BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team travels to DeKalb, Ill. Wednesday, Nov. 1, for its final of two exhibitions against NCAA Division I competition. The Titans will take on Northern Illinois University at 7 p.m. inside NIU's Convocation Center.
Fans can tune into the game via an audio broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the court and Joel Swanson adding analysis. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Wednesday night's game won't count in the official series tally as it will serve as a dress rehersal for both teams. That being said, IWU and NIU have met for a total of 19 countable contests since the intial bout in 1922. The Titans hold a 15-4 lead in the series, but the Huskies have won the past two, both of which took place in DeKalb. Most recently, Northern Illinois knocked off Illinois Wesleyan, 86-66, Dec. 1, 1992.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES ROLL IN: Luke Yoder's return to the Titans has come with national implications across the Division III men's basketball landscape as evidence by the D3hoops.com Preseason All-America teams announced Tuesday, Oct. 31. Yoder was the lone CCIW representative on the 25-player list as he received fifth team recognition.
A three-year letterwinner for IWU from 2019-22, Yoder spent last season at the Division I level, where he played in 21 games at North Dakota State. He is the first Titan to garner preseason honors from D3hoops.com since Matthew Leritz did so ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
CAPTAINS CALL: Luke Yoder, Ryan Sroka and Evan Schneider will serve as the captains for the Titans this season. Sroka will lead IWU in the role for the second straight year.
MAKING UP THE DIFFERENCE: The Titans will be tasked with replacing the contributions of two All-CCIW selections this season after losing Lucas Heflen and Cody Mitchell to graduation. In fact, IWU returns just 56.5 percent of its scoring from a season ago. Heflen was the leading scorer for the Green and White last season, going for 14.8 points per game, while Mitchell followed with 14.2 ppg. Ryan Sroka (11.0 ppg) is the lone returner that averaged better than 10 points a season ago.
On the glass, the Titans bring back 68.4 percent of their rebounding. Mitchell led the team with 9.8 boards per contest, but IWU welcomes back four of its top rebounders from a year ago.
HE'S BAAAAACK: After a one-year stint at NCAA Division I North Dakota State, Luke Yoder is back at home with the Titans. The 6-foot guard appeared in 21 games for NDSU after a tremendous three-year run at IWU. Yoder brings a significant amount of experience to the Titans, especially at point guard where he has accrued more than 200 career assists. In 81 career games between his two stops, Yoder has scored 710 points (8.7 ppg), dished out 205 assists, and grabbed 235 rebounds. He enters the 2023-24 season as a career 47.8 percent shooter, including a 34.2 clip from beyond the arc.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS: Illinois Wesleyan brought in six freshmen in addition to Luke Yoder as Jackson Niego, Mason Funk, Dylan Schmidt, Adam Beasley, Ofri Kauf, and Brady Kuehl joined the Titans ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Niego was a two-year starter at Lyons Township, where he was named the team's MVP as a senior. He led LT to back-to-back regional championships, was named all-conference, and Third Team All-State.
Funk, one of two local products in the class, graduated from University High. Named First Team All-State by the IBCA as a senior, he was a three-time team MVP pick as well as a First Team All-Central State 8 selection.
A native of Johnsburg, Ill., Schmidt was a two-time all-area pick at Johnsburg High School. He was a four-year varsity letterwinner, including a three-year starter.
Beasley comes to IWU by way of Bloomington High School, where he was a multi-sport standout. A three-time all-conference pick, Beasley competed at the state track meet in four events.
Coming all the way from Texas, Kauf was an all-district honoree and team captain at John Paul II. He led his team to a state championship in 2022 and a runner-up finish in 2023.
Kuehl becomes the latest in a long line of family members to sport the Green and White. A three-year starter at Parkway West High School, Kuehl was named offensive player of the year, all-district, all-conference, and team captain as a senior.
CCIW PRESEASON POLL: IWU was predicted to finish fourth in the CCIW according to a tight poll of the coaches announced by the league office Tuesday, Oct. 24. The CCIW's nine first-place votes were split between North Park, Carthage, and Elmhurst, as NPU topped the poll with 55 points. Carthage followed in second with 54 points, while Elmhurst (53) ranked third just ahead of the Titans (51).
ANOTHA ONE: Fans of Illinois Wesleyan are familiar with the name Kuehl, as several within the family have put together exceptional careers for the Green and White. Brady Kuehl, the latest in the tradition of Kuehl's at IWU, is a freshman forward for the Titans. His older sister, Carly Kuehl, is a junior on the Illinois Wesleyan women's volleyball team, while his mother, father, and uncle also attended IWU. His dad, Steve Kuehl, scored 1430 career points for the Titans, while his uncle, Jeff Kuehl, was an All-American at IWU and posted 1573 career points.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS: Matthew Leritz became the program's 26th Academic All-America honoree at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. His selection increased IWU's national lead on UCLA, Indiana, Kansas, and Duke who have 20 all-time men's basketball awardees each.
Furthermore, IWU's all-time Academic All-American list currently sits at 150, which ranks in the top-25 across NCAA Division I, II, and III, as well as inside the top-10 in Division III.
BY THE NUMBERS: IWU has seen plenty of success on the hardwood in its storied history, highlighted by the Titans' NCAA National Championship in 1997. Overall, IWU has won 32 CCIW championships, made 26 tournament appearances, advanced to 18 "Sweet Sixteens," appeared in 12 "Elite Eights," and gone to six final fours.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will officially begin their season as host of the third annual Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational Friday-Saturday, Nov. 10-11. Mary Hardin-Baylor and UW-Stout will begin the four-game weekend with a 5 p.m. bout Friday, Nov. 10, while IWU will take on Ohio Wesleyan at approximately 7 p.m.
