MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Pat Coleman]

I see the Titans slipped into the Top 25 in the D3hoops rankings this week, displacing Wheaton.  I think AC men fell to 6th or so, following their loss to NCC. 

IWU70

The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.

Lets see...........

AUGIE loses and falls from 3rd to 6th. 
IWU wins and rises from 45th to 25!!!!!!!        
WHEATON wins and FALLS from 23rd to 32nd.              

Makes you wonder what coach, SID, or media member associated with Augie might be on the panel.
Makes you REALLY wonder what coach, SID, or media member associated with Wesleyan is on the panel.
Tells you either no coach, SID, or media member from Wheaton is on the panel or, if so, they don't have much pull!

Since you are so obsessed with your karma, I figured I'd better tell you I gave you -1 for this completely incomplete "analysis" of the poll. Give me a break.

OK, then let me ask some questions if I may. Thank you.

1. Has there ever been any consideration given to publishing a list of the voters? 
2. Can a panel member vote for the school he works for or that he covers closely in the media?

Having served on polls where the voter list is public, I know that opens voters up to lobbying that I do not want them to have to deal with.

Yes, you can vote for your own team. That's only proper considering not all 400 schools have a vote. If everyone has a vote, you can restrict them from voting for their own team, but with just 25 voters, that would disproportionately impact the schools that have representatives votes.

In the conferences where commissioners or assistant commissioners are the conference rep on the panel, would we have to forbid them from voting for anyone in the conference? What about a media member in a metro area who sees four or five teams on a regular basis?

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, let's hope Carthage reverts to more normal form when they come into the Shirk this weekend.

You must be nuttier than a bagful of Old Man Shirk's signature snack food if you think I'm going to hope for that.

Go Red Men. And ... uh ... go Wheaton.

(That'll tick off Mark, and any other NCC fan who reads it, but I hope that he understands that typing the last two words of that sentence were ten of the toughest keystrokes I've ever had to make.)

[iwu70]

And to think, Greg, that they don't even serve, have available for sale, any Beer Nuts at the Shirk Center.  You'd think they'd be passed out for free, heh?

All the Titan faithful satisfied tonight, Beer Nuts or no. 

The Titans are just going to get better and deeper as the season goes along, as injured players return, more JV guys get some true, competitive varsity minutes.  Great development tonight with Parker Musselman having a good game in such a key moment of a key CCIW game.

IWU70

[cardinalpride]

Greg, let's hope Carthage reverts to more normal form when they come into the Shirk this weekend.

You must be nuttier than a bagful of Old Man Shirk's signature snack food if you think I'm going to hope for that.

Go Red Men. And ... uh ... go Wheaton.

(That'll tick off Mark, and any other NCC fan who reads it, but I hope that he understands that typing the last two words of that sentence were ten of the toughest keystrokes I've ever had to make.)

Excuse me Sager, Go Cardinals and go NP (my pick em pick on saturday).  I won't stoop to your level Greg...

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, let's hope Carthage reverts to more normal form when they come into the Shirk this weekend.

You must be nuttier than a bagful of Old Man Shirk's signature snack food if you think I'm going to hope for that.

Go Red Men. And ... uh ... go Wheaton.

(That'll tick off Mark, and any other NCC fan who reads it, but I hope that he understands that typing the last two words of that sentence were ten of the toughest keystrokes I've ever had to make.)

Excuse me Sager, Go Cardinals and go NP (my pick em pick on saturday).  I won't stoop to your level Greg...

I'm sure that the NPU basketball team is quite pleased that you've found such a salutary reason to take the high road, cp.

And to think, Greg, that they don't even serve, have available for sale, any Beer Nuts at the Shirk Center.  You'd think they'd be passed out for free, heh?

It's the only way I'd ever take a bag.

[Gregory Sager]

Sometimes the schedule works for you, and sometimes it doesn't. Right now the schedule is at a perfect point for North Park. After three CCIW games, NPU has played a grand total of ten good minutes of basketball out of 120 (the last ten minutes of Saturday afternoon's game against Wesleyan being the only instance in which the Vikings have been up to snuff). The cure for that should be a home game against Millikin. A big part of basketball is self-confidence, and right now the self-confidence of the Vikings has to be badly shaken. Nobody's expecting a conference championship out of the Park, but it's at least beholden of the Vikings to be competitive every time that they take the floor, and they're playing competitive basketball less than 10% of the time thus far in conference play. Facing Millikin in the crackerbox, even without student support, should remedy that for NPU.

[OurHouse]

Sometimes the schedule works for you, and sometimes it doesn't. Right now the schedule is at a perfect point for North Park. After three CCIW games, NPU has played a grand total of ten good minutes of basketball out of 120 (the last ten minutes of Saturday afternoon's game against Wesleyan being the only instance in which the Vikings have been up to snuff). The cure for that should be a home game against Millikin. A big part of basketball is self-confidence, and right now the self-confidence of the Vikings has to be badly shaken. Nobody's expecting a conference championship out of the Park, but it's at least beholden of the Vikings to be competitive every time that they take the floor, and they're playing competitive basketball less than 10% of the time thus far in conference play. Facing Millikin in the crackerbox, even without student support, should remedy that for NPU.

