BLOOMINGTON, Ill - In search of its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship, the eighth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team travels to King Arena to take on third-ranked Wheaton College Friday night, March 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan lifted its record to 7-1 with a 75-65 win over third-seeded Elmhurst at the SHirk Center, March 6. Wheaton ousted Augustana in the semifinals, 78-58, to boost its record to 12-0.
Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream, while Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will also call the action on 88.1 FM WESN. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
TOURNEY TILTS WITH THE THUNDER: The Titans and Thunder have met in the CCIW Tournament four times since the league began hosting a tournament in 2006. The most recent meeting came in the 2014 CCIW Tournament Championship game, while Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton also tangled in the CCIW Tournament Semifinals in 2008, 2010, and 2012. The tournament ledger is even at two apiece, but the Thunder have won the previous two meetings, including the 2014 title match by an 87-66 score.
TITANS AND THUNDER ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton will battle for the 133rd time Friday night. IWU holds a 82-50 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 five 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.
LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT ENDING: IWU advanced to the CCIW Tournament Championship game for the second straight season with a 75-65 win over third-seeded Elmhurst, March 6. The Titans, who came up short, 78-72, to the Bluejays in last year's title game, are making back-to-back championship appearances for the first time since doing so in 2014 and 2015.
In fact, Illinois Wesleyan has played in seven CCIW Tournament Championship games, the second-most in the conference.
IWU AND THE CCIW TOURNAMENT: Illinois Wesleyan has made 13 CCIW Tournament appearances since the league began holding a tournament in 2006. Over that time, the Titans have gone 11-12 in CCIW Tournament games.
TWO-SEEDS IN THE TOURNAMENT: Since the CCIW began hosting a conference tournament in 2006, the No. 2 seed has compiled a 17-10 record and won five tournament titles. The last No. 2 seed to take home the trophy was North Central in 2019. NCC also won it as the No. 2 seed in 2006 and 2013, while Augustana claimed it in 2011, and Wheaton won it in 2014.
ROAD RECORD: Illinois Wesleyan owns an 87-54 away from the Shirk Center over the past 11 seasons, good for a .617 win percentage on the road over that span.
TOP-10 MATCHUP: Friday's clash will be IWU's second top-10 matchup of the season and third 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.
Fourth-ranked IWU took down ninth-ranked North Central 91-77 just over a month ago inside the Shirk Center, Feb. 6. Keondre Schumacher scored 23 points, while Luke Yoder (14), Matthew Leritz (13), and Cory Noe (10) also finished in double figures. In 2018, the Titans were topped by Augie, 67-60, in Rock Island.
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 169 appearances in the weekly poll are 10th-most all-time.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINES: The quarterfinal win over North Park Saturday, March 6 saw Matthew Lertiz and Charlie Bair both record double-doubles. Leritz enjoyed a game-high 23 points and 16 rebounds while Bair had 11 points and 12 rebounds. This was just the 10th occasion in school history where multiple players recorded a double-double in the same game. The feat was accomplished twice in the 2019-20 season by Bair and Doug Wallen.
LEADERS IN THE CONFERENCE: With the top offense in the conference, comes with it some of the top shooters in the league. Senior Doug Wallen leads the conference in field goal percentage shooting at a .686 clip while Matthew Lertiz ranks fourth shooting .584 from the floor. Charlie Bair sits fifth at .556. From three, Keondre Schumacher tops the conference at .581, while Leritz ranking third at a .522 clip.
Additionally, Luke Yoder leads the CCIW in assists with four per game and Peter Lambesis tops the conference with two steals per game.
HISTORY = MADE: With the Titan's win against North Park Friday, Feb. 12, head coach Ron Rose passed the legendary Jack Horenberger on the all-time wins list. Rose is now second on the list with a 265-129 record over his 14 year career as head men's basketball coach. IWU legend Dennie Bridges sits atop the list with a career record of 667-319 during his 36 years at the helm.
