BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin slate kicks off with a battle of the top-two teams in the preseason poll Wednesday, Dec. 3, as the _-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team travels to Tarble Arena for a heavyweight matchup at Carthage College. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff and will mark the start of a  six-game roadtrip for IWU.
    Illinois Wesleyan carries a 5-1 record into its clash with the preseason favorite. The Titans won their first five games of the season before stumbling against the University of Wisconsin-Stout, 66-58, inside the Shirk Center, Nov. 29. Meanwhile, Carthage rans its record to 3-2 with an 84-56 blowout of Ripon College, Nov. 26. The Firebirds snapped a two-game losing skid with a road win against the Hawks to boost their record above .500.
    Fans can catch Eric Stock and Joel Swanson on the broadcast as well as WESN, while live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

PACK YOUR BAGS, WE'RE GOING ON A TRIP: With the Shirk Center serving as the site of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Championship, the Titans will not play a home game in the month of December. Wednesday's game at Carthage will mark the start of a six-game roadtrip for the Green and White, the longest since IWU was on the road for six straight to finish out last season. The Titans ended the regular season at Augie, Feb. 22, then traveled to Carthage for two CCIW Tournament games, Feb. 28-March 1, before winning the Chicago regional, March 7-8. The season came to a close in the Sweet Sixteen at UW-La Crosse, March 14.
    Furthermore, this stretch is the longest regular season roadtrip for the Green and White in Ron Rose's tenure. IWU has had several five-game roadtrips over the years, generally spanning the holiday break, but has not endured a six-game span in more than 20 years.

FACING THE FIREBIRDS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage share a rivalry that dates back to the 1946-47 season. IWU owns a 110-32 lead in the 142-game history between the two conference foes, but CC has won five of the past eight meetings.
    The Firebirds swept the regular season meetings, topping IWU, 77-68, in Bloomington to begin league play Dec. 4, 2024. Carthage completed the sweep with an 85-74 victory over the Titans in Kenosha, Feb. 8, 2025. Illinois Wesleyan avenged the regular season setbacks with a 79-60 win in the CCIW Tournament Championship, claiming the title on the Firebirds' home floor. With the victory, IWU earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and secured the program's first CCIW Tournament Championship.

REVISITING PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage were tabbed the top-two teams in the CCIW according to the conference's coaches preseason poll as well as the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25.
    The Firebirds were the unanimous first-place pick with 64 points and all eight of the available top-spot votes in the conference poll. IWU ranked second with Carthage's first-place vote (since teams cannot vote for themselves) and 57 points.
    In the national polls, Carthage entered the year slotted eighth in the D3hoops Top-25. Illinois Wesleyan entered the season No. 16 nationally.

BUCKET, DENIED!: The Titans have made it hard on opponents to score this season as IWU is  limiting opponents to 61.8 points per game, good for 15th-best across Division III. Illinois Wesleyan's stingy defense has come behind the most blocks per game (8.2) and the fifth-best field goal percentage defense (35.1) in the country.
Individually, Noah Cleveland leads the CCIW and is 15th nationally with 16 blocks. Brady Kuehl is second in the league, 56th nationally, with 10 rejections, while Mason Funk's nine swats are third-most in the CCIW (77th nationally).

BENCH BOSS: In his 20th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 354-165 overall record. His career mark includes 187 CCIW wins, the most of any active CCIW head coach.
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 2025 CCIW Tournament title.

POLLING STATION:  Illinois Wesleyan is one of nine programs that have appeared in at least 200 D3hoops.com Top-25 rankings. In fact, the Titans 205 appearances in the weekly poll are tied for sixth-most all-time as well as the most in the CCIW. They are currently ranked No. 10 in the poll.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will turn their attention to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin slate following Saturday's bout with the Blue Devils. The Titans will kickoff conference play at preseason favorite Carthage College Wednesday night, Dec. 3. IWU's first three league games will take place on the road as Illinois Wesleyan is set to serve as host to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Championship, Dec. 3-6. In fact, the Titans will spend the entire month of December away from the Shirk Center with their next home game set for Jan. 3.