MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Goodbye WIAC . . . wow, even Oshkosh lost.  CCIW rising x 3.



'70

[voxelmhurst]

Good luck to Elmhurst (24-6) as they travel to play in the Case Western (20-6) sectional.  And of course Congrats to Illinois Wesleyan (23-5) on hosting Wheaton, Williams, and Wabash (26-3).  March Madness!

[USee]

Wheaton 63
Wash U 61

Nyameye Adom     22 pts, 7 rebs
Cade Alioth    17 pts, 11 rebs
Tyson Cruickshank,  13 pts  5 rebs
Luke Anthony ,  8 pts

Jack Nolan  20 pts 
Kevin Davet  16 pts, 6 rebs
Hayden Doyle   11 pts

What a win for the Thunder.  It's been a long time since Wheaton has played Wash U and I honestly can't remember the last time we beat them in a game that mattered this much. 

It was a classic back and forth battle.  Both teams making some unbelievable plays offensively and defensively.  Credit the Thunder after going down  by 7 pts with 3 mins remaining and not panicking.  They stayed patient, really clamped down defensively and Alioth made some huge plays in the last minute for the second game in a row including a trey that gave Wheaton a one point lead with a minute left. 

I thought a big key was putting a taller and longer Nick Schiavello on Nolan for several possessions when it looked like Nolan was about to take over with about 7 mins remaining.  He was having no issues getting away from Collin Uveges.  But it was tougher for him to shoot over the taller defender and those were the last points Nolan had.

Two really excellent and well coached teams but only one can advance.  Nolan will be and should be an All American shoo in.

Now on for a rematch with IWU and most certainly back at Shirk since Emory lost?   

Note:  JayBird Jay Murry, I love your silky smooth and very balanced call on the play by play.  Thanks for repeating the score continuously also since the video scoreboard operator had it incorrect for the last 3 mins of the game.  Also, the camera operator forgot to pan back to Wheaton's end when Alioth was shooting free throws -arghh!

Man what a great game for Thunder fans (and overall but stink to be on the losing end of this kind of game). I thought Wheaton's big dogs won the game. Down by 7 with 2:50 to go Adom went on a 5-0 run to cut it to 2 (hit a tough 3 and a contested 2pt jumper). Wheaton's defense held WashU scoreless the last 3min of the game. After Adom's 2 pt jumper narrowed it to two, Luke Anthony played some nasty D on Doyle to block his shot and then get a shot clock violation. Then Cruikshank, the 5 foot nothin guard, got a huge offensive rebound off an Adom miss and the hockey assist found Alioth open at the top of the key for his 4th trey of the night to take the lead with 50 sec left. A couple more good defensive possessions were followed by some shaky FT shooting (4-9 for the game) and the final possession was a defensive masterpiece. Adom and Cruikshank blew up the designed play and I believe Anthony again defended Doyle for a desperation 2 that rimmed long and the Thunder are moving on.

If somehow Wheaton finds a way to win at the Shirk a couple times, it will be a most improbable journey to the FF winning their first two games by a combined 4 pts. Wheaton will go as far as Adom, Cruikshank and Alioth carry them. A great defensive effort in St Louis this weekend!

[iwu70]

Congrats to Elmhurst and Coach Baines on their big comeback win.  Good luck in their sectional. 

Congrats to Wheaton on their big win at Wash U.  Always very very tough there . . . don't we know about playing Wash U over the years ! 

Congrats to Coach Rose and the Titans . . . really a one possession game, a real grinder vs. Lacrosse, and just staying with it, hitting the FTs, to the end.  I hate games in the 50s and 60s.  Winning ugly, most of the time without Matt Leritz, sitting more than playing, in foul trouble.  Matt did hit the dagger three . . . but only 8 points, doubled and tripled most of the night.  Several dubious calls getting him to five, fouling out with less than a minute to go.

Now WC again -- game three of the year, for a place in the Elite 8.  The Shirk will be jumping . . .

