The #24/25 Creighton men’s basketball team returns to the CenturyLink Center Saturday night. The Bluejays took final exams this week, after suffering their first loss against St. Joseph’s last Saturday. They’ll no doubt be excited to start a new win streak and take out some frustrations on their next opponent.
That unlucky foe turns out to be Houston Baptist, a recent addition to Division I hoops landscape. Out of the Great West conference, the Huskies are coming off of a win over Campbell on Wednesday night. Some may remember the impending blizzard in 2009 when Creighton defeated the Huskies 85-56. Houston Baptist isn’t sticking around in the Great West and will jump over to the Southland Conference in 2013.
Since they are not a household name, we thought we would get you a double-dose of Houston Baptist hoops information. We talked to Brandon Porter, sports editor of The Collegian (the campus newspaper), and Aaron Diehl from Talkhuskies.com. They provide some interesting insight into Houston Baptist Basketball.
With Brandon Porter from The Collegian:
WBR: What kind of expectations are there for Houston Baptist basketball? What has been the transition like to Division I?
Brandon Porter: Going into the season it was tough to predict what the Huskies were going to be like after losing a top 10 national scorer in Andrew Gonzalez to the D-League and also gaining a lot of inexperience with freshmen and transfers playing the bulk of the minutes. I still think they will play in the Great West Conference Tournament Championship but they will not be gaining any at-large bids anytime soon. The transition back to the NCAA has been much faster than expected but going from a strong NAIA program to championship NCAA team takes some time. Joining the Southland Conference in 2013 should speed up that process.
WBR: From what you have seen this season, once Great West conference play starts, how will they stack up against the rest of the league?
BP: I think the Huskies will do just fine in conference play if they can limit their turnovers. No matter how poor they play in the regular season, they always seem to make their way deep into the conference tournament and with their much more balanced offense they should have a top three seed this year.
WBR: Who does Creighton need to look out for on Saturday night that could give them some problems?
BP: Art Bernardi, who was ineligible until the Rice game on Nov. 30, has been very strong on both offense and defense the last four games. If they can shut down Bernardi and the Huskies’ 6-foot-11-inch center Joe Latas they should be fine. Also Marcus Davis, Tyler Russell and Ronald March are three freshmen guards that have done a fantastic job of transiting to the NCAA, so they might also be a threat as well, but not as much as Bernardi.
WBR: What was the difference in Houston Baptist’s win over Campbell Wednesday night, compared to the first meeting between the two teams at the beginning of the season?
BP: The difference is that the Huskies have learned how to play with each other. When the bulk of your minutes come from players who have either never played collegiate basketball, or have never played on this team, it can take a while for them to gel together and for the coaches to see what they can really do. The Campbell game in Houston, along with the win against Cal State Fullerton, was evidence of what the Huskies are capable of doing; they just need to be more consistent.
WBR: What does moving to the Southland conference bring to the program? Did they like being a part of the Great West Conference?
BP: First it brings the automatic qualifier they have wanted since returning to the NCAA in 2007. It also cuts down the travel to one-fourth of what it once was. The Southland spans from Texas to Arkansas, while the Great West ranged from Utah to New Jersey and North Dakota to Texas. But the Great West gave the Huskies something to play for in a conference championship which they are grateful for. Now that they will be able to compete for an automatic qualifier in the Southland, recruitment of talented athletes should come much easier.
WBR: What is the motivation for players to come to the Husky program knowing that they have a very small chance of getting to the NCAA Tournament?
BP: While a tournament birth is almost impossible for the next two seasons as a member of the Great West, it is still Division I basketball in the fourth largest city in the United States, which can be attractive to athletes who may not be up to the caliber of the star Big 12 Conference or Conference USA recruits. Many transfers and freshmen choose to come to HBU because of the small size of the campus and the Christian atmosphere that university has. And many of the freshmen will have a chance to compete for a tournament berth with the Southland Conference in 2013 so they have something to look forward to.
WBR: What is your final prediction? Can the Huskies come into Omaha and upset the Bluejays?
BP: Creighton is a fantastic basketball team and I think the toughest matchup on the Huskies’ schedule. But if HBU can play like they did in their upset win over Cal State Fullerton and Wednesday’s win over Campbell, they can keep it close and make it a fun game, but ultimately the Bluejays should pull away and win.
