When my brother was going to Northern Iowa in the early part of this decade, I would often go visit him in Cedar Falls, and those visits would sometimes include taking in a basketball game at the old UNI-Dome, where Greg McDermott was the coach of the Panthers. To say the environment in the dome was bad for basketball is like saying that mini donuts are delicious — its such an obvious observation, one scarcely need make it. Even when they drew a crowd in excess of 4,000, it was only occasionally rowdy and even on those rare occasions when it was rowdy, it was never intimidating.
As McDermott started winning (after my brother graduated, as he would tell you), that began to change. Three straight NCAA Tournaments will do that. And when they moved across the street into the McLeod Center under Coach Ben Jacobson, big games finally felt like big games — instead of the noise and the band being lost in the expanses of an indoor football stadium, it was contained in an arena. The atmosphere last year when Creighton played in Cedar Falls was decent — things got quite nuts as the Panthers began blowing the Jays out of the gym — but it was nothing like what the Jays will experience Wednesday night.
If any bad blood existed between the two programs before, it was barely perceptible. I wore Creighton gear to bars on The Hill, and for 2AM pizza at The Stine, and never so much as caught a wayward glance. These days, fans of the two-time MVC Champion Panthers have a dislike for Creighton now that the McDermott’s — Greg and Doug — are in Omaha, and the first opportunity for that to manifest itself in person will be Wednesday night.
Some Panther fans have taken to derisively calling Creighton “Northern Iowa West”, and with the extent of the ties, you can’t blame them. Greg McDermott played at UNI from 1984-88, scoring 1,033 career points to rank 29th in UNI history. He later took over as head coach at his alma mater from 2001-2006, reaching three NCAA Tournaments. His oldest son, Nick, is currently a student at Northern Iowa. Creighton assistant coach Darian DeVries played at Northern Iowa from 1994-98, and ranks 25th on UNI’s all-time scoring list with 1,084 points. A native of Aplington, Iowa, his younger sister, Jodi, was a second-team all-MVC volleyball player for the Panthers. Creighton Director of Basketball Operations Erik Crawford is also a UNI grad, having played for McDermott from 2003-06. He scored 985 points in three seasons, and ranks 34th on UNI’s all-time scoring chart. But wait, there’s more: Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen is a 1971 graduate of Northern Iowa.
Of course, McDermott has returned as coach twice before while at Iowa State, so any venom towards their former coach has been played out. There were boos the first time he returned, not so much the second time. The real sore spot is the fact that his son, Doug, signed a letter-of-intent with Northern Iowa as a senior in high school, but was released from that tender when his father was named head coach at Creighton in April. He’s already one of the best players in the MVC, and the Panthers could certainly use his interior scoring ability and rebounding — his late release left a gaping hole in their recruiting class they didn’t really fill with the same caliber of player. Its Doug’s presence in Bluejay blue, not Greg’s presence as the head coach, not the numerous other ties between the two schools, that will bring out the boobirds.
Greg McDermott, Ben Jacobson and their families are also quite close — Coach Jacobson is the godfather to McDermott’s daughter — so there was very little drama between the two when Doug asked for his release to go play for his dad. Its completely understandable, however, that Panther fans would not care about that, and only be mad about the fantastic player they lost.
As for Mac coaching against his friend, both coaches downplayed the significance of that. “We’ve done it four times now,” Jacobson said on the MVC Media Conference call this week. “The first year, it really kind of felt different, but the second year, there was a little less of that, and by the third and fourth year, that was less of a story and it was back to the players on both the teams and how the teams are doing…the things the game should be about. My guess is it will be the same with this. It will be a big story this year, and it will less of a story next year and so on down the road.”
McDermott took a similar tack. “Well, you know I’ve been back there twice as a coach at Iowa State, so from my standpoint I’ve been through that already. But without question, there’s some uneasy feelings when you go back there and you go in the visitors locker room, you hear the fight song and you know it’s against you.”
