Women get in (duh), so do men (whaaa???)

It was widely assumed that IWU's men's basketball team needed to win the CCIW conference tournament in order to reach the postseason tourney. But despite getting hammered 76-52 by Augustana in the conference tournament title game, they somehow slipped into the bracket and will face UW-River Falls (seriously, how many UW schools are there?) this Friday at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn. As essentially a 16 seed, the men have their work cut out for them if they want to match or surpass last year's Elite Eight appearance.

We've known for a while that the women would make the tournament; the only question was whether they would host the first two rounds. The answer, we found out Monday, is yes. The Titans will host Webster and then would play the winner of the match-up between UW-La Crosse and Wisconsin Lutheran. Last year, the women's team won the first two games at home before falling to UW-Stevens Point in the Sweet Sixteen. Looking at the bracket, Stevens Point would be a potential Elite Eight foe this year.

Once again, best of luck to both teams in the postseason!

IWU women's basketball team's run comes to an end

Mia Smith's teams went an incredible 58-3 over the last two seasons. Unfortunately, a couple uncharacteristic performances in the NCAA Tournament prevented either squad from earning a Final Four berth.

While it was a loss to Washington University in last year's Elite Eight that left the Titans without a banner, it was a Sweet Sixteen loss to a very talented Wisconsin-Stevens Point team (easily the best team I saw them play this year) that ended the 2009-2010 season.

It was a revenge game for the Pointers, both for a loss earlier this season, and for a loss in last year's Sweet Sixteen. The Titans led 50-39 early in the second half, but the Pointers fought back and it was a close game for the last 13 minutes. Stevens Point built a five-point lead late, but two consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays by the Titans--both by Stacey Arlis--quickly turned the deficit into a one-point lead with four minutes left to play.

Christina Solari made a layup to put the Titans up by one with 32 seconds remaining, and had a one-and-one with 13 seconds left after a miss by the Pointers. The front-end free throw missed left, and the Pointers grabbed the rebound. The Titans forced a miss, but Ashley Averkamp--who led her team with 20 points--snagged the board and put it back up and in to give Stevens Point a 77-76 lead with just two seconds remaining. A last-ditch shot attempt from nearly half court fell short, and the Pointers moved on to face Hope in the Elite Eight.

The 77 points were the third-most allowed by the Titans this season: they defeated Olivet Nazarene 108-83 in late November, and beat Stevens Point 84-80 in their very next game. Four Pointers were in double-figures on Friday, and the Titans were outrebounded 42-36.

Christina Solari led the team with 17 points, and her sister Karen, Olivia Lett, Nikki Preston and Stacey Arlis all joined her in double-figures. If was a tough shooting night for Nikki--she was 4-for-12 and 0-for-3 from behind the arc. Overall, the Titans shot well at nearly 51 percent, but 19 turnovers resulted in them taking six fewer shots and four fewer threes than their opponents.

Though there's no doubt the Titans would have loved to have surpassed the success they had last season, there's absolutely nothing wrong with another conference title, a 28-2 showing overall, and the team's second-ever appearance in the Sectional round of the NCAA tournament. While the nature of Friday's loss makes it a tough one to stomach, Mia Smith, seniors Christina Solari and Carrie Williams, and every other player on the Titans should be extremely proud of yet another incredible season. The 1,700 fans at the Shirk Center on Friday (save the decent number of Pointers supporters) were treated to a phenomenal year on the heels of a record-shattering 2008-2009 season, and they'll no doubt be back for more about eight short months from now.

How sweet it is

Photo by Marc Featherly, IWU

The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team has not lost at home this season. If that trend continues for two more weeks, the Titans will have a national championship banner to hang in the Shirk Center.

After a dominant 83-53 win over Simpson on Saturday, the Titans (28-1) learned that they will host the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds of the tournament this Friday and Saturday. With the Shirk Center playing host to the Final Four no matter which teams make it, the road to the national title officially goes through Bloomington, Ill.

On Friday at 7:00, Mia Smith's squad will face UW-Stevens Point (23-6), a team they defeated 84-80 at Shirk back in November. Four Titans scored in double figures, and Nikki Preston led the way with 19. IWU faced Stevens Point in the Sweet 16 last year as well, winning 77-64.

