BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team takes the short drive to Decatur, Ill. for a midweek College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup with Millikin University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Griswold Center and marks the first of three road contests for the Titans to cap the regular season.
    Illinios Wesleyan enters the Wednesday bout riding a three-game win streak and sporting a 18-4 overall record. The Green and White pushed its CCIW record to 10-3 Saturday, Feb. 7 with a dominant 91-69 win over Elmhurst University. The Big Blue enter the game on a three-game losing skid, most recently dropping a close one at Carthage College, 62-59. Millikin sits at 5-8 in the league and 13-9 overall.   
    Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will brings fans an audio only broadcast, while Millikin will also stream the action on the CCIW Network. Live stats will also be available. Links can be found on the men's basketball page of iwusports.com.

CLEVELAND'S WAY: A program record five-time CCIW Player of the Week, Noah Cleveland has impresed with his scoring abilities all season. That was no different in this weekend, as the rookie dropped 32 points en route to a 91-69 win over Elmhurst.
    More impressively, perhaps, is Cleveland's ability to find ways to lead the Titans to victory when he is not the leading scorer. In a win over Wheaton, Wednesday Feb. 4, Cleveland finished with his second-lowest individual point total of the season due to the Thunder's double and triple teams. Despite Wheaton limiting the Titan star to 12 points, Cleveland assisted on nine buckets and posted a near triple-double. Illinois Wesleyan is 6-1 when the Normal, Ill. native dishes out three or more assists.

TRIO OF 20+ POINT SCORERS: For the second time this season, three Titans ended their night with points totals over 20. In its win over Elmhurst Saturday, Feb. 7, Noah Cleveland finished with 32 on an efficient 14-of-17 shooting performance. Mason Funk dropped 23 points with three triples, and Karlo Colak added 21 points in 35 minutes of play on Senior Night.
     While the feat had not been accomplished in over 20 years prior, Cleveland, Colak, and Casen Lawrence each dropped 20+ in the Titans' midweek win over Augustana College, Jan. 7. Cleveland led the way with a 25 point, 13 rebound double-double. Colak also recorded a double-double, the first of his career, with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Casen Lawrence rounded out the 20+ scorers with an IWU career-high 21 on a 5-of-9 shooting performance from three.

NIEGO, WE GO: With Josh Fridman sidelined to injury, Jackson Niego has stepped into the point guard role and emerged as one of the top orchestrators in Division III. Niego has served as a steady hand all season long with 91 assists to 29 turnovers. His 3.14 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the CCIW and is 13th-best nationally.
    Illinois Wesleyan is at its best when Niego is dishing out dimes. The Titans are 11-1 when Niego has 4+ assists. Furthermore, IWU holds an 8-1 record when Niego records more assists than points.

BATTLES WITH THE BIG BLUE: Illinois Wesleyan holds a 164-77 overall advantage over Millikin. The Titans were victorious in the first meeting in 1910, 55-17, and have owned the matchup in recent years. IWU has won 9 of the last 10 meetings between the two teams
  In Bloomington, Wednesday, Jan. 21, the Titans trailed 29-22 at the half before erupting to hang 50 on the Big Blue in the second half. IWU ultimately won the CCIW contest, 72-62, behind three double-digits scorers. Noah Cleveland finished with 19 points, and Karlo Colak added 17. Casen Lawrence had 16 points behind four three-pointers.

ANOTHA ONE FOR NOAH: The CCIW tabbed Noah Cleveland the conference's player of the week for the fifth time this season, Feb. 9. Cleveland is the first Titan to receive the award five times in a season since the league began doling out the awards in 2000-01. He previously earned it Nov. 24, Dec. 22, Jan. 19, and Feb. 2. Additionally, he is the first to be a four-time recipient since Wheaton's Aston Francis grabbed the honor nine times in 2018-19.
    The rookie averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in a week that resulted in two CCIW  wins for the Titans. Cleveland started the week with a near triple-double in a win over Wheaton, with career-highs in rebounds with 17 and assists with nine. In a win over Elmhurst Saturday, Feb. 7, Cleveland finished with 32 points on a 14-of-17 clip.
    Additionally, Cleveland was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week for the third time this season, announced Monday, Feb. 9. It is the first time since Matthew Leritz in the 2021-22 season that a Titan has earned the honor three times in a single season. Leritz earned the award four times in his illustrious career donning the Green and White.

SUFFOCATING DEFENSE: The Titans have made it hard on opponents to score this season as IWU is limiting opponents to 66.3 points per game, good for 30th-best across Division III. Illinois Wesleyan's stingy defense has come behind the most blocks per game (6.8) and the 12th-best field goal percentage defense (38.6) in the country.

IT'S A BLOCK PARTY: The Titans have not only been the best shot-blocking team in Division III with 147 blocks (6.7 bpg), but this year's squad is one of the greatest shot-altering squads in IWU history.  Through 22 games, this year's total ranks as the third-most in program history. Additionally, IWU's 147 rejections are the most since the 1990-91 squad.
    Individually, Mason Funk leads the CCIW and is 21st nationally with 49 blocks. Noah Cleveland has 41 to his name, second-most in the league and 32nd-most nationally. Brady Kuehl's 16 swats are 10th in the CCIW.

KEYS TO VICTORY: Through 22 games, IWU has established several keys to victory. Illinois Wesleyan is 16-1 when scoring 60+ points, and also boasts a 5-0 mark when limiting opponents to no more than 59 points. Additionally, the Green and White is 13-1 when taking a lead into the half compared to 5-3 when trailing or tied at the break.

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: With 22 collegiate games under his belt, sophomore Noah Cleveland has established himself as one of the great bigs in NCAA Division III this season. The Normal, Ill. product leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with his averages of 19.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 60.6 percent from the field on the year and has added 41 blocks with 36 steals and 44 assists.
    Nationally, he is third with 252 rebounds & third with 14 double-doubles. The rookie sits eighth in DIII in rebounds per game (11.5) and 24th in blocks (41). He is a five-time CCIW Player of the Week, three-time D3hoops Team of the Week pick, & Bevo Francis Top-100 Watch List honoree.

ON THE HORIZON: After enjoying the weekend of Valentine's Day off, the Titans continue their streak of games away from home with a trip to North Park, Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tipoff in Chicago, Ill. is scheduled for 7 p.m.