MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AppletonRocks]

Several thoughts:

Where were the NCC fans?  The seats in the camera view were at best 10% full.

Tillema is a D-1 player and several others on roster are D-1 or D-2 transfers.  Semling is a great coach--very focused on hustle defense and can work with or without a big man.  Best clinic drills I have seen have been from him--and I am a Lawrence and Oshkosh fan.

I don't see anyone, IWU or others, beating them in the NCAA tourney unless Tillema is injured.

[Titan Q]

Several thoughts:
Tillema is a D-1 player and several others on roster are D-1 or D-2 transfers.  Semling is a great coach--very focused on hustle defense and can work with or without a big man.  Best clinic drills I have seen have been from him--and I am a Lawrence and Oshkosh fan.

Remember though, IWU has a D1 (Jordan Nelson - Evansville) and D2 transfer (Pat Sodemann - Truman State) as well.  And these are not the best players on the team - PG Dylan Overstreet, SF Andrew Ziemnik, and PF Victor Davis are.  So the Titans trot out some pretty impressive talent as well.

Again, very different teams, but I don't see a significant difference in talent, all things considered, between IWU and UWSP.

[Titan Q]

I don't see anyone, IWU or others, beating them in the NCAA tourney unless Tillema is injured.

Stevens Point went to OT against Whitman.  Whitman lost to Chicago - the Maroons were pounded by IWU, Wheaton, and Augustana.  Whitman lost to Wash U - Wash U was pounded by IWU.  Whitman also lost to SUNY-Old Westbury.

Stevens Point beat North Central by a basket.  NCC is good, and dangerous, but not great.  The Cardinals have lost to DePauw, Aurora, and Buffalo State.

The Pointers are a tremendous basketball team, but I don't think it's fair to make them out to be an unbeatable type team like that Kalsow, Bennett group was.  Are they the favorite to win the national championship? Absolutely.

[Kovo]

Several thoughts:

Where were the NCC fans?  The seats in the camera view were at best 10% full.

Tillema is a D-1 player and several others on roster are D-1 or D-2 transfers.  Semling is a great coach--very focused on hustle defense and can work with or without a big man.  Best clinic drills I have seen have been from him--and I am a Lawrence and Oshkosh fan.

I don't see anyone, IWU or others, beating them in the NCAA tourney unless Tillema is injured.

Students are on break and it was New Year's Eve.  I think a small crowd was a given.

[AndOne]

Final from Bill Warden Court at Gregory Arena inside Merner Fieldhouse on the campus of North Central College in Naperville:

I think you forgot to provide directional information--isn't it part of the Athletic Complex on the Southwest corner of the North Central Campus in Naperville, IL ?   

More completely, its Bill Warden Court at Gregory Arena in Merner Fieldhouse at the bottom of the Brainard Street hill at 450 S. Brainard St., on the campus of North Central College in Naperville. Or----You could just say "The Hangar." 

[veterancciwfan]

While watching the game, I was thinking about a possible IWU/WSP game, perhaps one for the right to go to Salem. I think IWU is deeper and Davis, Ziemnik, and Anderson might be able to dominate in the paint. But WSP is so good defensively. I imagine any team would want to double Tillema and keep him on the perimeter as long as possible, and IWU could do that and simply let some other WSP player beat them. But Tillema will find the open man and it better not be Trevor Haas. Prior to the game, WSP was shooting .497 on 3s, a remarkable stat. So they have many 3-point options. But after 10 games, IWU is at .459 on 3s. It would be a fantastic game with the edge to the home team. And Augustana v. USP would equally be a pickem game. Much to be determined, but it's OK to speculate about the future potential.

I liked the Merner redo except for the ugly red railings. I know they are for fan protection, but they are difficult to see through while trying to closely watch the court action, especially when players are in the corners. Tip: Get there early and sit in the 5th row or higher and at least 20 feet from the railings (in the new bleacher seats for visiting fans). WSP had almost as many fans as NCC did and they made a lot more noise. It sort of seemed like a home game for WSP. Salem better hope USP makes it to the Final 4 because their fans obviously travel well. Same for IWU. That's a logical reason to put them in opposite brackets if both make the tournament, but that's not going to happen.

