WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

iwu70 · November 12, 2013, 05:35:29 PM

Nikki P . . . . surely a nominee for the All-CCIW great names list . . . Good luck, Greg. Yes, seems some practice in pronunciation will be required.

Looking forward to Friday through Sunday this weekend and all the CCIW action in several sports.

IWU70

RogK · November 12, 2013, 06:00:04 PM

North Central's preview :
http://www.northcentralcardinals.com/news/2013/11/12/WBB_1112132915.aspx

Gregory Sager · November 12, 2013, 07:05:26 PM

Quote from: iwu70 on November 12, 2013, 05:35:29 PM
Nikki P . . . . surely a nominee for the All-CCIW great names list . . . Good luck, Greg. Yes, seems some practice in pronunciation will be required.

Perhaps I should follow your lead, MS, and refer to her as "Pwoman".

iwu70 · November 12, 2013, 10:36:07 PM

Indeed so. Pwoman meets Zman and lives happily ever after. Much easier for announcers and for spelling on D3 chat. +k to you Mssr. Sager.

'70

iwu70 · November 13, 2013, 11:35:57 AM

Very nice coverage of the Titan women and their schedule made in hell in today's Pgraph. (pantagraph.com). Other coaches asking Mia Smith, "what were you thinking?" Apparently the top SOS in the nation? Well, the Titan squad will be "well-tested" as they say. Could come out of the pre-CCIW season 6-5 or 5-6. I'm certainly hoping for 8-3 or 7-4. It will surely be a great set of games to see really how well this Titan group stacks up with the best in the nation now. Hope it doesn't grind the Titans down for the CCIW season, as this Titan group is not particularly deep. Some newbies may get thrown into the fire, get well-tested, too.

IWU70

RogK · November 13, 2013, 12:08:08 PM

We won't know a thing about any team's "strength of schedule" for a long time, iwu70. Remember that pre-season polls are based on zero games and are worth nothing.

iwu70 · November 13, 2013, 06:49:50 PM

RogK, I beg to differ. I think it's pretty certain that many of the teams IWU plays will still be in the top 25 long into this season -- look more carefully -- with the two top WIAC schools, Wash U, two games with Carthage, Calvin, Howard Payne, DePauw etc. These strong programs and strong teams are not going anywhere -- and will be in the mix for DIII dance bids come season's end. I 'd be willing to put some money on it. Some of these schools, teams, could even be top seeds in the DIII tournament come March. I'll be very happy if IWU gets out of this run of games at 7-4, better yet 8-3. Frankly, I think 6-5 or 5-6 is a real possibility. We'll see. Hope the Titans get off to a good start, build some good confidence and team chemistry starting this weekend vs. Wash and Jeff, perhaps Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore. They could be very good, surely very road-tested come CCIW time. But, then again, they could be battered and lacking in confidence. I have a lot of faith in the four strong returnees and in Coach Smith, so I think it will be the former, not the latter.

Here we go . . . another exciting season. Carthage is the team to beat for the CCIW crown and the AQ. Always the goal = win the conference, gain the AQ. Always the best road to the dance.

IWU70

RogK · November 14, 2013, 10:44:37 AM

Doesn't strength of schedule materialize gradually and steadily throughout the season? After 5 games in a 25 game schedule, it is 1/5th complete. After 10 games, 2/5ths complete.
With 0 games played, there is no strength of schedule established.
Did Carthage (13-1) have the weakest strength of schedule within the 14 game CCIW schedule last year because they were the only team who didn't play against Carthage? Should they have been penalized in some way for that?

iwu70 · November 14, 2013, 11:18:55 AM

RogK, I understand your point, understand how SOS is calculated over a season, but just saying that these teams, programs IWU is playing are all likely to have bigtime winning seasons, many of them at .700, .800 or more in wins, many highly ranked all year, and many making the DIII dance. So from past performance and almost certain future records, I think its a very strong likelihood that IWU's SOS will be one of the toughest in the nation. Of course, we'll see. I can't find any pre-CCIW set of games that look as tough, as daunting as those IWU has lined up. That's Mia's method, to toughen up the team for the CCIW run. It's the ethos of "to be the best, play the best," that Coach Smith has had for some years. That's what she did when the Titans won the national title a few years back -- a similar run of games and that squad rose to the challenge. Of course, no Olivia Lett this year, (except on the bench as an Assistant Coach), but a pretty good array of returnees and some very promising newbies, playing roles on this new team. The Titans will look different, play different this year. Perhaps not as much "run and jump." I think more of the scoring will come in the post area with Jackson back, and more will come from slashing wings -- MacMahon and Seibring, driving and getting to the line. Would be nice to get some scoring off of TOs, off of the pressing as in the past, and some from PG Baltes. The Reabers will need to contribute. I could be wrong about all this, but I'm pretty sure about the SOS scenarios that are coming this season.

IWU70

Gregory Sager · November 14, 2013, 04:45:23 PM

NPU's season preview is now up on the North Park website.

iwu70 · November 14, 2013, 04:47:59 PM

Good luck to the Titans this weekend as they travel to Baltimore for two games in the first weekend, tip-off tournament at Johns Hopkins. A new season, full of prospect. Welcome back Shelby Jackson!

GO TITANS!!!

IWU70

RogK · November 14, 2013, 04:56:35 PM

A fun and healthy season is hereby wished to all. Most importantly, travel safely.
And, as usual, we will expect the refs to start off perfect and then show steady improvement!

Mr. Ypsi · November 14, 2013, 05:58:49 PM

Quote from: RogK on November 14, 2013, 04:56:35 PM
A fun and healthy season is hereby wished to all. Most importantly, travel safely.
And, as usual, we will expect the refs to start off perfect and then show steady improvement!

And, as usual, we will be sorely disappointed in those expectations!

RogK · November 14, 2013, 06:18:44 PM

They do better work than the NBA's refs do.

iwu70 · November 14, 2013, 08:12:34 PM

The zebras have a tough job. I wish them well too -- though surely I will do my share of yelling at them and complaining about the calls, at times. All part of the game! I've done a good bit of officiating at various school and high school levels, and know how difficult it can be. Have retired to rank partisan fan-dom now.

Yes, safe travel to all teams during the course of the season -- most important.

Let the games begin.

IWU70