MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[kiko]

Looks like the voting for the next Top 25 Poll will be conducted tomorrow night with results posted Thurs or perhaps Fri.
We'll undoubtedly have a new #1 team as Virginia Wesleyan has lost twice since being named #1.
Middlebury, 9-0, and currently #2, has played opponents who have a combined record of 35-54.
North Central, 11-0, and currently #3, has played opponents whose combined record is 68-57.
What role, if any, will opponents records play in the voting?
Will #4 St. Thomas be able to garner enough support to leapfrog either North Central, Middlebury, or both?

So far, it seems like being #1 has been a jinx!

Why does this matter? It seems nice to be ranked #1 but not sure it has any tangible effect. Check that, AndOne won't be able to play the "I can't believe we are only ranked #3" card. Where are all the disrespected Cardinal fans when you need them! Uncle Gamble? 

It matters in the sense that it's a nice blurb in the alumni magazine and that it is a selling point with potential recruits.  (A tertiary one, to be clear, but a selling point nonetheless.)

But even if it happens, it will be temporary.  We're at 39 years and counting since the CCIW has had an unbeaten champion, and while I would love to be wrong about this, I don't see that counter being reset in 2013.  Since that Augie team ran the table, every school in the conference save Elmhurst (once) and Millikin (twice) have won three or more titles in the interim years.

I would much, much rather sit atop the table in late March than in early January.  There's a lot of work to be done in the interim for that to happen.

[kiko]

All airport team----meaning we look great to everybody, big, athletic, tall. But now we don't look so good.

That's what I figured it meant. But it doesn't make sense that Bosko, a D3 lifer if there ever was one, would use what sounds like a D1 cliche. D3 teams don't frequent airports. It would've made more sense for him to call the earlier edition of this Carthage squad "the all-bus team".

The man's a mystery sometimes.

The problem with visiting teams playing at NCC is, it's unlike any other gym out there. It's wide open, same for everybody, just tough for shooting.
Not wanting to start anything, but the way it sets up, it's the worst gym in the league.
IWU was very lucky to have a great gift, allowing a great place to play.

It's actually not the same for everybody. NCC practices and plays in the airplane hangar all the time. The Cardinals are used to the lack of a shooting background. Nobody else in the league is used to it. That's a significant advantage for NCC, and it always has been.

That's why beauty is in the eye of the beholder as far as gyms are concerned. You may not think that the airplane hangar is "a great place to play," but I'll wager that the Cardinals strenuously disagree with you. You don't like it as a fan because it's an old heap of cinderblocks with a poor seating configuration, and it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a new gym. But it suits the Cardinals just fine, because Gregory Arena's no-background set-up gives them a tangible home-court advantage -- which is all that any team could ask of a home venue.

(I don't know if Bosko still does something like this at Carthage, but when he used to coach North Park he'd have the Vikings practice at the Broadway Armory the days prior to visiting the airplane hangar, so that they could get used to baskets that didn't have a shooting background.)

Silly question, but would the disadvantage from the Hanger's shooting backdrop more pronounced for a non-conference team experiencing it for the first time?  (If, for instance, the Sons of Warden were fortunate enough to make the Dance and host the first weekend?)  I mean this relative to a conference opponent who has had the minimal once-per-year exposure to this facility.

(Quasi-related -- I see the Cardinal women are running the Grinnell system this year.  Setting aside any teeth-gnashing that this philosophy has infiltrated the rarified walls of the CCIW, how unfamiliar would it be to face both an unusual backdrop and unorthodox offense at the same time?  Probably good that a high percentage of your shots would be from 3-feet or closer to the basket.)

[AndOne]

Looks like the voting for the next Top 25 Poll will be conducted tomorrow night with results posted Thurs or perhaps Fri.
We'll undoubtedly have a new #1 team as Virginia Wesleyan has lost twice since being named #1.
Middlebury, 9-0, and currently #2, has played opponents who have a combined record of 35-54.
North Central, 11-0, and currently #3, has played opponents whose combined record is 68-57.
What role, if any, will opponents records play in the voting?
Will #4 St. Thomas be able to garner enough support to leapfrog either North Central, Middlebury, or both?

So far, it seems like being #1 has been a jinx!

Why does this matter? It seems nice to be ranked #1 but not sure it has any tangible effect. Check that, AndOne won't be able to play the "I can't believe we are only ranked #3" card. Where are all the disrespected Cardinal fans when you need them! Uncle Gamble? 

