BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With its eyes set on knocking off a third straight top-25 opponent, the No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will welcome No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis to the Shirk Center for a non-conference tilt Thursday night, Dec. 19. Tipoff between the Titans and Bears is scheduled for 7 p.m.
    Illinois Wesleyan notched a gritty 74-67 road win at No. 23 Augustana Sunday, Dec. 15, to move to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. WashU, which will return to the court for the first time in more than a week, extended its win streak to six with an 86-44 thumping of Fontbonne, Dec. 10. The Bears sit at 8-1 on the year.
    Fans can tune into the games 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 can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

CLUB 250'S NEWEST MEMBER: With Illinois Wesleyan's win at Augustana, Dec. 15, Head Coach Ron Rose became the third coach in program history to reach 250 career wins. Rose is 250-122 in his 13+ seasons as the head man at his alma mater. He ranks third all-time in wins, trailing only Dennie Bridges (667-319) and Jack Horenberger (264-212).

GOOD TO HAVE YA BACK, GRANT: Returning to the floor for the first time in nearly a month, junior Grant Wolfe picked up right where he left off in IWU's win at Augustana, Dec. 15. The junior guard dropped a team-high 14 points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds in his return. Wolfe was huge down the stretch for the Titans, helping put the game on ice with a 6-for-6 showing at the free throw line. 
    IWU is 6-1 with Wolfe, compared to 1-2 without him. Additionally, the Titans shoot 46.8 percent from the floor with him, including 42.7 from three-point range, compared to a field goal percentage of 43.1 and a 30.9 mark from distance without him. Illinois Wesleyan averages 10 points per game better with Wolfe (86.5 to 76.3) than without him.

THE POLLING PLACE: Following a pair of gritty wins over nationally ranked opponents, Illinois Wesleyan finds itself ranked inside the D3hoops.com Top-25 for the first time this season at No. 23 in the latest poll released Dec. 16.
    Arguably the best men's basketball conference in all of NCAA Division III, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin is home to four top-25 team. D3Hoops.com has Elmhurst ranked 16th, Carthage 18th, IWU 23rd, and North Central 25th. Meanwhile, Wheaton and Augustana are receiving votes in the poll.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!: Illinois Wesleyan's overtime win at Augustana Dec. 15 was the Titans' 30th overtime contest since the 2000-01 season. Over that span, IWU has compiled a 16-14 record in games that require OT. 

WINNING IN ROCK ISLAND: With its thrilling 74-67 overtime win at Augustana, Illinois Wesleyan walked out over the Carver Center victorious for the first time since Jan. 21, 2015 when IWU topped Augie 89-84. Pat Sodemann dropped a game-high 20 points and Jordan Nelson added 19 as the Titans shot 58.3 percent from the floor en route to the five-point win.

ALL-TIME AGAINST WASHU: Thursday night's top-25 tilt will serve as the 41st all-time meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and WashU in a series that first began in the 1933-34 season. Since winning the series' first game 33-32, IWU has built up a 23-17 lead in the all-time tally.
    Most recently, the Titans topped the Bears 92-85 in St. Louis, Mo. Nov. 20, 2018. Brady Rose dropped a game-high 33 points and Colin Bonnett and Doug Wallen added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

A LOT HAS CHANGED, BUT A LOT HASN'T: When Illinois Wesleyan and WashU take the court Thursday night the Titans will look much different than a year ago. While WashU returns nearly all of its scoring from last season's matchup (81 of 85 pts - 95.3 percent), IWU brings back 35.9 percent (33 of 92 pts) of its scoring output against the Bears from a year ago. 

TRIP THROUGH THE TOP-25 CONTINUES: For the third straight game the Titans will take on a top-25 opponent when they tangle with No. 10 WashU. IWU has compiled a 2-0 record against ranked teams this season, topping No. 21 Carthage and No. 23 Augustana.

KEEPIN' IT CLEAN: The Titans are averaging just 11.8 turnovers per game, the best mark in the CCIW and the 44th-best nationally. Illinois Wesleyan is also second in the league in turnover margin at +2.8, which ranks 65th-best in the country.

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 269-54 record on their home floor, good for a .834 win percentage.

BAIR'S BOARDS: Junior Charlie Bair has owned the glass this season, pulling down 10.3 rebounds per game. Bair ranks second in the conference and 38th nationally in rebounding average, while his 4.5 offensive boards per contest are 10th-most nationally and lead the CCIW. Additionally, Bair is one of two players in the conference with three-or-more double-doubles this season.

YEAR 111: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 1670-911 record in its history, good for a .647 winning percentage. Additionally, the Titans 1670 wins are the fourth-most all-time in NCAA Division III. Meanwhile, 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.

ON THE HORIZON: IWU returns to action at the Concordia Texas Classic Sunday-Monday, Dec. 29-30, in Austin, Texas. There, the Titans will face Concordia Texas at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, and Sul Ross State Monday, Dec. 30, at 2 p.m.