Quote from: Titan Q on January 07, 2010, 03:15:44 PM

Quote from: aceon2 on January 07, 2010, 03:02:28 PM
Q,

What time are the games on Saturday between Carthage and Wesleyan??  Everywhere I go its different.  Thanks.

Women - 2:00pm
Men - 4:30pm

Thanks for the quick response.  Q can you get them to move the start times back just an hour, so we can double dip (ISU vs N. Iowa at 3:05) followed by IWU/Carthage

Q,

What time are the games on Saturday between Carthage and Wesleyan??  Everywhere I go its different.  Thanks.

Its been awhile since I posted on the big board but as I was perusing through some stats today I noticed this little fun one.  Carthage has at least two games left, and with some good play and a lot of luck maybe more.  That being said currently Steve D is 225-271 from the free throw line.  I looked up the record for most free throws made in a season for Division 3 and that record is 249.  Therefore Steve would have to make 25 in the remaining games to break that record which has stood since 1975!  Although that seems to be a long shot, if Carthage can manage to sneak into the conference tournament I think Steve would have a very realistic chance at breaking that record. 

Also just thought Id point out a fun fact that the most points scored without time elapsing is 24!!  Apparently Rob Rittgers hit 24 consecutive free throws due to 12 bench technicals being called! 

Should be an interesting last week and conference tournament.

Go Red Men

Quote from: Titan Q on December 21, 2008, 09:03:29 AM
* Someone help me out here – is Carthage/Hope in-region?  I factored it as not being in-region.

According to the NCAA website you are correct in calculating Carthage vs Hope as out of Region being that they list them as 214 miles apart.  I guess the NCAA doesnt think boating across Lake Michigan would be the shortest distance possible!

Congrats to Elmhurst on their victory over Wash U!

While we are adding victories to the CCIW. Lets add two more non conference victories as NCC defeated Lake Forest tonight 76-40 and Millikin moved to 7-0 by beating Blackburn 81-56.  Barringer and Drennan led the way for NCC with 25 and 19 respectively.  Millikin looks to have balanced scoring led by Burton with 23, Warren with 14, and Mitchell with 13.   

Thanks, Pete. Seriously, I saw Millikin struggle to beat Concordia (IL) by a dozen two weeks ago during the River Forest Classic, and I drew much the same conclusion as Pete about the Big Blue. There was obviously some playing down to the level of the opponent by SIUE, and some fired-up, David-vs-Goliath intensity from the Big Blue that helps explain tonight's outcome. But aceon2 is right about the fact that SIUE looks every bit like a team that is in its first transitional season from D2 to D1; the Cougars start two juniors, a sophomore, and two freshmen (and the two freshmen, Mark Yelovich and Aaron Garriott, were the only two Cougars to score in double figures against Millikin), and two of the four players who came off the bench tonight are freshmen as well. Let's not forget that this same SIUE team lost a preseason scrimmage to Westminster (MO) of the lowly SLIAC last month. Yeah, it was only a scrimmage, but in retrospect it highlighted the fact that this isn't exactly Duke that we're talking about. Aside from the mystifying win over Western Michigan and the romp over Blackburn, SIUE has performed exactly like a very young team that is way in over its head at the D1 level should be expected to perform (e.g., a 30-point loss to Wisconsin, and a 31-point loss to Evansville).

OK, that's enough wet-blankethood for one evening. No matter where SIUE falls on the college basketball spectrum, this was still a very big win for the Big Blue and the CCIW. No asterisks for Jimmy Millikin, just lots of kudos from me.
[/quote]

Greg, I think you summed it up pretty well by saying there way some playing down to their opponent and extra fire from Millikin last night.  That being said, I think that if those two teams play 10 times, Millikin wins 3 or 4 out of the 10.  SIUE is obviously in a transition phase and to be honest, I dont know that they would finish ahead of any one of Wheaton, Elmhurst, or Augie in the CCIW.  I do, however think that the Millikin team I saw last night will not finish 8th in the conference.  Having seen IWU, Carthage, and Millikin play thus far this year, I would give a slight edge to IWU, followed by Millikin, and then Carthage.  Now those were just one game each, but I wouldnt be surprised if Millikin finished 5th or 6th this year in the league.

