MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Final from the toolshed:

Carthage 75
Lake Forest 73

The Red Men were actually down by three going into the final minute of this game. A Cameron Van Wyk layup, a Foresters miss rebounded by Carthage, and a Donte Logan three-point play proved to be the difference. LFC missed what would've been an overtime-forcing jumper with three seconds left. Somebody must've lit a fire under Logan, as he had a very impressive 22 and 7 afternoon.

CC is now 4-5, LFC drops to 3-5.

Where was CC's Mike Kastel?

[kenoshamark]

AndOne,

As reported in the Kenosha News, Carthage was without Mike Kastel who was tending to a family matter in his native St. Charles, Ill. His status for the next game or the rest of the season is not known.  This is according to a school spokesman. 

[AndOne]

Yesterday Wheaton looked like a team that's much too dependent upon one player. When WC is at its best, Teuscher is the main cog rather than the only cog.

Wheaton wraps up non-conference play with another pretty poor performance as they lose 63-56 to a Texas Lutheran squad that was less than formidable.  WC shot 30% FG, 22% 3FG and were badly outrebounded once again 39-27.  Teuscher was held to 15 pts on only 9 shots; Pete Smith scored 22 finally asserting himself offensively with about 6 mins left in the game but that was much too late.  The Thunder got very little from the rest of the team.  All this while the Bulldogs only shot 40% from the field and had 16 turnovers.

In my opinion, I believe Brayden Teuscher is among the top 2 or 3 players in the CCIW this year.  But after him there's a larger-than-we're-used-to drop off ability-wise.   Call it lack of size, lack of development from last year, basic toughness or whatever:  the Thunder simply don't have the depth of tools to really be strong in the league this year I'm afraid.  The last 5 games have really exposed this.  They will have some good moments and win their share of games.  But based on their present form, unless one or 2 other players (not wearing #20) steps up their game on a consistent basis, I'm thinking they'll be in a fight to make the Conference tourney.

I think the Wheaties "pretty poor performance" was primarily due, as GS said, to the fact that the Orange team is too dependent on one player, namely, Brayden Teuscher. That said, while he is an all-conference caliber player, I'm not very sure he can be classified as "among the top 2 or 3 players in the CCIW this year." Among the top 2 or 3 shooters/scorers is more accurate. Several players have better shooting percentages, including from beyond the arc, and Teuscher isn't even listed among the league leaders in 3 pointers made. Additionally, his defense isn't going to stop much more than a pellet gun, much less a bazooka.

One player I have been somewhat critical of over his 1st two years, and have in turn be criticized for doing so, is Michael Berg. While frequently sighted around campus on game days, it seemed he often forgot to show up for the actual game. It just appeared that despite his size, he pretty much distained any form of inside play and was almost allergic to contact, preferring to stand in the corner and pop threes. That being said, let me also say that from what I've read here on the board, and in local papers, along with examining box scores, Berg has definitely improved and taken positive steps this year, both in terms of inside play, increased scoring, and his overall game. His continued development will go a long way in helping Wheaton overcome opponents ability to key on one guy.

[AndOne]

AndOne,

As reported in the Kenosha News, Carthage was without Mike Kastel who was tending to a family matter in his native St. Charles, Ill. His status for the next game or the rest of the season is not known.  This is according to a school spokesman.

Hopefully the matter will not prove serious, and Mr. Kastel will be able to return to the team soon.
Without him CC has virtually no inside game on either end of the floor.

[kenoshamark]

AndOne,

Indeed, but it also raises the question, once again, about the lack of recruits brought in this year.  Not only were there only two recruits, neither has the size that Carthage needed for depth up front this year. 

[AndOne]

Entirely correct, Kmark.
Evidently, Bosko's "vibe" may have lost some of it's charm and allure, and quite possibly is just not what kids currently want to hear.

[AppletonRocks]

Entirely correct, Kmark.
Evidently, Bosko's "vibe" may have lost some of it's charm and allure, and quite possibly is just not what kids currently want to hear.

Time to break out the choral scholarships. 

