NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Augustana was picked to win the 2014-15 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men's basketball title according to a preseason coaches' poll announced Thursday.
The Vikings (20-8, 9-5) won the poll with 48 points and six first place votes, while two-time defending champion Illinois Wesleyan (27-5, 12-2) placed second with 44 points and two first place votes. Both teams are coming off CCIW Tournament and NCAA postseason appearances as the Titans advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinal round last season.
Defending CCIW Tournament champion Wheaton (21-9, 10-4) was third with 37 points after CCIW Tournament and NCAA postseason appearances last season, while Elmhurst (14-11, 6-8) and North Central (14-11, 7-7) tied for fourth with 25 points each.
Millikin (8-17, 2-12) placed sixth with 22 points, while Carthage (16-10, 9-5) was seventh with 16 points and North Park (4-21, 1-13) was 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.
2014-15 CCIW Men's Basketball Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
First Place
Votes |
|
1 |
Augustana |
48 |
6 |
|
2 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
44 |
2 |
|
3 |
Wheaton |
37 |
|
|
T-4 |
Elmhurst |
25 |
|
|
T-4 |
North Central |
25 |
|
|
6 |
Millikin |
22 |
|
|
7 |
Carthage |
16 |
|
|
8 |
North Park |
7 |
|
Twitter: @CCIW_Athletics
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 2013-14 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,400 academic all-conference recipients, 14 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and 87 all-Americans.