D3 WBB Daily: Illinois Wesleyan/Millikin headlines today's slate
Welcome back to another edition of D3 WBB Daily! Hope everyone has had a great start to the week. I’m writing this from the Midwest, as I’m in Wisconsin working on my book on D3 men’s and women’s basketball. It’s been great so far since arriving on Monday, and I had a chance to watch Gustavus Adolphus in action against St. Benedict in MIAC play that night. I was impressed by both teams in the matchup, as CSB displayed plenty of grit and a refusal to back down, even against the nation’s sixth-ranked team. And Gustavus certainly backed up that ranking, with an incredibly efficient offensive performance. Seeing a team play in-person is just different than watching on a livestream, and the biggest thing that struck me was the pinpoint passing of Gustavus. The Gusties found so many shots in transition and at the rim because of their passing, and that is something that will continue to serve them well this season.
Alright, getting to today’s updates…
Tipping Off
Top 25 Thoughts
The Top 5 remains unchanged: NYU, Transylvania, Rhode Island College, and UW-Whitewater, Christopher Newport. Notably, the first-place votes continue to be distributed the same way; NYU (19), Transylvania (5), RIC (1).
Catholic jumps into the Top 10, having tied its highest ranking ever in program history. The effect of the Scranton win certainly seems to be significant, and rightfully so. Now, all five undefeated teams that are ranked are inside the Top 10.
Speaking of Scranton, the Lady Royals slide back to No. 14. This seems appropriate. I mentioned in my ballot breakdown article that it was tough to knock Scranton too much for the road loss at Catholic, but that Catholic deserved to go in front of Scranton, considering the result. I had Scranton at #17, so not too far off. Seems most voters took the same approach, putting Catholic ahead and dropping Scranton some.
Emory slides four spots from No. 6 to No. 10. Again, this makes a lot of sense. Emory went 1-1 on a road weekend in the UAA, beating WashU, but losing at Chicago. The UAA is tough, and losses will happen. But Emory has performed at a high-level time and time again and has a resume that is certainly worthy of staying in the Top 10 for now.
3 teams tied for biggest rise of the week: Catholic, Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Washington & Lee. UMHB is up to No. 15 after two big wins at Hardin-Simmons and McMurry, and the fact that those were on the road is pretty impressive. I had The Cru at No. 14, and feel really good about their placement as a Top 15 team. W&L is a little tougher to see at No. 18, but at 15-1 and with what Mary Schleusner does on the floor, I’m certainly not surprised. The Generals’ best win is still probably a 56-55 win at Marymount in the season-opener.
Loras and Carroll are both in after being unranked last week. Loras is 12-2, with its only losses coming to UW-Platteville and Wartburg, both at home. The Duhawks seem much more comfortable now than when those losses came in November/early December, and that is a big part of why I have had them ranked for a few weeks now. Carroll’s win over Millikin still looks great, and losses to Illinois Wesleyan, UW-Whitewater, and Chicago are quality losses. Carroll has been winning big in the CCIW and hosts Illinois Wesleyan in a huge matchup on Saturday. That’ll be the real test.
I voted for 2 teams that did not make it into the poll: Baldwin Wallace and UW-Stout. I had BW at #23 and Stout at #25. Once again, the number of teams competing for those final spots is quite large, with 19 teams in the “Receiving Votes” column this week. While it seems we have a fairly solid group in the Top 15-20, the 20-25 range tends to vary from ballot-to-ballot. Just a sign of the parity we’re seeing across the country this season, especially in conference play.
Illinois Wesleyan hosts Millikin in pivotal CCIW clash
Illinois Wesleyan’s perfect 7-0 CCIW record will receive perhaps its toughest test thus far tonight, as the eighth-ranked Titans host 17th-ranked Millikin at the Shirk Center. This is the game of the day in my opinion, especially as it is the only contest involving a pair of Top 25 foes. Not to mention the fact of it being a rivalry, and all that comes along with that. This is a key week for IWU, who has steadily improved in the polls week after week as the Titans’ winning streak has reached double-digits. After hosting Millikin, a road trip north to #25 Carroll awaits the Titans, and at this point, with about five weeks left in the regular season, games like this one just mean that much more. The same certainly goes for Millikin, who already has two losses in league play, and can’t afford to take another one in the quest for the CCIW regular season title.
IWU lost all three games it played against Millikin last year, but this is a much-improved Titans squad, and IWU has won 13 of the last 20 meetings. These are the top two scoring teams in the CCIW, so don’t be surprised if an offensive shootout unfolds in Bloomington.
Don’t overlook Coe
The duel between unranked Coe and No. 12 Wartburg is going to be very intriguing. Wartburg is at home and playing well, but Coe is a bit underrated, I think, especially with the Kohawks having not lost since Nov. 29. Coe is 14-2, with its only losses coming in the first month of the season to Loras and Simpson. Since then, Coe has been on a roll, highlighted by wins over Pacific and North Central. Led by Cayden Kirkham (18.5 PPG), this Kohawk offense is clicking and should give Wartburg a solid test. Wartburg certainly has one of the better defenses in the ARC, which makes that matchup between the Coe offense and the Wartburg defense all the more interesting.
Fast Breaks
» Bates improved to 15-2 against a St. Joseph’s (ME) team that is 5-0 in the GNAC yesterday, winning 74-49. It was a three-point game at half, but Bates surged in a 21-5 fourth quarter. Alexandria Long continues to be incredibly versatile for the Bobcats, scoring 12 points along with 12 rebonds and six assists in the victory.
» Closest game of the day was found in New Haven, CT, where Albertus Magnus hosted Johnson & Wales, and came away with a 67-65 win. JWU had a chance to tie it or win at the final buzzer, but had the ball knocked loose on the game’s final play, as Albertus Magnus moves up to 13-4 overall.
» In an interesting stat, Hamilton took down SUNYIT, 62-45, yesterday, with 56 of its points coming from the bench. Granted, Hamilton’s starters each played just six minutes, but it definitely speaks to the depth found on that Hamilton roster, with several young players who are now stepping up.
» Bowdoin’s Sydney Jones was in rhythm against Wesleyan yesterday afternoon, and impressively, converted on 5-of-6 3-point attempts. That level of consistency is tough to do, especially when you are priority No. 1 for the opposing defense. Jones led 13th-ranked Bowdoin to a 77-44 win in the process.
Looking Ahead
#23 Loras at Dubuque, 6:30 pm ET
Coe at #12 Wartburg, 6:30 pm ET
Shenandoah at #18 Washington & Lee, 7 pm ET
UW-Eau Claire at UW-Stout, 7 pm ET
#22 Amherst at Williams, 7 pm ET
#17 Millikin at #8 Illinois Wesleyan, 8 pm ET
#4 UW-Whitewater at UW-Platteville, 8 pm ET
Whittier at Cal Lutheran, 10 pm ET