MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[ball]

Carthage is good and tough this year. Carthage will represent the CCIW very well in national tournament. After all these tough CCIW games, it will be refreshing  playing easier games versus shools from weaker conferences.

[GoPerry]

This might be the first year the conference tourney champ is the only CCIW team to make the tourney.

If Augie wins tomorrow, it seems likely to me that they'll be the sole representative.  If NCC wins, then maybe Augie squeaks in?  I just don't see .680 W/L% IWU getting in.  Can we even be certain they will be regionally ranked?

NCC has got to be feeling good right now - they get another crack at the Vikes after the OT heart-breaker in Rock Island. And on a neutral court as well.

Of course we can't be CERTAIN that IWU will be regionally ranked, but their total demolition of Augie on Tuesday should put them back up over Oshkosh (IWU has a better winning%, nearly as high an SoS, and is 6-2 vRROs rather than 5-5).  The .680 winning % is probably the 'kiss of death', but I haven't completely given up hope.

Right.  My point was simply that in order for the .68 W/L% to even be considered by the committee, they'd have to get regionally ranked first.  And we don't even know that.

[Greek Tragedy]

If Augie loses, what's their numbers? Just curious.

[petemcb]

Radio interview with Matt Nadelhoffer from this am...

http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wsoy/media/mp3/2_24_____Hour_3-1487963438.mp3

Thanks for sharing that, Bob.  Matt really gets it, doesn't he?  I wish him and his family nothing but the best.

[AppletonRocks]

I could argue that "style points" should be a consideration.  However, I don't believe they play into the evaluation process at all.

Get out your calculator.  Only thing that matters.   

[kenoshamark]

I took in the second half of the Augie - NP game before witnessing another Carthage comeback.

When I arrived, I saw that Augie was up by 15 at half and was somewhat surprised until I saw that Augie was running on all cylinders.   They looked extremely impressive and don't know who would have beat them last night...just can't believe they lost by 30 earlier in the week.

As far as the Carthage game, NC had full control of this throughout the first half and extended the lead to 23 with just over 13 minutes to go.  At that point, Carthage decided to ratchet up the pressure (not sure why Bosko didn't do this sooner).   Backup point guard, Derek Mason, really gave the team a lift forcing a number of turnovers.  North Central ended up with 17 turnovers for the game and Carthage converted a high percentage of these into baskets.

Carthage did grab a one point lead late, but then relinquished it until they tied it up with 4 seconds to go.  I have to give Carthage a lot of credit, they are one of the better free throw shooting teams I've seen and it was a key to their comeback as they attacked the basket consistently. 

The game winner by Chang was just a great play.  He initially was the inbound passer after Carthage tied it up and then he passed it over to Henry out of bounds and then received the ball back from Henry with momentum heading down court.   He got to just inside the free throw line and put up a tough lofted runner and got nothing but net.  To be going as fast as he was and to be able to release the ball like he did was just an amazing play....credit to him for such a clutch play.  With Anderson just having fouled out on the previous play, NC would have been in deep trouble in OT.  Despite 6 turnovers, Anderson was the only one confident enough to bring the ball up against the Carthage pressure.

I still wonder how Brad Perry got selected at freshman of the year.  Not that I don't think he will have a nice career, but he never plays any significant minutes at the end of the game and he barely played in the second half (total of 17 minutes in the game).   How Baltimore didn't get the award is beyond me.  He is always in at the end of the game and is a significant contributor (high scorer last night) and one who looks for his shot.  If Bosko was going to nominate one of them (maybe he did both), I just don't get why Baltimore wasn't picked...he is clearly going to be a huge part of the team next year and a multi year all conference player.

With that said, Matt Cappaletti was the best freshmen on the court during the first half...he is going to be a fine player too.  I know AndOne has touted him and I can see why.  Speaking of AndOne, had the pleasure of meeting him and chatting during halftime and after the game.

[Greek Tragedy]

This might be the first year the conference tourney champ is the only CCIW team to make the tourney.

If Augie wins tomorrow, it seems likely to me that they'll be the sole representative.  If NCC wins, then maybe Augie squeaks in?  I just don't see .680 W/L% IWU getting in.  Can we even be certain they will be regionally ranked?

NCC has got to be feeling good right now - they get another crack at the Vikes after the OT heart-breaker in Rock Island. And on a neutral court as well.

Of course we can't be CERTAIN that IWU will be regionally ranked, but their total demolition of Augie on Tuesday should put them back up over Oshkosh (IWU has a better winning%, nearly as high an SoS, and is 6-2 vRROs rather than 5-5).  The .680 winning % is probably the 'kiss of death', but I haven't completely given up hope.

Well, IWU had a better winning % in the last regional rankings too. 6-2 is better than 5-5, but its results, not winning % vRRO. Maybe those extra 2 games helps the Titans. IWU went 1-0 beating RR Augie earlier in the week. Oshkosh will be 1-1, beating Whitewater and losing to River Falls, both regionally ranked  (we're talking Pool C, so its an assumed loss in the WIAC title game). Regardless, you have to get above Eau Claire too (0-1 this week). You can beat Augie by a million or 1 in 5 OTs, that doesn't matter.