With Aaron Diehl from Talkhuskies.com:
WBR: Can you give a little background on Houston Baptist basketball and how they ended up in Division I basketball?
Aaron Diehl: HBU was actually NCAA D-I in the 70s and 80s, making the NCAA tournament (play-in game) for the 1983-84 season. In the late 80s, HBU dropped all sports, and basketball started back up in 1991 in the NAIA with Ron Cottrell as head coach. We were very successful at the NAIA level (at least in the regular season), making the NAIA tournament 10 years in a row and consistently being ranked in the top 25, and more often top 10. 2002-2003, HBU finished the season ranked #1. A highlight of our time in the NAIA was our 60 game home winning streak, which ended in 2003-2004. That said, Alumni always wanted to be back in the NCAA, and finally, we recently (2007) made the move back to NCAA D-I, and this is the first year that HBU is fully eligible for NCAA postseason play “probationary” period is over.
WBR: What is the Houston Baptist fanbase like? Is there a large following now that they are in Division I?
AD: Our fanbase is honestly not great. There is definitely a small contingent of “hardcore fans”, but it certainly could be improved. The following has increased being D-I, but probably not like you would think. Our (admittedly poor) gym, holds only 1500, so you can fill it up easily, but the attendance of students and alumni needs to improve. Attending a game at Sharp Gym is very fun because since the gym is so small, you can be 2 feet from the court and the opponents can hear you talk trash to them, or yell supporting words for the Huskies.
WBR: Head coach Ron Cottrell got his 400th win on Wednesday night and has spent several years at Houston Baptist. What kind of stability does he bring to the program?
AD: Ron Cottrell is the only coach many HBU fans have ever known, so he is the face of HBU basketball. He was on the staff of Nolan Richardson at Arkansas when they made their run to the Final Four with Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman. Cottrell definitely has an up-tempo style that he learned during his time at Arkansas, and this style has generally been good for the smaller players we usually have (and can get). He has been on the staff of USA Basketball and knows basketball people around Houston, which helped us get players during our NAIA days, and hopefully will help us in the NCAA.
WBR: What kind of scheduling challenges does the program face? Do they have to be like SWAC and MEAC teams and play on the road anywhere, anytime?
AD: Pretty much, yes, we do. We have played a bunch of road games during our transition back to D-I, and gotten blown out (and paid) in most of them. Being in the Great West Conference does not help anything, and really, even though we have been bad, playing at Sharp Gym can always be a trap game for teams, so that does not work in our favor in terms of scheduling. What DOES work in our favor is the fact that we are in Houston, and the fact that we will be joining the Southland Conference next year will really help.
WBR: Against Creighton on Saturday night, what will the Huskies do to try and contain Doug McDermott?
AD: Well, we are certainly not known for our defense, and athletic players like McDermott can give us problems. But, what we really do not have is a lot of size, so a huge center would hurt us more. Since we play a fast game, if things are going our way, we can get players in foul trouble, and if that is the case with McDermott, it looks like the scoring drops off considerably to the Jays #2 scorer. Hopefully, we will attack and get him in foul trouble, but ultimately he will probably get his, and the Huskies will try to minimize the damage.
WBR: The roster appears to have some players that came from other Division I schools. How have they performed since joining the Houston Baptist program? Have there been any surprises on the roster as a whole?
AD: Our center, Joe Latas, came from Cleveland State, where he essentially averaged 1 or 2 ppg and 1 or 2 rpg. Now, he averages 10 and 6, so he is obviously having more success. Art Bernardi and Marcus Davis, our two leading scorers, are juco/cc transfers who have both stepped up their game for the Huskies. Tyler Russell, a true freshman, was a McDonald’s all-america nominee, so he is our best player straight from high school. No huge surprises, but nice to see these transfers doing well.
WBR: What is your final prediction? Will Creighton have their hands full with the Huskies?
AD: We have wins against solid Campbell and CS-Fullerton teams, so there is some hope, but HBU will have to play a near perfect game to beat Creighton. Campbell previously led the NCAA in FG%, and they shot .456 against us. Creighton also shoots the ball very well (4th nationally), so we must make you take some tough shots. Honestly, Creighton should not have a problem, but we will be fast, we will run, and if we hit some 3s, and get some confidence early, we could have a shot. My prediction is Creighton 95, HBU 72.