Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/28/17)

Final Score
NCC 69, Wheaton 55

Game Summary
I had a brief sense of déjà vu in this one as the Thunder (8-10, 4-5) opened the game on a 5-0 run, but the Cardinals (11-8, 5-5) responded much more quickly, answering with seven straight to make it a ball game. The teams traded advantages for much of the first half with five ties and 10 lead changes. The Thunder went up by as many as six with about two and a half minutes to go before the Cardinals narrowed the gap to 34-33 at the break. North Central tied the game two minutes into the second half, then grabbed the lead a possession later. Wheaton kept it close for a couple minutes, but the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run to break the game open at 53-40. The Thunder would close the gap to seven, but a 9-0 Cardinal run spanning just under two minutes put the game away.

Key Stats

• Aiden Chang (NCC): 5-11 FG (3-7 3PT), 2-2 FT; 15 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 2 ast. Chang had an excellent night, finishing the first half with eight points, including a 2-3 half from beyond the arc. He also had some key baskets in the second half, including a key putback to spark that 9-0 run in the second half (more on that below). He also capped off that run with a three that served as the dagger.
• Jaquan Phipps (NCC): 3-4 FG, 1-1 FT; 7 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 stl. JQ is usually a defensive stopper off the bench for Todd Raridon, and he served as such for most of Saturday's game, but he had some key offense for the Cardinals in the second half, picking Thunder point guard Luke Peters' pocket, driving to the basket and getting the old fashioned three point play during the aforementioned 10-0 run. He later capped it off with a layup on a second chance opportunity, and added a putback a minute and a half later to finish his scoring. Again, he's a defensive guy, so any offense he adds is a bonus, but his offense on Saturday was a key.
• Aston Francis (WHE): 6-16 FG (1-5 3PT); 13 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 2 ast. Francis is going to be in the conversation for First Team All-CCIW, and deservedly so; he's been the guy for the Thunder this season, and the Cardinals knew going in that they were going to have to stop him to beat Wheaton. Francis had a good first half, putting up 10 points on 5-10 shooting, but he was completely shut down in the second half, only hitting a three from about 28 feet away. Tommy Koth and Jagger Anderson were on him much of the night and did a great job keeping him in check.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• North Park 70 (15-4, 8-2), @ Elmhurst 62 (6-13, 2-8)
• @ Carthage 74 (13-6, 6-4), Augustana 70 (15-4, 8-2) (OT)
• Carroll 75 (11-8, 6-4), @ Millikin 66 (3-16, 1-9)
• BYE: Illinois Wesleyan (12-6, 4-5)

Final Thoughts
The Cardinals had the benefit of playing their first two games of the second half of the double round robin at home against lower tier CCIW opponents, but they've really taken advantage of it by beating up on a bad Millikin team on Wednesday and then on Saturday taking command early in the second half and imposing their will on the Thunder. The win puts the Cardinals firmly in fifth place in the CCIW, just a game out of a playoff spot.

We had a couple fun moments during that game that I wanted to bring up. At the end of the first half, Wheaton nearly stole all the momentum on a three quarter court heave that somehow went in. The only problem is that that somehow was the result of a deflection off the stanchion holding up the basket. I was already announcing the halftime score as the heave fell in because I could tell it had no chance... until it did. However, you can't score that way, and rewatching the shot shows it came after the buzzer, and after some discussion amongst the officials and my signalling no basket at the table, they discounted the shot and it remained a one point game going into the break.

Speaking of the officials, I don't think this was a particularly well officiated game, as both coaches were complaining for chunks of the game. Todd Raridon received a warning in the second half for coming out of the coaches' box, a rule that is often broken but rarely enforced. Later in the half, Wheaton coach Mike Schauer was protesting a call and demanded that the official give him an out of the box warning just so they would listen to him, and he was obliged.

