MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

I realize that the CCIW has a gaudy nonconference record, but to play devil's advocate: Augie has played 2 good teams and lost both (Wash. U. at home and LaCrosse on the road); IWU has played one good team and one above average team and lost both (@ Wash. U. and @ Olviet Nazerene), I'm not sure if Elhmurt has played more than one good team (they lost at home to Stevens Point). The most impressive win by a league team to date has to be Millikin's road victory at D2 SIU-E'ville. I'm sure the league is stornger than last year (it would have to be) and a 9-5 CCIW season record will be a significant accomplishment in 2009. But I have my doubts that the league will be as strong as it was in 2005/2006 when 4 teams were D3 tournament Final 16 caliber teams (and 2, IWU and Augie, actually were). At any rate, CCIW games should be competitive and a joy to watch come January. Can't wait.

I think you're being a bit selective on opponents.  (And, BTW, Elmhurst also played UW-LaX and beat 'em by 13).  Hope and Calvin (both perennial tourney teams [and often top 25], though the jury is still out for this year) were both beaten by Wheaton and Carthage (with Carthage also beating Keene St.).  Don't denigrate the CCIW non-con schedule as an endless array of cupcakes - some are, but there are plenty of at-least decent opponents on the list, and more flat-out good ones than you mentioned.

[Viking Blue]

Thanks, Greg.  I assume Charcoal Dlites is the preferred pre-game meal option versus the Golden Arches?

If you don't choose Charcoal Delites for the pre-game meal, I think it's a technical foul, possibly a a flagrant foul or maybe even a double-technical.  I'll need a ruling on that from Greg, however.

I'd call it a double tech and throw the bum out if he showed up in the crackerbox with a bag of Mickey D's rather than Charcoal Delights, but Viking Blue did exactly that tonight and he outranks both Mr. B and I in the scorer's table hierarchy -- so my powers are obviously pretty limited.

I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I apologize to all friends and family members I may have hurt by my horrible decision earlier this evening.  My car was warm, I thought I was running late, and you never know how long the Greeks will take in the drive-thru. 

As an 18 year old, the Golden Arches posed a much more financially lucrative option.  As a cagey veteran, I have no excuse.  I have given myself 3 floggings.  Out-of-towners:  please learn from my mistakes, and do not head to the north side of Foster on your next visit!

[Titan Q]

On the IWU/Chicago game tonight...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/12/19/usports/doc494b2780c8933871880582.txt

BLOOMINGTON -- Ron Rose wants his Illinois Wesleyan basketball team to disregard 0-9 and concentrate on 85-70. That's the margin the University of Chicago, which visits Shirk Center for a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game Friday, handled the Titans by last December in Hyde Park.

"I can't believe they're 0-9," IWU senior center Brett Chamernik. "They only lost (Nate) Hainje. Everybody else is returning. They kicked our butt up there. They really did. They outexecuted us the whole game."


This will only be IWU's second home game of the season (Maryville being the other). 

[Titan Q]

CCIW OVERALL:    54-11 (.831)

CCIW team heavy favorite
1 Millikin @ Knox, 12/19 - postponed from 12/18
2 Augustana @ Beloit, 12/19
3 Illinois Wesleyan vs Chicago, 12/19
4 Elmhurst vs Benedictine, 12/19
5 Wheaton vs Mount St. Joseph, 12/29 (neutral)
6 Wheaton vs Wittenberg or Taylor, 12/30 (@ Witt)
7 Augustana vs Coe, 12/30
8 Wheaton @ Grinnell, 1/3
9 Illinois Wesleyan vs Illinois College, 1/3
10 Carthage vs Trinity International, 1/5

CCIW team favorite
1 North Central vs McMurry, 12/19 (neutral)
2 North Central vs Mary Washington, 12/20 (neutral)
3 North Central @ Otterbein, 12/27
4 North Central vs Baldwin-Wallace or Thomas More, 12/28 (neutral)
5 Illinois Wesleyan vs St. Xavier, 12/29 (neutral)
6 Carthage vs St. Norbert or St. Scholastica, 12/30 (neutral)
7 Elmhurst @ Anderson, 1/3
8 Millikin vs York (NY), 1/3 (neutral)

CCIW team underdog
1 Elmhurst vs Wash U, 12/20
2 Carthage vs UW-Platteville, 12/29 (neutral)
3 IWU @ Northwood U., 12/30 (if IWU beats SXU)
4 North Park @ Valparaiso, 12/30
5 Millikin @ Christopher Newport, 1/4


10-0 in the first group, 0-5 in the last, and 5-3 in the middle would be 69-19 (.784).

[Titan Q]

I realize that the CCIW has a gaudy nonconference record, but to play devil's advocate: Augie has played 2 good teams and lost both (Wash. U. at home and LaCrosse on the road); IWU has played one good team and one above average team and lost both (@ Wash. U. and @ Olviet Nazerene), I'm not sure if Elhmurt has played more than one good team (they lost at home to Stevens Point). The most impressive win by a league team to date has to be Millikin's road victory at D2 SIU-E'ville. I'm sure the league is stornger than last year (it would have to be) and a 9-5 CCIW season record will be a significant accomplishment in 2009. But I have my doubts that the league will be as strong as it was in 2005/2006 when 4 teams were D3 tournament Final 16 caliber teams (and 2, IWU and Augie, actually were). At any rate, CCIW games should be competitive and a joy to watch come January. Can't wait.

