Game Notes: (WBK) Augustana College @ North Central College (2/4/15)

Final Score
NCC 105, Augustana 82

Game Summary
After dropping in the rankings to #24 following the bad loss to Wheaton, the Cardinals (19-2, 8-2) struggled to hit shots out of the gate. The Vikings (7-14, 1-9) ended up opening the fray a minute and a half in. The teams traded leads for much of the half before North Central took command thanks to a ton of free throws, and carried a 50-37 lead into the break. The Cardinals started hitting shots in the second half and began pulling away, topping 100 with a few minutes left, but Augie made it closer than it was with some garbage time buckets.

Key Stats

• Augie: Called for 33 fouls to NCC's 26. This stat was too important to be left as just a footnote. I don't think it was an intentional imbalance, just that the Cardinals got to the basket a ton. Augie had 18 fouls in the first half to NCC's 12. This forced 69 free throws between the two teams (NCC was 29-40, Augie 15-29). The first half was so whistle-happy that the refs even asked how many they'd called when they came to the table at halftime.
• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 9-15 FG, 9-11 FT; 27 pts, 8 reb (5 off), 3 stl. The CCIW's second leading scorer had a great game. Tess got several open looks at layups and probably had four or five "and-1's" to lead all scorers while doing a nice job on the glass.
• Marissa Pezzopane (AUG): 13-23 FG, 1-2 FT; 27 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl. The conference's third leading scorer played well, getting plenty of open looks from The System, but she was limited by foul trouble. She had three in the first half and actually started the second half on the bench, playing only 22 minutes.

North Central System Watch

• Augie Turnovers: 26. This number seems a little low, but all the fouls didn't help. Even so, they had issues taking care of the ball as a whopping 18 of the turnovers came on Cardinal steals, with Godhardt and Maryssa Cladis each notching three to lead the way while five others had two. The Cardinals also drew a ten second call, something they haven't done a ton of this year.
• NCC 3PT: 10-49 (20.4%). Overall... not the best day, but it stemmed from an ice cold start. It took almost ten minutes before Cladis finally hit one. They finished 2-23 in the first half before regressing to the mean in the second half.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Anita Sterling was at it again, picking one up fairly early in the game. I'm not sure who leads the team, but she's up there.

Around the CCIW

• @ Illinois Wesleyan 83 (9-12, 3-7), Millikin 76 (13-8, 4-6),
• @ x-Wheaton 63 (19-2, 9-1), North Park 48 (12-9, 4-6)
• @ Elmhurst 64 (13-8, 6-4), Carthage 58 (12-9, 5-5)
• x- Team has clinched a berth in the CCIW Tournament

Final Thoughts

I'm sad; this is the second to last home game of the year for this team, barring Wheaton falling off a cliff in the last four games or the NCAA granting North Central the right to host the first and second rounds of the tournament. Getting to be involved with this team has been a great blessing, and this season is one I'll remember for a long time.

With this win and losses by Millikin and North Park, the Cardinals have all but locked up a bid to the CCIW Tournament, as kooky tiebreaker nonsense could wipe them out if they lose out. With either a win or a North Park loss (since the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker over Millikin), NCC is in for the second time in three years, and makes this season a resounding success no matter what happens.

The Cardinals face a tough stretch in the next couple weeks as, to quote Coach Roof before I left last night, "We have to do this on our own now!" Three straight road games await, beginning with Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday. Coach Roof said she wants to take at least two of those road games, something that's reasonable, but tough, given the nature of the Gauntlet.

Next week we'll have one final Wednesday home game as the men take on Carthage. Meanwhile, the first regional ranking should drop, and I'll analyze that as well. Good luck Cardinals on your trip to Bloomington on Saturday!

Thoughts From Super Sunday

Photo by Matt Slocum (AP)

Super Sunday delivered once again. We had a great game with some spectacular plays, and a phenomenal finish. Congratulations to the New England Patriots on their fourth quarter comeback and fourth Super Bowl title.