The kicker was on Aiden Chang's aforementioned putback that sparked the clinching 9-0 run. There was a jump ball immediately before that shot, and the Cardinals had one second on the shot clock. The Cardinals inbounded high to Alex Sorenson, whose shot got enough of the rim to allow a shot clock reset and allow Chang to put it back up and in. The buzzer did sound, but the officials did not whistle the play dead for a shot clock violation. Schauer was furious, ripped off his jacket a la the immortal Grey Giovanine, and was screaming at the refs about how it was a shot clock violation. He would later come to the table to complain to us about how the ball did not hit the rim. I don't know why he was complaining to us; we did everything right at the table. The buzzer went off, but the refs didn't blow the whistle.

The Cardinals have a chance to move into a tie for one of the tournament spots as they welcome Carroll to Gregory Arena for the first time in 25 years on Wednesday. They need this one, as four of North Central's final five games will be away from the comforts of Merner Fieldhouse. They also need it because of Carroll's earlier win over the Cardinals combined with their tie for third place in the CCIW.

Game Notes: (WBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1-28-17)

Final Score
Wheaton 112, NCC 71

Game Summary
This is a game I'm going to want to repress from my memory. The Thunder (15-3, 8-1) overcame an immediate steal and missed three with a three of their own, and things just cascaded from there as the Thunder scored the game's first 22 points. It wasn't until just over six minutes in that the Cardinals (10-9, 4-6) finally got on the board with a free throw, but wouldn't get their first field goal until the final minute of the frame, and when the buzzer finally sounded and the dust cleared, the Thunder were up 33-5. The Cardinals got a little offense going early in the second quarter, but Wheaton still kept up the pressure against a Cardinal defense that fell back away from the press and led 57-19 at the break. Wheaton led by as many as 51 in the third quarter, but the Cardinals closed the frame on a 15-4 run to make it a 40 point game after three. The Thunder called off the dogs fairly early in the fourth, hit the century mark with 7:11 to play, and would lead by as many as 53 before the Cardinals came back to only lose by 41.

Key Stats

• Wheaton: 43-71 FG (60.6%). I had 'Nam-like flashbacks to this matchup from two years ago, except in that game the Cardinals actually showed up. But Wheaton shot incredibly well all game, and this wasn't just a layup line type of game. Wheaton was hitting jumpers all night, shot at a decent clip from beyond the arc, and many of these shots were relatively open. Kent Madsen knows how to beat The System, and continues to have the personnel in place to do so.
• Kelly Lawson (WHE): 9-14 FG (2-3 3PT), 7-7 FT; 27 pts, 3 reb (2 off), 4 ast, 1 stl. Lawson killed the Cardinals early and often in this one, boosting her scoring average by a point (and I thought it would be more). Most of her baskets were those aforementioned jumpers, and there's a degree of "You can't do anything about it" with them.
• Katie McDaniels (WHE): 6-6 FG, 8-11 FT; 20 pts, 9 reb (2 off), 7 ast, 5 stl. Anytime you can put up a quadruple-nickel, you have to do it. The preseason All-American showed why she earned those honors and is probably going to win CCIW Player of the Year this year, affecting the game at both ends. One of her layups in the early going, you can hear the exasperation in my voice announcing her name as the scoring player. It was that kind of night.

North Central System Watch

• Wheaton Turnovers: 20. This isn't a bad total considering the opponent, but when you turn it over 25 times yourself, you're gonna have a bad time. Natali Dimitrova picked up 3 steals and Lyndsay Brennan and Shannon Ryan each had two.
• NCC 3PT: 15-51 (29.4%). For an awful, awful game, this number is okay. Anita Sterling got hot later in the game, and ten players in all hit at least one three. The percentage brings their season total up a little bit, and it was nice to get to yell the names of freshmen like Veronica LaVia and Maddie McHugh, who don't get a ton of run time and got their first threes at home this season (at least as far as I can remember).
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Anita Sterling picked up another one. I've lost track of exactly how many she has this year, but hers on Saturday came in the second half with the outcome long since decided. I still got excited about it, and this is why I continue to argue that the charge must be kept as an official stat.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Elmhurst 85 (16-3, 8-2), North Park 71 (9-10, 2-8)
• @ Carthage 73 (10-8, 5-5), Augustana 62 (13-6, 6-4)
• @ Millikin 91 (9-10, 3-7), Carroll 59 (1-17, 1-9)
• BYE: Illinois Wesleyan (12-6, 7-2)