[GoPerry]

Yesterday Wheaton looked like a team that's much too dependent upon one player. When WC is at its best, Teuscher is the main cog rather than the only cog.

Wheaton wraps up non-conference play with another pretty poor performance as they lose 63-56 to a Texas Lutheran squad that was less than formidable.  WC shot 30% FG, 22% 3FG and were badly outrebounded once again 39-27.  Teuscher was held to 15 pts on only 9 shots; Pete Smith scored 22 finally asserting himself offensively with about 6 mins left in the game but that was much too late.  The Thunder got very little from the rest of the team.  All this while the Bulldogs only shot 40% from the field and had 16 turnovers.

In my opinion, I believe Brayden Teuscher is among the top 2 or 3 players in the CCIW this year.  But after him there's a larger-than-we're-used-to drop off ability-wise.   Call it lack of size, lack of development from last year, basic toughness or whatever:  the Thunder simply don't have the depth of tools to really be strong in the league this year I'm afraid.  The last 5 games have really exposed this.  They will have some good moments and win their share of games.  But based on their present form, unless one or 2 other players (not wearing #20) steps up their game on a consistent basis, I'm thinking they'll be in a fight to make the Conference tourney.

I think the Wheaties "pretty poor performance" was primarily due, as GS said, to the fact that the Orange team is too dependent on one player, namely, Brayden Teuscher. That said, while he is an all-conference caliber player, I'm not very sure he can be classified as "among the top 2 or 3 players in the CCIW this year." Among the top 2 or 3 shooters/scorers is more accurate. Several players have better shooting percentages, including from beyond the arc, and Teuscher isn't even listed among the league leaders in 3 pointers made. Additionally, his defense isn't going to stop much more than a pellet gun, much less a bazooka.

Offensive statistics can be digested and interpreted in lots of different ways to support or counter an argument.  So my statement had less to do with stats than with the 'eye test' of watching several games this year(not just WC) and in years past.

However, I respectfully question how you can conclude that Teuscher's defense is so terribly weak (vs the pellet guns OR the bazookas)?  So do tell!  I suppose he has never struck me as a defensive specialist/stopper but certainly not a liability either.  In his 3 years with the program and his significant playing time over these seasons, I've never detected Mike Schauer keeping him on the floor that much and trying to hide him defensively as a severe weak link.  In fact, I would say his coaching style holds little patience for those who can't hold their own on the defensive end.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to NPU freshman forward Jordan Robinson upon being named CCIW Player of the Week.

[Gregory Sager]

Current Massey:

    8. Augustana
  13. Illinois Wesleyan
  15. North Central
  25. Elmhurst
  40. Wheaton
  67. North Park
127. Carthage
246. Millikin

[veterancciwfan]

Greg: I agree with you that the Massey ratings are somewhat unreliable early in the season, but I think the current ratings for the league schools are pretty accurate, with Augie, IWU, NCC & Elmhurst the top 4. I see 11-3 winning or at least tying for the conference title. Playing North Park at home will be a tough game and ditto for Wheaton.

[markerickson]

Choral scholarships and "leadership grants", yes.

[iwu70]

Merry Christmas all . . . especially to all the good friends in the TITAN nation.

IWU70

[badgerwarhawk]

Merry Christmas everyone.

[Titan Q]

The Titans made an morning drive to O'Hare today, and will fly to LAX at 8:30am.  IWU will participate in the Cal Lutheran Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Tournament.  The Titans face Nazareth Monday evening, and then either Cal Lutheran or Fontbonne Tuesday night.

These will be IWU's final two non-conference games before opening CCIW play January 3 at North Central. 

IWU gets 6-8 C Mike Marietti (broken thumb) back on this trip, which is very significant for the Titans.  Having Marietti in the rotation really improves IWU's low post depth, and it also allows Ron Rose to play a big lineup on occasion with 6-6 Ryan Coyle at the 3 (or 6-6 Alec Bausch), 6-8 Marietti at the 4, and 6-8 Trevor Seibring at the 5.