MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Mr. Y reporting in from Salem.  I doubt any Titan fans at the game (at least none sitting anywhere near me) would agree that the refs were calling fouls consistently - especially in the second half.  In the first half it was called way too tight against both teams, and several players got in early foul trouble.  But in the second half I heard may fans (including myself) screaming for the refs to be consistent - the very same situation that was called a charge if IWU had the ball, was called a block if UWW had the ball.  It really played havoc with both our offense and our defense. 

A great comeback which fell short when the shooting suddenly went completely dead - I don't know if it was literally true, but it sure felt like we missed the last twelve shots of the game!

Congratulations to UWW, and especially to KJ Evans - I believe he had 31 points!

[Mr. Ypsi]

The Amherst/Williams game was an absolute stunner.  Amherst easily won all three previous games ... so, naturally, Williams absolutely ran them out of the gym!  Duncan Robinson (30 points) and Mike Mayer (20+ points and a kajillion rebounds and blocks) were especially on fire, but the entire team played tonight in a way that if they could do it all the time they would be unbeatable by any d3 team I've ever seen.  Just an amazing performance!  (And of course it didn't help Amherst that Toomey did not score a single point until sometime after the game was already totally decided.)

[GoPerry]

Refs didn't shoot 5-23 from the 3-point line.  live by it, die by it.

I didn't say it was all on the refs, but you can't honestly say the way the game was called didn't affect our inside game. Victor Davis had 4 charging fouls called on him. Of course we have to shoot better, but one of our strengths was completely taken out of the game.

One of your biggest team strengths was 3-point shooting, statistically the only thing IWU did different today vs all season was shoot the ball from 3.

Would tend to agree with this.  IWU season avg from 3 pt was .420, today's 5/23 was .217 . . . the difference of 4 more 3pt FGs made.  Jordan Nelson 0/6 definitely hurt with some decent looks.

At any rate, congratulations to IWU for a great season.  Another Final Four berth is definitely something to be proud of(Thunder fans still waiting for our first).

Your school won the national title in 1957, GoPerry -- and at a higher level, no less, as NCAA College Division had scholarship teams and is considered to be the precursor of D2 as well as D3.

Yes, well aware of that.  And as I wrote that post I had a feeling I'd be called out on not being more specific. Would never wish to slight Coach Pfund, Mel Peterson et al  - (proudly took a picture next to their name in the HofF in Springfield).  I was of course referring to WC (Crusaders or Thunder) having yet to make a FF in the Div III tournament era beginning in the mid70s. 

[Pat Coleman]

I didn't say it was all on the refs, but you can't honestly say the way the game was called didn't affect our inside game. Victor Davis had 4 charging fouls called on him. Of course we have to shoot better, but one of our strengths was completely taken out of the game.

If you're going to lower your shoulder, lower your head and lead with your elbows, then those are going to get called. I didn't have a problem with any charge called on IWU in the second half. (First half, IWU was shooting on the other basket, 80 feet from me, so I don't feel like I have an expert opinion.)

[Titan Q]

UW-Whitewater 71
Illinois Wesleyan 63

http://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=2787&path=mbball

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/evans-wisconsin-whitewater-ice-cool-shooting-iwu/article_b5dedd6a-7873-5e2f-a4c2-72b820e9dc8c.html

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/semifinal-woes-too-familiar-for-titans/article_b927eb5a-2ce9-54fd-974f-90cfe1e5124c.html


Definitely a tough game for the Titans last night in the national semifinal.  A few thoughts...

* IWU really had a hard time dealing with UWW star KJ Evans.  Not only was it difficult for the Titans to keep the 6-3 junior from getting into the lane off the dribble, but he hit a number of extremely difficult shots once he got into the lane.

* The Titans did not shoot the ball well.  IWU was a very uncharacteristic 5-23 from beyond the arc, and could not hit the big 3 needed in the final minutes to pull off the comeback - Pat Sodemann, Bryce Dolan, and Jordan Nelson all had great looks to cut the lead the single digits, but those did not fall.

* IWU, overall, was just never really in sync in the game.  The Titans made some uncharacteristically bad decisions throughout the course of the game, and never got in their normal flow.  The Warhawks certainly had a lot to do with that, but IWU just was not at its best last night.

* UW-Whitewater is a great team.  KJ Evans, who it seems should be on a Division I roster somewhere, just distorts the game with his athleticism and ability to score, and then the Warhawks have a number a great dangerous weapons around him.


The university hosted a very nice reception for the Titans at the team hotel after the game - it was a nice opportunity for the hundreds of IWU fans in Salem to thank Ron Rose and his team for an amazing season.  The players and Ron Rose put on their game faces and did a great job speaking to the group, but they were all clearly struggling with the fresh emotions of the loss - it's clear that game really hurt (hurt for fans too).

It was nice for IWU fans to get a chance to thank the 6-man senior class (Nick Anderson, Victor Davis, Eric Dortch, Mike Mayberger, Andrew Ziemnik, Brady Zimmer) - they were really easy to root for as Titans.  Those guys really played hard 100% of the time and so unselfishly, and were all terrific leaders within the program.  They were great Titans.