Wabash vs. Williams (some other great, storied programs) at 4:30 p.m.  IWU vs. WC at 7:30 p.m. -- just another CCIW game!  LOL.  Big time, big boy basketball.

Loving March so far . . .

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Looks like we might get more games at The Shirk -- and a fourth game with Wheaton, right?

Now WC again -- game four of the year, for a place in the Elite 8.

This will be the third meeting of the season between Wheaton and Illinois Wesleyan, not the fourth.

[SpringSt7]

Hi all, my CCIW knowledge is a little rusty since Nolan Ebel finally graduated but would love a little primer on Wheaton and IWU. Williams will have its hands full with Jack Davidson and a very explosive Wabash offense but figured I'd get out in front of it. This is not a peak Williams team of recent years but they shoot the lights out and are long and disciplined defensively.

[iwu70]

Thanks, Greg.  Yes, third game this year.  Corrected . . .  glad the games are at The Shirk . . . not the Griz!   As mentioned, The Shirk atmosphere will be jumping, with big home crowds, comfortable amenities for all visiting and IWU fans, and the IWU Titan band providing great music.  A good home court advantage for the TITANS.   

Wabash must be playing well to beat Emory.  Emory had their chances, but just couldn't get several shots to fall in the closing seconds.  Williams one of the storied programs in D3 in the NE, so I'm sure they will be ready.

Another great weekend of men's D3 hoops in BloNo.

'70

[kiko]

NORTH CENTRAL RECRUIT

North Central has won an intra-CCIW battle, and secured a commitment from 6'8" Yorkville HS F Justin Jakstys.
Justin was only looking within the CCIW and, in addition to NCC, he was also being pursued by Carroll, Elmhurst, and Illinois Wesleyan where his father played.

https://twitter.com/JakstysJustin/status/1499500270203588613/photo/1

https://twitter.com/chilandprephoop/status/1442173821767884802

I remember his father Tom. We used to call him "Eyechart" when he played for Wesleyan.

This is fairly amusing considering the high-value Scrabble hand who was coaching North Park at that time...

[GoPerry]

Wheaton 63
Wash U 61

Nyameye Adom     22 pts, 7 rebs
Cade Alioth    17 pts, 11 rebs
Tyson Cruickshank,  13 pts  5 rebs
Luke Anthony ,  8 pts

Jack Nolan  20 pts 
Kevin Davet  16 pts, 6 rebs
Hayden Doyle   11 pts

What a win for the Thunder.  It's been a long time since Wheaton has played Wash U and I honestly can't remember the last time we beat them in a game that mattered this much. 

It was a classic back and forth battle.  Both teams making some unbelievable plays offensively and defensively.  Credit the Thunder after going down  by 7 pts with 3 mins remaining and not panicking.  They stayed patient, really clamped down defensively and Alioth made some huge plays in the last minute for the second game in a row including a trey that gave Wheaton a one point lead with a minute left. 

I thought a big key was putting a taller and longer Nick Schiavello on Nolan for several possessions when it looked like Nolan was about to take over with about 7 mins remaining.  He was having no issues getting away from Collin Uveges.  But it was tougher for him to shoot over the taller defender and those were the last points Nolan had.

Two really excellent and well coached teams but only one can advance.  Nolan will be and should be an All American shoo in.

Now on for a rematch with IWU and most certainly back at Shirk since Emory lost?   

Note:  JayBird Jay Murry, I love your silky smooth and very balanced call on the play by play.  Thanks for repeating the score continuously also since the video scoreboard operator had it incorrect for the last 3 mins of the game.  Also, the camera operator forgot to pan back to Wheaton's end when Alioth was shooting free throws -arghh!

After Adom's 2 pt jumper narrowed it to two, Luke Anthony played some nasty D on Doyle to block his shot and then get a shot clock violation.

If somehow Wheaton finds a way to win at the Shirk a couple times, it will be a most improbable journey to the FF winning their first two games by a combined 4 pts. Wheaton will go as far as Adom, Cruikshank and Alioth carry them. A great defensive effort in St Louis this weekend!

