MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Finals:

IWU 62, Millikin 47 (on the road!)
Carthage 79, Elmhurst 68 (another road win!)
Augie 66, Wheaton 61
NPU 62, NCC 56

[Mr. Ypsi]

Alas, the schedule-makers won't allow a perfect-parity 'everyone 2-2'.  The winner of Augie@Carthage will be 3-1; the loser of Millikin@NCC will be 1-3.

[augiefan]

A really impressive road win for Carthage. I was convinced Elmhurst was the CCIW's top team, but a home loss really hurts. Nice win for IWU too but not nearly as surprising as the Carthage win.

A real even match in Rock Island tonight that Augie finally pulled out in the final minutes. The two teams' stats are virtually identical, but Chandlor Collins 12 boards and a good game from foul plagued Dain Swatella was the difference. Raymond got 24 points, but he was really off on his FG shooting tonight. Two absolute must home wins are now in the book for Augie, and now it's back on the road for a real tough one on Saturday.

[mr_b]

Final from the Crackerbox: North Park 62, North Central 56.  The Cardinals jumped out to a quick lead, but the Vikings clawed back and eventually took a thin 30-28 advantage at the break.  North Park seemed to control the second half and led at one point 55-43, but after 7:12 the Vikes did not make a single basket.  Finally, Jason Gordon broke the scoring drought with several free throws (starting at 2:54), and the home team held on for a 62-56 win.  Gordon led the Vikes with 17 and Nick Williams was the only other Parker in double digits with 12.  Matt Rogers had a big night for the Cardinals with 22, while Chris Drennan (13) and Mitch Raridon (12) were the other main contributors for North Central.

[tjcummingsfan]

Tight last 7 minutes at the crackerbox tonight, but Park won it with free-throws (Jason Gordon specifically) at the end. 

The first half looked like North Park was in for a really rough game, they trailed a North Central team that seemed to do nothing but work the ball inside (often with some elbows that worked nicely as hooks) and get layup after layup.  There really just didn't seem to be fire in the eyes of the Vikes.  However, at some point the spark ignited, and they finished the half up 2.  I wish I could recall more about the first half, but I got nothing right now (I'll let AO and and GS give some more in depth analysis). 

The second half started with North Central taking the lead back, and getting up 5 at one point.  From there North Park really took over, or Jason Gordon did at least with, I believe 3 other guys in double digits (for sure 2, Nick Williams and Tone Stevens).  The second half proved even more physical than the first, with Nick getting hit in the face twice (once by Drennan, and once by Rogers) with one foul going against him and the other in his favor.  What impressed me was that instead of getting angry and getting called for cheap fouls in retaliation, Williams was composed enough to direct his frustration into scoring the next possession.  There was a great deal of composure by this Viking team, in a game where things could have gotten out of hand easily, I think  that shows alot of maturity from such a generally young group of players.  With this as some fuel, along with a pretty effective zone, North Park took over and went up 12 at one point.  Unfortunately Park hit a scoring drought and didn't hit anything from the 7 minute mark all the way until a little over 2 left when we were given some free throws (infor courtesy of GS).  If Capalbo had knocked down a couple of wide open 3's or, really, if any kind of scoring had happened in those 5 minutes I think Park would've left the gym with a 10-15pt win.  Unfortunately it came down to the wire, where Park was able to get the ball in the hands of a veteran in Gordon who was able to knock down two sets of free throws to eventually seal the win, and a share of 1st place in the conference (couldn't help but throw that out there). 

Glad we were able to pull off another close one, even more glad I got to see us win one with free throws! 

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Final from the Crackerbox: North Park 62, North Central 56.  The Cardinals jumped out to a quick lead, but the Vikings clawed back and eventually took a thin 30-28 advantage at the break.  North Park seemed to control the second half and led at one point 55-43, but after 7:12 the Vikes did not make a single basket.  Finally, Jason Gordon broke the scoring drought with several free throws (starting at 2:54), and the home team held on for a 62-56 win.  Gordon led the Vikes with 17 and Nick Williams was the only other Parker in double digits with 12.  Matt Rogers had a big night for the Cardinals with 22, while Chris Drennan (13) and Mitch Raridon (12) were the other main contributors for North Central.

Thank goodness for Jason Gordon tonight - he was the only starter who played with any intensity.  Jon Chimino and Chris Brown off the bench also played well.  The other starters looked dazed, glassly-eyed and asleep and allowed North Central to dictate the slowdown tempo of the game.  The Vikings had nearly no interior defensive answers for Drennen and Rogers, and looked like they had never played low post defense.

North Central hurt itself by its inability to involve all five players in the game in its offense - wide open shots were passed up - that more confident shooters might have taken and taken some of the sag pressure off the Cards low post players.

This was NOT a pretty game - but a win is a win.  Isn't it?

DoS

[mr_b]

The second half proved even more physical than the first, with Nick getting hit in the face twice (once by Drennan, and once by Rogers) with one foul going against him and the other in his favor.  What impressed me was that instead of getting angry and getting called for cheap fouls in retaliation, Williams was composed enough to direct his frustration into scoring the next possession.   

The foul called against Nick was really unfortunate.  He must have gotten jammed in the eye on the play and collapsed right on to the player who had the ball.  I was afraid he was done for the game because it sure didn't look good.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Man, you guys would have had apoplexy if you'd heard the NCC broadcast!  I only listened to a bit, plus a bit after the game, but they were whining that NCC gave away the game (with the assistance of the refs who stole it, but NCC should have won anyway)!  They sounded like they were probably students, so I'll cut 'em some slack for 'heat of the moment' disappointment, but I can't recall ever hearing quite that much 'homerism'.

[coebball70]

The other North Park starters looked dazed, glassly-eyed and asleep and allowed North Central to dictate the slowdown tempo of the game.  

