Gameday Pick ‘em #21: Drake (13-7; 4-4, 5th in MVC)
The Pundits
“Jays focus on play, not talk” (OWH)
“Midseason slump slows Drake” (OWH)
"CU's Iowans seek revenge against DU" (OWH)
"Parker to remain in lineup at Creighton" (DM Register)
The Picks
I want payback.
At first it was cute. Drake reeled of what seemed like a couple of months worth of wins in a row, found themselves ranked in the top 25, and showed up in Omaha looking for their win in Omaha since ruining Creighton’s (non-) senior night in 2002.
Jays fans had become accustom to close contests between CU and DU, but most of the teeth-gnashing happened on the road in Des Moines. Since that lowly night in 2002 that cost the Jays an outright MVC regular season title, Dana Altman’s guys had slaughtered the Bulldogs by an average of 17 points per game in five straight home wins from 02-03 through 06-07.
But last year, things changed. The first 20 minutes of action featured Creighton jumping out to a 6-point lead at intermission, led by sturdy Dane Watts’ 8 points and 6 rebounds. But CU’s lead crumbled early in the second stanza, the Jays hit only about half their free throws down the stretch and could grab key rebounds, and Drake forced the game to overtime. Again, that wasn’t something new to these two teams’ matchups — it happened in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 before this — but CU wasn’t usually on the losing end of the extra 5 minutes. They were this time.
More than 17,000 Jays fans fled the Q into the weeknight air, shaking their heads in disbelief. They would resume that motion a week later in Des Moines, as the Bluejays and Bulldogs exchanged the lead 8 times en route to a 75-65 CU loss. But neither of those losses were nearly as frustrating as what Keno Davis’ team did to my beloved Bluejays in St. Louis.
After Creighton and Bradley engaged in a wonderful 4-5 battle on Friday afternoon at Arch Madness, the Jays looked focused and poised to make yet another run at ending Drake’s improbable yet impressive MVC season early. And for awhile in the first half, that looked like exactly what would happen. Even as the Jays squandered a 18-13 lead at the 10:30 mark of the first half on their way to trailing by 9 at halftime, things looked promising. CU started the second half with a 7-0 run to pull within 2 at the 18:44 mark, but Adam “Alphabet” Emmenecker and the rest of the Dawgs hit clutch shot after clutch shot and drilled so many free throws it hurts my head to reminisce about them a year later. Alas, Drake was the team ending CU’s MVC season, sending me and the rest of the CU fans who take over STL each year to go drink themselves silly on a Saturday night in the Gateway to the West.
In this case, payback is a dish best served on a cold day in the Midwest. A near sellout crowd is expected to shuffle through the freezing temperatures and into the Qwest Center, hoping to warm up by the fire engulfing Drake’s season. And I’ll be right by the visitor’s bench, hopefully keeping my hands toasty as the Jays enact some revenge for last year’s home loss to DU, the close loss on the road in Des Moines, and the frustrating events of Arch Madness 2008.
Drake started conference play 4-1 but has seen their promising start wash away in a week. First came a hard fought loss at Illinois State. Then, on national television, the Bulldogs were obliterated by Northern Iowa. But more frustrating than either of those two losses was the 21-point loss Wednesday night at Missouri State, a team that had just one conference win before beating Drake.
Don’t worry, Bulldogs. We know how it feels. We were the stepping stone for the Shockers last weekend, who have since beaten Illinois State at Koch Arena. But the Jays fought back in the second of their two road games in the past week, handling Evansville in a resounding fashion. And now Creighton is back to play 3 games at home in the next 9 days.
Saturday won’t make up for last year’s sweep. Neither would a win in two weeks in Des Moines. But winning both games over the Bulldogs would do a lot for Creighton’s ultimate position in the jockeying for a top seed in Arch Madness (not to mention my psyche and the fandom of Jays fans inside and outside The Phone Booth today).
I’ll hoist a QCB this afternoon and wish revenge upon the Bulldogs. It’s nothing personal; I just want things to go back to the way they used to be in this 92-year-old series. After taking over as the Head Coach on the Hilltop in 1994, Altman lost his first three meetings against Drake. In between February 1996 and February 2008 (the start of last year’s 3-game DU winning streak), he lost just 4 times in 23 meetings with the Bulldogs (an 82.6% winning percentage).
Let’s do it old school today, Jays, and keep Drake’s season spiraling downward.
Leading Scorer
Creighton Otter: P'Allen Stinnett (13)
Dance Cam Guy: Kenny Lawson (18)
Panon: Booker Woodfox (15)
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Justin Carter (15)
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Woodfox (16)
Margin
Creighton Otter: Jays by 7
Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 12
Panon: Jays by 12
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Jays by 21
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 11
“Jays focus on play, not talk” (OWH)
“Midseason slump slows Drake” (OWH)
"CU's Iowans seek revenge against DU" (OWH)
"Parker to remain in lineup at Creighton" (DM Register)
The Picks
I want payback.
