Game Notes: (WBK) Carthage College @ North Central College (2/10/16)

Final Score
NCC 109, Carthage 87

Game Summary
After surrendering a basket on their first defensive possession, the Cardinals (12-11, 6-6) scored seven straight points to establish early control. The Lady Reds (9-14, 5-7) kept things close though thanks to a foul heavy quarter, but the Cardinals led 32-26 after one. The whistles subsided a lot in the second, and despite Carthage getting the first four points of the frame, the Cardinals pushed back ahead, leading by as many as 11 before taking a 51-44 lead into the break. The Lady Reds tried to keep pace, but a 12-0 Cardinal run extended the lead to 20, and the Cardinals kept that distance for the remainder of the contest.

Key Stats

• Mayson Whipple (NCC): 7-13 FG (3-5 3PT); 17 pts, 4 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl. I continue to be amazed at how Mayson has developed into the perfect point guard for The System. She's the conference leader in assists and added more above her average last night while leading the team in scoring. She's going to be a key part of this team the rest of the way and onward.
• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 4-7 FG (4-6 3PT); 12 pts, 8 reb, 1 stl, 5 blk. Ho hum, another solid night for the anchor of the defense. Jamie was also lethal from long range again and picked up right where she left off on Saturday in shot blocking. This gives her 79 for the season with two games to play.
• Morgan Vukovich (CAR): 10-20 FG, 4-4 FT; 24 pts, 7 reb (4 off), 3 ast. As usual the forwards are the ones who do the most offensive damage for Cardinal opponents, with Vukovich showing some nice touch on her midrange jumpers as well as her layups. She had the best night for the Lady Reds, though others like Bailey Gilbert (21 points on 7-14 shooting) were also very good.

North Central System Watch

• Carthage Turnovers: 30. The Lady Reds had an awful time against the Cardinal press, throwing multiple passes away while also getting called for ten second violations twice. The Cardinals also managed 16 steals, led by Caroline Heimerdinger's three.
• NCC 3PT: 18-49 (36.7%). I have no idea how the Cardinals aren't over 30 percent for the season, because they have consistently been over 30 percent in pretty much every conference home game. This one wasn't a huge tale of getting red hot for a short stretch, as the team shot 32.1 percent in the first half and 42.9 percent in the second half. They were on pretty much all game.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 2. Anita Sterling locks up the home title for the year with one in the first quarter and another in the final frame. Her first one was a gift, honestly. Carthage coach Tim Bernero was arguing that she "slid under" and/or wasn't set, but she was; problem was she fell before contact was initiated. It's part of the art though, and Anita is one of the best at it.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Illinois Wesleyan 79 (14-9, 9-3), Augustana 57 (10-13, 5-7)
• @ Elmhurst 75 (13-10, 7-5), North Park 65 (16-7, 7-5)
• @ Wheaton 73 (17-5, 9-3), Millikin 34 (7-16, 0-12)

Final Thoughts
First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to Carthage guard Morgan Harris. She got hurt in the second quarter, and early reports made it sound like it was pretty bad and probably her knee. I want to wish her a speedy recovery.

With Harris in the game, Carthage was able to keep it close even though she was struggling from the field. She had enough of an impact elsewhere that the team was doing well, and without her in the second half they didn't have the depth to keep up.

With the win, the Cardinals close their home schedule with an 8-4 record, which is very good. It means I'm doing my job well, and the team is feeding off the energy to perform well. The Cardinals also have a game up on the Lady Reds with two to play, and have effectively, thanks to some help, turned this into a three team race for the final two CCIW Tournament spots.

The Cardinals control their fate the rest of the way, as they have road dates with Elmhurst and North Park the next two Saturday's, and those are the two teams ahead of NCC in the conference. A win over Elmhurst on Saturday gives the Cardonals the head to head tiebreaker over the Blue Jays and would all but seal a third tournament berth in four years for Michelle Roof and company.

It's been an honor once again to be the voice of Cardinal basketball, and now my speaking role is complete for the year. I will continue to cover both teams though until their campaigns are complete.

North Central and the NCAA Regional Rankings: Week 1 Edition

We're getting down to the nitty gritty part of the season, and so for the second straight year I'm doing an additional portion of coverage beyond my normal game notes.

We're about two weeks away from the CCIW Tournament, which means we're only three weeks out from March Madness kicking off at the Division III level. It is at this stage where the NCAA releases a set of regional rankings on both the men's and women's sides to get an idea of who the top teams are and where they stand from a regional standpoint to help get a picture of the national tournament.

