MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[GoPerry]

IWU over Wheaton @Shirk, 82-71.  (Yes, a little more than 78 tonight).

Wheaton tried fiercely and aggressively to double Noah Cleveland tonight.  They got a few TOs out of it, but also a steady stream of open threes when he passed out of it . . . IWU making 17 treys, with Casen Lawrence having a feast with 8 for 12.

IWU goes to 17-4, 9-3, with four games to go.

For Wheaton:

Richardson had a better game tonight, 20
Grier 15
Wynja 13
VanderWoude 10

Wheaton at 44%/35% from three/ 70% from the FT stripe.

For IWU:

Lawrence 24, 8-12 from three
Colak 16 and 7
Cleveland, still a double/double, 12 and 17!
An emerging Connor Williams 13
Funk 11 and 7 with 4 blocks  (IWU with 7 blocks overall)

IWU at 53%/53% from three/ just 30% from the FT line

Carthage and IWU still tied for the regular season lead, with four games to go.

IWU'70

Even when he's not scoring his normal numbers, Cleveland is that sort of a presence for a defense.  Pair his ability to pass out of the double (9 assists, 1 short of triple double) and a disciplined team willing to make the extra pass - usually to Lawrence, and you're just picking your poison.

More than at King, the superior ability of the Titan players to just plain defend aggressively without fouling was really noticeable tonight.  VanderWoude really couldn't get much inside even with much smaller defenders on him.  Richardson's 20 were all hard-earned with hand in his face.  Yes, Wheaton is young and have some years ahead of them. But learning to play the type of defense necessary to be successful, especially in this league, doesn't come naturally just because you're a year older.  Gotta hit the weight room and up the dedication level at both ends of the floor.  I hope the likes of Grier, VanderWoude, Wynja do because the potential is crazy high.  Then maybe.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 99
Millikin 63

Mike Vuckovic: 28 pts (10-16 FG, 7-9 trey), 3 stls
Kolden Vanlandingham: 13 pts, 6 rebs, 4:0 a:to, 3 stls
Julian Campbell: 12 pts
Harrison Long: 11 pts (3-5 trey)
Marquis Vance: 11 pts, 3 stls
Jerome Smith: 3 stls

Nate Straughter: 28 pts (11-16 FG, 6-10 trey)
Lane Thomann: 6 rebs

The Vikings ran away and hid in this one. They scored 10 points in 70 seconds about five minutes into the first half, and never looked back en route to their most lopsided win ever in Decatur. The Vikings shot 59% from the field, including an absurd 57% (17-30) from downtown. The 17 treys ties the NPU record, first set at home against Rust in 1990 and then tied two seasons ago against Central at a tournament in suburban Nashville. It also broke the North Park record for most treys against a CCIW opponent, the previous record being 15 bombs dropped on Elmhurst in Faganel 10 years ago. And the 39 field goals NPU scored is the most that any Vikings team has ever made against a CCIW opponent on the road.

Almost as impressive as the Park's shooting was the Park's defense. Aside from Nate Straughter, who certainly had himself a night, nobody in a Millikin uniform scored more than six points. Any time you can hold Lane Thomann to a measly five points (a career low for him; he was averaging 20.1 ppg coming into tonight) on 2-8 shooting in 30 minutes on the floor while also shutting Ian Winkler out of the scorebook entirely, you're doing something right.

Since I had to call a women's game tonight and couldn't watch this one live, I can't wait to watch it as archived on the CCIW Network.

[Gregory Sager]

Even when he's not scoring his normal numbers, Cleveland is that sort of a presence for a defense.  Pair his ability to pass out of the double (9 assists, 1 short of triple double)

He also turned the ball over seven times, which means that he came close to a quadruple double!

(The NCAA doesn't keep that stat, by the way. I checked.)

In tonight's other game, Elmhurst cruised to an 81-62 win over Augie in the QC. Dom Trelenberg shot poorly but still had 19 and 7 for the 'jays, with Talen Pearson adding 16 off the bench and Vinnie Adjahoungbeta putting in a 15 and 11 night of work. Jake Willems was a bright spot (21 pts on 7-13 shooting, including 4-6 from downtown) in defeat for the hosts, while Andre Klaver contributed 14 and 7 with a nice 6:2 floor game and Marieon Anderson scored 13.

[iwu70]

Yes, Greg is right about Cleveland.  Sometimes he tries to be a point guard, in the open court after a rebound.  He also shoots FTs poorly so far.  When he works on these weaknesses in his game, his ceiling is so so high.  He's a sophomore and is going to be around this league, with many  other young IWU players, for a long time.  Connor Williams is showing some real game now too. 