Final Thoughts
I caught up with Michelle Roof postgame and she was... not pleased. She said she had flashbacks to the Hope game from a few years ago, which I can't say aren't unfounded. The difference between then and now is that Hope was a much better team and that Cardinal team wasn't as good as this one. Either way, it's still a pretty apt comparison. It's embarrassing to get the doors blown off of you in your own gym, especially when you fall behind 22-0 in the first six minutes. I imagine she'll run them hard in practice this week.

Big picture wise, this loss puts the Cardinals into what is effectively must-win territory. They're in sixth place in the CCIW, two games out of a playoff spot and one behind Carthage for fifth place with the tiebreaker there in doubt. The next couple of weeks are relatively forgiving in terms of the schedule, but the season ends with a pair of tough road games. In the immediate future, the Cardinals have a bye on Wednesday before heading to the north side of Chicago to take on North Park on Saturday.

Game Notes: (MBK): Millikin University @ North Central College (1/25/17)

Final Score
NCC 63, Millikin 44

Game Summary
The outcome of this one was never really in doubt as the Cardinals (10-8, 4-5) started the game on an 11-0 run as the Big Blue (3-15, 1-8) missed their first nine shots. The Cardinals continued to press the advantage, building a 20 point lead with about six minutes to play in the first half, and it took just over 17 minutes before the Big Blue hit double figures as the Cardinals took a 32-12 lead into the locker room. Millikin made some second half adjustments and was able to keep the margin around that mark for a few minutes before making a mini run to narrow the gap to 14 points with 11 minutes left. But the Cardinals answered with a three to retake the momentum and pushed the lead as high as 28 with about three minutes left, at which point both teams emptied their benches, and Millikin's end of the bench guys were able to trim the deficit.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded Millikin 50-28. When I was going through the starting lineups, I noticed that Millikin's guards were a little undersized, though their forwards had decent height. But they were completely outmatched on the glass, as the Cardinals held a 31-11 edge at halftime. Everyone got in on the action for North Central, with only three players failing to notch at least one board.
• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 9-18 FG (0-2 3PT), 1-3 FT; 19 pts, 12 reb (4 off), 2 blk, 2 stl. I mentioned on Tuesday that Sorenson has been struggling a bit this year, but having a game to feast on an inferior opponent inside is a nice cure-all. Sorenson was easily able to get to the basket for some open looks, and he dominated the glass at both ends. It's a good stat booster, and hopefully a confidence booster going forward.
• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 2-8 FG (1-4 3PT); 5 pts, 14 reb (3 off), 2 ast. Cappelletti has gotten a lot of run since Connor Raridon's hand injury, and Todd Raridon rewarded his freshman with a starting role. Last night snapped a two game double-double streak, but it is the third straight game Cappelletti has notched double-digit rebounds. In a year that has been pretty disappointing in terms of team success, Cappelletti has been a bright spot for the Cardinals.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ North Park 96 (14-4, 7-2), Illinois Wesleyan 86 (12-6, 4-5)
• @ Augustana 87 (15-3, 8-1), Elmhurst 76 (6-12, 2-7)
• Carthage 69 (12-6, 5-4), @ Carroll 60 (10-8, 5-4),
• BYE: Wheaton (8-9, 4-4)
• (WBK): @ Carthage 106 (9-8, 4-5), NCC 95 (10-8, 4-5)

Final Thoughts
The Cardinals needed this one. After dropping five of their last six going back to the Stevens Point game, they needed something to try and get their confidence back and momentum going their way. Facing the last place team in the conference in your building is a good way to do that, and the Cardinals took advantage. They took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half, but stepped on it again when they needed to. They're still a game out of a tournament berth, but there's still plenty of time.

