Illinois State 80, Creighton 67; Indiana State 62, Creighton 54; Creighton 50, Missouri State 49

The Amazing Race

My idea of reality television is whatever sporting event happens to be on ESPN or the dozen other sports-specific channels on digital cable. I never became an addicted devotee to “Survivor”. I gave up on “The Real World” after Pedro and Puck and before the show’s participants became caricatures of what former Real Worlders they were supposed to portray – the heavy-drinking Southern boy, the flirtatious and flighty sorority girl, and the rest of the promiscuous and emotionally unstable guys and girls.

To the best of my knowledge, the endless hours of hoops and football and baseball games I devoured were the only true reality TV. The number of shots falling on the court or runs scoring in a given inning never seems scripted, even if some officials’ calls did. But my wife, who shares my love of sports and competition (but who is able to apply a more realistic and level-headed approach to her fandom) has me hooked on one of her favorite reality TV shows -- “The Amazing Race,” an Emmy-winning adventure across the globe.

I’m not exactly a connoisseur of The Race, but I get the gist of things. Each of about a dozen different teams complete both physical and intellectual challenges to vie for better position in a contest sending them from one country to another in search of the next clue and prize. But just like the games on the television screen, just when some things on The Race seem too good to be true, that’s because they probably are.

Get Ready for The Amazing Race, MVC-Style

The same can be said for Creighton’s last couple of games. If you looked at the statistics and the 9-1 record compiled by Dana Altman’s team in the non-conference section of their schedule, there wasn’t much to complain about. The race started quickly against DePaul, the Jays kept up the pace against Nebraska, and they experienced some smooth sailing against a series of lesser foes the week before Christmas. If this was “The Amazing Race,” the Jays were about due for a “Detour” on their road toward the finish line. They received a few in the past week.

Redbirds Get Another One

Coming into this Missouri Valley Conference season, Creighton had lost only six conference contests at the Qwest Center. One … two … three … four of those failures came against the Southern Illinois Salukis (a team that hasn’t lost in The Phone Booth), and the other two occurred during the 2004-2005 season. Barry Hinson’s Southwest Missouri State Bears (yes, before the name change) beat the Jays behind a solid game from Blake Ahern, and Trey Guidry led Illinois State to an overtime victory on the Jays’ home floor two weeks earlier.

The Redbirds are the only team besides SIU to have more than one win against the Jays in the Crown Jewel of Valley arenas, and they got there by dismantling Creighton’s previously steady full-court pressure defense and stifling the Jays’ offensive rhythm. P’Allen Stinnett poured in 22 points and flashed a little more of his signature style and overwhelming athleticism, but it wasn’t enough to counteract a balanced offensive attack featuring five ISU players scoring in double figures.








In fact, it was Creighton’s worst home loss since 1996. It was reminiscent of the beatings the Redbirds used to dispense against CU on a consistent basis between 1993 and 1998, when the ‘Birds beat the Jays 10 straight times. That’s something the A.K. Jays fans (“A.K.” meaning “After Korver”) might not realize; Illinois State won back-to-back Valley regular season championships twice in the 1990s (1991-1992, 1992-1993, 1996-1997, and 1997-1998) and remains one of the foes Altman has the least amount of success against statistically during his tenure as the Head Bluejay.

So the race that started so well for Altman’s Jays encountered its first major set-back; sure, losing on the road to Xavier in December was tough to handle, but winning a conference championship means much more than picking up a non-conference victory months before post-season play. Along with Drake, the Jays entered conference play with arguably the most momentum and one of the best non-conference marks among Valley schools. The home loss to the Redbirds erased all of that momentum, and the Jays would need to get back to their winning ways against Indiana State.

Next Stop … Terre Haute?

The past few trips to Terre Haute have not treated Creighton kindly. The last two Jays squads to qualify for the NCAA tournament (2006-2007 and 2004-2005) lost at Indiana State during the regular season (74-72 in January 2005 and 55-52 in January 2007). And with Altman’s team needing a win to avoid starting 0-2 in conference play, they’d have to beat an old friend.

ISU coach Kevin McKenna, a member of Creighton’s Athletics Hall of Fame and one of the top basketball players in school history, knows Altman and these players extremely well. McKenna spent nine different seasons as one of Altman’s assistant coaches, including the previous two seasons. The only time between 1994 and this year that McKenna didn’t work for Creighton was during his four-year run as head coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. But during three of those four seasons McKenna led the Division II team up against the Jays, and UNO lost by just single digits in each contest (two of those losses were to eventual NCAA tournament participant Jays teams).

Needless to say, he’s not the guy Altman wanted to see during a road game with Creighton looking for their first MVC victory of the short season. And 40 minutes later, the Sycamores made sure the Jays stayed in their slump. Altman’s squad struggled from the outset, unable to display any energy on the defensive side of the court and showing a lack of cohesion on offense. It was like the other coach … knew what was coming. Oh wait, he probably did.

It’s Early, but … Backs Against the Wall?

I had not been able to brush the confetti out of my hair and throw away the New Year’s Eve champagne bottles, and the Jays were already 0-2 in conference play and staring at another road game — this time in Springfield, Missouri, the site of some pretty lopsided Jays losses during the past two decades.

Barry Hinson’s Missouri State Bears blew a double-digit lead against the Jays at the Qwest Center last December, then lost to Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver during A-Train’s final homecoming last winter. But before that Jays road win, Creighton had won only 5 times in 20 games at MSU’s Hammons Student Center.

Make that 6. Creighton posted a 50-49 win in their last game at Hammons (the center is being replaced by a new basketball facility next season), with freshman phenom P’Allen Stinnett solidifying his role as go-to scorer for the Jays.

The game featured all that is right and wrong with this year’s Jays squad, and it deserves a more thorough examination. That’s for tomorrow.

For now, though, the Jays are back on the winning track, chasing down a handful of teams ahead of them on this leg of the Valley’s version of The Amazing Race. Drake, Illinois State, and Indiana State are 3-0 after this weekend’s games. Northern Iowa is 2-1, and the Jays join Wichita State, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois at 1-2. Bradley, one of the most explosive and impressive MVC teams in non-conference play, lost point guard extraordinaire Daniel Ruffin to an injury and have limped out to a 0-3 conference record. Evansville, who played Drake close for 38 minutes Sunday afternoon but lost, is also 0-3.

There are bound to be more detours during the next two months. Who knows if current frontrunners will be able to keep their frenetic pace, or if they’ll fall back to the pack as the weekly grind of the conference season begins to take its toll. All we know for sure is that unlike coaches Keno Davis (Drake), Tim Jankovich (Illinois State), and even former Jay McKenna, Altman has been here before. He’s been through the ups and downs, and he’s finished at the head of the race year in and year out. The first two games of this conference race were just a slight stumble; hopefully the Jays will be back to full speed during the next couple of stops of The Race.