In the midst of all the chaos, I wanted to do a rundown of the best and worst of Super Sunday. I had the day off of work because of the North Central-Wheaton doubleheader on Saturday, though given the giant snowfall we had in Chicago, I wouldn't have made it in anyway. I got to prep for the game, watch it in its entirety, and got to spend the whole day with my wonderful wife and our two cats. So below, here are the best and worst moments from yesterday.

Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/31/15)

Final Score
NCC 63, Wheaton 62

Game Summary
In a very back-and-forth game, the Cardinals (15-5, 5-4) weren't able to establish much in the way of control, but the Thunder (9-11, 2-7) couldn't take advantage of it, as the teams tied six times and traded the lead seven other times in the first ten minutes. The Cardinals finally took over a little bit, and carried a 35-30 lead into the break despite guard Jayme Moten leaving late in the half with an injury. The Cardinals pushed the lead to 48-39, but couldn't make it double digits as Wheaton started to catch fire and took advantage of foul trouble on Charles Rosenberg. Wheaton retook the lead at 52-51 with about eight minutes to go, but the Cardinals wouldn't go away. A Thunder three during a 59-all tie gave them a three point lead, but they wouldn't score again, and the Cardinals took advantage of a layup, missed Wheaton free throws, and a wide open look with just 12 seconds left to steal a win on home court.

Key Stats

• Erwin Henry (NCC): 7-13 FG (1-1 3PT), 2-4 FT; 17 pts, 5 reb (3 off), 1 ast. Erwin was the hero last night. He was able to get to the basket multiple times, but more impressively, was able to hit some key jumpers at critical moments, none bigger than late. Following a missed front end of a Wheaton one-and-one, Henry found himself wide open under the basket on a great feed from Jack Burchett and put it home to win the game.
• NCC: Outscored Wheaton in the paint 34-10. When you consider that Wheaton ran a very good 2-3 zone, this is kind of amazing. This becomes even more amazing when you see that Burchett and Rosenberg only had eight points each. It's a credit to guys like Henry being able to penetrate and get to the basket.
• Joel Smith (WTN): 8-11 FG (3-5 3PT), 5-5 FT; 24 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk. Smith was nearly the hero for the Thunder. He was hitting just about everything again, including a go-ahead three with about two minutes left to make it 62-59. He was pumped after that, and rightfully so.

Around the CCIW

• @ Elmhurst 88 (16-4, 6-3), Millikin 72 (8-12, 3-6)
• @ North Park 76 (12-8, 3-6), Augustana 69 (17-3, 7-2)
• Illinois Wesleyan 77 (15-5, 7-2), @ Carthage 65 (7-12, 3-6)

Final Thoughts

Post by North Central College Athletics.

Wow. Despite the inclement weather today, lots of fans made the trip out to Merner last night, and they were rewarded with a fantastic game. I got to talk to assistant coach and former Cardinal player Aaron Tiknis after the game, and he was very happy, saying that "We needed that one." He's absolutely right. After dropping two in a row and four of their last five, this was a much needed win. The Augustana loss was also huge, as it narrows the gap at the top of the conference. North Central is back within two games, and with Carthage and Millikin both losing, the Cardinals are two games up on both for the fourth and final spot in the CCIW Tournament.

Things get incredibly difficult this next week for the Cardinals, however. They head to Rock Island to face Augustana on Wednesday before making the trip down to Bloomington to take on Illinois Wesleyan. If the Cardinals can split those games, they'll be in good shape for the stretch run.

Game Notes: (WBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/31/15)

Final Score
Wheaton 109, NCC 60

Game Summary
In the biggest women's game at Merner in 30 years, the Thunder (17-2, 7-1) came out rolling. The Cardinals (18-1, 7-1) couldn't get much going on offense, but managed to make it as close as a 15-9 deficit in the first half before Wheaton went on a 22-7 run to open up a 20 point lead. The Cardinals got some offense going, but trailed 62-31 at the break. The second half went much the same way, as the Cardinals weren't able to bridge the gap. Wheaton slowly called off the dogs as the game concluded.

