MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwumichigander]

An interesting night. The early season trend of home team victories seems to be ancient history. The most significant development so far this season is how good IWU is with so many young players. If they remain injury free, this frosh-soph dominated team will be the class of the CCIW the next few seasons. Augie needs to keep up the good work and get that home court advantage for the conference tourney this season. Somehing tells me the tourney will be at the Shirk the next three years.

Interesting statement "Augiefan" (?) considering the team currently in first place in the CCIW, Augustana, will return four starters next year.  Into that mix, add the solid play of late of Justin Bertrand and the possible return of scorer Jordan Delp and I'm not ready to book my trip to B/N just yet.

Whoa Augiefan, I doubt the Titan Nation feels the same way you do!

Augie - Underclassmen (Bertrand as noted above; Collins has made great progress this season) shows constant improvement  I'm not trying to take anything away the three senior's contributions but more of recognizing that some underclassmen may have just stepped up to their next level. The loss of Delp's perimeter scoring really hurt the Vikings.

Elmhurst - Elmhurst still needs to fix one or two things but take a hard look at where the Bluejays rankings in the CCIW and NCAA stats to see the 'promise and potential' - scary!  Elmhurst still has an opportunity this season.  The odds are working against them. One senior. Will only get better next season.

Wheaton - Remains in contention for the CCIW Tournament.  One senior (Denham) whom contributes more than what shows up in the stats; attracts quality recruits from outside the Midwest; Historically will come up with a Wiele, Raymond or Panner type recruited freshman who can contribute Day One.

North Park, Millikin, North Central & Carthage - As I posted earlier. each CCIW team is really only one or two players away from contending for the CCIW championships.

So, like Fox40 I'm not booking any current or future CCIW Tournament trips to B/N just yet. Yes, I am pleased with the continuous improvement the Titans have made.  Yes, I am prepared for more ups and downs.  No, the Titans are not where a team needs to be to be a CCIW favorite, to get a Dance Ticket and certainly not in any conversation as a NCCA Tournament contender.

[Mr. Ypsi]

And don't write off Carthage either.  IF they can recruit (or develop) some inside strength, they'll be mighty tough for the foreseeable future.

Yes, I really, really like the Titan freshmen, but unless the front-liners hit the weight room, we may miss Gant a great deal.

[tjcummingsfan]

Wheaton - Remains in contention for the CCIW Tournament.  One senior (Denham) whom contributes more than what shows up in the stats; attracts quality recruits from outside the Midwest; Historically will come up with a Wiele, Raymond or Panner type recruited freshman who can contribute Day One.

Is Raymond not graduating?  I know this is his 4th year at Wheaton (3rd of bball)

[Titan Q]

Agreed.  IWU is in year #1 of what is basically a complete rebuilding process.  (I don't really consider last year the first year of the process since Ron Rose was hired in May 2006 and had absolutely no chance to recruit anybody for his first season.) 

The Titans have a great freshman class, led by point-guard Travis Rosenkranz, shooting-guard Sean Johnson, and power forward Doug Sexauer.  Matt Schick has played well in his varsity minutes all season long, as has Duncan Lawson the last two games when thrown in there.  There are also several other freshmen who have a chance to be good, like Ed O'Callaghan, Chris Stamas, Josh Sutton, and Dan Schouten (injured this year).  And Sean Dwyer is just a sophomore.

That said, they will miss Darius Gant very much next year -- he has been great in the league.  And when you look at who everyone returns in the CCIW, I don't see IWU's sophomore-dominated team as the favorite by any stretch in 2008-09.  As I have looked at this IWU rebuilding situation realistically, I have been thinking that 2009-10 is the year the Titans will really be a power again.  And hopefully thereafter, the Titans are back to where the program always was - a CCIW contender/Top 25 team every year via consistent recruiting of quality student-athletes.

IWU will add some good recruits this year that will have an impact next year, but I don't see the Titans quite "back" until 2009-10.  If it happens sooner, that's great.

[iwumichigander]

Wheaton - Remains in contention for the CCIW Tournament.  One senior (Denham) whom contributes more than what shows up in the stats; attracts quality recruits from outside the Midwest; Historically will come up with a Wiele, Raymond or Panner type recruited freshman who can contribute Day One.

Is Raymond not graduating?  I know this is his 4th year at Wheaton (3rd of bball)

Good and fair point. Mr. Raymond gets his advice from a power more all knowing than I.  So, I went with his class standing as Wheaton shows on its roster. 

[augiefan]

Augie loses both of its centers after this year (Swetalla and Rukavina) with no obvious replacements at the center position. This will leave a huge void on the boards.

If Delp comes back healthy it would be great, and I would agree that Augie will be a co-favorite again next year, but it is rare for a DIII player to add a fifth year of under graduate work. If there is word to the effect Jordan is coming back, I'd be happy to hear the details, but absent something substantive about his return, I think the chances of his return are considerably less than 50/50.

The important thing now is to finish this year with another tourney invite. Augie certainly is in a good position to do that at this point in the season with Wessels making huge contributions on offense, the defense giving its usual stellar effort and as someone pointed out with Bertrand improving with every game.

And by the way saying something positive about another team does not make me any less of an Augie fan. In fact beating IWU gives me more satisfaction than beating any other program in the CCIW. It's a sign of respect for another great DIII program.

[Naperick]

Illinois Wesleyan  81
North Central 67

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/mbb2008/NCCM-IWU.HTM

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/02/07/usports/doc47abebccbcc50166133826.txt

http://www.wjbc.com/wire2/podsports/00805_0207RosePostgame_213810.htm


Last night in Naperville, North Central packed into a tight zone and dared IWU to shoot 3's.  The Titans were a little hesitant in attacking the zone in the 1st half, passing up some open looks.  Sean Johnson knocked down two 3's and had 7 points, but was only on the floor for 8 minutes due to foul trouble.

