MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

I concur: IWU and NCC would be locks; Wheaton is on the high side of the bubble.  Augie is out without the AQ.

I'd consider Wheaton virtually a Pool C lock at .739/great SOS/4-4 vs regionally ranked.

Depending on number of upsets in conference tourneys.  My projection is they are safe for 2 or 3 upsets (placing otherwise Pool A teams, now Pool C locks, in play), but rather iffy beyond that.

[Titan Q]

I concur: IWU and NCC would be locks; Wheaton is on the high side of the bubble.  Augie is out without the AQ.

I'd consider Wheaton virtually a Pool C lock at .739/great SOS/4-4 vs regionally ranked.

Depending on number of upsets in conference tourneys.  My projection is they are safe for 2 or 3 upsets (placing otherwise Pool A teams, now Pool C locks, in play), but rather iffy beyond that.

I don't see it that way, Chuck.  In this scenario I believe Wheaton would easily get in at about Round 10 or 11.  I don't think Thunder fans would have to be grinding out conference tournament games from across the country via video stream as I was on the final Saturday/Sunday last year.

The 4 wins Wheaton already has vs regionally ranked teams, and the 7 games played, is a big-time differentiating factor.  Last year only 6 of 19 Pool C teams selected had 4+ wins over regionally ranked teams:

Wittenberg 6-1
Rhode Island 6-5
Wheaton (IL) 6-5
Western Conn 6-5
UW-Whitewater: 5-3
UW-Stevens Point 4-4

Add Wheaton's tremendous SOS, and those numbers would jump out while on the table vs 7 other Pool C teams in the neighborhood of Round 10.  That 4 is a big number...as is IWU's 5.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Bob, I hope you are right.

In fact, IF you are right, I hope that Augie/Carthage shocks the conference tourney and gets in!  FOUR CCIW teams would be super cool!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

You guys must not have read the handbook very carefully... the NCAA is limiting the number of conferences that get bids to just two outside the AQ... so three total. Sorry about that...

;)JK

[bopol]

And One

No I will not insult your mother, I'm sure she is a sweet lady, who doesn't deserve anybody saying or questioning her.

I'm just glad I'm not the one throwing my mom under the bus.

What facts have I twisted, because if I have, I will try and fix, and admit.

You know, I was talking with some college kids and I told them about "Your Mom' jokes when I was a kid and they were shocked that it wasn't their generation that invented it.  Furthermore, there haven't been a lot of new twists on your mom jokes since I was a kid.  Not a very creative generation, I'd say.

Kind of explains Ziemnik picking IWU now, doesn't it?

[iwu70]

As usual, Q is very likely on target regarding Pool C picks.  He's been pretty much right most years for many years now.  Thanks Q for all the details.  The numbers would drive me buggy, but glad to have your kind help in illuminating it all.  Truly.

Any thoughts on MOP or All-CCIW teams, now that we are drawing down the season?  Perhaps depends on who steps forward bigtime in the NCC-IWU game upcoming?

If I were voting today, not sure what I would say about MOP, given IWU's championship, but no dominant player.  Raridon, Tiknis, Gamble and others get the props, but they didn't get their teams to the finish line.  So, what say you, gentlemen?  If I were to vote, I might vote for Dylan Overstreet for MOP.  But, I know, this is for Most Outstanding, not most Valuable, Player.  Does Zman have a shot?

For All-Conference, if I were voting, for our Titans, I'd say Overstreet and Reed 1st, Zman 2nd, Sodemann 3rd.  And to think Davis and Zimmer don't make All-Conference, but I think that's where we are.  Again, lots of good players out there, deserving of All-Conference honors.  We'll see the coaches' results soon enough. 

Wish there was a Defensive Player of the Year award, and I'd nominate Eric Dortch, (of course). 

Ron Rose for Coach of the Year, no denying!!!

IWU70

P.S.  My Mother is sweet, too, just for the record.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Agreed that it is a total muddle for MOP and even first team all conference.  Also agreed that it should be unanimous for Ron Rose for COY - who else could even be in the conversation?

