If it’s hard for fans to get excited to watch a CIT game tonight after seeing conference brother Northern Iowa become the story of the biggest tournament in the land by beating Kansas, imagine how hard it must be for the players to get excited to play. That’s one problem tonight.
The opponent is the Fairfield Stags, who are an awfully good team to draw in a lower-tier tournament like this. They won 23 games in finishing second in the MAAC, and rallied from 27 points down with 16 minutes to play in beating George Mason — at George Mason! — in the first round. This is an NCAA record for a postseason game, not that it wouldn’t be impressive in a regular season game. And the Jays are notorious for their inability to put teams away and protect leads. That’s another problem tonight.
And then there’s this: Creighton has never won two consecutive games in ANY postseason tournament. Not just under Dana Altman. Under every coach, ever, from Barone to Apke to McManus and on down the line. The Jays have always flamed out, often spectacularly so, in the second round. Decades ago, when the NCAA Tournament had consolation rounds, they were able to win more than one game in a tournament, but they have never won two straight. So that’s a problem tonight, too.
If you’re looking for last-second excitement to go with your $15 ticket tonight, you might be in luck, however. In nine of the last ten postseasons the Jays have played in, and eight straight, at least one game has been decided in the final moments. I’m sure if you’ve been paying attention to Jays hoops over that span, the moments are seared into your brain, sometimes maddeningly so. But for the benefit of those of you new to the party, lets have a little history lesson.
- In the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Creighton upset Florida, 83-82, when Terrell Taylor hit a game-winning trey with 0.2 seconds left in double-overtime, scoring 28 points after a scoreless first half.
- In 2003 Creighton lost 79-73 to Central Michigan in the NCAA’s, a game Otter recounted this weekend as part of our daily Today In Bluejay History Feature. The Jays trailed 50-24 with 16:24 left but a furious rally got them within two points (72-70) with 1:20 left, only to turn it over the next three possessions.
- In 2004, Creighton fell 71-70 to Nebraska in the NIT. The Jays led nearly the entire second half before NU’s go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left. Nate Funk’s potential game-winning jumper from 18-feet away was blocked by Husker guard and future Bluejay Grad Assistant Jake Muhleisen.
- In the 2005 NCAA Tourney against West Virginia, Nate Funk had his three-point try with seven seconds left blocked by Tyrone Sally, and Sally raced downcourt for a game-winning breakaway dunk with 2.4 seconds left to give West Virginia a 63-61 win. Funk’s three-point try from the corner missed at the buzzer, but no one remembers that. Sally’s dunk is solidly in the Top Three All-Time Most Horrifying Sights in my life, which might be hyperbole, but not by much.
- In second round of the 2006 NIT, Miami guard Guilermo Diaz drained a free throw with 2.6 seconds left to beat Creighton 53-52 after a mysterious foul call that enraged the crowd. A last-second shot attempt by Bluejay senior Johnny Mathies was knocked out of his hands, as another harrowing loss was finalized.
- In 2007, Creighton had the ball for a final shot in a tie game against Nevada in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Nate Funk’s shot attempt missed, and a tip-in try was also not converted. The Jays would eventually lose 77-71 in overtime.
- In 2008 Creighton rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final 3:07 to top Rhode Island, 73-72, in the first round of the NIT. Cavel Witter hit the game-winner with 3.2 seconds left to give CU its first lead of the game since 3-0.
- And last year, the Jays played two such games. The first saw Creighton rally from a 14-point deficit to take a late lead over Bowling Green, hanging on for a 73-71 in the first round of the NIT. The Jays needed a last-second defensive stand, as BGSU’s Darryl Clements’ game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. The following game, Creighton led Kentucky by one with 36 seconds left, only to miss two free throws and see UK All-American Jodie Meeks convert a three-point play. Booker Woodfox, the nation’s No. 2 three-point shooter, missed an open trey as time expired, and Creighton lost 65-63.
Ouch. I mean, OUCH. You have to give the Jays this much, their postseason games rarely lack in drama. What happens tonight at the venerable old Civic Auditorium? Will they add another bullet to this list? I don’t know about you, but I simply can’t take another buzzer-beater, either way. Let’s hope for a sizable win tonight, and for a bunch of positive postgame wraps tomorrow, followed by another Primer on Wednesday celebrating (however hollow) the first two-game winning streak in postseason history for the Jays.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: The second-place finisher in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, or MAAC as its abbreviated, Fairfield improved to 23-10 with an improbable 101-96 overtime victory at George Mason in the opening round of the CIT. Making the victory all the more amazing was that the Stags trailed by 27 points with 16 minutes to play before its fantastic finish … Fairfield has a pair of players that average 16 points per game or more in freshman guard Derek Needham (16.5 points per game, 5.2 assists per game) and senior forward Anthony Johnson (16.0 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game) … Their third wheel, junior forward Yorel Hawkins (14.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game) has been sidelined by a knee injury and hasn’t played since January 30th … Off the bench, Mike Evanovich averages 7.7 points per game while draining a team-best 64 three-pointers. He had 32 points and made a school-record nine three-pointers in last Tuesday’s comeback at Mason, including eight triples after half … Fairfield averages 71.5 points per game while allowing points at a 67.1 per game clip. The Stags outrebound teams by 1.2 boards per game and shoot 43.4 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from downtown and 69.4 percent at the line … Fairfield is 9-8 in true road games this year … Formerly a Boston College and Rhode Island assistant under Al Skinner, head coach Ed Cooley is in his fourth year on the Fairfield bench. He has a 67-60 record … Creighton is a combined 16-29 in the postseason all-time. The Bluejays have gone 9-17 in 16 NCAA Tournaments, 5-10 in 10 National Invitation Tournaments, 1-2 in two National Catholic Invitational Tournament appearances and 1-0 all-time in their first CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament appearance.
The Last Time They Played: Creighton and Fairfield have never met, surprisingly enough, since they’re both Jesuit Universities. So instead of our usual look at the series history, lets learn a bit about Fairfield!
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master’s level university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, a city of 57,000 on the Gold Coast. Fairfield (the city) is the Dogwood Capital of the World, and the town was also listed among the “preppiest” places in the United States in the tongue-in-cheek 1980s best-seller The Official Preppy Handbook. Fairfield (the college) has about 3,900 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students that study in Fairfield’s six schools and colleges.
In basketball, they’re perhaps best known for nearly becoming the first 16 seed to upset a one, when they led North Carolina by seven at halftime in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, despite the game taking place in UNC’s back yard in Winstom-Salem, North Carolina and despite Fairfield entering the game with an 11-18 record. They would ultimately fall short, 82-74, but Stag player Greg Francis almost single-handedly upset the Tar Heels by scoring 26 points including eight three-pointers. Following the game, legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith gave the all-time classic quote, “I had to find Francis after the game but I couldn’t shake his hand because it was so hot.”
They have three NCAA Tournament berths (though none since that 1997 game), and five NIT appearances, the most recent coming in 2003.
Bonus, Completely Gratuitous Seinfeld Clip:
The Totally Random Song I’d Play Right Now if I was Still a Radio DJ: Its time to bust a rhyme with Tone Loc.
The Pick: Creighton 79, Fairfield 67. It will likely be closer than this, but like I said, I can’t take another close postseason game, so I’m not going to predict one.
