MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[petemcb]

Tyson Cruickshank  35 pts, 6 rebs  13/19 FG 68%, 7/12 58% three point
Andrew Williams   18 pts, 7 rebs, 7/10 FG

Cruickshank had an incredible game and Carthage simply couldn't answer.  That plus playing really tough defense made everything tough on the Firebirds.  It is concerning that the Thunder were playing without starter Eddie Scott but Andrew Williams was equally good.

Simply put, this was a MasterClass in guard play from the Wheaton starters.  As a Carthage fan at the game, it was disheartening to see the guard tandem come up with every lose ball, shoot uncontested layups, grabs rebounds, control the pace, hit big shots and defend the three like these two did Saturday evening.  While Williams provided hustle and intensity at the beginning of the game, Cruickshank provided everything else until he was subbed out after this one was put to bed.  Stat line says he had three turnovers but honestly, I don't remember any of them.  He was limited to only four assists because of missed shots from teammates as he put them in position to finish often. Nesbitt guarded him effectively(?) for long stretches of time, but not until he already had 15 or so points.  Carthage briefly switched to zone, but two triples from the right arc ended that bad idea.  I don't attend a lot of games in person at Tarble, but since 2000-'01 McDaniel/Ktistou combo, I've not seen a more complete game by both guards.  They totally dominated all aspects of the game.

When was the last time a point guard led the league in scoring?

OK, I got Ypsi'ed but whatever. I was curious so I looked it up and it's surprisingly common. Jake Rhode of Elmhurst was the most recent but looking back 10-15 years or so the list includes Juwan Henry from NPU, Tyler Peters of Wheaton who at least functioned as a PG but really played all over the floor, and Carthage's own: Stevie D. Not sure if I'm missing any.

[Gregory Sager]

Yes, I was thinking the same thing, Teddy. Huge wins for Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hampden-Sydney, Case Western Reserve, and Wash U this week, and the fact that current ORVs Catholic and Western Connecticut still each have only one loss apiece is going to be harder and harder for the voters to ignore.

Drew Pasteur has North Park at #28 now, so hopefully someone starts throwing some down-ballot votes in their direction. And since 1/3 of the weighting in Drew's list comes from Massey, that probably means that Pasteur and/or Matt Snyder (the other 1/3) have NPU as a Top 25 team.

Thus far on Twitter, of the eight voters who publish their ballots there, only one (Yeshiva broadcaster Akiva Poppers) has published a ballot this week that snubs North Park. Most of the others have the Vikings in the #20-#25 range, although Ryan Scott's got the Park all the way up at #11 (which made Greek Tragedy a little salty, but Ryan explained that he's a blow-up-the-ballot-every-week-and-start-over type of voter, which is a totally reasonable way to go about the task).

I was a bit concerned about the two computer-oriented Twitter-ballot voters, Matt Snyder and Drew Pasteur, since they both use Massey as part of their calculations and Massey continues to be really unreasonable as far as NPU is concerned. Massey has the Vikings up to #36 now, but says that North Park will lose its last four games -- including three to teams the Vikings have already beaten, one of whom is playing NPU at the crackerbox! Massey's HAL9000 just keeps refusing to open the pod bay doors for North Park. I'm beginning to wonder if NPU's 29-point exhibition loss to UW-Milwaukee is adversely affecting how Massey views the Vikings, a game which doesn't count towards NPU's record but which Massey nevertheless recognizes as a real game for the Vikings, since it's a real game for the Panthers. However, the Panthers are 13-7 against D1 opponents (i.e., excluding Cardinal Stritch and North Park) and are tied atop the Horizon League standings at 9-3, so it isn't as though NPU got blitzed by a bad D1 team and should suffer accordingly. (In fact, having UWM recognized by Massey as a real opponent for NPU is helping the SOS of the Vikings).

Anyway, Matt's got North Park on his ballot this week, and he's a very welcome convert to the NPU cause.

(I probably alienated another voter, Dave McHugh, for calling him out on Twitter regarding his citation of NPU's W-L records in the last four seasons of the Slyder era in explaining why he's skeptical of the 2022-23 Vikings in his conversation with paid-up-in-full-Vikings-believer Mike Schauer on the Jan. 19 episode of Hoopsville, six days prior to NPU's win over Wheaton. So if the Vikings don't appear on D-Mac's ballot this week, Sean Smith & Co. are entitled to yell at me for being too much of a bigmouth on social media. Fan Rule #1: Don't be the reason why voters leave your team off of the ballot!)

[Gregory Sager]

Tyson Cruickshank  35 pts, 6 rebs  13/19 FG 68%, 7/12 58% three point
Andrew Williams   18 pts, 7 rebs, 7/10 FG

Cruickshank had an incredible game and Carthage simply couldn't answer.  That plus playing really tough defense made everything tough on the Firebirds.  It is concerning that the Thunder were playing without starter Eddie Scott but Andrew Williams was equally good.

