BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A three-game regular season-ending roadtrip begins with a trip to King Arena Saturday, Feb. 15, for the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team. Tipoff between the Titans and the Thunder of Wheaton College is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will serve as the second leg of a doubleheader with the IWU women's basketball team.
    IWU bounced back in a big way, knocking off No. 17 Elmhurst, 85-73, Feb. 12, to bring its record to 15-7 overall and 9-4 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. Wheaton, who has lost three of its past four, opens up a three-game homestand against Illinois Wesleyan with hopes of improving on its 13-9 record. The Thunder stumbled to 7-6 in CCIW action with a 74-61 setback at Carroll, Feb. 12.
    Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream, while Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will 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.

REVENGE TOUR: Illinois Wesleyan has learned from its miscues this season. In fact after losing to Elmhurst (L, 72-89) and North Central (L, 69-82) the first time around, the Titans came out victorious in the rematch. IWU will have a chance to move to 3-0 in such games Saturday at Wheaton.
    In the initials meetings with Elmhurst, NCC, and Wheaton, IWU averaged 67 points per game, shot just 38.9 percent from the field, and 23.3 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, opponents averaged 82.3 points per contest, on a 53.1 field goal percentage, and went 26-for-60 (43.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
    Illinois Wesleyan has turned the tables the second time around, averaging 14 points better at 81.0 ppg and holding shooting percentages of 52.5 and 45.0. On the flipside, opponents have scored 10 points less per game (72 ppg) and have seen their field goal percentages dip by two percent.

HELPING HAND: The Titans dished out 24 assists in its win over No. 17 Elmhurst Wednesday, Feb. 12, the most since they tallied 25 in their season opener against Blackburn, Nov. 12. Cory Noe led the way with six helpers, while Peter Lambesis and Doug Wallen added five each. Keondre Schumacher tallied four, with Matthew Leritz recording two, and Charlie Bair and Bernie Coderre registering one apiece.

CLOSING IT OUT AWAY FROM HOME: For the first time in over a decade, Illinois Wesleyan will close out the regular season with three straight road games. Moreover, it is the first time the Titans have finished regular season play with consecutive road contests since the 2009-10 campaign. That year, IWU topped Augustana 62-59 in Rock Island, before falling at North Park, 70-67.

20/20 VISION: For the second time this season, Illinois Wesleyan had two players eclipse 20 points in the same game in its win over No. 17 Elmhurst, Feb. 12. Matthew Leritz dropped a career-high 23 points and Doug Wallen added 21 points as the duo became the first to notch 20-point games in the same contest since Luke Yoder (26 pts) and Wallen (20 pts) did so in a 95-91 win over then-No. 21 Carthage, Dec. 7.

TITANS AND THUNDER ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton will battle for the 132nd time Saturday night. IWU holds a 82-49 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1946-47 season. Despite the Titans' stronghold on the all-time series, the Thunder have come out victorious in the past four meetings.
    Illinois Wesleyan is in search of its first win over Wheaton since Dec. 6, 2017 when the Titans took down the Thunder 82-79 at King Arena. Brady Rose led IWU with 26 points, while Alex O'Neill fell just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

SCOUTING REPORT - WHEATON: The Thunder sit at 13-9 on the season and 7-6 in CCIW play. The Thunder have compiled a 7-4 record inside King Arena this season, but have lost three of their last four contests overall.
    Nyameye Adom, Tyson Cruickshank, Luke Anthony, and Cade Alioth lead Wheaton. Adom averages a team-best 18.5 points per contest, while also leading the Thunder with 78 assists. Cruickshank, who averages 14.8 points per game, is Wheaton's top three-ball threat with 50 triples on the season. Anthony adds 11.4 points per contest, and Alioth adds 10.5 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game.
    The Thunder lead opponents in nearly every statistical category, including field goal percentage, 46.4 to 41.9, three-point field goal percentage, 38.7 to 30.7, free throw percentage, 71.4 to 67.8, and rebounding, 36.8-34.6. Meanwhile, Wheaton has turned the ball over 271 times and forced a league-low 237 turnovers by opponents this season.

FINDING HIS GROOVE: After missing the first month of the season due to injury, sophomore Matthew Leritz has found his groove as of late. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 17.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game over the past six contests. He has also been efficient, converting 41-of-63 (65.1 percent) of his shot attempts and 17-of-24 free throws.

YEAR 111: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 1678-916 record in its history, good for a .647 winning percentage. Additionally, the Titans 1678 wins are the fourth-most all-time in NCAA Division III. Meanwhile, IWU's 746 CCIW wins are by-far-and-above the most in the league. In fact, the Titans have more than 100 conference wins than any other school in the CCIW.

KEEPIN' IT CLEAN: The Titans are averaging just 12.4 turnovers per game, the third-best mark in the CCIW and the 72nd-best nationally. IWU is forcing an average of 15.36 turnovers per game, the second-most in the league, and hold the league's second-best turnover margin at +3.0 (46th nationally).

ANOTHER RANKED OPPONENT: Illinois Wesleyan improved to 4-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season with its 85-73 win over No. 17 Elmhurst Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Titans have now topped the 17th-ranked Bluejays as well as No. 23 Augustana, No. 21, Carthage, and No. 13 North Central.

ROAD RECORD: Illinois Wesleyan owns an 82-51 away from the Shirk Center over the past 10 seasons, good for a .617 win percentage on the road over that span. IWU is 6-3 away from home this season. 

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan's roadtrip continues with a midweek tilt against North Park Wednesday, Feb. 19. Tipoff between the Titans and Vikings is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the North Park Gymnasium.