MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[voxelmhurst]

I don't know if the Conference names a Player of the Week over the holidays, but since the last POTW was named, Elmhurst's Jake Rhode has had games of 37 and 33 points. He was named MVP of the Desert Invitational after last night's win over UW-La Crosse. I'm sure Rhode will be on the top line (maybe more) of every CCIW opponent's bulletin board from here on out.

[iwumichigander]

Wheaton falls to Illinois Tech down on the South Side, 75-72. It was quite a battle between superstar guards Aston Francis and Anthony Mosley, Jr.; Francis nearly had a triple-double, ending with a 34-10-8 line, while Mosley had a fine game of his own for the Scarlet Hawks with 21-5-9. Wheaton also got 10 points from Anajuwon Spencer, while Luke Peters had eight boards and four assists. Wheaton's been a great FT shooting team this year (77% as a team), but the boys from DuPage County only shot 14-23 (61%) tonight. Two especially tough misses were a blown front end of a one-and-one by Peters with a minute to go and a miss by Francis in the waning seconds with WC down three.

It was actually Eichelberger who missed that front end but the point is the same.  We really needed to convert that one with the clock stopped - at least get the front end to pull within 2.

What is going on with Eichelberger, anyway? He is not the same player that he was as recently as three weeks ago. He had been averaging 9 ppg, which made him the team's second-best option after Francis, but over Wheaton's last three games he's scored a combined total of six points on 1-8 shooting. Is he injured? Suffering from a lingering illness? I don't see Wheaton going far without Kobe Eichelberger contributing the kinds of things he's capable of contributing to Wheaton.

He's been nursing an ankle injury (not sure how serious it was when he first suffered it) that he tweaked again down the stretch in the IWU game. Not entirely sure if that's still the reason for his struggles of late, but that's all I can think of.

I'm not sure if the injury is still bothering him or not. He looked perfectly fine to me tonight.  But you bring up the right general point Sager.  All of them, especially Adom, Spencer, Eichelberger, I think are capable of doing more.  The difficulty is getting used to deferring to Francis most every possession and then switching to aggressive offense mode when he's either not on the floor or after waiting a bit til he snaps out of it.  It was real obvious in the 2nd H when Francis took a breather and the Thunder promptly committed a 30 sec violation waiting for somebody to shoot or drive.

Wheaton needs to get Francis get the others involved early in the game.  He did just that against IWU.  Getting the other four going takes defensive pressure off Francis, creates better ball movement and then he can do his thing.

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin went into the Ratner Center today and came out with an 84-78 victory over Chicago. The visitors were led by Zach Fisher's career-high 30 points, to which he added six rebounds. Davante Harrell also contributed 14 and 9 to the cause, while Elijah Henry added 11 and 8.

[Gregory Sager]

Since it doesn't look as though the Millikin vs. Simpson game is going to be rescheduled, the CCIW will apparently finish the regular season with a collective non-con record of 52-28 (.650).

[iwu70]

Q, I'd be delighted if the TITANS can go 10-2 the rest of the way.  The key is defensive improvement, esp. perimeter D, stopping off some of the dribble penetration and rotating faster to three-point shooters.  Otherwise . . . I don't see it.  As you say, offensively, the TITANS are playing at a very high, even elite level.  This team seems to have second half lulls and TOs at very crucial points.  Tough losses.  Hoping for the best to get back on a winning roll. . .

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

The box score posted by both Illinois Tech and Wheaton doesn't indicate who officiated their Saturday evening game at Keating Sports Center, but I'm pretty sure that Kevin White was one of the three refs. That's a pretty rare CCIW officiating double-dip, as he was also one of the three refs at the St. Mary's (MN) @ North Park game earlier that afternoon.

I can't recall the last time an official worked two CCIW games in the same day.

I have no complaints about his calls in either game. I worked the table for the SMU @ NPU game -- with North Park's campus closed and the table short-staffed during the holidays, I had to come down from my PBP perch and don my ref shirt as the official scorer on Saturday, so I was courtside and had the best view in the house -- and I only saw one blown call in that game, a possession decision on a tipped ball early in the second half (i.e., a comparatively innocuous call).

