This year's tournament will be a little different; kind of a blend between the normal tournament and the one in 2013. That year, the Cardinals made it to Salem, but got to play twice there with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played there before going onto Atlanta, where all three divisions played for their respective national titles on the same weekend. We have a similar situation this year, with the Elite Eight and Final Four being played in Fort Wayne, Indiana (where the Final Four and title game were hosted last year) before again going on to Atlanta. But instead of one game a week for three weeks, we're keeping the usual first and second round pods, then staggering the eight third round games between Friday and Saturday next weekend.
With North Central's loss, they were waiting with bated breath for their tournament fate... and that may be a little dramatic, because most of the experts had the Cardinals fairly safely into the field of 64. As far as I can tell, they were in fact safely in. But I think just about everyone within the program was shocked at this announcement around noon today.
First and Second Round Site
North Central College | Naperville, Illinois
I know geography plays a pretty large role in Division III when it comes to building tournament brackets, which usually means that North Central can get shipped just about anywhere, but also means that the Cardinals can host a pretty geographically diverse bracket (heck, just look at last year). I think that, combined with chaos in the Central region this past week, gives the Cardinals hosting privileges for the second straight year in the first weekend.
With the final regional rankings out, I'm a little surprised Elmhurst didn't get to host; they finished second in the Central, one spot ahead of North Central. Normally, that would give the Jays hosting privileges, but instead it fell to the Cardinals. The only thing I can think of is that Elmhurst didn't submit a bid to host... in which case it would fall to North Central, who obviously did (and I knew they had well in advance, but after Friday, didn't think would happen.)
The Cardinals went 10-3 in their building this year, dropping their season opener against UW-Oshkosh (hold that thought) as well as the Battle of Chicago-Maple Avenue. They then followed that up by largely romping through CCIW play, losing only twice to conference opponents (both times on the road) en route to hosting the conference tournament this past weekend... where they promptly lost to Elmhurst in the second semifinal. But that's still a good record, and they'll need all the home court advantage they can muster against another tough first weekend pod.
Let's look at our upcoming guests.
17-11 (8-6), 3rd in MIAA; won MIAA Tournament
For the second straight year, the MIAA champion gets shipped to Naperville. The Bulldogs went just 6-5 against non-conference opposition and started 1-4 in the MIAA before going 7-2 in their last nine going into the conference tournament, taking rubber matches against Hope, Calvin, and Trine en route to the AQ. Adrian boasts a two-headed scoring monster of Jordan Harris (22.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 43/40/77) and Jeremy Kalonji (20.0, 6.5, 49/42/81), with support from Robert Warrick (8.3, 51/38/68) and Trey Helinski (8.1, 36/34/83). Maybe the most fun part about this first round matchup is the return of former Cardinal Aaron Tiknis, top assistant for the Bulldogs, to the school he helped lead to two Sweet Sixteens and the aforementioned Final Four.
19-8 (11-3), 2nd in WIAC; won WIAC Tournament
Oh good... these guys again. North Central opened their season with the defending national champions, dropping a ten point decision as the Titans jumped out ahead early and never looked back. The rest of the regular season saw a bit of adversity for Oshkosh; they finished 6-5 in nonconference play, but have been on a tear in the new year, having won seven straight, including a pair of home games in their conference tournament. Adam Fravert built off his phenomenal game in Naperville in November to lead the team in scoring (18.9, 8.7, 3.5, 45/34/82) with help from Jack Flynn (15.9, 6.4, 54/NA/69) and Will Mahoney (10.7, 45/43/81). This is a very experienced group, and given that they've won once in Naperville already, they have to be feeling pretty good that they can do so two more times.
19-8 (13-5), 1st in HCAC; won HCAC Tournament
Transy's numbers don't look all that imposing at a glance; they started 1-3 in the HCAC and had some struggles in non-conference play, including a pair of losses to a good Centre team. But they went on a heater starting in January, rattling off seven straight wins to get back into contention, and have in total won 12 of their last 13, including their two conference tournament games. They have a fairly balanced attack anchored by Gabe Schmitt (16.6, 46/46/91) and Michael Jefferson (15.4, 6.7, 5.9, 55/35/63), complemented by Lucas Gentry (11.8, 5.2, 47/37/75) and Zach Larimore (10.0, 4.3, 51/47/74). This should be a pretty good first round game.
Elmhurst, for their part, is off to Ohio to play in a pod at the College of Wooster, where they'll get Lycoming in the first round for a 3pm start. If the two DuPage bird teams meet in the tournament... it will be for all the wood, metal, baubles, and gewgaws in Atlanta.
See you Friday at Merner!
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