MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, I wasn't thinking about Cody on the perimeter.  I was thinking about how successful he was when Bosko dropped him down into the paint to double any big man who needed doubling.  That might have been his greatest, unmeasured value his last year or two.  He was a significant part of Carthage's interior defense that is missing this year.  IMHO.

That's true, but: a) you can only double down on one big man at a time, and, as Bob pointed out, Carthage has made multiple big men look good in their last two games; and b) doubling down is a gamble, especially against a team that passes the ball well, and if you're forced to gamble because your interior defenders are so woefully inadequate one-on-one, then you're already behind the eight ball as a coach.

[Gregory Sager]

The minutes distribution was very strange, and very troubling, for NPU tonight. I understand Paul Brenegan's need to shuttle big men in and out of the game because of foul trouble, but PG D.A. Robinson, who has been one of North Park's most productive players at both ends of the floor lately, only played five minutes the entire game. You could argue that Brenegan was trying to keep as many good perimeter shooters in the game at all times as he could, but that doesn't explain why Clayton Cahill left the floor five minutes into the second half and never came back. I sure hope that neither Robinson nor Cahill is injured.

Incidentally, one player who did not suit up tonight that I thought NPU would really need, Jorge Gonzalez, wasn't really missed that much. His strongest asset is his rebounding, and the Park actually did very well in that department, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, his particular specialty is offensive rebounding, and NPU won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-10.

[petemcb]

Greg, I wasn't thinking about Cody on the perimeter.  I was thinking about how successful he was when Bosko dropped him down into the paint to double any big man who needed doubling.  That might have been his greatest, unmeasured value his last year or two.  He was a significant part of Carthage's interior defense that is missing this year.  IMHO.

That's true, but: a) you can only double down on one big man at a time, and, as Bob pointed out, Carthage has made multiple big men look good in their last two games; and b) doubling down is a gamble, especially against a team that passes the ball well, and if you're forced to gamble because your interior defenders are so woefully inadequate one-on-one, then you're already behind the eight ball as a coach.

I think a team like Wheaton is probably a team where that might have been the preferred gamble.  I'd take my chances with Schultze and certainly Haynes at this point of his career, if it gave me a big plus Hilton making life more difficult for McCrary.  Particularly this year where, although I haven't looked up the stats, Wheaton, other than Jahns, doesn't appear to be an established killer team from the perimeter.  I'd take my chances with most of their other perimeter players being open if it helped me deny McCrary the type of performance he had tonight.  IWU might have too many offensive weapons for this to be a good option but I would have taken my chances against Wheaton with it.

[petemcb]

The minutes distribution was very strange, and very troubling, for NPU tonight. I understand Paul Brenegan's need to shuttle big men in and out of the game because of foul trouble, but PG D.A. Robinson, who has been one of North Park's most productive players at both ends of the floor lately, only played five minutes the entire game. You could argue that Brenegan was trying to keep as many good perimeter shooters in the game at all times as he could, but that doesn't explain why Clayton Cahill left the floor five minutes into the second half and never came back. I sure hope that neither Robinson nor Cahill is injured.

Incidentally, one player who did not suit up tonight that I thought NPU would really need, Jorge Gonzalez, wasn't really missed that much. His strongest asset is his rebounding, and the Park actually did very well in that department, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, his particular specialty is offensive rebounding, and NPU won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-10.

Any word on whether Gonzalez was on the bus/bench at all?  That would change what had become a good depth situation for NPU.

[Gregory Sager]

Give credit to Augustana for overcoming a huge disadvantage, as the officials listed on the box score for the game were Gene Rayford, Paul Brenegan, and Fritz Larsen. Pete and I had a good laugh about that in the In-Game Updates room, as the live stats had Brenegan officiating the game as well. To make matters worse, the live stats and final box score for the NPU @ AC women's game earlier tonight had NPU women's head coach Amanda Reese as one of the three officials. Amanda apparently does a better job than Paul of simultaneously filling the dual roles of head coach and referee, as the North Park women won their game over Augie.

The minutes distribution was very strange, and very troubling, for NPU tonight. I understand Paul Brenegan's need to shuttle big men in and out of the game because of foul trouble, but PG D.A. Robinson, who has been one of North Park's most productive players at both ends of the floor lately, only played five minutes the entire game. You could argue that Brenegan was trying to keep as many good perimeter shooters in the game at all times as he could, but that doesn't explain why Clayton Cahill left the floor five minutes into the second half and never came back. I sure hope that neither Robinson nor Cahill is injured.

