MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Understood ... but, playing in March or not, I think that this NPU team is going to win significantly more than five games.

The last few Vikings editions set the bar so low that it took practically nothing to leap over it, so I haven't taken much notice of any "milestones" that the current edition has achieved to date.

[USee]

I watched the IWU@Wheaton game.

When I posted after the title game I mentioned I thought the Thunder settled for a lot of outside shots and let IWU push them around a fair amount. Coach Schauer said after that game he wished he had adjusted to IWU's defense a little better. Last night they clearly had a game plan to go to the rim a lot more, especially after halftime, creating foul trouble for IWU that was a huge factor in the game.

In the first half I thought IWU ran their stuff a little better and played their usual stellar defense. I never thought Wheaton was on the verge of being blown out. In fact, had the Thunder made their usual % of 3s in the first half the game (most of which where wide open) it could have been tied or better for the Thunder at half. Both teams missed a lot of shots at the rim in the first half.

Another huge factor for the Thunder to me is the addition of Luke Anthony and Spencer Petersen after the football season. Peterson only played 9 minutes but his work to get quicker and bigger for football has paid off on the basketball court as he had some great possessions against Leritz and has the ability to guard him and make him work harder to get to his spots. Luke Anthony also provided some key defense and 7 pts off the bench.

Coach Schauer made some comments after the game last night that he told his team at half he thought they were afraid of IWU and he challenged them. I thought the key to the game was the aggressiveness the Thunder had in the second half (26 FTs to 15 for IWU for the game). Lambesis guarded Adom the entire game except for a small handful of possessions by my count. I never saw him off Adom for any long period of time. And Leritz's foul trouble was a direct impact of the Thunder aggressiveness attacking the rim (2 of his fouls). His other 2 were a charge when he lowered his shoulder to get to the rim and an over the back against Alioth. Still, Leritz only sat for 2:30 of the second half (game was tied at 54 when he left and IWU was down 3 when he returned). Cruikshank actually sat for about 4 1/2 minutes of the second half when he got his 3rd foul and that's actually when Wheaton cut the lead significantly.

The X factor last night was Cade Alioth. He played like an All American with 18 rebounds and 15 pts including the 2 huge threes in the first 4 min of the second half to make an 11 pt IWU lead only 5. When he plays like that to complement Cruikshank and Adom, the Thunder can play with anybody. And with Anthony and Peterson, it gives Schauer 2 more players he trusts with minutes. 

This looked like 2 top 5, top 10 teams going at it. I look forward to the rematch in Bloomington.

[iwu70]

New poll out:  IWU #4 Wheaton #6, Elmhurst drops down. 

CCIW league play going to be a gauntlet for sure.

IWU has NCC on Wednesday, #16 Wash U on the weekend.   Then, the east coast trip after Christmas, to face #1 Yeshiva in NE Manhattan and College of St. Vincent in the Bronx.

Elmhurst when first back to campus after the holidays.

What a stretch of great games.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage dispatched an unimpressive Beloit team tonight, 88-67, at Flood Arena. Fillip Bulatovic led the way with 20 and 8, Garrett Horner chipped in 17, while Colton Sigel and Kyle Czerak contributed a dozen points apiece.

[Titan Q]

#4-Illinois Wesleyan (7-1, 1-1) at North Central (4-2, 1-0), 7pm CT, Gregory Arena...