[Titan Q]

My look at Pool C as of Saturday morning - http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4232.msg1793386#msg1793386.

[Titan Q]

Well, IWU had a better winning % in the last regional rankings too. 6-2 is better than 5-5, but its results, not winning % vRRO. Maybe those extra 2 games helps the Titans. IWU went 1-0 beating RR Augie earlier in the week. Oshkosh will be 1-1, beating Whitewater and losing to River Falls, both regionally ranked  (we're talking Pool C, so its an assumed loss in the WIAC title game). Regardless, you have to get above Eau Claire too (0-1 this week). You can beat Augie by a million or 1 in 5 OTs, that doesn't matter.

I'm not factoring in IWU's margin of victory over Augie, Greek.  I'm just stacking the two potential Pool C resumes up and I believe, now, IWU's is clearly better that UWO's. 

* Illinois Wesleyan (C/CCIW): .680/.556/6-2   
* UW-Oshkosh (C/WIAC): .630/.592/5-5   (assumes a loss tonight)

I just do not believe .630 is competitive - no team has ever been selected as a Pool C under .667 as far as I recall.  If the Central Region ranks UWO ahead of IWU and Carthage, they'll sit on the board (after UW-Eau Claire is picked) and never get selected...blocking the region from any chance at 1-2 additional Pool Cs.  I'm almost positive the regional advisory committee will realize that.

Also noteworthy since the last ranking - IWU beat Augustana (a team that beat UW-Oshkosh).

I have UW-Eau Claire ahead of IWU and Carthage, and I have Eau Claire in.

[Titan Q]

IWU and Carthage need 3 things to happen to have a decent chance:

1. UW-River Falls to beat UW-Oshkosh in WIAC final (UW-River Falls would be ahead of both as a Pool C candidate).

2. Augustana to beat North Central in the CCIW final.  Augie could be ranked ahead of both...but not quite certain. Much better for IWU and CC to have Augie as the Pool A. Augie vs IWU below is very tight.
  * Augustana (CCIW) .704/.539/2-2  (assumes loss tonight)
  * Illinois Wesleyan (C/CCIW): .680/.556/6-2   
  * Carthage (C/CCIW): .680/.552/2-2   done

3. Minimal upsets across the country, sending current Pool A teams to Pool C.

IWU also really needs Carthage to end up ranked in the Central region (since IWU is 2-0 vs Carthage).  I think 6-2 is a huge competitive advantage for IWU in the process...4-2 is very good too, but 6-2 much better.

[AndOne]

I took in the second half of the Augie - NP game before witnessing another Carthage comeback.

When I arrived, I saw that Augie was up by 15 at half and was somewhat surprised until I saw that Augie was running on all cylinders.   They looked extremely impressive and don't know who would have beat them last night...just can't believe they lost by 30 earlier in the week.

As far as the Carthage game, NC had full control of this throughout the first half and extended the lead to 23 with just over 13 minutes to go.  At that point, Carthage decided to ratchet up the pressure (not sure why Bosko didn't do this sooner).   Backup point guard, Derek Mason, really gave the team a lift forcing a number of turnovers.  North Central ended up with 17 turnovers for the game and Carthage converted a high percentage of these into baskets.

Carthage did grab a one point lead late, but then relinquished it until they tied it up with 4 seconds to go.  I have to give Carthage a lot of credit, they are one of the better free throw shooting teams I've seen and it was a key to their comeback as they attacked the basket consistently. 

The game winner by Chang was just a great play.  He initially was the inbound passer after Carthage tied it up and then he passed it over to Henry out of bounds and then received the ball back from Henry with momentum heading down court.   He got to just inside the free throw line and put up a tough lofted runner and got nothing but net.  To be going as fast as he was and to be able to release the ball like he did was just an amazing play....credit to him for such a clutch play.  With Anderson just having fouled out on the previous play, NC would have been in deep trouble in OT.  Despite 6 turnovers, Anderson was the only one confident enough to bring the ball up against the Carthage pressure.

I still wonder how Brad Perry got selected at freshman of the year.  Not that I don't think he will have a nice career, but he never plays any significant minutes at the end of the game and he barely played in the second half (total of 17 minutes in the game).   How Baltimore didn't get the award is beyond me.  He is always in at the end of the game and is a significant contributor (high scorer last night) and one who looks for his shot.  If Bosko was going to nominate one of them (maybe he did both), I just don't get why Baltimore wasn't picked...he is clearly going to be a huge part of the team next year and a multi year all conference player.

With that said, Matt Cappaletti was the best freshmen on the court during the first half...he is going to be a fine player too.  I know AndOne has touted him and I can see why.  Speaking of AndOne, had the pleasure of meeting him and chatting during halftime and after the game.

I'm glad the Cardinals finally used the inbounds play I drew up for them in the beginning of the year! 
But seriously, whoever in the world designed the play really knows what they're doing. 
Yep, the team in Cardinal (?) would gave been in deep doo-doo had the game gone to OT.

And the pleasure was mine, Mark. Thank you.

