MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Will there ever be 3 CCIW or 3 WIAC teams in the final 8 like the NESCAC had last year? I Doubt it.

It could have happened just 2 seasons ago (2011-12).  Sweet 16 games...

* North Central 55 vs Wittenberg 58 (@ Wooster)

* Wheaton 56 @ UW-Whitewater 67

* IWU 69 @ Wooster 67

[iwu70]

Q, I stand by my opinion re:  Point.  Perhaps Tillema will carry them all season and get them to the Final Four.  Otherwise, are we to say that NCC is one missed-trey from being a #1 team? NCC aren't even ranked in the top 25, only ORVs, yet they took Point to the final 2.6 seconds and could have won the game without earlier misses, miscues, and a missed/open trey at the buzzer etc.   I'm of the mind to say that NCC is better than we thought and Point is not as good as their #1 ranking would seem to indicate.  Sure they are a good team, having a great run, but any number of other good teams could beat them.  Again, only IMHO.  Time will tell -- in WIAC play and in CCIW play -- then what happens down the line in the tournament.  Depth (and late game FT shooting) will come into play at some point for most teams and this is when I think Point has some real vulnerabilities and IWU has some obvious strengths.  IWU just has to be sure that the right guy gets fouled in close games, at the end -- Sodemann, Overstreet, Mayberger or Davis.  (Zimmer too if he gets minutes later on, gets healthy). 

Good win, with pretty much everyone scoring, contributing tonight for the Titans.  FT shooting was pretty bad, about 53%.  Gotta work on that.  Pretty impressive run by Zman on the double-double front, to be sure.  He's just so strong -- in tonight's game, one play he rebounded the ball on put-backs 3-4 times in a row, the defender just bouncing off him, then made the play for the lay-up, and one. 

What was the deal on the technicals tonight in the IWU - Franklin game?  Sure looked chippy on the video, but I had no audio so couldn't hear the banter on the Davis foul and the the subsequent T on the Franklin coach.  That latter T helped the Titans run it out and go to their 15+ point lead in the middle of the second half, after Davis' T and his fouling out -- must have been about at the 9-10 minute mark of the second half.  Victor still finished with 8 points in 11 minutes. 

IWU70

[jaybird44]

The Wash-U/Wheaton game was fun to watch, because both teams played very well.  Both teams kept turnovers at a minimum--WashU had 10, Wheaton 12.  And, both teams had 23 assists.

Chris Klimek had a career-high 34 points, fueled by a stark turnaround in his free-throw shooting.  He was 10-13 from the line, after entering the game with a FT% of 44%.  Not sure if part of the Wheaton strategy was to foul him, and I wouldn't have blamed Coach Schauer for taking that approach.  Klimek also had 9 rebounds, so he had an all-around All-American caliber evening.

The defense on Tyler Peters was excellent, spearheaded by Wash-U's Tim Cooney.  Peters is a tremendous player befitting his 2nd team pre-season All-American status, but he had a rough night--shooting 5-15 from the floor.  Several times he tried to post-up Cooney and back him down from the blocks on the dribble, but Tim stood his ground.  Peters had 15 points, 5 in the first half.

Caleb DeMoss had a sensational evening, canning 6 treys and totaling 20 points--15 in the first half, matching his previous season high vs. Wittenberg.  The only fly in his frosting was committing a foul on an Alan Aboona 3-point attempt with 43 seconds left in regulation, with the game tied at 78.  Aboona made all 3 free throws, then made 2 more after he was fouled rebounding a Peters miss. 

Michael Berg also had a solid game in double-figure scoring, and Nate Haynes scored all 10 of his points in the 2nd half.  Brayden Teuscher was held to 8 points, scoring only 2 in the 2nd half of his first game against his former team.

Wheaton made 14 3s to Wash-U's 8, but it had no answer for Klimek and Wash-U's 18-10 edge in successful free throws.

