BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A highly-anticipated Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball season gets underway this weekend, Nov. 8-9, as the Titans host the fourth annual Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational inside the Shirk Center. The two-day, four-team tournament will feature four nationally ranked teams in No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Platteville, No. 9 Calvin University, the 16th-ranked Titans, and No. 24 California Lutheran University. The weekend gets started Friday night, Nov. 8, as IWU takes on Cal Lutheran in a 5 p.m. tipoff. UWP and Calvin will battle in game two, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
    The Titans head into the season following a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship a season ago. IWU posted a 19-8 overall record last year, including a 14-2 CCIW mark. CalLu, Calvin, and UW-Platteville all enter the week after postseason runs last season. Cal Lutheran posted a 23-5 mark in 2023-24, earning an NCAA Tournament berth. The Knights ran all the way to the Elite Eight as they finished with a record of 25-5. UW-Platteville is coming off a 23-5 year in which the Pioneers fell to eventual national champion Trine University, 88-86, in overtime in the Elite Eight.
    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.

HONORING THE CHAMPS: This weekend's tournament will see Illinois Wesleyan recognize the women's golf team, who claimed the CCIW Championship earlier this fall. The Titans broke their own record with a 65-stroke margin en route to the program's 19th conference title. IWU saw six earn All-CCIW honors, while Macy Ludwig won the individual championship and was a co-recipient of the CCIW's Elite 26 Award.

WE LOVE LID LIFTERS: Illinois Wesleyan has made a habit of starting off the season on the right foot in recent years, as evident by the Titans' eight-game win streak in season openers. Illinois Wesleyan defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 84-55, in last year's Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational to begin the 2023-24 campaign. IWU's last season-opening loss came in the 2015-16 season, where the Green and White were edged, 88-86, by Benedictine.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Titans enjoy one of the greatest athletic venues in NCAA Division III. The Shirk Center has been home to more than 750 Titan basketball games between both the men and women. The men hold a 307-67 record on their home floor (.821 win pct.).

BUILT ON TRADITION: Titan basketball has seen 106 student-athletes earn all-conference honors  in its lengthy history. Illinois Wesleyan will see several of those former Green and White standouts  recognized at halftime of IWU's contest. More than 40 All-CCIW awardwinners are slated to be honored.

SPEAR STEPS UP AS SPONSOR: The Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, now in its fourth year, will be in its first year with former Titan standout Bob Spear serving as sponsor. A 1977 graduate and three-time First Team Academic All-American, Spear scored 1035 points with a 49.9 field goal percentage over the course of his career. He grabbed 448 career rebounds.  To this day, Spear remains as the program record holder in games played as the Quincy, Ill. native appeared in 115 games during his four-year career. He was a two-time Second Team All-CCIW honoree and helped lead the Titans to three NAIA Tournament appearances.

SIKMA HISTORY: This weekend will mark the fourth rendition of the Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, which began in 2021 and has consistently treated the Bloomington-Normal community to top-tier #d3hoops matchups early in the season. Illinois Wesleyan has won the tournament once, with the Titans victory coming in the inaugural event. IWU edged out 17th-ranked UW-Oshkosh, 65-63, that season and would go on to make a run into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. UW-Stevens Point won the 2022 Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational, while Mary Hardin-Baylor topped the field in 2023.

TALE OF THE TAPE: IWU holds a combined 6-3 record against this weekend's field, including winning records against Calvin and UW-Platteville. Cal Lutheran holds a 2-1 all-time record against the Titans and has won the past two meetings. The Green and White is most familiar with Calvin, leading the all-time tally, 4-1, while clinging to a 1-0 edge against UWP all-time.
    Illinois Wesleyan most recently met CalLu this past December, falling to the Kingsmen, 58-52, in California. The Titans led, 26-25, at halftime, but turnovers proved costly as IWU saw its lead slip away.  The Green and White last squared off against Calvin during the 2021-22 season. Illinois Wesleyan came away with an 81-72 win in Grand Rapids, Mich. behind a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double by Matt Leritz. If UW-Platteville and IWU end up meeting on the hardwood this weekend, it will be just the second meeting all-time, which is quite interesting considering it is the closest opponent of the three. The lone other meeting between the two came during the 1978-79 season, where the Titans pulled off an 86-84 triumph.

PRESEASON PRAISE: Illinois Wesleyan senior Nick Roper was named to D3hoops.com's Preseason All-American Third Team, Oct. 30. He is the only College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin student-athlete on any of the five teams.
Roper, a First Team All-CCIW honoree a season ago, led the Titans in scoring with 12.4 points per game. He was also IWU's top rebounder with 5.9 rebounds a contest. Starting all 27 games for the Green and White, Roper shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 34.5 percent from distance. He finished the year with 21 steals, 13 blocks, and 46 assists. The St. Louis, Mo. native was named to the D3hoops.com and National Basketball Coaches Association All-Region squads as a junior.

ALL-LEAGUE TRIO RETURNS: Illinois Wesleyan returns a significant portion of last season's conference championship squad, including the All-CCIW trio of Nick Roper, Harrison Wilmsen, and Hakim Williams. Roper, an all-region selection by both D3hoops.com and the NABC, was a First Team All-CCIW honoree. Wilmsen and Williams garnered Second Team All-CCIW status.

GOING TO MAKE YOU WORK: The Titans success a season ago was in large part a result of relentless defense. IWU held opponents to 38.8 percent shooting for the season, the 21st-best mark across all of Division III. Illinois Wesleyan limited opponents to 64.3 points per game, the 22nd ranked mark nationally.

BENCH BOSS: In his 18th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 325-158 overall record. His career mark includes 171 CCIW wins, the most of any active head coach in the conference.
The Titans won the 2013, 2014, 2022, and 2024 CCIW titles outright and shared the 2018 regular season championship with Augustana. Illinois Wesleyan claimed the 2021 CCIW Championship in a COVID-shortened season as well as the regular season title last season.

POLLING STATION:  Illinois Wesleyan is one of 28 programs that have appeared in at least 100 D3hoops.com Top-25 rankings. In fact, the Titans 190 appearances in the weekly poll are eighth-most all-time as well as the most in the CCIW. The Titans are currently ranked No. 16 in the poll.

CCIW PRESEASON POLL: IWU was predicted to win the CCIW Friday, Oct. 25, as the league office unveiled its annual preseason poll. The Green and White garnered five of nine first-place votes to earn the top spot in the poll with 61 points. IWU just slightly edged out Carthage, which ranked second with four first-place nods and 60 points. Elmhurst rounded out the top-three with 46 points.
Augustana (40), North Central (32), and Carroll (31) were slotted fourth through sixth, respectively, while Millikin and North Park tied for seventh with 19 points apiece. Wheaton ranked ninth with 16 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 160, 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: Illinois Wesleyan will enjoy a week off before hitting the road for the first time this season as the Titans make the lengthy trip to Menomonie, Wis. for a battle at University of Wisconsin-Stout Saturday, Nov. 16. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m.