Game Notes: (WBK) Carthage College @ North Central College (1/21/15)

Final Score
NCC 101, Carthage 72

Game Summary
After moving up the rankings to 22nd in the country, the Cardinals (16-1, 5-1) opened the game with a three to take the early lead. The Lady Reds (11-6, 4-2) stayed with it, taking a lead of 6-5 before the Cardinals went on an 14-0 run to open up a big advantage. Carthage called time out to try and stem the tide, but the Cardinals would not be cooled off from outside, leading by as many as 34 before taking a 61-31 lead into the break. They had a sluggish start to the second half, but Carthage couldn't really take advantage, narrowing the gap to as small as 24 a couple times before North Central snapped out of it. The Cardinals led by as many as 34 in the second half before settling for that 29 point final margin. North Central broke the century mark with 21 seconds left, the tenth time this season that they've hit that threshold.

Key Stats

• Anita Sterling (NCC): 6-7 FG (5-5 3PT); 17 pts, 4 reb. This was probably Anita's best game as a Cardinal. Her previous career high for scoring was 16 points last season against Milwaukee School of Engineering. Anita has improved her outside shooting, but to go 5-5 is something pretty special. She only played ten minutes last night, leaving at one point in the second half after taking a charge and didn't return.
• Corrine Rowe (NCC): 4-9 FG (2-5 3PT), 2-5 FT; 12 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl. This is Corrine's first appearance among the "Key Stats: since coming to NCC, and part of me is surprised I haven't included her before. She's been a very good addition to the team as a good ball handler, distributor, and three point shooter. She only hit a couple threes last night, but she takes good shots, and her six dimes were second only to Bobbi Johns' eight.
• Alexis Hahn (CAR): 13-26 FG, 7-9 FT; 33 pts, 15 reb (4 off), 1 blk, 1 stl. Opposing forwards always have their best games against the Cardinals. Carthage played conservative against the press, preferring to get into a half court offense, but found Hahn early and often. She hit a bunch of layups, but was also able to hit a few mid range jumpers as well.

North Central System Watch

• Carthage Turnovers: 26. The officials spent most of the first half (and a good chunk of the second half as well) calling traveling by the book. Most of Carthage's turnovers came from these, though they did also commit a five second violation in the second half. 17 of the 26 came before the break, and the Cardinals managed nine steals on the game, led by Tess Godhardt's four.
• NCC 3PT: 22-52 (42.3%). This team has a tendency once in a while to get red hot from deep. That was the first half in a nutshell, when they hit 16 of their 31 attempts from beyond the arc (that's 51.6 percent, by the way). They regressed back to the mean in the second half, which is to be expected, but even so. Their red hot shooting pretty much knocked Carthage out of the game before it even started.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Anita Sterling drew the charge in the second half, and seemed like she took a good shot on it, as she left for the rest of the game. Coach Roof seemed encouraged that she would be all right, and she seemed to be okay after the game from what I could tell.

Around the CCIW

• @Illinois Wesleyan 84 (8-9, 2-4), Augustana 71 (7-10, 1-5)
• North Park 64 (10-7, 2-4), @Elmhurst 54 (9-8, 2-4)
• @Wheaton 78 (15-2, 5-1), Millikin 66 (12-5, 3-3)

Final Thoughts

Photo from NCC Sports Information Department

This was one of the games I circled on my calendar back in July, when the schedule first came out. Carthage has struggled in Naperville the last two years and came within a missed pushoff of getting beat last year. Needless to say, blowing these guys out was enjoyable, especially since I didn't expect this kind of offensive showing.

Quick officiating note: I wasn't nearly as mad as I've been in recent games, but out of a sense of fairness, I'll note it here. They didn't call many fouls in the game, with each team logging seven in the first half. There was a little more disparity in the second half favoring NCC, which Carthage coach Tim Bernero wasn't thrilled with, and I don't blame him, given the score.

The Cardinals close out their first round through the CCIW with a trip to North Park on Saturday at 5pm. Sunday, I'll take a look at the CCIW as a whole going into the second go-around.