[Titan Q]

Otherwise, are we to say that NCC is one missed-trey from being a #1 team?
---
Sure they are a good team, having a great run, but any number of other good teams could beat them. 

Regarding the second statement above, that doesn't mean UWSP is not as good as their #1 ranking would indicate.  There is not a completely dominant, unbeatable team out there.  Whoever the #1 really is, "any number of other good teams could beat them."  Great teams will all play close games...and lose games.

Regarding the first statement, I think that is just very flawed logic...

* Wheaton was down 2 to Wooster with :40 left (lost by 4) - that doesn't mean Wheaton is a #2 candidate, or that Wooster is not a #2-caliber team.

* IWU lost to Loras - that doesn't mean Loras is a #3 candidate, or that IWU is not a #3-caliber team.

* Amhurst lost to Emerson - that doesn't mean Emerson is a #6 candidate, or that Amherst is not a #6-caliber team.


Based on your criteria, what team could be ranked #1 and be as good as its ranking would indicate?  Certainly not #2 Wooster or #3 IWU, right?

[Greek Tragedy]

So for arguments sake, who should be #1? There's a good argument that Point has played a tougher schedule than IWU. I honestly don't care if they are #1 or not.

[Titan Q]

So for arguments sake, who should be #1? There's a good argument that Point has played a tougher schedule than IWU. I honestly don't care if they are #1 or not.

I don't think there is any question that UWSP has played a stronger schedule than IWU.  IWU's non-conference schedule ended up being weak.  Massey has UWSP's schedule at #11 and IWU's at #81 at this point.  With UWSP 11-0 vs a better schedule (IWU 10-1), it's pretty straight forward for the Pointers to be ranked higher.

In terms of D3hoops.com Top 25 teams, Stevens Point has played two: 

* vs #7 St. Thomas, W 75-62
* vs #12 UW-Whitewater, W 79-67

IWU has played one:

* vs #9 Wash U, W 98-73

(It is worth noting that the current rankings are almost 3 weeks old now.)

There is one common opponent:

UWSP vs Hope (at UWSP): W 82-62
IWU vs Hope: (at Hope): W 91-83


In the game IWU lost to Loras, the Titans played without their 1st Team all-CCIW PG Dylan Overstreet (9.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg) and their second leading reserve, Jordan Nelson (8.0 ppg).  That has to be factored in when comparing performance...but from a ranking standpoint, a loss is a loss.

So for now, I don't see a case for IWU over UWSP.  And I really don't see a great case for Wooster (10-1) or Cabrini (9-0) either - when you stack it all up, UWSP's resume is the strongest for that #1 ranking.  This is where iwu70's comments are confusing to me -- I don't know who else you would put #1 besides UW-Stevens Point.

[cubs]

Did anyone say Point was unbeatable? 

Some of the comments above are related to this opinion...

I don't see anyone, IWU or others, beating them in the NCAA tourney unless Tillema is injured.

Fair enough Bob. I either missed or forgot that post. 

I can understand why you would want to forget a post made by titan2000....   

[iwu70]

CCIW 58-30 in the pre-conference portion.   That's pretty good by historical standards, right?

No LiveStats or Video for IWU @Elmhurst?  Only audio/WJBC coverage?

Q, I'm willing to leave Point alone for now, as they have to prove themselves in the WIAC just as our Titans have to prove themselves in the rough and tumble of the CCIW race.  I was just trying to tease out what the NCC-Point game meant, and how we understand the relative strengths of these teams with high-rankings, or not.  I don't really care all that much either which team is ranked where, and I wasn't trying to make the case that IWU should be ranked higher . . . I think there's a lot of parity in D3 this year, but just trying to compare the relative strengths of various top level teams related to depth, top players, performance to date etc.  I take the points about strength of schedule and about the obvious talent of Tillema, Peters, and the guy from Cabrini . . . which a number of posters have mentioned.  But, sure seems some teams now unranked, or only getting a few votes have taken it pretty well to some "highly ranked teams," on any given night.  At the end of the season, in the Final Four, I personally don't think Point will be standing.