[kiko]

This week's poll, sorted by movement:

(Rank / School / Points / Point Change)

Rank   School (1st votes)   Pts   PT Change
2   Amherst   574   127
4   Illinois Wesleyan   515   114
17   Washington U.   249   105
18   Rose-Hulman   237   90
11   Hampden-Sydney   343   87
7   St. Mary's (Md.)   450   82
9   Wooster   355   62
21   Wheaton (Ill.)   125   56
3   Middlebury   568   49
14   UW-Whitewater   318   49
8   North Central (Ill.)   446   47
22   MIT   93   37
23   Cortland State   82   30
24   Stevens   68   23
1   St. Thomas (25)   625   17
20   Rhode Island College   195   12
15   UW-Stevens Point   290   10
25   Wesley   29   5
6   Rochester   466   -55
10   Williams   347   -77
19   Calvin   215   -81
13   Catholic   323   -82
5   WPI   499   -86
16   Ramapo   288   -112
12   Whitworth   326   -242

Gainers:

Amherst - Trending upward on the heels of a 17-point win away against then-#7 Williams.  The Lord Jeffs close out their season at #3 Middlebury tomorrow evening.

IWU - as we already know, home win over North Park's reserve team and an away victory over Carthage.

Wash U - home win against regionally ranked Emory and a 19-point thrashing of then-#1 Rochester in St. Louis.

Declines:

Whitworth - a pair of losses to other top-of-the-table NWC schools... first at second-place Whitman (10-4 / 16-7 /Massey #58) and then home to third-place George Fox  (9-5 / 14-9 / Massey #100)

Ramapo - road loss to NJAC second-place team Rutgers-Newark (12-5 / 18-6 / Massey #65)

WPI - blowout win over Wheaton (Mass.) and a 66-60 loss at NEWMAC #3 Springfield (7-3 / 16-7 / Massey #101)

[kiko]

IWU in the d3hoops.com poll since the start of January:

Week	Rank	Record	Pts
1/1	25	8-3	60
1/6	22	10-3	99
1/13	18	12-3	221
1/20	16	14-3	226
1/27	12	16-3	351
2/3	9	18-3	401
2/3	4	20-3	515

Pretty nice slow-and-steady climb since the start of conference play.

[iwu70]

Keep on climb'in Titans.  The top of the mountain is in sight.

#4 looks good, but some miles to go before we sleep.

IWU70

[iwu70]

Ypsi, should I be voting today, I'd say first team All-CCIW = Peters, Overstreet, Gamble or Tiknis?, Raridon and Reed or Zman.   Guess Zman is more likely than Kevin Reed, though love Reed's consistency, footwork, rebounding and passing game.  Glad to see him get Player of the Week this week.

What say you?  Of these, perhaps Peters the best chance for MOP?

Not sure.

Easier on the women's side -- Kuzmanic very likely the MOP, unless WC catches CC this coming weekend, and we have a Co-Champion for the women's title.  Seems to me CC will win that game, but we'll see.  Gotta play them out.   

Two more games to play, so things could surely shift around, perhaps changing my voting preferences. 

IWU70

 

[blue_jays]

I'll take a crack at All-Conference Teams. This is based on conference stats, not overall season stats.

First Team
Tyler Peters (WC) * Most Outstanding Player. As Peters goes, so goes Wheaton, he is most important cog. Can score in multiple ways, one of best defenders in conference.
Derek Raridon (NCC) - If a last shot is going to be taken, he'll take it. Doesn't need to score 20 to impact the game. Clutch and makes his team better.
Nate Haynes (WC) - Best rebounder in the conference and one of the best defenders, took a huge step offensively this year and is shooting 67 percent from the field.
Landon Gamble (NCC) - Borderline unstoppable one-on-one. He's a man amongst boys.
Andrew Ziemnik (IWU) - One of the most versatile offensive skill sets, has a knack for hitting big shots.

Second Team
Nick Sanford (ELM) - Beastly on the boards, and his offense rounded into shape nicely.
Dylan Overstreet (IWU) - Top distributor in the region, the engine that makes IWU go.
Brayden Teuscher (WC) - Pure scorer, can drop 20 points on any given night.
Aaron Tiknis (NCC) - Most versatile big man in the conference, can do it all.
Brandon Kunz (Augie) - Big boy, tough to stop when he catches in the low post.

Third Team
Mitch Thompson (CAR) - Energy guy in the post who can block shots and rebound with the best of them.
Pat Sodemann (IWU) - Great shooter from three-point range.
Mark Holmes (NPU) - Fills up the score sheet and can go off for huge games.
Ben Ryan (Augie) - Gritty and tough, big impact as a freshman. Will develop into Augie's star for next 3 years.
Deavis Johnson (MIL) - Top performer so far for surprising Millikin squad.