Just got back from the Millikin-SIUE game.  A couple of things that I saw tonight:

This is not the same Millikin team/teams that I have seen in the past.  It has been a couple of years since I have seen Millikin play but tonight I was awfully impressed.  Millikin trailed 41-29 with about 15 minutes to play in the second half when they went on a 22-2 run to take the lead 51-43 with about 8:30 left in the game.  From that point on the game never got closer than 4 or 5 points.  Millikin shot the ball very well from behind the arc and at the free throw line in the second half.  I was impressed with the play of #34 Justin Thompson and #20 Corey Mitchell.  Thompson shot it in from everywhere and Mitchell looked to be an athletic play maker on the court.   Ogunleye didn't have his best game tonight but he made a big 3 with about 3 minutes to go to put the game at a comfortable margin.  #30 Charles Warren didn't do a whole lot in the second half but scored about 3 baskets in a row to keep the Big Blue within striking distance in the first half.  I was very unimpressed with SIUE, and think that they will have a hard time in the transition to Division 1.  Despite that, I kept thinking to myself if this team is picked to finish 8th in the CCIW, then how good is our conference??   Overall, I think that Millikin played a heckuva basketball game tonight and I give my congrats to all the Big Blue players and Fans.  I look at this win in two different ways:  1) We should all be proud of the CCIW and 2) Teams should know that when they play Millikin this year, it wont be the same Millikin team we've seen the last 4-5 years.  I'm not saying Millikin will compete for the conference crown this year, but I dont think it would be a stretch to say they could with 5-7 games this year in the league.   

Looks like Elmhurst won easily 88-63 last night.  Anybody got any details?

After having a couple of days to think back and reflect on the Carthage/NIU game here are some of my thoughts:

Steve Ideran starts at the 3 because he can play defense.  Offensively he doesnt turn the ball over and can make the occasional basket here or there.  The other option at the 3 seems like Shemerdiak and he was terrible defensively as Anderson scored anytime he wanted to on Shemerdiak.

Tolo has free reign to shoot.  Ive heard from a number of people that he can shoot it pretty well, but from what I saw I believe he took either 0 or 1 of his shots inside of 15 ft.  That could become a problem as the season progresses, being that when he is shooting the Red Men have no one to rebound.

Steve D is an excellent ball handler and did all he could to keep Carthage in the game.  The way to beat Carthage is to take a charge or two on his drives to the lane, get him in foul trouble, and you should win the game.  Carthage struggles mightily when he is not on the floor. 

A couple of surprise performances that I know will not go unnoticed by the Carthage staff:  Cody Hilton will see/should see lots of playing time this year.  The elevation and strength he has on his jumpshot gives him the ability to shoot with a hand in his face.  To me he might not be as good of a shooter as Sean Fendley but he can get his shot easier and has to see some PT this year.  Richard Williams is the other player that I was impressed with.  Talent wise he is lacking, but he hustles and hustles to no end.  He probably weighs in a 190-200 and 6'5"-6'6" but he outworked the much taller and larger big men from NIU. 

All in all, I think it was a good showing by the Red Men.  They didnt shoot particularly well but were in the game until the final 4 minutes when Anderson took over and was too much for the Red Men.

Looking forward to the real season getting under way...

Quote from: AndOne on September 30, 2008, 07:23:34 PM
I agree Shemerdiak's best position is the 3. The problem I've observed with him is inconsistency. He can go off for 20 one night, and then go off the deep end the next.

Hey all... Its been a long summer with hurricanes, flooding, and even and economic boom, but now my favorite time of the year is at hand: the CCIW basketball season.  Can anybody tell me what if anything Carthage has done to shore up their inside game.  WE all know Steve can play.  Fendley can shoot.  Shemerdiak will be terribly inconsistent but have to play because he brings major upside.  But Im not sure if they have done anything to help those guys in the middle.  Who is going to be inside?  Adam Stuart? Richard Williams?  Kyle Jeffery?  Ive heard that Jeffery has back problems and may not even play when he is eligible in the second half.  Mark, do you know what they might do inside?   

