MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst did the same thing at the end of regulation -- and, again, at the end of overtime -- that it did last night against Calvin, and that was absolutely clamp down on the opponent's final possession and deny any good look at the basket. As a result, the Bluejays have eked out two nailbiters in two nights in Cleveland, winning tonight in OT at Case Western Reserve over UMHB, 87-84.

Old Man Rhode was big yet again for the 'jays, with 21 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals, consistently breaking down the Cru's defense in the second half. Dominic "the Consigliere" Genco had 18 off the bench, Ocean Johnson had 17, and Bryce Drews contributed 11. Wesley Hooker grabbed 8 rebounds and Lavon Thomas grabbed six, and Jonathan Zapinski blocked three shots, as it was a true team win tonight in which everybody contributed.

Congratulations to Elmhurst upon reaching the Final Four for the first time ever. EU is the seventh CCIW school to have reached the season's final weekend; only Carroll and Millikin haven't gotten far enough yet to play under the bright lights of the national semifinals.

I watched the second half of the Christopher Newport @ Marietta game, which was electric (the missed free throw is one of the most underrated moments of excitement in basketball), and Ban Johnson Arena in Marietta, OH was an absolute madhouse. By contrast, CWRU's Horsburgh Gym was a library. Neither Elmhurst nor Mary-Hardin Baylor traveled well. One wouldn't expect that of a team from Texas playing in Ohio, and EU has never traveled well. Still, you'd think that Elmhurst might've received more student support this time around, since getting this far in the tourney is a novelty for the program, and the school won't be on spring break for another week yet. Plus, of course, the CWRU folks didn't care and didn't show up unless they were game staff who were being paid to be there.

Do the Bluejays care? I'm guessing that the answer is an emphatic no. They're going to the Final Four, and the only thing that could be sweeter than cutting down the net at the west end of Horsburgh today would be cutting one down a week from today in Fort Wayne's Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

[Gregory Sager]

Wabash 81
Illinois Wesleyan 75

Too much Jack Davidson for the Titans.

Amen.  And too little Cory Noe - he finished with 5 points, all in the last 30 seconds of the game.

Noe just looked uncomfortable with the moment all game. 

Wabash is a tough team, made lots of plays with players stepping up besides Davidson.  Congrats to them on a well deserved and hard earned victory.  The Little Giants haven't lost a game since Dec 4 and you can see why.  And good for Wabash fans for showing up and cheering on their team.

I was astonished, not just at the sea of red that filled up much of Shirk, but at how much noise they made.

Forty years ago the big Dutchman, future NFL tight end Pete Metzelaars, took Wabash to the promised land (which at that point in D3 men's basketball history was Grand Rapids) and held up the Big Doorstop when the smoke cleared after an 83-62 stomping of then-perennial-power Potsdam State. Now, forty years later, the Diminutive Colossi have a chance to do it again on the back of another record-breaking superstar in Jack Davidson -- although it's not really just a one-man team (the '82 Wabash team wasn't either; Merlin Nice, who later became a D3 referee, was a terrific player for Wabash in his own right that season).

Elmhurst vs. Wabash should be a great game, with some great storylines. And then, in the other semi, you've got #1 and #2 in Randolph-Macon and Marietta. It should be a tremendous weekend of basketball, even though the CCIW will only have one rep instead of two.

[USee]

Lots of Twitter traffic about the "horrendous" officiating at the Shirk. I didn't watch enough to comment.  Anyone know more? I am always suspect when fans blame the officials for losing.

[GoPerry]

Lots of Twitter traffic about the "horrendous" officiating at the Shirk. I didn't watch enough to comment.  Anyone know more? I am always suspect when fans blame the officials for losing.

Good instinct USee.  They were definitely letting the teams play and I prefer that since that favors the more defensively aggressive team.  In my mind that's IWU. 

In the end Wabash got called for 15 fouls and the Titans 18.  Hardly lopsided. Last night 15 fouls for Wheaton, 16 for IWU.