The NCAA does this today, and will release two more sets in the coming weeks before doing a fourth, secret ranking that will go into deciding the NCAA Tournament field. The public rankings, however, are still good for speculation about chances for teams. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at North Central's rankings.

Game Notes: (MBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/6/16)

Final Score
NCC 89, Illinois Wesleyan 69

Game Summary
On an emotional night full of festivities for the seniors, the Cardinals (16-6, 9-2) rode a wave of emotion to a good start, but the Titans (11-11, 5-6) were right with them in the opening minutes, even taking a couple leads including a 14-13 edge with 9:33 to play in the first half. Then the Cardinal defense clamped down while making plays on offense, using a 15-0 run as part of a 25-4 stretch to blow the doors off. The Titans would not go quietly into the night however, hitting an 80 foot heave at the halftime buzzer to go into the break down 40-25. The Cardinals continued their hot start into the second half, stretching the lead to 21 with some free throws and a couple threes. The Titans began to crawl their way back into the game though, using a 15-4 run to get back to within six points at 65-59, but the Cardinals answered with a 10-0 run of their own to effectively put the game out of reach.

Key Stats

• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 10-16 FG (1-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 23 pts, 11 reb (4 off), 3 ast, 1 blk. Sorenson seems to have his best games at Gregory Arena, and while his outside shot wasn't falling on Saturday, he had an excellent game inside on both ends of the floor to keep the Cardinals in control. It also amazes me how he's able to stay out of foul trouble at home, but on the road is a totally different story...
• Kevin Honn (NCC): 4-4 FG (1-1 3PT), 7-7 FT; 16 pts, 6 reb (2 off), 1 ast. I think a perfect night in your final game at Gregory Arena is the best way to go out. Honn was excellent off then bench once again and was very efficient, putting up that stat line in 18 minutes of action.
• Trevor Seibring (IWU): 6-15 FG (1-2 3PT), 2-4 FT; 15 pts, 7 reb (4 off). Seibring almost got the Titans back into the game, as he hit that heave at the first half buzzer to send the Titans into the locker room down 15 instead of 18. It changed the complexion of the game a little bit. Seibring added an and-one early in the second half to help jump start the Titan offense, and while he didn't do a ton of the heavy lifting in the comeback, he still had a very good game.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Elmhurst 70 (18-3, 9-2), Wheaton 62 (5-116, 1-10)
• @ Augustana 69 (21-1, 10-1), Carthage 47 (8-14, 2-9)
• Millikin 61 (8-14, 2-9), @ North Park 55 (14-8, 6-5)

Ron Rose Jacket Watch
As the home portion of the CCIW schedule draws to a close, I have one final Jacket Watch on tap. I didn't catch exactly when, but I looked over and saw that Ron Rose had his jacket off at the 12:04 mark of the first half. I think there was a call that prompted it, but I don't remember exactly.

Final Thoughts
After the bummer that was Wednesday's game, the Cardinals did a great job to rebound with an excellent win. This win was the 204th in the career of head coach Todd Raridon, which ties him with the legendary Bill Warden for most by a coach in program history. This win also clinched a berth in the CCIW Tournament for North Central, their second berth in a row and fifth in the last six seasons. Big picture though, the Cardinals are probably stuck facing Elmhurst in the semifinals though, barring a complete Augustana collapse that somehow pushes the CCIW Tournament back to Naperville.

North Central's home schedule is complete at a mark of 9-3, which is excellent especially when you consider that the three losses were all to ranked opponents (Chicago, an undefeated Benedictine, and Augustana). The Cardinals also have home wins against ranked opponents like Elmhurst and Mount Union. It bodes well for their tournament hopes, but the rest of their regular season schedule is by no means a cakewalk, especially since they now close out the year on the road. It's a terrible imbalance on the part of the CCIW scheduling (which I'm pretty sure is done by algorithm, but still), but one the Cardinals must endure. They will play at Carthage on Wednesday, the same day the NCAA should come out with their regional rankings, and I will try to have a piece on those rankings before the women's game that evening.

Game Notes: (WBK) Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College(2/6/16)

Final Score
NCC 87, Illinois Wesleyan 81

Game Summary
This was a game of quite a few runs, with the Titans (13-9, 8-3) using a 10-0 run relatively early in the opening quarter to take a 15-5 lead, but the Cardinals (11-11, 5-6) responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead. The Titans would grab a narrow lead back, however, and after spending much of the second quarter trading leads back and forth the Titans used a 9-0 run to open up a 36-29 lead, and would go into halftime up 38-33. The Cardinals came out of halftime on a mission though and scored 10 of the first 14 points in the third quarter to recapture the lead, if only momentarily. The teams again swapped leads, with the Titans taking a 61-59 lead into the final period. A Cardinal three less than a minute into the frame gave North Central a 62-61 lead though, and the Cardinals would not relinquish it, using an 11-3 run to help build a ten point lead and going up by as many as 13 late before hitting some free throws to seal the deal.

