MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[toooldtohoop]

As much as it pains me to admit it, Q and Sager are correct about the Thunder at this stage.  We really needed that win at Defiance.

Our low post offense is a work in progress, with questionable potential.  Berg is working really hard to establish that presence on offense.  It is just not his natural "game".  In each of this season's games, he has been a presence down low and has been aggressive about taking it to the rim.  Last night he did the same, but did not have his feet under him and did not go up and strong to the rim.  He scored a couple of times, but was off balance. 

I thought the Thunder rebounded well in the first half against Wash U.  The second half seemed a different story.  Our bigs got fatigued, and the Bears depth took a toll. 

Interesting officiating over the two nights.  In game one against Olivet, there were 30 fouls called in the first half.  And it was not a physical game at all.

Last night, the first half was very physical.  Guys literally throwing opponents to the floor with no call.  3 fouls against the Bears and 5 against Wheaton in the first half.

Then in the second half, the whistles started to blow.  12 second half fouls for Wash U and 14 for Wheaton. 

I feel sorry for the players.  They deserve better than what they are getting.

[AndOne]

Interesting officiating over the two nights.  In game one against Olivet, there were 30 fouls called in the first half.  And it was not a physical game at all.

Last night, the first half was very physical.  Guys literally throwing opponents to the floor with no call.  3 fouls against the Bears and 5 against Wheaton in the first half.

Then in the second half, the whistles started to blow.  12 second half fouls for Wash U and 14 for Wheaton. 

I feel sorry for the players.  They deserve better than what they are getting.

tooold,

Although some will argue, I think such has been the case for some time. For several years, it seems like there are several instances each game where one time down the floor, all a player has to do to get whistled for a foul is to breathe on his man too hard. The next time down, the same guy can tackle his man and the ref doesn't even think about blowing his whistle. 

[veterancciwfan]

Mark: Only 450 in Merner Saturday. Is that typical for a Sat. nonconference game or was there a factor that would cause low turnout?

[AndOne]

From a personal standpoint, I usually experience a feeling of perplexity as to the level of student attendance no matter how many may be in attendance, and even if most individuals might consider the number impressive.
However this particular Saturday the attendance figure was not surprising. This is due to the fact that this is FINALS WEEK at NCC with exams tomorrow, Tues, and Wed before the traditional 6 week vacation period begins Thanksgiving day with the 2nd trimester not beginning until 1/5/15.

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (2-1) vs Milwaukee School of Engineering (1-2), 7:00pm...

Illinois Wesleyan (2-1)
G - Dylan Overstreet, 6-3/180 Sr. (14.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.0 apg)
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-0/165 Jr (12.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G - Pat Sodemann, 6-3/195 Sr. (3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
F - Ryan Coyle, 6-6/208 Jr. (11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
C - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 So (9.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

G - Jordan Nelson, 6-1/170 Sr. (8.0 ppg)
G - Andy Stempel, 6-3/180 So (4.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/175 Jr (4.3 ppg)
F - Alec Bausch, 6-6/210 So (4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
C - Mike Marietti, 6-8/245 Jr.  (3.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg)

Milwaukee School of Engineering (1-2)
G - Jeremiah Erdmann, 6-0/175 Sr. (3.7 ppg, 4.3 apg)
G - Collin Seubert, 6-2/190 So. (8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
F - Austin Stueck - 6-3/190 Jr. (20.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.3 apg)  Preseason 1st Team All-American (D3hoops.com)
F - Nathan Verdun - 6-5/165 Sr. (6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
F - Connor Patterson - 6-6/215 Jr. (9.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg)

F - Dylan Sommerfield, 6-4/190 So. (5.0 ppg)
G - Brent Radlinger, 6-0/160 Jr. (3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg)
F - Steve Morel, 6-3/210 Jr. (2.7 ppg)


Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/rose-hoping-titans-continue-solid-play/article_4e57be11-478e-5ad7-9dc3-0d64a6c21794.html

Live Video/Stats - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/

WJBC Radio - http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wjbc/

MSOE site - http://www.go-raiders.com/sports/mbkb/index

[Titan Q]

MSOE returns 3 starters from a 21-5/16-4 team, including D3hoops.com preseason 1st Team All-American Austin Stueck, a 6-3 wing.  The Raiders were picked 2nd in the NACC, behind Aurora and ahead of Benedictine.  On Saturday they lost at home to Benedictine by 1.

