Drake Recap

Final Score: Creighton 67, Drake 62

Box Score

Recaps: CU | DU
Media: OWH | Des Moines Register
Photo Galleries: OWH | Des Moines Register

Over the past few years, fans on both sides on this interstate battle have become accustomed to close, hard fought games vs the Jays and Bulldogs in Des Moines. Over the past several years, no matter the disparity in the talent or success of the two teams, and no matter how lopsided some of the contests in Omaha have been, it's been a safe bet to expect Creighton-Drake games in the Knapp Center to go down to the final buzzer.

After Saturday night's game, the story could have been a scrappy last place Drake team taking the first place Jays down to the end. It could have been yet another clutch performance by Pierce Hibma in a game against Drake. It could have been Nate Funk demonstrating again why he is the favorite for MVC Player of the Year by shaking off the relentless harassment of the Drake student section to drop 20 on the road and nail the game winning shot from the right wing in a tie game. It even could have been the thousands of Creighton fans that made the trip up from Omaha to help fill the house and spark quite the two hour shouting match between the two fan bases. However, in part because of how the final minutes of the game played out, but more directly because of how Tom Davis handled himself after the game, the story of the game is the officiating and how Drake and their fans reacted to it.

A lot can be said about the officiating during the game, although that's really not unique when considering that close games invariably can be broken down into a few key possessions and that lends itself to quite a bit of second guessing and 20/20 hindsight when it comes to the calls by the referees. In this game, the most controversial call of the night was made with 19.2 seconds left with Creighton up by two when Drake freshman Josh Young drove to the basket, coming into contact with Anthony Tolliver and making a basket that appeared to tie the game. The whistle blew and Young later admitted he thought he was going to be going to the line with the chance to give Drake the lead, believing he had drawn a blocking foul on Tolliver. Tolliver, however, was set in his defensive position and referee Dan Nowakowski called the charge.

Granted it was a close call and fans certainly expect to get the benefit of doubt at home. However, the benefit of the tape from the television broadcast doesn't leave much doubt in terms of the fact that Tolliver had set defensive position. However, when driving the ball to the basket against a opposing team's center, one has to expect an attempt to draw the offensive foul. That's something that the coaching staff has to expect and prepare against, leaving other outlets such as the kick out or the dish to another cutting player.

After the play, the Bulldogs would be forced to foul immediately, sending Nick Porter to the line who split a pair of free throws giving the Jays a three point lead at 65-62. Drake would come back down the court and, with less than ten seconds remaining, ending up pinning their hopes on an Al Stewart drive to the basket hoping to extend the contest. Stewart's shot was blocked by Tolliver and the Bulldogs were incensed they did not get a goaltending call on the play. Again, with the benefit of television replay, it looks fairly clear that Tolliver was able to block the ball at the apex of the shot and avoid the goaltend. However, in this case, no matter whether a call was made or not, that doesn't excuse the mental lapse of turning down an attempt to go for the tie when you're under ten seconds left. With so little time and the number of quality foul shooters the Jays have, you have to try and set up the game tying shot in that situation.

If it was just a set of close calls towards the end of the game, that would be a story but that's not unexpected in a tight game. The biggest shock of the night was, quite frankly, the extremely unprofessional way that Drake coach Tom Davis handled his reaction to the officiating in front of the media, both to the Drake radio broadcasters as well as to reporters from both markets in the post game press conference.

Driving home from Des Moines on Saturday night, I listened to Davis' comments on KRNT-AM after the game. The first statement Davis made was that Drake is not a program expected to win these sorts of games at this point. Be it fans, or opposing players or... "administrators or officials, Drake is not expected to be able to win games like this." That's bad enough in terms of questioning the intentions and decision making of league officials, however, in his press conference remarks, Davis wasn't nearly as subtle. In the Omaha World-Herald article, Davis is quoted as saying:

"I didn't think it was a very good call. Obviously, I'm biased, but I had a good look, right in front of our bench. I try to be as impartial as I can when I look at those things.... There were six or seven calls, all down the stretch, that went Creighton's way. That seemed a little unusual but that's what good teams do. They find a way to put themselves in that position. You have to give them credit, and go from there.''

