MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[sac]

• average attendance for D3 games last year was 402.  Down 5 from 2012.
  


• The top 15 teams in D3 all average over 1,000, with Hope leading at 2,748 per game (which is actually down for them.)

• Calvin was #2 at 1,949.   

• IWU was 6th at 1,186

Keep in mind most attendance numbers are given a big boost with post-season games which often draw the largest crowds of the year.  For those schools lucky enough to host post-season games their actual regular season crowd can be a couple hundred lower than the average that gets reported to the NCAA

[sac]

Elmhurst 72  Trine 68

Excellent video production from Elmhurst.

[Gregory Sager]

Final from Grand Rapids:

Calvin 78
Wheaton 51


Postgame ponderings:

1) Is Wheaton too perimeter-oriented?

2) What would the late Art Kimball have done to me had I taken a cell phone call while on the air? ("Q, tell ya what, you leave R.A. Faganel Hall now on foot and I'll pick you up somewhere around Dwight.")

I had a good laugh with that cell phone call during an otherwise sad game. 

Players not named Teuscher, Peters or Haynes went 1-24 from the field. Mike Kvam is shooting 33% overall this year after another 0-7.  I think Wheaton has some young guards on the bench that can give something more with those minutes than a purely long-range set-shooter.

1-24?  The Ju Ju Hounds could have shot that percentage.

Haha. I think you are probably right.

Hey, if the defense puts a pressure drop on you, then how will it go? The only buckets you'll get are a bucket o' trouble, that's how.

[Gregory Sager]

I was embarassed by the number of empty seats at the Shirk.  This is a major rivalry and a battle of top ten teams, and they can barely fill half the arena??  Forty five years ago we (to the chagrin of the fire marshall) filled Fred Young Fieldhouse with more than that for nearly every game.  Come on townies and students - what the heck is wrong with you!

I have not data to back this up, but it seems to me that decreasing attendance levels at basketball games has been a trend the last several years. I'm curious how much the livestreaming of games has had an impact. There was at least one game last year I neglected to attend because I had a computer connection available allowing me to watch it from my living room couch. If a diehard fan like me would do that, I suspect others have done the same.

The downward trend was in full swing long before most schools started livestreaming their games, though. I think that the decreasing attendance levels over the last decade or so have been more attributable to an expanding menu of entertainment alternatives, even in the small-town environments that make up much of the overall D3 milieu. And by "expanding menu of entertainment alternatives" I'm including a lot of stuff that doesn't require you to leave your dorm room or living room, i.e., video games, DVDs, and downloaded movies.

[bopol]

I was embarassed by the number of empty seats at the Shirk.  This is a major rivalry and a battle of top ten teams, and they can barely fill half the arena??  Forty five years ago we (to the chagrin of the fire marshall) filled Fred Young Fieldhouse with more than that for nearly every game.  Come on townies and students - what the heck is wrong with you!

I have not data to back this up, but it seems to me that decreasing attendance levels at basketball games has been a trend the last several years. I'm curious how much the livestreaming of games has had an impact. There was at least one game last year I neglected to attend because I had a computer connection available allowing me to watch it from my living room couch. If a diehard fan like me would do that, I suspect others have done the same.

The downward trend was in full swing long before most schools started livestreaming their games, though. I think that the decreasing attendance levels over the last decade or so have been more attributable to an expanding menu of entertainment alternatives, even in the small-town environments that make up much of the overall D3 milieu. And by "expanding menu of entertainment alternatives" I'm including a lot of stuff that doesn't require you to leave your dorm room or living room, i.e., video games, DVDs, and downloaded movies.

The D3 games are a lot of family fun, especially on a budget  I can take my entire family to games, get everyone a hot dog, pop and candy and do it for less than $40.  The kids love the band.  The kids love the hands up.  My wife even enjoys the games and she couldn't care less about sports.  I can't imagine taking the family to a Brewers/Bucks game (too expensive, too loud, too, too, far away from the action).  And, honestly, the most fun I've had at a sporting event in the last decade is when Carthage won the CCIW championship at Tarble.

[newCCIWfan]

• average attendance for D3 games last year was 402.  Down 5 from 2012.
  


• The top 15 teams in D3 all average over 1,000, with Hope leading at 2,748 per game (which is actually down for them.)

• Calvin was #2 at 1,949.   

• IWU was 6th at 1,186

Keep in mind most attendance numbers are given a big boost with post-season games which often draw the largest crowds of the year.  For those schools lucky enough to host post-season games their actual regular season crowd can be a couple hundred lower than the average that gets reported to the NCAA

Also keep in mind that most regular-season attendance numbers are usually a ballpark estimate by the home team's SID ( or whoever is responsible for stating the game) and not an ticket-by-ticket count of all patrons.