[AndOne]

Several thoughts:

Where were the NCC fans?  The seats in the camera view were at best 10% full.

Tillema is a D-1 player and several others on roster are D-1 or D-2 transfers.  Semling is a great coach--very focused on hustle defense and can work with or without a big man.  Best clinic drills I have seen have been from him--and I am a Lawrence and Oshkosh fan.

I don't see anyone, IWU or others, beating them in the NCAA tourney unless Tillema is injured.

Students are on break and it was New Year's Eve.  I think a small crowd was a given.

Not only is NCC on its 6 week Christmas break, and it was New Year's Eve, but it was also snowing, the wind was howling, and it was colder than a witch's ___!

Additionally. for those of you unfamiliar with beautiful downtown Naperville, or as many people refer to it mockingly as NAPPERville, you should know that downtown Naperville on a Friday, Saturday, or the eve of any holiday is referred to by the Chicago and local media as "Rush Street West." Within the confines of downtown there are almost countless restaurants, ranging from about $75 a plate to hot dog and rib carts, and numerous bars and nightclubs. On said evenings, the generally older and middle age/more well-to-do locals populate the restaurants, while up to several thousand 21-35 year olds fill the bars/nightclubs to the seams. There are usually 4 or 5 police cars parked in the middle of Chicago Ave, and 4 or so two person teams of undercover police and 3 or 4 2 person police bicycle teams roaming the downtown area. Additionally, there are almost always plays and concerts scheduled at both Wentz Concert Hall and Pfeiffer Hall on the NCC campus. In summary its so many activities, so little time.   

[AppletonRocks]

Final from Bill Warden Court at Gregory Arena inside Merner Fieldhouse on the campus of North Central College in Naperville:

I think you forgot to provide directional information--isn't it part of the Athletic Complex on the Southwest corner of the North Central Campus in Naperville, IL ?   

More completely, its Bill Warden Court at Gregory Arena in Merner Fieldhouse at the bottom of the Brainard Street hill at 450 S. Brainard St., on the campus of North Central College in Naperville. Or----You could just say "The Hangar." 

I appreciate the clarity. 

[havej]

App Rocks - if Point doesn't find a consistent 3rd scorer, they are by no means a lock to roll through the D3 tourney.  Their most recent success in Vegas and at NCC exposes them to some degree as no one else besides Haas and Tillema is an attacker or playmaker.  If one of the Big 2 doesn't score the ball well, they'll get beat.

Just curious to get your opinion on what level D1 player you seem to think Tillema is.  When he played recently against a more athletic and quicker D3 team (Whitewater) he shot 5-15 and turned it over 4 times.  There is an incredible difference between D1 and D3 quickness and athleticism.

[AndOne]

WSP had almost as many fans as NCC did and they made a lot more noise. It sort of seemed like a home game for WSP. Salem better hope USP makes it to the Final 4 because their fans obviously travel well. Same for IWU. That's a logical reason to put them in opposite brackets if both make the tournament, but that's not going to happen.

Right, veteran. Makes too much sense for the NCAA to do that. 

[Titan Q]

Salem better hope USP makes it to the Final 4 because their fans obviously travel well. Same for IWU. That's a logical reason to put them in opposite brackets if both make the tournament, but that's not going to happen.

Traveling fan base numbers are not part of the D3 selection/seeding/bracketing process...nor should they be.  Not sure if you are serious about that Lanny...but that suggestion is kind of silly.

I'm confident UW-Stevens Point will have ridiculously good numbers (in-region winning %, SOS, results vs regionally ranked) at the time of the selection/seeding process.  If IWU does as well, there are plenty of ways to split IWU and UWSP up.  It's premature to suggest that the selection committee would not do this.  The problem is that IWU lost to Loras, and now heads into CCIW play where I believe the Titans will probably face better competition than UWSP will in the WIAC this year. 

IWU has every opportunity to get split up from Stevens Point...but that will take, say, 12-2 in the CCIW and 2-0 in the conference tournament.  Any more losses than that and the Titans will most likely find themselves in the same quadrant as the Pointers.  The committee has split Amherst and Williams up before...but that is because both had the numbers.  IWU will have to make the same case.

