How the Cards match up

Just how tough are the next two-plus weeks going to be for Chippewa Falls?
Well, let’s put it this way: if the Cardinals go on to accomplish big things this season, they probably can point to this stretch as one of the defining moments of their season.

Here’s what they face:
• Friday – Rice Lake
• Saturday – at Superior
• Tuesday – at Eau Claire North
• Feb. 5 – at La Crosse Logan
• Feb. 7 – at Hudson

To keep pace with North in the Big Rivers Conference, Chi-Hi needs to beat Rice Lake on Friday. That’s something they did rather impressively earlier this season, winning by 16 in Rice Lake. But the Warriors are a more experienced and mature team now. They’re a handful for any opponent, not only for their pressing, up-tempo style of play but for their talented duo of junior guard Alex Culy and senior forward Andrew Lochmann.

“Culy and Lochmann are just both so talented,” Chippewa Falls coach Luke Madsen said. “I think they’re two of the finest players in the conference. They require an awful lot of attention. And some of their role players have really stepped up. The other thing with Rice Lake is just their style of play. It’s so different from what we see in the rest of the conference.”

Though the Cardinals are plenty athletic, they’d probably prefer to keep the game at a slightly slower tempo. Chippewa Falls can be almost nightmarish in the half court with their 1-3-1 zone. North coach Pat Hammond, who knows the 1-3-1 better than anyone, told me earlier this year that the Cards have very good personnel for it. The downside of a zone is it leaves openings on the perimeter for Culy, who can shoot with the best of them. When he’s on, Culy is capable of shooting teams right out of even the most effective zone.

“When we do play the 1-3-1, like we did a lot up there, you have to constantly be aware of where he is,” Madsen said. “I just got done watching the game tape from last night against North and he was knocking down shots from 27, 28 feet out. You have to be aware of where he is, and that opens up things for Lochmann down low. They’re so versatile.”

The Cards do catch something of a break by playing Rice Lake and Superior in consecutive games. Both teams like to press, so they can prepare for the same defensive look to some degree.

Those games likely will be at a much faster pace than Tuesday’s clash with North. The last time the teams met, Chippewa Falls won, 32-28, at home. Madsen said the Huskies are a much better team now, especially on offense.

“They are far and away the favorite,” Madsen said. “I’m not just saying that to deflect. They are very good right now. They’re much better than they were offensively.”

Conventional wisdom is to try and pressure the North guards and keep them from feeding 6-foot-7 junior Tyler Brown and 6-foot-11 sophomore Evan Anderson. But that tactic does come with a risk if the Huskies break down the extended defense.

In the first meeting, the Cards caused a lot of problems for North with their 1-3-1 and the length of players like Josh Prince, who is tough to get the ball past at the point of that defense.

“If you get out and extend on their guards, you have to keep them in front of you,” Madsen said.

- Joe Ziemer