MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

As long as Augie doesn't self destruct at the tail end of this season, I see Augie as a definite "in" for the post season.  I think IWU/EC/NC have a good chance also.  I would assume the chances of the CCIW getting 3 teams in would be slim
Looking forward to this week's Elmhurst/North Central game, two teams that match up very well on paper.

[Titan Q]

I seriously doubt there were 1000 people at North Park last night.  I had it estimated at about 600.  I think the Park is using the IHSA's new multiplier on their attendance figures.  Whatever the number was, it was probably about 65% IWU fans.

That is the first time I've ever been to a North Park game where there was no student presence whatsoever.  No "Yo baby, yo baby, yo baby, yo...you've got to be a Viking or you've got to go."  No "Hail North Park..."  No good themes/costumes.  Nothin'.  I felt cheated.

[dansand]

As long as Augie doesn't self destruct at the tail end of this season, I see Augie as a definite "in" for the post season.  I think IWU/EC/NC have a good chance also.  I would assume the chances of the CCIW getting 3 teams in would be slim
Looking forward to this week's Elmhurst/North Central game, two teams that match up very well on paper.

I won't be comfortable about getting an NCAA tournament bid unless they win the regular season title or the conference tournament. I wouldn't count on three bids for the conference, no matter how deserved they are. It could happen, but I wouldn't count on it. Obviously, whoever wins the CCIW tourney gets the automatic bid. If that's not the regular season champ (a good possibility, given how tough and balanced the league is), I think the regular season champ would be the obvious front-runner for the Pool C spot. Considering the mine field of a schedule the Vikings will have to negotiate the rest of the way (@IWU, @Elmhurst, @NCC, @Millikin, @Wheaton, as well as home games with North Park and Carthage), they're a long way from locking anything up. In 30+ years of watching Augie, I've seen some great Viking teams and none of them were ever 16-1 after 17 games. The fact that they haven't sewn up a bid already shows: a) how tough this league is and; b) how tough it is to secure a bid when you play in one of the elite conferences.

[Titan Q]

"I would assume the chances of the CCIW getting 3 teams in would be slim"


I'm not willing to say that yet, 79jaybird.  There are 18 Pool C ("at-large") bids this year...that's up from just 7 last year.  The Pool C's are selected primarily by 1) in-region winning %, and 2) Quality of Wins Index.  I'm not sure anyone really knows what the exact weighting is between those two criteria.

Here are the in-region records of the CCIW's top 4 teams:

Augustana 14-0
Illinois Wesleyan 9-2
North Central 8-2
Elmhurst 9-4 

Augie, IWU, and NCC are sitting pretty good there.  As far as QOWI goes, as of Thursday the CCIW had 3 teams in the top 15 in the nation...

1-10
Lawrence     12.182
Carnegie Mellon    12.111
Worcester Polytech    11.714
Cortland State    11.583
St. John Fisher    11.556
Trinity (Texas)    11.500
Occidental    11.400
Augustana    11.385
Amherst    11.364
Mississippi College    11.333
               
11-20
Tufts    11.333
Illinois Wesleyan    11.300
Albion    11.167
William Paterson    11.154
North Central    11.000

http://www.d3sports.com/post/index.php?topic=4232.0

(Those changed a little bit Saturday obviously.  Augie's win over NCC was a 14 pointer, NCC's loss was a 7 pointer, and IWU's win at NPU was a 9 pointer.)

Remember, many of the teams on that list are teams that will win automatic bids and not be Pool C candidates.  Bottom line - if the season ended today and Augie had the automatic bid, IWU and North Central would be lock Pool C's.

The question the rest of the way really becomes, "How much will the CCIW teams beat each other up?"  Can the top 4 avoid losing more games to Millikin, Carthage, Wheaton, and North Park?

[Titan Q]

Let's say the CCIW regular season finishes like this...

Augustana 11-3
Illinois Wesleyan 10-4
North Central 10-4
Elmhurst 9-5

I think Augustana, IWU, and North Central would go into the conference tournament with a pretty good Pool C case.  The problem with the tournament though is that two of the teams are going to go 0-1 and another 1-1...in other words, 3 teams will leave the CCIW tournament with a worse in-region winning % and a lower QOWI.

At 14-0 in-region right now, Augustana is getting very close to being in great shape to make the tournament for the first time since 1993.  Let's say the Vikes go 5-3 the rest of the way...that is 19-3 in-region heading into the conference tournament. 

On the other side, Elmhurst, with 4 in-region losses already and at least 2 more league losses inevitable, probably needs to win the CCIW's automatic bid (conf. tourney title) to get in.

[79jaybird]

Thanks to those who have supplied info about the chances of 3 CCIW Teams.   
The Millikin loss ( at home!)  really hurts the Bluejays, but there is still a lot of games and excitement to go. 

[Brick]

Dan
Don't forget that Augie gets to play IWU at home as well as on the road....

[Jim Matson]

I still don't like talking about the CCIW Tourney.  It may be a good idea for fans, but I don't like it for the AQ.  Let's have the regular season take the AQ and let the top 4 play for a Pool C bid or two.

Hot teams can win in a short tourney (e.g. Wheaton's results versus Augie and Wesleyan so far).

[titanhammer]

Q, if I can't make the game, who will be your color for the Augie game?