[/color]

How does a team get fired up playing in a Jr. High gym? ....just the facts

[veterancciwfan]

The first half of the IWU/AC game was the most physical 20 minutes of D3 b'ball I have seen in a long time. It was electric at the Shirk tonight. Augustana is still averaging 63 points per game in CCIW action, even with one game against Millikin which likely will finish with a total of 1 win for the 2nd season in a row. Grey is a great defensive coach. That's probably normal for a coach who comes from a D1 program. But Augustana's offense is predictable. It's tough to build a great team (maybe I should say good rather than great) around a strong defense and a 63 point offense. I will add that this Titan team is the best defensive IWU team of the Ron Rose era. Augustana's poor offensive output tonight was significantly influenced by IWU's outstanding defensive effort which included multiple switching from man to zone by Rose, especially in the 2nd half. Just a great D3 game to witness.

[Gregory Sager]

Sometimes the schedule works for you, and sometimes it doesn't. Right now the schedule is at a perfect point for North Park. After three CCIW games, NPU has played a grand total of ten good minutes of basketball out of 120 (the last ten minutes of Saturday afternoon's game against Wesleyan being the only instance in which the Vikings have been up to snuff). The cure for that should be a home game against Millikin. A big part of basketball is self-confidence, and right now the self-confidence of the Vikings has to be badly shaken. Nobody's expecting a conference championship out of the Park, but it's at least beholden of the Vikings to be competitive every time that they take the floor, and they're playing competitive basketball less than 10% of the time thus far in conference play. Facing Millikin in the crackerbox, even without student support, should remedy that for NPU.

[/color]

How does a team get fired up playing in a Jr. High gym? ....just the facts

Nice to see that your total obnoxiousness is no longer confined to badmouthing your own team, OurHouse.

[iwumichigander]

Illinois Wesleyan 73
Augustana 63
There were 3 big 3-pointers by IWU reserve big men that really stood out to me as game-changers.  6-7 freshman Parker Musselman, who Ron Rose said in the postgame show has been told to "be ready" for a couple weeks now after dominating offensively at the JV level, knocked down a big 3 at 12:28 to put IWU up 1.  Then 6-5 sophomore Andrew Ziemnik hit one at 10:23 to break a tie, and at 9:17 made another to stretch a 3-point IWU lead to 6.  Musselman played 13 minutes, all in the 2nd half, and had 8 big points.  Ziemnik played 21 minutes, finishing with 8.  The decision by Ron Rose to throw Musselman into the fire for the first time, against Augie, ended up being a good one.

Pardon the editing Q - but the above pretty much sums up what I thought were key plays to put the Titans ahead.  Yes, bodies were flying and rolling all over the court tonight.  Give credit to both teams as bodies went to the floor after every loose ball!  A very hard fought contest.  For whatever reason, it just seemed to me that Voiles disappeared for most of the last ten minutes; and, Augie tried to play catch-up with one of their weak points - shooting threes.  I thought the outcome might be different had Augie tried to pound the ball inside the last ten minutes.  Made the trip from Michigan to see this one and very glad we did.

[Titan Q]

Here is the On Demand replay of the IWU/Augie game for anyone interested...

http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/iwu.portal#


The following stretch of baskets, over 7+ minutes, led the Titans to the win...


* Parker Musselman 3, to make it 48-47 w/ 12:28 to play (1:29:45 on video)

* John Koschnitzky dribble drive, to make it 50-50 with 11:21 to play (1:31:40)

* Andrew Ziemnik 3, to make it 53-50 IWU w/ 10:23 to play (1:33:00)

* Jordan Zimmer post turnaround, to make it 55-52 w/ 9:43 to play (1:33:40)

* Andrew Ziemnik 3, to make it 58-52 w/ 9:17 to play (1:36:20)

* Jordan Zimmer 3, to make it 61-57 w/ 6:48 to play (1:40:40)

* Andrew Ziemnik post move, to make it 63-57 w/ 6:09 to play (1:41:30)

* Jordan Zimmer dribble drive, to make it 66-57 w/ 4:35 to play (1:44:45)


In addition to the Musselman and Ziemnik 3's, I'd add the Zimmer 3 at 6:48 as IWU's biggest baskets.  That was a big-time shot the IWU senior created.  Zimmer was well defended on that play by Troy Rorer and he created a step back, 25-foot 3 for himself.  He hit a similar shot vs Wheaton in a huge spot.

Here are a couple newspaper articles on the game...

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/ziemnik-lifts-iwu-men-over-augustana/article_127e1f54-3c14-11e1-896b-001871e3ce6c.html

http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=576905

[iwu70]

Gett'in a bit "chippy" in here, "gentlemen."

