MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[petemcb]

IWU 91
Southwestern 75

IWU shot 55.6% from the field and 59.1% from 3 (and 53% from the FT line somehow!).

I think the numbers would show that IWU can compete with anyone when shooting their 3's at 50%+.  What will be interesting to watch in conference play is whether they have turned the corner and are able to win games when the 3's aren't dropping.

Just for the record, this is the jumping off point for my previous post.  I didn't arbitrarily pick the unlikely season-long 3 point percantage of 50%.  I probably should have included this quote in my original comment.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park hosts UW-Superior tonight at 7:30 pm in a matchup of 6-4 foes. This will be the first time that the Vikings and Yellowjackets have ever faced each other.

UW-Superior is a hard team to figure out. The Yellowjackets own a victory over D2 Minnesota-Duluth -- in Duluth, no less -- but they've also lost at home to 2-7 Martin Luther, and last night they were stunned in overtime in Milwaukee by MSOE, 77-72, on the first leg of their southern swing. The Raiders beat the Vikings by 12 in Milwaukee on opening day; other than those two wins, MSOE hasn't really done much to impress anyone.

UW-Superior has large and skilled big men. The Yellowjackets' front line rotation consists of 6'8, 240 junior Greg Roeder (6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg); 6'6, 225 junior Jake Smith (19.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg); 6'6, 220 junior Marcus Helland (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg); and 6'5, 187 sophomore Ben Aalfs (10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Junior shooting guard Dan Culy (13.3 ppg) is a scoring threat, as is the point guard, diminutive Chicago native (DeLaSalle) Dwight Hill (12.5 ppg). The Yellowjackets have an outside game to go with their inside game, too; they shoot .380 from downtown as a team, with Culy (.409), Helland (.500), Aalfs (.357), and sophomore guard Dustin Ritchie (.381) being the primary threats.

We'll see if UW-Superior comes out with a chip on its shoulder because of last night, and if NPU has some rust due to the ten-day Christmas layoff.

Don't forget to watch tonight's game. As usual, Rob and I will be on the call. The broadcast link is here.

[petemcb]

Where's the pre-game meal being ingested?  We're thinking King Gyro (?) at the corner of Foster and Milwaukee.

[petemcb]

Greg, you've done a TitanesQue job of making your team's opponent sound like they just might be headed for the tournament come March.  Very nice.  It's hard to believe a team that has the size and the numbers you've given us could lose some of the games they've lost this season.  I'm not really sure what to expect tonight, but Superior's superior size sounds a little disconcerting for Vikings/CCIW fans.  As I mentioned on the pick 'em board, I went with NPU because I knew I'd be at the game and didn't want the cognitive/emotive dissonance of picking against the Park and then having to cheer against them tonight, but I'm not overly optimistic for the CCIW tonight.  It's been a tough week so far.

[John Gleich]

The fact of the matter is that a 50%+ shooting night is an anomaly, not the norm.  Even a team shooting 45% that shoots 50% is shooting better than their average.

And that's the key.  This is an average.  It shows an overview of past results but it isn't necessarily a predictor of what will happen.  But good shooting nights are going to happen.  I think that most teams have a good chance to win on their good shooting nights, and conversely, it will be a much more difficult struggle on their poor ones.

In terms of league play... one has to think about what leads to good shooting nights.  A very important factor is the defense.  If a team is playing a poor defensive team, then they will have a better chance to shoot well.  The CCIW has good defensive teams, so the chances of a good shooting night are diminished... but, in the same way that there isn't a way to accurately predict a bad shooting night, a good shooting night can't be predicted either and could happen at any time.  But good defense can cause what would otherwise be a good shooting night to be an average or bad one.


Regarding UW Superior... they really are a head-scratcher...  They've got some pretty good individual players, and I think that's how they've had some of their success.  However, I don't think that, after those good players, they have much depth.  That would likely be how they lost to the bad teams.

[petemcb]

Then I think we're saying the same thing, but you've gone to the trouble of explaining the point (appropriate given your screen name 8) ) and qualifying it.  I was meaning to imply that the original premise that saying that IWU can play with anyone when shooting their 3's at +50% (someone else's statement  -  not mine) is not really saying that much because it's so unlikely to become a pattern.  We're in agreement here.

