MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[cubs]

Quick question for the regulars here....  Had Carroll won last night against Elmhurst, would they have qualified for CCIW Tournament or would they have lost out on tiebreaker to either North Central or Illinois Wesleyan.  All three teams would have been 2-2 in the head-to-head tiebreaker, and it looks like Carroll had the best record (4-2) against the three teams that finished tied for first place at 11-5.

The first tie-breaker is head to head record with those teams you are tied with.  The only tie-breaker Carroll would've won was a tie with NCC only(a 2 way tie for 4th).  The IWU win over Augie took the Pios out of it even with a win vs EC(NCC would've won the tie-breaker in a 3 way tie for 4th).

Thanks GoPerry!!!!

Must have looked at things too quickly....  Just realized North Central swept Illinois Wesleyan instead of splitting to go 3-1 in the hypothetical three way tie.

[GoPerry]

I was not able to watch the game last night but it seems Wheaton made a valiant effort coming close to knocking off Carthage at Tarble.  It would've been a nice way to finish a solid season for Wheaton.  Aston Francis set the CCIW single season record for in-conference 3 pt field goals made with 67(Chris Payne, Elmhurst, 64) which in itself is not especially notable except that he did so shooting a respectable 41.4% from the arc( and sometimes beyond the arc).

I'm not sure if Coach Mike Schauer would be happy or satisfied with the season in the classic W/L sense.  But I would think he is pleased with the overall progression of this young team from Nov-Feb.  Besides the off season recruiting, his coaching challenge will surround the legitimate question of how to integrate an extraordinary scoring talent in Francis into a scheme that allows 4 others on the floor to stay in the flow, contribute more consistently and the team to thrive. With Ricky Samuelson, Luke Peters, Kobe Eichelberger and others, they certainly have the talent to do so.  It won't be easy just because the whole roster is returning since it's the same with Augie, NCC and other teams(graduation will hurt NPU and IWU a little). 

Thanks Coach Schauer and Wheaton Thunder!  Thank you for your hard work and for representing the institution well.  It was fun watching you this season.   

[AppletonRocks]

Carthage as #1 seed.....whodathunkit......well, I think I know someone who did months ago.   

[iwumichigander]

I was not able to watch the game last night but it seems Wheaton made a valiant effort coming close to knocking off Carthage at Tarble.  It would've been a nice way to finish a solid season for Wheaton.  Aston Francis set the CCIW single season record for in-conference 3 pt field goals made with 67(Chris Payne, Elmhurst, 64) which in itself is not especially notable except that he did so shooting a respectable 41.4% from the arc( and sometimes beyond the arc).

I'm not sure if Coach Mike Schauer would be happy or satisfied with the season in the classic W/L sense.  But I would think he is pleased with the overall progression of this young team from Nov-Feb.  Besides the off season recruiting, his coaching challenge will surround the legitimate question of how to integrate an extraordinary scoring talent in Francis into a scheme that allows 4 others on the floor to stay in the flow, contribute more consistently and the team to thrive. With Ricky Samuelson, Luke Peters, Kobe Eichelberger and others, they certainly have the talent to do so.  It won't be easy just because the whole roster is returning since it's the same with Augie, NCC and other teams(graduation will hurt NPU and IWU a little). 

Thanks Coach Schauer and Wheaton Thunder!  Thank you for your hard work and for representing the institution well.  It was fun watching you this season.

I have a little different take on Francis.  I think the challenge is whether or not the other players can develope more in the off season or can Wheaton get a little lucky in recruitment or another potential transfer.  Francis became a much better distributor later I the season to create assist opportunities as he drew double teams.  As I posted earlier, with the talent Wheaton has right now they are going to be good next season and really good the next season.

[iwumichigander]

In the continuing weird CCIW season, whoever bet in Vegas in a three way 11-5 tie for conference championship AND those three teams have an overall 18-7 record. Probably won a huge , bigly payout

I think that I've mentioned this before, but 11-5 is the worst record for a champion(s) in the 71-year-history of this league. Doesn't matter, though, because the trophy looks the same no matter how pretty or ugly the W-L is.

And my vote for coach of the year - Bosco.  He has coached up a team that many of us had in the middle of the pack, won a tie for the regular season championship and the rights to host the conference tournament.

I can't argue with that. What Bosko's done this season is really impressive. But, in the big picture, you have to stop and give Tom Slyder a long, slow standing ovation for what he has done at North Park. I talked about this at length on the postgame show, because usually when I'm mentioning Tom during a game it's because he's yelling at somebody in stripewear or is calling a timeout with a disgusted look on his face. But he took over a moribund program five years ago that seemed stuck to the bottom of this league with Gorilla Glue, and now tonight he's cut down the net after winning a share of the title of an incredibly difficult league in which to overcome two decades of second-division finishes -- and he did it with his first full recruiting class climbing up the ladder in front of him to cut down their own pieces, still in uniform.

That's just really, really hard to do, as anyone who has followed this league for any length of time must realize. Tom Slyder is one heck of a basketball coach. So, yeah, the Serbian Prince may win the COY award, and you have to give him his due. But, like I said, Tom deserves at least that long, slow standing ovation for the rebuilding job he's done at the corner of Foster & Kedzie.

