MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

2 in-region losses for Wheaton in the non-conference.  Those will hurt (even if on the road against very good teams).

Wheaton's inability to handle 6-6 Alex Toth - a solid, but certainly not great big man - makes me wonder how they'll begin to handle Augie's inside game.

Wash U shot 54% and scored 77 points tonight.  Hope shot 51% and scored 79 vs the Thunder.

"We're not good enough to beat a good team right now because of our defense.  We're good enough to beat inferior teams right now, but not good teams...especially on the road." - Mike Schauer on WETN postgame

[Titan Q]

By the way, Wash U is really good.  In Dylan Richter they have an All-American candidate perimeter player, and just a really tough match-up for opponents.  Richter has great size and strength, but can also shoot it and dribble drive.  And then the Bears have all kinds of other good complementary players.

I have to believe the Bears will be right in the middle of the UAA title race.

[Gregory Sager]

I knew Wash U was good, but I honestly didn't see them beating both Augie and Wheaton with Chris Klimek out of the lineup, even with both games at home.

[Titan Q]

I knew Wash U was good, but I honestly didn't see them beating both Augie and Wheaton with Chris Klimek out of the lineup, even with both games at home.

Agree.  Wash U got run out of Whitworth's gym (trailed by 30+ late), and also lost on a neutral court to Ohio Wesleyan.  The Bears are very good, but certainly not anywhere near the level they were with Wallis, Thompson, and Ruths.

I thought either Augie or Wheaton would have won @ Wash U.

[izzy stradlin]

By the way, Wash U is really good.  In Dylan Richter they have an All-American candidate perimeter player, and just a really tough match-up for opponents.  Richter has great size and strength, but can also shoot it and dribble drive.  And then the Bears have all kinds of other good complementary players.

I have to believe the Bears will be right in the middle of the UAA title race.

Richter looked great and made Tyler Peters look bad.  I think their freshman Teuscher is going to be a stud too. He is already their second leading scorer averaging 13.6 ppg in only 21 minutes.  I know he was Wheaton's top recruiting target last year.

[augiefan]

I thought either Augie or Wheaton would have won @ Wash U.
[/quote]

I think it means that neither Augie nor Wheaton is as good as we anticipated. The same can be said for North Central the other conference preseason favorite. The conference season could be far more competitive than expected with only Elmhurst and Millikin struggling to compete. Of course, Wash U. has one of the finest BB coaches in any division. His teams always get better as the season progresses.

[Gregory Sager]

I think it means that neither Augie nor Wheaton is as good as we anticipated. The same can be said for North Central the other conference preseason favorite. The conference season could be far more competitive than expected with only Elmhurst and Millikin struggling to compete.

I'll go one step further. I think that the CCIW as a whole is down this year. Only three of the eight teams even have winning records at the moment, and we're two-thirds of the way through the non-conference sked. Look at the league's cumulative non-con record thus far: 32-28 (.533). That's absolutely atrocious. If this holds up over the next 18 games (and the postseason), the CCIW will have its worst non-conference record since 1997-98.

It's not simply a matter of Elmhurst and Millikin dragging everybody down, either. There's plenty of blame to go around.

[AUGIEBBALL]

Not sure where that Stevens Point team is suppose to finish at in their conference but i would have trouble believing top 3.  They are a two man team . . . the two brothers, 4 and 14 are all they have.  The rest of the team was aver to below average.  4 could score on the bounce, going only to his left, but his outside shot was broke.  14 is pretty solid from everywhere, real good player.  He needs to check the attitude though.  No need for the '3 in your eye' hand gesture when your team is trailing by 11.  The shot was meaningless but he felt the need to c--k off for some reason - act you have hit a shot before. Augie struggled mightily to  stop these two though as they do with most good guards - see St. Thomas game and anytime they have faced Steve D (Carthage).  Not sure Augie knows how to take a charge either, 4 took it right down the middle numerous times and it looked like the parting of the Red Sea.

Personally i don't think the ball goes inside nearly enough.  Scarlatta needs more looks as does Dexter and Norton.  I am a big fan of Dexter (Showtime Dexter too!) - solid player but doesn't get many chances.  I thought Desimone played his best game of the year tonight.  If this team wants to go deep into the postseason he is going to need to start clicking offensively.  Anderson seems to have taken a step backward.  Not sure what happened with him.  He has a lot of talent but can't seem to get anything going.  After the first few games this year i thought this team was going to special.  Not so sure now, just not enough shooters on the team.  Need Harrigan to get the tie off and suit up again.  I still think they are the class of the CCIW but that isn't saying much this year.  If Voiles continues his struggles along with the rest of the team from the outside they will be one and done in March.  Here's to hoping someone can step up!

