[dropcap]Creighton[/dropcap] was matched up with Loyola-Chicago in the 2010 version of “BracketBusters”, beating them 78-58 in Dana Altman’s final season on the Hilltop. They’ve pushed back the return game each year since, until now, in Greg McDermott’s sixth year, when they will finally fulfill their last contractual obligation to an event whose name was a curse word of sorts for many Bluejay fans.
That original matchup seems like an eternity ago. When the 2009-10 season began, the Bluejays were picked to finish second in the MVC, led by junior guard P’Allen Stinnett. By the time it ended, Stinnett had been suspended, the team (and program) were in disarray, the season flamed out in the CIT in games played at the Civic Auditorium, and ultimately, Altman left for Oregon. What a season to start a website, huh?
I got lost in a rabbit hole of WBR coverage from that season as I prepared for this game. Articles like “When Things Get Tough, Altman Bolts” and “Where Do the Jays Go From Here?” and “End of an Era” and “Dana Altman is like a 22-Year Old Girl. In a Good Way, Of Course.” consumed far too much of my time the last couple of days.
Six years later, Creighton’s in the Big East, Loyola-Chicago is their replacement in the Valley, former Bluejay Porter Moser is the Ramblers’ coach, former Saluki Bryan Mullins is one of his assistants (yes, THAT Bryan Mullins), and the contractually-obligated rematch is finally taking place in Chicago.
Loyola won the CBI with a 24-13 record a year ago, and returns four starters and eight of their top nine scorers from that team. It was their first postseason berth of any kind since 1985, when they advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Patrick Ewing and #1 Georgetown. Understandably, a program not used to expectations suddenly had them as they entered the 2015-16 season…and it’s been a mixed bag so far.
They enter Saturday afternoon’s game with a 4-3 mark, having lost two of three in the Great Alaska Shootout and facing a December schedule of tougher games, including a road clash at Notre Dame next week. Oddly, they’ve already played Toledo twice this year (and twice in one week, actually!), winning a home game in Chicago on the 21st but losing to them in Anchorage on the 27th.
Their defense has remained stout, allowing just 64.3 points per contest, and they’ve held their opponent’s leading scorer below his average in every game but one. The exception was Toledo’s Nathan Boothe, who scored 29 points in the first meeting. To their credit, they held him to just 12 when they played again. That’s nothing new for the Ramblers; they held their opponent’s top scorer below his average 27 times a year ago, including four of the five games in the CBI.
Offensively, the Ramblers are led by Milton Doyle, a 6’4″ junior guard who averages 14.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists a game. He missed 12 games last year, and they went 5-7 in his absence; his late-season return sparked their run to and through the CBI. Doyle is regarded as one of the MVC’s most dynamic guards, and scored 26 points including a perfect 6-6 from three-point range in the home win over Toledo.
Devon Turk, a 6’4″ senior guard, is second on the team in scoring with a 13.0 average, and is the team’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made (223). He’s made at least one triple in 94 of his 107 career games, and 31 of the last 32. This year, he’s added a midrange game to his arsenal; over the first three years of his career, nearly 3/4 of his shots were from three-point range, but this year just 55% of his shots come from outside.
6’3″ senior guard Earl Peterson is their third player averaging in double figures, at 11.3 points per game while leading the team in both assists (3.6 per game) and assist to turnover ratio (25:11). He was the MVP of the 2015 CBI after averaging 13.2 points in the five games while shooting 59% from the floor. He was their sixth-man at the start of last season, but moved into the starting lineup in early January and has been a mainstay ever since.
Peterson’s teammate at Coffeyville Community College, Montel James, was a member of the MVC All-Newcomer team a year ago. The 6’7″ senior averages 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and scored in double figures 18 times last season. His season numbers were trending up this year before the trip to Alaska; he shot just 39% in the three games, and averaged just 7.7 points.
Creighton’s not just playing against Loyola on Saturday, of course. They’re also playing against their past days in the Valley; there’s an awful lot of people in MVC Hoops circles who would love nothing more than to see the Jays fall flat on their faces in Chicago (and to then rub their faces in it). Luckily, the Jays will have a decent size contingent with them to cheer them on, and given the Ramblers’ woeful attendance, it’s possible that contingent could be a factor.
Quick Notes on the Ramblers:
- The Ramblers’ 24 wins last year were the third-most in program history and most in three decades (1985). Additionally, it marked the first time that a Chicago-area Division I program (Loyola, DePaul, Northwestern, UIC, Chicago State) won as many as 24 games in a season since UIC did so in 2004.