Incidentally, one player who did not suit up tonight that I thought NPU would really need, Jorge Gonzalez, wasn't really missed that much. His strongest asset is his rebounding, and the Park actually did very well in that department, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, his particular specialty is offensive rebounding, and NPU won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-10.

Any word on whether Gonzalez was on the bus/bench at all?  That would change what had become a good depth situation for NPU.

I haven't heard anything. But he was not on the bench for the game at Millikin last Saturday, and he was not in the stands with most of his fellow varsity players to watch the NPU junior varsity game against Truman on Monday in the crackerbox.

[dansand]

Give credit to Augustana for overcoming a huge disadvantage, as the officials listed on the box score for the game were Gene Rayford, Paul Brenegan, and Fritz Larsen. Pete and I had a good laugh about that in the In-Game Updates room, as the live stats had Brenegan officiating the game as well. To make matters worse, the live stats and final box score for the NPU @ AC women's game earlier tonight had NPU women's head coach Amanda Reese as one of the three officials. Amanda apparently does a better job than Paul of simultaneously filling the dual roles of head coach and referee, as the North Park women won their game over Augie.

The minutes distribution was very strange, and very troubling, for NPU tonight. I understand Paul Brenegan's need to shuttle big men in and out of the game because of foul trouble, but PG D.A. Robinson, who has been one of North Park's most productive players at both ends of the floor lately, only played five minutes the entire game. You could argue that Brenegan was trying to keep as many good perimeter shooters in the game at all times as he could, but that doesn't explain why Clayton Cahill left the floor five minutes into the second half and never came back. I sure hope that neither Robinson nor Cahill is injured.

Incidentally, one player who did not suit up tonight that I thought NPU would really need, Jorge Gonzalez, wasn't really missed that much. His strongest asset is his rebounding, and the Park actually did very well in that department, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, his particular specialty is offensive rebounding, and NPU won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-10.

Any word on whether Gonzalez was on the bus/bench at all?  That would change what had become a good depth situation for NPU.

I haven't heard anything. But he was not on the bench for the game at Millikin last Saturday, and he was not in the stands with most of his fellow varsity players to watch the NPU junior varsity game against Truman on Monday in the crackerbox.

Coach Brenegan told Dave Wrath after the game, "If I knew I had a whistle tonight, we wouldn't have fouled 27 times."

No sign of Jorge Gonzalez tonight, which surprised me. Didn't realize he hadn't played in the previous game either.

I was very impressed with Mike Gabriel. He's definitely a difference maker for North Park.

20 straight actually breaks the school record for consecutive wins. The '72-73 team (John Laing, Bruce Hamming, Mark Brooks, Chuck Menzer, Drew Boster, Jim VandeCasteele) won 19 in a row before losing to Guilford (Lloyd "World B." Free & M.L. Carr) in the NAIA semifinals.

[Gregory Sager]

Give credit to Augustana for overcoming a huge disadvantage, as the officials listed on the box score for the game were Gene Rayford, Paul Brenegan, and Fritz Larsen. Pete and I had a good laugh about that in the In-Game Updates room, as the live stats had Brenegan officiating the game as well. To make matters worse, the live stats and final box score for the NPU @ AC women's game earlier tonight had NPU women's head coach Amanda Reese as one of the three officials. Amanda apparently does a better job than Paul of simultaneously filling the dual roles of head coach and referee, as the North Park women won their game over Augie.

The minutes distribution was very strange, and very troubling, for NPU tonight. I understand Paul Brenegan's need to shuttle big men in and out of the game because of foul trouble, but PG D.A. Robinson, who has been one of North Park's most productive players at both ends of the floor lately, only played five minutes the entire game. You could argue that Brenegan was trying to keep as many good perimeter shooters in the game at all times as he could, but that doesn't explain why Clayton Cahill left the floor five minutes into the second half and never came back. I sure hope that neither Robinson nor Cahill is injured.

Incidentally, one player who did not suit up tonight that I thought NPU would really need, Jorge Gonzalez, wasn't really missed that much. His strongest asset is his rebounding, and the Park actually did very well in that department, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, his particular specialty is offensive rebounding, and NPU won the battle on the offensive glass, 14-10.

