounding battle 40-39 and had 40 points in the paint to NCC's 38), things like this make the difference.

Final Thoughts

Oshkosh is the defending champion, and despite losing a couple key pieces from their title team, they still brought back a significant chunk of last year's core, and it showed. This team is elite, and they played up to it in a tough environment. They have a legitimate shot at repeating this March.

From North Central's perspective, the other big problem was they committed a few dumb turnovers. While they only resulted in nine Titan points, it set a bad tone. I think this team will clean it up though. Big picture wise, getting a tough test like this to open the year will be good for them. Oshkosh will be regionally ranked come February, and a regionally ranked loss is still a good resume builder. This team should be fine.

It was great to see Aiden Chang return to the floor last night. I put a little extra into introducing him, and I even choked up a bit when I got to him. He played fairly well in his first game back, and I'm sure getting that first one out of the way helps.

The Cardinals have a couple days to reset, but they're going to have to be ready. Greenville comes to town on Friday, and North Central will have to be ready to run against a System team. There's going to be well over 300 points scored on Friday and I can't wait.

And Now, We Dance

On a Wednesday in November, I paid a visit to Merner Fieldhouse to go say hello to a women's basketball team preparing for a new campaign with something to prove. Hearing from many people around that team, there was a lot of talk about something special brewing.

Three and a half months, 22 wins, six weeks of Top 25 appearances, three weeks of high regional ranking, 143 loud yells of "THREEEEEEEEE!" and about 872 rants about how good this team is later, this happened.

We aren't done yet!! #NCC #tourneytime 💪🏀 pic.twitter.com/uRqRht1TCB
— Jamie Cuny (@jamiecuny) March 2, 2015

It's been 31 years since the last time North Central made the NCAA Tournament. Just to reference how long it's been, my parents were still in college back in North Dakota the last time this program made it to The Dance. Of course, that team went to the Final Four, a nice follow up to winning it all back in 1983, their only two prior visits. This year's team has a chance to join that pantheon of great Cardinals women's basketball teams.

Of course, it won't be easy; it never is. 63 teams all have the same dream this Cardinal team does. In a few weeks in Grand Rapids, Michigan, one of them will take home the crown. But that's a few weeks away. Right now, the focus turns to the road ahead.