MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[veterancciwfan]

Maybe one of the reasons Wheaton now has 7 losses is explained in this stat from the NCC loss: In 50 minutes, their bench players scored 9 points and had 7 RBs.  Caleb DeMoss now starts and probably should have earlier. Saturday's game should be a great one to watch. Wheaton played a strong game at Shirk in January, losing by only 7 in a game with 12 lead changes. In IWU's 12 home games to date, IWU has won by an average of 19, but Wheaton was impressive in spite of losing by 7. I've seen Wheaton shoot the lights out at home many times and I expect nothing less on Saturday.

[sac]

The CCIW is one of four conferences to receive at least one Pool C each year since we changed to the current SOS criteria of OWP/OOWP in 2008. 

NESCAC
ODAC
CCIW
WIAC

The CCIW has received 9 bids in 6 years which is 2nd most behind the NESCAC and ODAC which have 10 each.

Two of the 3 teams that have received the most Pool C's in that time frame are Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan with 4 each, tied with Virginia Wesleyan.

[bopol]

If IWU has home games in the NCAA they are going to be very difficult to beat....the biggest difference between them and everyone else in the league is great depth... They move guys in and out with no real drop off. 

I also agree with the officiating in the league being just terrible...  they need younger blood, new blood.  somebody inform ken marchiarka.

Carthage played ok last night but just arent a championship team.  Malcom is a great individual scorer but holds the ball.  They have no, i mean no inside game to speak of and Marlon Senior has to play well to give them some inside scoring.  Mike Kastel defends and rebounds above average but must improve his offensive game for next year.  Bosko has done a good job with this group.  Maybe they get hot!!! for CCIW tourney, when they shoot wel they can beat any team in div. 3.

Is the pool C sit;uation really that bleak in cciw.  I really think all 4 could get in.

Malcom Kelly is an excellent player, but is not a great passer.  That's probably his biggest (only?) deficiency as a player.  As a result, when the opposing team throws a lot at him, he has trouble getting the ball to the best available option to take advantage of it.  Also, Carthage tends to stand around a little too much when Kelly has the ball.  There was one time in the Elmhurst game where Cameron Van Wyk stopped moving towards the basket as Kelly drove in.  Kelly passed to where Van Wyk should have been, turnover on Kelly.  That said, this team has been a lot of fun to watch.  Marlon Senior has grown into a fine player.  I agree on Kastel, he is a plus defender and rebounder, but isn't the offensive force he could be yet (keep in mind, he's been out of competitive bball for years).  I like that Donte Logan is looking to score more the last few games.  There are times where the best option is for him to shoot and he needs to recognize that and take advantage.

Carthage is a fine team and borderline Pool C candidate.  Given last year and the holes in the front line, they've done pretty well.  Maybe luck will shine on them.  I've enjoyed this year very much.

As far as Pool C goes for the CCIW, I don't think things are bleak.  This is going to be a very weird year, maybe as a consequence of all D3 games count or a lot of parity at the top of the very good conferences, but there are just a ton of teams that are heading towards 7 or 8 losses from good conferences and I don't see the committee passing over an Emory or Wheaton for a MSOE or Bethany.  But we'll see.

[Titan Q]

As far as Pool C goes for the CCIW, I don't think things are bleak.  This is going to be a very weird year, maybe as a consequence of all D3 games count or a lot of parity at the top of the very good conferences, but there are just a ton of teams that are heading towards 7 or 8 losses from good conferences and I don't see the committee passing over an Emory or Wheaton for a MSOE or Bethany.  But we'll see.

I agree.  I keep reading about loss totals - that team X is in trouble because they have 7 losses, or 8, or whatever.  The reality is that every season is different, and this year, there are a lot of Pool C candidates with a lot of losses.  This is due to some combination of 1) parity across Division III, and within conferences, and 2) the fact that all D3 games now count, so the total # of games under consideration is now greater (more games = more losses relative to past seasons).  Pool C candidates in 2013-14 will be evaluated vs teams from 2013-14...not 2011-12 or 2012-13.

I'm confident the CCIW will get one Pool C safely in and that a second will be on the end of the bubble and in the mix.  The placement of the CCIW teams in the first regional ranking (which was evaluated and approved by the national committee), relative to other Midwest teams, is very telling.

[AndOne]

Juwan Henry carried the Vikings all night, but he paid the price for doing it. Whenever he drove the lane he was met with a solid and physical response from the Cardinals' interior defenders. That's not a North Central thing, though; that's a CCIW thing. This is a very physical league, and if you're a scorer who makes his bread and butter out of driving the lane, you have to expect to be dealt a lot of bruises for your efforts. The problem is that Henry continues to let it get to him emotionally, and last night he simply blew up at the end of the game. With six seconds left on the clock in a game that was already decided, he got shoved from the side by David Robinson as Henry was successfully laying in a putback shot -- it's at 1:48:11 of the game video -- and he slammed the ball down in frustration after it went through the basket. He was immediately T'ed up for a delay-of-game technical, and then he made things worse by exchanging words with a North Central JV player who is even smaller than he is and then engaging in shoves with said Cardinal that led to a second tech for Henry and, thus, an automatic ejection that will force him to miss Wednesday's game against Wheaton, as per NCAA-mandated rules.

