MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[ecdubb420]

After the Millikin game, when talking with Scherer, he sounded the most disappointed he had ever sounded.  As he sat on the bench after the game, you could see a "we're too good to let this season slip away" look on his face.  This leads me to believe that the team got some stern words both after the game and during their wind sprints at practice.  
After the IWU game, I asked him how the team rebounded after playing so poorly in the last two games and he sounded like the Scherer of old in stating that he told his guys they would go with a 10 man rotation and if anyone wasn't giving 100% they were coming off the floor.  Simply put, Scherer was telling his stars that waiting in the wings were players like Child, Bainter, A. Hintzsche, and Ryder who would kill for the opportunity to play and take some of that playing time.
Though they are clearly a step or two above IWU in talent department, and this is a game they would win 19 out of 20 times, the EC players got the message that Scherer was telling them.  Play hard or plan on losing and sitting on the bench.  
This has always been his (and what all coaches should preach) mantra and Elmhurst seemed to lose their focus for the last several games (well ever since the North Park game), so a stern message needed to be made to his players.
It makes you think that EC was taking its season for granted and really needed a shake-up game to let them know that things weren't going to just go their way because of the talent they had on the floor.  The losses to Wheaton and Augie didn't open up their eyes because those are games that they can't expect to win, but the Millikin game may turn out the be the best thing that happens to this team.
Two home games should help EC get back on the road to where they belong, the CCIW tournament and then the NCAA tournament.  Lets just hope that this game wasn't just a superior team beating an inferior foe, but instead was a good team playing like a great team because they know they have to try and save face and recapture what they had going for two months.

[theseguysaregood]

I was in attendance at King arena last night and I must say when Wheaton led 14-0 and then 17-0 it felt a lot like a football score than a basketball score. I also can't remember seeing a game with a score of 21-1 very often. North Park scored its first point on a free throw with 11:06 left in the first half. they didn't score again until a layup at 10:03 gave them a total of 3 points. The game was never really close but NPU did make a nice run in the second half to cut a 23 point lead to 8 a couple different times. Each time Wheaton answered by pushing the lead back out to double digits.

Wheaton brought their usual defensive intensity and North Park seemed surprised by it. I can't remember a North Park possession that had more than 1 or 2 passes as they relied on their athleticism to try and get free. Wheaton's defense resulted in many off balance, contested shots that wouldn't fall for the park. On the other end the NPU defense was pretty pathetic. John Mohan comes in and drains 2 wide open 3 pointers and then 3 possessions later he takes the ball, after an NPU basket, the length of the floor and makes a 3 with no one guarding him. In a CCIW game, I have never seen the point guard bring the ball up against air and shoot a 3 as if he's the only guy on the floor. NPU gave up way to many open looks and uncontested layups to be comptetitive in this game. Having said that their run in the second half was the result of them relying on their athleticism to play inspired defense. they forced wheaton into turnovers and stole passes that resulted in quick baskets. Uriah Rice also made some impressive 3's from well beyond the arc and a defender all over him.

Bottom line is wheaton is a much better team than NPU from what I could tell. North Park is athletic but doesn't play team defense nor do they look to work the ball around on offense.

this was Wheaton's 8th straight victory over North Park.

Wheaton has a game in Rock Island Wednesday that begins a road swing to end the regular season that is brutal. 2 games away (augie, iwu), home vs millkin and then 2 away (elmhurst and carthage). we will see what they are made of now.

Sounds like a good point to recap people's thoughts on the "race to the final four (playoff spots).  The picture is clearing up, but specific schedule challenges (like Wheaton's outlined above) will still play a key roll.

After seeing everyone at least once, I think barring a key injury, Augie, Elmhurst, and Carthage are solid 1-3.  The fourth spot is still very much up in the air.   If I had to pick, I would have to say Wheaton looks best right now, but I just haven't been that impressed with the couple of games I have watched them play.

Other thoughts from the crowd?

[augiefan]

It sounds like Carthage administered a significant beat down on Augie last night, at least from the Carthage fan's perspective. After some good road wins, Augie was probably due for a rough road game.

