MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Another question for you D3 gurus!  Is this the 1st time that just 1 WIAC and 1 CCIW team got into the national tourney?

Probably far from it since there used to be only 5 Cs, and WIAC and CCIW teams cannibalized each other.  But with expansion, IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN, if they would only use criteria that rewarded teams in tough conferences/regions, rather than penalizing them.  IMO, the two toughest regions this year were the West and Midwest - they each got ONE C bid (GL might have a claim on the top as well, and only got 2 bids).

[Greek Tragedy]

Prior to the pool system, I remember when the WIAC got FOUR teams in...of course, the pool system hasn't stopped the UAA from getting four in! 

[Mr. Ypsi]

I thought so, thanks Scott. At the time everyone around the nation was upset Wheaton didn't get in, precisely because they were the highest ranked team ever not to make it. I still think that team could have made it to Salem, and I still don't know how we blew that lead at the Shirk.  Man did that Selection Sunday suck.

Any Selection Sunday sucks when your team doesn't make it (though it hurts less when you realize your team is AQ or bust about six weeks earlier!), but that must have been especially painful since they should have been a lock.

As to "how we blew that lead at the Shirk", let me count the ways:  Jim Lehan, Adam Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich, Cory Jones, Zach Freemen....  No disgrace there!  I doubt you blew it as much as it was taken away.

[Greek Tragedy]

As to "how we blew that lead at the Shirk", let me count the ways:  Jim Lehan, Adam Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich, Cory Jones, Zach Freemen....  No disgrace there!  I doubt you blew it as much as it was taken away.

Kind of like when Lawrence "blew" a 15-point lead or so at home in the Sweet 16 when they were like 25-0.    That was fun to watch!

[diehardfan]

Prior to the pool system, I remember when the WIAC got FOUR teams in...of course, the pool system hasn't stopped the UAA from getting four in! 

Since the UAA is statistically in the very top conferences this year, I have no problem with them getting four teams. Heck, IWU lost to Wash U, and Wheaton lost to Chicago... the UAA is good this year and very nearly beat themselves up a little less. I just think we deserve a few cookies thrown in our direction too.

Any Selection Sunday sucks when your team doesn't make it (though it hurts less when you realize your team is AQ or bust about six weeks earlier!), but that must have been especially painful since they should have been a lock.

As to "how we blew that lead at the Shirk", let me count the ways:  Jim Lehan, Adam Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich, Cory Jones, Zach Freemen....  No disgrace there!  I doubt you blew it as much as it was taken away.

Jimmy! Yeah, the conversation with his parents after that game was pretty funny. "Jimmy had a great game... but did it have to be THAT GREAT???" We would have won that game if we had shot better from the line I think, and our can't miss 3pt shooters had knocked down some open threes. We had a huge lead in the final minutes that quickly disappeared. The baby Titans played very well, but it was definitely our fault too.

I've know that Wheaton had to get a Pool A way back in November. The day we lost to Chicago for our second in-region non-conference loss, November 29th I got a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach... like it was sudden death that early on. When we grabbed an in-region win vs Hope it barely helped. With the way that the other CCIW teams were playing it was quickly apparent that the conference was going to beat itself up and that the Whitworth and Chicago losses would prove costly. I wish our guys would treat every game like it's the most important game they've ever played. I just don't see that urgency until the end of the season... and we're never going to be a final four team unless we bring it from day one. 

If Wheaton had beaten Chicago, Elmhurst would have been much closer in to the bubble discussion. All the CCIW teams need to keep getting it done out of conference so that even when we lose in conference, there can be no doubt that we deserve to have more than one team in. Here's hoping next year shapes out better!

[Ralph Turner]

I know the criteria for Pool C bids has been posted on here many times, and I'm not trying to rehash the argument as to whether or not that format makes sense.  It is what it is.  But, how completely absurd is it the neither the CCIW or the WIAC (widely accepted as the two best conferences in D3) get an at large bid.  Again, I know D3 is not about the money, but could anyone imagine the Big Dance with only one ACC and one Big Ten team in it?  I guess we truly did decide to go to a D3 school first and foremost for academics.

It is about money.  Can you imagine paying $40 per game per seat for your season tickets at your local CCIW school?

