Game Notes: Millikin University @ North Central College (2/6/14)

Final Score
Millikin 101, NCC 82

Game Summary
After a day's delay due to Millikin University closing on Wednesday, we saw the Cardinals (10-11, 3-7) take the lead on the opening possession, but couldn't press the advantage. Despite sloppy play by both teams, the Big Blue (9-11, 3-6) took an 8-7 lead with 16:40 to go, and, other than a tie at 26-all, never trailed again. They led by as many as 10 points late in the first half, but the Cardinals fought back to within as few as two points before going into the break trailing 47-43. They came out flat in the second half though, needing over three minutes to get on the board as Millikin rebuilt its lead. North Central again closed the gap, this time as close as 70-67 with about 10 minutes to go. The Big Blue woke up and went on another massive run from there though and put the game away within a few minutes, and got over the century mark as time expired.

Key Stats

• MIL: Outrebounded NCC 59-31 (28-8 in the first half). Look, North Central's system means that a lot of shots get put up. On the season, the Cardinals have been outrebounded on average by about 10 boards a game. But to get destroyed this badly on the boards is an alarming stat. While second chance points were even at 11 apiece, the Big Blue outscored North Central in the paint 80-24. Taking that kind of control down low will kill any team. And it kept the Cardinals from running down the other way for chances to work back into the game. After the game, Coach Roof brought up this as one of the big things she was very upset about regarding this game.
• NCC: 12-43 FG (4-22 3PT) in the 2nd half (27.9%). You're going to have bad games from time to time. I get it. But this was abysmal. A lot of these shots were open looks from deep, but there were an alarming number of missed layups as well. You have to take advantage of those. Considering these numbers, the Cardinals didn't deserve to win this game.
• Brittany Czaplicki (MIL): 11-15 FG, 3-7 FT; 25 pts, 8 reb (1 ofr), 5 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl. This is a great floor game. Heck, a great game period. 19 of her points came after halftime as she took over the game, though all five of her assists came in the first. She also hit the bucket at the buzzer that put Millikin over 100 points. The game was out of reach, and the shot clock was off, but she felt it appropriate to score one last time. I get the allure of wanting to score 100 points, but I felt that that last shot was in poor taste, and I definitely didn't appreciate the Big Blue swarming her and celebrating how they did at the end of the game. Maybe it was the frustration from a poorly played game by the Cardinals, but I found it bordering on classless.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 11-38 (28.9%). This is definitely dragged down by the poor second half, but the Cardinals shot pretty well before the intermission (7-16). They went cold late; simple as that. Marion Boeck was the best from deep, going 3-5.
• MIL Turnovers: 38. This was a really, really ugly game, especially when you add North Central's 30 turnovers to the mix. The Cardinals did draw a handful of charges early, which helped these numbers, but a majority came off steals (23 in total). Lauren Hernandez and Maryssa Cladis each had four thefts to lead the way, while Bobbi Johns and Marion Boeck each had three. As a team, this Cardinals team is already the second-most prolific at stealing the ball in program history (last year's team has the program record with 442 steals; this year's team now has 358). Individually, Johns now needs just three steals to tie Carol Judkins for tenth-most in a single season in Cardinal history. Kim Wallner's record of 86 in a season is probably safe, at least for now. Her career record of 289 is probably also safe.

CCIW Watch
all games played on Wednesday

• @ Carthage (18-2, 9-0) 64, Wheaton (15-5, 6-4) 45
• Elmhurst (12-8, 4-5) 68, @ North Park (10-9, 3-5) 57
• Illinois Wesleyan (14-6, 8-1) 85, @ Augustana (5-16, 1-9) 71

Final Thoughts
I have a lot tonight. First and foremost though, my thoughts and prayers go out to Lauren Hernandez. Towards the end of the game, she fell and hurt her knee and had to leave the game. She couldn't put any weight on it, and left Merner tonight on crutches. I wished her well on my way out tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's done for the rest of the season. This poses a problem for the Cardinals, as they're down to just two point guards now if that's the case. Hopefully she'll make a full recovery in due time, and be a key part of next year's team if nothing else.