The first T could perhaps be written off as a meaningless bout of frustration over a no-call at the end of a game already lost, but the second T was just not smart at all by Henry. NPU had only the slimmest of chances to pull off an upset this coming Wednesday, and now it'll be a matter of Mike Schauer naming whatever final score he likes, as a Henry-less Vikings team is a lost cause before it even takes the floor. Juwan Henry, for all his talent, needs to learn how to govern his temper. Every team in the league now thinks that it can get into his head, and when even JV-level opponents are setting him off, it's obvious that his emotions are his worst enemy. The hope of the NPU coaching staff is that the one-game suspension will have a silver lining in terms of anger management for Juwan Henry. It may make him realize how much he not only hurts himself but his team by not keeping his cool. He's North Park's best player and leading scorer, and he's far too important to the team for him to keep doing this. It's not about the hits in the lane and all the yapping that's being directed at him; it's about his learning how to deal with it properly.

Millikin 99, North Park 81

Juwan Henry: 39 pts (5-9 trey)

At the other end of the floor, the fans were treated to the "stand around and watch Juwan" offense from NPU all night. I'm pretty sure that that's not what Tom Slyder diagrammed, but that's what the Vikings played. Nobody other than Joe Biko was looking to shoot, and he was off tonight. But to Juwan Henry's credit, he really did rise to the occasion. He was fantastic tonight, as nothing that Matt Nadelhoffer did to try to slow him down came close to working. The freshman from Bogan went 11-21 from the field, and he scored in a whole bunch of ways: Treys, pullups, layups, free throws, scoop shots -- you name it. Henry's 39 points tonight probably guarantees him the CCIW scoring title, and now the only question is whether or not the other seven coaches in the league will put a freshman who played for the last-place team on the All-CCIW first team or if he'll be relegated to second-team status.

It would appear that even though Henry will likely win the scoring title, it would be a stretch for a freshman player which such deficiencies in the emotional and mental aspects of his game (slamming balls down and shoving opposing players and getting ejected) to be awarded first team all-conference status, or even second team for that mater. I think 3rd team all-conference would be the highest possible level he might be able to achieve, and even that is no guarantee.

[kiko]

As far as Pool C goes for the CCIW, I don't think things are bleak.  This is going to be a very weird year, maybe as a consequence of all D3 games count or a lot of parity at the top of the very good conferences, but there are just a ton of teams that are heading towards 7 or 8 losses from good conferences and I don't see the committee passing over an Emory or Wheaton for a MSOE or Bethany.  But we'll see.

I agree.  I keep reading about loss totals - that team X is in trouble because they have 7 losses, or 8, or whatever.  The reality is that every season is different, and this year, there are a lot of Pool C candidates with a lot of losses.  This is due to some combination of 1) parity across Division III, and within conferences, and 2) the fact that all D3 games now count, so the total # of games under consideration is now greater (more games = more losses relative to past seasons).  Pool C candidates in 2013-14 will be evaluated vs teams from 2013-14...not 2011-12 or 2012-13.

I'm confident the CCIW will get one Pool C safely in and that a second will be on the end of the bubble and in the mix.  The placement of the CCIW teams in the first regional ranking (which was evaluated and approved by the national committee), relative to other Midwest teams, is very telling.

This, IMO, is the key factor to highlight.   Several of our Pool C candidates will take a loss (or two) between now and Selection Sunday.  But so will any other Midwest Region teams that wind up in Pool C-land.  Our first candidate will enjoy the benefit of getting their credentials to the table for discussion quickly, and assuming they are selected, we will potentially get a second candidate to the table toward the end of the conversations.

Couple this with the fact that it appears many Pool C-level teams will have similar credentials, and I think we will be roughly in the same place as in years past  from the standpoint of how many teams we get into the tournament and to the table.

[huckleberry]

Hopefully the officiating crew on Sat at King Arena will not include Mr "Don't Mind I wasn't in the right position to make that call" Falkner

[AndOne]

Final: IWU 80, Carthage 66.

They announced the NCC/Wheaton score just before the game ended - I though the Shirk roof might blow off!

It appears that late last evening, North Central AD Jim Miller rec'd notification from his counterpart at IWU that a case of champagne would be arriving in the NCC athletic office tomorrow morning as an expression of gratitude for the Cardinals knocking off the Wheaties last night. 

