Sometimes its tougher to play in a sparsely attended gym than it is to play in front of thousands of hostile crazies. As a player, it has to be amusing to shut up a hostile crowd by playing well, and you can feed off of their energy even if its directed against you. But in a mostly empty arena, its got to be tough to summon up the energy to play a high-level Division 1 hoops game when it feels more like a pickup game at the YMCA. Look at recent years when the Jays have played games in front of tiny crowds — the trips to Evansville in the middle part of this decade, the 2006 game in Terre Haute that conflicted with a Colts playoff game and was played in front of maybe 1500 souls — and you find one common thread. A low-intensity game, leading to some upset losses.
Which brings us to today, when a massive blizzard/snownami/whatever will smash into Peoria. 14 to 22 inches of snow are expected in their fine metropolis, followed by winds and all sorts of nastiness. The game will be played in the middle of the afternoon, since both teams and the officials are there, but they want to try and get out before the really heavy stuff comes — otherwise, they may be spending a couple of extra days in Peoria. How many fans will show up to watch an 0-11 Bradley Braves team play in a snowstorm at 3PM on a Tuesday?
We’ll find out, because that’s the exact scenario. The Braves have lost 16 of their last 18 games, and all 11 MVC contests. That eleven-game losing streak is the second longest in their proud history, and the most since they lost 14 in a row back in the 1954-55 season. Its not likely that the Braves will go 0-18 in league play, so they’re going to bite someone — could it be Creighton tonight?
Probably not. As we saw in the game in Omaha, the Braves are really Andrew Warren, and as he goes, they go. The MVC’s leading scorer struggled in the first half here, making 1-6 from the floor for four points; his lack of offensive production wasn’t their only problem, but it didn’t help. Creighton shot lights out, making 60% of their shots and had 12 assists on 18 made baskets in the first half, to go along with 7-12 from behind the arc. The Jays led 49-24 at the half.
In the second half, Warren got untracked, and it opened up things for other players. He scored 18 second half points, going 8-13 from the floor. Dyricus Simms-Edwards was the primary beneficiary of the extra attention being paid to Warren, scoring a career high 19 points and 10 in the second half alone. Bradley outscored the Jays 44-32 after halftime, even though the Jays made a higher percentage of their shots than Bradley in the second half (56% to 51%). How did this happen? The short answer is turnovers. Creighton had 12 second half turnovers, which took away scoring opportunities for them and gave Bradley extra possessions. Thus, the Braves were 18-35 from the floor, while the Bluejays were 9-16.
So which half of basketball are we more likely to see today? The first half, where Creighton shot lights out against the Braves’ shoddy defense, beat them up on the glass, moved the ball extraordinarily well (12 assists on 18 baskets), and only had three turnovers? Or the second half, where Creighton still shot pretty well, but was merely even on the boards and turned it over 12 times?
My guess is somewhere in the middle. The Jays won’t shoot that well again, particularly on the road, but they also won’t turn it over as much. With the way Greg McDermott and staff scheme to take away what worked for a team in their first meeting, you can bet Simms-Edwards won’t score 19 again — he averages 7.7 a game — and without that second scoring option, the Braves have to hope Warren can score 30+. Even that might not be enough. Especially since Warren wrenched his neck in Saturday’s game against Wichita State and will probably not be at 100% today.
At the end of the afternoon, Bradley is looking at their 12th consecutive loss, and the Jays will be 7-5 in the MVC and 15-9 overall.
About the Braves: Bradley has played this season shorthanded due to the medical conditions of preseason all-conference selections Taylor Brown (cardiac testing) and Sam Maniscalco (ankle) and the team’s third preseason All-MVC pick, senior guard Andrew Warren, went down with a neck injury with just under 4 minutes remaining Sunday at Wichita State … Warren, who leads The Valley in scoring at 18.9 points per game, is expected to play Tuesday … Bradley’s current 5-game home losing streak is the team’s longest since a 6-game home slide from Feb. 8-Dec. 12, 1993 … The Braves are 33-51 (.393) in January under Jim Les, while playing 51 of those 84 games without the likes of Phillip Gilbert (missed nine January games due to injury), Jeremy Crouch (eight), Daniel Ruffin (six) Will Egolf (eight), Andrew Warren (eight), Dodie Dunson (10), Dyricus Simms-Edwards (two), Taylor Brown (10) and Sam Maniscalco (10) — that’s 71 individual games missed … Unfortunately, today is February 1 and February has been Les’ winningest month (36-27) and is second only to November by percentage (.571) … Not coincidentally, the Braves have been without the above nine players for just 20 February games due to injury: Warren (11), Egolf (eight), Dunson (nine) — 28 individual games missed — though Brown and Maniscalco will not return this season.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: After claiming road wins at Illinois State (Dec. 29) and Southern Illinois (Jan. 7) earlier this season, Creighton will look for history on Tuesday night at Bradley: a victory in Peoria would mark the first time in 28 attempts that Creighton has played at, and won, at all three of those Illinois schools in the same season … This is the fourth time that Creighton has won its first two games in Illinois, but the Jays lost its third such game while attempting to complete the sweep in 2000, 2003 and 2004 … Creighton is looking to sweep the regular-season series against Bradley for the seventh time since 2001-02. Last year Creighton won both regular-season meetings, only to drop a Valley Tournament quarterfinal match-up against the Braves … Creighton is currently 6-5 in the MVC as it enters the 12th game of the league slate. This will be the 16th straight season that Creighton has had a league record of .500 or better after 12 games, and each of the previous 15 campaigns the Jays would also go .500 or better in its final six contests as well … Trend-seekers take note. Creighton lost its first three games away from home (Iowa State, Northwestern, Nebraska), won its next three (Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Evansville), and has lost its most recent three (Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa).
The Last Time They Played: Josh Jones matched his career-high with 14 points as Creighton beat Bradley, 81-68, on January 19 of this year. Jones was one of five Bluejays in double-figures for Creighton, which used a 13-2 run to build a 23-12 lead and was never seriously threatened. Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique each had 17 points for the victors, while Jones had 14, Darryl Ashford had 11 points and Kenny Lawson Jr. added 10.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Bradley by a narrow 42-40 margin. Much of that difference has been made up in the past 10 years, as the Jays have won 19 of the past 23 meetings. Creighton is 15-24 in Peoria vs. Bradley all-time, but have won at Carver Arena in seven of the past nine seasons.
In the last 31 meetings between the schools, Creighton is 15-1 when holding Bradley to 65 points or less but 7-8 when it allows more than 65 points. Creighton has also won the last 23 meetings when it scores 70 points or more against BU.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott is 7-7 all-time against Bradley (1-5 in Peoria) and 5-7 against Jim Les.
Gratuitous Linkage: Shameless self promotion time! Check out our Plays of the Month for January, including a cavalcade of dazzling dunks and marvelous jump shots!
Out of Context Simpsons quote: “Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They’re about to announce the lottery numbers.” -Homer Simpson
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On February 1, 2000, Ryan Sears scored a then-career high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 5-for-12 from behind the three-point arc and Kyle Korver added nine points off the bench — but it wasn’t enough as the Bluejays suffered a 74-70 overtime loss at Drake.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: With a name like Snow on a day like this, I couldn’t resist. I haven’t heard, or seen, this video, in ages and it is now stuck in my head. Please take my apologies for getting this song stuck in your head.
The Bottom Line: Creighton wins in a low-energy, strange environment in a rare matinee game.
Jays 65, Bradley 54