On a lighter note, this was still an interesting game to announce, if for no other reason than the names on Millikin's roster are amazing. NCTV's Justin Zipser, an old friend from my North Central and WONC days, tweeted out a picture of Millikin's roster, complete with a much-needed pronunciation guide (pictured to the right). I don't have a full team of them, but Millikin's Yip Ypya is a unanimous selection to the All-Awesome Name To Announce All Stars. I even told Justin so during halftime.

As for the game itself... this was one the Cardinals needed to have, but the way they played, didn't deserve it. When the team came back onto the floor for second half warmups, Coach Roof was doing her best Manning Face impersonation. Talking to her after the game, all I'll say is that she was definitely pissed about how this one went down. This is a team North Central should have beaten, but played way too poor a game to have done so.

Unfortunately, this is it for me for the 2013-14 campaign. Three of North Central's final four games are on the road, and I have another commitment on Senior Night on the 15th. I felt bad telling Coach Roof I couldn't make it, but I'm planning on stopping by to see this team one last time before the season ends. Even with the underachievement this year and the fact that the Cardinals are all but eliminated from CCIW Tournament contention, this team is a lot of fun to announce for, and I'm going to miss this squad. I'll do a postseason wrap up once everything is in the books, which will be another couple weeks. Hopefully this team can end the year on something of a high note.

Super Bowl XLVIII Preview

Every August, 32 teams convene in different places around the country with a singular goal in mind: making the postseason field of 12 and win two or three games, depending on seeding, to make it to the biggest sporting event in America that should really be a national holiday. Today, two of those teams' dreams will be realized as they take the field in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But only one can come out on top.

This year's Super Bowl itself was mired in controversy months, if not years, ago, when the NFL decided to hold it in the metro New York area. Obviously, hosting in a northern city in general carries risks (but then again Dallas had a freak snowstorm three years ago, so location isn't everything) but holding it in an open air stadium up north caused a lot of bickering. Me, I liked the thought of playing a Super Bowl in the elements. Apparently though, the elements won't be much of a factor if at all. Say what you will about The Weather Channel, but their forecast is calling for a kickoff temperature in the mid-40s, dropping a bit as the game goes on, and a slight chance for some rain. Not what we usually see on Super Sunday, but a far cry from the doomsday some predicted.

I kept waiting for ESPN to run prop bet picks for the past two weeks, but it never materialized, so I'm bypassing that this year. Let's just stick to what's important: the game. Line for picking is taken from Vegas Insiders.

Game Notes: Carthage College @ North Central College (MBK: 2/1/14)

Final Score
Carthage 54, NCC 49

Game Summary
Filling in for the preoccupied Jim Godo, I was at the mic for the men's game as well. It was a very slow-starting game, with the Cardinals (10-10, 3-6) getting the first field goal two and a half minutes in, though the Redmen (14-6, 7-2) had picked up a free throw before that. The Cardinals had managed a couple decent leads for much of the first half, but the Redmen bounced right back and led by as many as seven. A late three by the Cardinals gave them a 28-27 lead to close out the first half. The Redmen came back out of the locker room strong though and retook the lead, building it up to as high as eight points with about ten minutes to go. The Cardinals came right back though and tied the game on a huge 3-point play with 3:17 left. Carthage took the lead back two possessions later and never looked back.

