Creighton exorcised some demons Wednesday night with their first non-conference road win since 2008 with a victory over UAB. The competition has been gradually getting tougher for the Bluejays and they will continue to take on some tough competition over the next month and a half before Missouri Valley Conference play.
Their next challenge is against the Iowa Hawkeyes, but not in Iowa City. This contest will be in Des Moines at the Wells Fargo Arena as a part of the Dale Howard Classic, a multi-team event along with North Carolina A&T, Chicago State and Campbell.
It has been a while since Creighton has played Iowa. Their last get together was in 2001 during the NCAA Tournament first round. Iowa walked out of that one with a 69-56 victory. Iowa basketball has not been quite as successful in the past decade. To catch up on what has happened since then, we enlisted Brendan Stiles of Hawkeye Drive to give us a look at this season’s Iowa Hawkeyes before Sunday’s 3 p.m. contest.
White & Blue Review: Iowa basketball has somewhat struggled throughout the past several years. How close are they to getting back on the national stage in basketball?
Brendan Stiles: Getting close, but still a ways to go. This is a team that should finish better than 11-20, which is what its record was last season, but the Big Ten is still a deep conference. Not as deep as it was a year ago, but still pretty strong. From a recruiting standpoint, they’re doing well. Fran McCaffery managed to sign a pair of highly-touted kids from the Sioux City area last week in Adam Woodbury and Mike Gesell. Woodbury, in particular, chose Iowa over North Carolina, which ought to tell you something right there.
From having followed this team as closely as I have the past few years, I believe they’re still a year or two away from really becoming a legitimate Big Ten contender, but they’re definitely heading the right direction and are light years ahead of where they were at this time two years ago.
WBR: How do fans like Fran McCaffery as the head coach? What does he bring to the program?
BS: The fans love Fran, and quite honestly, he has been popular since the moment he took over the program. I think fans became really apathetic during the latter part of the last decade minus the one season Iowa won the Big Ten tournament with guys like Jeff Horner, Greg Brunner and Adam Haluska. There was a time during Todd Lickliter’s final season when Illinois’ student section came to a game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and had more students on hand than Iowa. That’s how bad it got from that standpoint.
As for what McCaffery has done, he has made continuous efforts round the clock to recruit as often as he possibly can. Landing a player like Woodbury illustrates that. He has also gotten players to be more confident in themselves playing his up-tempo style. Since he came to Iowa, the energy level has been high and continues to grow.
WBR: Who will the Bluejays need to look out for from the Hawkeyes?
BS: Matt Gatens is a senior guard and is Iowa’s leading scorer. He and senior point guard Bryce Cartwright are probably the two names to keep an eye on. Eric May is a junior that has started this season off well at the 3. Melsahn Basabe is at the 4, and he had a game against Ohio State where he went toe-to-toe with Jared Sullinger. Off the bench, the two names to watch are Aaron White and Zach McCabe. White had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Chicago State. McCabe’s a sophomore that has scored in double-figures in each of Iowa’s first two games.
WBR: What kind of weaknesses does Iowa have that Creighton can take advantage of?
BS: Interior defense. The status of Andrew Brommer’s up in the air after he re-aggravated a knee injury he had Monday night. If Creighton is able to get the ball inside effectively, it could be a long afternoon, especially if 3’s aren’t falling for Iowa early on.
WBR: What kind of fan support do you expect to see at the Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday? Would there be a better turnout if it was in Iowa City?
BS: I think the fan turnout will be better for two reasons: First, I would imagine Creighton fans will show up in numbers as well. Secondly, this game has been promoted for over a year now and I think fans around the state understand how good a team Creighton is entering this season.
WBR: There is some controversy in this area about Creighton basketball fans who support Nebraska football. Do Iowa State, Drake and Northern Iowa fans across the state wear Iowa gear?
BS: I live in Iowa City, so I honestly wouldn’t know. My guess is Iowa State definitely don’t. Maybe you see that on UNI’s and Drake’s campuses though.
WBR: What is your opinion on Multi-Team Events like the Dale Howard Classic versus other MTE’s like the Old Spice Classic or the Puerto Rico Tip-off? Are they worth having?
BS: I guess I don’t really have much of an opinion either way. I think those other tournaments you listed are probably more entertaining because of the caliber of some of the teams that participate in those. At the same time, I think this sort of tournament can be of benefit to teams like Iowa and Creighton because it gives their fans a chance to see them more in person against teams they ought to beat handily, and then you have this game in Des Moines. So I see the benefits and understand why teams play in these. This season in particular, it could be helpful to Iowa because it already plays Iowa State and Northern Iowa on the road and draws Drake at home.
WBR: What is your final prediction? Which team will walk out as winners? Remember, the Big 10 Network will be there watching this year!
BS: I think this will be a close game, and I’d probably give Creighton a slight edge, something like 80-75. Again, Creighton is going to have an advantage inside. I think you’re going to see a lot of press from Iowa, which is going to end up giving guys like McDermott some open looks. I also think if Iowa does end up winning, it’s because it gets strong shooting performances from players like Gatens, May or off the bench, someone like Josh Oglesby. If they get open 3s, they have to be able to knock them down, because that could negate any advantage Creighton has in the paint if they do.
