MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

I switched down the sound on the Alma @ Wheaton game, because the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance really weren't looking capable of making a run against the visiting Scots, and turned it up on the IWU @ Loras game and focused upon that one, since it was a lot closer. Boy, the Titans really got ripped apart by the dribble penetration of the Duhawks. Ron Rose appeared to get a technical foul in the final minute with IWU down eight. Was it on him or on somebody else on the bench? He looked furious. I ask because I wonder whether or not any ref's ever handed a T-bone to Rose before. He doesn't seem the type of coach who picks them up.

As far as the Wheaton game is concerned, more of the same for Alma. The Scots went 3-1 against CCIW comp this season, and they very easily could've gone 4-0, as Elmhurst beat them on a buzzer-beater. Michael Berg was in early foul trouble for Wheaton, and, although it looked like Joel Smith was doing a good job of trying to compensate underneath for Berg's absence, Alma just does such a slick job of moving the ball around on offense that Wheaton really couldn't close down on anybody.

Carthage scored some garbage baskets in the game at Tarble to make the final score seem closer than the game really was. UWO led by double digits from fairly early on.

[iwu70]

Poor second half defensively for IWU.  Gotta get better on D for sure.  Good game by T. Seibring.  Poor game by Stempel, not enough contributions from others from the perimeter.  Loras tough down the stretch, no one stopping the post presence by Loras. Perhpas Marietti not fully in game shape as yet.   Get to 78 and win the game, but sadly tonight Loras got to 92.  More work to do.  Coach Rose very agitated, called for a T, on how the game was called.  Rare to see.  More quality road games upcoming.

IWU'70

[markerickson]

AugieFan:  please explain why you describe Millikin's coach as being "fine."

[GoPerry]

Extremely frustrating watching Wheaton tonight as they had a terrible shooting night, 29.3 FG% 17/58.  That's not a winning formula nor is shooting 21 3-pointers in the first half alone and ending up with over half of your shots (35 3 point attempts) from beyond the arc.  But that is what we got from the Thunder tonight vs a solid Alma team.  The Scots played a zone practically the whole game that Wheaton did not respond well to.  Alma's 58.4% shooting is a little misleading since so many of their shots were layups or just beyond the charge circle. 

[WUPHF]

Augustana 70
Washington University 67

I am a little surprised not to see this score posted here yet.

Augustana raced out to a 19-5 lead, but Washington University closed the gap to within four before the Vikings pushed the lead to 10 at the half.  The Bears led for several minutes in the second half before relinquishing the lead with five minutes left. 

The game went down to the wire, but Augustana did a great job closing out the game.

[iwu70]

Wash U really gave #1 Augie a good, tough game.

'70

[y_jack_lok]

Wash U really gave #1 Augie a good, tough game.

'70

As WUH noted, after going down 19-5 Wash U steadied a bit the rest of the first half and had the deficit down to as little as 4 points before trailing by 10 at  halftime (42-32). Wash U owned the first ten minutes of the second half, almost turning that halftime score around when they led 59-51 with exactly 10 minutes left. But Augie did what talented, experienced, senior laden teams do and came back for the close win. Great game.

[jaybird44]

It was a great game.  Fans for both teams gave the players a standing ovation after the final buzzer sounded.  Well-played by both teams. Wash-U just couldn't get a clean look for a game-tying 3--Silverman-Lloyd made a 3 in the final minute, but after a foul was called on the Augie player guarding Kevin Kucera, who delivered the pass to Luke just before the shot.  I had no problem with the call, just a bad break for the Bears when they needed a break to go their way.  Also good strategy to foul Kucera approaching half-court in the waning moments before Wash-U could even run a play for Luke or Clinton Hooks (who is looking very good after a career-high 20 points last night).

Quite a fun night...lots of students there taking a study break during finals week, enjoying free pizza and making lots of noise during Wash-U's surge into the lead in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half.  Hope they make a habit of watching games during the UAA schedule...

[Gregory Sager]

I was really impressed with Wash U's effort last night, as that 18-2 run of the hosts that turned a 49-41 deficit into a 59-51 lead was a thing of beauty. The Bears really crashed the boards hard during that stretch, moved the ball around well on offense, and hit some crucial shots. Thing is, though, they did it with three Augie starters cooling their heels on the bench for the first half of that run, and for the second half of that run the only Doggies starter in the game was Hunter Hill. Once Ryan, Johnson, Straughter, and Pils checked in again at the 11:23 mark I wondered if the Bears would be able to sustain that momentum against the Augie mainstays, or if they had shot their bolt prematurely. It turned out to be the latter, as the Augie starters eventually counterattacked with a 16-2 run of their own to reclaim the lead at 67-61 for Augie with three minutes and change left. The Bears would hang around, but Augustana never relinquished the lead again.

