MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Triple overtime final from the crackerbox:

Elmhurst 102
North Park 100

And here's where it got controversial.

Mau Cason, NPU's old nemesis whom Paul Brenegan blocked from reffing any more games at North Park following a controversial ending to an IWU @ NPU game several years ago, was once again the official on the spot in a highly-disputed call. Cassita took the inbounds pass about ten feet out from the sideline in front of the Elmhurst bench, and Ackerman ran over to immediately foul him. However, he hit Cassita while the Vikings senior was in mid-air, and Cassita alertly turned his body to the basket and took a shot before he came down. Cason, however, ruled that he was not in the act of shooting, thereby entitling Cassita to only two FTs instead of the three it would require to tie the game. It made no sense. If Cassita had been anywhere in the vicinity of the basket, Cason and every other ref in the world would've called it a shooting foul, because Zach clearly got the ball out of his hands in a shooting motion before he came down. But, presumably because Cassita was so far away from the basket, Mau Cason declined to see it that way. The vehement protests of the NPU coaching staff and Cassita himself notwithstanding, the other two officials (John Hodel and Ken Falkner) declined to overrule Mau, so Cassita was awarded two free throws in a game in which his team trailed by three with two seconds left. Methinks it'll be another good long while before we see Mau do another game in the crackerbox.

So the game was officiated by the "Walking Dead" crew.
The combined ages of see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil Mau Cason, John Hodel, and Ken Faulkner must be about 308. They all should have retired to the Referees Rest Home several years ago.

Here they are during their pre-game meeting in the ref's locker room yesterday, going over their game plan for the Elmhurst/NPU contest.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SB3z9lm8VHE/T8LI2syfnHI/AAAAAAAAABQ/8pRP8XrEbwE/s1600/Hear+no+evil,+See+no+evil,+Speak+no+evil.jpg

I don't have a problem with John or Ken. I think that they're good refs. Yes, they miss calls from time to time, but what refs don't?

(And I don't say that as an NPU partisan. Yesterday there were five contact calls in the lane and outside the charge circle, EC driving and NPU defending, that were basically 50/50 coin flips as to whether or not they'd be called a block or a charge. Four were called NPU blocking fouls, one was called an EC charging foul.)

Mau? I've got a problem with him. I dread seeing him in stripes when I walk into a gym, even if it's, say, King Arena for an Augustana vs. Wheaton game. I just know that he's going to royally screw up at least one important call in every game he officiates.

I was at that game, too, and I'll echo what blue_jays said. One other resemblance DiBartolomeo has to Stevie D. is that he knows how to initiate contact when he shoots and then bounce off of the contact in such a way as to make it appear that he was the victim rather than the aggressor, thus drawing the shooting foul. It's a trick that very, very few players even attempt to master, let alone actually master, and DiBartolomeo is evidently very good at it. One of the reasons why he wasn't able to do it much against Chicago is that the Maroons guards are both quick and smart. After DiBartolomeo suckered them with a Stevie D. move once early in the game, whichever Chicago guard was on him at the time (usually Royce Muskeyvalley or Wayne Simon) backed off of him immediately to give him space while he was in mid-air.

Wash U boatraced Rochester today in St. Louis...

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Stats/TeamStats/basketball-mens/2012-2013/game22.htm

I wasn't the least bit impressed with either Rochester or Johnny Basketball.  DiBartolomeo had 19 pts, but I didn't see a Kent Raymond or Steve Djurickovic.

Just one game I realize, but wow...not sure what I saw there from Rochester.

I want to be clear on this: I'm not equating DiBartolomeo with Stevie D. or Raymond or anybody else. I'm simply saying that he's mastered the same foul-drawing trick that was Stevie D.'s signature move. I agreed with blue_jays that he's a poor man's Steve Djurickovic.

[Titan Q]

I want to be clear on this: I'm not equating DiBartolomeo with Stevie D. or Raymond or anybody else. I'm simply saying that he's mastered the same foul-drawing trick that was Stevie D.'s signature move. I agreed with blue_jays that he's a poor man's Steve Djurickovic.

I got ya...I knew what you meant.

[Titan Q]

A look at the teams ranked in the first Midwest ranking (records through Sunday, 2/3) and results since...

