MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[veterancciwfan]

Info gleaned from the 2012/13 IWU Yearbook: This is a multiple choice question: Regarding points scored in a career (all games) by a CCIW player (league began in 1946/47), Jack Sikma ranks:
a) 1st
b) 3rd
c) 5th
d) 6th
e) None of the above

[Mr. Ypsi]

6th in all games (5th in conference games).  (Ahead of Kent Raymond in all games; behind him in conference games.)

[Titan Q]

North Central @ Illinois Wesleyan, 7;30pm

(CCIW-only stats)

Illinois Wesleyan (14-3, 6-0)
G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3/180 So - 7.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2.7 A/TO
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3/190 So - 13.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
F - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-4/230 Jr -  8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
F - Victor Davis, 6-5/235 Jr -  9.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F - Kevin Reed, 6-6/230 Sr - 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 apg

G - Brady Zimmer, 6-4/180 Jr - 15.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
F - Mike Mayberger, 6-6/220 Jr - 4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg
C - Nick Anderson, 6-9/220 Jr -  4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg


North Central (16-1, 5-1)
G - Brandon Williams, 6-1/170 Jr - 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.6 A/TO
G - Vince Kmiec, 6-4/185 Jr - 10.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.2 apg
F - Derek Raridon, 6-6/190 Sr - 11.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.2 apg
F - Aaron Tiknis, 6-6/200 Sr - 8.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
C - Landon Gamble, 6-6/240 Jr - 15.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg

F - Jack Burchett, 6-6/205 So - 8.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg
F - Charlie Rosenberg, 6-5/230 Jr - 5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg
G - Pat Rourke, 6-3/155 Jr - 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 2.2 apg


Live video/stats: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/iwu.portal#

WJBC: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wjbc.portal#

Massey predicts: IWU 61 North Central 59 (NCC #4, IWU #11) - http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&yr=2013&sub=11620

Massey national strength of schedule ranking: IWU #13, Millikin #64

[Titan Q]

Should be a great game at the Shirk tomorrow night.  IWU and NCC are similar in a lot of ways - both big and physical, both very balanced, and both with nice depth. 

But definitely two very different styles.  Through 6 league games, IWU is the leader in points per game (81.2) and North Central the leader in opponent points per game (53.5).  The Titans lead in FG% (.492) and NCC in FG% defense (.353).  The efficiency calculations I do show that IWU plays the most up-tempo game in the league, while NCC the slowest.

The Titans want a game in the 70s, the Cardinals would prefer a game in the high 50s/low 60s.

I think this game will have a big say in who wins the league.

[Titan Q]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/top-two-teams-in-the-cciw-battle-as-iwu-men/article_2c31b2c2-6507-11e2-bced-0019bb2963f4.html


"North Central has always been a good defensive team. They're a really tough, disciplined team," said Davis. "Whoever wins the rebounding battle, defends and gets stops, that's the key to the game."
-----
"Wesleyan has played extremely well. Their biggest plus from a year ago is they have more kids who can shoot the ball from the perimeter," Raridon said. "That puts more pressure on you defensively to cover out further than maybe a year ago.

[iwu70]

Agree with Q, a very big game at The Shirk tonight.  Hope the IWU faithful turnout bigtime, even in the cold, and produce the first 2,000+ crowd of the season tonight. (already Wednesday here in HK).  Agree that TO and rebounding battle will be crucial in a game where every possession will be needed.  Let's hope the Titans play like they have been playing of late, from the perimeter, the paint and all the role players too.  If so, I think this game will turn out well for the home team.  I'd say IWU 69, NCC 61.  Also seems absences due to illness or injury more likely to be a factor for NCC than for the Titans.

Go TITANS!!!  Let's finished the first go'round in CCIW play 7-0!

IWU70

[CCIWchamps]

(Ahead of Kent Raymond in conference games; behind him in conference games.)

?

[Mr. Ypsi]

(Ahead of Kent Raymond in conference games; behind him in conference games.)

?

OOPS!   Should be 'ahead of Kent Raymond in all-games (scoring); behind him in conference games.'

[mwunder]

Mr. Sager,

What are your thoughts on the game tonight in K-Nowhere?  Can NPU put points on the board against the Red Men if the stingy Carthage team shows up?  Who or what should I watch for from NPU tonight as I will be seeing them for the first time?

[AndOne]

Well no word from any NCC insiders about who's suiting up and who's not. Trying to keep IWU guessing? Coaches orders??
I'm thinking coach Rose is preparing his boys for the full team. Which, when healthily is more than a handful.
Not sure which team needs the win most. Sure NCC needs to win, so not to go down 2 games down. But IWU needs to win just to prove to themselves that they can beat NCC, something they couldn't do last year. Lose this game at home, and the path to the conference title is a lot tougher.
Even though this is a different year, there is a lot of returning players on both sides, so there has to be some memories of last years games.
Either way this game won't determine the conference title, as a lot of games remain, but it will have a big say as to who has the upper hand.

