MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

The Central Region ranking picture is going to be very crowded this year.  In Massey's  *current top 25, 10 teams are from the Central Region...

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cb2017&sub=11620

#2 - UW-Whitewater
#4 - North Park
#5 - UW-River Falls
#9 - Illinois Wesleyan
#12 - UW-Eau Claire
#15 - Benedictine
#18 - Augustana
#19 - Chicago
#23 - St. Norbert
#25 - North Central

** I continue to be amazed at the decision to put the WIAC and CCIW in the same region.

* Keep in mind that current #25 North Central is currently without the fairly decent Connor Raridon. It seems at least remotely possible that they might actually be ranked just a tad higher if he returns at some point this season.

** Could said amazement possibly have arisen because the decision to do so was amazingly ignorant?

[Mr. Ypsi]

The Central Region ranking picture is going to be very crowded this year.  In Massey's  *current top 25, 10 teams are from the Central Region...

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cb2017&sub=11620

#2 - UW-Whitewater
#4 - North Park
#5 - UW-River Falls
#9 - Illinois Wesleyan
#12 - UW-Eau Claire
#15 - Benedictine
#18 - Augustana
#19 - Chicago
#23 - St. Norbert
#25 - North Central

** I continue to be amazed at the decision to put the WIAC and CCIW in the same region.

* Keep in mind that current #25 North Central is currently without the fairly decent Connor Raridon. It seems at least remotely possible that they might actually be ranked just a tad higher if he returns at some point this season.

** Could said amazement possibly have arisen because the decision to do so was amazingly ignorant?

The Central Region list above does not even include 6-1 Ripon (who led UWW by 8 at the half), Wash U, and the rest of the WIAC (by current record, the WORST team in the conference is UWSP at 5-3, who should NEVER be counted out, whatever their record).  Would it be fair to say that the only region which is even vaguely comparable to the Central in strength is the Northeast (NESCAC, Babson, etc.)?  (And while the Northeast may somewhat compare in strength at the top, I doubt they have the depth.)

[AndOne]

Ypsi,

Given that the CCIW, WIAC & NESCAC are probably the 3 best conferences in the country, and the CCIW and WIAC are somehow in the same region, I think the answer to your question is that it would be very fair to say the only other region comparable to the Central is the NE. 

[iwu70]

Q, I'm with you on the Times Square New Year's Eve experience.  I did it once, and it was truly horrible.  No amount of money ...

I hope the Titans have a great time in the Big Apple, no matter what types of experiences they wish to have -- museums, galleries, good food galore, a Knicks game at the Garden, the Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan, visiting the UN, The Cloisters, the State Island Ferry to see Lady Liberty, even a trip to Trump Tower to see the King . . . plenty of rare and unusual experiences to be had, rare and unusual people to be seen. I lived in the Big Apple for 12 years, back their often each year since, my son went to High School in NYC for three years (at Horace Mann School), so I know and love the city.  Was there during the horrors of 9/11, when we lost three parents in our School to the attacks.  Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker.  I will always be one and have an unflinching loyalty to the city and its people, values and dynamism.  There's really no place like it in the world. In my humble opinion, every student should have a New York City phase . . .

Hope the Titans have a good time there and bring home two wins. 

Happy holidays, Merry Christmas to all the CCIW friends and chatsters.  Prepare for the Rooster.

IWU'70

[Mr. Ypsi]

He wanted to wait for Christmas, but couldn't get a refund past tomorrow.  So #2 son today presented us with tickets to Honolulu in February!  (While way too much for a guy working at a restaurant as a server, busboy, pizza driver, it's also true that he has made little attempt to pay me back for his last two cars!)  We'll still be out a grand or two for hotels, meals, etc., but it will be a great break from winter!  But it will still mean coming back to the heart of winter - we'll still probably take a late March trip to somewhere warm so we can return to early spring.

For a kid who had me keep a defense attorney on speed-dial, he has turned into a helluva good young adult!

[iwu70]

Good for you Ypsi.  What goes around comes around.  I'm sure he learned the lessons, just took him a bit longer.  Sure is a nice gift.  Be sure to visit the Japanese Garden at the East-West Center, in Manoa Valley, on the UH Manoa campus.  And, all the great beaches on the north shore, if you rent a car and go adventuring.  Best to get out of Waikiki, away from the normal tourist zones, then you really feel the Island life, the magic of the environment.  My favorite is Barking Sands at sunset (way west coast of Oahu), or for good swimming, easy surf, Waimanalo Beach Park north of Kailua.  You will love them . . . and north of Kailua, you will see why President Obama loves to return to that coastline each Christmas for his two weeks of much-deserved holiday.  Have some spicy shrimp and a shaved ice . . . and walk on the beach . . . well, near heaven. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family and to all good friends in the Titans nation!  Blessings to all.

IWU70

[HAMBO]

Why the negative comments about Decatur?  It is a city of parks and beautiful Lake Decatur.  The overall Millikin campus is beautiful and functional.  It is adjacent to a significant park (Fairview Park) I will give you that Griswold is outdated.  I have lived in Aurora, Rockford, Bloomington, Springfield, Peoria and Decatur and I prefer Decatur.  I remain positive about all CCIW schools and their locations.