I think last night had to have been the quickest college basketball game I've ever worked. The officials who worked the game let the players play, which kind of frustrated Sorenson, who picked up two early fouls in kind of ticky tack fashion while he was also looking for some calls that he didn't get. But it allowed for a 35 minute first half as neither team reached the bonus. Both did in the second half, but just barely. All told, we were done by 8:30. It was fantastic.

The Cardinals will try to keep their momentum rolling on Saturday as they continue their three game home stand by welcoming Wheaton College to Gregory Arena. It's a crucial game for both teams as they fight for a tournament spot, and it's Wheaton. That's also not counting the preceding women's game where the Cardinals are also fighting for their tournament lives as well as an end to a long drought.

A Second Run Through the Gauntlet

This is a feature I've run almost annually since I started Confessions of a Sportscaster, but it's the first year with nine teams. I think that means we're getting this started a few days earlier than we have been. Of course, I'm also writing this a couple days after we got through the first CCIW runthrough.

CCIW play is a double round robin, so every team in the conference plays everyone else twice: once at home and once on the road. There were a few quirks this season where some teams have played five games at home or on the road in conference, but for the most part most teams have played four at home and four on the road. The rest of the way, the sites flip. So with that in mind, let's have a look at the CCIW standings and how North Central looks going into the second half.

2017 NFL Conference Championship Preview

We're down to the final four, and elite quarterbacks are the story in the NFL Playoffs.

It's conference championship weekend, and I'm trying to repress memories of what happened the last time my Packers made it this far. Fortunately, it's a different opponent and a different year, where anything can happen. On the other side, a pair of quarterbacks who have run this rodeo before return, as the two of them combined with the recently retired Peyton Manning have been to all but one of the last like 15 Super Bowls. For a league that claims to be all about parity, the AFC seems to run counter to that.

So without further ado, let's look at the two games coming up on Sunday.

Game Notes: (WBK) Carthage College @ North Central College (1/18/17)

Final Score
NCC 87, Carthage 82

Game Summary
This was another competitive game, but the Cardinals (10-6, 4-3) had early control in this one as they led 14-6 five and a half minutes in thanks to domination in the paint. But the Lady Reds (8-7, 3-4) stayed with it and took their first lead with two minutes to play at 18-17, and added a couple free throws before the end of the quarter. The second quarter saw a fair amount of back and forth, with the Lady Reds leading by as many as six early before the teams started swapping leads. Carthage started to get a little separation late in the frame though, and took a 45-37 lead into the break. The Cardinals opened the second half guns blazing, hitting a couple threes, but Carthage had an answer to push the lead to nine. North Central responded with a 7-2 mini run to pull back within two, and eventually tied the game and grabbed the lead at the free throw line. Carthage answered with a three, but the Cardinals hit back to back triples to grab a four point lead, then added a pair of free throws before a Carthage basket cut the lead back to 65-61 going into the final frame. The Lady Reds wasted no time tying the game in the fourth, then the teams started swapping leads again before Carthage tied the game again at 79. The Cardinals hit four straight free throws, the Lady Reds got a three to make it a one point game again, but that was it, as the Cardinals answered with a layup, and iced the game with a pair of free throws with five seconds left.

