MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

I wasn't able to follow along other than live stats but anyone able to explain how the game was handled by the refs in Rock Island? 50 fouls from two teams who are statistically among the best in the conference defensively seems unlikely. I don't think Luke Peters has come close to fouling out all season and he could barely stay on the floor tonight.

The fact that Wheaton was able to hang as close as they were for so long with all of their bigs and Peters in foul trouble from jump street was pretty impressive to me.

Game had pretty good flow for the first 8 or so minutes, and then the refs did their best to harmonize their whistles the rest of the night. Absolutely brutal and inconsistent on both ends for both teams.

Yes, bad for both teams but it particularly affected Peters more than anyone - all five of his were 'touch' fouls, his 4th and 5th especially.  A smart player like that is not going to commit dumb fouls to foul out.  The foul trouble was bad enough for Wheaton that Mike Schauer had to actually play zone for a few possessions late in the 2nd H - something you just never see. 

The Thunder picked the wrong night to give up their highest point total of the year, 93 pts.  The Vikings are just a very good team.  Solid, confident, no panic.  I've seen them 3 or 4 times this year and as has been posted already, they just wear you down and finish you off.  Brett Benning is a really good player, tough matchup, and he's their fourth leading scorer, might not make All Conf.  I'll credit Wheaton for sticking with them as long as they did - still not enough offensive step up from the likes of Adom, Anthony.

[Yogao]

33 combined free throws in the first half on 28 fouls called. 19 free throws on 21 fouls in the 2nd half. Both Orange and Martin picked up their 3rd foul in the opening minutes of the second half. I'm surprised more people didn't foul out with the pace of fouls in the first half. 

I wasn't able to follow along other than live stats but anyone able to explain how the game was handled by the refs in Rock Island? 50 fouls from two teams who are statistically among the best in the conference defensively seems unlikely. I don't think Luke Peters has come close to fouling out all season and he could barely stay on the floor tonight.

The fact that Wheaton was able to hang as close as they were for so long with all of their bigs and Peters in foul trouble from jump street was pretty impressive to me.

Game had pretty good flow for the first 8 or so minutes, and then the refs did their best to harmonize their whistles the rest of the night. Absolutely brutal and inconsistent on both ends for both teams.

Yes, bad for both teams but it particularly affected Peters more than anyone - all five of his were 'touch' fouls, his 4th and 5th especially.  A smart player like that is not going to commit dumb fouls to foul out.  The foul trouble was bad enough for Wheaton that Mike Schauer had to actually play zone for a few possessions late in the 2nd H - something you just never see. 

The Thunder picked the wrong night to give up their highest point total of the year, 93 pts.  The Vikings are just a very good team.  Solid, confident, no panic.  I've seen them 3 or 4 times this year and as has been posted already, they just wear you down and finish you off.  Brett Benning is a really good player, tough matchup, and he's their fourth leading scorer, might not make All Conf.  I'll credit Wheaton for sticking with them as long as they did - still not enough offensive step up from the likes of Adom, Anthony.

[augie77]

I wasn't able to follow along other than live stats but anyone able to explain how the game was handled by the refs in Rock Island? 50 fouls from two teams who are statistically among the best in the conference defensively seems unlikely. I don't think Luke Peters has come close to fouling out all season and he could barely stay on the floor tonight.

The fact that Wheaton was able to hang as close as they were for so long with all of their bigs and Peters in foul trouble from jump street was pretty impressive to me.

Game had pretty good flow for the first 8 or so minutes, and then the refs did their best to harmonize their whistles the rest of the night. Absolutely brutal and inconsistent on both ends for both teams.

Yes, bad for both teams but it particularly affected Peters more than anyone - all five of his were 'touch' fouls, his 4th and 5th especially.  A smart player like that is not going to commit dumb fouls to foul out.  The foul trouble was bad enough for Wheaton that Mike Schauer had to actually play zone for a few possessions late in the 2nd H - something you just never see. 

The Thunder picked the wrong night to give up their highest point total of the year, 93 pts. The Vikings are just a very good team.  Solid, confident, no panic.  I've seen them 3 or 4 times this year and as has been posted already, they just wear you down and finish you off.  Brett Benning is a really good player, tough matchup, and he's their fourth leading scorer, might not make All Conf.  I'll credit Wheaton for sticking with them as long as they did - still not enough offensive step up from the likes of Adom, Anthony.