Toughest omissions
Tyler Pierce (CAR) - Rejuvenated game and it shows in his offense.
Kevin Reed (IWU) - Rock solid in the lane and very efficient.
Michael Kvam (WC) - When he's hot, the best 3-point shooter in the conference.
Vince Kmiec (NCC) - Defensive stud, can hit big shots.

Side note: no team deserves more than 3 players on the All-CCIW list. Conference is too deep and talented to allow it.

[D-3 watcher]

And One

bopol is indicating that I made a ( mom joke) toward you. I did not and if you feel I did I apologize to you and your mother.

[Titan Q]

I'll take a crack at All-Conference Teams. This is based on conference stats, not overall season stats.

First Team
Tyler Peters (WC) * Most Outstanding Player. As Peters goes, so goes Wheaton, he is most important cog. Can score in multiple ways, one of best defenders in conference.
Derek Raridon (NCC) - If a last shot is going to be taken, he'll take it. Doesn't need to score 20 to impact the game. Clutch and makes his team better.
Nate Haynes (WC) - Best rebounder in the conference and one of the best defenders, took a huge step offensively this year and is shooting 67 percent from the field.
Landon Gamble (NCC) - Borderline unstoppable one-on-one. He's a man amongst boys.
Andrew Ziemnik (IWU) - One of the most versatile offensive skill sets, has a knack for hitting big shots.

Second Team
Nick Sanford (ELM) - Beastly on the boards, and his offense rounded into shape nicely.
Dylan Overstreet (IWU) - Top distributor in the region, the engine that makes IWU go.
Brayden Teuscher (WC) - Pure scorer, can drop 20 points on any given night.
Aaron Tiknis (NCC) - Most versatile big man in the conference, can do it all.
Brandon Kunz (Augie) - Big boy, tough to stop when he catches in the low post.

Third Team
Mitch Thompson (CAR) - Energy guy in the post who can block shots and rebound with the best of them.
Pat Sodemann (IWU) - Great shooter from three-point range.
Mark Holmes (NPU) - Fills up the score sheet and can go off for huge games.
Ben Ryan (Augie) - Gritty and tough, big impact as a freshman. Will develop into Augie's star for next 3 years.
Deavis Johnson (MIL) - Top performer so far for surprising Millikin squad.

Toughest omissions
Tyler Pierce (CAR) - Rejuvenated game and it shows in his offense.
Kevin Reed (IWU) - Rock solid in the lane and very efficient.
Michael Kvam (WC) - When he's hot, the best 3-point shooter in the conference.
Vince Kmiec (NCC) - Defensive stud, can hit big shots.

Side note: no team deserves more than 3 players on the All-CCIW list. Conference is too deep and talented to allow it.

I'm very confident Kevin Reed will make the all-CCIW team...and higher than 3rd Team even.  I believe the CCIW coaches view Reed as a huge key to the Titans.  As Bosko told the Kenosha paper:

"If you take Kevin Reed and Andrew Ziemnik, you could have a how-to tape of how to play college basketball. From the physical play to being in the right spot at the right time to never stopping to work on any given possession, give them all the credit in the world.

I think most of the coaches would agree with that sentiment to some degree.  Reed is not the most talented low-post player in the league, but he's just a really good basketball player.

IWU's Victor Davis would seem to fit your "toughest ommissions" list.  The numbers for IWU's starting forwards:
- Andrew Ziemnik: 11.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
- Victor Davis: 10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.3 apg

Davis has been a big part of a CCIW title team.  His stats aren't eye-popping, but they are also not far from Ziemnik's.  People talk about how physical the Titans are, and that is clearly a huge part of the team's success...and Davis is a big part of that physical presence on both end of the floor.

I have a hard time determining who IWU's MVP is.  For me, it's between Ziemnik and Overstreet.  And before Brady Zimmer got hurt, I think he would have been my pick - he had big games and made big shots in some critical wins (@ Wheaton, vs Augie, and vs NCC in particular).  But Reed and Sodemann are not far from the IWU MVP discussion either, and Davis has been consistently solid as well.

Because of IWU's balance, it's hard to sort out the all-CCIW picture for the Titans.  I think IWU might get 2 on the 1st Team because of the outright conference title...even though on paper those two players won't have numbers that jump out.

[havej]

Reed will undoubtedly make All Conference - any coach in the league would want him because he plays the right way and makes winning plays.  Can't get too caught up in stats when making picks - the top 4 teams should get the vast majority of the all conference selections.

The best players on the best teams should get rewarded, bottom line.