WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Hoosier Titan]

Here's the Pantagraph story on the game.  There are new photos in the photo gallery as well, including a great one of Christina Solari blocking Stacey Schutjer (pronounced "Shooter," appropriately).  This play occurred in the corner of the court right in front of the IWU bench and wasn't caught on camera, but from the way it ignited the crowd I knew it was a good one.  The photo shows that it was.

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/women/article_cb52d546-29a7-11df-a5e6-001cc4c002e0.html

[mactitan]

DObviously, you'll all see huge bias in the next statement, and there probably is, but I think the sectional ought to be in Holland, or Stevens Point, or the United Center in Chicago--anywhere but Bloomington. I simply cannot see how a tournament can be equitable and fair when one team gets a clear advantage the other 63 teams cannot have--home court for every game. (And yes, I said the same thing last year, when this same question swirled around Hope.)

If the NCAA does not want to have one team host all of the rounds, then it should:

1. Make that a written rule that it should not happen.
2. Not have the Final Four on campus.

Since neither of those things are true, every host should follow the rules that they laid out in their own hand book.  The location of the Final Four should have nothing to do with determining the host site for the sectional.

Bob Quilman posted this on the men's board:
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.

(page 7)

Given these criteria, it is a pretty close argument between Holland and Bloomington. 
1. Hope has a better arena - but the Shirk Center is pretty nice. 
2. Bloomington is slightly more centrally located, and has an airport with connecting flights to Chicago nearby.  Bloomington is also a metro area of over 100,000.
3. IWU seems to have a higher seed - though Hope at 29-1 is no slouch.
4. Hope draws more per game, but IWU has been averaging well over 1000 a game lately.

I don't think it would a terrible obstruction of justice if either hosted. 

[Titan Q]

DObviously, you'll all see huge bias in the next statement, and there probably is, but I think the sectional ought to be in Holland, or Stevens Point, or the United Center in Chicago--anywhere but Bloomington. I simply cannot see how a tournament can be equitable and fair when one team gets a clear advantage the other 63 teams cannot have--home court for every game. (And yes, I said the same thing last year, when this same question swirled around Hope.)

If the NCAA does not want to have one team host all of the rounds, then it should:

1. Make that a written rule that it should not happen.
2. Not have the Final Four on campus.

Since neither of those things are true, every host should follow the rules that they laid out in their own hand book.  The location of the Final Four should have nothing to do with determining the host site for the sectional.

Bob Quilman posted this on the men's board:
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.

(page 7)

Given these criteria, it is a pretty close argument between Holland and Bloomington. 
1. Hope has a better arena - but the Shirk Center is pretty nice. 
2. Bloomington is slightly more centrally located, and has an airport with connecting flights to Chicago nearby.  Bloomington is also a metro area of over 100,000.
3. IWU seems to have a higher seed - though Hope at 29-1 is no slouch.
4. Hope draws more per game, but IWU has been averaging well over 1000 a game lately.

I don't think it would a terrible obstruction of justice if either hosted. 

But remember, those 4 considerations are not weighted equally.  The history of the process has shown that seeding and geography and clearly the 2 biggies.  Numbers 1 and 4 are almost just there to rule out sub-par facilities.

I believe IWU will host.  See the men's board for my complete thoughts.

[Titan Q]

Carthage heading to Wash U, per Facebook post from Wash U SID Chris Mitchell.

[RogK]

Good work, Titans and Lady Reds!
Hope Schulte and Rosie Dorn were spot-on with their shooting.
Hope hit 8 of 11 FGs including 4/5 threes, plus 2/2 FTs.
Rosie made 10 of 14 FGs including 2/2 threes and 4/4 FTs.
Excellent production from two of our all-CCIW stars!
(I stayed in Chi and saw an SXU 103-96 conf championship win over ONU. That'll be my last "fix" of the season for my addiction to high-scoring NAIA action.)

[Hoosier Titan]

It appears that IWU is hosting next weekend.  The interactive NCAA brackets show IWU, SP, Hope, and Marymount playing at Shirk.

Go Titans!

[iwumichigander]

It appears that IWU is hosting next weekend.  The interactive NCAA brackets show IWU, SP, Hope, and Marymount playing at Shirk.

Go Titans!

Yes, IWU is hosting.  And, the grumbles have already started on the MIAA board from the Hope posters citing an advantage for IWU.

The bottom line:  The NCAA and its committee demonstrated that seeding based on merit based criteria counts; and, no unwritten rule exists about the Final Four Host school being unable to host through the tournament bracket. 

Did IWU women catch a break?  Yes.  More importantly, they earned it. 
First, IWU improved its strength of schedule rating by playing a much tougher non-conference schedule than prior seasons.  Second, they won on merit in earning the in-region wins battle, the conference AQ and positioned themselves as a high seed.  Third, a tough CCIW conference contributed to sustaining their OWP and OOWP numbers.   And, last they took care of business in rounds 1 & 2.

Where's the break?  It is not the Final Four at the Shirk.    It is a combination of being able to take opportunity advantage of the NCAA "even/odd" rule; the lower seeding of the IWU men in their NCAA tournament and not being bracketed where the geographical proximity rule could have sent them elsewhere (as it did Hope last year).  Based on Titan women's ranking, they would have had home court advantage through the sectional regardless of Final Four location. 

P.S. - GO TITANS!!!!

[Hwbb]

It appears that IWU is hosting next weekend.  The interactive NCAA brackets show IWU, SP, Hope, and Marymount playing at Shirk.

Go Titans!

Yes, IWU is hosting.  And, the grumbles have already started on the MIAA board from the Hope posters citing an advantage for IWU.

The bottom line:  The NCAA and its committee demonstrated that seeding based on merit based criteria counts; and, no unwritten rule exists about the Final Four Host school being unable to host through the tournament bracket. 

