MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

I was just worried, Ypsi, as we all know how thin Greg's skin is and all!

Seems the polar vortex has returned over there.  Yikes.  Sounds truly brutal.

Will it be -30 in Kenosha tonight at tip-off time?  Crazy.  Let's hope the pipes in the Toolshed are strong.

GO TITANS!!  Two big games for IWU today up in Cheeseheadland.

IWU70

Brutal indeed - we are having to hand-wash dishes as the line to the dishwasher has frozen!

And the ten day forecast shows no relief.

Mrs. Ypsi and I are seriously considering becoming snowbirds next winter (though this has been totally anomalous - the last several winters we never ever bothered to shovel snow, since the 'solar snowplow' would take care of it soon!

In fact, we are discussing a Florida (or somewhere south) trip this year.  The main problem is a dog who is basically a good dog, but just cannot settle into being a good traveler or a good 'foreign' guest.

[kiko]

Doesn't matter, Mark. Pat could create five new sites a day for D3-institution-related topics, and you'd still find a way to cram green-colored tidbits regarding each and every one of those topics into your daily Wesleyan promote-a-thon right here on good ol' CCIW Chat.

IWU70 just wants to make sure that the grass is always greener on the other site.   

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (15-2, 5-1) @ Carthage (11-6, 4-2) - 7:00pm

Illinois Wesleyan (15-2, 5-1)
G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3/180 Jr (9.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.1 apg)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3/195 Jr (10.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F - Andrew Ziemnik, 6-5/220 Sr (14.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)
F - Victor Davis, 6-5/235 Sr (11.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
C - Mike Marietti, 6-8/245 So (3.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

F - Mike Mayberger, 6-6/205 Sr (9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
G - Jordan Nelson, 6-1/170 Jr (8.3 ppg)
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-0/160 So (6.1 ppg)
C - Nick Anderson, 6-10/230 Sr (5.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
F - Eric Dortch, 6-4/210 Sr (4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Carthage (11-6, 4-2)
G - Donte Logan, 5-11/160 Jr (8.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg)
G - Malcom Kelly, 6-0/185 Sr (19.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
G - Reese Herth, 6-2/170 Jr (12.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.4 apg)
F - Marlon Senior, 6-5/195 Sr (15.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.4 apg)
C - Mike Kastel, 6-7/235 Jr (7.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg)

G - Kevin Sykes Jr, 6-3/160 Jr (11.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
F - Cameron Van Wyk, 6-6/185 Jr (3.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
F - Sean Valentine, 6-4/200, Jr (2.5 ppg)


Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/carthage-s-kelly-to-be-focus-for-titan-men/article_77fe3422-8582-11e3-93e4-0019bb2963f4.html

WJBC radio - http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wjbc.portal#

Live stats - http://www.carthage.edu/athleticspages/livestats/mb/xlive.htm

Live video - http://www.carthage.edu/library/webcast

[carthage guy]

Big game for both teams today...  IWU really has a chance to stake claim on the league with a win..  If carthage wants to think they have a shot at winning the league cant lose tonight...  conference tourney should be in the cards for Carthage... I don't see ncc or Elmhurst getting ahead of Carthage.

If Carthage can stay close to even on the boards and shoot 50 percent from the floor, which they have done in their good wins, could be a win tonight.

Marlon Senior needs to show up for 15 pt 8 bds ish game... malcom needs a malcom game

[AndOne]

Big game for both teams today...  IWU really has a chance to stake claim on the league with a win..  If carthage wants to think they have a shot at winning the league cant lose tonight...  conference tourney should be in the cards for Carthage... I don't see ncc or Elmhurst getting ahead of Carthage.

If Carthage can stay close to even on the boards and shoot 50 percent from the floor, which they have done in their good wins, could be a win tonight.

Marlon Senior needs to show up for 15 pt 8 bds ish game... malcom needs a malcom game

and one

After seeing both teams... What does Carthage have to do beat Wesleyan Saturday night?  Is this a game that comes down to depth vs Carthage home court and star player?

As often is the case in football, this will be a classic speed vs power game. I don't have to tell you which team is which.
For a Carthage upset---quickly, off the top of my head, I'd say:

* "Gramps" Kelly has to have another big game. A minimum of 20.
* CC's other players need to help Kelly. At least one more player needs to score close to 20.
* Kastel needs to think defense and rebounding first. Scoring is secondary, and any points scored are a bonus.
* To me, CC's strengths, after Kelly's scoring potential, are speed and athleticism. They need to run every chance they get and "outquick" IWU's bigs down the floor. Logan needs to lead the break and pull up for open mid range shots or dish to the wings flying to the basket.
* To further utilize their speed, I think CC needs to run Herth & Sykes through screens to create open looks. They then need to hit a good percentage of their outside shots to draw the IWU defense away from the basket a bit. Kelly seems to be more able to create his shots solely off the dribble.
* I'd flash Senior to the middle for 10-15 foot shots which he seems pretty good at. If he's covered, he can go to the basket or outlet to an open man on the perimeter. Senior also has to help Kastel inside defensively.
* Again, using their speed, I'd like to see Kelly, Herth, and Sykes use their 1st step quickness to try and beat their defender to the basket. Should they not be able to do so, they should still put the ball on the floor and do what I call a "Steve D" move---get their defender backing up and go right into him, drawing a foul and getting to the line.
* Again using their quickness, get through the IWU screens and stay close to their man, not giving IWU open looks after they receive a pass.
* Value each possession. Play with a sense of urgency while not turning the ball over.

All easier said than done. 

As you say, Carthage Guy.
That plus a lot more.
Although they are playing at home tonight, the Red Men are a decided underdog.

