BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will travel to Chicago Tuesday night, Dec. 20, for a non-conference game at the University of Chicago. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will serve as IWU's final game before the holiday break.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the road game 5-4 on the season (3-1 CCIW) after having its three-game win streak snapped Saturday, Dec. 17. The Titans were downed by Wheaton College, 79-58, to end their perfect start College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. Meanwhile, Chicago is sitting at 6-3 on the year and has won three in-a-row. Tuesday's tilt will serve as the first with Bryan Joel, who was named interim head coach last week, leading UC. The Maroons have picked up wins against Kalamazoo College, Edgewood College, and Illinois Institute of Technology after falling the Wheaton, 73-55, Nov. 26.
    Fans can tune into the game via live stats, live stream, or radio broadcast. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

MATCHUPS WITH THE MAROONS: IWU has met up with Chicago annually since 1997, with the exception of the 2020-21 season, and holds a 21-8 edge in the all-time series. The Titans are currently on a five-game win streak against the Maroons, and have won nine of the last 10 matchups. UC's last win over IWU came Dec. 14, 2015, where Chicago defeated Illinois Wesleyan, 74-57, in the Windy City.
IWU overpowered UC in the last meeting, as the Titans ran away with an 83-50 victory at the Shirk Center Dec 1, 2021. The Green and White shot an impressive 53.4 percent from the floor, connecting on 11-of-22 three-point tries. Cory Noe paced IWU with 18 points, Luke Yoder added 17, and Ryan Sroka went for 11 points and seven rebounds.

GETTING TO 300: Ron Rose is looking to reach an impressive milestone this season - 300 career wins. In his 16-year career, Rose has accumulated a 299-139 record including five conference championships. Currently, Rose's 299 career wins is second most in Illinois Wesleyan history, trailing only school record holder Dennie Bridges (667-319, 1965-2001).
    Furthermore, Rose's 299-140 record at the helm of his alma mater gives him the 26th-best win percentage among active NCAA Division III bench bosses, as well as the top in the CCIW.

LOOKING THE BEAST IN THE EYE: Shying away from tough competition has never been the Ron Rose style, so it should come as no surprise that IWU holds the toughest strength of schedule according to the Massey ratings as of Dec. 19.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX: Illinois Wesleyan has been dominant on the glass this season, out-rebounding its opponents 366 to 280. The strong effort on the glass has IWU holding a +9.4 rebounding margin on the season, the 21st-best in all of Division III. Senior Cody Mitchell leads the Green and White with 9.0 boards per contest. Hakim Williams' 4.7  rebounds per game are tied for second-best on the team, followed by Harrison Wilmsen with 4.6. Ryan Sroka grabs 4.1 per game and Marko Anderson adds 3.6 caroms per contest.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans are off for the holiday break following Tuesday's game until jetting to the Pacific Northwest, Dec. 29-30. There, IWU will battle Linfield and George Fox.