MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Viking Mike]

Congrats to the Augustana Vikings on a tremendous year!
With a healthy Wessels, a possible rematch with the Titans would have been great to see.  I don't know if I would have been able to sit in my seat to watch that one.....Augie and IWU with a final four trip on the line...Ah but we Augie fans can only dream what if?  Good Luck to IWU next weekend.  Hoping you can bring home the Championship!
We Augustana fans can look forward to a bright future.....Augie returns everyone but Harrigan and McAdams-Thornton next year.  Coach G should be commended for an excellent year of coaching as well.

[oldreporter]

Can anyone explain the NCAA seating rule concerning designated sections for fans Several IWU folks had to move because they were in the UPS section tonight.

Its actually up to the site administrator..........funny story 4 elderly Witt fans wanted to sit in their usual seats last night..........so they did.  Right in the middle of the Hope student section.  8) But I'll give them credit, they stood the whole game, the administrator did not see fit to remove them.

Just too bad the site administrator carried a double standard... there were LU fans sitting in the IWU section for the IWU/LU game who were not asked to move... (not to mention this IWU fan sitting in the Augie section for the Augie/UPS game).

but other than that (and the line for the Women's restroom at half-time!), I thought that the old gym had a lot of character and that LU hosted well.

Congrats to the three teams that bowed out, and congrats to IWU as well.

[titanhammer]

Interesting to not see any of the regular posters on board now.  This is a green board, as it should be.   But where are the congratulations from Stat, Sager, Prikkel, CCIW etc.  Get the message?

Anyway, congrats and have fun Q and Hammer.

Stat, where do you keep that super huge spoon of yours that you're always stirring the pot with?

You've been to Salem and know that it's a good time.  Looking forward to a return trip...after missing last year for the first time since '01.  I am a little disappointed with the forecasted high temps:  looks like I don't need to call Hanging Rock for a tee time.

[Pat Coleman]

Not sure I've seen Dennis post too much on the weekends.

[Titan Q]

A pic of Keelan Amelianovich getting interviewed by ESPN's Steve Cyphers last week...

http://www2.iwu.edu/menssports/basketball/images/keelan0307.jpg

In speaking with the ESPN people yesterday before the game, it sounds like the piece on IWU/Division III is going to be very cool.  The on-site producer said that when Lincoln (Pa) - the other D3 team being featured - lost Friday, the Outside the Lines producer told them to "go crazy" with IWU.  They added cameras Saturday to cover the Puget Sound game and they also did a bunch of player interviews before/after the game. 

Whatever ESPN is putting together is supposed to air this Wednesday.  I'm interested to see how it turns out. 

[Titan Q]

Over the weekend, Keelan Amelianovich moved into a tie for IWU's all-time 3-point FG lead.

T1. Keelan Amelianovich, 245 (2002-present)
T1. Korey Coon, 245 (1996-2000)
3. Mark Edmundson, 235 (1986-1990)

Assuming Keelan makes 1 3-pointer in two games in Salem, he'll leave with that record.  What's impressive is that he played JV his freshman year...Coon started for 4 years.  Keelan's career % for 3's is ridiculous: 245-517 (.474).  He may be the best shooter Illinois Wesleyan's ever had.

Adam Dauksas, IWU's career assist leader, is on the verge of another assist mark with two games to play-- the Titan single season record...

1. Chad Hutson 198 (1994-95)
2. Adam Dauksas 194 (2005-06)

IWU's record for consecutive games started is 111 (Brian Martin, 1989-1993).  Adam Dauksas has now started 107 games in a row and will finish with 109.  Dauksas did not start in IWU's first 5 games of his freshman year (Jim Lehan started those games).

[iwumichigander]

Who was the NCAA rep at Lawrence? Should have read the handbook.

Midwest Chair G. Steven Larson whose term expires Sep 2006 (and, this is one writer who hopes his term will not and will never be renewed).

[iwu70]

Q, thanks for the update on the record book.  I thought that was were it all stood on career threes.  A truly awesome career of high-quality shooting by Keelan, to say the least.  For some reason, I can't get the spelling right on Korey Coon for the life of me!  Sorry, Korey.  All these years now of spelling Keelan's name and Adam's name, you'd think we would be a little more accurate.  Guess we need to ask Coach Trost to recruit a Smith, Li, Oh, or (yes!) some more Jones!  Hope all the members of the Titan nation have a grand time in Salem.  Really wish I could be there, though my US-based bosses are in Hong Kong this week and it somehow doesn't seem quite right that I would tell them I'm flying to Virginia for basketball, though I'm sorely tempted.  Given all the talk on this board earlier about what people do on work time, I guess I have license to fly to Salem and leave my bosses to their own devices, right?  Just kidding . . .

