WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Congrats to Carthage on Sweet Sixteen and a big win over previously unbeaten Hope tonight.   Good for them.

Still pissed IWU didn't get a bid instead of teams like Chapman with such a poor SOS.  Sure seems SOS means little, at least as applied by this year's committee.  The selection committee really blew it on some of the choices this year.  Nothing to be done. 

Hope Carthage keeps it rolling -- gets to the Final Four.  Go CCIW!

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

Congrats to Carthage on Sweet Sixteen and a big win over previously unbeaten Hope tonight.   Good for them.

Still pissed IWU didn't get a bid instead of teams like Chapman with such a poor SOS.  Sure seems SOS means little, at least as applied by this year's committee.  The selection committee really blew it on some of the choices this year.  Nothing to be done. 

Hope Carthage keeps it rolling -- gets to the Final Four.  Go CCIW!

IWU70

The heck with JUST the FF - Carthage, win it all!

I'm pretty sure the CCIW is already the only conference with three different d3 national champions (NCC, Millikin, and IWU).  Having FOUR different national champs ought to raise the women's profile to the same area as the men's.

[iwu70]

Ypsi, would love to see CC win it all, though they have the bracket from hell now, playing DePauw next, defending champions and many folks' choice to take it all again, then either Oshkosh or Whitewater, both very tough outs.  If CC gets to the final four they will have earned it through several national championship-worthy games even before arriving.  So it goes in the upper Midwest. 

I think our Titans could have beaten 2/3s of the teams in this tournament.  OK, enough of my complaining.   What is done is done.  Moving on.

Good luck to Carthage next weekend.  I suppose DePauw gets to host that bracket from hell now, in Greencastle.

IWU70

[Roundball999]

Congrats to Carthage for their win over Hope.  The Lady Reds are a very strong team and I'll be cheering for them to go all the way.  Kuzmanic is a real handful and she is surrounded by a host of other solid players.  The Carthage defense gave Hope lots of trouble and their offense made Hope's help defense pay while keeping turnovers to a reasonable number.  The Carthage shooting has been strong all season and true to form, they hit their open shots.  Just too solid overall for Hope to squeak one out on Carthage's home court.

Congrats also to Hope on another stellar season.  On the one hand one is tempted to think "what if" in thinking about the two starters that went down with ACL injuries earlier this season and if the game had been at DeVos, but the focus should rather be on how hard these girls fought and how they rose to the challenge, conducting themselves with determination and class.  The future is bright and with eight of its top ten returning, I expect Hope will reside near the top of the polls again next season.

Good luck to the Lady Reds at DePauw!

[Gregory Sager]

Congrats to Carthage on Sweet Sixteen and a big win over previously unbeaten Hope tonight.   Good for them.

Still pissed IWU didn't get a bid instead of teams like Chapman with such a poor SOS.  Sure seems SOS means little, at least as applied by this year's committee.  The selection committee really blew it on some of the choices this year.  Nothing to be done. 

Hope Carthage keeps it rolling -- gets to the Final Four.  Go CCIW!

IWU70

The heck with JUST the FF - Carthage, win it all!

I'm pretty sure the CCIW is already the only conference with three different d3 national champions (NCC, Millikin, and IWU).  Having FOUR different national champs ought to raise the women's profile to the same area as the men's.

Time to put on the Mr. Nitpicker hat ... just because I know that Chuck loves it when I do this to him.

The CCIW has only won two D3 women's basketball championships, not three. North Central won the D3 title in 1982-83 as a member of the Chicago Metro Conference. The CMC included North Central, North Park, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Carroll, and, at various times, Carthage, George Williams, and Concordia (IL) as well.

In 1981-82 and 1982-83 the CMC didn't play a round-robin schedule; it was merely a postseason tournament format (although it did come with an automatic bid to the D3 tourney for the champion). In 1983-84, 1984-85, and 1985-86 the CMC was a full-fledged league that played a double round-robin. In the first year of the CMC double round-robin, 1983-84, North Central again had a great D3 tourney run, but lost to Rust in the national semifinal.

After the 1985-86 school year the CCIW expanded to include women's sports as well as men's sports, so the CMC was disbanded and CCIW women's basketball commenced with the 1986-87 season.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Actually, Greg, thanks for the history lesson!  I had forgotten that the CCIW was THAT late in sponsoring women's sports - for shame!

