WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

Wheaton to play Hope.  Yes, it's a pretty tough first rounder but not really surprising given the abundance of top teams in the middle part of the country.  At least it's not being played in Holland but instead at Wartburg.  Both teams will have a very long bus ride.

As far as IWU is concerned, don't know enough about Wisc Lutheran.  But even if the Titans get past them, running into St Thomas next is certainly a tough draw. 

I thought putting Trine in with Thomas More in the same pod was particularly brutal.  And Wash U getting the second hosting site out of the Central was really surprising.

Seeing the final RRs, for both the men and women, will be interesting.  I'm presuming the NCAA will release them as they have in the past.

[GoPerry]

Question:  Will Thomas More get to #1 in the poll?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Question:  Will Thomas More get to #1 in the poll?

I would certainly hope so.  I've thought they belonged at #1 for a couple of months now.

[Gregory Sager]

Wisconsin Lutheran is good, particularly its All-American forward Jen Dowden. But they weren't regionally ranked so that's a relatively nice draw for IWU.

Wheaton senior Jennifer Berg begs to differ with you, Gordon.

[JFRAZ5]

That link is a box score from four years ago??

[Gregory Sager]

Yep.

[GoPerry]

Wisconsin Lutheran is good, particularly its All-American forward Jen Dowden. But they weren't regionally ranked so that's a relatively nice draw for IWU.

Wheaton senior Jennifer Berg begs to differ with you, Gordon.

Ohh, that's like scratching off an old scab.  Every time I hear Wisc Lutheran around this time of year, that game comes to mind.  A particularly grueling first round exit for that Thunder team when they hosted at King.  I'm pretty sure WL got beat the next night too.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Greg, Gordon said 'relatively nice' - and I concur.  Wisc. Lu IS 26-1, but it certainly could have been worse (and WILL be if we make it to Saturday!)   And we don't have to face top ten Hope on opening night, like Wheaton does.

[Gregory Sager]

Wisconsin Lutheran is good, particularly its All-American forward Jen Dowden. But they weren't regionally ranked so that's a relatively nice draw for IWU.

Wheaton senior Jennifer Berg begs to differ with you, Gordon.

Ohh, that's like scratching off an old scab.  Every time I hear Wisc Lutheran around this time of year, that game comes to mind.  A particularly grueling first round exit for that Thunder team when they hosted at King.  I'm pretty sure WL got beat the next night too.

Yes, the Warrions got blasted by Hope, 72-47.

Greg, Gordon said 'relatively nice' - and I concur.  Wisc. Lu IS 26-1, but it certainly could have been worse (and WILL be if we make it to Saturday!)   And we don't have to face top ten Hope on opening night, like Wheaton does.

I posted that more or less tongue-in-cheek. Something that happened five years ago is not a valid predictor of a game that will be played this weekend ... although it's an effective cautionary tale about not taking a first-round opponent from a weaker league too lightly.

[Roundball999]

Wisconsin Lutheran is good, particularly its All-American forward Jen Dowden. But they weren't regionally ranked so that's a relatively nice draw for IWU.

Yeah, I was there for that round.  Hope won easily the next night.  Wheaton had a very nice team that year unfortunately they just didn't play well that night.  I remember expecting a tough battle for Hope vs Wheaton on their floor but it didn't come to pass. 

Wheaton senior Jennifer Berg begs to differ with you, Gordon.

Ohh, that's like scratching off an old scab.  Every time I hear Wisc Lutheran around this time of year, that game comes to mind.  A particularly grueling first round exit for that Thunder team when they hosted at King.  I'm pretty sure WL got beat the next night too.

[GoPerry]

Wisconsin Lutheran is good, particularly its All-American forward Jen Dowden. But they weren't regionally ranked so that's a relatively nice draw for IWU.

Wheaton senior Jennifer Berg begs to differ with you, Gordon.

Ohh, that's like scratching off an old scab.  Every time I hear Wisc Lutheran around this time of year, that game comes to mind.  A particularly grueling first round exit for that Thunder team when they hosted at King.  I'm pretty sure WL got beat the next night too.

Yes, the Warrions got blasted by Hope, 72-47.

Greg, Gordon said 'relatively nice' - and I concur.  Wisc. Lu IS 26-1, but it certainly could have been worse (and WILL be if we make it to Saturday!)   And we don't have to face top ten Hope on opening night, like Wheaton does.

I posted that more or less tongue-in-cheek. Something that happened five years ago is not a valid predictor of a game that will be played this weekend ... although it's an effective cautionary tale about not taking a first-round opponent from a weaker league too lightly.

Yes, coming back to me now.  Not only were we hosting, but looking forward to playing Hope on Saturday, a team we'd already beaten that season in Holland no less. 

Point well taken:  Can't take any 20+ win team lightly no matter who they've played.  If you're off your game and don't perform your best, you'll go home.

[Gregory Sager]

Actually, if history was a valid predictor, the CCIW's two reps would be very glad to have been put into a different section than the league's perennial postseason nemesis, Wash U. The Bears are 14-3 all-time in the D3 women's basketball tourney against CCIW foes (1-1 vs. Augie, 5-0 vs. IWU, 3-2 vs. Millikin, 1-0 vs. NPU, and 4-0 vs. Wheaton).

[gordonmann]

Yeah, I did remember that win for WLC. I watched the end of that game on Thundercast.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I hope I'm being too pessimistic, but I foresee the CCIW going 1-2 this post-season.  Wheaton losing to Hope on Friday; IWU beating WI Lu on Friday but losing to UST on Saturday.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, and both are still alive NEXT weekend.

[Captain_Joe08]

If I remember WLC was #6 in the regional rankings before the end of the conference tournament (Somehow Benedictine, who handed WLC their only loss this season got #9 in the same region) (I also have not seen the last set of rankings post brackets). Dowden became the all time leading scorer in school history Saturday in the tournament final against CUW.

I still remember that WLC-Wheaton game. Was intense down to the end. I still remember the WLC-IWU game from a few years back in the second round. WLC made a big run to tie the game in the second half only to see IWU pull away late.

As for this matchup, I don't really know. WLC could walk away from this with a win but like last year against Chicago, they could come out flat and get in a hole that they can't dig out of.

Their OOC games at the start, looked challenging but three (Calvin, FDU-Florham, and St. Mary's (IN)) finished under .500 overall so that did not help their case in the rankings.