Augie is still in pretty good shape with 3 of their last 4 games at home. Losing on the road to Elmhurst and Carthage hardly diminishes the effort to date. Augie just has to bounce back against Wheaton and finish the season strong, and last night's loss will be pretty insignificant in the overall picture.

[Titan Q]

I think Elmhurst is talented enough to win the national championship.  I've been to a lot of Division III Final Fours now, and common traits of the teams that win the title seem to be...

1) Balanced scoring attack (inside/outside)
2) Strong defense
3) A solid point-guard
4) Productive bench
5) At least one proven "go-to" guy
6) An intangible factor -- hard to put into words, maybe chemistry or confidence or "basketball smarts"? 


With their amazing size, the perimeter play of Ryan Burks, Brian Lee at the point, and the nice depth on the bench, I'm sold on Elmhurst 1-4.  I haven't seen enough of Elmhurst, however, to know about #4 and #5.  Down 1 with :20 left at the UW-Stevens Point sectional, vs the host Pointers with a trip to Salem on the line, who is option 1 for the shot?  Who wants to take the shot?  What kind of composure do they play with in that situation? 

While IWU was completely out-manned last night vs Elmhurst, I still think how the Bluejays played says a lot about their character as a team.  There was a great crowd at the Shirk Center, hostile environment, and Elmhurst was coming off 3 losses in 4 games while IWU was feeling good about the win over NCC.  EC came out absolutely on fire and unphased by the environment.  They'll need to play with that type of intensity and composure to make a run, but I don't have any doubt they're talented enough.

The rest of the way will we see the team that lost at home to Millikin Wednesday or the team that dominated IWU at the Shirk Center Saturday?

[tuvwxyz]

This fact, by the way, is not the fault of anyone in the building last night....

It is just another way to say Trost screwed the school on his way out.

[Titan Q]

This fact, by the way, is not the fault of anyone in the building last night....

It is just another way to say Trost screwed the school on his way out.

That is not what I meant.  I was referring to the point-guard situation, and the fact that Sean Dwyer (a very heralded CCIW point-guard recruit) is hurt, as is Andrew Gilmore, who with good knees would be much more effective on both ends of the floor.  And it's not the fault of guys like Anthony Gunnell and Kevin Bryant, who are pure 2's, that they have to be played so out of position, just like Ron Rose has no other options but to throw those guys into the fire.  

Did Scott Trost leave any CCIW caliber point-guard depth?  No.  But with some luck, the point-guard situation this year could have turned out much differently.

[79jaybird]

Q or Pat,  what would you say to this scenario.

Augie wins the Conference and Elmhurst takes second.  Either is bounced in the CCIW tournament and like last year, the 3rd and/or 4th place team wins the AQ.  Does the CCIW get 3 teams in?  (Augie/Elmhurst/AQ winner)
I know there are still some big matchup games left to be played and a lot could still happen, but as Titan Q and I have pointed out,  there are some big game players on both Augie and EC.

[Pat Coleman]

Depends on what the regional records are after this is all said and done.

[Titan Q]

Here are the Pool C teams from last year (in bold)...the Pool A/B teams are crossed off.  This is in order of final Quality of Wins Index (QOWI) and also includes in-region winning % -- the two big metrics.


1-10
Amherst     12.160     24-1
Lawrence    11.682    22-0
Worcester Polytech    11.250    20-3
Mississippi College    11.154    25-1
Tufts    11.000    20-5 Pool C
St. John Fisher    11.000    22-1
Lincoln    10.688    12-4  Pool B
Wittenberg    10.652    20-3
Gordon    10.560    22-3 Pool C
Carnegie Mellon    10.550    16-4

11-20
Virginia Wesleyan    10.481    24-3
Augustana    10.478    19-4 Pool C
Cortland State    10.440    22-3 Pool C
York (Pa.)    10.400    22-3 Pool C
Transylvania    10.370    23-4
Trinity (Texas)    10.316    16-3 Pool C
UW-Whitewater    10.304    18-5
William Paterson    10.240    19-6
Hope    10.211    17-2
North Central    10.095    16-5
               