[bopol]

It would appear that even though Henry will likely win the scoring title, it would be a stretch for a freshman player which such deficiencies in the emotional and mental aspects of his game (slamming balls down and shoving opposing players and getting ejected) to be awarded first team all-conference status, or even second team for that mater. I think 3rd team all-conference would be the highest possible level he might be able to achieve, and even that is no guarantee.

Henry is good, plays hard and wants to win.  I shudder to think what he might do with some more talent around him.  I think he'll be 3rd team all-CCIW. 

[bopol]

I agree.  I keep reading about loss totals - that team X is in trouble because they have 7 losses, or 8, or whatever.  The reality is that every season is different, and this year, there are a lot of Pool C candidates with a lot of losses.  This is due to some combination of 1) parity across Division III, and within conferences, and 2) the fact that all D3 games now count, so the total # of games under consideration is now greater (more games = more losses relative to past seasons).  Pool C candidates in 2013-14 will be evaluated vs teams from 2013-14...not 2011-12 or 2012-13.

I'm confident the CCIW will get one Pool C safely in and that a second will be on the end of the bubble and in the mix.  The placement of the CCIW teams in the first regional ranking (which was evaluated and approved by the national committee), relative to other Midwest teams, is very telling.

This.  Only the NESCAC and SUNYAC have three clear candidates will low loss totals.  My expectations is those 4 teams (assuming that the conference winner is among those three in each league) and UW-Whitewater or UWSP is off the table, things will get really interesting, as I think there'll be nothing but 6, 7 and 8 loss teams left for the rest of Pool C.

[Titan Q]

Even though he'll win the scoring title, and he is a really good player and a future stud, I can't see Juwan Henry finishing higher than any of the 12 players below in the all-conference voting...

* Victor Davis (IWU)
* Landon Gamble (NCC)
* Nathan Haynes (Wheaton)
* Hunter Hill (Augustana)
* Malcom Kelly (Carthage)
* Vince Kmiec (NCC)
* Dylan Overstreet (IWU)
* Tyler Peters (Wheaton)
* Nick Sanford (Elmhurst)
* Marlon Senior (Carthage)
* Brayden Tuescher (Wheaton)
* Andrew Ziemnik (IWU)

I think those 12 will make up the 1st and 2nd teams and 2 guys into the 3rd team.  I see Henry landing on the 3rd Team.

[Titan Q]

Final: IWU 80, Carthage 66.

They announced the NCC/Wheaton score just before the game ended - I though the Shirk roof might blow off!

It appears that late last evening, North Central AD Jim Miller rec'd notification from his counterpart at IWU that a case of champagne would be arriving in the NCC athletic office tomorrow morning as an expression of gratitude for the Cardinals knocking off the Wheaties last night. 

Worth mentioning though that in terms of the battle to host the CCIW conference tournament, Wheaton's loss @ NCC was insignificant. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final: IWU 80, Carthage 66.

They announced the NCC/Wheaton score just before the game ended - I though the Shirk roof might blow off!

It appears that late last evening, North Central AD Jim Miller rec'd notification from his counterpart at IWU that a case of champagne would be arriving in the NCC athletic office tomorrow morning as an expression of gratitude for the Cardinals knocking off the Wheaties last night. 

Worth mentioning though that in terms of the battle to host the CCIW conference tournament, Wheaton's loss @ NCC was insignificant.

True (and worth mentioning), but it DOES (barring an almost unimaginable home loss to NPU) guarantee IWU at least a share of the CCIW title.  While rarely, if ever, the ultimate goal, that is always the Titans' first goal.

[Titan Q]

True (and worth mentioning), but it DOES (barring an almost unimaginable home loss to NPU) guarantee IWU at least a share of the CCIW title.  While rarely, if ever, the ultimate goal, that is always the Titans' first goal.

Sounds familiar.

In order to host the CCIW conference tournament, IWU still has to win @ Wheaton.  But the result in Naperville was big tonight for the Titans in that if IWU beats North Park at the Shirk Center Wednesday, it guarantees the Titans at least a share of the CCIW championship.  And CCIW titles are really significant - that is the #1 goal of every season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

True (and worth mentioning), but it DOES (barring an almost unimaginable home loss to NPU) guarantee IWU at least a share of the CCIW title.  While rarely, if ever, the ultimate goal, that is always the Titans' first goal.

Sounds familiar.

In order to host the CCIW conference tournament, IWU still has to win @ Wheaton.  But the result in Naperville was big tonight for the Titans in that if IWU beats North Park at the Shirk Center Wednesday, it guarantees the Titans at least a share of the CCIW championship.  And CCIW titles are really significant - that is the #1 goal of every season.

Sorry Q, I somehow overlooked that post!