MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[lmitzel]

I alluded to this earlier, but suffice it to say I concur with Gregory's POV on automatically naming the first place team's coach as COY.

Ron Rose did a great job this year and I think is an outstanding coach.  He also did what he was supposed to do based on how his team was assessed at the beginning of the year.

How many people expected Kramer Soderberg to turn Millikin into a regionally ranked team?

Region 8           
1   Ill. Wesleyan   21-4   21-4
2   Wheaton (IL)   20-5   20-5
3   WashU   16-7   16-7
4   Elmhurst   19-6   19-6
5   Hanover   20-4   20-4
6   Rose-Hulman   15-9   15-9
7   North Central (IL)   15-9   15-9
8   Transylvania   15-8   16-8
9   Millikin   14-11   14-11

If that holds, it will be a nice unexpected boost to the resumes of all CCIW teams come selection and bracketing time.

Yeah, I look at this, and it looks like a three bid league to me (barring a ton of bid thieves, anyway).

Although I wouldn't mind a fourth...

[Next Man Up]

Conference breaking out some florescent orange balls for the tournament tonight. Wonder how they will look on the video cast?

[kiko]

At Faganel:
(3) Elmhurst 81, (6) Augustana 63

At the Hangar:
(4) North Central 57, (5) Millikin 50

Friday will see:
(3) Elmhurst versus (2) Wheaton
(4) North Central versus (1) Illinois Wesleyan

-----

Note to the NCC announcing team: no one who announces a North Central basketball game should ever ever ever utter the phrase "Who? ... I don't know much about Bill Warden..."

[lmitzel]

Note to the NCC announcing team: no one who announces a North Central basketball game should ever ever ever utter the phrase "Who? ... I don't know much about Bill Warden..."

So... don't go rewatch the game, is what you're saying?

At the Hangar:
(4) North Central 57, (5) Millikin 50

Really felt like a continuation of their previous meeting at the hangar just a couple weeks ago. Physical, chippy game; officials let both teams play (though the Cardinals drew something like four or five charges), biggest lead of the game was NCC by seven early in the second half, and yet it felt for a chunk of it that Millikin was in control. Had a brief late momentum swing when NCC got whistled for a shot clock violation on a Blaise Meredith made three when the ball was four feet out of his hand with 1 second still showing, but they held on; Matt Helwig iced the game with four free throws in the final dozen or so seconds.

Matt Helwig: 18-10-5
Shea Cupples: 17-6, 3 steals
Blaise Meredith: 17-5

Calvin Fisher: 12-13 (though his 12 came on 5-18 shooting, including 2-10 from deep)
Cole Laurence: 16-3

[kiko]

Note to the NCC announcing team: no one who announces a North Central basketball game should ever ever ever utter the phrase "Who? ... I don't know much about Bill Warden..."

So... don't go rewatch the game, is what you're saying?

Generally they were fine per usual, but this was not their finest moment.  It came in the context of noting Matt Helwig is approaching the OG's single season scoring record.  (Which as an old man yelling at clouds, I should note came in an era without a three point line, without a shot clock, and with a 21-game season.)  The man only has the first, second, and fifth-best scoring seasons in program history in addition to rescuing it from the wilderness as a coach a couple of decades later... you can't get very far into reading up on the program's history without tripping over his name multiple times.

You actually caused some confusion... I assume #thrrrrreeeeeeeeee was muted because it was a post-season rather than regular season game.  Blaise hit a three in the first half and before realizing this was in fact a three, the crew said 'no, it's a two -- his foot must have been on the line' since they didn't hear the trademark roar over the PA.

At the Hangar:
(4) North Central 57, (5) Millikin 50

Really felt like a continuation of their previous meeting at the hangar just a couple weeks ago. Physical, chippy game; officials let both teams play (though the Cardinals drew something like four or five charges), biggest lead of the game was NCC by seven early in the second half, and yet it felt for a chunk of it that Millikin was in control. Had a brief late momentum swing when NCC got whistled for a shot clock violation on a Blaise Meredith made three when the ball was four feet out of his hand with 1 second still showing, but they held on; Matt Helwig iced the game with four free throws in the final dozen or so seconds.

Matt Helwig: 18-10-5
Shea Cupples: 17-6, 3 steals
Blaise Meredith: 17-5

Calvin Fisher: 12-13 (though his 12 came on 5-18 shooting, including 2-10 from deep)
Cole Laurence: 16-3

I can't recall a game that was this physical but where there were a grand total of zero free throw attempts in the first half.  But the officials did let them play until things got a bit too chippy midway through the second half.  Neither team's passing was crisp and both defenses took advantage.

Cole Laurence's size was a problem for the Cardinals all night, and he was a catalyst for the Big Blue with Fisher struggling to find his shot.  Shea Cupples came up big on both ends of the floor, as did Blaise, who took a pair of charges.

