MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[augiefan]

I see Raridon did not play tonight in Elmhurst. It was predicted he would be back tonight,
but he must still not be ready. His prolonged absence is certainly killing NC's season.

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Tech 81
North Park 77

Juwan Henry: 21 pts, 9 rebs
Jordan Robinson: 17 pts, 13 rebs
Colin Lake: 14 pts
T.J. Cobbs: 13 pts
Billy Kirby: 10 pts

An extremely frustrating afternoon on the South Side culminated a week that the Vikings would like to forget. NPU kept digging itself holes and climbing out of them, and eventually the Vikings just ran out of chances to clamber up from the grave one last time.

The Vikings were down 20-18 with eight minutes and change remaining in the first half when the Scarlet Hawks caught fire and went on a 14-point run to take a 16-point lead with four minutes to go in the half. The Vikings were listless and frustrated, and Keating Sports Center was rocking (those are five words I never thought I'd type consecutively). However, the Park managed to re-gather itself and chipped away at the lead until the intermission, then the Vikes caught fire themselves at the outset of the second stanza, roaring back to take the lead at 51-47 on a Juwan Henry 15-footer.

But things quickly went south again. The Vikings went into a zone, and the Hawks beat it for a quick trey. Then came a critical swing in which Henry missed a shot in transition, Jordan Robinson got his hand on the high-bouncing rebound but couldn't haul it in, and the Hawk behind him in the lane grabbed it and threw it down the floor to a streaking Anthony Mosley. Joe Biko, who had never made his way completely up the floor during the previous change of possession, was stuck trying to play one-on-one against one of the fastest players with the ball in the region -- and his solution to the dilemma was to just poleaxe Mosley in the chest as he drove by. Mosley made both free throws, the Hawks got another bucket after keeping possession due to the intentional foul on Biko, and the six-point turnaround on what had started out as an NPU fast break put the Hawks up, 54-51.

IIT used that as a springboard to build the lead back up to double digits, a stretch of the game in which the hosts really made NPU pay for zoning them by knocking down a couple of 23-footers and a long deuce. Again, the Park fought back, forcing a 73-73 tie with 2:23 left on another Henry midrange jumper. But, even though the Hawks would not score another field goal, they went 8-10 from the free-throw line from that point onward. Meanwhile, the Vikings went cold at the wrong time, as in the final 33 seconds of the game they had five open shots but only made one of the five.

Give the Scarlet Hawks credit for taking what was given to them, as they went a sparkling 21-24 (88%) from the FT line. That's a team that would be very competitive in the CCIW this season, and, given what a lightweight schedule it has remaining, it'll end the season with a 20-5 record. Like Manchester on Monday, the Hawks showed how teams get fired up and raise their game when they face a ranked opponent, and how dangerous that can be when the ranked opponent doesn't match their energy level for forty minutes.

NPU shot poorly for the game, only hitting 42% from the field and just shy of an even 30% from downtown. Colin Lake, who came out with guns blazing by hitting his first three trey attempts, only went 1-7 from long range for the rest of the night. The only solace was that T.J. Cobbs finally made an opponent pay for leaving him alone on the perimeter, as he went 3-5 from downtown.

i know that I sound like a broken record, but I'll say it again: When you don't have a CCIW-starter-quality center and you're undersized at every position, you can't afford to not play forty minutes of full-out basketball. Since points scored early in the game count just as much as points scored late, that four-minute period in which the Vikings napped in the first half and IIT went on a 14-0 run is really what cost NPU the game.

The Vikings are really struggling right now. This is gut-check time for them, especially since Illinois Wesleyan comes to town on Wednesday all-too-aware for its own part that it cannot really afford to fall back in the pack any further. It's time for the Vikings to man up and to find that early-December magic again.

[4samuy]

I see Raridon did not play tonight in Elmhurst. It was predicted he would be back tonight,
but he must still not be ready. His prolonged absence is certainly killing NC's season.

Andone, didn't you mention previously that they still had the opportunity to redshirt him. Is that still the case?

[Gregory Sager]

Augie rolls past Millikin 69-53 at the Griz

Actually, that score is deceptive. Millikin cut what had been a 15-point Augustana lead with thirteen and a half minutes remaining down to only five points at 55-50 with five and a half minutes to go. Credit Augie for closing the game out in crunch time by then going on a seven-point run to take the wind out of Jimmy Millikin's sails.

