MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Thanks Q.  Yes, Titans have an abundance of riches/talents.  Schouten has played very very well.  Yes, former starter O'Callaghan sits totally, and now very little playing time for former starter Rudnicki too.   Earlier in the year and during Green/White, I actually thought Connolly was outplaying Doug Sexauer.  Glad to see Victor Davis emerge,love his energy and rebouding, but he still does, at times, "play like a freshman."  Zimmer's return looks very good so far.  (Can you imagine a Zimmer on each wing next year?).  Hope K-man can recover, find his "game legs" as fast too.  Lots of talent . . . so hope it all comes together, finds its groove for the CCIW season run.  Overall, I think we need to shoot a better percentage from 3 land.  Defense yesterday was very encouraging.

Augie looks tough.   

Have fun in California.  I hope the rains have subsided. 

Happy New Year to all.

[mr_b]

North Park defeated Regis College, 78-64.

Box score

[iwu70]

Augie stays undefeated, beats St. Norbert, by one.  Lucky outcome for them.

IWU down 41-40 at half in California, vs. Cal Lutheran. 

[magicman]

IWU leads Cal Lutheran by 17 75-58 with 5:35 left to play.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU coasted in at the end - 81-69 is the final.

I'm counting on Q for a full recap soon!

[iwu70]

Titans looked better today -- but shot FTs poorly.  3 Titans on all-tournament team (Johnson, Zimmer, Sexauer) with Sexauer as tourney MVP.  Q is right, the Titans are a pretty different team now with Zimmer and all that perimeter shooting firepower back.  Connolly again a good contribution and game with 12 points, in the paint muscle. 

[iwu70]

My mistake:  only Sexauer and Zimmer made the all-tourney team in California.  Sexauer named tourney MVP. 

Two good wins for the Titans in California.  Good to come home to snowy Illinois and the warm confines of the Shirk at 9-2.  Augie goes 10-0 with a close win over #12 St. Norbert.

IWU Women won at Baruch in the Big Apple, now face #3 Kean on New Year's eve day -- in Union, NJ.   Let's hope the Titans get that one and our teams come home 4-0 from holiday travelling.

Happy New Year all -- already New Year's eve in Hong Kong.  I'm heading out for dinner along Nathan Road!  Long Shanghai noodles for a healthy and good long life ahead!  The Rabbit Year is next.

[usee]

Wheaton wins 65-53 over Messiah College out in Phoenix. Andrew Jahns had 18pts, Pflederer 14pts and Mcrary had 11 and 14. The Thunder play Husson today before heading home to start conference play vs Carthage Wednesday at King arena.

[iwumichigander]

Two nice road wins for the Titans in California.   

Regards Schouten - a tough defender, did a good job offensively when I saw him early in season, see him as a role player, bigger/taller player seems to be a tough match-up for him; he'll have a defensive role with three guard oppenents

K-man and Zimmer - may take a little time to get game legs

[dansand]

St. Norbert's a big favorite in the second game and tomorrow night's game looks to be a real grinder.

Grinder indeed...

Great contributions from the bench in this one. Kam Norton all-tournament. Troy Rorer does a great defensive job on the opponents' best scorer for the second straight game. Drew Croegaert with a couple big 3's. Brandon Kunz with a productive nine minutes despite being sick.

Vikes shot .523 from the field against a team that had been allowing just .355 this year. St. Norbert was just 9-32 inside the arc. Bryant Voiles was tournament MVP and Norton and Kyle Nelson all-tournament.

Augie's fourth win over a Top 20 team (if you include St. Ambrose of the NAIA). 10-0 ties the second best start in school history (2005-06, 1972-73, 1962-63 & 1910-11--1935-36 team started 16-0).

[Titan Q]

IWU 81
Cal Lutheran 69

http://www.clusports.com/stats/mens_basketball/2010_2011/iwu-clu.htm


* Doug Sexauer: 16 pts, 6 reb, 2 assists
* Sean Johnson: 16 pts, 3 reb, 6 assists
* Jordan Zimmer: 15 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists (6-6 FG, 2-2 FT)
* Ryan Connolly: 12 pts (5-6 FG)


In the 1st half Cal Lutheran shot 64% from the field (16-25) and scored 41 points.  In the 2nd the Kingsmen shot 32% (6-19) and scored 28.  The Titans pulled away for good in this one, and won, due to a much better defensive effort in the 2nd half.

