MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Double OT final from Carver:

Augustana 96
UW-Whitewater 94

Augie fans are going to be talking about Hunter Hill's 41-point performance tonight for a long time.

it was a pretty special performance by Hunter Hill. Lost the video feed for the 2 OT periods

That's a shame, because he gave more of the same highlight-reel plays in the two overtimes. His bank shot with 12 seconds left at the end of the first overtime forced the second one.

[iwumichigander]

Double OT final from Carver:

Augustana 96
UW-Whitewater 94

Augie fans are going to be talking about Hunter Hill's 41-point performance tonight for a long time.

it was a pretty special performance by Hunter Hill. Lost the video feed for the 2 OT periods

Hill made some pretty spectacular passes to get assists too

That's a shame, because he gave more of the same highlight-reel plays in the two overtimes. His bank shot with 12 seconds left at the end of the first overtime forced the second one.

[Titan Q]

Crazy, crazy buckets by that little 5-9 kid.  Mercy.  What a performance by Hunter Hill.

Great win for Augustana.

Those are two Salem-caliber teams.

[augiefan]

Glad Augie redeemed themselves following the loss to Central (IA). Hunter Hill is real gamer. The Vikings are incredibly fortunate to have him in blue and gold. All in all a game that proves why DIII MBB is special, particularly when the WIAC and the CCIW matchup.

[all blues]

Final from Terre Haute:

Rose-Hulman 69
Millikin 60

There must've been an interesting finish to this game, as the Big Blue were called for two technical at 00:36 and for two more at 00:30. Funny thing is, it was a seven-point game when the first two were called, and the final score was only a nine-point difference.

MU is now 4-5 on the year.

possible contributing stat:  1st half, 2nd baskets=even, 3-pt MU +1 1st half, 2nd=even, FT 1st MU 9-11, RH 9-16...2nd half MU TWO of FOUR, RH TWELVE of TWENTY.  seems to explain the techs, their timing, AND the relative lack of movement in the score, lol

[iwu70]

Congrats to AC on their big win over WI-WW.  Hunter Hill is something special, no doubt.

Now time for IWU and NCC to go for big wins over top-ranked teams.

IWU70

[veterancciwfan]

Back from Rock Island and so glad I decided to go. I've seen countless small college games but I've never seen a 5'9" guard so totally dominate a game as Hunter Hill did tonight (actually last night now). Not Korey Coon or Michael Barach (sp?), both of whom are taller than 5'9". Hill's game was like a Lance Burton's magic performance in Las Vegas. He made an incredible offensive play, only to be topped by his next play, only to be topped by his next play, etc. It was such a Twilight Zone performance. The Augie students standing behind me were even more amazed than I was. They were on a fan's fantasy ride that lasted for the entire 2nd half plus an extra 10 minutes. Augie fans will be talking about Hill's performance for a long time. Haven't seen the box but I know he had 41. Someone please post what Hill's 2nd half and OT stats were. Too bad the game wasn't on an ESPN channel.  This game confirms why I love D3 basketball. One of the greatest games I have ever witnessed. I compare it to IWU's double OT win at Hope in the 2nd round of the 2012 D3 tourney when Jordan Zimmer did a decent Hunter Hill impersonation, especially in the 2nd half and OT with a badly sprained ankle.

[badgerwarhawk]

Hill was a killer.  We had no answer for defending him.  Regardless we still had our chances in regulation and the first OT but we didn't get it done.  Credit to Augustana, they did. 

Congrats, Hill's game was something special. 

[havej]

Wonder why Miller didn't take Young off of Hill until the final few minutes of overtime.  Not taking anything away from Hill, he was special last night and made huge plays , but UWW didn't make it tough for him to catch the ball and there was no trapping on ball screens.  Hill hit a long 3 to tie the game I believe at 92, and Patten, guarding the screener, was attached to his man.  Can't figure that out.

[Greek Tragedy]

Tough loss for Whitewater.  Probably knocked them out of Pool C consideration. 

[gordonmann]

Crazy, crazy buckets by that little 5-9 kid.  Mercy.  What a performance by Hunter Hill.

I said the same thing to Pat online last night while watching the game.  He took and made a couple of really deep three-pointers during the second half where I questioned the shot selection.  By the end I was rooting for him to shoot as soon as he touched the ball, from wherever he was standing, just to see if he'd make it.

