MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Andone, IllWes posters... any input on why Steve White of Blackburn didn't play (was he present on the bench?  he is a good big man and would have helped vs the NC rebounding advantage),  or why Dylan Burton got only 4 minutes for Mac (was there an obvious injury or attitude problem?)    Thanks

Hope--

According to members of the BU traveling party, White evidently has a foot injury and did not make the trip.

[titanhammer]

Final from Jacksonville, IWU 79 Ill College 73

[iwu70]

Seems we saw more of the coming out of David Molinari tonight.  Solid games from Davis and Kman, including two key treys in the second half from Kman.  The additional defensive intensity is paying off.  Nice to see the Titans 3-0 and have a good, tough game with big strong post players from IC, under their belt.

GO TITANS.

IWU 70

[Titan Q]

Boxscore from the IWU win over Illinois College...

http://www.iwusports.com/custompages/MBB/MBB2012/HTML/iwumen3.htm


- Nice line from freshman PG David Molinari: 16 pts (6-7 FG), 3 reb, 5 assists/1 T.O. (21 minutes)

- Sophomore Victor Davis with another solid game - 15 pts, 5 reb.


Through 3 games, IWU opponents are shooting .403 and have 28 assists to 54 turnovers...those are encouraging defensive numbers for this new Titan nucleus.

3 in-region wins to kick off the 2011-12 season...nice start, Titans.

[magicman]

Augustana over St Norberts 79-48.

[Titan Q]

Audio interview with Ron Rose (from WJBC) after the IC game last night...

http://wjbc.com/titan-mens-basketball-defeats-illinois-college/

[Titan Q]

Records through November 19:

Illinois Wesleyan: 3-0 (3-0 in-region) - vs Monmouth, Nov 22
Wheaton: 3-0 (2-0 in-region) - vs Manchester, Nov 22
Augustana: 2-0 (2-0 in-region) - @ UW-Oshkosh, Nov 22
Carthage: 2-0 (2-0 in-region) - vs Olivet Nazarene, Nov 29
North Central: 2-0 (2-0 in-region) - @ Aurora, Nov 22
Elmhurst: 1-1 (1-1 in-region) - vs Carleton, Nov 23
North Park: 1-2 (1-2 in-region) - @ Anderson, Nov 22
Millikin: 0-3 (0-1 in-region) - vs Rose-Hulman, Nov 27

CCIW non-conference record: 14-6 (.700)
CCIW in-region record: 13-4 (.765)


During week #1, I think four teams stood out to me for various reasons...

* Augustana won twice, both in impressive fashion - 102-68 over NathCon South Division favorite Aurora and 79-48 over defending MWC champ St. Norbert.  6-9 small forward Bryant Voiles (18.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.0 apg), who I think will make a serious run at a 1st Team All-American spot, leads the way.  Troy Rorer (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg), Chris Anderson (13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg), and Luke Scarlata (12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) are also averaging double digits.  The Vikings are 16-41 (.390) from beyond the arc in the early going - if they knock down 3's at that rate this season, they'll be hard to handle.  Through two games, the Vikings haven't done anything to make us question their position as CCIW favorite.

* Wheaton has torn three teams apart - Loras by 25 on the road, Beloit by 37, and Wilmington by 35.  The Thunder have four players averaging double figure points - Tim McCrary (19.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 4.7 apg), Aaron Garriott (14.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.7 apg), Jeremy Pflederer (11.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.7 apg), and Nate Serenius (10.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg).  Wheaton is shooting .549 from the field and holding opponents to .366.  They are 19-47 from 3-point range (.404).  The Thunder have 54 assists to 30 T.O., while opponents have 30 to 49 - both very impressive.  Wheaton looks very much like a legitimate CCIW title contender.

* Illinois Wesleyan is off to a good start with a new nucleus.  The Titans dismantled both Benedictine (by 29) and MacMurray (by 40), scoring 99 and 102 points respectively.  IWU edged Illinois College in Jacksonville to move to 3-0.  The Titans have been led by John Koschnitzky (13.3 ppg), Victor Davis (12.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Jordan Zimmer (11.3 ppg), and Kevin Reed (9.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg).  Freshman PG David Molinari led the team in scoring vs IC.  The Titans are shooting .533 from the field and holding opponents to .403.  Opponents have 28 assists to 54 turnovers, evidence of IWU being a much more defensive minded team in 2011-12.

* Millikin looks to be horrendous again.  6-9 transfer Brock Van Nordeck has not played yet though - must be an injury of some sort.  Coach Nadelhoffer has a lot of work in front of him in rebuilding the Big Blue.

[Mr. Ypsi]

After yesterday's football heartbreak, Tuesday's game against Monmouth may get ugly.  Can you spell P A Y B A C K?!

[bopol]

Carthage beat Carroll last night.  Encouraging things:

* With the score tied with 3 minutes left, Carthage finished the game on an 8-2 run, getting baskets from Cary, Kelly and Thompson.  Along with the win at NIU and gven that Steve D was the go-to guy in these situations in the last 4 years, it's good to see others step up.

* Max Cary and Malcom Kelly are playing very well so far.  They are the keys to success for Carthage and replacing Steve D.

* Carthage won the rebounding battle, which I see as essential.

* Mitch Thompson and Luke Johnson have played well so far this year.  Pierce has been quieter, though I hear he helps open things up for Johnson.  I need to see some games to see if this is true.

* The bench seems shallow.  Nick Bauch hasn't played much; Steve Dombrowski hasn't played at all (anyone know anything?).  This could lead to fatique problems in the starters over the course of the year.  I'm waiting to see who steps up here.

