Everybody had tonight’s game in Terre Haute circled as one of the biggest of the year back in September when the schedule came out, didn’t they? Be honest.
Sure, Jays fans figured it would be a tough game — it always is at the Hulman Center, even when the Sycamores are not very good — but as the game to potentially decide the MVC title? Everybody thought that would be the March 2 home game against Wichita State. But slowly, steadily, the Sycamores have continued winning, refused to go away, and here we are on February 6 with them on the verge of making the stretch run a three-team race, with one game separating the leaders. All of a sudden, this isn’t just a tough road game, it’s one of the biggest games of the year.
Indiana State was picked to finish seventh in the league, and while some observers were more optimistic than that, being in contention for the regular season crown in February was not a possibility anyone seriously considered. And yet, a Sycamore victory tonight would move them into sole possession of second place, just one game behind Creighton.
Getting ahead of ourselves a bit, the Jays sit in first place at 9-2, and a win tonight would move them to 10-2, a full two games ahead of second-place Wichita State who dropped to 8-4 with their third straight loss last night. They’d also be three games ahead of third-place Indiana State (and in essence four games ahead thanks to a season sweep), who’d drop to 7-5 in the league with a loss. With six games to go, those aren’t insurmountable leads but they’re difficult to overcome.
This is the proverbial “fork in the road” game — after tonight’s game, the Valley race will either be wide open or essentially over. At 10-2, the Jays would be poised to run away with the league crown and hide. At 9-3, they’d have just a one-game lead over two opponents, and their margin for error in chasing an elusive regular season title would be zero.
There’s a lot riding on this one for both teams. A couple of weeks ago, Indiana State was a darkhorse pick by some to steal an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but after an overtime loss at Drake over the weekend, those hopes are shrinking — and a loss tonight would probably seal their NIT fate, outside of a run in St. Louis. Meanwhile, for the Jays this is their chance to finally, for once, run away with a league title. Despite all their success over the last 15+ years, despite all the 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths and MVC Tourney crowns and individual honors, they have just three regular season titles over that period — and just one was outright (2000-01). Their two best teams of the modern era (2002-03 and 2011-12) failed to win the regular season title. A win tonight gives them an opportunity to do something they frustratingly have not done much of — truly dominate the Valley and win an outright regular season title.
The first meeting a month ago in Omaha was a hard-fought game for 30 minutes, and indeed was tied at 51 with just over 10 minutes to play. Then a 16-2 run blew the game open, and the final 10 minutes were all Creighton in a 79-66 win. The Sycamores were successful in controlling the pace during the first half, and the 27-27 score at the break was indicative of that. A second-half explosion in which they scored 52 points turned the tempo in the Jays favor; Indiana State simply couldn’t keep pace offensively.
It will likely be a different story tonight in Terre Haute. The Hulman Center is a tough building to shoot in, as the Bluejays’ offensive numbers show. They average nearly TEN fewer points in games played in Terre Haute over the last decade — in the last ten games between the two teams played at the Hulman Center, Creighton averages 64.5 points. Meanwhile, over that same span, they’ve averaged 74.2 points in games played in Omaha. Last year was no different; in Omaha, Creighton won 75-49, but when the scene shifted to Terre Haute the score was 61-60. Even against the notorious slow-as-molasses pace Northern Iowa favors, the Jays managed to score more than they did in Terre Haute.
They figure to try to grind the game to a halt again, guarding the perimeter like a hawk and trying to stop big runs. On the season, the Sycamores are allowing teams to make just 30.4% of their threes attempted (96-of-316), which ranks third in the MVC behind Missouri State and Creighton. Twice this season they’ve shut out an opponent from behind the arc (Illinois State went 0-13 at home on January 23, and nationally-ranked Miami drew the collar in December at the Diamond Head Classic, going 0-15). In the first half in Omaha, they succeeded at that — Creighton was 3-9 from long range. But in the second half, the Jays got rolling, making 8-13 for 61%.
The Sycamores 68-55 on January 29 at Wichita State was ISU’s 12th this season in which they held an opponent to 63 points or less and earned the victory. They’re currently 12-2 on the season when holding an opponent under 63 points, and in the Greg Lansing Era the Sycamores are 38-3 when allowing less than 63 points to the opposition (including a 14-0 mark when holding teams to 53 or less).
I think that’s what we’re in for — a low-scoring game where every possession is huge, much like Creighton’s 61-60 win a year ago in Terre Haute. Buckle up.