Also, Big Sports 590's Matt Perrault has more comments from Davis transcribed in his blog entry from Sunday. Perrault asked Davis about the fact that Tolliver played the last three minutes of the game with four fouls called and his response was:

"I thought we did get [Tolliver] out of the game 3 or 4 times to be honest but there were no calls. So nothing you can say, it’s a matter of judgement. I thought was key to the game for the last several minutes – how it was called and how it was officiated – sometimes you get a break – sometimes you don’t. Tonight we got nothing down the stretch.”

Finally, Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register asked Davis about the block by Tolliver, noting that the television crew of Mitch Holthus and Mac MacCausland commented that it looked like Tolliver did not commit goaltending on the play:

"Ya, well, I’d like to see again for myself. Sometimes, you know, guys get paid by certain people…..right? That’s been known to happen – so I’d look at it myself, not that I would doubt their opinion. But I think that’s why Creighton is good and they do a lot of good things and they put themselves in position to beat you…good team, well coached, good ball club."

So, in summary, it was the opinion of Coach Davis that not only were the two calls incorrect, but:

1. Anywhere from six or seven calls in a row (specifics withheld) went against the Bulldogs and broke in the Jays' favor;
2. These calls came from the fact that Creighton is perceived as the better program and that Drake either isn't expected to compete with them or that the league would rather they didn't upset the co-leaders of the league on Drake's home floor; and finally
3. The opinions of Holthus and MacCausland on the calls in question are fueled by the fact they are contractors of the MVC, and thus expected to support the supposed biases that Davis believes the league has against Drake.

Tom Davis is a coach that has been in the business for a very long time. With coaching stops at places like Boston College, Stanford and Iowa, this isn't Dr. Tom's first dance. He should know better than to come out and, quite frankly, whine about the officiating like this. It doesn't do you any good, it paints a bad picture of the league as a whole and your program in particular and it's not going to buy you any breaks for the future. Another good example of this was earlier in the game when Davis threw a fit on the sideline, claiming Ajay Calvin was undercut on a dunk. However, again, no one was even close to touching him and the video was damning.

What I think it basically comes down to is that there's been a lot of frustration in Des Moines over the total lack of direction and progression in this Drake program and the justified perception that the gap between the Bulldogs and the rest of the league is widening every year. At one time, Creighton and Drake were in similar situations. Both institutions are similar in terms of size and location. That said, Creighton has established itself as the dominant program in it's hometown, has built a financial base that is the envy of other schools of it's size and enrollment and has basketball success on a national level.

For Drake, they are at best third or fourth in the pecking order in Des Moines, don't have access to anywhere near the financial assets that Creighton and other Valley programs have and are hamstrung by a small fan base and facilities that rank them at or near the bottom of the league. Tom Davis came in a few years ago after the Kurt Kanaskie fiasco with visions of an Altmanesque turnaround, but here we sit with a senior laden Drake squad that cannot finish games, doesn't show much in the way of basketball sense and is dead last in the league yet again and doesn't look to be pulling out of the cellar any time soon.

With all the close losses to Creighton at home over the past few years, finally all that angst and frustration finally overflowed into the hissy fit that we saw Davis and his players throw on Saturday night. There has to be consequences, however, and I wouldn't be surprised if Davis ends up with a fine from the MVC front office for his comments to the press.

Going into last week, there was a lot of talk about if the Jays could split the road trip, that would do well to cement them either into first or second in the league and would set up the stretch run. With the Jays sweeping the swing through Peoria and Des Moines, that does a lot to separate the top two teams in this league from the other eight and helps set up a likely showdown this Saturday night in Carbondale for the MVC regular season championship. Also, with the Jays sporting the best road record in the Valley, an 8-2 record in their last ten games and top 25 RPI, it would take a serious collapse for Creighton to not secure an NCAA at-large bid if it is required.

Osborne and Creighton

In Sunday's edition of the Omaha World-Herald, sports columnist Tom Shatel ran an interview with the former Nebraska head football coach and former U.S. Congressman Tom Osborne. One might ask, well what does that have to do with Creighton? Everything, actually. Since leaving office, Osborne has been serving as a consultant and advisor to the Creighton athletic department. Invited by Bruce Rasmussen and David Sokol, Osborne comes down weekly to speak with and advise both coaches and student athletes, especially Coach Altman and his team.

Osborne explained to Shatel that when he agreed to work with CU, he made it clear he didn't want this to be publicised as some sort of slap in the face at UNL, which is understanding considering his history with that institution. That said, the one line that popped out in the article was when Shatel asked, quite frankly, why working with Creighton instead of Nebraska: they didn't ask.

