MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Greek Tragedy]

Iwu70,

Question. "A little live by 3, die by the 3"? Don't you usually say that when you have no inside game and you rely on the 3. It seems that IWU has a very good inside game. Looking at the play by play, IWU was just 2-6 from behind the arc in the 1st half, yet they were down 12 at half time. Granted, 5-19 isn't good at all, but 5 more of those 3s were in the last minute of the game. Despite all the missed 3s, they were within 3 with 6 to go. So maybe trying to rely on the 3, they should've stuck with the inside game, their obvious advantage. I wasn't at the game, so maybe there were circumstances that called for a barrage of 3s in the 2nd half.

[nescac1]

Yeah, I imagine that when push comes to shove IWU will be primarily an interior-oriented team, with the three ball used to keep defenses from collapsing into the lane.  Why?  Because IWU has a slew of beefy, physical guys who can score in the post, and this is a year that for, whatever reason, the other top teams seem to be notably lacking in dominant physical presences: that is certainly Cabrini and Stevens-Point's biggest weakness, for example, among other top teams.  Wooster also seems to be just OK on the interior while boasting an elite backcourt.  Augustana certainly had no answer defensively in the post once IWU started throwing it inside consistently.  The top New England teams tend to rely primarily on perimeter quickness and shooting.  Etc. Looking at the top teams in the country, most of the upper-echelon this year seem to be smaller guys ... and IWU guards can certainly shoot the ball, but the top four guys, from what I saw, aren't elite playmakers at the level of a Toomey, Tillema, or Walton-Moss.  IWU's competitive advantage seems to be depth, strength, and skill on the interior. 

[Titan Q]

Updated Massey...

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cb2014&sub=11620

1. UW-Stevens Point
2. Augustana
3. Cabrini
4. Wooster
5. Illinois Wesleyan

[Greek Tragedy]

Augustana 81
Illinois Wesleyan 73

Just too much Hunter Hill for the Titans.  The 5-9 PG scored 28 points, including a personal 15-0 run in the 1st that gave the Vikings control of the game.

These are two really good (Top 5-caliber) Division III teams...and Augustana may be the better team by a small margin.  We'll see how it plays out - it's close.

So their 5'9" guard has a career game and the IWU guards go 5-19 from 3 and all of a sudden Augustana is the better team?     

Sometimes it's not your night but it doesn't mean the best team won.

[Titan Q]

So their 5'9" guard has a career game and the IWU guards go 5-19 from 3 and all of a sudden Augustana is the better team?     

Sometimes it's not your night but it doesn't mean the best team won.

Well, two thoughts.  First, I felt there was very little separation between these two teams coming in.  From Dec 29...

It seems like the big development for Augustana so far this season is how well starting PG Hunter Hill and reserve SG Mark Roth are shooting it from 3:

- Hill: 13-25 (.520)
- Roth: 20-35 (.570)

Hill is actually leading the Vikings in scoring and is really having a great year - 11.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, .565 FG, .520 3-point, .886 FT.

The last couple years it seems like Augie has been short a couple perimeter shooters.  That isn't the case this year...and it makes the Vikings an extremely difficult team to defend because of how good they are at the 3/4/5 spots.  6-8/282 center Kevin Schlitter (9.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .554 FG) is a big presence who has to be accounted for.  6-5 PF Ben Ryan (10.0 ppg 5.6 rpg, .582 FG), the D3hoops.com national Rookie of the Year in 2012-13, is just really effective around the basket with both hands and is hard to defend one-on-one.  And 6-6 SF Tayvian Johnson (10.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .556 FG), who was incredibly raw last year as a FR, is becoming a player - he brings incredible athleticism to the floor.

On paper, I give IWU an edge over Augie over the course of 14 CCIW games...but it is not a big edge.  I like IWU's starting lineup just a little more, and I also like IWU's bench just a little more.  The matchups between these two teams are really very close:

Starters
PG - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3 Jr (9.6 ppg, 3.0 ppg, 4.3 apg)  vs  Hunter Hill, 5-9 So (11.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg)
SG - Pat Sodemann, 6-3 Jr (10.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg)  vs  Danielius Jurgutis, 6-0 Jr (9.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.1 apg)
SF - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-5 Sr (13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg)  vs  Tayvian Johnson, 6-6 So (10.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
PF - Victor Davis, 6-5 Sr (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)  vs  Ben Ryan, 6-5 So (10.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
C - Nick Anderson, 6-10 Sr (7.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg)  vs  Kevin Schlitter, 6-8 Sr (9.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

Bench
(SG) Jordan Nelson, 6-1 Jr (8.6 ppg)  vs  (SG) Mark Roth, 6-1 Jr (8.2 ppg)
(F) Mike Mayberger, 6-6 Sr (8.3 ppg)  vs  (F) Nic Hoepfner, 6-6 Jr (7.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
(G) Bryce Dolan, 6-0 So (7.0 ppg)  vs  (G) Griffin Pils, 6-4 So (3.3 ppg)
(G) Brady Zimmer, 6-4 Sr (3.3 ppg)  vs  (G) Jawan Straughter, 6-1 So (2.9 ppg)
(F) Eric Dortch, 6-4 Sr (4.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg)  vs  (F) Brandon Motzel, 6-7 So (1.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg)


Augie is bigger than IWU in the low post over the course of 40 minutes - the Vikings bring 6-6 Nic Hoepfer and 6-7 Brandon Motzel off the bench.  IWU really only brings perimeter players off the bench right now (sliding Ziemnik to the 4 and Davis to the 5 for stretches) -- Eric Dortch plays the 4, but isn't really a true 4.  If IWU gets 6-8 C Mike Marietti into the rotation it would change things quite a bit.