Key Stats

• NCC: 10-18 FT (55.6%). Must've been something in the water in Naperville tonight. The Cardinals aren't that great a free throw shooting team to begin with, especially in the cases of Landon Gamble (1-3 tonight, 62% on the season) and Jack Burchett (2-6 tonight, 50% on the season). These two big men are both very good at what they do, but their lack of free throw shooting is a major Achilles heel.
• Brandon Williams (NCC): 6-13 FG (1-4 3PT), 1-2 FT; 14 pts, 4 reb (3 ofr), 1 ast. Brandon had the best game probably for the Cardinals tonight. He looked really good early, hitting that go-ahead three right before the break. He had a few good looks at the basket all game long before fouling out near the end.
• Malcom Kelly (CAR): 5-9 FG (1-2 3PT), 5-7 FT; 16 pts, 7 reb (2 ofr), 1 stl. When I was preparing for this game, I had heard that Kelly was one of the best guys in the CCIW, and he showed it tonight. Even though he was a little shy of his average (just under 20 points a game), he found good shots when he needed them. The Cardinals had to keep a close eye on him at all times, and I thought they did a decent job, but the numbers are a testament to how good Kelly is.

CCIW Watch

• North Park (4-15, 1-7) @ Illinois Wesleyan (16-3, 6-2): POSTPONED.
• Elmhurst (12-7, 4-4) @ Millikin (7-12, 1-7): POSTPONED.
• Wheaton (14-6, 7-2) 76, @ Augustana (15-5, 5-4) 70

Final Thoughts
This is the first men's game I've gotten to see from beginning to end since the CCIW Championship Game in 2012, and we all know how that turned out. While I'm disappointed with how this game ended, it was nice to fill in for one of these again and watch this team, even if they're a year removed from glory.

Nostalgia aside... the officiating in this game was absolutely atrocious. Three Cardinals fouled out, including Gamble who on the play immediately before fouling out made a move where you could certainly argue for a foul. There was no consistency; the officials would call things at one end that they wouldn't at the other, or go from letting the guys play to suddenly whistling ticky-tack things away from the ball. It was absolutely horrible.

That said... this wasn't why the Cardinals lost. They struggled from the line, which didn't help, and they were outrebounded 37-27. The shots also stopped falling in the second half. The fact remains, this was a game the Cardinals probably should have won, but didn't. I keep wanting to come back to the refs with how bad they were tonight, but I can't pin this loss on them. It puts the Cardinals in a tough spot though, as it seems unlikely that they'll find their way back to the CCIW Tournament this year after 3 straight seasons as a top-two seed. Too many departures. Alas.

Game Notes: Carthage College @ North Central College (WBK: 2/1/14)

Final Score
Carthage 80, NCC 76

Game Summary
In a very back and forth game, neither team went on a major run. The Lady Reds (17-2, 8-0) drew first blood but couldn't breathe for any of the game, as the Cardinals (10-10, 3-6) stuck with them and took multiple one-possession leads. Carthage wouldn't go away and took a couple two-possession leads, but the Cardinals closed the half on a 7-2 run to go up four. They took their biggest lead of the game at seven just over a minute into the second frame. They led by a possession or two for a good ten minutes before the Lady Reds tied it at 65 with 8:12 left. Small leads were traded until less than a minute to go when the Cardinals tied it. But the Lady Reds got the go-ahead bucket with 17 seconds left and the Cardinals failed to answer at the other end. After all was said and done, the game was tied 13 separate times and saw 16 lead changes.