Actually it was Cruickshank that got that key block on Doyle.  Stats got it wrong.  In fact, I think it was his 2nd block of the game having got one in the first half too.  And also Cruickshank on Doyle at the end of the game.

And yes, those three need to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance.  Adom has pretty much been outstanding doing it all on both offense and defense.

Huge props to Alioth in the clutch for two straight games and coming back from the first half technical.  Davet got the best of him for most of the night inside but Alioth got the last laugh.

Cruickshank has been a little bit off from the three point line for three straight games now.  But he's more than making up for it by driving to the hole and getting his points that way.  Let's hope he can find the smooth outside stroke again by Friday.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's a real "what if" scenario to know what the end of the season would look like for Wheaton if Peterson were still playing.  Not a major cog, but not a minor one, either.

[Gregory Sager]

NORTH CENTRAL RECRUIT

North Central has won an intra-CCIW battle, and secured a commitment from 6'8" Yorkville HS F Justin Jakstys.
Justin was only looking within the CCIW and, in addition to NCC, he was also being pursued by Carroll, Elmhurst, and Illinois Wesleyan where his father played.

https://twitter.com/JakstysJustin/status/1499500270203588613/photo/1

https://twitter.com/chilandprephoop/status/1442173821767884802

I remember his father Tom. We used to call him "Eyechart" when he played for Wesleyan.

This is fairly amusing considering the high-value Scrabble hand who was coaching North Park at that time...

Considering all of the scions of the lands formerly known as Yugoslavia who wore Vikings livery during the era of the aforementioned North Park coach, names ending in "-vic" and "-vich" and which often contained curious consonant jumbles were pretty old hat after awhile.

That's why I never blink an eye when the heir to the Serbian Prince throws names like "Bulatovic" and "Ostojic" at us CCIW broadcasters. Heck, the toughest current Carthage name to pronounce, if you ask me, is Polish rather than Serbian ("Czerak").

[WUPHF]

It's a real "what if" scenario to know what the end of the season would look like for Wheaton if Peterson were still playing.  Not a major cog, but not a minor one, either.

Spencer Peterson was a fun player to watch and would have been useful in the postseason.

Of course, no one gets to play the what if game like Washington University.

Obviously, Nolan was still playing through the pain on Saturday.

If Bloedorn returns next season, he will further prove the point.

And I say this will all the standard sensitivities, that final possession looks so different with Hardy in the game.  One of his gifts was his ability to stabilize the offense.  Hardy would have been on the in-bounds pass.

The notion that this was an improbable run by Wheaton seems crazy.  They are basically all seniors or super seniors and a sophomore.  They have coughed a few games they should have won, but this is a Top 10 team.  To suggest anything else regarding the weekend results is to sandbag.

[GoPerry]

It's a real "what if" scenario to know what the end of the season would look like for Wheaton if Peterson were still playing.  Not a major cog, but not a minor one, either.

I think the "major/minor" is an apt description Ryan.  The primary impact of course is that it leaves Schauer with no sizeable backup to Alioth should he get in foul trouble.  Case in point was Friday vs Hope, a game very tightly called by the refs (42 fouls called), when Alioth picked up his 2nd with 8 mins left in the first half and had to sit the remainder. 

The remedy has been to insert Nick Schiavello into the starting lineup so that Eli Considine can come off the bench to spell Alioth.  Considine is a solid defender but at 6'4" 205 he gives up a lot defending the 5 spot.  That vs Peterson's 6'6" 250.  I'm not sure it affects Alioth's defense being mindful to not pick up that 2nd foul in the first half, or that third foul early in the second.  Still, it is just something the Thunder have to deal with like many teams still playing in March with players beat up.
 

