BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Winners of four in-a-row, the sixth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team plays host to North Central College Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the team's final regular season home game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan owns a record of 19-4 on the season and 12-2 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action. The Titans clinched at least a share of the CCIW Regular Season Championship with its 79-71 victory over 13th-ranked Wheaton College, Feb. 12. North Central, which will finish up its regular season slate Wednesday, finds itself in the middle of a log jam in the CCIW standings at 10-5 in league play and 15-8 overall. The Cardinals currently sit fourth in the conference following a 68-53 win over Carroll University, Feb. 12.
    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.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE: With Saturday's win over Wheaton, the Titans clinched at least a share of the regular season CCIW title. With a win on Wednesday over North Central, IWU will clinch the regular season title outright for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Plus, with a win on Wednesday, the Titans will climb up to 20 in the wins column, marking the Titans first 20+ win season since the 2014-15 season. The 2014-15 IWU men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
MAJOR BAG ALERT: A big three games for Matthew Leritz last week, including a game-winning block and shot as time expired on Wednesday and a 31-point performance on Saturday, resulted in Leritz garnering multiple awards this week. Leritz was awarded his third CCIW player of the week honor as well as his fourth D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection this season. Additionally, Leritz was recognized as the U.S. Basketball Writers of America Division III National Player of the Week, making him the first player in program history and just the third player in conference history to garner the accolade.
Leritz was also named to the Bevo Francis Top-50 watchlist, an award that annually recognizes the top player across NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA Division I, USCAA Division II, NCCAA Division I, and NCCAA Division II. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
FEBRUARY FUN: Illinois Wesleyan owns a 70-37 record in the month of February under the direction of head coach Ron Rose.
CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Wednesday's contest will serve as the 167th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 120-47 lead in the all-time series. Earlier this season on Dec 15, 2021, IWU won comfortably, 73-48, in Naperville.
Four players scored in double-figures in the Titan's victory, with Peter Lambesis leading the way. Lambesis finished with 15 points and a career-high seven assists. Luke Yoder finished with 13 points, while Cory Noe added 12 points, including a 4-of-7 effort from downtown. Matthew Leritz chipped in an 11-point, seven rebound effort.
PETE IMPERSONATOR: Luke Yoder did his best Peter Lambesis impression on Saturday against Wheaton as Yoder was given the assignment of guarding the CCIW's second-leading scorer, Nyameye Adom. Adom, who was averaging 21.8 points per game prior to Saturday's contest, was held to 18 points, including 42 percent from the floor (six percent below his season average). Additionally, Yoder held Adom to 0-of-5 from behind the arc and forced five turnovers.
    Lambesis' defensive efforts were not lost, as the defensive specialist was challenged with guarding Wheaton's second-leading scorer and the fourth leading scorer in the CCIW, Tyson Cruickshank. Cruickshank was averaging 18.3 points prior to Saturday's game, and Lambesis held him to 13 points, including 0-of-5 from downtown.
IN GOOD COMPANY: Matthew Leritz's career-high 31 points against Wheaton on Saturday were the most by a Titan since Brady Rose scored 33 points against WashU Nov. 20, 2018. Additionally, Leritz's 31 points were the most by a Titan inside the Shirk Center since Brady Rose went for 35 points on Jan. 6, 2018 in a win over Elmhurst.
ELITE DEFENDER: A large part of IWU's lockdown defense this season has been the play of standout defender Peter Lambesis. The senior captain has been tasked with guarding some of Division III's top scorers this season. Most recently, Lambesis locked down Carthage's Fillip Bulatovic, the CCIW's sixth-ranked scorer.
THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE MAN-BUNNED MONSTER: Junior forward Cody Mitchell may not don the man bun any longer, but the St. Charles, Ill. native has been just as key for the Titans despite the hairstyle change. Mitchell led the Green and White with a team-high nine rebounds and 11 points in its win over Wheaton, Feb. 12. In fact, IWU boasts a 10-0 record when Mitchell scores 10-or-more points 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 182 appearances in the weekly poll are ninth-most all-time. The Titans are currently ranked No. 6 in the poll.
FACING THE BEST OF THE BEST: The No. 6 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. 3, No. 11, and No. 15 teams in the country, UW-Oshkosh, Wheaton, and Elmhurst, respectively. The Titans are 4-3 against top-25 opponents this year, including wins against the current No. 3, No. 11, No. 15, and No. 24 ranked teams in the country. IWU's schedule is the 16th-toughest according to NCAA stats.
    Illinois Wesleyan is currently slotted No. 1 in the NCAA's Region 8 rankings released Tuesday, Feb. 15. Overall, the Titans are 7-3 against regionally ranked opponents this season.
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 289-57 record on their home floor, good for a .835 win percentage.
RELYING ON THE DEFENSE: In their 51-49 win against Millikin on Wednesday, the offense wasn't flowing, but luckily the defense was. The last time the Titans scored under 51 points in a game was a 49-51 loss to North Central in the CCIW Tournament in the 2005-06 season. Going back even further, the last time the Titans scored under 51 points in a win was in the 1981-82 season, when the Green and White held off Wheaton for a 41-40 victory.
CCIW WIN NO. 150 FOR ROSE: With Illinois Wesleyan's 73-49 win over North Park, Feb. 7, Titan Head Coach Ron Rose notched his 150th CCIW victory of his career. He now ranks second in IWU history, just ahead of Jack Horenberger's 149 conference wins. Illinois Wesleyan legend Dennie Bridges holds the record for most CCIW victoies with 421 over his 36-year career.
    Additionally, Rose is one of two active head coaches with 150-or-more league wins, joining North Central's Todd Raridon (160).
I FEEL THE NEED… THE NEED FOR THREES: Illinois Wesleyan's four losses this season have one thing in common: a below average three-point shooting performance. IWU, a historically successful three-point shooting team, has been off from deep in its four losses. In their four setbacks, the Titans have shot a combined 27.4 percent (20-of-73) from deep. Conversely, the Titans have shot a combined 36.2 percent (115-of-318) from downtown in their 15 wins.
KRYPTONITE?: The Titans' four losses have another commonality besides below average shooting from three point land: free throw attempts. In its four losses, opponents are averaging seven more free throw attempts than the Green and White. Furthermore, in each of those losses, opponents are also averaging 6.3 more points from the free throw line than the Titans.
In IWU's most recent loss, Concordia Chicago attempted 14 free throws, converting on 11, compared to the Titan's nine attempts and eight makes. Illinois Wesleyan is 10-0 this season when attempting more free throws than its opponent, compared to 5-4 when the opposition attempts more FTs.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will wrap up regular season play on Saturday night, Feb. 19, in Rock Island, Ill. with a date against Augustana. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Carver P.E. Center.