[middhoops]

UWSP is very solid and Tillema is going to get his points against most teams, but they are certainly beatable.  No team is likely to shoot 56% for the season.  There will be some frustrating cold shooting nights ahead. 
If North Central didn't get their bigs in foul trouble I think they would have won the game.  Other teams in the CCIW could beat them on a good day.

For me, watching UWSP's fluid ball movement was really enjoyable.

[AndOne]

Raridon was unusually cool and calm and spent most of the game seated. He drew up one of the best full-court game ending plays with only 2.6 seconds that gave NCC a great chance to win on a wide open corner 3 by Kevin Honn, soph. from Nequa Valley (coach's son I think). It wasn't close and I don't think he made a 3 the whole game. Too bad NCC couldn't finish as WSP appeared tired, especially during the first 10 minutes. The score was 12-12 with about 10 minutes left and NCC could have built a big lead. NCC did lead at half on a 50 foot banked shot by Pat Roarke who played well.

Just to be clear----

1. Todd Raridon is one of the top D3 coaches in the country. Over the years he has learned pretty well when to remain seated, and when he can be on his feet and at his vociferous best. I believe there are only 2 head coaches in the country who have taken 2 different teams to the Final Four, and he is one of them. While the shot was unsuccessful, you'll never see a play that needed to go the entire length of the court in only 2.6 seconds, that results in a better opportunity than the one Raridon drew up at the end of last night's game.

2. The last second shot was taken by soph Tyler Sutton, not his roommate, soph Kevin Honn. Sutton was a solid choice given his history of 3 point shot making ability.   

3. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, Pat Rourke's last second bomb to end the 1st half was launched from approximately 68 feet. A straight on shot from that point would have been from 67 feet, but moving about 12 feet to the right adds about another foot to the distance. 

[AppletonRocks]

App Rocks - if Point doesn't find a consistent 3rd scorer, they are by no means a lock to roll through the D3 tourney.  Their most recent success in Vegas and at NCC exposes them to some degree as no one else besides Haas and Tillema is an attacker or playmaker.  If one of the Big 2 doesn't score the ball well, they'll get beat.

Just curious to get your opinion on what level D1 player you seem to think Tillema is.  When he played recently against a more athletic and quicker D3 team (Whitewater) he shot 5-15 and turned it over 4 times.  There is an incredible difference between D1 and D3 quickness and athleticism.

Example of a team that needs him in your neighborhood--Northern Illinois, UIC, Eastern IL, UW-Milwaukee.   He would improve all these teams.

[AndOne]

Much discussion on the last couple of pages regarding to the outcome of a possible matchup of UWSP, and IWU.
From my observations of UWSP last night and knowledge of IWU, I'd say:

* Tyler Tillema is the real deal. While not as physically strong as Wheaton's Tyler Peters, Tillema is better at creating off the dribble and more adept at finishing in traffic rather than just drawing a foul on the drive. I think Peters is a better passer and defender, and quite possibly a better FT shooter. Both are great outside shooters, with Peters having very slightly more range.
* If Trevor Hass is the 2nd best player on UWSP, I'd like to see a better 2nd best player anywhere in D3.
* While UWSP is undefeated, I'm not close to sure they are the nation's #1 team. There is a definite drop off between their 2nd and 3rd best players. They lack strength on the interior both offensively and defensively. Last night, Tillema was Point's best interior offensive threat. Additionally, they would have gone down to defeat last night had NCC been able to make a layup or had they taken care of the ball better. The Cardinals missed 7, yes 7 layups, and turned the ball over 16 times. They out rebounded the visitors by 11.
* In head to head competition I think Anderson and Heuer would effectively cancel each other. IWU's forward combo of Ziemnik and Davis would be the difference. They are both much more physically imposing than anyone on UWSP, and I think could take the ball inside with relative ease. Should their interior games be somehow thwarted, they are good enough shooters to do considerable damage from outside. Also, as a team, IWU would dominate on the boards, affording themselves many 2nd chance points. Should any IWU defender be able to limit Tellema to his average or less, it would be lights out for sure. JMHO.