MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

In basketball it only takes 2 stud recruits and solid role players around them to get a program turned around.  Maybe this is piece #1 for the Park.  (I think Jay Alexander is going to be a good player too.)

I agree. Jay Alexander really started to come into his own in the second half of the conference season. He scored in double figures in each of the last eight games for the Vikings, averaging 14 ppg and 5.8 rpg during that stretch and notching a pair of double-doubles. He could still use a little improvement at the defensive end, and his shooting needs to be more consistent, but he's finally beginning to realize the considerable potential that everyone around the NPU program has seen in him since he first arrived. And as the only returning Viking who has been on the varsity for two years, Alexander will be counted upon in 2006-07 for his leadership as well as for his performance on the court.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah April, that Whitworth team loses their two top scorers, but they were very competitive this year and I expect they will be again.  They should be one of, if not the favorite for the MWC crown.

Benedictine is losing six senior (I think 6 of their top 8 players) so they are going to be even worse.  As Sager said, Principia never did beat a d3 team this year.  You never know, Chicago might be okay.  They played well at times this season.

Shoot, if Baruch has another good year, that could bode well for Pool C consideration if it comes to that.  Luckily you have a good conference schedule to fall back on.

[Greek Tragedy]

Yeah April, that Whitworth team loses their two top scorers, but they were very competitive this year and I expect they will be again.  They should be one of, if not the favorite for the MWC crown.

Whitworth is in the MWC now?   

I assume you meant NWC.  So if Whitworth is the favorite in the NWC, does UPS lose a lot more?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Hey, give me a break, the N and the M are awfully close together.


And UPS does lose more.  McVey is a huge loss, as well as four other seniors (a total of three starters). 

In my opinion Whitworth, Willamette and UPS were all very even this year.  UPS definately lost the most.

It's my opinion seven months out, but I'd say that could be justified.

[diehardfan]

But being in Kenosha, I don't think either Hope or Calvin would be an in-region game.

Uhm, that's not how it works. No matter where the game is played, if the teams are within 200mi, it's in region. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure about that one.

It's funny, Principia is so off my radar of relevancy, when I saw them on the winless list this year, I assumed they were a NE region team!  I guess that means we are playing more regional games than I thought. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

No, you're right April.  You could be playing a team in Mongolia, so long as the two campuses are less than 200 miles apart, its in-region.  You have to love that rationale.

[Greek Tragedy]

No, you're right April.  You could be playing a team in Mongolia, so long as the two campuses are less than 200 miles apart, its in-region.  You have to love that rationale.

A couple of years ago, Oshkosh played Stevens Point in Las Vegas during a holiday tourney.  The game was nonconference, but in-region. 

[diehardfan]

No, you're right April.  You could be playing a team in Mongolia, so long as the two campuses are less than 200 miles apart, its in-region.  You have to love that rationale.

Considering the theoretical point of the rule, yeah, it's pretty silly. 

[hopefan]

I was amazed that Wheaton's schedule is finalized for next year already.  It brought to mind a couple of questions. 

Do individual schools schedule conference games, or does the conference itself put  it out?  Or does the conference just offer guidelines?  I know some conferences have a very rigid scheduling pattern ie the MIAA, but others like the CCIW are looser (the CCIW doesn't all play on the same nights, week after week).  Are there any rotation patterns in the CCIW?

How does this site get the schedules into its scheduling format?   Do the schools input it thru a download, or do they just send the schedule and D3Hoops inputs it into its own format?  (Pat, I'm trying to figure out a way of downloading schedules rather than inputting them by hand throughout the fall)

[joehakes]

But being in Kenosha, I don't think either Hope or Calvin would be an in-region game.

It's funny, Principia is so off my radar of relevancy, when I saw them on the winless list this year, I assumed they were a NE region team!  I guess that means we are playing more regional games than I thought. 

April,

A shot at New England basketball from you???!!??   Get off that bandwagon!

[diehardfan]

I was amazed that Wheaton's schedule is finalized for next year already. 

Brett does it for me... he does it so I can plan my vacation time in advance. I've always thought it was really nice of him. Seriously though, Wheaton has lately been the first to get their schedule up by a landslide. The athletics department has always seems extremely well organized. It's one of those things that make it so nice to be a Wheaton fan.

A shot at New England basketball from you???!!?? Get off that bandwagon!