#4-Illinois Wesleyan (7-1, 1-1)
G - Luke Yoder, 6-0 Jr.  10.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg
G - Cory Noe, 6-2 Sr.  15.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg
G - Pete Lambesis, 6-4 Sr.  10.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.8 apg
F - Cody Mitchell, 6-7 Jr.  10.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg
F - Matt Leritz, 6-7 Sr.  17.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg
---
G - Ryan Sroka, 6-5 So.  4.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg


North Central (4-2, 1-0)
G - Shea Cupples, 6-1 Jr.  7.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.8 apg
G - Matt Helwig, 6-4 Sr.  27.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 3.2 apg
G - Ethan Helwig, 6-4 So.  15.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg
G - Blaise Meredith, 6-4 Sr.  12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.2 apg
F - Brian Johnson, 6-5 Jr.  2.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.2 apg
---
G - John Bluemeyer, 6-1 Fr.  4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg


IWU Game Notes: https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/iwusports.com/documents/2021/12/14/mbb2122game09_NorthCentral.pdf

Video: https://northcentralcardinals.com/watch/?Live=323&type=Live

Live Stats: https://northcentralcardinals.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

[iwu70]

Good luck to the Titans up @ North Central tonight.  Time for a big win, a big bounce back.

IWU'70

[kiko]

From the Hangar:

Illinois Wesleyan 73, North Central 48

I watched this one so you didn't have to. 

This one was more or less decided by a 25-0 first half run for the Titans.  North Central led 12-9 with 13:35 remaining, and the Cardinals' next basket didn't come until 3:43 left in the half.  It cut the Titans' lead to 34-14.  The Titans shot 10-of-15 in that interim span, and put on a defensive clinic as North Central never looked comfortable and missed 15 consecutive shots.

North Central shot just 32.7% from the floor (IWU: 52.7%) and was 4 of 23 (17%) from three.  Some of the Cardinals' offensive struggles were self-inflicted but the Titan defense was the bigger factor.

Illinois Wesleyan is clearly an elite team this year for all the reasons Titan Q has elaborated already: outstanding defense, an unusually robust inside game for a D3 team, and great shooting from outside.  They have the capacity to play deep into the tournament.

Notable for North Central, freshman guard John Blumeyer got the nod for his first start.

IWU:
Pete Lambesis 15 pts
Matt Leritz 11 and 7
Luke Yoder 13 pts
Cory Noe 12 pts on 4-of-7 from behind the arc

North Central:
Matt Helwig 13 pts
Blaise Meredith 10 pts

[lmitzel]

From the Hangar:

Illinois Wesleyan 73, North Central 48

I watched this one so you didn't have to. 

This one was more or less decided by a 25-0 first half run for the Titans.  North Central led 12-9 with 13:35 remaining, and the Cardinals' next basket didn't come until 3:43 left in the half.  It cut the Titans' lead to 34-14.  The Titans shot 10-of-15 in that interim span, and put on a defensive clinic as North Central never looked comfortable and missed 15 consecutive shots.

North Central shot just 32.7% from the floor (IWU: 52.7%) and was 4 of 23 (17%) from three.  Some of the Cardinals' offensive struggles were self-inflicted but the Titan defense was the bigger factor.

Illinois Wesleyan is clearly an elite team this year for all the reasons Titan Q has elaborated already: outstanding defense, an unusually robust inside game for a D3 team, and great shooting from outside.  They have the capacity to play deep into the tournament.

Notable for North Central, freshman guard John Blumeyer got the nod for his first start.

IWU:
Pete Lambesis 15 pts
Matt Leritz 11 and 7
Luke Yoder 13 pts
Cory Noe 12 pts on 4-of-7 from behind the arc

North Central:
Matt Helwig 13 pts
Blaise Meredith 10 pts

Yeah, well, unfortunately I had to, compounded by Q being a savage.

This Titan team is really freaking good though.

[iwu70]

Congrats to the Titans, great game tonight, a good bounce back, playing excellent defense.  Love to see it.

8-1 . . .  2-1 . . . on to Wash U on Sunday afternoon.  No rest . . .

IWU'70

[kiko]

Yeah, well, unfortunately I had to, compounded by Q being a savage.

He's not wrong, but that'll leave a mark. 

[Titan Q]

The Titans played really well tonight -- especially on the defensive end.  They made it incredibly hard for the Cardinals.

Next up, another tough one - at #15-WashU this Sunday.  That will be a fun one!

