MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cubs]

Quick question for the regulars here....  Had Carroll won last night against Elmhurst, would they have qualified for CCIW Tournament or would they have lost out on tiebreaker to either North Central or Illinois Wesleyan.  All three teams would have been 2-2 in the head-to-head tiebreaker, and it looks like Carroll had the best record (4-2) against the three teams that finished tied for first place at 11-5.

First of all, Carroll was 3-3 against the top three teams, not 4-2.

Secondly, While I don't remember all the many possibilities exactly, I believe it was that Carroll had to win to have any chance, not that they automatically qualified with a win no matter what else happened. I know North Central was able to qualify if any one of three different things happened.

Lastly, Illinois Wesleyan never had a chance. Their loss to North Central on Saturday knocked them out of all possible consideration.

Yikes....  Thanks for the correction!!!  Eyes must be playing tricks on me today or it's just the old age kicking in!!!

[Greek Tragedy]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

[lmitzel]

Awards are up!

The voters cheated and went with a three-way tie for Coach of the Year between Djurikovic, Giovanine, and Slyder. Robinson, predictably, won MOP. Brad Perry a solid choice for Freshman of the Year.

All in all, nothing really to complain about with either the First or Second team. Five unanimous selections, and all deserving ones.

[Titan Q]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

Remember, that is based on play through Sunday.

[newCCIWfan]

Awards are up!

The voters cheated and went with a three-way tie for Coach of the Year between Djurikovic, Giovanine, and Slyder. Robinson, predictably, won MOP. Brad Perry a solid choice for Freshman of the Year.

All in all, nothing really to complain about with either the First or Second team. Five unanimous selections, and all deserving ones.

I don't believe that coaches actually vote for Coach of the Year --- it is automatically awarded to the CCIW Regular Season Champion (or Co-Champion ... as the case may be)

[lmitzel]

Awards are up!

The voters cheated and went with a three-way tie for Coach of the Year between Djurikovic, Giovanine, and Slyder. Robinson, predictably, won MOP. Brad Perry a solid choice for Freshman of the Year.

All in all, nothing really to complain about with either the First or Second team. Five unanimous selections, and all deserving ones.

I don't believe that coaches actually vote for Coach of the Year --- it is automatically awarded to the CCIW Regular Season Champion (or Co-Champion ... as the case may be)

Looking back on the brief history of the award... you're correct. I think it's a bit of a copout, but I guess it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

[AndOne]

Awards are up!

The voters cheated and went with a three-way tie for Coach of the Year between Djurikovic, Giovanine, and Slyder. Robinson, predictably, won MOP. Brad Perry a solid choice for Freshman of the Year.

All in all, nothing really to complain about with either the First or Second team. Five unanimous selections, and all deserving ones.

As newCCIWfan indicated, there is no voting involved. This was a forgone conclusion as the coach(es) of the conference champ or co-champ(s) is/are automatically the C(es)OY.

[Greek Tragedy]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

Remember, that is based on play through Sunday.

Obviously. It will be interesting if IWU sneaks back in considering they will be the only (or one of few) Pool C candidate to go undefeated this week! If they can sneak back in this weekend, that obviously helps Augie and Carthage in the vRRO category.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Carthage and Coach Djurickovic on winning 7 of their last 8  (4 in OT) to share the conference title and deservedly host the tournament this weekend.  Congrats also to Tom Slyder and North Park on their great accomplishment so far.   Congrats to Augustana as well although they probably aren't quite celebrating in the same way.

Boy, that's the understatement of the year. This makes twice in four days that Chris Martin has carted that trophy with him from Naperville to a CCIW gym, only to walk back to the parking lot after the game with the trophy in his hands rather than in Grey Giovanine's. And now Chris is going to have to order two more just like it.

How would you like to be trapped on that bus with Grey Giovanine all the way from Bloomington to Rock Island last night?

I'm not sure if Coach Mike Schauer would be happy or satisfied with the season in the classic W/L sense.  But I would think he is pleased with the overall progression of this young team from Nov-Feb.

I don't see how he couldn't be satisfied. In both the official CCIW preseason video and in Brett Marhanka's preseason prospectus, Mike made it very clear that his expectations were pretty low for this team in terms of actual results. He kept saying stuff like, "I can only promise that this team will be fun to watch, and that we'll get better every day." Mike's not a spin kind of guy, so if he's not touting his team as some sort of threat to win the CCIW title, or even to have a winning record, it's because he doesn't think he has the material to get there. The fact that he finished one game out of the fourth spot for the CCIW tourney can't be interpreted as anything other than a validation of his rebuilding job this season.

I don't think that anybody expected Wheaton to be as good or as dangerous as the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance turned out to be this season.

