MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[devildog29]

Terrible start to the day just gets worse in Bloomington.

[iwu70]

Final from Iowa.  80-75 Loras beats IWU, coming back from 15 down in the second half.

Very disappointing day for IWU sports -- to say the least.  There will be other days.

Titans now 3-1.  Loras is for real.

IWU70

[Titan Q]

No video from Loras, but it sounded like IWU played carelessly tonight -- too many turnovers, too many fouls, too many missed layups.  Hard to win road games like that.  The Titans were in pretty firm control of the game well into the 2nd half, but Loras went on a huge run to go from down 15 to up 5.  Sounds like the Dukawks were very tough tonight.

A very damaging loss for the Titans in the big picture -- this will will hurt come selection/seeding time. 

IWU will have to respond Tuesday at home vs Wabash.

[toooldtohoop]

Another tough one for the Thunder tonight.  Wooster at home shot it really well.  They have a lot of talent and will be a tough team to beat all year. Wheaton played better, but not good enough.
Again, a difficult week going to Loras on Tuesday night and then to Ohio on Thursday.  That being said, championship caliber teams win big and close games. 

How about those Duhawks?  Nice week for Loras.

[Gregory Sager]

Another tough one for the Thunder tonight.  Wooster at home shot it really well.  They have a lot of talent and will be a tough team to beat all year. Wheaton played better, but not good enough.
Again, a difficult week going to Loras on Tuesday night and then to Ohio on Thursday.  That being said, championship caliber teams win big and close games. 

How about those Duhawks?  Nice week for Loras.

Certainly was. And it might carry over into next week, too, as the Duhawks played their way into the D3 men's soccer Elite Eight today and will play tomorrow for a berth in the Final Four in San Antonio next weekend. Meanwhile, Wheaton's ever-powerful women's soccer team got knocked out of the tourney today in the round of sixteen.

You could say that Loras had a week that was the exact opposite of Wheaton's and Illinois Wesleyan's.

[Iwufan]

No video from Loras, but it sounded like IWU played carelessly tonight -- too many turnovers, too many fouls, too many missed layups.  Hard to win road games like that.  The Titans were in pretty firm control of the game well into the 2nd half, but Loras went on a huge run to go from down 15 to up 5.  Sounds like the Dukawks were very tough tonight.

A very damaging loss for the Titans in the big picture -- this will will hurt come selection/seeding time. 

IWU will have to respond Tuesday at home vs Wabash.

. I was at game and Q has it right.  Very careless. Too many unforced turnovers.  Late in the game loras wanted it more.  Titans could not extend the lead when they needed and loras took advantage of cold shooting and made FT late. 

Titans need to get healthy.  Missed Overstreet at pg tonight more for his leadership.   Zimmer played briefly in second half.   Not sure injury flared up.  Nelson dressed again but is still probably not playing at least til Wash U.

Need to regroup and get ready for Tuesday. 

[AndOne]

The fact Loras lost to Rockford at home makes their win over the Wheaties even that much more remarkable.
According to the play by play, Tyler Peters turned the ball over with 35 seconds left and Wheaton up by 1. Nate Haynes then committed a foul with 8 seconds left. Loras' Nathaniel Smith converted both shots for the 74-73 win. Tyler Peter then missed a layup at the buzzer.

The jury is still out---way out---on Berg.

Here we go again   If you were on the jury it would be over.  You must have a thing for him

(modified by GS for formatting)

Wheaton/Wooster boxscore - http://wooster.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20131123_9e3k.xml

Wheaton basically just plays two guys off the bench - guards Tad Fisher and Michael Kvam.  Wheaton is so thin at the 4/5 spots that Nate Haynes had to play 39 minutes.

Michael Berg quiet again from the 4 spot - 2 pts, 2 reb.

WHEELS81---

Please take notice.
I'm sure you'll be quite amazed to find I'm not the only one who, at times, observes and reports on Berg's all to frequent lack of production. 
Sorry TQ.   

[John Gleich]

How about those Duhawks?  Nice week for Loras.

The tough thing about Loras is the fact that they have two wins over (preseason) Top 5 teams.

But they also have losses to Millikin and Rockford.


One thing you can say about Loras though... is that they like close games.  They're 2/2 and the sum total of the margin for these 4 games is -2.

