MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

North Central could go to Lincoln, Nebraska.

At Nebraska Wesleyan?
- North Central
- St. Thomas
- Webster
- Nebraska Wesleyan

[Titan Q]

At Loras?
- UW-Oshkosh
- Wheaton
- Loras
- MSOE

[Titan Q]

At Augustana?
- Wooster
- Trine
- Lake Forest
- Augustana

[Titan Q]

At St. John's?
- UW-Stevens Point
- Concordia (WI)
- Northwestern (MN)
- St. John's

[AndOne]

I don't know if I'd call Francis' night a "quiet 30," but it kind of seemed like it. Got a couple early ones to fall, then was quiet for a while. I was kind of surprised late in the game when the Augie announcers said he only had 18. He did a good job getting to the basket late when his threes weren't falling, and the supporting cast played fairly well.

Was glad to see Cap was back to form, plus a monster night from Meredith. Hopefully this is enough to get a Pool C spot worst case scenario.

Not sure Mr. Francis does much of anything "quietly" as it seems there is a heightened degree of anticipation each time he touches the ball throughout the course of the entire game.
I think the best description of his results last night is that, chiefly through the tremendous efforts of Blaise Meredith, he was forced into an inefficient effort in that he went only 4-16 from three, and was forced into having to take 24 shots to score the 26 points he netted from the field. And Blaise outscored him from distance by going a perfect 6-6.

As someone previously said, it was a see-saw game throughout. There were 17 lead changes, and 11 ties. Both teams had identical just 8-0 best scoring runs. NCC just had more answers late after outrebounding Wheaton, and hitting their FTs down the stretch, making 24 (of 30) which was more than the 23 Wheaton even attempted (making 16).

[AndOne]

North Central could go to Lincoln, Nebraska.

At Nebraska Wesleyan?
- North Central
- St. Thomas
- Webster
- Nebraska Wesleyan

That Interstate bridge rehab in downtown Omaha results in a detour of a few miles, and puts the NCC to NWU distance over the 500 mile limit! And the NCAA flight budget is already strained to the max!

[WUPHF]

That Interstate bridge rehab in downtown Omaha results in a detour of a few miles, and puts the NCC to NWU distance over the 500 mile limit! And the NCAA flight budget is already strained to the max!

This is incorrect.

The calculator has North Central exactly 499 miles away from Nebraska Wesleyan.

I mean no offense, but I would love to see your new team make the trip to play your old team.

[AndOne]

Augustana 89
IWU 65

https://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7059&path=mbball

The Titans played great most of the 1st half - got up 29-17 at 8:15, and 33-23 at 6:27.  But Augie closed the half on 16-4 run to take a 2-point halftime lead.  Nolan Ebel hit two huge 3's back to back to close the half and erase a 4-point IWU lead.  Those baskets seemed to really turn the momentum of the game.

The second half was all Vikings.  IWU looked tentative once Augie made their big run.  And the Vikings just really intensified their defense and made it extremely hard on IWU to get good looks.  They were impressive on both ends of the floor.

Despite giving up their early 12 point lead, IWU was still right there at halftime, trailing by only 2.
At that point, most of the North Central contingent skedaddled. After getting some dinner we checked the scoreboard, and were pretty shocked at the final 65-89 score in favor of Augie.

Rather than giving an inspiring pep talk at halftime, Ron Rose must have sang a sleep inducing lullaby! 😴 

Congrats to the IWU seniors on their careers. I think the accomplishments of Brady Rose have been duly praised (and rightfully so). However, I think Colin Bonnett is due some special accolades as well. A full time 3 year starter, he had several big games, and was very instrumental in a number of wins over his 1,112 point career. ☄️

[AndOne]

That Interstate bridge rehab in downtown Omaha results in a detour of a few miles, and puts the NCC to NWU distance over the 500 mile limit! And the NCAA flight budget is already strained to the max!

This is incorrect.

The calculator has North Central exactly 499 miles away from Nebraska Wesleyan.

I mean no offense, but I would love to see your new team make the trip to play your old team.

Maybe under normal conditions.

No offense taken WUPHF, but I sense that one may have gone right over your head. 

[WUPHF]

Oh, there was a joke in there?  Do explain...

[AndOne]

Well, yes. As far as I know, the I80 bridge extension in downtown Omaha is in fine shape, and there is no detour which would make the mileage 500+

Maybe the stars will align in a bit, and that 499 will no longer be a concern.   
Game time!

[Gregory Sager]

Who had 9:01 first half in the jacket pool?

[joehakes]

At St. John's?
- UW-Stevens Point
- Concordia (WI)
- Northwestern (MN)
- St. John's

Concordia WI lost in the NACC semis.  Aurora vs. Illinois Tech in the finals on Sunday.

[Gregory Sager]

NCC 35, AC 29 at the half. This is the sort of Ben-Gay basketball you expect to see from these two teams -- it's all missed shots in the lane, sneaky forearm shivers, sumo bumping in the post, and flop sweat all over the floor. Pretty, it isn't ... but it's fun to watch.

[Gregory Sager]

At St. John's?
- UW-Stevens Point
- Concordia (WI)
- Northwestern (MN)
- St. John's

UWSP is a goner. UW-Platteville won the WIAC autobid -- and the Pioneers, unlike the Pointers, are within 500 miles of Lincoln.