MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Great game on tap today, as #10 Elmhurst hosts #1 Wash U at 4:00pm.  Wish I could see this one...it could go either way.  I've seen Wash U. play 3 times this year, and I saw the Bears final 4 games last season (Sectionals, Final Four).  I've got a pretty good handle on the defending national champs to say the least.  I just saw Elmhurst play a few days ago, at Fontbonne.

Wash U is a much different team in 2008-09, after the graduation of D3hoops.com Player of the Year Troy Ruths (20.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg).  The 6-7 center was kind of the Tyler Hansbrough of Division III - he was just a beast down low for the Bears.  Wash U's other two key players last season were 6-7 wing Tyler Nading and 6-4 SG Aaron Thompson (PG Sean Wallis was hurt).  Wash U was just so hard to stop last year because you had the inside horse in Ruths, the outside sharpshooter in Thompson, and the do-it-all guy in Nading.  The Bears rolled in Salem, beating Hope by 15 and Amherst by 22.

This year's Wash U team also has 3 great players, but the difference is that they don't have a great player down low.  Junior Sean Wallis (9.9 ppg, 7.7 apg) is back, and is one of the best pure PG's in Division III.  Nading (14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg), a 6-7 senior small forward, is one of the toughest matchups in Division III because of his height at the 3 and his ability to play outside and in.  I believe Wash U's best player is 6-4 junior SG Aaron Thompson (18.3 ppg, 30-66 3-pt, .455), who is now their leading scorer on the season.  Thompson is a tremendous shooter and the Bears do a great job getting him shots.  He also has a knack for hitting the really big 3's...in game-changing moments. 

6-7 junior Zack Kelly has been very solid for the Bears this year, but he got hurt vs Fontbonne - I believe it was a concussion (he was literally old cold after catching an elbow to the head).  And earlier in the year, Wash U lost 6-9/250 Tom Blount to injury, who was originally Kelly's backup at the 5.   6-6 freshman Alex Toth started last night vs Eureka and 6-5 John Wolf moved into the rotation as his backup - the duo combined to go 8-9 from the field and score 20 points.

Wash U has a couple other key players.  6-5 starting PF Cameron Smith (6.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) is your protypical "role player" - he just does a great job doing all the little stuff and also seems to always score a big basket late.  6-3 freshman small forward Dylan Richter (8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg) is going to be a D3 All-American as a junior and senior...he'll start next year at Nading's spot and the Bears won't lose a thing.  6-6 sophomore Caleb Knepper (7.3 ppg, 2.1) is a reserve who might lead the nation in 3's per minute played - that dude comes off the bench firing.

Wash U is extremely well-coached and their offense is a thing of beauty.  The Bears are shooting .536 on the season, which is amazing.  They have 198 assists to 124 turnovers. 

But again, Wash U does not have a horse down low - just some serviceable bigs - and I think they'll have a hard time defending Brent Ruch.  If Elmhurst's guards can take care of the ball, make their open shots, and get it to the big boy, the Bluejays can win this game.  That won't be easy, as Wash U's perimeter players are very good defenders.  The Bluejays will also have to bottle up Wash U's big guys - they can't have Toth, Smith, Wolf, etc combining to score 20+ points.  Nading, Thompson, Wallis, Richter, and the perimeter group as a whole is going to score tonight...can't afford for the 4/5 guys to do damage.

Wash U has been dodging bullets in the non-conference:

@ Augustana, W in OT
vs Aurora (neutral), W in OT
@ Anderson, W by 2
vs Illinois Wesleyan, W by 7 (very close game)
vs Fontbonne, W by 9 (very close game)

Wash U is a great team, but they are beatable.  If you're a Division III basketball fan in the Chicago area, you need to get out to Elmhurst tonight to see this one.

[IWU53]

Thanks Bob!

[Titan Q]

Valparaiso up 2 on #1 North Carolina with 10:00 to play in the 1st half...that can't be a good sign for the NPU Vikings!

[Hoosier Titan]

Just a few observations about the IWU-Chicago game last night.  The Titans started a bit sluggish, with 13 turnovers in the first half.  It's the missed close-range shots and open three-pointers that I remember, however.  The Titans went from a shooting percentage of 47.4% in the first half (not really bad, but some of the misses were) to 58.6% in the second half.

Near the end of a close first half, Chicago went on a mini-run and it looked as though they would have a 4-point lead at halftime.  Sean Dwyer's three with time expiring had the Shirk center fans on their feet and seemed to give the Titans a boost.

The game turned, as games so often do, on what happened after the start of the second half.  The teams traded baskets for a couple of minutes and then Chicago's Matt Corning (one of their two most prolific scorers) was called for traveling.  Corning, frustrated with himself, slammed the ball into the floor and was called for the technical foul--an automatic in that situation.  He went around to each official apologizing for his momentary lapse and one had to feel for him.  Although Sean Johnson only converted one of the two shots, the momentum of the game seemed to swing in IWU's favor.  The Titans then went on a 17-5 run that essentially put the game away. 

As has already been said, Chicago is a much better team than their record indicates.  As an impartial observer I hope for their sake they can regain their confidence; as an IWU fan I'm glad it didn't happen at Shirk last night!

[Titan Q]

Some video from the IWU game yesterday from a local TV station sportscast...

http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=38231

[Hoosier Titan]

ICN5, the local station which covers the Titans' games, also has video highlights of all men's and women's games online:
http://www.icn5.com/homepage.html
Click on "sports" to the left and then "ICN5 replay."

[wheatonfanaddict]

elmhurst 43
wash u 32

17:07 2nd

[Titan Q]

elmhurst 43
wash u 32

17:07 2nd

Probably easier to just post the live stats link...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/live/xlive.htm

[Marty Peretz]

Elmhurst announcers are a bit hyperbolic in their pronouncements of how Elmhurst is "shocking" Wash.U> A top ten team playing at home and defeating the number one team is certainly an upset, but a mild one, not a stunner.

[Titan Q]

Elmhurst announcers are a bit hyperbolic in their pronouncements of how Elmhurst is "shocking" Wash.U> A top ten team playing at home and defeating the number one team is certainly an upset, but a mild one, not a stunner.

I agree.  This would be a great win for Elmhurst, but I'd only consider it a "mild" upset.

[wheatonfanaddict]

 in spite of everything they are holding ruch down to single digits thus far

[Titan Q]

in spite of everything they are holding ruch down to single digits thus far

I know that Wash U's gameplan was to double Ruch at all times and make the rest of the Elmhurst players beat them...I'm guessing that has led to so many other Bluejays getting involved.

Bainter, McCurdy, and others are stepping up...and of course Burks, but that is to be expected.

[Titan Q]

Final:

(#10) Elmhurst 82
(#1) Wash U 75

Congrats to the Bluejays on a terrific win.  Come selection/seeding time, this game may end up being very significant for not only Elmhurst, but the entire region...it brings Wash U back to the pack a bit in terms of the official criteria used (results vs common opponents, record vs ranked teams, etc).

Ryan Burks led Elmhurst with 17 pts.  Brent Ruch had 16 & 10 and was huge from the FT line down the stretch.  Although I was not there, I'm pretty sure the big man's presence was the biggest factor in Elmhurst's success.  The Bluejays got contributions from a bunch of guys today.

There's that second "signature win" for the CCIW.

[wheatonfanaddict]

wow congratulations elmhurst for knocking off #1 wash u. GO CCIW!

[iwu70]

Congrats to Elmhurst for taking one off of Wash U, bringing them back down to earth a bit.  Elmhurst shot a great percentage, FTs too.  Hope everyone is safe with all the tough weather out there.