What bandwagon?  Just wait till you see where I'm gonna stick Amherst in my Poster Poll Top 25. 

[Pat Coleman]

I was amazed that Wheaton's schedule is finalized for next year already.  It brought to mind a couple of questions. 

Do individual schools schedule conference games, or does the conference itself put  it out?  Or does the conference just offer guidelines?  I know some conferences have a very rigid scheduling pattern ie the MIAA, but others like the CCIW are looser (the CCIW doesn't all play on the same nights, week after week).  Are there any rotation patterns in the CCIW?

How does this site get the schedules into its scheduling format?   Do the schools input it thru a download, or do they just send the schedule and D3Hoops inputs it into its own format?  (Pat, I'm trying to figure out a way of downloading schedules rather than inputting them by hand throughout the fall)

For the most part, schools send them to us via e-mail and we input them into our format.

Some schools do the input themselves, which is welcome as long as they get their regional games right. They don't always do, however.

[Mr. Ypsi]

No, you're right April.  You could be playing a team in Mongolia, so long as the two campuses are less than 200 miles apart, its in-region.  You have to love that rationale.

Considering the theoretical point of the rule, yeah, it's pretty silly. 

Yeah - I remember now that that is how the in-region rule operates.  I had a momentary brain-fart - I thought the rule might be RATIONAL!  Silly me!

[emeritusprof]

We used to go to Principia each year for a dual track meet.  As Dennis said, it is truly a beautiful campus.  They also used to host a fine international relations conference for mid-western schools (pol sci majors).

On one visit my roommate (a high jumper) had a headache and wanted aspirin.  We somehow didn't have any, so he went and asked their coach--obviously unaware of medical practices among Christian Scientists.  He did not succeed in getting medication, but the coach did recommend meditation.  And, their white pew chapel high above the river was a picturesque spot for meditation.

It was also interesting to observe license plates in the student lots.  Just about every state was represented.  And, I do remember throwing the javelin in competition with one Californian--Jody McRae, the son of western movie star Joel McRae.

Please don't remind me there were only 48 states at the time.

[Gregory Sager]

Benedictine is losing six senior (I think 6 of their top 8 players) so they are going to be even worse.  As Sager said, Principia never did beat a d3 team this year.  You never know, Chicago might be okay.  They played well at times this season.

The Maroons should be pretty good. They return a starting backcourt in Jesse Meyer and Brandon Woodhead that've been starters for two years now, and they keep getting better every time that I see them. They also have some nice wings in Nate Hainje and Matt Corning. They lose a lot of depth in the post, though, with the departure of Clay Carmody and Jason Hicks.

Do individual schools schedule conference games, or does the conference itself put  it out?  Or does the conference just offer guidelines?

The eight coaches always used to get together in a room and plot out the conference schedule one game at a time every year, each coach selecting a home date against a particular team when it was his turn to pick. The process continued until all 56 games were accounted for. Last year, however, the league office took over the responsibility of scheduling the 56 games. I'm not sure what method the CCIW uses to set up the schedule, but I do know that the ADs first have to give the league office a calendar of available dates when their respective gyms can be used for men's and women's basketball, so whatever system the CCIW uses has to fit around those parameters. The league office also has to schedule around such other institutional peculiarities as Wheaton's annual extended tour at the beginning of January; I'm guessing that CCIW play will begin on Wednesday, January 3, and that Wheaton will once again be lagging a game behind the balance of the league on the calendar, forcing them to play @ Carthage on Feb. 21 two days before the CCIW tourney starts and four days after the other six CCIW teams have concluded their regular seasons.

I know some conferences have a very rigid scheduling pattern ie the MIAA, but others like the CCIW are looser (the CCIW doesn't all play on the same nights, week after week).  Are there any rotation patterns in the CCIW?

Actually, the CCIW does play on the same nights week after week. It's a Wednesday/Saturday league, just like most D3 leagues. The women's teams play a Tuesday/Saturday schedule, with their Saturday games usually played in the afternoon. Makeup games for the men are usually held on Monday nights.

As for a rotation pattern, we won't really be able to see whether there is one or not until the full CCIW slate is released, since this will only be the second year of the new scheduling process.

Seriously though, Wheaton has lately been the first to get their schedule up by a landslide. The athletics department has always seems extremely well organized. It's one of those things that make it so nice to be a Wheaton fan.

(cough anal-retentive cough)