The Pointers are led by post player Britta Peterson and her 15.4 points per game. Peterson led the team with 21 points in the teams' first match-up this season. While the team has a solid presence down low, they're also dangerous from behind the arc--they shoot 34 percent from three compared to 30 percent for the Titans.

Overall, however, the Titans score 80 points per game compared to 69 for the Pointers, and the Titans allow three fewer points per game (58) than the Pointers (61).

If IWU prevails on Friday, they'll face a team with only one loss. Hope (29-1), which is essentially a #2 seed, will take on Marymount (28-1) on Friday at 5:00. Hope has won 21 straight games and outscores their opponents by an average score of 74-51.

Titan men's and women's bball teams will go dancing

Congratulations to Ron Rose and Mia Smith for leading their respective teams to the postseason. The men (20-7) will face Central Iowa (23-4) and a win would likely pit them against #1 Washington University (23-2) on their home court. View men's bracket

Though there are no actual seedings, the women (26-1) essentially earned a #1 seed. The Shirk Center will play host to the first two rounds, with IWU taking on Franklin College (21-6) this Friday at 8:00. If the Titans prevail, they will face the winner of Simpson (22-5) vs. Chicago (19-6) Saturday at 7:00. View women's bracket

Franklin won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) regular season title and claimed the conference tournament title with a win over rival Hanover. As far as common opponents go, the Grizzlies lost to Elmhurst 85-57 back in November and beat North Central 73-61 in December.

They outscored their opponents by nearly 10 points per game and have three players who average double-figures. While they are clearly a solid team, they play in a relatively weak conference and did not defeat any ranked opponents this season (IWU defeated four).

Not to jinx anything, but it's worth noting in case IWU advances to play Chicago that the Titans prevailed 64-57 at Chicago on December 5.

IWU women's basketball spotlight: Hope Schulte

Junior Hope Schulte is one of just three Titans to start all 25 regular season games this year and, fittingly, one of three captains (along with Christina Solari and Stacy Arlis). She started all 31 games last year as well, and played in 28 of 29 games her freshman year.

Suffice to say that Schulte has been one of coach Mia Smith's most important players during her three-year career. And while her 8.5 points per game last season were nothing to sneeze at, she has dialed it up a notch this year: she is tied with Nikki Preston for the second-highest scoring average on the team with 11.3 points per game. She has been a consistent offensive presence, cracking double-digits in 15 of the team's 25 games.

But as good as Schulte is at the offensive end, she might be even better when the other team has the ball. She leads the team with 73 steals (nearly three per game), and has piled up five or more in five different games. Her long wingspan also gives her a unique ability to block shots on the perimeter--despite being a guard, she easily leads the team with 17 blocks. Also impressive given her position is that she's third on the team with 3.4 rebounds per game.

Schulte wears #32, and here's hoping that the team plays in at least that many games this year--their 32nd game would be a Final Four matchup.

IWU women's basketball spotlight: Christina Solari

The Titans' only starting senior and one of just two seniors on the roster, center Christina Solari has had an illustrious career at IWU.

After a successful 2007-08 season that saw the Titans go 26-3 but lose to Wisconsin-Whitewater 87-63 in the second round of the tournament, it was speculated that the team needed a force down low to enable them to get over the proverbial hump. That force would turn out to be Christina Solari.

While she started 21 games in 2007-08 and came on strong as the season concluded, it was last season that she really began to shine. She quickly gave fans a reason to be excited about the team's newfound post presence as she scored in double figures in each of the season's first 13 games, and had seven double-doubles in that span. Solari exhibited incredible consistency, failing to score in double figures just twice the entire season. She averaged a double-double with 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds over the course of the 31-game season.

Solari has started all 24 games this season as well, and despite playing in just three games her freshman year, she ranks near the top of several career categories:

Rank------Statistic-------Total
1---------------FG %-----------.603
2------------Rebounds--------826
6-------------Assists-----------307
11-------------Points----------1,088

This season, Solari has led the team in points six times and led the team in rebounds 19 times out of 23 games. She has become almost impossible for opponents to shut down, and when opposing coaches have opted to double-team her, she's found a way to dish it to her teammates--she's racked up 101 assists already this year after totaling 112 all of last year.