- Loyola was 9-1 (.900) last season in games decided by five points or less, a dramatic improvement over the 8-20 (.286) mark over the previous four seasons.
- Loyola is 26-3 (.897) since the start of the 2014-15 season when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent but just 2-13 in that span – and 6-62 (.088) under Moser – when losing the shooting battle. Along those lines, Loyola has won 17 consecutive games that it has shot 50% or better from the floor.
- The Ramblers outrebound their opponents by 1.3 caroms per contest, but have 18 more turnovers (107) than assists (89).
Bluejay Bytes:
- Creighton owns a 7-4 record in BracketBusters match-ups, including a 5-3 mark in televised games. They’ve not fared as well in the return games, going just 5-5. Greg McDermott has been better; he’s 10-3 in his career in games associated with the BracketBuster series: 5-2 in the original BracketBuster game, and 5-1 in the return trips.
- Creighton ranks 14th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 88.1 points per game to date. This year’s team has scored 85 points or more in all five victories, significantly better than last year’s team that reached 85 just twice all winter.
- Over his last three games, Groselle has averaged 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, sinking 76 percent of his field goals (19-25) and making 73.7 percent at the line (14-19). Prior to this stretch, he had owned career highs of 15 points and eight rebounds in his first four years on campus.
The Series:
Loyola leads the all-time series with Creighton by an 11-6 margin, including a 7-3 edge in Chicago. The Ramblers won eight of the first nine meetings, but Creighton has won five of the last eight.
Greg McDermott is 2-0 against Loyola — both as head coach at UNI — winning 80-73 in Chicago in 2004 and 72-56 in Cedar Falls in 2005. Meanwhile, Porter Moser is 3-6 against Creighton, but has not faced his alma mater since taking over at Loyola.
The Last Time They Played:
From Creighton Otter’s recap of the Jays’ 78-58 win in February of 2010:
“Savvy CU fans have known for quite awhile this game would be played on a Saturday evening, something that hasn’t happened yet this season. It was bound to be an event, even if the Bluejays didn’t cooperate.
And while the Jays haven’t cooperated for most of the season — with fans’ expectations, with no doubt their own expectations, and likely those of the coaching staff as well — they played host to a fun and carefree atmosphere Saturday night. The Bluejays would lead for the first time thanks to a 3-pointer by Kenny Lawson at the 14:44 mark, and they wouldn’t trail the rest of the evening. Sure, CU gave up a 10-point lead with 4 minutes to play in the first half and took just a 1-point cushion into the locker room at intermission, but a blowout seemed inevitable.
In fact, the only people in the Qwest Center who seemed nervous, aside from the folks who turned in less than exceptional fan shoot-out efforts, were new starters Ethan Wragge and Josh Jones. Taking the spots of Casey Harriman and Darryl Ashford, respectively, the two freshmen who have given the team a boost in recent weeks were rewarded with a spot in the opening lineup.
…
It looked like the team was relaxed. Sure, maybe that was due to the limited importance of this game in the always-interesting “big scheme of things.” And it seemed the crowd was into the action, if only from the standpoint that the folks were happy to see some dunks and be out on a Saturday night amongst friends and inebriated strangers. But during a season when pressure mounted immediately following a road loss at Dayton and became suffocating as the hopes for another 20-win season and guaranteed post-season play spiraled downward, the 20-point win against Loyola felt good.”
Gratuitous Linkage:
In November, the Chicago Tribune asked “After years of irrelevance, can college basketball in Chicago be revived?”. It’s a worthy question, as their D1 programs have made four NCAA tournaments since 1991, and none since 2004. Loyola-Chicago looked to be the best hope at an NCAA berth for those programs this year, and is featured in this in-depth profile (along with the Big East’s DePaul, obviously).
What the Other Side is Saying:
You don’t want to know what other Valley schools’ fans are saying, trust me.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On December 5, 1998, Creighton defeated Southern Illinois 86-60 in the MVC opener (back when MVC schools used to play one or two conference games in the middle of the non-con slate). A rough night for Rodney Buford — he was 1-10 from the floor — and foul trouble for Doug Swenson that left him on the bench most of the game meant lots of minutes for the reserves, and their bench responded, outscoring SIU’s bench 45-14.
Swenson still managed to lead Creighton with 15 points and Buford added 14, but Nerijus Karlikanovas’ 11 points and six rebounds and Corie Brandon’s nine points were also key contributions.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
The Bottom Line:
Creighton rebounds from a tough loss at home, and picks up a solid road win.
KenPom: Jays 72, Loyola 70
WBR: Jays 75, Loyola 65