Now, for those of us that live here in Nebraska, the whole soap opera of Pederson-Solich-Callahan is a well known story, so I won't go into that here. Needless to say, it's no secret that Osborne was not pleased with both the changes that occurred in Lincoln as well as how they were handled and how those deeply involved with the history of their football program was treated. Dr. Osborne is not just a well regarded former coach, but he is a very adept politician. He's well aware of his "wise sage/elder statesman" position in this state and with the vast majority of Husker fans and he doesn't want to damage that. However, he knows how to get his point across subtly. He doesn't have to come out and slam Pederson and his cadre in public, but can select when he talks and to whom he talks to make his thoughts clear.

Rasmussen and Altman are both intelligent fellows and they've known what Osborne's agenda is from the beginning. That said, they're more than willing to gain the PR boost and especially at NU's expense. Osborne is so respected in this state that having him associated with the program will only serve to open some scarlet-colored eyes. It's not like he doesn't have anything to offer. Dr. Osborne has a long history of developing young athletes and getting the most out of his players. In the article, Nick Porter mentioned the talk that he gave to the seniors on the squad before the Missouri State game and said he believed that was a key in helping prepare the team for success.

One has to notice, though, the way this story was handled and how it's just another thrust in the side of Nebraska basketball. They have their biggest home game of the year tonight against Kansas on ESPN's Big Monday package, and the dominant story in the sports media is "Why has Nebraska alienated Tom Osborne from the program?" I think that the people around the UNL program are starting to realize that Creighton has had the opportunity to set down far more roots in the Omaha area than they believed and that's going to be a far more difficult task to overcome.

MVC Home Stretch

As we enter the final days of January and February looms near, the final leg of the race for the Valley championship is now here. A major part of the discussion will be both who is left on the slate for each team as well as where those games will be played. With Creighton and SIU tied for the MVC lead at this point, the fact that the Salukis both have the majority of their games left at home as well as the return date with the Jays in Carbondale, this is a key part of why the Ugly Dawgs are the odds on favorite to win the title.

Now, the Jays have four road games left in the league schedule. Two of these games (at Drake and at Illinois State) are the sort that one would think that CU has a good shot walking away with the victory. Obviously, there's going to be a large contingent of Creighton fans at the Knapp Center this weekend and the Redbirds are currently in the cellar of the league and one would hope the team is focused enough at the end of the season to get the job done in Normal. Obviously the Jays are going to have the hold serve at home and they're going to need to create some opportunities on the road. Unfortunately, the bid for the title outright will require some outside assistance, but I think if the Jays can close out with a 12-6 sort of record, we should be either tied for the title or, at worse, a game back and in second place. If the Jays can avoid a major letdown in St. Louis as they experienced last year, that should be a position that will set up for an at-large bid if needed.

Remaining MVC Schedules
Team	Home	Away	Games
Bradley (6-5)	4	3	vs Creighton at Illinois St. at Southern Ill. vs Drake at Evansville vs Northern Iowa vs Indiana St.
Creighton (8-3)	3	4	at Bradley at Drake vs Evansville at Southern Ill. vs Northern Iowa at Illinois St. vs Wichita St.
Drake (3-8)	4	3	vs Missouri St. vs Creighton at Northern Iowa at Bradley vs Wichita St. vs Evansville at Missouri St.
Evansville (5-6)	3	4	at Illinois St. vs Northern Iowa at Creighton vs Indiana St. vs Bradley at Drake at Southern Ill.
Illinois St. (3-8)	3	4	vs Evansville vs Bradley at Missouri St. at Wichita St. vs Indiana St. vs Creighton at Northern Iowa
Indiana St. (4-6)	4	4	at Southern Ill. vs Missouri St. vs Northern Iowa at Wichita St. at Evansville vs Illinois St. vs Southern Ill. at Bradley
Missouri St. (6-5)	3	4	at Drake at Indiana St. vs Illinois St. at Northern Iowa vs Southern Ill. at Wichita S. vs Drake
Northern Iowa (6-4)	4	4	vs Wichita St. at Evansville at Indiana St. vs Drake vs Missouri St. at Creighton at Bradley vs Illinois St.
Southern Ill. (8-3)	4	3	vs Indiana St. at Wichita St. vs Bradley vs Creighton at Missouri St. at Indiana St. vs Evansville
Wichita St. (5-6)	4	3	at Northern Iowa vs Southern Ill. vs Indiana St. vs Illinois St. at Drake vs Missouri St. at Creighton

On the rebound...