Should be a good test for IWU and another chance to see where the Titans are.

[iwu70]

Looking forward to the two games at Shirk tonight, my last in person look before heading back to warmer climes, back to the Far Side. 

Augie the new D3hoops.com #1, IWU at a more reasonable #8, Wheaton dropping off the top 25 list. 

Should be a good game, a good challenge for the Titans tonight in the Shirk home opener.

Dolan and Seibring likely starting, though Nelson now "available" according to a Coach Rose quote in the Pgraph piece. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all the CCIW sports fans and chatsters.

IWU70

[AndOne]

Congrats to North Central's Charlie Rosenberg on being named CCIW Player Of THe Week.
Charlie averaged 24 points in NCC's opening weekend Tip-Off Tourney.

http://cciw.org/news/2014/11/24/MBB_1124141547.aspx

[toooldtohoop]

I'm thinking about heading to Carthage next weekend for the two day tournament.  Anybody have hotel recommendations and maybe a restaurant or two?
Thanks!

[Gregory Sager]

Since NPU football broadcasting commitments kept me from seeing North Park's home scrimmage (and other responsibilities here forced me to watch the game @ St. Norbert online rather than ride the bus with the team up to DePere, WI), tonight I get my first eyewitness look at the '14-'15 Vikings. While I think that live streaming is the best thing that's happened to D3 basketball since Pat Coleman got the crazy idea to devote an Internet website to the subject, it's still no substitute for seeing a game in person.

I'm not totally sure what to expect from NPU tonight against Eureka, but I'm looking forward to seeing (and calling) it.

[AndOne]

I'm thinking about heading to Carthage next weekend for the two day tournament.  Anybody have hotel recommendations and maybe a restaurant or two?
Thanks!

tooold--

Check the Carthage web site for possible hotels. The hotels listed on the various school sites usually have an arrangement with the school and offer discounts for school related activities. Call the hotel and tell them you are coming in for a Carthage event and you may be able to get a discounted rate.

[AppletonRocks]

Since NPU football broadcasting commitments kept me from seeing North Park's home scrimmage (and other responsibilities here forced me to watch the game @ St. Norbert online rather than ride the bus with the team up to DePere, WI), tonight I get my first eyewitness look at the '14-'15 Vikings. While I think that live streaming is the best thing that's happened to D3 basketball since Pat Coleman got the crazy idea to devote an Internet website to the subject, it's still no substitute for seeing a game in person.

I'm not totally sure what to expect from NPU tonight against Eureka, but I'm looking forward to seeing (and calling) it.

I hope the ghost of Ronald Reagan at Eureka College brings peace and tranquility to the US tonight, regardless of the game results.  Destroying others' property for the theft of goods or for protest is below our standards.   

[Gregory Sager]

I'm thinking about heading to Carthage next weekend for the two day tournament.  Anybody have hotel recommendations and maybe a restaurant or two?
Thanks!

tooold--

Check the Carthage web site for possible hotels. The hotels listed on the various school sites usually have an arrangement with the school and offer discounts for school related activities. Call the hotel and tell them you are coming in for a Carthage event and you may be able to get a discounted rate.

That's a good tip that's always worth repeating whenever someone considers following a team on the road for a tournament. Thanks, Mark.

[AndOne]

Score 78+, IWU normally wins. Final in Jacksonville, IWU 89, IC 64.  Titans win the two game tournament. 

Big big game today by Bryce Dolan, at least 5-6 treys, overall good floor game.  Strong game, better FT shooting by Trevor Seibring.  He's a tough tough kid down low.  Titans scored at will, penetrated well and kick out for open threes.  Way way too much for the Blueboys today.  Titans finding their rhythm.  Nice contributions from the second group, esp. Pennington, Bausch, and Stempel.    Coach Rose still using basically a ten player rotation, with a number of pine-sitters also getting 2-3 minutes today.  No Nelson at all, must be injured or under the weather or something.  Nelms still out with an ankle injury.  Coach Rose has lots of options.  If Titans hitting on all cylinders, they could be very good. 

