NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Defending College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) champion Illinois Wesleyan was picked to win the 2014 CCIW men's basketball title according to a preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Titans (23-6, 13-1 in 2013) won the poll with 48 points and six first place votes after winning their 29th CCIW title last season. Illinois Wesleyan advanced to the sectional semifinal round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship following a semifinal appearance in 2012.
Wheaton (21-7, 10-4) was second in the poll with 44 points and two first place votes following the Thunder's fifth NCAA postseason appearance in the last six years. Wheaton advanced to the sectional round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship last season.
Augustana (19-8, 8-6) placed third with 36 points after qualifying for the CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament last season. The Vikings are the only CCIW team to qualify for the conference tournament every year dating back to its inception in 2006.
North Central (28-4, 11-3) was fourth with 30 points. The Cardinals come in as the defending CCIW Tournament champion and
played in their first-ever national semifinal last season, falling to eventual national champion Amherst. North Central was also the fourth-straight CCIW team to advance as far as the quarterfinal round.
Carthage (12-13, 7-7) placed fifth in the poll with 22 points, followed by
Millikin (8-17, 4-10) in sixth with 21 points, Elmhurst (6-19, 2-12) in seventh with 16 points and North Park (6-19, 1-13) in eighth with seven points.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head men's basketball coaches. Each coach votes for the seven other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (seven points for first, six for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The 2013 poll was announced in conjunction with the
CCIW Men's Basketball Coaches Chat on Wednesday, October 30.
2013-14 CCIW Men's Basketball Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
First Place
Votes |
|
1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
48 |
6 |
|
2 |
Wheaton |
44 |
2 |
|
3 |
Augustana |
36 |
|
|
4 |
North Central |
30 |
|
|
5 |
Carthage |
22 |
|
|
6 |
Millikin |
21 |
|
|
7 |
Elmhurst |
16 |
|
|
8 |
North Park |
7 |
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services eight member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2012-13 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 15 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, 30 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, 68 all-Americans and one national championship team.