BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season title secured for the third time in the past four years, the Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will welcome North Central College to the Shirk Center for Senior Day this Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. and will come on the heels of IWU women's basketball's bout with the Cardinals. Senior Day recognition is scheduled for before tipoff, while fans are encouraged to wear white as part of the "White Out" theme for Saturday.
    The Titans defeated North Park University, 84-73, in Chicago, Feb. 14, to win the league title. The win boosted IWU to 17-7 on the season and an impressive 13-2 in CCIW play. Meanwhile, North Central rides a two-game win streak into the week. The Cardinals own a 9-15 overall record, with a 7-8 league mark, following home wins against Carroll University, 77-76, and Millikin University, 64-53, Feb. 10-14.
    Live stats and a live stream of the game will be provided, while Eric Stock will also have the call on WESN. Links on how to follow the game can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of iwusports.com.

VIEWS FROM THE TOP: With just one regular season game left, the Titans locked up the league championship as well as the No. 1 seed in the CCIW Tournament and home court advantage with their win against North Park on Wednesday. Elmhurst and Carthage locked up the two and three seeds, and North Central has claimed at least a berth into the league's tournament, but seeding beyond the top three gets a little more tricky.
Carroll and Augustana are tied for the fifth spot with a 6-9 mark in league play, as the Pios and Vikings will meet each other on Saturday. North Park and Wheaton, tied for the seventh spot at 5-10 in conference play, will duke it out on Saturday as well. Below the top three teams in the league, there's a lot on the line this weekend in determining who's season will be over and who will claim a spot in the CCIW Tournament.

CCIW CHAMPS: The Titans clinched the outright CCIW Regular Season championship with their win at North Park, Feb. 14. Illinois Wesleyan did not claim the title last season, but was successful in bringing home back-to-back championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In 77 years of crowning CCIW regular season champions, the Titans have claimed 33 of them.

SENIOR SEND-OFF: Seniors Luke Yoder, Evan Schneider, Grant Hardy, and Ryan Sroka have been a part of a lot of success during their tenures as Titans. A combined 61-28 record to go along with a 39-14 clip in CCIW play, Yoder, Schneider, Hardy, and Sroka have won three CCIW regular season championships including this season. With a 6-2 mark in CCIW Tournament play, IWU has won just one CCIW Tournament championship in the last three years, but rode an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament all the way to the Elite 8 during the 2021-22 season.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Saturday's contest will serve as the 173rd all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 123-49 lead in the all-time series.
Most recently, the Green and White used a balanced box score to stymie the Cardinals, 66-43, in Naperville, Dec. 9. The big-man duo of Harrison Wilmsen and Marko Anderson led the way with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while five others players went for six-or-more points. Nick Roper, Karlo Colak, and Shane Miller scored eight points apiece, while Miller led the Titans with four steals. Luke Yoder added six points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Nathan Boldt tallied six points to go along with three boards.

SPREADING THE LOVE: On their Valentine's Day win over North Park, the Titans five starters, Luke Yoder, Hakim Williams, Nick Roper, Ryan Sroka, and Harrison Wilmsen, all scored in double figures for the first time this season. Dating back to the 2021-22 season, the Titans have had five different players in double digits in the same game on seven occasions. However, the last time all five starters scored in double figures was on Jan. 24, 2022 against Carthage on the road where Matthew Leritz, Cory Noe, Cody Mitchell, Peter Lambesis, and Luke Yoder scored over 10 points, with Leritz dropping a casual 28.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The junior duo of Nick Roper and Harrison Wilmsen have seemingly found a second home inside the Shirk Center this season. The St. Louis, Mo. natives have accounted for 216 of IWU's 656 points scored at home this season, good for 33 percent. Not only have the two posted plenty of points, they have done so at an incredibly efficient rate. Together, they have combined to go 81-of-142 (57.0 percent) from the floor and 14-of-32 (43.8 percent) from three-point range.  In nine home games, Roper leads the team with 12.9 points per contest, while Wilmsen is second with 11.1 points per game.

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 7-1 record this season when Wilmsen scores 15+ points, while the Titans are 10-1 when he meets that mark over his career.

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 700 Titan basketball games between both the men and women. The men hold a 305-66 record on their home floor (.822 win pct.).

CALL HIM RODMAN: One of the hardest working players in the CCIW, Marko Anderson may not stuff the stat sheet in the scoring column, but he makes up for it and then some with his efforts in the rebounding column. Averaging just 16 minutes per game in league play, Anderson leads the Titan's in rebounding with 6.5 rebounds per game. His 2.5 offensive rebounds per game are good for third in the CCIW.
In the Titans last three games, Anderson has a combined 26 rebounds, 11 of those coming on the offensive end. Additionally in the last three games, Anderson has only recorded 11 total points. Anderson is over twice as likely to record a single rebound in a game than a single point.

6 FEET, 8 INCHES OF ROPE: Junior Nick Roper has established himself as one of the elite, all-around scorers in the CCIW. The most recent CCIW Player of the Week honoree, Roper averaged 21.5 points per game and 5.5 rebounds in two huge wins versus Elmhurst and Carthage last week to secure the CCIW Regular Season title for the Titans. To go along with that, Roper most recently dropped 14 points, nine rebounds, and three assists against North Park Wednesday, Feb. 14. His unique skill set on the offensive end has proved difficult to guard, as Roper has scored in double figures in eight out of the Titans' last 10 games. Roper is now up to seventh in the conference play in scoring with 14.3 points per game in 15 league games.

DIALED IN ON DEFENSE: The Titans have been one of the top defensive teams in Division III this season. In fact, IWU is limiting opponents to a field goal percentage of 38.8, the 25th-best nationally. The Green and White is giving up just 64.7 points per game (30th 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 24 games, IWU holds a 13-1 record when committing fewer than 15 turnovers. Conversely, when racking up 15-or-more miscues, Illinois Wesleyan is 4-6.