MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[79jaybird]

Pat- great to see you at the game Saturday.  Hope you made it home safely and all is well.

Interesting game at Wheaton Sat.  Wheaton came out roaring and appeared they were going to dominate the first half, when there was a 10 minute or so delay because an air vent overhead was leaking onto the floor. This IMO, really halted the Thunder momentum, and broke up their rhythm.
After the delay Elmhurst was on fire (70%) from the 3 point line. I think everybody (me included) was shocked as everything seemed to fall in for EC.
Three things were the underlying factors of this game.
A) Childs came out of his shell and had the best game I have ever seen him play at EC.  He was recruited for this and we finally saw the true CC.  Good for him and I hope he can continue this.  Feeding off Childs was sharp shooting by Strzemp and Ruch stepping up in the second after 2 fouls kept him sidelined for most of the first.

B) and most importantly, Wheatons' FT Shooting was ah well- put your own word here.  They squandered so many opportunities at the FT line which just made the deficit even larger

C) Not so much Raymond being absent, but nobody on the Thunder stepped up to be the "go to guy".  Many times the Thunder seemed out of sorts on what to do on offense.  Last time I checked it takes 5 guys to play on the court and knowing ahead of time that Kent is not going to be able to go, somebody has to step up.

Having said this, I STILL think Wheaton is the team to beat.  There is still a large chunk of the schedule left.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

FYI:  I received a letter last week from NP's Athletic Director, Dr. Jack Surridge.  He mentioned one hurdle (in his five year plan for athletics) pertains to a coaching disparity.  His research concluded that when comparing identical sport offerings against CCIW schools, NP has 5.8 less full-time equivalent coaches than the league.  I don't have the actual report so I don't know if this means coaches who are employed full time on campus or employed full time as coaches. 

The silence from the other usual North Park contributors to these discussions is deafening.

DGP

[andrewmp]

Pat- great to see you at the game Saturday.  Hope you made it home safely and all is well.

Interesting game at Wheaton Sat.  Wheaton came out roaring and appeared they were going to dominate the first half, when there was a 10 minute or so delay because an air vent overhead was leaking onto the floor. This IMO, really halted the Thunder momentum, and broke up their rhythm.
After the delay Elmhurst was on fire (70%) from the 3 point line. I think everybody (me included) was shocked as everything seemed to fall in for EC.
Three things were the underlying factors of this game.
A) Childs came out of his shell and had the best game I have ever seen him play at EC.  He was recruited for this and we finally saw the true CC.  Good for him and I hope he can continue this.  Feeding off Childs was sharp shooting by Strzemp and Ruch stepping up in the second after 2 fouls kept him sidelined for most of the first.

B) and most importantly, Wheatons' FT Shooting was ah well- put your own word here.  They squandered so many opportunities at the FT line which just made the deficit even larger

C) Not so much Raymond being absent, but nobody on the Thunder stepped up to be the "go to guy".  Many times the Thunder seemed out of sorts on what to do on offense.  Last time I checked it takes 5 guys to play on the court and knowing ahead of time that Kent is not going to be able to go, somebody has to step up.

Having said this, I STILL think Wheaton is the team to beat.  There is still a large chunk of the schedule left.

Jaybird,
The stoppage in play was one of the things that I went away from the game thinking about myself.  Would it have turned out differently?  It seemed to me that Elmhurst was on its heals with Ruch on the bench with two fouls, and Wheaton was in control.  During that stoppage in play, it seemed like Elmhurst's coach took that time to talk to his team and gameplan some, while the Wheaton team was trying to clean up the water on the floor. 
The other thing that got me was that it seemed every shot from outside went in for Elmhurst, including two that banked in.  When you hit shots like that, you know that you are going to have them fall all night.
Early in the game, Wiele had a double team and kicked it out to Jahns, and he hit the open three.  I was excited because I felt that they didn't do that in the previous game against Carthage (especially in the second half).  Yet that was the last three they would hit for the whole game.  But you are right, they just seemed..tentative.  Wiele was the only agressive one, and Panner is just not getting good shots.  They really don't have someone right now who is able or willing to drive to the basket.  As I have thought about it, that is maybe the biggest problem.  Defenders are able to play tight on the outside, knowing that for the most part, Wheaton is not going to take the ball to the basket without Raymond.  This means less open shots from the outside, which is where, along with the free throws, they are not getting offense.

[petemcb]

the underlying factors of this game.
A) Childs came out of his shell and had the best game I have ever seen him play at EC.  He was recruited for this and we finally saw the true CC.  Good for him and I hope he can continue this.  Feeding off Childs was sharp shooting by Strzemp and Ruch stepping up in the second after 2 fouls kept him sidelined for most of the first.
.