Titans home opener Tuesday evening at The Shirk, vs. MSOE. 

IWU70

I attended the IWU @ Benedictine game. Dolan was the most effective and best player on the floor for the Greenies. If a couple more of his teammates would have played like he did IWU would have easily gone home with a W.

Other observations of IWU so far:

* I was surprised to see Seibring starting in place of Marietti. Did he just flat beat Marietti out, or is Mr. M injured? The IWU fans I spoke with that night were also very surprised at seeing him start.

* Pat Sodemann looked like he has been on a regiment of vitamins that are laced with old and slow supplements. He seemed to huff and puff up and down the court, and was totally ineffective. He was 0 for 4 in the Ben U game including an air ball from the left corner. It looks like he still hasn't come out of it as he is now 2 for 18 through three games.
Least you think me insane, I mentioned my observations to several IWU fans both during halftime and after the game. Each and every one I spoke with was in total concurrence. Furthermore Ron Rose made a big mistake subbing Sodemann in for Dolan with 41 seconds left.

* Ryan Coyle started out very well in the BU game and then cooled off. Seemed like he was spending a lot of time to far away from the basket considering his height and solid frame. I see he them had a great game in a subsequent contest. I think Coyle will eventually develop into a solid scorer on a regular basis . He sat for his first 2 years so I think the Green fans will see some inconsistency before he evolves to a dependable player on a regular basis.

* Overstreet scored 16 points but almost all of then seemed like they came on drives. He shot very poorly from outside. He had 5 assists but also had 5 TOs. For IWU to be successful it's floor leader needs to have a better assist/TO ratio, and also to shoot better from outside. I suspect this will occur sooner rather than later based on his history. I believe his overall shooting has already improved.

* Jordan Nelson went 3 for 12 and celebrated his 3 made baskets like he had just won the national championship. His performance was reminiscent of the Chicago Bear who, in a recent game, celebrated his first sack of the year when the Bears were a million points behind , and tore his knee ligament while acting like a hyena.

[AndOne]

Looking forward to the two games at Shirk tonight, my last in person look before heading back to warmer climes, back to the Far Side. 

Augie the new D3hoops.com #1, IWU at a more reasonable #8, Wheaton dropping off the top 25 list. 

Should be a good game, a good challenge for the Titans tonight in the Shirk home opener.

Dolan and Seibring likely starting, though Nelson now "available" according to a Coach Rose quote in the Pgraph piece. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all the CCIW sports fans and chatsters.

IWU70

Speaking of Jordan Nelson:

Rose called senior guard Jordan Nelson "available" for Tuesday's game. Nelson did not play in Saturday's win over Illinois College for what Rose termed a "coach's decision."

Perhaps the reason for Nelson not playing vs Illinois College was the old standard "a violation of team rules." Perhaps something else. Whatever the reason, nobody should be surprised.

As I said above, Nelson celebrated his only made 3 shots out of 12 vs Benedictine. All three were 3 balls. Let me say I think Nelson is a great shooter who scares the hell out of me as he can connect at any time seemingly from any distance. The problem is he plays like he is still playing in Division 1 where space cadets abound and taunting is the norm. He hits a 3 and runs down the court extending the middle 3 fingers on one hand and shaking his hand and extended fingers rapidly up and down all the way down the court. He hits a second 3 and snaps off quick salutes (to himself?) all the way downcourt. He later hits another 3 to briefly put his team ahead and runs downcourt extending and shaking 3 fingers on BOTH hands. I'm sorry, but this is NOT a college kid just celebrating success. He didn't win the game, he didn't even have a good night overall. But he insists on acting out, and disrespecting himself, his team, his school, and most importantly, his opponent. AND---its a continuing problem as he did the same thing last year in the final regular season game at Wheaton!
I don't know why Nelson didn't play vs, Illinois College. I hope it was for this type behavior. If it wasn't, there is something else Coach Rose needs to speak with Mr. Nelson about