Creighton 83, Northern Iowa 82
Creighton’s second win over Northern Iowa this season seemed like three games for the price of one. The first 10 minutes of Wednesday’s game were arguably the quickest 10 minutes of Bluejay hoops I have seen in quite awhile. The Jays raced out to an 11-point lead in the first five minutes of the game, and the flow of action seemed determined and swift. The first team foul wasn’t called until the 10:56 mark of the first half, and there were only seven combined turnovers in the first half of play. In fact, the Jays played solid defense and allowed only 28 first-half points to UNI. But everyone in the Cardiac Q knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
Creighton trailed only once in the first half and held a five-point lead at intermission, and they looked poised to extend the lead further after Dane Watts completed a three-point play off an offensive rebound one minute into the second half. But in typical fashion, the opponent caught fire and the Panthers rattled off a 12-0 run to go up four points. After this outburst, both teams settled in and traded baskets and defensive stops, seemingly matching one another in intensity and clutch shooting.
This back-and-forth action continued until Tyler McKinney connected with a tie-breaking three-pointer with five and a half minutes to play, and then the third game-within-the-game began. The Jays went to the free throw line nine times over the next five minutes, in addition to making all four of their field goal attempts, and extended their lead to 10 points with 49 seconds to play. This was going to be easy, right?
Wrong. The Panthers started to fire away from long range and made things interesting for the Jays fans that had remained in their seats. And while they couldn’t quite take the victory away from the Jays, Ben Jacobsen and the other Panthers put a definite scare into the 10,000-plus in attendance at the Q.
But as I watched the dejected UNI fans file out into the frigid February night, I couldn’t help but think I had seen this before. Not the exact flow of the game, or the feeling in the arena, but definitely the individual contributions. Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, and McKinney carried the Jays from start to finish, and they did so by playing exactly like they did in Creighton’s first win over UNI this season.
Funk absolutely drilled every one of his shots (actually, he missed two field goals and a free throw), as he poured in 21 points and continued his torrid play. In January, when he knocked down the game-winning shot in Cedar Falls, Funk scored 17 points. Mathies continued to provide a second consistent scoring option, going for 17 points last night after leading all Jays with 18 points in the first meeting this season. And Tyler McKinney, who is known more for his passing and court vision, scored 14 points in last night’s win – which matches his previous season-high recorded against – you guessed it – Northern Iowa.
So the Jays sweep UNI and get swept by Southwest Missouri State – who’d have thought that would be the case. And while some say that it’s hard to be a good team three times, I’d still rather match up against the Panthers in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. But the next two games will go a long way in determining what first-round match-up the Jays will see less than a month from now in St. Louis. A tough trip to Carbondale and Wichita, two of the toughest places to play in the Valley, looms large for the Jays, but with Funk and Mathies firing on all cylinders, I wouldn’t put anything past this team right now – winning or losing.
Creighton trailed only once in the first half and held a five-point lead at intermission, and they looked poised to extend the lead further after Dane Watts completed a three-point play off an offensive rebound one minute into the second half. But in typical fashion, the opponent caught fire and the Panthers rattled off a 12-0 run to go up four points. After this outburst, both teams settled in and traded baskets and defensive stops, seemingly matching one another in intensity and clutch shooting.
This back-and-forth action continued until Tyler McKinney connected with a tie-breaking three-pointer with five and a half minutes to play, and then the third game-within-the-game began. The Jays went to the free throw line nine times over the next five minutes, in addition to making all four of their field goal attempts, and extended their lead to 10 points with 49 seconds to play. This was going to be easy, right?
Wrong. The Panthers started to fire away from long range and made things interesting for the Jays fans that had remained in their seats. And while they couldn’t quite take the victory away from the Jays, Ben Jacobsen and the other Panthers put a definite scare into the 10,000-plus in attendance at the Q.
But as I watched the dejected UNI fans file out into the frigid February night, I couldn’t help but think I had seen this before. Not the exact flow of the game, or the feeling in the arena, but definitely the individual contributions. Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, and McKinney carried the Jays from start to finish, and they did so by playing exactly like they did in Creighton’s first win over UNI this season.
Funk absolutely drilled every one of his shots (actually, he missed two field goals and a free throw), as he poured in 21 points and continued his torrid play. In January, when he knocked down the game-winning shot in Cedar Falls, Funk scored 17 points. Mathies continued to provide a second consistent scoring option, going for 17 points last night after leading all Jays with 18 points in the first meeting this season. And Tyler McKinney, who is known more for his passing and court vision, scored 14 points in last night’s win – which matches his previous season-high recorded against – you guessed it – Northern Iowa.
So the Jays sweep UNI and get swept by Southwest Missouri State – who’d have thought that would be the case. And while some say that it’s hard to be a good team three times, I’d still rather match up against the Panthers in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. But the next two games will go a long way in determining what first-round match-up the Jays will see less than a month from now in St. Louis. A tough trip to Carbondale and Wichita, two of the toughest places to play in the Valley, looms large for the Jays, but with Funk and Mathies firing on all cylinders, I wouldn’t put anything past this team right now – winning or losing.
posted by Creighton Otter at 8:09 PM
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