BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team eyes a bounce back when it travels to North Central College Wednesday night, Dec. 15, for a midweek College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin clash. Tipoff between IWU and NCC is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Gregory Arena.
    Illinois Wesleyan saw its seven-game win streak snapped at Wheaton College, Dec. 11, as the third-ranked Titans fell to No. 8 Wheaton, 67-62. IWU now ranks fourth nationally and holds a 7-1 overall record, including a 1-1 CCIW mark. North Central is 4-2 overall and is one of two teams undefeated in CCIW play at 1-0. The Cardinals were most recently overpowered by sixth-ranked UW-Oshkosh on the road, 91-67.
    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.

STREAK SNAPPED: IWU saw its undefeated start to the season come to an end with a hard-fought 67-62 loss at Wheaton, Dec. 11. The setback snapped the Titans' 10-game win streak, dating back to a win over North Park, March 6, 2021. The streak ranks tied for eighth-longest in program history, and was the largest string of wins by an IWU squad since winning 13 in-a-row from Jan. 2-Feb. 16, 2013.

FOULS AND FREE THROWS: The Titans loss to Wheaton can be summed up by fouls and free throws. The Green and White were whistled for 20 personal fouls to the Thunder's 11, and saw three starters play much of the second half with four fouls. The Titans' fouls led to 26 free throw attempts for the Thunder, compared to just 15 attempts for IWU. Wheaton went 21-for-26 at the charity stripe, while Illinois Wesleyan finished 11-for-15.

TOUGH TASK AHEAD: Illinois Wesleyan will be tasked with defending one of the top scorers in all of Division III when the Titans battle North Central this week, as NCC's Matt Helwig ranks first in the CCIW and fifth nationally in points per game at 27.7. Helwig will be challenged by a fiesty IWU defense that leads the conference in scoring defense (63.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (38.3), and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.8), while ranking second in blocks per game (3.0).
As a team, NCC is averaging 85.8 points per game, the second-highest in the CCIW. The Cardinals lead the CCIW in field goal percentage (53.2) and three-point field goal percentage (36.1).

AGAINST NCC ALL-TIME: Wednesday's tilt will serve as the 166th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 119-47 lead in the all-time series. IWU won the lone meeting between the two last season, cruising past the Cardinals, 91-77, at the Shirk Center, Feb. 6, 2021.
Five players scored in double-figures in IWU's win, with Matthew Leritz putting together a stat-stuffing effort. Leritz finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one block, and a steal, while Luke Yoder tallied 14 points and Cory Noe added 10 off the bench. The Titans shot a staggering 50 percent from the floor and a whopping 53.3 percent from three-point range in the win.

CLEARED FOR LANDING: The Titans will return to Gregory Arena Wednesday night for the first time since suffering a 78-72 setback at the hands of Elmhurst in the 2020 CCIW Tournament Championship game. The Green and White hold a 6-10 record at the venue since the 2010-11 season.

RANKINGS ON REPEAT: Illinois Wesleyan is one of 20 programs that have appeared in at least 100 D3Hoops.com Top-25 rankings. In fact, the Titans 175 appearances in the weekly poll are ninth-most all-time. The Titans are currently ranked No. 4 in the poll.

ANOTHA ONE: Illinois Wesleyan senior Matthew Leritz posted a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double at Wheaton, Dec. 11. It was his second consecutive double-double, as well as his fifth of the season. His five double-doubles are tied for 24th-most in Division III, and surpass his previous single-season high of four set back in 2020-21.

TAKE YOUR PICK: Illinois Wesleyan has been one of the most balanced teams in the CCIW this season. Led by preseason All-American Matthew Leritz, who ranks fifth in the CCIW in scoring at 17.5 ppg, IWU is the only school in the conference with five players ranked in the conference's top-25 scoring list. Cory Noe checks in at 10th with his 15.1 ppg, while Peter Lambesis' 10.8 points per contest are good for 21st, Luke Yoder is 24th (10.4 ppg), and Cody Mitchell's 10.3 average is 25th.

ROAD RECORD: Illinois Wesleyan owns an 90-55 away from the Shirk Center over the past 11 seasons, good for a .621 win percentage on the road over that span.

REACHING 1700: As a program, IWU men's basketball is currently sitting at 1,697 wins. With three 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 1,817, while Wooster is in second with 1,774 program wins.

ON THE HORIZON: Following Wednesday's tilt, Illinois Wesleyan will take a break from CCIW play for the remainder of the calendar year. The Titans travel to St. Louis, Mo. Sunday, Dec. 19, for a non-conference bout at No. 15 WashU.