Good luck to the Titans tonight as they take on John Baines and his over-achieving Elmhurst squad.  A tough place to play and a pretty good opponent for our Titans tonight -- in the cold and snow. 

Can't imagine what it is going to be like for Packers-49ers at Lambeau.  Beyond bone-chilling.  Maybe some of the Bears are glad to be sitting home with a nice cuppa or brew and a nice fire. 

Go TITANS!!!

Happy New Year to all, from warm sunny Hong Kong.  Did I mention the Year of the Horse?

IWU'70

[Greek Tragedy]

When do those new regions take place putting the WIAC and CCIW in the same Central Region, next year?

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (10-1, 0-0) vs Elmhurst (8-3, 0-0) - 4:00pm

Illinois Wesleyan (10-1, 0-0)
G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3/180 Jr (9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.4 apg)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3/195 Jr (10.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.5 apg)
F - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-5/220 Sr (13.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.6 apg)
F - Victor Davis, 6-5/235 Sr (11.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
C - Nick Anderson, 6-10/230 Sr (6.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg)

F - Mike Mayberger, 6-6/205 Sr (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
G - Jordan Nelson, 6-1/170 Jr (8.0 ppg)
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-0/160 So (6.6 ppg, 2.0 apg)
F - Eric Dortch, 6-4/210 Sr (5.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
C - Mike Marietti, 6-8/245 So (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

Elmhurst (8-3, 0-0)
G - Pat Coleman, 6-2/190 So (3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.1 apg)
G - Kyle Wuest, 6-1/180 So (15.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg)
G - Taylor Baxter, 6-5/205 So (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
F - Nick Sanford, 6-5/210 Sr (13.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg)
F - Will Nixon, 6-7/210 So (7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

G - Bryant Ackerman, 6-2/195 So (14.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg)
F - Kenny Payonk, 6-6/220 Sr (6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
F - Erick Crittenden, 6-7/200 So (4.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
G - Nathan Rogers, 6-1/185 Fr (3.7 ppg)
G - Tucker Harlan, 6-2/190 Fr (2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg)




Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/iwu-to-open-cciw-play-against-elmhurst-ex-titan-baines/article_99a31854-74d4-11e3-8334-001a4bcf887a.html

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

Live video - http://new.livestream.com/elmhurstcollege

Live stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/elmhurst/mbball/

[John Gleich]

When do those new regions take place putting the WIAC and CCIW in the same Central Region, next year?

I'm not sure... may want to check the "Daily Dose" blog on the d3hoops.com front page. I think that's where I read it a year or two ago.

[Pat Coleman]

When do those new regions take place putting the WIAC and CCIW in the same Central Region, next year?

I'm not sure... may want to check the "Daily Dose" blog on the d3hoops.com front page. I think that's where I read it a year or two ago.

Here's info about it:
http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2013/02/regional-realignment-coming

[Titan Q]

IWU 104
Elmhurst 73

* Victor Davis: 18 pts, 11 reb
* Andrew Ziemnik: 18 pts, 9 reb
* Pat Sodemann: 14 pts, 2 reb, 5 assists
* Jordan Nelson: 14 pts, 2 reb, 3 assists
* Mike Mayberger: 13 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists
* Bryce Dolan: 9 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists

IWU 3-point: 16-29 (.552)

IWU: 21 assists

Rebounds: IWU 44 EC 29


The Titans really played well this afternoon.  Big road win to start CCIW play -- IWU has 3 more road games to start conference play.

[titanfan]

I guess Carthage might have something to say about the playoff race after all.

Carthage 88 at #13 Augustana 52.  Don't think anyone saw that one coming.

I'm pretty sure that was the women's game

[Titan Q]

I guess Carthage might have something to say about the playoff race after all.

Carthage 88 at #13 Augustana 52.  Don't think anyone saw that one coming.

Women