[izzy stradlin]

Final from Grand Rapids:

Calvin 78
Wheaton 51


Postgame ponderings:

1) Is Wheaton too perimeter-oriented?

2) What would the late Art Kimball have done to me had I taken a cell phone call while on the air? ("Q, tell ya what, you leave R.A. Faganel Hall now on foot and I'll pick you up somewhere around Dwight.")

I had a good laugh with that cell phone call during an otherwise sad game. 

Players not named Teuscher, Peters or Haynes went 1-24 from the field. Mike Kvam is shooting 33% overall this year after another 0-7.  I think Wheaton has some young guards on the bench that can give something more with those minutes than a purely long-range set-shooter.

1-24?  The Ju Ju Hounds could have shot that percentage.

Haha. I think you are probably right.

Hey, if the defense puts a pressure drop on you, then how will it go? The only buckets you'll get are a bucket o' trouble, that's how.

Wow, nicely done!   

[realist]

I looked at the number of followers on the Calvin site on Sat., and it looked like 44 one time, and 49 another when I was logging on.  These numbers were higher than the ones for most games, and I think this is indicative of the national interest from D3 poster types.

[iwu70]

Great win by IWU over Wash U.  Good to see Zimmer and Jordan Nelson starting to contribute.

Good luck to all Titans on exams.

IWU70

[AppletonRocks]

I looked at the number of followers on the Calvin site on Sat., and it looked like 44 one time, and 49 another when I was logging on.  These numbers were higher than the ones for most games, and I think this is indicative of the national interest from D3 poster types.

I was at the comic book store. 

[veterancciwfan]

Random thoughts: 1) Saw the Wash. U/IWU JV game which IWU won by 30 or more. Wash. U's freshmen JVs were small and unathletic. 5 freshmen listed on program and 4 are 6'3" or smaller. Don't know the history of Wash. U's JVs. The Bears have 4 seniors, including 3 significant starters (Cooney, Klimek & Aboona). Maybe Mark Edwards will recruit a dynamite freshman class next year.  2) In 6 games, IWU has averaged outscoring opponents on just 3-point shooting alone by 14. In Saturday's game, 7 IWU players made 3s and none of them were named Rossi or Zimmer. IWU was 11/25 in 3s and is now shooting .482 for the season on 3s. 3) IWU's FT shooting, which was woeful last year (.673), has improved to .711 this year with Davis the leader with a 24/26 Kory Coon-like .923%. 4) I agree with Bob. Overstreet is the one player who is nearly irreplaceable, even though Bryce Dolan is shooting .667 (12/18) on 3s. 5) Nick Anderson's improvement is impressive. He is a big plus this year and he alters or blocks (11 in 6 games) many post shots. 6) Hope's attendance for the 1 pm game with Carthage was 212 while Calvin had 977 for its game with Wheaton.

[Titan Q]

Of IWU, Wash U head coach Mark Edwards said:

"They have the deepest team I have seen in a long time anywhere."

http://www.studlife.com/sports/mens-basketball/2013/12/09/mens-basketball-suffers-rout-at-illinois-wesleyan/

[WUPHF]

Random thoughts: 1) Saw the Wash. U/IWU JV game which IWU won by 30 or more. Wash. U's freshmen JVs were small and unathletic. 5 freshmen listed on program and 4 are 6'3" or smaller. Don't know the history of Wash. U's JVs. The Bears have 4 seniors, including 3 significant starters (Cooney, Klimek & Aboona). Maybe Mark Edwards will recruit a dynamite freshman class next year. 

It would be interesting to review the varsity box scores from WUSTL-IWU games over the past several seasons, and see how many minutes were played by guys who previously played extensive minutes on the JV squad.  I am guessing it is significantly less than you think.

It does seem as though a dynamite freshmen class will be needed to remain competitive in the midwest region and the UAA.   

Chris Klimek should be eligible for an additional season as he missed the 2010-2011 with an injury.  He is a business major.  Maybe he will stay around for a one-year Masters program and a fourth year of basketball.

[WUPHF]

Of IWU, Wash U head coach Mark Edwards said:

"They have the deepest team I have seen in a long time anywhere."

http://www.studlife.com/sports/mens-basketball/2013/12/09/mens-basketball-suffers-rout-at-illinois-wesleyan/

Hard to argue with that.  Even with the loss, WUSTL only dropped two to No. 10 in the latest poll.  It is early, of course, and there has been lots of losses to go around, but that is still saying something.

[bopol]

Anyone have any idea why Marlon Senior did not dress for last night's Carthage-Sliver Lake game?