Very tough loss, but a great season for the Titans.  It was a lot of fun following them from afar -- very glad I made the trip here to Salem.

[Titan Q]

If you're going to lower your shoulder, lower your head and lead with your elbows, then those are going to get called. I didn't have a problem with any charge called on IWU in the second half. (First half, IWU was shooting on the other basket, 80 feet from me, so I don't feel like I have an expert opinion.)

The charge call on Mike Mayberger's drive to the basket at 12:47 (IWU down 4 at the time, and Mayberger made the shot) was awful, Pat.  It looked bad live, but then when they showed the replay it was obviously a huge blown call.

It wasn't the reason IWU lost, but it was a really bad call.

[nescac1]

I missed most of the game, alas, but I can say I'm glad not to have to face Davis, Dortch, and
Z-man.  Those are some physical dudes and they will surely be missed next year.  It was pick your poison for Williams as Whitewater's quickness advantage will also pose issues, but the Ephs have often had a tough time with burly guys down low.  Kudos to the IWU fans for the impressive turnout.  I'd say there was as much green as combined purple in the arena last night, the IWU fans really travel well.

[oldknight]

If you're going to lower your shoulder, lower your head and lead with your elbows, then those are going to get called. I didn't have a problem with any charge called on IWU in the second half. (First half, IWU was shooting on the other basket, 80 feet from me, so I don't feel like I have an expert opinion.)

The charge call on Mike Mayberger's drive to the basket at 12:47 (IWU down 4 at the time, and Mayberger made the shot) was awful, Pat.  It looked bad live, but then when they showed the replay it was obviously a huge blown call.

It wasn't the reason IWU lost, but it was a really bad call.

I agree. I also thought one of the second half charging calls on Davis was an extremely poor call. In the end though, IWU could have won the game but just couldn't make the kind of shots they needed to make (and often do make) in order to win. I mentioned on the MIAA board that as the game was coming to a close it seemed that the Titans' play was very reminiscent of how Calvin lost last week at the Shirk Center--a good team that just didn't play well enough to win. Whitewater is an excellent team, played the kind of game you expect from a champion, and is a worthy finalist.

[SJ2]

As a former player under Coach Rose, obviously not hiding my identity through my username, I wanted to share my thoughts on IWU's senior class. I won't touch on the game, as I think everyone here has adequately summed up last night's matchup. In addition, there is already a much larger IWU contingency on this board than any other team in the CCIW and that clearly rubs some posters the wrong way.

IWU's senior class this year deserves the utmost praise from any person who values what the experience of being a Division III student-athlete is about. Not only were they a huge part of two Final Four runs and two CCIW championships, the first of both for Ron Rose, each senior is as well liked and well respected on campus as anyone in my time around Illinois Wesleyan. Each senior carries a tremendous GPA, is actively involved in some type of community service, a few are very involved in campus ministry, all put in extra time in the gym, and I think if you ask anyone at IWU they would say this group is friendly, engaging, and Coach Rose would describe them as very coachable. Not to mention the unselfishness of the group who in four years have accepted any role given to them without ever a complaint. Without waxing poetic completely, this group is full of good basketball players who are better people and make IWU the program it is.

I think Malcom proved this year that players do in fact read the board when they are still playing. I know we used to read it on bus rides home from road games to get a feel for how other games in the conference went, and frankly, used some of this board as motivation when people said some things about us we didn't agree with. I think this room (and D3Hoops.com, which is awesome) makes Division III basketball a much better overall experience for those involved. I enjoy reading and following throughout the year and think it makes a great league in the CCIW a little bit better for fans. Looking forward to what next year has to offer for all teams and posters here. Go Titans.

[bopol]

Congratulations to IWU on a great year.  All the teams that made the tournament represented the conference well, but IWU was especially fun to watch and it's a shame the season ended up a day earlier for them than it should have.

Good luck to all the seniors in their future careers.  I especially enjoyed watching Malcom Kelly (my favorite Carthage player) and Victor Davis (my favorite non-Carthage player) through the years.  I'll need some new favorites for next year (Donte Logan has the inside track in Carthage though).

It seems too soon for the season to be ending 

[Greek Tragedy]

How was the Whitewater crowd? I'm guessing it wasn't too big as the women were playing less than 3 hours north of Whitewater in Stevens Point for their Final Four.

KJ Evans is a stud. Whitewater always recruits guys that are athletic and quick. I think had Whitewater won the conference, Evans may have gotten POTY ahead of Tyler Tillema. It's amazing the guy is 6'3" and is so active on the boards as well. Whitewater has him for another year too.

[Titan Q]

Congratulations to Andrew Ziemnik and Tyler Peters on being named to the 2014 D3hoops.com All-American team!

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-americans/men/2014

[iwu70]

No streaming video for the championship game just STINKS.

IWU70

[gordonmann]

I hear that. No live stats either.

Welcome back to the 1990s

[sac]

The free weekend of CBS Sports Network came in very handy for me this weekend.