[iwu70]

Ypsi, the Titans shot themselves in the foot, even in the head, in the football playoff game.  Hard to win against a good team with four picks, a key lost fumble in the 3rd OT, and a few costly, untimely penalties too.  A good season for sure, at 9-2, but a bitter ending.  D played well, handling Tanney reasonably well, but their running game was better than I expected.  For the future, sure hope Stinde returns and we have a better running game to go with a very successful air game and system.  The play calling and creativity was also much better this year than in recent ones, IMHO. 

The way the bball Titans are playing, I'd be very surprised if they lost to Monmouth on Tuesday.  This new group has lots of energy, talent and depth.  I'm very optimistic about the season.  JV, too, as you saw from my long earlier report on the newbies.  The women have played well early, too, with two good wins on the road in Wisconsin against quality programs and teams.  The road gets much tougher here on in, with Depauw, Wash U, Chicago and Whitewater.  Mia couldn't have scheduled a much tougher test, save for travelling east to play Amherst and Williams, Kean and William Paterson.  Just say'in.  If the women come out 7-4 or 8-3, that would be a major achievement for the pre-CCIW portion (especially given that three key players are out, sitting now with injuries, rehab, or illness).  We'll need those three back for the CCIW run.  Olivia Lett is playing at a very high level.  Others are making good contributions, and Britt Hasselbring is playing great D, with a good all 'round floor game.  Gotta be optimistic about the women's season, too, but their schedule is much much tougher in November and December.

Love those Bears today. 

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

^^^

And the Lions, too.  They became the first team in NFL history to come back from 17+ down three times in the same season!  It's gotten to the point that I worry if they are ahead at halftime!

[iwu70]

Longtime IWU football, track and wrestling Coach Bob Keck passed away today in Florida, at 81.  Full story about his coaching career at IWU on the iwu.edu sports site. 

Keck, Horenberger, Larson and Bridges were the four key coaches at IWU for many, many years.  Keck mentored and coached Norm Eash, the current IWU Head Football Coach. 

RIP Coach Keck.  Thanks for all the dedication, thanks for all the memories. 

IWU70

[iwu70]

Correction:  IWU Coach Bob Keck passed away today in Jekyll Island, GA. not Florida.  See iwu.edu sports link for details of where to send condolences.   

IWU70

[AndOne]

Somehow the North Central Cardinals won a basketball game last night over the Trine Thunder by a final score of 72-70. Maybe survived is a more fitting description. They permitted Trine to steal the ball 10 times, gave up 30 points from beyond the arc, shot only 28% from 3 point distance themselves, and hit only 60% of their FTs. The best reason for the win that I can come up with is they shot often enough to win.

For the game the Cardinals took 59 shots as opposed to only 43 for Trine. NCC was outscored 30-12 from long distance, and 18-12 from the line. However, they got up enough shots to outscore the Thunder 48-22 on 2 point shots. Many of the North Central shots were ill-advised and were launched too quickly or under tight pressure. I believe 4 Cardinals threw up shots within a few seconds of touching the ball. Lets just say shot selection, among other things, needs a little work. At this point the Cardinals are getting contributions from only 7 players, and there is certainly a need for improvement in several areas and from several players. Going forward, the Cardinals will need these 7 to show continued development and improvement. Furthermore, by the time conference play begins, I believe a rotation consisting of only 7 players just won't cut it. Last year, the Cards finished with a regular rotation of 9 players. As a unit, these players exceeded expectations to the point that they were able to tie for the conference championship after having been picked to finish 6th. To achieve the success they enjoyed last year, I believe they'll require solid contributions from at least the same number of players. Accordingly, the opportunity exists for a couple more players to step up and join the show. Failure on this front and/or the Cardinals willingness to rest on the laurels they received as a result of their inspired play last season will undoubtedly spell trouble as the season progresses, especially in light of the fact that it appears that several conference teams appear to be strong.

Last night NCC was again led in scoring by Derek Raridon with 15, and in rebounding with 9. Kevin Gillespie and CJ Goldthre had 12, with Landon Gamble and Charlie Rosenberg contributing 11. Rosenberg turned in perhaps the Cardinals most inspired performance, hitting 5 of his 7 shots and hauling down a 2nd best 8 boards.

[tjcummingsfan]

I caught most of the second half of the NP game (online) on Saturday.  It wasn't good.  Honestly it looked to me (an admittedly simple basketball fan) like very little had changed from the Brenegan teams.  Defense was brutal, I saw easy backdoor layup after layup.  We looked stagnant on offense, like people were scared to move to get the ball or to just keep the offense going.  The one thing I liked was the full-court press NP put on pretty much the whole game, it worked at times, not often, but at times.  I was really hoping to see a NP game that didn't disappoint me (like most of the last soccer games did!), but was definitely let down.  I don't know the quality of UW-P, but I don't expect they're any better than the top CCIW teams, and if that's true, NP could have a rough conference season.  Now we're only 3 games in, and Park coming back from the deficit they faced on Friday night to win certainly shows they have some heart, I just hope that converts to playing well together soon, otherwise it could be a long season. 

Let me preface this statement by saying, I'm not complaining (I'm annoyed, but not complaining)... this far from cost NP the game, it was just something I noticed and am wondering how it is being done at other games.  The refs blew two incredibly obvious charge/blocking calls (called a charge when it should've been a block) with the defender was inside the new circle.  The announcers (UW-P announcers) pointed it out even, so I really don't think this is me being a homer.  My questions are... is this being called correctly elsewhere?  Is there some kind of caveat to the rule that isn't the same as the NBA rule inside that circle under the hoop?