WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Hey, Mark.  I always LIKED the Griz.  (Of course, it has been 50+ years since I've seen it! )  I was there mainly to see IWU vs. Jesse Price - at least arguably the greatest CCIW player ever.  (No offense intended to Jack Sikma, Steve Durikovic, etc.)

Wow, that is a serious butchering of "Djurickovic," Chuck.

But at least I've never seen you spell "Helwig" with two l's.

[iwu70]

Ypsi, they re-did The Griz a few times since your days there with Jesse Price -- now an ugly blue / gray floor.  The place is pretty worse for wear, with the feeling and smell of dis-repair.  I think it's a horrible place, but some do like its old-time, Hoosiers feel . . .  but, poor seating, very small restrooms, and a public address system so loud and unintelligible it gives you a headache.

I guess Greg is the CCIW chatsters spell-checker now.  One would think he has more important things to do. 

IWU men in with a Pool C for sure.  Likely Wheaton and Elmhurst too.  I hope the IWU women can grab the AQ with their second rubber match game, a win over MU tonight.  I think it's a very steep hill to climb.  Knudsen and all her experienced teammates playing very well right now.  Beating MU on their floor would be a great achievement. 

I hope to see you in late April for our 51st and half as our 50th reunion.  Do sign-up now . . . so we know the number.  I'm hoping for at least 70 to finally appear, in person and on campus, after the two postponements.  All best.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

I guess Greg is the CCIW chatsters spell-checker now.  One would think he has more important things to do.

Nothing's more important than tradition. And you can bet all the corn in Manito that I'm going to keep alive the CCIW boards tradition of needling you about your spelling of the names of players and coaches. 

Koschnitzky and Bosko wouldn't have it any other way.

[Gregory Sager]

I knew that Wheaton was going to give up a pile of turnovers last night, because, as GoPerry said, that's been the m.o. of the Orange and Blue down the stretch. Over their previous four games coming into last night, Wheaton had given up an average of 20.5 turnovers per game, and last night's performance was pretty much on target for that as well. But I was surprised at how Kent Madsen's crew refused to let Millikin put them away last night in spite of the turnovers. Caroline Sikkink and her 20 points obviously had a lot to do with Wheaton's doggedness, and that brings up a very good point about how sometimes a player from whom much hasn't been expected in terms of scoring will step up in the post-season and allow a team to do something it otherwise wouldn't have been able to do. That's a big part of the fun of late February and of March.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Hey, Mark.  I always LIKED the Griz.  (Of course, it has been 50+ years since I've seen it! )  I was there mainly to see IWU vs. Jesse Price - at least arguably the greatest CCIW player ever.  (No offense intended to Jack Sikma, Steve Durikovic, etc.)

Wow, that is a serious butchering of "Djurickovic," Chuck.

But at least I've never seen you spell "Helwig" with two l's.

I USED to be able to spell Djurickovic - he (they) just haven't been in the news enough lately!  Because of the pronunciation (which I still can do ), I don't know how I could have left out the 'j'; I initially spelled his name with a 'ck', but talked myself into dropping the 'c'.  If I was gonna be too lazy to look up the spelling, maybe I should have stuck with Kent Raymond or Aston Francis  instead of Steve for my addition to Jack!

And, no, I've never added an extra 'l' to Helwig - perhaps Ethan will suffer that fate in a year or two!

[RogK]

Over on the UAA WBB pages, deiscanton pointed out that the D3 WBB bracket will be announced Monday afternoon (1:30pm Central).
For some reason, I was thinking it would be on Sunday.
Anyway, 64 teams will be happy to be included but 48 of them will be set aside by the end of next Saturday.

[Gregory Sager]

And, no, I've never added an extra 'l' to Helwig - perhaps Ethan will suffer that fate in a year or two!

That was actually a light-hearted jab aimed at your classmate, who recently drew the ire of two or three NCC posters on the CCIW men's basketball board by spelling the surname of the Cardinals' superstar as though it was a tribute to Satan's toupée.

Anyway, 64 teams will be happy to be included but 48 of them will be set aside by the end of next Saturday.

For a lot of leagues in which is there neither a tradition or an expectation of any post-season success, simply making the tournament is the source of happiness in and of itself.

[iwu70]

Hurray for our Titans, winning the AQ, taking down the Big Blue on the Big Blue floor -- 80-73.  The freshmen are superb, esp. Huber.  Kaia Bowen everywhere on the glass. 

The Lou Holtz is complete, the Titans going 6-1 vs. the supposed tops teams in the conference and heading for the D3 Dance!   

