MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Late nite]

First time poster---Saw the Augie-IWU game tonight---Better team won---Same problems tonight as the last few games for Augie---Lack of production from the 3 and 4 men---Lots of minutes, very little production (points or rebounds)---4th foul on Wessels with 17 minutes to go in the game was the key---Any chance of a comeback needed to start with his defense, but he was on the pines-- Soft interior defense---It was a layup drill for the Titans in the 2nd half

[Titan Q]

The Titans got big performances from everybody who played last night...

* Zach Freeman: 19 pts (8-10 FG), 4 reb
* Keelan Amelianovich: 16 pts, 3 reb
* Adam Dauksas: 12 pts, 8 assists/2 T.O.
* Matt Arnold: 10 pts
* Jason Fisher:  9 pts
* Cory Jones: 8 pts, 7 reb
* Chris Jones: 5 pts, 6 reb

I think everyone realizes how good Augie's defense is.  Viking opponents average 64.3 ppg, shoot .436 from the field, and have a cumulative A:TO ratio of 0.7 to 1.  Last night on Augie's homecourt, Illinois Wesleyan scored 81 points, shot .519 from the field, and had 15 assists to 7 T.O.  The Titan offense was very sharp. 

IWU's defense was equally as impressive.  The combination of Jason Fisher and Matt Arnold held probable CCIW M.O.P. Rick Harrigan to 6-20 shooting.  In 3 games vs IWU, Harrigan is now 16-52 (.308) from the field, with Fisher and Arnold on him at all times.  The Titan defense seemed to frustrate Harrigan, who ended up forcing a few shots just to get going, and he also ended up missing some open shots he normallly makes.  IWU held Augustana to .377 from the field, including 4-20 (.200) from beyond the arc.  Jay McAdams-Thorton (3-12) was almost a non-factor in the game.

Illinois Wesleyan came out of the gate last night with a ton of intensity - championship type intensity - and I don't think Augie was ever able to match it.  IWU's big guys were fantastic on both ends of the floor, and physically they dominated the paint.  Adam Dauksas controlled the tempo for the Titans, and really did a great job against all of the Viking traps -- I think anyone who has seen Augie plays know impressive it is to have 8 assists to just 2 turnovers vs their pressure defense.  Overall, it was a very impressive effort by the Titans.

[Titan Q]

No matter what one thinks of the CCIW Tournament concept, I think everyone at the Carver Center last night would agree that it's a great atmosphere for the fans.  It was cool to see the Carver Center decked out in the colors of the four teams and you could definitely feel the intensity level of both games.

The championship game tonight between IWU and North Central should be a good one.  In the first meeting, the Cardinals took it to the Titans at the Shirk Center in a game that ended up being close (74-70), but really was dominated by NCC from the 10:00 mark of the 1st half on.  In Naperville the Titans played very well, hit some key shots down the stretch, and got an All-American type performance from Keelan Amelianovich (28 pts, 10-16 FG) in the 91-88 win.

The biggest problem for the Titans is that they've had no answer for Anthony Simmons through two meetings...

@ IWU: 29 pts (9-18 FG, 2-4 3-pt)
@ NCC: 28 pts (9-14 FG, 2-3 3-pt)

North Central has been able to get the ball to Simmons in great position on the blocks and the Titans just haven't been able to stop him. 

The Cardinal offense is a machine - .533 from the field as a team.  Raridon's teams play a lot like Dennie Bridges' IWU teams, actually.  Just extremely efficient and crisp and they get all kinds of good shots.

The Titans will have to bring that same intensity to the floor - if they do, I really like their chances.

[Titan Q]

A helpful post from Ralph Turner on the Pool C board...

