MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

The game on Saturday should be good.  Washington University is only bringing one starter from last season in Luke Silverman-Lloyd.  The only others players to see significant minutes on the road against Top 100 teams were Matt Highsmith and Michael Bregman who averaged 15 and 12 minutes.  Kevin Kucera played very limited minutes in close games averaging 5 minutes overall.  The team has played very well so far, but the only test was Johns Hopkins at home.

#14 vs unranked.  How many are we getting?

[Gregory Sager]

We're waiting for Chuck to set the line, Bob. He's CCIW Chat's resident oddsmaker.

[WUPHF]

Ranked in the preseason and recieving votes vs. ranked in week 1.

I may be sandbagging, but this is by far the least experienced (and arguably the least tested) team that the school is bringing to Blo-No in my time following the team.

I am not betting on the outcome but rather I am still not sure how to bet.

[Titan Q]

Ranked in the preseason and recieving votes vs. ranked in week 1.

I may be sandbagging, but this is by far the least experienced (and arguably the least tested) team that the school is bringing to Blo-No in my time following the team.

I am not betting on the outcome but rather I am still not sure how to bet.

Massey has Wash U #6 and IWU #24...and IWU winning Saturday 81-78.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=cb2016&sub=11620

Early line = Pick 'Em

[Mr. Ypsi]

The game on Saturday should be good.  Washington University is only bringing one starter from last season in Luke Silverman-Lloyd.  The only others players to see significant minutes on the road against Top 100 teams were Matt Highsmith and Michael Bregman who averaged 15 and 12 minutes.  Kevin Kucera played very limited minutes in close games averaging 5 minutes overall.  The team has played very well so far, but the only test was Johns Hopkins at home.

#14 vs unranked.  How many are we getting?

We're waiting for Chuck to set the line, Bob. He's CCIW Chat's resident oddsmaker.

Since I am obviously NEVER going to live down my 2005-06 giddyness, I'll play along.  I think Q has nailed it.  It is WAY to early for Massey to be relevant; the line is officially: a toss-up.  Being at the Shirk, I'd give a slight nod to IWU, except that is the location of both their losses.

(Perhaps we need an exorcism to get our home-court advantage back.)

[Gregory Sager]

You Greenies got iwu70 out of the Western Hemisphere, so I'd say that that's already been accomplished.

[wheels81]

A rough week for the league brings down the CCIW's record to 21-12 (.636).

This week's games:

Tuesday
Carthage (3-1) @ Illinois Tech (0-5)
(A loss to Todd Kelly's Scarlet Hawks at Keating would be a disaster for Bosko's Boys, who have not looked all that good thus far in spite of their record.)

Wednesday
North Park (2-1) @ Alma (1-3)
(This game scares me, 1-3 opponent or not. Aside from the five-hour ride from hell just to get there, Alma has a strong and balanced team. The Scots could very well have left Faganel Hall yesterday with a win.)

Adrian (5-1) @ Elmhurst (4-1)
(NPU and EC swap their most recent opponents. The Bulldogs are quick and athletic, but it remains to be seen whether or not they can counter Crittenden and Nixon on the inside.)

Chicago (4-2) @ Wheaton (3-1)
(After a weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest, the Maroons return to the Chill to resume their CCIW pre-Christmas tour. King Arena or not, I see Wheaton coming up about ten points short in this one.)

Earlham (0-2) @ Millikin (3-4)
(A competitive Quakers team? Oh, you know it's true! Not. Millikin will win this one in a walk.)

Augustana (2-0) @ UW-Whitewater (3-1)
(The two marquee matchups in the CCIW this week are Augie's back-to-backers against the two WIAC behemoths. This game will be hard-pressed to match last year's double-overtime 96-94 win for Augie at Carver for sheer excitement and excellence of play.)

Thursday
North Central (1-2) @ UW-Platteville (4-2)
(The Pioneers are always competitive, and this year appears to be no exception. This would be a sterling road win for Team Raridon if they can pick it up.)

Friday
Carthage vs. Calvin (2-3) @ Hope
(The Knights appear to be down a bit this season from their usual high standards. That's no consolation for a Carthage program that is really struggling and will probably take it on the chin from both sets of Michiganders this weekend.)

Wheaton @ Hope (3-1)
(This is the last go-round of the CCIW/MIAA Challenge in its current incarnation. Hope is supposed to be one of the best D3 teams in the land this year. Wheaton? Not so much. Hope will win this game comfortably.)

Saturday
Illinois Tech @ North Park
(The best thing about this game should be my halftime interview with Illinois Tech AD Joe Hakes. I promise that there will be no Dennis Prikkel chin jokes. )

Albion (3-0) @ Elmhurst
(The other Saturday afternoon game should be another interesting chapter in the ongoing CCIW vs. MIAA saga. We may be setting a new record this year for most iterations in the annual Battle of Lake Michigan.)

UW-Stevens Point (3-1) @ Augustana
(Anyone who thinks that UWSP is going to fall way off after that awesome defense-oriented run to the Big Doorstop last year needs his head examined. To quote the old cliche, the Pointers don't rebuild, they reload. UWSP @ Augie might be the best game in all of D3 next Saturday.)

