It is always wild and crazy each season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Things never seem to turn out as expected and you can always count on the top teams in the Valley to run into unexpected roadblocks. Creighton has run into one of those roadblocks of their own.
The clear favorite in the preseason polls is now sitting in a five game dogfight to win the MVC regular season crown. A two game losing streak, including a loss at home on Saturday night against Illinois State doesn’t help things for the Bluejays. They now have a two game road swing that could determine whether they will be in the race of not–or even still in consideration for an NCAA bid about a month from now.
On Wednesday, Creighton heads up to Cedar Falls to take on a resurgent Northern Iowa team that is starting to come together. The McDermott/UNI connection almost seems uneventful now in the wake of other pressing matters.
To get us up to speed on the Panthers, we talked again with beat writer Carson Tigges from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Things have changed a little bit since the first matchup. Here is what he had to say this time.
White & Blue Review: Northern Iowa struggled a bit to start the season and that kind of bled over into conference play. However, since the loss in Omaha to the Bluejays, the Panthers have won five of their past seven games. What has changed for them since then?
Carson Tigges: UNI had started to play better before the loss at Creighton and the reason for it has a lot to do with defense and rebounding. Those are the staples of Ben Jacobson’s coaching philosophy and his team finally came around, albeit much later than expected. In the seven games since the trip to Omaha, the Panthers are giving up just 52.4 points per game and have five wins. The two losses were really, truly ones they gave away. UNI found some consistency on the defensive end and it led to a lot of other things falling into place… most notably, wins.
WBR: With five games to go in conference play, where do you expect the Panthers to finish? Do you see them finishing ahead of Creighton, Indiana State or Wichita State?
CT: No. All three of those teams are two games up and will be extra careful not to give one up considering a conference title is on the line. UNI has a relatively easy road to the finish line, but I don’t see them making up enough ground to sneak into the top three. It’s currently a tie for fourth with Evansville, which has a much more difficult finish to the MVC season, and fourth and fifth place could very well be decided when Illinois State comes to Cedar Falls for the regular season finale. Of course, if that’s the case, it wouldn’t really matter as a rematch would be coming on Friday in St. Louis.
*There should really be a disclaimer on all this predicting stuff because it’s impossible to do for this league this year.*
WBR: Who has stepped up their play since the game in Omaha and who do the Bluejays need to look out for? If there was one guy for Creighton to focus on, who would that be?
CT: Matt Bohannon has been playing better of late. He’s a (redshirt) freshman who was a terrific shooter in high school, but seemingly had some trouble adjusting to the college game early in the year. Things have slowed down for him and it has led to perhaps the best that can happen for a shooter — shots are going in. Bohannon is 12 of 21 from the arc over the last six games.
If Creighton is going to focus on stopping one guy, it’s Marc Sonnen. He doesn’t shoot much other than 3’s, but you just can’t leave him alone. There are other Panthers that you can maybe take your chances with, but if Sonnen gets free, he can really hurt you.
WBR: How patient has Ben Jacobson been with the team this season? Was there a point where you thought he would lose his team after the early season struggles?
CT: At least publicly, Jacobson has been very patient when fans and others outside the program thought the sky was crashing down at any moment. But that’s just the kind of guy he is. He’s been a successful coach and isn’t going to change what he does because a few games didn’t go his way. The players understand that as well and the only thing I ever heard was that if they kept working hard and stayed together, everything would work out.
WBR: With Creighton’s struggles lately, will Northern Iowa build off of what other teams have done to slow them down or does the team plan differently not knowing how Creighton might react coming off of their two straight losses?
CT: I’m sure there a few things UNI has seen on film from the last few games that it hopes to take advantage of. But the fact that Creighton happens to be coming off two losses won’t affect much… they’re expecting Creighton wanting a win just as much as any other time. Defensively, I expect the plan to be very similar to the first meeting — a double team will come at Doug McDermott and they’ll take their chances with other players missing some shots. Jake Koch needs to play the same kind of game he did in Omaha. It was the most aggressive I’ve ever seen him and he really kept the Panthers hanging around in the first half.
WBR: There has been a lot of talk about the atmosphere by the Creighton student section and how it is hit and miss. UNI has their “Interlude Dance.” What kind of atmosphere do you expect at the game on Wednesday? Will the checkerboard layout work?
CT: The UNI student section, and crowd on the whole, has been mostly a miss this year. With that being said, the best turnout of the year came for the Wichita State game and it definitely had an influence. That will be the case again Wednesday as I believe it’s close to a sellout. Essentially, UNI can have a nice crowd if a top 25-caliber team is coming. Otherwise, it’s nothing to write home about. I do not have high hopes for the checkerboard layout. I predict that it will be noticeable, but there will be too many who didn’t get it or didn’t want to participate to make it really work. But with most tickets already gone and people knowing where they’re going to be, maybe I’ll be surprised.
WBR: What do you think are the Valley’s chances with NCAA bids? If Creighton and Wichita State go back to winning and Indiana State continues their great play, does the conference deserve three bids?
CT: I do think three bids is an excellent possibility. As long as those three teams don’t lose to anybody but each other, I’d say three bids should be the case because of what the RPI looks like and some good non-conference wins (which are carrying the Indiana State resume right now). Whether they can avoid an upset and what happens in St. Louis remains to be seen, and there isn’t a ton of room for error (although Creighton is the most safe of the three).
WBR: What is your final prediction? What will UNI need to do to keep Creighton from stealing a victory on the road?
CT: I think UNI can pick up a big win. Prediction: UNI 72, Creighton 67. The Panthers have undoubtedly been better at home and, remember, this is a team picked to finish third before the season and is loaded with experience. It took much longer than expected, but they’re playing like the team we thought they would be. Of course, Creighton is a good team as well, but maybe a little doubt is starting to creep in — not something UNI can count on, but it’s a possibility heading into what will be a tough environment. Either way, I expect another close game. I’d bet on the video of Anthony James’ buzzer beater from last year to be played just before the starting lineups.