Game Notes: (WBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College

Final Score
Wheaton 66, NCC 52

Game Summary
This one started okay as the Cardinals (6-9, 2-4) got some early baskets and ended up leading 16-15 after one quarter. But the Thunder (8-7, 3-3) scored the first ten points of the second quarter and held NCC off the board until after the media timeout, going into half up 32-23. The third quarter proved to be more of the same as the Cardinals turned the ball over numerous times and Wheaton pushed the lead to a dozen before the Cardinals made a little run, getting within four before going into the final frame down five. In the fourth, the Thunder made enough plays down the stretch to slowly be able to pull away.

Key Players

• Kate Oliver (WHE): 8-17 FG (3-6 3PT), 5-7 FT; 24 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk. Oliver had a phenomenal game offensively, scoring several key baskets all over the floor. North Central tried multiple defenders on her, and even in circumstances where they forced her to take a contested shot late in the possession, she'd end up making it. It was that kind of night.
• Annika Richardson (WHE): 9-14 FG (5-8 3PT); 23 pts, 11 reb (3 off), 2 blk, 1 stl. Richardson might have had a better night. Several of her threes were fairly open looks as the Cardinal defense did not do enough to contest a shot, and she took advantage. Her size led to a game-high in rebounds as well.
• Jocelyn Trotter (NCC): 4-12 FG (0-4 3PT); 8 pts, 7 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 5 stl. Trotter was a key part of the comeback effort late in the third and into the fourth quarter, especially with her defense. Unfortunately she couldn't get outside shots to fall, and couldn't do enough in the pullup game to compensate.

Key Stats

• NCC: 20 turnovers. The Cardinals committed nine turnovers in the first half, then proceeded to almost double that just in the opening first few minutes of the third quarter. It was a lot of careless passes; Wheaton committed ten steals in the game. But the Cardinals were also called for a handful of traveling violations, which didn't help matters either. While the Thunder only scored 14 points off those 20 turnovers, the fact that the Cardinals kept coughing it up was ultimately the problem.
• WHE: 26-63 FG (41.8%). In a vacuum, those numbers aren't bad. Having watched the game though, this was part of why the Cardinals stayed in the game. The Thunder shot just 5-18 in the opening quarter, and even while the Cardinals were turning the ball over a ton in the third, Wheaton shot just 5-14. But it was the even quarters where they made their mark, and an 8-21 day (38.1%) from beyond the arc was enough to propel them to victory.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ IWU 63 (16-0, 7-0), Carthage 42 (11-4, 3-3)
• @ AUG 58 (7-8, 3-3), MIL 48 (4-11, 3-3)
• @ ELM 74 (10-4, 2-4), NPU 59 (3-13, 0-7)
• BYE: CRL (10-5, 5-1)
• MBK: @ CAR 93 (11-4, 5-1), NCC 78 (10-6, 3-4)

Final Thoughts

This one hurt. After a game in Naperville last year where the Cardinals played a complete game (albeit against a less-than-full-strength Thunder team) and snapped the 31 game losing streak for a victory I'd waited 15 years for, they couldn't stretch the streak to two. It was not a well-played game, and while the Thunder didn't play their best either, their two best players were the two best players on the floor last night, and they made the plays when they needed to.

The loss puts the Cardinals in somewhat precarious position; they're 2-4 in CCIW play, with their two victories coming against Augustana and Elmhurst, but losses to Wheaton and Millikin put them effective a game and a half back of them as we near the halfway point. They'll hopefully get a chance to rebound at North Park on Saturday before closing out the first half of the round robin at home against Carthage next week.

Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/8/25)

Final Score
NCC 86, Wheaton 48

Game Summary
This was a nice bounceback by the Cardinals (10-4, 3-2), scoring the game's first eight points. But the Thunder (3-10, 0-4) were able to hit some shots from outside to keep the game close, maintaining a single digit deficit for the entire first half, though a late three gave the Cardinals a 36-27 lead going into the break. The Cardinals clearly made some good halftime adjustments, and opened the second half on a 19-0 run, that extended to 24-5. Wheaton got no closer than 23 the rest of the way, with NCC getting its biggest lead at the final margin.

Key Players

• Ethan Helwig (NCC): 5-11 FG (4-10 3PT), 3-3 FT; 17 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl. Helwig led the Cardinals in scoring, and also had several of the biggest baskets in this one. He hit the three at the end of the first half to answer a Wheaton triple and turn a six point game into a nine point game. He hit two more threes during that aforementioned 19-0 run, plus a pair of free throws that turned the game into a rout. He also played some solid defense to keep Wheaton under wraps.
• James Bullock, Jr. (NCC): 4-10 FG (1-2 3PT), 6-6 FT; 15 pts, 6 reb (1 off). Bullock has started to become a key guy for the Cardinals coming off the bench, and this was probably his best outing. His shooting numbers from the floor aren't great, but he hit a big three at one point and did well from the line. His six rebounds led the team as well.
• Kyle Neibch (WHE): 6-9 FG (all 3PT), 1-2 FT; 19 pts, 4 reb. Niebch was the main focus of Wheaton's offense, and was a big reason why the Thunder stayed in the game in the first half. Four of his six triples came in the opening 20 minutes. His four rebounds were also a team high.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded WHE 44-19. I could have gone with NCC's three point shooting (12-29, 41.4%), but this number just leapt off the page. Wheaton started a five guard lineup, and though they did get some forwards in at times, they just couldn't win the glass. To help matters more, the Cardinals won the offensive rebounding battle 13-0, which I think might be a first in games I've done. This resulted in a 16-0 advantage in second chance points for the Cardinals.
• WHE: 17 turnovers. This is a lot. Starting with a number of traveling violations early in the game especially, they also did a poor job taking care of the ball in total. Cardinal defenders recorded 10 steals, and the 17 giveaways led to 24 Cardinal points (for comparison, Wheaton forced nine turnovers and got just eight points off them).

