MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GusD]

Damn, I've suddenly been hit with a strong desire for a Dunkin' donut. It's 1:00 PM. The before breakfast batch should be gone, with a fresh batch about to debut.  Can almost taste that vanilla frosted with sprinkles now! 

[sac]

Sac, I hear you.  But, shouldn't head-to-head count for something?   I have my own skepticism about IWU so I don't have green glasses about them, but this still seems wrong to me.  All three teams -- IWU, Platteville, and Wash U -- now face tough roads in their conference schedules so I guess we will learn much more.

'70 

NPI has Platteville #1 Fwiw.   

NPI has IWU #10, WashU #11 which probably makes more sense and technically makes them both overrated in the people poll.

[Pat Coleman]

... assuming that NPI is correct.

[iwu70]

Sounds like we should all just ignore head-to-head results and go eat some donuts! 

Who does NPI have between Platteville and IWU?

I had IWU at 10-12 level, especially given their inconsistency, but after the Wash U thumping, I for sure had them above Wash U . . . and they did beat Platteville.  Yes, early in the season and at home.  But, as I said, the results are the results -- not timing, not subjective factors and surely not donuts. 

Onward we go with plenty of tough games ahead to assess and examine all three teams. 

'70

[iwu70]

Isn't head-to-head the ultimate way of telling teams apart??  Bizarre reasoning. 

'70

[sac]

Isn't head-to-head the ultimate way of telling teams apart??  Bizarre reasoning. 

'70

It would be cool if it were that simple.

Out of IWU, Washu, Platteville who has the worst loss, or in this case losses?  Some times good teams lose to other good teams, it just happens.  But some times good teams lose to other not quite as good teams even if they've beaten really good teams already.



NPI will be the ultimate decider in our end game of final regional rankings, so the comparing teams with head-to-head really isn't going to matter a lot.  (You obviously want to win those games)

But if Team A is ranked higher than Team B in NPI even if Team B beat Team A it won't matter because Team A is ranked higher by the supercomputer Hal 3000 in Indianapolis.

Polls are fun though.

[sac]

... assuming that NPI is correct.

NPI will be correct whether we like it or not.

[mwunder]

My biggest question from the latest poll is how a 11-2 team getting ANY #1 votes?

Isn't head-to-head the ultimate way of telling teams apart??  Bizarre reasoning. 

'70

Then MHB should be ranked higher than 20th, correct?

[lmitzel]

NCC looked at Wheaton's results in conference so far, said "That's adorable," and proceeded to almost double monkey stomp the Thunder 86-48.

Wheaton's three point shooting had them in the game and only down 36-27 at half, but opened the second half on a 14-0 run to put it out of reach.

Ethan Helwig: 17 pts, 5 reb
James Bullock, Jr: 15 pts, 6 reb
Tyler Swierczek: 14 pts
Drew Gaston: 14 pts

Kyle Niebch: 19 pts
Noah Hedrick: 7 pts
Devin Martin: 5 pts, 6 ast

[Pat Coleman]

... assuming that NPI is correct.

NPI will be correct whether we like it or not.

No -- NPI will be used whether it is correct or not.

[iwu70]

IWU passed the test tonight at NPU, winning 80-69.  Now sharing the CCIW race lead with North Park, now 12-2, 4-1.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan 80
North Park 69

Rico Powell: 19 pts, 9 rebs
Kyren Gardner: 11 pts
Taijon Barry: 10 pts
Lance Nelson: 7 rebs

Josh Fridman: 19 pts (6-6 FT), 5:1 FT
Nick Roper: 19 pts (8-8 FT), 7 rebs
Hakim Williams: 15 pts
Harrison Wilmsen: 12 pts
Mason Funk: 9 rebs
Nathan Boldt: 4 blks

The Vikings cut a 14-point deficit down to a single point as the game approached the stretch (58-57 with 6:05 to go), but the Titans maintained their composure and made their free throws while the Vikings panicked a bit as IWU started to pull away. The Vikes only trailed by three with four minutes left, but you'd think that it was the last thirty seconds of the game the way that they were scrambling and taking unwise shots. I chalk it up to a team that's played in a lot of big games this season on the visitor's side -- and maybe a bit of big-game stagefright on the part of the hosts.

Josh Fridman was a big part of Wesleyan's win, but a lot of it just came down to IWU's size. NPU actually collected more offensive rebounds than the Titans, but the Titans outscored the Vikings on second-chance points, 21-11. That's the difference between big men making putbacks in the paint versus a guard-oriented team having to restart a possession out on the floor.

Nevertheless, the Vikings showed a lot of heart and not an ounce of quit, even after they faded in the wake of their big late comeback. Let the Twitter guys chatter on about whether or not the race between Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage for the CCIW title will be close or not. I believe that North Park is a lot more competitive than they think.

NPU and IWU are now tied at the top at 4-1, with Carthage and Millikin a half-game behind at 3-1 apiece. And somewhere in this great land of ours, a bunch of septuagenarians with Augustana diplomas are popping champagne corks, as for 52 years the '73 Augie team has remained the last CCIW team to run the table in this league.

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin erased an 11-point halftime deficit and edged Augustana, 67-62, at Carver P.E. Center. JT Welch, who hit some really big treys to get the comeback started, wound up going 5-7 from downtown for the Big Blue and led the way with 23, while Chase Travis scored 13 and Lane Thomann had 10 for the victorious visitors. Evan Ambrose and Staishaun Kelley had 14 and 13, respectively, for the Rock Islanders, while Tyler Knuth had a 10 and 8 night.

Elmhurst and Carthage played a game of extended runs at Faganel tonight, but the last run belonged to the Firebirds, who eked out a 75-71 win. The Johnson brothers came up big for Carthage, with Ryan logging a 23 and 13 night and AJ scoring 21 while running a 5:2 floor game. Griffin Daun (11) and Colton Sigel (10) also hit double figures for the Firebirds, while the Bluejays were paced by six players in double figures (accounting for all but 5 Elmhurst points): Tagen Pearson (17), Dominic Trelenberg (14 and 7), Jack Cherry (14 and 8), Aidyn Boone (11 and 11), and Sebastian Blachut (10).

[mwunder]

Elmhurst and Carthage played a game of extended runs at Faganel tonight, but the last run belonged to the Firebirds, who eked out a 75-71 win. The Johnson brothers came up big for Carthage, with Ryan logging a 23 and 13 night and AJ scoring 21 while running a 5:2 floor game. Griffin Daun (11) and Colton Sigel (10) also hit double figures for the Firebirds, while the Bluejays were paced by six players in double figures (accounting for all but 5 Elmhurst points): Tagen Pearson (17), Dominic Trelenberg (14 and 7), Jack Cherry (14 and 8), Aidyn Boone (11 and 11), and Sebastian Blachut (10).

Carthage went 26-27 from the line...Elmhurst was 22-32.

[iwu70]

Best game yet from Josh Fridman, a freshman. 

I agree with Greg on size being a huge factor in the NPU-IWU game.  IWU can put two 6'10" guys on the floor at the same time for rim and paint protection. 

NPU will hang in there and compete for the conference championship.  Still looks like NCC, Carthage and IWU at the top of the league at the end.

IWU'70

p.s.  Platteville also meets the test as the new #1 against a ranked opponent in their league.  ms