Key Stats

• NCC: 18-26 FT (69.2%). In a game where the largest lead was that 7-point North Central edge, hitting your freebies is a major factor. Percentage wise, this is around what the Cardinals have shot from the stripe for the season. But as the game wound down, they had chances. In the final three minutes, they had 6 free throws and only made three. Considering how the game ended... you tell me how big those free throws were.
• Maryssa Cladis (NCC): 4-9 FG (all 3PT), 2-2 FT; 14 pts, 3 reb (2 ofr), 3 ast, 1 stl. Looking at box scores, it was hard to pick one person to single out, but Maryssa had a good game again. She shot well from beyond the arc, but they all came in the first half. Hitting even one three later in the game might have changed how it ended.
• Stephanie Kuzmanic (CAR): 6-18 FG (0-3 3PT), 5-6 FT; 17 pts, 3 reb (1 ofr), 6 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. I could have sworn she shot way better than 33 percent. It seemed like later in the game, she could find her way into the lane and just chuck something up, yet see it somehow go in. She's fun to watch, hence why she's the two time defending CCIW Player of the Week. Except on the last possession when she got the ball down on the baseline, pushed off a Cardinal defender, and hit a 14-footer that turned out to be the game winner.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 12-43 (27.9%). This was a much more mortal night compared to recent games for the Cardinals. The starting five did nothing (a combined 2-22, with both makes by Kim Wilson). The shots were mostly decent looks, but there were a few very deep ones that I wonder about a bit. If they were closer to their season average, this is another one that turns into a Cardinal win.
• CAR Turnovers: 26. Despite Kuzmanic having a good game as seen above, she did turn it over seven times. That 26 was a high number, with a couple charges to the Cardinals' credit, and they also picked up a ten-second call for the second straight game. A majority of the turnovers were forced though, as the Cardinals had 16 steals. The leader: who else? Bobbi Johns paced the team with three, and four other Cardinals each had two.

CCIW Watch

• North Park (10-8, 3-4) @ Illinois Wesleyan (13-6, 7-1): POSTPONED.
• Elmhurst (11-8, 3-5) @ Millikin (8-11, 2-6): POSTPONED
• Wheaton (15-4, 6-3) 68, @ Augustana (5-15, 1-8) 63

Final Thoughts
I've seen some tough losses in my time working for North Central. The North Park game from last year is still the worst to me. This one is close though. I talked to Coach Roof after the game, and she said she was really disappointed in how this one ended. It's a game the Cardinals should have won on multiple fronts. If they hit more free throws toward the end, they probably win this game. Taking that away, the officiating was terrible for much of this game, but in particular on the last play where the officials missed a blatant pushoff by Kuzmanic on her game-winning basket. But even with that, the Cardinals had time to go down and answer with a basket of their own. They looked panicked on that rush though and turned it over. Coach Roof had a timeout left, and I'm not sure why she didn't call it there to draw up a play. Most of her timeouts are to get substitutions out, but this was a situation where she should have. In a game where just about everything could go wrong, it did go wrong. Too bad.

I don't think the Cardinals have much of a shot anymore to sneak in the back way to the conference tournament, though stranger things have happened. They only have a pair of home games left, including one on Wednesday against Millikin. That will be my last home game of the year as I have another commitment on Senior Night (February 15th). Hopefully though Wednesday can be one last shot at a back door into the tournament.

Game Notes: Augustana College @ North Central College (1/29/14)

Final Score
NCC 97, Augustana 85

Game Summary
It was a sluggish start both ways, as the Cardinals (10-9, 3-5) needed four minutes to score, but the Vikings (5-14,1-7) could only muster a couple baskets in that span. Then the Cardinals woke up and went on a 12-0 run before the Vikings called timeout to stem the tide. They did, and kept the game to no larger than a 5-point gap, with Augie even taking a lead a couple times, including a 6-0 run to close the half up 37-32. The Vikings had a strong opening minute of the second half before the snipers took over for the Cardinals and tied the game at 46. North Central then went on a little run and led by as many as 10 points, but the Vikings didn't go away and retied the game at 66 with 8:50 to play. The Cardinals answered with a 12-2 run to go up 10 again, but still the Vikings wouldn't go away, scoring the next 7 points to make it a one-possession game. A quick three followed by a layup off a steal put to bed the last gasp of resistance, and the Cardinals iced the game away from there.