Here are the Top Pool C candidates by the Regional Rankings:

Atlantic
1 Baruch 20-2 22-4   CUNYAC  Lost to York NY in Finals
2 William Paterson 17-6 18-7  NJAC
3 New Jersey City 16-8 17-9  NJAC Lost to Ramapo in QtrF
4 SUNY-Farmingdale 16-5 19-5  Skyline
5 Richard Stockton 15-7 17-8  NJAC Lost to Ramapo in Semis
NR York NY 15-9 15-13 CUNYAC Pool A    

East
1 St. John Fisher 20-1 22-3  E8
2 Cortland State 21-3 22-4  SUNYAC  Loss to SUNYIT in Semis
3 New York University 17-6 18-6  UAA
4 Utica 18-5 19-5  E8
5 Hamilton 16-4 20-4  LL

Great Lakes
1 Wooster 19-2 23-2 NCAC
2 Calvin 11-1 20-5  MIAA
3 Hope 15-2 23-2  MIAA
4 Wittenberg 17-3 22-3  NCAC
5 Baldwin-Wallace 19-4 21-4  OAC
6 Carnegie Mellon 15-4 19-5   Leading the UAA

Mid-Atlantic
1 York (Pa.) 22-3 24-3  CAC  Lost in CAC Semis
2 Lincoln 12-4 20-4   Pool B #1
3 Alvernia 19-3 21-4 PnAC  Pool A
4 Widener 19-4 20-4  MACC
5 Ursinus 18-5 19-6   CC
6 Catholic 16-5 18-6  CAC
7 Scranton 17-6 19-6   MACF
8 Albright 14-7 16-8  MACC  Lost to Messiah in Semis

Midwest
1 Lawrence 20-0 22-0  MWC
2 Augustana 19-4 21-5   CCIW  Lost to IWU in Semis
3 Transylvania 21-4 21-4  HCAC
4 Carroll 18-3 20-3  MWC
5 Illinois Wesleyan 14-5 19-5  CCIW
6 North Central 14-5 20-5  CCIW
7 Washington U. 14-5 17-7  UAA
8 Lakeland 17-4 21-6  LMC  Lost in LMC Semis

Northeast
1 Amherst 23-1 24-2  NESCAC
2 Worcester Polytech 19-3 20-3  NEWMAC
3 Tufts 19-4 19-5  NESCAC
4 Gordon 22-3 23-4  CCC  Lost in CCC Semis
5 Trinity (Conn.) 15-4 18-5  NESCAC
6 Bates 15-5 19-5  NESCAC
7 Keene State 15-6 18-6  LEC
8 Rhode Island College 16-8 16-8  LEC  Lost in Semis
9 Salem State 18-6 18-7  MASCAC  Lost to Bridgewater St in Semis
10 Williams 16-8 17-8 NESCAC

South
1 Mississippi College 22-1 24-1  ASC-East
2 Trinity (Texas) 16-3 20-6  SCAC  Loss to #8 seed Rhodes in SCAC QtrF. 3pt QOWI loss
3 Virginia Wesleyan 23-3 24-3  ODAC  Pool A
4 Randolph-Macon 19-5 22-5   ODAC
T5. Fisk 9-4 14-10  Pool B candidate  Lost to Huntingdon in Semis
T5. Maryville (Tenn.) 14-6 19-6   Pool B #3
7 Howard Payne 17-6 18-6  ASC-West
8 Mary Hardin-Baylor 17-6 17-8  ASC-West

West
1 UW-Stout 16-4 19-5  WIAC
2 Puget Sound 15-2 20-4  NWC
3 Carleton 17-4 20-5  MIAC
4 Occidental 11-3 18-4  SCIAC (CMS has the Pool A.)
5 UW-Whitewater 15-5 19-5  WIAC
6 UW-La Crosse 17-6 19-6  WIAC Lost to UW-W in semis
7 Wartburg 17-5 19-6  IIAC  Lost in IIAC Semis
8 St. Thomas 18-5 20-5  MIAC
UR  CMS  SCIAC Pool A
[/quote

[Titan Q]

The Pool C situation is getting very dicey with all of the conference tournament upsets.  There are 18 at-large bids this year and I think 11 of them are accounted for heading into tonight...

1. Amherst/Tufts (NESCAC)
2. Augustana (CCIW)
3. Trinity (Tx) (SCAC)
4. Cortland State (SUNYAC)
5. Gordon (CCC)
6. York (Pa) (CAC)
7. Baruch (CUNYAC)
8. Wittenberg/Wooster (NCAC)
9. Lawrence/Carroll (MWC)
10. Bates (NESCAC)
11. UW-Stout/UW-Whitewater (WIAC)

Augie is in.  I think Illinois Wesleyan (with a loss tonight) would fit in right about next.  North Central, due to a slightly lower QOWI than IWU, is a couple notches down.  So IWU is in a little better Pool C shape than NCC but the fact is, neither is a lock by any stretch.  There are a ton of conference tournament games still to be played and more upsets will really hurt the chances of a 2nd CCIW Pool C.  Root for the favorites to win.