[GoPerry]

The box score posted by both Illinois Tech and Wheaton doesn't indicate who officiated their Saturday evening game at Keating Sports Center, but I'm pretty sure that Kevin White was one of the three refs. That's a pertty rare CCIW officiating double-dip, as he was also one of the three refs at the St. Mary's (MN) @ North Park game earlier that afternoon.

I can't recall the last time an official worked two CCIW games in the same day.

I did recognize one ref:  Brown hair, side part perfectly combed?  I've seen him regularly at CCIW games.

[kiko]

The box score posted by both Illinois Tech and Wheaton doesn't indicate who officiated their Saturday evening game at Keating Sports Center, but I'm pretty sure that Kevin White was one of the three refs. That's a pertty rare CCIW officiating double-dip, as he was also one of the three refs at the St. Mary's (MN) @ North Park game earlier that afternoon.

I can't recall the last time an official worked two CCIW games in the same day.

I have no complaints about his calls in either game. I worked the table for the SMU @ NPU game -- with North Park's campus closed and the table short-staffed during the holidays, I had to come down from my PBP perch and don my ref shirt as the official scorer on Saturday, so I was courtside and had the best view in the house -- and I only saw one blown call in that game, a possession decision on a tipped ball early in the second half (i.e., a comparatively innocuous call).

This is the most likely time of year for that sort of thing to occur, as the cadence and velocity of games played around the holidays does not follow the typical pattern (this is also true at the HS level, but IDK if D3 officials also work those games).  And, it's likely that at least a few of the officials who are typically available to schedule are otherwise engaged or out of town for holiday travel.

(I have no knowledge of whether he did or didn't work multiple games.)

[Gregory Sager]

The box score posted by both Illinois Tech and Wheaton doesn't indicate who officiated their Saturday evening game at Keating Sports Center, but I'm pretty sure that Kevin White was one of the three refs. That's a pertty rare CCIW officiating double-dip, as he was also one of the three refs at the St. Mary's (MN) @ North Park game earlier that afternoon.

I can't recall the last time an official worked two CCIW games in the same day.

I did recognize one ref:  Brown hair, side part perfectly combed?  I've seen him regularly at CCIW games.

Nope. That's Dave Laning, who is a resident of the suburb of Wheaton and thus seems to work games at King Arena pretty frequently.

Kevin White was the portly black ref.

I wish that every scorer's table listed the game officials in their box scores. It's not that much of a bother to type in their names on live stats, especially since the game coordinator (usually the SID) knows who they are even if they don't write their names into the scorebook when they check it ten minutes prior to gametime. Fortunately, the Illinois Tech AD reads this board and will no doubt crack the whip on his minions to make sure that they put in the names of the officials from now on.

This is the most likely time of year for that sort of thing to occur, as the cadence and velocity of games played around the holidays does not follow the typical pattern (this is also true at the HS level, but IDK if D3 officials also work those games).  And, it's likely that at least a few of the officials who are typically available to schedule are otherwise engaged or out of town for holiday travel.

(I have no knowledge of whether he did or didn't work multiple games.)

The holiday explanation is more likely than any supposed increased frequency of basketball activity. There's little crossover between local high school refs and CCIW refs, the latter of whom do the rest of their officiating at D1, D2, and other local D3 games.

[kiko]

The holiday explanation is more likely than any supposed increased frequency of basketball activity. There's little crossover between local high school refs and CCIW refs, the latter of whom do the rest of their officiating at D1, D2, and other local D3 games.

I wasn't suggesting increased frequency in total -- though there is greater likelihood that we see random games on odd dates during the period around Christmas.

It's more that supply and demand of D3-caliber officials are, I assume, pretty well synced up during most of the season, which would make double-dipping relatively rare.  I suspect the cadence and timing of games throws off this equilibrium during the holidays.  Since HS is not a factor (thank you -- I did not know what sort of cross-pollination there may be), it sounds like the issue, when it crops up, is likely on the supply side.