Key Stats

• Maryssa Cladis (NCC): 4-9 FG (4-6 3PT); 12 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. I think Maryssa is one of the more underrated players on this team. She did a good job defensively; usually she's up among the leaders in steals. Today she was the deadliest of the three point shooters though, with all but one of her triples coming in the second half.
• Larynn Shumaker (NCC): 3-6 FG, 7-8 FT; 13 pts, 7 reb (2 ofr). I think most of the CCIW has been put on notice this season: when Larynn gets the ball in the post, more often than not, you're giving up at least a point on that possession. She didn't get a ton of shots up tonight, but took advantage of the looks she did have. She will also get to the line plenty of times per game, and took advantage of her trips there. She has the footwork and skill set to beat anyone in the post and get a good look at the bucket, and it's a great weapon to balance out the three-heavy attack.
• Anita Sterling (NCC): 3-5 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 11 pts, 2 reb, 1 blk. This isn't a very loud line for Anita, but I think she largely kept North Central in the game in the first half. She hit two of her triples in that stanza, and also drew a pair of charges to take away Augie chances. Her length and defensive presence down low is a good asset to this team, even if her numbers aren't that flashy.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 15-49 (30.6%). This was a bipolar kind of night for North Central. They were abysmal in the first half (5-27), and that, combined with poor free throw shooting, was why the Cardinals were trailing going to the locker room. Then the second half starts and, go figure, the Cardinals catch fire and go 10-22 the rest of the way. When this team is hot, they're hot. For the season, they're at 30.4 percent shooting, so they're improved from last year, but they've been pretty good of late. [Section was edited Thursday at 2:23pm to account for full season stats, which were unavailable at time of original posting.]
• AUG Turnovers: 30. North Central was winning the turnover battle most of the night, but it wasn't until later in the game that it really paid dividends. There were your usual batch of travels, plus the few charges, but we also got to see a ten-second call tonight! Coach Roof said before the season that she didn't expect that the addition of that rule for this season would be much of a factor, and honestly, it hasn't; I think there's only been two or three of them this year. The Cardinals were good pickpockets again though, with 14 steals paced by Bobbi Johns with three. Five Cardinals each had two more.

CCIW Watch

• @ Wheaton (5-3, 14-4) 57, Elmhurst (11-8, 3-5) 56
• Illinois Wesleyan (13-6, 7-1) 94, @ Millikin (8-11, 2-6) 78
• OFF: Carthage (16-2, 7-0), North Park (10-8, 3-4)

Final Thoughts
Very easily, the top storyline of this game could have been free throw shooting. The Cardinals shot 20-33 from the stripe tonight. They missed five in the first half and were down five at that point. Do the math. The second half was closer to their average, but still too low for comfort. They got away with it tonight, but the elite teams in the CCIW will make you pay if you miss your freebies.

Regardless, the Cardinals needed this win and got it to stay in the conversation for the CCIW Tournament. This was Game 1 of a 3-game home stand for the Cardinals, so I'll be back at Merner on Saturday, only Saturday it will be a double header as Carthage comes to visit. I'm filling in for the men's PA announcer in exchange for him working Senior Night for me, so if you want to come watch some entertaining basketball with me yelling in the background, come on by. Obviously Carthage has only lost twice this season and is ranked #10 in the nation. It will be a good test for the Cardinals, who despite losing pretty handily to Carthage up in Kenosha earlier this year, played them very tough in two of the three games last year, and this time the Cardinals have home court advantage.

Game Notes: Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (1/22/14)

Final Score
IWU 115, NCC 106

Game Summary
Playing without head coach Mia Smith, the Titans (12-5, 6-0) took early control with a good inside-out game, but they couldn't shake off a good early start from the Cardinals (9-8, 2-4), who took a six point lead four minutes into the game. The Titans roared back thought and led by as many as eight before the Cardinals shot their way back into it. Another Wesleyan surge was met by one from the Cardinals, and at halftime, North Central had forced a game with 5 ties and 10 lead changes, and only trailed 53-50. The Titans came out of the locker room focused in though, and outscored the Cardinals 24-11 in the first five minutes of the second half. Wesleyan's lead ballooned over 20 to as high as 24 before the Cardinals surged late to cut the final margin to single digits, even if it meant the Cardinals would lose for the first time this season despite topping 100 points.
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Key Stats

