McLean County Times

Men's Hoops Set for CCIW Clash with Cardinals

Illinois Wesleyan University's men's basketball team heads to Gregory Arena for a key College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at North Central College Saturday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. and will follow IWU women's basketball's tilt with NCC.
    The Titans roll into the weekend with a 12-10 record and sit at 7-6 in the conference. Illinois Wesleyan last defeated Millikin University, Feb. 8, by a final score of 57-51 for its second straight win. North Central is even on the season at 11-11 overall and sits one game behind IWU at 6-8 in the CCIW. The Cardinals have been clipped in their lost two outings, most recently falling, 72-62, at Wheaton, Feb. 8. NCC has dropped five of its past six games, with the lone win coming in overtime, 90-86, at Carroll University, Feb. 1.
    Fans can tune into the game via live stats, live stream, or radio broadcast. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Saturday's contest will serve as the 171st all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 122-48 lead in the all-time series.
The Green and White held off the Cardinals, 87-85, inside the Shirk Center, Dec. 10, 2022 in the first meeting between the two conference foes this season. Lucas Heflen put up a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Cody Mitchell added 22 points and 12 rebounds.

CLEARED FOR LANDING: The Titans will return to Gregory Arena to take on the Cardinals Saturday night, Feb 11. The Green and White hold a 7-10 record at the venue since the 2010-11 season. IWU, which defeated NCC, 73-48, in Naperville last season, is looking to win back-to-back games at the venue since earning a 72-64 win Feb. 6, 2019 and a 68-66 win Dec. 9, 2017. The victories came as part of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX: Illinois Wesleyan has been dominant on the glass this season, out-rebounding its opponents 868 to 701. The strong effort on the glass has IWU holding a +7.5 rebounding margin on the season, the 28th-best in all of Division III. Senior Cody Mitchell leads the Green and White with 9.8 boards per contest. Ryan Sroka is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.

THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE MAN-BUNNED MONSTER: Illinois Wesleyan senior Cody Mitchell popped off for 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a rout of Carroll, Feb. 4. Mitchell, who picked up his ninth double-double of the season, is ranked first in the CCIW and 38th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.36). He is also third in the league in rebounds per game with an average of 9.8 for the season, while his 215 total boards are third-most (38th-most nationally).

MAKING THEM WORK: Illinois Wesleyan has one of the top-ranked defenses in the CCIW this season. In fact, IWU is holding opponents to a 40.6 field goal percentage, which is not only second in the conference, but is also 64th nationally. Furthermore, the Titans are giving up just 67.8 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the conference (79th nationally).

BALANCED BOX SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has been at its best when the scoring has been balanced this season. In fact, IWU is 11-6 when three-or-more players score 10+ points, while the Titans are 0-4 when fewer than three players hit double figures.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: In his final year as a Titan, senior Lucas Heflen is going out with a bang. After starting the season shaky from beyond the arc, #3 has found his rhythm as of late, averaging 20.4 points over the past five games. Heflen started to heat up during the Titan's Oregon swing, hitting a combined 10 threes in two wins. Over the past six games, Heflen has hit a combined 24 triples, good for a 46.2 percent clip from deep.

#23 IN 2023: Illinois Wesleyan has seen senior Cody Mitchell heat up inside the arc since the calendar turned to 2023. In fact, Mitchell is 56-for-96 inside the arc since Jan. 3, good for a two-point field goal percentage of 58.3 percent. The senior co-captain is averaging 14.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest over the 12-game span, both of which top the team.
Furthermore, Mitchell is shooting 60.7 percent (71-of-117) from two-point range in conference play compared to 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) in non-CCIW games.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans finish out their three-game roadtrip Wednesday, Feb. 15, with a crucial CCIW clash at North Park University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Chicago. 

Original source can be found here