Feast and Famine

Feast and Famine

Creighton’s 50-49 victory at Missouri State last Saturday conjured mixed emotions among my fellow Jays fans I watched the game with. The locally produced television broadcast was extremely confusing at some points (not that I’m complaining about having almost every CU road game carried on at least some sort of television channel), both because of the sometimes perplexing commentary and the even more erratic play of the Jays. Sifting through the statistical anomaly that is the box score from the Jays’ final game at the Hammons Student Center proves more frustrating than anything; I was impressed with the Jays’ hard-fought, backs-against-the-wall victory, but rather stunned by the game data.

Altman has called on both P'Allen and Dane to lead the Jays' offense

First Half

• Creighton holds MSU to 18% shooting (4-22 from the field), allowing just 15 points. The Jays talked following the Indiana State loss about the lack of energy and emotion evident during the setback in Terre Haute. Their first 20 minute of defensive play against Barry Hinson’s Bears seemed to channel a level of effort Jays fans haven’t seen in what seems like a long time. Creighton picked 6 steals, one of which led to another signature P’Allen Stinnett slam dunk, and added 4 first-half blocks (two of which came from Kenton Walker, the gifted true freshman who was the first man off the bench for new starter Kenny Lawson Jr.).
  
• Stinnett scores 10 points in 10 minutes. Much has been made in the past week (well, really the past month) about the Las Vegas freshman’s torrid talent, which seems to be matched only by a somewhat burning attitude. Altman went out of his way in different media reports to reiterate his message to the future Bluejay star, which was simple and seemed to prove effective: focus on making plays and supporting your teammates, not on complaining and jawing with the opponents and officials. The young man, who CU fans can tell wants nothing more than to win and to support his fellow Jays, adhered to Altman’s wishes, and it paid off in every statistical category. Stinnett led the Jays in scoring for the half and played solid defense after a few missed assignments early in the stanza.
  

• Twelve Bluejays saw meaningful minutes, or at least made meaningful contributions in limited minutes. Senior Dane Watts, playing in front of family and friends making the short trip from Warrensburg to Springfield, recorded 5 points and 3 rebounds while pacing the Jays with 15 minutes of action in the first half. As mentioned earlier, Lawson started and played 11 minutes, scoring 4 points and recording 4 rebounds. And even though his backup, Walker, only played 2 minutes, he blocked 2 shots and grabbed a board in his limited minutes. Junior guard Booker Woodfox continued where he left off against ISU, during which he scored a career-high 16 points. In 8 minutes of action, he had 4 rebounds and hit his only shot attempt — yep, you guessed it … a three-pointer.

Second Half

• Jays shoot just 22% (4-18 from the field), make just 1 of 10 three-pointers, and record only 1 assist. Wow. Didn’t see this coming. Talk about regressing back to the woes of the Indiana State loss. Creighton not only scored only 4 baskets in the half, but not one Bluejay had more than one field goal make — no one could get on track. Creighton turned the 14-point halftime lead to an 18-point margin two minutes into the second half. MSU whittled away the lead, however, and CU’s only three-pointer of the half came at a crucial time. Watts hit his second long-range shot of the game at the 11:33 mark, putting a temporary stop to a 10-0 Bear run.
  
• Creighton turns the basketball over to Missouri State 13 times in the second half. As previously mentioned, the Jays started the second half where they left off at halftime. Watts and Stinnett each scored two free throws, and in the middle of those points Lawson hit another sweet jump shot from just outside the paint.
  
  And then nothing. Nada. For the next 7 minutes, the Jays couldn’t even get shots off, and when they did they missed badly. Evidence: the following plays occurred during that 10-0 run for MSU ...
  - 16:42 Woodfox turnover
  - 16:19 Josh Dotzler turnover
  - 15:42 Walker turnover
  - 15:10 Cavel Witter turnover
  - 14:23 Nick Bahe turnover
  - 14:00 Missed 3 Pierce Hibma
  - 13:42 Lawson turnover
  - 13:07 Stinnett turnover
  - 12:54 Dotzler turnover (charge call)
  - 12:05 Witter turnover
  
  I highlighted Hibma’s missed shot because it was the only attempt the Jays made from the field during the sickly streak. Turnovers yet again cost the Jays; this time it kept them from increasing a lead on the road, instead of in the past when the mistakes halted their comeback attempts against Xavier, Illinois State, and the Sycamores.
  
  Witter was hit hardest by the bad kind of generosity; his game-high 7 turnovers signaled rock bottom for the sophomore guard from Kansas City who started his Jays career with numerous nifty plays and a 20-point outburst at Drexel. It was fitting then, during this strange game, that Witter was the only Bluejay to record an assist in the second half. Everyone made their fair share of mistakes, though. For the game, starting guards Dotzler (3 TOs) and Bahe (3) and go-to scorers Watts (2) and Stinnett (2) all had more turnovers than assists.
  
• Stinnett goes cold from the field, but heats up at the free throw line. In the first half, Stinnett yet again had a streak during which it seemed he could do no wrong offensively. Whether it was pull-up jump shots or drives to the basket, he was seemingly unstoppable. But after his customary shoe change, his golden touch from the field disappeared. P’Allen went 0-6 from the floor and 0-3 from long range (including a rushed three-point attempt with 3:25 left on the clock and the Jays trying to expand on a 3-point lead).
  
  However, Altman trusted his freshman to make plays, and regardless of Stinnett’s troubles from the field asked him to shoulder the offensive load down the stretch. The young phenom obliged, pressuring the MSU defense and drawing foul after foul against a Bears team that seemed a step slow trying to contain the explosive athlete. He scored all of his 8 second-half points from the free-throw line, going 8-10 and knocking down the eventual game-winning point with 56 seconds to play. He was also involved, along with Hibma, in forcing a Bears turnover immediately following that go-ahead free throw, which allowed the Jays to run another 30-odd seconds off the clock.

Hopefully, Saturday night was a defining moment for Stinnett and the rest of the Jays. Only they can build on the effort, and it begins Wednesday at home against Evansville. It is a game the Jays should win, but stranger things have happened — like the complete change between the first and second halves against Barry Hinson’s hapless MSU Bears.