• IWU: 78 points in the paint, 40 points on the fast break. We had North Central's SID Clark Teuscher working the online stats for the game last night, and he was able to compile breakdowns of the types of baskets, which paints quite the picture of what happened last night. Especially in the second half, the Titans made the right passes in the halfcourt and were able to either break the press or force Cardinal turnovers for easy chances at the other end.
• Kelsey Cooling (NCC): 10-15 FG (7-9 3PT), 1-3 FT; 28 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl. Kelsey's 28 points? A career high. Her seven three's? A school record, breaking a six-way tie (page hasn't been updated). Every time she shot last night, you all but knew it was going in. You could argue she singlehandedly kept the Cardinals in the game in the first half. A sublime performance.
• IWU: 6 players with 10+ points, 3 players with 20+ points. The theme this year for Cardinal opponents has been balance. Colleen McMahon tied with Kelsey Cooling for the game leader with 28 points (on 13-17 shooting!). Shelby Jackson shot 10 of 19 and had 23 points, while Gabrielle Holness came off the bench to score 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including a pair of ridiculous reverse layups. Katy Seibring had 15 points, while Lexi Baltes and Kasey Reaber each had 12.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 17-38 (44.7%). Even with a loss, this is very encouraging. The Cardinals have started to catch fire in the past couple games. The first half was absolutely incredible, as they shot 11 of 22 from deep (Kelsey Cooling was 5-6 at this stage, by the way). Then in the second half, they regressed to 6-16. When you regress from 50 percent to 37.5 percent... you'll take that every day of the week. With this performance, the team is now over 30 percent from beyond the arc for the season to date.
• IWU Turnovers: 20. Obviously this is lower than you'd like, but IWU is a disciplined team. The officials let a lot go, with not many fouls called early, and only blatant travels were whistled. The Cardinals did notch 10 steals though, with Kelsey Cooling leading the team with three, and Bobbi Johns picked up a pair, taking her up to 45 on the season.

CCIW Watch

• @ Carthage 71 (15-2, 6-0), Elmhurst 33 (10-7, 2-4)
• @ Millikin 76 (7-10, 1-5), Augustana 66 (5-12, 1-5)
• @ North Park 73 (10-7, 3-3), Wheaton 68 (12-4, 3-3) (OT)

Final Thoughts

Photo taken by NCC Sports Information Department.

This game was kind of a double-edged sword. When Wesleyan called a timeout with 11:35 left in the first half, I turned to the official scorer and flat out told him that we could beat Wesleyan. The way this team played in the first half, we could have. Some of the Titans players definitely seemed frustrated at times. The official scorer expressed concern about the halftime break killing the rhythm and momentum, and it's certainly possible that happened. Even so, this team never quit despite the multiple easy baskets Wesleyan got. It's been almost seven years since the last time the Cardinals beat the Titans. The only time it's really been close since then was a 10-point loss in 2009, so to me, this shows that the gap is narrowing.

North Central travels to archrival Wheaton College on Saturday to close out the first run through the CCIW gauntlet. Right now, there are two obvious elite teams in Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage, who face off for temporary control of the conference on Saturday. Wheaton got upset by North Park last night too, which puts those two teams as the other teams that would play in the conference tournament if the season ended today. North Central and Elmhurst are just a game out of the tournament though, and if North Central can keep up its scoring binge, they could steal a spot or two, but that Wheaton game is going to be incredibly tough.

"I'M THE BEST SPORTS BLOGGER ON THE INTERNET!"

Hopefully those of you reading this are all reasonable people, and understand that post title is a), me trying to be relevant, b), me trying to be catchy, and c), obviously an exaggeration. I have neither the experience nor the qualifications to appoint myself the king of this mystical series of tubes that I use to share my opinions on the world of sports, but also to find funny pictures of what would happen if Darth Vader showed Grumpy Cat to Emperor Palpatine. But it raises the question that has been raised 233 million times in the last day or so. Is there a line in the sand regarding trash talking?