Augustana isn't invulnerable. Last November and December the Rock Islanders had some close calls as well. But all of those seniors, and all of that big-game experience, adds up to a really stout attitude in pressure situations. Once Grey Giovanine got the starters back in and that counterattack got going, I felt pretty sure that the visitors would eventually win the game.

But it was certainly a laudatory effort by the Bears, who looked much, much better last night than they had in the first game that I'd seen them (vs. Illinois Wesleyan).

[y_jack_lok]

^^^^ Yes, four starters were out during much of Wash U's second half run. In fact, they were at the scorers table ready to check in for quite a while but there wasn't a dead ball situation for several minutes until Augie got whistled for a foul -- which probably helped Augie in the long run because if they'd had to wait much longer it's possible Wash U could have added a few points to its lead.

Always fun to talk about these great games between great teams.

With 8 seniors and 8 non-seniors, I wonder what Augie will be like next season, given that almost all the seniors play a significant role. Sounds eerily like the situation Randolph-Macon (in the ODAC) is experiencing this year after graduating 8 seniors last spring -- not to mention that their head coach took a D1 job, so they are basically starting over in many ways, and it shows.

[Gregory Sager]

With 8 seniors and 8 non-seniors, I wonder what Augie will be like next season, given that almost all the seniors play a significant role. Sounds eerily like the situation Randolph-Macon (in the ODAC) is experiencing this year after graduating 8 seniors last spring -- not to mention that their head coach took a D1 job, so they are basically starting over in many ways, and it shows.

I'm firmly convinced that Grey Giovanine has the Augie program to the point where it doesn't rebuild, it reloads. NPU took a run at Chrishawn Orange on last year's recruiting trail, and NPU head coach Tom Slyder raved about him. Having seen the still somewhat raw Orange play several times now for Augie (where he averages over 20 mpg in spite of the fact that he's a freshman on a team dominated by seniors), I think that he might be the next big star in the CCIW. Jacob Johnston, Dylan Sortillo, and Michael Hoekstra will be solid once they're called upon to start shouldering more of the burden, I'm pretty sure.

Augustana has finished in the top half of the CCIW for fifteen straight seasons now, dating back to Giovanine's second year at the helm in Rock Island, and this will no doubt be Year Sixteen. That's a remarkable streak, given the churn that is a trademark of this league. No matter how much everybody else rises or falls, Augie always stays up there in the standings. The 2016-17 edition of Augustana may not be up to the standards of last season and this season, but the Doggies will hardly be the second coming of Randolph-Macon, either.

The CCIW team that should be worried about a plummet in the standings next season isn't Augustana, it's Elmhurst.

[y_jack_lok]

With 8 seniors and 8 non-seniors, I wonder what Augie will be like next season, given that almost all the seniors play a significant role. Sounds eerily like the situation Randolph-Macon (in the ODAC) is experiencing this year after graduating 8 seniors last spring -- not to mention that their head coach took a D1 job, so they are basically starting over in many ways, and it shows.

I'm firmly convinced that Grey Giovanine has the Augie program to the point where it doesn't rebuild, it reloads. NPU took a run at Chrishawn Orange on last year's recruiting trail, and NPU head coach Tom Slyder raved about him. Having seen the still somewhat raw Orange play several times now for Augie (where he averages over 20 mpg in spite of the fact that he's a freshman on a team dominated by seniors), I think that he might be the next big star in the CCIW. Jacob Johnston, Dylan Sortillo, and Michael Hoekstra will be solid once they're called upon to start shouldering more of the burden, I'm pretty sure.

Augustana has finished in the top half of the CCIW for fifteen straight seasons now, dating back to Giovanine's second year at the helm in Rock Island, and this will no doubt be Year Sixteen. That's a remarkable streak, given the churn that is a trademark of this league. No matter how much everybody else rises or falls, Augie always stays up there in the standings. The 2016-17 edition of Augustana may not be up to the standards of last season and this season, but the Doggies will hardly be the second coming of Randolph-Macon, either.