[Pat Coleman]

I could argue that "style points" should be a consideration.  However, I don't believe they play into the evaluation process at all.

Get out your calculator.  Only thing that matters.   

I know you haven't had to worry about playoff selection in a while, but welcome to the 2010s, seriously.

[AndOne]

If Augie wins the AQ, pretty good chance IWU is the top ranked CCIW Pool C candidate...

* Illinois Wesleyan: .680/.556/6-2 (2-0 vs Carthage, 0-2 vs North Park)
* Carthage: .680/.550/2-2 (0-2 vs IWU, 2-0 vs North Park)
* North Park: .692/.524/2-3 (2-0 vs IWU, 0-2 vs Carthage)

Bosko said on the postgame that it'd be a "terrible precedent" if IWU gets in due to conference standings.  Again, that just is not part of the actual criteria...based on the actual criteria, IWU should be ranked higher.

i am reconsidering my vote for Bosko as COY.  I am calling a full timeout, reviewing archived game tapes! 
A "terrible precedent" is 2 much coach speak even for Bosko . A three tie for first place at 9-5 with 2 other teams.  A 2 point loss tonight to a 9-7 team that got a 2 point win over the 'other 9-7 team' to finish in a tie for 4th.  The main reason Carthage played NCC and not IWU was NCC 2-0 head to head over IWU.  And IWU is still 2-0 against Carthage this season!

Can not wait for AndOne to put his 2 cents in as I am sure the Redmen would have lost by 20 had Connor Raridon played. But the Cardinals rallied at the end rather than getting their feathers plucked by the Redmen.

iwumichigander,

Well then, who am I to keep you in suspense any longer. I dreamed of my reply all night. 🌙 🌜

Actually, if Connor had played, I think the Cardinals would have LOST. You see, you can't just add Connor's point and rebound averages to the Cardinals totals and say those would have been the resulting totals----as some people have accused me of thinking. 

Connor would likely have scored 30. However, that would have cost the other starters, Anderson, Chang, Henry, and Sorenson 5 points each, and their point totals would have been 16, 10, 8, and 11 respectively. Cappelletti wouldn't have started and played the minutes he did so he would have only had 7 instead of 15. Instead of having 5, Koth would had had one basket for 2, and Chambers would have gone scoreless (Connor's 29th and 30th points). So with 30, 16, 10, 8, 11, 7, and 2, that would have totaled 84 and resulted in a one point NCC loss.
Also, in addition to being a selfish player on the offensive end, Connor doesn't play defense so Carthage might have even had a higher point total. A loss then for sure.

Its really a good thing Connor only played in two conference games. Otherwise NCC would have only been 2-14 in conference, maybe 3-13 at best. Of course there are a couple of teams NCC can beat whether or not Connor Raridon plays. 

One thing I do like about this NCC team is that they don't back down. The more you try to get in their face, the harder they come back at you. 

I hope that covers it, but if you have any more questions, fire away. 

[bbfan44]

Radio interview with Matt Nadelhoffer from this am...

http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wsoy/media/mp3/2_24_____Hour_3-1487963438.mp3

Thanks for sharing that, Bob.  Matt really gets it, doesn't he?  I wish him and his family nothing but the best.

The beauty of small towns.  Can't imagine in my craziest dream that this interview would happen in Chicago.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU just didn't have it last night. The Vikes took a quick early lead, but Augie went on a 12-0 run that featured some great transition decision-making, including a couple of passes to the short corner for treys, plays that I don't remember Augie making at all in any of the numerous games of theirs I've seen this season. That's when I knew that North Park was in trouble, because the Grey Men were not only far from being demoralized by their three-game losing streak, they were playing smarter as well as executing better.

That second half run of theirs was really something, too. They started out by going 8-12 from the field after intermission, not only getting to the rim but hitting every mid-range shot they put up as well. NPU just had no answer whatsoever. This was the first time all year that the Park trailed by over 20 points in any ballgame, and every time that the Vikes would make a run to get that deficit down into the low- or mid-teens, Augie would build it right back up again.

Whether you go out by 16 or by two on a last-second bucket after you'd mounted a furious second-half comeback, as Carthage did, it's all the same in the end. A great season comes to a close, and there's that emotional letdown coupled with the awful vicarious disappointment that you feel for your team's seniors after watching them walk off the floor for the final time. What I think that they, and all of the North Park faithful, need to remember, though, was that it was a great season. Some pretty significant demons were laid to rest, none bigger than the 30-year championship drought and the 0-for-11 in CCIW tourney qualifications. This was not only a fun and successful year for NPU men's basketball, it was a redemptive one as well.

My huge thanks go out to North Park's eight seniors: Chris Freeman, Dyron Woods, Darius Brown, and, especially, to four-year players Juwan Henry, T.J. Cobbs, Joe Biko, Cam Burnett, and Gavin Groszek. It was a privilege and a pleasure to call your games, gentlemen, and you will always have a special place in North Park men's basketball program history for your accomplishments. You were hugely instrumental in resurrecting the program. Blessings and much luck to each of you as you move on to your degrees and your next steps in life.