MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

A great atmosphere at North Central tonight - that really had the feel of a big-time ballgame.  I was really glad I made the trip even though the game didn't turn out well for my Titans.

The things that stand out for me from an NCC standpoint...

* Jack Burchett's play - 18 pts on 8-10 shooting.  And he made some really big baskets when IWU was making a big-time charge in the 2nd half.

* NCC's on-ball pressure defense - Dylan Overstreet was hounded all night long, and turned it over 7 times.  The Titans had 18 total turnovers. 

* Pat Rourke's play - 15 pts on 4-5 FG and 7-9 FT.

For the Titans, Victor Davis was a man in that 2nd half - he led all scorers with 21 points and just looked really good out there.  Eric Dortch was also a ton, finishing with 14 points on 6-6 shooting.  Kevin Reed worked his tail off in the low post on both sides of the floor as usual - I am going to really miss watching him play.  What a smart, fundamentally sound basketball player.  And Andrew Ziemnik had a typical Andrew Ziemnik game - 9 pts, 8 rebounds, and some really good defense on Derek Raridon.

I'd like to have quite a few IWU possessions back again, but overall I thought the Titans played well tonight -- well enough to beat a lot of really good teams.  North Central was simply outstanding this evening and just made more big plays -- the Cardinals earned the win.  They were great.

I thought NCC did a great job hosting the game - everything seemed to run smoothly.

Good luck to the Cardinals in Salem - it'd be great to see the CCIW get to Atlanta.


http://northcentralcardinals.com/custompages/MBK/MBK1213/mbk30.htm

At one point in the game, I was afraid Davis was going to spell doom for the Cardinals. After he hit 2 big shots in fairly close order, I turned to the guy next to me and said "I wish he'd stop that." I told Victor about it after the game, and that how strong I feel the Greenies will be next season. Dortch played a very smart game, taking the ball directly at the Cards, several of whom were in foul trouble. I was glad to see Kevin Reed foul  out as I felt it removed much of IWU's interior presence. Prior to the game I was worried about the number of rebounds he might pick up. I was not overly impressed by Kevin earlier in his career, but he certainly nicely improved his game, building up to all-conference status. I think he is a prime example that you don't have to be a great leaper to be a good rebounder which he was by employing a great combination of positioning and timing. The Cards were fine with Andrew Ziemnik getting 9 points. They didn't want him to score double that or more. NCC bottled up Sodemann and Zimmer all night, rendering both largely ineffective with a combined 8 points, 4 of which came on FTs, 0 assists, and 4 TOs.

While NCC's "Big" Jack Burchett and Pat Rourke stepped up big time and had truly great games, two factors that were huge chunks of the Cardinals victory were largely overlooked. The first being Vince Kmiec's defense on Dylan Overstreet. As TQ said, Vince hounded him all night long, forcing a very uncharacteristic 7 TOs. At the same time, Vince picked up 5 steals to run his season total to 64, an all-time single season NCC record.
Secondly, the Cardinals took care of the ball. They totaled 20 assists (on 29 made baskets) as opposed to only 8 TOs for the entire game. This included the fantastic tally of 10 helpers vs zero TOs in the 2nd half. 

[A Lover of the Game]

Nice picture of Dortch and Raridon having a discussion about offense and defense:     http://www.pantagraph.com/gallery/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/photos-iwu-vs-north-central-ncaa-d-iii-third-round/collection_e4eef972-8eac-11e2-8030-001a4bcf887a.html#2


Wishing NCC good luck in Salem.  Represent the CCIW well!!!!!!

Some really great pictures, my favorite being the photo of Ziemnik with his hair straight up. If he were to use some hairspray and just freeze it like that, he could legitimately go 7 feet 2. 

When I saw that picture I laughed and said, "Look at Z's hair."  I'm a fan of the player and the "hair".  I like the hairspray idea.  We could use a 7 footer – LOL. 

[toooldtohoop]

NCC played awfully well on Saturday.  Keep it up Cardinals-you will be very hard to beat!