Elmhurst seemed to be in the same condition tonight.  In five years I have never seen a Bluejay team play with such a lack of urgency on defense and impotence on the boards.   Carthage challenged Elmhurst's guards to beat them....and they couldn't.  Carthage played confident and loose this evening.  As I have said before, Carthage is going to win some games against better opponents and tonight Elmhurst made good on my prediction.  The defensive intensity by the Bluejays was non-existent.  The surprising part of the equation was Stevie D, Bosko's son played quite consistent but missed several free-throws ending with 19 points and 6 or 7 assists.  Carthage's front court really played well tonight holding Elmhurst to very few second-chance opportunities.  The Redmen really exposed Elmhurst's vulnerable back court at both ends of the floor.  I commend the Bluejays for supporting the fight against breast cancer.  Unfortunately, the Bluejays played like 'pink' was their favorite color tonight.

[Viking Blue]

Some observations and reactions:

1.  I was VERY impressed with North Central's offensive post play, namely Drennan and Rogers.  Both of these guys are very slick around the basket, and the game TRULY could have gone the other way had a couple of shots rimmed in instead of out down low. 

2.  That leads me to my next point:  one in which I will have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Prikkel's analysis of the North Park effort, or "energy".  In any sport, but especially basketball, I think this terminology is horribly overused.  When a team is swinging the bat well in baseball and scoring runs, they are said to really look like they have a lot of energy.  When the ball is going in the basket, a team is said to have a lot of energy.  For crying out loud, I even heard an announcer say that the Bulls had "energy" tonight.  They didn't.  They just played the Heat.  Anyway, I think NP's energy was just fine tonight.  I think the real problem existed with match-ups.  That lack of a strong inside presence showed tonight, with 35 of North Central's 55 or 57 points coming from two prominent post players.  Nick Williams played hard.  It's tough to look good when you're facing double and triple teams every time you face the bucket.  This may have been a game where it would have been nice to see more of Mike Ventura, if for nothing other than a stronger defensive presence inside.

[Viking Blue]

3.  I would have to agree with the NC announcers' assessment of the officiating.  It was horrible tonight, as far as I am concerned.  Jay Alexander was victimized by two flops which led to  fouls against him and severely limited his contributions.  North Central's two post players did use the hook to their advantage tonight, but I don't bring that up to take away from their game...if they're not going to call it, then keep on keepin' on!  At the conclusion of the game, a with the Vikings up by 4, a North Park defender was bailed out of a major mental error when he bought a head fake and fouled a North Central shooter behind the arc, opening the opportunity for a 4 point play.  Thank goodness for the Vikes, the officials blew that one, too.  To be blunt, these three guys had absolutely no control over the 40 minutes of basketball I witnessed tonight.

4.  Composure....?  I'm not so sure about that.  I thought Williams did hold his own very well in that department.  But there were a couple of occasions where I saw North Park players (who will go unnamed, of course) execute some chippiness (i.e. one player getting in a nice little shove after a whistle and another attempting to trip a player as he was lying on his back...neither of these offenses picked up by this crew, by the way).

5.  NC Announcers:  Definitely students.  One guy looked like a sophomore in one of my high school social studies classes.  D3 radio:  it is what it is.  God Bless these guys for doing what they do.

6.  This is the first time I've had the chance to see Chris Brown play important minutes.  I think he and Oziminski are a very capable tandem at the point, and I like the way Paul is rotating them through the lineup.

[Viking Blue]

And finally, great job tonight by the Carlson Crazies.  Would like to see a stronger turnout in terms of sheer numbers, but the "energy" was certainly there...

[Titan Q]

With Sean Fendley now healthy and starting, Carthage is really a different team than they were throughout most of the non-conference season.  I don't think much has been said here about the starting lineup change Bosko made before the first league game, removing point-guard Joe Higgins and starting Fendley.  Higgins is a good ball-handler and passer, but he can't score.  Now Carthage has Steve Djurickovic (a prolific scorer) playing the point with Sean Fendley (a great 3-pt shooter) and Trey Bowens (another 3-pt threat) playing 2/3 spots.  Billy Shemerdiak, the fourth guard who starts, is also a guy who can score.  And all of the sudden big Neb Franciskovic is contributing on the offensive end (12 tonight after 14 vs IWU...he averaged less than 2 pts in the non-conference).

Moving Steve Djurickovic from the 3, where he played in the non-conference, to the 1 has been huge for Carthage.  Now they have 5 guys who can score on the floor most of the time.

[Titan Q]

Here is the IWU/Millikin boxcore...

http://www.millikin.edu/athletics/mbasketball/m-mil14_046.htm

Millikin's 47 points was the fewest scored by a Titan opponent in CCIW play since a 1995-96 game at home vs Elmhurst.  IWU's defense, a problem area the entire non-conference season, was outstanding tonight, holding the Big Blue to 36% from the field (18-50).  IWU's perimeter players (Rosenkranz, Johnson, Morris, Schick, Dwyer) really did a great job of covering Millikin's shooters.

Through 3 CCIW games, Darius Gant is averaging 13.7 points and 10.0 rebounds - he is just a horse on the boards.

IWU's freshman point-guard Travis Rosenkranz is really settling in.  Travis is averaging 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in CCIW play, with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.8 to 1.  He is fun to watch play.

[coebball70]

Now they have 5 guys who can score on the floor most of the time.

TQ...to your point, I believe Carthage had five players in double figures this evening.
Ironically, Carthage's strong forward drilled a killer 3-pointer tonight to extinguish a minor Bluejay rally in the second-half.  Surprisingly, Elmhurst did win the rebound battle but Carthage really outplayed them the whole game.  The Redmen's shooting percentages were impressive as well.