MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

North Central bounces back in Florida after last night's tough loss with a 67-52 win over Bridgewater (VA).
Landon Gamble led the Cards in scoring with 22, and also pulled down 9 rebounds. CJ Goldthree and Kevin
Gillespie both added 13 points. Aaron Tiknis with another nice all-around game with 9 points, 11 rebounds,
and 7 assists. Aaron appears to be establishing himself as one of the league's best all around players.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 71
Albion 66

Emanuel Crosby: 18 pts
Ro Russell: 15 pts, 4 asts (1 to)
Mark Holmes: 13 pts
Kendell Greer: 11 pts
Reggie McGee: 11 pts

This would've been a good win with Mike Gabriel. It was a great win without him. As the star forward of the Vikings watched from the bench in street clothes, nursing a sprained ankle, NPU played probably its best game of the year to date. With Albion playing its usual physical half-court defense, the Vikings toughened up and found a way to take control of the game down the stretch. It was a case of everybody stepping up and filling in to cover for the absence of one of the team's main ingredients.

Emanuel Crosby played by far his best game of the season, breaking a string of six straight games in which he didn't get into double figures. He not only led the Vikings in scoring, he was highly efficient as well (8-11 shooting). The Britons had a couple of centers who were big and strong enough to defend him, but Crosby showed enough variety in his moves to keep them off-balance, and he did a solid job of keeping plays alive on the boards as well. Albion eventually started double-teaming him, and when it did the Vikings showed great ball movement in swinging the rock around to find open looks on the perimeter, which they did a great job of knocking down (7-12 from beyond the arc as a team in the second half). If the Vikings can get this kind of a game out of Crosby every time they take the floor, they'll be very tough to beat. But that's a big "if".

Ro Russell also had a great game. Every shot he took was a good one, and he did a nice job with the drive-and-dish, as his passes unerringly hit his teammates at chest level where they could quickly raise up and shoot, and that hasn't necessarily been Russell's calling card in the past. Again, this kind of a game out of him on a consistent basis would make the Vikes a tough out.

Mark Holmes did a nice job shifting over to power forward to fill in for Gabriel, and tonight he was putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim rather than settling for jump shots, and this aggressive driving is what the NPU coaching staff has wanted to see out of him. Kendell Greer, who has struggled with his shooting all season, finally had a breakout game by going 3-5 from beyond the arc while playing solid D on Albion's star Kolin Kazen; Kazen scored 19, but he did it on 6-14 shooting, and he had to work for everything he got. Reggie McGee continues to impress as a shooter, and he's beginning to add a little more to his overall repertoire every game. The freshman guard from Rockford Christian Life is showing me that he's going to have a strong future in this league.

It's not the greatest Albion team I've ever seen, but the Britons, as usual, slow down the pace and force the game into the halfcourt slog that head coach Jody May craves (as did Mike Turner before him). Any time that you're forced to play the other team's type of game and you still come out with the win, it's a good thing. And when you do it in spite of the fact that your star is in street clothes, it's a very good thing.

No word on when Gabriel will be back. He's still a question mark at this point for Thursday night's game at UW-LaCrosse.

[iwumichigander]

NCC losing again.  My case about them is getting stronger by the game.  Yes, I know they have injuries etc. but it would be hard to say that they have really come together in any impressive way as a team so far. 
IWU70

Not so fast my friend! NCC's record a year ago after 9 games...3-6.  This year's record after 9 games...4-5. Again, its still too early to say that this team is "very disappointing". Now with Raridon out of the line up, NCC is drastically different from a year ago. No Evans, no Burchett, no Smith, and now no Raridon means NCC were with out 4 of its top 8 in the rotation from a year ago.  We all knew they would lose Evans. However, when you lose 2 from your top 7, and all 5 starters have missed some time on the floor due to injury means this. Is not the same team from a year ago.

I'm starting to believe the 2011-12 Cards need to be judged by what it is able to accomplish this season alone because its a different team.

I still think the 2011-12 Cards will be competitive in conference play.  However, they have dug a hole that may require them to climb out and win the CCIW tournament to get any opportunity for post season tournament action.

[Titan Q]

I still think the 2011-12 Cards will be competitive in conference play.  However, they have dug a hole that may require them to climb out and win the CCIW tournament to get any opportunity for post season tournament action.

NCC is 4-3 in-region and can get to 5-3 with a home win over Manchester.  At 10-4 in the CCIW, then 1-1 in the conference tournament, that would be a 16-8 (.667) final in-region record. 

Last year IWU was most likely the 18th (of 18) Pool C selection...and IWU had a .692 in-region winning %.  (See my post below from March 1, 2011.)

It's pretty safe to say North Central has to win the CCIW conference tournament to make the NCAA tourney.  When the season started, I certainly did not expect the Cardinals to be in this position heading into league play.

Here is my best guess at the order the Pool C's were selected...