[Gregory Sager]

NCC bottled up Sodemann

[bopol]

bopol,
The numbers you are quoting from Ken Massey's rankings are numbers that are through games of March 17th. The teams that were beaten by the Elite Eight have all dropped lower in Massey's rankings than they were at the time the games were played. For instance Amherst played Plattsburgh State and Plattsburgh was ranked at #58 instead of their current ranking of #66. Not a big difference but still 8 spots from where they were on game day. Plattsburgh, despite their ranking, actually gave Amherst a better game than Randolph-Macon did.  When Middlebury played Cortland, Massey had Cortland ranked higher than Middlebury and predicted that Cortland, who he had ranked at #21, I believe, would beat the Panthers by 8 points. Since Middlebury won that game and then beat Ithaca, the Panthers have moved up to #19 from the mid 20's and Cortland has dropped to #29.  Ithaca was not ranked because they lost a number of games when they were missing several of their key starters. The fact that they beat Rochester, who was the #1 team in the country as late as Feb. 3rd, and held one of the premier players in D3 to 2 points shows how good they were. It's not Middlebury's fault they played an unranked Ithaca team instead of #18 Rochester. Rochester by the way is now ranked #33 by Massey. This numbers game is true for some of the other teams that you mention in your post as well, but I just wanted to mention a few examples so that you could see the difference between then and now.      

Yes, all you say is true, but it's a snapshot in time and I think we can draw some reasonably conclusions from it.  I think it is safe to say all of the following:

1) It is impressive that three NESCAC teams are in the final 8.
2) Middlebury's path to the Elite 8 was quite easy.  Not their fault (Rochester's flameout is spectacular), but it was easy.  And they still deserve credit, because they still won the games.

IMHO, I don't like Middlebury's chances of moving forward because they haven't beaten a Massey Top 25 team all year.

I should say that Greg Sager did something similar on the Tournament post on the Multi-Regional Page which was a better because he also had D3hoops.com Top 25.  I didn't see it until after I posted, but you should look at that too.

[iwu70]

Good luck to North Central this weekend.  Hope all the Cardinal fans have a pleasant and safe trip to Salem.

Make some serious noise, make the CCIW proud. 

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

While I obviously wish IWU was going to Salem, they're not.  So ... Cardinals, go kick butt!

[A Lover of the Game]

Thought after reading a few posts on the NESCAC board: NCC, put your foot on the gas and don't let up until you're the last team standing in Atlanta. Drive to the hole! If they sit back in a zone, hit 'em with some 3's or penetrate their zones and run it like an obstacle course. 

[Stagg Again!!]

Thought after reading a few posts on the NESCAC board: NCC, put your foot on the gas and don't let up until you're the last team standing in Atlanta. Drive to the hole! If they sit back in a zone, hit 'em with some 3's, or penetrate their zones and run it like an obstacle course.

GREAT POINT!  I have seen the Cardinal football team take their foot off the gas at two critical times in the past three years.  Both times, the team took a loss.  You can not stop or let up until the final whistle sounds, even if you are up by 20.  Opponents at this level have a way of making a run and getting back into the game.  Keep your focus, and remember that there will be plenty of time to rest in May.  One play at a time.  One game at a time.  Do not worry about Atlanta as you are playing in Virginia first.  Remember that Middlebury is a really good team with good shooters.  Don't underestimate anyone!

[A Lover of the Game]

So true, Stagg, one game at a time and do not underestimate anyone.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

watched part of the LaSalle / Boise State game last night in the First Four.

LaSalle is coached by former North Central all-CCIW performer John Gianinni (?).  The closest he ever got to playing in the NCAA tournament as a Cardinal player was being abused by some very good North Park teams.  Wish him well as a coach.

Go Cards.

[Pat Coleman]

watched part of the LaSalle / Boise State game last night in the First Four.

LaSalle is coached by former North Central all-CCIW performer John Gianinni (?).  The closest he ever got to playing in the NCAA tournament as a Cardinal player was being abused by some very good North Park teams.  Wish him well as a coach.

Go Cards.

CCIW fans know he has done pretty well as a coach already ...
http://www.d3hoops.com/archives/men/1996

[Kovo]

Thought after reading a few posts on the NESCAC board: NCC, put your foot on the gas and don't let up until you're the last team standing in Atlanta. Drive to the hole! If they sit back in a zone, hit 'em with some 3's, or penetrate their zones and run it like an obstacle course.

GREAT POINT!  I have seen the Cardinal football team take their foot off the gas at two critical times in the past three years.  Both times, the team took a loss.  You can not stop or let up until the final whistle sounds, even if you are up by 20.  Opponents at this level have a way of making a run and getting back into the game.  Keep your focus, and remember that there will be plenty of time to rest in May.  One play at a time.  One game at a time.  Do not worry about Atlanta as you are playing in Virginia first.  Remember that Middlebury is a really good team with good shooters.  Don't underestimate anyone!

