SMS 79, Creighton 71
Middle of the pack. Forget the close loses and the exciting wins, this team is simply where it should be – stuck in the middle of an excruciatingly tough conference. It wouldn’t surprise anyone by now if the Jays came out this Wednesday on ESPN2 and beat Northern Iowa at the Cardiac Q, just like the second loss to Southwest Missouri State didn’t really shock anyone of the more than 14,000 in attendance last night.
Dana Altman’s team is sixth out of 10 teams in scoring offense and scoring defense. They are seventh in opponent field-goal percentage, and while they lead the league in three-point shooting percentage, they are seventh in field goal shooting and free throw shooting. They are getting beat on the boards – they stand last in the league at total rebounds per game and are eighth in rebounding margin.
Last night’s game was a microcosm of what Creighton has done well and poorly this season. Nate Funk was his usual tenacious self, pouring in 25 points and ripping down nine rebounds – including four offensive caroms. Funk continues his consistency, and if anything has increased his hustle over the past couple of weeks. After his latest effort, Funk leads the conference in points per game in conference play (18.2) and is making his case for All-Valley consideration. It is just a shame that all of his hard work has resulted in a 6-6 conference mark so far. But that shame can be shared by Funk’s supporting cast, or lack thereof.
Johnny Mathies is averaging 13 points in conference games, placing him in the top 10 in the conference. But the Jays’ next highest scorers in conference games are Tyler McKinney and Kellen Miliner at 7 points per contest. Jimmy Motz has picked his scoring up a bit over the past couple of games, but conversely Dane Watts has almost disappeared as a scoring option. Inconsistent offensive play in the low post leaves Creighton without many dependable scoring options.
With all this being said, Creighton once again had a chance to win this game. SMS entered the bonus after committing their seventh team foul with 16 minutes to play in the second half, as CU started the second stanza physically attacking the rim in an attempt to get SMS in foul trouble. Yet the Jays only shot 10 free throws in the second half. How does that happen? The game also felt too much like the first loss to the Bears, when the Jays hung around for most of the second half but just couldn’t get closer than a bucket.
In both games against SMS this season, it seemed as though every time the Jays produced a defensive stop they needed, they either turned the ball over on the other end of the court or couldn’t get a quality shot to fall. And when they did get some shots to fall, they couldn’t get stops on the other end. Creighton gave up 80 and 79 points in the two losses to SMS, showing once again an unpredictable defense.
Where can they go from here? Starting Wednesday, Creighton plays three of the most difficult games of the season in one week. Only one of the games is at the Cardiac Q, and the Jays can make a statement to a televised audience on ESPN2 against Northern Iowa. The Panthers beat Southern Illinois this weekend, making the race for the top two seeds in the MVC tournament even closer, and you can bet UNI wants revenge for CU’s last-second win at the UNI-Dome in January. Road games at SIU and Wichita State will wrap up one of the toughest three-week stretches of conference hoops in years. Right now, Jays fans would be happy with a 2-1 record this week, because anything less than that will seriously jeopardize Creighton’s chances for a first-round bye in the Valley tournament. Seeds 7 through 10 play on Friday in St. Louis, and Altman’s Jays have never played in the first round of the tournament. The good news is that throughout the conference, the Jays can beat any one of the teams. The bad news would be trying to win four games to secure a Valley tournament championship.
Dana Altman’s team is sixth out of 10 teams in scoring offense and scoring defense. They are seventh in opponent field-goal percentage, and while they lead the league in three-point shooting percentage, they are seventh in field goal shooting and free throw shooting. They are getting beat on the boards – they stand last in the league at total rebounds per game and are eighth in rebounding margin.
Last night’s game was a microcosm of what Creighton has done well and poorly this season. Nate Funk was his usual tenacious self, pouring in 25 points and ripping down nine rebounds – including four offensive caroms. Funk continues his consistency, and if anything has increased his hustle over the past couple of weeks. After his latest effort, Funk leads the conference in points per game in conference play (18.2) and is making his case for All-Valley consideration. It is just a shame that all of his hard work has resulted in a 6-6 conference mark so far. But that shame can be shared by Funk’s supporting cast, or lack thereof.
Johnny Mathies is averaging 13 points in conference games, placing him in the top 10 in the conference. But the Jays’ next highest scorers in conference games are Tyler McKinney and Kellen Miliner at 7 points per contest. Jimmy Motz has picked his scoring up a bit over the past couple of games, but conversely Dane Watts has almost disappeared as a scoring option. Inconsistent offensive play in the low post leaves Creighton without many dependable scoring options.
With all this being said, Creighton once again had a chance to win this game. SMS entered the bonus after committing their seventh team foul with 16 minutes to play in the second half, as CU started the second stanza physically attacking the rim in an attempt to get SMS in foul trouble. Yet the Jays only shot 10 free throws in the second half. How does that happen? The game also felt too much like the first loss to the Bears, when the Jays hung around for most of the second half but just couldn’t get closer than a bucket.
In both games against SMS this season, it seemed as though every time the Jays produced a defensive stop they needed, they either turned the ball over on the other end of the court or couldn’t get a quality shot to fall. And when they did get some shots to fall, they couldn’t get stops on the other end. Creighton gave up 80 and 79 points in the two losses to SMS, showing once again an unpredictable defense.
Where can they go from here? Starting Wednesday, Creighton plays three of the most difficult games of the season in one week. Only one of the games is at the Cardiac Q, and the Jays can make a statement to a televised audience on ESPN2 against Northern Iowa. The Panthers beat Southern Illinois this weekend, making the race for the top two seeds in the MVC tournament even closer, and you can bet UNI wants revenge for CU’s last-second win at the UNI-Dome in January. Road games at SIU and Wichita State will wrap up one of the toughest three-week stretches of conference hoops in years. Right now, Jays fans would be happy with a 2-1 record this week, because anything less than that will seriously jeopardize Creighton’s chances for a first-round bye in the Valley tournament. Seeds 7 through 10 play on Friday in St. Louis, and Altman’s Jays have never played in the first round of the tournament. The good news is that throughout the conference, the Jays can beat any one of the teams. The bad news would be trying to win four games to secure a Valley tournament championship.
posted by Creighton Otter at 8:45 AM
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