[4samuy]

* In Albion's most recent game, a win over Spring Arbor (a respectable NAIA outfit), Britons guard Jaylin Fordham scored 33 points on 11-17 shooting from the field. Tonight he scored four points on 1-12 shooting from the field. Hat tip to the junkyard dog, T.J. Cobbs, for yet another yeoman effort at defending the other team's most dangerous player.

* I remarked the other day about Jordan Robinson's ridiculous shooting numbers from downtown in terms of both quantity and quality, as he was 24-40 (60%) from long range, which ranked him among the league leaders in trey attempts as well as made him the league leader in trey shooting percentage by an absurdly large margin. Well, he somehow managed to improve his numbers from behind the arc by going 4-5 from distance tonight. He's now 28-45 (62%). I honestly cannot remember a high-volume CCIW shooter ever having a lights-out stretch that lasted this long. Maybe Ryan Knuppel did at some point during his storied career, or Keelan Amelianovich or Ben Panner, but I honestly don't remember any of those guys, or any other high-volume gunners in this league, ever doing what Jordan Robinson is doing from downtown this November and December.

* Given how NPU's two superstars have struggled at the free-throw line this season, most notably in the loss to Carroll in which they went a catastrophic combined 12-24 from the stripe, perhaps the most satisfying stat of the night from a North Park perspective was the fact that Juwan Henry went 8-8 from the line and Jordan Robinson went 5-5. In fact, the team as a whole shot 20-22 (91%).

As far as your admonishment to Mark E. to enjoy this season, I think that is sage advice.

It's the only kind of advice I'm capable of giving.

After all, next season may well not be as enjoyable given the fact that this is Mr. Henry's senior season.

None of us knows what next year will bring ... or, should I say, who next year will bring.

At any rate, that's for Tom and Joe and Peter to worry about ... not me. I'm too busy enjoying the ride, and I think that Mark and the rest of the NPU faithful should focus upon enjoying that ride as well.

I'm a huge Jordan Robinson fan because his versatility and efficiency are uncanny. He is currently 11th in the country in scoring, 2nd in the country in 3 pt percentage and top 100 in the country in rebounding. If he gets his rebound avg from 9.1/game to at least 10+/game, he not only gets my vote for 1st team All American, but also National Player of the Year.  Doing all of this averaging third on a the team 32 minutes/game.  Not sure why Slyder isn't using him a couple minutes more per, but it doesn't seem to be foul trouble since he's averaging under 3 per game. I'm sure part of it is how well they playing as a team overall,  and that depth may finally take them were they want to go, but eventually they will need, imo, the POY candidate on the floor a few more minutes/game. If he does I will definitely use my vote on him.  Unfortunately, I don't have a vote😉.

[iwu70]

I'm totally with you on Jordan Robinson.  Great season so far.  Very versatile and consistent. 

Let the conference season soon resume, in earnest.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all CCIW chatsters, friends and fans.

'70

[AndOne]

OK, i know its kind of an unwritten rule that you"re not supposed to bitch about Karma.
However, it's almost midnight on CHRISTMAS DAY/EVENING. I've been gone all day, and now get home and take a look at D3Hoops to see if anything exceedingly interesting transpired today, and notice someone felt the need to sign on sometime today, again Christmas Day, to smite me.
Did i post anything today to tick you off? No, this is the first time i've been on all day. Did i post anything yesterday to tick. you off? Nope, didn't do any posting yesterday either.
So, other that the fact that you're just a hate filled person and a complete jerk, what other reason could there possibly be that you felt the need to sign on on Christmas Day and smite me when I haven't even posted anything in the last two days? And, for quite a while before that, i don't think i insulted your mother, directed a racial, ethnic, or any other kind of hateful slur in your direction, or said the team you love is filled with rapists, murderers, or any other form of bottom-feeding scum.
So what, pray tell, filled you with such contempt, disgust, and/or hate that you felt the need to take time away from celebrating with your family and friends, or just relaxing and enjoying Christmas Day just to come on and smite me for no reason? The only possible reason i can think of is that you are nothing more than a hateful person who gets off by using any avenue available to you to build yourself up by putting others down. it's one thing to disagree with someone and tell them they are an idiot and why. it's quite another thing to sneak on here early in the morning or late at night, or even on Christmas Day to slam them without even telling them what you disagree with and why.
Anyway, I hope you had a nice Christmas, and that smiteing me somehow provided you with the joy that Christmas Day itself was evidently not capable of. doing. Lastly, I apologize for whatever I did to anger you to such a degree. Hopefully, being able to smite me today eased your pain, and filled your heart with joy and happiness. 

[Titan Q]

In advance of the IWU vs Middlebury game Thursday at College of Staten Island, I'm trying to think of NESCAC vs CCIW matchups in the last 20 completed seasons (since 1996-97).  I can think of 4 off the top of my head...