Ryan Connolly really had a good game for IWU.  In 4 minutes of action in the 1st half he scored 8 quick points.  He finished with 12 pts in just 9 minutes of action.  Connolly was also able to neutralize Cal Lutheran's 6-7/235 post player Aaron Van Klaveren on the other end.

Travis Rosenkranz shot the ball just twice but really had a nice game running the point for IWU.  He gets the ball up the floor so quickly for the Titans that he puts a lot of pressure on the defense.  Rosenkranz is a very steady, smart player that rarely makes a bad decision on the floor.

Jordan Zimmer earned all-tournament honors with another strong effort - 6-6 FG, 15 points.  With just two games to evaluate, it looks to me like Zimmer's game has evolved significantly since last year.  In 2009-10, as a sophomore, he started putting the ball on the floor some...but he was still primarily a 3-point shooter.  In the two games at Cal Lutheran, however, he was basically a "penetrate first" player.  4 of his 6 FG's last night came via dribble drive.  This development could make Zimmer a hard player to handle in league play, and IWU a very hard team to defend.  His presence just simply makes IWU a different team in a lot of ways.

Doug Sexauer was named tournament MVP due to solid play in both games.  Last night he had 16 pts & 6 reb and forced double teams all night long.  Doug had a slow start to the season but I think he's poised for another strong conference effort.

Sean Johnson, who had carried IWU through most of the non-conference games leading up to this tournament, really struggled in shooting the basketball.  He was just 2-13 from 3 in two games.  Even when he is not shooting it well though, his dribble penetration creates a lot of problems for opposing teams.  He is good at finishing in a variety of ways at the basket, and is a good passer (6 assists last night).  I was glad to see IWU win two games with Johnson not playing all that well.

The power forward platoon of John Koschnitzky and Victor Davis is probably where IWU has the most upside moving forward.  Koschnitzky has now played in 3 games since returning from injury and is still putting it together.  Davis, a freshman, played in just his 2nd varsity game last night (in terms of meaningful minutes in the rotation).  These two are definitely not quite in sync offensively, but they just give the Titans a totally different look at the 4 from what they had for most of the non-conference season with Dan Schouten,  Duncan Lawson, and Kevin Reed.  Those 3 are talented guys who all bring good things to the floor, but Davis and Koschnitzky are athletic, versatile, and are good defenders.  Last night they combined for 9 rebounds, and the night before 12.  They bring something to the floor that IWU just did not have for most of the non-conference season...and something that is a perfect complement to the rest of the cast (the "skilled" nucleus of Johnson, Sexauer, Zimmer, and Rosenkranz).  As Koschnitzky and Davis develop during the CCIW schedule, the Titans will get better and better.  Both have big upsides.

The Titans have a lot to improve on still if they want to win the 2011 CCIW title, but after watching the two games out here this week I feel really good for the first time this year about the rotation and the combinations on the floor.  Getting starting forwards Zimmer and Koschnitzky back, and inserting Davis, has made this a different team.  This is a very talented and balanced Titan squad now.

At LAX for flight back to St. Louis, then drive to Columbia.  Quite an 8-day Christmas journey -- Chicago, Palm Coast, FL, and southern California.

Happy New Year!

[augiefan]

Sorry Titan about the cards to the vest comment. I was just rattling your cage a bit, knowing how passionate you are about your Titans. I guess I got the anticipated response.

I do give you a lot of credit for your predictions on the composite CCIW nonconference record. I am really surprised at how challenged the CCIW teams, even the good ones, have been to date. I expected better. This being said a healthy IWU team is still my pick for the CCIW title, because of their depth, experience and superior guard play.

[augiefan]

Can anyone explain why Augie plays its last 4 conference games on the road? Last year they played 3 of their last 4 on the road. Who the heck draws up the schedule. It seems totally out of whack.

I'm not sure what it means for Augie, but I have a feeling it's not a good thing, unless they are undefeated going into those 4 games. The regular season closer at IWU could be huge.

Any way Happy New Year to all and a healthy and injury free season henceforth for all CCIW players. I hope the CCIW champion is determined on the merits not due to injuries.

[usee]

Wheaton leads Husson by a bundle at the half. should close out with a win and enter conf play at 9-2.

[coebball70]

Happy New Year to All .... Party On and Safely!