Key Stats

• Wheaton: 27-46 FG (7-12 3PT) in the first half. That's... That's just incredible. There were plenty of layups to be had, but for several minutes, every jumper was falling for the Thunder. They regressed to the mean somewhat in the second half, but still. Hannah Considine finished with 26 points on 12-19 shooting, Moriah Reeves hit ten of her 13 shots (both layups and jumpers), and Chantal Meachem hit six of her nine threes for 18 points.
• Wheaton: Outrebounded NCC 69-36 (Led in offensive rebounds 25-14). That'll do it too. It was really bad at halftime; NCC was getting outrebounded 33-10, and Wheaton had 14 offensive boards. You won't win that way. Considine finished with 15 rebounds, including 9 on the offensive glass.
• Corrine Rowe (NCC): 5-11 FG (2-7 3PT); 12 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 3 ast. Rowe probably had the best night out of anyone in terms of getting to the basket and scoring, tying for the team lead with Tess Godhardt, who went 6-10 from the field.

North Central System Watch

• Wheaton Turnovers: 18. They actually tied NCC in this department, throwing a few passes away, but ultimately doing well against the press. The Cardinals only had five steals in the game, with nobody notching more than one.
• NCC 3PT: 6-44 (13.6%). The six makes are a season low, and makes it two games in a row of sub-20 percent shooting from out there. Rowe was the only one with multiple makes, and several players went 0-3 or 0-4 from outside.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 6. Bobbi Johns drew a pair early in the first half, Anita Sterling drew two in the second half, and Tess Godhardt and Therese Pettersson drew one apiece. Pettersson's (if memory serves) was an iffy one that we got away with, but it was the one area the Cardinals excelled in.

Around the CCIW

• @ Elmhurst 72 (12-8, 5-4), Millikin 49 (13-7, 4-5)
• @ North Park 66 (12-8, 4-5), Augustana 44 (7-13, 1-8)
• @ Carthage 68 (12-8, 5-4), Illinois Wesleyan 57 (8-12, 2-7)

Final Thoughts
Not gonna lie... this one hurt. I was talking to Lauren Hernandez before the game, and she said they were ready. I think they were, but Wheaton was ready as well. It makes the 14 point loss at Wheaton look more like an aberration than a sign of the tide of the CCIW turning. That said, Wheaton's game last night was about as perfectly played as possible. There really wasn't much the Cardinals could have done about it.

Big picture-wise, this loss likely means that Wheaton will end up hosting the CCIW Tournament on the 27th and 28th. The Thunder are up a game in the CCIW standings, and clinched the tiebreaker with the Cardinals, effectively making it a two-game lead. As for the national rankings, Wheaton will surely move up, while the Cardinals will probably drop a few spots for losing by this much.

I'm sure the Cardinals will be fine overall; it's just one game. They get the last place Augustana Vikings at Merner on Wednesday to try and right the ship.

Super Bowl XLIX Predictions and Prop Bets

We're almost here! The day that should be a national holiday is upon us, and with it, the biggest game of the year.

Slowly but surely, I've gotten over the Epic Collapse of 2015 that resulted in this matchup in Arizona. It's a matchup a lot of people predicted coming into the year, and was made all the easier by the fact that these two teams were the top seeds in their respective conferences.

So who will win on Sunday: Seattle or New England? And what about the more fun part of Super Bowl Sunday: the prop bets?

Given the significance of the day, I've recruited some help. After giving me a run for my money in the COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em this season, Adam is back to do prop bets with me. We will have our picks for a variety of bets following our Super Bowl predictions. All bets are taken from a list provided by Bovada. Let's get to it!