Although I feel the need to point out that veterancciwfan is about as pessimistic as it gets, and I really hate to agree with what he posts, to some degree I do on this.  A huge % of the league's 54 wins have come against inferior teams, and at the same time, the CCIW only has one "signature win" (Millikin over SIU-E). 

I don't see Illinois Wesleyan as a Final Four contender...when I saw Elmhurst vs Fontbonne this week I did not see a team could get to Salem.  I think the league's top two teams are probably Wheaton and Augie, but Augie lost at home to Wash U (a game a great team has to win at home...although I know Wessels played sparingly) and then lost at UW-La Crosse.  And Wheaton really hasn't played a great team yet...not their fault Hope and Calvin are down.

So for me, the jury is still out.  I know the league is incredibly deep this year, and I think the CCIW is clearly the best league in Division III this season, but I need more info. to figure out just how good the top is - are these teams very good, or are they great?  In 2005-06 the CCIW had 4 great teams...the league wasn't nearly as deep, but it was outstanding at the top.

[Titan Q]

More on that topic...

CCIW vs "Top 25 caliber" teams:

- North Park vs Wash U, neutral (11/15), L, 64-86
- Augustana vs Wash U (11/22), L, 82-87 (OT)
- North Central vs Mt. Vernon Nazarene (11/22), L, 75-91
- IWU @ Olivet Nazarene (12/2), L, 63-76
- North Central vs UW-Whitewater (12/3), L, 54-62
- Millikin @ SIU-E (12/4), W, 70-59
- IWU @ Wash U (12/6), L, 86-93
- Carthage @ Olivet Nazarene (12/12), L, 73-87
- Elmhurst vs UW-Stevens Point (12/13), L, 53-62


CCIW: 1-8

[Ralph Turner]

How would you like to plan a trip to Vegas, only to find out they just received their biggest snowfall in 30 years.

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=9533950

The flooding comes next.

McMurry (TX) got its flight routed to PHX and then took a bus towards Las Vegas up I-15.  About 15 miles outside of Vegas, traffic halted due to a jack-knifed 18-wheeler.

That made for a long delay.  Vegas is PST so the video of the game will start at 4pm CST tomorrow.

McMurry is a new team.  Coach Holmes got a new assistant after last season, and only three guys returned.  I like the shift that occurred and the team is finding itself.

I really like Robert Moreno, the point guard, who wants to return to the Valley and coach.  Robert is a leader of men, first generation college kid, husband and father.  This will be a good test for us, because we need to see post-play as they play it in the CCIW and the midwest, (which is stronger than what we see in the southwest, Trinity TX usually excepted).

Travel saely NCC.

Sounds like McMurry had quite a trip. Something a lot of midwestern (and eastern I'm sure) teams go through each season. NCC flew into Vegas on Wed 12/17. Upon their return from Vegas, they head to the Columbus, Ohio area on 12/26 by means of an approx 7 hour (weather permitting) bus trip during which they will hopefully not have to deal with any weather issues.

With regard to the tournament they are participating in during the next 2 days in Vegas, I was able to obtain the following info:

http://www.tripsports.com/hoopla_overview.aspx

http://www.tripsports.com/hoopla_schedule.aspx

7 hours, bummer...

Almost every bus trip in the ASC is 3-4 hours and some are 10 hours, especially on the West, but usually the weather will be good.  (Mississippi College to Sul Ross State is 14.)

There are some very good game in Vegas.  The NCC-UMW men's game and the VWC George Fox women's game are two others that interest me!  (The ASC either has to go thru either the ODAC or the NWC in the Sectionals, and those two teams look strong again this year.)

[Gregory Sager]

I realize that the CCIW has a gaudy nonconference record, but to play devil's advocate: Augie has played 2 good teams and lost both (Wash. U. at home and LaCrosse on the road); IWU has played one good team and one above average team and lost both (@ Wash. U. and @ Olviet Nazerene), I'm not sure if Elhmurt has played more than one good team (they lost at home to Stevens Point). The most impressive win by a league team to date has to be Millikin's road victory at D2 SIU-E'ville.

As Chuck pointed out, you've omitted several of the CCIW's better wins. The Wheaton/Carthage sweep of the MIAA's Big Two will look much better in late February than it does now, because far more often than not VandeStreek and Van Wieren teams significantly improve over the course of the season. Plus, as Chuck also pointed out, you neglected to mention Elmhurst's win over UWL. Loras is not a Sweet Sixteen team, but as Bosko said it'll be at least a 17- or 18-win team that'll either win the IIAC or finish second to BVU, and the Duhawks have an honest chance at winning that league's tourney and making the big dance ... and the Duhawks went 0-3 against the CCIW this season.