* Middlebury 77 North Central 65 - March 22, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* IWU 71 Tufts 62 - November 30, 2012 (at Wash U)

* IWU 70 Hamilton 55 - December 7, 2008 (at Wash U)

* IWU 71 Amherst 68 - March 18, 2006 (at Salem, VA)


What other CCIW/NESCAC matchups can you think of?

[lmitzel]

In advance of the IWU vs Middlebury game Thursday at College of Staten Island, I'm trying to think of NESCAC vs CCIW matchups in the last 20 completed seasons (since 1996-97).  I can think of 4 off the top of my head...

* North Central 77 Middlebury 65 - March 22, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* IWU 71 Tufts 62 - November 30, 2012 (at Wash U)

* IWU 70 Hamilton 55 - December 7, 2008 (at Wash U)

* IWU 71 Amherst 68 - March 18, 2006 (at Salem, VA)


What other CCIW/NESCAC matchups can you think of?

Fixed. North Central won the Middlebury game, then lost 52-44 to Amherst the next night. Too bad, that was such a fun run. And a weird year since they did the first three rounds over three weeks, the Elite Eight and Final Four in Salem, and the title game in Atlanta.

[Greek Tragedy]

In advance of the IWU vs Middlebury game Thursday at College of Staten Island, I'm trying to think of NESCAC vs CCIW matchups in the last 20 completed seasons (since 1996-97). I can think of 4 off the top of my head...

* Middlebury 77 North Central 65 - March 22, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* IWU 71 Tufts 62 - November 30, 2012 (at Wash U)

* IWU 70 Hamilton 55 - December 7, 2008 (at Wash U)

* IWU 71 Amherst 68 - March 18, 2006 (at Salem, VA)


What other CCIW/NESCAC matchups can you think of?

So you thought of those games and remembered those scores off the top of your head?     

[Titan Q]

In advance of the IWU vs Middlebury game Thursday at College of Staten Island, I'm trying to think of NESCAC vs CCIW matchups in the last 20 completed seasons (since 1996-97).  I can think of 4 off the top of my head...

* North Central 77 Middlebury 65 - March 22, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* IWU 71 Tufts 62 - November 30, 2012 (at Wash U)

* IWU 70 Hamilton 55 - December 7, 2008 (at Wash U)

* IWU 71 Amherst 68 - March 18, 2006 (at Salem, VA)


What other CCIW/NESCAC matchups can you think of?

Fixed. North Central won the Middlebury game, then lost 52-44 to Amherst the next night. Too bad, that was such a fun run. And a weird year since they did the first three rounds over three weeks, the Elite Eight and Final Four in Salem, and the title game in Atlanta.

Thanks.  I remembered NCC lost to a NESCAC team but didn't recall that they played two in Salem that year.


* Amherst 52 North Central 44 - March 23, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* North Central 77 Middlebury 65 - March 22, 2013 (at Salem, VA)

* IWU 71 Tufts 62 - November 30, 2012 (at Wash U)

* IWU 70 Hamilton 55 - December 7, 2008 (at Wash U)

* IWU 71 Amherst 68 - March 18, 2006 (at Salem, VA)

* Wheaton  82 Williams 74 - January 4, 2004 (at Williams)

[Gregory Sager]

The Central Region list above does not even include 6-1 Ripon (who led UWW by 8 at the half), Wash U, and the rest of the WIAC (by current record, the WORST team in the conference is UWSP at 5-3, who should NEVER be counted out, whatever their record).  Would it be fair to say that the only region which is even vaguely comparable to the Central in strength is the Northeast (NESCAC, Babson, etc.)?  (And while the Northeast may somewhat compare in strength at the top, I doubt they have the depth.)

Ypsi,

Given that the CCIW, WIAC & NESCAC are probably the 3 best conferences in the country, and the CCIW and WIAC are somehow in the same region, I think the answer to your question is that it would be very fair to say the only other region comparable to the Central is the NE. 

No and no, gentlemen.

Yes, the NESCAC is an outstanding league, easily one of the top five and arguably one of the top three in all of D3. And there's another league in the Northeast, the NEWMAC (home to Babson as well as to MIT, which was a Final Four outfit not too many years ago) that is also solid. But the Northeast, which is by far the most populous of the eight regions in D3, is also jam-packed to the gills with leagues that are the caliber of the SLIAC and the NACC. Not only does the Northeast lack the depth of the Central, as Chuck correctly surmised, but all of that dross (plus the NESCAC's single round-robin scheduling format) makes it much easier for the teams in that league to favorably construct schedules with an eye to OWP than is the case in the Central, where good CCIW and WIAC teams get dinged too often as a consequence for having to regularly play similarly top-notch competition. That's why national observers are always harping upon the "golden road" to Salem that the NESCAC's best gets to take every year (which doesn't erase the fact that the NESCAC rep as often as not proves itself worthy once it gets past the Mitchells and the Albertus Magnuses and the Colby-Sawyers of the world).

With the CCIW and the WIAC both in the Central Region, to say nothing of the likes of Benedictine, Chicago, Wash U, and St. Norbert, this region is hands-down the toughest in the nation.