WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwumichigander]

Drat.  That sounds ominous.

Distance might not trump ranking but travel expense and/or airfares might - Oh No 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Great to see the support here.  I'll post some thoughts later, but the St. Benedict's win over UW-Whitewater has us all thinking--will IWU still host next weekend?  The schools remaining are IWU, St. Benedict's, Wash U, and UW-Stevens Point.  St. Joseph, MN, is more than 500 miles from St. Louis, but Stevens Point is within 500 miles of all the other three schools.  Does distance trump IWU's ranking above UWSP and Wash U in the Central Region? (St. Benedict's were not ranked first in the West region either).

Well, that eliminates both St. Bennie and Wash U for the bean-counters.  I would think IWU would have the seeding over UWSP, but (fortunately ) I don't always think like the NCAA.

I'll take a stab at 60-40 IWU hosts.  (Unless, of course, St. Bennie has to fly to B'town.)

[Hoosier Titan]

B-N does have an outstanding regional airport with good connections (including Minnesota).

[Mr. Ypsi]

B-N does have an outstanding regional airport with good connections (including Minnesota).

Yeah, but the key question (I don't know the answer): is St. Benedict a bus ride or plane ride from IWU?  If UWSP is the ONLY location with no plane ride, they almost certainly host.

[sac]

Drat.  That sounds ominous.

Distance might not trump ranking but travel expense and/or airfares might - Oh No 

Last year Whitworth flew charter to the Holland airport, which doesn't have passenger service.  The Hope women flew the same plane down to Brownwood, Tx.

....at least that option appears to be available if need be for the teams..

[Usuallywrong24]

B-N does have an outstanding regional airport with good connections (including Minnesota).

Yeah, but the key question (I don't know the answer): is St. Benedict a bus ride or plane ride from IWU?  If UWSP is the ONLY location with only one plane ride, they almost certainly host.

St Bens is 535 from Bloomington.   

[Hoosier Titan]

What a great atmosphere at Shirk tonight.  I don't have a long history at IWU--I came in 2002--but that's enough to remember some great nights for the men's team, with the students chanting "Ca-mar-DEL-la" and, of course, the Dauksas/Amelianovich/Freeman teams of 03-06.  And, during those same years, Mia Smith was coaching, recruiting, and teaching, and nobody came to the women's games.  Tonight, they came in droves--almost 2000!  The student section was full, the guys (led by the men's team) were chanting and dressed in wild costumes.  It was terrific, and it was great to see how far we've come.

It took a long time for either team to establish any kind of rhythm in this game.  The officiating played a part in that--it was wildly inconsistent in both directions.  The Titans used their press efficiently, creating 20 turnovers.  In the second half, they hardly used it at all, going instead to a zone that stopped drives to the basket.

As I write this, Randy Reinhardt's story in the Pantagraph has come up, and it tells the story well.  I especially like this phrase:  "Countering Wisconsin-Eau Claire's height and muscle with quickness and defense...[the Titans pulled away]."

Titan Women Pull Away from Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Again, it was a true team effort.  Holly Harvey only played five minutes according to the stat sheet, but she went two for two and kept the pace up when the Titans needed that.  Kylie Castans' two threes within 41 seconds in the second half were pivotal in stopping a UWEC mini-run, and she made several fine defensive plays. 

A great weekend for the Titans--ALL the Titans!--and there is everything to celebrate.  Great support from the student section!  Let's keep it going. 29-0, and more games ahead.

[Titan Q]

B-N does have an outstanding regional airport with good connections (including Minnesota).

Yeah, but the key question (I don't know the answer): is St. Benedict a bus ride or plane ride from IWU?  If UWSP is the ONLY location with only one plane ride, they almost certainly host.

It's hard to say...it just depends on the money.  They may have the money to fly two to B-N.  We'll see.

[iwu70]

Truly hope the Sectional is at Shirk.  Look at the great support -- some good revenue coming in for women's basketball, especially if IWU gets two games in.  So happy to see the support from the students, men's team and the community.  Coach Smith and the team truly deserve the support and now the Sectional hosting. 

[Titan Q]

Just a reminder of all the factors that will be considered in making the Sectional hosting decision...

