MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CCIWFAN6]

Illinois Wesleyan 87
Wheaton 77 (OT)

* Jordan Zimmer: 26 pts, 3 reb (8-12 FG, 4-8 3-point)
* Stephen Rudnicki: 14 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists
* Eliud Gonzalez: 11 pts, 5 assists
* Kevin Reed: 8 pts, 12 reb

* Aaron Garriott: 20 pts, 6 reb, 3 assists
* Tim McCrary: 18 pts, 11 reb
* Spencer Schultze: 15 pts, 8 reb
* Nate Serenius: 14 pts

Obviously, a very nice win for the Titans here.  With that being said, I looked at this game as a must win if they wanted to contend for the CCIW title.  Getting that home win against a good team is extremely important and IWU took care of business last night.

[Titan Q]

Obviously, a very nice win for the Titans here.  With that being said, I looked at this game as a must win if they wanted to contend for the CCIW title.  Getting that home win against a good team is extremely important and IWU took care of business last night.

Completely agree.  Although I will add that for me, last night's game was also a validation of how much progress IWU has made since November, when this new nucleus was still trying to figure things out.  After watching the losses @ Ripon and UW-Whitewater (on video), and some of Wheaton's early games, there was a point in late-November where I honestly did not think IWU could play with the Thunder.

[TitansIWU]

Those last few games last year, when Travis was out with his injury, you really saw the growth and maturity in Eliud. I think he is going to be really, really strong going down the stretch of the CCIW and possibly beyond this year.

[veterancciwfan]

 IWU's bench is the deepest in the league. Last night, the 4 IWU reserves scored 31 while the Wheaton reserves scored 20. And Nick Anderson, who scored only 2 and missed several shots he should have made, garnered 7 rebounds. I think IWU's outstanding depth will have a huge impact in the league. Another very capable reserve, David Molinari, son of the WIU coach, was in street clothes due to a concussion.

[wheels81]

I thought Wheaton played pretty well last night and looking at what some fellow posters said about keys to the game like, getting the ball and scoring inside, 4 guys in double figures, out rebounding IWU, and out shooting them overall 45% to 40 didn't matter as much as containing a hot shooting Zimmer.   Like coach said Zimmer hit some shots in spite of pretty good defense, and 2 other 3 pt attempts he missed he ended up shooting the free throws (5 of 6) as result of fouls called.  I think the reason Wheaton lost the game was their paltry shooting from beyond the arc.  Garriott was 0 for 5 and Pflederer was 0 for 4.(He was 0 from everywhere, but that can be at least attributed a little to his defensive assignment on Zimmer)  overall team was 2 for 13.   Most of those misses were not contested nor put up in desperation.  They were just not falling.  Missing some crucial free throws in regulation hurt as well. (Cliche' alert) But that's the game put the ball in the hoop more than your opponent and you win no matter what are thought to be the keys to game. 
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/boxscore.aspx?id=2472

[Titan Q]

Missing some crucial free throws in regulation hurt as well. (Cliche' alert)

Both teams were pretty suspect from the FT line...

WC: 17-25 (.680)
IWU: 26-38 (.684)

[Titan Q]

Also worth mention on the IWU/WC game is the return of 6-3 sophomore guard Jon DeMoss for Wheaton - he played his first minutes of the year last night (8 total). 

DeMoss started 19 games for Wheaton last year, averaging 8.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg.  He provides even more perimeter depth for the Thunder, who also have 6-3 Jr Nate Serenius (19.5 min/game) and 6-0 So Tad Fisher (11.1 min/game) coming off the bench.

Post depth is Wheaton's real issue though.  They could probably use Midwest Central's Michael Berg this season.

[Titan Q]

* The Vikings simply ran out of gas. The game was tied at 47 with 12:20 to play, but the 'jays slowly pulled away from that point. It was still only a five-point game with four and a half minutes to go, but you just got the feeling that the Vikings didn't have one more push in them. They were having rebounds wrestled out of their hands and were a split second late in hitting the floor for loose balls, sure signs of a tired team. Elmhurst went up by double digits with three minutes and change left, and that was that. The Vikings may have played more players, but Elmhurst is definitely deeper, and it showed; the Vikings have a couple of freshmen in the rotation who are just plain overmatched on defense right now, and that puts added pressure on their teammates at that end of the floor.

What has happened to 6-7 post Phil Schniedermeier and 6-7 wing Christian Alsing?  I see they are both still on the roster...are they hurt?

[AndOne]

Carthage @ North Central

Multiple choice:

A. The real Carthage team showed up last night.
B. Carthage is a better team than they showed last night.
C. North Central is better than their 6-5 non conference record might have indicated. Last night's performance was
more descriptive of the real NCC team.
D. North Central just played an exceptionally good game last night.
E. Some combination of the above. 

I suspect the correct answer is E. I believe choice C definitely applies, as does either A or B. The jury is still out on the choice between those 2 options. However, based on their play last night, its difficult to comprehend how they beat a D1 team, no matter how bad of a D1 team it was, in an exhibition game to lead off their season. Consider also, that NCC"s 23 point victory was attained without the benefit of any contribution from CJ Goldthree other than his personification of a GQ cover shot as CJ, seated on the bench in a black suit and shirt and contrasting bright red tie, was unable to participate due to concussion type symptoms stemming from being hit in the head toward the conclusion of last Friday's game vs Manchester, IN.