At first it was cute. Drake reeled of what seemed like a couple of months worth of wins in a row, found themselves ranked in the top 25, and showed up in Omaha looking for their win in Omaha since ruining Creighton’s (non-) senior night in 2002.
Jays fans had become accustom to close contests between CU and DU, but most of the teeth-gnashing happened on the road in Des Moines. Since that lowly night in 2002 that cost the Jays an outright MVC regular season title, Dana Altman’s guys had slaughtered the Bulldogs by an average of 17 points per game in five straight home wins from 02-03 through 06-07.
But last year, things changed. The first 20 minutes of action featured Creighton jumping out to a 6-point lead at intermission, led by sturdy Dane Watts’ 8 points and 6 rebounds. But CU’s lead crumbled early in the second stanza, the Jays hit only about half their free throws down the stretch and could grab key rebounds, and Drake forced the game to overtime. Again, that wasn’t something new to these two teams’ matchups — it happened in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 before this — but CU wasn’t usually on the losing end of the extra 5 minutes. They were this time.
More than 17,000 Jays fans fled the Q into the weeknight air, shaking their heads in disbelief. They would resume that motion a week later in Des Moines, as the Bluejays and Bulldogs exchanged the lead 8 times en route to a 75-65 CU loss. But neither of those losses were nearly as frustrating as what Keno Davis’ team did to my beloved Bluejays in St. Louis.
After Creighton and Bradley engaged in a wonderful 4-5 battle on Friday afternoon at Arch Madness, the Jays looked focused and poised to make yet another run at ending Drake’s improbable yet impressive MVC season early. And for awhile in the first half, that looked like exactly what would happen. Even as the Jays squandered a 18-13 lead at the 10:30 mark of the first half on their way to trailing by 9 at halftime, things looked promising. CU started the second half with a 7-0 run to pull within 2 at the 18:44 mark, but Adam “Alphabet” Emmenecker and the rest of the Dawgs hit clutch shot after clutch shot and drilled so many free throws it hurts my head to reminisce about them a year later. Alas, Drake was the team ending CU’s MVC season, sending me and the rest of the CU fans who take over STL each year to go drink themselves silly on a Saturday night in the Gateway to the West.
In this case, payback is a dish best served on a cold day in the Midwest. A near sellout crowd is expected to shuffle through the freezing temperatures and into the Qwest Center, hoping to warm up by the fire engulfing Drake’s season. And I’ll be right by the visitor’s bench, hopefully keeping my hands toasty as the Jays enact some revenge for last year’s home loss to DU, the close loss on the road in Des Moines, and the frustrating events of Arch Madness 2008.
Drake started conference play 4-1 but has seen their promising start wash away in a week. First came a hard fought loss at Illinois State. Then, on national television, the Bulldogs were obliterated by Northern Iowa. But more frustrating than either of those two losses was the 21-point loss Wednesday night at Missouri State, a team that had just one conference win before beating Drake.
Don’t worry, Bulldogs. We know how it feels. We were the stepping stone for the Shockers last weekend, who have since beaten Illinois State at Koch Arena. But the Jays fought back in the second of their two road games in the past week, handling Evansville in a resounding fashion. And now Creighton is back to play 3 games at home in the next 9 days.
Saturday won’t make up for last year’s sweep. Neither would a win in two weeks in Des Moines. But winning both games over the Bulldogs would do a lot for Creighton’s ultimate position in the jockeying for a top seed in Arch Madness (not to mention my psyche and the fandom of Jays fans inside and outside The Phone Booth today).
I’ll hoist a QCB this afternoon and wish revenge upon the Bulldogs. It’s nothing personal; I just want things to go back to the way they used to be in this 92-year-old series. After taking over as the Head Coach on the Hilltop in 1994, Altman lost his first three meetings against Drake. In between February 1996 and February 2008 (the start of last year’s 3-game DU winning streak), he lost just 4 times in 23 meetings with the Bulldogs (an 82.6% winning percentage).
Let’s do it old school today, Jays, and keep Drake’s season spiraling downward.
Leading Scorer
Creighton Otter: P'Allen Stinnett (13)
Dance Cam Guy: Kenny Lawson (18)
Panon: Booker Woodfox (15)
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Justin Carter (15)
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Woodfox (16)
Margin
Creighton Otter: Jays by 7
Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 12
Panon: Jays by 12
Mrs. Creighton Otter: Jays by 21
Mrs. Dance Cam Guy: Jays by 11
posted by Creighton Otter at 10:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home