I remember seeing Childs play a few times for Barrington in high school and this game sounds like the kind of game he had every time I saw him.  Quiet confidence, not one to shy away from a shot, and quick, decisive moves with the ball to get himself open for a shot that rarely seemed to miss.  It would be great for Elmhurst if Childs has rediscovered that aspect to his game, or the confidence that maybe has been missing. 

[Gregory Sager]

the underlying factors of this game.
A) Childs came out of his shell and had the best game I have ever seen him play at EC.  He was recruited for this and we finally saw the true CC.  Good for him and I hope he can continue this.  Feeding off Childs was sharp shooting by Strzemp and Ruch stepping up in the second after 2 fouls kept him sidelined for most of the first.
.

I remember seeing Childs play a few times for Barrington in high school and this game sounds like the kind of game he had every time I saw him.  Quiet confidence, not one to shy away from a shot, and quick, decisive moves with the ball to get himself open for a shot that rarely seemed to miss.  It would be great for Elmhurst if Childs has rediscovered that aspect to his game, or the confidence that maybe has been missing. 

I think that a lot of it has to do with whether or not he's playing the point. In the past, at least, he seemed like a completely different player when he had to bring the ball up the floor and set up the offense than he did when he was playing off of the ball.

[andrewmp]

Wheaton faces their biggest nemesis in Naperville on Wednesday in what is easily their biggest game of the season. They haven't had a victory vs NCC since February of 2005 after being swept the past two years. Since last year's cast is very similar for both teams its worth some analysis.

NCC shot 57% and 60% against the Thunder last year to Wheaton's 50% and 42% respectively. The biggest disparity in the games was points in the paint. NCC had 40 and 38 to the Thunders 30 and 10 in their 2 contests. North Central has killed Wheaton with easy baskets and wide open looks the last 2 years. The Thunder simply have not had a good defensive effort agains the Cardinals in their losing streak and it will have to change if they don't want history to repeat itself. For whatever reason North Central seems to have Wheaton's number the last few years.

I was worried about these two games before Raymond went down with an injury.  After watching the game against Elmhurst, I am also concerned about Wheaton's ability to handle the 3 point shooting defense.  NCC is a good outside shooting team.  
The main difference from last year to this year down low is the presence of McCrary.  How much he will help out on Drennan and Rodgers is tough to say.  Drennan killed wheaton with the turn around fade away jumpers.  He never seemed to missed those.  Rodgers is just a gritty, scrappy player who gets it done.  Wheaton has shown it can be more physical, and since Weile has been back, they have had stronger defensive play inside.  
This game may come down to who does or does not hit their free throws.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Pat- great to see you at the game Saturday.  Hope you made it home safely and all is well.

Interesting game at Wheaton Sat.  Wheaton came out roaring and appeared they were going to dominate the first half, when there was a 10 minute or so delay because an air vent overhead was leaking onto the floor. This IMO, really halted the Thunder momentum, and broke up their rhythm.
After the delay Elmhurst was on fire (70%) from the 3 point line. I think everybody (me included) was shocked as everything seemed to fall in for EC.
Three things were the underlying factors of this game.
A) Childs came out of his shell and had the best game I have ever seen him play at EC.  He was recruited for this and we finally saw the true CC.  Good for him and I hope he can continue this.  Feeding off Childs was sharp shooting by Strzemp and Ruch stepping up in the second after 2 fouls kept him sidelined for most of the first.

B) and most importantly, Wheatons' FT Shooting was ah well- put your own word here.  They squandered so many opportunities at the FT line which just made the deficit even larger

C) Not so much Raymond being absent, but nobody on the Thunder stepped up to be the "go to guy".  Many times the Thunder seemed out of sorts on what to do on offense.  Last time I checked it takes 5 guys to play on the court and knowing ahead of time that Kent is not going to be able to go, somebody has to step up.

Having said this, I STILL think Wheaton is the team to beat.  There is still a large chunk of the schedule left.

Jaybird,
The stoppage in play was one of the things that I went away from the game thinking about myself.  Would it have turned out differently?  It seemed to me that Elmhurst was on its heals with Ruch on the bench with two fouls, and Wheaton was in control.  During that stoppage in play, it seemed like Elmhurst's coach took that time to talk to his team and gameplan some, while the Wheaton team was trying to clean up the water on the floor. 
The other thing that got me was that it seemed every shot from outside went in for Elmhurst, including two that banked in.  When you hit shots like that, you know that you are going to have them fall all night.
Early in the game, Wiele had a double team and kicked it out to Jahns, and he hit the open three.  I was excited because I felt that they didn't do that in the previous game against Carthage (especially in the second half).  Yet that was the last three they would hit for the whole game.  But you are right, they just seemed..tentative.  Wiele was the only agressive one, and Panner is just not getting good shots.  They really don't have someone right now who is able or willing to drive to the basket.  As I have thought about it, that is maybe the biggest problem.  Defenders are able to play tight on the outside, knowing that for the most part, Wheaton is not going to take the ball to the basket without Raymond.  This means less open shots from the outside, which is where, along with the free throws, they are not getting offense.

