BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball officially opens the season Tuesday night, Nov. 12 when Blackburn College pays a visit to the Shirk Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream, while Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will also have the call on 98.3 FM WEXG. Links on how to follow along with Tuesday night's game can be found on the schedule page of IWUsports.com.
ONE OF THE BEST: When Illinois Wesleyan and Blackburn take the court Tuesday night one of the best in Beavers' history will be one the IWU bench. Second-year IWU assistant coach Chris Davis graduated from Blackburn scored 1428 points as a Beaver, converting 43.8 percent of his shots from the floor and 40.2 percent of his three-point attempts. Davis finished his freshman and sophomore seasons ranked inside the NCAA's top-35 for free throw makes. For his career, he converted 80.3 percent at the charity stripe.
BATTLING BLACKBURN: The Titans and Beavers have faced off on the hardwood five times prior to Tuesday night's tilt, with Illinois Wesleyan holding an unblemished 5-0 record against Blackburn all-time. The two first met during the 1915-16 season when IWU came out on top, 34-20. In fact, two of the five previous meetings have come in the postseason - first round of the 1971 NAIA Tournament and opening round of the 2002-03 NCAA Tournament.
Most recently, Illinois Wesleyan cruised to a 95-61 victory over the Beavers, Dec. 13, 2013. 14 different players scored for the Titans in the win, while IWU led from wire-to-wire. Current IWU assistant coach Chris Davis dropped a game-high 22 points for Blackburn.
SHIRK'S 25TH BIRTHDAY: The 2019-20 season marks the 25th anniversary of the Shirk Center. 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 266-52 record on their home floor, good for a .836 win percentage.
BEASTS ON THE BOARDS: Illinois Wesleyan returns its top four rebounders from a season ago in Charlie Bair, Doug Wallen, Alex O'Neill, and Matthew Leritz. Bair, Wallen, and O'Neil all grabbed 100+ rebounds, with Bair leading the team and ranking 10th in the conference with 5.7 boards per game. Wallen added 115 rebounds, 4.4 per contest, while O'Neil contributed 3.9 a game.
NOBODY HAS MORE: The Titans success on the court has been matched by their efforts in the classroom. IWU has seen 24 student-athletes named Academic All-Americans, the most of any school across all NCAA divisions.
YEAR 111: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 1664-909 record in its 110-year history, good for a .649 winning percentage. Additionally, the Titans 1664 wins are the fourth-most all-time in NCAA Division III. Meanwihle, IWU's 740 CCIW wins are by-far-and-above the most in the league. In fact, the Titans have 118 more conference wins than any other school in the CCIW.
BY THE NUMBERS: IWU has seen plenty of success on the hardwood in its storied history, highlighted by the Titans' NCAA National Championship in 1997. Overall, IWU has won 30 CCIW championships, made 25 tournament appearances, advanced to 17 "Sweet Sixteens", appeared in 11 "Elite Eights", and gone to six final fours.
SHOES TO FILL: The Titans are tasked with filling the shoes of Brady Rose, Colin Bonnett, and Jason Gregoire - the team's top-three scorers from a season ago. Rose averaged 21.1 points a contest, while Bonnett added 12.5 points a game and Gregoire chipped in 9.5 points a night. Together the trio combined for 1155 points or 52 percent of IWU's scoring in 2018-19.
CCIW PREDICTIONS: Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to finish third in the conference according to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Coaches' Preseason Poll released by the league office, Oct. 30.
The Titans, who garnered 47 points, are behind preseason favorite North Central and Augustana. North Central received 63 points, including seven first-place votes, while Augie earned 56 points and two first-place votes. Carthage and Elmhurst were voted fourth and fifth, respectively, while Wheaton, Carroll, Millikin, and North Park rounded out the standings.
KEEPING IT CLEAN: The Titans did not make things easy for opponents last season, turning the ball over the 37th-fewest times in NCAA Division III. In fact, IWU owned the 17th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation at 1.41 in 2018-19. Illinois Wesleyan's 16.0 assists per game led the CCIW and ranked 63rd nationally.
ON THE HORIZON: IWU remains at home for a pair of non-conference games against Calvin and Alma this weekend, Nov. 15-16. The Titans take on the Knights Friday night, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. before tangling with Alma Saturday, Nov. 16, at 4:30 p.m.