I really debated between Tom and Bosko (Coach G bit so much. In fact not at all).  It came down to what Bosko did without any All Americans or what I would consider 1st team CCIW.

[sac]

definition of Pool C being losing in your tournament, Augustana with 8 losses would be on the weaker side of the 8 loss teams.

Before last night 7 loss teams Williams, Eau Claire, John Carroll, Wooster, Carthage, IWU, Loras all had higher SOS.  That's a lot of 8 loss teams Augustana could potentially be behind and very late in the Pool C process.  I don't think Augie would bring great criteria to the table at 8 losses.

Eau Claire and John Carroll are already at 8 losses.

[mwunder]

Aston Francis set the CCIW single season record for in-conference 3 pt field goals made with 67(Chris Payne, Elmhurst, 64) which in itself is not especially notable except that he did so shooting a respectable 41.4% from the arc( and sometimes beyond the arc).

Watch the last two he hit last night at the end of the game....one was at least 35' from the basket and the last was a fade away in the corner...both buried, nothing but net.  Much respect for that young man's ability to shoot the three.

[mwunder]

I really debated between Tom and Bosko (Coach G bit so much. In fact not at all).  It came down to what Bosko did without any All Americans or what I would consider 1st team CCIW.

DING DING DING.

Carthage was 5-1 versus the teams in the conference tournament.  A large part of that was X's and O's.

[Titan Q]

Regarding all-conference teams, I believe the league is moving to two 8-man teams...moving away from three 5-man teams.  I believe that is what I heard last night at the IWU/Augie game.

I guess we'll know for sure later today.

[lmitzel]

Regarding all-conference teams, I believe the league is moving to two 8-man teams...moving away from three 5-man teams.  I believe that is what I heard last night at the IWU/Augie game.

I guess we'll know for sure later today.

They are. Curious to see the exact makeup of the team, though a few of the guys are pretty obvious.

[AndOne]

Quick question for the regulars here....  Had Carroll won last night against Elmhurst, would they have qualified for CCIW Tournament or would they have lost out on tiebreaker to either North Central or Illinois Wesleyan.  All three teams would have been 2-2 in the head-to-head tiebreaker, and it looks like Carroll had the best record (4-2) against the three teams that finished tied for first place at 11-5.

First of all, Carroll was 3-3 against the top three teams, not 4-2.

Secondly, While I don't remember all the many possibilities exactly, I believe it was that Carroll had to win to have any chance, not that they automatically qualified with a win no matter what else happened. I know North Central was able to qualify if any one of three different things happened.

Lastly, Illinois Wesleyan never had a chance. Their loss to North Central on Saturday knocked them out of all possible consideration.

[mwunder]

Good season overall, but no CCIW tourney and likely no dancing this year.

Fixed that for you.

[Gregory Sager]

Regarding all-conference teams, I believe the league is moving to two 8-man teams...moving away from three 5-man teams.  I believe that is what I heard last night at the IWU/Augie game.

I guess we'll know for sure later today.

Yes, I first mentioned that here a week or two ago, and then alluded to it again yesterday:

Conference honors will come out soon.  Robinson, Sorenson, and Francis will be 1st team, I'd say.  Who might join them?

Orange-Augie
Kruse-Carthage

The top players on two top teams.

Nope. I think they'll go with Stevenson over Kruse. The coaches almost never pick a non-scorer for first team, and Kruse is averaging only 8.6 ppg in CCIW play. He's the glue player that holds the Red Men together and does the dirty work, but Stevenson is the scorer, and it'll be Stevenson who gets the first-team nod.

Brady Rose will make the first team as well. That leaves two other guys to pick for first team, and there aren't any choices that are as obvious as the other six. I'll go with Jacob Johnston and Ben Widdes.

[Titan Q]

Good season overall, but no CCIW tourney and likely no dancing this year.

Fixed that for you.

I think '70s wording was OK.  IWU is an extreme longshot to get a Pool C big, but the door is not completely closed yet.  If things fall in a certain way, IWU could actually be on the board for the final pick or two of the process (#20 and #21).  And if on the board, the SOS and RRO numbers will at least be enough for conversation despite the .680 WP.

IWU could actually end up ahead of Carthage if the Red Men lost to NCC, and ahead of Augustana if the Vikings lose Friday.  For example with Augie, IWU is at .680 and the Vikings would be .692...IWU's better SOS and RRO numbers could actually push them ahead of Augie. 

Again, extreme longshot because too much would have to fall into place perfectly for IWU to be considered...but too strong to suggest there is zero chance.  The fact IWU is not in the CCIW conference tournament is not a factor in the process at all.

[AndOne]

Good season overall, but no CCIW tourney and likely no dancing this year.

Fixed that for you.

Wesleyan danced last night and gave a performance worthy of a 10 on Dancing With The Stars 👏
But, alas, their partner was grievously  injured, and is now on the disabled list with no able call up in sight. 🙁