Well, first we have to find an "insider" who knows exactly what the heck is going on. 
None of the concerned players were able to participate fully yesterday.
Who will be able to play and how effective they will be is really anyone's guess.
All I can tell you is if they can play they will, and they will give 100% of what they've got.
We'll just have to see if it will be enough.
Heres hoping all those that see action on both sides tonight can get through the game without any (further) damage.
Just about ready to pull out for B'town.

[Gregory Sager]

Mr. Sager,

What are your thoughts on the game tonight in K-Nowhere?

Carthage by thirteen. Wish it weren't so, but I don't have a good feeling about this one.

Can NPU put points on the board against the Red Men if the stingy Carthage team shows up?

No, not likely. Carthage is vulnerable against a team with a strong inside game, but NPU doesn't have an inside game at all. Mark Holmes is a match-up problem, of course, so the best bet for NPU is if Mitch Thompson doesn't have a good night trying to cover him. On the perimeter, Carthage has the quickness advantage. If the Red Men stay home on the NPU shooters -- and, with no inside game for the Vikings, there's really no need for them not to stay home -- they'll force NPU's perimeter players into taking bad shots. And I fully expect Carthage to come up in the plus category in rebounding tonight.

Who or what should I watch for from NPU tonight as I will be seeing them for the first time?

Holmes is the man on this team. He can score in a variety of ways, but he can't do it alone -- and he has a tendency to try to do too much, given the limitations of his teammates. Zach Cassita is a capable scorer, but he's definitely a work in progress in terms of point guard skills. If tiny (5'3) Cameron Burnett, who is a very good distributor, is paired up with Cassita, it should free up Cassita to be more effective in an off-the-ball situation. Ryan Hyrn is an outstanding shooter, albeit an undersized and not overly quick one. Chris Benjamin is a strong, tough, blue-collar player who has been asked to defend much bigger players in the wake of NPU's losing all of its size. I think he'll get matched up on Tyler Pierce if Pierce plays. Brett Peterson will work hard and knock heads with you on the defensive end, but he's a cipher on the offensive end. If Reggie McGee plays with the confidence and assertiveness that he showed against North Central on Saturday, he could be a factor. He's quick and he's a very solid shooter. Jon Bogaard will probably see some time as well, but he hasn't really done much to distinguish himself on the floor this season.

Carthage is a team that has been broken. NPU came already broken in the box.

[Gregory Sager]

I'll be very surprised if North Central manages to hang with Wesleyan tonight. It'd be one thing if one North Central star was banged-up, or even two. But all three of them are in rough shape. Landon Gamble could barely put any weight on his sprained ankle when he left the crackerbox on Saturday evening; Aaron Tiknis is most likely a long way from fully recovered from his dislocated kneecap (he was visibly limping on Saturday as he wandered around the gym in sweats), and Derek Raridon took another blow to his sore shoulder in Saturday's game that had him grimacing all the way to the bus.

That's not a recipe for success against the deepest and most physical team in the league, especially on the road.

If NCC somehow manages to pull this one off and escape Shirk with a W, it'll prove conclusively that the Cardinals can overcome anything that's thrown at them, and it'll without question make them the team to beat in the second round-robin. But I see Wesleyan winning this one by about a dozen or so.

[NCF]

I'll be very surprised if North Central manages to hang with Wesleyan tonight. It'd be one thing if one North Central star was banged-up, or even two. But all three of them are in rough shape. Landon Gamble could barely put any weight on his sprained ankle when he left the crackerbox on Saturday evening; Aaron Tiknis is most likely a long way from fully recovered from his dislocated kneecap (he was visibly limping on Saturday as he wandered around the gym in sweats), and Derek Raridon took another blow to his sore shoulder in Saturday's game that had him grimacing all the way to the bus.

That's not a recipe for success against the deepest and most physical team in the league, especially on the road.

If NCC somehow manages to pull this one off and escape Shirk with a W, it'll prove conclusively that the Cardinals can overcome anything that's thrown at them, and it'll without question make them the team to beat in the second round-robin. But I see Wesleyan winning this one by about a dozen or so.

I would  not be surprised  to see NC drop this one either, but as long as they split the regular season, and everyone heals, they'll be fine.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU 41, NCC 38 at the half.  The first five minutes looked like a 134-132 game, but it has settled down.

I'd agree with Q that this game is very big in the regular season race.  If NCC wins, they are definitely in the driver's seat.  If IWU wins, they are two up on everyone.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton defeats Elmhurts 77-52 and it wasn't even that close.

Tyler Peters with a huge game: 28 points, 5 rebs, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 TO on 10-14 from field, 7-8 FT, 1-2 3pt