The Championships Committee has prioritized the following site-selection criteria for all championships:

1. Quality and availability of the facility and other necessary accommodations;

2. Geographical location (which may include such factors as rotation of sites, weather, accessibility, and transportation costs);

3. Seeding, and;

4. Attendance history and revenue potential, which shall be considered necessary to assure fiscal responsibility.

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/champ_handbooks/basketball/2009/3_mbasketball_handbook.pdf

(page 7)

[Titan Q]

A post I made on the men's board, which I will mention here too because the situations are similar...

One more thought on St. Thomas vs Wheaton...

I have been assuming that undefeated St. Thomas is the higher seed in the Midwest/West bracket - the #1 to Wheaton's #2.  Since the committee does not release their seedings, all we really know is that Wheaton went in as the #1-ranked team in the Midwest and St. Thomas #1 in the West (that is where both were in the final released regional rankings).  But we don't know how they seeded St. Thomas vs Wheaton.

As of Selection Sunday, here are the considerations...

1. In-region winning % (St. Thomas 1.000, Wheaton .870)
2. In-region strength of schedule, OWP/OOWP (Wheaton .5982/.5702, St. Thomas .5117/5193)
3. In-region head-to-head (n/a)
4. In-region common opponets (n/a)
5. In-region results vs regionally ranked teams (Wheaton 7-2, St. Thomas 0-0)

There is a chance Wheaton is the #1 seed is in the Bracket of Death.  St. Thomas didn't even have a game vs a regionally ranked team until last night (vs Stevens Point).  Wheaton was 2-1 vs Elmhurst, 2-0 vs Augustana, 2-1 vs North Central, and 1-0 vs Hope (who I assume snuck in the final Great Lakes rankings).  Huge disparity there.

On the women's side, the seeding issue is more clear.  We know that IWU was ranked higher than Stevens Point and Wash U in the final published rankings...

Central Region
1. Ill. Wesleyan 21-0 24-0
2. Washington U. 18-4 20-4
3. UW-Stevens Point 21-3 22-3
4. UW-Whitewater 20-3 22-3
5. UW-Eau Claire 17-4 21-4
6. St. Norbert 18-2 19-4

St. Benedict was #2 in the West...

West Region
1. George Fox 20-0 25-0
2. St. Benedict 22-3 22-3
3. Simpson 18-3 22-3
4. Concordia-Moorhead 17-5 18-7
5. St. Thomas 18-7 18-7
6. Redlands 18-6 19-6


We don't know IWU's seeding vs St. Benedict, but I think it is safe to say IWU entered the tournament as the #1 seed in its quadrant.

If the Sectional is given to any school but IWU, it will be strictly because of travel cost.  (On the men's side, it's not clear if St. Thomas is really the #1 seed.)  My gut feeling is that IWU will get it.

[iwu70]

Q, thanks for all the info on the Sectional seedings, location decision criteria etc.  Very informative. 

On the attendance/revenue part (regional finals):

IWU vs. Eau Claire -- 1950
Stevens Point at home -- 822
Wash U at home -- 406
College of St. Benedict -- not published -- 0 ? 

The revenue part seems pretty clear.

Hope Wheaton gets the men's Sectional too.

[Just Bill]

Your numbers don't account for UWSP playing in their larger gym.  They played the regional in the smaller gym, but likely bid the Sectional to the bigger gym.  The last two times UWSP hosted a Sectional they drew 1,800 and 1,600 respectively.

Regardless though, since all schools are within 500 miles of all the other schools, travel cost shouldn't be a factor.  IWU will host.

[Titan Q]

Regardless though, since all schools are within 500 miles of all the other schools, travel cost shouldn't be a factor.  IWU will host.

As far as I know, that is not right.  At Stevens Point, all 4 teams can bus...at IWU, St. Benedict has to fly.

Am I wrong about that?

[Just Bill]

https://web1.ncaa.org/TES/exec/TES/exec/miles

Right you are.  St. Ben's would have to fly to either IWU or Wash. U.  All three can bus to UWSP.  I forgot how much further north St. Ben's is than Stevens Point.  I was thinking of them as essentially the same lattitude.