Congrats to Coach Smith, all her staff, and all the Titans for a great win on the road.  A major achievement.  Now 19-8. 

I'm sure the Big Blue will get in via Pool C. 

A great day to be a TITAN!

IWU'70

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final from the Griz:  IWU 80, Millikin 73.  The Titans put the final nails in the coffin, going 6-6 from the line in the last 22 seconds.

Huber goes off for 27, while Knudsen gets "only"  23.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I'm certainly hoping that the Blue get a Pool C - they deserve it.  But I'm also hoping that they get put where Green and Blue won't clash until the FF4!

[Enginerd]

Told you guys IWU would be JUST FINE.

[GoPerry]

I'm certainly hoping that the Blue get a Pool C - they deserve it.  But I'm also hoping that they get put where Green and Blue won't clash until the FF4!

The Big Blue should be in good shape for a Pool C I think.  In region 8, #1 Transylvania has already won their AQ.  #2 Wisc Lutheran plays St Norbert tomorrow for the AQ.  #3 Millikin should be at the table pretty early with a 21-6 overall,  9-5 record vs regionally ranked and a .56 SOS.  In fact it's not entirely clear to me why Wisc Lutheran is ranked ahead of them with a .487 SOS and only 3 wins vRRo.

[RogK]

Congrats to the Titans for an excellent effort.
Lauren Huber's final shooting numbers were 8/12 2FGs and 11/13 FTs; not bad, along with her 6 rebs.
Kaia Bowen worked as hard as anyone, leading all with 13 rebounds and added 13 pts.
Kate Palmer scored 16 from just 11 FG att for a .727 eFG%.
Among the varied contributions from Brooke Lansford were 4 steals and 4 assists.
For the Big Blue :
Elyce Knudsen tallied 24 and led them with 7 rebs (Aubrey Staton grabbed 6 rebs but no other Millikin players had more than 4).
Bailey Coffman scored 11 from 7 FG att, .786 eFG%.
Off the bench, Sophie Darden and Chelsea McCullum each scored a quick 10 pts.

[scottiedawg]

I'm certainly hoping that the Blue get a Pool C - they deserve it.  But I'm also hoping that they get put where Green and Blue won't clash until the FF4!

The Big Blue should be in good shape for a Pool C I think.  In region 8, #1 Transylvania has already won their AQ.  #2 Wisc Lutheran plays St Norbert tomorrow for the AQ.  #3 Millikin should be at the table pretty early with a 21-6 overall,  9-5 record vs regionally ranked and a .56 SOS.  In fact it's not entirely clear to me why Wisc Lutheran is ranked ahead of them with a .487 SOS and only 3 wins vRRo.

Agree with you across the board. Millikin should be just fine.

Also agree about WLU. I think the committee is highly valuing WLU's sparkling WP, which to me pales in comparison to Millikin's SOS and wins v RRO. If WLU wasn't 3-1 v RRO, but instead 1-1, I bet the committee would slot them 6th or 7th in the region.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Mia Smith, all the coaching and support staff, and all the Titans on winning the CCIW tournament championship and the AQ.  Great stuff on the Big Blue Floor, taking down a good Millikin team at home.

Final was 80-73, but close throughout, back and forth, with various runs by both teams.  A great game, worthy of the Tournament championship game.

For MU:

Knudsen 24 and 7
Coffman 11
McCullum 10
Darden 10

For IWU:

A career night at the right time for Huber, 27 and 6, 11-13 FTs
Palmer 16 on four treys
Bowen, everywhere on D and on the glass, 13 and 13
Powers 9
Lansford 8
Heller, the best six women in the CCIW, 7

Keys to the game, IWU's tenacity, never giving up even when down 8 or more . . . Winning the rebounding line to a bigger team, 34-30, and the foul situation for MU -- 25 fouls on MU, only 11 on IWU.  Titans making FTs. 

On to the D3 Dance.

MU in too. . . but, it must be said, Knudsen is a unique talent at this level, but she is not superhuman.  The IWU freshmen were pretty special tonight.  Just say'n.  Lansford the commander on the court . . .  Palmer and Heller a very strong rotation and bench for IWU, Bowen making a huge difference tonight on the glass . . . just unrelenting.  Nothing much from "run and jump" -- just tough half-court defense. 

Again, congrats to two excellent teams for a hard-fought game.  And, congrats to Coach Smith, all the coaching and strength staff, and all the Titans for a great win on the road in a very hostile environment.  Keeping your cool and bringing home the W!   Great job.

IWU'70