BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team returns home to host North Central College Saturday, Jan. 11, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. and will serve as the second leg of a doubleheader with the IWU women's basketball team as part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the Shirk Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan owns a 12-2 overall record ahead of Saturday, including a 4-1 CCIW mark. The Titans are coming off a pivotal, 80-69, win at North Park University, Jan. 8, that saw the Green and White move into a tie atop the conference standings. North Central travels to Bloomington with a 10-4 record that includes a 3-2 record in league play. The Cardinals most recently walloped Wheaton College, 86-48, in Naperville, Jan. 8.
    A live stream with Eric Stock and Joel Swanson on the call as well as live stats will be available. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

30 NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD: Saturday will be a full day celebration inside the Shirk Center as Illinois Wesleyan celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Shirk Center. Since January of 1994, the Shirk Center for Athletics and Recreation has served as a hub for Titan athletics, Illinois Wesleyan, and the Bloomington-Normal community. The venue has been home to six NCAA Division III national championships and hosts more than 100 community events each year.
  The main performance arena can seat up to 2,680 for indoor sporting events. The facility also houses four multi-use courts, multiple golf rooms and bays, a racquetball court, a 200-meter track, training rooms, classrooms, and athletic department offices.
    In 2016, another major gift from the Shirk family and the Shirk Family Foundation was used to expand the fitness and athletic team space on the building's east side. The two-story expansion doubled the size of existing fitness facilities, provided multipurpose rooms for athletic and recreational use, added locker rooms for teams, and addressed other training and storage needs.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Saturday's contest will serve as the 175th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 125-49 lead in the all-time series.
Last season, IWU came away with three wins in a trio of defensive battles. The Titans swept the regular season with at 66-43 win in Naperville, Dec. 9, and then a 67-55 triumph inside the Shirk Center, Feb. 17. The Green and White then ousted the Cardinals, 66-62, in the CCIW Tournament Semifinals, Feb. 23. Overall, IWU has won eight of the past 10 matchups.

IT'S FRIDMAN: Since assuming the starting point guard role, freshman Josh Fridman has come into his own, even taking his game to another level in CCIW play. Through five conference games, the rookie is averaging 10.8 points per game on 15-of-31 shooting (48.4 percent) and is 7-for-17 from beyond the arc (41.2 percent). He is the team's third-leading scorer in league contests and is second on the team with 16 assists (3.2 per game).
    Around the conference, Fridman leads the league with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also ranks fourth in free throw percentage (94.4), sixth in assists (3.2 apg), 13th in three-point field goal percentage, 14th in field goal percentage,  and 21st in scoring.

WINDY CITY WINNERS: Illinois Wesleyan pulled away with a pivotal 80-69 win at North Park, Jan. 8, moving into a tie atop the CCIW standings. With nearly a third of the conference slate complete,  the Titans hold a 4-1 league record and are tied with NPU for the conference lead. Carthage and Millikin are right on their heels at 3-1.

TWO BIGS, BETTER THAN ONE: The five-man platoon of seniors Harrison Wilmsen and Marko Anderson  has been a crucial component to Illinois Wesleyan's success this season. Together, the duo is averaging 17.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and poses a consistent challenge for the opposition. Anderson is IWU's top rebounder with 6.3 boards per game, including a team-high 34 offensive rebounds, to go along with 8.1 points per game. Wilmsen's numbers sit at 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

HARD TO COME BY: Through 14 games this season, Illinois Wesleyan has established itself as one of the stingiest defenses in all of Division III. The Titans are ranked 16th nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 37.7 percent. IWU is allowing just 68.4 points per game, a mark which is slotted 86th-best across Division III.

BENCH BOSS: In his 18th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 337-160 overall record. His career mark includes 179 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' 195 appearances in the weekly poll are eighth-most all-time as well as the most in the CCIW.
    The Titans are currently ranked No. 7 in the poll as of Jan. 6 and received a first-place vote for the first time since the Week Four poll of the 2021-22 season. In that rendition of the rankings, Illinois Wesleyan owned a 9-2 record and were ranked third behind Randolph-Macon and UW-Platteville.

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 311-68 record on their home floor (.821 win pct.).

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan travels to Decatur this upcoming Wednesday, Jan. 15, for a conference clash at Millikin University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Griswold Center.