Any word on whether Gonzalez was on the bus/bench at all?  That would change what had become a good depth situation for NPU.

I haven't heard anything. But he was not on the bench for the game at Millikin last Saturday, and he was not in the stands with most of his fellow varsity players to watch the NPU junior varsity game against Truman on Monday in the crackerbox.

Coach Brenegan told Dave Wrath after the game, "If I knew I had a whistle tonight, we wouldn't have fouled 27 times."

No sign of Jorge Gonzalez tonight, which surprised me. Didn't realize he hadn't played in the previous game either.

I was very impressed with Mike Gabriel. He's definitely a difference maker for North Park.

Gonzalez should be back soon. As I indicated, his return is TBA, but my understanding is that he'll be back in uniform fairly shortly. My more immediate concern is that Robinson and Cahill are alright.

Gabriel certainly gives NPU something to build upon. This has turned out to be a very talented freshman class for the Vikings, and with his addition it's really become something special.

[dansand]

Clip of a nice dunk by Chris Anderson last night:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=1643172761592&oid=105710146145391&comments

...and highlights from the rest of the game:

http://www.whbf.com/Global/category.asp?C=190186&clipId=5535747&topVideoCatNo=149118&autoStart=true

[Viking Mike]

Strap the seatbelts on Viking fans!

Carthage comes to Carver tomorrow night with perhaps their last chance to salvage their season.
Another loss and I would say the Red Men are out.  Wheaton has a favorable schedule ahead and with them holding the tiebreaker against Carthage (2-0),  Carthage must win out to have a chance to get in the CCIW tourney.

Not sure which team will show up from Kenosha, however.  After the double overtime loss AT IWU and the 20 pt loss to the hot shooting Thunder AT HOME on Thursday, it could go either way.  Nonetheless, Carthage is a very dangerous team right now.  Augie will need a strong game to win.  (can you tell I'm nervous!)

Surprisingly, even at 20-0, the Vikes still have some tough work ahead.  North Central looms only 2 games back and also has a favorable schedule ahead.  IWU seems to be back on track and has been playing well as of late, esp with the return of their point guard.  And Wheaton has shown what they can do when they are shooting well.  Augie plays all 3 of them on the road in the coming weeks and all will be HUGE games.   A big Viking win over Carthage tomorrow night could really make it difficult for the other teams to catch them.

Here's hoping the Augie students and faithful come out in record numbers tomorrow night and continue to support this incredible team.  They are fun to watch, play incredible defense, and are extremely hardworking.  They are making history everytime they take the court.   Coach G has done a tremendous job with this team and we alumni amd fans appreciate their effort every night out!

GO AUGIE!

[CCIWchamps]

Djurickovic with 27 points, and -- get this -- zero assists.

His name doesn't seem to light up the boards like it was doing at this point last year.  What's happening this year?

[CCIWchamps]

Djurickovic with 27 points, and -- get this -- zero assists.

His name doesn't seem to light up the boards like it was doing at this point last year.  What's happening this year?

(I do mean that as an honest question about his play/Carthage as a team- I can't decipher from the boards)

[TitansIWU]

I think Djurickovic is playing great as he has his entire four years, I just think his supporting cast isn't playing defense at times.

Can't do it alone all the time.

[Gregory Sager]

I think Djurickovic is playing great as he has his entire four years, I just think his supporting cast isn't playing defense at times.

Can't do it alone all the time.

He's also playing hurt. I've heard from more than one source that he's been suffering from plantar fascitis for some time, and he's also had some ankle problems.

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 72
Elmhurst 68

Exciting game. Elmhurst was down almost the entire game, made a few runs, got staved off every time by the Titans. With about four minutes left the 'jays went on an 8-0 run, culminated by a four-point play by Sean Fendley that tied up the game for the first time at 62-all. But in the last 1:20 the Titans made all ten of their FT attempts, eight of them by Sean Johnson, as Fendley missed a big trey with forty seconds left that would've given Elmhurst the lead.

IWU dodged a huge bullet tonight.

[iwu70]

IWU 72-68 over ECC, but the Titans really do not play well, do not play smart.  Lucky to get the W.  But, a win on the road in the CCIW is always a good win.  Good video feed and good commentary by the ECC broadcast team.  Thanks to them -- enjoyed the game on the third day of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit, here in Hong Kong!