[Next Man Up]

The 2021-2022 National Champions overcame the little blip they sustained the last time out in a big way tonight. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

The closer we get to the New Year, the more DIII teams are into the season grind. Though, we also hit a time when some teams are not playing for a few weeks while others scatter games around the holidays.

On Thursday's Hoopsville, Dave McHugh chats with several teams that are making headlines with terrific starts or dominating performances. Tune in as we talk to several men's and women's programs that fit the bill around the country.

You can watch the show LIVE (or on demand) here: https://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2021-22/dec16 or http://www.d3hoops.com/x/fh5lq

We are also simulcasting on our Facebook Live page (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville) AND tonight on our YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/Hoopsville)

Guests include (order subject to change):
- Naomi Graves, No. 25 Springfield women's coach
- Pat Juckem, No. 15 WashU men's coach
- Scott Bittner, Stockton men's coach
- Bill Broderick, No. 6 Christopher Newport women's coach

Hoopsville is hosted by Dave McHugh from the the NABC Studio. It is presented by D3hoops.com and thanks to our partner WBCA. All guests are featured on the BlueFrame Technology Hoopsville Hotline.

If you have questions, ideas, or want to interact with the show, feel free to send them to hoopsville@d3sports.com or use any of the social media options available.

If you enjoy the show via the podcasts, choose your favorite avenue to listen and/or subscribe via the the following four avenues (click on the images when necessary):
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville


 
   
We also have the podcast now on Tune-In and others coming. We will update them once we have better abilities to do so.

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Video Portal (and archives): www.team1sports.com/Hoopsville
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3sports.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/d3hoopsville

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton took to heart Bobby Knight's old aphorism that the first five minutes of the second half are the most important part of the ballgame. Down 42-38 at the half at Olivet, the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance exploded for a 23-4 run within those first five minutes. That basically sealed the deal, as the Comets never again got the WC lead under nine, and Wheaton won, 91-82. Big game for Nyameye Adom with 30 (and a clean 30 at that: 10-18 FG, 6-10 trey, 4-4 FT), and Tyson Cruickshank contributed 21-9-6. Luke Anthony had 15 off the bench, and Cade Alioth had his usual double-double (13-12), and had five assists as well.

Most amusing thing I've seen this weekend thus far: 6'6, 250 NFL hopeful Spencer Peterson whistled for a flop warning after stepping in front of a Comets guard and then falling backwards like he was an extra in a war movie.

Wheaton improves to 10-1.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton took to heart Bobby Knight's old aphorism that the first five minutes of the second half are the most important part of the ballgame. Down 42-38 at the half at Olivet, the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance exploded for a 23-4 run within those first five minutes. That basically sealed the deal, as the Comets never again got the WC lead under nine, and Wheaton won, 91-82. Big game for Nyameye Adom with 30 (and a clean 30 at that: 10-18 FG, 6-10 trey, 4-4 FT), and Tyson Cruickshank contributed 21-9-6. Luke Anthony had 15 off the bench, and Cade Alioth had his usual double-double (13-12), and had five assists as well.

Most amusing thing I've seen this weekend thus far: 6'6, 250 NFL hopeful Spencer Peterson whistled for a flop warning after stepping in front of a Comets guard and then falling backwards like he was an extra in a war movie.

Wheaton improves to 10-1.

This was a type of game where a team could have let their guard down.  Right after finals week, a mid-day road game against an opponent that took #3 UW Platteville down to the wire last week although eventually losing by 6.  So it wasn't too surprising to see the Thunder come out slightly lethargic both offensively and defensively.

Luke Anthony had the type of game Wheaton fans have grown accustomed to from him, 5-10 FG, 3-8 3FG, 5-5 FT, 24 mins. 

I'm not sure any Wheaton fan could ask for much more than 10-1 at the Christmas break.  They are set up pretty well for the teeth of the CCIW season.  But first have to take care of business in Nashville with two games against Berry and Edgewood right before New Years.