When the Creighton men’s basketball team went to Redbird Arena a few weeks ago, no one knew about Bryant Allen. He came off the bench for Illinois State and almost singlehandedly led the Redbirds to an upset over the Bluejays. Luckily the Bluejays prevailed.
Before the first meeting, Redbird beat writer Jim Benson mentioned Allen, but mainly for his defense and not his ability to score. Creighton escaped Normal with a win, but not before Illinois State’s Johnny Hill fouled Grant Gibbs late in the game and earned himself a two-technical foul ejection. The free throws at the end were key to that victory.
This is an important game for the Bluejays to finish their current homestand. Before this contest, we get a fan’s perspective of the Redbirds from Mike (otherwise known as isuquinndog), who runs the Illinois State message board Redbirdfan.net. Here is what he had to say before Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. tip.
White & Blue Review: How would you characterize Illinois State’s season so far? Do you think they have met expectations?
Redbirdfan.net: Yeah, I think they have. I hate to repeat what (Tim) Jankovich has said all year, but coming into the season, they were young. No seniors, 8 guys who have never played D-1 basketball. But they have some nice wins, even on the road (such as at MSU).
WBR: Are Illinois State fans generally pretty happy with Tim Jankovich as their coach? If they are happy, what do they like the most? If not, what are the things fans do not like?
Redbirdfan.net: It’s pretty split. On one hand, he took ISU to back to back MVC title games when Osiris was here. On the other hand, there was last season, which was really painful. Some fans also don’t like his comments when the team loses. He likes to give other teams a lot of credit and blame things on youth. I think he has become a pretty good in game coach, he’s made adjustments and got the team back into a lot of games that we thought they were out of (such as Creighton earlier this year).
WBR: Jackie Carmichael has had a pretty good season. How has he evolved as a player since his freshman season?
Redbirdfan.net: I think one big part of it is guards actually getting him the ball this season. In previous years, it was a chore just to get the ball down low. I also think confidence is big with him. If he can get on a roll early, it’s probably going to be a really good game for him. But, his home/away stats are pretty opposite. He’s also gotten stronger and more aggressive, developing some moves when he gets the ball on the block rather than just fading away.
WBR: In the first meeting in Normal, the game was close until the closing minutes where a couple of technicals were called after an incident with Grant Gibbs. Was there any additional punishment for Johnny Hill who was ejected from the game and how has he played since then?
Redbirdfan.net: He wasn’t punished at all, and before the Creighton game, hadn’t played more than 20 minutes total. He played 20 minutes in the next game due to an injury to Bryant Allen, but he hasn’t really played since; he didn’t even see the court against SIU on Saturday.
Editor note: Johnny Hill did play 28 minutes in the season opener against Fresno St. and played against Southern Illinois in garbage time on Sunday.
WBR: Bryant Allen on the other hand had a breakout game against the Bluejays in the first meeting, but has been almost absent since then. What has happened to him?
Redbirdfan.net: He just became eligible at Christmas after transferring from Minnesota at semester break, 2010. He’s interesting because he came here to play football, he played football at Minnesota. But, he gave that up after a semester to concentrate on basketball. He score a couple games of double figures and then went crazy vs. Creighton. I’m not sure why he isn’t play more. Freshman Nic Moore is playing better, and I think his minutes will just keep going up, so it could be a case of him taking Allen’s minutes.
Editor Note: Allen was kicked off the football team for academic reasons. He got his grades in order the second semester. If not, he would not have been eligible for the second semester to play basketball. He told Jim Benson at the Pantagraph that he misses football, but that door is closed at Illinois State.
Benson also mentioned that Allen had a pretty bad ankle sprain against Drake on Jan. 15 and sat out two games. Jankovich eased him back last week, which is why his minutes weren’t as much as before. He remains a key player in the rotation. There were several Valley games he had which were better than Moore, but Allen strictly plays the 2 guard this season.
WBR: What will Illinois State do to stop Doug McDermott in the rematch?
Redbirdfan.net: Do you really stop Doug McDermott? 🙂 I’m sure they employ lots of double teams if he gets the ball in the post. John Wilkins will be the primary defender. He’s 6’10” and very long. He guarded him in the game here in Normal and held McDermott to 20, below his average and just one three pointer. I think Wilkins will try and deny him a lot, especially outside. Wilkins isn’t strong enough to guard him in the post, so he’s going to need help.
WBR: What kind of weaknesses might Creighton be able to exploit on Wednesday night?
Redbirdfan.net: Depth. If Jackie gets into foul trouble or Nic Moore gets into foul trouble, ISU is in trouble. As much as Jordan Threlof and Bryant Allen try, there is a definite drop off there and that is where ISU can get exposed. ISU also doesn’t seem to get off to good starts so if CU comes out quick it could be ugly.
WBR: What is you final prediction? What will Illinois State need to do to get an upset in Omaha?
Redbirdfan.net: I think it’s a close game throughout, with Creighton pulling out in the end. If ISU wants to win, Jackie is going to have to have a great game and they are going to have to contain McDermott, which I don’t think is going to happen. So, I’m going with 75-69 Creighton.