Death to the BCS Quadrennial Tournament

With last week's championship game, I completed the fourth edition of the Death to the BCS Playoffs since I started Confessions of a Sportscaster. And since I'm bored and curious about different matchups as well as trying to get over maybe the worst loss I've ever endured, I'm starting another mini-tournament.

In reality, Ohio State won the first real championship at the highest level of college football last week. Before them, we had three paper champions: Florida State in 2013 and a pair of Alabama teams in 2011 and 2012. In Death to the BCS action, Alabama won championships in 2012 and 2014, while Oklahoma State took the 2011 title and Stanford won in 2013. There's overlap with one team, but overall, it begged a question to me: which team in the past four years is the best?

To decide this, I'm going back into the simulator, but I'm switching the format around. With eight teams (technically seven, but 2012 Alabama is playing twice), I'm going to do this as a Round Robin type tournament similar to how the Glenbard West Holiday Classic I worked in 2011 went. The paper champions and 2014 Ohio State will play a round robin amongst themselves, while the four Death to the BCS Champions play their own round robin. The winner of each pool will battle it out for the first Death to the BCS Quadrennial Championship.

First, quick set of rules. For the round robin portion, I'm only going to simulate each matchup once, just to make things quick and easy. The championship game, however, will be a best-of-three simulation, with the "clinching" game being the official result. If 2012 Alabama advances in both pools, the championship game will not be played. All games will be "played" at a neutral indoor site to minimize the impact of home field and weather (and make things easier so I don't have to find dates to look up weather for). The team with the best record in each pool of four teams will advance to the title game. In the event of a two-team tie, the head-to-head winner will advance. In the event of a three-team tie (three teams go 2-1 in a pool with a rock-paper-scissors effect), the team with the best point differential in games involving the tied teams will advance. All simulations are once again provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play.

It Wasn't Supposed to End Like This

First and foremost, I'm just going to let this tweet by one of my editors for UKEndzone speak for itself.

Wow, Packers/Seahawks expected win % pic.twitter.com/mpR6QaM8y3
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieUKEZ) January 18, 2015

Photo by Evan Siegle (P-G Media)

I've been a sports fan my whole life. I've been through some tough losses that bridge the emotional spectrum. To me, the 2003 NLCS remains the worst, partially because it's the one loss I wasn't directly involved in that made me cry. The 2012 game in Seattle (which I'll spare you a link to; it doesn't matter anymore) made me the angriest I've ever been after a loss (other than maybe the '99 playoff game against the 49ers where Jerry Rice fumbled and it wasn't called). The 2014 Blackhawks' run (and my dream of walking into my wedding reception with Kristen lifting an inflatable Stanley Cup) came to an abrupt end in overtime of Game 7 at home, leaving me feeling like I'd been punched in the stomach. The 2008 Cubs spent six months making me believe it was finally the year before flaming out to the Dodgers, and prompted me staying up until 3:30 in the morning watching Family Guy so I could feel anything again.

That last one is probably the closest to how I felt around 5:30 Sunday evening. And even then... it's not the same. It's worse.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Of course, coming into the day I didn't expect the game to be quite like that. I was on record saying Seattle would take advantage of a hobbled Rodgers and head to the Super Bowl. It was a great start and a pleasant surprise that the team I thought was best in the NFL was playing so poorly, even though Green Bay didn't take full advantage of it, only leading 16-0 at halftime before losing... like that. I haven't brought myself to watch any replays of the game since. It's too much.

Photo by Joe Nicholson (USA TODAY Sports)

This is the kind of loss that makes you look back at certain points of the game and wonder "What If". I've found myself replaying so many in my head. To a small degree, settling for two field goals that are effectively extra points off of Seattle turning it over. Most of the guessing comes from the end of the game though.

The fake field goal haunts me. I don't know how Green Bay didn't expect a fake in a situation up 16-0 in the third quarter. Being more prepared changes the tide of that game.

The 3rd and 19 conversion... man. You have eight back to cover five... and let a guy get open for 29 yards. While I think Seattle should have gotten that personal foul penalty tacked on after the sack because it was clearly an after-the-fact penalty, that doesn't excuse failing in that defensive situation.