After the heartbreaking loss to the Salukis at home last Saturday, the Jays faced a slate including a difficult road test against a Missouri State team needing to right the ship and a home date with an Indiana State team against which CU let slip away one of the most promising opportunities for a Valley road victory. Probably the biggest question going into this stretch was the mindset of the team: would the strain of the close losses to Wichita State and Southern Illinois shake the confidence of the Jays or would we see a Creighton team with a renewed commitment to success?

Against the Bears on Wednesday night, we saw the Jays answer each time that Missouri State looked to create some separation. MSU led most of the first half, but CU kept them within an arm's length and, bam, Nick Bahe gets the breakaway basket with the foul and the Jays end the first half with a two point lead. In the second half, the Jays were able to stake the early lead with a personal run by Nate Funk starting with a jumper to give CU the lead in the second half with under 12 minutes left. The Bears split a pair of free throws after a Manny Gakou foul, but then Funk came right down with a three. Blake Ahearn made two free throws after a Josh Dotzler foul, but then another three by Funk. MSU was able to get two more free throws after being fouled after getting a steal, but back down the court Funk made the layup... but, got the free throw to complete the old fashion three point play. This is a perfect example of the sort of play we have been fortunate enough to get out of the senior MVP candidate. Not only will Nate put up the numbers you want, but he can literally put the team on his back and will them to success as he did here on Wednesday.

The Bears weren't going to go down that easily. They chipped away over several minutes and topped it off with an absolute bomb of a three from Ahearn to retake the lead. However, next trip down the floor, Nick Porter nails the three from the wing and the Jays retake control. Nick's line on the night has one glaring flaw that traditionalists will crinkle their nose at---six turnovers--but there is no question that we do not win in Springfield without the contributions of the man from Compton. Nick not only put up the points, but like Nate, carried this team offensively for stretches of the game. Nick has a tendency to get a lot of grief because he can follow up an awesome cut to the basket with a silly turnover the next trip down, but make no question he has been just as critical during this stretch as Nate and Anthony.

Now, we arrive at Anthony Tolliver. Much was made before the game about this being Anthony's last trip home to Springfield and the fact that he had yet to get a win in the Hammons Center during his career at Creighton. The A-Train was able to put together another great game: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. Also, you could tell the passion and the drive that Anthony had to finally finish this off and get that specter of the hometown team put away. Kudos to both Anthony and the coaching staff in keeping that energy channeled positively.

The Jays were able to seal the deal and weather the late MSU fury to close with a 66-62 win. This put the Jays back on track and kept us in a first place tie with the Salukis. Coming into Saturday afternoon's tilt with Indiana State, they theme of the day was to stay consistent and avoid any letdowns. With the 55-52 loss to the Sycamores in Terre Haute, as well as the first home game after an equally disappointing one point loss to SIU, ISU was guaranteed to have the Jays full attention.

The afternoon on Sunday belonged to the young man from Sioux City again. With 20 points, Nate Funk was able to join the top 10 in all-time Creighton scoring, passing John C. Johnson with his career 1,527 points. Not unlike the game against Missouri State, Nate was able to carry the load personally and with his 5-6 shooting in the first half, kept the Jays on pace offensively as the ground down the Sycamores over the long haul.

Two things really stood out from the game, however. First was the strong effort by Dane Watts. Watts has been able to adjust well to his position as a key role player on this year's squad. He has been most impressive with his effort on the glass. Dane ripped down 12 boards on the day which put him with double digit rebounds for the fourth time in five games. Dane has been the Jays' most consistent rebounder all season long and has taken to the role with quite a bit of enthusiasm.

Also, we cannot go without mentioning the effort that Manny Gakou put together. A big question all year has been what the Jays would do if both Tolliver and Watts were limited either by foul trouble or, heaven forbid, injury. The end of the SIU game showed us that, with the redshirting of Kenny Lawson and the departure of Ty Morrison, that Coach Altman didn't have any options he felt like he could trust. The fact that the Jays put out a lineup of five guards with Gakou staying on the bench had to be a bit of a challenge to the young Frenchman: you need to show us that you are capable of producing solid reserve minutes. On Saturday, the big man was able to do just that. Manny played a career high of 13 minutes with 3 points and 3 rebounds. The numbers don't tell the story, however. Manny was able to show a solid defensive effort, being able to stay with his man and keep from committing silly fouls. He was able to stay with his man even out to the three point line, showed some nice agility by grabbing a rebound and taking the ball up the court by himself, and even showed a bit of a fire streak with a hard foul to break up a fast break opportunity late.

