McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team's journey to the program's second College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament title begins Friday, Feb. 25, with a semifinal game against fourth-seeded North Central College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center and will follow the 5 p.m. semifinal game between second-seeded Wheaton College and No. 3 seed Elmhurst University. The winners will then meet Saturday, Feb. 26, in the title game at 7 p.m. at the Shirk Center.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the tournament as the top seed after winning the CCIW Regular Season Championship with a league record of 14-2. IWU sits at 21-4 overall and has won five straight. North Central, which sits at 16-9 overall (10-6 CCIW), advanced to the semifinal with a 57-50 win over fifth-seeded Millikin, Feb. 22.

Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

IWU AND THE CCIW TOURNAMENT: Illinois Wesleyan has made 13 CCIW Tournament appearances since the league began holding a tournament in 2006. Over that time, the Titans have gone 11-12 in CCIW Tournament games.

Not included in those totals is last season's league tournament, which featured all nine teams due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. IWU went 3-0 in the 2021 championship, defeating North Park (75-55), Elmhurst (75-65), and Wheaton (71-58) en route to the CCIW Championship.

NO. 1 SEEDS IN THE TOURNAMENT: Since the CCIW began hosting a league tournament in 2006 and through 2020, the No. 1 seed has won the title eight times. The top seed has compiled an 18-7 record in the conference tourney overall. Augustana was the last No. 1 seed to win the tournament, doing so in 2018.

TITANS HEADLINE CCIW POSTSEASON HONORS: Congratulations are in order for four Titans men's basketball players and head coach Ron Rose, as Matthew Leritz and Peter Lambesis were named First Team All-CCIW and Cory Noe and Luke Yoder were listed as All-CCIW Second Team honorees. IWU's four all-conference selections are tied for the second-most in school history, as well as the most since 1998.

Additionally, Rose reeled in CCIW Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career, which is tied for second-most all-time in the CCIW.

YOU DA REAL MVP: A unanimous First Team All-CCIW pick, Matthew Leritz is the 15th Titan in program history to be voted the league's top player, while it marks the 18th time a Titan has earned the award. A dominant force for the Green and White this season, Leritz averaged 18.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over IWU's 16-game conference slate. He shot 56.9 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three-point range, and 73.7 percent at the free throw line against league competition.

    A three-time CCIW Player of the Week, Leritz has been recognized as part of D3hoops.com's Team of the Week three times and has been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Division III National Player of the Week once. The St. Louis, Mo. native scored double digit points in all 16 of IWU's conference games, including a career-high 31-point effort in a win over Wheaton, Feb. 12.

CCIW TOURNAMENT CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Since the CCIW Tournament was introduced in 2006, the Cardinals and Titans have matched up three times.

In the inaugural conference tournament, IWU dropped the championship game to North Central in heartbreaking fashion as the Titans were defeated 51-49. In 2011, the Titans traveled to Naperville and won, 69-57, on North Central's home court before losing to Augustana in the championship game. In the 2018 CCIW Tournament, the Cardinals avenged their postseason loss from seven years prior, defeating the Titans, 70-64, in a semifinal contest. North Central went on to the championship game where they were defeated by Augustana.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Friday's contest will serve as the 169th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 121-47 lead in the all-time series. It has been just nine days since these two teams last met inside the Shirk Center on Feb. 16, where the Titans won handily 78-65.

    Three players scored in double-figures in the Titans' victory, with none other than Matthew Leritz leading the way. Leritz stuffed that stat sheet with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds and four assists. Luke Yoder finished with 15 points, while Peter Lambesis added 13 points, five rebounds, and three steals.

TITANS TAKE IT OUTRIGHT: With Wednesday's win over North Central, the Titans clinched the CCIW Regular Season title outright for the first time since the 2013-14 season. IWU won the COVID-19 shortened season's CCIW Tournament last year.

    Illinois Wesleyan's win also marked its 20th of the season, giving the Green and White its first 20+ win season since the 2014-15 campaign. The 2014-15 IWU men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SHIRK: The Shirk Center, one of the greatest home court advantages in Division III, has hosted the conference tournament just twice since 2006. The Shirk Center last hosted the conference tournament in the 2014 season, where the Titans fell in the championship game to Wheaton. Before that, IWU hosted in 2013 and was defeated by Augustana in the semifinals.

FEBRUARY FUN: Illinois Wesleyan owns a 72-37 record in the month of February under the direction of head coach Ron Rose.

FACING THE BEST OF THE BEST: The No. 5 Titans have played one of the more difficult schedules in all of Division III this season. IWU has played six games against current top-25 opponents, including the current No. 3, No. 10, No. 19, and No. 20 ranked teams in the country in UW-Oshkosh, Wheaton, Elmhurst, and Yeshiva, respectively. The Titans are 4-2 against the current top-25 this year, as IWU's schedule is the 15th-toughest according to NCAA stats.

THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE MAN-BUNNED MONSTER: Junior forward Cody Mitchell may not don the man bun any longer, but the St. Charles, Ill. native has been just as key for the Titans despite the hairstyle change. Mitchell tied for the team lead with nine rebounds and 12 points in the Green and White's win at Augustana, Feb. 19. In fact, IWU boasts a 11-0 record when Mitchell scores 10-or-more points this season.

HOME COOKING: One of the greatest athletic venues in NCAA Division III, the Shirk Center has been home to more than 600 Titan basketball games between both the men and women. The men hold a 290-57 record on their home floor, good for a .836 win percentage.

RANKINGS ON REPEAT: Illinois Wesleyan is one of 20 programs that have appeared in at least 100 D3Hoops.com Top-25 rankings. The Titans are currently ranked No. 5 in the poll.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: In the most recent NCAA regional rankings released on Feb. 20, Illinois Wesleyan maintained its spot atop Region VIII. CCIW rival Millikin became regionally ranked for the first time in the updated rankings, giving the Titans 10 wins over regionally ranked teams.  IWU's10 wins against regionally ranked teams is the second-most in Division III.

    There are five CCIW teams ranked in Region VIII including No. 1 IWU, No. 2 Wheaton, No. 4 Elmhurst, No. 7 North Central, and No. 9 Millikin. IWU holds a victory over the No. 1 team in Region IX, UW-Oshkosh.