MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[knarocky22]

It's impossible for Augie and IWU to both win out, they play next Wednesday.  That game next Wednesday in Rock Island is huge, as Augie would have swept IWU (which would help them in a tie-breaker with IWU or Wheaton) or the race would be entirely wide open.

If Augie can just win 2 out of their last 3 games, with one of them being vs. IWU, they would win the conference championship.  If this scenario happens, the worst Augie would finish would be 10-4 and the best IWU or Wheaton could finish would be 10-4. 

Augie would obviously have the tie-breaker over IWU having swept them in the regular season.  Augie would also have the tie-breaker over Wheaton, because if I remember correctly the tie-breaker would then be record vs. the 3rd place team, which would be IWU.

However, there is still a lot of basketball left to play.  After this Saturday's games we will have a much clearer picture of what everyone needs to do the rest of the way.

[Late nite]

Augie was beaten by a better team last night---Wheaton was on fire most of the game and continued to find the open man time after time as the shot clock wound down----The ballgame was won in the first half when the Vikes missed 5 point-blank shots or layups that would have turned an 11 point half time lead into a 1 point lead---When Augie falls into a deep hole like that, they are not the type of team that can quickly shoot itself back into the game---With their personnel, they are much more suited playing with a lead where they can use clock and milk the possessions

[andrewmp]

It's impossible for Augie and IWU to both win out, they play next Wednesday.  That game next Wednesday in Rock Island is huge, as Augie would have swept IWU (which would help them in a tie-breaker with IWU or Wheaton) or the race would be entirely wide open.

If Augie can just win 2 out of their last 3 games, with one of them being vs. IWU, they would win the conference championship.  If this scenario happens, the worst Augie would finish would be 10-4 and the best IWU or Wheaton could finish would be 10-4. 

Augie would obviously have the tie-breaker over IWU having swept them in the regular season.  Augie would also have the tie-breaker over Wheaton, because if I remember correctly the tie-breaker would then be record vs. the 3rd place team, which would be IWU.

However, there is still a lot of basketball left to play.  After this Saturday's games we will have a much clearer picture of what everyone needs to do the rest of the way.

Correct.  In my post, I was stating that Augie and IWU are both in control, since if one of them was to win out, it would including beating the other.  Neither has to depend on someone else to win the conference.  Wheaton needs help to host

[andrewmp]

What are the pool C implications for Augie, IWU, and Wheaton?  What are the chances of getting two teams in?  I noticed that Chicago is right in the mix with Wheaton and IWU, yet wheaton has a win against them and IWU a loss

[Mr. Ypsi]

If IWU won straight thru from now to the conference tourney title game, I believe they would still be at best a bubble team.  If Augie won everything until the title game they would still be a lock, and would probably get in even with one other loss.  Wheaton would be a near-lock with a run 'til the title game; another loss would probably drop them to bubble status.

Of course, all bets are off if there are a rash of presumed As who become Cs.

[Titan Q]

What are the pool C implications for Augie, IWU, and Wheaton?  What are the chances of getting two teams in?  I noticed that Chicago is right in the mix with Wheaton and IWU, yet wheaton has a win against them and IWU a loss

Some really nice work on the Pool C board by pabegg...

http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4232.1200

His analysis of the Midwest and West through Sunday's games (does not include Wednesday) is below.  As close as he got to the regional rankings that were released yesterday, it's clear he has a good feel for this stuff and the new OWP/OOWP metrics.

