Creighton had the Bears on the ropes in their first meeting — down 29-20 at the half — and then, as has been their disturbing pattern all season long, they allowed their opponent to dominate the final stanza. It was the first home game I’d missed since the Missouri State game the year before, but as the guys who used my tickets explained to me via text message during the second half, it was a series of virtual layup drills most of the second half as the Jays failed to guard the Bears’ high screen plays.
I may not have seen it live that night — the hospital back home in Iowa where my mom was getting knee replacement surgery done did not have satellite — but since Dana Altman’s teams had trouble guarding the Bears’ high screens in all three games last year, I knew exactly what my friends were describing. Remember the complete and utter destruction handed down to the Jays last year in Springfield? If you do, you remember those blasted high screens well.
Watching the game film later that week upon returning to Omaha confirmed what I assumed: the Bears had made the Jays look foolish again with their screens. Given that its happened time after time against the Bears, that’s really the big question coming into Saturday — can the Jays fight through those screens and force the Bears to try and beat them with three-pointers instead of layups? More specifically, can Antoine Young, who time after time went under the screen and opened driving lanes for his counterpart, Nafis Ricks, figure a way to stop that from happening?
Ricks is a terrific player, ranking second in the MVC with 4.3 assists per game and 82 overall assists while ranking third with a 2.00 assist/turnover ratio. And he’s met or surpassed those numbers each time he’s played Creighton. In last year’s game in Omaha, he had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and went 10-12 from the free throw line. In the regular season matchup in Springfield, he had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, and in the CIT matchup in Springfield, he had 15 points, 5 assists and 3 blocks. And in the first game this year, he had 10 points and 5 assists.
Young has been better, overall — he leads the MVC with 94 assists and a 2.47 assist/turnover ratio, and with 4.7 assists per game — but Ricks has gotten the better of him head-to-head. Hopefully for the Jays, that changes today, although the oddsmakes don’t think so, as they’ve made the Jays a 10.5 underdog.
In front of a national TV audience on ESPN2HD, and in a nice late-afternoon time slot, there’s no better time than to win a game they aren’t expected to. If Young can neutralize Ricks, if Echenique plays with a chip on his shoulder after getting worked by the skinnier — and less talented — Will Creekmore earlier this month, and if their hot shooting from Wednesday’s first half carries over, there’s a chance. For 20 minutes in Omaha, the Jays outplayed the Bears. To win today, it will take a full 40.
About the Bears: Missouri State received 25 votes in this week’s AP Top 25, which ties the Bears for No. 37 in the national rankings, marking the second straight week the Bears have received poll recognition. MSU also earned 8 points in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll to tie for 34th … Missouri State (36) is the top MVC squad in Monday’s official NCAA RPI rankings. Wichita State (43) and UNI (74) are also in the Top 100, while Creighton is No. 121 … For the second week in a row, Kyle Weems is this week’s Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. He was 12-for-14 from the field in last Sundays win over Bradley at Carver Arena in Peoria and scored 27 points to supplement his 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. He also was 2-for-2 from three-point range in that game. With 10 points at Indiana State on Wednesday, Weems has now scored in double figures in 15 consecutive ball games … Adam Leonard has made at least one three-point fi eld goal in 34 straight ball games. This season, he has multiple treys in 16-of-19 games and has hit three or more on seven occasions. He ranks fourth among all active Division I players in career treys with 327 … The Bears are 7-1 in MVC play, despite playing five of their first eight conference games on the road. MSU is 3-0 at JQH Arena this season in league games and has won 18 straight overall at “The Q” — the 8th longest active home win streak in the nation.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Junior point guard Antoine Young had a career-high with nine assists last Sunday at Indiana State, then surpassed that with 10 assists in Wednesday’s win over Bradley. Young is Creighton’s first player with consecutive games of nine or more assists since Edward St. Fleur had nine in games on both Jan. 16 and Jan. 18, 1997 … Creighton and Missouri State met three times last year, thanks to a semifinal match-up in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. That marked the seventh time in the previous 15 seasons that the teams have had three meetings, thanks to a plethora of MVC Tournament match-ups in that same span … Oddly enough, in his five years at Northern Iowa, Greg McDermott faced Missouri State 13 times, squaring off in three MVC Tourney games … In eight career games against Missouri State, Kaleb Korver has never made a three-pointer … Josh Jones tied his career-high with 14 points (set last season) on Wednesday against Bradley, and more than doubled his previous season best of six points. Jones entered the evening just 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from long-range in the first 19 games of the year … Creighton’s 49-25 lead at halftime on Wednesday was its largest halftime lead at Qwest Center Omaha since a 47-20 advantage over Nebraska on Nov. 24, 2007 … Creighton’s 49 points in the first half was its most at Qwest Center Omaha by intermission since Houston Baptist also had 49 on Dec. 17, 2007 … Kenny Lawson is six rebounds shy of moving into the Top Ten in school history.
The Last Time They Played: Missouri State outscored host Creighton 47-26 in the second half, overcoming a 29-20 halftime deficit, to post a 67-55 win in Omaha on January 4. The first half featured six ties and seven lead changes before Creighton closed the first half on a 10-0 run over the final 3:43 of the first half.
After Creighton scored on a Doug McDermott bucket to start the second half, Missouri State would steadily chip away into the Bluejay lead. A McDermott trey with 15:29 left put CU up 40-33, but MSU would hold the Jays without a field goal for nearly nine minutes while embarking on a 19-4 run. Creighton got no closer than 10 points in the final two minutes against an MSU team that shot 68 percent from the field in the second half (17-25) and 53.2 percent overall.
The Series: Creighton has won eight of the last 11 meetings to claim a 30-25 lead over Missouri State in the series, but Missouri State is 17-7 all-time in Springfield against the Jays. Creighton is 1-2 all-time at JQH Arena, falling twice there last season.
Creighton has won 23 of the last 33 games with Missouri State, but nine of the last 14 Bluejay wins in the series have been by six points or less. Greg McDermott is 6-8 against Missouri State, including a 79-74 double-overtime victory over the Bears to win the 2004 MVC Tournament. He is 0-1 against Cuonzo Martin.
Gratuitous Linkage: Greg and Doug McDermott are featured in the current issue of Sports Illustrated, in an article entitled “Paternal Instinct.” In the piece, Sports Illustrated writer Luke Winn calls them “the most surprising father-son combination in Division I.”
Other than short pieces in the various notecard sections of the magazine over the years, to the best of my recollection the only other time the Jays had a feature about them in SI was in 1974 when the Travelin’ Jays got a two-page spread.
Out of Context Simpsons quote: “Maybe, just once, someone will call me ‘Sir’ without adding, ‘You’re making a scene.'” – Homer Simpson
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On January 22, 2002, Brody Deren scored 16 points as Creighton, which led from start to finish, beat Wichita State 67-55 in Wichita. Creighton (12-5, 7-1 Missouri Valley) put the Shockers away with a 13-4 run that made it 57-46 with 5:08 remaining. Reserve Ismael Caro led the surge with four points on a basket and a pair of free throws.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: Because I can, that’s why.
The Bottom Line: Missouri State, coming off a 70-69 loss to Indiana State on Wednesday, is going to be ready for this one. It will take a full 40 minutes of inspired, focused play for the Jays to pull off the upset. I hope they do it, and I will be the first to raise a congratulatory beverage if they do. Hard to predict a win in this one, however.
Missouri State 72, Creighton 60