MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

Nice kudos for the top of the CCIW in the final d3.com poll:  three of the top ten!

Elmhurst 3, IWU 6, Wheaton 10.

Would have been even better if NCC had gotten at least a handful of votes.

And Yeshiva still got 23 ORVs from some voters . . .

#stubborndenial

[WUPHF]

And Yeshiva still got 23 ORVs from some voters . . .

#stubborndenial

I just assumed they would make the Top 25 so I am surprised to see them as ORV.  Yeshiva was a good story but there may never be a story quite like it again in #d3hoops.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Nice kudos for the top of the CCIW in the final d3.com poll:  three of the top ten!

Elmhurst 3, IWU 6, Wheaton 10.

Would have been even better if NCC had gotten at least a handful of votes.

And Yeshiva still got 23 ORVs from some voters . . .

#stubborndenial

They beat the #23 team and played the #22 even.  Not outrageous that they'd have votes in a similar range, right?

[WUPHF]

They beat the #23 team and played the #22 even.  Not outrageous that they'd have votes in a similar range, right?

They lost to Farmingdale and St. Joseph's Long Island at home.  Farmingdale on the road might be their best win other than St. Joseph's Connecticut.

If they play the schedule that Rochester played, for example, what makes you think they would have finished with something better than an 18-9 record?  Rochester played evenly with Marietta and almost beat Emory twice.  Maybe they should be receiving votes in a similar range and ranked higher than ORV?

[WUPHF]

Also, St. Joseph's Connecticut had a great season, but went 3-2 against the Massey Top 100 with those wins coming very early in the season and 0-1 against the Massey Top 50.

Correction: in my mind, a win over the Blue Jays is not necessarily equivalent to a win over Illinois Wesleyan or Williams or most of the Top 25.  Unfortunately, we do not know how good that win is.
__________

Including the usual Massey disclaimers and acknowledging that Top 50 and Top 100 are completely arbitrary.

[iwu70]

Yes, a good season for the CCIW -- Elmhurst's run, WC in the Sweet 16 and IWU to the Elite 8 . . . and three finishing in the top ten, final poll. 

Congrats to Elmhurst, Wheaton and IWU.

IWU'70

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

They beat the #23 team and played the #22 even.  Not outrageous that they'd have votes in a similar range, right?

They lost to Farmingdale and St. Joseph's Long Island at home.  Farmingdale on the road might be their best win other than St. Joseph's Connecticut.

If they play the schedule that Rochester played, for example, what makes you think they would have finished with something better than an 18-9 record?  Rochester played evenly with Marietta and almost beat Emory twice.  Maybe they should be receiving votes in a similar range and ranked higher than ORV?

I voted for Rochester, too.

[Gregory Sager]

And Yeshiva still got 23 ORVs from some voters . . .

#stubborndenial

I just assumed they would make the Top 25 so I am surprised to see them as ORV.  Yeshiva was a good story but there may never be a story quite like it again in #d3hoops.

I don't have an issue at all with Yeshiva appearing on some ballots. One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that the most recent game that the Maccabees played, their season-ending loss to Johns Hopkins in the opening round, was a close defeat at the hands of a team that was then ranked #10 and which finished at #22, so a good case can be made for the Maccabees being slotted at the very bottom of a pollster's ballot. They seem to me to be a legit choice for a spot down there in the 20s.

But, let's face it, Yeshiva is a target -- not because of who and what the Maccabees are, but because they modeled what is an occasional focus of ire in the d3boards community: the team that inches up the rankings into superpower territory because it keeps racking up win after win while playing a woefully easy schedule. Seeing a team climb to the higher rungs of the poll by virtue of a gaudy record earned against a pantryful of cupcakes runs counter to the d3hoops.com poll philosophy of ranking according to perceived ability rather than winning percentage, so you have to expect the d3boards lifers to give the pollsters an earful about it. In other words, Yeshiva was this season's Lancaster Bible. The other part of it may be the hype surrounding the Yeshiva vs. Illinois Wesleyan game, which rubbed some people the wrong way.

Yeshiva made for a good human-interest story, because it's the only Orthodox Jewish institution of higher learning in the U.S. that plays intercollegiate sports, and because there are certain faith-based prohibitions which its athletics teams have to negotiate. But there are other unique institutions in D3 that have to work around certain constraints when it comes to intercollegiate sports -- one of 'em is right across the river from you in Elsah, IL -- and I think it's quite reasonable to conclude that a school with a roughly similar set of difficulties could achieve similar success. Heck, one could argue that Wheaton and Calvin qualify for this description every time that one or the other school makes a D3 tournament, forcing that tournament to alter its game schedule in order to accommodate the prohibition those two schools have in place against Sunday competition or practice. In other words, Yeshiva's rise to success in D3 men's basketball was and is a good story, but I'm not sold on its ultimate uniqueness.