Wheaton, Chicago, and IWU seem to all be in the same boat -- outside the Pool C list right now, but still in the mix (Wheaton is in the best shape of the 3, especially after last night).  Those Wheaton vs Chicago and IWU vs Chicago games in December could certainly be big on selection day.
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Reg Conf Rank Prior RPI    OWP    OOWP   School                    Natl Status      Reg Overall


MW  90   01   02   0.6892 0.6892 0.5659 Washington U.             008  C 2         13-3 16-4
MW  74   02   01   0.6074 0.5217 0.5110 Lawrence                  009  A w C       14-2 16-2
MW  71   03   03   0.6314 0.5774 0.5709 Augustana                 014  A w C       16-4 17-4
MW  71   04   05   0.6046 0.5689 0.5583 Wheaton (Ill.)            045  C second    13-5 16-5
MW  71   05   06   0.6171 0.6237 0.5544 Illinois Wesleyan         055  C third     12-6 13-8
MW  74   06   08   0.5731 0.5389 0.4925 Carroll                   060  C third     13-5 14-5
MW  90   07   04   0.6199 0.6399 0.5683 Chicago                   061  C third     12-7 13-7
MW  76   08   10   0.5636 0.5283 0.4754 Webster                   068  A third     13-5 15-5
MW  71   09   07   0.5672 0.5189 0.5311 Elmhurst                  071  C third     14-6 15-6
MW  72   10   11   0.5520 0.5145 0.4949 Defiance                  085  A other     136 15-6
MW  73   11   09   0.5349 0.4542 0.4943 Aurora                    093  B 5         145 16-5

WE  84   01   01   0.6128 0.4940 0.5347 Occidental                007  A w C       13-1 18-2
WE  82   02   02   0.6012 0.4903 0.5295 St. Thomas                012  A w C       17-2 19-3
WE  86   03   05   0.6009 0.5082 0.5538 UW-Platteville            021  A w C       15-3 17-4
WE  86   04   04   0.6134 0.5665 0.5311 UW-Stevens Point          023  C 7         15-4 17-4
WE  81   05   03   0.5866 0.4644 0.5428 Buena Vista               025  A w C       14-2 18-4
WE  81   06   07   0.5985 0.5112 0.5479 Loras                     026  C 8         14-3 17-5
WE  84   07   08   0.5901 0.5026 0.5219 Cal Lutheran              030  C 10        15-3 17-3
WE  86   08   06   0.5802 0.4669 0.5448 UW-Whitewater             034  C 12        16-3 18-3
WE  86   09   10   0.6093 0.5844 0.5463 UW-Oshkosh                043  C second    13-5 16-6
WE  83   10   09   0.5643 0.4750 0.5070 Puget Sound               052  A second    12-3 16-4
WE  82   11   11   0.5702 0.5124 0.5192 Gustavus Adolphus         059  C third     14-5 16-5



Reg        Region
Conf       Conference number
Rank      Regional ranking
Prior       Prior regional ranking
School
Natl     National ranking based on regional results
Status
    B + number: Pool B ranking (top 4 in tournament)
    C + number: Pool C ranking of 17 teams in tournament
    C second: second tier Pool C (spots 18-27)
    C third: third tier Pool C (spots 28-37)
    A w C: Pool A, in likely Pool C range
    A second: Pool A, in second tier Pool C
    A third: Pool A, in third tier Pool C
    blank: lower level Pool C
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The official regional rankings were...

Midwest Region
1. Augustana 17-4 16-4 .573 .571
2. Washington U. 16-4 13-3 .690 .556
3. Lawrence 16-2 14-2 .519 .511
4. Wheaton (Ill.) 16-5 12-5 .565 .559
5. Chicago 13-7 12-7 .641 .569
6. Illinois Wesleyan 13-8 12-6 .619 .555
7. Carroll 14-5 13-5 .537 .492
8. Webster 15-5 13-5 .529 .475

[Naperick]

On tonight's game North Central at home against North Park, this is my take on the game:  no heart + no spark + no drive + no emotion  = NO WIN

I was at Merner fieldhouse last night and I think your post says it all.  North Park started the 2nd half with a nice run and it seems like the Cardinals had no desire after that.

