BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With three straight home games in the rearview mirror, the third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team jumps on the road for a string of three away games beginning Saturday, Feb. 1, at Elmhurst University. Tipoff is set for 4:15 p.m. in R.A. Faganel Hall and will be the back end of a doubleheader with the IWU women's basketball team. It will also serves as EU's Coaches vs. Cancer game.
    Illinois Wesleyan grabbed a down-to-the-wire win over Carroll University, Jan. 29, to jump its record to 17-2 overall. The victory also boosted IWU's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin standing to 9-1 as the Green and White kept pace in a tight league race. Elmhurst enters Saturday's contest with a 9-10 overall record and stands even at 5-5 in conference play. The Bluejays, who have won three of their past four, defeated Wheaton College on the road, 72-55, Jan. 29.
    A live stream and live stats will be provided by Elmhurst, while Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will have the call on WESN. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!: The Titans required overtime to top Carroll Wednesday night, Jan. 29. It marked IWU's third OT game of the season, with all three coming during the month of January. Illinois Wesleyan has played 38 overtime contests since the 2000-01 season, compiling a 21-17 record over that span.
    The first occurrence came at Wheaton, Jan. 4, where IWU came away victorious, 85-80. The Titans then escaped triple OT against North Central, Jan. 11, by a score of 99-91. It was IWU's first triple overtime bout since 1981 when Illinois Wesleyan edged Wheaton, 99-97.

NOT IN HIS HOUSE: Illinois Wesleyan's overtime win against Carroll, Jan. 29, featured a career-high four blocks by senior Hakim Williams. Williams, who came through with a key rejection in the final seconds of regulation on CU's go-ahead shot attempt, became just the 13th Titan to notch four-or-more blocks in a game in program history. His blocks were the most by an IWU player since Matthew Lertiz posted four at North Park Jan. 19, 2022.

OVERTIME IS MARKO'S TIME: With three overtime games played in the past 27 days, Marko Anderson has emerged as a constant force for the Green and White in OT periods. In the five overtime periods, Anderson has scored 19 points with 10 rebounds. The Park Ridge, Ill. native has accounted for 19 of IWU's 59 overtime points (32 percent) and has done so while shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free throw line.

HELPING HANDS: Senior Hakim Williams dished out a career-high 10 assists in IWU's win over Wheaton, Jan. 25, as the floor general became the 13th Titan to dole out double-digit assists. It is the 33rd time in program history that a player has notched 10+ helpers and is tied for 16th-most in a game all-time. Williams' 10 assists are the most since Luke Yoder tallied 10 against Redlands Dec. 19, 2023.
    For his career, Williams has been credited with 197 assists. He ranks 29th on the all-time list and is three away from becoming the 29th player in program history to register 200+ in their Titan career.

COME ONE, COME ALL: The Titans have long been known for their strong community support, as evident by the regular crowds that visit the Shirk Center to cheer on IWU basketball. In fact, Illinois Wesleyan is averaging a crowd of 1332 over nine home games, the second-highest average across Division III. Additionally, IWU is one of three Division III programs averaging 1000+ fans alongside Hope (1176 per game) & Trine (1210 per game).

BATTLES WITH THE BLUEJAYS: Illinois Wesleyan holds a 118-29 advantage in the 147 all-time meetings between the Titans and Bluejays, and have won 13 of the past 19 contests between the two. However, Elmhurst has come out on top in four of the last six meetings.
    Prior to the New Year, the Titans claimed the first meeting with an 86-68 win over the Bluejays, Dec. 15, inside the Shirk Center. Mason Funk put up a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead IWU, while Hakim Williams (12) and Harrison Wilmsen (10) also finished in double figures. Elmhurst shot just 37 percent (20-of-54) from the field, but found success from beyond the arc as EU hit 12-of-27 three-point tries (44.4 percent).

FAMILIAR FACE: When the Titans take on the Bluejays Saturday, IWU fans may recognize a familiar face in Elmhurst bench boss John Baines. A 1998 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, he was a part of teams that compiled a 103-14 record, played in the NCAA Tournament four times, reached the Final Four twice, and won a Division III National Championship in 1997.

TAKE WHAT'S FREE: Illinois Wesleyan's aggressive offensive play and willingness to attack the rim has led to a lot of trips to the free throw line this season. In fact, IWU is averaging 25.4 free throws per contest, the 13th-most across Division III. More importantly however, the Titans are 10th nationally with 18.1 free throws made per contest. The scary part? Illinois Wesleyan has the opportunity to improve the second ranking, as the Titans are converting 71.2 percent of their free throws - a mark that sits seventh in the CCIW and 146th nationally. IWU is 9-1 when making 70-percent-or-better of its free throw tries this season.

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 10 conference games, the rookie is averaging 9.5 points per game. He is the team's fourth-leading scorer in league contests and is second on the team with 27 assists (2.7 per game).
    Around the conference, Fridman leads the league in free throw percentage (97.1) and is tied for seventh in assists (2.7 apg).

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 17.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game and poses a consistent challenge for the opposition. Anderson is IWU's top rebounder with 6.7 boards per game, including a team-high 55 offensive rebounds, to go along with 8.1 points per game. Wilmsen's numbers sit at 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

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 21.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Roper ranks third in the CCIW in scoring at 19.5 points per game and also sits fourth in rebounding (6.8 rpg). The St. Louis, Mo. native has posted four 20-point games over the seven-game span.

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' 198 appearances in the weekly poll are eighth-most all-time as well as the most in the CCIW. The Titans are currently ranked No. 3 in the poll as of Jan. 27.

BENCH BOSS: In his 18th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 342-160 overall record. His career mark includes 184 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 19 games this season, Illinois Wesleyan has established itself as one of the stingiest defenses in all of Division III. The Titans are ranked 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 38.1 percent. IWU is allowing just 68.8 points per game, a mark which is slotted 92nd-best across Division III.

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, 11th-best nationally, and have averaged 43.21 rebounds per game (14th nationally). Illinois Wesleyan is also ranked in the top-50 in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.79 boards on the offensive end per contest, a mark that Bob Spear would surely like to see higher, but one that ranks 35th across Division III.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan makes its second stop on a three-game road stint this Wednesday, Feb. 5, as the Titans return to the suburbs for a battle with North Central College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Gregory Arena.