MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Adrian 47 Millikin 29

Millikin scored 8 second half points and had 1 second half FG scored with just over 2 minutes to play.  Over 20 minutes of game time without a FG.

Are we really sure that this was, indeed, the basketball score and not just a rehash of a Millikin/Adrian football score from September that got inadvertently misplaced on the d3sports.com scoreboard?

I like defensive-oriented basketball as much as the next guy -- in fact, I'd rather watch a game in which the final score is in the 60s rather than one that's in the 80s -- but sometimes you can look at a box score and say to yourself, I don't care how good the defenses are, that's just plain bad offense.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park (5-2) @ Coe (5-3) scheduled to tip off momentarily.

The Vikings didn't leave the parking lot at Foster & Kedzie until 8 am this morning. It's a 4 1/2 hour trip without stops. Hope they've had some time to stretch their legs.

Probable starters:

North Park

G: Roshawn Russell	5'9, 150 JR	8.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.13 a:t ratio
G: Clayton Cahill	6'0, 175 JR	11.9 ppg, .387 3FG%
F: Kendell Greer	6'4, 190 JR	5.6 ppg, .429 3FG%
F: Issa Avery	6'4, 175 JR	6.5 ppg, .545 3FG%
C: Emanuel Crosby	6'7, 240 JR	9.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg

Coe

G: Dan Onorato	6'1, 175 JR	1.9 ppg, 1.8 apg, 2.00 a:t ratio
G: Alex Tatman	6'2, 190 SR	14.1 ppg, .541 3FG%
G: David Mataloni	6'2, 190 SO	11.3 ppg, .389 3FG%
F: Kevin Gaster	6'5, 205 JR	6.8 ppg, .2.4 rpg
C: Dan Borngraeber	6'6, 220 SR	8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg

[Gregory Sager]

Coe 72
North Park 58

Emanuel Crosby, 13 pts
Jorge Gonzalez, 10 pts, 6 rebs

The Vikings really played like crap today. Give credit to Coe for some fantastic shooting and a well-executed cutting offense, but the Vikings fell back into their old habits of poor shot selection, forced entry passes that led to turnovers, and, down the stretch when it looked as though the Vikings might come back from what had been a 16-point second-half deficit, poor free throw shooting. The Vikes went 8-15 from the charity stripe, and most of those misses came during the last five minutes when they were trying to make their run. They did cut it to three with just under two minutes to go, but a highly ill-advised, off-balance attempt at a 26-footer by Shaun Collins that was taken too quickly, followed by a Coe defensive rebound and a Kohawk trey, led to the hosts pulling away in the final minute.

This was a big step backwards for North Park. Fortunately, the Vikings have a game at Loras tomorrow that could allow them to erase the bad taste in their mouths from this one.

[Titan Q]

CCIW in-region report (through 12/19)...

(records below are in-region only...not overall)

Augustana (6-0) - 10 scheduled
11/16, @ Simpson  W
11/22, vs Washington U W
11/27, vs Anderson  W
12/1, @ Monmouth  W
12/11, vs Buena Vista  W
12/15, vs UW-Whitewater  W
12/20, @ MacMurray
12/29, vs UW-Stout, at St. Norbert
12/30, @ St. Norbert or vs Lakeland, at St. Norbert
1/2, vs Chicago

Out of region:
12/8, vs St. Ambrose  W

Carthage (2-1) - 4 scheduled
11/19, vs Bethany Lutheran  W
11/24, vs Whitworth (in Hawaii) L
11/26, vs Pacific (in Hawaii)  W
1/2, @ Transylvania

Out of region:
11/16, vs Calumet-St. Joseph  W  
11/20, vs John Carroll  L
12/3 vs Hope  W
12/4, vs Calvin  W
12/7, vs Silver Lake  W
12/11, vs Albion  L
12/12, vs Cardinal Stritch  W

Elmhurst (3-4) - 11 scheduled
11/16, @ Cornell  L
11/20, vs Hamline L
11/23, @ St. Norbert  L
12/1, @ Olivet  L
12/5, @ Westminster (Mo)  W
12/9, vs Kalamazoo  W
12/11, vs Loras  W
12/20, vs Aurora, in Las Vegas
12/21, vs UW-Oshkosh, in Las Vegas
12/29, vs DePauw
12/30, vs Calvin or Benedictine

Illinois Wesleyan (7-2) -  9 or 10 scheduled
11/15, @ Benedictine  W
11/19, vs Aurora  W
11/20, vs Ripon  W
11/23, @ Monmouth  W
11/27, vs Dominican W
11/29, @ Webster  W
12/4, vs Chicago L
12/11, vs MacMurray  W
12/18, @ Washington U L
(12/30, @ Cal Lutheran)

Out of region:

12/29, vs Gettysburg, at Cal Lutheran
(12/30, vs Hobart, at Cal Lutheran)