Stagg,

Any specific insight on Middlebury?  Rumor has it that you are one of the very few Cardinals that hail from Vermont.

[Stagg Again!!]

Thought after reading a few posts on the NESCAC board: NCC, put your foot on the gas and don't let up until you're the last team standing in Atlanta. Drive to the hole! If they sit back in a zone, hit 'em with some 3's, or penetrate their zones and run it like an obstacle course.

GREAT POINT!  I have seen the Cardinal football team take their foot off the gas at two critical times in the past three years.  Both times, the team took a loss.  You can not stop or let up until the final whistle sounds, even if you are up by 20.  Opponents at this level have a way of making a run and getting back into the game.  Keep your focus, and remember that there will be plenty of time to rest in May.  One play at a time.  One game at a time.  Do not worry about Atlanta as you are playing in Virginia first.  Remember that Middlebury is a really good team with good shooters.  Don't underestimate anyone!

Stagg,

Any specific insight on Middlebury?  Rumor has it that you are one of the very few Cardinals that hail from Vermont.

Morning Kovo --

Great question.  I know that I am probably the only poster on this board that has played basketball at North Central and has attended at least a dozen games at Pepin over the years.  I must say that there is not much mystery to this game.  Middlebury will shoot three-pointers all day long and the Cardinals have to find a way to:  1) work through the Panther screens; 2) disrupt the shot and timing at the arc; and 3) control the boards (especially those long rebounds that come off of three-point attempts); and 4) stay out of foul trouble (Gamble) -- while staying honest on defense (Middlebury will kill you if you cheat too much).  If North Central plays the same way that they have on the perimeter during the past three games, I think it is a LONG night for Middlebury.  The Cardinals held Centre to 12.5% and UWW to 18.8% from behind the arc and forced IWU to turn the ball over 18 times.

I look for North Central to have a huge advantage in terms of quickness and height in the backcourt, and an advantage in overall physicality at all positions tomorrow night.  I believe that the games against Ramapo (full-court press with quick guards), UWW and IWU (physicality), and the CCIW conference teams, in general have put the Cardinals in a position to do well against teams like Middlebury and Amherst.  That all said, the Panther guards are very good (keep your eye on Kizel) and the team is playoff saavy -- they are not at all intimidated by playing against North Central College from west of the Hudson.

[79jaybird]

ELMHURST, Ill. -- After 17 years at the helm of the Elmhurst College men's basketball team, Mark Scherer has announced his retirement from coaching. Scherer, who guided Elmhurst to its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship in 2001, is relocating to Eureka, Ill., to be with his family full time.
New coach at Elmhurst

Taken off the CCIW website.
"There have been so many high points over the years that I feel extremely blessed," said Scherer. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank our players, assistant coaches, fellow co-workers, administration, faculty, friends and Bluejay fans for the wonderful support they have shown during the past 17 seasons. We have had a great run but now it is time to open a new chapter."

Scherer joined the Bluejays prior to the start of the 1996-97 season and leaves with a career record of 245-189. He holds Elmhurst coaching records for career victories, career winning percentage (.564) and single-season victories (22). Scherer guided the Bluejays to 20-win seasons on three occasions, also an Elmhurst record.

In 2001, he led the Bluejays to their most successful season in school history. The squad finished the year with a 22-5 overall record, won its first-ever CCIW Championship, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and were ranked ninth in final national poll. Scherer was named both the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Coach of the Year and the Division III Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA)

In 2009, Scherer was named the Division III Co-Coach of the Year by the IBCA after guiding the Bluejays to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The squad finished the year with a 20-8 overall record and ranked 14th in the final D3hoops.com poll.

Scherer's teams have produced winning records in 10 of his 17 seasons. His players have totaled 32 all-conference, five All-American, and one Academic All-America honors. Three of his former players have played professionally overseas.

Scherer came to Elmhurst with six years of experience at the NCAA Division I level. He spent four seasons at Valparaiso University (1992-96) where the Crusaders posted a 73-43 record and three consecutive 20-win seasons. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Western Illinois University.

"I'd like to thank Mark Scherer for the 17 years of dedicated service to Elmhurst College and the basketball program," said Elmhurst athletic director Paul Krohn. "Mark's teams had tremendous success both at the conference level and on the national stage and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."