Simply put, this was a MasterClass in guard play from the Wheaton starters.  As a Carthage fan at the game, it was disheartening to see the guard tandem come up with every lose ball, shoot uncontested layups, grabs rebounds, control the pace, hit big shots and defend the three like these two did Saturday evening.  While Williams provided hustle and intensity at the beginning of the game, Cruickshank provided everything else until he was subbed out after this one was put to bed.  Stat line says he had three turnovers but honestly, I don't remember any of them.  He was limited to only four assists because of missed shots from teammates as he put them in position to finish often. Nesbitt guarded him effectively(?) for long stretches of time, but not until he already had 15 or so points.  Carthage briefly switched to zone, but two triples from the right arc ended that bad idea.  I don't attend a lot of games in person at Tarble, but since 2000-'01 McDaniel/Ktistou combo, I've not seen a more complete game by both guards.  They totally dominated all aspects of the game.

When was the last time a point guard led the league in scoring?

OK, I got Ypsi'ed but whatever.

Speaking of which, where is Mr. Ypsi? I can't remember the last time Chuck's been silent here for this long. Time to ask his former classmate, iwu70: Is Chuck doing OK, Mark?

[augie77]

I have no direct insights on Chuck's well-being, but a brief review of his posting history shows that he was quite active until May 2022.  Since then, he's had just five posts, approximately one every other month.  The most recent one was on Friday in the MIAA football room.  He was active (lurking) earlier today.

I miss your insights Mr. Ypsi.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm not terribly worried about whether or not Chuck has anything to say regarding 2022-23 CCIW men's basketball (or CCIW women's basketball, where he also hangs out). I just wanna know that he's alright. He is, after all, one of our older posters, and ... well ... Chuck kinda grows on you.

[Gregory Sager]

New poll is out: Wheaton moves back down to #8 after spending a week at #7. North Park moves into the ORV category with 50 points. The Vikings aren't terribly far behind #25 Rowan (68 points), although Case Western Reserve (53) and Berry (52) sit between NPU and the Top 25. The spread of teams on the collective ballots of the Top 25 voters has really narrowed, too; only eleven other teams join NPU in the ORV twilight.

The bulk of North Park's voting points, as I suspected would be the case, came from what I call "the sunshine voters," the 1/3 or so of D3hoops.com Top 25 voters who publish pictures of their ballots on Twitter for all to see. I like that, because it's the voters who aren't afraid to let the world see their ballots that I regard as the most well-rounded experts on D3 men's basketball.

[Gregory Sager]

I'm a bit surprised that Lucas Heflen of Illinois Wesleyan was named CCIW POW. As we've often mentioned here, the award typically goes to a player whose team won all of its games that week. IWU not only went 2-1 last week, it lost the one CCIW game that it played. Recognizing that once in awhile the league will go the atypical route and reward a player whose team lost a game that week, the obvious question is: Why didn't Tyson Cruickshank of Wheaton win it?

player	FGM-FGA (.pct)	3FGM-3FGA (.pct)	FTM-FTA (.pct)	rebs	asts	TOs	stls	points (ppg)
Lucas Heflen	19-36 (.527)	15-29 (.517)	4-5 (.800)	8	7	4	6	57 (19.0)
Tyson Cruickshank	21-35 (.600)	11-22 (.500)	5-6 (.833)	13	7	6	0	58 (29.0)

Is there some sort of special dispensation given to Heflen for the fact that IWU played three games last week and Wheaton only two? Well, then, check out the quality of their respective opponents:

Combined winning percentage of IWU's opponents last week: .345
Combined winning percentage of Wheaton's opponents last week: .744

Heflen had a nice week, but the award should've been given to -- yes, I know it'd be boring to see him win it for the third time this season -- Tyson Cruickshank.

[lmitzel]

(I probably alienated another voter, Dave McHugh, for calling him out on Twitter regarding his citation of NPU's W-L records in the last four seasons of the Slyder era in explaining why he's skeptical of the 2022-23 Vikings in his conversation with paid-up-in-full-Vikings-believer Mike Schauer on the Jan. 19 episode of Hoopsville, six days prior to NPU's win over Wheaton. So if the Vikings don't appear on D-Mac's ballot this week, Sean Smith & Co. are entitled to yell at me for being too much of a bigmouth on social media. Fan Rule #1: Don't be the reason why voters leave your team off of the ballot!)

I remember spending much of December 2014 screaming into the void on the bird app about how an unbeaten NCC women's team wasn't getting any Top 25 votes. Got vindicated in early January after a thrilling comeback over the team in green followed by a shoutout on Hoopsville from then coach Michelle Roof. So... sometimes it works. (I think my yelling into the void was also bound in print of a book for that season that Roof kept in her office that I happened to leaf through one day.)

The bulk of North Park's voting points, as I suspected would be the case, came from what I call "the sunshine voters," the 1/3 or so of D3hoops.com Top 25 voters who publish pictures of their ballots on Twitter for all to see. I like that, because it's the voters who aren't afraid to let the world see their ballots that I regard as the most well-rounded experts on D3 men's basketball.

I like seeing the ballots too. I know grand scheme of things, Top 25 doesn't really matter, but as a general rule it's good to have the transparency from voters (and the accountability that comes with being able to defend those votes).