[jaybird44]

Wash-U's freshmen are playing like upperclassmen.  Along with the aforementioned Teuscher, Matt Palucki and Nick Burt have not cowered when the bullets started flying.  Richter has been phenomenal, Toth and Robert Burnett have been good in the paint, the shared point guard position between Ben Hoener and Alan Aboona has worked well (tonight, 13 assists vs. 4 turnovers combined), and the team as a whole has meshed together without any problems.  An indication of that was the 24 assists for 28 baskets tonight.

Folks at Wash-U are cautiously optimistic about being in the middle of a very competitive UAA race.  Brandeis' upset of #2 Amherst underscores the quality of battles to come in conference play.  Right now, the Bears get to enjoy their victory over Wheaton...but they had better be ready to play well at Illinois Wesleyan next Saturday.

[Titan Q]

Wash-U's freshmen are playing like upperclassmen.  Along with the aforementioned Teuscher, Matt Palucki and Nick Burt have not cowered when the bullets started flying.  Richter has been phenomenal, Toth and Robert Burnett have been good in the paint, the shared point guard position between Ben Hoener and Alan Aboona has worked well (tonight, 13 assists vs. 4 turnovers combined), and the team as a whole has meshed together without any problems.  An indication of that was the 24 assists for 28 baskets tonight.

Folks at Wash-U are cautiously optimistic about being in the middle of a very competitive UAA race.  Brandeis' upset of #2 Amherst underscores the quality of battles to come in conference play.  Right now, the Bears get to enjoy their victory over Wheaton...but they had better be ready to play well at Illinois Wesleyan next Saturday.

I'm interested to see how the IWU/Wash U game plays out.  On paper, I think the Titans matchup pretty well...

PG
(IWU) Eliud Gonzalez, 5-9/170 Sr - 5.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.5 apg, 2.8 A:TO
(Wash U) Ben Hoener, 6-0/150 Jr - 4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.3 A:TO

SG
(IWU) Jordan Zimmer, 6-5/190 Sr - 11.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 22-53 3-point (.415)
(Wash U) Tim Cooney, 6-3/185 So - 5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1-15 3-point (.067)

SF
(Wash U) Dylan Richter, 6-3/205 Sr - 17.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 58-126 FG (.460), 23-64 3-point (.359)
(IWU) John Koschnnitzky, 6-6/205 Sr - 10.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 28-34 FG (.438), 9-24 3-point (.375)

PF
(IWU) Victor Davis, 6-5/225 So - 11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 36-59 FG (.610)
(Wash U) Matt Palucki, 6-6/205 Fr - 6.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 23-49 FG (.469)

C
(IWU) Kevin Reed, 6-7/225 Jr - 11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 39-54 FG (.722)
(Wash U) Alex Toth, 6-6/220 Sr - 8.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 27-59 FG (.458)

Bench
(Wash U) Brayden Tuescher (SG), 6-3/190 Fr - 13.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 18-42 3-point (.429), 21 min/g
(IWU) Stephen Rudnicki (PG/SG), 6-3/173 Sr - 4.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 16 min/g

(IWU) Nick Anderson (C), 6-9/200 So - 6.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 19-30 FG (.633), 14 min/g
(Wash U) Robert Burnett (C), 6-7/225 Jr - 4.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 15-28 FG (.536), 13 min/g

(IWU) Andrew Ziemnik (PF), 6-5/225 So - 5.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 13-29 FG (.448), 17 min/g
(Wash U) Nick Burt (PF), 6-5/205 Fr - 3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 11-21 FG (.524), 7 min/g

(IWU) David Molinari (PG), 6-1/180 Fr - 5.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.8 apt, 17 min/g
(Wash U) Alan Aboona (PG), 6-1/180 So - 2.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 13 min/g

(IWU) Eric Dortch (SF), 6-3/210 So - 4.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 14 min/g



I really believe these matchups are pretty even overall.  A few thoughts...

- IWU has to find a way to contain Richter, but the Titans do have two good defenders at the 3 in 6-6 John Koschnitzky and 6-3 Eric Dortch - both are extremely athletic, like Richter.  IWU should at least be able to make Richter work very hard for his points. 

- I think Wash U has a tough matchup with IWU sophomore Victor Davis - freshman Matt Palucki might have trouble handling the very strong, physical, and athletic Davis.   (Anyone know the extent of Chris Klimek's injury?  Klimek was Wash U's starting 4 during the first 4 games.)

- Love the battle of Prospect H.S. centers - Alex Toth vs Kevin Reed.  The "Camardella Bowl" in the post.

- On the perimeter, Wash U has to deal with Jordan Zimmer...IWU has to deal with freshman stud Brayden Teuscher.

- Both teams have a number of good young players - 5 of the players in IWU's rotation are underclassmen (with 6-4 sophomore guard Brady Zimmer injured), 5 of the players in Wash U's rotation are underclassmen (with 6-5 sophomore F Chris Klimek injured).  As has been the case for 20 years or so now, IWU and Wash U are set up for many great battles in the future.


