MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Augie women got there, to the The Shirk, the game underway, so men's game going ahead too.

IWU'70

[iwu70]

I like Q's thinking on his choice for MOP, but I think Francis will win.

Looking forward to the match-ups tonight AC vs. IWU.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

North Central 75
Carroll 52

[AndOne]

North Central 75
Carroll 52

A 25-5 run to end the first half put the game away for the Cardinals.
Good work off the NCC bench by Derek DeYoung with a perfect 3/3 for 6 points, and Mike Pollack & Will Clausel, both with 7 points.
The Cards were led in scoring by Connor Raridon with 18 points (6 rebs, 6 assists), and Matt Cappelletti with 13 (8 rebs).
Aaron Jones had 10, and Blaise Meredith 8.

[WUPHF]

I just look at it a different way.  Certainly Francis is a tremendous player and has, by far, the best stats.  But when I think of the entire package - leadership, defense, making huge plays time after time to lead a team to 8-0 - I think Ebel has been the "most outstanding player" so far.

I have watched Augustana play four or five games and Wheaton play two or three, so I am not the best to judge, but I agree with Ebel as the player of the year for the reasons you list.

The number of shots each player has taken stat that you mentioned in the broadcast is compelling.  Ebel had taken 176 shots before tonight, Francis had taken 400 for the season.  You mentioned the CCIW numbers but the ratio was similar.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton 77
North Park 65

[AndOne]

Augie 87
IWU  65

IWU is now 3-4 at home in the Shirk Center on the season. 

[Gregory Sager]

WC 77, NPU 65

Matt Szuba: 14 pts, 6 rebs, 4:1 a:to
Veggie Tangen: 13 pts
Toby Marek: 12 pts
Kindrel Morris: 11 pts
Izaiah Sanders: 10 pts, 6 rebs

Aston Francis: 49 pts, 11 rebs
Luke Peters: 6 rebs, 4:1 a:to
Spencer Peterson: 6 rebs, 3:0 a:to
Anajuwon Spencer: 3 blks

Boy, it's too bad that Aston Francis isn't good enough to be MOP, because he looked fairly decent tonight.

Francis took over the game at the same time that NPU ran out of gas. After middle-of-the-second-half doldrums by the NPU offense allowed WC to extend out to a 13-point lead with seven minutes to go, the Vikes pulled back to within two at 65-63 with four minutes to go. It was at that moment that the game became the Aston Francis Highlight Reel, as he rattled off twelve straight points to seal the win. During that same stretch, Matt Szuba and Veggie Tangen both airballed wide-open trey attempts from the top of the key, airballs that clearly illustrated that they were running on fumes. Tom Slyder tried to steal a few minutes by playing little-used, 6'4,190 freshman Simon Jacobson at forward, but it's clear that NPU's lack of a third big man is just a killer hole in the lineup. Wheaton played really good defense in the first half, but as the second half wore on it was NPU's heavy-leggedness that really kept the Vikes from hanging with Francis.

Great to see Kindrel Morris back in uniform again tonight for NPU. He's a valuable player, and as a freshman he holds a lot of promise.

Good to hear Paul Carr's voice again, as he was a haltime interview guest.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Augie 87, IWU 65.  Early in the second half, the score was tied at 46.  Augie went on a 24-4 run, and the game was over.

Charlie Bair had a great second half and finished with 14, Peter Lambesis had 8 points and 6 rebounds, otherwise Brady Rose (26 points) got no help.  The Titans simply met up with a team who is better than them.

[Titan Q]

Augie 87, IWU 65.  Early in the second half, the score was tied at 46.  Augie went on a 24-4 run, and the game was over.

Charlie Bair had a great second half and finished with 14, Peter Lambesis had 8 points and 6 rebounds, otherwise Brady Rose (26 points) got no help.  The Titans simply met up with a team who is better than them.

Yes, great game for maybe 25 minutes?  But wow is Augustana good.

The better team won. 

I will be surprised if Augie loses a CCIW game, and surprised if they do not win the national championship. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Greg,

But Nolan Ebel had 23 points and 1 rebound tonite.  Surely that is better than Francis's 49 and 11!

While I like Titan Q's going beyond just stats, I just couldn't detect that Ebel was noticeably better than several other (west)Vikings in any other regard (I of course know nothing about what happens in practice or the locker room).  Perhaps he is a huge unrecognized factor in the Vikings' success, but I just can't imagine that to outweigh SUCH a huge disparity in aspects we CAN measure.  Barring a HUGE change in the last seven games of the season, I would deem Francis an absolute lock for conference MOP, and unless I'm totally missing someone else, the leading candidate for national POY.

[Gregory Sager]

It's not just the stats, Chuck. Ebel's going to get a well-deserved shout-out for playing very well in what was the marquee game of the night. But Augie comfortably put IWU away early in the second half, which meant that as the night wore on the game that was in doubt became the marquee contest. And, make no mistake, it was a game that had a crucial turning point late in the ballgame. As I said, NPU was within two points of Wheaton with four minutes to go. Let's be straight about it, too; this game was absolutely crucial to Wheaton. Even if Wheaton can't catch Augie for the top seed -- I think that North Central's really the only team that has a shot at it now, and the Cards obviously need help to do so -- the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance are definitely in contention for the #2 seed, which is huge because it comes with a bye. Wheaton only trails NCC by a game for second place (although NCC currently owns the H2H), and the boys in orange could therefore not afford to lose a home game to a team that's tied for last place.

Tonight that was a very real possibility -- until Francis put his team on his back and scored 12 straight unanswered points that put the game away and gave WC the win it badly needed. That's leadership of the best kind ... the kind that translates onto the scoreboard and turns a game that was in jeopardy late into a solid win.

[Titan Q]

Aston Francis shot the ball 33 times tonight.  Nolan Ebel shot it 10 times.  It is an apples and oranges comparison.

I am a Nolan Ebel guy more than Aston Francis.  Doesn't mean I am right in terms of picking an M.O.P., but I do know the game pretty well.  My personal opinion is that Nolan Ebel does more to help his team win big games.

[augie77]

Augie 87, IWU 65.  Early in the second half, the score was tied at 46.  Augie went on a 24-4 run, and the game was over.

Charlie Bair had a great second half and finished with 14, Peter Lambesis had 8 points and 6 rebounds, otherwise Brady Rose (26 points) got no help.  The Titans simply met up with a team who is better than them.

Yes, great game for maybe 25 minutes?  But wow is Augustana good.

The better team won. 

I will be surprised if Augie loses a CCIW game, and surprised if they do not win the national championship. 

[/b]


If Augustana could play this well every night then I'd agree with you.  Problem is they can't and they won't. Just in the last week they came very close to losing to both Carthage (at home) and Wheaton. There are still a lot of games to be played.

[duckfan41]

Aston Francis shot the ball 33 times tonight.  Nolan Ebel shot it 10 times.  It is an apples and oranges comparison.

I am a Nolan Ebel guy more than Aston Francis.  Doesn't mean I am right in terms of picking an M.O.P., but I do know the game pretty well.  My personal opinion is that Nolan Ebel does more to help his team win big games.

He was 18-33 which is good for a 55% shooting percentage.