(IWU's win @ Wash U may end up being huge if the Titans are on the Pool C bubble...Wash U is also in the mix and "in-region head-to-head" is one of the primary criteria.  Wash U finishes at Chicago tomorrow, and even with a win I do not see Wash U jumping over IWU in the regional rankings after IWU's win over Augie.)

[Titan Q]

Forgot Hope/Calvin.  12 gone.

. Amherst/Tufts (NESCAC)
2. Augustana (CCIW)
3. Trinity (Tx) (SCAC)
4. Cortland State (SUNYAC)
5. Gordon (CCC)
6. York (Pa) (CAC)
7. Baruch (CUNYAC)
8. Wittenberg/Wooster (NCAC)
9. Lawrence/Carroll (MWC)
10. Bates (NESCAC)
11. UW-Stout/UW-Whitewater (WIAC)
12. Hope/Calvin

[Pat Coleman]

I think Randolph-Macon might belong pretty close to that list, too. They'll likely have a higher QOWI than the Hope/Calvin loser.

[Iron Mike]

Thanks Titan Q for the Pool C update.

I'll be at the NCAC game tonight with a Wooster jacket and a North Central alumni cap.  As a Wooster parent my dollars are with the Scots but my heart's with the Cardinals!

[Gregory Sager]

(IWU's win @ Wash U may end up being huge if the Titans are on the Pool C bubble...Wash U is also in the mix and "in-region head-to-head" is one of the primary criteria.  Wash U finishes at Chicago tomorrow, and even with a win I do not see Wash U jumping over IWU in the regional rankings after IWU's win over Augie.)

It could be huge for another reason as well. Wash U is currently #7 in the Midwest Region. A win by Franklin over Transylvania in the HCAC title game today would put the Grizzlies in the final Midwest Region ranking with a 19-6 regional record and a 9.667 QOWI. But would Wash U fall out if they lose to the U of C today? In other words, whose place in the rankings would Franklin take?

This has big implications for Illinois Wesleyan, because one of the criteria is how a team did against other regionally-ranked teams in regional play. Wesleyan's currently 3-3 in that regard (1-2 against Augie, 1-1 against North Central, and 1-0 against Wash U), and they'll need that win over the Bears to stay in place if they lose to North Central this evening. A 3-4 record in this category could be crucially better than a 2-4 record.

My guess is that Wash U would stay in the regional ranking even with a loss to the Maroons, because #8 Lakeland bombed out in the LMC semis and I don't see Wash U dropping below Lakeland in the relevant categories. Nor do I see another likely candidate to enter the final regional ranking besides Franklin. But you never know.

[iwufan32]

the better team won last night aka titans... which they are going to do tonight.... titans d played really good last night and stopped Harrigan which was the number one key thing to do last night... some wacky shots last night from harrigan! TITANS ARE GOING TO ADD ANOTHER W tonight in auggies home !!! GO KEELAN GO TITANS! 

[augiefan]

The previous post implies the better team lost the first two times Augie and IWU played. Perhaps that is true, but the Titans had much more at stake last night than Augie. To the Titans credit they finally played to their considerable ability.

[augie_superfan]

Chicago beats Wash U

67-57

[augie_superfan]

Good luck to both teams tonight....I'm off to the HCAC finals

[79jaybird]

Congrats to NC/IWU for their wins last night.  I am pulling for NC tonight in the final because I think the CCIW has a strong case to get 3 teams in, if NC can win tonight.  I don't see how you can not take IWU if NC wins tonight. Augie is in, NC would be in (based on the win in this situation), and I think IWU's record is strong enough to get them in.
Should be a great game tonight.  I'm assuming WONC will air it?

[devildog29]

Ypsi, since you are the resident statistical "expert" (insert your comment to the validity of that statement here), what do you put as the odds of the identity of iwufan32 being:

A. a Keelan sibling
B. his fiance
C. a stalker
D. Dennie Bridges
E. Adam Dauksas
F. other