Colak and Funk will be hard to replace, but I'm pretty sure the Titans and Ron Rose will find a way going forward, especially with Cleveland and Lawrence to build on -- Niego coming back, and Fridman returning from injury.  The future is bright.

'70

[iwu70]

My mistake.  Funk is coming back another year.  David Williams graduates.  Brady Ruggles returning too.  Lots to work with. Kuehl back too.

Others on the bench waiting their chance.

'70

[Stertorous Thunder]

Colak and Funk will be hard to replace, but I'm pretty sure the Titans and Ron Rose will find a way going forward, especially with Cleveland and Lawrence to build on -- Niego coming back, and Fridman returning from injury.  The future is bright.

My mistake.  Funk is coming back another year.  David Williams graduates.  Brady Ruggles returning too.  Lots to work with. Kuehl back too.
Others on the bench waiting their chance.

Wheaton looked good last night and still trailed by double digits for much of the game.  IWU isn't unbeatable, but they're on a special level, which is extra amazing considering that Fridman is injured and Roper decided to finish his eligibility at UChicago.

Every other CCIW program goes through up-and-down recruiting cycles.  IWU just looks down their bench and plugs the next string in.  As good as Wheaton's underclassmen are, I have little doubt that the big green machine will put a rotation on the floor that meets or exceeds the Thunder talent in the upcoming seasons.  It's just what Ron Rose does.

[Green Beer]

My mistake.  Funk is coming back another year.  David Williams graduates.  Brady Ruggles returning too.  Lots to work with. Kuehl back too.

Others on the bench waiting their chance.

'70

Ruggles is a bit of a mystery. D1 transfer and had been on Rose's radar since high school. I guess he was out all of last year with an injury, but he's had plenty of time to knock off the rust and acclimate to the program. Still, he's provided zero spark coming off the bench. No minutes last night. I didn't think to look to see if he was injured again or in a boot or something.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton looked good last night and still trailed by double digits for much of the game.  IWU isn't unbeatable, but they're on a special level, which is extra amazing considering that Fridman is injured and Roper decided to finish his eligibility at UChicago.

Roper had no choice but to finish his career somewhere other than Bloomington. Illinois Wesleyan already gave him a diploma, and it's an undergraduate-only institution. The only choice he had in the matter was which grad school to pick where he could complete his basketball eligibility.

[Gregory Sager]

Kolden Vanlandingham is starting to edge his way into some of North Park's all-time career lists. He's currently sitting at 10th in terms of points per game, and last night he moved ahead of Chris Stanley (class of '92) for 10th place in made free throws. He's also three swipes away from tying his former teammate Shamar Pumphrey for 10th place in steals.

This is pretty nice work for someone whose career as a Viking is only going to be three seasons long.

[iwu70]

As far as I know, Ruggles is not injured.  He's just down the list pretty far when it comes to the rotation right now.  The new guy in the mix is surely Connor Williams, with two great game contributions recently.  Colak and Boldt leave thru graduation, David Williams (who has played very well) also leaves.   The Titans have so much talent returning and others always on the bench, waiting their turn to shine (as was mentioned).  Ron Rose does this all well over the years.  And there will likely be some newbies that can join in.  Fridman will be back.  In my view, Jaxon Niego has played to the Fridman level, especially in ball control and limited TOs, a good A:TO ratio.  He's the stick that stirs the drink.  Cleveland and Lawrence are obviously a massive part of the Titan future. Let's hope the Titans get to 20 or 21 wins and hosting in the tournament early rounds, a good seeding. 

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Does anybody have a hookup for holy water or a shaman or something?

North Central kept it close up in Kenosha the entire game, but trailed by seven with just under two minutes to go. Somehow they managed to come back and tie the game at 65 on a Tre Davis layup with eight seconds to go. The video feed was well behind my dad following the live stats sitting behind me at Merner when he told me that NCC had tied it, and I made the crack that Carthage would hit something at the buzzer to win the game because that's how this season has gone.

Naturally, Ryan Johnson got a third chance tip in right at the buzzer for a 67-65 Firebird win.

Honestly, all we're missing at this point is fouling someone up three on a halfcourt heave at the buzzer, them somehow making it, then hitting the free throw with all zeroes on the clock to complete the superfecta.

The flip side of the NCC-is-snakebit coin is that Carthage did what championship teams do. Teams that acquire hardware at the end of a season are teams that find a way to win even when they play a crappy game. That's not something that comes naturally; it's developed over time, which is why a veteran team like Carthage finds a way to pull out wins like this one.