I will be very surprised if this is not a very tight game the entire way.  If the Titans play like they have in their 6 wins, they have a great chance of winning this one.  If the @Ripon/@Whitewater IWU team shows up, Wash U will win in a blowout.

[petemcb]

Final from Albion, MI...

Carthage 51
Albion 43

* Luke Johnson: 9 pts, 17 reb
* Malcolm Kelly: 14 pts, 7 reb
* Max Cary: 12 pts


Not often 51 points and 31% from the field will win you a road game...or any game for that matter!

From the MIAA board this morning...

Carthage at Albion  --   Carthage is 2-4 and on a 4 game losing streak.  After losing both games at the MIAA/CCIW Challenge last weekend, Carthage lost midweek to a pretty good Lake Forest team by 3.  This is Albion's first game in 9 days, it could be an ugly game to watch.

It's Albion. That's all anybody needs to know. To Albion, a low-scoring defensive struggle isn't an ugly basketball game, it's the Mona Lisa in sneakers.

+k 

[petemcb]

Live stats must be using the '10-'11 Wheaton roster.

Just texted SID Chris Mitchell...he quickly fixed it.

Wheaton sent last year's roster for some reason.

Down by 10 with 8 minutes to go, they could use a roster from 2 or 3 years ago to get Kent Raymond into the game.

+k 

[Titan Q]

I'll go one step further. I think that the CCIW as a whole is down this year. Only three of the eight teams even have winning records at the moment, and we're two-thirds of the way through the non-conference sked. Look at the league's cumulative non-con record thus far: 32-28 (.533). That's absolutely atrocious. If this holds up over the next 18 games (and the postseason), the CCIW will have its worst non-conference record since 1997-98.

It's not simply a matter of Elmhurst and Millikin dragging everybody down, either. There's plenty of blame to go around.

Agree.  This has become apparent as the non-conference season has played out.  No question the CCIW is down in 2011-12.

[frodotwo]

Not sure where that Stevens Point team is suppose to finish at in their conference but i would have trouble believing top 3. They are a two man team . . . the two brothers, 4 and 14 are all they have.  The rest of the team was aver to below average.  4 could score on the bounce, going only to his left, but his outside shot was broke.  14 is pretty solid from everywhere, real good player.  He needs to check the attitude though.  No need for the '3 in your eye' hand gesture when your team is trailing by 11.  The shot was meaningless but he felt the need to c--k off for some reason - act you have hit a shot before. Augie struggled mightily to  stop these two though as they do with most good guards - see St. Thomas game and anytime they have faced Steve D (Carthage).  Not sure Augie knows how to take a charge either, 4 took it right down the middle numerous times and it looked like the parting of the Red Sea.

Personally i don't think the ball goes inside nearly enough.  Scarlatta needs more looks as does Dexter and Norton.  I am a big fan of Dexter (Showtime Dexter too!) - solid player but doesn't get many chances.  I thought Desimone played his best game of the year tonight.  If this team wants to go deep into the postseason he is going to need to start clicking offensively.  Anderson seems to have taken a step backward.  Not sure what happened with him.  He has a lot of talent but can't seem to get anything going.  After the first few games this year i thought this team was going to special.  Not so sure now, just not enough shooters on the team.  Need Harrigan to get the tie off and suit up again.  I still think they are the class of the CCIW but that isn't saying much this year.  If Voiles continues his struggles along with the rest of the team from the outside they will be one and done in March.  Here's to hoping someone can step up!

So is this a criticism of Point or Augie? If Point is not top 3 in their league the Vikings better hope they don't have to play the best in the WIAC come tourney time. While the Tillema brothers are the stars of the team, all the starters came in to this came averaging 9 ppg or better, some of them just had off nights shooting the ball. Open shots weren't falling in the second half. This is a team that lost four starters from last year and yet they nearly pulled off an upset on the home court of the best the CCIW has to offer. The Augie student section was loud and boisterous (I'm envious of the support they give compared to Point's students) and so was their coach. How he gets away with his antics (swearing, etc.) without getting T'd up is a mystery to me. Anyway, I thought UWSP played a credible game against a much taller team and could have pulled off the upset if only a couple of more shots had fallen.

[Titan Q]

This is a team that lost four starters from last year and yet they nearly pulled off an upset on the home court of the best the CCIW has to offer.

From 9:04 in the 2nd half until 0:48 to play Augustana led by 8 points or more.  In the final 9+ minutes UW-Stevens Point was never even in a two possession game with the ball until the 0:16 mark when Augie made 1 of 2 FT's to go up 6 and UWSP got the ball.

http://www.augustana.edu/athletics/mbasketball/stats/2011-12/12mbb08.htm

I watched the game with no dog in the fight whatsoever and certainly don't feel like the Pointers "nearly pulled off an upset" last night.