BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team opens up a four-game roadtrip with a midweek tilt at North Park University Wednesday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
    Illinois Wesleyan is coming off a gritty 80-76 defeat of nationally-ranked Elmhurst University, Jan. 17. The win boosted the Titans' record to 12-2 on the season and 5-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. North Park is 7-6 overall, having struggled as of late. The Vikings, who began conference play with three straight wins, are now 3-3 in the CCIW and are riding a three-game losing skid into Wednesday's meeting. Most recently, NPU was handed a 76-59 setback at home by Carroll University, Jan. 15. The
    A live stream of the game will be available, along with live stats. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
FACING THE BEST OF THE BEST: The No. 3 Titans have played one of the more difficult schedules in all of Division III this season. IWU has faced five current top-25 opponents, including the current No. 4 and No. 5 teams in the country, Wash U and UW-Oshkosh, respectively. The Titans are 3-2 against top-25 opponents this year, including wins against the current No. 5, No. 7, and No. 12 teams in the country. IWU's schedule is the 13th-toughest according to NCAA stats.
REEL IT IN: Matthew Leritz reeled in his second CCIW Player of the Week honor of the season and the third of his career Jan. 17. Leritz put together an exceptional week averaging 23 points per game, while also grabbing 8.0 rebounds per contest and adding two assists per game. Leritz shot an impressive 60 percent from the floor, and also went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc over the two-game span against Millikin and Augustana. Led by Leritz, the Titans outscored the opposition in the paint 68-46.
20/20 VISION: On Monday afternoon versus Elmhurst, the Titans saw the junior-senior duo of Luke Yoder and Matthew Leritz score an impressive 27 points apiece. However, this was not the first time that IWU has seen two players have 20 point games this season. In a win against Hope College on Nov. 12, 2021, a different junior-senior combination, Cody Mitchell and Cory Noe, scored 29 and 26 points, respectively.
DUELS WITH THE VIKINGS: In a series dating back to the 1961-62 season, the Titans hold an 89-34 advantage over the Vikings. More recently in the 2021 season, IWU and NPU met three times in a year that saw the Titans play just nine games.
    On the road Feb. 27, 2021, North Park gave the Titans their only loss of the season on a last second rebound and put-back en route to a two-point victory. A week later on March 6, 2021, the Titans got their revenge by defeating the Vikings 75-55 at the Shirk Center in the quarterfinals of the CCIW Tournament. Matthew Leritz led IWU with a 23-point, 16-rebound double-double. Peter Lambesis chipped in 13 points, while Luke Yoder added 11 points and dished out six assists.
NIGHTMARE ON KEDZIE: North Park Gymnasium, affectionately referred to as the "Cracker Jack Box," is known as one of the more difficult venues in the CCIW. On the road at the venue in the last 10 seasons, the Titans hold a slim 6-4 advantage over the Vikings. Six of those 10 games were decided by 10 points-or-less and four of the 10 games were decided by two points-or-less.
    Specifically in the past five seasons, the Titans have gone 3-2 on NPU's home court. Subtracting a 48-point blowout in the 2018-19 season, the Titans other two victories have come courtesy of a two-point overtime thriller in the 2019-20 season and a one-point victory in the 2017-18 season.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After a three game home stretch, the Titans will hit the road for a four-game road trip. Although the Shirk Center is one of the best home court advantages across all of Division III, the Titans have impressed on the road as well. In the past 10 seasons, the Titans have a 71-45 record away from Shirk. In the past five seasons specifically, IWU boasts a 38-17 record on the road.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Late in games this season, it is unusual for the Titans to look up at the scoreboard and see themselves behind their opponent, but in their Monday afternoon victory at the Shirk Center, the Titans were forced to come from behind against the Bluejays. Elmhurst held the lead for 24 out of 40 minutes while the Titans led for just over 11 minutes. With 10 minutes left, the Bluejays were ahead 10 points, their largest lead of the game, but the Titans battled back for a hard-nosed four point victory. It marked IWU's first double-digit comeback since overcoming a 10-point deficit to upend Carthage, 91-81, at Tarble Arena Feb. 22, 2019.
HOT SHOTS: In its defeat of Elmhurst, Illinois Wesleyan put together the seventh-best field goal percentage in program history, as the Titans finished 29-for-45 from the field (64.4 percent). It was the most efficient team shooting percentage since IWU posted a 68.9 clip against Greenville, Nov. 17, 2015. The Green and White connected on 7-of-16 three-point tries, six of which came in the first half.
    Additionally, the Titan's trio of leading scorers Matthew Leritz (10-of-12), Luke Yoder (9-of-11), and Ryan Sroka (7-of-10) missed a combined seven shots and went 26-of-33 from the field (78.8 percent). Leritz, Yoder, and Sroka each recorded individual career-highs in field goal percentage (minimum 10 attempts) while Yoder, who finished with 27 points, and Sroka, who finished with 16 points ,recorded career highs in points.
NEXT. MAN. UP.: Despite having a star-studded starting lineup, the Titans depth off the bench has been equally impressive. In the past three games, the Titans bench has outscored the opponents bench by a combined 12 points (46-34). On a short-handed Titans' team, junior Lucas Heflen has hopped into the starting lineup for big minutes, including a career-high 15 points in a career-high 37 minutes last Wednesday against Millikin. In the game against Augustana on Saturday, freshman Nick Roper came off the bench for a career high 11 points, while in the Elmhurst victory on Monday, sophomore Ryan Sroka scored a career high 16 points.
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 178 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 continues its roadtrip with a trek to Waukesha, Wis. for a CCIW tilt at Carroll University. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
