NAPERVILLE, Ill. – One season removed from 24 wins, a regular-season College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) championship and a trip to the Elite 8, Illinois Wesleyan is the pick to repeat as league champions in 2022-23, according to a coaches’ poll released by the league office on Thursday morning. The Titans were the recipient of six first-place votes and 61 points in the poll.
2022-23 Preseason CCIW Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| 1. Illinois Wesleyan (6) |
61 |
| 2. North Central (1) |
52 |
| T3. Elmhurst (2) |
50 |
| T3. Wheaton |
50 |
| 5. Millikin |
33 |
| 6. Augustana |
31 |
| 7. North Park |
18 |
| 8. Carthage |
17 |
| 9. Carroll |
12 |
IWU was one of three CCIW teams to be ranked in the preseason D3hoops.com Top 25, checking in at #21 for 17th-year head coach Ron Rose. The Titans, who won three times in the NCAA Tournament last season before bowing out in the national quarterfinals, will be in search of their third consecutive CCIW crown.
North Central tallied 52 points and a first-place vote to land second in the poll conducted earlier this month. The Cardinals, under the direction of new head coach Anthony Figueroa, were 17-10 overall and 10-6 in the CCIW last season before advancing to the CCIW Tournament championship game. NCC secured 11 points in the D3hoops.com preseason poll but was not among those ranked.
Elmhurst, which won the CCIW Tournament as part of a nine-game win streak that ended in last season’s national title game, was picked for a third-place tie by the coaches for the upcoming campaign. The Bluejays, ranked #23 nationally in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, were at the top of two coaches’ ballots and logged 50 points in the poll.
Wheaton also notched 50 points to tie with Elmhurst for third place in Thursday’s announcement. Wheaton went 22-7 last season, received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and was one of the final 16 teams in the bracket before bowing out at Illinois Wesleyan on March 11. The Thunder was ranked #24 in Wednesday’s D3hoops.com poll.
Millikin was slotted fifth with 33 points after a 14-12 campaign last winter. The Big Blue went 9-7 in the league before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the CCIW Tournament. The sixth position in Thursday’s poll belongs to Augustana, which earned 31 points and went 11-15 a year ago,
North Park (18 points), Carthage (17 points) and Carroll (12 points) rounded out the final three spots in the preseason poll.
The 2022-23 season begins Tuesday, Nov. 8 when Augustana hosts Wisconsin-Whitewater at 7 p.m. in Rock Island. All nine teams will be in action by Saturday, Nov. 12. The first league games are set for Wednesday, Nov. 30 and