Christina Solari has been perhaps the biggest reason that the IWU women's basketball team has gone 52-2 over the last two seasons and advanced to their first-ever Elite Eight last year. Her career is not quite over yet, but there is no doubt that she is one of the best players in the team's 29-year history.

Titan women's streak finally comes to an end

Congratulations to Coach Mia Smith and the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team, not so much on their 72-67 loss at Carthage on Saturday, but on the remarkable 56-game regular season winning streak that preceded it.

They say you can't win 'em all, though the Titans have tested that theory more than almost any team in any college or professional sport in the last few years (the UConn women's bball team comes to mind as an exception). The loss was the team's first in the regular season and the first against a CCIW foe since January 12, 2008. Between that loss and the one this weekend, they went 63-2, including postseason games.

I didn't see the game against Carthage as it was on the road, but I can tell you that a 13-0 run in the middle of the second half turned a one-point IWU lead into a 12-point deficit from which they were unable to recover. IWU was outrebounded 34-31, were just 12-19 from the free throw line, and saw both Nikki Preston and Brittany Hasselbring foul out. Hope Schulte--who had 13 points in the game--launched a three-point attempt with four seconds remaining but couldn't get it to go down.

So the Titans, who are now 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the CCIW, saw an incredible streak come to an end with a tough loss against another ranked team. But they're still in the midst of an incredible season, and will try to begin a new winning streak with a home game against North Park tomorrow at 7:30. They are now tied with Elmhurst at the top of the CCIW standings, so make a mental note of their match-up with the Bluejays this Saturday at 5:00 at the Shirk Center.

Can't win 'em all

The IWU women's basketball team nearly proved that adage false, but their magical season came to an abrupt end Saturday night at the Shirk Center with a 58-53 loss to a talented, well-coached Washington University squad. The '08-'09 Titans finished the season 30-1, setting a team record for victories and going deeper into the postseason than any team before them.

The Bears had the Titans out of sync the entire game. IWU had just 20 points at halftime, and finished the game with season lows in points, field goal percentage (30), and assists (six). It was a defensive game all around, as IWU held Wash U. to 37% from the floor, but the Titans trailed pretty much the entire game and just couldn't get over the hump.

IWU trailed by 11 at the half, but utilized a suffocating full-court press in the second half to draw within two at 36-34. The Titans later trailed 51-49 and appeared to force another turnover an an inbound play, but a foul was called, sending Wash U. to the line. With under one minute remaining, Claire Sheehan laid one in to once again pull the Titans within two, but the Bears made five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the deal, and will take on Amherst in the Final Four (the other matchup is undefeated George Fox against unranked College of New Jersey).

Mallory Heydorn led the Titans with 18 points, and Christina Solari and Claire Sheehan added 12 and 11, respectively. The Titans were outrebounded 40-30.

Congratulations to Coach Mia Smith, to all 16 players who saw time this season, and specifically to Claire Sheehan, Mallory Heydorn, and Colleen Caplice, the three seniors who will leave knowing they provided the Titan faithful with some wonderful memories. The attendance for the team's first home game this season was 138. The count for Saturday's game? 2,150. That's the largest crowd for any IWU men's or women's game this season. And I must say, the crowd for the entire tournament, and especially Saturday's game, was incredible. During the Titans' comeback in the second half, especially when they were employing an exciting full-court press that Wash U. struggled to deal with, the crowd was loud and proud. And while the game ended in a loss, I'm sure glad IWU served as host for the regional and sectional rounds of the tournament.

Coach Smith showed great character, grabbing the mic just minutes after a tough loss in order to thank her players, the fans and the amazing IWU pep band. It has to be difficult for her to swallow the fact that the team's first misstep, their first "L," sends them home for good. I still think IWU might be the better team, but Wash U. was better on this night, and when it comes tournament time, that's the name of the game.

But it doesn't get much better than 30-1, and it doesn't get much better than a 27-0 regular season, nor much better than outscoring your opponents by an average of 22 points, nor much better than having the CCIW's Player of the Year (Solari) and Coach of the Year, nor much better than playing in the Elite Eight in front of the biggest basketball crowd the Shirk Center has seen all season. Nope, it just doesn't get much better than this year's IWU women's basketball team.