[kiko]

Augie rolls past Millikin 69-53 at the Griz

Actually, that score is deceptive. Millikin cut what had been a 15-point Augustana lead with thirteen and a half minutes remaining down to only five points at 55-50 with five and a half minutes to go. Credit Augie for closing the game out in crunch time by then going on a seven-point run to take the wind out of Jimmy Millikin's sails.

The day I double-click on a circa-2017 Millikin boxscore involving someone other than my alma mater is the day I know I'm spending too much time at Casa Coleman...

[iwumichigander]

IWU falls to Carroll, 63-67.  Colin Bonnett led the way with 19 points; Brady Rose added 17 (but was just 1-7 from deep).  Trevor Seibring is back, but fouled out after just 17 minutes (4 points, 4 rebounds), leading me to suspect (I missed watching the game, thinking for some reason it was a night game) that he was either very rusty or not yet quite 100% (or that the refs hate him ) - but still very encouraging to see him return.

Carroll did a great job of spreading it around, with players scoring 18, 15, 13, and 11.

As this was the Titans' fifth loss, I think they now must go AT LEAST 6-2 (preferably 7-1) or else win the conference tourney (which they have NEVER done, even in seasons they've gone to Salem) or will probably be staying home in March.

An ugly game. Seibring - rusty or not 100% or refs did not like him - yes.  But it is hard for your bigs to score when your team does not get you the ball or rebound three pointers that carom to the other team or were air balled.  Yet, the Titans had a chance to win this in the last minutes and could not close the deal.

[Gregory Sager]

The day I double-click on a circa-2017 Millikin boxscore involving someone other than my alma mater is the day I know I'm spending too much time at Casa Coleman...

Duly noted.

I see Raridon did not play tonight in Elmhurst. It was predicted he would be back tonight,
but he must still not be ready. His prolonged absence is certainly killing NC's season.

Andone, didn't you mention previously that they still had the opportunity to redshirt him. Is that still the case?

Raridon's only played in seven games, all in the first half of the season, so according to 14.2.5, paragraphs (a) and (b), of the NCAA Division III rulebook, he is eligible for a medical hardship waiver. However, there's a catch:

14.2.5.2.2 Medical Documentation. Contemporaneous or other appropriate medical documentation from a physician (i.e., a medical doctor), who administered care at the time of the injury or illness, that establishes the student-athlete's inability to compete for the remainder of the traditional playing season as a result of that injury or illness shall be submitted with any hardship-waiver request.

In other words, Raridon's orthopedist has to submit in writing that Connor's broken finger did not heal sufficiently for him to play for the rest of the regular season. If he recovers between now and the end of February, he can't simply opt out of playing and still expect to get the medical hardship waiver, unless his doctor submits a false report on his condition to the CCIW (the league administers medical hardship waivers on behalf of the NCAA).

[Gregory Sager]

The CCIW ended the regular season with a 50-31 (.617) non-conference record. That's pretty below par by modern CCIW standards.

[Gregory Sager]

I watched Wheaton's 85-78 home win over Carthage, and I'm a little confused as to what Bosko was trying to accomplish towards the end of what remained a winnable game going into the final minute. Wheaton had logged a lot of fouls on its bigs -- Trevor Gunter, Jay Spencer, and Spencer Peterson each had four fouls apiece with four minutes and change remaining -- and yet Bosko never brought Brad Perry into the game (he sat out the last 16 minutes of the second half) or had Kienen Baltimore post up down low (Baltimore seemed to spend most of the second half lurking around the perimeter setting screens and attempting treys). Why not post up and attack a Wheaton interior defense that's suspect even when it's fresh and foul-free? Credit to the Wheaton broadcasters for pointing that out a couple of times (although I take points off for them for not knowing how to pronounce "Djurickovic". All you have to do is ask, guys. ).

Aston Francis had a really nice game with 29 points, most of which he got from driving to the basket and either making layups or getting fouled. Ricky Samuelson had a terrific night with 20 and 7, while Gunter had 11 and 8 before fouling out. Wheaton really piled up the rebounds, as Kobe Eichelberger grabbed eight boards and Luke Peters hauled in seven. Kevin Kozil saw a fine night go to waste, as he led Carthage with 21, while Baltimore had 15 and 7 and Brad Kruse had 10 and 6 for the Red Men.

A few stops east on the Metra Union Pacific West line, Elmhurst surprised North Central this afternoon behind a strong 23 and 7 game from Derek Dotlich, while Caleb Mowry had 15 points and Devin Tennant added 10 and 6 for the 'jays. Jalen Loving scooped up eight caroms, and Marquis Carter had a fine 7:1 floor game. Alex Sorenson led the Cards with 19 points, while Erwin Henry contributed 16, Matt Cappelletti added a solid 14 and 10, and Aiden Chang augmented his 13 points with a nice 7:2 floor game.