[iwu70]

It was bad . . . two technicals on the Titans.  One flagrant that wasn't, and then a total mugging of Yoder that wasn't call a flagrant.  The refs almost lost control of the game -- bloody faces, blood on the floor, -- it was a rumble at times, not really elegant basketball.   Some truly ticky-tacky calls on the Titans, esp. on Lambesis guarding Davidson.  Two Titans fouling out -- Lambesis with over 5 minutes to go.  This one won't set well with IWU or the IWU coaching staff.  Do wonder what Rose said afterwards.  Yes, a very hard fought game, but the refs didn't have a great night. 

Congrats to Wabash.  They are tough, scrappy, great trey shooting team, making 11, and they play tough, together.  IWU won the rebounding line, but just didn't have enough from the arc tonight.  Esp. Noe had a rough shooting night.  Leritz and Yoder played extremely well, willing the Titans back into the game after the slow start.  Titans up 7, then down 5, back and forth in the second half.  Wabash got their little run, and some key tough rebound putbacks at just the right time.  Davidson had a much better night than vs. Williams, 9-9 from the FT line, including the Ts, one of which was like a six point swing.  I fail to understand exactly what was called on that sequence. 

Congrats to the Titans on a great season, the CCIW regular season championship and an Elite 8 appearance.  A bitter ending.  Thanks to the great seniors for sure -- great careers all:  Noe, Lambesis and Leritz.  I wish they could have gone to the Final Four.

Good luck to Elmhurst vs. Wabash . . . Davidson and Jack Rhode should be quite a duel.  I think Rhode is the better player, especially on the defensive end.  Congrats to Coach Baines and the Elmhurst Bluejays.

Thanks to Coach Rose, all the staff and support team, and all the Titans for a great season.  Good luck to the seniors in all future endeavors, post IWU graduation.

IWU'70

[CollegeGolf18]

Do wonder what Rose said afterwards.

I watched the postgame conference and Rose was indirectly (it was something along the lines of how do you think your team responded to some of the calls) and he avoided it mostly. Paused for about 10 seconds before answering the question.

Just replied with that it was a tough and physical game and it's hard to officiate it but thought that his players gave it everything.

[WUPHF]

Some truly ticky-tacky calls on the Titans, esp. on Lambesis guarding Davidson.  Two Titans fouling out -- Lambesis with over 5 minutes to go. 

Also in the postgame press conference, Jack Davidson rather confidently stated that his plan was to get Lambesis in to foul trouble so he could exploit the mismatches with Lambesis on the bench.  I am not sure I have ever heard that from a guard before.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

It was bad . . . two technicals on the Titans.  One flagrant that wasn't, and then a total mugging of Yoder that wasn't call a flagrant.  The refs almost lost control of the game -- bloody faces, blood on the floor, -- it was a rumble at times, not really elegant basketball.   Some truly ticky-tacky calls on the Titans, esp. on Lambesis guarding Davidson.  Two Titans fouling out -- Lambesis with over 5 minutes to go.  This one won't set well with IWU or the IWU coaching staff.  Do wonder what Rose said afterwards.  Yes, a very hard fought game, but the refs didn't have a great night. 

Congrats to Wabash.  They are tough, scrappy, great trey shooting team, making 11, and they play tough, together.  IWU won the rebounding line, but just didn't have enough from the arc tonight.  Esp. Noe had a rough shooting night.  Leritz and Yoder played extremely well, willing the Titans back into the game after the slow start.  Titans up 7, then down 5, back and forth in the second half.  Wabash got their little run, and some key tough rebound putbacks at just the right time.  Davidson had a much better night than vs. Williams, 9-9 from the FT line, including the Ts, one of which was like a six point swing.  I fail to understand exactly what was called on that sequence. 

Congrats to the Titans on a great season, the CCIW regular season championship and an Elite 8 appearance.  A bitter ending.  Thanks to the great seniors for sure -- great careers all:  Noe, Lambesis and Leritz.  I wish they could have gone to the Final Four.