I keep thinking back to Morgan Burnett's pick. I had no problem with him sliding at the time, but looking back, I wonder. He had at least ten extra yards, maybe more. Take them, see if you can add at least another field goal, and you win.

The onside kick... I can't totally fault Brandon Bostick for it. He should have had it if he was going for it, but what if he blocks? Do the Seahawks still get it? How can you let something like that happen? Even so, Bostick met with the media on Monday. He did the honorable thing, despite the death threats from Twitter idiots.

The two-point conversion... how can Ha Ha, who had had his best game as a pro up to that point, not go to knock the ball down or pick it off? Instead of going down to tie, Green Bay goes down the field to win, assuming Seattle's defense doesn't sit back and play soft.

And overall, I look at Mike McCarthy, who coached not to lose, instead of coaching to win. So many times he could have put the game away, instead of letting Seattle hang around... and hang around... and come back to win. A lot of people are calling for his head today. I don't know if I'd go that far; he's led Green Bay to the playoffs almost every year, made three trips to the NFC title game, and has a Super Bowl ring. But after this game, I would put him on the hot seat for next year. I hope he learns from this game. You can't coach not to lose. You have to coach to win.

Photo by Jeff Chiu (AP)

Kristen said to me after the loss that at least it was a good game, and that losing a close game is better than getting blown out. In a vacuum, that might be true, but when you factor in how dominant Green Bay had been for almost 55 minutes only to lose the way they did... it's worse. It sucks.

So instead of planning where to watch the big game in Glendale, the Packers have to have their final memory of the 2014 season be a game they let slip away. They have things to do in the offseason, but there's no reason they can't be back to this point next year. They just have to do what needs to be done when the time comes so that they can take the next step.

Game Notes: (MBK) Elmhurst College @ North Central College

Final Score
Elmhurst 66, NCC 57

Game Summary
It was another Heat Check game early for the Cardinals (13-3, 3-2) who jumped out to an early 12-5 lead. The Blue Jays (13-3, 3-2) battled back quickly to tie, and took command with free throws, carrying a 36-32 lead into the break. The Cardinals came back in the second to tie the game at 48 and took a couple one point leads, but the Blue Jays stayed with it. The closest the Cardinals would get was 60-57 late, but free throws sealed the deal for Elmhurst.

Key Stats

• North Central: Committed 28 fouls to Elmhurst's 16. Normally, issues with officiating get put in the final thoughts section. Last night... wasn't great. By and large, I can't dispute the Cardinals getting called for 28 fouls. Elmhurst only getting called for 16... something doesn't seem quite right. It was a fairly physical game, so there shouldn't be this kind of foul disparity, especially when it results in Elmhurst shooting 36 free throws to 18 for North Central. This wasn't the main reason for the loss, but it didn't help.
• Elmhurst: Out-rebounded NCC 48-33. This disparity was much worse at halftime; the Blue Jays had more offensive rebounds (12) than NCC had total rebounds (11), with Elmhurst totally 29 at the break. NCC out-rebounded them in the second half, but nowhere near enough to stem the tide.
• Jayme Moten (NCC): 8-15 FG (8-14 3PT), 1-2 FT; 25 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl. Jayme had another monster game from outside, scoring the Cardinals' first 12 points on threes before cooling off as the game went on. In a game where the inside presence wasn't there again (Jack Burchett and Charles Rosenberg combined for 13 points), he needed to step up.

Around the CCIW

• @Illinois Wesleyan 76 (12-4, 4-1), North Park 66 (6-10, 1-4)
• @Carthage 80 (7-8, 3-2), Millikin 76 (6-10, 1-4)
• @Augustana 78 (15-1, 5-0), Wheaton 74 (8-8, 1-4)

Final Thoughts
The officiating was bad for the second straight game, but I can't fully blame the loss on them. The Cardinals couldn't get anything going inside, got out-rebounded, and that probably to some degree explains the 2-1 free throw disparity. This loss probably puts the Cardinals in a very bad position regarding the Top 25, considering it's their second straight loss. This creates a bit of a log jam for the final two spots in the conference tournament, but there's a lot of time left before that happens.