3-0 and 30-0

UW-Stevens Points led 2-0 Friday night against the Titans, and then never again. IWU controlled the game the entire way--they led by eight at halftime, extended it to 15 at one point, and ultimately rode a 77-64 victory into the Elite Eight.

Christina Solari had a huge game, putting up 18 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and leading the team with five assists. Claire Sheehan, Hope Schulte and Colleen Caplice also scored in double figures, as the Titans shot 52% from the field while holding the Pointers to just 37%. The win brings the Titans' record to a nice round 30-0.

The Titans have outscored their three tournament opponents by an average score of 79-59. On the entire season, the Titans have outscored their opponents by an average score of 79-56. They have shown remarkable consistency in the tournament, simply playing their game and not getting thrown off no matter what the other team throws at them.

Photos, by the way, are courtesy of Shannon Wisecup.

#1 Illinois Wesleyan vs. #6 Washington University, 7 pm, Shirk Center

As I mentioned yesterday, IWU defeated the Wash U. Bears 72-69 back in November. Wash U. is a very balanced team, with no player averaging over nine points per game despite averaging 73 points per game on the season as a team. Seven different players have led the team in scoring at some point this season (that number is identical for the Titans). In terms of minutes, the Bears are about 9-10 players deep. The Titans opted not to employ a full-court press Friday night, and played a zone defense much of the game. Thus, they should have a lot of energy left in the tank tonight.

--------

In other tournament action, the winner of the IWU-Wash U. game will take on the winner of (25) Brandeis vs. (11) Amherst, while (2) Hope and (3) George Fox go at it in hopes of playing the winner of New Jersey vs. (20) Scranton. I'm "hoping" for a win by George Fox, as I'd rather not see the team hosting the Final Four make it to said Final Four. But most importantly, I'm hoping for another Titan victory tonight!

Pointing the way to victory

Friday at 8 pm, the #1 ranked IWU women's basketball (29-0) team will take on the #4 UW-Stevens Point Pointers (26-3) at the Shirk Center.

According to IWU Coach Mia Smith, the Pointers run a motion offense with one primary ball handler. They like to post up and shoot 10- to 12-footers. They have a balanced offense with two players averaging double-figures (Britta Peterson 14.5, Jessi Sporle 10.5). Like fellow WIAC member UW-Eau Claire, they are a defense-oriented team, allowing 52 points per game.

I seem to say this for every game, but it's worth pointing out: the Titans are about 10 deep compared to about 7.5 for the Pointers. With Stevens Point's half-court style offense and no full-court press, it will once again be a battle of playing styles. IWU won that battle last Saturday, putting up 80 points against an Eau Claire team that allowed just 51 points per game during the season. IWU is also a better rebounding team than Stevens Point, and should be able to garner an edge on the boards Friday.

Stevens Point has some strong history to look back on: they won the NCAA championship in 2002, and placed fourth in 2004. They rattled off 14 straight victories at one point this season, and have won their last six.

There are some eerie similarities between the two teams: Stevens Point shoots 33% from the arc compared to 32% for IWU (though we've attempted 663 threes compared to just 407 for the Pointers), while IWU has a 46-45 advantage in overall field goal percentage. The Pointers have allowed 22% more points in the second half compared to the first, which bodes well considering Coach Smith's ability to make wonderful halftime adjustments--IWU outscored their first two tournament opponents by a combined 29 points.

One final note: Stevens Point played Eau Claire (whom the Titans beat 80-63 last Saturday) three times this season, going 2-1.

One more final note: as of Friday, the Titans will have played the Battling Bishops, the Blugolds, and the Stevens Point Pointers in the tournament. This has to be the worst collection of nicknames faced by any team in the tournament. And since we're talking about women's basketball teams here, would it be fair to refer to Stevens Point's squad as the Pointer Sisters? (toth: ck)

Saturday's potential foes:
St. Benedict (26-3) vs. #6 Washington University (23-4), Friday, 6 pm

St. Benedict has won 16 straight, while Wash U. has a 12-game winning streak of their own. St. Benedict outscores their opponents by 14, while Wash U. dominates their foes by 19 points per game (IWU has them both beat with a point differential of +24).

