The last time the Creighton Bluejays played Evansville, it was on the road in Indiana around the New Year. After opening up a double-digit lead and then watching the margin shrink in the second half, the Bluejays pulled out the victory away from Omaha. At the time, some Bluejays fans predicted Dana Altman’s team had kicked the late-game jitters and would finally start to convert more second-half leads into wins.
That hasn’t been the case, of course. Late-game lapses cost Creighton wins at Illinois State and perhaps Drake (although the Bulldogs shot lights out for most of that contest). The 2009-2010 season hasn’t been what many Jays fans expected, but it could be worse: We could be having the type of season currently underway in Evansville.
The Purple Aces haven’t won a Valley game yet, and they are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak. Marty Simmons is in the process of rebuilding the Aces, and he’s got a great freshman (Colt Ryan) to build around. But Evansville is taking its lumps right now in Valley play.
For a status update on the Aces’ winless MVC season, WBR caught up with Drew Bruno of the Evansville Courier & Press ahead of Wednesday’s Creighton-Evansville matchup.
White & Blue Review: What did people expect of the Purple Aces coming into the season? Are they where those close to the program expected them to be?
Drew Bruno: Not much was expected of the Aces this year, and from that perspective they’re certainly where they were expected to be. Evansville, after being moderately successful a year ago, lost its top four scorers off that team. Given the number of newcomers, UE was picked last in the MVC’s preseason poll (and all but clinched that spot) as a drop-off seemed inevitable.
But this has been a steep dive off of a cliff in many respects. The 12-game losing streak is the worst in a half of a century for the program; the school’s worst-ever streak of 14 games seems in reach. So even if expectations were set low, one could reasonably argue that they haven’t been met.
WBR: After having a somewhat successful season last year, how has the fan base handled the struggles the team has had?
DB: While last year was a respectable season, it was an oasis among poor seasons over the past decade and thus didn’t do much to rebuild the fan base. It’s been awhile since Evansville boasted exemplary teams, and thus been awhile since the Aces have garnered exemplary support. So even though excitement grew a year ago, it did not do so exponentially; average paid attendance was 5,863. This year they’re drawing about 4,908 per game, enough of an appreciable difference to indicate any momentum achieved in earning back fans a year ago has been nullified. But neither number is good, showing there’s significant apathy among the fan base.
WBR: What kind of pressure does Marty Simmons have in his job as head coach? What kind of time to you think he will get to create a successful program?
DB: Any Division I head coaching job involves pressure, exacerbated by losing, and Simmons is no doubt feeling the strain this season. But those aforementioned low expectations have probably somewhat lessened the pressure of the situation. Pockets of fans are unhappy with the coach, but that discontent is borne out of unhappiness with the results. And despite poor results, previous coach Steve Merfeld was given five years worth of losing seasons before losing his job (albeit under a different athletic director). Given that Simmons already has one plus-.500 season under his belt. Add in that he was a successful player that returned to his alma mater and he has at least some reverence in the community. How long that will last if things don’t turn around is yet to be seen. The pressure will undoubtedly crank up quite a bit if the Aces experience similar woes next year.
WBR: Colt Ryan has been the bright spot for the Aces this season. Has he hit that freshman wall yet?
DB: Ryan is a quality MVC player; considering he’s also a freshman, that’s saying something in itself. But he’s been exposed to a lot of minutes and a lot of defensive attention, and some freshmen inconsistency has resulted. From that perspective it’s been more ups and downs rather than ever hitting a wall.
At the end of December/start of January he had games of 12, 10, 9, and then zero points. But he followed that up with the 26-point performance against Creighton (and 20-plus in three of the next four after that). While he hasn’t scored more than 14 in the last four games, he’s scored at least 11 in the last three. And that’s what the Aces (and the MVC) should probably expect at this point; somewhere around 12 points a game.
The minutes are adding up, but he’s still Evansville’s best available option to get that time. The shooting percentage isn’t great, but Evansville likewise doesn’t have a better choice for those shots.
WBR: What has been the key thing keeping Evansville from breaking their 11-game losing streak?
DB: Apologies if this sounds like a cop-out answer, but inconsistency. The Aces can play well at times, but only for a limited time, be it because of talent, effort, or both. That’s mostly indicative of inexperience, too.
WBR: There has been talk over the years that Evansville is a weak link within the Valley and that if there was ever any opportunity to replace a school in the Valley it would be Evansville. What is your opinion on those statements and what is it that Evansville is a good fit for the Valley?
DB: I don’t think Evansville is a bad fit. I also don’t think I’m qualified to assess what the ‘best’ fit would be for the Valley, or for Evansville. This is a topic that’s brought up from time to time here in Evansville, the same way it’s discussed in MVC circles at times (more so perhaps after Rick Majerus’ comments about SLU and the MVC) but it seems like relatively idle talk.
WBR: The City of Evansville is going to build a new downtown arena. Will the Aces play there and what would be the major tenants in the new arena?
DB: They will play there assuming they reach agreement with the city, which is likely a formality. The arena has been a bit of a political lightening rod here, but is almost universally seen as a good thing for the Evansville basketball program. There are high hopes of increased attendance and revenue and with it better play. The Qwest Center and Creighton is a model they’d be happy to simply come close to.
In addition to hosting UE’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, the city has a minor league hockey team that it hopes to move into the new arena. It’s previously been a minor league arena football market, and the new venue could potentially attract another team in that vein.
WBR: What is your final prediction for Wednesday night? Can the Purple Aces get their first conference win?
DB: Creighton is the only logical pick here. In addition to being winless in conference, Evansville has won only once on the road, needing two overtimes for that in a setting (at Tennessee Tech with the smallest Division I basketball crowd I’ve ever witnessed) that doesn’t come close to Creighton. The Aces haven’t won there in 10 tries, and have certainly had better teams than this year’s during that time. The Bluejays might not be as good as they’ve been, either, but while a UE win isn’t impossible, it would be a big surprise at this point.
