Creighton comes home after sweeping two road wins at Southern Illinois and Evansville, an effort that came to life in the second half in Carbondale. The wins keep the Bluejays in the top half of the conference, in the thick of the Valley race.
Wichita State comes to town on Wednesday night for $1 beer and $1 soda night. The Shox will be smarting from their first defeat at home in two seasons, courtesy of the Missouri State Bears. They’ll try to rebound against a Creighton program they haven’t beaten on the road in about 20 years.
Creighton-Wichita State isn’t necessarily a historically bitter rivalry, but you would never know it as the fanbases take shots at each other on a consistent basis. Of course, who can forget the biggest point of controversy between these schools that happened at the MVC tournament two seasons ago.
Many still point to that play as a turning point in this series, with festering contention between the two programs building from that point forward.
We turned to Wichita’s beat writer Paul Suellentrop of The Wichita Eagle to help us sort through some of the questions Creighton fans may have on their mind about the Shockers headed into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. matchup.
White & Blue Review: With all the hype that surrounded Wichita State coming into this season, were the expectations put too high on this team?
Paul Suellentrop: We won’t know that until March. Making them MVC preseason favorites is reasonable. If you had them going 18-0 in the MVC, you were expecting too much.
WBR: It appears the Shockers have had a tough time replacing Clevin Hannah and establishing a full-time point guard. Is Toure Murry the answer or who is really running the team right now?
PS: Toure Murry struggled against Missouri State — a bad shooting night and turnover troubles. Before that, he did a good job running the team. It’s still Toure’s team to run, and I think he will continue to improve. He started at shooting guard as a freshman and sophomore, so this is something new to him. Joe Ragland is playing well and it wouldn’t surprise me if he plays more as the season progresses. Ragland and Murry can play together, as well.
WBR: There was little wiggle room with the non-conference schedule and now in Valley play as far as having a solid resume for Wichita State. How would things be different if they had beaten UConn out in Maui? What keeps teams from coming to play the Shockers at home?
PS: Beating UConn and getting to play Michigan State/Washington/Kentucky would have been great for WSU. However, if WSU beats UConn, it beats a team that was picked in the middle of the Big East and goes on to play Chaminade and either Virginia or Oklahoma in Maui. So beating UConn makes the Huskies a much different team than they are now. WSU’s schedule issues aren’t much different from other MVC teams. It is hard to get top schools to play in Koch Arena.
WBR: Wichita State is full of veteran players, but who is a player that Creighton may not be familiar with that is making an impact for the Shockers? Who is not playing up to expectations?
PS: Ben Smith is a JUCO transfer who plays small forward. He is a good shooter and a good rebounder who has played well since MVC play started. David Kyles started the season on a hot streak from 3-point range. He had to cool off some. But in MVC play, he is 4 of 23 from three-point range. That can’t continue for the Shockers to do well. They need Kyles to score more than that.
WBR: Wichita State is the top scoring team in the league at 75 points a game, while Creighton holds opponents to 62 points a game. What will be the key in breaking down Creighton’s defense?
PS: The Shockers need to run to be at their best. They need to get stops and rebounds to get easy baskets. Murry is at his best when he can rebound and lead the break. Missouri State did a great job of stopping WSU’s transition and held the Shockers to 56 points.
WBR: It has been a long time since Wichita State has won in Omaha. What has made it so hard for them to notch a win?
PS: More than anything, Creighton was better than WSU for most of those games. When the teams were even, or when WSU was better over the long haul, the Jays had home-court advantage. Creighton’s always been solid during that stretch and it’s hard to win on the road.
WBR: Head Coach Gregg Marshall has had his share of controversy with Creighton during his short time in the league, especially in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament a couple of seasons ago with the Booker Woodfox buzzer beater. Describe his passion for basketball and how it spills over to his actions on the sidelines.
PS: He is quite animated on the sidelines when things get heated. He isn’t afraid to exhort the crowd by waving his arms. When something goes against WSU, he often has to fold his arms and take a walk to the end of the bench to cool off. Passionate is an accurate description.
WBR: Would you consider this matchup the unsung rivalry in the conference? There seems to be bad blood between the fanbases; is it a one-way street?
PS: I don’t think it’s unsung at all. WSU and Creighton are two of the more successful teams in the MVC and have been since WSU got rolling about seven years ago. There is “bad blood” in an Internet message board sense. What that means in the real world is unclear to me. People are usually mean and nasty when they hide behind fake names and more polite face to face. I would guess WSU-Creighton is more heated than most MVC rivalries because of the proximity of the schools and the close games in recent times.
From a WSU perspective, Creighton’s upper hand in the series over the past 10 years, adds to the feelings. There are more Creighton alums in Wichita than from any other MVC school and perhaps that adds to it. In all, it’s a great rivalry and something both schools need. WSU doesn’t have an in-state rival. Creighton does play Nebraska, but it’s over by January. Fans from both schools can travel to games, and that’s rare for WSU in the MVC.
WBR: If you were on the NCAA selection committee and the season ended today, do you see more than one team from the MVC going to the NCAA Tournament? Anyone playing well enough that if they continue to win they could get an at-large?
PS: If the season ended today, WSU might have a chance. Not sure about Missouri State. I think both of them could be there in March if they do really well in the MVC. I guess I can’t exclude Creighton from that list. I don’t know how likely it is, but it’s possible.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will the Shockers need to do to escape with a win in Omaha?
PS: I will go with WSU, just as I did when I was wrong last season. The Shockers are a good team and the streak has to end some time — at least I think it does. The Shockers just need to play their game to win. They missed nine free throws against Missouri State and missed an inordinate amount of shots at the rim. Maybe they miss those shots again because of Creighton’s big men, or maybe those shots drop in. WSU needs to run to be at its best. Missouri State didn’t let it run and the Shockers couldn’t score enough to win. Creighton’s got a great chance to really hurt WSU’s chances in the MVC and keep themselves in the race. I expect the Bluejays to play well and it won’t be a surprise if they win.