St. Benedict is a deep team, but has no player averaging over 12 points per game, while Wash U. has no one averaging double-figures but still scores 74 points per game. It is also worth noting that IWU faced Wash U. in St. Louis in November, and the Titans walked away with a 72-69 victory.

29 and Oh Yeah!

Greg Chadwick dons his cleverly updated t-shirt at Saturday's game. More tape needed after Saturday's result!

I have some good news. Check that, I have sweet news: The IWU women's basketball team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in history.

More sweet news: The Titans advanced with an 80-63 victory over 9th-ranked UW-Eau Claire, controlling the game from the outset against the best team they've played in quite a while.

And more: IWU will host the next two rounds of the tournament, this Friday and Saturday. They'll take on 4th-ranked UW-Stevens Point Friday at 8pm, and if they win, they'll face either 6th-ranked Wash U. or unranked St. Benedict Saturday night (these two teams play at 6pm Friday).

Saturday against UW-Eau Claire, the Titans shot 50% from the field compared to 40% for the Blugolds (really? The Blugolds? They should have been penalized five points just for their uncreative name. I guess they figure it's creative because they took out the "e."), and forced 20 turnovers. But perhaps most impressive was that IWU put up 80 points against a team that prides itself on defense and allowed just 51 points per game this season. The Titans dictated the tempo and made one of the better defensive teams in the nation look below average.

Claire Sheehan led the Titans in points and rebounds with 17 and 8, and Christina Solari and Mallory Heydorn put in 13 each. Stacey Arlis provided 22 strong minutes off the bench, and Kylie Castans added eight points of her own, including two threes.

The Titans are obviously a phenomenal team--you don't go 29-0 by accident--but the CCIW had such a down year that it was difficult to know how they'd perform against a top team. For me, Saturday's game proved that IWU is an elite team and that they should be able to play with anyone. For that reason, I can't wait until Friday night. Look for a preview of this weekend's games later this week.

The Titans should be extremely proud of what they've accomplished this season. They're in uncharted territory, and they rightfully drew a combined 3,750 fans for their first two tournament games. It should be a great atmosphere next weekend, and

GO TITANS!

Thrilling Thirty-Two

There's no name for the second round of the tournament, so I made up my own. I've included some pictures from the first round game at the Shirk Center. It was a great atmosphere with an announced attendance of 1,800.

IWU advanced to the Thrilling Thirty-Two (aka second round) of the NCAA tournament Friday night with an 80-51 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops, who finished the season 17-12, are a decent team but clearly didn't belong on the same court as the #1 ranked Titans. It was a 39-28 Titan lead at halftime, but the Titans came out swinging in the second half, starting on a 22-4 run to all but seal the deal.

Just to give you an idea how good this team is: Despite this being the first round of the national tournament, bench players Sarah Cotner, Jessica Hinterlong, Karen Solari, Stacey Arlis, Amanda Murray and Brittany Hasselbring all played at least six minutes. In all, 15 Titans played in the game.

IWU shot 53% compared to just 31% for Ohio Wesleyan. Four Titans were in double figures: Heydorn 17, Solari 13, Sheehan 12 and Cotner 11. IWU advances to play presumably the toughest foe they've faced in over three months, as they take on 9th ranked UW-Eau Claire Saturday night at 7pm.

The second round game will be a fascinating clash of styles. Eau Claire defeated DePauw 62-50 Friday, and allows just 51 points per game. They have a 6-5 center and size all around, and thus prefer to play a half court game as opposed to the Titans who love to run. Whichever team can force the other to play their style will most likely prevail. Hopefully the Titans can exploit Eau Claire's zone defense with a strong shooting performance, as well as force the action downcourt to take advantage of their superior athleticism. The Titans will also hope Christina Solari doesn't get into foul trouble against her 6-5 opponent, as they don't have another significant frontcourt presence to take on the 6-5 Ellen Plendl if Solari has to sit.

Go Titans!

Bishops and Tigers and Blugolds, oh my!