The CCIW team that should be worried about a plummet in the standings next season isn't Augustana, it's Elmhurst.

Sounds like Augie will be fine next year. It would only be an apples to apples comparison with Randolph-Macon if Giovaninie were to leave.

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (4-3) @ U. of Chicago (6-2), 7:00pm...

Illinois Wesleyan (4-3)
G - Bryce Dolan, 6-1/165 Sr.  (17.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G - Joel Pennington, 6-0/180 Sr.  (9.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.4 rpg)
F - Andy Stempel, 6-4/192 Jr.  (9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.0 apg)
F - Mike Marietti, 6-8/225 Sr.  (6.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
F - Trevor Seibring, 6-8/235 Jr.  (15.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg)

U. of Chicago (6-2)
G - Jordan Smith, 6-3/210 Sr.  (11.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.5 apg)
G - Tyler Howard, 6-0/185 Jr.  (6.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.3 apg)
F - Waller Perez, 6-5/200 Jr.  (11.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.0 apg)
F - Alex Voss, 6-5/210 Sr.  (10.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg)
F - Nate Brooks, 6-6/220 Sr.  (6.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg)


Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/iwu-looks-to-shore-up-defense-against-chicago/article_70983da2-9498-52a3-bf79-81d72be4dd0d.html

Live Video - http://athletics.uchicago.edu/athletics/video_audio

Live Stats - http://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/mbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20151214_jlv0.xml

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

[Gregory Sager]

Congrats to NPU's Juwan Henry upon winning his second CCIW Player of the Week award of the season.

[Gregory Sager]

On tap for this week:

Monday
Albion (4-2) @ North Park (4-2), 7 p.m.
No matter what their record is or where they're picked in any preseason poll, the Britons always make me nervous.

Illinois Wesleyan (4-3) @ Chicago (6-2), 7 p.m.
The Maroons are at home and are now hitting their stride, so we'll see if the Titans can bounce back after a poor defensive effort on Saturday in Iowa.
   
Tuesday
MacMurray (4-3) @ Augustana (5-0), 7 p.m.
By all rights this should be a massacre, but will Augie fall asleep at the switch after facing three straight ranked opponents?
 
Albion @ North Central (3-3), 7 p.m.
Team Raridon gets to be the beneficiary of tonight's firsthand scouting session in the crackerbox -- and perhaps a tired Britons team as well.

Friday
Southwestern (2-4) vs. Illinois Wesleyan (@ San Antonio, TX), 4 p.m.
Ron Rose must really enjoy the Riverwalk, because it seems like IWU makes this trip to San Antone a lot. This should be an easy W for the Titans.

Augustana @ Puget Sound (4-4), 8 p.m. Central
Chicago absolutely hammered UPS in Tacoma two weeks ago, so I doubt that Grey's boys will have any trouble with the Loggers, either.

Hartwick (4-3) vs. North Central (@ Miami, FL), 4 p.m. Central
I think that the only real danger for NCC in this game will be premature sunburns.

Saturday   
Elmhurst (8-1) @ Buena Vista (3-4), 4 p.m.
Don't be fooled by BVU's record; the Beavers are always tough at home, and this is a seven-hour road trip (one way) for the 'jays. This will be a good test for EC.

Texas Lutheran (6-1) vs. Illinois Wesleyan (@ San Antonio, TX), 5 p.m.
I'm almost certain that the second game of their Texas trip will be a much sterner test for the Titans than the first.

Dubuque (4-4) @ North Park, 7 p.m.
Hard to read the up-and-down Spartans, but Plainfield Central product Andre Norris is the real deal -- and NPU will certainly have to figure out how to deal with him.

Millikin (5-4) @ Trine (6-1), 6 p.m. Central
The Thunder are very tough, particularly at home, and I can't envision Millikin coming away with a win in this one.

Centre (5-1) vs. North Central (@ Miami, FL), 3 p.m. Central
As is the case with the IWU trip to San Antonio, Part Two should be much tougher for the Cardinals in Miami than Part One will be.

Sunday
Adrian (6-2) vs. Millikin (@ Angola, IN), 12 p.m. Central
I have a strong suspicion that the Big Blue will go 0-fer against the MIAA in northeastern Indiana next weekend.

Augustana @ Lewis & Clark (2-5), 7:30 p.m. Central
Say hi to Harps for me, Augie!