[Gregory Sager]

I had forgotten that the CCIW was THAT late in sponsoring women's sports - for shame!

Agreed ... but you can't unspill milk.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Carthage for their Sweet Sixteen success and their big win over Hope.  Now, they get DePauw at DP, and next Oshkosh or Whitewater.  If they make the Final Four, it will have been the toughest of journeys, the toughest of pathways.

I'm with you Chuck and Greg on the CCIW starting so late with full women's sports, not 'til 86-87 season.  Truly, for shame.  But, look at it all now, due to Title IX and other factors, a very robust range of sporting options for all the women students.  So good to see.  And now softball starting . . . outdoor Spring track and field, perhaps some golf and tennis too.  Good stuff. 

Can any one stop Sydney Moss?  Will she stay in D3 or return to some renewed offer in DI?

Sure sounds like Hope will be superb again next season with tons coming back.

Would love to be @Shirk this weekend.  Alas, it is mid-terms here and I'm loaded down with projects, grading and the wave of international visitors taking advantage of their "Spring break" to come to Asia.  So it goes . . .

IWU70

[pointlem]

As a Hope fan I second the kudos to the Carthage team.  And added kudos for the quality of its video streaming last weekend.  It was uninterrupted, filled a large TV screen, offered an on-screen score and clock (so one always knew where the game was), and had a great announcer (albeit one, like most local announcers, loyal to the home team).  Well done!

[iwu70]

Agreed, Carthage's video programming, coverage of their regional was first-rate. 

Good luck to Carthage this weekend as they attempt to take down the defending national champs, DePauw, on DePauw's home court.

GO CCIW!

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

Agreed, Carthage's video programming, coverage of their regional was first-rate. 

Good luck to Carthage this weekend as they attempt to take down the defending national champs, DePauw, on DePauw's home court.

GO CCIW!

IWU70

I was pleasantly surprised (well, mildly surprised) that the bean-counters allowed DePauw to host.  No one had to fly to any of the schools, but three buses from Wisconsin to Indiana still costs more than one bus from Indiana to Wisconsin, and two buses within Wisconsin.

They did the same thing with the Whitman sectional, where everyone had to fly anyway, but it will be 3 charter planes to Walla Walla, while it could have been 3 commercial flights to any other host.  Nice that seeding does still occasional trump $.

[iwu70]

Chuck, perhaps they saved money in the first/second round games, travel?

Can anyone stop Sydney Moss?  She must be a talent right up there with Olivia Lett's level.  Thomas More still undefeated going into the Sectional weekend.  They have a good bracket to get to the final four, seems to me.

Carthage has the bracket from hell.

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

Chuck, perhaps they saved money in the first/second round games, travel?

Can anyone stop Sydney Moss?  She must be a talent right up there with Olivia Lett's level.  Thomas More still undefeated going into the Sectional weekend.  They have a good bracket to get to the final four, seems to me.

Carthage has the bracket from hell.

IWU70

If she sticks around, Sydney Moss is a candidate for THREE-time national POY.  I am in awe of what Olivia did, but Moss is beyond that.

[iwu70]

It will be very interesting to see how Sydney Moss does against the top-flight teams in the Sectional and, presumably, in the Final Four.  Has there ever been a two time national POY, let alone three?  Seems Moss also has a pretty good supporting cast too, so perhaps this is Thomas More's year.  I haven't seen Moss play, but would happily take Olivia Lett on my team any day. 

Good luck to Carthage at DePauw.


IWU70

[Roundball999]

It will be very interesting to see how Sydney Moss does against the top-flight teams in the Sectional and, presumably, in the Final Four.  Has there ever been a two time national POY, let alone three?  Seems Moss also has a pretty good supporting cast too, so perhaps this is Thomas More's year.  I haven't seen Moss play, but would happily take Olivia Lett on my team any day. 

Good luck to Carthage at DePauw.


IWU70

Moss has already been a standout against big-time D1 competition in the SEC and nationally in the WNIT; I think it's pretty safe to assume she'll also stand out against top-flight D3 teams.

D3Hoops only started POY selection in 2006 so there hasn't been a repeater yet.