In terms of UW-Superior, I'm looking forward to this matchup tonight due to the seemingly effective size of Superior's big men.  I wonder if Jorge G is suiting up and playing for NPU tonight.  For that matter, I wonder if Schneidermeier is ready to go.  Seems like NPU could use both of them, healthy, tonight.

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, you've done a TitanesQue job of making your team's opponent sound like they just might be headed for the tournament come March.  Very nice.

OK, now you're really taking off the gloves, Pete. 

Tell you what: I'll leave this up to the CCIW Chat audience to decide. My excuse is that:

a) I'm hyping tonight's game, because I want people to watch the broadcast;
b) This is strictly a CYA situation, given that North Park has played poorly thus far this season and the outcome of tonight's game is very uncertain from the NPU perspective;
c) I needed an excuse to post a lot of stats and make it look as though I'm doing my homework for tonight;
d) I publicly stated that I thought UW-Superior could be a dark-horse contender in the WIAC this season;
e) This is North Park's best opponent on a seriously lightweight non-conference schedule, so it's easy to get carried away; or
f) all of the above

Since this post is being sent from a computer within the city limits of Chicago, I encourage all of you to vote early and vote often.

[sac]

I vote  a, b, c, d, e and f...........my dead dog voted for c

[petemcb]

By the way, for the record, my reference above to Greg's estimation of NPU's opponent tonight was intended as a humorous poke at Titan Q's passion for all things Titan, including their opponents.  One of the reasons I keep coming back to this board is the collective wisdom/experience/passion for all things CCIW of guys like Bob, Greg, AndOne, Usee, etc.  Meeting each of them in person confirms my regard for them.  Just to be clear.

[Gregory Sager]

You've met USee? He's a real flesh-and-blood person? Over the years I'd become convinced that he's actually the ongoing result of a class project by one of Wheaton's advanced computer science seminars. 

[Titan Q]

By the way, for the record, my reference above to Greg's estimation of NPU's opponent tonight was intended as a humorous poke at Titan Q's passion for all things Titan, including their opponents.  One of the reasons I keep coming back to this board is the collective wisdom/experience/passion for all things CCIW of guys like Bob, Greg, AndOne, Usee, etc.  Meeting each of them in person confirms my regard for them.  Just to be clear.

Hey, you don't post on the CCIW board - once called by someone the "high stakes room" of D3hoops.com boards - regularly for 12 years without having pretty thick skin.  Jab away, Pete!

PS  Watchout for MacMurray come March.

[petemcb]

You've met USee? He's a real flesh-and-blood person? Over the years I'd become convinced that he's actually the ongoing result of a class project by one of Wheaton's advanced computer science seminars. 

Actually, I don't know if I've met him or not.  I remember meeting a Wheaton poster whose name escapes me.  Don't know if that's him or not.

Are you suggesting Usee is an IMposter, Greg?

[Gregory Sager]

You've met USee? He's a real flesh-and-blood person? Over the years I'd become convinced that he's actually the ongoing result of a class project by one of Wheaton's advanced computer science seminars. 

Actually, I don't know if I've met him or not.  I remember meeting a Wheaton poster whose name escapes me.  Don't know if that's him or not.

Are you suggesting Usee is an IMposter, Greg?

I have no idea if he is or isn't, Pete. I only know that Wheaton perfidiousness knows no bounds.

I suggested in the CCIW football room last year that USee is actually a Jedi knight who can do that neat plant-thoughts-in-your-head trick. That might be a good alternative theory to my advanced-computer-program theory.

[petemcb]

PS  Watchout for MacMurray come March.

[/quote]

MacMurray as in downstate Illinois MacMurray or as in Texas McMurray?  I'm never sure which school is the Mac and which is the Mc.  Not surprising for a guy named McBride with ancestors from the Scottish land of the Mac's.  Go figure.

[petemcb]

I suggested in the CCIW football room last year that USee is actually a Jedi knight who can do that neat plant-thoughts-in-your-head trick. That might be a good alternative theory to my advanced-computer-program theory.

Sounds like somebody they might want to get on the Wheaton coaching staff after the debacle against Hamline.