BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season for a pair of non-conference matchups on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 19-20. The Titans travel to Alma, Mich. and Grand Rapids, Mich. for dates with Alma College and Calvin University.
The No. 4 Titans (3-0) will face Alma College (1-1) on Friday, Nov. 19. Tipoff for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, while Saturday's tipoff against Calvin is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. IWU looks to follow up its victory in the inaugural Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational over No. 17 UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, Nov. 13. Alma enters the weekend even at 1-1 on the season following a 67-59 setback against Oberlin, Nov. 13. Calvin, which will take on Augustana Friday night, Nov. 19, is 1-0 on the season with a win over Illinois Tech (85-54), Nov. 6. The Knights toppled Grace Christian, 83-56, in an exhibition game, Nov. 9.
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.

WINNER, WINNER: Cory Noe's outstanding performance in the first week of the season earned him a spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week, the first national honor of his career. Noe put together a strong week for the No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan Titans, as the senior co-captain led IWU to a 3-0 record.
Noe was named Most Valuable Player of the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, Nov. 13, after leading Illinois Wesleyan to the team title. He averaged 20.7 points per game, while shooting 56.8 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range. He also averaged 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest over the three-game span in wins over Lake Forest, Hope, and No. 17 UW-Oshkosh.

ALL-TIME AGAINST ALMA: The Titans and Scots have only met three times in their history, the first matchup being in 2017 when the MIAA-CCIW crossover was introduced. IWU has claimed victory in each of the three matchups by dominating offensively, scoring an average of 92 points per game. In the Titans and Scots last matchup in 2019 at the Shirk Center, the Titans were victorious 95-76 as Peter Lambesis scored 16 points while Cory Noe added seven points.
In the MIAA/CCIW crossover challenge, the Titans boast a 5-1 record against Calvin and Alma. The Titan's only loss came to Calvin in 2019 in a 89-83 defeat.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Although the Shirk Center is one of the best home court advantages across all of Division III, the Titans have impressed on the road as well. In the past 10 seasons, the Titans have a 67-43 record away from Shirk. In the past five seasons specifically, IWU boasts a 34-15 record on the road.

MAN-BUNNED MONSTER: Against Hope College on Friday, Nov. 12 in the first game of the Sikma Invitational, rising junior Cody Mitchell shattered his previous career-highs en route to a team-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell had previous career-highs of eight points and 10 rebounds during the 2019-20 season as a freshman. In the win against Hope, Mitchell was 4-of-5 from deep and 12-of-17 from two-point range.

DEPTH PERCEPTION: Despite having a star-studded starting lineup, the Titans depth off the bench is equally impressive. In the championship game of the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational against UW-Oshkosh, Ryan Sroka, Lucas Heflen, and Nick Roper played significant minutes in the first half especially. Throughout a stretch of eight minutes in the first half of the championship game, the bench scored 15 points. UW-Oshkosh's bench scored a total of seven points throughout the entire game.

A HEALTHY DOSE OF MIAA: The Titans start the season by facing Michigan Intercollege Athletics Association opponents in three out of their first five games. IWU defeated Hope College this past Friday, Nov. 12 and will travel to Michigan to face Alma and Calvin this weekend. All-time against current MIAA programs, the Titans boast an 11-2 record.

TOP-25 SHOWDOWN: In the championship game of the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, the Titans defeated No. 17 UW-Oshkosh, 65-63. IWU is familiar with matchups against top-25 opponents, especially in the previous two seasons. In the 2020-21 season, the Titans were 3-0 against top-10 opponents as IWU defeated North Central twice and No. 3 Wheaton in the CCIW Championship game. In the 2019-20 season, the Titans were 3-3 against top-25 opponents.

NO REBOUND IS SAFE: Senior Matthew Leritz picked up right where he left off on the defensive end last season. Leritz is 10th in the country and second in the CCIW in defensive rebounds averaging 10 rebounds per game. Leritz is averaging a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds through the first three games of the season. He also averaged a double-double throughout nine games during the shortened 2020-21 season with 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.

REACHING 1700: As a program, IWU men's basketball is currently sitting at 1,692 wins. With eight more wins this season, the Titans will join an elite club as just two other current Division III men's basketball programs have reached the 1,700-win threshold. Wittenberg leads Division III in wins with 1,813, while Wooster is in second with 1,765 program wins.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans travel back home to the Shirk Center to host the University of Chicago on Wednesday, December 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.