Good Teams Dance in March

Legendary Aurora Christian basketball coach Don Davidson had a saying, one that I first heard as a senior in high school when we won a regional for the first time in a while and made it to the sectional final: "Good teams play in March." We played in March that year, losing to the hosting Byron Tigers, future home of North Central point guard Mayson Whipple. Mayson got to play in March once at the collegiate level: as a freshman on the legendary 2015 team. The men have gotten to this level in each of the past two years. And now in 2018, the Cardinals return to The Dance.

Screenshot from NCAA.com

North Central had to wait it out this year after losing a CCIW Championship game for the first time, 77-74 at Augustana on Saturday. In a mock selection process on Hoopsville, North Central was one of the bubble teams that got in. Based on the committee's final set of regional rankings, they appeared to agree, and North Central is in. This is the tenth NCAA Tournament berth for the Cardinals, third in a row, and fifth in seven years.

The Cardinals are one of three CCIW teams to make it to The Dance, along with auto bid winner Augustana, who picked up their sixth CCIW Tournament championship over the weekend, and Illinois Wesleyan, who was a bubble team after dropping a pair of games to North Central over the weekend but had a strong enough resume to make it in. This makes eleven years running of the CCIW getting at least one extra bid, and the sixth time in seven years that the conference has gotten two at large berths.

So with all this in mind, let's take a trip up I-94 to see where North Central will be playing, and who will be joining them.

First and Second Round Site

Sexton Arena
St. John's University | Collegeville, MN

Sexton Arena has been in use since 1973, and has provided the Johnnies quite the home court advantage in its history, posting a 404-136 record in the building with only two years of losing records and none since 2004-05. They averaged 800 fans a night, with a maximum capacity north of 2600. It's a fitting scene for NCAA Tournament play.

So with the scene set, let's take a look at the other teams who will compete in Collegeville, starting with North Central's first round opponent.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers
19-8 (11-3), 2nd in WIAC; Won WIAC Tournament

There's a fair amount of recent history between the Pointers and the Cardinals; the teams completed a home-and-home series in the 2015-16 campaign with the Cardinals winning. North Central actually beat the Pointers the year before as well, but Stevens Point made the NCAA Tournament over North Central and went on to win the national title (that they have since vacated). In what will be the fifth meeting between these two teams, the Cardinals will take on a pretty young Pointer team that carries just two seniors on its roster. Stevens Point shoots 41.5 percent from beyond the arc as a team but also boasts a tough defense that allows just 63.8 points a game. The key for the Cardinals will be to contain the strong offensive backcourt of MJ Delmore (12.6 PPG, 47/44/89 shooting splits) and Nate Dodge (12.3 PPG, 46/47/83) while also keeping Canon O'Heron (10.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 57.5 percent shooting) away from the rim. Offensively, the question will be if Alex Sorenson can take care of business against 6'7" Brett Tauber (5.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG) and what kind of help defense they'll throw his way. You figure Aiden Chang will end up on either Delmore or Dodge, but Tommy Koth and Blaise Meredith will need to limit the damage as well. This one looks like it could be a low scoring defensive struggle, but both teams can also light it up from downtown and a barnburner could be in the cards as well. Either way, this will be a very tough opening round game.

Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
19-8 (13-3), 1st in UMAC; Won UMAC Tournament

The third visitor to Collegeville will be making the shortest trip, the drive from Mankato, after overcoming a 1-4 start to romp through the UMAC and win a pair of games to grab the conference's automatic bid. They scored a ton of points this season (84.6 per game) and boast a very balanced attack led by twins Bradley (11.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 44/44/83) and Brady Rose (13.6, 6.0, 48/41/87) (no relation as far as I know to the Illinois Wesleyan standout). They must also fear the floor generalship of Neil Eichten (12.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 41/39/76) as well as the inside-out game of Trenton Krueger (14.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 60/37/68). Jake Dale is also a force in the post (8.4, 4.4, 61% FG). This is a team that can make some noise in this pod even as what you'd technically consider the #4 seed.

St. John's University Johnnies
23-3 (19-1), 1st in MIAC; lost in MIAC semifinals

The Johnnies had to steal an at large bid after getting bounced in the MIAC playoffs, but they clearly earned a bid. St. Johns won 16 in a row at one point this season, but ended up getting bounced by the eventual tournament champion Augsburg in the semis, a team the Johnnies had previously beaten twice in the regular season. The Johnnies are a very balanced team that scores quite a few points (81.2) while playing stellar defense (67.0 points per game against). The team is led by 6'7" forward Tyler Weiss (15.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 65/50/80, with the "50" being a 1-2 clip) and could be a major problem for the Vikings in Round 1 and whoever comes out of the other game should the Johnnies win. There are also a pair of guards to worry about in David Stokman (13.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 41/41/86) and Jubie Alade (11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 46/37/88), as well as a two-way threat in Lucas Walford (8.7 PPG, 9.4 RPG, nearly 70% FG, 48 blocked shots). There's a reason this team is playing its first two rounds at home.

NCC has received an at-large bid to the @NCAADIII Men's Basketball Championship & will play UW-Stevens Point in the 1st round at Saint John's University (Minn.) - tournament begins Friday. More info to come! #WeAreNC pic.twitter.com/edDj3IfnY5

— NCC Cardinals (@NCC_Athletics) February 26, 2018

I'm sure the guys at WONC will send a crew up I-94 to Collegeville to call the game, while St. John's will also stream the games live through their website. I'm sure Todd Raridon is hard at work in his office now scouting the Pointers in preparation for Friday, with the game at posting time tentatively scheduled for 5:30 Central time, though an official announcement has yet to be made. Good luck to the Cardinals, and hopefully next time this week I'll be writing up a post on their second weekend pod!