Key Stats

• Therese Pettersson (NCC): 6-10 FG (1-1 3PT), 4-4 FT; 17 pts, 4 reb (4 off), 1 ast, 2 stl. I think T has cemented herself as the starting "4" next year. She has developed a pretty good post game, getting multiple good looks at the rim, and she can shoot from outside when the need arises. With a solid post scorer, this team gets a little bit of balance.
• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 3-6 FG (1-3 3PT); 7 pts, 13 reb (3 off), 1 ast, 3 stl, 9 blk. I would have brought a dish to pass had I known that Jamie was throwing a block party. She's been a dominant force on defense in conference play, but Saturday night was another level. She controlled the glass fairly well as the game went on, but the nine blocks... holy crap. She got her last one early in the final quarter and I thought for sure she'd at least tie her old single game record, but it was not meant to be. Alas.
• Illinois Wesleyan: 3-14 3PT (21.4%), 16-26 FT (61.5%). In a tight game where you lose by that small a margin you can't help but look at these numbers. The Titans had their looks from deep thanks to some beautiful ball movement but their threes just didn't fall. Not helping their cause was a subpar night at the free throw line. Hitting even half of the ones they missed might have been enough to turn the tide.

North Central System Watch

• IWU Turnovers: 25. A little low by Cardinal standards, but still a solid performance. The Titans actually did a great job with their hands on defense, picking pockets a ton, but they gave up their fair share of giveaways too. Jamie Cuny led the way with three steals, while three other Cardinals had two apiece. 
• NCC 3PT: 16-43 (37.2%). I think this team has figured it out. They were closer to their season average in the first half, but got red hot in the second, hitting nine of their 17 attempts to top 50 percent for the frame. You're going to win a ton of games that way.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 3. I think this is a season high, or close to it. Anita Sterling drew a pair, one in each half, with her second half charge coming while she had four fouls, which is incredibly gutsy. Therese Pettersson also had one in the first half.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• Carthage 72 (9-13, 5-6), @ Augustana 65 (10-12, 5-6)
• @ North Park 49 (16-6, 7-4), Millikin 46 (7-15, 0-11)
• @ Wheaton 65 (16-5, 8-3), Elmhurst 43 (12-10, 6-5)

Final Thoughts
After almost four full seasons of System basketball, my dad was finally

Able to make it to a game on Saturday. He described it in one word: "frenetic." That's a good way to describe it.

I wasn't sure for a while that we'd steal this one. The officiating was absolutely atrocious for much of the game, with an 8-3 foul disparity in Wesleyan's favor after one quarter and several inconsistent calls that seemed to favor them. It also took over 31 minutes before the Cardinals even got a grip to the free throw line. Ultimately though, I think things evened out enough that it didn't impact the outcome.

This is a huge win for the team and gets them right back into the mix with three games to go while also proving just how deep the CCIW truly is. The Cardinalshave one final home game on Wednesday before closing the campaign at Elmhurst and at North Park.

Super Bowl 50 Predictions and Prop Bets

I dropped off a little bit for the NFL playoffs. I had meant to write something for Wild Card Weekend, and spaced it off by the time games started that Saturday. At that point, I didn't want to do write ups for the following rounds, but I definitely intended to do one for the Super Bowl. It is after all, for all intents and purposes, a national holiday.

That said, I can't just go and do this on my own. I need my NFL partner in crime back for this one. Adam Quinn, who was victorious in the 2015 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em by a sizable margin, is back to pick the Super Bowl with me.

Of course, because it's such a big game, we're also getting back into the fun part from last year: the prop bets. I ended up winning based solely on nailing the Gatorade bath color, but Adam was pretty on the money with his other bets, so it was a pretty close contest.

We are going to do this the same way we did it last year. Each bet that we lay will be putting 100 points on the line, with a chance to win however many are available from betting those 100 points. We will each pick the game based on the Vegas line and go through a number of props ranging from Super Bowl MVP, touchdown and yard-related bets, and some of the fun novelty ones.

Before we get into those, however, here are my and Adam's picks for the Super Bowl.

