MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Sorry Q, I somehow overlooked that post!

As long as you read about 30% of my posts, that is all I can ask!

[iwu70]

I like Q's proposed all conference first/second team list of 12.  Hard to argue with those guys. 

Also, agree with the comments here about the officiating situation.  Must be very difficult for coaches and especially players to know who to play, how to strategize, with such inconsistent and at times bizarre officiating.  You could see it at several times in recent games with the anger level of normally calm, mostly respectful coaches, and at the whimsical and astonished looks of experience players when some calls are made.  In the recent IWU games, there were times when three fouls were called with no time off the clock, with no actual play going on -- and with coaches and players looking at the refs with a clear "are you kidding me?" look.  I just don't get how this new way of "calling" games has improved the flow and beauty of the game.  Quite to the contrary.  54 fouls called in the CC-IWU mens game.  Sure does put a new premium on FT shooting, esp. in close games, in closing minutes. 

Great to see Brady Zimmer and Nick Anderson get some useful minutes and for both to come through and make contributions.  Titans do have great depth with no decline in overall level.  In fact, sometimes when the bench players are in, the quality improves and the lead extends.  Has happened a number of times this season when Mayberger, Dortch or Nelson brought their new energy, scoring and defense to the floor.  Can happen with others too -- esp. when Dolan gets hot.

Would love to be at King this Saturday for that game.  Save for the showdowns of IWU vs. Wash U over the years, this one is going to be about as good as it gets in CCIW or D3 play. 

IWU70

[AndOne]

hats off to Kenny Faulkner who truly was the star of tonight's festivities. All the Gregory Arena renovations looked great and really provided Kenny with a grand stage. Sure was mighty convenient of the Thunder and Cardinals to show up and provide a little side entertainment to accompany the main show.

I say this not at all because Wheaton lost (they certainly deserved to) but because this game got away from the officials early and was over their heads from the beginning. Wheaton-North Central is always a dogfight and it was instead called at times like a ballet recital and at other times like a cage match. Much of the game was hard to figure out what was and what wasn't a foul. With a terrific basketball game going on, we had to see Landon Gamble, Jack Burchett, Brandon Williams, Nate Haynes, Tyler Peters, and more miss significant minutes in both halves due to foul trouble.

Hopefully the officiating crew on Sat at King Arena will not include Mr "Don't Mind I wasn't in the right position to make that call" Falkner

Singling out Kenny Faulkner as the focal point for the ills that plague officiating within the conference is short sided at best. There are several more refs besides Mr. Faulkner who regularly display deficiencies in hustle, positioning, interpretation, decisiveness, consistency, poise, and communication. Many of these problems are a function of both age and habit. Several of the refs lack the physical agility and quickness to keep up with the game, and many have been in the habit of calling a game a certain way for multitude of years and not only won't, but can't change the manner in which they view and interpret game action.
A poll needs to be taken among the conference coaches. Refs receiving low marks from, lets say, half the coaches should be waived goodbye to, and some new talent brought in. Only by hitting the refresh button will conference officiating be able to be elevated to a higher and more enjoyable level. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Usually coaches across the country do rate officials... not sure what those ratings end up meaning, but I do know near me they changed a ton this year including put one assigner in place for conferences covering at least four states. It has changed things very much for the better especially since I have seen more refs in gyms I frequent every game night than I have ever seen in the past. Very refreshing... new crews have brought in better officiated games... and we aren't stuck with the bad ones getting games they shouldn't be calling.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Don't know how many of you saw my post yesterday on the CCIW In-Game Updates board, but there was one stretch of the IWU/Carthage game where 5 fouls were whistled in approximately 5 seconds of game time!  While the camera did not always have a great angle, IMO 4 of those 5 were bad calls (two seemed totally imaginary; two would probably have better been non-calls; only the last was IMO truly a foul).  Talk about ruining the 'flow' of the game!

(As I also pointed out on that board, this is not sour grapes or whining - 3 of the 5 calls were against Carthage [and 2 Red Men eventually fouled out].  I just don't like over-officiating.)

[Mr. Ypsi]

Sorry Q, I somehow overlooked that post!

As long as you read about 30% of my posts, that is all I can ask!

Now, Q, I generally read 100% of your posts!  That one just somehow avoided my attention or my memory.

[AndOne]

Final: IWU 80, Carthage 66.

They announced the NCC/Wheaton score just before the game ended - I though the Shirk roof might blow off!

It appears that late last evening, North Central AD Jim Miller rec'd notification from his counterpart at IWU that a case of champagne would be arriving in the NCC athletic office tomorrow morning as an expression of gratitude for the Cardinals knocking off the Wheaties last night. 

Worth mentioning though that in terms of the battle to host the CCIW conference tournament, Wheaton's loss @ NCC was insignificant.

I believe labeling NCC's victory over Wheaton as "insignificant" overlooks the effect the loss may have had on the collective Wheaton psyche. Rather than going into next Saturday's game on an eight game winning streak with the highest possible degree of confidence, the Wheaties must now spend the next week operating under the increased pressure brought on by last night's failure. Additionally, there is the realization that they have already suffered a L this season at the hands of the Weenies.   

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final: IWU 80, Carthage 66.

They announced the NCC/Wheaton score just before the game ended - I though the Shirk roof might blow off!

It appears that late last evening, North Central AD Jim Miller rec'd notification from his counterpart at IWU that a case of champagne would be arriving in the NCC athletic office tomorrow morning as an expression of gratitude for the Cardinals knocking off the Wheaties last night. 