The Cardinals hit the road for two straight to close out the first run through the Gauntlet, and they need a win against Carthage next week.

Game Notes: (WBK) Elmhurst College @ North Central College (1/17/15)

Final Score
NCC 82, Elmhurst 79

Game Summary
The Cardinals (15-1, 4-1) jumped out to an early lead behind some three point shooting, but Elmhurst (9-7, 2-3) battled back to tie the game at ten. The Cardinals quickly regained the lead, but went into a dry spell offensively. Fortunately for them, the Blue Jays were also struggling. They kept it close thanks to free throws, but the Cardinals took a 41-38 lead into halftime. North Central got a three on the opening possession of the second half, then went on a field goal drought for several minutes as the Blue Jays took a 58-47 lead. The Cardinals woke up from there and unleashed a barrage of threes to close the gap, then went inside to take the lead, and free throws sealed the deal.

Key Stats

• Bobbi Johns (NCC): 4-8 FG (2-3 3PT), 12-16 FT; 22 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 stl. Bobbi pretty much put the game away last night, hitting a couple threes (something she usually doesn't do a ton of) and attacking the basket relentlessly, getting to the line a ton of times. While she did turn it over five times, she more than made up for it with late game heroics, including a pair of free throws with ten seconds left to clinch the game.
• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 6-10 FG (0-1 3PT), 5-5 FT; 17 pts, 7 reb (6 off), 2 stl. The former Blue Jay was held in check in the first half, only attempting one field goal while scoring just four points before taking over inside in the second half. She continues to be a key for the Cardinals' success.
• Fiona McMahon (ELM): 15-22 FG, 4-10 FT; 34 pts, 11 reb (3 off), 4 ast, 1 blk. McMahon very nearly beat the Cardinals by herself, frequently getting open behind the Cardinal press for multiple easy layups. Were it not for her 40 percent night at the line, she very well may have.

North Central System Watch

• Elmhurst Turnovers: 33. The Blue Jays turned it over 19 times in the first half alone, owing to several travels and errant passes. The Cardinals forced a pair of five-second calls, then a ten second call late in the game, overturning what was originally a foul on Bobbi Johns. The Cardinals also managed 15 steals.
• NCC 3PT: 11-39 (28.2%). This is a lower number in terms of attempts for the Cardinals, but they made them count. Corrine Rowe and Jamie Cuny each hit four to do a ton of damage.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Therese Pettersson drew one early in the game to help set the defensive tone. There weren't any other calls that came super close in the game.

Around the CCIW

• Wheaton 65 (14-2, 4-1), @Augustana 62 (7-9, 1-4)
• Millikin 75 (11-4, 3-2), @Carthage 61 (11-5, 4-1)
• Illinois Wesleyan 89 (7-9, 1-4), @North Park 72 (9-7, 1-4)

Final Thoughts
Coach Roof told me after the game last night that "we needed this one." I agree; they're maintaining a perfect home record so far while moving into a three-way tie for first place in the CCIW with the win and Carthage finally dropping a conference game. I told her too that this was the type of game that bodes well for the rest of the year. This team has overcome double digit deficits multiple times to come back and win the game, including in quite a few home games.

The Cardinals get a chance to stay in first place as they welcome Carthage to Merner on Wednesday. This one is somewhat personal for me, considering how the Cardinals got robbed last year.

NFL Championship Round Preview

It was a good weekend overall in the NFL playoffs. Despite some controversy with the officiating (some completely unfounded, some other also unfounded as any ire should be directed at the rules committee), it was a great weekend. We also saw tradition continue, as one home favorite lost outright. It wasn't one I figured would happen, which is bad for my record, but good for my fandom. I got three of the four winners right, but finished at .500 for the week against the spread.

Speaking of the spread, that information is being taken from Vegas Insider as close to posting time as possible. Let's preview the games.

