“This is not a competition, this is only an exhibition. Please … no wagering.” -Dave Letterman
Friday night, just after 7:00 local time, Coach Greg McDermott and the Creighton Bluejays will take the floor for the first time since March 24, and at least in an exhibition setting, for the first time as a Big East school.
The opponent? Northern State, a Division II team that went 20-11 last year but graduated it’s top four players and returns only four players total — of the 70 points the Wolves scored per game a year ago, they need to replace 59 of them. They’re a solid DII program but one firmly ensconced in rebuilding mode, picked to finish 8th out of 16 teams in their conference. With nine newcomers, this particular Northern State team is not likely to give the Jays fits, much less threaten an upset. It’s a far cry from the exhibition games of yesteryear, which were frequently feisty affairs where the outcome was more than occasionally in doubt.
Before NCAA rules banished them, teams like Global Sports and Athletes in Action barnstormed the country providing exhibition opposition to teams in early November. Those teams, comprised of former D1 players who either hadn’t latched on professionally yet or were in between gigs, had the talent, athleticism and depth to really push their opponent. As a matter of fact, Global Sports actually beat the Bluejays three times, in 1999 (77-73), 2000 (82-74) and 2003 (66-65).
Around the same time the NCAA put a stop to barnstorming teams like Global Sports, they passed a rule allowing “closed-door” scrimmages to take place between D1 teams, provided no media or fans were present and no details about what happened were disclosed. That the NCAA expects these scrimmages to remain shrouded in mystery in an age of social media and message boards is ridiculous; that they require the scrimmages to be as secret as a Cold War military training exercise in the first place is absurd. Finally this year, they pulled back the curtains somewhat, allowing coaches to make general comments about the proceedings. They’re still not allowed to reveal stats or the score, though.
Well, not on the record anyway.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN was first to leak some details, putting out the cryptic tweet “Creighton got the better of Iowa State.” Later in the week, the World-Herald’s Steve Pivovar went about as far as he could go in describing the outcome without actually revealing the outcome, writing “The schools could keep score and statistics for their own use. Chances are, if you could obtain a copy of those statistics, you would see that Creighton won the scrimmage.” Iowa State site CycloneFanatic went just a bit further, reporting that the Jays won by seven, though ISU held a lead mid-way through the second half.
Much like that scrimmage-slash-exhibition with Iowa State, Friday’s contest is mostly about experimentation and measuring the team’s progress before “real” games start, similar to NFL preseason games or MLB spring training. The stars rarely play after halftime, with the emphasis shifting to getting the newcomers’ feet wet in a real game situation, and giving the coaches actual game film to study on those players. That’s important this year, in particular, as Creighton has a lot of certainties at the top of their roster (Doug McDermott is still a superhero, Grant Gibbs is still doing Grant Gibbs Things, Austin Chatman is still a terrific point guard, etc.) but several unknowns as you make your way down the roster. Six players will likely play Friday night who have never logged a minute in a D1 game, meaning this is their first opportunity in game situations to try and earn playing time.
Don’t expect to see McDermott, Chatman, Gibbs or Jahenns Manigat — the four returning starters — more than 15-20 minutes each. This is a night for players like James Milliken, Devin Brooks, Isaiah Zierden and Zach Hanson to show they deserve to be part of the rotation, and a night for the walk-ons to see their most significant PT of the season. Most of all, it’s a night to get the butterflies out before the season begins for real one week from tonight.
About the Northern State Wolves: Northern State is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 3,600 students … Despite that modest student body size, they led all of Division II by averaging 3,382 fans per home game last season. To put that number in perspective, they played in front of 10,757 fans — that’s total fans, not an average — in 14 contests away from home last year … The mother of Creighton freshman Zach Hanson played basketball for Northern State, and was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame after finishing her career as their all-time shot blocker and ranking in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage … Northern State went 20-11 last season before falling in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament … The Wolves lost their top four scorers in Collin Pryor (16.2 ppg., 7.7 rpg.), Dustin Tetzlaff (11.1 ppg., 6.5 rpg.), Michael Emge (8.5 ppg.) and Geoffrey Firmin (8.5 ppg.), leaving only Mitch White (2.6 ppg., 2.4 apg.) amongst the returning starters … The only other three returners from last year’s active roster are Seth Bachand (5.9 ppg.), Trent Zomer (4.7 ppg.) and Jared Hannigan (4.2 ppg.) … A group of six true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen will make their debuts Friday night … The Wolves averaged 70.0 points per game last year while allowing 66.1 per contest, and shot 46.0 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from downtown and 66.7 percent at the line.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton is 38-6 since 1987 in fall exhibition games thanks to 12 straight victories. The only team since 1994 to beat Creighton in an exhibition setting has been Global Sports … Greg McDermott is 20-0 in exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including a 10-0 mark at UNI, a 7-0 record at Iowa State, and a 3-0 mark at Creighton. Notably, all but one of his triumphs has been by double-digits … Creighton’s largest exhibition attendance in school history was 15,436 on November 2, 2012 vs. University of Mary last year. It’s a good bet that number will be eclipsed on Friday night, given the fact that the school has sold 15,046 season tickets.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott made his debut in a Creighton uniform against these very same Northern State Wolves in November of 2010. It’s the only game in McDermott’s 110-game CU career in which he came off the bench, as he started the season-opener and has (obviously) been a fixture ever since. That night, he scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 20 minutes, showing his trademark efficiency even in that first game — he was 6-9 from the floor and 6-6 from the free throw line. Any arguments about whether or not he would redshirt (hard to believe as it is now, there were people — including Coach Mac — who thought it was a possibility) were laid to rest with that performance.
The Last Time They Played: On November 4, 2010, Creighton and Northern State met for the first and, to date, only time. A 79-67 Bluejay win, it was the debut for both coaches at their current school: Greg McDermott for Creighton and Paul Sather for Northern State. That Wolves team was a decidedly more-seasoned group than the one coming to Omaha this year, and it showed as they hung with the Jays most of the night. It’s really interesting to go back and read “Ott’s Thoughts” on that one in the WBR archives, given what’s transpired since then. Fascinating, even.
The Series: Creighton and Northern State have never met in regular-season play. The Bluejays are 1-0 all-time against them in exhibition play.
Greg McDermott was 7-5 in his regular-season career against Northern State, with all 12 of those match-ups occurring when he was head coach at Wayne State.
Gratuitous Linkage: There’s been a multitude of articles written on the father/son coach/player dynamic between Greg and Doug McDermott — so many that, for most CU fans, the anecdotes told in the articles have been memorized by now. Through no fault of their own, it’s rare that an article sheds some new light on that story. Myron Medcalf’s piece for ESPN.com this week does, and it’s a fantastic read.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On November 1, 2007, Creighton opened the post-Funk/Tolliver/Porter Era with a 88-75 win over EA Sports — a team that featured one of that trio, Nick Porter, suiting up for their side. The Jays’ plethora of newcomers impressed, with freshmen P’Allen Stinnett, Chad Millard and Casey Harriman scoring 11 points each off the bench, while another freshman, Kenny Lawson, Jr., scored 10 points in a starting role. Porter scored six points with five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes, and received a standing ovation when his named was called during the starting lineups.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: With Thursday being Halloween, my fiance and I handed out lots and lots of candy and watched both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, because of course we did. I tried really hard not to recite every line of the first movie and mostly succeeded. Then I tried really hard not to rap along with Run DMC in the second movie…and completely failed. Ah well.
The Bottom Line: The mini donuts are still delicious, the Bud Light is still refreshing, and basketball is back with a Bluejay victory.
Creighton 90, Northern State 72