Go Titans.  Let's beat the other Wesleyan, then face likely Wittenberg for the title.  Amherst-Wittenberg is a great match-up, too.  Looks to be some really great games and, obviously, very strong teams and programs represented in the Final Four again this year.  When I saw the Sectional finals, I was hoping these four would make it through and they have.  What a great weekend of DIII hoops.

[Pat Coleman]

Who was the NCAA rep at Lawrence? Should have read the handbook.

Midwest Chair G. Steven Larson whose term expires Sep 2006 (and, this is one writer who hopes his term will not and will never be renewed).

That's a shame. People like us should not know the system better than the people who enforce it.

[veterancciwfan]

Quote from The Roop: "Might want to tone down (the break) because you're not going to get away with it..."

Yeah, I guess 113 points isn't enough to score in a game. I guess you weren't watching the last 4 minutes of the IWU/UPS game when IWU broke it open with long passes for easy layups. IWU had what? 14 TOs the whole game and you want IWU to "tone down" the break?

Regarding Steve Larson's mishandling of the sectional, itt's apparent that Steve's meticulous plans were predicated on LU winning Friday. Consider these facts/rumors:

1) The hospitality room for the school officials and media was closed Sat.

2) Though not a major deal, an LU student sang the National Anthem before the Friday LU/IWU game. Saturday? A mediocre instrumental which was probably a throw in with the antique end-zone bleachers LU bought, was played.
I know that if IWU hosted a Sectional, the championship game would not be slighted, even if IWU was eliminated on Friday.

3) A rumor I heard from several sources. Don't know if it's true, but allegedly an LU student counterfeited the LU/IWU ticket (not hard to do considering the simple format) and sold them to LU students who stood in line early for admission. If true, that would explain why some IWU fans who bought legit tix had to stand or sit in aisles. It appeared to me that there were more than 1100 paying (maybe?) fans in the Depression-era gym for the 2nd game Friday.

4) No Sectional All-Tournament team. Pat says there should have been one, so I will take his word over Steve's judgment (or lack of it).

[Pat Coleman]

You don't have to take my word for it, it's in the championships handbook.

But I wouldn't lay the national anthem at the NCAA rep's feet. That's not something they should have to worry about. Recorded anthems happen -- heck, one happened at the first-round game I covered and it would have happened at the second-round game too if a certain D3hoops.com broadcaster hadn't stepped in and sung it himself.

Not sure the hospitality room is the rep's responsibility either. That would be the host school's area.

[Johnny Augie]

On the counterfeit tickets:

I was easily one of the last to enter for the 2nd game on Friday and when I gave my ticket to the ladies at the admission table I overheard a guy in a suit talking to another adult about his ticket being a fake.  The suit mentioned that if he could point out the kid that sold him the ticket, he would get him his money back and have the kid arrested.

I'm not sure if anything came about after that.

[Johnny Augie]

I also had the opportunity to meet the NCAA rep while he was taking away megaphones from Augie fans (mainly children) during the first game on Friday.  The guy was rude about the whole deal and seemed like he didn't know his rear from 2nd base when talking to the kids' parents.

So all in all, only three problems that I saw while I was there on Friday...the LU Athletic Director, the NCAA rep, and the fake tickets. 

Everything else was great.  I enjoyed the small gym and overall had a fun time.  The long ride was definitely worth it.  Plus the 30 bars in 3 blocks was pretty cool, not to mention the Subway open at 2:30 in the morning.

[John Gleich]

Ryan and/or Pat,

The link Ryan posted for the two games at LU work through the links posted, but they don't work through IWU's schedule.  You may want to check if schedule the link is correct.  Btw, great pictures!  Regardless of the age/size of Alexander gym, it looks like a great atmosphere for basketball!

[augiedad]

The D3Hoops.com photo gallery is outstanding. 

I assume the 3 guys in this pic are from the ESPN crew??

http://www.pictureprints.net/albums.php?gallery=671&photo=0001