It's a battle of Wesleyans Friday at the Shirk Center, as the IWU women's basketball team takes on the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops (17-11, 10-6) at 8pm. Ohio Wesleyan enters the tournament by virtue of their North Coast Athletic Conference championship. Including their conference tournament, they've won five consecutive games.

During the regular season, Ohio Wesleyan beat UW-Eau Claire (currently ranked 9th in the nation) but also lost to Wheaton by 22, a team we beat twice by a combined 76 points.

According to IWU coach Mia Smith, the Battling Bishops run a triangle offense. This offense, which you may recall the Bulls ran under Phil Jackson, relies on defensive recognition rather than pre-set plays. This motion offense allows multiple players to get involved, and the Bishops have four players averaging between 12 and 16 points per game.

Smith also said Ohio Wesleyan is not afraid to shoot even a long three-ball, and this is evidenced by the team's .361 3-point shooting percentage (IWU's is .322). However, the Bishops allowed a .354 opponent 3-point percentage, so the treys could flying on Friday.

IWU should find a familiar advantage in this one--the ability to wear the other team down and force them deeper into their bench than they would like. Our full-court press could disrupt the precision of their triangle offense, and our pressure half-court defense could get them out of sorts and force them to use more players than usual due to either fouls or weariness. IWU is legitimately 11- or 12-deep, while Ohio Wesleyan appears to go about 9- or 10-deep, and has only seven players averaging over one point per game (IWU has 12).

UW-Eau Claire (23-5, 12-4) vs. DePauw (22-5, 12-2)

I have absolutely no idea who will win this match-up of the 9th and 22nd ranked teams in the country, but I'll provide some info on each team in case we meet them in the 2nd round.

Eau Claire opened the season 12-0 and finished 5-3. They can play "D," as they've allowed 35, 41, 47, 34 and 46 points in their last five games. Overall, they allow just 51 points per game compared to 56 for IWU. It would be interesting to see IWU's high-powered offense go up against the stingy Eau Claire defense.

In games against top teams, the Blugolds went 2-1 against UW-Whitewater (#10) and 0-3 against UW-Stevens Point (#4).

The DePauw Tigers rattled off 16 straight wins at one point this season, and finished 5-2 in their last seven. Their first game of the year (and ours) was a 77-76 loss to the Titans on a neutral court. They are an extremely balanced team offensively. Here are some player scoring averages:
12.2
9.3
9.1
7.6
7.2
6.9
6.6
5.6
5.3

Here's a good sign: The Tigers allowed 25% more points in the second half this season compared to the first, and the Titans have been a good second half team all year. While a match-up with Eau Claire has the potential to be a little more low-scoring, DePauw shoots .364 from the arc and averages 74 points per game, so another game in the 70s certainly wouldn't be a surprise.

Back in November, Mallory Heydorn poured in six threes and four Titans scored in double-figures. Hope Schulte hit the game-winning free throw with just one second left.

It should be a good weekend of basketball! If you can, march over to the Shirk Center and catch the madness!

Bracket racket

Here is IWU's portion of the Division III women's basketball tournament bracket. Click this post's title for the entire bracket.



George Fox, the other undefeated team in women's D III, gets the only bye in the tourney, while IWU hosts Ohio Wesleyan Friday at 8pm (2nd round game is Saturday at 7pm). Generally speaking, we appear to have been slightly hosed. This is partly because D III teams are truly slotted by region, as opposed to the D I bracket that is very loose on geographic region. We could have to get through DePauw (#22 in final poll) or UW-Eau Claire (9), UW-Stevens Point (4), and either UW-Whitewater (10), Wash U. (6) or Simpson (13) to get to the Final Four. Those aren't their tournament seedings, those are their national rankings.

The first two games will be at the Shirk Center, and it's likely that the third and fourth games would be as well, if we're still in it. Once again, Friday's game is at 8pm and Saturday's would be at 7pm.

Go Titans!!

NCAA tournament, Titan style

The IWU women's basketball team is now 27-0 after winning the CCIW conference tournament with 76-58 and 75-55 wins over North Central and Carthage, respectively. Next step: the NCAA tournament. This will be their third consecutive appearance in the tournament.

