MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwufan32]

congrads again keelan... glad to see that you are cciw player of the week... which should be like every week ... but good luck tommorow night... keelan!  GO TITANS!!

[augie_superfan]

That's a nice stream...hope it continues to look that good tomorrow so I can see my Vikings

[tjcummingsfan]

I just got home from the Keene State College vs Plymouth State College game here in Keene.  This was my second East Coast game I've watched, and I am convinced that the caliber basketball here is nothing near the CCIW. 

The guards are all about the size of NP's guards last year Je'Shawn Stevenson, Steve Reynolds, and Cory Wilks.  The big men aren't that big, and are pretty clumsy.  And the play is sloppy.  I'm aching for even a North Park game right now.  Luckily I'll be at one Saturday night. 

[Titan Q]

Here is how IWU and Augie stack up on paper...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/PREVIEWS.HTM


Wish I could see the Elmhurst @ North Central game too.  That should be a great game.

[Titan Q]

Olivet Nazarene beat NAIA I #4 Robert Morris-Chicago 89-88 tonight to stay undefeated in the CCAC.

Olivet Nazarene 4-0
Pudue-Calumet 4-0
Robert Morris 3-1
St. Xavier 1-2

That's a pretty interesting small college league race to keep an eye on.  Some good teams.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Here is how IWU and Augie stack up on paper...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/PREVIEWS.HTM

On paper, it looks like a Titan win - see especially rebounds and head-to-head starter matchups (3 Titan decisive wins, 1 for Augie, slight edge for Thornton-Adams over Cory Jones).  Would that it were so easy!!  But (except maybe for forfeits!) no one has ever won a game on paper.

I suspect the key may be that we have ANOTHER Jones, ANOTHER Freeman, and a Schweer - I don't think Augie can match that depth of big guys.  A major factor may be how the refs call it in the paint - if they call it tight, we have a LOT more fouls to give than Augie does!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Titans win by a margin larger than most anyone would feel comfortable predicting - with NO direspect to Augie intended, I'll say 18+.

[Brick]

18+!?!?!?!?!?!?! 
are you kidding me?

[Mr. Ypsi]

18+!?!?!?!?!?!?! 
are you kidding me?

Remember last year's game [AT AUGIE!].  No, I'm not kidding you.

I'm scared about this game, quite frankly, but, yes, I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict a blowout.

[knarocky22]

Augie won last year at home vs. IWU, but got blown out at the Shirk.  This Augie team is much better than last year's and much more athletic.  While I'm not real confident they will pull out the W, I do think this will be a tightly contested contest.  Looking forward to making the trip down to Bloomington to see a great game tomorrow night.

[Mr. Ypsi]

If I got the venue wrong, I apologize.

I thought the reason I was SO shocked last year was that it was in Rock Island.  I DO remember that the beginning of the game was just absurd: I don't recall exactly, but it was 25-5, 28-3, 26-2 - I can't recall, but it was something where, in the first 10 minutes, GAME OVER.

I do NOT expect such an outcome this year, and have GREAT respect for Augie's performance so far.  (In the Posters' Poll I placed Augie ahead of IWU.)  While I have no real basis for it, I just have a gut hunch that the Titans are going to blow out the Vikings. 

It's a mindless gut-hunch: so sue me!!

[knarocky22]

I think you're thinking of 2 years ago when the Vikings had Carstens and the rest of that crew.  IWU jumped out to like a thirty point lead in the first half, which was really surprising because IWU was still so young at the time.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I think you're thinking of 2 years ago when the Vikings had Carstens and the rest of that crew.  IWU jumped out to like a thirty point lead in the first half, which was really surprising because IWU was still so young at the time.

That also sounds plausible (and would have seemed shocking).  I've reviewed all the IWU-Augie games from the last two years (final stats) - NONE fit the blowout scenario.  I'm drowning here, guys - which was the game that IWU utterly destroyed Augie in the early going??  When and where?

[Titan Q]

Last year at the Shirk Center, IWU led 29-4 at the 8:17 mark.

http://www.iwuhoops.com/NOTES05.HTM#augie

The year before @ Augie IWU led 28-3.  The performance by the then sophomore-dominated Titans over Carstens, Thomas, Clements, etc. on Senior Night in Rock Island was amazing.

http://www.iwuhoops.com/NOTES04.HTM#atac



Chuck, to predict an 18-point IWU victory tonight over this Augie team, with the way they're playing, you've really outdone yourself.  This tops the 14-0 in the CCIW prediction.  Playing the game on paper in the Mr. Ypsi world must really be a heck of a lot easier than these games are in real life.

[Titan Q]

The Pantagraph article on IWU/Augie...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/01/25/sports/104706.txt

And a very nice feature on the Jones brothers...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/01/25/sports/104704.txt

[dansand]

Ypsi,

Although last year's game at the Shirk followed much the same pattern (29-4 to start the game; 40-13 at the half; 67-52 final), the game you're thinking of was senior night at Carver two years ago when Augie fell behind 28-3 to start the game. They outscored IWU 53-39 in the second half to make the final a deceptively respectable 84-73. Augie won last year's game at Carver, knocking off the then-top ranked Titans, 77-76.