BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Wednesday night kicks off a three-game homestand for the No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team as the Titans play host to Augustana College, Jan. 22. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
    The Titans return home with an overall record of 14-2 as the Green and White sit in a three-way tie atop the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standings at 6-1. Illinois Wesleyan most recently downed Millikin University, 77-60, in Decatur, Jan. 15. Augustana, winners of back-to-back games, brings a 10-6 overall record to Bloomington for Wednesday night's clash, Jan. 22. The Vikings earned an 85-77 overtime win over Carroll, Jan. 18, to boost their CCIW record to 3-4.
    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.

AGAINST AUGIE ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana will square off on the hardwood for the 180th time Saturday, in a series that dates back to the 1914-15 season. IWU leads the all-time tally, 100-78. Augie has won 12 of the last 19 meetings, but the Titans have come out victorious in six of the last eight.
    In Illinois Wesleyan's first game of the 2024 calendar year, the Titans topped Augie, 77-64, in Rock Island, Jan. 7. Seven players scored eight-or-more points for IWU in the win, with Ryan Sroka leading the way with 16. Luke Yoder and Harrison Wilmsen added 11 apiece. The rematch in Bloomington 20 days later was much tighter, but saw IWU win, 64-60. Nick Roper went for 20 points, while Hakim Williams added 12 points and eight rebounds.

DON'T HOLD IT AGAINST HIM: Illinois Wesleyan Athletic Director Mike Wagner, a 1992 Augie graduate, played football for the Vikings for four seasons. An Honorable Mention All-American by Dan Hansen's Football Gazette, Wagner was an All-CCIW linebacker for the Vikings. He led Augie to three NCAA Division III Playoff appearances during his playing career.

SHE LOOKS BETTER IN GREEN: Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball athletic trainer Rachel Dawson is in her second season with the Titans after a two-year run as an athletic trainer at Augustana. Dawson oversees the athletic training care for the Titan men's basketball, cross country, and tennis programs.

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 seven conference games, the rookie is averaging 11.0 points per game. He is the team's third-leading scorer in league contests and is second on the team with 16 assists (2.9 per game).
    Around the conference, Fridman leads the league in free throw percentage (96.9), is tied for sixth in assists (2.9 apg) and sits 21st in scoring.

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 17.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game and poses a consistent challenge for the opposition. Anderson is IWU's top rebounder with 6.6 boards per game, including a team-high 46 offensive rebounds, to go along with 8.3 points per game. Wilmsen's numbers sit at 9.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

BENCH BOSS: In his 18th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 339-160 overall record. His career mark includes 181 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.

HARD TO COME BY: Through 16 games this season, Illinois Wesleyan has established itself as one of the stingiest defenses in all of Division III. The Titans are ranked 20th nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 38.3 percent. IWU is allowing just 69.3 points per game, a mark which is slotted 98th-best across Division III.

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' 197 appearances in the weekly poll are eighth-most all-time as well as the most in the CCIW. The Titans are currently ranked No. 5 in the poll as of Jan. 20.

6 FOOT 8 INCHES OF ROPE: Illinois Wesleyan senior Nick Roper took his play to another level in the Titans' triple overtime win over North Central, Jan. 11. Roper poured in a career-high 29 points over 48 minutes of play, while adding nine rebounds and three assists.
    In addition to a season-high, Roper posted the highest point total by a Titan since Matthew Leritz scored 31 against Wheaton Feb. 12, 2022. Since the calendar turned to 2025, Roper is averaging 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Roper ranks third in the CCIW in scoring at 18.7 points per game and sits fourth in rebounding (6.7 rpg). Roper was named to Small College Basketball's Bevo Francis Top-100 Watch List last week.

WHO NEEDS WINDEX?: There's no need to clean the glass when the Titans are taking the court, as IWU has established itself as one of the best rebounding teams in the country. The Green and White hold a +9.9 rebounding margin, 18th-best nationally, and have averaged 43.19 rebounds per game (15th nationally). Illinois Wesleyan is also ranked in the top-50 in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.44 boards on the offensive end per contest, a mark that Bob Spear would surely like to see higher, but one that ranks 46th across Division III.

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 312-68 record on their home floor (.821 win pct.).

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan's homestand continues this Saturday, Jan. 25, as the Titans play host to Wheaton College inside the Shirk Center. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. and will serve as the Titans' annual PinkZone game as well as the second leg of a doubleheader with the IWU women's basketball team.
    At halftime, IWU will recognize it's school record 10 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honorees from the 2023-24 academic year. Eight of the 10 will return in person as Annalese Chudy (women's cross country/track & field), Quinn Clifford (men's golf), Ethan Lowder (men's swimming), Lauren Huber (women's basketball), Lexi Onsrud (women's golf), Griffin Pohl (men's golf), Emma Thorman (women's golf), Lauren Wong (women's track & field) will receive their Academic All-America awards. Bobby Beaubien (men's golf) and Ethan Hart (men's lacrosse) will also be honored, but will not attend the recognition.