I’m cheap. So most Saturday mornings, I go eat breakfast at Hy-Vee because I can read the paper for free while I eat my sausage and cheese omelet (which isn’t even technically on the menu, but which they make just for me because I’m just that awesome). And I chat with the retired folks at the other tables frequently while waiting for that omelet. One of them said to me this Saturday, “Son, what the Sam Hell are you on thinking Creighton can win today?”
Wait, spending eight bucks just to read the paper for free? Did I say I’m cheap? By “cheap” I meant “stupid.” Not because I picked Creighton to win, but because I just realized I spend eight bucks on the food to get out of spending 50 cents to buy a paper. You bet.
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Dayton, ranked 21st in the polls and winners of 20 straight at home, against a Jays team missing three frontcourt players? Seemed to most people that a 10 or 15 point loss was in the offing. But Creighton came out using the same strategy they used so efficiently a year ago in their victory, a strategy I hoped they would go back to because I really believed it would work. Lo and behold, they went back to it, and it worked!
Well, for the first 20 minutes, anyway. Packing a zone around the interior and forcing a bad jump-shooting team to shoot jump shots only works if that team misses the jump shots you’re making them take. When Dayton was shooting 4-15 from deep and 43% overall in the first half, the strategy seemed genius. When they started making shots in the second half, suddenly the gamble didn’t look so great. But that defensive strategy gave the Jays a great chance to win, even if the final score wound up being close to what the “realistic” prognosticators said it would be.
As an underdog on the road, its good strategy to aim to keep it close and then hope you can make some plays down the stretch. The Jays kept it close, but they just didn’t make the plays in the final minutes. How many of you thought THAT is what we’d be upset about today? Not many, I’d guess.
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If you believed coming in that Dayton is a legit Top 20 team, and will be that way all year, you’ve got to be encouraged that, for 38 minutes on their home court, the Jays were essentially their equal. And that for 20 minutes, perhaps more, the Jays were the more aggressive, tougher team, getting seemingly every loose ball and every tough rebound.
Yes, they didn’t close the deal. Yes, this is now two consecutive “real” games where Creighton had leads on good teams in big games but failed to win. But this was different. In the last couple of years when Creighton blew leads or failed to win big games, it was often because they weren’t as tough as the opponent. On Saturday, it really seemed like the Jays controlled the tempo, were tougher than Dayton, and were more aggressive. WITHOUT perhaps the player most of us considered to be the biggest component in accomplishing those things, Justin Carter.
Short term, you’re right to be upset about not winning a game that was winnable. Big picture, this is a game that offers a heckuva lot to be excited about going forward.
Wayne Runnels, in his first game as a Jay, showed that the hype was not, in fact, hype. The guy has a motor that never stops, plays bigger than his 6’6″ size and simply WANTS the rebound more than anyone else on the court. If that sounds a lot like Ben Walker that’s because it does. I often wondered in 1999 and 2000 what it might be like to have two Walkers. When Carter comes back from his injury, we may find out, albeit nine years later.
Two other newcomers also impressed. JuCo Darryl Ashford showed some fantastic moves around the basket, and had a stretch in the first half where he seemed like the best player on the team. And Ethan Wragge hit three shots from downtown in four attempts in his first college game, on the road as a true freshman. All three newcomers with significant minutes scored in double figures, and Runnels nearly got a double-double. Impressive stuff.
Among the returning players, P’Allen Stinnett had a “quiet” 18 points, which often can happen with scorers but heretofore was not believed to be possible from P. His overall line: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 5-5 from the charity stripe is impressive enough. Keeping his cool after a series of questionable calls went against him was moreso.
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Defense and Rebounding were the worries after the first exhibition game. In the first half, we saw a glimpse of what this team is capable of. Without perhaps their best rebounder, they were even on the boards against a bigger team in a tough road venue, they gave up very few easy looks, and had a lead at the break. By the end of the game, they’d fallen behind on the boards by 6 and given up a few open looks, but played admirably in both aspects of the game.
For the first of 29 games, its hard not be encouraged. Dana Altman teams always play their best ball in February and March. How good will this team be by then? I’m excited to find out.
You bet.