MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Green Beer]

[/quote]

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.

They've taken almost every team to the limit. (beating the Titans as all know) Next year, they lose only one senior. They've going to be battling for lead in the CCIW.

[GusD]

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.

Casen Lawrence must be getting an untold multitude of open looks this season. Otherwise, even though he is a superlative 3 point shooter, there is no earthly explanation for his lofty three point shooting totals. Even though the quickest way to die in current day basketball is often to surrender a high number of successful shots from behind the arc, teams must be concentrating on trying to stop IWU's other weapons—- of which they have many which is why they're a top tier team. But while the Greenies can beat you in several ways, letting Mr. Lawrence hit 8 threes shouldn't be one of them. If a team realizes Casen, although a great three shooter, is really a one dimensional player, that's half the battle in stopping him. Shooting threes is basically all he does. This is evidenced by the fact that out of 163 shots he's taken so far this season, 151 of them have been from distance. Additionally, he's only 5'10, and doesn't seem to possess either great quickness or superior ball handling ability. Accordingly, I'd venture a large percentage of his shots are catch and shoot off open looks rather than being created off the dribble. Put a good defender on him and tell that defender never to leave him, and you're likely going to be able to severely curtail his effectiveness. NCC adhered to this strategy in both of their games vs IWU this season. In the first game (that NCC surprisingly won) he went 1 of 5 from three, and in the second he was 1 for 4.
Casen is currently the #4 three point percentage shooter in the CCIW. He is the conference leader in made three point shots per game. He is one of the most potent offensive weapons, probably in all of D3, and capable of inflicting quick death by many cuts. You need to stick to him like glue. If so, I think you can at least somewhat limit his effectiveness.

[GusD]

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.

They've taken almost every team to the limit. (beating the Titans as all know) Next year, they lose only one senior. They've going to be battling for lead in the CCIW.
[/quote]

I need to begin with the fact I'm biased, but I think Green Beer makes a valid point. I won't go into details, and it's not an excuse, but the Cardinals currently have 2 starters out and another who is limited. A couple others would probably say they haven't been as effective as they're capable of. Despite their misfortunes, they've been in all but about 2 games all year. They took the #2 team in the country to OT, and beat the #10 team. Take out the game where they were disemboweled by IWU, and they've lost all their other games by an average of only 5.6 ppg. Two of their losses were on the last play of the game. Yes, the current state is one of discouragement, but they've battled and remained competitive to the end of just about every game. With only one senior and hopefully a couple of good additions, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

[GusD]

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.

James is rapidly becoming a force in the CCIW in his sophomore season. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see him eventually earn a spot on the All-Conference team.

[iwu70]

GusD, I take your points about Casen Lawrence.  It is a bit of pick your poison with IWU and Wheaton tried to stop Cleveland, aggressively and instantly doubling him whenever he touch the ball.  Most of the time, he was able to kick it out, leaving Lawrence and others open for 3 balls.  Two others made 3 treys, and several others made one.  It was not just Lawrence.  Hard to defend all of IWU's weapons.  I don't think doubling is the answer.  You have to hope that the IWU three shooters have a bad night.  Cleveland, as we have seen all year, will get his almost no matter, double team or no, usually a double/double, averaging over 18 ppg.  And 17 rebounds the other night!  I was down on Lawrence earlier in the year as his defense was sub-par, but to his credit he has improved greatly on the defensive end, and held one of Wheaton's top scorers pretty well on Wednesday night.  Rose has others off the bench that are better defensively (David Williams and now Connor Williams, both bigger) so he tries to help Lawrence out, but then you sacrifice all that deadly three point shooting with him off the floor.  Connor made 3 treys and David Williams one the other night.  Even Niego gets into the fun from time to time. 

It should be a good game vs. Elmhurst on Saturday -- IWU's Senior night. 