Good luck to Elmhurst vs. Wabash . . . Davidson and Jack Rhode should be quite a duel.  I think Rhode is the better player, especially on the defensive end.  Congrats to Coach Baines and the Elmhurst Bluejays.

Thanks to Coach Rose, all the staff and support team, and all the Titans for a great season.  Good luck to the seniors in all future endeavors, post IWU graduation.

IWU'70

What game were you watching? The Titans were way too emotionally unstable almost all night!!! Cody Mitchell picked up a Foul, a Technical Foul, and ANOTHER foul all within a span of :08 - w/ 16:54 left in the 2nd half!!!

At the 8:25 mark of the 2nd, Lucas Heflin was charged w/ a Flagrant Foul 1 against Kellen Screiber - who promptly made both FT's and then followed that up with a layup on the ensuing possession. Two possessions later - at the 7:33 mark - Luke Yoder drove to the basket and was fouled hard by Schreiber.  Immediately afterwards, Coe Noe delivered a cheap shot "blindside block" to Screiber. Screiber was rightly charged a Flagrant 1 Foul. Noe was assessed a Dead Ball Contact Technical Foul which, were there replay available to the officiating crew, quite easily and deservedly should have been a Flagrant 2 Foul which would result in ejection.

I watched the better part of the Elmhurst v UMHB game that was considerably more physical, albeit it more consistently officiated, which was a very enjoyable watch. Neither of those teams bitched and whined and moaned about the officiating. They knew the deal and just played.

IWU took contested shot after contested shot, was unable to guard Davidson or Watson, and lacked the poise of a Final Four-worthy team (similar to Yeshivas' lack of emotional stability on 12/30). The IWU coaching staff should be disappointed in their court side comportment when they review this video. They, and by extension, their players spent waaaaay too much time concerned with the officiating.

As is often the case, those NOT wearing "green-colored glasses" saw a different game than the IWU faithful. 

[AO]

It was bad . . . two technicals on the Titans.  One flagrant that wasn't, and then a total mugging of Yoder that wasn't call a flagrant.  The refs almost lost control of the game -- bloody faces, blood on the floor, -- it was a rumble at times, not really elegant basketball.   Some truly ticky-tacky calls on the Titans, esp. on Lambesis guarding Davidson.  Two Titans fouling out -- Lambesis with over 5 minutes to go.  This one won't set well with IWU or the IWU coaching staff.  Do wonder what Rose said afterwards.  Yes, a very hard fought game, but the refs didn't have a great night. 

Congrats to Wabash.  They are tough, scrappy, great trey shooting team, making 11, and they play tough, together.  IWU won the rebounding line, but just didn't have enough from the arc tonight.  Esp. Noe had a rough shooting night.  Leritz and Yoder played extremely well, willing the Titans back into the game after the slow start.  Titans up 7, then down 5, back and forth in the second half.  Wabash got their little run, and some key tough rebound putbacks at just the right time.  Davidson had a much better night than vs. Williams, 9-9 from the FT line, including the Ts, one of which was like a six point swing.  I fail to understand exactly what was called on that sequence. 

Congrats to the Titans on a great season, the CCIW regular season championship and an Elite 8 appearance.  A bitter ending.  Thanks to the great seniors for sure -- great careers all:  Noe, Lambesis and Leritz.  I wish they could have gone to the Final Four.

Good luck to Elmhurst vs. Wabash . . . Davidson and Jack Rhode should be quite a duel.  I think Rhode is the better player, especially on the defensive end.  Congrats to Coach Baines and the Elmhurst Bluejays.

Thanks to Coach Rose, all the staff and support team, and all the Titans for a great season.  Good luck to the seniors in all future endeavors, post IWU graduation.

IWU'70

What game were you watching? The Titans were way too emotionally unstable almost all night!!! Cody Mitchell picked up a Foul, a Technical Foul, and ANOTHER foul all within a span of :08 - w/ 16:54 left in the 2nd half!!!

