The last three years, no team has given the Jays more fits than Illinois State. Osiris Eldridge and the Redbirds have won five of seven meetings, winning by an average margin of 16.6 points. Their two wins last year came by 22 and 24 points, including the devastating semifinal loss in St. Louis that robbed the Jays of any hope of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
But it isn’t just the O-Hawk-Era Redbirds who’ve been a thorn in the Jays’ side; Creighton’s fits in Normal go back to the start of the series in 1977. The Redbirds won 18 of the first 19 games between the two teams at Redbird Arena; a split over the last decade has narrowed the margin (slightly) to 23-6 in favor of Illinois State. A decade ago it was Rico Hill tormenting the Jays and beating out Rodney Buford for MVC Player of the Year honors. Today its Osiris Eldridge, as Otter broke down yesterday. Regardless of the names, Creighton has never played well in Normal.
Third place is on the line tonight as we near the halfway point of the MVC schedule, and the winner of tonight’s game can start to put some distance between themselves and the middle of the pack as the all-important seeding for St. Louis starts to shake down. Given the Jays struggles in stopping Osiris — and his annoying penchant for having his best games versus Creighton — you’ve got to figure he’s going to get his. Sad, but its a safe bet. Mark him down for 20+ points, a half-dozen boards and a handful of assists.
The key then becomes stopping the second options. Champ Oguchi is gone, a consistent scorer who was able to pick up the slack on nights when Osiris wasn’t feeling it. So too is Emnmanuel Holloway, a team leader and veteran who helped them navigate the ups and downs. In their place are young players who have so far struggled to bring a consistent performance every night.
The most likely second banana is center Dinma Odiakosa, a huge dude who could get easy buckets if Kenny Lawson doesn’t bring his “A” game. Odiakosa averages 11 points and 8 boards a game, and shoots a Valley-best 62% from the floor. Lawson, Wayne Runnels and Chad Millard need to play good post defense to limit his looks. Also dangerous is point guard Lloyd Phillips, who averages 10 points a game and has 78 assists on the season.
If Eldridge and Phillips get hot from outside, odds are good that it will be a long night for Creighton. Their defense is going to have to be top-notch, especially around the perimeter. I think they did an outstanding job of that, for the most part, over the past two games, but tonight will be a huge test. Given that their defense doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, it stands to reason that the Jays are going to need to score 70+ tonight to win. Can their shooters, who have mostly struggled all season long, do that?
They’ll have to if they want to win.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Since 1996, the average distance (from home town to campus) for the top 8 Illinois State players per season is 509 miles. Not sure what that has to do with anything, but its true, so there … Picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference before the season, the Redbirds are currently 13-5 overall and tied for third in the league at 4-3 … Osiris Eldridge, the preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, leads the league with 17.3 points per game and is tied for the league lead with 33 steals, and ranks second with 47 three-point baskets … The Redbirds have made more free throws (281) than their opponents have attempted (275), a menacing statistic for a Creighton team that has been notorious for missing free throws this season … The Redbirds average 71 points a game while allowing just 63, and outrebound their opponents by an average of 4.6 a game … Head coach Tim Jankovich is 62-25 in his third year with the Redbirds.
The Last Time They Played: Hoo boy. Do we really have to go there? No, no we do not. Executive decision. That game never happened, you hear me? IT NEVER HAPPENED.
The Series: Illinois State leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 38-24 margin (or 37-24 depending on how literally you want to take the last paragraph.) The Redbirds have won five of the last six, but before that, Creighton had won 12 of 14. Illinois State is 23-6 in games played in Normal.
Creighton coach Dana Altman is 17-16 all-time against Illinois State, but just 1-4 against Tim Jankovich-led teams.
Gratuitous Linkage: Saturday Night Live has a spotty track record when it comes to movies. And since I first heard about it, I’ve assumed the “MacGruber” movie would be among the worst of the bunch. But I’ve seen the trailer, and I’ve got to tell ya…it toes the line between “cult classic” and “trbl” quite nicely. Val Kilmer as the villainous Dieter Von Cunth? That’s good stuff.
Trailer has some salty language and may not be safe for work.
The Totally Random Song I’d Play Right Now if I was Still a Radio DJ: Well, the Jays have won two straight when I’ve played Van Halen. Lets make it three.
The Pick: Osiris is Osiris, and he’s going to get 20+ tonight. But the rest of the Redbirds have not been overly impressive this year, as their faceplant in Des Moines on ESPNU last weekend can attest. 26 second half points from the O-Hawk weren’t enough to overcome the hole they were in.
Close, close game tonight, and one that I wouldn’t be shocked to see go the other way…but I’m going with the Jays.
Creighton 73, Illinois State 70
