WHEATON, Ill. - After being pushed back nearly a month due to flight cancelations, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will make its longest trek of the year, a 2137-mile trip to Oregon, for two non-conference contests Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 23-24. The Titans will square off against Linfield College Monday night, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. PT before going up against George Fox University Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 4:30 p.m. PT.
    Illinois Wesleyan travels to the west coast with an 8-8 standing (5-4 CCIW). The Titans are coming off a heartbreaking loss at No. 8 Wheaton College, Jan. 21, where free throws with 0.4 seconds to go downed the Green and White's upset bid, 72-71. Linfield is 6-10 on the season and 3-5 in the Northwest Conference. The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing skid Saturday, Jan. 21, with an 86-79 home win over Whitworth University. George Fox, which holds a 4-12 record (3-5 NWC), has dropped seven of its past nine contests. The Bruins last took the court, Jan. 21, falling at Lewis & Clark College, 76-72.
    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.

RACKING UP THE MILES: Illinois Wesleyan's trip to Oregon will take the Titans 2137 miles away from the comforts of the Shirk Center. The one-way mileage tally is by far IWU's longest trip of the year. In fact, Illinois Wesleyan travels a total of 2154 miles roundtrip for its entire CCIW slate.

NICE TO MEET YOU: The Titans will meet both Linfield and George Fox on the hardwood for the first time in program history this week.
    Despite the men's basketball team having limited history against the Wildcats and Bruins, the IWU women's basketball team has faced George Fox twice. The first meeting came in the 2012 Division III National Championship game and the second came just last season, with the Titans earning victories both times.

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 40.1 field goal percentage, which not only leads the conference, but is also 50th nationally. Furthermore, the Titans are giving up just 67.8 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the conference (75th nationally).

DIFFERENT ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM: As of Dec. 26, Illinois Wesleyan ranks 74th in Division III with 40.6 rebounds per game and holds the 28th-best rebounding margin at +7.6. On the flip side, George Fox finds itself on the other end of the rebounding rankings. GFU 29.06 rebounds per game rank 411th out of 413. Additionally, the Bruins hold a -14.9 margin on the glass, the 412th-ranked mark in the country.
    George Fox has made up for its rebounding by making the most of each of its possessions. In fact, the Bruins rank sixth nationally with a turnover margin of +7.5 and are averaging just 9.7 (third nationally) miscues per game. GFU's defense is turning opponents over an average of 17.24 times per game, good for 47th-most in all of Division III. Conversely, IWU is averaging 14.4 miscues per contest and holds a -3.2 TO margin.

BALANCED BOX SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has been at its best when the scoring has been balanced this season. In fact, IWU is 8-5 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.

DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Ryan Sroka picked up the second double-double of his career and Cody Mitchell finished with his seventh of the season in IWU's game at Wheaton, Jan. 21. Sroka went for 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Mitchell scored a team-high 18 points and added a career-best 13 rebounds. It is the 13th time since the 1999-00 season in which two Titans have recorded double-doubles in the same game.

#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 30-for-48 inside the arc since Jan. 3, good for a two-point field goal percentage of 62.5 percent. The senior co-captain is averaging 15.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest over the six-game span.
    Furthermore, Mitchell is shooting 63.8 percent (51-of-80) 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 641 to 518. The strong effort on the glass has IWU holding a +7.6 rebounding margin on the season, the 28th-best in all of Division III. Senior Cody Mitchell leads the Green and White with 9.2 boards per contest. Ryan Sroka adds 5.3 and  Hakim Williams' 4.4 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 3.6, with  Evan Schneider tallying 3.3 rebounds per outing, and Lucas Heflen going for 2.9 per game.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans wrap up their four-game roadtrip Saturday, Jan. 28, with a 7:15 p.m. clash with Augustana College at the Carver Center. IWU will look for the sweep of the regular season series after winning the first meeting, 65-50, Jan. 14, in Bloomington.