MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Seibring playing well, took early charges from Norris, got him to the bench.  Even better than keeping the ball out of his hands.

So far. 

Titans up 37-24 at the half.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 72
Dubuque 53

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just for iwu70, Brandon Heyen buried a three for the Titans final points!

It was a great all-around TEAM victory, but a special shout-out to Trevor Seibring.  Not only did he have 14 points and 11 rebounds, perhaps more importantly he got two quick fouls on Andre Norris, sending him to the bench for much of the first half.

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan is clearly a better team than Dubuque, so it would've taken a better-than-usual effort for the Spartans to have competed tonight ... but, wow, was that some horrifically bad shooting by Dubuque.

[iwu70]

A good start.  Great defensive effort tonight by the Titans, also shooting it well.  Four players in double figures.  Seibring outstanding, 14 and 11 taking 4-5 charges in the low post, blocking shots.  Held Norris to 9 on 3-16 shooting.  A poor shooting night for Dubuque.  Marietti did an excellent job on Norris, with good feet, keeping him out of the lane most possessions.  The frosting on the cake, Heyen hitting a trey in mop up time.  Put a smile on my face, of course.   Great job TITANS.  Get on a roll.

Point will be a much tougher challenge, especially at home.  But, overall, a good start.

IWU70

[titanfan]

St. Thomas just loss to northwestern (MN) on a buzzer beater three.  Huge upset in the elmhurst part of the bracket!

[iwu70]

Ypsi, you are of course right -- that trey by Heyen at the end was sweet. 

[Gregory Sager]

a special shout-out to Trevor Seibring.  Not only did he have 14 points and 11 rebounds, perhaps more importantly he got two quick fouls on Andre Norris, sending him to the bench for much of the first half.

The first foul was a classic, as Seibring head-faked Norris off of his feet in the low post in order to draw the foul. But neither of the charges that he drew from Norris were good calls. The first one was borderline at best, as Seibring was right on the edge of the inner arc and definitely appeared to be inside it. The second one, which came on a transition play in the second half, was just plain blown by the refs.

Didn't make a bit of difference, though. Foul trouble or not, Norris was forcing everything all night and, predictably, came up empty. He was an offensive non-factor, although he had a nice night in terms of rebounds and blocks. It's hard to blame him, though. When your teammates keep missing open shot after open shot, as the team's bread-and-butter guy you've got to try harder to make something happen in order to make up for them. That usually doesn't work, especially against a veteran team.

[Gregory Sager]

St. Thomas just loss to northwestern (MN) on a buzzer beater three.  Huge upset in the elmhurst part of the bracket!

That was a fun final minute to watch. It's an earthquake as far as D3 basketball is concerned in the state of Minnesota, as the MIAC as a whole has perennially bullied the UMAC. I think that this is the first-ever win by a UMAC team in the tourney -- and beating the 400-pound gorilla of the MIAC in order to get that first win (and on a buzzer-beating trey, no less) must make it even sweeter.

[Naperick]

Congrats to the Titans!
Solid win over a good team!

[markerickson]

How did D1 transfer J. Nelson do tonight?  Frankly, when he scored 7 points in 20 minutes @ NPU, I did not notice.  Truly, I did not see DI transfer talent at that game.

[iwu70]

Nelson played well, 5 points.  He seems to be getting back into his game, going with the flow.  He can be a big contributor in the tournament, no doubt.  Seibring and Dolan played best tonight.  Sodemann and Bausch solid games.  Not a strong game by Overstreet.  But, Q, both of us were wrong -- who knew that Marietti could play D so well that far from the basket, stay in front of Norris and keep him out of the lane.  Really a great job -- both Marietti and Seibring, too, taking those charges.  I know several don't satisfy Greg, but they surely made a huge difference in the game, turning Dubuque the other direction, and having Norris sitting on the bench a good part of the first half.

Point looks awesome, just shooting lights out at home.  80%.  Should be a good struggle tomorrow night, though seems Point would be favored at home, perhaps by 5 or so.  We'll see. 

Titans played very well tonight.

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst and St. Norbert going to overtime, tied at 66-66.

UWW goes down in flames tonight, as the defending national champions are getting pasted by Defiance by 17 with a half-minute to go.

[markerickson]

Thanks for the update, Greg.  Any tourney loss by a WIAC team makes for a better day.

And St. Thomas lost.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Elmhurst ties it with a 3 with 1.6 seconds to go!  Double OT!!