[dropcap]Opening[/dropcap] Weekend continues with a matchup against Chicago State, a team the Jays beat by 32 a year ago. The Cougars went on to finish 13-19, which amazingly was their best record since 2008-09 when they had a 19-13 record — their first winning season since 1985 and second total since moving to D1 in ’84.
They come to Omaha by way of Tempe, after losing 86-50 to Arizona State on Friday night. They kept the game relatively close for a while, and in fact, trailed 16-15 ten minutes into the game. A 13-0 Sun Devil run began to put the game away, and ASU led 40-28 at the half. The Sun Devils steadily built the lead in the second half and ran away late, with another big run — this time 17-0 — putting things away for good.
Eight lettermen return from last year’s squad, but just one starter. That starter is second-leading scorer Clarke Rosenberg, a 6’4″ senior point guard, who averaged 14.0 points, 2.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds a game a year ago. He was right on average in their game at Creighton last December, scoring 14 points on 5-8 shooting, though he struggled running the offense, dishing out just one assist while turning it over three times. Friday night at Arizona State, Rosenberg led the team with 20 points, and was the only player to score in double figures. He was also the only player to make a three-pointer; they were 3-20 as a team, and Rosenberg was 3-7.
Faced with replacing four starters to surround Rosenberg, the Cougars went heavy on the JuCo route during the offseason. The Cougars added JuCo transfers Devin Foster (6’4″, 185 lb. guard), Jesse Tesmer (6’8″, 225 lb. forward), Jawad Adekoya (6’6″, 190 lb. guard) and Kieran Woods (6’2″, 200 lb. guard). They also add four true freshmen: Joshua Meier, Anthony Glover, Montana Byrd, and Elijah Robertson.
Among the freshmen, Glover probably has the most potential. Playing for St. John’s Jesuit in Ohio, he led them to a state runner-up finish in Division 1 with 17.6 points, 3.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds a game. Meier stood out the most on Friday night, however, scoring nine points with five rebounds in a starting role.
The Cougars are better than Central Arkansas, but not good enough to walk out of Omaha with a win barring something catastrophic. This should be another tune-up for the first real challenge of the season on Wednesday when Oklahoma comes to town — we’ll know a heckuva lot more about this team’s progress and prognosis after that one than we will after Sunday afternoon, which figures to be another 20+ point win.
Quick Hits on the Cougars: Chicago State shot just 22% in the second half (7-31), including a ghastly 1-10 from three-point range on Friday night … They did manage 15 offensive rebounds off of all those misses, so there’s that … Traevon Palmer and Joshua Meier, both starters, fouled out of Friday night’s game … Nine players saw 13 or more minutes on Friday night, and three others played at least six minutes, so fatigue shouldn’t be an issue on Sunday despite the travel.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton has won 19 straight home games, a streak that began on Feb. 19, 2013 vs. Southern Illinois, which is the longest streak since moving into the Qwest Center/CenturyLink. Here’s the crazy thing, though: Creighton has not trailed at any point in the second half during that home win streak, winning 15 of the 18 games by double-digits … Of the 20 NBA teams in action on Friday, only five teams scored 104 or more points, which is a total Creighton surpassed. Additionally, of the same 10 NBA games on Friday night, Creighton had a larger attendance than all but four (Celtics, Knicks, Thunder, Lakers) of them … If you’re curious, Creighton has not scored 100 points in consecutive games since scoring 104 at Idaho State on Jan. 29, 1966, then dropping 115 points on Memphis four days later.
The Series: Creighton and Chicago State have played three times, with the Jays winning all three. Two of those three meetings have come in Greg McDermott’s four seasons at Creighton; he’s 4-1 overall against CSU, compiling a 1-1 record against them at Northern Iowa and a 1-0 record at Iowa State to go with his two wins over them at Creighton.
The Last Time They Played: Last December 29, Creighton defeated Chicago State 90-58 in Omaha. Notably, Zach Hanson had a big game against the Cougars, scoring nine points with two rebounds and two blocks while going 4-4 from the field, all in just nine minutes of action.
Gratuitous Linkage: The State Press has a terrific “By The Numbers” breakdown of Friday’s game, including this rather interesting nugget:
“30 total team fouls committed by Chicago State, which ran a hyper-aggressive full-court press for the majority of the first half, which left them prone to cheap fouls and easy looks for ASU behind the arc. The Sun Devils would find themselves in the bonus in both halves after the Cougars would commit more than the permitted 10 fouls each half.”
If they run that style of defense against Creighton…there’s a very good chance we’ll be looking at a second straight game of 100+ points for the Jays. Cheap fouls and easy looks from behind the arc? Are you serious?
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On November 16, 2008, Steve Alford returned to Omaha with his New Mexico Lobos for the season opener, and the bombastic former SMS coach was once again bested by Dana Altman’s Bluejays. This time, Alford’s team had a nine-point lead with 3:39 remaining, and it still wasn’t enough to escape Omaha with a win — the Jays went on a torrid 19-3 run to end the game and get the win, 82-75.
P’Allen Stinnett finished with 30 points, including back-to-back three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The first one gave Creighton the lead at 73-72, and the second one expanded it to 76-72 with 43 seconds remaining. Then Stinnett, Woodfox, and Dotzler made two free throws apiece to seal the win.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: Game 2, Song 2.
The Bottom Line: Jays roll big, and get ready for the Sooners.
Jays 91, Chicago State 65