BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – One week after squaring off in the regular season finale, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will collide with North Park University in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin semifinals Saturday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
Illinois Wesleyan enters the matchup as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and holds a 5-1 overall record. North Park, which halted IWU's five-game win streak Feb. 27, is the seventh seed sits at 3-10 on the year.
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.
THERE'S A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING: Illinois Wesleyan and North Park have never met in the CCIW Tournament. In fact, the unique nature of the 2020 season has provided NPU with its second-ever CCIW Tournament appearance.
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 9-12 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 15-10 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.
AGAINST NORTH PARK ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan holds an 88-34 advantage in the 122-game history between IWU and North Park, dating back to the 1962-63 campaign. The Titans have won seven of the past eight meetings.
The two teams split this season's series, with the home court advantage prevailing each time. Illinois Wesleyan downed North Park, 81-56, when the Vikings visited the Shirk Center, Feb. 12, behind a 22-point, 16-rebound double-double from Matthew Leritz. NPU avenged the loss in the regular season finale, Feb. 27, edging IWU 76-74.
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 277-56 record on their home floor, good for a .832 win percentage.
HOT SHOTS: The Titans lead the league in field goal percentage (.515) and three-point field goal percentage (.449), and rank ninth and fifth nationally, respectively.
Doug Wallen leads the conference in field goal percentage at .725, while Matthew Leritz (.644) is second, and Keondre Schumacher (.571) is fifth. Schumacher is converting a CCIW-best 65.4 percent of his threes, while Leritz (.647) is second and Cory Noe is fourth (.500).
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 168 appearances in the weekly poll are 10th-most all-time.
ON THE HORIZON: With a win, the Titans will advance to the CCIW Tournament semifinals and will host the Elmhurst-Carroll quarterfinal game.