[GusD]

GusD, I take your points about Casen Lawrence.  It is a bit of pick your poison with IWU and Wheaton tried to stop Cleveland, aggressively and instantly doubling him whenever he touch the ball.  Most of the time, he was able to kick it out, leaving Lawrence and others open for 3 balls.  Two others made 3 treys, and several others made one.  It was not just Lawrence.  Hard to defend all of IWU's weapons.  I don't think doubling is the answer.  You have to hope that the IWU three shooters have a bad night.  Cleveland, as we have seen all year, will get his almost no matter, double team or no, usually a double/double, averaging over 18 ppg.  And 17 rebounds the other night!  I was down on Lawrence earlier in the year as his defense was sub-par, but to his credit he has improved greatly on the defensive end, and held one of Wheaton's top scorers pretty well on Wednesday night.  Rose has others off the bench that are better defensively (David Williams and now Connor Williams, both bigger) so he tries to help Lawrence out, but then you sacrifice all that deadly three point shooting with him off the floor.  Connor made 3 treys and David Williams one the other night.  Even Niego gets into the fun from time to time. 

It should be a good game vs. Elmhurst on Saturday -- IWU's Senior night. 

And I take your point about not doubling. It's definitely not the answer.

[lmitzel]

In today's standings and clinching scenarios news:

CAR	9-3
IWU	9-3
ELM	7-4
WHE	6-5
AUG	5-6
NPU	5-7
MIL	5-7
CRL	4-7
NCC	2-10

Carthage and Wesleyan are win-and-in tonight, and I think that's it for clinching scenarios. Today at Wheaton though is must-win for NCC; a loss would knock them out of tournament contention.

I have my scenarios spreadsheet at least started, but it won't be ready to launch until today's games conclude. I need to put starting win totals in with today's results and then I can start crunching possibilities and fill those columns in.

[Gregory Sager]

Overtime in King between the two football powers.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll took down Augustana, 94-84, at Van Male. The Pios led the whole way, although the lead fluctuated widely, as Peyton McKenna was the man for Carroll with a career-high 30 points. Michael McNabb added 21, Lamar Smith had 12 and 6, and Evan Bland had 11 with a 6:0 floor game. Augie was paced by Marieon Anderson's 20, with Caden Workman and Ben Jurzak adding 13 apiece and Jake Willems chipping in 10.

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage fought through deficits as large as 14 before finally forging the first Firebirds lead with eight minutes to go and then grinding out a hard-fought 62-59 win over Millikin at Tarble. Ryan Johnson double-doubled with 16 and 11,  AJ Williams had a big Senior Day at both ends of the floor and finished with 15, and Griffin Daun added 13 and 9. For Millikin, the only player in double figures was Ian Winkler with 26. Lane Thomann (eight points on 3-8 shooting) and Nate Straughter (six points on 2-14 shooting) were both locked up by tough Carthage defending, although Thomann did grab eight boards. Tionne Spates led Millikin in rebounds with eight.

[GoPerry]

In OT at King Arena:
North Central  81
Wheaton  74

Soren Richardson  22 pts
Kyan VanderWoude  12 pts 7 rebs
Carson Grier  11 pts 7 rebs, 3 stls

James Bullock 22 pts 9 rebs
Alejandro Diaz  19 pts 8 rebs
Ehtan Marlowe 22 pts 4 rebs

Credit NCC for a gritty win, staying in the game and pulling out the win.  The Cardinals probably deserved one of these.

At the same time, they can thank Thunder stubbornness for continuing to shoot treys when it's just not happening.  Wheaton had 33 three point attempts and made a paltry 6 for 18%. I thought I was watching last year's team where often half their attempts were threes.  Teams have been happy to let them shoot the long ball where they have been pretty poor lately and their athleticism and size advantages are basically neutralized.

Kudos to Devin Martin who hasn't started the last two games, offensive struggles perhaps, but made some big shots/plays in the last minutes before fouling out.