It wasn't a pretty game, but the Jays came out and did exactly what they needed to do: played hard on the defensive end, crashed the boards and let their playmakers do their thing offensively. This team finally seems to feel comfortable in it's own skin and knows what it needs to do to make a run.

It will not get any easier from here on out. With a trip to Peoria and Des Moines on tap this week, the Jays aren't going to have a lot of margin for error. However, with both the Salukis and Jays tied at 8-3 in Valley play, we are starting to see some separation at the top of the league's standings. We are in good position and have our fate in our own hands, which is all you can ask for.

Southern Illinois Postmortem

Final Score: Southern Illinois 59, Creighton 58

Box Score

Recaps: CU | SIU
Media: OWH | Southern Illinoisan
Photo Gallery: OWH

Over the past several years, Creighton and Southern Illinois have had little competition as the top two programs in the Valley. It has been the consistency and success that the Jays and Salukis have had that sparked the rebirth of Valley basketball. The league would be nowhere near where it is today if the other 8 schools had not been challenged to raise their level of play and commitment to men's basketball by what was going on in Omaha and Carbondale. However, ever since that faithful night in St. Louis in 2003, this rivalry has been nothing but even.

It's hard to express how frustrating it is that the Salukis have had our number over the past four years. It's not like the Jays have been in a slump overall during that period. We've been in the postseason every one of those years and since the move to the Qwest Center, there have only been six losses to teams not named SIU. Also, it's not like these games have been blowouts. We've played the Salukis close, both at home and even at the SIU Arena, where the Salukis have one of the most dominant home court records in all of Division I during that period. All four games at the Qwest against the Ugly Dawgs have been tight affairs, with two going down to the very last possession and the final buzzer.

Initially it didn't look like this game would be all that close. SIU, not know as an offensive juggernaut to say the least, came out on fire and started the game making 6-7 three point attempts. Conversely, we opened the game with just 6 points over the first 13 or so minutes of the contest, with the lead swelling up to 21-9 with about six minutes in the half.

However, for as poorly as the Jays started and as close as the Ugly Dawgs came to running away and hiding early, they never quite landed the knockout punch and Creighton just keep chipping away. The Jays started to hit some of their free throws, which we hadn't been in the first period, and kept SIU within striking distance. Although it was one of the worst halves of basketball the Jays played all year, we were only down 28-23 at the break.

After halftime, the Jays immediately started to cut into the deficit with a three by Dane Watts and Nate Funk drawing contact and making his shots. This brought the lead for SIU to two and it would vacillate around that point for the next several minutes.

Just under 8 minutes to play however, Funk capped off an 8-0 run with a driving shot in the lane to give the Jays the first lead of the game at 41-40. This would eventually swell to 50-43 with just under 5 minutes to play and it looked like the Jays were just about to really get control of the contest.

Two things happened next, however. First, with the seven point lead, it did seem like the Jays lost a bit of that tenacity and aggressiveness. It seemed like the team was trying to just hold on, work clock and just weather the storm. Also, it was at this point the foul situation really started to damn the short handed Jays.

Whenever we play the Salukis, invariably the issue of officiating receives a lot of press. Like it or not, the Salukis have found a system that works. Over the past few years, they have perfected a system that is based on the concept that the referees cannot call a foul on ever single play, no matter how much contact you commit consistently. That way, they constantly keep both the opposing team as well as the officials on their back heels and keep the game played on their terms.

Personally, I don't like it at all and I feel it's an offense to the way in which the game of basketball was meant to be played. However, you can't fault them for doing what works. Like it or not, SIU has been able to execute that game plan and have rode that to this stretch of both league championships as well as NCAA tournaments. At some point, you just have to man up and stop them.

The fouls that ended up disqualifying both Watts and Anthony Tolliver have received a lot of press and I don't have much to add to that. All I have to say is that in the case of Tolliver, for that relatively small amount of contact (especially considering the amount of contact that occurred on every single possession of the game), to foul out the last forward available for a team is inexcusable. Creighton had their opportunities and could have overcome that mistake by the officials, but it does everyone a disservice to ignore the mistake. Basketball referees are not infallible and, by their actions, most definitely have not deserved to be held up as unquestionable.