1. Williams (NE): .920/.558
2. Concordia (MW): .875/.501
3. WPI (NE): .846/.516
4. Virginia Wesleyan (S): .840/.506
5. Penn St-Behrend (GL): .885/.481
6. Oswego St (E): .852/.507
7. Becker (NE): .852/.505
8. Ramapo (Atl): .826/.507
9. Gwynedd-Mercy (Mid-Atl): .800/.502
10. Amherst (NE): .875/.464
11. UW-River Falls (W): .750/.585
12. Ithaca (E): .760/.547
13. Mary Hardin-Baylor (S): .750/.508
14. Western Conn (NE): .800/.531
15. Hanover (MW): .731/.542
16. Wittenberg (GL): .727/.552
17. Texas-Dallas (S): .800/.485
18. Illinois Wesleyan (MW): .692/.543


Left on the board, in the order of selection competitiveness (by my estimation):

* Carleton (W): .750/.528
* Ferrum (S): .800/.471
* St. Joseph's LI (Atl): .769/.504
* Wabash (GL): .760/.499
* Edgewood (MW): .692/.547
* Stevens (E): .731/.512
* Leb Valley (Mid Atl): .720/.509
* Eastern Conn (NE): .680/.526


(Obviously I have just listed winning % and SOS above.)

[Titan Q]

From Trinity in San Antonio, TX...

Wheaton 60
Whitman 50

http://athletics.wheaton.edu/custompages/mbball/mbbstats/mwhe10.htm


From just the boxscore, looks like a strong defensive performance by the Thunder.  Whitman shot 35.4% and had just 5 assists to 18 turnovers.

[Gregory Sager]

I still think the 2011-12 Cards will be competitive in conference play.  However, they have dug a hole that may require them to climb out and win the CCIW tournament to get any opportunity for post season tournament action.

NCC is 4-3 in-region and can get to 5-3 with a home win over Manchester.  At 10-4 in the CCIW, then 1-1 in the conference tournament, that would be a 16-8 (.667) final in-region record. 

Last year IWU was most likely the 18th (of 18) Pool C selection...and IWU had a .692 in-region winning %.  (See my post below from March 1, 2011.)

It's pretty safe to say North Central has to win the CCIW conference tournament to make the NCAA tourney.  When the season started, I certainly did not expect the Cardinals to be in this position heading into league play.

I did the math as well, and I came to a different conclusion. I still see it as possible for NCC to get a Pool C berth. The Cards would have to beat Manchester (which is not a gimme, especially with Derek Raridon out) and then win the CCIW tourney semifinal (as much for SOS as for in-region winning percentage) before losing in the CCIW tourney final in order to do so, and it would mean finishing the CCIW slate with an 11-3 record. That would put the Cards at 17-7 (.708), which is a low-functional but still viable in-region winning percentage for Pool C purposes, as Bob demonstrated.

The problem is this: In this league, 11-3 has become championship territory. Only once in the last fifteen years has a CCIW team finished 11-3 in league play without winning the title. (It was the 2000-01 Carthage squad of Wiertel/Garnes/McDaniel/Ktistou/Oboikowich that finished a game behind the Elmhurst team led by Ryan Knuppel and Justin Carley; Carthage made it all the way to the Elite Eight that year, losing at the buzzer to Ohio Northern on the home floor of the Polar Bears in the sectional finals.) It's therefore a pretty safe bet that, in order to reach 11-3, North Central will either have to win the CCIW title outright or share it with somebody. In other words, the Cards need to do exactly what they did last season --plus a little extra by winning their CCIW tourney semifinal -- in order to get a Pool C berth. And even then, there would be no guarantee that they'd get to the table and be next in line while there was still at least one Pool C slot left on Selection Day.

It's a pretty tall order. I think the odds are more favorable for NCC to get into the CCIW tourney as the second-, third-, or fourth-place team and then win it and thereby secure the Pool A berth than it is for the Cards to beat Manchester, go 11-3 in CCIW play, and then win the CCIW tourney semi before losing in the CCIW tourney title game and being granted a Pool C berth.

[Titan Q]

On Jack Sikma...

http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2011/12/the-lowdown-jack-sikma/

[Mr. Ypsi]

On Jack Sikma...

http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2011/12/the-lowdown-jack-sikma/

Thanks, Bob.  A couple of things in there I didn't know before, and several I'd forgotten.  I've long thought he earned the NBA HoF, but I doubt it is gonna happen now. 

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst 75
Albion 56

Looks like the CCIW and the MIAA are going to split their series this season, unless they meet up in March. The CCIW is up, 6-5, after tonight's win by the 'jays over the Brits, but a week from tomorrow Millikin hosts Adrian (5-3), and I just don't see the Big Blue winning that one.

[Titan Q]

Out-of-control alliteration...

http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/men/2011-12/contrib/201112210fnsal

[Pat Coleman]

Out-of-control alliteration...

http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/men/2011-12/contrib/201112210fnsal

Perfect!

[hopefan]

Passionate Penmanship!!!

[Gregory Sager]

UW-LaCrosse 72
North Park 39

Kudos to the driver of NPU's bus, because finding Mitchell Hall was the only thing that North Park did right all night.

Hard to tell from live stats, but it appears that Mike Gabriel came off the bench early in the first half and tried to give it a go on his sprained ankle but left the game almost immediately thereafter.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton defeated Pacific Lutheran 70-65 tonight to complete their non-conference schedule at 9-2.

[Titan Q]

UW-LaCrosse 72
North Park 39

Kudos to the driver of NPU's bus, because finding Mitchell Hall was the only thing that North Park did right all night.

Hard to tell from live stats, but it appears that Mike Gabriel came off the bench early in the first half and tried to give it a go on his sprained ankle but left the game almost immediately thereafter.

Any idea when the last time NPU scored less than 40 was?  Seems like that is something that could go back decades.