MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[wheatonfanaddict]

nice article! game on!

[petemcb]

I'm looking forward to this game tonight  -  so much so that I'm thinking of pulling the JV/Varsity doubleheader.  With these two programs, that would probably be a decent game itself.

[thundermike11]

I am really looking forward to tonight's game to see how Wheaton performs in their first real test of the season. There's no getting around it, IWU beat them (and deserved to win) all three times last year--and the guys remember it. The image of Sean Johnson backpedaling down the King Arena court with his hand in the air has been a popular one amongst the guys I think. There is no shortage of motivation for the Thunder. Even setting aside last year's results, being ranked #1 in the conference and the nation and defending their home court is enough to motivate this team.

I'm a little late jumping in to the Wiele/Johnson discussion, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. I think Ron Rose was correct in that article when he said that IWU would not have won those games last year without Johnson. If you take him out of the lineup Wheaton wins those games. Johnson and Rosenkranz posed matchup issues for Wheaton. They were smaller/quicker than the Wheaton guards, and they ran circles around Panner and Raymond last year. I think Wheaton is more equipped to stop Johnson this year because of Jeremy Pflederer.

Titan Q mentioned a while back that he didn't think Wheaton had anyone on the bench who could come close to matching Andy Wiele's production. There is no way to argue that point. Jake Carwell and Tim McCrary are not really back to the basket scorers and dominating rebounders. They play their roles well, but Wheaton is a completely different team without Wiele.

Titan Q also mentioned that not having Wiele causes matchup problems for Wheaton. That is true to a point, but I wouldn't be suprised to see Phil Carr play some minutes tonight to neutralize that a little bit. I think Phil has the potential (note the word potential) to become a Darius Gant type of player if he has the work ethic and discipline to go with his talent.

It's going to be a great game tonight. it is frustrating that the game is during Wheaton's break so there wont be very many students (probably just me and the women's team). I think ultimately Wheaton has more firepower and plays too good of defense and wins a close one.

[petemcb]

As a fan of both schools, I am officially declaring this game "too close to call".........although I didn't think that would fly in the CCIW Pick'em and Wheaton won my coin toss.  I find myself agreeing with every point AND counterpoint that anyone has put out here on this game.  Can't wait to see it.

[Titans_Baller]

heading the wheaton in a few hours to watch the great match up i just hope the green boys come through with a W.. not the W that the cubs fans are always waiting on HA!! 

[Dennis_Prikkel]

heading the wheaton in a few hours to watch the great match up i just hope the green boys come through with a W.. not the W that the cubs fans are always waiting on HA!! 

Oy !

dgp

Did he write this before or after....?

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Nick Williams may play for North Park tonight.

dgp

[andrewmp]

One issue that I am wonderng about tonight is how the big point totals for McCrary and Carwell in their last game will affect them.  Will it give them more confidence to fill some of the scoring hole left by Wiele, or will having all those uncontested layups and dunks make it that much harder to score against actual defenders?  I fear that latter may be the case.
I think that Wheaton can come out with a win if they can continue to play the improved defense that they have shown this season, and if someone other than Raymond scores 16+ tonight.  If Raymond is held in check, I think it will be a long night for the Thunder.
I think IWU will win if their bigs score above their average. 

On another note, has there ever been a team that has had a number one ranking as late as January and not make it to the tournament?

[petemcb]

One issue that I am wonderng about tonight is how the big point totals for McCrary and Carwell in their last game will affect them.  Will it give them more confidence to fill some of the scoring hole left by Wiele, or will having all those uncontested layups and dunks make it that much harder to score against actual defenders?  I fear that latter may be the case.
I think that Wheaton can come out with a win if they can continue to play the improved defense that they have shown this season, and if someone other than Raymond scores 16+ tonight.  If Raymond is held in check, I think it will be a long night for the Thunder.
I think IWU will win if their bigs score above their average. 

On another note, has there ever been a team that has had a number one ranking as late as January and not make it to the tournament?

My unresearched wild guess:  several.

[thunderbox]

Lets beat the green weenies tonight. 

[andrewmp]

On another note, has there ever been a team that has had a number one ranking as late as January and not make it to the tournament?

My unresearched wild guess:  several.

Part of the reason why I asked that is, by this time, most teams ranked number one in the past have started conference play, and I woul suspect that if a team was number one at the start of conference play, they would mostly likely make it to the tournament, unless their conference was exceptionally strong.   To be #1 at this point, you would have to usually go undefeated, or at most one loss.  Unless a team falls apart in conference play, or faces a very, very deep conference as the CCIW poses this season, the chances of getting an automatic or pool C selection seem pretty good to me.

It is more just a curions inquiry.  As noted as one of the exceptions above, the CCIW is very tough this year, and if this has not happened before with d3hoops poll, this could be the year it does happen.  A 5th place finish for Wheaton is possible, but I don't think, nor want, that to happen.
Wheaton has a favorable front end of the schedule, with IWU, Augie, Elmhurst, and Carthage at home.  Road match ups at North Park and Millikin seem to also favor a stronger start for Wheaton (NPU will be stronger at the end of the conferene season than at the beginning, IMO, based on what is going on.)  
However, an more favorable start leads to a more difficult finish.  They finish with three on the road before the final game against NCC, who Wheaton always seems to stuggle with.
However, I see this schedule working out for Wheaton in one way: If they can defend the home court until Wiele comes back, they should be in good shape for the rest of the season.  
Anyway you look at it though, the conference season is going to be brutal whether you are home or away this year.

[Pat Coleman]

This isn't precisely the question you asked but every team who has been ranked No. 1 this week, the first poll of January, has made the tournament.

[augiefan]

Certainly from my point of view Elmhurst deserves to be ranked ahead of Augie, because of their wins over common opponents. However, polls at this point are pretty meaningless, and the CCIW season will determine who is deserving of a high ranking.

There appear to be a lot more Wheaton and IWU fans on this board, so that game is generating most of the board excitement. However, the Elmhurst-Augie game should also be a barnburner, and given the quality of the Elmhurst and Wheaton squads, I think this is a must win game for Augie. They will have to play their best game of the season to win this one, but hopefully the homecourt advantage, a solid backcourt and Augie's depth will overcome the Bluejays significant superiority in the front court.

Te real CCIW season begins tonight, and it should be a doozy.

[AndOne]

Nick Williams may play for North Park tonight.

dgp

"May" seems to be the operative word. Is his participation optional?
He was supposed to play for sure against Augie Sat.
Is he ineligible, hurt, or being disciplined?

[iwumichigander]

Certainly from my point of view Elmhurst deserves to be ranked ahead of Augie, because of their wins over common opponents. However, polls at this point are pretty meaningless, and the CCIW season will determine who is deserving of a high ranking.

There appear to be a lot more Wheaton and IWU fans on this board, so that game is generating most of the board excitement. However, the Elmhurst-Augie game should also be a barnburner, and given the quality of the Elmhurst and Wheaton squads, I think this is a must win game for Augie. They will have to play their best game of the season to win this one, but hopefully the homecourt advantage, a solid backcourt and Augie's depth will overcome the Bluejays significant superiority in the front court.

Te real CCIW season begins tonight, and it should be a doozy.

Wins by Augie and Wheaton would certainly make Jan 14th more meaningful! 

I like Augie's odds tonight to win over Elmhurst.  I have no real problem with the rankings.  Elmhurst dropped a game it should have won; Augie won theirs.