Regardless, however, what fundamentally killed the Jays was that the team seemed to retreat into a shell once they built up a decent sized league. They seemed to expect to be worn down by the physicality that the Salukis bring for 40 minutes, as has been the case in many of the previous contests with this team. However, that only plays into their hands. When you try to play that tight against this team, they use that psychological edge to get you to make mistakes, try to play outside yourself and become vulnerable.

It's not an issue of talent. Even with the depth issues this CU team now has, I think the Jays are the better team and the team that is better built for success down the stretch. However, that's been the case the last few years and, quite frankly, that's not enough. This team needs to match the toughness and confidence that the Salukis bring to the table. Until it does that, it's not going to get over on this team.

There's still a lot of basketball left and no one has taken control of this championship race. However, this team just handed one back. As much as the team stole one by closing the deal with a solid win at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, by dropping this home game, we're back to even. A good opportunity to resolve that is tomorrow in Springfield. Missouri State will come in losers of two straight and licking their chops for revenge after the way the game in Omaha ended. This would be a great opportunity to emulate some of that toughness and swagger that SIU uses so well to their advantage.

Bradley Recap

Final Score: Creighton 65, Bradley 54

Box Score

Recaps: CU | BU
Media: OWH | Peoria Journal-Star | AP

In many ways, Thursday night's game set up against the Jays. Creighton was coming off of a disappointing loss in Wichita on Monday and the buildup for the showdown with hated SIU was already starting. Bradley came into Omaha as one of the most prolific three point shooting squads in the nation. Considering how poor the Jays have been defending on the perimeter, this seemed to just come together as the classic "trap" for a team looking past a lightly regarded, yet dangerous opponent. In fact, one only needs to look at what happened to the Salukis themselves: they prepared for a potential battle for first place by getting taken down by a resilient Evansville team that has a lot of talent returning and a desire to prove themselves.

Bradley, however, is a team that had to look to more inexperienced options going into this season. After losing major players from last season's Sweet 16 squad to both graduation as well as the NBA draft, the Braves had to remake their identity. No longer able to rely on the big anchor of Patrick O'Bryant in the middle or the playmaking abilities of Marcellus Sommervile, Coach Jim Les had no choice but to revise his plan of attack and put a new face on his squad.

In the first half of Thursday's game, it looked like that may well have worked against the Jays, as the Braves were able to produce quality looks on a consistent basis against the Bluejay matchup zone. However, this perimeter sort of style that the Braves now play is vulnerable to a cold start, especially on the road, and that can very well get the snowball rolling, and that is exactly what happened for them. Unable to find their early shooting touch, Bradley was unable to get into a rhythm and was really never able to recover. With a set of quality and athletic guard, like Ruffin and Tauai and Franklin, BU makes their living beating their man off the dribble and creating opportunities either at the basket or for the easy kick out. Even though the Jays weren't able to match their speed, they played strong zone defense especially in the second half and held Bradley well under their averages in three point shots made and percentage.

The biggest concerns, however, is the 21 turnovers the Jays committed. Granted, with the pressure that Bradley can bring, that's going to turn up the numbers a bit, but overall, the central problem of the night was failing to be secure with the basketball. There were a number of just plain sloppy plays, with young Nick Porter being a generator of much of the frustration. There's two schools of thought here. One might say it's a good thing the Jays saw as much pressure as they did to help prepare for the game against the Salukis. That said, if we don't see a major difference in the ball handling, that will just play into SIU's hands. Also, here comes the question of how to utilize a Josh Dotzler who is recovering from the hand injury, is limited in what he can do with the basketball because of it, and has never quite been the same on his feet since knee surgery last year. It will be interesting to see how much time he's able to play on Saturday, considering how limited he's been and what a liability that creates in his handling of the basketball.

There's a lot to be negative about in Thursday's game if one wants to be, but overall, it was an 11 point win at home against a solid Valley foe. It was an ugly game, but when Creighton does what it wants to do, it plays ugly basketball. This is not a finesse team that wants to get out and run up and down the floor and play to more superficial interests. When Creighton is effective, it's a team that runs it's sets well, plays inside-out ball, lets it's playmakers carry the show and is active on the defensive end of the floor. The Jays were right about in their comfort zone with 65 points.