* I have a feeling IWU's Eric Dortch might be a major factor in tonight's game, particularly on the defensive side of things. If the game gets to that point, perhaps playing the offense/defense switch game with Sodemann/Nelson in on O and Dortch in when the Green Team goes on D. However, I don't think Dortch will necessarily have to wait until possible crunch time to be a major plus for the visitors.

[AndOne]

NCC at Wheaton tonight.

* NCC needs to cut the head off the dragon (we all know who that is) to avoid getting burned. The Cardinals have one of the best perimeter defenders in the land of Oz in CCIW steals leader Vince Kmiec. As a sideline to their battle on the court, will tonight's NCC-WC game feature a good natured running verbal sparing between the dragon and a certain NCC fan (NOT me) as occurred last season?

* Gamble and Haynes will battle tooth and nail inside, and possibly effectively cancel each other. Accordingly, Jack Burchett needs to then dominate on the interior as beyond Nathan the Wheaties lack much interior strength.

* Another major factor, as always in going against the CCIW Orange, will be perimeter defense.

[Titan Q]

Final from Elmhurst:

Elmhurst 83
Augustana 74

Big result in the CCIW race.

[iwu70]

Wow, the Doggies go down!

Titan women coming back vs. CC women, only down 3 now, about 8 minutes to go.

IWU70

[Titan Q]

Titan women coming back vs. CC women, only down 3 now, about 8 minutes to go.

That is what the women's board is for, 70.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Livestats froze w/ 36 seconds to go, and Elmhurst up 75-69 - must have been a wild final 36 seconds (13 combined points)!!

At the point of freeze-up, Augie's Hunter Hill and Elmhurst's Pat Coleman(!) were the co-scoring leaders at 21 apiece - did that change?  (Amazing how Pat Coleman grew several inches, changed his race, and somehow got eligibility back!   Of course, several years ago EMU's best women's player was Ryan Coleman, who had to do all that AND change his gender!   Those Coleman boys are nothing if not competitive! )

More seriously, Elmhurst led all the way since Augie was ahead 4-2; most of the time by double-digits.  The game would have been a total blow-out except for Augie having a huge margin at the foul stripe.  In the last stats I saw, Elmhurst out shot Augie by 58% to 30%, and had more than twice as many threes.

Q, just before I posted I saw your rebuke of Mark.  Many of us are interested in both the men's and women's games - an occasional cross-fertilization of the boards is IMO a good thing, not a reason for a rebuke (and this particular update was very welcomed by me, since these are the last two remaining conference undefeateds, and the scoreboard erroneously listed the women's game as 8:00).

[voxelmhurst]

Outstanding performance this afternoon from Elmhurst's backcourt tandem of Pat Coleman and Kyle Wuest. I was really impressed with how confident the Bluejays looked today. Augustana tripped Elmhurst up a few times in the second half with their full-court press, but the Jays were able to find the open man and get the big baskets when they needed them.  Great game!

[Pat Coleman]

Livestats froze w/ 36 seconds to go, and Elmhurst up 75-69 - must have been a wild final 36 seconds (13 combined points)!!

At the point of freeze-up, Augie's Hunter Hill and Elmhurst's Pat Coleman(!) were the co-scoring leaders at 21 apiece - did that change?  (Amazing how Pat Coleman grew several inches, changed his race, and somehow got eligibility back!   Of course, several years ago EMU's best women's player was Ryan Coleman, who had to do all that AND change his gender!   Those Coleman boys are nothing if not competitive! )

More seriously, Elmhurst led all the way since Augie was ahead 4-2; most of the time by double-digits.  The game would have been a total blow-out except for Augie having a huge margin at the foul stripe.  In the last stats I saw, Elmhurst out shot Augie by 58% to 30%, and had more than twice as many threes.

Q, just before I posted I saw your rebuke of Mark.  Many of us are interested in both the men's and women's games - an occasional cross-fertilization of the boards is IMO a good thing, not a reason for a rebuke (and this particular update was very welcomed by me, since these are the last two remaining conference undefeateds, and the scoreboard erroneously listed the women's game as 8:00).

Well, it would be nice to have conversation on the women's board, and that's fairly light, so I'm in favor of encouraging people to discuss WBB over there.

[BlueJay21]

HUGE victory for Elmhurst today against Augustana. Probably the biggest win for the Jays program since February 2009 when we knocked off the Vikings in the CCIW tournament. Elmhurst is really playing with confidence again and they seem to be improving each time out. Extremely proud of what John Baines and Chris Martin are doing up there. They have the program headed in the right direction and headed there in a hurry. The question now is, "Can the Jays sneak in to the CCIW Tournament this season?"

I realize it's still a longshot with some tough road games coming up in the 2nd half, but they deserve to have that question asked at this point, and that is really saying something. Congrats Jays!

[Pat Coleman]

(and this particular update was very welcomed by me, since these are the last two remaining conference undefeateds, and the scoreboard erroneously listed the women's game as 8:00).

Not on our site. This is how it reads in our system and nothing in my log suggests it was changed.

1/25/2014 5:00 PM CST
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Carthage
83-90 Final

[Mr. Ypsi]

(and this particular update was very welcomed by me, since these are the last two remaining conference undefeateds, and the scoreboard erroneously listed the women's game as 8:00).

Not on our site. This is how it reads in our system and nothing in my log suggests it was changed.

1/25/2014 5:00 PM CST
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Carthage
83-90 Final

Sorry, Pat.  I was sure I saw that somewhere, and checked to see if one of the games was in B'town, since I doubt Carthage has TWO gyms.  Apparently I just misread the scoreboard.

BTW, congrats on leading Elmhurst in scoring this evening!