[Gregory Sager]

Yeah, the synchronization of the league's schedule makes the possibility for a double-dip rare throughout the entire season, but there's still Saturdays in November and December when, say, Elmhurst might be playing an afternoon game and North Central might be playing an evening game, or Wheaton and then North Park, or something like that. I think that it was a combination of the holiday weekend making available refs scarce and the fact that you can get from the crackerbox to Keating in a half-hour down Kedzie, the Kennedy, and the Dan Ryan that led to this double-dip actually happening.

[Titan Q]

Illinois Wesleyan (8-5, 1-3) at North Park (4-9, 2-2), 7pm...

Titans (8-5, 1-3)
G - Brady Rose, 6-3/185 Sr.  21.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.6 apg
G - Colin Bonnett, 6-4/190 Sr.  12.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.2 apg
G - Jason Gregoire, 6-4/205 Sr.  11.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
F - Charlie Bair, 6-7/205 So.  7.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg
C - Alex O'Neill, 6-9/245 Jr.  8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg

Vikings (4-9, 2-2)
G - Kindrel Morris, 5-5/136 Fr.  9.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.9 apg
G - Izaiah Sanders, 5-11/165 So.  7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg
G - Toby Marek, 6-0/188 So.  12.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.3 apg
F - Matt Szuba, 6-6/215 So.  11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg
F - Vegard Tangen, 6-6/202 Jr.  10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg


Pantagraph - https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/iwu-heads-to-north-park/article_b7fced1f-b8cb-5b2d-b9f6-0978e1916f7d.html

Video - https://boxcast.tv/channel/mkfk0h71h07ygfgcyby1

Live stats - http://sidearmstats.com/nparku/mbball/xlive.htm

[Gregory Sager]

The question tonight is: Which Vikings team shows up? Will it be the NPU squad that rose to the occasion against Wheaton and North Central, playing good team ball to the fullest extent of its capabilities and coming away with the upsets? Or it will be the NPU squad that we've seen in the other eleven games that the Park has played, the squad that struggled quite a bit in wins over two really bad teams in Waynesburg and Dominican, got nipped by a Muskingum team that's a likely candidate for last place in the OAC, and got buried in four of its other eight losses?

Fingers crossed on both hands that it's the former that shows up, but, considering that Ron Rose has probably given his beleaguered Titans the "our backs are against the wall" speech already even though it's only the day after New Year's Day, I'm not holding my breath for a Vikings win. Ken Massey's HAL 9000 has the Vikings getting the short end of the stick tonight by 13 points, and in some quarters the feeling is that the final spread could be much bigger than that in IWU's favor. But, since we're still in the twelve days of Christmas, it's worth pointing out that hope springs eternal, even in the bleak midwinter.

[Gregory Sager]

I try not to use Massey much until after New Year's Day, so this is my first posting of his spreads for a CCIW night (home team in bold):

Augustana 69, North Central 59 (AC 82%, NCC 18%)
Elmhurst 70, Carroll 68 (EC 55%, CU 45)
Wheaton 84, Carthage 76 (WC 78%, CC 22%)
Illinois Wesleyan 82, North Park 69 (IWU 89%, NPU 11%)

Millikin has the night off.

[Gregory Sager]

I don't know if the Conference names a Player of the Week over the holidays, but since the last POTW was named, Elmhurst's Jake Rhode has had games of 37 and 33 points. He was named MVP of the Desert Invitational after last night's win over UW-La Crosse. I'm sure Rhode will be on the top line (maybe more) of every CCIW opponent's bulletin board from here on out.

Rhode was indeed named the CCIW POTW on Monday, making him the third non-Francis player to win the award this season alongside Devante Harrell and Connor Raridon. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that:

The more I watch Rhode, the more he impresses me. IWU and Augie fans will no doubt scream bloody murder about this, but I think that Rhode belongs in the conversation with Brady Rose and Nolan Ebel if you're talking about the best guard in this league who doesn't wear a jersey with an orange #1 on it.

Looks like other people are beginning to pick up on that as well.