Overall, I think one shouldn't get caught up in too much of the details of this game. It was a difficult game against an opponent not getting the credit they deserve and it was very easy to get caught up in the rivalry to come. The most important thing about a game like this is that you do the job and get past it. The way Bradley was shooting on Thursday, even with the Braves keeping it close on the scoreboard, there was never a feeling that they were about to put together a run and take the game back. We can now safely put this game aside and concentrate on the showdown to come on Saturday.

Wichita State Recap

Final Score: Wichita State 62, Creighton 59

Box Score

Recaps: CU | WSU
Media: OWH | Wichita Eagle
Photo Gallery: Wichita Eagle

Going into this two game road swing, I think if you had told most Creighton fans we would come out of the weekend with a split between UNI and Wichita State and would sit with a share of first place come Tuesday morning, the vast majority of Bluejay fans would have taken that and been more than happy with it. That said, the way that the game played out last night in Wichita, one cannot help but be disappointed with the major opportunity that passed by unfulfilled, as WSU survives with a 62-59 victory.

In the first half of the ballgame, it was the Kyle Wilson show. The Shockers were able to exploit the Creighton zone by shifting Wilson out towards the perimeter and catching the Jays with a smaller guard on him. Wilson was 8-11 from the floor and 2-2 from beyond the arc in the first half for 18 points in 15 minutes of play. Here we saw a similar storyline that's become far too familiar this season: the inability to recognize shooters and to react on the perimeter. In several games this season, this has just killed the Jays and Monday night was not much different.

However, for all the efforts of Wilson, no other Shocker had more than five points at halftime and the Jays were only down 32-30 after Nate Funk was able to drive the lane and lay the ball in at the buzzer.

In the second half, the Jays did a better job on Wilson, but it was the wild-haired guard Sean Ogirri that took over on the offensive end. Ogirri was 5-6 from the floor and 2-3 from three for 12 points in the period.

In my mind, however, the biggest story of the game isn't necessarily what the Shockers did, but what the Jays didn't do. For the game, the Jays had 14 turnovers, but it wasn't the number of turnovers, but the critical moments when they occurred. Time and time again, the Jays had possession of the ball with a chance to take the lead with a shot and either missed a shot or turned the ball over. Everyone talks about the "big shot" or "clutch possession" in basketball and CU had absolutely none of them against the Shox.

In terms of individual performances, one of the key problems for the Jays was the limited performance of Anthony Tolliver. Anthony had 9 points and 6 boards and it was one of the more quiet nights he's had in quite some time. The way this team is constructed this season, we need Anthony to be the center of this offense. The Jays are successful when this team runs inside-out: getting the ball down to AT in the blocks for him to either take it to the hole, pull out the jump hook or mid-range jumper, dish it off or kick it out to the perimeter. We cannot afford the A-Train to have an off night and to find much success, especially on the road.

Funk led the team with 16 points, but he was not himself either. Nate was only 6-16 from the floor, 3-8 from beyond the arc, and had the crushing two missed free throws on the three shot foul with 20 seconds left and the Jays down by three. At the very end of the game, in a sight so eerily similar to what we saw in Terre Haute, the Jays went for the most obvious option for a final shot--Nate from the perimeter while down three--and both times the opposition was able to react and came up for the block to take away even the possibility of a miracle. Everyone in this league is extremely familiar with what Nate can do, and with that in mind, the better play is to use Nate as a decoy and set up for a final shot by someone like Dane Watts or even Isaac Miles.

As we sit now, though, we retain our share of first place in the Missouri Valley with a 5-2 record. Also at 5-2 as of 01/16/06 is Missouri State and Southern Illinois. This sets up a massive week of basketball for the Jays. On Thursday night, a scrappy Bradley Braves squad comes into Omaha. BU may have lost quite a bit to both graduation and pro basketball, but one only has to look at the way they took the Sycamores apart on the road (and think back to the struggles the Jays had in the house that Bird built) to realize that this is not the sort of team to be taken lightly. This game does have trap written all over it, and that's because Saturday night will be a showdown with Creighton's biggest rival: the Salukis of Southern Illinois. There's a chance that both teams will come in tied for first in the Valley, there will be a regional TV audience with the Valley FSN folks in town and it looks like the Jays will bid for the first sellout in the expanded Qwest Center, with less than 1000 tickets unsold as of Tuesday.

We don't have any time to sit around and feel sorry about ourselves and dwell over opportunities lost. This team needs to collect themselves, keep focused on what's still very much ahead of us, and defend the home court.