MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[augiefan]

All 3 WIAC teams were eliminated tonight.

[iwu70]

Great job Wheaton -- winning in OT.  Keep wacking the WAIC.  If there was any doubt about Mr. Skemp, he had 36 on 16-20 shooting.  Not a bad evening's work against one of the top centers in the CCIW.  Looks like the WAIC men had a bad night.  More WAIC to go on the women's side.

Keep it going Wheaton -- carrying the CCIW flag far.

[WahooThunder]

Wow, what a game! Great win by Wheaton, but they better start making some free throws if they want to survive next weekend.

[Titan Q]

Thinking ahead to Sectional hosting implications, specifically from a Wheaton standpoint.  If the Sectional field is Wheaton, Wash U, St. Thomas, CMS/UPS/Whit...

* St. Thomas is the #1 seed in the West and Wheaton #1 in the Midwest, but I have to think undefeated St. Thomas is seeded higher than Wheaton - in other words, St. Thomas has to be the highest seed in the entire Midwest/West bracket.

* But it would take two flights to host these 4 at St. Thomas (Wash U and the far west team are both over 500 miles from St. Thomas). 

* Wheaton probably gets the nod.

If you are a Wheaton fan, and you want to host the Sectional, you need Wash U to come out of the Elmhurst Regional, because that creates the need for the second flight to St. Thomas...and we all know the NCAA doesn't want to pay for that. 

It doesn't seem to me like Wash U has a very good chance to host, no matter what the combination.

Let the Sectional site speculation begin!

[WahooThunder]

If the NCAA is cheap enough to create this sectional in the first place, surely they don't want to pay for the extra flight . . . at least that's what I'm counting on.  Wheaton might be at a big disadvantage if it is at St. Thomas because they'll have to make the long drive while Puget Sound/Whitworth and Wash U. get to fly.

[iwumichigander]

All 3 WIAC teams were eliminated tonight.

Actually a worse night for WIAC as your post only reflects men's result.  On the Women's side - IWU defeats UW-EC 80-63; UWSP leads Concordia (wis) 43-28 at halftime; and UW-WW drops one to St Benedict 59 - 67

So it looks like overall for WAIC tonight 1-5.  Yet, I'd still like to have 3 CCIW men's and women's teams in the tournament!

[Titan Q]

Wheaton/Platteville game thoughts...

* That is as out of it as I've ever seen Kent Raymond look in a game, and I can't put my finger on what the deal was.  I know Platteville played great defense on him, but he just was not himself.  I have not seen the boxscore, and he may have had 25 for all I know, but he did not have a good game.

* Why did Raymond play off the ball so much?  I'm not sure he ever brought the ball up the floor.  It has to be the most minutes I have ever seen the ball out of his hands in a single game.

* Jeff Skemp is the real deal...wow.  I have not seen a better big man in Division III this year.

* In the final seconds of regulation, up 1, why did Wheaton not get the ball to Raymond for the FT's?  Ben Panner had plenty of time to pass to Raymond, and he chose to hold it and shoot the FT's...he went 1 of 2 and then Platteville (Skemp) tied it.

* The two biggest shots of the season for Wheaton were the Jahns 3 and then the Panner fadeaway 14 footer on back-to-back possessions in OT.

* I thought UW-Platteville got a terrible whistle the entire game.

* It is absolute crime that that game was played in Round 2.

[Titan Q]

I've been telling people since December I'd love to see Wheaton play Wash U...that it would be a tremendous matchup.  Looks like I get my wish.  Unfortunately, the game will be played in the Round of 16.

[Titan Q]

Wheaton assistant Nate Frank on the WETN postgame show...

"There may be teams in Division III as good as Platteville, but I don't think there are any better."

The big man also mentioned that should Wheaton get sent on the road for the Sectionals, he'd be taking the boys to school in Guitar Hero at the hotel.

Nate Frank vs Aaron Messner in Guitar Hero...who wins?

[sac]

I've been telling people since December I'd love to see Wheaton play Wash U...that it would be a tremendous matchup.  Looks like I get my wish.  Unfortunately, the game will be played in the Round of 16.

Aaron Thompson, Tyler Nading, Shawn Wallace,  Kent Raymond, Andy Wiele on the same floor.    Along with two of the better Freshmen in D3?

[Titan Q]

I've been telling people since December I'd love to see Wheaton play Wash U...that it would be a tremendous matchup.  Looks like I get my wish.  Unfortunately, the game will be played in the Round of 16.

Aaron Thompson, Tyler Nading, Shawn Wallace,  Kent Raymond, Andy Wiele on the same floor.    Along with two of the better Freshmen in D3?

I'm telling you, it is my dream Division III matchup.  It is two teams that just do everything right and play the way you are supposed to play. 

I'd give the nod to Wheaton at King Arena, but on a neutral floor I'd call it a "pick 'em."

[sac]

Good reason to want it at Wheaton...........video!

[Titan Q]

If Wheaton gets by the defending national champions and #2-ranked team in the country, 25-2 Wash U, they possibly get the #1-ranked team in the country, 29-0 St. Thomas.

Nice bracket.

Interestingly, the two teams I had playing each other Friday in Salem on the other side of the bracket, Middlebury and Ithaca, both lost tonight.

[Jim Matson]

At halftime, we figured Wheaton was in good shape up by 3.  The score was tight and Raymond hadn't contributed a ton up to that point.  I also thought that Wheaton had a good case of the nerves in the first half - a few bad passes and the shooting percentage was not pretty.  It looked like we were right until that final 2 minutes.  Wheaton really had the chance to put this one away - at the 1:12 mark, Wheaton has a 6 point lead.  But the Thunder promptly turns the ball over 3 times, letting UWP back in the game with a trey, and 2 lay-ups...and a few missed FTs.  Skemp was huge for the Pioneers the whole game, but the last 2 minutes, his presence was key, including his shot at the 8 second mark that sent this thing into OT.

I thought Wheaton played a bit more relaxed in the OT period.

Tough loss for UWP, but they really gave it all they had.  That's a great squad and they pushed the Thunder as hard as they've been pushed all season.

[fcnews]

Having played and seen both teams. I give Wheaton a slight edge on any floor.
Panner and Raymond vs. Wallis and Thompson edge to Wheaton. Panner might be one of the most underrated players aroung.

Nading vs. McCrary - very slight edge Nading

Weile v. Wash U. - edge Wheaton.

This could be one of those games that are remembered for a long time.