MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan @ Benedictine is the only Opening Night game the CCIW has on tap, but there's a bunch of other local games of interest going on tonight:

Chicago @ Dominican
Washington (MO) @ MacMurray*
St. Norbert @ Marian
UW-LaCrosse @ Concordia (WI)
UW-Platteville @ Wisconsin Lutheran
Loras @ Edgewood

* Normally, this game wouldn't count as a "game of interest," because there's nothing interesting about the Bears disemboweling the Highlanders (Wash U won this game by 35 points last year in St. Louis). However, the Bears have been depleted by graduation and badly wracked by injuries, to the point where nobody's really sure who Mark Edwards is going to put out on the floor tonight.

[Mr. Ypsi]

The long national nightmare is nearly over - a CCIW team plays a real basketball game starting in less than a half hour!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Watched the IWU/Benedictine game on the internet (kudos to Benedictine - fully adequate video and excellent announcing).  Titans win 78-64, with 5 Titans hitting double figures (including a career high for Matt Schick of 18).

Unfortunately, unless Benedictine is better than I perceived, that did NOT look like the #4 team in the country.  But it is only the opening night, so not going into panic mode!

[Titan Q]

IWU 78
Benedictine 64

http://athletics.ben.edu/custompages/MEN'S%20BASKETBALL/2010-11/bumb01.htm

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/article_d717965c-f137-11df-b846-001cc4c03286.html

* Matt Schick: 18 pts, 6 reb
* Travis Rosenkranz: 13 pts, 4 reb
* Sean Johnson: 11 pts
* Stephen Rudnicki: 10 pts
* Doug Sexauer: 10 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists
* Duncan Lawson: 9 pts, 11 reb

* Nate Green: 14 pts, 3 reb, 5 assists

- IWU outrebounded BU 40-31
- Titans held BU to .386 FG and .227 3-pt

[Titan Q]

IWU did not play particularly well tonight, but I came away with some pretty good feelings about the game actually.  Random thoughts...

* I love all of IWU's ball-handling.  Between Rosenkranz, Johnson, Schick, Gonzalez, and Rudnicki, the Titans have a lot of guys on the floor at all times who can handle it.  Even though the Titans turned it over way too many times in the 1st half tonight, down the stretch that ball-handling really became a factor.

* While I don't think the Titans played great overall, I do think they played with poise and composure for most of the game.  They looked like a very veteran team out there.

* With forwards Zimmer and Koschnitzky out, IWU's depth at the forward spots was big.  Matt Schick stepped up with a career high 18 points, with 6 rebounds...Stephen Rudnicki had 10...Duncan Lawson with 9 & 11.  I thought Lawson was really good tonight down the stretch...he grabbed a lot of big rebounds while the game was close.

* BU did a great job on Doug Sexauer down low, doubling him at all times he got the ball...but that strategy created wide open looks for IWU on the perimeter.  Had IWU shot a little better than 7-20 from 3, this game would not have been quite as close for so long.  But without question, this is how most teams will choose to attack IWU while Zimmer is out.

* IWU was 19-23 from the FT line, and was outstanding down the stretch, preventing BU from cutting into the IWU lead.

* Kevin Reed had a rough first career start - he didn't do much out there tonight.  Duncan Lawson is probably going to be pushing him at that 4 spot, but hopefully Kevin settles in.


Not pretty, but again, I liked a lot of things I saw tonight considering how many new faces and combinations were on the floor.

[Titan Q]

Finally, I have to say, the Benedictine video broadcast was outstanding - it was the best D3 video stream I have seen in the 5-6 years we've had the luxury of occasional live video.  The production quality was great - different camera angles, replays, and a quality picture.

Tim Calderwood, the broadcaster, was really, really good.  Completely neutral and had great background information on the players from both teams.

This displaced IWU fan wishes I had that kind of video option for every game.  It was a pleasure.

[Titan Q]

Unfortunately, unless Benedictine is better than I perceived, that did NOT look like the #4 team in the country.  But it is only the opening night, so not going into panic mode!

While I'm not quite ready to jump off the bandwagon after a 14-point road win without 2 starters, and with the 2 stars playing pretty poorly, I did leave the video broadcast with one big concern --

Ron Rose's hair.

It's way too short.  It looks like he either lost a bet, or gave a pair of scissors to Ryan Connolly and said, "Trim me, big boy."

I'm not sure what is a more significant development for the IWU basketball program after the next 2 weeks pass - getting John Koschnitzky back, or Rose's hair growing out some.

[Titan Q]

I'm very intrigued by the Wheaton/Manchester game in Indiana tonight.  Manchester is ranked #25 in the preseason poll with 78 points...Wheaton is one of the top "others receiving votes" teams, with 66.

Here is some information I prepared on Manchester a while back for the Top 25 board...

