MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

Massey has IWU favored by 5 tonight.  I would ask Titan Q how he feels about that, but he's probably a little busy pushing IWU into the "great" category right now.   

[titanfan]

Massey has IWU favored by 5 tonight.  I would ask Titan Q how he feels about that, but he's probably a little busy pushing IWU into the "great" category right now.   

I haven't been able to talk to Q in weeks because he's been so preoccupied with his pushing. 

[badgerwarhawk]

I'm coming to the conclusion that that win over UWW might've been an outlier. Think about it: A home contest against the defending national champion; a full house of screaming Augieheads; the game goes to double OT and is thus about as dead-even as a basketball game can get; one Augie player goes on an absolute tear that dwarfs any other game he's played in his entire life -- the whole scenario practically screams "outlier." Now, I'm not saying that I'll go with the "bet all the corn in Manito" line on UWW should the Warhawks and the Doggies meet on a neutral court next month (UWW's had to eke out several very narrow wins in WIAC play this season, so it's not as though Pat Miller's purple cagers are all a bunch of supermen), but I definitely like the Warhawks in that situation.

But is UW-Whitewater any different than the rest of the good-but-not-great teams out there?

I watched the UWW vs Augie game - those looked like two very even basketball teams to me.  Before Hunter Hill went crazy, Augie controlled for a long stretch.  Just seems to me that the home team won a close game in a very even match up...that doesn't seem like an outlier to me.

UWW beat a good-but-not-great Hope team by 2 in the non-conference.  In WIAC play, they have a 4-point win at 9-12 River Falls, 1-point at 8-13 Eau Claire, and 1-point vs 10-12 La Crosse. 

UWW seems like a deserving #1, but are they really any better than, say, #24 Illinois Wesleyan?

No

Probably not and if so not by much. 

I don't think things are much different in our league than in most of the others.  This just isn't a year where there are elite teams that stand much taller than the rest of the pack. 

[Greek Tragedy]

Seriously Badger?

Whitewater is 12-0. Point is 12-1. They play each other tonight. Platteville is 3rd at 8-5. There's a 4-game gap between 2nd and 3rd.

[Titan Q]

Seriously Badger?

Whitewater is 12-0. Point is 12-1. They play each other tonight. Platteville is 3rd at 8-5. There's a 4-game gap between 2nd and 3rd.

When he says, "I don't think things are much different in our league than in most of the others.  This just isn't a year where there are elite teams that stand much taller than the rest of the pack," I am pretty sure he means across the national landscape.  Not within the WIAC.

[badgerwarhawk]

Seriously Badger?

Whitewater is 12-0. Point is 12-1. They play each other tonight. Platteville is 3rd at 8-5. There's a 4-game gap between 2nd and 3rd.

When he says, "I don't think things are much different in our league than in most of the others.  This just isn't a year where there are elite teams that stand much taller than the rest of the pack," I am pretty sure he means across the national landscape.  Not within the WIAC.

Yes, that is what I meant though admittedly I didn't make that clear.  WHITEWATER and Stevens Point are clearly the leaders of the pack in the WIAC but on a national scale they are just two pretty good teams like several others.  It's just one of those years IMO.  The national tournament is always interesting but this year perhaps a little more so.

[DFLDWarriorsCCIW]

Thanks for the feedback Greg, Perry, AO.

Cards should be able to handle CC at home tonight.  Here's hoping Burchett, Henry and Honn hit more than 3 FGs.

[AndOne]

Thanks for the feedback Greg, Perry, AO.

Cards should be able to handle CC at home tonight.  Here's hoping Burchett, Henry and Honn hit more than 3 FGs.

NCC's last game loss was due to much more than Burchett, Henry, and Honn going a combined 3 for 12. The whole team  only shot 33%. Lots of disorganized standing around on offense, and no committment to defense by almost everybody involved.

Keys to victory tonight:
* Not letting Jayme Moten's absence be an excuse for standing around on offense, and not creating good shot opportunities.
* Playing good defense, especially on the perimeter.
* Exploiting what should be a big rebounding advantage.
* Cut the head off the dragon. By that, I mean finding someone to stop Donte Logan who seemed to be able to do just about anything he wanted in the first meeting. His performance at Carthage was the best overall game I have seen by a PG this season.

[Titan Q]

First regional rankings...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/11/first-regional-rankings-released-today/

[Naperick]

First regional rankings...

http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/2015/02/11/first-regional-rankings-released-today/

Just like the D3 hoops top 25 poll, I thought IWU would be higher in the regional rankings.
But it doesn't really matter right now.  I'm sure lots of movement will occur in the next
4 or 5 games for the four CCIW teams contending for a D3 Tourney berth.

[Naperick]

Elmhurst 7th and North Central 8th in the central region.  If both teams win tonight, and that is definitely not a sure thing, I think it's safe to say the Saturday game with NCC at Elmhurst is critical.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Just the first rankings - there is always a lot of movement especially Week 2 when the vRRO data is finally something that can be used.

[79jaybird]

"Cards should be able to handle CC at home tonight...."

I said the same thing to myself about Elmhurst hosting Carthage and well, the end result was not quite what I anticipated.   You cannot overlook CC or any team this year home or away.

[AndOne]

"Cards should be able to handle CC at home tonight...."

I said the same thing to myself about Elmhurst hosting Carthage and well, the end result was not quite what I anticipated.   You cannot overlook CC or any team this year home or away.

And the fact that the Cards are playing with one less, very important card in their deck is not an excuse, but it is a fact. And it certainly doesn't help matters. So, yes, anything can certainly happen on any given night.

[Naperick]

I should be able to catch the 2nd half of the NPU & EC game tonight.  I'm really looking forward to seeing Henry play.  I have not seen North Park play in person this year.