I noticed UWW put taller players (KJ Evans?) on Hill to try to deny him open looks in overtime.  I also wondered why they didn't do that sooner or trap to get the ball out of his hands.

Overall It was just an excellent quality of basketball, on both sides for both teams.

[gordonmann]

One other thought, since this is a board with active, thoughful participation. 

Where does that rank in terms of best regular season game in the past couple years?  It's always hard to guage atmosphere when you're watching the game on computer screen hundreds of miles from the gym, but I thought that was one of the best games for overall quality of play, drama and atmosphere.

[badgerwarhawk]

I only saw a portion of the video broadcast but I was impressed with the size of the crowd.  The place looked packed.

[AndOne]

I only saw a portion of the video broadcast but I was impressed with the size of the crowd.  The place looked packed.

The capacity at Augustana is listed as 3,200 on D3Hoops. Last night's attendance was 2603. From the video (which I also lost with AC ahead 74-71), it looked like fans were shoe-horned in there. It's pretty hard to believe the Carver Center could accommodate another 600 bodies. Wishful thinking by Augie?

[Gregory Sager]

Someone please post what Hill's 2nd half and OT stats were. Too bad the game wasn't on an ESPN channel.

In the second half Hill went 8-10 from the field, 4-5 from long distance, and 1-1 from the line for 21 points. In the two overtimes combined he went 4-6 from the field, 2-3 from long distance, and 2-2 from the line for 12 points.

I compare it to IWU's double OT win at Hope in the 2nd round of the 2012 D3 tourney when Jordan Zimmer did a decent Hunter Hill impersonation, especially in the 2nd half and OT with a badly sprained ankle.

No, because Hill did more than merely score 41 points. He also spent the night guarding a fellow preseason All-American, and he did a very good defensive job, all things considered. Hill came up with four steals against a UWW team that is very strong with the ball; the Warhawks were giving up fewer than six steals per game as a team coming into last night.

One other thought, since this is a board with active, thoughful participation. 

Where does that rank in terms of best regular season game in the past couple years?  It's always hard to guage atmosphere when you're watching the game on computer screen hundreds of miles from the gym, but I thought that was one of the best games for overall quality of play, drama and atmosphere.

Best regular-season game I've seen in years, even granted that I watched it on a computer screen rather than in person. The stakes in terms of the contest being between two regional-foe Top Five teams that're likely candidates for deep tourney runs in March helped up the ante.

Chris Ford and Dan Sand were certainly up to the task of calling the game, as I expected them to be. I was amused, though, at their hand-wringing late in the game over Augie's lineup shift. After Brandon Motzel fouled out, Nic Hoepfner had to leave the game for good after suffering a hard blow to the head. Then, early in the first overtime, Ben Ryan fouled out. Grey Giovanine sent in Jake Gylten, who hadn't played since early in the game, precipitating a lot of speculation from Chris and Dan as to: a) whether he was experienced enough to be up to the task; and b) how Augie would fare going "small." I found that funny, since Gylten's a junior who had accumulated 28 appearances and 150 minutes of varsity playing time prior to last night. He might never have been in that big of a situation, but he was hardly wet behind the ears -- and right behind him was equally-experienced senior Alex Dziagwa, if Giovanine chose to use him. And as for Augie going "small," sizewise Augie remained bigger than the UWW team that it was playing -- bigger, in fact, than most D3 teams are at any given time. I think that Chris and Dan, and probably most Augustana fans, are a little spoiled by all of the size that Giovanine's been able to bring into the program in recent years. You get a new platoon of 6'5-to-6'8 guys trooping in through the doors of Carver every year, you come to take that for granted. But Augie's recent run of seasons in which it's had a huge arsenal of big men is an extreme rarity in D3 terms, and a strong advantage for the program. Perhaps Augustana fans have just grown a little too used to it.

My tweaking of them aside, Chris and Dan called a fantastic game, as per usual for them. And I certainly envied them the chance to call such a great contest.

I only saw a portion of the video broadcast but I was impressed with the size of the crowd.  The place looked packed.

The capacity at Augustana is listed as 3,200 on D3Hoops. Last night's attendance was 2603. From the video (which I also lost with AC ahead 74-71), it looked like fans were shoe-horned in there. It's pretty hard to believe the Carver Center could accommodate another 600 bodies. Wishful thinking by Augie?

I question that 3,200-capacity figure. I don't think that Carver seats that many people anymore. It may have held that many when the old seating was in place, but I don't think that capacity is anywhere close to three thousand nowadays.