MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Just got home from my doubleheader:  Millikin @ Aurora and Lake Forest @ Benedictine.  When is the last time a CCIW went winless in the conference?  I can't imagine Millikin winning a conference game this season.  I know "on any given night......", but I just don't see it happening.  They are one of the smallest CCIW teams I've seen..........only two players over 6'2".  And the three players listed at 6'2" don't even appear to be that.  Other than Ogunleye, the rest of the guards dribble and dribble with not much of a sense of direction or purpose.  There is a whole lot of moving the ball around the perimeter seemingly without much of an idea as to how to enter the ball into the paint.  I saw no consistent shooting from outside by anyone other than Ogunleye, in spite of the fact that the roster lists ten players 6'2" and under.  Actually, the most pleasant surprise was 6'0" senior Mark Patrick who represents the only other threat from the outside.  He hit a couple of fadeaways and was a decent spot-up shooter.  In fact, with about 25 seconds left, and Millikin up by 3, Ogunleye, dribbling around the perimeter, kicked it over to Patrick who drained a 3 for the final 6 point margin of victory.  Clearly, Ogunleye had confidence in Patrick, who seemed to be the only player Ogunleye was looking for.  6'7" Joscar Demby was somewhat effective when he was in, but Aurora really didn't offer much in the way of interior defense, so it's difficult to judge how he'll do in CCIW competition.  He played limited minutes, maybe due to some ill-advised fouls.  It looked like he tired pretty easily.  6'4" Robert Burton had a couple of nice offensive putbacks but wasn't much of a factor other than that.  It looks like it could be a long winter in Decatur.

Pete---

I believe the last CCIW team to go winless in the conference was North Park in 04-05

You said Millikin isn't very good yet they defeated Aurora. Accordingly, do you feel  Aurora is really stinky?

[dansand]

Just back from Indianola. First of all, our apologies for the technical difficulties with the webcast. Everything worked fine on our end, but for some reason the stream wasn't getting delivered. We'll have to do some troubleshooting and hopefully be ready for Wednesday's game in Chicago.

As far as the game goes. Not very pretty, but a road win. Augie led by two after a sluggish first half and then played worse in the first part of the second half. Simpson's biggest lead was nine at about 14:00 and they still led by eight with about 5 1/2 minutes left. The biggest problem was 25 turnovers. Fortunately, Augie executed well down the stretch and hit some big shots, especially Jordan Delp. Alex Washington had a fine offensive game as well (except for 8 TO's). I have to credit Simpson also. I think they surprised Augie a bit with their defensive aggressiveness on the perimeter. I think that had something to do with the Vikings turning it over 25 times.

Brett Wessels is nursing an ankle injury right now. It sounds like he probably won't be available for Chicago and Wash U.

JV  team wins 86-65. Max Artis had 19 pts (9-9 FG) and Griffin Dwyer had 17 (5-6 3's).

[Greek Tragedy]

Millikin beats Aurora 67-61.  I know that Aurora doesn't have Welton anymore, but how bad are they (or how good is Millikin)?  I saw that Millikin was picked last in the CCIW, but Aurora was picked first in their division in the NathCon.  That must not bold well for Aurora. 

[petemcb]

I haven't really followed Aurora or their conference that much, but I do remember reading on that board that Aurora lost a lot more than Larry Welton last summer. Having said that, although they lost the game, for most of the game it felt like Aurora was outplaying Millikin.  It was tied with roughly two minutes to go.  Millikin's athleticism allowed them to finish more fast break opportunities than did Aurora.  While I didn't see any stats to prove that, that is how the game felt. 

[mr_b]

Both Hoekstra and Brown were credited with playing statistics in today's game for NPU.

Most likely a data entry error -- some other players suited up wearing Hoekstra's and Brown's uniform numbers.

[aceon2]

Looks like Elmhurst won easily 88-63 last night.  Anybody got any details?

[Gotberg]

North Park defeats LaVerne 70-65 - Stephano Jones with a big game.  I think 26 pts and 16 rebounds.

[Gotberg]

The stat sheet also shows both played zero (0) minutes. Computer foul up?

I am sure it is something along those lines.  The live stats for today's game showed Antonio Stevens played.

[Titan Q]

The surprise of opening weekend has to be Chicago losing to both Edgewood and Illinois Tech at home...

