MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Hearty congratulations to all players named All-CCIW, and to Aston Francis and Ricky Samuelson being named to the first and second teams respectively. And in a non-surprising development, Aston was named Most Outstanding player as essentially all of us except for AndOne expected.

Actually, Bob believed that it would be a co-MOP situation, with Francis sharing the award with Brady Rose.

Actually, duck, what happened was exactly what I expected would happen. I was just doing a little hopeful politicking for my boy Alex SCOREnson. I figured a guy who was going to be a unanimous first team all-conference choice should at least be in the conversation. 🏀

[Greek Tragedy]

The CCIW caught a massive break in the new Central Region rankings:
           

1   Washington U.	22-2   22-2
2   UW-Platteville	20-3   22-3
3   Augustana	19-5   19-5
4   UW-Oshkosh	19-6   19-6
5   UW-Stevens Point	17-8   17-8
6   Illinois Wesleyan	19-5   19-5
7   North Central (Ill.)	16-7   17-7
8   Wheaton (Ill.)	17-7   17-7

I would have maybe slotted NCC in at 8 at best, but I guess a win over Wheaton outweighed the Carroll debacle last week. And this doesn't factor last night in either...

At the end of the day, I don't think any of NCC, Wheaton or River Falls are strong Pool C candidates anyway.

[Gregory Sager]

I don't think that anybody does. I think that the more important point is that games against these teams will count towards the record-vs.-ranked criterion.

[iwu70]

Congrats to all the All-CCIW selections -- and to my Titans, Coach Rose, and Colin Bonnett and Brady Rose.  Great job.

Now, on to the AQ in Rock Island.  I think the TITANS really need to suck it up, get past the disappointing loss at home to NCC and at least go 1-1 this weekend.  Hopefully, 2-0 and the AQ.  Another tough challenge, with a quick turn-around game against NCC, playing very well just now.

'70

[kiko]

With last nights loss there is no worry of anyone blocking Wheaton. They seem to be 1-playing poorly and 2-eliminated from Pool C. Their only path to the NCAA tournament is two wins this weekend, which they are clearly capable of doing.

Here's the point I was trying to make -- it is easier with this week's rankings released:

Central           
1   Washington U.   22-2   22-2
2   UW-Platteville   20-3   22-3
3   Augustana    19-5   19-5
4   UW-Oshkosh   19-6   19-6
5   UW-Stevens Point   17-8   17-8
6   Illinois Wesleyan   19-5   19-5
7   North Central (Ill.)   16-7   17-7
8   Wheaton (Ill.)   17-7   17-7

Things will shuffle depending on how the WIAC and CCIW tournaments shake out, but right now, Fantastic50 is projecting that the top six in the region will all either get Pool A or C bids.  That means that there is a good chance that whomever is seventh will get to the table for at least a swing or two.  It's not especially likely that either the Red-and-White or Orange-and-Blue has the credentials to be chosen, but your chances, however small, are certainly better if you are getting to the table than if you are not.  In that sense, North Central certainly benefitted from this week's appearance by Wheaton in the rankings even if the Thunder are absent this coming Sunday.

One other note - if North Central is able to beat Illinois Wesleyan on Friday, their credentials are not far off from what the Titans will have, and the Cardinals will have two H2H wins.  It is not outside of the realm of possibility that North Central jumps the Titans in this scenario.  (It is also not a certainty that they would do so... everything is fluid in the next couple of days.)  If this were to play out, and the AQ goes to someone on the other side of the draw, I think this is more likely to evolve into the Titans playing themselves out of the tournament than the Sons of Warden playing themselves in, but again, you have to get to the table to have a chance, and the earlier you get there, the better.

In any event, I hope this is a moot point and North Central self-selects themselves into the tourney, rather than waiting for the committee to tab them.  I do agree with you that Wheaton -- and any of the four qualifiers, for that matter -- is more than capable of winning twice this weekend.

[iwu70]

Kiko, I totally agree with you that much is fluid and that the Titans could well play themselves out of the tournament.  Much will depend on other AQ qualifiers and when/if teams get to the table for consideration.  I'm hoping IWU can at least go 1-1 this weekend, win the rubber match with NC  . . . or, of course, better yet, win the AQ themselves.  Should be a great tournament.  TITANS surely need to focus and start stronger than the other night vs. NC at The Shirk.  They just couldn't get out of the big hole they dug for themselves in the first 7-8 minutes with such poor shooting.  Very uncharacteristic of them, esp. at home.  Perhaps Carver will be more friendly.  NCC is playing very well at the moment, even without Henry.

Should be a great weekend -- both the men and the women -- of CCIW competition.  Good rubber match likely on the women's side too -- perhaps WC vs. IWU on Saturday night for the AQ there, playing at The Shirk. 

All best to all the CCIW chatsters for the Dog Year just begun.  Kung Hei Fat Choi!