Game Notes: (MBK) Augustana College @ North Central College (1/14/15)

Final Score
Augustana 75, NCC 64

Game Summary
The #9 Cardinals (13-2, 3-1) came out tough but got into early foul trouble. The top ranked Vikings (14-1, 4-0) played them close despite cold Cardinal shooting. Tied at 27, Augie made a run ignited by a Jawan Straughter dunk plus a foul and led by as many as ten before a late three made it 41-34 at the break. After scoring on their first possession to make it 41-36, the Vikings answered with a run and North Central completely lost their composure, with Charles Rosenberg picking up a technical after a jump ball, and Augie scored 14 unanswered to go up 55-36. Todd Raridon called for time, and the Cardinals fought back into the game, going on an 11-0 run of their own to make it interesting. The Cardinals would close the gap to five at 57-52, but Augie got an unconventional three point play and were able to clamp down and hang on for the win.

Key Stats

• Jack Burchett/Charles Rosenberg (NCC): 3-13 FG (0-1 3PT), 3-4 FT; 9 pts, 10 reb (2 off), 3 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl. The Cardinals largely need these guys to play well to have a chance at winning, and they didn't have it last night. Burchett went scoreless on five shots but led the team with six rebounds. Credit Augie's defense for clamping down and double teaming both guys when they tried to make a move in the post, but it was clearly an off night for both.
• Danielius Jurgutis (AUG): 6-8 FG (1-2 3PT), 5-5 FT; 18 pts, 2 reb (1 off). It was hard to pick one outstanding Viking. I was planning on going with Jawan Straughter, but he only had six points and five boards (but those six points were probably the biggest of the game). Jurgutis led the team in scoring, splitting his points evenly between halves and playing good defense.
• Jayme Moten (NCC): 8-15 FG (5-10 3PT), 1-2 FT; 22 pts, 5 reb (2 off), 4 ast. Jayme had a monster game, hitting that key triple before halftime to make it a single digit deficit, then all but singlehandedly answered the Augie run, catching fire from outside the arc and picking up a couple lay ups to boot. If the inside game ever struggles, we know he can take over if he has to.

Around the CCIW

• Carthage 70 (6-8, 2-2), @Elmhurst 68 (12-3, 2-2)
• @Wheaton 88 (8-7, 1-3), North Park 82 (9-6, 0-4)
• @Illinois Wesleyan 93 (11-4, 3-1), Millikin 60 (6-9, 1-3)

Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch
This is a special one-time (per season) feature with this game. If you've followed CCIW basketball for any decent stretch of time, you'll know that one of the most entertaining figures to watch is Augustana head coach Grey Giovanine. From what I understand, off the court he's the nicest guy ever, but on the court he is a maniac. The most fun thing to do is see when his suit jacket comes off. The official scorer and I figured it would be off by about two minutes into the game, but he seemed mellow at first. While he did yell more as the game went on, the jacket remained on to the point that I even texted Geoffrey Clark to tell him the shocking development. Eventually, we lucked out: the jacket came off with 4:52 left in the first half following one of the Cardinals drawing a charge.

Final Thoughts
I seem to harp on this sort of thing way more than I should with these games... but the officiating last night was absolutely horrendous. Probably more horrendous than it usually is when I complain. I probably could have made an entire blog post just on that. Multiple over the back fouls missed, a couple traveling calls missed during that Augie run in the second half, Cardinals getting called for fouls when Augie players are arm-barring them, an obvious backcourt violation call that was inexplicably overturned... you get the idea. It was awful. All of that said... that isn't why the Cardinals lost. They lost because their frontcourt couldn't score and got into foul trouble. They lost because they lost their composure during the Augie run. They lost because they got into early foul trouble and the Vikings made them pay at the free throw line. It's a tough loss, but that's why Augie is number one in the country.

It's a home double header on Saturday. The NCC women bounced back from their loss at Wheaton last weekend with a 95-82 win at Augustana last night, and face off against an Elmhurst team that is pretty good in both men's and women's basketball. The Cardinals will look to improve to 4-1 in conference and try to maintain their ranking in front of a raucous home crowd.