Tonight I went to the Civic for my first CIT game. I didn’t relive the nostalgia of the Civic against South Dakota a week ago because of a family commitment. I almost didn’t go tonight either due to a family commitment. However, some plans changed and I snared a ticket earlier in the day. After walking through the Qwest Center these past 7 seasons (holy cow, it has been that long already!) it was quite apparent to me the differences in the setting. Since it is quite a distance to walk around the concourse of the Qwest Center, I found myself making a couple of trips around the Civic concourse before I realized I walked around it more than once to get to my seat. Either I am really that stupid or I just can’t read signs. In fact the seats in the Civic are actually wider than the ones at the Qwest Center. However many of the people including myself didn’t seem to think it felt like it. We have definitely been spoiled by having the venue like the Qwest Center to play in, but there are several distinct disadvantages that we miss from a venue like the Civic:
Intimidating Environment: There were 3800+ people in attendance tonight. However, the crowd made some incredible noise in the old barn which gets the rest of the crowd and the players going. At the same time it can be quiet enough that a boisterous fan can be heard yelling at the opponent and it gets into their head. I distinctly remember the final regular season game at the Civic against Wichita State how a friend next to me actually got into Jamar Howard’s head as Howard acknowledged my friend in the crowd during the game while at the same time really affected his play down the stretch. It may be a stretch to say that we were the sole reason Howard choked down the stretch in that, but at least we could pretend that the environment created in the Civic was a contributing factor. I say that the same environment intimidated Fairfield at times too tonight. I’m still waiting for that intimidating crowd noise environment at the Qwest Center.
Attendance: Creighton ranks in the top 10 in attendance this season, but really, that is a hollow statistic this season. Throughout this season, there were probably 10,000-12000 fans at the announced 15000+ at the Qwest Center, but seriously, some of the hardcore fans could look to the left of right of them each game and see someone else sitting in the seat next to them as many came because their boss gave them tickets or some other ticket holder had an excuse that they couldn’t go to the game. At the same time you had those 10k-12k fans there to see Houston Baptist and Savannah State. You have to admit, the people going to the CIT are the hard core Creighton fans that will do anything to see Creighton play and will support the team no matter what. But like it was brought up on the Big Sports 590 postgame show, it is interesting that you can’t get more than 3800 fans to show up for these games over at the Civic in the CIT. No offense to Fairfield and South Dakota, but against the same type of competition here in the CIT, the fans can’t make it. The games were even cheaper than the Houston Baptist and Savannah State during the regular season.
Advertisements: There are constant ads at the Qwest Center. The video boards are nice, but the bevy of ads that accompany every time out and even during gameplay is just taxing on me. To be able to see the players in the game and their points and fouls on the scoreboard at the Civic was a nice thing to see. At key times at the Qwest this season, I would look at the score board and not only were there ads on the big scoreboard in the middle going all the way around, but adds on the sideline electronic boards and the middle ribbon board were in full force. Talk about ad nauseous.
Dance Cam: OK, so this one is sort of ridiculous and actually could be an advantage to the Qwest Center, but it has to be mentioned. The Dance Cam was introduced at the Qwest Center due to the video boards and the ability to put the best dancers on the big screen. But needless to say, the master of the Dance Cam–Our own Dance Cam Guy, Paul Liberty, showing off his svelte moves should be on the board during that bit as much as the “Raise the Roof Grandma” throughout the game. However, this is one promotion that does not work so well at the Civic, though many did have their eyes peeled for the Dance Cam Guy over in section 53 and he did not disappoint. Unfortunately, some random dude on the other side of the arena was declared the dance champ. But I digress.
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As for the actual game, once again, the Bluejays fought hard and played hard, pulling away at the end 73-55. Justin Carter and Kenny Lawson got things started off early and finished late. Carter got himself another double-double (16 pts./10 reb.) and Lawson led the way with 17 points while battling with Fairfield’s Anthony Johnson. Creighton shot a nice 18-0f-21 from the free throw line including Cavel Witter going 8-of-8 in the final minutes and Antoine Young 2-of-3.
Young has received a lot of grief for his free-throw shooting this season, but since the Loyola-Chicago game, he has gone 21-of-25 from the stripe including 16-of-17 in a three game stretch of Southern Illinois and the two Bradley games. Young has also gotten a lot of confidence over the past 6 games which has translated to the free-throw line as well.
So now the Bluejays advance to the semi-final round of the CIT. Now logically it would have made sense for Creighton to host Pacific in Wednesday night’s game to setup a potential matchup with conference foe Missouri State in the CIT finals with the Bears playing Appalachian State. But in what has not been logical (especially with Fairfield making the trip to Omaha) Creighton is being shipped to Springfield to play the Bears while Pacific boards a plane in Denver after their win against Northern Colorado tonight to get to Appalachian State for their game on Wednesday. If the CIT wanted two more good paydays, then it would have made more sense to have Creighton and Missouri State both host one more game.
If Creighton wants to get to 20 wins, it looks like the path goes through Springfield. Believe it or not, the Bluejays have won 5 of their last 6 games. However, 4 of the wins came at home with the other win in Carbondale against rival Southern Illinois. Creighton has won only two other true road games all season. The last time to Missouri State, they were laughed off the court 70-52. The question is, will it happen again? Let’s hope they have learned from their past mistakes. At the same time, the performance of this team in the CIT can at least give some encouragement to the hardcore fans that there is light at the end of the tunnel heading into next season.