MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

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. 

Andrew---

I for one, think you posed an excellent question.

On the Wiele vs. Johnson question-----I believe it will be much harder for Wheaton to replace what Wiele brings to the floor than it will for Wesleyan to replace Johnson. An above post indicated Ron Rose said that w/o Johnson last year IWU wouldn't have won. Geez, what else is he gonna say? A classic case of a coach going to bat for his player. Dwyer is good enough to start for most teams, and whatever he doesn't provide offensively, I believe can be made up by Jordan Morris. Wheaton loses Wiele's rebounding some of which can be made up by Carwell. Whatever scoring they lose will be harder for Wheaton to replace, at least from the post. Also, although he has a tendency to sometimes disappear on defense, his absence will just make it that much easier for the Wesleyan post players to be able to back down and operate that much closer to the basket.      

[AndOne]

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.

Indeed, BUT, Elmhurst beat Wash U. Can Augie say that?

[Titan Q]

Andrew---

I for one, think you posed an excellent question.

On the Wiele vs. Johnson question-----I believe it will be much harder for Wheaton to replace what Wiele brings to the floor than it will for Wesleyan to replace Johnson. An above post indicated Ron Rose said that w/o Johnson last year IWU wouldn't have won. Geez, what else is he gonna say? A classic case of a coach going to bat for his player.

Or it's just the truth?

1/23/08: 15 pts, 4 assists, 3-5 3-pt
2/16/08: 15 pts, 4 assists, 3-6 3-pt
2/29/08: 16 pts, 3 assists, 2-5 3-pt

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2008/IWUMBB16.HTM

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2008/MWHE23.HTM

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2008/08CCIW01.HTM

[robberki]

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?

Since everyone will find out in about an hour anyway, I'll clear this up, well...at least partially, Nick will be playing tonight in Naperville. Good news for viking fans.

[Naperick]

Good!  I will get to see him play.  I probably won't make it until halftime.

[Viking Blue]

Good!  I will get to see him play.  I probably won't make it until halftime.

My goodness...you know what the crazy thing is?  I wonder how much publicity Nick Williams would be getting if none of this had ever happened...and if anyone would be talking about North Park at all!

[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?

Since everyone will find out in about an hour anyway, I'll clear this up, well...at least partially, Nick will be playing tonight in Naperville. Good news for viking fans.

Thanks Rob.
Heading down there now.
Any info about why he has missed the last couple games?

[cciw watcher]

Down  22-9 to Ill W. Wheaton looks like they were on the bus  no legs.

[Ralph Turner]

Down  22-9 to Ill W. Wheaton looks like they were on the bus  no legs.

Tied at 29;  Kent Raymond has carried his team.

Wheaton IL 30, IWU 29.

[iwumichigander]

Down  22-9 to Ill W. Wheaton looks like they were on the bus  no legs.

Tied at 29;  Kent Raymond has carried his team.

Yes, Ralph, he certainly did and got some team help on the defensive end.

[thunderstruck88]

Nice comeback for the Thunder. Really miss the rebounds from Wiele, especially. If Wheaton can keep playing defense, they're still going to need to keep attacking and find another scorer in the second half if they want to win. IWU has too many shooters.

[cciw watcher]

Wheaton showing they are No:1 up 41-33

[April]

Looking at the first half teams stats, it would be hard for these stats to be more even if they tried!

http://livestats.internetconsult.com/wheaton/mbball/

I must say that IWU has some excellent FT defence this game. Wheaton is shooting like 20% below their average.

[cciw watcher]

April are you nervous

[April]

April are you nervous

Of course! My team is currently down by four at home to a highly ranked team, and missing an all American player.

But I also believe this is our year, and I think we'll pull it out.