Catching up with Sycamores: Preseason All-Valley pick Jake Odum (13.9 ppg., 4.4 apg., 1.5 spg.) leads the team in points, assists and steals and is third on the team in rebounds per game (4.5) … 41% of the Sycamores points have come from players not on the active roster a year ago … Manny Arop is a two-time MVC Newcomer Of The Week selection and is currently second on the team with a 12.9 ppg average while also pulling down 5.0 rebounds … Junior college transfer Dawon Cummings paced ISU with a career-high 16 points at Drake after scoring nine points in the road victory over nationally-ranked Wichita State … ISU averages 67.6 points per game while surrendering 65.1 points per contest … The Sycamores shoot 44.3 percent from the floor, 32.0% from three-point range and 70.7% at the line.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton is 16-0 when leading at half this season, while Indiana State is 9-1 when up at the break … Eighteen of the last 39 games between Creighton and Indiana State have been decided by six points or less. The teams have played a game decided by eight points or less in 18 of the previous 19 seasons (not including 2012-13) … The Sycamores have outrebounded Creighton just twice in the last 27 meetings; Not surprisingly, the Jays are 21-6 in those 27 games vs. the Sycamores.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week six times this season, matching the most by any player in one season in league history. McDermott now owns 11 career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Bradley great Hersey Hawkins (14) can top. His six honors this year tie Hawkins historic 1987-88 campaign for the most ever in a single-season. Including his seven MVC Newcomer of the Week honors in 2010-11, McDermott has won at least one weekly award from the MVC in 18 of 45 weeks since enrolling at Creighton.
The Last Time They Played: On January 5 in Omaha, neither team was able to build a substantial lead in a closely-contested, slow-paced first half. Indiana State used a 9-0 run to go up 27-21 late in the half, only to see CU score the final six points to go into the locker room deadlocked at 27-all. The second half was a different story, as the Jays outscored the Sycamores 52-39 en route to a big 79-66 win. Doug McDermott led all players with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Gregory Echenique dominated the paint and tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Also in double-figures with 13 points and nine assists was Austin Chatman.
The Series: Creighton owns a 53-24 record all-time against Indiana State and has won 24 of the last 30 games in the series. The Bluejays lead the series 18-16 in 34 previous meetings in Terre Haute, but are 3-5 in the past eight tries.
Greg McDermott is 12-4 in his career against Indiana State (4-1 at Creighton), including a 5-2 mark at Hulman Center, and he’s 4-1 against Greg Lansing.
Gratuitous Linkage: The Bluejays are the highest ranked team to take on the Sycamores at home since No. 12 Tulsa visited on February 2, 1985. So you can excuse them if they’re just slightly excited for this game. This is the promotional video for the game, and when I say it’s epic, I mean EPIC in all caps. I mean, let’s count the ways in which this video is hilarious.
1) Gratuitous mullet? Check.
2) Cut-off t-shirt to display the gun show? Check.
3) Eye black on the face even though he’s inside and the lighting in the Hulman Center is so dark no one could ever possibly need to shield their eyes from it? Check.
4) Cowboy boots, no socks, and shorts? Check.
5) Busting out the cowboy hat for just one segment, while not messing up the mullet in subsequent segments? Check.
6) Taking inspiration from Old Spice commercials? Check.
7) An exploding blimp using CGI effects costing an estimated $3.68, or roughly the cost of an Old Spice product? Check.
8) Actually running this on television, and not just on YouTube? Check. (True story. This has been running on WTWO in Terre Haute for over a week.)
I’m not above giving props to an opposing school when they produce something clearly superior to my alma mater. And this might be the best promotional video any Valley school has put out this year. You bet.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On February 6, 2002, Tyler McKinney two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to lift Creighton to a 64-63 victory over Indiana State in Terre Haute. The Jays led most of the way, but fell behind 63-62 when the Sycamores’ Matt Broermann hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds to play. They didn’t get a shot off after McKinney’s free throws, turning it over as time expired. Kyle Korver was the only Bluejay to score in double-figures, hitting 8-15 from the field and 4-8 from behind the arc for 20 points.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: As the mullet guy told us in the video above, it’s a Black Out at the Hulman Center tonight. So why fight it?
The Bottom Line: Another low-scoring, tightly-contested game, but Creighton wins and seizes control of the Valley.
Jays 68, Indiana State 62