MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[74impala]

calling dr. prikkel... calling dr. prikkel...

your pithy comments are missed.  please return to this room and give us the what-for.

Don't know if you realize this , but since you don't post here on a consistent basis you can't inquire about the whereabouts of
another poster. 

[Naperick]

Looking forward to the Elmhurst-IWU game in Elmhurst on Saturday night. This has to be the most meaningful CCIW game that the Jays have played since the 2008-09 season. I hope the Bluejays respond, and I really think they will. I thought going into this season that the Jays would have a chance to sneak into the CCIW tournament. This game is obviously a must win for that to happen.

It is a must win for the Jays if they want to be in the CCIW tourney.  I think they have won two consecutive CCIW contests for the first time since that 2008-2009 season you mentioned.  I have a feeling the Titans are mad and will be ready to play on Saturday.

[Naperick]

I was at Merner Fieldhouse for the 2nd half of the NCC-IWU game last night.  I didn't get out of work in time to see the 1st half and how the Cardinals built their huge lead.  I have a few observations to share.  1. Goldthree definitely helped the Cards.  He needs to get back into 'game shape' but he provided a little more depth for NCC.  2. Gonzalez is impressive for IWU.  He does a lot of things that do not show up on the stat sheet.  3.  The refs did not let them play last night.  They called it too close in my opinion.  The NCC P.A. announcer read the finals scores from the other three CCIW games with 5-6 minutes remaining.  That says a lot in my opinion.  4.  I shouldn't be amazed anymore by this but the IWU fans do travel very well.  That is something you just don't see too often in D3 basketball.  Hats off to the Titans fans who drive or take the fan bus for a few hours to see their team play in the middle of the week.  I have seen this since 1988 but it still amazes me. 

It should be a great CCIW race this year.  The top 3 are all 4-1 and are 1-1 against each other.  Two of those three games between the leaders were overtime games.  Best of luck to all 8 teams and I hope all of the players stay healthy.

[BlueJay21]

It is a must win for the Jays if they want to be in the CCIW tourney.  I think they have won two consecutive CCIW contests for the first time since that 2008-2009 season you mentioned.  I have a feeling the Titans are mad and will be ready to play on Saturday.

I wish I could be at RA Faganel Hall Saturday night, but unfortunately my high school I coach at has a game that night. Go Jays!

[AndOne]

I noticed Kameron Norton did not see any action in Augie's last game.
Any Augie fans know whats up? Injury/Illness? Coach's decision? Quit like Scarlata?

[petemcb]

I noticed Kameron Norton did not see any action in Augie's last game.
Any Augie fans know whats up? Injury/Illness? Coach's decision? Quit like Scarlata?

Not sure if it's related, but I heard that the rigors of Augie's med school might factor in here.....

[NCF]

I noticed Kameron Norton did not see any action in Augie's last game.
Any Augie fans know whats up? Injury/Illness? Coach's decision? Quit like Scarlata?

Not sure if it's related, but I heard that the rigors of Augie's med school might factor in here.....

LOL!! K+ I needed a good laugh today, thanks

[augie_superfan]

I noticed Kameron Norton did not see any action in Augie's last game.
Any Augie fans know whats up? Injury/Illness? Coach's decision? Quit like Scarlata?

I think on the broadcast of the Tuesday game they said he is out after suffering a concussion.  Not sure when he'd be back.

[AndOne]

Thanks augie_superfan.
Another blow to Augie for sure. NCC just lost CJ Goldthree for 2 1/2 weeks/4 games due to a concussion.
Personally, I feel Norton is a more dangerous opponent than Dexter.
Augie loses an important inside presence for who knows how long if indeed his absence is due to concussion syndrome. 

[iwu70]

Molinari has been out for IWU for 5-6 games already.  Who knows how much longer.

Augie is going to continue to struggle unless they can get some decent perimeter shooting.  Long way for them to fight back into the race, even with all the leaders with 1 loss now.

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

Thanks augie_superfan.
Another blow to Augie for sure. NCC just lost CJ Goldthree for 2 1/2 weeks/4 games due to a concussion.
Personally, I feel Norton is a more dangerous opponent than Dexter.
Augie loses an important inside presence for who knows how long if indeed his absence is due to concussion syndrome.

The Doggies didn't need him on Tuesday against NPU. Norton is a better defender than Dexter, but Dexter did a very fine job against a good opposing PF in Mike Gabriel when he was guarding him. Of course, the issue is one of attrition, just as it was with the loss of Luke Scarlata; Giovanine likes to go with four bigs in his rotation rather than three, and not having Norton around makes it more difficult for him to do that.

However, it should be noted that Giovanine moved Bryant Voiles to power forward on Tuesday in order to keep his preferred four-big rotation (in this case, Kunz, Voiles, Schlitter, and Dexter) intact. It worked very well, because Voiles also was able to neutralize Gabriel, while (more importantly from Augie's point of view) the added firepower of having a third guard on the floor really enhanced the outside attack of the Doggies. Freshman Mark Roth, who got the start as the third guard, went 4-5 from downtown and made a major difference in the game. Augie seems like a much more effective team right now when it goes small and employs that extra shooter, especially since Roth (20-42, .476 from beyond the arc in 2011-12) is clearly a big-time threat from out there.

It doesn't seem to be a drag on Giovanine's rotation to have three guards simultaneously eat up minutes, since he's got three backup guards behind them that he seems comfortable using: Chris Anderson, Griffin Dwyer, and the Lithuanian kid (I'm gonna pull an iwu70 and not attempt to spell the kid's name ). Augie's depth will, in the end, be the team's key ingredient if it gets back into the race, because it allows Giovanine to manipulate the lineup into whatever permutation is necessary for him to get things to work on the court, which in this case seems to mean putting a third guard out there and moving Voiles to PF.

Augie is going to continue to struggle unless they can get some decent perimeter shooting.

See my notes above. Augie shot 7-17 (41%) against NPU on Tuesday. Having Roth out there for 25 minutes as a third guard made a huge difference. Expect to see a lot more of Roth paired with DeSimone and Rorer in a three-guard lineup for Augie henceforth.

[TitansIWU]

Roth's brother Matt is 25/42 for .595 from behind the arc so far this year at Indiana University. Both pure shooters.

[veterancciwfan]

The Elmhurst/IWU game Saturday is a 7:30 start. Check both schools' websites for verification. Matt Roth doesn't get much playing time at Indiana. Several CCIW schools recruited him but getting a D1 scholarship (I assume) at a Big 10 school and playing few minutes still is understandable.

[iwu70]

Greg, thanks for pulling and "IWU70" when it comes to spelling Lithuanian names, hence my cop-out on using Kman and ducking some other names all the time.  You can join me in the royal order of the prematurely senile if you wish. 

Sounds like Roth may be a big answer for Augie. 

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, thanks for pulling and "IWU70" when it comes to spelling Lithuanian names, hence my cop-out on using Kman and ducking some other names all the time.  You can join me in the royal order of the prematurely senile if you wish.

Only if the hats are as cool as the ones that they have in the Loyal Order of Water Buffalos.