Hmmmmmmmm. I'm a bit confused by the question.
Why does it matter is not among the world's most important questions, but if it doesn't matter at all, why is there a D3Hoops, a Top 25 Poll, and why do you bother to follow things and post here?   
No, being ranked #1 probably isn't going to make a team play any better, but it IS nice, and DOES signify some degree of respect on a national level.

And please---

Did I give any indication of playing any type of card? At least let me do so before you start pi$$ing.   
Don't lump ALL Cardinal fans together. If one Wheaton fan posts an opinion does he speak for ALL Wheaton fans? Is his opinion automatically yours? I think not. 
If you want to talk to "Uncle Gamble" address him. I don't know who that may be, and don't necessarily share his opinion whoever it is. So please leave me out of any comments you have about him, or any questions you want to ask him. Thank you.

I'm sure you wouldn't want me speculating what you were going to say about a subject before you even said it.
I'm also pretty sure you wouldn't like me telling the board that because another Wheaton fan, whose identity wasn't even known for sure, might do or say something, that you would automatically agree. True?   

[AndOne]

Well, the conference portion of the schedule is upon us and the fun really starts tomorrow night. With 4 CCIW teams currently in the top 22, it looks like some rock 'em, sock 'em basketball is ahead of us.

While I'll naturally be in Elmhurst tomorrow night, I'm going to be very interested in reading comments from both Wheaton and Wesleyan fans about the orange/green battle in Wheaton. Should be great.

I'm giving Wheaton a slight edge based on home court advantage. If the game was in Bloomington, I'd give the nod to the Weenies for the same reason.

[izzy stradlin]

Dangerous game at home tomorrow against IWU for Wheaton.  Not that IWU isn't normally dangerous playing at King Arena but a few things make this a game potentially more ripe for IWU to steal a road win.  1. Weeknight game with no students on campus so not the typical IWU-Wheaton atmosphere.  2. Much longer layoff for Wheaton.  3. (Hopefully) trying to work Kvam and Teuscher back into the offense after missing significant time. 

[AndOne]

All very pertinent points Izzy. 

[izzy stradlin]

Preview of IWU-Wheaton:

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/titans-likely-to-hear-thunder-in-cciw-opener-at-wheaton/article_9eb7d792-5470-11e2-911b-001a4bcf887a.html

Looks like Kvam is playing and Teuscher is a maybe. 

[AndOne]

Kvam should be 100%. Back on 12/12 when Wheaton played Cornell, he had a very slight limp, and looked to have both an almost normal center-of-mass-velocity and step length equating to a total gait limitation of not more than 5% max.   

[iwu70]

Congrats to IWU's Zman on CCIW Player of the Week!

Should be a great game at King tonight . . . hoping the Titans can put it all together, at long last, and get on a good roll in conference play.  Glad to see Mayberger and Zimmer back . . . and hope all the others play well, together.  WC is a very tough challenge as they have played, along with North Central, about as well as anyone in the country.  If IWU wins this one, then that would be a good away "steal."  +1 in Q's formula?  Right?

Happy New Year to all the CCIW chatsters.

IWU70

[USee]

Looks like the voting for the next Top 25 Poll will be conducted tomorrow night with results posted Thurs or perhaps Fri.
We'll undoubtedly have a new #1 team as Virginia Wesleyan has lost twice since being named #1.
Middlebury, 9-0, and currently #2, has played opponents who have a combined record of 35-54.
North Central, 11-0, and currently #3, has played opponents whose combined record is 68-57.
What role, if any, will opponents records play in the voting?
Will #4 St. Thomas be able to garner enough support to leapfrog either North Central, Middlebury, or both?

So far, it seems like being #1 has been a jinx!

Why does this matter? It seems nice to be ranked #1 but not sure it has any tangible effect. Check that, AndOne won't be able to play the "I can't believe we are only ranked #3" card. Where are all the disrespected Cardinal fans when you need them! Uncle Gamble? 

Hmmmmmmmm. I'm a bit confused by the question.
Why does it matter is not among the world's most important questions, but if it doesn't matter at all, why is there a D3Hoops, a Top 25 Poll, and why do you bother to follow things and post here?   
No, being ranked #1 probably isn't going to make a team play any better, but it IS nice, and DOES signify some degree of respect on a national level.

And please---

Did I give any indication of playing any type of card? At least let me do so before you start pi$$ing.   
Don't lump ALL Cardinal fans together. If one Wheaton fan posts an opinion does he speak for ALL Wheaton fans? Is his opinion automatically yours? I think not. 
If you want to talk to "Uncle Gamble" address him. I don't know who that may be, and don't necessarily share his opinion whoever it is. So please leave me out of any comments you have about him, or any questions you want to ask him. Thank you.