I was the guest at a professional association meeting in February 1984.  The conversation moved around the banquet table.

The gentleman from Louisville talked about knowing Denny Crum.

The gentleman from Georgetown talked about getting comps as a senior faculty member from John Thompson.

"Comps"  "You get comps?"  "Do you know how much I am going to have to pay for my seat licenses in Dean Smith's new palace at UNC?  And I am the department chair!" , exclaimed the gentleman from Chapel Hill.

The gentleman from Georgetown turned to the silent colleague next to him and asked, "what type of team does Mount Sinai (Hospital in NYC) have this year?"

[Mr. Ypsi]

April,

That crack about "it hurts less when you know your team is AQ or bust about six weeks earlier!" was actually addressed to my Titans (I'm spoiled and not used to such things!), but I suppose this year it applied to Wheaton, too.  At least you did well enough to have a SHOT at the AQ.

[79jaybird]

Elmhurst not making the tournament is just a slap in the face to the College, the CCIW, and the individual players wearing the Navy/Blue.  
Congrats Seniors and I am very sorry that the NCAA is not going to let you compete further.
Only 1 WIAC and 1 CCIW school in the dance is comical.  To see 4 UAA teams in there IMO is not right.  2 yes, 3 hmm perhaps but 4 from 1 league?  
I have a question:   How come there are sooo many Pool C bids for the East Coast Schools? I see 12 of the 18 Pool C's are geographically in the East?  So only 6 Pool C's are from the other regions?
Well there is no sense crying over spilled milk and the dealings have been done.  If I was Elmhurst I would be extremely (bummed out)  and use this as motivation to make sure this doesn't happen in 2008.  

[tjcummingsfan]

I think alot of it is just because there are so many D3 schools in the East comparatively. 

[sac]

more appropriately there alot more small conferences in the East where you can pad your in-region record and qowi numbers by playing other "good" programs.

[cciw watcher]

Will this ever happen? Another point I have is why have WIAC and CCIW confernce tournments when winning a game or two does nothing for a team to get in the big dance!  U. of Chicago should not be in due to no conference tournment!

[gordonmann]

I see 12 of the 18 Pool C's are geographically in the East?  So only 6 Pool C's are from the other regions?

Just to clarify, 12 bids are in the eastern portion of the country.  Not the East region which got two -- Rochester and Brockport State.

Just wanted to say I'm sorry we won't get to see Elmhurst in the tournament.  I've had them pretty high on my ballot all year.  That won't change, at least this week entering the tournament. 

[Gregory Sager]

If everybody's prediction is true, then the CCIW will only get ONE TEAM in the NCAA Tourney!  That is ridiculous!  The league was down very slightly from last year, but I still feel it deserves two teams this year. 

The CCIW wasn't down this year, TBF, slightly or otherwise. It was up -- and by a considerable margin, to boot:

2005-06 non-conference record (regular season only): 56-31 (.644)
2006-07 non-conference record (regular season only): 66-22 (.750)

The league improved by ten games in non-conference play ... and yet it went from having two Pool C teams to zero Pool C teams.

[Gregory Sager]

Prior to the pool system, I remember when the WIAC got FOUR teams in...of course, the pool system hasn't stopped the UAA from getting four in! 

The Pool C system strongly helps the UAA, since it allows its teams from weak regions (Brandeis in the Northeast, Rochester in the East) to fatten up prior to UAA play. NYU, which made a good run at a Pool C bid itself, is also notorious for raiding the pantry for cupcakes prior to UAA competition.

That's not a dig at the caliber of the UAA, by the way. I go to a lot of Chicago games at the Ratner Center, and I can attest to the fact that the UAA has some high-quality teams. I didn't see either Rochester or Brandeis this season, but I saw them both last year, and both the Yellowjackets and the Judges were very good. I saw NYU this season, and the Fighting Violets were very good, too. But the system as it's currently constructed really works in that league's favor.

[armywife]

The selection system stinks and needs to be overhauled. Sounds like the killer phrase "It's the way we've always done it" still reigns supreme for the NCAA process. Elmhurst deserved a shot and they should have gotten it.

I hope Augie wins the whole thing.