MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[augiefan]

Carthage also trounced Concordia 85-60 this afternoon.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 68, Spalding 65

* Nick Williams: 14 pts
* Davone Robinson: 13 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts
* Shaun Collins: 11 pts
* Emmanuel Crosby: 10 pts

This was one of those wins in which you walk out of the gym feeling as though your team lost. NPU led at the half, 41-24, over a Spalding team that was basically one player, DeWhon McAfee, looking to penetrate on every single possession. Sometimes he didn't even bother with a token pass -- he brought the ball up the floor and went straight for the basket. That's the easiest offense in the game of basketball to defend, and for twenty minutes NPU defended it the way that it should be done. The only question seemed to be how big a final margin the Vikes would eventually rack up.

Unfortunately, this team doesn't seem to be able to put together two good halves. NPU folded like an accordion in the second half, mainly due to appalling rebounding; the Vikes were outboarded 43-32 on the night, and gave up a whopping 16 offensive boards. Nearly every shot the Golden Eagles attemped was either an initial layup or a putback, as they tried only ten treys on the night (they made only one). The wonder is that they only shot 59% from the field, considering how close in they were on almost every shot. McAfee proved to be completely unstoppable in the second stanza. He got to the rim at will, and on the rare occasions in which he decided to try a jumper he hit nothing but net almost every time. If he hadn't been so single-minded about driving even when he didn't have anything, he'd have been even more effective, as the entire North Park defense was collapsing upon him by the end of the game. He finished with 33 of Spalding's 65 points, played all 40 minutes, and was clearly too gassed at the end to make the difference. But he got the Eagles closer than they should've ever gotten, and he did it almost all by himself.

In the end, it was Nick Williams stepping up and providing the razor-thin margin of victory in a game that never should've been that close. He was strong when it counted tonight, making a couple of huge baskets in the last two minutes, and Emmanuel Crosby and Christian Alsing played well off the bench. Davone Williams contributed a solid game offensively, but his usual sharp D wasn't there tonight, as McAfee torched him. But the lack of rebounding -- which was mostly a lack of boxing out -- and the umpteen missed layups absolutely killed NPU.

Tonight's affair was almost as disappointing for North Park fans as was the loss to Concordia, as hard as that is to believe. This game shouldn't have been anywhere near as close as it was. It's another night in which one leaves the gym with a lot of doubts about this North Park team. If the Vikes don't start to pick it up soon, it'll be January and therefore too late to stop the CCIW steamroller from flattening them.

[Gregory Sager]

Chapman took down Elmhurst out on the left coast tonight, 81-66. North Central came back from a 21-point first-half deficit to edge Illinois College in overtime in the airplane hangar, 92-86.

[The Roop]

I've had issues with McAfee in the past. These days I use Defender Pro 

[Gregory Sager]

I've had issues with McAfee in the past. These days I use Defender Pro 

Rob and I were having some fun with McAfee's name on our broadcast. I think I said something like, "North Park needs to install a virus in that guy's software."

[hope1]

i am a hope fan just wondering how wheaton and carthage   look this year and players to watch please

[hope1]

hope  is 2-1  this year while calvin is  1-2   hope just beat calvin sat night by 3 at calvin

[Titan Q]

At 3:00 today, IWU (3-1) takes on what I believe to be a very solid Manchester (4-1) team.  The Spartans and Titans are very similar in a lot of way.  They both primarily play juniors and sophomores...both programs seem to be at the same stage of a building process.  Both are very deep teams.  And finally, both struggled in their leagues last season – IWU was 5-9 in the CCIW and Manchester 6-10 in the HCAC - but seem to be positioned to contend this season.

Manchester:

G – Jordan Moss (6-4, So.) – 9.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
G – Nathan Ferch (6-3, Jr.) – 6.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
F – Mitch Schaefer (6-4, Jr.) – 12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg
F – Tyler Henn (6-5, Jr.) – 11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
C – Jason Spindler (6-10, So.) – 9.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg

J.T. Hooks, F (6-5, Sr.) – 8.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Tyler Delauder, G (6-1, Jr.) – 8.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Matt Morris, C (6-7, So.) – 6.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Colin Clemens, F (6-5, Sr.) – 5.6, 1.6 rpg

IWU:

G – Travis Rosenkranz (6-0, Jr.) – 8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.5 apg
G – Sean Johnson (6-1, Jr.) – 11.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.0 apg
F – Jordan Zimmer (6-5, So.) – 11.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
F - Doug Sexauer (6-7, Jr.) – 17.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg
C – Edmond O'Callaghan (6-6, Jr.) – 5.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg

Sean Dwyer, G (5-10, Sr.)
Ryan Connolly, C (6-9, So.)
Duncan Lawson, F (6-7, Jr.)
Matt Schick, G (6-4, Jr.)


Last year, this same IWU nucleus beat this same Manchester nucleus by 5 in a very tight game, in North Manchester, IN...

http://www.iwusports.com/custompages/MBB/MBB2009/IWUMEN2.HTM

I left that game thinking both teams would be good in 2009-10 and 2010-11.  This year, IWU is only picked 4th in the CCIW and Manchester just 6th in the HCAC, but my guess is that both will finish significantly better than that in their leagues this season.  I might end up being wrong, but I think these are two good Midwest region teams. 

[Titan Q]

i am a hope fan just wondering how wheaton and carthage   look this year and players to watch please

Disclaimer – I have not seen Wheaton or Carthage yet this season.  But here's my take...

