Creighton 74, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 39
How'd They Even Get 39?
It wasn’t even that close.
Seriously, this was one of the ugliest games of basketball I’ve seen played outside of the Saturday morning intramurals league at St. Pius X/St. Leo grade school in the mid 1990s (Go Panthers!). As my dedicated buddy, and fellow resident of section 123, Panon said, “I kinda felt bad cheering for the Jays in the second half, because Arkansas-Pine Bluff was so bad.”
Apparently a couple thousand people felt the same way as Panon, because that’s how many people started leaving the seventh-largest paid crowd in Creighton basketball history with more than 5 minutes to play in the game. I haven’t seen a mass exodus like this since all the paparazzi left Italy after the Tom-Kat wedding.
People had good enough reason to leave, I guess. I, for one, would never leave a game early, but I’m obsessed so what do I know. No snow was imminent, although we wouldn’t have known it because Jays games no longer feature Bill Randby’s post-game forecast on the Qwest Center Jumbotrons, one of the original in-game promotions since The Phone Booth’s inception.
But it was frigid — both outside in the late November wind and inside on the court. The Golden Lions suffered one of the worst offensive outputs in Creighton basketball history, scoring a Qwest Center-low 39 total points and shooting 24% for the game. Creighton started the second half on a 19-0 run; a development that was at the same time both exciting (as a Jays fan) and excruciating (as a basketball fan).
(Side note: I think a real pack of Golden Lions probably could have shot more accurately than Arkansas-Pine Bluff. I felt bad for them. They flat-out struggled. Then again, this teaches a lesson to everyone who sits at the Qwest and says things like, “man, I could have done that”; you probably are not even good enough to play on a team like Arkansas-Pine Bluff. So don’t complain.)
There are no creative puns or flashy imagery to gussie up this review of the game; Creighton looked pedestrian in the first half, as they also struggled through yet another half of sub-par offensive execution. But the second half showcased some of the defensive pressure and overall hustle and effort that most expect from this team. Everyone who donned a jersey for the game saw action, which calls for the season’s first delve into the statistics.
Inside the Box Score
Starting Lineup:
A new look in the starting lineup, one that I hope stays in place through the end of March. Isacc Miles started for the second time in his short Bluejay career (at the off guard), joining quickly-healing Josh Dotzler (running the point) and Nate Funk (battling a cold) in the backcourt. Anthony Tolliver secured the post and led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds (his sixth career double-double), doing so with some great low post and mid-range moves and a flurry of impressive caroms. Dane Watts, last game’s hero, struggled through another performance (4 points on 2-4 shooting, including 0-2 from three-point range and 0-2 from the free throw stripe; 4 rebounds, 4 personal fouls, and 4 turnovers), although not because of a lack of effort.
Telling stat: Miles and Dotzler combined for 12 assists and just 2 turnovers in 34 minutes of game action. That is exactly the production needed from Creighton’s point guard position. Miles took more shots than he had in his previous games (3-10 from the field; 2-7 from long range), but he has a great shot and he looks confident in every aspect of his game — whether he’s breaking pressure in the backcourt, trying to feed the high post, or spotting up for a shot. Dotzler looked to be smoothing off the rough edges as he continues to fight back from his knee injury; he was even toppled to the ground during the first half but showed no ill effects as he rose from the floor and stayed in the game. J.D. didn’t play much in the second half, but he was able to get some experience playing with his new, huge robot-like brace on his leg.
Former Starters (this and last year):
Nick Porter, Pierce Hibma, and Nick Bahe were each on the court about the same amount of time (11-14 minutes each), with Bahe producing the most eye-popping stat between the three of them: he pulled down 6 rebounds in 12 minutes of action. Porter continues to look slowed by a knee injury sustained in the week leading up to the George Mason win, as his explosiveness just doesn’t seem to be from this team’s slasher/scorer, a roll he played so well last season (he didn’t attempt a shot in his 14 minutes of play). Pierce is still rounding into form after missing time because of a preseason practice collision with The Big Man — Manny Gakou.
Young Fellas:
Rumors surrounding the playing time of Kenny Lawson Jr. swirled around the lower bowl of The Phone Booth before Wednesday’s game like, well, something else that swirls around a bowl. Why no action against Nebraska with the A-Train in foul trouble? Why no minutes to give Tolliver a rest against George Mason? And maybe most important, why did he cut the mini-afro he was growing?
