The Bluejays are on a roll. Well, if you can call two wins at home by a total of three points being on a roll. But it is a start of something to build on. The question now is whether they can carry this momentum to the road in Normal, Illinois for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Illinois State Redbirds.
Osiris Eldridge tearing up the Jays in MVC Tourney
Yeah, do you recognize that guy skying over the Bluejays defense? If you don’t, Otter had a nice breakdown of Creighton’s (least) favorite opponent, Osiris Eldridge. The “O-Hawk” is great, but there is more to this Illinois State team than Eldridge. And to find out more about the Redbirds, White & Blue Review caught up with Jim Benson, who covers ISU for the Bloomington Pantagraph. Benson took some time to give us a little more background on this year’s Redbirds as they prepare for Wednesday’s matchup.
White & Blue Review: Over the past few seasons, Illinois State has had Creighton’s number. To what do you attribute to the success of the Redbirds against the Bluejays?
Jim Benson: Pretty simple. ISU has shot the ball extremely well against Creighton. When the ball goes in the basket, teams look a lot better. I have covered the ISU beat for the past four years. The ISU victory at Creighton in December 2007 and the Redbirds’ rout over the Bluejays at last year’s Valley tourney were the best games I have seen them play in that time. Must be something about those blue uniforms.
WBR: Osiris Eldridge must get a smile on his face every time he plays Creighton. What is it about his game that is tough to stop?
JB: When Eldridge’s 3-point shot is on, which it usually is against Creighton, it opens up the court for him because defenders have to tightly guard him. Then he can use his athleticism, speed, and power to take the ball strong to the basket. The whole key for Eldridge is making a couple early 3s.
WBR: Where does Osiris rank among the Redbirds players you’ve covered? Both on the court, talent- and performance-wise, and off the court, personality-wise?
JB: Talent wise, Eldridge is at the top of the list. His performance really speaks for itself. He has been team MVP for two of the three complete years I have covered the team and will be again this year. Eldridge is Chicago laid-back off the court. Not too much seems to concern him. I don’t think he’s the type of person who will ever get high blood pressure.
WBR: Just how much does this team miss Champ Oguchi and Emmanuel Holloway?
JB: ISU really misses the leadership both of those players provided. They also miss Oguchi’s outside shooting because it gave them another capable scorer on the nights Eldridge is off. Holloway was definitely a “glue” guy who did a lot of things well and held the team together.
WBR: How far can the seniors take this team this year? Is this their “big shot?”
JB: If you would have asked me this 10 days ago, I thought ISU had turned the corner and would be competing with UNI for the league title. But they haven’t looked the same the last three games. I don’t view this as their “big shot,” though. Tim Jankovich is recruiting very well and this is a team that is going to contend the next couple years.
WBR: What does Jankovich’s recruiting class for next season look like? What future Redbirds have ISU fans excited? Is there anyone they project can pick up the slack when Osiris leaves?
JB: They are bringing in a point guard, Kenyon Smith, who is a tenacious defender and a strictly pass-first point guard. Sounds like Josh Dotzler, huh? They also have a 6-10, 260-pound post player, Jordan Threloff, from DeKalb, Illinois, who should form a solid combo with Jackie Carmichael inside. They still would like to add another perimeter threat from the juco ranks in the spring. They were hoping freshman Justin Clark would take Eldridge’s spot, but Clark is in a horrible season-long shooting slump. The jury is still out on him.
WBR: The past couple of seasons, the Redbirds non-conference slate has been looked at as weak, and some say that Jankovich isn’t working to secure good opponents or series. Does the Missouri Valley Conference have any say in how he schedules the non-conference? What is keeping the Redbirds from playing top competition in the non-conference?
JB: This is the big bugaboo for ISU fans. Actually, the first year Jankovich was here the non-con was pretty good with Indiana, Cincinnati, and a good Kent State team that went to the NCAA Tournament. There is no doubt it has been lacking the last two years. ISU needs to get in a quality exempt tourney where they play BCS schools on neutral floors. I know the Valley doesn’t like ISU’s schedule, but they don’t have any say for now. I believe in the future, though, you will see ISU play two or three good BCS teams in the non-con in an exempt tourney. At least, I hope.
WBR: What is better, to have a non-conference schedule that is easy enough to give a team confidence headed into conference season or a tough non-conference that if done right could help the NCAA resume?
JB: Good question. I think Jankovich was worried about having so many young players coming in this season he didn’t want them to suffer demoralizing losses early that could erode their confidence the rest of the season. ISU would have made the NCAA tourney two years ago by beating Drake just one time, so it’s hard to blame their schedule. The power leagues have skewed the process so much in the past couple years, especially after the Valley had three at-large picks in 2006, that it is going to be extremely difficult to ever have more than one bid. There will be only one this year if UNI also sweeps the league tournament.
WBR: The Redbirds face a tough stretch ahead following the home game with CU: two roadies (@ SIU, @ WSU), a rivalry home game with Bradley, and then another roadie (@ Indiana State). How much better does this team play at home versus on the road? How does it compare to last year’s team, confidence-wise?
JB: This team was playing fairly decent on the road until the debacle at Drake. I’ve never seen a team miss so many open shots like that first half. This team is a little better at home (what team isn’t?), but not by leaps and bounds. Last year’s team was an extremely confident group. This team has nowhere near that confidence level.
WBR: What are some of the weaknesses that Creighton could exploit Wednesday night?
JB: The Bluejays definitely play more players than ISU and could wear the Redbirds down in the second half. I know Creighton isn’t shooting the ball from the perimeter extremely well. The Lawson-Odiakosa matchup in the middle could hold the key.
WBR: What is your final prediction for Wednesday night’s game? What do the Redbirds need to do to win?
JB: For our paper I picked ISU, 68-65. I’m not a homer and don’t always pick ISU, either. The Redbirds must play good, physical defense for 40 minutes, something they didn’t do at Drake. If the game were in Omaha, I would probably pick Creighton by the same score.