Washington MO (5-0) @ Illinois Wesleyan (3-2)
(Early reports of the Bears' demise seem to be exaggerated. They're off to a surprisingly good start, and I expect this to be the solid contest between two good teams that it's almost always been.)

Carthage @ Hope
(I sure hope that there's a dogtrack or horse racing facility near Holland to make this trip worth Bosko's while. I predict that Hope coach Greg Mitchell will give the end of his bench some decent minutes in this one.)

Wheaton vs. Calvin @ Hope
(I think that this will be the most competitive game of the CCIW/MIAA Challenge this year, and the CCIW's best chance for a win.)

Sunday
North Central @ Alma
(Team Raridon gets to follow in NPU's ruts in the track on the busride from hell. The Scots are actually playing four straight games against CCIW foes, as they'll travel to DuPage County to take on Wheaton on December 12.)

I am from this area of the Mitten state so I am assuming your 5 hr ride from hell means "hell"=Chicago 

[iwu70]

Sorry, Greg, I'm still around, at least for a few more days.  By the Wash U game, I'll be out over the Pacific heading for Hong Kong, so if you want to call that an exorcism and have IWU win on Saturday, I'll go along too!  LOL  I'm sure the Wash U-IWU game will be a good one as it almost always is. 

Leaving the snow and winter to all you US-based gentlemen.   Enjoy the ice and cold.  I'll be watching my CCIW games in the morning soon, and then walking outside into 75 or so degree temps.

So far, looks to me like IWU is about a 3rd place team in the CCIW and will have to work very hard to make the Dance later on.  The problems on defense have been noted.  I think they surely can score enough, rebound better when Marietti and Coyle return, but as I said some weeks back, the key will be developing some consistent defensive identity to match the very obvious offensive skills of this team, esp. by the 4-5 perimeter players, now including Jaylen Beasely.  We will see how far they can go . . .

IWU70  i.e. the devil

[kiko]

Sorry, Greg, I'm still around, at least for a few more days.  By the Wash U game, I'll be out over the Pacific heading for Hong Kong, so if you want to call that an exorcism and have IWU win on Saturday, I'll go along too!  LOL  I'm sure the Wash U-IWU game will be a good one as it almost always is. 

Leaving the snow and winter to all you US-based gentlemen.   Enjoy the ice and cold.  I'll be watching my CCIW games in the morning soon, and then walking outside into 75 or so degree temps.

So far, looks to me like IWU is about a 3rd place team in the CCIW and will have to work very hard to make the Dance later on.  The problems on defense have been noted.  I think they surely can score enough, rebound better when Marietti and Coyle return, but as I said some weeks back, the key will be developing some consistent defensive identity to match the very obvious offensive skills of this team, esp. by the 4-5 perimeter players, now including Jaylen Beasely.  We will see how far they can go . . .

IWU70  i.e. the devil

This needs a snazzier name -- maybe something like the Cantonese equivalent of el diablo verde...

[John Gleich]

Sorry, Greg, I'm still around, at least for a few more days.  By the Wash U game, I'll be out over the Pacific heading for Hong Kong, so if you want to call that an exorcism and have IWU win on Saturday, I'll go along too!  LOL  I'm sure the Wash U-IWU game will be a good one as it almost always is. 

Leaving the snow and winter to all you US-based gentlemen.   Enjoy the ice and cold.  I'll be watching my CCIW games in the morning soon, and then walking outside into 75 or so degree temps.

So far, looks to me like IWU is about a 3rd place team in the CCIW and will have to work very hard to make the Dance later on.  The problems on defense have been noted.  I think they surely can score enough, rebound better when Marietti and Coyle return, but as I said some weeks back, the key will be developing some consistent defensive identity to match the very obvious offensive skills of this team, esp. by the 4-5 perimeter players, now including Jaylen Beasely.  We will see how far they can go . . .

IWU70  i.e. the devil

This needs a snazzier name -- maybe something like the Cantonese equivalent of el diablo verde...

绿色魔鬼

Google translate didn't tell me how to pronounce that though...

Wait, I lied.

Lǜsè móguǐ

[iwu70]

LOL . . . great Chinese guys.  LOL.  Can't wait to hear the tones. 

Back to Asia, still looking for the next 7 foot Yao Ming-type player for IWU. 

Enjoy the season -- I'll keep in touch. 

IWU "The Green Devil" '70

[toooldtohoop]

Safe travels 70.  And I doubt anyone questioned whether or not you would stay in touch!

[Gregory Sager]

Since Alma's not supplying a broadcast, NPU made a last-minute decision to send yours truly here to Art Smith Arena to call tonight's game. You can listen via these links. Sorry, it's audio only.

http://athletics.northpark.edu/sports/2015/11/12/MBB_1112152320.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball

[Gregory Sager]

Alma 98
North Park 75

Jordan Robinson: 37 pts (4-8 trey), 9 rebs
Juwan Henry: 10 pts

NPU stunk in spectacular fashion tonight. Give credit to Alma, which played a consummate team game, but the Vikings looked just plain confused by what the Scots were doing.

[sac]

Elmhurst 82  Adrian 50