21-30
Bates    10.091    16-6 (not selected)
Carroll    10.087    19-4 Pool C
Ursinus    10.080    20-5
Baldwin-Wallace    10.077    22-4
Washington U.    10.050    14-6 (not selected)
Wooster    10.042    21-3 Pool C
Carleton    10.000    18-5 Pool C
St. Thomas    9.960    20-5
Baruch    9.958    21-3 Pool C
Alvernia    9.958    21-3
               
31-40
Illinois Wesleyan    9.952    15-6 Pool C
Puget Sound    9.944    16-2
Widener    9.920    20-5 Pool C
Lakeland    9.905    17-4 (not selected)
UW-La Crosse    9.880    18-7 Pool C
SUNY-Farmingdale    9.875    19-5
UW-Stout    9.870    18-5 Pool C
Randolph-Macon    9.840    19-6 Pool C
Keene State    9.800    18-7 (not selected)
Fisk    9.800    10-5 (not selected for Pool B)
               
41-50
Trinity (Conn.)    9.750    15-5 (not selected)
Occidental    9.750    12-4 Pool C
Calvin    9.733    13-2 Pool C
Utica    9.692    20-6 Pool C
MIT    9.680    17-7 (not selected)
Messiah    9.583    17-7
Whitworth    9.542    18-6 (not selected)
Catholic    9.542    19-5
Endicott    9.520    16-8
Lake Erie    9.500    18-4
               

[Titan Q]

With reasonable finishes, I think Augustana and Elmhurst are both in great shape for Pool C bids should they need one.  I think Carthage and Wheaton are in trouble in terms of Pool C. 

We will discuss on Hoopsville today.  Midwest/West report at 2:40pm CST...show starts in 10 minutes (1:00pm CST)...

http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/


Glad I have to prepare for my report...too much nervous energy about the Superbowl.  Need to stay busy.

[iwumichigander]

TitanQ
2002 (Trost):

Dauksas, Amelianovich, Jones, Jones, Schweer, McGraw, Fisher, Arnold, McKean (transfered)

1999 (Bridges)

Kasten, Hubbard, Camardella, Silagi, Starkey, Cross, Eich

I think IWU fans realize what the deal is though and are ready to support the rebuilding process.  I know I am.

I am too! The deal simply was not the atypical "reload" situtation which some Titan fans, and CCIW opponents, have taken for granted in past seasons.  Titan recruits will have a rare opportunity - a legitimate chance to come in as a freshman starter Game 1 next season.

[armywife]

Are there anymore updates on Nate Swetalla? I know he hurt his knee last night. I hope he's going to be ok. I had a feeling that Augie was going to run into problems at Carthage last ngiht.

We're using our proxima to put the game up on our wall. Our version of the big screen. We're not charging anyone to watch it with us, so it's all good. 8) I can't wait for this game to start.

[theseguysaregood]

While I fully expect IWU to get back to where the faithful expect them to be, in my opinion it is a different situation this time because of the rest of the league raising their level.  At least in the recent past, this year's IWU team would still have had enough talent to sweep the series with 2-3 CCIW teams.

When you look at the young talent around the league at Milliken, North Park, Elmhurst, and others it is just a lot tougher to "reload" at a level to compete for Championships than it has been.

[Titan Q]

While I fully expect IWU to get back to where the faithful expect them to be, in my opinion it is a different situation this time because of the rest of the league raising their level.  At least in the recent past, this year's IWU team would still have had enough talent to sweep the series with 2-3 CCIW teams.

When you look at the young talent around the league at Milliken, North Park, Elmhurst, and others it is just a lot tougher to "reload" at a level to compete for Championships than it has been.

No question about that.

[79jaybird]

Q and Pat thank you.
That Wednesday loss vs. Millikin hurts, especially since it was a HOME game! 
If they were to beat Millikin, they would be even with Augie in the L column, but shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't do it and Millikin outplayed us.
I agree with ECdubb that the Jays were a different group out there last night.  I think Elmhurst just needed a reminder (whether that be a talk, boot in the rear, cheerleader's grin, etc.  )  that nothing has been solved or handed to EC and they have to fight to the end. 
I am looking forward to Wed. game vs. Carthage.  The Redmen are playing better and Schlemm is playing to what we thought he would be at the beginning of the year.