When people say that Creighton owns the MVC Tournament, this is what they mean: the Jays have won 10 titles, which is twice as many as any other team. They’re 36-18 all-time, the most wins of any school. Their record improves the longer they go into the weekend: Creighton is 16-11 in the quarterfinals, 10-6 in the semifinals and 10-1 in the championship games. Dana Altman owns a 21-8 MVC Tournament record, including six titles, in 14 trips; The league’s other nine active coaches have combined for a 21-23 record and two titles in 25 trips. And more recently, Creighton owns six league tournament titles in the last 11 years.
Simply put, Arch Madness is nicknamed the Creighton Invitational for a reason.
Coming into Friday’s quarterfinal matchup, the feeling among fans is the most positive its been at any time since before the Orlando trip. Thanksgiving morning before the Michigan OT loss is the last time there were anything resembling positive vibes coming from the fanbase. Three weeks ago, several longtime attendees of Arch Madness told me they had canceled their trips this year, unable to stomach watching this team any further.
A strange thing happened on the way to St. Louis. The Jays outrebounded their last six opponents. Center Kenny Lawson put a string of solid, at times dominant, performances together, showcasing a heretofore unknown ability to hit shots from 20+ feet out. Point guard Antoine Young started giving the Jays a dependable floor general, carried them late to a road win at Southern Illinois and put together a career-best game in the regular-season finale with eight assists and five rebounds. Freshmen Josh Jones and Ethan Wragge moved into the starting lineup, energizing the team and giving them an offensive spark.
Three weeks ago, you would have been hard pressed to find a Jays fan willing to predict a three-game sweep and a tourney title. Today, the biggest worry most fans seem to have is the old wives tale “Its hard to beat a team three times in a season!”
As I used to say on the playground when I was eight, Bullhonkey.
Creighton has won both regular-season meetings from an eventual MVC Tournament opponent 16 times. The Jays have then gone 14-2 in the Valley Tournament against those teams. Those 16 meetings have come over the course of 13 different tournaments; the Jays won nine of those 13 tournaments, including the last four such occasions and six of the past seven. Bullhonkey, indeed.
What about the quick turnaround rematch against Bradley, a team the Jays beat in both teams last game six days ago? Isn’t it tough to beat a team twice back-to-back? History would say no. This has happened four times previously under Dana Altman, and in each of the previous four occurrences, the teams had the same result in the MVC Tournament as they did in the regular-season finale.
I’d say the quarterfinal is probably the best matchup the Jays could have hoped for. Jim Les’ Braves have struggled against Creighton, including this season. The Jays are playing their best basketball of the year, and if they can get the confidence of winning the first game…who knows?
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Bradley is 15-14 overall and finished tied for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 9-9 league record … Bradley has never won an MVC Tournament away from Peoria, taking the title in 1980 at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse and 1988 at Carver Arena … The Braves are playing in the second quarterfinal game between the 4 and 5 seeds for the fifth consecutive year…Bradley is 3-1 in its previous four quarterfinal tilts, including a split versus Creighton by beating the Bluejays in 2006 and falling to CU in 2008 … For the second time in three years, Bradley and Creighton meet in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals after closing the regular-season against each other in Omaha … This marks the eighth time Bradley has faced its final regular-season opponent in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals and the Braves are 4-3 in the previous seven return engagements … Bradley is 17-11 all-time in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament, including an 11-9 record in neutral-site quarterfinal games … Bradley has won 10 of its last 14 quarterfinal games dating back to 1994 … Bradley’s 10-4 record in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals equals Missouri State and Southern Illinois for the best record in the quarterfinal round since 1994 … Andrew Warren (14.4 ppg.), Taylor Brown (14.1 ppg., 6.9 rpg.) and Sam Maniscalco (12.6 ppg.) give Bradley a high-scoring trio that have combined for 120 three-pointers. All three men also shoot better than 82 percent at the foul line … Brown poured in a career-high 27 points last Saturday at Creighton and scored 46 points in two meetings vs. the Jays this season … Bradley shoots 44.2 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from three-point land and 73.0 percent at the line. The Braves score and allow teams 67.9 points per game margin, and have been outrebounded by 2.1 boards per contest … The Braves are 1-1 on neutral floors this season, including a win over No. 20 Illinois on Nov. 28th in Las Vegas.
The Last Time They Played: Six days ago in Omaha, Creighton beat Bradley 82-71. For the second time in as many meetings with Bradley this year, Creighton never trailed. Ethan Wragge and Justin Carter drained early three-pointers and Creighton bolted to a 13-3 lead as Bradley started just 1-of-10 from the field. Wragge’s third three-pointer of the opening 12 minutes put Creighton ahead 23-13, only to see Bradley claw back within four points at 27-23. After BU closed within 44-38 with 15 minutes left, the Jays used a 9-0 run to build a 15-point lead. BU got within seven points with 1:20 left, but Antoine Young and Kenny Lawson would both hit 2-of-2 free throws down the stretch to ice the Bluejay win.
The Series: Friday’s quarterfinal matchup will be Creighton’s eighth all-time versus Bradley in the MVC Tournament. This year’s matchup also is the seventh time the teams have met in the quarterfinals and the sixth time in the 4-5 game. Bradley is 4-3 all-time versus the Bluejays in the MVC Tournament, but the teams have split their four neutral-site meetings.
Creighton leads the all-time series with Bradley by a narrow 41-39 margin, which is the first time it has ever led in the series. Much of that difference has been made up in the past nine years, as the Jays have won 17 of the past 20 meetings. Creighton is 24-13 in Omaha vs. Bradley all-time, including 12 straight home victories. All but three of those 12 wins have been by 11 or more points.
In the last 28 meetings between the schools, Creighton is 15-1 when holding Bradley to 65 points or less but 5-7 when it allows more than 65 points. Creighton has also won the last 21 meetings when it scores 70 points or more against BU.
Dana Altman is 21-13 all-time against Bradley and 14-3 against Jim Les.
Anthony Tolliver Watch: On Saturday, the A-Train continued to show he belongs in the NBA as he had 19 points and 14 rebounds in Golden State’s 95-88 win. Tuesday in the Warriors 110-106 loss, Tolliver had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 32 minutes after his Saturday performance earned him the start. Wednesday, he got another start, but struggled against Dwight Howard and the Magic. Tolliver had just 8 points and 5 points in 29 minutes of action.
The Totally Random Song I’d Play Right Now if I was Still a Radio DJ: Any time you’re going to St. Louis, you have to listen to perhaps the greatest Rock and Roll star to ever come from the city: Chuck Berry.
The Pick: Kenny Lawson will need to have a big weekend if the Jays are going to stick around, and he’s a pretty good guy to count on, as his 390 points, 200 rebounds and 43 blocked shots so far this year attest. Since Creighton began recording blocked shots in 1980-81, Lawson is just the fourth man in Bluejay history to accomplish more than 390 points, 200 rebounds and 40 blocks in the same season. Notably, each of the three men to also accomplish that feat played in the NBA (Tolliver, Benoit Benjamin, Chad Gallagher).
Lawson will have a big day, Antoine Young will too, and the Jays win by 9.
Creighton 77, Bradley 68