IWU'70

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

It is down to the final week of the regular season. It is now or never. Win the conference tournament, earn the automatic qualifier, and a team will be playing in March. Don't win it and either hold out hope for an at-large selection or the season is over.

The season continues or ends on the bounce of a ball from here on out.

So who may be in jeopardy and who is sitting pretty? On Thursday's edition of Hoopsville, we start to read the tea leaves while also chatting with teams who are hoping to punch their ticket for the Road to Salem or Rochester themselves. Plus, we get a preview of what could be a fascinating weekend of NESCAC tournament action at Amherst.

Hoopsville is presented by D3hoops.com and airs from the WBCA/NABC Studio. You can watch the show LIVE starting at 7:00 p.m. ET here: http://bit.ly/2BIbiUe

If you have questions, be sure to email them to hoopsville@d3hoops.com or interact with the show via the social media avenues located to the right.

Guests include (in order of appearance):
- Steve Schulman, Lehman men's coach
- Matt Ducharme, UMass-Dartmouth women's coach
- Jamie Purdy, Piedmont women's coach
- Grey Giovanine, No. 9 Augustana men's coach
- Michele Durand, No. 24 Ohio Northern women's coach (WBCA Center Court)
- Howard Herman, Berkshire Eagle writer (NESCAC tournaments preview)

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts instead, you can get access to them or subscribe one of the three following ways (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville



Don't forget you can always interact with us:
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[Titan Q]

#15-Illinois Wesleyan (19-6, 12-4) vs North Central (18-7, 11-5), 5pm...

Illinois Wesleyan (19-6, 12-4)
G - Brady Rose, 6-3/185 Jr.  21.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.1 apg
G - Colin Bonnett, 6-4/190 Jr.  12.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 apg
G - Jason Gregoire, 6-4/195 Jr.  8.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg
F - Jaylen Beasley, 6-6/185 Sr.  5.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg
C - Alex O'Neill, 6-9/245 So. 8.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg

North Central (18-7, 11-5)
G - Connor Raridon, 6-6/210 So.  12.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.9 apg
G - Aiden Chang, 6-3/175 Jr.  6.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.0 apg
G - Blaise Meredith, 6-4/182 Fr.  5.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
F - Matt Cappelletti, 6-5/205 So. 9.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F - Alex Sorenson, 6-8/235 Sr.  18.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.3 apg


Pantagraph - http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/men/iwu-north-central-meet-again-in-cciw-tournament/article_194ccd55-9368-5e87-9e45-611e3ae28061.html

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

Video - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/augustana/

Stats - http://www.augustana.net/athletics/mbasketball/xlive.htm

[Titan Q]

My Pool C take through Wednesday night (not factoring in Thursday results)...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4232.msg1859126#msg1859126

[iwumichigander]

My Pool C take through Wednesday night (not factoring in Thursday results)...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4232.msg1859126#msg1859126

OK - if I am reading correctly - you have NCC listed twice 

[Greek Tragedy]

My Pool C take through Wednesday night (not factoring in Thursday results)...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4232.msg1859126#msg1859126

OK - if I am reading correctly - you have NCC listed twice 

He's that confident they'll make it!

[iwu70]

Thanks, Q.  Always instructive.

Go TITANS -- gotta get a strong start vs. NC and rebound the ball!

'70

[GoPerry]

Not sure if lightning can strike twice in Rock Island for the Thunder and get a 2nd road win at Carver.  To have a chance they need better play than their last 2 games in which the offense was held to 20 pts below their season average (83/g).  Key will be Ricky Samuelson who has been struggling from the field in the last 3 games (31% FG, 2-14 from trey).  Aston Francis has been playing 37-38 minutes (34.5 avg) and noticeably leg weary on his late 2nd half shots hitting short off the front rim.  Someone needs to take some scoring load so that Schauer can rest him some.

[pgkevin]

Congratulations to Colin Lake Illinois Wesleyan, for allowing Colin Lake to score 46 points against them and thus help him out towards making the All-CCIW team. After three years of playing in the shadow of two All-American teammates, this was his turn to shine -- and shine he did.

Last night's NPU gamer includes a clip of Colin being announced as the school's new trey king, after Tom Slyder had called a timeout that was as much to let P.A. announcer Tyler Woolbright announce the feat to the crowd as anything else. In a classy display of sportsmanship, the Red Men on the floor, led by Brad Kruse, all went over and shook Colin's hand. The end of the clip show's Colin's final trey of his career, a stick off of a truly sick stepback move that is as good a way to remember his playing days as any.

http://athletics.northpark.edu/news/2018/2/20/lake-becomes-npu-mens-basketball-three-point-leader.aspx?path=mbball

Fixed it for you.

[iwu70]

At the half, NCC 30 IWU 19.  That's the most pathetic half of Titan basketball I've ever seen. 

'70