I was reminded of this last Saturday at the Viking Hall of Fame induction ceremony when North Park's 1984-85 national championship team was introduced. In the previous season the Vikings had gone 18-8 and missed the D3 tournament because they had lost by two (in three overtimes) at Augustana, by three to Illinois Wesleyan at home, by two at Wheaton (in overtime), by one at North Central, and -- the back-breaker -- by three at Lake Forest in the season finale when they knew that their chances of getting an at-large bid were on the line.

In 1984-85 those Vikings (with the important addition of an electric D1 transfer point guard named Ernie Hubbard) won the CCIW and entered a D3 tournament that provided one of those incredible minefields that regularly seem to plague midwestern portions of the bracket. After curb-stomping Monmouth by 40 points in the opening round, North Park had to face defending national champion UW-Whitewater. The Vikings won by two in overtime. Then they had to take on Wittenberg, which was the #1 team in the nation according to the Associated Press poll. The Vikings won by two. In the national semifinal in Grand Rapids the Vikings were matched against a Nebraska Wesleyan team that was leading the nation in scoring. The Vikings won by five. And in the national championship game the Vikings faced a powerhouse SUNY Potsdam team that would return more or less the same squad the following season and go undefeated on its way to a national championship. The Vikings had to come from behind in that title contest to win by one point and bring home the Big Doorstop.

That 1984-85 team, which is my favorite basketball team of all time, was talented but not nearly as much as North Park's 1986-87 national title team, to say nothing of the 1978-80 threepeat teams. It won because that team, which started five seniors, had incredible grit and found a way to win even under unlikely circumstances. And they had developed that grit by learning hard lessons the year before.

Moral of the story: Experience matters. The Firebirds have it, and they demonstrated it last night.

[mwunder]

Moral of the story: Experience matters. The Firebirds have it, and they demonstrated it last night.

Other morals of the story.

Win games you're 'supposed to win'. (Experience helps)
Protect the home court.
Crash the Boards.
Take better shots or go to the rim. (1-13 from 3 in 2nd half, ouch)
Free throws are free points. 64% for the game.

AJ Johnson was $$$ last season from the FT line (90%), this season, he's at 72%.  Not sure how a shooter as good as he is, drops almost 20% over the course of a year.

Fun game to watch. NCC battled to stay in it throughout the contest.  Bullock played a heck of a game for the Cardinals.

[Stertorous Thunder]

Does anybody have a hookup for holy water or a shaman or something?

Anyone who pays even scant attention to CCIW basketball knows that North Central's won-loss record doesn't paint a particularly accurate picture of their ability.  I know it's of little consolation, but this year's CCIW cellar-dweller would handily beat every other conference last place team in the country, and probably have their benchers playing before the midpoint of the second half against most of them.

From up here in Wheaton I'm supposed to enjoy watching the struggles of my Naperville neighbor rivals, but I don't.  I sincerely hope those young men stay positive and motivated to put in the offseason work, knowing that once in a while, a string of bad luck will happen and that next year will likely be someone else's turn at the bottom.

[Stertorous Thunder]

Wheaton looked good last night and still trailed by double digits for much of the game.  IWU isn't unbeatable, but they're on a special level, which is extra amazing considering that Fridman is injured and Roper decided to finish his eligibility at UChicago.

Roper had no choice but to finish his career somewhere other than Bloomington. Illinois Wesleyan already gave him a diploma, and it's an undergraduate-only institution. The only choice he had in the matter was which grad school to pick where he could complete his basketball eligibility.

I wondered why he hadn't returned but of course that makes perfect sense.  And in particular, if the University of Chicago deems one worthy of the stratospheric academic standards of their institution, one likely feels particularly compelled to accept their offer.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Wheaton looked good last night and still trailed by double digits for much of the game.  IWU isn't unbeatable, but they're on a special level, which is extra amazing considering that Fridman is injured and Roper decided to finish his eligibility at UChicago.

Roper had no choice but to finish his career somewhere other than Bloomington. Illinois Wesleyan already gave him a diploma, and it's an undergraduate-only institution. The only choice he had in the matter was which grad school to pick where he could complete his basketball eligibility.

I wondered why he hadn't returned but of course that makes perfect sense.  And in particular, if the University of Chicago deems one worthy of the stratospheric academic standards of their institution, one likely feels particularly compelled to accept their offer.

We were told, at Fort Wayne last year, he had to make the decision within a few weeks.  I guess he had the option to drop a class and avoid May graduation to come back, but of course that didn't make a lot of sense.  Seems to have worked out pretty well for him so far.