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• IWU 80 (12-2, 4-1), @ NPU 69 (9-5, 4-1)
• CAR 75 (9-4, 3-1), @ ELM 71 (6-8, 2-3)
• MIL 67 (9-4, 3-1), @ AUG 62 (8-5, 1-3)
• Bye: CRL (4-9, 0-4)
• WBK: @ MIL 80 (3-10, 2-2), NCC 69 (6-7, 2-2)

Final Thoughts

This result was a little bizarre. Wheaton has struggled this season, sure, but in conference they'd had some decent results: a six point loss at Elmhurst, a three point loss at home to North Park, and a five point overtime loss at home to Illinois Wesleyan (albeit in a game they'd led by nine with about four minutes left). So to see this Thunder team come out and get their doors completely blown off was jarring (in a good way). It's a big win for a Cardinal team that needed one after a couple tough losses last week. It also gets the team to 3-2 in conference prior to absolutely running the gauntlet. Three contests remain in the first round of the double round robin, all on the road: at Illinois Wesleyan, at Carthage, and at North Park. Those are the top three teams in the league, by the way. Stealing one to close at .500 at the halfway mark would be great, and anything beyond that is gravy. Meanwhile, 3-5 would be a challenging hole to climb out of, but a doable one with those aforementioned teams all still due to come to Naperville.

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Epilogue

I was hoping to have multiple titles to celebrate this week, but alas, it was not meant to be.

We close out the 2024 contest as Adam only ended up taking six of our ten disputed games this week and five of seven from Joe, while I took two of three from Joe. With Adam leading the column coming in, that means for the second year in a row, he is our column champion.

The race at the top was tight going into Week 18 as well, and ultimately the difference there between staying tied and a two game final margin was Geoffrey riding the Steelers as home underdogs. He just barely hit that hero pick, and as a result Geoffrey takes home his second consecutive group championship in this contest.

You can view how we all ended up picking in relation to each other here. Group-wise, it was a pretty successful year. We hit on consensus picks at the best rate we ever have, and did a decent job on hero picks; we had as many as a group combined this year as Adam hit on in 2023 by himself. Six of the seven people in our group finished the year over .500, with Matthew being the only one below, and even then, he was only six games under. Not bad for a seven year old.

Congratulations once again to Adam on his column title, and to Geoffrey on his group title! We'll see you for the 2025 contest!

Records This Season
Lucas: 139-133 (7-9 last week)
Adam: 142-130 (9-7 last week)
Joe: 138-134 (6-10 last week)
Geoffrey: 151-121 (8-8 last week)
Jim: 149-123 (6-10 last week)
John: 140-132 (8-8 last week)
Matthew: 133-139 (7-9 last week)

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 18

And so it all comes down to this.

A few playoff spots are still up for grabs in the NFL, and as far as the coalition goes, there are a couple races up for grabs. Taking all of Week 17 into account (as we split it into two parts), Adam and I split our two disputed games, while Joe took five of seven from each of us. As a result he's come roaring back into a giant bunch in the middle of the pack.

That pack of us is really only fighting for the column title at this point, as we are well off the pace at the top. That title is a two-horse race between Geoffrey and Jim, who have caught fire as the season has gone along.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. I think the thing I'm most happy with, besides leading the hero win rate race even with a small sample size, is that barring a collapse we're looking at a phenomenal consensus win rate. Unless we go 0-5 this week, we'll finish above .500 for the fourth time in the last five seasons, and we're currently on track to finish with the best mark in that category since we started keeping track in 2016.

And so as we look ahead to the final round, Adam and I disagree on a whopping 10 games, Joe and I on just three, and the two of them on seven games out of 16. For the final time this season... let's get to it!

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 17 (Part 2)

Hope you all had a good holiday! The coalition made its early picks already, and now we return for the remainder of the Week 17 slate.

I'm not off to a great start, as I whiffed on both Christmas Day games as well as the Thursday contest; everyone else in the group managed to hit on at least one. This means Joe has pulled to within one game of me, while Adam now has a two game edge with the three of us all taking Seattle in the Thursday game. The top of the board remains the top of the board, and they appear to have pulled clear for the group title this season, with Geoffrey currently boasting a one game lead on Jim.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. No hero picks were made on Christmas.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the week, Adam and I disagree on just a single game, Joe and I on five, and the two of them on six of the remaining 13. Let's get to it!

