MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

Wheaton defeated Westminster (Mo) tonight, 64-49.

Westminster closed the first half on a 9-1 run to take a 31-29 lead.  Wheaton outscored Westminster 35-18 in the 2nd half, including a 25-5 run.

Tyler Peters had 11 pts, 11 rebs
Jeremy Pflederer led the team with 15 pts (5-7 from the field, 3-4 from 3pt)
Tim McCrary had 13 pts, 5 rebs
Nate Serenius had 7 pts
Spencer Schultze and Aaron Garriott each had 6 pts

Wheaton shot 65% in the 2nd half, 45% for the game.

[wheels81]

I noticed Garriott's  minutes were only 23.  Hope it was not because of injury, that would really be a loss.

[izzy stradlin]

I noticed Garriott's  minutes were only 23.  Hope it was not because of injury, that would really be a loss.

Garriott's only averaging 23.5 minutes per game on the season (scoring 16.5 points in that time nonetheless).  Although I think he is capable of playing more and probably will, Schauer has elected to somewhat limit his time on the court at this point in the year.

[Titan Q]

Wheaton recruit Michael Berg (Midwest Central H.S.) continues to tear apart IHSA small school competition...

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/preps/x1856672154/Boys-basketball-Midwest-Central-s-Berg-scores-39-in-win-over-Farmington


Looks like Mike Schauer has his replacement for Tim McCrary at the 4!

[Titan Q]

Several interesting games today...

- Elmhurst @ Westminster, Mo (2:00pm)

- North Central @ Simpson (2:00pm)

- Illinois Wesleyan @ Chicago (3:00pm)

- Carthage @ Albion (3:00pm)

- Augustana vs UW-Stevens Point (7:30pm)

- Wheaton @ Wash U (8:00pm)

[carthagealum]

The Carthage game is at 4 p.m. CST. Albion's vid stream of the game is at http://www.albion.edu/sports/ (right side of page).

[Titan Q]

Video for today:


- North Central @ Simpson (2:00pm) - http://www.simpsonathletics.com/sports/mbkb/livevideo

- Illinois Wesleyan @ Chicago (3:00pm) - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/uchicago-athletics

- Carthage @ Albion (4:00pm) - http://media.albion.edu/sports

- Augustana vs UW-Stevens Point (7:30pm) - http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/augustana.portal#

- Wheaton @ Wash U (8:00pm) - http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wustl.portal#

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton recruit Michael Berg (Midwest Central H.S.) continues to tear apart IHSA small school competition...

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/preps/x1856672154/Boys-basketball-Midwest-Central-s-Berg-scores-39-in-win-over-Farmington


Looks like Mike Schauer has his replacement for Tim McCrary at the 4!

I like the way you think, Bob: Ratchet up the hype and put an inordinate amount of pressure on the kid to be an All-American before he's even been handed his high school diploma, get the Wheaties all worked up about him ahead of time, and set him (and them) up for a fall when he finally shows up at King Arena and dons an orange uni. Sounds like a plan to me!

[AndOne]

Wheaton recruit Michael Berg (Midwest Central H.S.) continues to tear apart IHSA small school competition...

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/preps/x1856672154/Boys-basketball-Midwest-Central-s-Berg-scores-39-in-win-over-Farmington


Looks like Mike Schauer has his replacement for Tim McCrary at the 4!

I like the way you think, Bob: Ratchet up the hype and put an inordinate amount of pressure on the kid to be an All-American before he's even been handed his high school diploma, get the Wheaties all worked up about him ahead of time, and set him (and them) up for a fall when he finally shows up at King Arena and dons an orange uni. Sounds like a plan to me!

Its a big step from playing against "small school competition" to playing college ball where a large percentage of each opposing team is comprised of the best players from their high school teams. Especially when many of those high school teams regularly faced LARGE school competition.
The kid may well turn out to be a star at the next level, but if so, it won't be without some adjustments on his part.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton recruit Michael Berg (Midwest Central H.S.) continues to tear apart IHSA small school competition...

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/preps/x1856672154/Boys-basketball-Midwest-Central-s-Berg-scores-39-in-win-over-Farmington


Looks like Mike Schauer has his replacement for Tim McCrary at the 4!

I like the way you think, Bob: Ratchet up the hype and put an inordinate amount of pressure on the kid to be an All-American before he's even been handed his high school diploma, get the Wheaties all worked up about him ahead of time, and set him (and them) up for a fall when he finally shows up at King Arena and dons an orange uni. Sounds like a plan to me!

