Sunday afternoon I was working on an art project in the workroom in my basement, the women’s MVC Championship Game playing silently in the background, when I looked at the clock and realized it was 4:00. “Oh hey, isn’t the NCAA Selection Show on at 5?,” I wondered out loud to no one. Yes, yes it is. Was. Whatever. The last time Creighton Men’s Hoops was irrelevant on Selection Sunday, arguably, was March of 1998, my freshman year. Every year since, they’ve either been locked in via the auto bid after winning in St. Louis, or they’ve been a bubble team — granted, some years their status on said bubble has been more tenuous than others, but on the bubble they resided nonetheless. I would guess that in those years, I was not unlike most other Jays fans, consuming media by the bushel in trying to discern who the Jays might play and where, dreaming of the elusive Sweet 16 run.
This year, their fate was sealed before the first of January: win in St. Louis, or there would be no Big Dance. Their bubble had burst before a single conference game had been played, and with it, much of the fun and suspense of the week leading up to Selection Sunday had evaporated. So I turned my attention elsewhere, catching bits and pieces of a few Big XII and Big Ten tourney games but never watching an entire game straight through, mostly while working on my three-piece, five-foot-by-four-foot mixed media collage that is nearing completion after two months. And so it was that Selection Sunday kind of snuck up on me.
Soon thereafter, the Creighton women suffered through another epic collapse, their NCAA dreams being shattered at the last possible moment. “Ah well, it was a good run,” I thought, “but what a tough way to end it.” Tough way to end it; that seems to be the modus operandi for Creighton Athletics lately, doesn’t it? Since the 2008 Men’s Soccer team went to the NCAA Tournament (losing in the quarterfinals at Maryland, 1-0), in every major sport on the Hilltop, its been one devastating end after another.
2008-09 Volleyball. The Jays seemed to be on the verge of a berth in the NCAA Tournament, and despite losing to Northern Iowa in the semifinals of the MVC Tourney, felt good about their chances. They were disappointed when they were left out of the field, ostensibly because they didn’t have enough victories — meaning if Hurricane Ike hadn’t caused the cancelation of the Ladyjack Invitational in Nacogdoches back in September, and the Jays could have gotten two wins that weekend (highly probable, given the field), they’d have been at 20 for the season and would probably have gotten an NCAA bid. Alas.
2008-09 Men’s Basketball. The MVC Co-Champs with Northern Iowa during the regular season, the Jays entered Arch Madness squarely on the bubble for an at-large berth. Many pundits believed two wins would assure them of dancing, and in the quarterfinals, they jumped out to a big lead early on Wichita State, only to see it evaporate. Booker Woodfox saved them, temporarily, when his fifteen-foot buzzer beater pulled victory from the jaws of bitter defeat. Less than 18 hours later, they would lose 73-49 to Illinois State, a pummeling that was blamed by many for their exclusion from the field of 65. In the NIT, they would beat Bowling Green and lead Kentucky late, only to miss free throws down the stretch and lose a heartbreaker to the Wildcats.
2008-09 Women’s Basketball. Seeded second in the MVC Tournament and holding a 21-10 record, the Jays entered the championship game a decided favorite over ninth seeded Evansville, they of the 14-18 mark. The game was close throughout, and with less than one second to play, the Aces’ Amy Gallagher hit a game-winning shot to give them four wins in four days, an MVC Tournament Title, and the auto bid to the NCAA Tournament. Predictably, they get a 15 seed in the Big Dance and go on to be destroyed by Texas A&M, 80-45, while the Jays are left to the NIT, where they lose to Kansas in the second round.
2009 Softball. After blowing through the MVC, earning the top seed and the regular season title for the third consecutive year, they get shut out in the championship game by sixth seeded Bradley, 2-0. A 35-19 record (and 19-6 in conference) and a trip to their conference title game was evidently not good enough to earn an at-large bid, as the Jays season came to an abrupt end.
2009 Baseball. A promising season got off to a slow start during the traditional early-season road trip, but all was set to be forgotten as the Jays advanced to the MVC Championship game. Against Wichita State, the Jays would strand a staggering 17 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded FOUR TIMES in the first seven innings, and would lose 4-2. Despite banging out nine hits and drawing 12 walks, their season would come to a crashing halt just shy of the NCAA Tournament, their 31-25 record good but not good enough.
2009 Men’s Soccer. A preseason Top Ten team, the Jays had more than just NCAA Tournament goals…they had College Cup and National Championship goals. Yet they were tripped up by the surprising Drake Bulldogs 3-1 in their first game of the MVC Tourney, putting their hopes for an NCAA Tourney berth in the hands of the selection committee. They outshot Drake 21-9 in the game, yet could only cash in one goal, a running theme for a team that finished with five ties on the season and a 7-4-5 record. Despite that, their strength of schedule and pedigree left them on the bubble for an at-large berth. Depending on who you believe, the Jays were either the “First Team Out” or in the group of “First Four Out.” Either way, they were out, and their promising season ended shy of the NCAA Tournament.
2009 Women’s Soccer. Looking for their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Bruce Erickson, the Jays jumped out to a 7-1 record to start the season, and were ranked in the Top 25 for the first two months of the season. Yet because of the relative weakness of the conference, they would need the auto bid to ensure an NCAA Tournament spot. They advanced to the MVC Championship game to take on Illinois State, where a goal in the 52nd minute broke up a scoreless tie, and the Jays fell to the Redbirds 1-0. Despite a 13-6 record, the Jays were denied entrance to the NCAA Tournament.
2009-10 Women’s Basketball. For most of the winter, Coach Jim Flanery’s team looked to be a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament. They entered the MVC Tourney on a three-game winning streak, were seeded second, and won the first two games of the weekend to advance to the title game. After trailing at halftime, they busted out to a 53-45 lead with just under eight minutes to play…and would not score another point the rest of the game. They clung to a 53-52 lead as the Panthers took their final possession, but with 7 seconds to play Kellie Nelson attempted to seal off the baseline drive of Northern Iowa’s Lizzie Boeck, and was called for a foul. Boeck hit both free throws, Creighton struggled to get a shot off at the other end, and their NCAA Tournament hopes were dashed. They finished with a 20-10 record.
It’s hard to discern which of those eight teams had the toughest end to a season, isn’t it? I got a text after the game from someone disgruntled with Creighton’s seeming wealth of talent, resources, and facilities, yet lack of results in big moments the last two years. Its a valid point, to an extent. It also points to just how wealthy they are in terms of talent, resources and facilities — no other school in the MVC has been so competitive in so many different sports over that span. The Jays haven’t broken through, but they’ve been in or near the MVC title game in nearly every sport. That’s one helluva accomplishment. It’s hard to accept at times, especially so close to the latest devastating defeat, but its true.