MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cardinalpride]

Happy New Year everyone!

[iwu70]

IWU women took down #3 Kean.  Brittany Hasselbring had 15-15, points/rebounds.  Not bad for a point guard.  Great win for the Titans in snowy NYC/NJ holiday trip.  Congrats to the men for their tournament championship in California at Pacific Lutheran, and to MVP Doug Sexauer and All tourney team members, Sexauer and Jordan Zimmer.  Welcome back Jordan and K-man. . . "the casts all here, all out for Wesleyan." 

Happy New Year all!

[paularmerding]

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

My impression has been that WC has averaged around 80% at the free throw line the  last few years and this year it is hovering around 70%.  For a team that it is rebuilding and developing young players to complement their established players that could be a a make it or break it  factor in these close intense league games.  Congrats to the Thunder to stay focused enough over a holiday break to defeat 2 beatable foes in preparation for a  no holds barred CCIW season.  They will break some hearts while fighting for  the fourth  spot in the conference tournament.  With some maturity they appear ready to do some damage in that context. I  would caution against ruling them out as a  top four finisher in the league, and as there rookies mature  they may be tough to beat at season's end. What say all you CCIW gurus?

[Titan Q]

CCIW in-region report (through 12/31)...

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

Augustana (9-0) - 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  W
12/29, vs UW-Stout, at St. Norbert  W
12/30, @ St. Norbert  W
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 (5-6) - 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  L
12/21, vs UW-Oshkosh, in Las Vegas  W
12/29, vs DePauw  W
12/30, vs Benedictine  L

Illinois Wesleyan (8-2) -  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  W

Out of region:

12/29, vs Gettysburg, at Cal Lutheran  W

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


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

North Central (3-5) - 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 L
12/27, @ Rockford  W

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

North Park (5-4) - 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  L

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

Wheaton (4-2) -  6 scheduled
11/16, @ 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  W
12/31, vs Husson, in Phoenix  W


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


CCIW in-region, non-conference record (through 12/31)
36-26 (.581)


Q's Projected Final in-region, non-conference record
38-26 (.594)


Remaining in-region, non-conference games
1/2, Carthage @ Transylvania
1/2, Augustana @ Chicago

[Titan Q]

CCIW teams are 1-2 vs current Top 25 teams.  Carthage lost to #6 Whitworth (neutral), North Park lost to #2 Williams (neutral), and Augustana won at #12 St. Norbert.

[Titan Q]

It looks to me like there are 4 CCIW teams with a chance at a Pool C (at large) bid.

(Assumes Carthage beats Transylvania and Augie beats Chicago tomorrow...records below are in-region, not overall.)


With 11-3 CCIW Record and 1-1 in CCIW Tournament
Augustana 22-4 (.846) - Lock
Illinois Wesleyan 20-6 (.769) - Lock
Carthage 15-5 (.750) - Probable
Wheaton 16-6 (.727) - Probable

With 10-4 CCIW Record and 1-1 in CCIW Tournament
Augustana 21-5 (.808) - Lock
Illinois Wesleyan 19-7 (.731) - Probable
Carthage 14-6 (.700) - Possible
Wheaton 15-7 (.682) - Not likely

With 9-5 CCIW Record and 1-1 in the CCIW Tournament
Augustana 20-6 (.769) - Lock
Illinois Wesleyan 18-8 (.692) - Not likely
Carthage 13-7 (.650) - Not likely
Wheaton 14-8 (.636) - No chance

(Obviously a team going 0-1 in the CCIW tournament changes the above.)

North Park, Elmhurst, North Central, and Millikin don't have any chance at a Pool C bid.

[Titan Q]

It's worth noting that Carthage's game @ 8-2 Transylvania tomorrow is absolutely enormous in terms of Carthage's Pool C chances.  I assumed a win in calculating the above, but with a loss, Carthage moves into "not likely" Pool C territory with a 10-4 CCIW record.

As has been discussed here several times, Carthage only scheduled 4 in-region games this year.  They'll either be 3-1 or 2-2 depending on tomorrow's result.

[coebball70]

One item remains outstanding from the 2010.  Does anyone know if and where Taylor Baxter transferred?  At last point of reference, it appeared he had narrowed his decision to Loras and Illinois Wesleyan.   

[AndOne]

I've heard from 2 different sources that Baxter will likely end up at Wesleyan with the plan being that he will replace Rosenkranz in the starting lineup next season.
They could be wrong, but thats the angle I'm currently getting. We'll see.........

[Titan Q]

One item remains outstanding from the 2010.  Does anyone know if and where Taylor Baxter transferred?  At last point of reference, it appeared he had narrowed his decision to Loras and Illinois Wesleyan.   