Rumors are that Kyle Jeffery is coming back to team up with Stevie D. 

In his last season in the CCIW, Jeffery averaged 18.3 ppg and 5.7 rpg.   

Does anybody know if there is any truth to this rumor?  And if there is, boy does that shake things up a little bit.

Quote from: Titan Q on February 28, 2008, 10:28:58 PM
Forgot to post...

I was at a high school game last night.  I was standing in the lobby after the game waiting for Coach Steinbrueck to finish talking to a recruit when Illini coach Bruce Weber walks out of the gym into the lobby (he was watching a kid play as well).  I had an IWU pullover on and he walked up, extended his hand, and says, "Good to see you coach.  Ready for Wheaton?"  First, I was shocked a Big Ten coach knew the pairings for the CCIW tournament.  Second, I realize I can't say, "I'm not a coach...I'm the radio guy"...or "I'm Titan Q on CCIW Chat"...or "I'm Coach Steinbrueck's personal assistant."  So I go with it...

Q: "Yeah, it's always tough to beat a good team 3 times, but we're gonna try, coach.  They have a great player we have to deal with.  Who do you guys have next?"

Weber: "Iowa - we need to find a way."

Q: "I hear ya - good luck."

Weber: "Did #32 graduate?  Akeliavonich?"

Q: "Keelan Amelianovich...yes, he graduated 2 years ago.  He was good, coach."

Weber: "He gave us trouble.  How is Stamas doing?  He played for my brother."

Q: "He starts on our JV team, coach."

Weber: "JV team?  Must be a good JV team - he can play."

Q: "We think so.   So, that Indiana deal is a mess."

Weber: "Yeah, but I give those kids credit for playing through it."

Q: "True."

(Illini recruit walks into lobby.)

Weber: (Extending hand) "Good luck to the Titans, coach."

Q: "You too coach - hang in there."


Coach Steinbrueck (walking up): "What were you talking to Bruce Weber about??"

Q: "Just a couple coaches shooting the breeze, Stein."

Great story Q.  Surprising to know that Bruce Weber knows that much about the CCIW.   He obviously has a good memory to remember back when Keelan and the rest of that team played them in the preseason.  You played the whole thing real well...

Just a thought on the conference tourney.  Why not pre set where the conference tourney will be held each year?  Just rotate it between the 8 schools.  Could you imagine the Conference tourney in the Cracker Box at NPU, now that would be fun...

Thanks Q for the info on Bill Harris.  I did not know he was opposed to it.  And, I also agree that it may be in the best interest of the conference to get more teams in without the tourney.  That being said, my point was only that in essence all four of these teams are already in the post-season. I think that for how tough the conference season is, teams like Elmhurst and IWU should at least have that opportunity to play themselves into the big tournament by winning the CCIW tournament.   

I personally think that the CCIW tourney is a good thing for a number of reasons.  In fact, I would like to see all 8 CCIW teams in the tourney.  Here is the reasoning:

1) The winner of the CCIW regular season is more than likely going to be in the tourney already.
2) The opportunity the CCIW tournament presents is something I think is being overlooked by many.  Q and others have said that Wheaton would be right on the line but would probably make it in without having another loss on their record.  We thought that Elmhurst should be in last year and we all know what happened there.  Im not saying by any means that Wheaton would be out, but I think if you asked the likes of Bill Harris, Andy Weile, Kent Raymond, etc.  they would tell you they would much rather hold their own fate in their hands, rather than leave it up to the committee!  The same goes for Elmhurst and their players and IWU and their players. 
3) In essence, the team that wins the CCIW regular season knows that their name will be called come tournament time.  On the other hand, I think it is the start of the big tournament for the rest of the teams.  They know that if they win two games in Rock Island this weekend they will be playing in the tourney next week.  They know that if they lose they are basically done for the season. 

I think its a great thing, but I never understood why they went to the top 4 rather than all 8 teams.  Granted division 1 is much different, but you never see the Big Ten or ACC cut their conferences in half in the conference tournament.  Everyone has a chance, because we already are to the postseason...