WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

I'll probably get over to see that one, jshoops.
DePaul typically has 2nd and 3rd string players who would be top stars at the D3 level, so IWU doesn't figure to have much of a chance to win. But, it would be fun if the Titans can give 'em a good battle.
I'm pretty sure that it's against CCIW rules for any other CCIW coaches or players to scout an exhibition game / scrimmage, so only a neutral spectator such as myself should be there.
It's a different story starting November 15, of course.

[RogK]

DePaul beat NAIA St Xavier last night, 111-69. IWU should do better than that, but it will not be easy.
Excluding "team" rebounds, DePaul got 47 of the 70 rebounds. On Friday, the Titans will have to go after the ball with ferocity.

[RogK]

Saw North Park scrimmage against Aurora last night.
Ten of the fifteen Vikings suited up and played well. The other five may have been injured or under the weather.
Several of the newcomers showed signs of very good things to come.
The Vikings have better depth than last year, so none of them will likely need to play 36 or 38 minutes a game.

[Old Hoosier Baller]

I was at Elmhurst last night.  They scrimmaged the team of former D-1 players that won the summer league this past summer.  The Jays lost won half and won the other.  Very impressive outing for the first scrimmage!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Pre-season AA selections now out.  Congratulations to first-team center, Christina Solari!

No one else from the conference named.

[Titan Q]

IWU down 30 at half to the Blue Demons...

http://www.depaulbluedemons.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.html?GAME_STAT_ID=455157&db_oem_id=15600

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU down 30 at half to the Blue Demons...

http://www.depaulbluedemons.com/newLiveStats/Basketball/index.html?GAME_STAT_ID=455157&db_oem_id=15600

And it has gotten worse.

Loved the attendance stat - 0!

[RogK]

IWU had some difficulties against DePaul (93-49). DePaul was better at all aspects (including height!) of the game, not surprisingly, considering they are in the top tier of D1 teams.
I talked to Mia Smith afterward and she was glad to have scheduled the game, despite it being a mismatch (my word, not hers). I think she found the game useful because it gave her more ideas on what to have her team work on, going forward.
Since it was a scrimmage, I won't say anything about individual players. Furthermore, most of went wrong could be attributed to the fact that DePaul was the opponent. No D3 team will present a challenge nearly as tough as playing the Blue Demons.

[Mr. Ypsi]

When I congratulated Solari on her pre-season AA selection, I forgot to mention that I was somewhat surprised that Lyndsie Long didn't make even HM.

Were others also surprised, or am I over-estimating her at the national level?

[RogK]

I wonder of anyone really knows enough about the thousands of D3 players to make a rational judgment on that topic; it's unlikely.
It could be that all 25 on the list are better than, or as good as Lyndsie is. But, one could also imagine that she is better than some on the list.
Regardless, we know that she's outstanding.
Another snub in the pre-season rankings is that our conference has exactly one team in the top 57. Will this inspire some our teams to win more definitively during the non-conference schedule?

[jshoops]

We were also at Friday's match of IWU vs DePaul.  The D-1 team was bigger at the forwards/center by 4-6 inches and their guards were quicker to the ball at both ends of the court.  IWU looked a little gased and DePaul was able to deny every pass attempt, both to make the pass or catch the ball.  Even when IWU boxed out and was in position to grab the rebound off of the floor, a 2nd DePaul player was quicker to the ball.  DePaul is a ranked D-1 team and it showed. 

We had the opportunity to talk to the IWU players after the game, they were upbeat and understood this scrimmage will make them better down the stretch.  IWU kept hustling, hitting the floor and showed some heart.  I was  impressed with soph. Karen Solari's mental toughness and play as she took on some of those DePaul giants, drew some fouls and  made some nice passes. 

[gordonmann]

Illinois Wesleyan guard Holly Harvey has agreed to join our team of D3hoops "Insiders" and will blog about the 2009-2010 season on the Daily Dose.  Her first entry is posted.

[RogK]

Welcome to D3hoops, Holly.
My compliments on the quality of your writing. Don't give out too many secrets to future opponents!

[RogK]

Here's a topic for discussion :
What is the best statistical measure of a team's defense?
One possibility is points allowed per game. This stat, however, can be deceiving. If a team plays a slow game offensively (using most of the shot clock on most possessions, including resetting the offense after an offensive rebound (not a change of possession)), they will reduce the number of possessions in the game for themselves and the opposition, thereby reducing the number of scoring opportunities for their opponent. This shouldn't be confused with having a good defense, although it may co-exist with it.
On the other hand, an offense that launches shots quickly will cause a significantly higher number of possessions to occur in the game, raising their own number of opportunities to score, as well as for the opponent. A fast paced game might have 70 or 80 possessions per team, while a slow one might have 45 or 50 per team. So, "points allowed" does not tell the whole story.
Another measure is to look at FG pct allowed, even breaking it out to check on two-point pct allowed and three-point pct allowed. This can be a revealing stat, too, but doesn't consider how many 2nd chances the defense allows or how many turnovers the defense causes. Plus, some teams foul a lot, rather than permit high percentage shots, so they may have lower a "two-point FG pct allowed" than a team that is averse to fouling.
The most accurate measure of a defense, in my view, is points allowed per possession.
This method includes all factors put into defense (defensive positioning, capacity to cause turnovers, defensive rebounding, fouling as needed), distilling them into one number; it is not distorted by the pace of the game, where "points allowed per game" is impacted by the pace.
"Points allowed per possession" can be fairly used for comparison between any types of team: slow, fast or in between.
The flip-side, points scored per possession, is perhaps the best measure of an offense.
I realize that all stats are affected by a coach's decision whether to always (or periodically) sacrifice offense to improve the defense or to sacrifice defense to improve the offense. In other words, any particular team has the ability to be better offensively, but at the expense of its defense, or vice versa.
I also realize that the number of possessions is not listed in a game's stats, but it could be figured out from the play-by-play.

[RogK]

North Park guard Kam Acree made a last second, game winning shot in the lane, as the Vikings tipped Benedictine 56-55.
Benedictine had built a 39-28 lead with 12:24 to go, but NP fought back. Hilary Kuhl poured in 12 of her 19 points during the late-game surge. The Vikings got solid effort from players throughout their roster.
They'll be a better team this year because they'll get scoring, rebounding, ball-handling and defensive contributions from a variety of players. They can sub much more than they could in the recent few years. Some individual stars may emerge, but development of depth will be important.
Augustana also opened today, taking it on the chin at Wash U, 71-36. Newcomer Dora Gills led the Vikings with 11 pts. That was a pretty tough opponent to face this early.