BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 10th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team makes the trip to Gregory Arena Saturday, Dec. 6, for a meeting with North Central College. Tipoff of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin bout is set for 7:15 p.m.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the weekend 6-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Titans opened CCIW play with a hard-fought 85-81 overtime victory at Carthage College, Dec. 3. North Central is 1-4 on the year and in search of its first league win of the year. The Cardinals have lost some heartbreakers  in the early part of the season, including a 55-50 setback at Millikin University, Dec. 3.
    Fans can catch Eric Stock and Joel Swanson on the audio broadcast, while live stats and a live stream will also be provided. Links can be found on the men's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Saturday's contest will serve as the 177th all-time meeting between the Titans and Cardinals. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 126-50 lead in the all-time series.
IWU has won four of the last five against NCC, including a 99-91 triple-overtime win inside the Shirk Center, Jan. 11. Nick Roper erupted for a career-high 29 points, while Marko Anderson added a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. Hakim Williams tallied 20 points, with Josh Fridman contributing 11. It was the program's first triple OT game since 1981.
    NCC avenged the thrilling triple overtime bout later in the year as the Cardinals bested the Titans, 72-64, in Naperville Feb. 5, 2025 to snap IWU's four-game win streak against North Central.

GOING TO GREGORY: Gregory Arena, the home of North Central, has historically been a tough place to play for IWU. The Titans are just 4-6 against the Cardinals on their home court since 2015.

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: Putting together the best statistical performance of his career, Mason Funk was unstoppable at Carthage, Dec. 3. A pre-med major, Funk popped off for a career-high 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting that included a 4-for-6 effort from distance. Funk added in dive boards, a team-high four blocks, three steals, and a pair of assists.
    Funk's performance marked the first 30-point game by a Titans since Matthew Leritz burned Wheaton for 31 points Feb. 12, 2022. Addtionally, it was the highest single-game point total for IWU since Brady Rose scored 35 against Elmhurst Jan. 6, 2018.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT: The Titans required overtime to top Carthage Wednesday night, Dec. 3. It marked IWU's first OT game of the season and first since a Jan. 29, 2025 win over Carroll. Illinois Wesleyan has played 39 overtime contests since the 2000-01 season, compiling a 22-17 record over that span.

JAXED UP: Stepping in and stepping up, Jackson Niego started in place of Josh Fridman Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Carthage. The junior point guard played 38 minutes, second-most on the team, as he helped lead IWU to an 85-81 triumph. Niego scored 11 points alongisde foru rebounds and seven assists. Finishing one point off his career-high, Niego knocked down 5-of-10 shots. He put the Green and White up two, 75-73, with 3:20 left in OT and later assisted on a Casen Lawrence three-pointer to stretch the lead to four, 81-77, with 1:26 to go.
    Moreover, Niego's seven assists were complimented by a turnover-free game for the junior. On the season, Niego has served as a steady hand with 21 assists to 4 turnovers. His 5.25 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the CCIW and is eighth-best across DIvision III.

BUCKET, DENIED!: The Titans have made it hard on opponents to score this season as IWU is  limiting opponents to 64.6 points per game, good for 31st-best across Division III. Illinois Wesleyan's stingy defense has come behind the most blocks per game (8.1) and the fourth-best field goal percentage defense (35.6) in the country.
Individually, Noah Cleveland leads the CCIW and is 15th nationally with 18 blocks. Mason Funk is second in the league, 38th nationally, with 13 rejections, while Brady Kuehl's 11 swats are third-most in the CCIW (59th nationally).

BENCH BOSS: In his 20th season leading his alma mater, Ron Rose has compiled a 355-165 overall record. His career mark includes 188 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 take a week off to focus on final exams before heading to Elmhurst University in exactly one week. IWU will battle the Bluejays at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, in R.A. Faganel Hall.