[veterancciwfan]

Dinah Washington's 1959 Top 10 hit describes the IWU of Friday night compared to Saturday night in frigid Iowa-"What a Difference A Day Makes." IWU went from invincible in the 1st half Friday to nearly invisible in the last 10 minutes Saturday. Humbling. Haven't seen the box but Loras must have hit 25 FTs compared to less than 7 for IWU. I'm thankful I can't bet on D3 b'ball games like I did on Breeders Cup thoroughbreds. While basketball was being played, a D3 soccer tournament game was scheduled starting at 7:30 when the wind chill was 4 (at least it was a +4). Good day for the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Bad day for the CCIW.

[iwu70]

I'm sure the Titans will re-group, get more guys healthy, and move ahead.  It's a long long season, and while this Loras loss is damaging, it is not the end of the world.  There will be other days.  Gotta get ready for Wabash, make the needed adjustments, value the ball and each possession more (women too), and utilize the depth and talent this team has.  I have confidence in the Titans and in Coach Rose.  Congrats to Loras on two big wins over leading contenders in the CCIW.  And congrats to Millikin for their win over Loras.  It's a funny game, isn't it?  Gotta play each and every game, flat out, full 40 minutes. 

I'm off to the Far Side soon -- so will be following the CCIW season from this Chat and from streaming video.  If the Titans make it to Salem, I'll consider an early return.  Otherwise, I'll be the "most far-flung" D3 fan, back to my normal perch on the South China coast.

All best to all the CCIW teams this season -- for safe travels and injury-free play.  Keep going Titans . . . it's a long long journey.

IWU70

[AndOne]

why did IWU call their team the Beer Nuts?  Is that a corporate sponsorship deal? 

the cataclysmic loss on the hardwood today by The Most Awesome Team Ever to a Loras outfit that lost last week to Millikin and Rockford (Rockford!) has champagne corks a-poppin' this evening

The men from IWU have long been affectionally referred to on the boards as the "Green Weenies". In an effort to freshen things up a bit, I recently borrowed the reference "Beer Nuts" which was provided me by knowledgeable poster WUH.

"Beer Nuts" is actually a fitting moniker due to the fact that the IWU athletic facility, the Shirk Center, was funded by the Shirk family, owners of the Beer Nuts Company. Thus the Beer Nuts play in the Shirk Center. 

However, celebrated poster Greg Sager may have come up with another fitting description specifically applicable to this year's IWU basketball team, given all the hype which has recently been promulgated by our many Green posters. 
Namely, "The Most Awesome Team Ever," as was actually introduced yesterday by Mr. Sager in a posting in the CCIW football room. A copy of part of that post appears above. 

[AndOne]

iwu70---

Have a safe trip!

[augiefan]

Augie beat Simpson 87-54 today in Platteville to go to 3-1. Simpson lost to Platteville by only 3 last night, and Augie was beaten by Platteville a few days ago proving comparative scores mean nothing.

I think we all have to be stunned at how poorly the CCIw teams have done so far. Almost unbelievable to see Loras beat the conference's two best teams.

[toooldtohoop]

Augie beat Simpson 87-54 today in Platteville to go to 3-1. Simpson lost to Platteville by only 3 last night, and Augie was beaten by Platteville a few days ago proving comparative scores mean nothing.

I think we all have to be stunned at how poorly the CCIw teams have done so far. Almost unbelievable to see Loras beat the conference's two best teams.

I was surprised to see how much Loras has improved.  They are not a bunch of stiffs running around.  They run their stuff well, they share the ball, they hit shots, and they make FTs. 
Granted, they have some curious losses as well.  But they deserve some props!

[veterancciwfan]

Loras has considerably improved its offense since Asst. Coach Buddy Sodemann arrived in Dubuque last year following a 2-year stint at IWU. So credit Ron Rose, Buddy and mainly the Loras coach, Greg Gorton (in his 7th season), for the improvement. That's OK as Buddy had a big influence on IWU landing St. Louis area talent. TOs hurt the Titans as they had 18 and the Duhawks had only 9. IWU shot well and improved to 70% from the line, but due to the TO difference, Loras attempted 4 more shots. Travel tip: The Dubuque riverfront may be the best of all Mississippi river towns in MN, IA, WI, IL and MO.