MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[lmitzel]

NCC 56, Elmhurst 45

Well, they didn't overcome a 19 point deficit, but the Blue Jays did manage to climb back into this one to make it a little more respectable after an absolutely ridiculous first half. The Blue Jays were ice cold, shooting just 4-23 from the field in the first half, part of why they had about a nine minute scoring drought that allowed the Cardinals to embark on an extended 20-0 run, capped by a Matt Cappelletti-to-Blaise Meredith alley oop, followed by a Matt Cappelletti three that engaged in a heavy amount of foreplay, rolling for what seemed like an eternity around the rim before finally falling. The Cardinals even got revenge for Jake Rhode's halfcourt heave at the halftime buzzer last year, as Aiden Chang hit a runner from probably 30-35 feet right before the horn that gave the Cardinals a 19 point lead at the break.

Cap led the way with 16 and 11, Matt Helwig netted 12, Aiden Chang added 10, and Connor Raridon only scored four points, but chipped in seven rebounds and six assists.

Jake Rhode paced the Jays with 15, but on 4-15 shooting (3-7 from deep, to be fair), Lavon Thomas put up 11 and 8, and Dominic Genco scored 10. The big key for North Central: Derek Dotlich was held scoreless on six shots.

[Titan Q]

Augustana 78
IWU 64

https://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7263&path=mbball

* Pierson Wofford: 21 pts, 7 reb, 4 assists
* Austin Elledge: 15 pts
* Micah Martin: 11 pts, 9 reb

* Luke Yoder: 15 pts, 4 reb, 6 assists
* Pete Lambesis: 10 pts, 4 reb
* Doug Wallen: 10 pts, 5 reb


The key stretch of the game was the first 3+ minutes of the 2nd half.  Augie turned a 2-point halftime lead to 12 at 16:57.  From there IWU just never got back in the game.

Micah Martin's physical presence played a huge role in this game.  IWU had a hard time dealing with him on both ends of the floor.

Pierson Wofford was good throughout the game.

This was a big swing game.  Had IWU won this one, the Titans would be right in the thick of the CCIW title race, and in great shape to be regionally ranked.  With the loss, the conference title will be hard to capture now...and most likely the Titans will not be in that first regional ranking.

The Vikings won this one with their 2nd half defense...it was very good. 

If I am betting on which team will win the CCIW title, I'd go with Augustana.  The schedule favors them now and I believe they are the most balanced team (not really any major deficiencies).

[augiefan]

A real important road win for Augie. The Vikings have  played really well the last few games, but a huge game with first place NCC is up next. Looking forward to that fame.

Always good to beat IWU, but looking to the future Augie's success is almost totally dependent on seniors, while IWU is doing well overall with underclassmen. Experience prevailed tonight.

Coach G will really be challenged to win next year with the less than stellar non senior returning players. It makes the McDonald kid's departure because of lack of playing time very puzzling. He would been a sure starter at PG next year.

In the meantime Viking fans can hopefully enjoy the final games of their solid senior class.

[Ultimate Titan Fan]

The key stretch of the game was the first 3+ minutes of the 2nd half.  Augie turned a 2-point halftime lead to 12 at 16:57.  From there IWU just never got back in the game.

Micah Martin's physical presence played a huge role in this game.  IWU had a hard time dealing with him on both ends of the floor.

Yep. Augie used the size advantage for all its worth, and the Titans couldn't get the three to fall. Augie was a better team at every phase of the game. The Shirk Center was electrified tonight on senior night with nearly a full house, but Augie silenced the crowd with that run at the start of the second half.

[Viking Mike]

What a strong performance by Augustana last night at the Shirk Center.

Great shooting....
strong rebounding....
excellent 2nd half defense.....
and Micah was a force on both ends..... if he can continue his current play, Augie will be tough to beat.

The early season struggles with injuries and players quitting has forced some unlikely guys into service, and the bench has responded with great minutes on the floor.

Coach G and staff have got this Viking team peaking just at the right time. 

Now a big one Wednesday at Carver!

[Gregory Sager]

It makes the McDonald kid's departure because of lack of playing time very puzzling.

Word on the street is that McDonald wants to go to a big school and play golf.

[Yogao]

It makes the McDonald kid's departure because of lack of playing time very puzzling.

Word on the street is that McDonald wants to go to a big school and play golf.

When the news first broke, I thought about that, and looking at the results of the fall season he didn't participate in any tournaments. Good luck to him going to a bigger school and walking on to the team and potentially competing against scholarship athletes.

[AndOne]

It makes the McDonald kid's departure because of lack of playing time very puzzling.