Game Notes: (MBK) Augustana College @ North Central College (2/3/16)

Final Score

Augustana 86, NCC 78

Game Summary
In the biggest game of the season with revenge on their minds, the Cardinals (15-6, 8-2) started okay out of the gate, getting the opening bucket six seconds in. The Vikings (20-1, 9-1) were able to bounce back quickly however and turn the game into a battle of attrition. The Cardinals took an 18-12 lead early and seemed to be in control before the Vikings stormed back. Augie would lead by as many as nine points late in the half, but a Cardinal surge got North Central back within three by halftime with a 37-34 score. The Cardinals struggled early in the frame as Augie rebuilt its lead to as big as 12 points. After a couple timeouts to stop the bleeding, the Cardinals went to work and used a 12-4 run to eventually cut Augie's lead to one at 62-61, but the senior Vikings stepped up their game and turned the contest into one of trading buckets and the Cardinals got no closer than within two in the final minutes, missing multiples looks from three in a tough loss.

Key Stats

• Hunter Hill (AUG): 9-13 FG (5-8 3PT), 2-3 FT; 25 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 1 stl. Hill is one of Augie's top two scorers and came into last night shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. All five of his threes came at huge moments of the game, including one to put Augie up nine in the first half. He came through most at the end after the Cardinals pulled within one. He passed the ball on the perimeter, then circled through the lane to the corner, the Cardinals lost track of him... and he buried a wide open three. Very next possession after a Cardinal basket, Hill passed off on the perimeter, circled through the lane to the opposite corner, again the Cardinals left him alone... and again he buried a wide open three. Absolutely inexcusable defense, but credit to Hill. Dude is a great shooter with a phenomenal sense for the moment.
• Ben Ryan (AUG): 9-15 FG (0-1 3PT), 3-4 FT; 21 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast. Ryan is Augie's best offensive post player, and he was a killer inside. Connor Raridon was on him for significant chunks of the game and Ryan was able to take advantage both in the post as well as in the midrange game. One of the fans who sits directly behind the scorers' table said it best post game: these were the two guys you had to stop, and you couldn't.
• Jagger Anderson (NCC): 8-15 FG (0-3 3PT), 3-8 FT; 19 pts, 4 reb (3 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. Jagger looked really good last night, even against a stout Viking defense. When he was able to get one on one or in transition, he was unguardable. He hit a couple of absolutely ridiculous layups and got to the line for a couple and-ones. However, his shooting line was representative of the night for the Cardinals.
• NCC: 5-28 3PT (17.9%), 7-15 FT (46.7%). I'm adding a fourth key stat for this game because those two percentages are crucial to what happened in the game. The Cardinals had a ton of open looks from three, but started the game 0-10 or so from outside and missed a ton at the end. Going into the game the Cardinals shot 36 percent from beyond the arc, and failed to reach even half of that. On an average night, a few of those open look misses fall, and we're talking about a different result. The free throw thug I've mentioned a couple times as this team's biggest weakness, and it definitely hurt last night. You can't miss your freebies against a team like Augie. You just can't.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Elmhurst 96 (18-3, 8-2), Carthage 70 (8-13, 2-8)
• North Park 74 (14-7, 6-4), @ Wheaton 61 (5-16, 1-9)
• Millikin 61 (7-14, 1-9), @ Illinois Wesleyan 59 (11-10, 5-5)

Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch
My good friend Geoffrey Clark insisted I do this segment for every opposing CCIW coach, but it is Augustana's coach who truly inspired its birth. By all accounts, Grey Giovanine is the nicest guy you could ever meet, but get him coaching a basketball game and he can get pretty hot. I've always noticed working Augie games that his jacket tends to come off very quickly. It was on for most of the first half in the meeting in Rock Island, but that was a fluky game. Last night, Giovanine's jacket came off at the 14:01 mark of the first half, much to the delight of not only me, but some of ye fans who sit directly behind me.

Final Thoughts

I said going into the game that there was no way in hell the Cardinals would start the game 1-26 from the field again. That game in Rock Island was a credit to just how good Augustana is, but the Cardinals missed a ton of shots early that they normally make in that game. A similar thing happened last night from beyond the arc. A couple more hits makes this a different ballgame.

At the end of the day though, this game was all about the mental side and execution. The Cardinal offense was, to be blunt, very bad in terms of ball movement and shot clock management, and the lapses on defense to leave Hunter Hill wide open on back to back possessions late after he's already burned you multiple times is indefensible. Even so, the Cardinals hung with this Augie team to the bitter end. That has to count for something.