[kenoshamark]

Wheaton 76
Carthage  60

It is concerning that the Thunder were playing without starter Eddie Scott but Andrew Williams was equally good.

It's probably fair to note that Filip Bulatovic was not fully healthy, but today I don't think that the Firebirds with Bulatovic at 100% would have beaten the Thunder behind the red-hot shooting of Cruickshank.  It was a good win for Wheaton, who looked far more comfortable playing a traditional CCIW opponent than the chaotic attack of North Park on Wednesday.

Sophomore AJ Johnson received a lot of praise early this season but I really like the play of sophomore Antuan Nesbitt and freshman Julian Campbell for Carthage.  For anyone in Kenosha wondering what's going to happen when Bulatovic is done, I think you're in good hands.  This week I jotted down a list of potential all-conference honorees and Nesbitt ended up shockingly high on my personal rankings, in part because he is leading the conference in minutes per game and in a three-way battle for the assists title with Tyson Cruickshank and Shamar Pumphrey, who are both pretty good point guards.

Thunder, good call out regarding Nesbitt and Campbell.  I know I had mentioned AJ Johnson weeks back as he had really been playing well....as of late, a bit inconsistent.   I do believe Nesbitt deserves some all conference acknowledgement this year.  He isn't flashy, just very consistent and always under control.  He is currently 12th in scoring, first in FG% at an outstanding 59.5%, second in assists and first in minutes played at 37 (almost 2 more minutes a game than the next two players).   Pretty evident that Steve knows he needs him on the floor as much as possible to give them the best chance to be successful. 

He was a highly ranked player in WI coming out of high school and I think he originally was recruited to Northern Michigan, but not sure he ever played as he came to Carthage as semester break last year. 

(modified by GS for formatting)

[markerickson]

Greg posed a legit question and the only plausible explanation I can give is voter subjectivity exceeded objectivity. 

Similarly, my MN-based Dad and U of M grad complained a couple times to me that MLB HOF voters snubbed Harmon Killebrew twice before finally selecting him.  Dad probably heard the reasoning from Twin Cities' sports media legend, Sid Hartman.  According to Dad, the east coast voters snubbed Harmon despite retiring when he ranked fifth on the all-time HR list.

[iwu70]

I haven't heard from Ypsi lately . . . and assume he's OK, just less engaged in CCIW chatster posting these days.  He wasn't able to attend our several-times delayed 50th Class reunion at IWU, that finally took place in early May, 2022.  I've pulled back somewhat myself -- more interested in the women's side than the men right now.  That Wheaton loss and last second call was a killer for me . . . right up there with the Wabash game in the Elite 8 last year.  Really "no words."  Both IWU teams struggling this year, having so-so years, likely about 15-10 or 14-11.  No chance for March play unless they get on a crazy, unexpected run and win the CCIW tournament and the AQ.

I, too, was surprised that Heflen won the weekly award . . . first Titan to appear there this season.  Maybe that factored in ??  On the women's side, Huber has won it four times now, even more that Millikin's Elyce Knudsen.  She's having an awesome year as a sophomore.  One of the best offensive players you will see around D3 from 15 feet and in . . . and she's a great rebounder (leading the league with over 10 boards/game), working now on her defense and on her three point range.   

Let's hope Ypsi appears . . . and gives us a little flavor of his unique posting style and approach . . .

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Bob's got a new Q-cast interview with Sean Smith up today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpNSmjJfdRY

[Mr. Ypsi]

Thanks for the kind words, y'all!

My health is in serious decline the last couple of years, and, yes, I simply haven't followed CCIW sports like I used to, so I haven't really had anything to contribute.  I still regularly lurk. 

[iwu70]

Ypsi, how are you doing?  Give us a more full update.   Yes, our classmates are having many more health challenges.  My roommate Roy has many chronic health issues . . . Earl Franz recently to Mayo's for a full work up, some issues with his feet and balance. . .  and you perhaps know about KLarey.  Not good.   Well, none of us getting any younger, right?   I guess Spen Sauter and I are about the healthiest, still playing golf together often, regularly, and getting to many IWU events here in B/N.  He's off in the UK now for two months for galleries and theater, so I'm taking care of his house.  I'll be at the IWU hosting Elmhurst tomorrow night at The Shirk . . . our two teams not all that strong this season -- looks to be about a 15-10 or 14-11 season . . . nothing terribly exemplar.   I spend more time on the women than the men this year.   We miss that strong group from last season -- Leritz, Lambesis, Noe and Yoder.   Sending you all best wishes . . . to you and all the family.  Hope the Year of the Rabbit keeps you safe, healthy and vertical.   All best . . .

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage, who has the bye tomorrow, won easily on the road tonight at Maranatha Baptist, 87-62. AJ Johnson scored 30 and had 5 steals to lead the way for the Firebirds, who also got solid outings from Antuan Nesbitt (12), Fillip Bulatovic (11 and 9), and Julian Campbell (11 and 7). Carthage is now 14-6 on the season.