[Gregory Sager]

Who had Sean Molloy on their bingo card as North Central's hexbreaker? He was the key element of a very efficient NCC offense in overtime, as the Cardinals finally threw their end-of-game jinx into the trash can with an 81-74 overtime win over Wheaton at King Arena. Molloy, who didn't even score for the first time until relatively late in the game, didn't do it single-handedly; he had plenty of help from Ethan Marlowe and Ale Diaz in the extra session. But Molloy was the guy who really took charge and put the pressure on Wheaton off the dribble, as the defense of the Schauerites, which had been pretty decent throughout regulation, failed them in overtime. NCC had to fight just to get to overtime, as it took a Molloy baby jumper with 14 ticks left just to force the bonus five minutes of play. Marlowe and James Bullock shared scoring honors for the visitors with 22 apiece, with Bullock just missing a double-double with nine boards, while Diaz finished with 19 and 8. For Wheaton, Soren Richardson had 22 to lead Wheaton, but it was the shots he didn't make -- he was 0-6 from beyond the arc, with some of those misses coming late in regulation and in OT -- that stood out. Kyan VanderWoude had 12 and 7 but was invisible late in the game, while Carson Grier played really well (aside from his 1-6 from the line) and finished with 11 and 7 and Devin Martin chipped in 10 points before fouling out.

[iwu70]

At the Shirk on Senior night, really the story of IWU's big three:  Cleveland, Funk and Colak.

IWU pulling away fully in the second half, winning 91-69.  Just too much strength and paint scoring for EU to manage it all.  No answer for Cleveland, double team or no.

For EU:

Boone 14
Smith 12
Tuelenberg 9
Adjahoungbeta 9 and 12

EU at 42%/44% from three/ 63% from the line.

For IWU:

Cleveland 32
Funk 23 and 8, beautiful passing and excellent defense
Colak 21 and 7

IWU at 67% from the field/47% from three/ 59% from the FT Line.

IWU goes to 18-4, 10-3, with three games to go --Millikin, North Park and Augie, all on the road.

'70

[GusD]

At the Shirk on Senior night, really the story of IWU's big three:  Cleveland, Funk and Colak.

IWU pulling away fully in the second half, winning 91-69.  Just too much strength and paint scoring for EU to manage it all.  No answer for Cleveland, double team or no.

For EU:

Boone 14
Smith 12
Tuelenberg 9
Adjahoungbeta 9 and 12

EU at 42%/44% from three/ 63% from the line.

For IWU:

Cleveland 32
Funk 23 and 8, beautiful passing and excellent defense
Colak 21 and 7

IWU at 67% from the field/47% from three/ 59% from the FT Line.

IWU goes to 18-4, 10-3, with three games to go --Millikin, North Park and Augie, all on the road.

'70

After a close first half, I was surprised how thoroughly IWU dismantled Elmhurst in the second stanza. Both coaches cleared the bench with 16 players for each team seeing action, including Alex Miller of the triumphant Titans who, while seeing just two minutes of garbage time, managed to earn a T.

[GusD]

Who had Sean Molloy on their bingo card as North Central's hexbreaker? He was the key element of a very efficient NCC offense in overtime, as the Cardinals finally threw their end-of-game jinx into the trash can with an 81-74 overtime win over Wheaton at King Arena. Molloy, who didn't even score for the first time until relatively late in the game, didn't do it single-handedly; he had plenty of help from Ethan Marlowe and Ale Diaz in the extra session. But Molloy was the guy who really took charge and put the pressure on Wheaton off the dribble, as the defense of the Schauerites, which had been pretty decent throughout regulation, failed them in overtime. NCC had to fight just to get to overtime, as it took a Molloy baby jumper with 14 ticks left just to force the bonus five minutes of play. Marlowe and James Bullock shared scoring honors for the visitors with 22 apiece, with Bullock just missing a double-double with nine boards, while Diaz finished with 19 and 8. For Wheaton, Soren Richardson had 22 to lead Wheaton, but it was the shots he didn't make -- he was 0-6 from beyond the arc, with some of those misses coming late in regulation and in OT -- that stood out. Kyan VanderWoude had 12 and 7 but was invisible late in the game, while Carson Grier played really well (aside from his 1-6 from the line) and finished with 11 and 7 and Devin Martin chipped in 10 points before fouling out.

In addition Sean Molloy's exploits cited above by Greg, he also had a very nice 7:2 A:TO Ratio. Ethan Marlowe played his best game of the year for the Cardinals. James Bullock Jr., who tied for scoring honors with Ethan with 22 points, is rapidly rising to an All-Conference level of play.