Word on the street is that McDonald wants to go to a big school and play golf.

When the news first broke, I thought about that, and looking at the results of the fall season he didn't participate in any tournaments. Good luck to him going to a bigger school and walking on to the team and potentially competing against scholarship athletes.

Word on the street also includes the fact that basketball on the banks of the Mississippi is considered a full time commitment, and participation in a second sport is frowned upon and discouraged to the point of falling just short of there being a written proclamation that it is just plain not allowed.

Its not really hard to comprehend that fact that one of the primary reasons that Augie has achieved the excellence it has recently enjoyed in basketball is because squad members give the sport their undivided attention when not engaged in their academic pursuits.

[AndOne]

Augie really in the drivers seat now from a scheduling standpoint with all three of their remaining games at home, whereas other teams still strongly in the hunt for the conference championship have the majority of their remaining on the road. IWU, conversely, has all of it's last three on the road.
Who makes up these schedules which there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[AndOne]

Ken's HAL-9000 foresees a road sweep in the CCIW today:

Augustana 77, @ Illinois Wesleyan 72 (AC 66%, IWU 34%)
Carthage 79, @ Millikin 69 (CC 81%, MU19%)
Elmhurst 77, @ North Central 75 (EC 55%, NCC 45%)
Wheaton 77, @ North Park 60 (WC 93%, NPU 7%)

NCC 56, Elmhurst 45

Well, they didn't overcome a 19 point deficit, but the Blue Jays did manage to climb back into this one to make it a little more respectable after an absolutely ridiculous first half. The Blue Jays were ice cold, shooting just 4-23 from the field in the first half, part of why they had about a nine minute scoring drought that allowed the Cardinals to embark on an extended 20-0 run, capped by a Matt Cappelletti-to-Blaise Meredith alley oop, followed by a Matt Cappelletti three that engaged in a heavy amount of foreplay, rolling for what seemed like an eternity around the rim before finally falling. The Cardinals even got revenge for Jake Rhode's halfcourt heave at the halftime buzzer last year, as Aiden Chang hit a runner from probably 30-35 feet right before the horn that gave the Cardinals a 19 point lead at the break.

Cap led the way with 16 and 11, Matt Helwig netted 12, Aiden Chang added 10, and Connor Raridon only scored four points, but chipped in seven rebounds and six assists.

Jake Rhode paced the Jays with 15, but on 4-15 shooting (3-7 from deep, to be fair), Lavon Thomas put up 11 and 8, and Dominic Genco scored 10. The big key for North Central: Derek Dotlich was held scoreless on six shots.

Possibly HAL had too many 77s for lunch yesterday which short circuited his prediction abilities a bit? 🤯

Elmhurst came in averaging 86.7 PPG, and North Central limited them to 45, just barely over half (51.9%) of that PPG average.

Make no mistake, this game was won on DEFENSE, with the prime players being Blaise Meredith holding the dangerous Derek Dotlich to an O-fer, Aiden Chang's almost game long harassment of Jake Rhode, and the red birds out rebounding the blue ones by 11.

[79jaybird]

Elmhurst cooling off at the most inopportune time.      Hasn't been the same team since the Augie buzzer beater. 

[voxelmhurst]

Elmhurst cooling off at the most inopportune time.      Hasn't been the same team since the Augie buzzer beater.

I can accept the road losses to Augie and North Central as these are hard places for any team to win. They absolutely should have won the Augie game though, but it's really not a place that any team can put a 'W' on their calendar at the beginning of the season. The home loss to Carthage really sticks out as a sore thumb to me though, and it could be what ultimately took them out of the title race, even if they are able to run the table. That won't be easy as they have another road game vs Wesleyan, historically a place of despair for the Bluejays.

Though they haven't looked like the Final Four contenders these last few weeks, it's been a great year for the Jays with absolutely everything still to play for. What Elmhurst fan wouldn't take 18-4, 9-4 heading into the last 3 of CCIW play? I would like to see next year's squad finally develop a killer instinct into some big CCIW road games.

[79jaybird]

agree 100% Vox- Augie and NC are contenders, but the Carthage debacle still has me puzzled. 

[kiko]

Carthage has managed to beat both Elmhurst and North Central this season, while also losing to North Park.  (Out of conference, they beat Oshkosh and yet somehow lost to 5-16 Olivet.)

They are without question the team with the biggest variance in results among CCIW teams this season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

New poll is up.

NCC rises from 17 to 14, Elmhurst falls from 8 to 17, Augie enters the poll at #25.  IWU lost their five points.