In the 2nd half, it was a different story.  Johnson made 5 3's against the NCC zone.  The Cardinals finally came out of the zone after Johnson's final 3 with 6:00 left, but NCC was already down 12 at that point. 

Darius Gant had another double-double (13 points, 14 rebounds.)  Gant now has 48 rebounds in the last 3 games.  Doug Sexauer had a nice game as well, finishing with 10 points on 4-6 from the field.  Point-guard Travis Rosenkranz had a strong 2nd half and had 13 points and 5 assists on the game.

IWU freshman Sean Johnson has now made more 3's than anyone in CCIW play (2 more than Panner, 3 more than Wessels), and he's also shooting a great percentage, 29-64 (.453).  In 9 conference games, Johnson is averaging 14.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.

I was at Merner fiedlhouse for the 2nd half last night.  Sean Johnson was hitting some bombs!  I really enjoyed watching Darius Gant play.  He seems to get every key rebound and he is not that big.  The Titans played with more energy and NCC looked flat after scoring the first 8 points of the 2nd half to take a 39-34 lead.  IWU is the surprise team so far in the CCIW this season.

[markerickson]

I'd say the surprise team in conference play thus far is easily IWU.

Another surprise:  My 44 year old brother-in-law slept at Fort Bragg last night after having been in Iraq for 13 months on his second tour of duty.  The Army does not want specific departure dates given to families for fear of an extension or unforeseen consequence.  We knew Bill would be home in February or March, but were not certain of a date.  Hallelujah! 

[Naperick]

My 44 year old brother-in-law slept at Fort Bragg last night after having been in Iraq for 13 months on his second tour of duty.  The Army does not want specific departure dates given to families for fear of an extension or unforeseen consequence.  We knew Bill would be home in February or March, but were not certain of a date.  Hallelujah! 

That is awesome!  What a great feeling that has to be for the family!

[titanfan]

IWU will add some good recruits this year that will have an impact next year, but I don't see the Titans quite "back" until 2009-10.  If it happens sooner, that's great.

Q, do any of those recruits happen to be 6-7 All-Staters? 

[Fox 40]

Augie loses both of its centers after this year (Swetalla and Rukavina) with no obvious replacements at the center position. This will leave a huge void on the boards.

If Delp comes back healthy it would be great, and I would agree that Augie will be a co-favorite again next year, but it is rare for a DIII player to add a fifth year of under graduate work. If there is word to the effect Jordan is coming back, I'd be happy to hear the details, but absent something substantive about his return, I think the chances of his return are considerably less than 50/50.

The important thing now is to finish this year with another tourney invite. Augie certainly is in a good position to do that at this point in the season with Wessels making huge contributions on offense, the defense giving its usual stellar effort and as someone pointed out with Bertrand improving with every game.

And by the way saying something positive about another team does not make me any less of an Augie fan. In fact beating IWU gives me more satisfaction than beating any other program in the CCIW. It's a sign of respect for another great DIII program.

Saying something positive is on thing - you handed them the conference title for the next three years!!  Show some respect for the program you claim to be a fan of or change your name to "CCIW fan".

[Titan Q]

The Pantagraph's article on the IWU/Elmhurst game...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/02/08/usports/doc47ad2b9f11dc8429975104.txt


Note:

"The IWU junior varsity will meet a team of former Titan players that is expected to included Adam Dauksas, Keelan Amelianovich and Bryan Crabtree in the 5:15 p.m. preliminary game."

Sounds like a dress rehearsal for the big alumni vs alumni tilt @ Wheaton next Saturday!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Q,

Did I somehow miss the news that Keelan is no longer playing in Spain (or is he just visiting)?

[Titan Q]

Q,

Did I somehow miss the news that Keelan is no longer playing in Spain (or is he just visiting)?

Keelan is now in the "real world" -- he took a job with one of the big accounting firms in downtown Chicago that they held for him for a year while he was playing.

[Titan Q]

With 5 games left to play, it's probably time to start thinking about tie-breaker implications.  While I tend to think Augie is going to win the championship outright, I think tie-breakers are going to come into play for the other conference tournament spots.

Take tonight's game between IWU and Elmhurst.  The Bluejays, who are currently one game behind IWU, can not only move into a tie with the Titans, but they can also secure a season sweep.  Since head-to-head play is tie-breaker #1, that would be huge for Elmhurst.  If the Titans and Elmhurst both finished, say, 8-6, Elmhurst would win the tie-breaker.

And sweeps over other "conference tournament contenders" are also huge based on how tie-breaker #2 works -- record vs #1, and if still not broken, record vs #2, vs #3, etc. down the standings until the tie is broken.  Sweeps are big.

I seems like, realistically, there are 5 teams competing for 4 conference tournament spots.

Augustana 7-2
IWU 6-3
Elmhurst 5-4
Wheaton 5-4
Carthage 5-4

Play between those teams so far has been...

Augustana - 1-0 vs IWU, 2-0 vs Elmhurst, 1-0 vs Wheaton, 0-1 vs Carthage
IWU - 0-1 vs Augustana, 0-1 vs Elmhurst, 1-0 vs Wheaton, 1-1 vs Carthage
Elmhurst - 0-2 vs Augustana, 1-0 vs IWU, 0-1 vs Wheaton, 0-1 vs Carthage
Wheaton - 0-1 vs Augustana, 0-1 vs IWU, 1-0 vs Wheaton, 2-0 vs Carthage
Carthage - 0-1 vs Augustana, 1-1 vs IWU, 1-0 vs Elmhurst, 0-2 vs Wheaton


With a win tonight, IWU would be in great shape to make the tournament...with a loss, things get very shaky.