Key Stats

• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 4-10 FG (2-8 3PT), 6-8 FT; 16 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 2 ast, 6 blk, 2 stl. Jamie made her presence felt early, as she had three blocks in the first few minutes of the contest. It forced Carthage to start to back off a little bit, but she still made an impact at that end as well as on the glass. She was crucial during the second half on offense though, getting a couple layups to go as well as hitting a couple key threes, and she iced the game at the stripe.
• Jessica Dahle (NCC): 4-10 FG (4-9 3PT), 2-2 FT; 14 pts, 1 reb. Dahle had a career high last night, which was key with no one else really having their threes fall (see below). She's got a pretty bright future in The System given her shooting, and Michelle Roof raved about her after the game last night.
• Maddie Kaelber (CTG): 6-18 FG (4-14 3PT); 16 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl. The freshman would be a good fit in The System, considering she shot the most threes out of anybody. She looked pretty good, even though the shooting numbers don't really bear that out. She had plenty of open looks, and shot when she had them. Between her and Autumn Kalis, the Lady Reds shot their way back into the game after the early deficit and that kept them afloat.

North Central System Watch

• Carthage Turnovers: 24. This number is a little low for what you'd like against The System, but it worked well enough. The Lady Reds were able to break the press multiple times for easy layups (they had 22 fast break points), but as the game wore on they started to get a little sloppy. The Cardinals forced 14 steals, paced by four from Anita Sterling. while Siarra O'Neill, Jamie Cuny, and Paula Zerante each notched two. North Central also forced a ten second backcourt call in the third quarter.
• NCC 3PT: 9-49 (18.4%). Ye gods. It's been a struggle the last three times out for the Cardinals, as the box score shows a bunch of players with oh-fers. The most notable among the Cardinals last night were Caroline Heimerdinger (0-5), Michaela Reedy (0-4), Maya Walls (0-4), and Anita Sterling (0-4). The only redeeming part of last night was the third quarter, when the team heated up a little bit and shot 5-15 from beyond the arc, but they were ice cold in the fourth quarter, going 1-11. That they got away with it is something of a miracle.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 0. Paula Zerante should have gotten one, but was called for a block instead. I don't think she was in the circle, and she was set, so I think there was a bad call that cost her. Carthage did commit an illegal screen in the second half that was pretty obvious from where I was sitting. The Carthage fans were not pleased, but a number of people after the game commented that they enjoyed my call of it (other than threes, opposing offensive fouls are my favorite thing to announce, because they're the best defensive plays you can make. Also, the charge needs to be kept as an official stat.)

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Augustana 83 (13-3, 6-1), Illinois Wesleyan 73 (10-6, 5-2)
• Elmhurst 90 (13-3, 5-2), @ Carroll 49 (1-14, 1-6)
• Wheaton 85 (12-3, 6-1), @ North Park 42 (8-9, 1-7)
• BYE: Millikin (7-9, 1-6)
• (MBK): NCC 86 (9-7, 3-4), @ Wheaton 82 (7-9, 3-4) (2OT)

Final Thoughts
I posited over on D3Boards that last night's game was a critical one, and it was: both teams were tied for fifth in the CCIW and needed a win to at least go into the second half of CCIW play with four wins to have a shot at the tournament. For the Cardinals to pick up a win like this, on a night where the threes weren't falling, especially against what I understand might be the team's biggest conference rival (something about a fight several years ago when I was an undergrad... I missed that game.) The win puts the Cardinals in fifth place, just a game out of a CCIW Tournament spot.

The Cardinals are on the road for a pair now, traveling to Elmhurst on Saturday for a key game that would put the Cardinals in fourth with a win, and then Carthage gets a shot at revenge next Wednesday up in Kenosha, where North Central hasn't won since 2006. That will be a good tuneup with Wheaton coming to town a week from Saturday to decide the fate of the universe.

2017 NFL Divisional Preview

We're fast approaching another weekend, and the NFL playoffs are in full swing. Just eight teams remain in the quest for the Lombardi Trophy, and the four best teams from this past season are back in action this weekend.

All in all, last weekend was relatively uneventful unless you're one of the idiots who's blowing the whole Giants-On-The-Boat thing out of proportion. Them spending the off day with their families back home or whatever probably wouldn't have changed their defense getting torched by Aaron Rodgers in the final 35 minutes of the game.

So with that out of the way, let's take a look at the four games on tap this weekend.