It is senior night in Omaha, but it is kind of rare that this isn’t the last regular season game on Tuesday night. For the first time since the 2005-06 season, the Bluejays will not finish the season at home. But it might be good to close out the season on the CenturyLink court sooner than later.
Creighton has aspirations of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. They have returned to Omaha during the past four playing in the NIT, CBI and CIT tournaments. So saying goodbye on senior night hasn’t necessarily been saying goodbye. For the Bluejays this season, they are hoping it is for real.
The Bluejays host Evansville on Tuesday night hoping to avenge the loss they took at the new Ford Center just a couple weeks ago. Creighton shot a horrible 4-of-22 from three-point land and despite playing lock down defense on Colt Ryan, they could not leave Evansville with a victory.
Before the first game we had a great conversation with Randy Beard from the Evansville Courier-Press. So we talked to him again about the Aces. Here is what he has to say for this round on Tuesday night.
White & Blue Review: In the first meeting in Evansville, what was the deciding factor in the Aces being able to win that game against the Bluejays?
Randy Beard: First, it helped that Creighton missed 18 3-pointers. But UE’s defense had a lot to do with forcing the Bluejays to take long jumpers with the way they collapsed in the paint on Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique. Of Creighton’s 52 shots, 22 were from behind the arc. The Aces also forced 16 turnovers, making six steals. The undersized Aces also held their own in terms of points in the paint, earning a 26-26 draw. Plus, freshman forward Ryan Sawvell matched Echenique’s impact, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Echenique had 10 points and eight rebounds.
WBR: Colt Ryan struggled with his shot in that first game. Although he has scored 20 points in each of the past two games, he has had to take more shots. Are the minutes starting to catch up with him?
RB: Colt Ryan struggled with his shot in that first game. Although he has scored 20 points in each of the past two games, he has had to take more shots. Are the minutes starting to catch up with him? No. Ryan is in tremendous shape and isn’t reluctant to ask for a breather when he needs one. His struggles against Creighton (3 for 12) was more due to the Bluejays’ defensive focus, but it did carry over to the Drake game, where he was 2 for 8. The fact that he only took eight shots against Drake was a sign that he has been trying to be more selective. In the two games since then in wins over Northern Iowa and Western Illinois, Ryan has made 14 of 31 shots, including 7 of 15 3-pointers. He’s also had 15 assists in the past two games.
WBR: With the Aces winning three of their last four, what kind of confidence do they have going into this last week of the season and the MVC Tournament?
RB: I think they are about as confident as they can be for a team that doesn’t have a true post presence. Obviously, at 14-13, they would like to have do-overs with the six games, including four in conference, that they’ve lost by one or two points. Because they’ve only lost two conference games by double-digit margins, they appear to have the belief that they are capable of beating any team in the MVC if they play well
WBR: With a lot of seeding implications yet in the last week of conference play, how important is it for Evansville to get out of playing the Thursday night game in the MVC Tourney?
RB: It’s important, but no more important than it would be for any team. Obviously, the Aces would prefer to enter the tournament knowing they only have to get hot for three games to have a chance of stealing the MVC bid to the NCAA tournament like Indiana State did a year ago.
WBR: When things are all said and done, has this been a successful season for Evansville? How close are they to taking the next step to where schools like Creighton and Wichita State are at?
RB: They’ve made progress, but they are not satisfied because they know they let a lot of games get away from them. They won’t move up into that upper echelon until they develop a true post presence. The good news is that UE coach Marty Simmons has already got commitments from a 6-9 post player from Tennessee and a top shooting guard from Indiana who had previously committed to Oklahoma State. He still has one more scholarship available, and its believed he will use that on either another big man. That should allow the 6-8 Ryan Sawvell to move from the post to a forward spot. Plus, Colt Ryan, Ned Cox, Troy Taylor, Jordan Jahr (out with a broken foot) will be back to provide veteran leadership next season.
WBR: Who has to step up for Evansville in Tuesday’s game?
RB: Kenneth Harris provided the spark in the first game and when he’s making things happen with his defense the Aces are able to get out and score easy transition baskets. Denver Holmes also has hit five of his last six 3-pointers, including the game-winner at the buzzer at Northern Iowa. But I don’t believe Evansville can beat Creighton again unless Ryan shows up and scores 25 to 30 points.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will Evansville have to do to steal a win in Omaha on Creighton’s senior day?
RB: All things being equal — which they aren’t — Creighton should still win by 12 to 15 points. But if the Aces can limit the damage by McDermott, they could hang around again and have a shot at the upset. If nothing else, the Aces haven’t be an easy out. Seven of their eight MVC losses have been by a combined 27 points. And they were within one on the road at Drake until the wheels came off midway through the second half, and they gave up a 24-4 run.