MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[WUPHF]

NCC (19-7), who played D3's toughest schedule this season, takes on St. Olaf (18-9) tomorrow afternoon at 5:00.

Toughest schedule in the nation...very interesting...I thought I remember reading that somewhere... 

[AppletonRocks]

NCC (19-7), who played D3's toughest schedule this season, takes on St. Olaf (18-9) tomorrow afternoon at 5:00.

Toughest schedule in the nation...very interesting...I thought I remember reading that somewhere... 

I would think being in St Norbert's pod at home would not be considered a good draw. 

[augie77]

Challenging news for Augustana....

http://www.qconline.com/sports/college_sports/aching-vikings-hope-to-cure-ills-with-strong-tourney-run/article_b189f492-ae34-5967-aac2-500b6e224cb5.html#.VtnicbsUnc4.facebook

[AndOne]

Challenging news for Augustana....

http://www.qconline.com/sports/college_sports/aching-vikings-hope-to-cure-ills-with-strong-tourney-run/article_b189f492-ae34-5967-aac2-500b6e224cb5.html#.VtnicbsUnc4.facebook

I seriously doubt that Brandon Motzel's absence tonight will make even an iota of difference. Augie could probably still win tonight even if they started the last 5 guys on their roster.

Condolences to Hunter Hill on the loss of his grandfather.

[GoPerry]

Challenging news for Augustana....

http://www.qconline.com/sports/college_sports/aching-vikings-hope-to-cure-ills-with-strong-tourney-run/article_b189f492-ae34-5967-aac2-500b6e224cb5.html#.VtnicbsUnc4.facebook

Wow.  That is unwelcome news regarding Motzel.  That must've happened on Saturday night?  Didn't see it.  They obviously are capable of beating Westminster w/o him and I wouldn't doubt they can defeat Hope also if Motzel can't go.  Deeper into March would be unsettling to say the least.

Sorry to hear about Hill's grandfather.  I presume he is playing tonight . . .?

[AndOne]

Warmups underway for the NCC-St. Olaf game.

Cardinal Keys for tonight

* Rebound/limit 2nd chance points--The Oles start 6/0, 6/4, 6/6, 6/7 , and 6/8
* Tight D while avoiding fouling.
* Transition offense.
* Win the TO battle.

[kiko]

There are 16 and change left in the second half; North Central leads St. Olaf by 5.  I'll say this now so it is agnostic of the final result: the officiating in this game is by far the worst I have seen in a D3 game in many, many years.  There is no margin for any kind of contact by either team -- both teams are very clearly frustrated at this point.

[AppletonRocks]

Oshkosh and Elmhurst locked at 29 at the half.  Elmhurst lots of 3's.  Titans mixing it up

[Gregory Sager]

St. Olaf 80
North Central 78

NCC had a double-digit lead midway through the second half, but couldn't put away the Oles. The Cards lost three players to foul disqualifications, but the upshot was that they were just plain outplayed down the stretch. NCC made a couple of dumb mistakes in the final 45 seconds when the game was on the line, and ended up suffering the upset loss.

[kiko]

St. Olaf 80
North Central 78

NCC had a double-digit lead midway through the second half, but couldn't put away the Oles. The Cards lost three players to foul disqualifications, but the upshot was that they were just plain outplayed down the stretch. NCC made a couple of dumb mistakes in the final 45 seconds when the game was on the line, and ended up suffering the upset loss.

I agree with this.  The Oles also hit their free throws, of which there were many, in the second half.  They had been .500-ish in the first half while falling into the hole they eventually climbed out of.

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst 73
UW-Oshkosh 63

The 'jays scraped out a tough win in a contest in which neither team shot well or put together any really big runs. Peyton Wyatt was huge in this game for EC, but Will Nixon was really the man down the stretch for the 'jays. Bryant Ackerman hit a big trey in the waning minutes as well.

[AppletonRocks]

EC shot 40 FT.  Oshkosh shot 6.   

[voxelmhurst]

Coach John Baines just became the all-time leader in national tournament wins by an Elmhurst men's head coach. 

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana 105
Westminster (MO) 52

Give Grey Giovanine credit for emptying his bench early in this one. It didn't make a difference, as the freshmen played well for Augie and actually boosted the lead (and final score) up over fifty points.

The Doggies made two out of every three field-goal attempts (42-63) and won the rebounding battle by 27 boards, 42-15.

[kiko]

Thoughts on the North Central/St. Olaf game...

1. The Cardinals didn't adjust well to how the game was called.  This crew called it the same way on both ends of the floor (poorly IMO), and North Central never adapted to this.  They stayed aggressive on defense in an environment where the game was called extremely tight for both teams, and this bit them hard in the second half.

2. The few minutes bridging halftime adjusted the momentum of the game.  North Central was up nine, but the Oles scored the final four points of the half to claw closer, and then the Cards were called for I believe five fouls in less than a one-minute span a couple of minutes into the second half.  They still led, but it was clear the Oles were going to spend essentially the entire half in the bonus, and Sorensen was looking at a long stretch on the bench because he picked up #3 and #4 in quick succession.

3. St. Olaf was 6-of-14 from the line in the first half, and 19-of-21 in the second.  Essentially, the Cards' first half foul troubles meant they dipped deeper into their rotation than they might have preferred, and that key players were not in good shape as the fouls continued to pile up.   But it wasn't costing them anything on the scoreboard.  In H2, it did.

4. Jayme Moten, who does so many little things so well for the Cards, never really got out of the gate today.  I'm sure it was a frustrating way to conclude a really nice couple of years for him.

5. Gregory referenced a couple of dumb mistakes down the stretch.  One was a technical foul on the bench -- not sure on whom or what was said -- with the game tied and 2:40 to go.  Not a good time for that.  Another occurred with 1:20 or so to play -- Connor Raridon poked the ball away and set the Cardinals off on a 3-on-1 fast break, but for whatever reason Sorensen was leading the break.  Alex does so many things well and has a nice feathery touch to his shot, but he's not the guy you want handling the ball on the break in the open floor.  He ended up dribbling the ball off his leg and out of bounds.  In both cases the Cards actually clawed back into the lead, but they missed opportunities to put their boot on the Oles' throats a bit with these.  With the second half being a lot of back-and-forth where St. Olaf shaved a little more off the lead with each ebb and floe, these missed opportunities proved fatal.  Jayme Moten was called for a travel with six seconds left as the Cards looked to tie, and that more or less sealed the game.

I honestly don't know if the better team won this one.  That's no slight on the Oles, who were solid.  I would feel the same way if the Cards prevailed.  Both teams were out of sorts given the lack of flow to the contest, but the Oles were able to adjust better, and so they move on.