I had very minimal knowledge of the CIT when I first heard of the Jays’ potential involvement when I was in the catacombs of the ScottTrade Center during Arch Madness, talking with other members of the media. Beyond Bradley’s involvement the year before, I knew next to nothing. But my first instinct was to be dubious. I completely understood why coaches and players would want to continue playing — why wouldn’t they? Given the choice between playing a pickup game or playing a real game, it’s an easy decision. But as fans, why would we care to pay money to watch a fourth-tier tournament?
You’re not going to find any more hard-core Creighton fans than the five of us at White & Blue Review, yet only two of us went to last Tuesday’s game against South Dakota. That should tell you something. Despite what Travis Justice would have you believe on his postgame call-in show, it is possible to be a die-hard fan and not be interested in this tourney. Another consideration, and don’t discount this: people with families can plan around “scheduled” games, and they do for regular season tilts because they know when the games will be played. Whether its NIT or CIT, however, when you find out about a game two days before its played often times you’re already committed into other plans. People whose jobs revolve around sports forget that sometimes, I think.
For a single guy like me, its easier to call a few buddies, simply buy tickets last-minute, and show up. That’s what I did last week and this week. But still, the tourney is a huge disappointment at the end of a hugely disappointing season, and I’ve heard from tons of folks who went to every home game, watched every televised road game, and even ponied up for the webcast of non-televised road games…yet did not have any interest in going to these CIT games. So be disappointed if you must that Creighton went from 13,000+ to 3,800 in attendance. I choose to be surprised, and thrilled, that even that many came out.
Had it not been for the games being played at the Civic, with the whole nostalgia angle being played up supremely by Creighton’s marketing team, I might have wavered a bit on going to both games. But I was instead rather excited for the games. However, my legs are suffering from jet lag today, because they fell into a slumber last night at the game due to having to sit next to a freaking giant human being in the cramped seats of the Civic — and were then consequently up all night while the rest of me slept. Those seats may indeed be wider than the ones at the Qwest, Patrick, but that’s math. Real life tells me they’re not. My feet and legs are never cramped and on the verge of falling asleep during a game at the Q, and I never feel the urge to get up and stretch during a game there. In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason people stood to cheer more often at Civic games is not because they were better fans, but because they had more elbow room if they did so. Jeez.
With that said, I’d forgotten how easy it is to heckle opposing players and coaches in that building. Just as last week, we were in section 53 behind the visitor’s bench, but unlike last week, the opposing coach was demonstrative, boisterous and worthy of heckling. He was also wearing what may well have been the most formal suit I’ve ever personally seen a coach wear. It’s possible one would classify it as a morning coat. But that wasn’t the funniest part. It was also enormous, reminding me of the classic SNL sketch where Rich Hall makes fun of the Talking Heads (specifically David Byrne) by wearing a giant suit and singing a mock version of “Once in a Lifetime.” You’ve heard of the old nursery rhyme about The Old Woman In The Shoe, and the entire family that lived inside? Well, an entire family could well have lived in that coach’s suit. I overheard a guy behind us jokingly say, “Clearly he didn’t get the memo that Creighton hoops is a lounge act these days. We’ve been relegated to the Tick-Tock Inn instead of the main room. Pretty sure he could coach in a track suit and saved his formal wear for the steakhouse after the game…” As for the guys in my row, we called him Big Suit. As in “Sit down, Big Suit!!” or “Way to coach’em up Big Suit!” or “(redacted for family audiences)”. At one point late in the game, the coach turned around and acknowledged his hecklers, which led to a nice round of applause.
Note that we heckled because we loved. Its also worth noting that his team played hard, and when Anthony Johnson came out of the game in the final minute, the crew in Section 53 behind their bench applauded his effort. The senior lived up to his reputation as a big dude, causing all kinds of trouble for Kenny Lawson in the paint while recording a 19-point, 7-rebound, 4 block line.
The game itself was “ugly,” as Paul Liberty called it afterwards, but I think the argument can be made that the Jays played pretty well again. Something about the Civic has seemed to bring out a defensive intensity we haven’t seen from this group of players before. Particularly impressive was their work on Mike Evanovich, who went off for 31 points in Fairfield’s comeback win last week at George Mason, but who was held scoreless until a three-pointer in the final minute. The Jays not only denied him good looks, they denied him shots period, as he attempted just three shots.
Creighton’s Justin Carter once again did his damnedest to make sure his career didn’t end in a loss, leading the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It was the third consecutive game Carter grabbed double-digit rebounds. Why is that a big deal? Because its never happened before in the Dana Altman Era. The last time it happened at Creighton was in the deepest depths of the Rick Johnson Era, the winter of 1994, when Nate King did it.
However, the offensive fireworks that were on display the previous week against South Dakota were otherwise absent. Antoine Young had 11 points, but needed 14 shot attempts to make four buckets. Kenny Lawson scored 17, but was 7-14 from the floor. Ethan Wragge was 1-4 from three-point range. Josh Jones was 2-4 from deep.
But on a night when the shots weren’t falling (they shot just 40% for the game), Creighton did the other things needed to win. They defended (holding Fairfield to just 33% from the floor), rebounded (besting Fairfield 41-35 on the glass) and made their free-throws (18-21 from the line). They had 14 assists on 24 made baskets, with Antoine dishing out five on his own. It took 33 games, but Creighton is finally playing like the team many thought they would be back in November. Hey, better late than never, right?
Fairfield is a good team, make no mistake, so the Jays performance shouldn’t ring hollow like their early-season mastery over teams like Houston Baptist and Savannah State did. Of Fairfield’s ten losses coming in, three were to Siena, winners of the MAAC and pre-NCAA Tournament darlings, and another was to Maryland, who came one buzzer-beater short of the Sweet 16. A MAAC Championship Game loss to Siena on Siena’s home court was all that stood between them and the Big Dance. I’m frankly not sure why they weren’t in the NIT instead of the CIT.
So maybe there is something to be gained from the CIT. Perhaps the extra practice time and extra games really have been beneficial to the young players. We’ll find out for sure Wednesday night when the Jays try to win just their third road game of the year, in a place where they were blown out in February. They’ll travel to Springfield to take on Missouri State, with a chance to show if their solid play the last two games is an aberration or cause for hope for next year.