[Naperick]

In the first few years of doing EC games, my co-host and myself prided ourselves on being well, goofballs.  I mean, we were college kids spending our own money, our own time and presenting a product as we felt.  As the years progressed, this goofball moniker disappeared and as a result the fun in calling the games went away (one of the many reasons, I'm no longer doing the games).  Let these kids call the games as they wish, the joy of college radio is doing things on your terms and more importantly not holding back in saying how you feel about opposing fans, refs, players and hell even coaches. 
If schools want a "more professional product" then feel free and offer scholarships, re-imbursement for traveling expenses, and training for these students.  I know at EC we received no help, and quite frankly, the school wouldn't have ever began broadcasting games if it weren't for a pair of goofball kids.  I can't speak for how the programs began at the other schools, but simply put, be thankful that the games are even on the air. 

On a seperate note, the EC broadcast sounds great, and unless I'm confused, they are definately not students.   

I was part of the WRSE broadcast team in 1990 - 1991.  I had no plans to make radio my career but had a lot of fun doing it.  Mixing that in with running track, academics, a girlfriend, and a fraternity was a challenge but very worth while.  The play-by-play guy made radio his career and made many stops throughout the U.S.  He had to give up sports broadcasting because of family reasons but was the voice of the Carolina Mudcats after being in the business 5 years.  I really think he was going to make it big.

Your post reminded me of some very fun times in my past and how much dedication it takes to put the games on the air.  Thanks for reminding me of that.

A big thank you to all involved at all CCIW schools who work to put the games on the air and on the web.

[Naperick]

Both teams shot very well last night from the field in the North Central - North Park contest.  I was really impressed with the play of the Vikings Chris Brown.  He seems to know where to be at all times on defense and really changes the game with his quickness.  It was fun to watch him play.  I look forward to seeing him play at Elmhurst on Saturday night.

[augiefan]

Augie's defeat last night was in no small part a result of Wheaton totally shutting down Augie's two big men. Swetalla and Rukavina combined 7 points and 3 rebounds. It also did not help that a 70% plus FT shooting team hit 3 of 9 last night. Jordan Delp's loss was devastating, but the shocker of the year for Augie is how ineffective Dain Swetalla has been in many of this season's games. In all of Augie's losses except against WLAX Dain has been a non-factor.

Hopefully, Dain will be on his game from here on out, as Augie desperately needs him to play to his capabilities. Millikin almost beat Augie in Rock Island, so Saturday's game will be tough and the big guys need to show up Saturday night and not be looking ahead to the visit from 1st place IWU.

[Titan Q]

It seems like almost all of the great teams I've seen over the years - teams that make deep runs in the tournament - have had some combination of all of the following:

* A good (or better) point-guard
* Inside/outside scoring balance
* Ability to defend the low post & rebound
* Depth
* Superstar/go-to guy

Of the 5 contenders for the 4 conference tournament spots, it seems each is missing at least one...

Augustana (8-3) - superstar/go-to guy
IWU (8-3) - superstar/go-to guy
Wheaton (7-4) - depth
Elmhurst (6-5) - point-guard
Carthage (5-6) - scoring balance, ability to defend low post/rebound


Will be interesting to see how this all plays out!

[Titan Q]

What's happened to the kid who transfered to Augie from Valpo (Keaton Frye)?  Does he play JV?

[Gregory Sager]

To say they dont have the talent of years past is a fact.  But to say they dont have the talent to win in this years league is a cop-out.  The McDaniels, Wiertels, and Garnes dont come along but once in a long time.  And he had all of them together.  Dont get me wrong I cannot question Boskos track record.  But he is a coach who would be better suited for a division 1 school, being that he needs great players to coach.

I don't know about that. It seems to me that he's done pretty well at this level.

That being said, it seems as though he has said this same thing year after year consistently since the post Mcdaniel era.  "We need to recruit better"   It has been some 5-6 years since Antoine McDaniel or Theo Powell suited up and he is still living in those teams.  Steve has been the only all around solid recruit he has landed since Antoine, and he got Steve because he was his son.  Where does he go from here?