This should be settled in the next couple of days.  As recently as yesterday, it seemed like it was still a 50/50 thing between IWU and Loras.  Either way this ends up, I won't be surprised at all.

In addition to leaving the D1 full scholarship at NDSU I know he also recently turned down a full ride to NAIA St. Francis (head coach John Baines).

[Titan Q]

AndOne, North Central recently cancelled both of its scheduled JV games with IWU.  Any idea why?  With 18 freshmen, it can't be a numbers thing.

Any idea?

[Ralph Turner]

It's worth noting that Carthage's game @ 8-2 Transylvania tomorrow is absolutely enormous in terms of Carthage's Pool C chances.  I assumed a win in calculating the above, but with a loss, Carthage moves into "not likely" Pool C territory with a 10-4 CCIW record.

As has been discussed here several times, Carthage only scheduled 4 in-region games this year.  They'll either be 3-1 or 2-2 depending on tomorrow's result.

That almost seems like programming yourself to fail.

Going 6-2 in in-region non-conference games (even if 4 of those games were cupcakes) really boosts the in-region won-loss percentage!  16-6 for an in-region record, plus going 1-1 in the CCIW tourney to have an in-region record of 17-7 puts you on the cusp of a Pool C bid.

[Titan Q]

It's worth noting that Carthage's game @ 8-2 Transylvania tomorrow is absolutely enormous in terms of Carthage's Pool C chances.  I assumed a win in calculating the above, but with a loss, Carthage moves into "not likely" Pool C territory with a 10-4 CCIW record.

As has been discussed here several times, Carthage only scheduled 4 in-region games this year.  They'll either be 3-1 or 2-2 depending on tomorrow's result.

That almost seems like programming yourself to fail.

Going 6-2 in in-region non-conference games (even if 4 of those games were cupcakes) really boosts the in-region won-loss percentage!  16-6 for an in-region record, plus going 1-1 in the CCIW tourney to have an in-region record of 17-7 puts you on the cusp of a Pool C bid.

Without question, Ralph.  This year's Carthage non-conference schedule baffles me. 

[AndOne]

AndOne, North Central recently cancelled both of its scheduled JV games with IWU.  Any idea why?  With 18 freshmen, it can't be a numbers thing.

Any idea?

I believe you have some erroneous information.
At the beginning of the season, North Central had 18 JV games scheduled. None were against Wesleyan. The schedule still shows an 18 game schedule, leading me to believe that no JV games which were scheduled to be played this season have been canceled.

In past seasons, I heard NCC and Wesleyan did not play JV games because Wesleyan did not want to transport that many players to Naperville due to the cost involved. By bringing just the varsity north, IWU was able to do so either in university or rental vans as opposed to the large cash outlay involved in renting a motor coach. As no JV games were able to be played in Naperville, no games were played in Bloomington either.      

[Titan Q]

AndOne, North Central recently cancelled both of its scheduled JV games with IWU.  Any idea why?  With 18 freshmen, it can't be a numbers thing.

Any idea?

I believe you have some erroneous information.
At the beginning of the season, North Central had 18 JV games scheduled. None were against Wesleyan. The schedule still shows an 18 game schedule, leading me to believe that no JV games which were scheduled to be played this season have been canceled.

In past seasons, I heard NCC and Wesleyan did not play JV games because Wesleyan did not want to transport that many players to Naperville due to the cost involved. By bringing just the varsity north, IWU was able to do so either in university or rental vans as opposed to the large cash outlay involved in renting a motor coach. As no JV games were able to be played in Naperville, no games were played in Bloomington either.      

Here is IWU's (unrevised) 2010-11 JV schedule...

http://www.iwusports.com/sports/2010/11/4/MBB_1104100637.aspx?path=mbball

Games with NCC scheduled on 1/5 and 2/2 (before the varsity games).  Someone from NCC's basketball program (not sure who) called IWU associate AD Mike Wagner last week and cancelled both games.  

As far as what you heard on IWU not playing NCC due to cost, that is just not accurate.  A few years ago (2006-07, Ron Rose's first season) IWU had to cancel part of its JV season due to lack of numbers in the program (8 seniors graduated and there was just one freshman, Sean Dwyer, and then a few injuries).  But since then IWU has played a full JV schedule each season...including playing JV-only games on the road at places like Parkland CC, Lincoln College, Olivet Nazarene, and others.  It doesn't make any common sense to be willing to take the JV team on the road on its own, but not to NCC with the varsity, does it?

The only CCIW JV games IWU has not played since 2006-07, to my knowledge, are those where a) the opponent cancelled all of part its JV season, or b) there is a women's/men's doubleheader.