[lmitzel]

You actually caused some confusion... I assume #thrrrrreeeeeeeeee was muted because it was a post-season rather than regular season game.  Blaise hit a three in the first half and before realizing this was in fact a three, the crew said 'no, it's a two -- his foot must have been on the line' since they didn't hear the trademark roar over the PA.

Yeah, the CCIW made me play nice tonight. (And honestly the hint should have come when the roar didn't start when I introduced the NCC starting five and I had a more subdued music bed under me, but whatever. I'm picking nits.)

[Next Man Up]

Anyone who chooses to associate themselves with NCC basketball should know the name Bill Warden aka MR BASKETBALL in the annals of North Central basketball. The God of Roundball. 2,200 + points in, as kiko stated, the pre three point line and shot clock era. Just click on the records page on the bball web page. Or, look at the picture on the hall wall. 

[sac]

I alluded to this earlier, but suffice it to say I concur with Gregory's POV on automatically naming the first place team's coach as COY.

Ron Rose did a great job this year and I think is an outstanding coach.  He also did what he was supposed to do based on how his team was assessed at the beginning of the year.

How many people expected Kramer Soderberg to turn Millikin into a regionally ranked team?

Region 8           
1   Ill. Wesleyan   21-4   21-4
2   Wheaton (IL)   20-5   20-5
3   WashU   16-7   16-7
4   Elmhurst   19-6   19-6
5   Hanover   20-4   20-4
6   Rose-Hulman   15-9   15-9
7   North Central (IL)   15-9   15-9
8   Transylvania   15-8   16-8
9   Millikin   14-11   14-11

If that holds, it will be a nice unexpected boost to the resumes of all CCIW teams come selection and bracketing time.

Yeah, I look at this, and it looks like a three bid league to me (barring a ton of bid thieves, anyway).

Although I wouldn't mind a fourth...

You just can't rank a 14-12 team.  For the integrity of the ranking system and selection process.  No.

[Next Man Up]

As lmitzel advised, tonight's game initially more resembled rugby than basketball. This was remedied somewhat in the second half, but overall played in NCC's favor as the Cardinals mind not one bit playing in a game where "the refs are letting them play" is a truism. Shooting was not stellar by either team this evening, but the halftime 19-19 score was as much the result of the physical level of play as poor marksmanship. I should add that while tonight's officiating crew was no worse over the game as a whole than most other crews, they did miss more obvious/easy calls than in any other game, either college or high school, that I have seen this year.

Returning to that 19-19 halftime score..........While frustrating from both a coaching and viewing standpoint, you don't make any halftime adjustments when the other team has only 19 points at half. Being ground down early by 6'8 270 pound Cole Laurence, the Cardinals could easily have been tempted to double him with his every touch. However, by continuing to pester him as much as possible with only single coverage, they were able to maintain pressure on Millikin's other players and thus limit their open looks. Making the necessary offensive adjustments to enable scoring twice as many points in the second half as in the first, while maintaining the same game plan on the defensive end went a long way to North Central's emerging victorious tonight.

[kiko]

You just can't rank a 14-12 team.  For the integrity of the ranking system and selection process.  No.

I expect we might see Anderson (16-10) re-enter in place of the Big Blue next week.  The Ravens' season ended prior to the last ranking so they will not pick up a loss of their own this week.  There are a couple of others in the region with better records but weaker SOS or RRO results than Millikin.  And I think it is fair to say that, record aside, Millikin is a better team than Rockford, Eureka, etc.

This is not the only instance of a middling record being ranked though.  We've also got 14-11 Buena Vista which is eighth in Region 9 and seeded below its first conference tournament opponent.  There's also a 13-10 team ranked fifth in Region 1 (Tufts) and a 12-9 team that is 3-7 in its conference ranked in Region 2 (Brandeis).

With more teams ranked in the current setup, we're going to see more teams in the rankings with less polished resumes.

[Next Man Up]

Conference breaking out some florescent orange balls for the tournament tonight. Wonder how they will look on the video cast?

Looks like the CCIW originally planned for the orange balls that were first used in last night's conference tournament games to make their debut at the beginning of the season last November, and be used throughout the entire current season. However, they evidently sat at a west coast port for a few months, unable to be delivered to the conference schools because of supply chain difficulties brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic. Surprise, surprise. 

[Gregory Sager]

Jake Rhode is currently sitting at 1995 career points. Five points against Wheaton tomorrow night, and he becomes Elmhurst's first-ever member of the CCIW's 2K Club and the 18th member overall.

[Wildcat]

Very simply stated , Jake Rhode great player better person from a great family.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Jake Rhode on 2K upcoming. . . . tremendous career at Elmhurst.

[iwu70]

I do miss Q's posts on game day.

Elmhurst vs. Wheaton, then IWU hosting NCC -- today 5 and 7 -- at The Shirk.  Two really good games.

I have Elmhurst over WC and then IWU over NCC.  Jack Rhode blasting past 2,000 career points.

Congrats again to all the All-CCIW honorees -- many of them on the floor at The Shirk here in a few hours.

IWU'70