Relaxed. Mellow. Calm. In past seasons, Creighton’s ESPNU BracketBusters game instilled an atmosphere quite contradictory to these adjectives. Most years, the Bluejays are battling for the purported big-name win over a fellow “mid-major” basketball program, one that supposedly would help improve the winner’s chance of securing a bid to the Big Dance. Thus, some level of do-or-die mentality no doubt enters the fans’ collective mindset, knowing a late-season loss could in fact bust a bracket.
But the value of such success in the made-for-TV event (unless your season’s gone south; then, you play only for a home crowd and radio broadcast listeners) is mythical, at least as far as Creighton’s concerned. The Jays have only secured one at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since Dana Altman took over as head coach, and that was before the birth of the BracketBusters weekend. And last season, a convincing home-court win against George Mason in the event wasn’t enough to catapult Creighton (with 26 pre-Selection Sunday wins) into the field of 65.
So last night, when the Bluejays hosted fellow Jesuit university Loyola Chicago at Qwest Center Omaha, there was a decidedly different aura surrounding the half-full sections about 10 minutes before the opening tip. Battling dinner crowds and exiting cars from the state wrestling tournament and the home and garden show at the Qwest convention center, thousands of Jays fans sauntered to their seats with a much more laid back gait. People were excited, sure; but excited like one gets excited for an evening out that’s been planned for sometime, regardless of what is actually going on. Savvy CU fans have known for quite awhile this game would be played on a Saturday evening, something that hasn’t happened yet this season. It was bound to be an event, even if the Bluejays didn’t cooperate.
And while the Jays haven’t cooperated for most of the season — with fans’ expectations, with no doubt their own expectations, and likely those of the coaching staff as well — they played host to a fun and carefree atmosphere Saturday night. The Bluejays would lead for the first time thanks to a 3-pointer by Kenny Lawson at the 14:44 mark, and they wouldn’t trail the rest of the evening. Sure, CU gave up a 10-point lead with 4 minutes to play in the first half and took just a 1-point cushion into the locker room at intermission, but a blowout seemed inevitable.
In fact, the only people in the Qwest Center who seemed nervous, aside from the folks who turned in less than exceptional fan shoot-out efforts, were new starters Ethan Wragge and Josh Jones. Taking the spots of Casey Harriman and Darryl Ashford, respectively, the two freshmen who have given the team a boost in recent weeks were rewarded with a spot in the opening lineup.
The lineup looked a little different in the low post early in the game, too, after Lawson picked up a quick foul and then sat on the bench for three minutes of game time. But when he returned, the junior — Creighton’s only hope for an All-MVC nod — made the most of his minutes. Starting with the 3-pointer, Lawson went on to score 19 points and grab 10 rebounds, posting his fifth career double-double. The Ramblers of Loyola tried to take the ball right at Lawson when he was in the low post, attempting to draw fouls and limit his impact on the game. But it was Lawson who inflicted the most damage to Loyola’s upset hopes.
He was not without help, however. Cavel Witter came off the bench to score 12 points on perfect shooting (4-4 from the field, including 2-2 from long range; 2-2 from the free throw line), and threw in one sick dribbling technique that nearly ruptured the ligaments in two Ramblers defenders’ knees. Justin Carter (8 points, 9 rebounds), Antoine Young (9 points), Ashford (9 points), and Harriman (8 points) were each a basket or some free throws away from scoring in double figures. And in all, the efforts both on offense and defense were fairly even throughout the Creighton lineup.
It looked like the team was relaxed. Sure, maybe that was due to the limited importance of this game in the always-interesting “big scheme of things.” And it seemed the crowd was into the action, if only from the standpoint that the folks were happy to see some dunks and be out on a Saturday night amongst friends and inebriated strangers. But during a season when pressure mounted immediately following a road loss at Dayton and became suffocating as the hopes for another 20-win season and guaranteed post-season play spiraled downward, the 20-point win against Loyola felt good.
Do you know what doesn’t feel good, except for maybe last year? A trip to Carbondale. That’s the reality facing the Bluejays now, with one week to play in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season. Next Saturday sees Senior Day festivities in Omaha, but Tuesday night finds the Bluejays playing the Salukis at SIU Arena during the dawgs’ Senior Night. It isn’t like Bryan Mullins and Darren Brooks and Kent Williams are saying so long, giving the Bluejays no shot; in fact, SIU is a very pedestrian 8-9 in conference home games the past two years. But the atmosphere won’t be as warm and friendly as during Creighton’s win against the Ramblers.
Still, all things considered, the BracketBusters win probably helped a bit with the Bluejays’ confidence level, which no doubt faded a bit after losing three of their past four. And confidence is an important attribute for teams to possess as they head toward all-or-nothing situations in their conference tournament. It is too early to know if this confidence boost will balloon into a late-season surge toward robbing Northern Iowa or another Valley team of the automatic bid to the Big Dance, or burst quickly during an always-tough trip to Southern Illinois. But two freshmen took their spots in the starting lineup, something that for both will most likely become a regular tradition into the future. One junior continued his impressive play in the paint. And a fan base had a Saturday night out to just relax, have fun, and watch their team put together a blowout.