Looking forward to the IWU/Augie games.  I think the home team will be favored in these matchups.

Second, last night I didn't say that I think Augustana is better than IWU for sure.  I said -- "Augustana may be the better team by a small margin.  We'll see how it plays out - it's close."

I am very impressed with Augie - like IWU, I don't think they have any significant weaknesses at all. Last night was just another chance for me to see them play, and I continue to be more and more impressed.

Bottom line, I think these are two very, very even teams.

[Titan Q]

Sometimes it's not your night but it doesn't mean the best team won.

Bosko agrees with you.  From Saturday, after Augustana beat Carthage in Rock Island...

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2014/1/4/Mens_Basketball_0104145716.aspx

Give Augustana credit. They continue to win games, because they play right, they play hard, and they play very unselfishly. I like our team, and I don't know that the better team won tonight. The team that won tonight played better.

[Greek Tragedy]

No significant weaknesses?

It sounded like IWU had their way on the interior. Is that true?

[augie77]

I agree with Q that these teams are very close.  Much has been made of the fact that Augustana's Hunter Hill went off for 28 points.  It's true that he's unlikely to repeat that effort in Bloomington.  On the other hand, Ben Ryan, last year's D-3 freshman of the year was held scoreless on 0-6 shooting.  Don't expect a repeat of that poor performance.  Until the closing minutes, Augustana was 6-14 from the free throw line.  This from a team that averages 75% at the line.  Had they shot their normal percentages, the game wouldn't have been as close.

Bench scoring and rebounding were virtually a dead heat.

I look forward to the rematch.

[augie77]

It's noteworthy that Augustana's POINT GUARD, Hunter Hill, leads the CCIW in field goal percentage (.581).  How often does that happen?

Additionally, Augustana players hold three of the top four CCIW FG percentages, and five of the top twelve overall.  I would say last year's chief Viking weakness has been addressed. 

[chairman]

Nadelhoffer shot .628 in his senior season at Wheaton.

[augiefan]

Any victory over IWU is an accomplishment. They are the gold standard of CCIW basketball over the years.

Both teams are very good this year, and the game was really exciting to watch.The best of DIII basketball. Gotta love a 5'9" kid giving abig time performance. Hope they both make the NCAA tourney but lots of games to play first. Winning on the road at Wheaton after the euphoria of last night's big win will be a major challenge for Augie.

The big positive for Augie was holding off the Titans when they made their inevitable 2nd half run. Last year's less experienced Augie team blew a big seconf half lead in the final 10 minutes to IWU in the game at Rock Island, but this year the Vikings stayed the course.

And lay off Titan Q. He was just being gracious in defeat,and nobody on the board has greater insights about the Titans and CCIW teams in general.

[AppletonRocks]

Any victory over IWU is an accomplishment. They are the gold standard of CCIW basketball over the years.

Both teams are very good this year, and the game was really exciting to watch.The best of DIII basketball. Gotta love a 5'9" kid giving abig time performance. Hope they both make the NCAA tourney but lots of games to play first. Winning on the road at Wheaton after the euphoria of last night's big win will be a major challenge for Augie.

The big positive for Augie was holding off the Titans when they made their inevitable 2nd half run. Last year's less experienced Augie team blew a big seconf half lead in the final 10 minutes to IWU in the game at Rock Island, but this year the Vikings stayed the course.

And lay off Titan Q. He was just being gracious in defeat,and nobody on the board has greater insights about the Titans and CCIW teams in general.

I thought Sager was the go to guy for everything CCIW.   

[Titan Q]

No significant weaknesses?

It sounded like IWU had their way on the interior. Is that true?

No.  No significant weaknesses I can find.  Do you know of some?

IWU did very well in the low post last night...as the Titans always do.  IWU is one of the most physical teams in Division III, and has 3-point shooters you cannot leave.  But Augustana is actually bigger than IWU and sure doesn't have any interior defense weaknesses that I see.

[URockets]

Augie shooting lights out at half titans down 46-34

Titans won jv game.  Heyen did not play did not make trip over.

Brandon Heyen is 100% now and back at practice.

[Greek Tragedy]

And lay off Titan Q. He was just being gracious in defeat,and nobody on the board has greater insights about the Titans and CCIW teams in general.

Bob has a Posting Up bodyguard now.