MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Final from the airplane hangar:

North Park 95
North Central 88

Chalk up another one for the little engine that could.

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst breezed by Carthage in Kenosha, 95-79, in a game that was never close.

[duckfan41]

I still have high hopes that Brady Rose will be some level (hopefully first team) AA this season, but he didn't look like even all-CCIW tonight.  35% shooting (14% from deep), with as many TOs as RBs (and more TOs than assists).  Still, the loss is by no means solely on him - NO one looked all that good tonight.

So much for the top 10 ranking.   Still, with two close losses to two good teams on the road, they shouldn't drop below the mid-to-upper teens.

The Wheaton loss was at Shirk. But to a good team as you say 

[Mr. Ypsi]

I still have high hopes that Brady Rose will be some level (hopefully first team) AA this season, but he didn't look like even all-CCIW tonight.  35% shooting (14% from deep), with as many TOs as RBs (and more TOs than assists).  Still, the loss is by no means solely on him - NO one looked all that good tonight.

So much for the top 10 ranking.   Still, with two close losses to two good teams on the road, they shouldn't drop below the mid-to-upper teens.

The Wheaton loss was at Shirk. But to a good team as you say 

OOPS!  You're right.  After IWU had protected the Shirk for quite a while, that's two in a row for the Thunder.  I'll adjust my poll prediction to IWU dropping to the upper-teens to low twenties.  But they won't drop out, while Wheaton should enter the poll.  That would make four CCIW teams in the top 25, unless NCC losing at home to NPU drops them out.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU 95, NCC 88

Toby Marek: 29 pts (8-11 FG, 12-14 FT)
Kindrel Morris: 15 pts
Veggie Tangen: 14 pts, 6 rebs
Izaiah Sanders: 11 pts, 4:1 a:to
Matt Szuba: 9 rebs

Blaise Meredith: 22 pts (12-13 FT)
Connor Raridon: 18 pts, 3:0 a:to
Matt Cappelletti: 15 pts, 7 rebs
Mike Pollack: 14 pts (4-6 trey)
Will Clausel: 11 pts

I think that we can now officially consider Toby Marek to be a force in this league. The sophomore from Austin, TX was money tonight driving to the hole and either picking up the layup off the glass in heavy traffic or getting to the free throw line. He's averaging 21.7 ppg in North Park's three CCIW contests to date.

NPU, which for the first month of the season looked like it couldn't make a jumpshot if the rim's diameter was five feet wide, was golden with the J's tonight, especially in the first half. And the weird thing is that North Central actually played very solid halfcourt defense in that first half; a lot of the shots that the Vikings stuck were with hands in faces or were taken off-balance or late in the shot clock. Veggie Tangen and sophomore reserve Jake Ellis were particularly sharp in the jumper department in that half. In the second half, Tom Slyder spread the floor and had Marek and Kindrel Morris drive to the hole, and it just seemed as though the Cardinals really had no way to stop them, as, whenever help defense got there in time, the NPU driver managed to stay in control enough to kick the ball out and start the process again.

It was tight most of the way, but the Vikings got some separation in the final four minutes, extending a 73-72 lead with 4:38 left to 79-72 with 3:11 to go. That run decided the game, as the Vikings managed to stave off a quick burst of treys by NCC's Mike Pollack off of the bench by making enough free throws to maintain a two- or three-possession lead.

I don't know what it is about this undermanned but doughty North Park team. They lose to the likes of Muskingum and get absolutely blistered by Chicago, UW-Oshkosh, and Carthage ... and yet they've now beaten two ranked teams on consecutive Saturdays. Part of it is that Tom Slyder is running a master class in coaching this year, squeezing more out of this team than I (or, I'm pretty sure, anyone else) had thought possible. The other is that these guys just seem to believe that they're capable of beating teams like Wheaton and North Central, and belief can be a powerful thing. But, above all that, the emergence of Toby Marek as a serious CCIW player certainly hasn't hurt.

[Titan Q]

The IWU/Augustana game was not necessarily pretty, but it was a fantastic game.  It was tight from start to finish.  Two pretty even teams.  Augie did a nice job making a few big plays down the stretch.

Nolan Ebel is really a great player.  He sure makes big plays when they count.

I thought IWU played well tonight...just came up a couple plays short.

[Titan Q]

I still have high hopes that Brady Rose will be some level (hopefully first team) AA this season, but he didn't look like even all-CCIW tonight.  35% shooting (14% from deep), with as many TOs as RBs (and more TOs than assists).  Still, the loss is by no means solely on him - NO one looked all that good tonight.

In my opinion, kind of a really silly post.  Augustana worked incredibly hard to defend Rose tonight and contain him...and they did a great job.  And yes, Brady did not shoot the ball well tonight.

But to say he didn't look all-CCIW tonight makes me think you didn't watch the game, or don't understand the impact he had on the floor in terms of what Augie had to do to guard him.  Watch the on demand and look at how much attention Augie had on him before he got the ball, and once he had it.

[mr_b]

Final from the airplane hangar:

North Park 95
North Central 88

Chalk up another one for the little engine that could.

