Gameday Pick’em #11: Fresno State (6-5)
The Pundits
“Stinnett eager for Vegas return” (OWH)
“Headliners missing in Vegas Classic” (OWH)
“Sneak preview: Men’s basketball” (Fresno Bee)
The Picks
Another holiday season is upon us, and we’ve got another game scheduled with the Bulldogs from Fresno. In addition to watching an unlikely championship run by the FSU baseball team at Rosenblatt this summer, Jays fans in Omaha should be somewhat familiar with Fresno State.
The recent meetings between the two teams began during the magical 2002-2003 season, when as part of the BracketBuster series the Bulldogs came to Omaha in late February and played the Jays to a 67-66 nail-biter. Kyle Korver scored 27 that day, including all 7 of CU’s 3-pointers.
The next season, the Jays traveled to Fresno shortly before the holidays to return the BracketBuster game. They did so in exciting fashion, wining 70-62 in overtime. Sophomore Nate Funk scored 9 points, none as exciting as the 3-pointer that tied the game with no time remaining to send the game to the extra period.
Funk would run into the Bulldogs again, in December 2006, when the Jays traveled to Fresno on their way to a tournament in Hawaii. CU buckled early under a barrage of Bulldog 3-pointers, and the Jays trailed 31-14 early in the game. Funk scored 13 points and Anthony Tolliver added 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Jays lost by 15.
Two of Creighton’s biggest stars played vital roles in those three games; expect the same to be true today in the Sin City. Hometown boy P’Allen Stinnett comes back to Las Vegas looking to impress friends and family with both his individual play and two team victories. Booker Woodfox looks to continue his scorching scoring efforts: he’s averaging nearly 20 points during his last 5 games and is one of the top 3-point shooters in the nation.
FSU counters with a phenomenal freshman, Paul George, who leads the team in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (6 rpg). He also paces the Bulldogs with 22 3-pointers and 17 steals. Joining him as main contributors is senior guard Dwight O’Neil (12 ppg, 5 rpg) and junior forward Sylvester Seay (12 ppg, 3 rpg, team-best 17 blocks).
This dunk by boy (errr, freshman) George speaks volumes
Fresno is a long, lanky, and athletic team that runs hot and cold offensively. Sounds like the squad that burned the 2006-2007 Jays from outside. Creighton’s efforts on the boards will again be a key, as will the contributions from Kenny Lawson, Chad Millard, and even Kenton Walker (if he is cleared to play) in the post.
This tournament, and a “showdown” with this Fresno State team in particular, isn’t exactly what Jays fans had in mind when rumors of playing in a Las Vegas holiday tournament surfaced a few years ago. After backing out of a similar tournament last year to play preseason games in Canada, Dana Altman and his coaches have a more experienced team in Vegas this year, looking to string together wins in back-to-back days in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic.
The Jays are the favorites, based on early-season results, but they’ll have to play well on the neutral court (and with the expected distractions evident in any trip to The Strip) to avoid suffering some RPI setbacks.
Enough of this nonsense. To the picks!
(Various members of Qwest Center Section 123 will pick ‘em each and every game on this site. We’ll keep track of the winner each game, and at the end of the year you’ll be able to find one of us three buying a round or two of expensive Scottrade Center brews at Arch Madness.)
Leading Scorer
Creighton Otter: Cavel Witter (16)
Dance Cam Guy: P’Allen Stinnett (22)
Panon: Stinnett (17)
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Booker Woodfox (15)
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Woodfox (17)
Margin
Creighton Otter: Jays by 6
Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 15
Panon: Jays by 14
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Jays by 7
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 11
“Stinnett eager for Vegas return” (OWH)
“Headliners missing in Vegas Classic” (OWH)
“Sneak preview: Men’s basketball” (Fresno Bee)
The Picks
Another holiday season is upon us, and we’ve got another game scheduled with the Bulldogs from Fresno. In addition to watching an unlikely championship run by the FSU baseball team at Rosenblatt this summer, Jays fans in Omaha should be somewhat familiar with Fresno State.
The recent meetings between the two teams began during the magical 2002-2003 season, when as part of the BracketBuster series the Bulldogs came to Omaha in late February and played the Jays to a 67-66 nail-biter. Kyle Korver scored 27 that day, including all 7 of CU’s 3-pointers.
The next season, the Jays traveled to Fresno shortly before the holidays to return the BracketBuster game. They did so in exciting fashion, wining 70-62 in overtime. Sophomore Nate Funk scored 9 points, none as exciting as the 3-pointer that tied the game with no time remaining to send the game to the extra period.
Funk would run into the Bulldogs again, in December 2006, when the Jays traveled to Fresno on their way to a tournament in Hawaii. CU buckled early under a barrage of Bulldog 3-pointers, and the Jays trailed 31-14 early in the game. Funk scored 13 points and Anthony Tolliver added 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Jays lost by 15.
Two of Creighton’s biggest stars played vital roles in those three games; expect the same to be true today in the Sin City. Hometown boy P’Allen Stinnett comes back to Las Vegas looking to impress friends and family with both his individual play and two team victories. Booker Woodfox looks to continue his scorching scoring efforts: he’s averaging nearly 20 points during his last 5 games and is one of the top 3-point shooters in the nation.
FSU counters with a phenomenal freshman, Paul George, who leads the team in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (6 rpg). He also paces the Bulldogs with 22 3-pointers and 17 steals. Joining him as main contributors is senior guard Dwight O’Neil (12 ppg, 5 rpg) and junior forward Sylvester Seay (12 ppg, 3 rpg, team-best 17 blocks).
This dunk by boy (errr, freshman) George speaks volumes
Fresno is a long, lanky, and athletic team that runs hot and cold offensively. Sounds like the squad that burned the 2006-2007 Jays from outside. Creighton’s efforts on the boards will again be a key, as will the contributions from Kenny Lawson, Chad Millard, and even Kenton Walker (if he is cleared to play) in the post.
This tournament, and a “showdown” with this Fresno State team in particular, isn’t exactly what Jays fans had in mind when rumors of playing in a Las Vegas holiday tournament surfaced a few years ago. After backing out of a similar tournament last year to play preseason games in Canada, Dana Altman and his coaches have a more experienced team in Vegas this year, looking to string together wins in back-to-back days in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic.
The Jays are the favorites, based on early-season results, but they’ll have to play well on the neutral court (and with the expected distractions evident in any trip to The Strip) to avoid suffering some RPI setbacks.
Enough of this nonsense. To the picks!
(Various members of Qwest Center Section 123 will pick ‘em each and every game on this site. We’ll keep track of the winner each game, and at the end of the year you’ll be able to find one of us three buying a round or two of expensive Scottrade Center brews at Arch Madness.)
Leading Scorer
Creighton Otter: Cavel Witter (16)
Dance Cam Guy: P’Allen Stinnett (22)
Panon: Stinnett (17)
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Booker Woodfox (15)
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Woodfox (17)
Margin
Creighton Otter: Jays by 6
Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 15
Panon: Jays by 14
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Jays by 7
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 11
posted by Creighton Otter at 8:07 AM
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