Besides the off season recruiting, his coaching challenge will surround the legitimate question of how to integrate an extraordinary scoring talent in Francis into a scheme that allows 4 others on the floor to stay in the flow, contribute more consistently and the team to thrive. With Ricky Samuelson, Luke Peters, Kobe Eichelberger and others, they certainly have the talent to do so.  It won't be easy just because the whole roster is returning since it's the same with Augie, NCC and other teams

That's not true, though. Augie will lose Jacob Johnston, who is going to be named either a first-team or second-team All-CCIW player when the coaches cast their votes today. He was a very important piece to the puzzle this year. And Pierson Wofford's administrative suspension has to cast at least a little bit of doubt upon his returning next year, although he is still enrolled at Augustana.

As for North Central, the Cardinals are losing an accomplished point guard in Jagger Anderson who is also one of the two or three quickest players in the league. He will be very hard for Todd Raridon to replace; the Cards don't really have anybody with his skill set on their roster. They'll either have to import a newbie who can do the things he does, or else change their team personality to a slower, more deliberate style.

(graduation will hurt NPU and IWU a little).

Nobody worries about Illinois Wesleyan, because Ron Rose has proven that he can keep feeding the beast by bringing in new CCIW-quality players every year. The Titans do need to get more athletic, but they could help to solve that problem in a big way if Rose can successfully land Elijah Williams from Evanston Township.

As for North Park, I'm close enough to the program to be very optimistic about what the NPU coaching staff is doing on the recruiting trail. NPU's had two off years in terms of recruiting, but all indications are that Tom Slyder and his staff are going to make up for that in a major way this spring and early summer.

In the continuing weird CCIW season, whoever bet in Vegas in a three way 11-5 tie for conference championship AND those three teams have an overall 18-7 record. Probably won a huge , bigly payout

I think that I've mentioned this before, but 11-5 is the worst record for a champion(s) in the 71-year-history of this league. Doesn't matter, though, because the trophy looks the same no matter how pretty or ugly the W-L is.

And my vote for coach of the year - Bosco.  He has coached up a team that many of us had in the middle of the pack, won a tie for the regular season championship and the rights to host the conference tournament.

I can't argue with that. What Bosko's done this season is really impressive. But, in the big picture, you have to stop and give Tom Slyder a long, slow standing ovation for what he has done at North Park. I talked about this at length on the postgame show, because usually when I'm mentioning Tom during a game it's because he's yelling at somebody in stripewear or is calling a timeout with a disgusted look on his face. But he took over a moribund program five years ago that seemed stuck to the bottom of this league with Gorilla Glue, and now tonight he's cut down the net after winning a share of the title of an incredibly difficult league in which to overcome two decades of second-division finishes -- and he did it with his first full recruiting class climbing up the ladder in front of him to cut down their own pieces, still in uniform.

That's just really, really hard to do, as anyone who has followed this league for any length of time must realize. Tom Slyder is one heck of a basketball coach. So, yeah, the Serbian Prince may win the COY award, and you have to give him his due. But, like I said, Tom deserves at least that long, slow standing ovation for the rebuilding job he's done at the corner of Foster & Kedzie.

I really debated between Tom and Bosko (Coach G bit so much. In fact not at all).

Poor Grey. I know that I'm as hard on him as anybody, but, let's face it, the man is a victim of his own success. Think about how much Augustana lost from last season's team. Think about how young and inexperienced the team he put on the floor was in November. And then consider the fact that his program has just threepeated as CCIW champions. He's raised the level of expectation for Augustana so ridiculously high in CCIW circles that it's actually becoming kind of unreasonable for a league as competitive as this one is.

It came down to what Bosko did without any All Americans or what I would consider 1st team CCIW.

No offense, Larry, but Mike Stevenson is a legit All-CCIW first-teamer.

Quick question for the regulars here....  Had Carroll won last night against Elmhurst, would they have qualified for CCIW Tournament or would they have lost out on tiebreaker to either North Central or Illinois Wesleyan.  All three teams would have been 2-2 in the head-to-head tiebreaker, and it looks like Carroll had the best record (4-2) against the three teams that finished tied for first place at 11-5.

First of all, Carroll was 3-3 against the top three teams, not 4-2.

Secondly, While I don't remember all the many possibilities exactly, I believe it was that Carroll had to win to have any chance, not that they automatically qualified with a win no matter what else happened.

One of the more curious, if not outright bizarre, facts about this topsy-turvy season is that Elmhurst swept Carroll. The Pioneers were certainly not a bad team at all. As you mentioned yesterday, they were arguably better than they were a year ago when they were the 20-5 runner-up of the MWC behind St. Norbert. Elmhurst, meanwhile, turned out to be a mess; the returning JV guys never came through, Jalen Loving turned out to be merely good rather than great after coming back from his knee injury, and, speaking of knee injuries, the one guy who could've possibly carried that team into the middle of the pack, freshman sensation Jake Rhode, messed up his knee early in the season and had his total CCIW time restricted to 13 minutes against Carthage in early January before his orthopedist made him shut it down for the season.

And yet the Bluejays got it together twice and beat the Pioneers, giving EC half of its total of four CCIW wins.