Did IWU women catch a break?  Yes.  More importantly, they earned it. 
First, IWU improved its strength of schedule rating by playing a much tougher non-conference schedule than prior seasons.  Second, they won on merit in earning the in-region wins battle, the conference AQ and positioned themselves as a high seed.  Third, a tough CCIW conference contributed to sustaining their OWP and OOWP numbers.   And, last they took care of business in rounds 1 & 2.

Where's the break?  It is not the Final Four at the Shirk.    It is a combination of being able to take opportunity advantage of the NCAA "even/odd" rule; the lower seeding of the IWU men in their NCAA tournament and not being bracketed where the geographical proximity rule could have sent them elsewhere (as it did Hope last year).  Based on Titan women's ranking, they would have had home court advantage through the sectional regardless of Final Four location. 

P.S. - GO TITANS!!!!

Michiganders are not unanimous around this point-of-view, of course. My sense: I don't think there's any dispute up here with whether IWU earned the right to host. Clearly, they did, for all the reasons iwumichigander cites. This is a great team that deserves its accolades and seeding. Here's what I think the concerns are. First, the ability of any team to host an entire national championship tournament. Rule against it? Doesn't seem to be. But maybe there should be--if hosting weren't such a distinct advantage, then why do teams so badly want to host. And if you want to retain the option to host the first two weekends, then don't bid on the Final Four. No single team should have a distinct advantage that the other 63 teams cannot have. But, of course, that's simply an opinion, and not the rule. Secondly, and iwumichigander hits this as well, is the geographical advantage that IWU has. Merit goes only so far, it seems, with the NCAA; then geography takes over. If your school is on the northern, western, or southern tier of states, you are diasadvantaged by NCAA practice. If you're in the Northeast or the I-70 corridor, you have an advantage.  Don't believe me. Ask the folks at George Fox, whose higher seed this year got them a trip to St. Louis. Or maybe ask NCAA why they preach regional play all season, even publish regional rankings, and then give two of the four sectional host sites to the same region. Because it's convenient. Does it all fit the rules? Yes. Does it privilege certain schools? Yes again.

And in the end, of course, all the words of the previous paragraph aren't worth the time you just spent reading them. Because you play the games where the NCAA tells you to play the games, and it is what it is. And there will be four quality teams in Bloomington. Look forward to seeing both the arena and the team. Got any good restaurant suggestions?

[dothedew]

As a Hope fan sneaking over to your board...we are not upset...and are very excited for a great Sectional...sadly, I will be watching on the internet (but that is better than just radio).
When Hope won it all...EVERY game was on the road...so I believe they can do it again.
Everyone up here is more grumpy about the way the Hope women have been treated by the NCAA in the last decade....not this one instance....where IW has totally earned a right to host.
Congrats to Titans on a great season so far, should be a great weekend.
I will HOPEfully make the trip down there....just not this weekend...but next!
Good luck to all.

[iwu70]

Warm congrats to IWU and Carthage !!!  Keep it going.  Let's have both teams in the Final Four at the Shirk!  Good luck to both teams, both programs in the Sectionals this weekend.  All great teams now.

So glad to see the Sectional at Shirk.

[Mr. Ypsi]

I'm a Titan fan who is (sorta) disappointed that the Sectional is in Bloomington!

I would have been in both Holland (this coming weekend) and Bloomington (for the FF), but I just can't justify to my family going all the way to B'town two weeks in a row.

I'll be watching, and crossing my fingers that it IS a Titan FF!

[bearsfan]

Not that which team hosts matters to me, but just to stoke the fire so the discussion can continue, it seems interesting to me the way it played out. Ultimately, it would seem geographically that the decision came down to the fact that UWSP is 100 miles closer to Bloomington than Hope. The assumption I would make is that Marymount would have to fly into most likely Chicago for Bloomington and either Chicago or Grand Rapids for Hope so that cost should be about the same and I would assume the cost of busing from Hope to IWU or IWU to Hope would be the same. Seems cost wise, geography shouldn't matter. Facility wise it should be close to a wash as both have great facilities. Hope would have the edge in attendance but not by much.

So ultimately the decision must have come down to seeding. This is where it gets fascinating. Hope is #1 in Great Lakes, IWU is #1 in Central. Hope is 24-0 in region vs IWU being 23-1. IWU, however, has the stronger SOS at .575 vs .535. Hope was 3-0 vs in region regionally ranked teams vs IWU being 5-1. If IWU didn't win on the primary criteria, I think Carthage is most likely the reason that Hope came in as the #2 seed with them being Hope's only loss and a likely secondary criteria difference. Kinda ironic that another CCIW team might have been what helped IWU to host. Either way, this sectional should be full of great basketball with 4 tough teams coming to Bloomington over the weekend.

[RogK]

It slowly occurred to me that IWU hosted and played UW-Stevens Point last year in the sweet 16 round, on March 13. This time, it'll be March 12.
A majority of the starting five for each team will be different this year, though.
IWU also hosted UW-SP earlier this year (11/28/09), with the Titans edging them, 84-80. IWU has not given up more than 72 pts in any game since then.

[iwumichigander]

It slowly occurred to me that IWU hosted and played UW-Stevens Point last year in the sweet 16 round, on March 13. This time, it'll be March 12.
A majority of the starting five for each team will be different this year, though.
IWU also hosted UW-SP earlier this year (11/28/09), with the Titans edging them, 84-80. IWU has not given up more than 72 pts in any game since then.

Having earlier won over Wisconsin Eau-Claire March 7 80-63; IWU won the March 13 contest 77-64 and subsequently lost to WashU March 14 by a five point margin 58-53.
This Pointers team is young - one senior.

[closetothechest]

They have one senior, #10 Ashley Windt.