MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

I think Farmingdale State (SUNY Farmingdale) won their conference AQ, beating Manhattanville College for the championship.  They are in as an "A" I think.

[cardinalpride]

Congrats to North Central on the tourney win and the AQ.  I wish the all the best in the trip toward Salem, unless, of course, the Titans come across their path again.  They played very well.  After that first half, I had little hope IWU could get back in the game, but you have to hand it to our Titans for fighting back after a dismal first half on both ends.  NC played well and had just enough to hold on.  Let's hope all three CCIW teams get in so we can play someone else for a change! 

By the way, the video and audio from Penn Atlantic were much better today for some reason.  It was great to be able sit here in Hong Kong and watch the championship game sipping my Sunday morning coffee and reading the cricket and rugby scores in the South China Morning Post.  A new day indeed.  Let's hope Pat's estimates on Pool C are correct -- as they usually are.

IWU70, you're right!  Great comeback by the titans.  I truly believe 3 cciw teams will be in.  The 4 teams in the tournament knew one another so well which explains the great defense that was played in the tournament.  IWU held NCC to just 14 second half points.  WOW!  While NCC held IWU to just 49 pts for an entire game.  Again, WOW!  I never would've believed anyone could hold IWU to just 49pts in 40mins of play.  Including Division I's!  That's unbelievable!  I look forward to seeing Augie and IWU in the tournament.  I dred having to play anyone of them again this season. 

[Gregory Sager]

I hate to bring this up, but I'm curious...  Has a pre-season #1 ever not made the NCAA Tourney?

You piqued my curiosity, EH. I went back and checked all of the previous preseason polls, partly to answer your question and partly to get a glimpse of just how accurate that poll has been.

This is the list of teams that were picked in the top ten in the preseason poll that subsequently did not make the tourney that year:

2000
1 -- Wisconsin-Platteville
4 -- Wilkes
7 -- Connecticut C.

2001
5 -- Wisconsin-Stevens Point
6 -- Buena Vista
9 -- Cortland State
10 -- St. John's

2002
2 -- Illinois Wesleyan
3 -- Chicago
4 -- Christopher Newport
6 -- Wooster
9 -- St. John's

2003
2 -- Carthage
8 -- Capital
10 -- Otterbein

2004
7 -- Montclair State
9 -- Augustana
10 -- Rochester

2005
8 -- Franklin & Marshall

2006
Preseason #2 Wisconsin-Oshkosh is dead meat. They will most certainly not be dancing this year. Same with #9 Hanover,  and #8 Albion is the longest of longshots right now and is almost certainly out of the picture. And, of course, #1 Illinois Wesleyan is on the bubble as well, but their chances appear to be significantly better than fellow third-option-from-their-conference Albion's.

[Stat]

"it looks like the Titans can't be fowled, but can't touch the NC players. "

Now you know how the opposition feels, while playing at the Shrek.

You will feel better if you have some cheese with that whine.

[tjcummingsfan]

I wonder how that compares to DI  Greg,

[Knightstalker]

The authenticity of stories that involve "this guy I know" should also be discounted.

Along with sailors and former sailors saying "No **** this really happened."  Usually followed by "to this guy I know."

[maddog]

I really think we will see a CCIW team in the Final Four this year, but I don't know which one. It will be nice to start the tournament to get to play new teams and stop beating each other up. I hope you're right Pat and the Titans get a Pool C bid, the waiting is always tough.

[iwu70]

Q, the Mississippi College - Howard Payne game does not appear to be a conference tournament game.  Is Mississippi College already in as an "A" as they are very very far ahead in their conference standings?  The teams appear to be from two different conferences.  Is this some kind of play-in game were the play-off between the top teams in these two conferences compete for one place in the tourney?  Clarify please.  I do see the Worcester Poly has beaten MIT twice earlier in the year, though both times by the smallest of margins.  Let's hope they can pull off the trifecta.  

[Knightstalker]

Great inagural championship game tonight....congrats to NCC...so does this mean that Augie is not considered conference champs?  Or are they still conference champs and NCC just gets the AQ?

Most conferences list the tournament winner as the official conference champion.  Otherwise the Colts would have been AFC champs and the Steelers just the AFC AQ for the superbowl.

That being said, I like and dislike conference championship tournaments.  I like them because they give a team a chance to go to the NCAA's that normally would never have a shot.  I dislike them for the same reason.  A team can finish a season undeafeated in conference and still have to wait for the NCAA committee to put them in the tournament.  Good and bad, sounds like the CCIW had a great inaugural tourney.

[maddog]

The Titans did a great defensive job on Simmons in the 2nd half by denying him the ball and taking away the lob with back help. And when he did receive the ball, the double team came right away, making him pass back out. The Titan comeback was tremendous in the 2nd half as was the ability of NCC to regroup and keep their composure after losing the lead. I hope Harrington gets healthy and Augie, NCC, and IWU make long post season runs. What do you think the chances are of each being sent to a different area to play? Or will two of the 3 be in the same grouping?

[CardinalAlum]

What a great accomplishment for the Cardinals!  I admit, I didn't think they could do it considering their short bench.  I bet it was exciting to be there.  On to the Tournament!!  Good luck to the Cards and I hope the conference gets the 3 teams it deserves!!

[wheatonc]

Q: You and Jim did a terrific job last night.  The video quality was not as good as the Augustana at Illinois Wesleyan game in January, but the audio was outstanding.  Your analysis during the game was "right on."

All three CCIW teams are deserving of making the tournament.  

[Titan Q]

In case anyone is wondering about the tournament format, since it is obviously different than the 48-team field format of the last few years, here's how it will go with 59 teams...

Rounds 1/2
Thurs, March 2: 5 games w/ the winners going to the 5 bye teams on Sat.
Sat, March 4: 5 bye teams host the Thursday winners

Fri/Sat, March 3-4: 11, 4-team "regionals"

The 16 teams that win on Saturday will advance to the sectionals, which is where the tournament becomes exactly as it has been.

Rounds 3/4
Fri/Sat, March 10-11: 4, 4-team sectionals (host school determined primarily by seed, but other considerations include, 1) quality of facility and accomodations, 2) geographic location, and 3) attendance history/revenue potential.

Rounds 5/6
Fri/Sat, March 17-18: Final Four (Salem, Virginia)



This can all be found in the 2005-06 Division III Championship Handbook (link).

[Hoosier Titan]

Congratulations to Coach Raridon and the Cardinals for keeping their composure to pull out the win last night.  That would have been a tough loss for them--as it happened, it was one of the toughest losses I can remember in thousands of basketball games.  The teams basically played to dead even, with NCC taking the first half and IWU the second...except for the final score.

I wish all CCIW teams going on--and I hope the Titans are in that group--well in the NCAA tournament.

[Gregory Sager]

Q, the Mississippi College - Howard Payne game does not appear to be a conference tournament game.  Is Mississippi College already in as an "A" as they are very very far ahead in their conference standings?  The teams appear to be from two different conferences.  Is this some kind of play-in game were the play-off between the top teams in these two conferences compete for one place in the tourney?  Clarify please.

Mississippi College and Howard Payne are playing for the ASC championship today. Mississippi College was the champion of the ASC East, and Howard Payne was the champion of the ASC West. The two divisions constitute one league, unlike the MAC setup, and the ASC as a whole only gets one automatic bid.