Millikin (0-4) -  6 or 7 scheduled
11/19, vs Nebraska Wesleyan  L
11/23, vs Franklin L
11/28, @ Rose-Hulman L
12/4, @ Aurora  L
12/20, @ Transyvania
12/29, @ St. Mary's (MN)
(12/30, @ Illinois College)

Out of region:
12/1, vs Robert Morris-Springfield  W
12/18, @ Adrian  L
12/21, vs Piedmont (GA) or Westminster (PA), at Transylvania
(12/30, vs Clarke at Illinois College)

North Central (2-4) - 8 scheduled
11/19, vs Bluffton L
11/20 vs Edgewood  L
11/23, vs Aurora  L
11/27, @ Illinois College  L
11/28, @ Manchester W
12/7, vs Lake Forest  W
12/22, @ Benedictine
12/27, @ Rockford

Out of region:
12/1, vs Albion  W
12/17, @ Hawaii-Hilo  L
12/30, @ Adrian

North Park (5-3) - 9 scheduled
11/17, vs Concordia  L
11/23, vs Edgewood  W
11/27, @ Fontbonne  W
11/30, @ Carroll W
12/4, vs Trine L
12/11, @ Spalding  W
12/13, vs Milwaukee Engineering  W
12/19, @ Coe  L
12/20, @ Loras

Out of region:
12/28, vs Williams, at Salem State
12/29, vs Regis, at Salem State

Wheaton (4-2) -  6 scheduled
11/16, vs Manchester  L
11/19, vs UW-Whitewater  W
11,23, vs Loras  W
12/1, @ Chicago  W
12/4, vs Hope L
12/11, vs Washington U  W

Out of region:
11/19, vs Covenant  W
12/3, vs Calvin  W
12/9, vs Trinity Intl  W
12/30, vs Messiah, in Phoenix
12/31, vs Husson, in Phoenix

CCIW non-conference totals (88 games)
In-region games: 64 (73%)
Out-of-region games: 24 (27%)

(Assumes 1 of the 2 TBD games end up in-region)

CCIW in-region, non-conference record (through 12/19)
29-20 (.592)

Q's Projected Final in-region, non-conference record
37-27 (.578)

[dansand]

10th-ranked Vikes make the trip south to Jacksonville to play MacMurray tonight. Unfortunately, still no phone line in the Highlander gym, so no webcast. It doesn't appear MacMurray does any broadcasts or livestats, either. Ugh.

Haven't posted too much about the team this year, but this is my take so far.

Chris Anderson and Bryant Voiles have given Augie an offensive dimension they didn't have last year. And not just three-point shooting (.486 and .452, respectively). Anderson gives them a slasher as well and I think will be a tough matchup at the "2" for most teams at this level. Ditto for Voiles at the "3" and he brings some nice playmaking ability with his passing.

After his hot start, teams have made a concerted effort to try and take away Kyle Nelson, running double teams at him constantly. He's shown good patience and done a great job of finding open guys behind the arc (10 assists in the last three games). If Anderson, Voiles and Brian DeSimone keep knocking down three's the way they have recently, it should open things back up for Kyle.

DeSimone has been great the last three games 15.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .520 fg%, .444 3p%, eight assists, eight steals and one turnover in 91 minutes.

Turnovers & FT shooting continue to be a concern. I think Augie's done a good job when teams have pressured them. Their turnovers, for the most part, have come in the halfcourt. Defensively they've been pretty good, but I think can and will get better. I'd also like to see them get back to dominating the boards the way they did early. Should happen tonight against a not-very-good rebounding MacMurray team.

[Wydown Blvd.]

In case anyone missed it. Video of the buzzer-beating three-pointer from WashU's Alboona to tie with IWU
Link

[hopefan]

Interesting.. I wasn't able to attend the game, but the IWU bench seems to have a hearty discussion with the officials after the hoop...  regarding what?  Did they think that Aboona travelled, or that he was on the line?  clearly the shot was before the buzzer....??

[Titan Q]

Interesting.. I wasn't able to attend the game, but the IWU bench seems to have a hearty discussion with the officials after the hoop...  regarding what?  Did they think that Aboona travelled, or that he was on the line?  clearly the shot was before the buzzer....??

Time remaining on the game clock.  The clock showed 0:00 after that play.  (They put .03 up.)

[John Gleich]

Turnovers & FT shooting continue to be a concern. I think Augie's done a good job when teams have pressured them. Their turnovers, for the most part, have come in the halfcourt. Defensively they've been pretty good, but I think can and will get better. I'd also like to see them get back to dominating the boards the way they did early. Should happen tonight against a not-very-good rebounding MacMurray team.

I think that the Stout/Augie game on 12/29 should be a pretty interesting matchup.  It may not look like it on paper, but Stout is a really good ball club. 

Now, there's some question if Mahlon Thomas will be playing in the second semester and if he's not, when he becomes ineligible... but Stout plays very up-tempo and it more comfortable playing games in the 80's and 90's than anything less than that.

I know that Augie's size will disrupt them, especially if they play more of a half court game, but if Augie turns it over, Stout can score in bunches and make this interesting.

