MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Next Man Up]

NCC's Matt Lewis has had 78 minutes of PT since joining the team 5 games ago. In those 78 minutes (15.6 MPG) he has scored 69 points. 

Is the angry emoji because you feel that Anthony Figueroa isn't playing Lewis enough, or is it because bureaucratic red tape prevented Lewis from being with the team from the start of the season?

Thus question requires a 3 part answer;
1. Whether I feel Lewis isn't playing either enough or even too much is inconsequential as my opinion means zero on this question.
2. The emoji is angry because the dumb a** who did the typing missed the intended emoji and mistakenly hit the wrong one. It was fixed earlier today.
3. As is often the case with the dunderheads at the NCAA, there was way too much red tape that had to be cut through before Mitch was cleared to play, and they must have used rusty scissors to do the cutting.

[kiko]

IDK why you are wondering if the Parkers are a threat to make the CCIW tournament considering 6 of the conference's 8 teams will make it and one of those eight teams is clearly going through a lost season.

Sacre bleu! One of the CCIW members has quit the conference or been kicked out?       Which one?

<snark>
I still don't view Carroll as a full member since they left and then came back.
</snark>

Though the truth is that I started at nine and subtracted Wash U rather than starting at ten, so... blame it on North Central math.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton  79
SUNY-Oneonta 67

Tyson Cruickshank  22 pts, 5 rebs
Eddie Scott  19 pts, 6 rebs
Nick Schiavello, 9 rebs

Joseph Bull 16 pts, 13 rebs
Daniel Derice 18 pts

The Thunder got out to a quick start in the first 5 mins and never really looked back in an impressive win after a long break.  SUNY Oneonta came in 2nd in the country in rebounding margin, +15, but Wheaton held them to +1.  Eddie Scott had it going early and ended up going 7-9 from the field, 3-4 from three.  Being from the DC area, I hope he had a few extra family friends make the trip to see him light it up.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton  79
SUNY-Oneonta 67

Tyson Cruickshank  22 pts, 5 rebs
Eddie Scott  19 pts, 6 rebs
Nick Schiavello, 9 rebs

Joseph Bull 16 pts, 13 rebs
Daniel Derice 18 pts

The Thunder got out to a quick start in the first 5 mins and never really looked back in an impressive win after a long break.  SUNY Oneonta came in 2nd in the country in rebounding margin, +15, but Wheaton held them to +1.

Don't get me wrong; the Red Dragons are a decent team, although hardly world-beaters. But the Massey SOS of SUNY Oneonta is #270, so their 2nd-in-the-nation rebounding margin should be taken with not a grain but about half a shaker's worth of salt.

[Gregory Sager]

<snark>
I still don't view Carroll as a full member since they left and then came back.
</snark>

Can we use that claim as needed against Carthage, Wheaton, and Elmhurst as well?

[Next Man Up]

Of course records don't necessarily mean a thing but, on the surface of things, it looks like North Central, Millikin, and especially Carthage should each pick up a W this week.

I think Wheaton looks good for two wins as, with the exception of Williams, their fellow 8–2 opponent has played a very weak schedule.

Wheaton  79
SUNY-Oneonta 67

Tyson Cruickshank  22 pts, 5 rebs
Eddie Scott  19 pts, 6 rebs
Nick Schiavello, 9 rebs

Joseph Bull 16 pts, 13 rebs
Daniel Derice 18 pts

The Thunder got out to a quick start in the first 5 mins and never really looked back in an impressive win after a long break.  SUNY Oneonta came in 2nd in the country in rebounding margin, +15, but Wheaton held them to +1.

Don't get me wrong; the Red Dragons are a decent team, although hardly world-beaters. But the Massey SOS of SUNY Oneonta is #270, so their 2nd-in-the-nation rebounding margin should be taken with not a grain but about half a shaker's worth of salt.

A totally expected outcome. Not surprising in any way.

[Next Man Up]

IWU games in Oregon re-scheduled for January 23-24.   

'70

I think this is a fortunate turn of events for Illinois Western. Good chance they'll pick up two wins that might have otherwise been lost to the weather.

[iwu70]

Next, I hope you are right as the Titans surely need those wins out west.  They need to build on something.  However, the way they have played so far this season does not guarantee these wins at all.  I know Linfield and George Fox are not world-beaters, but IWU still has no real identity, no real "go to" guy, and lots of issues with perimeter defense.  We thought they'd be a good trey shooting team, but it hasn't really materialized.   Can't be very optimistic going into the meat of the CCIW schedule, after the game with Wash U at home this next week.  I was encouraged after the good win at Elmhurst, but now not so much.  Seems Wheaton the team to beat in the CCIW race.  NPU will now have their chance.  And, Carthage on a roll.  I think IWU in a shaky spot . . .

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Next, I hope you are right as the Titans surely need those wins out west.  They need to build on something.  However, the way they have played so far this season does not guarantee these wins at all.  I know Linfield and George Fox are not world-beaters, but IWU still has no real identity, no real "go to" guy, and lots of issues with perimeter defense.

Illinois Wesleyan will win both of those games easily. In fact, I think that every team in the CCIW with the exception of Carroll would beat both Linfield and George Fox, even on back-to-back nights in Oregon, and the Pioneers would have at least a fighting chance at doing so.