I think it's overstating the matter to say that he has had only one "all-around solid recruit" since Antoine McDaniel. For one thing, Theo Powell followed after McDaniel. So did Kevin Menard and Trey Bowens. But the fact of the matter is that Bosko and his assistants have brought in lots of good ballplayers over the past few years. The problem is that most of them haven't stuck around. Derrick Clanton and Casanova Brown had phenomenal CCIW potential, yet neither one lasted past his freshman year. This year Logan Derrick seems to be following that trend; he's still on the roster, but he hasn't appeared in a game since mid-December. Is he still on the team? Is he still in school? Nobody's even mentioned his name on CCIW Chat over the past couple of months.

And then there's the top-drawer talent that actually contributed before leaving early. Mike Hart was on his way to becoming a CCIW superstar. Then he left Carthage; now he's finishing out his career at Northern Illinois. Kyle Jeffery was an established CCIW superstar. But he left, too, and now he's finishing his career at UW-Parkside.

Lastly, there's the it-might-have-beens. Trey Bowens has been a very good player in this league, but one wonders just how much better he would've been if academic troubles hadn't sidelined him at various points during his underclassman seasons. Same with Billy Shemerdiak. When you're relegated to street clothes because of grades and you can't even practice with the team, you're impairing your future development.

Bosko's had the players, aceon. He simply hasn't been able to keep them in a Carthage uniform. Perhaps part of what he meant by "We need to recruit better" was, "We need to bring in guys who won't fall by the wayside for whatever reason."

[Gregory Sager]

In the first few years of doing EC games, my co-host and myself prided ourselves on being well, goofballs.  I mean, we were college kids spending our own money, our own time and presenting a product as we felt.  As the years progressed, this goofball moniker disappeared and as a result the fun in calling the games went away (one of the many reasons, I'm no longer doing the games).  Let these kids call the games as they wish, the joy of college radio is doing things on your terms and more importantly not holding back in saying how you feel about opposing fans, refs, players and hell even coaches. 
If schools want a "more professional product" then feel free and offer scholarships, re-imbursement for traveling expenses, and training for these students.  I know at EC we received no help, and quite frankly, the school wouldn't have ever began broadcasting games if it weren't for a pair of goofball kids.  I can't speak for how the programs began at the other schools, but simply put, be thankful that the games are even on the air. 

I understand what you're saying, and to the degree that you were acting independently of Elmhurst and were without support I agree with you. However, when the student broadcast team is subsidized by the school and is acting in an official (i.e., supervised) capacity on the school radio station, then it's a different story. Then it becomes a matter of being seen as the school's ambassadors to the public, just like the athletes, because the airwaves are public. And that's where the goofball behavior becomes problematic.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton beat #8 Augustana tonight despite not getting a single FG from its bench.  The Thunder had 1 point off the bench - a Phil Denham FT.  Wheaton's bench only attempted one shot.

I will preface my comment by granting the fact one cannot draw general conclusions about a team from one game.  However, in that one game I saw Wheaton play this year out here in Pasadena, I made the comment during the game that the rest of Wheaton's team seems content to let Raymond and Wiele take all of the shots.  Nobody else wanted to shoot or take the ball to the hole.  Granted they were playing against a 2-3 zone that day, which usually takes a lot of the motion out of the offense, but nobody wanted to drive into the soft spots of the zone and draw defenders.  I saw a lot of standing around and either pounding it into the post to Wiele, or Raymond creating his own shot off the dribble.  Has this been a consistent trend in the other games they've played this year?

No. Ben Panner is averaging 14.8 ppg in CCIW play, 13.9 ppg overall. He's scored in double figures in 16 of Wheaton's 22 games to date. He is a legitimate scoring threat, and has to be defensed as such. Wheaton has a three-man offense (or a four-man offense on the occasional night when Andrew Jahns chooses to shoot as well), not a two-man offense.

If the game that you saw in Pasadena was Wheaton vs. Rivier, then it's understandable that you would've drawn the conclusion that Wheaton has a two-man offense. Panner only scored four points in that game.