BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Days removed from a thrilling road win, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will make the trek across state lines for a clash with Carroll University Saturday, Jan. 20. The game, which will serve as the back end of a doubleheader with IWU's women's basketball team, is scheduled for a 4:15 p.m. tip inside Van Male Fieldhouse.
    The Titans maintained their first-place standing in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rankings with a gritty, 78-77, win at Wheaton College Wednesday night, Jan. 17. The win boosted IWU's record to 11-6 overall and improved the Green and White to 7-1 in league play. Carroll has seen an up and down start to league play, which includes a win over then-nationally ranked Elmhurst University, as the Pios enter the weekend 10-7 on the year and 3-5 in the CCIW. Carroll most recently dropped a road game at in-state rival Carthage College, 69-57, in Kenosha, Jan. 17.
    A live stream as well as live stats will be provided by Carroll athletics, while Eric Stock and Matt Sosler will also have the call on WESN. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of iwusports.com.

CLASHES WITH CARROLL: Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll have met on the hardwood a total of 90 times ahead of Saturday's league tilt, with the Titans holding a commanding 72-18 lead against the Pioneers all-time. IWU has won 10 straight against the Pioneers. CU's last win over the Green and White came back in the 2018-19 campaign, when the Pios upended Illinois Wesleyan, 90-83, inside the Shirk Center, Dec. 15, 2018.
    Most recently, the Titans used 11 three-pointers to grab a 79-69 win over the Pioneers inside the Shirk Center, Dec. 2. Nick Roper popped off for a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Ryan Sroka, Luke Yoder, and Harrison Wilmsen also finished with 10+ points.

LET HIM WORK: Harrison Wilmsen put together a career-day to help IWU hold off Wheaton, Jan. 17. The St. Louis, Mo. native scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting with six rebounds and a pair of assists. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 5-1 record this season when Wilmsen scores 15+ points, while the Titans are 8-1 when he meets that mark over his career.

NO SURPRISE HERE: A go-ahead layup with less than four seconds to play highlighted a 23-point effort from Luke Yoder against Wheaton, Jan. 17. The veteran floor general, who has punished opponents on both ends of the floor over the course of his IWU career, added six assists, five rebounds, and two steals in the victory. Prior to Wednesday, Yoder had amassed a total of 23 points in IWU's five previous games, Dec. 19-Jan. 13. He was incredibly efficient against the Thunder, going 10-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-5 from three-point range.

HALFWAY HOME: With half the conference schedule complete, Illinois Wesleyan has already tied its CCIW win total from a season ago. At 7-1 in league play, IWU clings to a one-game lead in the conference standings with plenty yet to be decided. Elmhurst and Carthage are tied for second at 6-2 in the CCIW, while North Central fourth at 4-4. Carroll, North Park, and Wheaton are tied for fifth at 3-5, while Millikin and Augustana are tied at 2-6.

20/20 VISION: Illinois Wesleyan's Luke Yoder and Harrison Wilmsen powered IWU past Wheaton, Jan. 17, with a pair of 20-point game. Yoder scored a team-high 23 and Wilmsen added a career-best 21, as IWU saw two players go over the 20-point mark in the same game for the first time this season.     Additionally, it was the first occurrence since Lucas Heflen (25) and Cody Mitchell (24) did so against Carroll, Feb. 4.

YOU'VE HEARD OF 30 FOR 30, BUT HOW ABOUT TREY FOR TREY?: Junior Trey Bazzell has established himself as one of the top three-point threats in the CCIW, especially during conference play. In around 14 minutes per game, Bazzell is averaging 5.5 points during league games. More impressively, however, he has made 11-of-27 threes (40.7 percent) in eight CCIW games. In four games in 2024, Trey is 8-of-16 (50 percent) from deep.
Last season at Carroll, Bazzell came off the bench red-hot as he went for a then-career-high of 14 points. He hit 5-of-7 shot attempts and went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in a 73-59 IWU win.

TITANS, THUNDER... IT'S ALWAYS WILD AT WHEATON: Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton played another thrilling game inside King Arena, Jan. 17, as the game came down to the final seconds. Fortunately for the Titans, the difference proved to be Luke Yoder's layup with 3.9 seconds to play. The Thunder, who have hit many buzzer-beating shots on their home floor to break the hearts of IWU in recent memory, were held off as the Green and White escaped with a 78-77 win.

NEW YEAR, NEW ME: Since the calendar flipped over to 2024, senior Ryan Sroka has found his footing. In four games in the new year, Sroka has drained 18-of-32 shots, good for a 56.3 percent clip. Surprisingly, in this stretch, Sroka is just 2-of-9 from three, making his efficient shooting from two-point range of 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) even more impressive. Additionally, Sroka has committed just three turnovers in the four-game span.

DIALED IN ON DEFENSE: The Titans have been one of the top defensive teams in all of Division III this season. In fact, IWU is limiting opponents to a field goal percentage of 38.8, the 24th-best in the country. The Green and White is giving up just 64.6 points per game (32nd nationally).

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN W AND L: Illinois Wesleyan's record can be boiled down to its ability to take care of the ball. Through 17 games, IWU holds a 8-1 record when committing fewer than 15 turnovers. Conversely, when racking up 15-or-more miscues, Illinois Wesleyan is 3-5.

MEN IN BLACK: Illinois Wesleyan sported its alternate uniforms in its win at WashU, Nov. 22, picking up the Titans first win in the black uniforms. The alternate was introduced last season. IWU's record by uniform this year stands at 5-3 in white, 4-2 in green, 1-0 in grey, and 1-1 in black.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans return to the Shirk Center for another go-around with Wheaton College Wednesday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.