BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The final stop of a four-game roadtrip sees the seventh-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team travel to North Park University Wednesday, Jan. 8, for a battle with the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin leaders. Tipoff between the Titans and Vikings is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside NPU Gymnasium.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the key CCIW clash with an 11-2 overall record. The Titans sit at 3-1 in CCIW play, one game behind NPU, following an overtime win at Wheaton College, Jan. 4.  North Park carries a 9-4 record into Wednesday's showdown and sits in sole possession of first-place in the CCIW at 4-0. The Vikings most recently took down Carthage College, 69-68, on the road.
    A live stream and live stats will be available, while Eric Stock will have the call on WESN. Links on how to follow along can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

DOWN, NOT OUT: It was no surprise to those familiar with IWU's history inside King Arena, as the Titans found themselves in another down-to-the-wire battle with the Thunder, Jan. 4. A layup put Wheaton in front by nine, 67-58, with 3:56 left to play in regulation. IWU answered the bucket with a layup from Hakim Williams to kick off an eight-point run. After four free throws from Nick Roper, Williams knocked down a jumper to pull the Titans within one, 67-66, with 25 seconds on the clock. Free throws by Wheaton upped the deficit to three, 69-66, but a three-pointer from Roper off an assist from Josh Fridman tied the game with eight seconds to go. The Green and White defense held strong on Wheaton's final possession to force a miss on the game-winning shot attempt as Marko Anderson hauled in the rebound to send the game to OT.
    In the extra period, Illinois Wesleyan scored the first seven points as Williams found Roper for a layup before dishing to Fridman for a triple. Roper later returned the favor, finishing Williams on a cut through the lane to put IWU up, 76-69, en route to an 85-80 win.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!: The Titans needed overtime to complete a comeback at Wheaton, Jan. 4. The game marked IWU's first overtime contest of the season and the Titans' 36th OT contest since the 2000-01 season. Over that span, IWU has compiled a 19-17 record.

ROPER RULES: Senior Nick Roper put together a masterful performance to help guide Illinois Wesleyan to an 85-80 overtime win at Wheaton, Jan. 4. Roper dropped a career-high 26 points alongside 10 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season. Roper hit the game-tying three-pointer to send the game to OT before scoring the first bucket of the extra period to propel IWU to the win.
For the season, Roper leads the Titans with 14.8 points per contest with a field goal percentage of 50.4 percent. The St. Louis, Mo. native is ranked 22nd across Division III in free throws made and sits sixth in the CCIW with 193 points scored.

TWO BIGS, BETTER THAN ONE: The big-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 17.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game and poses a consistent challenge for the opposition. Anderson is IWU's top rebounder with 6.5 boards per game, including a team-high 33 offensive rebounds, to go along with 8.4 points per game. Wilmsen's numbers sit at 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

DUELS WITH THE VIKINGS: In a series dating back to the 1961-62 season, the Titans hold a 93-36 advantage over the Vikings. IWU has won 12 of the past 15 matchups, but the last four have been even, 2-2.
Last season, Illinois Wesleyan snapped a two-game losing streak to NPU with a 70-56 win in Bloomington, Dec. 6. The Titans then edged out the Vikings, 85-74, in Chicago, Feb. 14.

NIGHTMARE ON KEDZIE: North Park Gymnasium is known as one of the more difficult venues in the CCIW. On the road at the venue in the last 12 seasons, the Titans hold a slim 9-6 advantage over the Vikings. Nine of those 15 games were decided by 10 points-or-less and four were decided by two points-or-less.
    Specifically in the past seven seasons, the Titans' have gone 5-3 on NPU's home court. Subtracting a 48-point blowout in the 2018-19 season and an 11-point victory last season, the Titans other three victories have come courtesy of a five-point win in 2021-22, a two-point overtime thriller in the 2019-20 season, and a one-point victory in the 2017-18 season.

HARD TO COME BY: Through 13 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 38.0 percent. IWU is allowing just 68.4 points per game, a mark which is slotted 82nd-best across Division III.

BENCH BOSS: In his 18th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 336-160 overall record. His career mark includes 178 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.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan welcomes North Central to the Shirk Center this Saturday, Jan. 11, for a 4:15 p.m. tipoff. The game will see Titan athletics celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Shirk Center.