|
11/15
|
vs. Benedictine
|
W 89-79
|
|
11/18
|
vs. Webster
|
W 78-49
|
|
11/21
|
vs. Johnson & Wales (Titan Tip-Off)
|
W101-62
|
|
11/22
|
vs. Washington (St. L)(TTO Champ)
|
L 76-71
|
|
11/29
|
vs. Machester
|
W 79-77
|
|
12/1
|
vs. Monmouth
|
W 65-55
|
| 12/5 |
at Chicago |
L 68-60 |
|
12/12
|
vs. MacMurray
|
W 79-70
|
|
12/15
|
at Illinois College
|
W 70-59
|
|
12/28
|
Trinity (@ San Antonio, TX)
|
W 96-67
|
|
12/29
|
Southwestern (@ San Anton, TX)
|
W 91-75
|
|
1/6
|
at North Central
|
W 84-79
|
|
1/9
|
vs. Carthage
|
W 79-69
|
|
1/13
|
vs. Millikin
|
W 75-71
|
|
1/17
|
at Elmhurst
|
W 77-67
|
|
1/20
|
at Wheaton
|
L 66-65
|
| 1/24 |
vs. North Park |
W 83-77 |
| 1/27 |
vs. Augustana |
W 71-64 |
| 1/30 |
at Carthage |
L 80-55 |
| 2/3 |
vs. North Central |
W 92-85 |
| 2/6 |
vs. Elmhurst |
W 73-59 |
| 2/10 |
at Millikin |
W 75-66 |
| 2/13 |
Wheaton |
L 65-59 |
| 2/17 |
at Augustana |
W 62-59. |
| 2/20 |
at North Park |
L 70-67 |
| 2/26 |
CCIW Tournament (Semi) vs. Wheaton |
W 68-59 |
| 2/27 |
CCIW Tournament (Final) @ Carthage |
L 70-67 |
| 3/5 |
NCAA Tournament (1st Rd) Central |
|
IWU Men's Basketball News and Notes from Eric Stock
Titans NCAA-bound
March 5, 2010
After four years of recruiting, rebuilding and enduring their share of ups and downs, it appears Ron Rose's team is finally ready to restore IWU's tradition as a basketball power than can expect to play in March. Granted, they aren't going to get there every year, but this junior laden team will certainly be expected to return next season, and do more than just get there.
Before we worry about that, the Titans hope to do more than just get there this year. They have a tough opponent in the first round, Central - a team that seems to be not all that different from Carthage in their up-tempo style and the fact that mch of their offense revolves around one player Miguel Ley. Hopefully, those three games against the Redmen will prove beneficial tonight.
And should the Titans get to Saturday, they will be the underdog against the two-time defending champion and top-ranked Wash U. Bears, but it woudn't be unimaginable for the Titans to beat them, they've played them very close the last several years, including games in 2007 and 2008 at Wash U.
Waiting game begins for IWU
February 28, 2010
It won't be much more than 24 hours for Ithe llinois Wesleyan men to find out if their headed into the NCAAs, but the wait will be excruciating for a team that came within a few seconds of removing all doubt on Saturday night. The Titans showed pride, focus and determination in coming back from a 13-point second half deficit on Carthage's home floor in the CCIW Championship, but Steve Djurickovic showed why he's al All-American and probably the best DIII player in the land.
It appears almost certain the Titans' resume is good enough to get them a Pool C bid, in fact there was thought that a win over Carthage, could have given them a home game in round one. We'll find out Monday morning at about 9:30 a.m., while the women's pairings will come out Monday at noon. We can pretty well guess Mia Smith's team will be home - probably as long as they keep playing, since Shirk Center will host the national champinships (technically, the final four, but they don't call it that in DIII.)
It's been fun following the Titan men and women so far, let's see how far they both can go.
Unfinished business in CCIW Tournament
February 21, 2010
The Titans didn't do themselves any favors in dropping the regular season finale at North Park. While much is still up in the air, it appears IWU will need to win at least one game in the CCIW tournament to wrap up an NCAA berth. It will depend on how many conference favorites get upset in their tournaments. And while the Titans are 0-2 against Wheaton, both games went down to the final minute and in their first battle a putback of an airball is the only thing that kept the Titans from victory.
I'm sure plenty of Titan fans will make the trip to Kenosha. Let's hope to make it a weekend there.
And congratulations to Mia Smith's Titan women, who won their third straight outright CCIW regular season title. The Titans have positioned themselves to play the entire rest of their season - all the way to the national championship game if they can get there - at Shirk Center. That can be a huge home court advantage if Titan nation can give them the kind of support they started to give them during the team's postseason run last year.