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 17 (Part 1)

We're briefly working the holiday... at least long enough to cover the holiday as the coalition comes down to the end of the 2024 season!

The good news last week is I got myself back into the column contest and Adam regressed to the mean. Joe and I each took three of four from him while we split our four disputed games. That cuts Adam's lead to me down to just a single game with 32 to play.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Overall group wise, it's pretty much a two-man race at this point as Jim and Geoffrey are five games up on Adam at this point.

You'll notice the title says this is a Part 1. With games on Christmas day, and Christmas falling in the middle of the week, we're grabbing the early games on the schedule and will follow up later this week with the rest.

For Part 1, Adam and I disagree on one, Joe and I on two, and the two of them on one gamee out of the first three on the Week 17 docket. From all of us at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a Merry Christmas! Let's get to the picks.

Game Notes: (MBK) Concordia- Chicago @ North Central College (12/20/24)

Final Score
NCC 86, CUC 78

Game Summary
This one started great, as the Cardinals (9-2) opened the game with a 12-4 lead. However the Cougars (4-5) stayed tough with the Cardinals, going on a 15-3 run to take their first lead of the game. Despite trading baskets for a bit, the Cardinals ultimately took control, taking a 40-34 lead into the break. The Cougars started strong in the second half though, fighting back and taking a 50-49 lead about five minutes into the final stanza. But a quick 5-0 Cardinal run flipped the momentum, and a separate 15-0 Cardinal run that spanned five minutes effectively sealed the deal, with Concordia getting some garbage time points to make this game closer than it appeared.

Key Players

• Terrance Moncrief (NCC): 8-9 FG (2-2 3PT), 1-4 FT; 19 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 blk. I walked into Merner about 20 minutes before tipoff, Terrance saw me, and said something to the effect of "We need you." Though early on, T was enough, as he scored 10 of NCC's first 12 points in the opening five minutes. He did get himself into trouble late in the first half though, picking up his second foul with just over five minutes remaining, then compounding the issue with a technical foul in the immediate aftermath. It ended up not mattering, as Moncrief did not pick up another foul, and scored seven in the second half to help push the Cardinals to the victory.
• Tyler DiSilvio (NCC): 4-7 FG (1-3 3PT), 2-2 FT; 11 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl. While Alejandro Diaz (16 pts) was the second-leading scorer for the Cardinals and paced the team with five steals, DiSilvio's personal 5-0 run that was mentioned above ended up being the turning point in the game. DiSilvio hit a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals a 51-50 lead, and he followed that up with a three to push the lead to four, and the Cardinals essentially never looked back from there.
• Jacob Collicott (CUC) 13-22 FG (2-5 3PT), 2-3 FT; 30 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl. Throughout the game, Collicott struck me as the kind of guy you love if he's on your team and hate if he's on the opposing team, but he had a phenomenal floor game as well. He hit some deep shots, and had a lot of success getting to the basket as well. It's was a little surprising, but also not, to see him have the dominant scoring output that he did.

Key Stats

• NCC: 19-29 FT (65.3%). This is not going to get it done against the better teams. The Cardinals got to the line way more in this one (CUC was 5-7 for comparison), and were 10-12 in the first half, but went cold as the game went on, which is part of why the margin was closer than the game really was. This is something the Cardinals will need to work on.
• CUC: Outscored NCC in the paint 54-38. This is also something the Cardinals will need to work on, but it was also partially a function of the Cougars' full court pressure defense. It wreaked some havoc to the tune of 15 Cardinal turnovers (though NCC also forced 15 and outscored the Cougars off turnovers). But between those and some breakdowns in the half court set, the Cardinals do have a little work to do over the holiday.

Final Thoughts

I'm skipping the CCIW scoreboard since we're breaking from conference play for now. But this game wasn't necessarily the prettiest game I've ever seen. There was a lot of sloppy play, with guys getting easily stripped a ton (off the combined 30 turnovers, 20 were a result of steals). Ultimately though, a 30-8 Cardinal run sealed the deal, and the Cardinals beat a team they are better than and won a game they were supposed to.

This puts NCC at 9-2, with a 2-1 CCIW mark. The Cardinals have one more non-conference game against Anderson on 12/30, but are already 7-1 outside of the CCIW, which is phenomenal. So far, with the exception of losing at home to Millikin, they've beaten everyone they're supposed to, although it hasn't always looked pretty. I'm still not sure what the ceiling for this Cardinal team is, but they've never been out of a game and have found ways to win when they haven't been at their best. That'll be good for this group the rest of the way.

Prior to that Anderson game, the Cardinals will get a rare treat of a game at the D-1 level as they go to take on UW-Milwaukee on Sunday. I don't expect the Cardinals to win this game by any stretch of the imagination, but I think they'll at least compete against a team GM'd by former Cardinal Mike Winans.

Following the Anderson game, it'll be all CCIW competition from here on out, and I think this Cardinal team can compete, especially for a home conference tournament game. We'll see how it goes from here.