The most easily recognizable deficiency in the play of the Redmen, oops Red Men, last night was their total lack of any offensive movement or flow. They spent the majority of their time in the offensive zone just standing around watching Malcom Kelly try to create scoring chances, largely on his own. Kelly, the conference leader in scoring average, was further hindered by tight Cardinal defense, mainly in the form of Kevin Gillespie who hounded Kelly all evening. Gillespie glued himself to Kelly and forced the scoring leader into a 4 of 14 shooting performance while holding him to only slightly more than half of his 19 point scoring average.
Mitch Thompson seems to have lost his identity. As a freshman 2 years ago, he was an all conference selection, based on his defense, rebounding, and especially his shot blocking prowess. However, he now seems to mistakenly picture himself as more of an offensive threat. He may have some games in which he is able to fulfill this role, but its not going to happen consistently. His increase in points scored has actually hurt the team which has lost more overall in his decreased attention to defense than they have gained by his increased offensive production.
Luke Johnson, who surprised many posters (you can look it up) with his choice of Carthage after finishing his prep career at Wheaton Academy, is undoubtedly going to be star in the CCIW. However, one must question why a 6'9" 230 pound player, who could dominate on the boards and contribute more overall from underneath on both ends of the floor, spends so much of his time out at the top of the key. Last night, 40% of his baskets were threes, but he was out rebounded by the Cardinals' 6'4" 170 pound Vince Kmiec.
Tyler Pierce, also all conference as a virtually unstoppable 230 pound freshman 2 years ago along with classmate Mitch Thompson, presents with a noticeable depreciation in his skill set as a 275 pound junior, whose weight and lack of mobility have relegated him to a non starter.
Max Cary had a decent game for Carthage, but by the time he got on track, it was a case of too little, too late.

North Central was led in scoring by Derek Raridon with 24 on 9 of 14 shooting, and was strongly supported by Landon Gamble with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kevin Gillespie, while concentrating on blanketing CC's Kelly, also contributed on the offensive end, "banking" (those of u @ the game know what I mean) 8 points on 3 of 5 shots.
*Noteworthy as the above contributions to NCC's victory were, they were somewhat overshadowed by the overall performance turned in by Aaron Tiknis who seemed to be everywhere on the court. In a performance that is becoming a regular theme from an all-around game standpoint, Aaron registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. He also dished out a game high 7 assists. Should he continue playing at his current overall level, it would be a travesty not to see him attain all-conference status at season end. It appears only a matter of time until Aaron completes a triple-double.

NCC outshot the Wisconsinites 50.8% to 34.6, and out rebounded them 36-29. However, the most impressive statistic of the evening may have been the Cardinals' outstanding 19 assist mark.

It should also be noted that the officiating crew of Bill Jacobson, Rick O'Neill, and Gerald Morrow "let 'em play," calling a total of only 16 fouls (9 on CC & 7 on NCC). As a fan, I appreciate a game in which no fouls were called by the ref who was the farthest of the 3 from the play, or for merely breathing too hard on the man being guarded.
T's were whistled against a NCC player who questioned why a foul wasn't called, and against a CC player who questioned why one was.   

[AndOne]

D3 Basketball Index predictions for tonight...


- Augustana @ Millikin (Augie by 31)

- Carthage @ North Central (Carthage by 1)

- North Park @ Elmhurst (Elmhurst by 8)

- Wheaton @ IWU (pick 'em!)

https://sites.google.com/site/d3basketballindex/jan-4-2011-predictions

NP/Elmhurst---------> Missed by 4
Augie/Millikin--------> Missed by 6
Wheaton/IWU-------> Missed by 10
Carthage/NCC-------> Missed by 24

I appreciate augie_superfan's initiative, creativity, and effort in compiling his Index 

However, as James Brown reminded us, papa needs a brand new bag, and it appears the Index needs a little tweaking. Especially the data relative to NCC and Carthage. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

In fairness to augie_superfan, I'd say he nailed IWU/Wheaton perfectly (did you miss that the game went to OT)?  Only missing by a handful on 3 of 4 games is probably as good as ANY system can do.  And would you really want a system so accurate that playing the games is redundant?!

[augie_superfan]

D3 Basketball Index predictions for tonight...


- Augustana @ Millikin (Augie by 31)

- Carthage @ North Central (Carthage by 1)

- North Park @ Elmhurst (Elmhurst by 8)

- Wheaton @ IWU (pick 'em!)

https://sites.google.com/site/d3basketballindex/jan-4-2011-predictions

NP/Elmhurst---------> Missed by 4
Augie/Millikin--------> Missed by 6
Wheaton/IWU-------> Missed by 10
Carthage/NCC-------> Missed by 24

I appreciate augie_superfan's initiative, creativity, and effort in compiling his Index 

However, as James Brown reminded us, papa needs a brand new bag, and it appears the Index needs a little tweaking. Especially the data relative to NCC and Carthage. 

It sure would be nice if every team played at the exact same level every night.  Then my system would be on every time and there would actually be no need for a system in the first place.  Unfortunately, in all sports, teams play up and down and my system attempts to find their "average" playing ability.  I'd be the first to tell you that I don't think NCC has played up to their ability (primarily due to injuries) and thus are probably ranked lower than their talent would suggest.  Maybe this is the real NCC that we saw or maybe just a statistical fluctuation.

It's easy to pick out a handful of games and claim that the system is broke.  But you've only picked out 4 of the over 1900 games that my system has made predictions on so far.  Currently it has correctly picked the winner in 77% of the games with an average error from the stated margin of roughly 9 points.

[TitansIWU]

77% is information worth taking to Vegas!

[augie_superfan]

77% is information worth taking to Vegas!

If only they didn't have spreads in Vegas...almost all computer systems can't consistently beat the spread.

[AndOne]

Hey, I indicated I appreciate augie_superfan's initiative, creativity, and effort, which I do.

Of course NO system is perfect, and thats not what I expect.

And, I only suggested a "tweak," not a major tuneup. As a fan, I'd just like to see NCC given a little credit for their nice effort last night. Understandable?