In Augie's win over Millikin at the Griz, Chrishawn Orange (who is playing great ball lately) led the way with 18 points (including 8-8 from the line) and was aided by fellow sophomore Pierson Wofford's 14 and 7. Jacob Johnston and Dylan Sortillo had 11 and 10, respectively, for the visitors, while Micah Martin was Augie's co-leader in rebounds with seven. The Big Blue got ten points apiece from Jack Simpson and Jordan Cunningham.

Carroll, which tends to be a team of jump shooters, must've been more aggressive than usual and made that aggression work, to the tune of an 18-22 (82%) afternoon at the charity stripe in the Pios' win over IWU. Pioneers PG Ben Widdes had a terrific game with 18 and 13, while Nick Penny had 15 (in spite of being uncharacteristically quiet from long range), Tanner Zaeske added 13 and 9, and Kale Maupin chipped in 11 points off the bench. Colin Bonnett (19) and Brady Rose (17) were the only double-figure scorers for the Titans, none of whom had more than six rebounds in a game in which IWU was outrebounded by eight boards.

Weird fact of the day: Both the IWU @ CU box score and the CC @ WC box score list Nitin Rao as one of the officials. I know for a fact that Rao reffed the game at King Arena, because I watched it online -- it was Rao, John Hodel, and Bill Oostdyk (the latter of whom bore the brunt of Bosko's politicking today) who wore the stripes in that game. Unless the Rao family has its own high-powered helicopter, I doubt that he reffed both the afternoon game in Waukesha and the evening game in Wheaton.

[4samuy]

Illinois Tech 81
North Park 77

Juwan Henry: 21 pts, 9 rebs
Jordan Robinson: 17 pts, 13 rebs
Colin Lake: 14 pts
T.J. Cobbs: 13 pts
Billy Kirby: 10 pts

An extremely frustrating afternoon on the South Side culminated a week that the Vikings would like to forget. NPU kept digging itself holes and climbing out of them, and eventually the Vikings just ran out of chances to clamber up from the grave one last time.

The Vikings were down 20-18 with eight minutes and change remaining in the first half when the Scarlet Hawks caught fire and went on a 14-point run to take a 16-point lead with four minutes to go in the half. The Vikings were listless and frustrated, and Keating Sports Center was rocking (those are five words I never thought I'd type consecutively). However, the Park managed to re-gather itself and chipped away at the lead until the intermission, then the Vikes caught fire themselves at the outset of the second stanza, roaring back to take the lead at 51-47 on a Juwan Henry 15-footer.

But things quickly went south again. The Vikings went into a zone, and the Hawks beat it for a quick trey. Then came a critical swing in which Henry missed a shot in transition, Jordan Robinson got his hand on the high-bouncing rebound but couldn't haul it in, and the Hawk behind him in the lane grabbed it and threw it down the floor to a streaking Anthony Mosley. Joe Biko, who had never made his way completely up the floor during the previous change of possession, was stuck trying to play one-on-one against one of the fastest players with the ball in the region -- and his solution to the dilemma was to just poleaxe Mosley in the chest as he drove by. Mosley made both free throws, the Hawks got another bucket after keeping possession due to the intentional foul on Biko, and the six-point turnaround on what had started out as an NPU fast break put the Hawks up, 54-51.

IIT used that as a springboard to build the lead back up to double digits, a stretch of the game in which the hosts really made NPU pay for zoning them by knocking down a couple of 23-footers and a long deuce. Again, the Park fought back, forcing a 73-73 tie with 2:23 left on another Henry midrange jumper. But, even though the Hawks would not score another field goal, they went 8-10 from the free-throw line from that point onward. Meanwhile, the Vikings went cold at the wrong time, as in the final 33 seconds of the game they had five open shots but only made one of the five.

Give the Scarlet Hawks credit for taking what was given to them, as they went a sparkling 21-24 (88%) from the FT line. That's a team that would be very competitive in the CCIW this season, and, given what a lightweight schedule it has remaining, it'll end the season with a 20-5 record. Like Manchester on Monday, the Hawks showed how teams get fired up and raise their game when they face a ranked opponent, and how dangerous that can be when the ranked opponent doesn't match their energy level for forty minutes.