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/mensbasketball/mbk.htm

Of Chicago's 69 FGA today, 36 were 3's...and they made just 7. 

[Titan Q]

Here is the Elmhurst/MacMurray boxscore from last night...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/2008-2009/melm01.htm

The Bluejays started:

G Mike McCurdy (Fr), 5-10
G Zack Boyd (Fr), 6-2
F Ryan Burks (Sr), 6-4
F Robert Strzemp (Sr), 6-4/245
C Brent Ruch (Sr), 6-9/260

[HopeConvert]

Does anyone have a score on Elmhurst @ MacMurray game?

No, but the line is 32 1/2 and I have wagered an amount equal to the drop in my 401K the last 3 months on the Highlanders to cover.  Need a score.

Here is the Elmhurst/MacMurray boxscore from last night...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/2008-2009/melm01.htm

The Bluejays started:

G Mike McCurdy (Fr), 5-10
G Zack Boyd (Fr), 6-2
F Ryan Burks (Sr), 6-4
F Robert Strzemp (Sr), 6-4/245
C Brent Ruch (Sr), 6-9/260

Ouch Bob. I hope the new wife isn't too upset. 

[Titan Q]

Does anyone have a score on Elmhurst @ MacMurray game?

No, but the line is 32 1/2 and I have wagered an amount equal to the drop in my 401K the last 3 months on the Highlanders to cover.  Need a score.

Here is the Elmhurst/MacMurray boxscore from last night...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/2008-2009/melm01.htm

The Bluejays started:

G Mike McCurdy (Fr), 5-10
G Zack Boyd (Fr), 6-2
F Ryan Burks (Sr), 6-4
F Robert Strzemp (Sr), 6-4/245
C Brent Ruch (Sr), 6-9/260

Ouch Bob. I hope the new wife isn't too upset. 

Hope, the Highlanders did in fact cover...only lost by 26.  401K balance restored.  I feel like I've been bailed out, just like the banks, AIG, soon the auto industry, etc.

[HopeConvert]

Does anyone have a score on Elmhurst @ MacMurray game?

No, but the line is 32 1/2 and I have wagered an amount equal to the drop in my 401K the last 3 months on the Highlanders to cover.  Need a score.

Here is the Elmhurst/MacMurray boxscore from last night...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/2008-2009/melm01.htm

The Bluejays started:

G Mike McCurdy (Fr), 5-10
G Zack Boyd (Fr), 6-2
F Ryan Burks (Sr), 6-4
F Robert Strzemp (Sr), 6-4/245
C Brent Ruch (Sr), 6-9/260

Ouch Bob. I hope the new wife isn't too upset. 

Hope, the Highlanders did in fact cover...only lost by 26.  401K balance restored.  I feel like I've been bailed out, just like the banks, AIG, soon the auto industry, etc.

Oops - I didn't read it carefully enough. I thought you had your money on the Jays. Fortunately you haven't cost the taxpayers any money.

[AndOne]

Here is the Elmhurst/MacMurray boxscore from last night...

http://elmhurst.edu/~athletic/Home/M-Basket/stats/2008-2009/melm01.htm

The Bluejays started:

G Mike McCurdy (Fr), 5-10
G Zack Boyd (Fr), 6-2
F Ryan Burks (Sr), 6-4
F Robert Strzemp (Sr), 6-4/245
C Brent Ruch (Sr), 6-9/260

EC Coach Scherer must have little to no confidence in his upperclass guards to start 2 freshmen.

[John Gleich]

The surprise of opening weekend has to be Chicago losing to both Edgewood and Illinois Tech at home...

http://athletics.uchicago.edu/mensbasketball/mbk.htm

Of Chicago's 69 FGA today, 36 were 3's...and they made just 7. 

This stat intrigues me...  There were also 63 3's in the Buena Vista/UW Stout game Sat too... with a combined 17 makes.  It seems like teams are shooting more 3's... could it be the extra daylight they're getting a foot farther from the basket, so they're just letting 'er rip? BV/UW Stout box

Perhaps it's too early to say, though... in the UW Oshkosh/St. Norberts game Sat, the teams combined for 19/38 from deep:  Box

And the Elmhurst box you just posted had a combined 13/31, with both teams shooting over 41%... If they'd averaged that last year, it would have been in the top 10 in the country for 3 pt %.