BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - One of the longest standing rivalries in Division III will be renewed Wednesday, Jan. 12, as the No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team hosts Millikin University inside the Shirk Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the conference game with a 9-2 overall record, including a 2-1 CCIW mark. The Titans most recently dominated top-ranked Yeshiva University, 73-59, in New York City, Dec. 30. At 8-6 on the season and 3-2 in the CCIW, Millikin enters Wednesday winners of two in a row. The Big Blue outpaced Greenville University, 144-127, Jan. 1, and more recently beat North Park University, 64-48, Jan. 8.
    A live stream of the game will be available. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

LONG-STANDING RIVALRY: IWU and Millikin have met on 234 occasions, with the first match-up held in the 1909-10 season. The 234 total contests rank second in Division III men's basketball in most-played rivalries. The Titans hold a 156-78 advantage against the Big Blue all-time, including winning the past 10 meetings and 27 of the last 29.

SLIDING UP A SEAT: Illinois Wesleyan will be led by assistant coach Andy Etheridge when the Titans take on Millikin Wednesday night, Jan. 12. Etheridge will serve as the IWU's acting head coach until Ron Rose returns from COVID-19 protocols.

SCHEDULE SHUFFLING: Illinois Wesleyan's game against Elmhurst, originally scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed to Monday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. IWU will also now play Carthage Monday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. in Kenosha, Wis. The CCIW updated its COVID scheduling guidelines to require teams to have a minimum of eight medically-cleared student-athletes to play.

TOPPING THE CHARTS: Senior Matthew Leritz pulled down a whopping 25 rebounds in IWU's 73-59 win over top-ranked Yeshiva, Dec. 30. Leritz, who single handily out-rebounded the Maccabees, broke the Illinois Wesleyan single-game rebounding record. Don Davidson set the record with 24 Dec. 3, 1966 against MacMurray, which was later tied by Jack Sikma against Bradley Dec. 30, 1976.
    Additionally, Leritz's 25 rebounds are tied for the second-most in Division III this season. He sits tied with Medgar Evans' Mousa Sinera, three off the season-high of 28 by Buffalo State's Philbert Weekes.

LAMBESIS LAUDED BY D3HOOPS: Peter Lambesis became the thid Titan to garner a spot on D3hoops.com's Team of the Week, Jan. 4. He joins co-captains Cory Noe (week one) and Matthew Leritz (week two), and is also the eighth Titan to receive the recognition all-time.
    Lambesis averaged 15.0 points per game on 57.1 percent shooting over the three-game span. He added 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. Defensively, he held two of Division III's top scorers well below their season averages.

STREAK SNAPPERS: Illinois Wesleyan handed Yeshiva its first loss in 783 days, Dec. 30, as the Titans took down Division III's top-ranked team, 73-59. The win snapped Yeshiva's historic win streak at 50 and marked the Maccabees' first home loss since Feb. 18, 2019 (L, 98-96 vs. Purchase).

HOOPDIRT.COM HONORS ROSE: Following a dominating win over the D3hoops.com No. 1 team, Illinois Wesleyan Head Men's Basketball Coach Ron Rose was named the HoopDirt.com Division III Coach of the Week Monday, Jan. 3.
Rose was honored alongside Baylor's Scott Drew (Division I), Elizabeth City State's Shawn Walker (Division II), College of Idaho's Colby Blaine (NAIA), and Polk State's Brandon Giles (JUCO). Rose guided his fourth-ranked squad to a dominating 73-59 win over No. 1 Yeshiva, Dec. 30.

LONG DISTANCE LOVE, AND THE LACK THEREOF: The top-five matchup between IWU and YU featured two of the best beyond the arc that Division III has to offer. Yeshiva entered the game ranked fifth in Division III in three-point field goal percentage (41.6) and third in three-pointers made (139). Meanwhile, Illinois Wesleyan came in with the 21st-best three-point field goal percentage defense (26.5 percent).
    It was the Titan defense that prevailed in the battle from the long line as the Green and White held the Maccabees to five triples on 20 attempts (25 percent). YU's five three-pointers were the second-fewest by the team this season, while its 25.0 percent clip was Yeshiva's lowest since Dec. 6, 2018 (5-for-20 at Purchase).
    On the flip side, IWU drained 10 three-pointers on 23 attempts (43.5), including 9-of-14 in the opening half. Luke Yoder hit three treys, Cody Mitchell and Ryan Sroka added two apiece, and Matthew Leritz, Peter Lambesis, and Cory Noe connected on one each.

LAM-BEAST-IS: Illinois Wesleyan's Peter Lambesis has been tasked with guarding the top offensive player on the opposing team throughout the season. Most recently, Lambesis held Division III's leading scorer, Ryan Turrell nearly eight points below his average.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX: IWU dominated the glass in it's win at Yeshiva, Dec. 30, as the Titans grabbed a 42-21 rebounding advantage. The +21 margin was IWU's highest of the season. Yeshiva's 21 boards were the fewest by an IWU opponent this 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 176 appearances in the weekly poll are ninth-most all-time. The Titans are currently ranked No. 3 in the poll.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan is back in action Saturday, Jan. 15, for a 4 p.m. battle with Augustana. The game will serve as the second leg of a doubleheader with the IWU women's team.