[USee]

Wheaton 63
Wash U 61

Nyameye Adom     22 pts, 7 rebs
Cade Alioth    17 pts, 11 rebs
Tyson Cruickshank,  13 pts  5 rebs
Luke Anthony ,  8 pts

Jack Nolan  20 pts 
Kevin Davet  16 pts, 6 rebs
Hayden Doyle   11 pts

What a win for the Thunder.  It's been a long time since Wheaton has played Wash U and I honestly can't remember the last time we beat them in a game that mattered this much. 

It was a classic back and forth battle.  Both teams making some unbelievable plays offensively and defensively.  Credit the Thunder after going down  by 7 pts with 3 mins remaining and not panicking.  They stayed patient, really clamped down defensively and Alioth made some huge plays in the last minute for the second game in a row including a trey that gave Wheaton a one point lead with a minute left. 

I thought a big key was putting a taller and longer Nick Schiavello on Nolan for several possessions when it looked like Nolan was about to take over with about 7 mins remaining.  He was having no issues getting away from Collin Uveges.  But it was tougher for him to shoot over the taller defender and those were the last points Nolan had.

Two really excellent and well coached teams but only one can advance.  Nolan will be and should be an All American shoo in.

Now on for a rematch with IWU and most certainly back at Shirk since Emory lost?   

Note:  JayBird Jay Murry, I love your silky smooth and very balanced call on the play by play.  Thanks for repeating the score continuously also since the video scoreboard operator had it incorrect for the last 3 mins of the game.  Also, the camera operator forgot to pan back to Wheaton's end when Alioth was shooting free throws -arghh!

After Adom's 2 pt jumper narrowed it to two, Luke Anthony played some nasty D on Doyle to block his shot and then get a shot clock violation.

If somehow Wheaton finds a way to win at the Shirk a couple times, it will be a most improbable journey to the FF winning their first two games by a combined 4 pts. Wheaton will go as far as Adom, Cruikshank and Alioth carry them. A great defensive effort in St Louis this weekend!

Actually it was Cruickshank that got that key block on Doyle.  Stats got it wrong.  In fact, I think it was his 2nd block of the game having got one in the first half too.  And also Cruickshank on Doyle at the end of the game.

And yes, those three need to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance.  Adom has pretty much been outstanding doing it all on both offense and defense.

Huge props to Alioth in the clutch for two straight games and coming back from the first half technical.  Davet got the best of him for most of the night inside but Alioth got the last laugh.

Cruickshank has been a little bit off from the three point line for three straight games now.  But he's more than making up for it by driving to the hole and getting his points that way.  Let's hope he can find the smooth outside stroke again by Friday.

When I was watching I thought it was Cruikshank on Doyle but I checked the box and saw Anthony and thought I saw it wrong (I was watching on my phone from a restaurant that was dark). Defense won that game.

The big hole for Wheaton without Peterson in the lineup is against Leritz from IWU. He provides a big body and a change up for Wheaton that helps.

[USee]

It's a real "what if" scenario to know what the end of the season would look like for Wheaton if Peterson were still playing.  Not a major cog, but not a minor one, either.

Spencer Peterson was a fun player to watch and would have been useful in the postseason.

Of course, no one gets to play the what if game like Washington University.

Obviously, Nolan was still playing through the pain on Saturday.

If Bloedorn returns next season, he will further prove the point.

And I say this will all the standard sensitivities, that final possession looks so different with Hardy in the game.  One of his gifts was his ability to stabilize the offense.  Hardy would have been on the in-bounds pass.

The notion that this was an improbable run by Wheaton seems crazy.  They are basically all seniors or super seniors and a sophomore.  They have coughed a few games they should have won, but this is a Top 10 team.  To suggest anything else regarding the weekend results is to sandbag.

WUPHF, I don't think anyone is comparing Peterson's absence to WashU without Justin Hardy. JH is a tremendous basketball player and a better person.

My comments about Wheaton's "improbable" run was a bit speculative. I said "if they make it to the FF". They had/have a tough draw in the tournament but it's not a shock they are playing this weekend (nor would hit have been if WashU made it through). I think winning 2 this weekend after surviving last weekend by a combined 4 pts would be considered improbable.