(Side note: We need more mini-afros. Or, we need someone to step up and grow a real afro. Has anyone seen Sean Ogirri yet this season? His ‘fro is EPIC. I’m not kidding. The second best thing about playing Wichita State on Senior Day this year [aside from the win, of course] is going to be seeing Ogirri’s afro in person. I want to touch it as he runs past our seat before and after the game. Look it up on the Internet. The 'fro is that good.)
Seriously, though, people were asking whether or not a red shirt would be in order for the young man. However, he played 12 hungry minutes, showing all-out effort and tenacity whenever he touched the ball or defended a Golden Lion (the players, not the real lions that they may or may not schedule for next year’s meeting). He attempted 6 shots in his 12 minutes (made 3), was 2-3 from the charity stripe, grabbed 4 rebounds, and missed the handle on one alley-oop dunk.
He is still developing as an offensive player, but you cannot coach his size or proportions. He just LAYS on top of the post he defends; he got called for an over the back foul even before the ball was passed to the guy he was guarding. He looks like a 6-foot-9 blanket. Plus, with his wing span, the guy he guards isn’t going to get anything resembling a comfortable shot in the paint.
Unless Lawson falls for the head fake. Which he did. A couple too many times. But, it is all part of the learning process, being out on the court and getting comfortable at this level. During the post-game radio show, Dana Altman said Lawson’s battling some tendonitis in his knees. Hopefully he is able to see more minutes as the season progresses, because for as great as Tolliver plays in the paint, Lawson has the prototypical arm length and frame to spell the A-Train in the post this season.
That is, unless The Big Man continues to throw defenders around like they are grade-schoolers (again, Go Panthers!). Gakou is so freakishly and naturally strong that he threw two defenders to the ground with ONE box out move in the second half. They tumbled like dominoes. The line for The Big Man: 11 minutes, 3-5 from the field, 0-2 from the free throw line, and 3 rebounds. Plus, one big amount of excitement; he just seems so happy to be out on the court, playing, throwing his weight around. He has worked hard to get himself into better conditioning, and he displayed a couple of full-court sprints during the contest. He’s no Justin Gatlin, but he makes an effort, and The Phone Booth Phaithful really appreciate him and show him the love.
His fellow French-speaking Jay, Brice Nengsu, also had a breakthrough game, but not statistically. A simple stat line (17 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover) might have been lost on the crowd, but his one hoop was aggressive. After struggling for a couple shots late in the game, and after catching a grazing elbow from a Golden Lion (they sound fiercer if I refer to them as their animal mascot), he furrowed his brow, what looked like steam rose from his ears, and he looked like he was going to engage in the game. He took the basketball on the left wing of the court, pounded two strong dribbles, and took the ball to the backboard for a lay-up. Considering Jays fans haven’t seen even the beginning of this kid tapping his athletic ability on the court, it was a good sign from a guy who will be relied on to translate his talent into court awareness and the ability to make plays.
Perhaps the biggest spotlight of the night, though, fell on junior college transfer Ty Morrison. Much has been made of his struggle with Graves Disease, which was diagnosed after he arrived at Creighton as one of the most heralded recruits in school history. The coaching staff say he is still about a month away from getting his stamina and energy back to his pre-diagnosis level, and that is what makes his brief appearance Wednesday night that much more important.
Morrison has “it.” In 16 minutes of game time, he scored 8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, blocked 3 shots, and recorded 1 steal. But the way in which he accomplished these was different than in his previous appearances this season. Although he got called for carrying the basketball once, he sized his defender up on the perimeter a couple of times, mixing a couple of shifty moves with strong drives to the hoop. It clicked on the third drive — the quickness everyone talked about during the recruiting process was there, and he completely blew by his defender and finished at the hoop with an arm in his face. His blocked shots showed good anticipation near the hoop (read: they weren’t cheap ones), and he and Nengsu teamed up for some imposing traps at the front of Altman’s full-court press. As they were with The Big Man, the crowd was appreciative.
But not as appreciative as they were to see Dustin Sitzmann play 3 minutes. He even got a shot at breaking the Godfather’s Pizza Mark, but his three-point attempt from the far corner just missed. Sitzmann represents what is great about college basketball — a student athlete busting his hump to continue playing a game he loves, regardless of whether or not he sees playing time, on a talented team in one of the most challenging conferences in America.
