BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – After a two-week long hiatus, the fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Saturday, Feb. 4, for a top-10 matchup against North Central College. Tipoff of IWU's home opener is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan began the season with a 74-59 victory at Carroll, Jan. 23, but has not played since as the Titans next four games were postponed. No. 9 North Central sits at 3-1 on the season. The Cardinals got off to a 3-0 start before falling  80-76 at Augustana, Jan. 30.
    Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream, where Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will call the action. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

THICK AS THIEVES: In Illinois Wesleyan's season-opening win against Carroll, Jan. 23, Peter Lambesis stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high six steals. His six swipes rank second-most in IWU single-game history, and are the most since Eliud Gonzalez tallied six against Wittenberg, March 10, 2012.

HOME COOKING: 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 275-56 record on their home floor, good for a .831 win percentage.

TITANS CHECK IN AT NO. 4: In the first D3Hoops Poll of the season, the Titans came in ranked No. 4. It is the highest IWU has been ranked since being tabbed No. 4 in the 2014-15 preseason rankings. Illinois Wesleyan was one of three CCIW teams ranked in the top-10, joining Wheaton (No. 7) and North Central (No. 9).

CLASHING WITH THE CARDINALS: Thursday's top-10 tilt will serve as the 165th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 118-47 lead in the all-time series. IWU and NCC split last season's series with the home team coming out victorious both times.
Illinois Wesleyan avenged an 82-69 Jan. 8 loss to North Central with a 77-71 victory over the Cardinals, Jan. 29. NCC was ranked No. 18 and No. 13, respectively, in each of those matchups. Cory Noe led the Titans with 21 points in the first game of the season series, while a trio of Titans scored 17 points each in Illinois Wesleyan's victory over North Central.

TOP-10 MATCHUP: Thursday's clash will be IWU's first top-10 matchup since week two of the 2018-19 season, when the eighth-ranked Titans squared off with No. 3 Augustana inside the Carver Center, Dec. 8, 2018.
IWU dropped the top-10 tilt, 67-60. Brady Rose led the Titans with 13 points, while Jason Gregoire added seven points and eight rebounds. Charlie Bair started the game. Matthew Leritz, Doug Wallen, and Peter Lambesis came off the bench.

GOING TO GREGORY: The Titans will return to Gregory Arena Thursday night for the first time since suffering a 78-72 setback at the hands of Elmhurst in the 2020 CCIW Tournament Championship game. It was IWU's third game at the home of NCC during the 2019-20 season. The Titans went 1-2 on the Cardinals home court last year, and are 5-10 at the venue since the 2010-11 season.

LUCKY NUMBER 17: Illinois Wesleyan was led by five double-digit scorers in its last meeting with North Central, Jan. 29, 2020. Luke Yoder, Keondre Schumacher, and Matthew Leritz scored 17 point apiece, while Cory Noe added 11 and Peter Lambesis finished with 10.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: In his fourteenth-year, head coach Ron Rose is on the inching closer to IWU legend Jack Horenberger on the all-time wins list. With a career record of 263-129, Rose needs just one win to tie Horenberger (264-212) for second all-time.  Dennie Bridges owns the record, having compiled a 667-319 mark in his legendary career.

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 165 appearances in the weekly poll are 10th-most all-time.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan returns to the court Tuesday night, Feb. 9, when the Titans travel to the Carver Center for a 7 p.m. bout with Augustana College.