I'm sure you wouldn't want me speculating what you were going to say about a subject before you even said it.
I'm also pretty sure you wouldn't like me telling the board that because another Wheaton fan, whose identity wasn't even known for sure, might do or say something, that you would automatically agree. True?   

Objective achieved. My post was meant to get a reaction and it certainly worked. I am quite pleased with your reply and agree completely with rationale of your answer. I threw in "Uncle Gamble" because I am certain he is (not so) quietly following the board. Also, we aren't so far removed from your posts reminding us that NCC was "Picked XXth by the coaches" that a simple reference to that recent banter as "a card" seemed apropos. 

I am pathetically patting myself on the back and chuckling. Thank you for amusing me. No further reply is needed (but feel free.....)

[USee]

My concern about the game tonight at King Arena is the physicality of IWU. I think Hope and WashU were the best rebounding teams Wheaton has played. Wheaton out rebounded Hope 38-32 and got killed by WashU on the boads 25-40. IWU out rebounded both Hope and WashU by 16 and 5 respectively. In addition, IWU out rebounded last years national champion, UWW, by 13.

If Wheaton is hitting 3's, rebounds don't matter as much. But if IWU can defend the perimeter with any consistency, the rebounding edge may be the difference. Seems like Wheaton has a definitive edge in match ups on the perimeter and IWU has a huge advantage in the paint.

[AndOne]

Well, the conference portion of the schedule is upon us and the fun really starts tomorrow night. With 4 CCIW teams currently in the top 22, it looks like some rock 'em, sock 'em basketball is ahead of us.

While I'll naturally be in Elmhurst tomorrow night, I'm going to be very interested in reading comments from both Wheaton and Wesleyan fans about the orange/green battle in Wheaton. Should be great.

I'm giving Wheaton a slight edge based on home court advantage. If the game was in Bloomington, I'd give the nod to the Weenies for the same reason.

My concern about the game tonight at King Arena is the physicality of IWU. I think Hope and WashU were the best rebounding teams Wheaton has played. Wheaton out rebounded Hope 38-32 and got killed by WashU on the boads 25-40. IWU out rebounded both Hope and WashU by 16 and 5 respectively. In addition, IWU out rebounded last years national champion, UWW, by 13.

If Wheaton is hitting 3's, rebounds don't matter as much. But if IWU can defend the perimeter with any consistency, the rebounding edge may be the difference. Seems like Wheaton has a definitive edge in match ups on the perimeter and IWU has a huge advantage in the paint.

With regard to the rebounding, Mike Schauer is going to have to find someone who can help Nathan Haynes inside. Haynes has been doing a great job on the boards, but he can't do it all himself against teams like Wesleyan and NCC. Perhaps IWU will see more of someone like Sokovich tonight. Among the players who usually see more PT, a logical choice for increased board work might be 6'6" Michael Berg. However, he seems rather immune to any degree of fondness for physical contact, prefering to spend most of his time in the right side corner than anywhere near underneath the basket.

I also think a key to limiting Wheaton's offensive flow, and thus its ability to get off as many good three point opportunities as it would like, is to make Tyler Peters go to his right as much as possible. I mentioned this after the Wheaton-Cornell game and one noted D3 basketball authority basically told me I was full of crap. However, if you watch Peters, its pretty easy to observe that he loves to go left, and, for a right hander, does it much better than the vast majority of right handed players. Its hard for a defender to recognize this because the 1st tendency for for a right hander is usually to go to his right. How many games have you been to where you hear a coach yelling "make him go left" almost all game long? With Peters, I think its the opposite. You're better off making him go right. Many of Wheaton's best looking, and subsequently most successful plays begin with Peters either going left, or passing in that direction.   

[D-3 watcher]

There are noted D3 basketball authority people on this board. Really?? Other than myself. Really??

[AndOne]

Many people have asked me about the availability of NCC games on video. A couple of weeks ago I spoke with NCC SID Clark Teuscher who advised plans were in the works to hopefully make this a reality.

I can now report that all NCC home basketball games will be available on video as NCC has partnered with the local Naperville cable TV outlet (NCTV) to broadcast NCC basketball and wrestling.

http://www.northcentralcardinals.com/news/2013/1/2/MBB_0102135305.aspx

[Pat Coleman]

New No. 1, in yet another close vote:
http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2012-13/week5