1.   Illinois Wesleyan   15-3 (.833)/.560  won vs North Park, won @ Carthage
2.   Transylvania   15-4 (.789)/.565   won @ Mount St. Joseph, won @ Manchester   
3.   Wheaton      13-5 (.722)/.577  won vs Augustana, won @ Millikin   
4.   Washington U.   15-4 (.789)/.544   won vs Emory, won vs Rochester   
5.   North Central    16-3 (.842)/.525  won @ Millikin, won @ Augustana   
6.   Rose-Hulman   18-2 (.900)/.502   won vs Franklin, won @ Defiance   
7.   Augustana   15-5 (.750)/.549   lost @ Wheaton, lost vs North Central
8.   St. Norbert   15-4 (.789)/.525   won vs Carroll, lost @ Grinnell   
-----
      Grinnell        14-3 (.824)/.471    won vs St. Norbert

[Mr. Ypsi]

Looks like no real reason to change any of the top 6.  Will Grinnell slide up to 7th, with Augie 8th?  We'll see on Wednesday.

[D-3 watcher]

Q, or anybody. With 5 teams ahead of IWU in the top 25 losing, where do you think the Titans end up this week? NCC, Wheaton?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Q, or anybody. With 5 teams ahead of IWU in the top 25 losing, where do you think the Titans end up this week? NCC, Wheaton?

I run the Posters' Poll.  There are still a couple of relevant games not yet over (e.g., Trinity @ Middlebury just underway; Southern Maine @ RIC still going), but once they are finished (and Darryl Nester puts up "How They Fared" to make sure I didn't forget any relevant results ), I'll let you know where I have them on my ballot.  I've been pretty consistently within +/- 2 slots of the d3hoops.com poll all season (there are 4-5 teams where we've disagreed by more; it's running about 50-50 on whether the next couple of weeks showed them or me to be more accurate! ).  I can already tell you I'm pretty sure I'll have IWU and NCC both in the top ten; Wheaton somewhere around 16-18.

[blue_jays]

I was at that game, too, and I'll echo what blue_jays said. One other resemblance DiBartolomeo has to Stevie D. is that he knows how to initiate contact when he shoots and then bounce off of the contact in such a way as to make it appear that he was the victim rather than the aggressor, thus drawing the shooting foul. It's a trick that very, very few players even attempt to master, let alone actually master, and DiBartolomeo is evidently very good at it. One of the reasons why he wasn't able to do it much against Chicago is that the Maroons guards are both quick and smart. After DiBartolomeo suckered them with a Stevie D. move once early in the game, whichever Chicago guard was on him at the time (usually Royce Muskeyvalley or Wayne Simon) backed off of him immediately to give him space while he was in mid-air.

Wash U boatraced Rochester today in St. Louis...

http://bearsports.wustl.edu/Stats/TeamStats/basketball-mens/2012-2013/game22.htm

I wasn't the least bit impressed with either Rochester or Johnny Basketball.  DiBartolomeo had 19 pts, but I didn't see a Kent Raymond or Steve Djurickovic.

Just one game I realize, but wow...not sure what I saw there from Rochester.

Just goes to show the best D3 basketball is played in the Midwest. Many of those eastern teams really clean up on soft schedules (Williams, Amherst, etc.).

[Titan Q]

Just goes to show the best D3 basketball is played in the Midwest. Many of those eastern teams really clean up on soft schedules (Williams, Amherst, etc.).

Midwest basketball is very good...but there are very good teams in just about every part of D3.  Just look at recent NCAA tournament results.

I think Rochester just had a really bad day.

[Titan Q]

Bosko is premature in the assumption that IWU could get to Salem without leaving the Shirk Center.  If the Titans stay #1 in the region, sure...but those rankings can change quite a bit in the next 2 weeks.

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2013/2/9/Mens_Basketball_0209134949.aspx

“I've seen more talented teams in my years in the league,” said Carthage coach Bosko Djurickovic, “but I don't know that I've seen a more-efficient team, a better-balanced team or a better-coached team than this Illinois Wesleyan group.  They deserve every accolade they get.  We were competitive for a long time, but they didn't allow another surge on our part that might have gotten things back to even.  That team is 12-0 for a reason.  We got out-rebounded by 26, and nothing else needs to be said.  We competed hard, my team gave it what they had, and I'm proud of the effort.  You want them to play to the best level of their ability, and for the most part, we did that.  Unfortunately, that effort is not going to be enough to beat this Illinois Wesleyan team.  Somebody will beat them, but they'll have to play really well to do that.  As it stands now, they won't leave their gym until the NCAA finals.  All we can do now is play the best Carthage basketball we can over the next two games.”

