Creighton came up short Saturday in Springfield. The Bluejays led for most of the game, but lost to Missouri State in the closing seconds. But Greg McDermott’s team has to put the tough loss behind them, because the Jays head to Cedar Falls for a critical game against Northern Iowa.
UNI is McDermott’s alma mater. He helped put the Panthers on the map long before their win against Kansas last season in the NCAA Tournament. But now McDermott is back in the Valley. Although his Iowa State teams played Northern Iowa annually after he left Cedar Falls, fans were cordial and even cheered for their former coach. This season may not be that way when he brings the Bluejays to town. After plucking away Doug McDermott from the Panthers to join the Bluejays, the fans may not be as nice.
So while we anticipate the fun that is sure to transpire Wednesday night, we talked to Northern Iowa beat writer Kelly Beaton from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier to catch us up on where the Panthers stand entering the game. Here is what he had to say.
White & Blue Review: After all the press that Northern Iowa received in their NCAA tournament win against Kansas last season, how has that helped the visibility of UNI because of those wins?
Kelly Beaton: Well, UNI is in the midst of a stretch where eight of its next nine games are on TV; that probably doesn’t happen without last year’s 30-win campaign.
But, by and large, things aren’t much different than last year around Cedar Falls. The McLeod Center has only been near-capacity once this season (last game), and, a few weeks ago, UNI was briefly last in the league in attendance.
WBR: The story that everyone has on their minds is the return of Greg McDermott to the MVC now leading Creighton instead of Northern Iowa. How is this different from when McDermott came back leading Iowa State against the Panthers? How did fans initially feel about Greg’s return to the Valley?
KB: I talked to all parties involved with this story on Monday, and they all tried to downplay it a bit. But Coach Jake acknowledged that things are a bit different now with Coach Mac and him in the same league. Jake said being league rivals won’t change their friendship, though.
Initially, a fair amount of fans were irate with Mac going to Creighton, since that’s a chief rival of UNI. A lot of UNI fans say they plan on booing the McDermotts mercilessly Wednesday; I doubt that it’ll be too severe though. People in Cedar Falls are too nice to harass the opponent too much.
WBR: Ben Jacobson seems like he really wants to avoid talking about the links between Greg McDermott and himself and the situation surrounding Doug’s release. Are there any hard feelings in there between the two that Jacobson doesn’t want to talk about?
KB: That would be hard for me to tell, unless I could read Coach Jake’s mind. I’m sure he wasn’t thrilled that Doug asked out of his LOI so late in the spring, but he also has said time and again that he didn’t want to interfere with Doug having a special chance to play for his dad.
WBR: Was there any idea that Doug McDermott would be as successful already in the MVC? That had to have been an awkward situation when UNI readily released him from his Letter of Intent at Northern Iowa? Would he have fit in differently if he did end up going to UNI?
KB: I’m guessing Doug would’ve started out as a sixth-man type of player at UNI. But, by now he’d be logging heavy minutes. Doug’s a special player — he looks like the next coming of Kevin McHale right now!
WBR: Northern Iowa came into the season with Kwazdo Ahelegbe, Lucas O’Rear, and Johnny Moran being the key returnees. How well have they embraced their leadership roles this season and who has been someone that has really stepped up for the Panthers to help out?
KB: The leadership of Kwadzo, O’Rear, and Moran can’t be questioned. It’s hard to criticize any element of their game, especially during UNI’s current 5-game winning streak.
Jake Koch has stepped up nicely this season, averaging 10.3 points per game, though he’s not the most consistent game-in, game-out scorer.
WBR: The Panthers have won five in a row and six out of their last seven. What has been the key to that success?
KB: Better shooting. UNI has shot better than 50% in three straight games.
WBR: What weaknesses could Creighton exploit on Wednesday night?
KB: Creighton should have a clear advantage up front. [Gregory] Echenique swallows up rebounds impressively, and Doug McDermott just seems to slither in for close-range buckets with ease — his jump-hook is nice, too.
O’Rear versus Echenique should feature cage-match level intensity.
WBR: Lucas O’Rear was suspended for a game a couple of weeks ago for violating team rules. What was the situation behind that suspension? Have there been any other repercussions since that incident?
KB: I can only divulge so much information there, but all parties involved said that the incident didn’t involve the law at all, and O’Rear said it was “a lapse in judgment and poor leadership on my part.”
WBR: Creighton has had troubles playing a full 40 minutes and have really struggled in the second half of games this season. Has Northern Iowa had any consistent issues that have been plaguing them in games?
KB: Probably just rebounding and 3-point shooting. UNI gets outrebounded fairly often, though it’s 3-point shooting has been better of late (50% versus Drake).
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Northern Iowa need to do to keep Creighton from stealing a win?
KB: 72-69, UNI. I think these teams split during regular-season play. The Panthers have to keep the Jays’ big men relatively at bay.