Just a high scoring game, partly due to fouls on both teams.  This was the first time Augustana has given up 80 in regulation time.

[lmitzel]

So looking over the standings...

School	Record
*-Augustana	13-1
x-NCC	10-3
x-Wheaton	9-5
x-IWU	7-6
x-Elmhurst	7-6
Carroll	6-8
Millikin	4-9
e-Carthage	2-11
e-NPU	2-11

As Greg mentioned yesterday...

Augie beat Wheaton, 93-83, and with NCC's loss that means that Augie has clinched a share of the CCIW title.

If I understand the tiebreakers correctly, Augie also clinched hosting rights for the CCIW Tournament. Even if they tie with North Central at 13-3, the sweep over Illinois Wesleyan compared to NCC's split should lock it up. NCC and Wheaton had already punched their tickets to the conference tournament, and last night the Titans and Blue Jays punched theirs with wins (since both swept their respective season series with Millikin). The other first round bye is still up for grabs, though North Central can lock that up with a win over Wheaton on Saturday. Carthage and North Park were both mathematically eliminated with losses last night.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton's Pool C hopes on life support.  Now Saturday is a must win for the Thunder at the Hangar against the NCC Cardinals, a team they haven't beaten in 4 ½ seasons, home or way.  So there's not a single player on the Wheaton roster who has a W against them. 

Other than that, we should be fine.

[augie77]

Is there a realistic path to the CCIW getting three teams in the tournament?

[WUPHF]

Is there a realistic path to the CCIW getting three teams in the tournament?

Yes, but it might involve Augustana losing in the first or second round of the CCIW tourney.

[Gregory Sager]

Augie won't be in the first round. The Rock Islanders have clinched a bye.

[WUPHF]

Right. 6 teams. Duh!

[GoPerry]

Is there a realistic path to the CCIW getting three teams in the tournament?

Someone other than Augie or NCC winning the AQ.  Both get Pool Cs.  UW-LaCrosse losing lastnight, along with WC and NCC, helps.

[Titan Q]

Is there a realistic path to the CCIW getting three teams in the tournament?

I am not sure there is.

http://www.fantastic50.net/d3h_men.html

* NCC is sitting at the end of the bubble right now.
* Wheaton is on the wrong side
* IWU is not in the picture

If we are talking about a "realistic path"...at this point I say no.  But a lot can/will change as the final games play out.

(I think there is a very realistic path to 2 teams getting in...1 Pool A, 1 Pool C.)

[Titan Q]

On IWU's status if the Titans win out (vs Elmhurst, vs North Park, at Carroll) and 2-1 in the CCIW tourney, @d3bubble says...


"In that scenario, I would have IWU squarely on the bubble.  Their credentials would be in the range of .679 WP, .583 SOS, .575 ncSOS, 3-8 vRRO.  Anything below .700 WP is always iffy, but the SOS would be near-elite and includes some quality wins."

[fantastic50]

NCC & Wheaton are likely meeting not only Saturday, but again in the CCIW semis.  If the same team wins both, I think that team gets in & the other is out.  If they split, both will be at the mercy of the committee (assuming neither gets the auto bid).

[Titan Q]

NCC & Wheaton are likely meeting not only Saturday, but again in the CCIW semis.  If the same team wins both, I think that team gets in & the other is out.  If they split, both will be at the mercy of the committee (assuming neither gets the auto bid).

Oh by the way, this is @d3bubble.

[Gregory Sager]

On IWU's status if the Titans win out (vs Elmhurst, vs North Park, at Carroll) and 2-1 in the CCIW tourney, @d3bubble says...


"In that scenario, I would have IWU squarely on the bubble.  Their credentials would be in the range of .679 WP, .583 SOS, .575 ncSOS, 3-8 vRRO.  Anything below .700 WP is always iffy, but the SOS would be near-elite and includes some quality wins."

I can't see that happening at all, especially in an environment in which the SOS/W% comparison formula has been taken off of the table by the NCAA. The days of a UW-Oshkosh riding a W% miles below .700 into the tourney on the strength of a high SOS appear to be over. And the "quality wins" that IWU would have, if indeed they would even end up totaling three RRO, would consist of victories over teams at the bottom of the Central Region rankings, with the possible exception of NCC. I think that IWU fans are living in a dreamworld if they believe that they have a shot at a Pool C berth. Heck, it appears that Wheaton is teetering dangerously on the fringe of the Pool C bubble at this point.