Hope all chatsters, Mssr. Sager included, will keep buying and enjoying Beer Nuts and other great snack products from the Shirk family company.  We are, afterall, hoping at some point in future for the Beer Nuts Fine Arts Center at IWU, with a much needed new theatre for IWU's fine Drama School . . . . or a new Shirk Center for Sing'in and Dance'in, an across street twin for the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation.  The Shirk: the house that Beer Nuts built.  Keep snack'in all.

Great Illini win over Ohio State and Brandon Paul's 43.  Wowza.  The guy was out of his mind. 

Highly enjoyable win for the Titans last eve.  Still think the key to the game was good ball protection, especially by Rudnicki and Gonzalez, only 9 team TOs overall.  Only way to overcome the -15 rebounding problem.  Augie's bigs really know how to crash the glass. 

Keep it rolling Titans.  Schedule a good assist for the Titans, too, with three key home games early in the CCIW season -- WC, AC, and CC.  Confidence building, depth increasing.  Gotta love it.

IWU70

[bopol]

I can't believe that I'm still picking over the bones of this disheartening loss by NPU tonight, but I have to complain about this line from Steve Marovich's postgame press release:

The two North Park "Carlson Crazies" who were escorted out of Tarble Arena by security in the opening minutes missed the Red Men pulling away to a 22-point lead at halftime, 42-20.

First of all, that was the opening line of the second paragraph. It wasn't the lede, but it's so close to the top that it's not far off from being the lede. How does this feature so prominently into what happened on the court tonight? Did it have anything to do with the game or with the outcome at all?

Second, how did Marovich know that these were even NPU students, let alone Carlson Crazies? They were obviously rooting for NPU, because John Weiser said on the air that these two people were sitting behind the Carthage band and were harassing them (which is why they were escorted out), and they smacked hands with an embarrassed-looking Kendell Greer on their way out of the building, but unless someone checked their IDs there's no proof that they were NPU students. They probably were, but, then again, they may not have been. They might've simply been Kendell's friends. Heck, NPU's still on break ... there aren't any North Park students who are going to Vikings games at the crackerbox at the moment, let alone attending them out of town.

Third, this smacks of something that was simply inserted into the top of the story in order to make North Park look bad. There's no call for that on Marovich's part. It's not as though there was a student riot, or any extracurricular fan-related activity on the floor at all, or even fisticuffs in the stands. It was simply a couple of loudmouths who were bothering the band who were subsequently tossed out of the Toolshed, that's all. No big deal. That sort of thing happens all the time. Not that I'm apologizing for those two people in any way, shape, or form, or stating that NPU fans always act like angels. Far from it, and anyone who's been around the CCIW for a few decades knows that I can personally attest that North Park fans are not always gracious in their comportment towards opponents. But, as I said, this was just a routine action by Tarble Arena security. It was not worth mentioning in the press release under any circumstances, let alone worth putting it practically in the lede. It really does look as though Steve Marovich was deliberately trying to make North Park and its fans look bad.

I'm a big Steve Marovich fan, but he made a professional mistake tonight.

Maybe he thought it was newsworthy.  I can't think of a single time that I saw anyone kicked out of Tarble.  On top of that, while getting kicked out they 'smacked hands' with a player from the opposing team.  Gosh, that sounds awfully strange and does sound an interesting item that might be worth mentioning.

Is this a frequent occurance for North Park fans?  That is, to act like such idiots that they get kicked out of opposing team's arenas.  Maybe it doesn't seem unusual to you because you've seen it often before?

[NCF]

Gett'in a bit "chippy" in here, "gentlemen."

Hope all chatsters, Mssr. Sager included, will keep buying and enjoying Beer Nuts and other great snack products from the Shirk family company.  We are, afterall, hoping at some point in future for the Beer Nuts Fine Arts Center at IWU, with a much needed new theatre for IWU's fine Drama School . . . . or a new Shirk Center for Sing'in and Dance'in, an across street twin for the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation.  The Shirk: the house that Beer Nuts built.  Keep snack'in all.

Great Illini win over Ohio State and Brandon Paul's 43.  Wowza.  The guy was out of his mind. 

Highly enjoyable win for the Titans last eve.  Still think the key to the game was good ball protection, especially by Rudnicki and Gonzalez, only 9 team TOs overall.  Only way to overcome the -15 rebounding problem.  Augie's bigs really know how to crash the glass. 

Keep it rolling Titans.  Schedule a good assist for the Titans, too, with three key home games early in the CCIW season -- WC, AC, and CC.  Confidence building, depth increasing.  Gotta love it.

IWU70

I would prefer Purdue  #1 or MSU #2 (even Indiana) over Illinois anyday. Go Boilers!!

[mwunder]

I'm a big Steve Marovich fan, but he made a professional mistake tonight.

I thought the exact same thing.

Maybe he thought it was newsworthy.  I can't think of a single time that I saw anyone kicked out of Tarble.

Happened to me once at a girl's volleyball game.  True story.