At the 8:25 mark of the 2nd, Lucas Heflin was charged w/ a Flagrant Foul 1 against Kellen Screiber - who promptly made both FT's and then followed that up with a layup on the ensuing possession. Two possessions later - at the 7:33 mark - Luke Yoder drove to the basket and was fouled hard by Schreiber.  Immediately afterwards, Coe Noe delivered a cheap shot "blindside block" to Screiber. Screiber was rightly charged a Flagrant 1 Foul. Noe was assessed a Dead Ball Contact Technical Foul which, were there replay available to the officiating crew, quite easily and deservedly should have been a Flagrant 2 Foul which would result in ejection.

I watched the better part of the Elmhurst v UMHB game that was considerably more physical, albeit it more consistently officiated, which was a very enjoyable watch. Neither of those teams bitched and whined and moaned about the officiating. They knew the deal and just played.

IWU took contested shot after contested shot, was unable to guard Davidson or Watson, and lacked the poise of a Final Four-worthy team (similar to Yeshivas' lack of emotional stability on 12/30). The IWU coaching staff should be disappointed in their court side comportment when they review this video. They, and by extension, their players spent waaaaay too much time concerned with the officiating.

As is often the case, those NOT wearing "green-colored glasses" saw a different game than the IWU faithful.

Schreiber made an absolute fool out of the refs last night.  On the sequence against Mitchell he elbows Mitchell in the nose, but somehow they call the foul on Mitchell.  Then Yoder bumps into Mitchell, Mitchell grazes Schreiber and Schreiber pretends he was viciously assaulted, resulting in the T on Mitchell.  Later on Schrieber takes a very small amount of contact from Heflen, and somehow gets the call from the trailing official.  He stays on the ground as if he has been grievously injured again, before popping back up in perfect health.  2 possessions later he absolutely hammers Yoder, throwing him to the ground, then as Noe comes in to check on Yoder throws himself to the ground after sensing a small amount of contact from Noe.  In real time you can understand why the refs were being fooled by this act, but it doesn't look good on the replay.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I am reminded of UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin's comments during a postgame press conference about a year ago:

"The name on your jersey has nothing to do with who wins. Usually the team that is humble enough to do the things it takes gets the win... Winners know why they win. BLosers - they don't know why they lose. They think it's the coach, their teammates, the referees. Winners know that intangibles win games. Preparation. Adherence to the game plan. Execution. Physicality. Toughness. Winners know that."

Very clearly Coach Cronin would say that the Titans (and their aged fan base) fell short on a variety of fronts last night.

[Gregory Sager]

I watched the better part of the Elmhurst v UMHB game that was considerably more physical, albeit it more consistently officiated, which was a very enjoyable watch. Neither of those teams bitched and whined and moaned about the officiating. They knew the deal and just played.

I don't know if I would go so far as to say that the EU vs. UMHB game was "considerably more physical" than the WC @ IWU game, but the battle in Cleveland was certainly pretty physical. The constant wrestling between Lavon Thomas of the Bluejays and Ty Prince of the Cru was something to behold -- and it wasn't confined to the blocks, either, because Prince likes to drive as well as back in his opponent. Almost nobody on either team got to the rim without absorbing significant contact. Both teams were certainly handsy -- there were six steals in the first two and a half minutes of overtime, for example -- so it wasn't simply a matter of contact being limited to the paint.

The officials in Cleveland definitely did a better job of calling their game than the officials did in Bloomington. But that frequently doesn't matter much from the perspective of the players, because when you're wearing the uniform and you're on the floor, your perspective is completely different. The correct call can strike you as outrageous if it goes against your team. The same deal goes with a correct non-call that doesn't favor your team. But, as you said, both teams in Cleveland shrugged it all off, including the hard fouls. I was impressed by the Cru's composure, but I figured that Elmhurst's businesslike demeanor was simply a function of being a veteran team with post-season experience that plays in a very physical league. The lesson here is that being a veteran team with post-season experience that plays in a physical league is not a guarantee that a team will hold it together when there's a lot of contact and a grievance with the officiating.