I've always thought that Mark Scherer was the top X's and O's coach in the league - especially when it comes to defending outside shooters.  I remember a lot of games where North Park shooters (pencil in Rick Alspach) were just stymied from the outside by the Jays perimeter defense.

DGP

[Titan Q]

Updated Massey Index...

http://www.mratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&yr=2009&sub=III&mid=6


This really illustrates how tough the league this season.


#6 Wheaton
#10 Augustana
#11 Elmhurst
#17 Carthage
#23 North Central
#33 Millikin
#43 Illinois Wesleyan
#82 North Park


The WIAC is rated as the top league with the CCIW #2.

[Naperick]

NCC 76, Carthage 64
*Edit----With regard to the Attendance given as 310---I have no idea where whoever entered this figure got it or what he/she was looking at. The attendance at the Millikin game on 1/15/09 was 635. With a strong showing of Carthage fans there were at least as many bodies in the hanger as attended the Millikin game. All you had to do to know that was look at the stands. The main floor seating was just about completely full, and there must have been at least 200 fans seated in the balcony. 

I agree.  I think the 310 number was about half of the real attendance for the Carthage-North Central game.

[augiefan]

Top to bottom the CCIW may be equal to the WIAC this year, but even when Raymond is back in action they appear to have the stronger teams at the top of their conference. I think we are very close this year to eqalling the WIAC in overall talent, which is impressive given the higher academic standards and the much higher tuition at most of the CCIW schools. The WIAC is sort of the gold standard for top flight DIII basketball, so it is quite an accomplishment to be closing on them.

The other conference that has made a huge talent improvement at least at the top of the conference is the MWC. St. Norbert, Carroll and Lawrence are all very formidable teams. All this proves is that the heart of the midwest has a real monopoly on talented teams in DIII basketball.

[iwumichigander]

CCIW tournament spots remains an 'open race'.  Augie sits in the top spot only by virtue of its Jan 3rd win over NPU which affords them a 7th game completed.  If one momentarily excludes that result, we have a five way tie for 1st place.

I do think NPU with 7 conferences losses is out of the tournament running for reasons more than adequately explained by Greg and other NPU posters.  NPU is not out of opportuities to really play a "spoiler" the rest of the way out. 

With four (4) losses, Millikin and IWU are still in the hunt given the five teams ahead of them in the standings have 2 losses each.  The real question here may be which, if not both, team(s) finds a way to win.

Is this "seperation week" with the match-ups Jan 28 and 31; or, will the conference standings remain "packed"?

[Naperick]

As an Elmhurst fan, its really great to see Chris Childs step up his game, and turn in what has to be his greatest performance for Elmhurst to date, last night at Wheaton.

My friend and I were discussing how in the last several years, Elmhurst has seemed to almost need a bad loss early in the CCIW season to wake them up.  This is, so far, proving to be true again this year.

At least twice, Millikin has provided the Bluejays with an early home loss in recent years.

[augiefan]

Ay word from Wheaton and/or Augustana as to when Raymond and/or Justin Bertrand will be back in action? Both teams need those players back in action as soon as possible for the second half title run. Unfortunately high ankle sprains do not heal very fast.

[79jaybird]

Ahh, somebody had to bring up Millikin and how they've spoiled the EC party!    It's ok, I do it to Usee in football regarding Wheaton and 1999/2008 

In both cases, Elmhurst looked past Millikin and did not play consistent ball, leaving the door open for an upset, which well eventually happened.

Andrewmp agreed.  During the timeout Mark Scherrer saw an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and draw up a new gameplan.  Wheaton did not appear to be the same team after that delay.

Yes, two banked 3 pointers was startling.  I said on the air, "You have to call those Chris."  You know it's your day and you are "feeling it" when that happens. 

Looking at the EC/Carthage game I think size wise, Elmhurst has an advantage.  An obvious key is to slow down and contain Steve, but if Childs, Burks, and Strzemp play like they did against Wheaton, I would have to give the edge to EC.

[Gregory Sager]

Ay word from Wheaton and/or Augustana as to when Raymond and/or Justin Bertrand will be back in action? Both teams need those players back in action as soon as possible for the second half title run. Unfortunately high ankle sprains do not heal very fast.

I'd sure like to see Clayton Cahill heal up and get back in uniform for NPU as well. He's the Vikings' third-leading scorer and their best three-point shooter in CCIW play. I agree with iwum that the Park is pretty much out of it as far as CCIW tournament consideration goes, but that doesn't mean that his absence is less keenly felt by his team and its supporters than Raymond's for Wheaton and Bertrand's for Augie. We want to see the Vikings finish up with a strong second round-robin in which Cahill gets more much-needed experience -- and the Russell/Cahill/Greer/Williams/Schniedermeier unit gets more experience in playing together.