Its a big step from playing against "small school competition" high school basketball to playing college ball, period.

Tidied it up for you, Mark.

[AndOne]

The North Central basketball team MASH Unit #1112 finds itself in the Land Of Corn in Indianola, IA where its tied with Simpson College at the half. The Cardinals have shot 52% compared to Simpson's 35% but have committed 6 TOs vs only 1 by the Storm. 
Derek Raridon has 10 pts followed by CJ Goldthree with 9, and Vince Kmiec off the bench with 8. Goldthree is the leading rebounder with 6.
Landon Gamble has 3 fouls and has only played 7 minutes and scored 2 points.
Last game @ Albion saw PG Kevin Gillespie not make the trip due to an "upper body" injury, and today starting forward Aaron Tiknis was forced to
remain home with a similar problem. Gillespie is still not looking to be 100% and Gamble is also battling through a "lower body" issue. No excuses, but it would be nice to see the Cardinals take the floor with a full complement of healthy bodies.   

[Titan Q]

Simpson 81
North Central 72

http://www.simpsonathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/boxscores/20111210_p4v5.xml

[sac]

Video for today:
- Carthage @ Albion (4:00pm) - http://media.albion.edu/sports

No video from Albion today, too much studying going on.
livestats are working
http://www.albion.edu/sports/stats/xlive.htm

[Titan Q]

Final from the south side...

Illinois Wesleyan 84
Chicago 63

http://www.iwusports.com/custompages/MBB/MBB2012/HTML/iwu-ucm.htm

* Kevin Reed: 16 pts, 9 reb (7-8 FG)
* Nick Anderson: 10 pts, 5 reb (5-5 FG)
* Victor Davis: 10 pts, 3 reb
* Andrew Ziemnik: 10 pts, 3 reb
* Eliud Gonzalez: 9 pts, 3 reb, 11 assists

FG: IWU 55.0%, Chicago 36.5%
Rebounds: IWU 39, Chicago 30

IWU: 22 assists/9 T.O.

IWU opened up a 19-point halftime lead and never looked back in this one.  I believe the lead got to 28 a couple times in the 2nd half.

After watching IWU face Ripon and UW-Whitewater online, I was glad to see the Titans play so well.  They looked very good on both sides of the floor today.

Eliud Gonzalez was outstanding for the Titans today.  He absolutely harassed Chicago's PGs on the defensive end, and on offense he dished out 11 assists while only turning it over 2 times.

IWU's SF combination of John Koschnitzky and Eric Dortch did a fantastic job on Chicago leading scorer Matt Johnson.  He had a lot of trouble getting good looks. 

Starting center Kevin Reed also had a nice defensive game on 6-8 Steve Stefanou.  Reed just made it very hard on him.

Because of their quickness and athleticism at several spots on the floor, the Titans are just a very solid defensive team.  And they really rebound the ball well (came in with a +10 per game margin, finished +9 today).  The halfcourt offense is certainly not what it was with Sexauer and Johnson on the floor, and will continue to be a work in progress, but the defense is just night and day better.

The Titans do not have a Tim McCrary/Bryant Voiles type of superstar, but Ron Rose has a lot of very talented guys on this team.  Everyone that steps on the floor in the 10-man rotation can play and is able to make contributions in a variety of ways.  I was especially impressed with sophomores Nick Anderson and Andrew Ziemnik off the bench.  Both played 13 minutes.  In those 26 minutes total, Anderson and Ziemnik combined for 20 pts & 8 rebounds, going 8-10 from the field.

A very solid all-around performance today by the Titans (6-2) on the road.  IWU hosts Wash U next Saturday.

[AndOne]

NCC goes down to a pretty athletic looking and well balanced Simpson squad 81-72. Several of the Cardinals are definitely battling the injury bug, but all teams face injuries throughout the season, and other people just have to step up. The most frustrating aspect is that the Cardinals just seem out of sync, and lacking the chemistry that was so obvious in their 2nd half charge last season. The injury bug can only partially explain the current malaise. The Cardinals need to both get healthy, and get it together. I believe the talent is there, but the need to rediscover the glue is a distinct need and soon.
NCC was led in scoring today by Derek Raridon and Vince Kmiec, both of whom scored 20 points. Vince was particularly impressive from distance, hitting 6 of 10. CJ Goldthree added 13 pts, and was the team's leading rebounder with 7.
Both teams shot 47% from the field, and put on an excellent display of FT shooting with NCC hitting 88% and SC 91%. The Cardinals were out-rebounded 35-27, and committed 3 more TOs than their hosts.