The CCIW is running pretty much par for the course in games against better competition, with one exception. That exception is Wash U, the consensus best team in D3; the Bears have played three CCIW teams thus far, and it'll probably be four before the weekend's out, and that distorts everything.

The vast bulk of the CCIW non-conference schedule is always played against lesser local leagues (NAthCon, MWC, SLIAC, HCAC, and IIAC). The difference between this year and previous years is that the CCIW is losing far fewer games against the lesser leagues than it usually does. In a bunch of cases the CCIW team has had to scrape by to win, but in past years those close wins would've been losses. And that's very significant.

I'm sure the league is stornger than last year (it would have to be)

The CCIW went 66-28 (.702) in non-conference play last season, the fourth-best mark in CCIW history. Six teams finished with winning records, and the league came within one Millikin win of having all eight teams finish with ten or more wins for only the second time in league history. Plus, in the tournament Wheaton made the Elite Eight and Augustana took the eventual national champions to overtime before succumbing.

But I have my doubts that the league will be as strong as it was in 2005/2006 when 4 teams were D3 tournament Final 16 caliber teams (and 2, IWU and Augie, actually were).

The 2005-06 season wasn't a strong year for the CCIW; it was a lopsided year for the CCIW. You measure a league's strength in toto from top to bottom, not merely by the top. In fact, the non-conference winning percentage for the league in 2005-06 (.649) was the second-lowest that it has been in this decade. The four teams at the top were very, very good, of course; but the two teams that finished fifth and sixth (Wheaton and Carthage) were extremely substandard by the usual benchmarks of fifth- and sixth-place CCIW teams, and the two teams at the bottom (Millikin and North Park) were absolutely wretched.

As I've said before, the 2000-01 season is the CCIW season by which all others -- including this one -- should be measured.

[Mugsy]

Thanks, Greg.  I assume Charcoal Dlites is the preferred pre-game meal option versus the Golden Arches?

If you don't choose Charcoal Delites for the pre-game meal, I think it's a technical foul, possibly a a flagrant foul or maybe even a double-technical.  I'll need a ruling on that from Greg, however.

I'd call it a double tech and throw the bum out if he showed up in the crackerbox with a bag of Mickey D's rather than Charcoal Delights, but Viking Blue did exactly that tonight and he outranks both Mr. B and I in the scorer's table hierarchy -- so my powers are obviously pretty limited.

Mmmmmm.... Charcoal Delights!   

[iwufan32]

as for the wesleyan game tonight is it still on??

[Hoosier Titan]

Yes, IWU games are on--women at 5:15, men at 7:30.

[petemcb]

Any further word on Wash U and Eureka making it to Elmhurst tonight?

[Titan Q]

Any further word on Wash U and Eureka making it to Elmhurst tonight?

Wash U traveled up last night.


- No snow in Columbia, Mo

[ecdubb420]

Bluejay Classic is on. games delayed 30min.
So the games will start 5:30 and 7:30.
http://athletics.elmhurst.edu/mbasketball/news/36445079.html

[April]

Two things:

#1 You guys are such.... guys. Though I have all sorts of issues with McDonalds, Charcoal Delights is still more or less unhealthy fast food. Aren't there theoretically lots of great Korean Restaurants around NPU? Ever heard of sushi? Excuse me while I go back to eating my Spinich Ravioli with pesto sauce.

#2 I am having the hardest time grasping the whole games cancelled for snow thing... it hit over 60 today out here in San Diego County with clear blues skies and I am not a bit worried about being able to make my Larry - Cal Lu game up in Thousand Oaks aside from dealing with LA traffic.

More on that topic...

CCIW vs "Top 25 caliber" teams:

- North Park vs Wash U, neutral (11/15), L, 64-86
- Augustana vs Wash U (11/22), L, 82-87 (OT)
- North Central vs Mt. Vernon Nazarene (11/22), L, 75-91
- IWU @ Olivet Nazarene (12/2), L, 63-76
- North Central vs UW-Whitewater (12/3), L, 54-62
- Millikin @ SIU-E (12/4), W, 70-59
- IWU @ Wash U (12/6), L, 86-93
- Carthage @ Olivet Nazarene (12/12), L, 73-87
- Elmhurst vs UW-Stevens Point (12/13), L, 53-62


CCIW: 1-8

Since the first poll came out, I've honestly been scratching my head pretty hard about the fact that there are so many CCIW teams in the Top 25, especially as high as they are. We may do decently in regional rankings and playoff nods due to our blazing non-conference record. However, I can't help this sneeking feeling like we're going to be underperforming to people's perceptions in the playoffs again, minus Wheaton.

Speaking of which, does anyone have any idea why Wheaton and Wash U don't have much of a history of playing eachother in the non-conference schedules? Wash U obviously is trying to add more CCIW teams to it's nonconference slate, and it would seem like there would be significant reason to do so given the fact that Wheaton is the closest idealogically in terms of having national teams and the strongest academics of the CCIW schools.