NPU shot poorly for the game, only hitting 42% from the field and just shy of an even 30% from downtown. Colin Lake, who came out with guns blazing by hitting his first three trey attempts, only went 1-7 from long range for the rest of the night. The only solace was that T.J. Cobbs finally made an opponent pay for leaving him alone on the perimeter, as he went 3-5 from downtown.

i know that I sound like a broken record, but I'll say it again: When you don't have a CCIW-starter-quality center and you're undersized at every position, you can't afford to not play forty minutes of full-out basketball. Since points scored early in the game count just as much as points scored late, that four-minute period in which the Vikings napped in the first half and IIT went on a 14-0 run is really what cost NPU the game.

The Vikings are really struggling right now. This is gut-check time for them, especially since Illinois Wesleyan comes to town on Wednesday all-too-aware for its own part that it cannot really afford to fall back in the pack any further. It's time for the Vikings to man up and to find that early-December magic again.

I attended this game at IIT and have some mixed thoughts.  First off I agree that if NPU could bring back a Marc Horner Type player to control the post they would be extremely difficult to defend.  Here's where I get frustrated,  IIT is a quality team (especially at home where I believe they are undefeated) were able to take both Henry and Robinson out of the game in the first.  If NPU has 5'7 lake and Kirby as the best players on the floor in the first half, it's no wonder they were down by nine at halftime. That being said both Henry and Robinson were spectacular in the second half.  This was the first time I have seen NPU live and was impressed with how their undersized guards attack the defensive boards. If both Robinson and Henry had figured out how they were being defended in the first half the result IMHO would have been different. You could tell that Slyder emphasized the getting Robinson the ball in the blocks and Henry getting dribble penetration drawing contact and converting in the second, but the talented IIT team kept coming up with answers.

[Gregory Sager]

Since we're now at the midpoint of the conference season, let's update the current standings with one round-robin in the books:

team	CCIW overall	CCIW home	CCIW road
Augustana	7-1	4-1	3-0
North Park	6-2	2-2	4-0
Carroll	5-3	3-1	2-2
Illinois Wesleyan	4-4	3-1	1-3
Carthage	4-4	2-1	2-3
Wheaton	4-4	3-1	1-3
North Central	3-5	1-3	2-2
Elmhurst	2-6	1-3	1-3
Millikin	1-7	1-3	0-4

...and, again, here's the second round-robin:

...	Wed 1/25	Sat 1/28	Wed 2/1	Sat 2/4	Wed 2/8	Sat 2/11	Wed 2/15	Sat 2/18	Tue 2/21
Augustana	vs. EC	@ CC	@ WC	vs. MU	vs. NCC	@ CU	bye	@ NPU	@ IWU
North Park	vs. IWU	@ ECC	bye	vs. NCC	@ CC	@ WC	@ CU	vs. AC	vs. MU
Carroll	vs. CC	@ MU	@ NCC	@ IWU	bye	vs. AC	vs. NPU	vs. WC	@ EC
Illinois Wesleyan	@ NPU	bye	@ MU	vs. CU	vs. EC	@ CC	@ WC	vs. NCC	vs.AC
Carthage	@ CU	vs. AC	@ EC	bye	vs. NPU	vs. IWU	vs. NCC	@ MU	vs. WC
North Central	vs. MU	vs. WC	vs. CU	@ NPU	@ AC	vs. EC	@ CC	@ IWU	bye
Wheaton	bye	@ NCC	vs. AC	vs. EC	@ MU	vs. NPU	vs. IWU	@ CU	@ CC
Millikin	@ NCC	vs. CU	vs. IWU	@ AC	vs. WC	bye	@ EC	vs. CC	@ NPU
Elmhurst	@ AC	vs. NPU	vs. CC	@ WC	@ IWU	@ NCC	vs. MU	bye	vs. CU

[kiko]

To sum up the conference season so far as we make the turn:

Elmhurst over North Central over Wheaton over Carthage over North Park over Augustana over Carroll over Illinois Wesleyan over Millikin over Elmhurst... 

[kiko]

team	CCIW overall	CCIW home	CCIW road
Augustana	7-1	4-1	3-0
North Park	6-2	2-2	4-0
Carroll	5-3	3-1	2-2
Illinois Wesleyan	4-4	3-1	1-3
Carthage	4-4	2-1	2-3
Wheaton	4-4	3-1	1-3
North Central	3-5	1-3	2-2
Elmhurst	2-6	1-3	1-3
Millikin	1-7	1-3	0-4

Home teams are just 20-16 so far.  I don't know what the normal range is for this, but that feels... low.

[AppletonRocks]

Carroll has this right where they want it. 

[voxelmhurst]

Record notwithstanding, I like what John Baines is doing with this Elmhurst team by starting his freshmen players and letting them have a go at it.