A totally expected outcome. Not surprising in any way.

Regardless of the comparative strength of the Red Dragons, this is going to end up being a good win for Wheaton. SUNY Oneonta should be one of the top three or four teams in the SUNYAC, and will bolster Wheaton's SOS nicely.

[CardinalAlum]

At the hangar in Napervegas, North Central never pulled away from lowly Edgewood, but still had a sufficient cushion to pull out an 80-71 victory without giving any of the home fans serious heart palpitations. The Cardinals (7-5) got almost half of their points from the Helwig brothers (Matt with 26, Ethan with 13), and Mitch Lewis contributed a 15 and 13 performance to the NCC side of the ledger.

I feel weird calling a nine point win closer than what the score suggested, but it really was. In a game with 11 ties and 8 lead changes, it took until about the eight minute mark in the game for the Cardinals to take the lead for good, and even the Cardinals got a couple late baskets that pushed a two score game to the final margin.

This was the first time I got to see Mitch Lewis play... wow.

The Cardinals survived the onslaught of Edgewood's 6'7" 300 pound Jake "The Student Body" Schroeckenthaler who hit the Redbirds with a monstrous double-double of 29 points, and 14 rebounds.

NCC's Matt Lewis has had 78 minutes of PT since joining the team 5 games ago. In those 78 minutes (15.6 MPG) he has scored 69 points.   

That's great...pair him with MITCH Lewis and it should be quite a tandem!   

[Gregory Sager]

At the hangar in Napervegas, North Central never pulled away from lowly Edgewood, but still had a sufficient cushion to pull out an 80-71 victory without giving any of the home fans serious heart palpitations. The Cardinals (7-5) got almost half of their points from the Helwig brothers (Matt with 26, Ethan with 13), and Mitch Lewis contributed a 15 and 13 performance to the NCC side of the ledger.

I feel weird calling a nine point win closer than what the score suggested, but it really was. In a game with 11 ties and 8 lead changes, it took until about the eight minute mark in the game for the Cardinals to take the lead for good, and even the Cardinals got a couple late baskets that pushed a two score game to the final margin.

This was the first time I got to see Mitch Lewis play... wow.

The Cardinals survived the onslaught of Edgewood's 6'7" 300 pound Jake "The Student Body" Schroeckenthaler who hit the Redbirds with a monstrous double-double of 29 points, and 14 rebounds.

NCC's Matt Lewis has had 78 minutes of PT since joining the team 5 games ago. In those 78 minutes (15.6 MPG) he has scored 69 points.   

That's great...pair him with MITCH Lewis and it should be quite a tandem!   

I'm dreading NCC's trip to the crackerbox on January 21, because I'm afraid that I might mix him up on the air with former North Park guard Mike Lewis.

[iwu70]

Well, Greg, I appreciate your optimism.  I hope you are right about the IWU games out west, now scheduled for later in January. 

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Optimism, schmoptimism. Linfield is #180 in Massey, George Fox is #281. According to Massey, the Titans have a 69% win probability against Linfield on the home floor of the Wildcats, and a 79% win probability against George Fox on the home floor of the Bruins. And I expect those probability margins to get even bigger between now and the time that the Titans board the plane to Portland.

[GoPerry]

Well, Greg, I appreciate your optimism.  I hope you are right about the IWU games out west, now scheduled for later in January. 

'70

As GS said, should be easy wins out west.   For Tuesday, it's tough to evaluate Wash U since they are somewhat short on quality wins so far (Millikin). 

Another non-con loss and the Titan Pool C hopes would be on life support and that might be generous.  They would really need to go on a run through the league here on out.  12-4, 11-5 . . .

[Gregory Sager]

St. Mary's (MN) 83
North Park 82

Kolden Vanlandingham: 20 pts, 7 rebs
Jordan Boyd: 19 pts, 4 stls
Marquise Jackson: 16 pts, 3 stls
Shamar Pumphrey: 11 pts
Karl Polk, Jr.: 7 rebs

SMU's Raheem Anthony hit a lunging 30-footer at the buzzer to pull off the second big road upset in a row for the Cardinals. It came on the heels of a Marquise Jackson layup with 3.1 seconds to go that gave NPU a two-point lead.

Of course, the Vikings are kicking themselves for the things that they did wrong today -- going 10-19 from the free-throw line was their most glaring sin of the day -- but the reality is that they just weren't able to sustain a comfortable lead against an SMU team that, despite its record, is definitely for real. Their last game before Christmas was a seven-point win over then-#7 UW-LaCrosse at LaCrosse, and it plainly wasn't a fluke. Their engine is Anthony, a 6'4, 220 senior who is the best player I've seen in D3 this season, live or online. He's a lock for D3hoops.com All-American; he came into the game averaging 21.4 and 8.5, and today he went totally mental, posting a 41 and 14 double-double. What gets me is that he's a local kid; he went to DePaul Prep at Rockwell and Belmont, for crying out loud. How Joe Fano snuck that kid out of state from under the noses of CCIW coaching staffs is beyond me. Kudos to Joe for that (although it nags at me that he wasn't bringing in any Raheem Anthonys when he was sitting second chair for Tom Slyder).

Can't shed any tears over this one; the Vikings have to go right back at it yet again tomorrow afternoon at Benedictine.