Worth mentioning though that in terms of the battle to host the CCIW conference tournament, Wheaton's loss @ NCC was insignificant.

I believe labeling NCC's victory over Wheaton as "insignificant" overlooks the effect the loss may have had on the collective Wheaton psyche. Rather than going into next Saturday's game on an eight game winning streak with the highest possible degree of confidence, the Wheaties must now spend the next week operating under the increased pressure brought on by last night's failure. Additionally, there is the realization that they have already suffered a L this season at the hands of the Weenies.

Actually, the outcome was totally irrelevant for the hosting battle.  Q may have upgraded that to 'insignificant' for the reasons you cited.  Though it could work either way: Wheaton might come in more 'tail between the legs'; they also might come in more 'chip on the shoulder' - not knowing the players personally, I have no idea which is more likely.

[Titan Q]

I believe labeling NCC's victory over Wheaton as "insignificant" overlooks the effect the loss may have had on the collective Wheaton psyche. Rather than going into next Saturday's game on an eight game winning streak with the highest possible degree of confidence, the Wheaties must now spend the next week operating under the increased pressure brought on by last night's failure.

Maybe.  But since we have no idea how to determine if the psychological implications of Wheaton's loss at NCC will hurt (or help) the Thunder, I'm looking at it pretty simply - if IWU beats NPU Wednesday, the IWU @ Wheaton game will determine who hosts the conference tournament (just as it would have if Wheaton had won at NCC).

NCC did not inflict the damage to Wheaton that this tweet from Saturday afternoon (retweeted by @NCCBasketball) would suggest:

Max Ishikawa ‏@AS1AN_SENSATI0N 
Big game tonight vs Wheaton! It's a redout. Let's get a ton of people in Merner at 7! Let's end Wheaton's chance at winning the CCIW!

Wheaton still "controls it's own destiny", and the big game vs IWU is at King Arena.

[toooldtohoop]

I would be very surprised to see anything other than a fierce effort by the Thunder on Saturday.  This team does not play with its tail between its legs.  They are led by some very competitive upperclassmen.

I doubt there is ANY team in this conference that would come in soft for a season ending game that meant conference title and hosting the tournament.

[D-3 watcher]

It should be senior night as well Saturday night. The place will be jumping, it's going to be very fun and physical. Players love big crowds, doesn't matter if their home or away.
They like sending the home crowd home upset, might be more fun than pleasing their own home crowd with a win.

[iwu70]

Surely one of the great games of the CCIW season, of the D3 season upcoming at King.  Senior night, huge crowd, and both coaches and teams very ready to have at it. 

Go TITANS!

IWU70

[Titan Q]

Massey now has the IWU @ Wheaton game at "50%" - a pure pick 'em.

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

[USee]

I believe labeling NCC's victory over Wheaton as "insignificant" overlooks the effect the loss may have had on the collective Wheaton psyche. Rather than going into next Saturday's game on an eight game winning streak with the highest possible degree of confidence, the Wheaties must now spend the next week operating under the increased pressure brought on by last night's failure.

Maybe.  But since we have no idea how to determine if the psychological implications of Wheaton's loss at NCC will hurt (or help) the Thunder, I'm looking at it pretty simply - if IWU beats NPU Wednesday, the IWU @ Wheaton game will determine who hosts the conference tournament (just as it would have if Wheaton had won at NCC).

NCC did not inflict the damage to Wheaton that this tweet from Saturday afternoon (retweeted by @NCCBasketball) would suggest:

Max Ishikawa ‏@AS1AN_SENSATI0N 
Big game tonight vs Wheaton! It's a redout. Let's get a ton of people in Merner at 7! Let's end Wheaton's chance at winning the CCIW!

Wheaton still "controls it's own destiny", and the big game vs IWU is at King Arena.

Wheaton lost two tough road games earlier this CCIW season, @Carthage and @IWU. They responded to their early 3-2 conference record with a 7 game win streak. I would expect the Thunder to be ready for a down to the wire brawl on Saturday at King. There are no mental demons in a game like this.

[AndOne]

I believe labeling NCC's victory over Wheaton as "insignificant" overlooks the effect the loss may have had on the collective Wheaton psyche. Rather than going into next Saturday's game on an eight game winning streak with the highest possible degree of confidence, the Wheaties must now spend the next week operating under the increased pressure brought on by last night's failure.

Maybe.  But since we have no idea how to determine if the psychological implications of Wheaton's loss at NCC will hurt (or help) the Thunder, I'm looking at it pretty simply - if IWU beats NPU Wednesday, the IWU @ Wheaton game will determine who hosts the conference tournament (just as it would have if Wheaton had won at NCC).

NCC did not inflict the damage to Wheaton that this tweet from Saturday afternoon (retweeted by @NCCBasketball) would suggest:

Max Ishikawa ‏@AS1AN_SENSATI0N 
Big game tonight vs Wheaton! It's a redout. Let's get a ton of people in Merner at 7! Let's end Wheaton's chance at winning the CCIW!

Wheaton still "controls it's own destiny", and the big game vs IWU is at King Arena.

Wheaton lost two tough road games earlier this CCIW season, @Carthage and @IWU. They responded to their early 3-2 conference record with a 7 game win streak. I would expect the Thunder to be ready for a down to the wire brawl on Saturday at King. There are no mental demons in a game like this.

With apologies to the "Asian Sensation," postings like his make me glad that I've never asked Twitter to dance.