Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball NCAA Round 1 Preview

NCC Men's Basketball

First Round Game Notes (PDF)

Live Video/Audio/Stats

Setting the Scene:  The Cardinals welcome March Madness to Gregory Arena for the second straight year, looking to extend one of the most successful campaigns in their history.

This Weekend’s Schedule 
Friday, Mar. 6 
Transylvania vs. UW-Oshkosh, 5:00 
Adrian vs. North Central, 7:30 

Saturday, Mar. 7 
Second-round game, 7:00

Blaise Meredith

Friday's 1st Round vs. Adrian

Series History: This is the sixth men’s basketball meeting between the two institutions. North Central owns a 4-1 lead in the all-time series. 

The Cardinals won the most recent meeting between the two teams, 75-69, on Dec. 28, 2014 at the University of Mount Union M-Club Classic in Alliance, Ohio. North Central scored nine straight points midway through the second half to take the lead for good, making 13 of 16 free throws down the stretch to ice the victory. 

Jayme Moten led the Cardinals in scoring with 27 points, while Kevin Honn came off the bench to put up 14 points and six rebounds. Ben Rodak led Adrian in scoring with 15 points. 

National Rankings: North Central is ranked No. 11 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. 

Scouting the Bulldogs: Adrian shook off a 3-7 start to its season to advance to the championship for the first time ever as the winners of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament.  

The Bulldogs defeated Hope (83-73), Calvin (80-78) and Trine (80-72) to lift the tournament trophy. 
Adrian led the MIAA in three-point shots made (252) and three-point percentage (.380) while also ranking first in free throws made (434) and attempted (580). 

Junior guard Jordan Harris (22.4 points per game) and senior forward Jeremy Kalonji (20.0 ppg) spearhead the Bulldogs’ scoring efforts and Harris also ranks 18th nationally in three-pointers made (3.54 per game).  

Kalonji put up 29 points and 11 rebounds in Adrian’s championship-game victory over Trine. 

This Week for the Cardinals: North Central is the CCIW regular-season champion for the first time since 2012 and has eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in the program’s history. 

The Cardinals hosted the CCIW Tournament for the third time last week, bowing out with a 71-60 semifinal loss to Elmhurst. 

The Cardinals rank 24th out of 416 teams nationwide in scoring defense (65.2 points allowed per game). North Central also ranks 28th in free-throw percentage (.760), which is on pace to set a new single-season program record. 

In the month of February, the Cardinals limited opponents to 61.7 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting. Matt Cappelletti boosted his production to team-high averages of 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. 
 

The Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament: North Central is in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time. The Cardinals have a 10-12 all-time record in the tournament and have made the field in each of the past five seasons. 

North Central defeated Chatham, 77-48, in the first round of last year’s tournament before  a 84-82 second-round loss to Loras. 

The Cardinals also made tournament appearances in 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. North Central advanced past the first round for the first time in 2012, making the round of 16, and advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in 2013. 

The Rest of the Bracket: The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the second round of the tournament against the winner of tonight’s game between Transylvania and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. 

The Cardinals opened this season by hosting Oshkosh on Nov. 12, losing to the Titans by a score of 76-66. Oshkosh shot 56.7 percent (17 of 30) in the first half as it built a 45-33 halftime lead. 

Eric Peterson led the Titans with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Will Clausel came off the bench to lead North Central in scoring with 14 points. 

 

Matt Cappelletti
Michael Pollack

Career/Single-Season Rankings: Connor Raridon became the Cardinals’ all-time leader for assists during the 2017-2018 campaign and has extended his record total to 624 in his career.  

He also owns the Cardinals’ records for assists in single game (13, accomplished twice) and in a single season (187, 2017-2018). 

Raridon became North Central’s 27th 1,000-point scorer last season and currently ranks second in school history with 1,739 points. 

Raridon also ranks second in school history in free throws made (536), free throws attempted (664) and games played (117), fifth in rebounds (804), ninth in steals (90) and 10th in blocked shots (65). 

In the Cardinals’ 83-53 win at Aurora on Dec. 11, Cappelletti became the program’s 28th 1,000-point scorer and currently ranks 17th all-time with 1,230 points. He is two points from matching Dick Howard ‘60 for 16th. 

Michael Pollack currently ranks second in school history in career three-pointers made (181), while Cappelletti ranks fifth (159) and Aiden Chang is ninth (147). Chang owns the Cardinals’ career record for games played (119) and ranks seventh in the program’s history in assists (246). 


 

All-CCIW Honors: Connor Raridon was named the CCIW Fred Young Most Outstanding Player on Tuesday, becoming the fourth Cardinal to be so honored and the first since Derek Raridon ‘13 in 2013. 

Raridon and Cappelletti both earned First Team All-CCIW honors and Blaise Meredith was selected to the Second Team. Each received the same distinctions last season. 

Todd Raridon was named the CCIW Coach of the Year for the third time and the first since 2012. 
 

Coaching Milestone: Todd Raridon became the 45th coach in Division III history to eclipse 500 career wins last season in a 92-78 victory over Albion at Gregory Arena on Dec. 19, 2017. 

He ranks eighth among current active Division III coaches and 30th all-time with 557 wins. 

Raridon’s 288 victories at North Central make him the program’s all-time leader in coaching wins.