[kiko]

Looks like no real reason to change any of the top 6.  Will Grinnell slide up to 7th, with Augie 8th?  We'll see on Wednesday.

Well, even though the top six won, the relative ranking of their OWP may have changed depending on the quality of the teams they played.  This seemed to be a fairly significant factor in how teams were ordered in the first rankings, so you could justify moving teams around even though all won their games.

[AndOne]

Will Wheaton freshman Michael Berg have a breakout game today vs Millikin?
On 1/12, he scored 16 points in the teams first meeting.
However, in CCIW play, Berg is averaging only 3.36 ppg. (37 points in 11 games)
Despite starting, he has somewhat surprisingly gone scoreless in Wheaton's last 4 games.

Berg scored 4 points last night. Actually raised his scoring average from 3.36 to 3.41
Of course he did have a rebound. But, alas, 2 turnovers.
I sense he is finding the competition at the college level, especially in one of the premier D3 conferences, a bit tougher than going up against the likes of Farmington, Porta, and Greenview.

[kiko]

I am still thinking the Titans are going to go 14-0. I really don't see them losing to Millikin (barring a football homecoming type debacle of a few years ago!) setting up a huge 1 v 2 game in Naperville for the finale. If that game means the Titans have a chance at 14-0, I think they find a way to win at the hangar in what is likely to be the hardest fought, most intense game that has the smallest significance for this season. Essentially IWU will have sown up the #1 seed for the conference tourney, these two may well play each other again less than a week later for the NCAA automatic bid, and IWU won't have much to play for (they are a lock for the playoffs no matter what) other than an undefeated conference season. NCC will be fighting for their Pool C position in that game as well having already determined the seeding for the tourney.

Beyond the potential undefeated season, both teams will be fighting for the same things: relative position in the regional rankings, insofar as they impact Pool C chances and tournament seedings.  North Central will be thinking AQ rather than Pool C to the same extent that the Green Weenies are.

[Titan Q]

Looks like no real reason to change any of the top 6.  Will Grinnell slide up to 7th, with Augie 8th?  We'll see on Wednesday.

Well, even though the top six won, the relative ranking of their OWP may have changed depending on the quality of the teams they played.  This seemed to be a fairly significant factor in how teams were ordered in the first rankings, so you could justify moving teams around even though all won their games.

Also remember, this week they add "results vs regionally ranked" to the consideration.  For Wash U, this could be huge because 5 UAA teams are regionally ranked across 4 regions (Wash U in the MW, Emory in the South, Rochester and NYU in the East, Brandeis in the NE).  Then add the IWU and Wheaton games and you have a big number.  IWU is also in great shape in terms of results vs regionally ranked.

This could impact the rankings.

[Titan Q]

Q, or anybody. With 5 teams ahead of IWU in the top 25 losing, where do you think the Titans end up this week? NCC, Wheaton?

See the Top 25 results from this week update...

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4097.7440

I think IWU will end up #5.

[AndOne]

IWU 78
Carthage 59

http://www.iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=1824&path=mbball

* Kevin Reed: 22 pts, 8 reb, 4 assists (10-10 FG)
* Pat Sodemann: 13 pts, 5 reb
* Mike Mayberger: 12 pts (4-7 3-point)
* Andrew Ziemnik: 10 pts, 11 reb, 2 assists
* Dylan Overstreet: 10 pts, 5 reb, 8 assists

Rebounds: IWU 42 Carthage 16


Everything that makes IWU a great team was on full display tonight...

* Balance
* Unselfishness/passing ability
* Defense
* Rebounding
* Coaching
* Talent

On the road in front of 1900 people, on a Senior Night, against a team that has knocked off both Wheaton and North Central, that's about as poised, confident, and efficient as you'll see a team play.  The Titans were just outstanding this evening.

Bosko is premature in the assumption that IWU could get to Salem without leaving the Shirk Center.  If the Titans stay #1 in the region, sure...but those rankings can change quite a bit in the next 2 weeks.

But how can they possibly not remain atop the regional rankings? Certainly, they won't lose again this season. I mean a team with that many superlatives. Who could possibly stand a chance?
We may as well just cancel the remainder of the season, and hand the Heat, er, I mean the Weenies, the national championship trophy right now.
Rebuttal?