MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[WUPHF]

I have worked in financial aid at four institutions, including at a community college, so I would like to think that my understanding of higher education in general and higher education finance in particular is more sophisticated than that way of thinking.

My comment regarding the endowment was not a knock on Wheaton or their endowment, but rather, I am saying that I cannot see how their endowment is a predictor of student-family wealth even if it is four-times larger.

[Gregory Sager]

I have worked in financial aid at four institutions, including at a community college, so I would like to think that my understanding of higher education in general and higher education finance in particular is more sophisticated than that way of thinking.

My comment regarding the endowment was not a knock on Wheaton or their endowment, but rather, I am saying that I cannot see how their endowment is a predictor of student-family wealth even if it is four-times larger.

I'm not challenging your knowledge of higher education finance, since this is your field and not mine. But, according to the NACUBO numbers, Wheaton's endowment in 2017 was about $446m, while NCC's was about $109m ... and I know for a fact that Wheaton's endowment isn't skewed by having come from a single sugar daddy or two, a la Henry Rowan, but rather it came from a fairly broad-based array of benefactors. (I received a fairly good grounding in the institutional particulars of Wheaton College through my friendship with the late Dave Lawrenz.) That seems pretty indicative of something.

Wheaton does have the higher average cost of attendance and the lower average debt after graduation, though that is far from conclusive.  They do have a higher graduation rate by a margin.  At least according to the data they gave the government.

NCC students also take on more financial aid from their school, and, because most Wheaton students are from out of state, my guess is that the amount of state aid that NCC students get per student is higher as well. And, although ethnic demographics are hardly definitive, Wheaton has a dramatically higher percentage of whites and Asians and a dramatically lower percentage of blacks and Hispanics in its student body than does North Central. But I'm not really basing my statement upon numbers as much as I am upon four decades of observation of the two schools and their respective student bodies.

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin beat Illinois College at the Griz, 85-76. Calvin Fisher led the way with 21 points for the Big Blue, while Zach Fisher contributed 17 and Elijah Henry added 10 and 8.

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage managed to hang on to beat PSU-Harrisburg, 88-83. The Red Men led by 18 with 8:20 to go, but they coughed up that big lead due to their inability to stop the dribble penetration of the Unnittany Lions, who rang up a pile of and-ones in their comeback attempt. PSUH got to within two points at the 2:27 mark, but Carthage held serve until the final half-minute, when PSUH, down by three at 86-83, had two shots at sending it into OT with a trey -- and missed them both.

Preston Laketa scored 28 on 11-21 shooting (including 5-10 treys), and also had three blocks. Kienan Baltimore had a great all-around game, with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and a sparkling 8:3 a:to, while Jordon Kedrowski had 14 points. Sean Johnson's night was particularly noteworthy: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Great shooting line for the Red Men: .524/.440/.786.

[Gregory Sager]

Final from Igini Sports Forum:

North Park 72
Dominican 58

Toby Marek: 15 pts, 3:1 a:to
Izaiah Sanders: 14 pts
Matt Szuba: 11 pts, 12 rebs, 4 blks
Veggie Tangen: 7 rebs
Kindrel Morris: 5:1 a:to

[iwu70]

Good to get a much needed win before the West Coast trip:

IWU 93 Anderson 70

For IWU:
Rose 23
Bonnett 16
Lambesis 12 and 8
Wolfe 12
O'Neil 10

For AU:
Hartman 22
Duncan 14
Laffoon 13

Gregoire in civies.  Wolfe had a good game, on D and hitting some threes, finally.  Lambesis making a very good contribution.  Titans still struggling with dribble penetration.  Used a zone for major portions of this game . . . and some light back court pressure.

Christmas holiday break, then the two very tough opponents out West, at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.  Some sunshine, and a warm up.  Would be very nice to get two Ws out west against top-quality programs.

Happy holidays to all.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

The Vikings had some trouble keeping focus tonight. They led almost the entire game, but after building up a 15-point lead late in the first half they let a decidedly underwhelming Dominican team back into the game, as the Stars closed to within one at 47-46 with twelve minutes to go. That seemed to be the wakeup call that the Vikings needed, as they went on a 15-1 run over the next four and a half minutes, and eventually built the lead up to 18 before sauntering to the finish line.

The Vikings got a really nice defensive game from Matt Szuba tonight, as all twelve of his boards came at the defensive end and his four blocks are a career high. As a team they played a nice floor game (only seven turnovers), and, although their overall shooting was nothing to write home about, they did a good job from downtown (8-16) and they hit 75% of their free throws.

It wasn't pretty, but NPU is hardly in a position to quibble over style points. It's a win, move on, celebrate Christmas, and then come back ready to work hard.

[kiko]

I'll try this from the perspective of La Liga:

Illinois Wesleyan = Barca.  Lots of titles, and a self-perception that they are més que un club.

Augustana = Real Madrid.  Rich history, tons of success, must be included in title conversations.

Wheaton = Athletic Bilbao.  Unique profile in terms of player recruitment; decent number of championships, but most were in earlier eras.

North Central = Athletico Madrid.  Track record of recent success, but some dark days  in the early part of the millennium.

