Creighton 71, Illinois State 52
Well, that is more like it. The Missouri Valley Conference is tough this year, and come March there should be a few Valley teams celebrating on Selection Sunday. But, looking at the schedule in late summer, this is one game that any Jays fan would circle as a “must-win”.
I said the same last year, though, when Creighton allowed Illinois State to hang around at the Qwest Center. Redbird Trey Guidry had a career night, the visitors forced overtime, and the Jays lost at home to one of the lesser team in last year’s conference race.
So when I looked at the scoreboard during halftime Thursday night, I couldn’t help but look at my dad, sitting at the end of the row, and give him one of those “what are these guys doing?!?” kind of looks.
Creighton led 27-25 at the intermission, but the first half mirrored last year’s home loss too much for me to not be nervous. Illinois State plays good defense, but for the Jays to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half and be out rebounded by 4 at the break had me shivering with flashbacks from last January.
But then something happened. I don’t know if it was the guy with the unorthodox shooting form knocking down shots during the ConAgra halftime shootout, or if it was the girl who made the lay up, free throw, and three pointer in front of 12,000 people during one of the timeouts toward the end of the first half, but the Jays caught fire from the field.
Creighton outscored the Redbirds 44-27 in the second half, but only after coughing up their two-point halftime lead and giving momentum back to Illinois State more than a couple times in the second half.
However, as was the case during the December home games since Nate Funk originally sat out with a shoulder injury, Creighton coupled some timely shooting, stout defense, and copious amounts of crowd support together to regain energy, and the Jays hit 8 of 11 free throws in the second 20 minutes to post a 19-point lead.
It was a far cry from New Year’s Eve, when Creighton played poorly and lost to Illinois State on the road. The Jays shot 73% from the field in the second half in Omaha, including 64% from three-point land for the game, and they defended the home court long enough to pull out a victory.
You’d think Jays fans would be happier, then, right? Wrong. Everyone realizes just how tough the Valley slate will be this season, and all you had to do was look up the scores from around the conference when you got back from the Qwest Center. Bradley, who Creighton managed to make look unstoppable, dropped a road game at Drake, another team that is seemingly hovering around the middle of the pack in the Valley.
Oh, by the way, Drake comes to Omaha this Sunday for a ballgame. And you can expect the Bulldogs to give the Jays just that – a tough contest. Dr. Tom Davis brings a team to the Q this weekend that plays a lot like what Jays fans expected this year’s Jays team to be; pressure defense, solid guard play, some athletes in the paint, and a deep bench.
What the Jays need is an effort exactly like the one they gave in the last 10 minutes of the second half. If they can do that, they’ll be fine, and they’ll set up a two-game road trip to Terre Haute and Cedar Falls next week. If they play like they did on New Year’s Eve, and in the first half against Illinois State at home, they’ll head out for the road with their heads down. It’s that simple.
Behind the Box Score
With Funk out for the rest of the season, and Pierce Hibma still not back from his knee injury, the Jays can ill-afford to play 4 on 5 on the offensive end. Creighton needs teams to respect Josh’s outside shot, because that will open things up for Dane Watts and Anthony Tolliver to get some good looks down around the basket.
Speaking of Watts, he shook off a sprained ankle to record 14 points, 9 rebounds, and no turnovers in 24 minutes of play. The sophomore, whose offensive game has been inconsistent most of this early season, looked more comfortable after he got his first shot – a three-pointer – to fall, and played well on both ends of the court. Altman has reiterated numerous times during the season that the team will really benefit once Dane breaks out of his slump, and here’s hoping that this win was the beginning of that.
My player of the game, finally, is Nick Porter. Not only did he add 11 points and 3 rebounds, but he made good decisions on offense and defense. Porter dished out 6 assists (a career high) and grabbed 2 steals.
On a transition opportunity in the second half, he caught the basketball on the wing, pump-faked a three-pointer, drew his defender in the air, took one dribble, and instead of trying to force something around the hoop, he made a nice pass to a cutting Watts, who was fouled and made the subsequent free throws. That was my play of the game.
I said the same last year, though, when Creighton allowed Illinois State to hang around at the Qwest Center. Redbird Trey Guidry had a career night, the visitors forced overtime, and the Jays lost at home to one of the lesser team in last year’s conference race.
So when I looked at the scoreboard during halftime Thursday night, I couldn’t help but look at my dad, sitting at the end of the row, and give him one of those “what are these guys doing?!?” kind of looks.
Creighton led 27-25 at the intermission, but the first half mirrored last year’s home loss too much for me to not be nervous. Illinois State plays good defense, but for the Jays to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half and be out rebounded by 4 at the break had me shivering with flashbacks from last January.
But then something happened. I don’t know if it was the guy with the unorthodox shooting form knocking down shots during the ConAgra halftime shootout, or if it was the girl who made the lay up, free throw, and three pointer in front of 12,000 people during one of the timeouts toward the end of the first half, but the Jays caught fire from the field.
Creighton outscored the Redbirds 44-27 in the second half, but only after coughing up their two-point halftime lead and giving momentum back to Illinois State more than a couple times in the second half.
However, as was the case during the December home games since Nate Funk originally sat out with a shoulder injury, Creighton coupled some timely shooting, stout defense, and copious amounts of crowd support together to regain energy, and the Jays hit 8 of 11 free throws in the second 20 minutes to post a 19-point lead.
It was a far cry from New Year’s Eve, when Creighton played poorly and lost to Illinois State on the road. The Jays shot 73% from the field in the second half in Omaha, including 64% from three-point land for the game, and they defended the home court long enough to pull out a victory.
You’d think Jays fans would be happier, then, right? Wrong. Everyone realizes just how tough the Valley slate will be this season, and all you had to do was look up the scores from around the conference when you got back from the Qwest Center. Bradley, who Creighton managed to make look unstoppable, dropped a road game at Drake, another team that is seemingly hovering around the middle of the pack in the Valley.
Oh, by the way, Drake comes to Omaha this Sunday for a ballgame. And you can expect the Bulldogs to give the Jays just that – a tough contest. Dr. Tom Davis brings a team to the Q this weekend that plays a lot like what Jays fans expected this year’s Jays team to be; pressure defense, solid guard play, some athletes in the paint, and a deep bench.
What the Jays need is an effort exactly like the one they gave in the last 10 minutes of the second half. If they can do that, they’ll be fine, and they’ll set up a two-game road trip to Terre Haute and Cedar Falls next week. If they play like they did on New Year’s Eve, and in the first half against Illinois State at home, they’ll head out for the road with their heads down. It’s that simple.
Behind the Box Score
With Funk out for the rest of the season, and Pierce Hibma still not back from his knee injury, the Jays can ill-afford to play 4 on 5 on the offensive end. Creighton needs teams to respect Josh’s outside shot, because that will open things up for Dane Watts and Anthony Tolliver to get some good looks down around the basket.
On a transition opportunity in the second half, he caught the basketball on the wing, pump-faked a three-pointer, drew his defender in the air, took one dribble, and instead of trying to force something around the hoop, he made a nice pass to a cutting Watts, who was fouled and made the subsequent free throws. That was my play of the game.
posted by Creighton Otter at 3:55 PM
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