[USee]

With all the hoopla I had to go back and watch the replay of these plays. After watching and re-watching multiple times I will say the following from my somehwat unbiased opinion:

-There was a lot of acting going on from both teams. Schreiber played it up no doubt. But Yoder flopped trying to get a charge on Schreiber during that sequence, Heflen dove on the floor (may have tripped over his own teammate) while drawing an offensive foul on Davidson. Plenty of Oscars to go around for a lot of the game from BOTH teams.

-That said, I thought the officials made 2 questionable calls. The flagrant on Heflen against Schreiber was really strange. The trailing official called. Heflen did have his hand in Schreibers back and maybe he pushed him but it sure didn't look like much from the video, certainly not a flagrant. (Side note-Schreiber definitely incited the IWU players when Heflen went up to him to shake his hand during the dead ball and prior to the FT's and Schreiber yanked his hand away and said something to Heflen. Pretty much a punk move but it had the affect of ratcheting up the angst on the IWU side)

-The foul by Schreiber on Yoder was called a flagrant 1. Because of the technical on Noe, the mechanics is to shoot both free throws (the flagrant and then the technical) and then Wabash gets the ball (the technical wipes out the "and the ball" part of the flagrant). Big play there with the lost possession.

-Both technicals seemed warranted. Mitchell (who got hit in the mouth during a pretty routine basketball play and was called for a foul--He jumped and looked like he was jumping forward into Schreiber) definitely bumped Schreiber at the foul line (had nothing to do with his interaction with Noe) and it sure seemed intentional given he tries to sell the official he wasn't looking when he did it, even though he was staring at Schreiber the whole time as he came off the baseline. Noe absolutely bumped Schreiber and it sure looked intentional as his path veered toward Schreiber and he made contact with his chest. Absolute Oscar #2 for Schreiber though. (sidenote-are we sure they didn't call a flagrant on Shreiber--Once the tech was called, does that take away the "and the ball part" of the flagrant and we end up with 2 FT's for each team? I'm not sure and the announcers didn't know what happened).

-All of these events happened with IWU still winning in the game. The IWU assistant coaches and bench players were way too animated toward the officials and I thought the Titans let all of these events get in their head a bit as every call/non call elicited animated reactions from the IWU side while the Little Giants seemed a lot more even keeled the rest of the way.

-Lambesis' last two fouls were definitely fouls and the last one was just a dumb play as he went over the back of Wabash's player trying to get an offensive rebound. With 4 fouls, he shouldn't have been anywhere near the play. Lambesis plays an aggressive 'up into you' defense and regularly uses his hands and arms into the opponents chest. These officials were calling that and he didn't adjust.

-The IWU broadcasters, who are veteran guys, certainly had their green colored glasses on and complained regularly about the bad "whistle", which upon review didn't seem bad at all. They may have missed the flagrant against Heflen but I think they got everything else right and called the game pretty evenly from my perspective. Those events and Schreibers antics riled up the IWU crowd, broadcasters, bench and players and that had the biggest impact on the game in my view.

-IWU didn't execute down the stretch (down 3 they got a miss from Davidson and gave up an offensive rebound to Schreiber after not boxing him out and he got the layup and the foul, pushing it to 6). Yoder then misses a layup and Wabash gets a late in the clock 3 from "My Cousin" Vinny Buccilla that was a dagger.

In the end I thought IWU didn't have anyone who could stay in front of Davidson (and IWU is one of the very best defensive teams in the country so that doesn't bode well for Wabash opponents this weekend) and the havoc he created was the difference in the game. It's disappointing as I would have loved to have 2 CCIW teams in the Final Four. Some great teams and great D3 players have seen their dreams come to a premature end these past two weekends.

[WUPHF]

With all the hoopla I had to go back and watch the replay of these plays. After watching and re-watching multiple times I will say the following from my somewhat unbiased opinion:

I had a chance to watch the second half and I think you got everything right as far as I could tell, though you picked up on a few details that I did not.  Good work.