I am not sold on Wheaton as the CCIW favorite (which they were tabbed in the preseason poll), or as the highest ranked CCIW team (they're #15, with no other CCIW team ranked).  From last year's 26-4/11-3 Elite Eight team, Wheaton lost one of the best players in Division III to graduation (Kent Raymond – 23.9 ppg, 3.4 apg) and one of the best low-post players in the CCIW (Andy Wiele – 13.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg).  They also lost two key reserves who were expected to contribute this season - Jeremey Pflederer and Phil Carr, who are both in school, but not playing basketball.  And Wheaton recently lost D1 transfer guard Aaron Garriott, who was expected to start, to a knee injury.

That said, Wheaton has two outstanding players – 6-3 senior guard Ben Panner (18.3 ppg) and 6-6 sophomore forward Tim McCrary (18.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg).  The Thunder have two other very solid players in 6-3 guard Andrew Jahns (14.3 ppg) and 6-7 center Jake Carwell (6.0 ppg, 7.3 ppg).  So, they have a really good core...but I don't see much after that group of 4.  Wheaton's biggest challenge the last few years has been depth, and I see that being a problem for the Thunder again this year.  (Again, I haven't seen Wheaton yet, but that's my take at this point.)

Carthage should be right in the middle of the championship picture this season in the "reloading" CCIW.  The Red Men have one of the best players in the country in 6-3 junior point-guard Steve Djurickovic (24.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 7.0 apg).  Djurickovic has shot 44 FT's in just 4 games (making 39).  He is basically unstoppable at the Division III level...really quick first step, great at getting to the basket (and the FT line, obviously), tremendous mid-range shooter, and a decent 3-point shooter.  Carthage is starting two freshmen big guys who have made a splash early – 6-5 Raul Guzman (12.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and 6-6 Tyler Pierce (14.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg).  For the first time, they started a third freshman yesterday – 6-6 Mitch Thompson (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg).  Carthage also has a good 2-guard in Max Cary (14.5 ppg, 7-13 3-point).  

The biggest question for Carthage this season is probably rebounding.  The Red Men got killed on the boards last year, and were out-rebounded by 16 in their only loss this season (a 1-point loss to #13 UW-Whitewater).  Teams with big 4's and 5's might give the Red Men trouble this year.  I view Carthage as a top 2 team in the CCIW this year.

The MIAA/CCIW Challenge should be really interesting, because it seems there are 4 teams that could all be Top 25/conference championship-caliber, but all have some questions at this early stage.  Should be 4 very good games.      

[Titan Q]

When was the last "triple-double" by a CCIW player?  Today in a win over Wisconsin Lutheran, Steve Djurickovic had 23 pts, 13 reb, and 10 assists.  Wow.

http://athletics.carrollu.edu/livestats/xlive.htm

[Titan Q]

Final from Bloomington...

IWU 79
Manchester 77

• Sean Johnson – 32 points
• Jordan Zimmer – 13 points, 5 rebounds
• Ryan Connolly – 10 points
• Travis Rosenkranz - 7 points, 7 assists/0 turnovers



Sean Johnson hit a 28-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game.  IWU trailed 77-76 with 3 seconds to play, got it into Johnson, who dribbled to about 28 feet, pulled up and hit the 3.  Listening to the game, it reminded of the shot Adam Dauksas hit to beat Elmhurst 4 seasons ago.

Before that, IWU almost threw away the win in a game they led the entire way.  Not only did the Titans give away a 9-point lead with 2:43 to play, but up 2 with 14 seconds left with the ball and just needing to get the ball in and knock down a couple FT's to end it, Doug Sexauer turned the ball over...Manchester came down and hit a 3 to take the lead.

Johnson had a huge offensive game today, finishing with 32 points.  He scored from all over the floor – drives to the basket, mid-range jumpshots, 3-pointers, and free throws off penetration.  He also entered the game as IWU's assist leader on the season.  Johnson, who was primarily a 3-point shooter as a freshman, has really become a multi-dimensional offensive player.  He's on his way to a big junior year.

Doug Sexauer seemed to barely be on the floor in this game.  He was in foul trouble from the opening minutes, playing just 5 minutes in the 1st half and 18 in the game.  He finished with 9 points and was not much of a factor.

Per Ron Rose in the postgame, Manchester really tried to take IWU's posts away.  That led to the Titans taking 26 of 59 FGA attempts from beyond the arc.

This was a close game throughout - it sounded like the two teams were very even.  IWU opened up a few leads of 8-10 points, but Manchester would always battle back to a 3-4 point deficit.  

The Titans almost gave it away, and then got bailed out by a crazy shot.  As Scott Trost used to say, "Never apologize for a win."

[augiefan]

Bad news for Augie. Starter Bryant Voiles is done for the season. He tried to play this season with painful bone spurs, but it was too much to handle, so he'll have season ending surgery. A real blow to Augie's hope to be a contender in the CCIW.

[Titan Q]

Bad news for Augie. Starter Bryant Voiles is done for the season. He tried to play this season with painful bone spurs, but it was too much to handle, so he'll have season ending surgery. A real blow to Augie's hope to be a contender in the CCIW.

Maybe I don't know enough about Voiles, but it seems to me Augie has plenty of frontcourt depth to overcome this.

[dansand]

Bad news for Augie. Starter Bryant Voiles is done for the season. He tried to play this season with painful bone spurs, but it was too much to handle, so he'll have season ending surgery. A real blow to Augie's hope to be a contender in the CCIW.

Maybe I don't know enough about Voiles, but it seems to me Augie has plenty of frontcourt depth to overcome this.

They've got plenty of talented big guys, but none as versatile as Voiles. He's a legitimate perimeter player at 6-9, not just one of those soft big guys who shoots threes. He'll definitely be missed.

[Titan Q]

So 3 of the preseason top 4 have already lost key projected starters...

Wheaton (Garriott)
Augustana (Voiles)
IWU (Koschnitzky)