Also, congratulations to Christina Solari on her CCIW "Player of the Year" honor, and to Coach Mia Smith for her CCIW "Coach of the Year" honor.

The announcement for Division III NCAA tournament pairings will be at 10 a.m. Monday at www.ncaa.com. The team will have to win either five or six games to take the ultimate trophy, depending on whether they are awarded a first-round bye.

There are no more silly losses from here on out--losing in the NCAA tournament is never something to be ashamed of. But after watching this team plow through CCIW and non-conference opponents like a woodchuck through wood, I think we all expect some degree of success on the national stage. Add in that the Titans will almost assuredly host a game or two (or more), and it's hard not to hold out some "hope" that the women will be playing in a few weeks at Hope College, host of the Final Four.

But no matter what the tournament has in store, a sincere congratulations to the Titan women! What an incredible season!

Perfect regular season

The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team is now 25-0, completing an undefeated regular season with an 81-75 victory at Elmhurst Tuesday night. The Titans faced their biggest scare all year, as they trailed by 20 with 15:26 to go, but outscored the Bluejays 49-23 the rest of the way. According to IWU's Web site, the Titans are the first CCIW champion since 1998 to go undeafeated.
IWU will host the CCIW tournament this Friday and Saturday, playing North Central (12-12 overall, 7-7 conference) at 8pm Friday. Wheaton faces Carthage in the other game at 6pm. The championship game will be held at 2pm Saturday.

After that, it's on to the national tournament, and one could argue that with all the blowouts this season, having a tough battle and being forced to fight from behind for a change is not the worst thing that could have happened, especially considering they still escaped with an unblemished record. The Titans faced a serious challenge but still came out on top, and that's a good sign.

A Tale of Two Titans

Both Titan squads hosted Wheaton on Valentine's Day. The women showed no love for the Thunder, beating down yet another opponent with a 101-57 victory. They are now 22-0 overall and 12-0 in conference play. The win clinches the CCIW regular season title, meaning the Titans will host the CCIW tournament on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 27-28. Congratulations, Titans!
The men, on the other hand, continued to struggle, losing 86-60 and falling to 5-7 in the CCIW. Kent Raymond filled it up with 28 points on 10-17 shooting, including 5-10 from three. Fellow observer Chris Kawakita noted Raymond's impeccable shooting stroke, especially from the free throw line. Raymond is an 89 percent free throw shooter on the season, good for 11th in Division III. Raymond is also 11th in the nation in points per game, averaging 23.5.

The Titans committed 19 turnovers, a category in which they unfortunately lead the conference (14.3 average). The loss leaves them in 6th place.

A Look Back

The Titan women took care of business, winning 67-45 over the Big Blue. A win at home against Wheaton this Saturday at 2 pm would clinch the regular season conference championship. Of course, the women have loftier goals in mind, as most 21-0 teams would.

If you'll recall, I suggested yesterday that Villanova would beat Marquette, while the Bulls would down the Pistons. Read on:

Villanova shot a ridiculous 58 percent from the field, and laced Marquette 102-84. The victory pulls them within one game of the Golden Eagles and two games of conference leader Connecticut (10-1), and leaves Marquette with back-to-back Big East losses after winning their first nine league games.

The Bulls stayed hot, staging an exciting comeback to beat the Pistons. The Bulls trailed by as many as 15, and by 10 with about 3:30 left, but ended the game on a 17-2 run to win 107-102. Which means three things:
1) the Pistons have lost five straight at the United Center
2) the Bulls are actually playing pretty well of late
3) I am a sports genius

Plus it means I won my free bet on centsports

College Conference of Illinois Wesleyan?

The undefeated IWU women's basketball team (10-0 CCIW) takes to the home court tonight against Millikin (5-4 CCIW). With four games to go for a potential CCIW sweep, the Titans face one of only two conference foes that has given them a scare this year, as they trailed by four with under 10 minutes to go against the Big Blue on January 17. The Titans ultimately pulled out a six-point victory in that one.

The Titans are so thoroughly dominating the conference that their conference victories (10) equal the combined win total of the bottom half of the CCIW. As the number one team in the nation, it's fitting that they'll be shooting for 11-0 CCIW and 21-0 overall tonight.