Big picture-wise, this game had far-reaching implications. The win by North Park, losses by Carthage and Wheaton, and 0-9 start in conference by Millikin means that the latter three teams have all been eliminated from CCIW Tournament contention. That leaves five teams fighting for four spots, with Augustana just needing one more win to lock up a berth in the tournament. The Cardinals are in a tie for second, but currently hold the head to head tiebreaker over Elmhurst, and North Park is two games back in fourth place with a one game lead on Illinois Wesleyan for the final spot. Effectively for North Central though, the Cardinals are two games back of Augustana with three to play because the head to head tiebreaker rests firmly with the Vikings. This means that the Cardinals probably only have one home game left this season, and the CCIW Tournament will not be held at Gregory Arena, which also lessens the chances of North Central hosting the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

This makes the final four games for North Central all the more crucial. It begins on Saturday with Senior Night against Illinois Wesleyan, who I'm sure is coming to Merner with revenge on their minds. The Cardinals can clinch a berth in the CCIW Tournament with a win though, and the schedule doesn't get any easier after Saturday, with three straight road games to close it out, including a trip to Elmhurst. Hopefully the Cardinals have short memories and can bounce back on Saturday.

Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/30/16)

Final Score
NCC 71, Wheaton 67

Game Summary
This was a game worthy of this rivalry as the Cardinals (15-5, 8-1) were able to open up a 10-3 lead early in the game, and used some long range shooting to take a 19-9 edge and establish control. Then the long range shots started falling as the Thunder (5-15, 1-8) worked their way back into the game and took a 25-24 lead. The teams traded buckets for a while before the Thunder took a 34-30 lead. The Cardinals closed the first half with a 6-2 mini run to go into the locker room tied at 36. Wheaton came out strong and kept the game close before a 10-0 Cardinal run gave North Central a 50-42 lead. The Thunder managed to fight back again, and closed the deficit to two a couple times, including with three seconds left, but the Cardinals hit enough free down the stretch, including a pair with under a second left, to finish off the Thunder.

Key Stats

• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 8-16 FG (1-3 3PT), 2-2 FT; 19 pts, 11 reb (4 off), 2 ast, 4 blk. Ho hum, another Sorenson double-double. He didn't really have that "take over the game" moment, but he was definitely a factor throughout, helped by a lack of foul trouble. Wheaton's defense did a great job of keeping his impact down, but he still did more than enough to lead the Cardinals to victory.
• Jagger Anderson (NCC): 5-6 FG, 4-7 FT; 14 pts, 8 reb (1 off), 5 ast. With Connor Raridon (four points on 1-9 shooting) struggling a bit on offense, the Cardinals needed others to step up, and Jagger did so. He was able to drive against a tough defense, getting multiple reverse layups to fall and getting to the line with some regularity.
• Michael Winowiecki (WHE): 5-13 FG (4-7 3PT), 2-2 FT; 16 pts, 3 reb (3 off). Before the game, one of Wheaton's assistant coaches gave me the pronunciation of his name, but also told us that he probably wasn't going to get into the game unless it was a blowout. Go figure then that he not only played 23 minutes but was one of Wheaton's best players. He's also now on the Awesome Names to Announce All Stars, who still haven't suited up for play yet only because it's him and Yip Ypya from Millikin so far. More to come.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Elmhurst 85 (17-3, 7-2), Millikin 56 (6-13, 0-9)
• @ Augustana 95 (19-1, 8-1), North Park 92 (13-7, 5-4) (OT)
• Illinois Wesleyan 69 (11-9, 5-4), @ Carthage 60 (8-12, 2-7)

Mike Schauer Jacket Watch
Schauer is a very good coach, even with the Thunder having a down year. He's very passionate about what's going on, and was working the refs for much of the evening on Saturday (to be fair, Todd Raridon was too). Through it all though, Mike Schauer never took his jacket off. This is the second time this season a CCIW coach has failed to do so. Fortunately, that will be remedied on Wednesday... and quickly.

Final Thoughts
I hate to complain about this after a win, but the officiating Saturday night was not very good. They were very inconsistent with calls, a couple times letting Wheaton get away with murder while calling North Central for ticky tack stuff. I'm sure Wheaton had complaints aboutthings as well though, and there wasn't much of a foul disparity (19 for Wheaton, 15 for NCC). All in all though, it didn't impact the game.

It's another big win for the Cardinals, their fifth in a row after getting embarrassed out in Rock Island. They get a shot at revenge on Wednesday though, as Augustana comes to Merner Fieldhouse. Last time these two met in Naperville, Augie was ranked #1 in the country and escaped with a road victory. They may not be so lucky this time. A 33-2 start is incredibly unlikely again, especially at home, but the Cardinals need to be ready to play. This game is critical for the Cardinals, as a win eliminates the head to head tiebreaker and would give North Central sole possession of first place in the CCIW. It's also their second to last home game, with Saturday's date against Illinois Wesleyan serving as Senior Night and the home regular season finale before a three game road trip to close out the slate.