It wasn’t even that close.
Seriously, this was one of the ugliest games of basketball I’ve seen played outside of the Saturday morning intramurals league at St. Pius X/St. Leo grade school in the mid 1990s (Go Panthers!). As my dedicated buddy, and fellow resident of section 123, Panon said, “I kinda felt bad cheering for the Jays in the second half, because Arkansas-Pine Bluff was so bad.”
Apparently a couple thousand people felt the same way as Panon, because that’s how many people started leaving the seventh-largest paid crowd in Creighton basketball history with more than 5 minutes to play in the game. I haven’t seen a mass exodus like this since all the paparazzi left Italy after the Tom-Kat wedding.
People had good enough reason to leave, I guess. I, for one, would never leave a game early, but I’m obsessed so what do I know. No snow was imminent, although we wouldn’t have known it because Jays games no longer feature Bill Randby’s post-game forecast on the Qwest Center Jumbotrons, one of the original in-game promotions since The Phone Booth’s inception.
But it was frigid — both outside in the late November wind and inside on the court. The Golden Lions suffered one of the worst offensive outputs in Creighton basketball history, scoring a Qwest Center-low 39 total points and shooting 24% for the game. Creighton started the second half on a 19-0 run; a development that was at the same time both exciting (as a Jays fan) and excruciating (as a basketball fan).
(Side note: I think a real pack of Golden Lions probably could have shot more accurately than Arkansas-Pine Bluff. I felt bad for them. They flat-out struggled. Then again, this teaches a lesson to everyone who sits at the Qwest and says things like, “man, I could have done that”; you probably are not even good enough to play on a team like Arkansas-Pine Bluff. So don’t complain.)
There are no creative puns or flashy imagery to gussie up this review of the game; Creighton looked pedestrian in the first half, as they also struggled through yet another half of sub-par offensive execution. But the second half showcased some of the defensive pressure and overall hustle and effort that most expect from this team. Everyone who donned a jersey for the game saw action, which calls for the season’s first delve into the statistics.
Inside the Box Score
Starting Lineup:
A new look in the starting lineup, one that I hope stays in place through the end of March. Isacc Miles started for the second time in his short Bluejay career (at the off guard), joining quickly-healing Josh Dotzler (running the point) and Nate Funk (battling a cold) in the backcourt. Anthony Tolliver secured the post and led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds (his sixth career double-double), doing so with some great low post and mid-range moves and a flurry of impressive caroms. Dane Watts, last game’s hero, struggled through another performance (4 points on 2-4 shooting, including 0-2 from three-point range and 0-2 from the free throw stripe; 4 rebounds, 4 personal fouls, and 4 turnovers), although not because of a lack of effort.
Telling stat: Miles and Dotzler combined for 12 assists and just 2 turnovers in 34 minutes of game action. That is exactly the production needed from Creighton’s point guard position. Miles took more shots than he had in his previous games (3-10 from the field; 2-7 from long range), but he has a great shot and he looks confident in every aspect of his game — whether he’s breaking pressure in the backcourt, trying to feed the high post, or spotting up for a shot. Dotzler looked to be smoothing off the rough edges as he continues to fight back from his knee injury; he was even toppled to the ground during the first half but showed no ill effects as he rose from the floor and stayed in the game. J.D. didn’t play much in the second half, but he was able to get some experience playing with his new, huge robot-like brace on his leg.
Former Starters (this and last year):
Nick Porter, Pierce Hibma, and Nick Bahe were each on the court about the same amount of time (11-14 minutes each), with Bahe producing the most eye-popping stat between the three of them: he pulled down 6 rebounds in 12 minutes of action. Porter continues to look slowed by a knee injury sustained in the week leading up to the George Mason win, as his explosiveness just doesn’t seem to be from this team’s slasher/scorer, a roll he played so well last season (he didn’t attempt a shot in his 14 minutes of play). Pierce is still rounding into form after missing time because of a preseason practice collision with The Big Man — Manny Gakou.
Young Fellas:
Rumors surrounding the playing time of Kenny Lawson Jr. swirled around the lower bowl of The Phone Booth before Wednesday’s game like, well, something else that swirls around a bowl. Why no action against Nebraska with the A-Train in foul trouble? Why no minutes to give Tolliver a rest against George Mason? And maybe most important, why did he cut the mini-afro he was growing?
