WHEATON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team hits the road this Saturday, January 21, for a date with No. 8 Wheaton College inside King Arena. Tipoff between the Titans and Thunder is slated for 7:15 p.m. inside Wheaton's King Arena.
    Illinois Wesleyan heads into the game after dropping a close one at home earlier this week. The Titans sit at 8-7 on the season and 5-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. IWU most recently was defeated by North Park, 74-70, Jan. 18. Wheaton finds itself atop the league standings and inside the top-10 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll with a 15-2 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in the CCIW. The Thunder most recently downed Carroll University on the road, 71-58, Jan. 18.
    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.

AGAINST THE THUNDER ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton will battle for the 137th time Saturday night. IWU holds a 85-52 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1946-47 season. Despite the Titans' stronghold on the all-time series, the Thunder have come out victorious in seven of the past 10 meetings.
    Wheaton notched the win in the first meeting of the season, Dec. 17, back in Bloomington. The Thunder tripped up the Titans, 79-58, behind 14 three-pointers. The game marked the first time this season IWU had been out-rebounded (36-27). The Titans sit at 0-2 on the year when losing the rebounding battle.

MAKING THEM WORK: Illinois Wesleyan has one of the top-ranked defenses in the CCIW this season. In fact, IWU is holding opponents to a 40.4 field goal percentage, which not only leads the conference, but is also 62nd nationally. Furthermore, the Titans are giving up just 67.5 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the conference (74th nationally).

BALANCED BOX SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has been at its best when the scoring has been balanced this season. In fact, IWU is 8-4 when three-or-more players score 10+ points, while the Titans are 0-3 when fewer than three players hit double figures.

IMPACT DOESN'T ALWAYS SHOW IN THE BOX SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan junior forward Evan Schneider has served in a variety of roles for the Titans this season. From starter, to first big off the bench, he has produced quality minutes for the Green and White. Schneider locked down Preseason All-American Daniel Carr in IWU's win over Augie, Jan. 14, holding Carr to nearly a quarter of his season scoring average. Carr, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points per game, scored just five points against the Titans.
    Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan holds a 5-0 record when Schneider corrals five-or-more rebounds.

#23 IN 2023: Illinois Wesleyan has seen senior Cody Mitchell heat up inside the arc since the calendar turned to 2023. In fact, Mitchell is 26-for-41 inside the arc since Jan. 3, good for a two-point field goal percentage of 63.4 percent. The senior co-captain is averaging 15.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per contest over the five-game span.
Furthermore, Mitchell is shooting 64.4 percent (47-of-73) from two-point range in conference play compared to 20-for-47 (42.6 percent) in non-CCIW games.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX: Illinois Wesleyan has been dominant on the glass this season, out-rebounding its opponents 598 to 488. The strong effort on the glass has IWU holding a +7.3 rebounding margin on the season, the 32nd-best in all of Division III. Senior Cody Mitchell leads the Green and White with 8.9 boards per contest. Ryan Sroka adds 4.9 and  Hakim Williams' 4.5 rebounds per game are good for third-best on the team. Harrison Wilmsen checks in with 4.2 and Nick Roper averaged 4.0 per game before injury. Marko Anderson pulls in 3.8, with  Evan Schneider tallying 3.4 rebounds per outing, and Lucas Heflen going for 2.9 per game.

LEAVING POINTS ON THE LINE: The Green and White are 2-3 since the calendar turned to 2023, but could have just as easily seen that record stand at 4-1. Since the new year, Illinois Wesleyan has gone 31-for-50 at the free throw line  (62 percent) in its losses compared to 22-for-32 (69 percent) in its wins.
    The Titans left eight points on the line, going 11-for-19 at the charity stripe, in a two-point loss to WashU, Jan. 3. More recently, IWU finished 13-for-20 in free throws in a four-point setback against North Park, Jan. 18.

ON THE HORIZON: Saturday marks the start of a three-game, four-day stretch for the Titans. IWU will fly out to the Pacific Northwest following the key CCIW clash with Wheaton to take on Linfield and George Fox, Jan. 23 and 24, respectively.