MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[diehardfan]

I think the AD of both schools should figure something out here - no one really will care about NP and IWU playing each other especially when it conflicts with Da Bears playing to go to the Super Bowl

Come on AD boys, do something here - play later in the day. HOW ABOUT A DOUBLE HEADER?

Da Bears @ 2:00 /  NP vs. IWU @ 5:00pm??

I must admit to having completely forgotten that NFL football was still going on. To me, football ended in December with the Stagg Bowl. In fact, why make the basketball teams move their game? Why doesn't someone call the network showing the game, the Bears and the Saints and tell them that their game has been scheduled at the same time as a much more important game, and that they should really move it... now... or suffer the consequences.

[79jaybird]

I am sure many, many folks agree with April that football (heart to heart and meaningful) football ended when MUC beat UWW, however playoff football is something.  I don't see what the big deal is with the conflict.  Had the Bears not won last Sunday, then there wouldn't even be this discussion.  I  would rather have the Bears playing Sunday (still alive) than to be eliminated, wouldn't you? 
So IWU/NPU have to play Sunday,  bring a radio if you are that tuned into the Bears that you need to keep briefed on the score.  You could also have the PA guy at the Shirk frequently "pop in" with a scoreboard update during timeouts.  There's a timeout on the court, "And folks, in the second period of play at Soldier's Field, Chicago leads New Orleans 14-7",  and then get back to the game.  No big deal and you still get both things accomplished.  Just my 2 cents.

[79jaybird]

Neutral parties I feel are the best to ask deep questions about matchups. For example, I am NOT a good person to ask about Elmhurst matchups because (as much as I may try not to) I have a leaning towards the Navy Blue/White. 
I feel April is right on this situation.
Here are my top 4 teams so far
1) Elmhurst
2) Augustana
3) North Central
4) Wheaton

I think these are the 4 schools that will compete for the CCIW title and compete in the CCIW Tournament.

[robberki]

Big game for the vikings tomorrow night. Elmhurst has a huge front line but if NPU plays hard and smart I definately think they'll win.

[joehakes]

First ultra-picky correction of the year:

Soldier Field, not Soldier's Field.

[Titan Q]

Sounds like SIU-Edwardsville is going DI...

http://www.siue.edu/news/

[devildog29]

There's a timeout (Where?) on the court (Ohhh),

Now, I love the Bears as much as anyone, but that really has to be the dumbest tradition/routine/whatever there is in all of professional sports.  I thought as Bears fans we were better than that.

[79jaybird]

Devildog- I agree with you that the PA at Soldier Field (thanks Joe  ) is odd when he makes that phrase. It's like,  where else will there be a timeout, except on the field of course?

Robberki,  there is no doubt that NPU plays hard and is capable of beating anybody in the conf.  One of their keys is to contain EC's big guys which has been proven to be no easy task, but IMO more important is to REBOUND and limit the turnovers.   EC's big boys are very good at grabbing 2nd and 3rd chance points inside the paint.

[Gregory Sager]

This was that December 30 game vs Albion at 1:00pm, which was the smallest crowd in the history of the Shirk Center...and in reality, an early Saturday afternoon crowd of 800 over the holidays (no students) for a game vs a bad non-conference team wouldn't be too bad at a lot of places in Division III.

The size of the crowd wasn't what struck me. What struck me was the crowd's utter ennui as they watched that Freeman dunk. I've never seen anything like that before. Heck, even if they were Albion fans instead of Wesleyan fans (which I doubt) one would at least expect them to look upset or disgusted by the dunk.

I think the AD of both schools should figure something out here - no one really will care about NP and IWU playing each other especially when it conflicts with Da Bears playing to go to the Super Bowl

NPU's athletic director is in the hospital. Anyway, an adjustment of tipoff time would involve NPU's head coach making the decision, not the AD.

Now you're essentially restating my entire point. NPU has the more talented team. But the Vikings did not live up to their potential on Saturday night ... not even close. Wheaton came much closer to maximizing its potential (i.e., got much more out of its players) in that game than did North Park.

[Gregory Sager]

We have? And just who is this 'we" to whom you refer?

And, BTW, I'm pretty certain that even if someone tells you otherwise, it'll still be my opinon.

[tjcummingsfan]

guess my opinion doesn't count... cool

[Gregory Sager]

Your calling us "biased" doesn't make it so. And attempting to mitigate the charge with qualifiers such as "charmingly" and "slightly" doesn't wash, either.

Is it possible that bias seeps into my (and tjcf's) observations? Certainly. I've said that all along. Both of us are human (although, as a seminarian, tjcf will soon find out that his humanity is forfeited in the eyes of the laity ). But this particular instance isn't a case of bias ... and you can't invoke a charge of pro-NPU bias against us and make it stick, simply because it suits your pro-Wheaton bias to do so.

I've been more than honest about last Saturday's game. I've gone to great lengths to compliment Wheaton's performance, and I've excoriated North Park's. I strongly assert that NPU's being outplayed the way that they were is even more damning upon the Vikings than would otherwise be the case, because Paul Brenegan's team has more overall talent. If you don't want to believe me, then don't. That's your prerogative. But there's no need to keep playing these games with me just to assuage some sort of need on your part to question any statement that could possibly be construed as a slight towards Wheaton's basketball team. I know what I saw.

The game was Saturday. It's now Wednesday morning. It's time to move on, April.

This is my last post on the subject.

[Titan Q]

This was that December 30 game vs Albion at 1:00pm, which was the smallest crowd in the history of the Shirk Center...and in reality, an early Saturday afternoon crowd of 800 over the holidays (no students) for a game vs a bad non-conference team wouldn't be too bad at a lot of places in Division III. 

The size of the crowd wasn't what struck me. What struck me was the crowd's utter ennui as they watched that Freeman dunk. I've never seen anything like that before. Heck, even if they were Albion fans instead of Wesleyan fans (which I doubt) one would at least expect them to look upset or disgusted by the dunk.

That Freeman dunk made the score 65-40 with 14:58 to play in a meaningless non-conference game.  How excited were people supposed to look?

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2007/iwumbb11.htm

[petemcb]

Nicely played, Q.

[AndOne]

I think the bottom line here is that unless you have seen both teams play, ideally against a common opponent, you can't really compare them---especially by just using statistics----when it comes to something like comparing athletic ability. 

OK---Here is the opinion of a "neutral commentator" who has seen both Wheaton and North Park play a common opponent (North Central).

Frankly, I was very surprised that Wheaton beat North Park. From top to bottom, I have no doubt that NP is the superior group athletically. They have more people who can handle the ball and both their interior and perimeter defense is stronger. Even though they did not shoot well against NCC, I would give the edge to Wheaton in shooting. Raymond, who I do not feel is yet 100% can almost make a difference in this area by himself. However, Capalbo shot very well when I saw him play.

Not withstanding the above areas, the primary differentiating physical features between the two teams are team speed and jumping ability. NPU is much faster than Wheaton. In fact, they could very well be the overall fastest team in the league.

Without having seen the NPU-WC game, I would bet the difference was due to Wheaton playing more of a TEAM game. I believe the advantage WC has at present is that they function as a more cohesive unit due to their playing more of a TEAM game. This is one thing, prob due to a bunch of new players, that NPU needs to work on. Their future success will be determined on whether they can blend their individual one-on-one talents into an cohesive, effective  TEAM.