Hammer, I am currently in negotiations with someone.  The sticking point in contract talks surrounds whether I have to buy 2 pounds of wild wings from Schooners or 3 for this candidate.  I originally thought Art Kimball would be working this game with me, but Art is now doing color for the TV...cushy retirement gig.

The Federal Communications Commission will not allow me to discuss this vacancy with you unfortunately.  Apparently they are still investigating a 1992 claim that a "Mike Thomas", while doing color for an IWU student play-by-play man on WESN for a game at Millikin University, could be heard noticeably intoxicated on the 88.1 FM airwaves.  The FCC can place a "Mike Thomas" at the Lock Stock & Barrell from the hours of 5:00pm to 7:22pm, during which time his play-by-play partner was diligently setting up equipment and preparing for the 7:30pm tip vs Shannon Cloyd, Eric Smith, and Co.  The FCC has yet been able to connect said Mike Thomas with the poster who goes only by  "Titan Hammer" on a CCIW message board, but based on the large, national webcast audience expected, I figured it best to leave you in the shadows of the Shirk Center crowd.

Q, while it is true that I spent some time at the LS&B before the game with former Coal City Coaler/Lincoln Railer/Quincy Hawk Mike Overby and former Millikin football player John Murray; your fabrication of my intoxication is just that.  "The Scribe" can be my witness as for some reason he interviewed me on a piece about Lincoln HS basketball before that game.  I will admit, however, that I was "drugged up" for the game we did at the Cracker Box.  I was about 48 hours out of having my wisdom teeth pulled and had some pain killers for the dry sockets.  It was a long ride home with Ben and Barry that night.

Even if you had asked, I probably would have turned down the color opp:  I can't leave my wingman.  Although Ben doesn't NEED my help, I like to do my part.  With my wife less than two weeks from bringing our daughter into this world (good Lord willing), I just hope to be there this week (doctor said she shouldn't be chasing our 20 month old future Titan around by herself).  Speaking of the little lady to be, I have yet to come up with an acceptable girl name that starts with "Q", as you had suggested.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I still don't like talking about the CCIW Tourney.  It may be a good idea for fans, but I don't like it for the AQ.  Let's have the regular season take the AQ and let the top 4 play for a Pool C bid or two.

Hot teams can win in a short tourney (e.g. Wheaton's results versus Augie and Wesleyan so far).

Jim,

I'm not crazy about the tourney myself, but your suggestion would be downright silly by the rules of the game.

A conference can't 'play for' pool C bids - they name their A, but the committee selects the C or Cs.  And, as Q observed, 3 of the 4 teams will finish the tourney in WORSE shape for a C than when they started!

The general speculation is that the coaches agreed to a tourney ONLY when expansion made it a near certainty that the regular-season champ would be in EVEN IF they lost in the tourney.

[dansand]

Dan
Don't forget that Augie gets to play IWU at home as well as on the road....

You're right. I overlooked another mine in the mine field.

[veterancciwfan]

Regarding Kevin Skillett and the 90/91 season. I agree that Skillett was one of the best freshman to ever play in the league. Some semi-interesting stats for the 16 league games that year (Carroll was still in the league):

1) IWU (15-1) and Augie (13-3) both averaged over 85 ppg, IWU @ 87 & Augie @ 86). That's a lot of points for an avg. and I think shows offense was featured more in practice for most CCIW teams then.

2) Skillett made the 1st team along with Caldwell (Sr.)and Kunka (Jr.) from IWU, Horner (Jr.) from NPC , & Charles Woods (Jr.) from Elmhurst.

3) Skillett shot .836 from the FT line & averaged 16.8 ppg.

4) The oft-mentioned "Titan Hammer" was 6th in the league in rebounding avg. with 7.4. So why no all-league honors (not even the 3rd team) for Mike Thomas in 90/91? I suspect a conspiracy and Q probably has the prime conspirator suspect being the WCTU (were they still around in 1991?).

[Mr. Ypsi]

4) The oft-mentioned "Titan Hammer" was 6th in the league in rebounding avg. with 7.4. So why no all-league honors (not even the 3rd team) for Mike Thomas in 90/91? I suspect a conspiracy and Q probably has the prime conspirator suspect being the WCTU (were they still around in 1991?).

The WCTU is still around today!  But that national disaster known as Prohibition so totally discredited their cause that they often complain that today THEY feel like the deviants.  [Since it has become such a marginalized group, for the unaware the WCTU is the Women's Christian Temperance Union.  And their allies, the Prohibition Party, still run candidates for President, and still receive a few thousand votes nationwide.]

[augiedad]

Too bad Kevin Skillett steered Drew Wessell's little brother to Steve Alford and Iowa instead of Augustana!  A backcourt of Brett Wessells and Mike Kolze would be nice! 


"There's a lot of talented (Division II) and (Division III) players that don't get a lot of credit and a lot of exposure, but they can really hang with them. It's great to see D-III players going up against D-I players and holding their own."

His affinity for the "lower" division guys is natural. That's where Wessels seemed to be bound before Iowa coach Steve Alford courted him as a walk-on. Wessels, along with his high school coach, Kevin Skillett, believed he could play Division I basketball.

"He firmly believed, as do I, that he can play there," Skillett said. "He really can play."




http://www.hawkcentral.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/HAWKS0102/512150317/1056

[iwufans]

Titanhammer,
Speaking of the little lady to be, I have yet to come up with an acceptable girl name that starts with "Q", as you had suggested

There is always Quillimina.