[hopefan]

ahh Thanks TQ

[dansand]

Turnovers & FT shooting continue to be a concern. I think Augie's done a good job when teams have pressured them. Their turnovers, for the most part, have come in the halfcourt. Defensively they've been pretty good, but I think can and will get better. I'd also like to see them get back to dominating the boards the way they did early. Should happen tonight against a not-very-good rebounding MacMurray team.

I think that the Stout/Augie game on 12/29 should be a pretty interesting matchup.  It may not look like it on paper, but Stout is a really good ball club. 

Now, there's some question if Mahlon Thomas will be playing in the second semester and if he's not, when he becomes ineligible... but Stout plays very up-tempo and it more comfortable playing games in the 80's and 90's than anything less than that.

I know that Augie's size will disrupt them, especially if they play more of a half court game, but if Augie turns it over, Stout can score in bunches and make this interesting.

Thanks PS,

Augie got burned by Whitewater's mid-season addition Dupree Fletcher last year (21 points off the bench in his very first UWW appearance), so that's interesting about Thomas. The last time Augie started this well was 2005-06 when they won their first 10 games. It was Stout that gave them their first loss (although the Vikes got revenge in the NCAA tournament).

Augie's handled pressure well. They've faced a lot of it late in games because they've been leading for the most part. Their turnovers are mostly in their halfcourt offense and, generally, don't lead to many transition opportunities for the opponent. Still damaging though, because obviously they cost you scoring chances.

[John Gleich]

Turnovers & FT shooting continue to be a concern. I think Augie's done a good job when teams have pressured them. Their turnovers, for the most part, have come in the halfcourt. Defensively they've been pretty good, but I think can and will get better. I'd also like to see them get back to dominating the boards the way they did early. Should happen tonight against a not-very-good rebounding MacMurray team.

I think that the Stout/Augie game on 12/29 should be a pretty interesting matchup.  It may not look like it on paper, but Stout is a really good ball club. 

Now, there's some question if Mahlon Thomas will be playing in the second semester and if he's not, when he becomes ineligible... but Stout plays very up-tempo and it more comfortable playing games in the 80's and 90's than anything less than that.

I know that Augie's size will disrupt them, especially if they play more of a half court game, but if Augie turns it over, Stout can score in bunches and make this interesting.

Thanks PS,

Augie got burned by Whitewater's mid-season addition Dupree Fletcher last year (21 points off the bench in his very first UWW appearance), so that's interesting about Thomas. The last time Augie started this well was 2005-06 when they won their first 10 games. It was Stout that gave them their first loss (although the Vikes got revenge in the NCAA tournament).

Augie's handled pressure well. They've faced a lot of it late in games because they've been leading for the most part. Their turnovers are mostly in their halfcourt offense and, generally, don't lead to many transition opportunities for the opponent. Still damaging though, because obviously they cost you scoring chances.

The Thomas situation is an interesting one... he's played for Stout for the last 2.5 years after transferring from a Juco... but there's word that he has completed his 10th semester, so he isn't eligible to play the remainder of the season.  It's the antithesis of the Fletcher situation!

This Stout team is much, much different than the one from 05-06.  Long gone are the Nonemacher twins.  This looks much more like your typical D-III team.  They've got several scorers and love to get up and down.  They can score in spurts and aren't afraid to fire it up there.  They're a senior-laden team with guys like Hostetter (2nd in the conference in scoring and in the top 5 in the country for 3 pointers per game), Buchholtz, and Thomas.

But if Thomas isn't there... then they could really struggle, if Augie can beat the press.  I've seen big teams like UW Stevens Point from years past just throw over the top of the feisty guards and get lots of challenged but relatively easy layups.  They don't have quite the frenetic pace and style that the Puget Sounds teams of 5-6 years ago had (and certainly not as wacky as Grinnell) , but they will force teams to expend lots of effort just to bring it up the floor.

They had UW Stevens Point down 10 in the first half earlier this year, causing 7 SP turnovers in the first half.  Point pulled back about even at the half and then ahead by dealing with the pressure and by creating turnovers of their own (SP caused 17 Stout turnovers while committing just 12 themselves).  That's the thing... Stout will take chances and make you pay if you make mistakes, but they'll turn it over in bunches just as much as they'll score in bunches.  Maybe those two traits go hand-in-hand, but I've watched that team and I've been impressed by them in a lot of areas... and then the going will get tough, and they'll turn it over 3 times in a row themselves.

[Naperick]

Aurora 56
Elmhurst 55
-Vegas Holiday Tourney

[Mr. Ypsi]

Aurora 56
Elmhurst 55
-Vegas Holiday Tourney

I always find it amusing when schools that are, what, 16-18 miles apart go 2,000 miles to meet!

[AndOne]

NCC freshman CJ Goldthree honored as the CCIW Player Of The Week for 12/13-19:

http://northcentralcardinals.com/news/2010/12/20/MTEN_1220101205.aspx

CJ scored 23 against D2 Hawaii-Hilo, and 29 against Lake Forest.