It has been a long road this season in the Big East for Creighton. After having a dream year with Doug McDermott and the other three seniors that graduated, the Bluejays have struggled, currently on a losing streak that you have to start breaking out the record books that haven’t been opened for several years.
The Bluejays hope to turn things around at home on Wednesday night against St. John’s, who just came off of a loss on Sunday against Duke at the Garden. For Creighton, this will be their sixth straight opponent they are facing coming off a loss and their seventh in the last eight games. Not a good thing for the Bluejays.
Creighton has their first meeting of the season against the Johnnie’s on Wednesday night. To get us caught up on what is happening this season for then, we reached out to Norman Rose of Rumble in the Garden. We had our own set of answers about the Jays that Tom answered. We, in turn, had our own questions for him and here is what he had to say.
White & Blue Review: What’s the mood around St. John’s program with their 11-1 start to the season, and their 2-4 start to league play?
Norman Rose: Fans got excited about the start, for sure – and it included beating Syracuse in the Dome, even. It seemed like this was a season that was a little bit of magic, despite the sour start of the season with two forwards who ended up ineligible.
But the 2-4 start has raised a lot of questions, and the fans who were already looking askance at the results from the Steve Lavin era have been getting more and more antsy. There are fans who still see the potential in the squad – with five top-100 players and a scoring guard and a defense that harassed some of the best teams in the country for long stretches.
But others see a team sorely lacking in depth, a team that struggles to hold on to leads, a team that is woefully thin in the paint.
And the team knows they have to play hard the whole game – the coaches know it too – but little lapses at end expose the team despite their best efforts. (Really, the second halves are three-pointer-fests for the opponent.)
Right now? The team needs wins. Even nationally, the mood is that the team won’t make the tourney, which feels like a disappointment given the start – and even given the talent coming into this season. Once they win, many of the fans will be back on board.
WBR: What’s your read on the Rysheed Jordan situation and his leave of absence earlier this month?
NR: Well, I’ll say he had some family and personal issues in Philadelphia calling him back home – and he has had a lot in Philly calling him home from time to time, enough that it may have become a distraction to his focus and to the team.
He has come back a bit better and more focused, a little less kamikaze pilot on offense, though he is still a bit more turnover-prone than his teammates.
WBR: Does St. John’s need to make the NCAA Tournament, or make a run, to cool down Steve Lavin’s seat?
NR: Yes. I don’t know if the status is “make a run” or “make the Tournament”, even with the recruits he’s gotten or is in the mix for. But as far as I understand it, if he doesn’t make the Tourney, the discussions about his extension (Lavin’s deal ends after next season) will be lukewarm at best. If not “here’s the door, Steve. Nice having you.”
But I don’t know for certain.
WBR: What has been the key to beating St. John’s in their four conference losses?
NR: Outlasting the Red Storm lack of depth, rebounding both ends and shooting well outside the arc.
This piece from a week ago is still true. The second halves feature the defense scrambling after three-point shooters – and opponents are getting second opportunities all game.
WBR; Turning your question around on you, what is your take on the current Big East and the parity in the league?
NR: As I write this, Georgetown is getting worked at home despite being in first place to a Xavier team that hasn’t emerged despite a lot of talent. That team had to fight hard for a split against DePaul has already throttled the Hoyas; those Blue Demons, no longer bottom-dwellers, are tied with a Butler team that profiles as mediocre but have toughed their way to a top-25 ranking. Seton Hall, which was in the top 25, has lost three straight.
That illustrates not just parity, but an incredible ability for teams to just be bad matchups for each other.
It’s not actually that different from last season, but this year the Big East squads all came into league play with some kind of solid win under their belt (maybe even Marquette – Tennessee is competing in SEC play). So now, none of the losses are bad and the wins gain attention.
I have no idea how this league is going to play out, and neither does anyone else.
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