North Central focused on NCAA tourney
A year ago, the North Central’s men’s basketball team was just happy to be playing in — let alone hosting — the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament.
Now, a CCIW title is barely enough to disrupt the Cardinals’ practice schedule.
North Central got back to work this week, moving past Saturday’s conference championship victory over Wheaton and toward the start of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday in St. Louis. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology awaits for a 5:30 p.m. game that will mark the Cardinals’ first NCAA tourney appearance since 2006.
“They’re obviously excited, as well they should be,” coach Todd Raridon said. “But they’ve been pretty focused in practice.”
That’s a huge shift from a year ago, when the youthful Cardinals raced through the CCIW season with an 11-3 record, only to get bounced in the first round of the conference tournament and shut out of the NCAAs.
Raridon credited that experience for the Cardinals’ more even-keeled approach this season.
“They try not to get too high or too low,” he said. “I think part of that is the extra year of maturity and the senior leadership.”
North Central (20-7, 12-2) enters the tourney having won 16 of its last 18 games. That includes Saturday’s 75-58 win over Wheaton, the only team to beat North Central since Dec. 19.
The Cardinals boast a solid defense and a versatile offensive attack that features four players — Landon Gamble, Derek Raridon, CJ Goldthree and Aaron Tiknis — averaging between 11 and 14 points a game. That group figures to be tested against Rose-Hulman (20-8), ranked No. 2 nationally in defense and has allowed just 56.1 points a game this season.
The Engineers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1999 but should look familiar. Raridon compared them to CCIW teams Augustana and Wheaton — the two teams North Central beat over the weekend.
“They work so hard (on defense). They fight through screens, they’re in the right place at the right time,” Raridon said. “That doesn’t happen by accident.
“We have teams like that in our conference. ... We just have to go out and execute as well as we can.”
If North Central advances, the Cardinals will play the winner of a game between Washington (Mo.) and Buena Vista at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wheaton (21-6, 11-3) also made the 62-team field, earning an at-large bid after missing out on the CCIW’s automatic berth.
The Thunder will travel to River Falls, Wis., on Friday to play Gustavus Adolphus in a matchup of teams who lost in the championship of their respective conference tournaments. The winner will advance to play the winner of a game between UW-River Falls and Edgewood at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Gustavus Adolphus racked up a 20-7 record in the difficult Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“We both come from what would be perceived as power conferences in Division III,” Wheaton coach Mike Schauer said. “It’s probably one of the best matchups of the first round.”
Senior Tim McCrary leads the Thunder with 18.4 points a game on 54.2 shooting and is averaging 8.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game. The 6-foot-6 senior has been named to the all-CCIW first-team three times and was voted the conference’s Most Outstanding Player this year.
Gustavus Adolphus has a similarly dominant star in senior guard Seth Anderson, who is averaging a team-high 21.4 points. Nobody else on the Gusties’ roster is averaging in double figures.
“He shoot at such a high percentage that if he gets looks at the basket, he’s going to make them,” Schauer said. “I think you have to limit him and see if somebody else can beat you.”
Elmhurst: Junior Joe Rau #8212; a national title contender at 184 pounds #8212; will headline a record-setting group of five Elmhurst wrestlers at the NCAA Championships. Rau cruised through the 184-pound bracket at Saturday#146;s NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Minneapolis, Minn., helping Elmhurst to a third-place finish and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the second time. He will be joined by four of his teammates, the highest single-season total in program history.#147;It#146;s a pretty big accomplishment,#148; coach Steve Marianetti said. #147;Pretty amazing.#148;Dalton Bullard (133 pounds), Brian Brooks (285) and 149-pounder Ryan Earley (Wheaton North) also qualified for the NCAA Championships on Saturday. Elmhurst 141-pounder Jake Denhof (Wheaton North) was named an alternate but learned Monday that he made the championship field as one of 10 wildcards selected by the NCAA.Among the five Bluejays, Rau#146;s outlook is brightest.#147;Joe is looking to be a national champion,#148; Marianetti said. #147;That is what his goal has always been.#148;Two North Central wrestlers #8212; junior 125-pounder Nathan Fitzenreider (Wheaton North) and senior 141-pounder Andrew Zobac #8212; qualified for the NCAA Championships. The Cardinals finished seventh at the Great Lakes Regional.The NCAA Championships will be contested March 9-10 in La Crosse, Wis.