Wichita State 74, Creighton 61

Roller Coaster

Mrs. Creighton Otter and I live in the middle of Omaha. While my wife is a transplant from the Iowa hometown of the Ankeny Bulldog, Ryan Sears, I was born and raised in the Big O. As such, and much like everyone my age who grew up in town, I spent more than my fair share of afternoons and early evenings at the city’s long-time urban amusement area, Peony Park.

The park closed in 1994 and has since been paved over, with grocery stores, restaurants, and a bank replacing the 4.5 acre swimming pool and sandy beach, water slides, typical carnival rides, and roller coasters. The beer garden, ballroom, and ski lifts surrounding the park are gone, making way for commercial development and apartments.

That brings us to the present. My wife and I live in apartments erected on the north side of where the original Peony Park provided generations of Omaha residents lifelong memories. I am one such person, and I remember vividly the feelings associated with the Tilt-o-Whirl (nauseated), the Black Hole (nauseated and scared of the dark), and the roller coaster located on the southern edge of the park (nauseated, scared of the dark, and stiff from whiplash). Sounds like fun!

Truth be told, I wasn’t really a fan of the roller coasters, be them at Peony Park or any other amusement park for that matter. As exhilarating as part of the ride might be, I always felt the negatives outweighed the positives. As a kid, I wasn’t all about feeling sick … especially if I had control of whether or not the knot in my stomach would be there in the first place. All things considered, I’d much rather hang out at the pool, ride some water slides, or roll over competitors in the bumper cars.

More than two months into this CU basketball season, I find myself throttling through what seems eerily like the Galaxy Coaster at Peony Park again. I mentioned the Black Out being staged at Koch Arena for Creighton’s trip to Wichita in the Gameday Pick’em on Saturday; apparently the Jays were as scared and claustrophobic of the surrounding darkness as I was long ago in the blacked-out section of the park’s coaster ride. This season has officially brought to life the up-and-down metaphor of the roller coaster. And to be perfectly honest, it isn’t fun right now.

The loss at until-then winless Wichita State is just one example. It isn’t the fact that the Jays lost on the road against a team desperate for a conference victory — sitting with a group of CU fans at lunch of Friday, you could tell that everyone was thinking “trap game” in the back of their minds. It’s how the loss happened that leaves me as queasy and white-knuckled as those first couple of trips through the rails at Peony Park.

After snatching a victory from Southern Illinois in the final seconds of regulation and then overtime last week, the Jays didn’t bother showing up for what looked like (statistically, at least) a better chance for a win than even the game seven days before (a 9-point victory at Bradley). After outrebounding SIU by 7 boards, CU was absolutely humiliated by the Shockers in the paint, to the tune of a minus-25 rebounding margin. As Piv points out in the paper today, CU grabbed just 2 more total rebounds than WSU snatched offensive boards (22 total for CU; 20 offensive for the Shox).

CU scored 13 fewer points against WSU than they average for the season. They shot just 33% from the field, much lower than their 44% average overall. In a game when they needed some 3-point magic, the Jays only hit 32% of their long-range shots. And after weeks of Altman and his coaching staff no doubt stressing the importance of crisp passing and offensive flow, CU recorded just 8 assists (on 16 made shots).

Booker Woodfox showed up on offense (20 points in 26 minutes) but he is still hobbled with a bad wheel. Antoine Young showed up, too (12 points, including a couple of 3-pointers), but only played 14 minutes. Casey Harriman was asked to play second-half minutes at the center position, something the 6-5 forward had trouble converting into rebounds against a tall and athletic WSU frontcourt. But at least he tried.

For a roller coaster to be invigorating to the senses, there must be a steady stream of ups and downs. The problem with Saturday, it seemed was the feeling that the coaster just kept heading down hill.

• P’Allen Stinnett, who has carried the Jays offensively during the games in which Woodfox has either missed or been largely ineffective due to the bad ankle, was as poor on offense (5 points on 2-7 shooting and 0-3 from 3-point range) as he was on defense (numerous lapses in assignment, including a few efforts to guard his man as the WSU player cut to the basket and scored).
  
  
• Kenny Lawson and Kenton Walker were largely ineffective in the post, combining for as many points (4) and almost as many rebounds (6) as turnovers (4).
  
  
• And in a game when Stinnett wasn’t hitting shots and Woodfox needed someone on the perimeter to take the pressure off, Cavel Witter had almost as many turnovers (3) as field goal attempts (4).
  
  
• Additionally, in a game where a big 3-pointer here or there would have made a huge difference in possibly switching momentum to Creighton’s favor, Kaleb Korver had arguably one of his least impressive days as a Jay: 0-5 from the field, including 0-3 from long range, and zero rebounds in 14 minutes of play.

Following an undefeated December, a Las Vegas Classic title, and a repositioning of its standing as league favorite with two impressive wins to start conference play, Dana Altman’s Jays seemed to be heading up the track, with the upward trajectory needed to fulfill preseason prognostications about the team’s ultimate fate. But this season has become a never-ending roller coaster. Game by game. Sometimes half by half.

Is this loss the bottom of the track? The last dip before the Bluejays’ coaster speeds upward to something akin to another 9-game win streak? One game CU looks every bit like the team many White and Blue worshipers thought they would be this season: owning Dayton at home, beating DePaul on a neutral court, and serving Bradley a loss in Peoria. Then, just like that, the Jays show they are capable of being run out of the gym by the Redbirds in Normal, coughing up a win at home against league-leading (seriously?!?) Northern Iowa, and thoroughly getting worked over by a WSU team destined for anything but greatness in a murky Missouri Valley Conference season.

Tuesday marks a new start for the United States, a potential upward movement amidst economic turmoil and both political infighting and global military action. It also marks a new day for the Jays, a game in which their largest weaknesses and shortcomings (rebounding, overall inexperience, resiliency) will be tested in a building (Roberts Stadium) against a team (Evansville) that have been the scene and perpetrators of more than a few losses that have left Jays fans shaking and scratching their heads. Will the loss at Wichita serve as the last dip in the Jays’ season for awhile, paving the way for an extended win streak? Or will Creighton be thrust further into an engulfing shadow atop the drop of the Galaxy Coaster?