[Gregory Sager]

With all the hoopla I had to go back and watch the replay of these plays. After watching and re-watching multiple times I will say the following from my somewhat unbiased opinion:

I had a chance to watch the second half and I think you got everything right as far as I could tell, though you picked up on a few details that I did not.  Good work.

I agree. Good work on USee's part to break down those incidents. Like you, I saw pretty much what USee saw as it happened, but his extra detail upon closer examination is helpful.

As I said this afternoon, although there was not an exact parallel between the two games -- EU vs. UMHB didn't feature a player with the borderline-obnoxious gadfly tactics of a Kellen Schreiber* -- there was a striking difference in the way that Elmhurst dealt with the physicality of its opponent versus the way that Illinois Wesleyan handled it. I dunno, maybe it has something to do with where you are on the scoreboard. The Bluejays trailed most of the night, and by as much as 15 on three different occasions, and they didn't get their first lead until there was 6:33 left in regulation. And even then they gave back the lead or fell back into a tie multiple times, well into overtime. Meanwhile, as USee said, IWU had either a tie or a narrow lead the two times that the Titans were handed a T-bone by the refs. Perhaps the moral of the story is that all of the mental struggle involved in continuously playing from behind gives a veteran team an extra focus that blots out the impulse to get chippy or, as USee described the Titans, "way too animated." It was striking how, with the (mild) exception of Lavon Thomas, the Bluejays last night looked like a bunch of guys who had punched the clock at the factory and were just going about their jobs, as if this game was no different than any other.

One thing's for sure: I was extremely impressed by the way that Ron Rose handled the matter last night in the postgame interview. He's clearly been in this situation before, and he knows that in that place and that moment a discussion of the officiating would only be detrimental to him and his program. It was the proper moment to talk about his departing seniors rather than dwell upon things that he couldn't change and which would only make him look like a sore loser, and he totally played it by the book. It was a window into why everyone respects Ron Rose, including his opponents.

Lots of Twitter traffic about the "horrendous" officiating at the Shirk. I didn't watch enough to comment.  Anyone know more? I am always suspect when fans blame the officials for losing.

Some Titans fans took a different approach than Ron Rose, of course. We all know people who would rather stay angry in that situation than wistfully say goodbye to an outstanding senior class, or reflect with pride upon an exceptional season by their team, or have a congratulatory word for an excellent opponent who had legitimately won the game, a sketchy call or two notwithstanding, by outplaying the favorite sons. Soreheads like that can be found among any group of fans; they usually are among the younger section of a fanbase. (I sometimes played that role myself back in the day, and I'm not proud of it.) But there is a certain subset of Titans fans who not only spend years fetishizing the art of nursing a grudge (I saw one guy on Twitter who was trying to compare whether this was the worst case ever of a game being stolen from the Titans by the officials, or if the 1988 Elite Eight game between IWU and Ohio Wesleyan was worse), but who absolutely refuse to take off their green-colored glasses for even a nanosecond when watching a game. There is a joke that circulates around the CCIW that there are some IWU fans who are the world's longest-standing witnesses of perfection: they've watched their team play for 70 years without ever seeing the Titans commit a foul. Again, this is only a subset; I'm not looking to foster a sweeping generalization of any program's fanbase by any means. But it's a reality. And it's not a matter of it involving their younger fans, either.

Me, I'm just going to focus on the fact that next weekend should feature some outstanding D3 basketball. And, as much as the national guys like Ryan and D-Mac and Pat are going to zero in on #1 Randolph-Macon vs. #2 Marietta (and rightfully so), to me Elmhurst vs. Wabash looks like it might be an even more intriguing matchup, in an irresistible-force-vs.-immovable-object sort of way.


* Schreiber is a perfect example of the kind of player who gets described as "you love him if he's on your team, you absolutely hate him if he's on the opposing team."

[USee]

Ron Rose was a class act during and after the game. Always has been. It's one reason I can't hate the Titans with as much animosity as I would like. He does things the right way.