North Park = Valencia.  A decent amount of success in days of yore, but some stormy times in recent years.  Plus, their half-finished Nou Mestalla reminds me of an arena with a stage built in.   (Not the best comparison since they have no equivalent to North Park's five titles, but there's no really good NPU analog in Spain.)

Elmhurst = Real Betis.  Many ups-and-downs over the years.  ¡Viva el Elmhurst manque pierda!

Millikin = Deportivo La Coruna.  A remote outpost that is early in the climb back to respectability after a steep fall.

Carthage = Villarreal.  Unfashionable location.  Punches above it's weight at times, but occasionally crashes out for a year or so.

Carroll =  Alaves.  Back again in recent years after a long time spent relegated to a lower league.

[Gregory Sager]

Nicely done!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I'm pretty sure you have those top two teams switched.

[kiko]

I'm pretty sure you have those top two teams switched.

Nope.  I've been listening to the Titan faithful on this board for too many years.  Like Barca, that more than a club vibe runs strong in Titan Nation, even though the outside world doesn't necessarily see it.  Plus, Augie's Drew Carstens = Iker Casillas.

[markerickson]

Hopefully NPU will kick some arse against ex-Viking coach Joe Fano and his St. Mary's team in nine days.

[BobbyO]

Taking a break on preparation for Income Tax Season I played with the Massey Ratings and current Records for the CCIW schools and have come up with what I believe the Massey predictions would be today for the season.

School                       Conference           Overall

Augustana                    16-0                   24-1
North Central                13-3                   21-4
Wheaton                       12-4                  20-5
IWU                             10-6                  17-8
Carroll                           8-8                  12-13
Elmhurst                       6-10                 9-16
Carthage                       4-12                 9-16
Milliken                         3-13                 8-17
North Park                    2-14                 5-20

Now I know the last time a team made it through the conference undefeated was 1973.  I was in school then and it was tough.  However, If Augie keeps their heads on and avoids the upset, this year's team's can do it.  However I expect a couple of losses.

The big question is how will North Central be without Chang?  I could see them losing a few more games perhaps 3 more.

Wheaton has to determine if they are real contenders or want to bee's.  By far I think this is the team that can beat Augie for the championship.  A little luck and more teamwork they could be there.

IWU has got to get it together they have to win out and probably win the CCIW tournament to go to the dance.

Carroll can upsets but they just don't have the consistency.

Elmhurst schedule for November and December were a blessing for them.  I don't see them continuing their play in January and February.

Carthage, Milliken and North Park are out of it but they can do the big upset and just mess everything up.

I see most likely three bids to the D3 tournament.  I doubt there is enough for four.  So anyways will see what will be and in the meanwhile I will be making my reservations for Fort Wayne.

[lmitzel]

Taking a break on preparation for Income Tax Season I played with the Massey Ratings and current Records for the CCIW schools and have come up with what I believe the Massey predictions would be today for the season.

School                       Conference           Overall

Augustana                    16-0                   24-1
North Central                13-3                   21-4
Wheaton                       12-4                  20-5
IWU                             10-6                  17-8
Carroll                           8-8                  12-13
Elmhurst                       6-10                 9-16
Carthage                       4-12                 9-16
Milliken                         3-13                 8-17
North Park                    2-14                 5-20

Now I know the last time a team made it through the conference undefeated was 1973.  I was in school then and it was tough.  However, If Augie keeps their heads on and avoids the upset, this year's team's can do it.  However I expect a couple of losses.

The big question is how will North Central be without Chang?  I could see them losing a few more games perhaps 3 more.

Wheaton has to determine if they are real contenders or want to bee's.  By far I think this is the team that can beat Augie for the championship.  A little luck and more teamwork they could be there.

IWU has got to get it together they have to win out and probably win the CCIW tournament to go to the dance.

Carroll can upsets but they just don't have the consistency.

Elmhurst schedule for November and December were a blessing for them.  I don't see them continuing their play in January and February.

Carthage, Milliken and North Park are out of it but they can do the big upset and just mess everything up.

I see most likely three bids to the D3 tournament.  I doubt there is enough for four.  So anyways will see what will be and in the meanwhile I will be making my reservations for Fort Wayne.

I know analytics can only tell you so much (and I'm a fan of them), but I'd be thrilled if North Central won ten of its final 12 CCIW games.

Regarding Augie, I wonder what their Massey win probabilities are over the course of the rest of the season in terms of what the odds of running the table is. I'm sure a lot of their games are probably at least a 2-1 proposition of them winning, but basic math tells me that the odds are going to be pretty astronomical.

Meanwhile, some good news from Aiden Chang this afternoon:

"Was able to remove the partial cast and gauze today, ankle looks great considerably with minimal swelling and bruising! Thank you all for your continued support and I will keep you updated as the process continues! Tough times don't last, tough people do!"
-2:42 PM - 20 Dec 2018

[Gregory Sager]

I'm pretty sure you have those top two teams switched.

Nope.  I've been listening to the Titan faithful on this board for too many years.  Like Barca, that more than a club vibe runs strong in Titan Nation, even though the outside world doesn't necessarily see it.

Trust kiko on this one, Ryan; he's got the proper read on CCIW fandom. Collectively speaking, IWU fans really do give off a completely different vibe than do Augie fans, both in person and online.