NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) head men’s basketball coaches picked North Central to win the 2016-17 conference title according to the CCIW’s annual preseason coaches’ poll announced Wednesday.
The Cardinals (19-8, 12-2) won the poll with 63 points and seven first place votes after a second place finish and an NCAA postseason appearance last season. North Central has won six conference titles in program history, with the last one in 2012.
Illinois Wesleyan (13-13, 7-7) placed second in the coaches’ poll with 53 points and one first place vote. The Titans claimed the final CCIW Tournament spot last season, beating out North Park by just one game in the standings. Illinois Wesleyan’s 29 CCIW titles are the most by any conference team.
Two-time defending champion Augustana (29-2, 13-1) was third with 52 points and one first place vote as the Vikings are coming off two of their most successful seasons in program history with a combined record of 56-7. Augustana was the national runner up in 2015 and an NCAA sectional finalist in 2016. The Vikings have the second-most CCIW titles with 15.
North Park (14-11, 6-8) placed fourth with 46 points after finishing fifth last season. A fourth place finish this year would secure a CCIW Tournament berth for the first time in program history.
Carroll (20-5, 15-3) was picked fifth with 31 points as the Pioneers make their return to the CCIW after a 24-year absence. Carroll finished second behind St. Norbert in the Midwest Conference last season.
Elmhurst (22-7, 10-4) (26 points), an NCAA tournament team in 2015-16, was sixth, followed by Wheaton (5-20, 1-13) (25 points), Carthage (10-15, 4-10) (17 points) and Millikin (9-16, 3-11) (11 points).
Voting is done by the CCIW's head men’s basketball coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
The CCIW men’s basketball season begins November 15.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), 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 2015-16 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,600 academic all-conference recipients, 14 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 36 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients and over 100 all-Americans.