MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GU1999]

North Park displayed a smothering defense in its victories against Loras and Alma, which I attended.  I did not watch the W against Anderson.  On O, the tactic of penetrating into the paint for a 10" jump shot has had success.  Also, I saw an NPU player actually use the vastly underutilized pivot foot. Unfortunately, the move baffled the female ref who call a travel.  Way too many ticky tack fouls called by this crew.

in related news... male ref calls travel on a euro step. 

[iwu70]

IWU drops one place in the new poll, to #5.

'70

[GusD]

IWU drops one place in the new poll, to #5.

'70

Possibly as a byproduct of the unimpressive cumulative record of 15-22 posted by their opponents so far this season? 🤔

[iwu70]

GusD, yes, agreed.  I still think IWU is ranked too high.  If they play better in coming days, perhaps I'll think they deserve top 10 ranking. So far, I'm not a believer, even though the 6-0 start is nice.  Tomorrow night hosting Carthage a better test.  I'll be there to give it my "eye test."     

'70

[Gregory Sager]

For those of you too lazy to check the CCIW website , here's the league's opening night sked:

Augustana (4-1) @ Elmhurst (3-3)
North Park (3-3) @ Carroll (2-4)
Carthage (4-2) @ Illinois Wesleyan (6-0)
Millikin (3-3) @ North Central (5-1)
Chicago (5-2) @ Wheaton (3-5)

[mwunder]

CCIW historians...when was the last time that brothers captured CCIW player of the week honors in the same season? Helwig brothers from NCC?

[Gregory Sager]

Nope, Ethan's never won it.

Looks like Carthage's Johnson brothers have accomplished a CCIW first!

[Gregory Sager]

Final from Van Male:

North Park 70
Carroll 64

Rico Powell: 15 pts
Taijon Barry: 13 pts
Preston Bax III: 13 pts

Jacob Naber: 17 pts, 7 rebs
Evan Bland: 10 pts
Justin Steinke: 7 rebs

Vikings finally get the three-point game working, as they shot 11-22 from beyond the arc. NPU led wire-to-wire, although they never quite put Carroll away. Doesn't matter, though; any win on the road in the CCIW is a good win, no matter how big a margin you post.

[iwu70]

Well, IWU didn't pass the "eye test" tonight as a #5 team in the nation.  A close, hard-fought game, though the Titans could never get over the top and get a lead on Carthage.  Playing poorly, not shooting it very well and missing too many FTs. 

Only Roper and Fridman played well.  I'm still of the view that Fridman is now and will continue to be a excellent CCIW player.

Carthage quicker to the ball, out rebounding the larger Titan squad.

For CC:
Brooks 29
AJ Johnson 16
Sigel 12

For IWU:
Roper, an excellent active game 24
Fridman 13 (his line was 4-4, 2-2 from three, 3-3 FTs)
 
These guys didn't get enough support from the other starters:  Williams 1-5, Wilmsen 1-6, and Funk 0-9.  I think the Titans missed at least 10 layups, shots right at the rim. At one point in the second half they were stuck on 55 or 56, with at least 5-6 empty possessions in a row. 

IWU shot 33%, 25% from three and 71% from FT line. 

CC shot 42%, 33% from three, and 74% from FT line. 

Just enough to win, could have been by more, Carthage 77, IWU 68

(Don't get to 78, don't win the game.  Happens almost every time.  The winning threshold for IWU is usually, often 78).

IWU goes to 6-1, 0-1 in CCIW play.

Disappointing and frustrating.  But this team at present is not a top 5 team in the country.  Sorry.

IWU'70

[mwunder]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

[Gregory Sager]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

How much are you going to start charging people next year to put the Wunder Hex on the team whom they want to lose? And do you take Visa?

(Asking for a friend.)

[bbfan44]

Tough night for the home teams. 

[Gregory Sager]

Chicago easily handled Wheaton in King Arena, 87-63. Soren Richardson had 20 and Noah Hedrick added 13 for Wheaton, which shot 4-25 (.160) from downtown. Didn't think I'd ever see Kyle Neibch go 0-7 from beyond the arc.

Millikin came up with a mildly surprising 73-67 road win in the airplane hangar over North Central. Lane Thomann led the way for the Big Blue with 14, JT Welch chipped in a dozen, and Demarcus Bond, Tionne Spates, and Nate Straughter each added 10 in the win. Drake Stevenson led the Big Blue in boards with 8. For NCC, Sean Molloy (17), Terrance Moncrief (16), and Ethan Helwig (14 and 9) carried the water this evening.

Finally, at Faganel Hall, Augustana used a 13-0 run to erase a ten-point deficit early in the second half and ended up prevailing over Elmhurst by a score of 77-66. Tyler Knuth scored 25, Staishaun Kelly added 16, and Chase Larsen contributed 10 for the winners, while Dom Trellenberg led the way for the 'jays with a 16 and 12 double-double and was supported by Tagen Pearson's 12 as well as 10 apiece by Aidyn Boone and Sebastian Blachut.

Interesting opening night for the CCIW, as all four home teams lost. Even the bye team, Wheaton, lost a non-conference game at home.

[lmitzel]

Millikin came up with a mildly surprising 73-67 road win in the airplane hangar over North Central. Lane Thomann led the way for the Big Blue with 14, JT Welch chipped in a dozen, and Demarcus Bond, Tionne Spates, and Nate Straughter each added 10 in the win. Drake Stevenson led the Big Blue in boards with 8. For NCC, Sean Molloy (17), Terrance Moncrief (16), and Ethan Helwig (14 and 9) carried the water this evening.

I only caught bits and pieces, but this game more or less came down to two stretches: a 9-0 Big Blue run to close the first half that gave Millikin a 35-27 lead going to the locker room, and a 20-6 run in the second half that iced it.

Taking half of your shots from beyond the arc, especially when you only hit 27 percent of them, is not going to win you many ball games.

[mwunder]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

How much are you going to start charging people next year to put the Wunder Hex on the team whom they want to lose? And do you take Visa?

(Asking for a friend.)

Venmo, Zelle, or cash if they travel to Kenosha and brave some winter roads.