[Gregory Sager]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

It is what it is. As I said last night, there's still unfinished business ahead for the Vikings.

Remember, that is based on play through Sunday.

Obviously. It will be interesting if IWU sneaks back in considering they will be the only (or one of few) Pool C candidate to go undefeated this week! If they can sneak back in this weekend, that obviously helps Augie and Carthage in the vRRO category.

It helps NPU even more, because if NPU can beat Augie on Friday I'm pretty sure that the Vikes will get into the final ranking even if they lose on Saturday -- if UWW takes care of business and defeats the B'Goshers tomorrow night in Oshkosh, that is.

[Gregory Sager]

Awards are up!

The voters cheated and went with a three-way tie for Coach of the Year between Djurikovic, Giovanine, and Slyder. Robinson, predictably, won MOP. Brad Perry a solid choice for Freshman of the Year.

I'm actually a little surprised that his teammate Kienen Baltimore didn't win it. I thought that Baltimore was a bigger factor in Carthage's success, although I can see why the coaches might've leaned towards Perry because of his superior rebounding statistics.

This was a good year for CCIW freshmen. In addition to Carthage's duo, Nick Penny of Carroll, Derek Dotlich of Elmhurst, Jordan Cunningham of Millikin, and Matt Cappelletti of North Central were all really solid. And that's not counting Jake Rhode of Elmhurst, who very well might've won this award if he'd stayed healthy. Wheaton, Elmhurst, and Millikin also had several rotation freshmen who look like they're going to be solid contributors over the next three years.

All in all, nothing really to complain about with either the First or Second team. Five unanimous selections, and all deserving ones.

Agreed. This is also the first season I can remember in which not one but two teams at the bottom of the standings got shut out of the awards.

I don't believe that coaches actually vote for Coach of the Year --- it is automatically awarded to the CCIW Regular Season Champion (or Co-Champion ... as the case may be)

Looking back on the brief history of the award... you're correct. I think it's a bit of a copout, but I guess it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

I've never liked it. I definitely consider it a copout. AFAIK, this is the only CCIW sport in which the coaches abdicate their responsibility to crown one of their peers with the COY.

Then again, perhaps it's the only way that they can all stand to be in the same room with each other.

[iwumichigander]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

Remember, that is based on play through Sunday.

i did not expect IWU or NPU in the third round. An IWU win over Augie will help but Titans also need a few other things to happen within the central and outside the central.
Oshkosh lost Tuesday night so that puts them at 16-10 and might drop below IWU.
Eau Claire can not be the favorite against Whitewater and with a loss might be below IWU. 
And, wow I am just not sure what would happen to Benedictine if it somehow loses their conference tournament.  Other than W/L% I am just not sure the Bennies have the other numbers to stay in the final rankings or how far they would drop.

[iwumichigander]

Greg - no offense you know Carthage better than I do.  Regarding coach of the year, for a single pick I still go with Bosko.  However, the recent tradition has been to go with first place ties.  Why not, it does mitigate other decisions that are not unanimous .

[cubs]

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2017/02/men-regional-rankings-third

No IWU or NPU

Oshkosh in at #8

Remember, that is based on play through Sunday.

i did not expect IWU or NPU in the third round. An IWU win over Augie will help but Titans also need a few other things to happen within the central and outside the central.
Oshkosh lost Tuesday night so that puts them at 16-10 and might drop below IWU.
Eau Claire can not be the favorite against Whitewater and with a loss might be below IWU.
And, wow I am just not sure what would happen to Benedictine if it somehow loses their conference tournament.  Other than W/L% I am just not sure the Bennies have the other numbers to stay in the final rankings or how far they would drop.

Two things...

1.  Oshkosh didn't play last night....  They now host Whitewater tomorrow night in the WIAC Tournament Semifinals.
2.  Eau Claire doesn't have to worry about Whitewater....  They lost to La Crosse last night eliminating them from the WIAC Tournament.

[mwunder]

Good season overall, but no CCIW tourney and likely no dancing this year.

Fixed that for you.

I think '70s wording was OK.  IWU is an extreme longshot to get a Pool C big, but the door is not completely closed yet.  If things fall in a certain way, IWU could actually be on the board for the final pick or two of the process (#20 and #21).  And if on the board, the SOS and RRO numbers will at least be enough for conversation despite the .680 WP.

Again, extreme longshot because too much would have to fall into place perfectly for IWU to be considered...but too strong to suggest there is zero chance.  The fact IWU is not in the CCIW conference tournament is not a factor in the process at all.

Hope springs eternal I guess...

Name the last time a CCIW team finished 5th in the conference, didn't make the CCIW tournament AND made the Big dance.  I don't believe there are numbers out there to justify that, no matter what percentages you throw out.  I'm sure you know the process better than I, but if I'm in that room and they are on the table for discussion, that's the first thing I'm bringing up.  IWU or any other team that didn't finish in the top 4 in their conference.