BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A three-game roadtrip kicks off Wednesday night, Feb. 8, as the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team heads down to Decatur, Ill. for a midweek matchup with Millikin University inside the Griswold Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
    The Titans enter the week 11-10 overall and 6-6 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. IWU, which will look to complete a season sweep of the Big Blue, last played Saturday, Feb. 4. The Green and White ran away with a 79-61 win over Carroll University, Feb. 4, snapping a four-game conference losing skid. Millikin enters the bout on the heels of an 84-73 loss at eighth-ranked Wheaton College, Feb. 4. The Big Blue are level on the year at 11-11 and hold a 4-9 record in league play, having won three of their last five CCIW contests.
    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.

20/20 VISION: Illinois Wesleyan's senior duo of Lucas Heflen and Cody Mitchell powered the Titans to a key CCIW victory, Feb. 4, as IWU downed CU, 79-61. It marked the second time this season that both players finished with 20+ points in the same game, with the first occurrence coming in an 87-85 win over North Central, Dec. 10. Heflen erupted for 25 points, aided by four three-pointers, and notched three steals. Mitchell added a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double.

THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE MAN-BUNNED MONSTER: Illinois Wesleyan senior Cody Mitchell popped off for 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a rout of Carroll, Feb. 4. Mitchell, who picked up his ninth double-double of the season, is ranked first in the CCIW and 40th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.33). He is also third in the league in rebounds per game with an average of 9.6 for the season, while his 201 total boards are third-most (43rd-most nationally).

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 41.0 field goal percentage, which is not only second in the conference, but is also 77th nationally. Furthermore, the Titans are giving up just 68.6 points per game, the second-best scoring defense in the conference (94th nationally).

LONG-STANDING RIVALRY: IWU and Millikin have met on 237 occasions, with the first match-up held in the 1909-10 season. The 237 total contests rank second in Division III men's basketball in most-played rivalries. The Titans hold a 159-78 advantage against the Big Blue all-time, including winning the past 13 meetings and 30 of the last 32.
    IWU came out on top, 73-68, in the first meeting between the two squads this season. Ryan Sroka led the Titans with 17 points, and Cody Mitchell added 16 points and 10 rebounds as IWU secured the win in Bloomington, Jan. 11.

NO NEED FOR WINDEX: Illinois Wesleyan has been dominant on the glass this season, out-rebounding its opponents 825 to 673. The strong effort on the glass has IWU holding a +7.2 rebounding margin on the season, the 31st-best in all of Division III. Senior Cody Mitchell leads the Green and White with 9.6 boards per contest. Ryan Sroka is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.

BALANCED BOX SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has been at its best when the scoring has been balanced this season. In fact, IWU is 10-6 when three-or-more players score 10+ points, while the Titans are 0-4 when fewer than three players hit double figures.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: In his final year as a Titan, senior Lucas Heflen is going out with a bang. After starting the season shaky from beyond the arc, #3 has found his rhythm as of late, averaging 20.4 points over the past five games. Heflen started to heat up during the Titan's Oregon swing, hitting a combined 10 threes in two wins. Over the past five games, Heflen has hit a combined 23 triples, good for a 51.1 percent clip from deep.

#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 54-for-89 inside the arc since Jan. 3, good for a two-point field goal percentage of 60.7 percent. The senior co-captain is averaging 15.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest over the 11-game span, both of which top the team.
Furthermore, Mitchell is shooting 62.7 percent (69-of-110) from two-point range in conference play compared to 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) in non-CCIW games.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans, who close with three-of-four on the road, travel to Gregory Arena for a 7:15 p.m. tipoff against North Central College. The game will come on the back end of IWU women's basketball team's 5 p.m. tilt with NCC.