Titans notch biggest win in four years
February 20, 2010
You could argue that Titans win at Augie on Wednesday was their biggest win yet in the Ron Rose era at IWU. The biggest for several reasons. First, it was their first win at Augie since 2006, the Titans had lost seven straight overall against the rival Vikings coming into this season. Understandably the Titans finally got the age and experience advantage over Augie this season, but if the Titans hadn't won, that argument wouldn't have held water.
From a practical standpoint, the win kept IWU's hopes alive for a regular season CCIW championship and improved their position in the conference tournament, by locking in no worse than a three-seed, meaning they won't have to play Carthage on their home floor in the first round (IWU suffered their worst loss of the season the first time they played the Redmen at Tarble Arena.) The Titans will instead play Wheaton at 5 p.m on Friday while Augie will take on Carthage at 7:30 p.m. The tournament pairings are significant because their NCAA postseason fate could still be in doubt.
As it stands now, the Titans rank 8th among the DIII teams who would be looking for one of 19 at-large bids in the tournament. Barring a free fall and plenty of upsets, the Titans would appear to be in pretty good shape to get in, largely because of the Augie win. But the Titans still can't take anything for granted heding into the regular season finale at North Park.
While the Augie win stands as the Titans biggest win this season, let's hope we can look forward to even bigger wins in the coming weeks.
Titans bounce back from Carthage defeat
February 4, 2010
Admittedly, it's starting to look like Carthage is going to be hard to catch this season. Even if the Titans win out, the Redmen already have their two toughest games of the second half out of the way - vs. IWU and at Wheaton. They host Augie on Saturday, and from there, they face the bottom four through eight teams in the league the final two weeks. Anything is possible in a league as good as the CCIW, but right now it's looking like Carthage is the best of the bunch. But that of course is always subject to change.
That said, the Titans showed promise in the way they overcame a bad outing in Kenosha to win against North Central. Even on a night when Doug Sexauer missed several shots he normally makes in his sleep, he still scored 27 and the Titans 92, their best in CCIW play. It looks like the train is back on the tracks, but the Titans probably have to be perfect the rest of the way to get that top seed in the conference.
The Titan women have a big game with second place Elmhurst in the first game of the twinbill with the Bluejays on Saturday. We will webcast both games. Also, IWU is selling 'Pink Zone' t-shirts at the games for $12 to benefit the Community Cancer Center of Bloomington-Normal. They will also be on sale for the home games versus Wheaton on February 13th. There will also be a silent auction spanning both nights. Hope you can support it.
Titans reach midway point in CCIW season tied for the top
January 28, 2010
Coach Ron Rose wouldn't take the bait when I asked him after the win over Augie if the Titans are the team to beat coming into the second half of the CCIW season. After everyone has played once, the Titans stand as the number one seed. He did say that the Titans have done well so far, but naturally haven't earned anything yet. He's right about that, but it does seem this Titan team has taken the steps to become at least a leading contender in the CCIW race. It also seems that graduation and injuries have caught up with Augie and Wheaton, enough to make them both a litter vulnerable.
If that's the case, then this weekend's game at Carthage could potentially serve as the conference championship game. It seems to be a game the Redmen need more than IWU because a Titan win would lock up the all-important tiebreaker.
But the game serves as a real test for the Titans who have enjoyed most of their success at home this season. They are 10-1 at home but only 4-2 on the road.
On the injury front, there is good news for sophomore Eliud Gonzalez only has an MCL injury not an ACL, so there is a chance he could be a contributor for the Titans this season.
The Titans and Redmen will be on wjbc Saturday night at 7:30.
Titans enjoy the sights and two wins in San Antonio
December 31, 2009
The Titans first out-of-state trip was a success. The Illinois Wesleyan men shot better than they had all season in wins over Trinity and Southwestern. The hottest shooter of them all was Jordan Zimmer - who scored 63 points in just 45 minutes, including 12-20 from 3-point range. For him, the tournament makes up for all the near misses he had the first few weeks.
It was also a good experience for the team off the court, at least after they landed. They had to spend Saturday night in Dallas because they missed their connection thanks to the bad weather in Bloomington. They got to see the Alamo, go to Sea World and watch the Spurs play the Timberwolves. They also got some extra practice time in, which they might not have enjoyed as much, but it appears the Titans are where they want to be heading into CCIW play, which starts Wednesday night in Naperville.