Game Notes: (MBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/28/15)

Final Score
Millikin 69, NCC 66

Game Summary
The Big Blue (8-11, 3-5) overcame an early 3-0 deficit to take early control of the game. The Cardinals (14-5, 4-4), after falling out of the D3hoops.com Top 25 this week, struggled to respond out of the gate but managed to keep it close, tying the game at 22 before Millikin went on another run, outscoring the Cardinals 15-6 to close out the half up 37-28. The Big Blue opened up their lead to as many as 14 coming out of the break, but the Cardinals rallied back, including a thunderous fast break dunk by Jack Burchett, to close the gap. A Rosenberg layup tied the game at 62, and a Burchett jumper tied it again at 64, but the Cardinals went four straight possessions failing to take advantage of a chance to grab the lead, and the Big Blue escaped Naperville with an upset win after a pair of three pointers in the final 20 seconds were off the mark.

Key Stats

• TJ Sims (MIL): 12-17 FG (1-2 3PT), 4-5 FT; 29 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 6 ast, 1 stl. Really, the best way to describe his game is, "Wow." Sims was hitting pretty much every shot he took last night. His jumper was fluid all game, and he hit some impossible shots. Pull up jumpers with a man in his face, a sideways-falling jumper... but most crucially, with time running down up one, he drove out of control to the basket, threw up a falling desperation layup... and bounced it home off the glass. It was that kind of night for him.
• Kevin Honn (NCC): 8-17 FG (1-4 3PT), 4-6 FT; 21 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 5 ast, 1 stl. Way back in November, I talked about how much of a key figure Honn would play for the Cardinals this year, but it really took until last night for him to show that off. He looked good on multiple drives to the basket, but struggled a bit on his jumpers (to think, had he hit one more three...). The rest of his numbers show how good of an overall game he had. Honn basically kept the Cardinals afloat in the first half.
• Charles Rosenberg (NCC): 5-9 FG (0-2 3PT), 9-12 FT; 19 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk. Rosenberg was one of the key figures in the second half rally, attacking the basket and getting to the line, where he was pretty effective. He had one of the Cardinals' two final tying looks on the last possession, but couldn't get it to go.

Around the CCIW

• @ Illinois Wesleyan 79 (14-5, 6-2), Wheaton 70 (9-10, 2-6) (OT)
• North Park 79 (11-8, 2-6), @ Carthage 75 (7-11, 3-5)
• Augustana 77 (17-2, 7-1), @ Elmhurst 73 (15-4, 5-3) (OT)

Final Thoughts

Photo from The Daily Herald

First, a non-game related note:I actually got to see my old mentor and legendary former Aurora Christian basketball coach Don Davidson at Merner last night. He was there to see Millikin head coach Matt Nadelhoffer, who is also an Aurora Christian graduate ('93), and for Davidson, it was a trip back to where he once played (he played college ball at Illinois Wesleyan, and Merner was in use back in his playing days). He said he loves the new digs. All in all, great to see him.

As for the game itself... this loss hurt. The Cardinals needed it to get back in the hunt for the CCIW Tournament. If the season ended today, they'd still make it, but now Millikin and Carthage are breathing right down their necks for the fourth and final spot, while Augie took care of business in overtime, and Wesleyan was able to escape with a home overtime win. Either way, losing four of five, including three straight home games and two in a row to the bottom teams in the conference are not a good omen.

The Cardinals stay home with a chance to right the ship on Saturday, where the early game will probably be bigger (though let's be honest, even the men's game will be huge) as Wheaton comes calling. I missed this matchup last year. I'm not missing it again. Be there, wear whatever color the Cardinal Crazies say you should wear, and be loud. Beat Wheaton.

Once More Unto the Breach

With the conclusion of last night's CCIW games, we've completed one run through the Gauntlet. Due to the double round robin format of regular season play, the eight teams that make up the Gauntlet must run it one more time, traveling to the schools they hosted and welcoming in the teams whose lairs they invaded earlier.

Today, I'm going to look back at my preseason predictions, and then I'm going to run through the standings of each conference and take a look at where NCC stands in each, plus take a look at the second half of conference play and how it bodes for the postseason.