Teams to look out for 2010- 2011 season mens basketball

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU (rather shockingly, even for we partisans) went to the Elite Eight last year.  They graduated exactly one (backup) guard (though arguably the best defender).  Barring a 'Group of Death'  of 2009 proportions, IMO anything less than Salem will be a disappointment.  Ron Rose's 'baby Titans' are finally juniors and seniors.

Personally, I'll be disappointed with anything short of 'Walnut-and-Bronze', but I am often disappointed.   Even PC thought they SHOULD have won it all in 2006

While this site wasn't around then, I thought they were also the best team in 1996.  Alas, the 'best' team doesn't always win. .

IWU is going to have trouble getting past Carthage, let alone the current holder of the Walnut and Bronze, UWSP (who only lost one starter and one guy off the bench).

Those are the two teams I most fear in the 'Midwest' (though we took out Carthage last postseason).  I am NOT making a prediction (getting to Salem takes a fair amount of luck, as well as skill), just my personal hopes.

I would LOVE to see a championship showdown between IWU and UWSP - hopefully not earlier!

I still think it's crazy that this last match-up was just the third time the two schools have met.  I know IWU just played their 100th year of basketball... and Point has been playing basketball since 1899... so that's a lot of years not to play one another for two of the more successful programs in small college basketball!

Agreed.  I'd love to see a regular non-con competition, but I don't make the schedules!

Even without UWSP, IWU regularly has one of the tougher non-con schedules around (and, of course, just about as tough a conference schedule as anyone).

Even though both schools are on I-39, the travel is a bit prohibitive... I think it's 7 or 8 hours one way, which means that it isn't just a one-day trip.

It's not impossible, but it definitely is more expensive than playing schools in the Chicago area (for both teams).

Actually, mapquest says 299 miles, 5 hours (so I'd probably make it in 4! ).

That could be a one day trip for a 3 or 4 o'clock game, though an overnighter might be wiser.

While I haven't checked mileage, I suspect IWU and UWSP both play opponents farther away.

[John Gleich]

UWSP played only one non-flight out of Wisconsin game last year, at St. John in Collegeville, MN.  That's roughly the same distance (292 miles).  Other than that, Point's next farthest game was Superior, 260 miles away.  All other opponents in Wisconsin are no more than about 190 miles (River Falls is the next farthest). 

UWSP is very centrally located in the state, which helps.  Superior has lots of longer trips, as one might expect.