That's got to be a big confidence booster for this Viking squad. 

[iwu70]

Agree with Q on Rose.  Rose still seems a bit tentative from the back issues too.  But, the truth is IWU made some key TOs at a bad time, when up 50-47 and looked to be in a good position to win the game, but then a big turnaround, a free breakaway after a block, which surely looked like a foul to me.  AC got some nice calls tonight, just say'in.  They surely finished stronger than IWU down the stretch.  Ebel was so solid, played solidly with few mistakes.   But, IWU is not going to win many games when shooting 13% from three, just not in the cards, given IWU's perimeter game and major scoring from guards.

Gotta move on and try to win more CCIW games, get back into the race.  Some good opportunities and challenges out West over the holiday break -- in Thousand Oaks, CA.  So much more basketball to be played.

Congrats to NPU for their win over NCC -- a surprise.  Elmhurst big over CC too!  Another surprise. 

I'm sure the TITANS will learn from these too very close, disappointing losses early on in the CCIW campaign, and bounce back.  They are right up there, just have to learn to close out games a bit stronger, with more care for the ball.  Each game decided by late, ill-timed TOs. 

IWU'70

 

[Mr. Ypsi]

I still have high hopes that Brady Rose will be some level (hopefully first team) AA this season, but he didn't look like even all-CCIW tonight.  35% shooting (14% from deep), with as many TOs as RBs (and more TOs than assists).  Still, the loss is by no means solely on him - NO one looked all that good tonight.

In my opinion, kind of a really silly post.  Augustana worked incredibly hard to defend Rose tonight and contain him...and they did a great job.  And yes, Brady did not shoot the ball well tonight.

But to say he didn't look all-CCIW tonight makes me think you didn't watch the game, or don't understand the impact he had on the floor in terms of what Augie had to do to guard him.  Watch the on demand and look at how much attention Augie had on him before he got the ball, and once he had it.

Bob, sorry to have offended you for the 483rd time!  Brady is obviously gonna be all-CCIW, probably first team (though still early).  I was clearly venting after a game they led most of the way (and perhaps still holding some angst after he threw away the win on Wednesday).  He is still my favorite Titan, but VERY frustrating tonight.

Kinda like with the women.  Maddie Merritt is clearly the best player (and the front-runner for MOP, IMO), but Raven Hughes is my favorite.  I got after her a few days ago because, while playing quite well, she's not playing nearly as well as I had hoped she would - i.e., a totally break-out season of an MOP-contender player.

And, yes, I watched all but the first five minutes of the second half (dinner got in the way).  Perhaps it was the horrible camera coverage by the Augie guy, but I just didn't see the focus on Brady that you are describing.  Or perhaps it is that he was SO covered that I just didn't see WHY he was so rarely in on the plays.  I've never claimed that I had the skills to be a successful D3 basketball coach.

[thunder38]

Not to rekindle the flames of the will he pass/won't he pass conversation from Wednesday night's game but Aston had his passing skills on full display tonight and it was impressive.

https://twitter.com/Wheaton_Thunder/status/1071629931958947840

[GoPerry]

Wheaton over Olivet, 92-81

Aston Francis   20 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asst,
Luke Peters  18 pts, 5 rebs, 6 assts, 4-6 FT
Spencer Petersen  14 pts, 3 rebs
Nyameye Adom  11 pts (3-4 trey)

Lots of contribution from several guys for the 2nd game in a row.  Great way to play and to win.  Surprised Francis ended up leading in scoring as he didn't get into double figures until maybe 7 min left in the game.  Made his first trey and proceeded to miss the next 8.  He had some terrific assists.  Only blemish was 5 turnovers on lazy passes vs the Comets press. Peters was stellar in the 1st half.  Just not afraid at all to post up or challenge taller players like 6'10" Trevor Manuel.  Spencer Petersen was key in checking Manuel who is a handful to guard and able to add 14 pts too.

A really good game by the Thunder tonight against a pretty talented Olivet team that's played a brutal schedule so far.

[Gregory Sager]

Fun fact of the day: We're only three games into the CCIW season, but, nevertheless, NPU's Kindrel Morris -- all 5'5, 135 of him -- is on the CCIW leaderboard of the league's leading rebounders.

[duckfan41]

Fun fact of the day: We're only three games into the CCIW season, but, nevertheless, NPU's Kindrel Morris -- all 5'5, 135 of him -- is on the CCIW leaderboard of the league's leading rebounders.

Gotta love when a guy plays bigger than he is! To rebound like that with his size just shows superior heart to everyone else on the floor (or lucky positioning, but I'm definitely in favor of the former).

[voxelmhurst]

Elmhurst breezed by Carthage in Kenosha, 95-79, in a game that was never close.

Easily the best performance of the season for the Jays. They shot the ball 57% from the field, had 5 different players in double figures (almost 6 - Militello had 9 points), won the rebounding battle, and only committed 10 turnovers. This is an example of what Elmhurst can do when firing on all cylinders.

Since both teams currently Top 4 in CCIW Standings...Next Saturday's game between Elmhurst and North Park just got more interesting. If this were the NFL it would be flexed into primetime.