----------
Manchester (17-10 overall, 10-6 HCAC/Midwest) – not in 2009-10 tournament
Starters Returning: (5) G Mitch Schaefer, 6-4 SR (11.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg), G/F Tyler Henn, 6-5 SR (9.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg), G Jordan Moss, 6-4 JR (9.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg), G Nathan Ferch, 6-3 SR (8.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg), C Jason Spindler, 6-10 JR (7.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

Starters Lost: none

Top Returning Reserve: G Tyler Delauder, 6-1 SR (8.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
----------

The Spartans have everyone back from a 17-win team.  Last year they lost @ IWU on Sean Johnson's 40-footer at the buzzer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPGoocOsc_4

Here is the boxscore from MC's exhibition loss to Steve Alford's New Mexico team...

http://www.manchester.edu/athletics/basketballm/stats/stats2011/newmexicoexhibition.pdf

Manchester has a bunch of interchangeable parts.  They basically start 4 "wing"-type players and a big guy (Spindler).  At all times, they have 4 guys on the floor who can shoot the 3 pretty well.  Spindler is not a great offensive player, but he's a big presence in the middle on both ends of the floor.

I'm not sure how the Spartans will defend Tim McCrary.  I don't think Spindler is quick enough to guard him, and most of their other guys aren't tall enough.  On the flipside, I think Wheaton has 2-3 bad matchups as well.

With Wheaton featuring a lot of new faces in the rotation, I think this is going to be a very tough road game for the Thunder.  And while it does not feel like (because it's so early), this is the kind of in-region game that is huge for both teams.  At the end of the season, both teams will really want to have this win in their pocket.

Looks like we have live video (I'm going to get spoiled - 2 nights, 2 video streams):

http://www.manchester.edu/athletics/basketballm/

[robberki]

Another season is upon us folks and that means Viking basketball! Any North Park fans out there, or anyone looking to watch some fun basketball action make sure you check us out at http://npu.me/2010bball tomorrow night. Greg and I have the call and we'll be going on at 7 with our CCIW season preview. Check it out if you have some time. Here's a great season!

[REDMENFAN]

Looking forward to Carthage's first game tonight, here's a team preview from Journal Times

http://journaltimes.com/college/carthage/article_eb458f50-f13f-11df-a343-001cc4c002e0.html

[Gregory Sager]

Six straight Titan Q posts before Rob rudely cut you off there, Bob. That's gotta be a CCIW Chat record (I'll admit that I probably held the old record, whatever it was). We turned into the Titan Q Network for a moment there.

After reading your praise of BU's Tim Calderwood and the BU webcast in general, it makes me feel as though Rob and I are going to have to raise our game a bit behind the mic. We will only have the one midcourt camera, just like last season, and no replays. That puts a lot of pressure upon the two broadcasters to make the production seem like something other than what Wayne and Garth put on in Wayne's basement in North Aurora, IL.

Rob, we're gonna have to come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow evening, just like the Vikings.

[usee]

I for one am looking forward to another season long song of "CCIW bias" from our friend out west, OxyBob.

[Drake Palmer]

..Rob, we're gonna have to come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow evening, just like the Vikings.

Greg - I hope you weren't referring to our beloved/hapless MN Vikings. 

Last winter I caught a NPU broadcast when you were flying solo & I thought you did a solid job without your running partner.

I've also listened to one of Titan Q's broadcasts during one of the tourney games in the last couple of years & he does an excellent job behind the mike as well.

[Gregory Sager]

..Rob, we're gonna have to come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow evening, just like the Vikings.

Greg - I hope you weren't referring to our beloved/hapless MN Vikings. 

Last winter I caught a NPU broadcast when you were flying solo & I thought you did a solid job without your running partner.

I've also listened to one of Titan Q's broadcasts during one of the tourney games in the last couple of years & he does an excellent job behind the mike as well.

Thanks, DP. And, no, I wasn't referring to the Minnesota Vikings. While NPU basketball players are not choirboys, by and large, I don't think that any of them have ever sent pictures of their wee-wees to prospective girlfriends via their phones. (And if they have, I don't want to hear about it.)

I for one am looking forward to another season long song of "CCIW bias" from our friend out west, OxyBob.

Aren't we all? I mean, that never gets old, right?

As an aside, I really don't have any emotional investment whatsoever in whether or not the SCIAC admits Chapman as its ninth member. But I'm kinda hoping that the league does vote in favor of having Chapman join, because the sound of OxyBob's head exploding will be audible here in Chicago, two time zones away.

[Titan Q]

JV score from last night...

IWU 82
Benedictine 60

- Nick Anderson: 17 pts
- Andrew Ziemnik: 14 pts
- Mike Mayberger: 12 pts
- Brady Zimmer: 12 pts

(Freshman Victor Davis did not travel with the team due to an important lab last night...I believe he is a bio major, or something along those lines...something I certainly could not have handled!)

I'll try to post any JV scores/point totals I come across this season.  The Titans have a real solid JV group this year.