(Side note: We need more mini-afros. Or, we need someone to step up and grow a real afro. Has anyone seen Sean Ogirri yet this season? His ‘fro is EPIC. I’m not kidding. The second best thing about playing Wichita State on Senior Day this year [aside from the win, of course] is going to be seeing Ogirri’s afro in person. I want to touch it as he runs past our seat before and after the game. Look it up on the Internet. The 'fro is that good.)
Seriously, though, people were asking whether or not a red shirt would be in order for the young man. However, he played 12 hungry minutes, showing all-out effort and tenacity whenever he touched the ball or defended a Golden Lion (the players, not the real lions that they may or may not schedule for next year’s meeting). He attempted 6 shots in his 12 minutes (made 3), was 2-3 from the charity stripe, grabbed 4 rebounds, and missed the handle on one alley-oop dunk.
He is still developing as an offensive player, but you cannot coach his size or proportions. He just LAYS on top of the post he defends; he got called for an over the back foul even before the ball was passed to the guy he was guarding. He looks like a 6-foot-9 blanket. Plus, with his wing span, the guy he guards isn’t going to get anything resembling a comfortable shot in the paint.
Unless Lawson falls for the head fake. Which he did. A couple too many times. But, it is all part of the learning process, being out on the court and getting comfortable at this level. During the post-game radio show, Dana Altman said Lawson’s battling some tendonitis in his knees. Hopefully he is able to see more minutes as the season progresses, because for as great as Tolliver plays in the paint, Lawson has the prototypical arm length and frame to spell the A-Train in the post this season.
That is, unless The Big Man continues to throw defenders around like they are grade-schoolers (again, Go Panthers!). Gakou is so freakishly and naturally strong that he threw two defenders to the ground with ONE box out move in the second half. They tumbled like dominoes. The line for The Big Man: 11 minutes, 3-5 from the field, 0-2 from the free throw line, and 3 rebounds. Plus, one big amount of excitement; he just seems so happy to be out on the court, playing, throwing his weight around. He has worked hard to get himself into better conditioning, and he displayed a couple of full-court sprints during the contest. He’s no Justin Gatlin, but he makes an effort, and The Phone Booth Phaithful really appreciate him and show him the love.
His fellow French-speaking Jay, Brice Nengsu, also had a breakthrough game, but not statistically. A simple stat line (17 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover) might have been lost on the crowd, but his one hoop was aggressive. After struggling for a couple shots late in the game, and after catching a grazing elbow from a Golden Lion (they sound fiercer if I refer to them as their animal mascot), he furrowed his brow, what looked like steam rose from his ears, and he looked like he was going to engage in the game. He took the basketball on the left wing of the court, pounded two strong dribbles, and took the ball to the backboard for a lay-up. Considering Jays fans haven’t seen even the beginning of this kid tapping his athletic ability on the court, it was a good sign from a guy who will be relied on to translate his talent into court awareness and the ability to make plays.
Perhaps the biggest spotlight of the night, though, fell on junior college transfer Ty Morrison. Much has been made of his struggle with Graves Disease, which was diagnosed after he arrived at Creighton as one of the most heralded recruits in school history. The coaching staff say he is still about a month away from getting his stamina and energy back to his pre-diagnosis level, and that is what makes his brief appearance Wednesday night that much more important.
Morrison has “it.” In 16 minutes of game time, he scored 8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, blocked 3 shots, and recorded 1 steal. But the way in which he accomplished these was different than in his previous appearances this season. Although he got called for carrying the basketball once, he sized his defender up on the perimeter a couple of times, mixing a couple of shifty moves with strong drives to the hoop. It clicked on the third drive — the quickness everyone talked about during the recruiting process was there, and he completely blew by his defender and finished at the hoop with an arm in his face. His blocked shots showed good anticipation near the hoop (read: they weren’t cheap ones), and he and Nengsu teamed up for some imposing traps at the front of Altman’s full-court press. As they were with The Big Man, the crowd was appreciative.
But not as appreciative as they were to see Dustin Sitzmann play 3 minutes. He even got a shot at breaking the Godfather’s Pizza Mark, but his three-point attempt from the far corner just missed. Sitzmann represents what is great about college basketball — a student athlete busting his hump to continue playing a game he loves, regardless of whether or not he sees playing time, on a talented team in one of the most challenging conferences in America.
posted by Creighton Otter at 11:56 AM
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