[WUPHF]

I voted for Rochester, too.

Very good.  I think they have a case that they should be in over my favorite St. Louis-based team. 

[HAMBO]

Yes, a good season for the CCIW -- Elmhurst's run, WC in the Sweet 16 and IWU to the Elite 8 . . . and three finishing in the top ten, final poll. 

Congrats to Elmhurst, Wheaton and IWU.

IWU'70

I might add that the CCIW had good balance this year.  As an example, Millikin beat both Elmhurst and Wheaton once this season. When you look at Div3 schools around he area, you realize just how good the CCIW coaching is in comparison. I am looking forward to reading how this board analyzes the recruiting team by team.

[Wildcat]

Will coach Raridon leaving North Central detail their recruiting? It will be interesting to see . And will Wesleyan , Wheaton, and Elmhurst benefit from great postseason runs.

[Next Man Up]

Yes, a good season for the CCIW -- Elmhurst's run, WC in the Sweet 16 and IWU to the Elite 8 . . . and three finishing in the top ten, final poll. 

Congrats to Elmhurst, Wheaton and IWU.

IWU'70

I might add that the CCIW had good balance this year.  As an example, Millikin beat both Elmhurst and Wheaton once this season. When you look at Div3 schools around he area, you realize just how good the CCIW coaching is in comparison. I am looking forward to reading how this board analyzes the recruiting team by team.

While still very good, 581 victories by a CCIW Coach just disappeared over the horizon.

Will coach Raridon leaving North Central detail their recruiting? It will be interesting to see . And will Wesleyan , Wheaton, and Elmhurst benefit from great postseason runs.

The first question is the $64,000 one currently hanging over the basketball office doorway at NCC. With what I know of the situation, should head assistant and recruiting coordinator Vince Kmiec be elevated or retained by a new coach, the odds of both the heretofore committed recruits staying, and those that are close pulling the cord actually doing so, would be greatly elevated. That is the key.
* Personally, I of course hope they stay. I know all 3 of them and they are great guys. NCC highly valued and wanted them, and put in a lot of work to get them.

Wesleyan as always, will undoubtedly garner some nice recruits. But, as we've been previously advised by a most deeply rooted IWU insider, the Green Team's starters and backups for not one, but for the next two years are just about set in stone. SO, opportunity for at least that amount of time is basically buried beneath the Shirk Center floor. Do you want to go to college and play basketball, or do you want to go to college and watch basketball?

Wheaton, with their academics, record, opportunity for PT, and Mike Schauer will land some keepers. Wheaton is always in a good position anyway because the vast majority of their recruits are not being pursued by other CCIW schools.

Elmhurst's 2nd place trophy will surely attract some top talent. With six 23 year olds all probably vacating the premises, there are some nice opportunities waiting to be filled.

[Next Man Up]

So now that the season is officially finished, it's time to look at next year.  Are there any players listed as seniors returning for their "Covid" year?  If not, the 3 tournament teams seem to be losing a lot.

IWU - Leritz, Noe, Lambesis

Elmhurst - Rhode, Thomas, Genco, Militello

Wheaton - Alioth, Adom, Cruickshank, Anthony, Uvegas

----

NCC - Matt Helwig, Meredith

IWU—-From what I hear, the L boys are done, and Noe is probably also gone.

Elmhurst—-All gone

Wheaton—-I believe the 3 As won't be returning. IDK about Uvegas. Seems Cruichshank could be back

NCC—-Blaise used his Covid year this season. Helwig has been granted another year of eligibility. Question is, does he want to use it?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

From what I heard around Fort Wayne, Cruickshank and Helwig are both expected back for their respective teams.  Not sure if the Raridon news changes anything there.

[crusader_nation]

So now that the season is officially finished, it's time to look at next year.  Are there any players listed as seniors returning for their "Covid" year?  If not, the 3 tournament teams seem to be losing a lot.

IWU - Leritz, Noe, Lambesis

Elmhurst - Rhode, Thomas, Genco, Militello

Wheaton - Alioth, Adom, Cruickshank, Anthony, Uvegas

----

NCC - Matt Helwig, Meredith

Tyson Cruickshank is expected back for the Thunder for the 2022-23 season. The other 4 have finished their collegiate careers.