MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GU1999]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Still time to change it to "IWU Carthage runs the CCIW table this season. Book it."


Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

[mwunder]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Still time to change it to "IWU Carthage runs the CCIW table this season. Book it."


Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

Did you see what happened the first time I made a prediction on this site?? Why would I do that to my alma mater?

[Gregory Sager]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Still time to change it to "IWU Carthage runs sets the CCIW table this season. Book it."


Zero drama in this prognostication...done before it even began.

Did you see what happened the first time I made a prediction on this site?? Why would I do that to my alma mater?

Better?

[Jbothe]

Watched the IWU/Carthage live stream last night.  Impressed with Carthage.  Better than I thought they would be.  Really surprised by IWU.

Not a IWU hater here at all, we are a Wesleyan family.  But they appeared not ready to play, and a little soft inside.  But this might be a game they can learn a lot from.

[mwunder]

That's two years in a row that Carthage has had a win against a top 5 team by scoring 77. Last year on 11/28, Carthage knocked off #1 UW-Whitewater at home (77-73). Last night, they did it again (77-68) against IWU. Just an odd coincidence that I thought merited mention and IWU70's mentions of the number 78.

[GusD]

As much as I hate to say this...I'm going to predict that this is the year that someone runs the CCIW gauntlet unscathed.

IWU runs the CCIW table this season.  Book it.

Apparently, Dano wasn't paying attention. 
And evidently, neither were the Firebirds. 

[GusD]

Millikin came up with a mildly surprising 73-67 road win in the airplane hangar over North Central. Lane Thomann led the way for the Big Blue with 14, JT Welch chipped in a dozen, and Demarcus Bond, Tionne Spates, and Nate Straughter each added 10 in the win. Drake Stevenson led the Big Blue in boards with 8. For NCC, Sean Molloy (17), Terrance Moncrief (16), and Ethan Helwig (14 and 9) carried the water this evening.

I only caught bits and pieces, but this game more or less came down to two stretches: a 9-0 Big Blue run to close the first half that gave Millikin a 35-27 lead going to the locker room, and a 20-6 run in the second half that iced it.

Taking half of your shots from beyond the arc, especially when you only hit 27 percent of them, is not going to win you many ball games.

Perhaps the Cardinals need to post a sign with that statement in their locker room.

[HAMBO]

Perhaps the relentless Millikin defense had something to do with the many "beat the shot-clock" 3-pt attempts and the resulting poor shooting percentage.

[HAMBO]

Perhaps the relentless Millikin defense had something to do with the many "beat the shot-clock" 3-pt attempts and the resulting poor shooting percentage.

[iwu70]

IWU over Carroll at the half, 35-33.  Another ragged affair. 

'70

[iwu70]

Titans grind one out @ Carroll, winning with a struggle, 72-66.

You would think a team that wins the rebounding line 57-32 would have an easier win, but no.

For Carroll:
Simpson 15
Bland 12
Nabor 10

For IWU:
Roper 14
Williams 13
Wilmsen 11
Lots of others contributing.

The "eye test" is still pretty negative on this team being #5 in the country.  But, a win is a win.  IWU goes to 7-1, 1-1 in CCIW play.  The Titans really need to play better.

Now exam week.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 73
Millikin 64

Rico Powell: 16 pts, 7 rebs
Tristan Arneaud: 7:0 a:to
Lance Nelson: 5:1 a:to

Tionne Spates: 14 pts, 3 blks
JT Welch: 11 pts
Chase Travis: 11 pts
Nate Straughter: 10 pts

NPU made the big shots down the stretch -- key treys from D.J. Wallace and Lance Nelson, and a big short-corner shot when Millikin went into a 1-3-1 zone -- to prevail in a really well-played, hard-fought contest by both teams. I have to say that neither team looked like a seventh-place outfit, despite what the CCIW coaches said in the preseason. MU is going to hurt people -- that Tionne Spates guy is a big, tough inside player who is a handful to guard -- so I wouldn't chalk them up as a win before the game is played. But the Vikings are getting better and better every time they take the floor; I absolutely love the fact that they had 19 assists tonight and only 8 turnovers.

NPU goes into finals week as the lone 2-0 team on the CCIW table.

[Gregory Sager]

Elmhurst closed out a tough 73-67 win over Wheaton at Faganel Hall this afternoon. Dom Trellenberg again led the way for the Bainesians with 22 points and was joined in double figures by Sebastian Blachut with 16 and Aidyn Boone with 12, as Jaiden Malichi led EU with seven boards. Wheaton was paced by Noah Hedrick's 18 and 8, while Kyle Neibch (15), Devin Martin (13), and Soren Richardson (12) also reached double figures.

North Central held off Augustana in an airplane hangar nailbiter, 76-69. Until Sean Molloy hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining, the entire game had been played within five points either way. Ethan Helwig, who was money down the stretch for NCC -- he went 6-6 from the FT line in the game's final 69 seconds -- was the pacesetter for the Cardinals with 23 points, with Tyler Swierczek adding 16. Tyler Knuth had another strong night for Augie with 22, while Chase Larsen, Staishaun Kelley, and Evan Ambrose each added 10, Larsen leading the Doggies with seven rebounds. NCC's 23-24 (.958) performance from the FT line was perhaps the key stat in the ballgame.

The bye team, Carthage, probably didn't have to break much of a sweat in beating Knox, 95-69, at Tarble. Riley Brooks (20), AJ Johnson (19 and 8), Ryan Johnson (18), and Griffin Daun (12) all completed their work in thirty minutes or less, allowing Steve D. to empty his bench early; eighteen Firebirds got into the game today.

With only one week of conference play in the books, Carthage (1-0) is one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the CCIW. North Park (2-0) is the other.

Rose-Hulman is at Millikin on Wednesday, North Central is at Loras on Thursday, and then next weekend we have one more round of CCIW games (Carroll @ North Central, Carthage @ Augustana, North Park @ Wheaton, and then Elmhurst @ Illinois Wesleyan in a rare Sunday CCIW game) before everyone returns to non-con play over winter break.

[lmitzel]

North Central held off Augustana in an airplane hangar nailbiter, 76-69. Until Sean Molloy hit a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining, the entire game had been played within five points either way. Ethan Helwig, who was money down the stretch for NCC -- he went 6-6 from the FT line in the game's final 69 seconds -- was the pacesetter for the Cardinals with 23 points, with Tyler Swierczek adding 16. Tyler Knuth had another strong night for Augie with 22, while Chase Larsen, Staishaun Kelley, and Evan Ambrose each added 10, Larsen leading the Doggies with seven rebounds. NCC's 23-24 (.958) performance from the FT line was perhaps the key stat in the ballgame.

It also helped that NCC shot way better on the whole tonight. After going 8-30 on Wednesday, they shot 9-23 from beyond the arc tonight, so they didn't settle nearly as much.

Tight, physical game at the hangar tonight; they let teams play for the most part. Cardinals need to do a better job on the boards (34-26 in Augie's favor), but I'll take it.

[markerickson]

NPU has won each of three games in which I attended with suffocating D that turned up the intensity and emotion, created havoc, and generated POT.  "Junkyard Dog" Nelson sets the tone.  I really enjoy watching NPU's man-to-man D.  On O, several players, e.g., Powell, need to learn quickly that they can and should drive strong more often to the bucket. The Vikings will inevitably have trouble with teams that have two talented players at least 6' 5" who are comfortable with his 12' shot.