NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Illinois Wesleyan was selected to win the 2021-22 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men's basketball title based upon the results of the conference's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Friday.
The Titans (8-1) narrowly won the poll with 59 points and four first place votes following the program's first CCIW Tournament Championship last season. Illinois Wesleyan opens this season ranked fourth in the
D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 and also picked up one first place vote. The Titans were also fourth in the final poll of the 2021 season.
Elmhurst (7-3) and Wheaton (12-1) tied for second in the coaches' poll with 56 points. The Bluejays picked up three first place votes from the coaches and will enter the season ranked 10th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. The Thunder picked up two first place coaches' votes and open the season ranked sixth by D3hoops.com.
North Central (5-5) placed fourth in the poll with 42 points. The Cardinals picked up 18 points, falling in the 'Receiving Votes' category of the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25.
Augustana (7-5) was fifth with 34 points, followed by Carthage (5-7) in sixth with 30 points.
Carroll (5-8) was seventh with 21 points. North Park (3-11) was picked eighth with 17 points, and Millikin (1-12) was picked ninth with nine 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 2021-22 men's basketball season kicks off on Friday, November 5, when Millikin travels to Blackburn.
2021-22 CCIW Preseason Men's Basketball Poll
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
59 (4) |
| T2 |
Elmhurst |
56 (3) |
| T2 |
Wheaton |
56 (2) |
| 4 |
North Central |
42 |
| 5 |
Augustana |
34 |
| 6 |
Carthage |
30 |
| 7 |
Carroll |
21 |
| 8 |
North Park |
17 |
| 9 |
Millikin |
9 |
2021 CCIW Men's Basketball Standings
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| Wheaton |
10-0 |
12-1 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
5-1 |
8-1 |
| Elmhurst |
6-2 |
7-3 |
| Augustana |
6-4 |
7-5 |
| North Central |
5-5 |
5-5 |
| Carthage |
5-6 |
5-7 |
| Carroll |
5-7 |
5-8 |
| North Park |
3-10 |
3-11 |
| Millikin |
1-11 |
1-12 |
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 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.