Its a huge game for both teams, and not just because it kicks off the second half of the MVC schedule. Creighton comes in a 5-4 in the league and in fifth place; Northern Iowa comes in at 6-3 in the league and in fourth place. While the Jays have scuffled lately, losing three of their last four, UNI has won five straight. They seem to be going in different directions, and the spread reflects that: UNI is a five-point favorite.
All year long, UNI has played stifling defense — that they allow just 57.2 points per game, sixth best in Division 1 (yes, sixth out of 340-odd teams) is positively Saluki-esque — but during their five game winning streak they’ve found their offensive mojo, too, which is scary for anyone unlucky enough to draw them the rest of the year, or in St. Louis.
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, who many forget won the MVC Tournament MVP award last year given the outstanding performances of their seniors, has been the key to that charge. After shooting less than 40% in the non-conference slate, he’s shooting an unbelievable 54.8% from the floor in MVC games, and 50% from downtown. He averages 12.8 points a game for the season, but in his last three games, he’s scored 21 against Southern Illinois, 21 against Wichita State, and 16 against Drake.
Sophomore guard Anthony James, a role player as a freshman, has rather unexpectedly emerged as their second scoring option, averaging 11.5 points a game and making 53% of his shots. He was huge in the win over Wichita State, scoring 20 points on 9-13 shooting, which included making 2 of 3 from behind the arc.
Jake Koch, the younger brother of last year’s MVC Player of the Year Adam Koch, also averages in double figures at 10.3 points a game. The 6’9″ sophomore also averages nearly 5 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game, while making 86% of his free throws. He’s a tremendous player, and his numbers are no fluke: his offensive numbers, percentage wise, are nearly identical to a year ago — his minutes have doubled, and with that, his totals have gone up too.
Senior Lucas O’Rear leads them on the glass, pulling down 5.7 boards a night. In their 72-52 win over Southern Illinois last week, he had a double-double with 18 points (on 6-7 shooting) and 10 rebounds. He also had a double-double in the Panthers 60-54 win over then-red-hot Iowa State, scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
And then there’s Johnny Moran, the junior guard who, in each of first two seasons has scored his season high for points in a game against the Jays. Given that, its less relevant that he’s averaging 9.5 points a night than it is that he’s about to face the Jays, and if the past is any indication, he might be due for a bigger night.
As they’ve made a habit of doing under Jacobson, the Panthers are hitting their stride as February rolls around. They’re a formidable foe, but one the Jays are capable of beating if they can overcome a hostile environment and put together 40 minutes of basketball — its sounding like a broken record by now, but we’ve seen it to be true — the Jays can play with, and beat, anyone on their schedule for 20, 30 and sometimes 39 minutes. Trouble is, games last 40 minutes, and closing out games when an opponent makes their final run is this team’s weakness. Play for 40 minutes, and the Jays probably — perhaps likely — win. Anything less, and the opposite will prove to be true.
About the Panthers: UNI ranks No. 3 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.3), and in their current five-game winning streak, they’re even better than that, averaging just 7.8 turnovers a game. That’s a total of 39 in 1,000 minutes of action … The Panthers rank No. 7 in the nation in scoring defense (57.2 ppg), and they lead the MVC in free throw shooting (74.2%) and turnover margin (+2.5) … The Panthers are 10-1 this season at home, have won 25 of their last 26 games in the McLeod Center and is 55-15 (.786) all-time in the McLeod Center … UNI has played in five of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, one of just 25 schools that can make such a claim … They’re also one of seven Division I schools to have its men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams reach the NCAA Tournament in 2010. The other six? Duke, Florida State, Kentucky, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas … Kwadzo Ahelegbe is one of six Panthers to surpass 1,000 points and 250 assists in the history of the program. The list includes Ben Jacobson (1,787 points; 357 assists), Robbie Sieverding (1,402/265), Dale Turner (1,250/520), Rod Underwood (1,126/291), Ahelegbe (1,119/295) and Chris Foster (1,027/370) … Ahelegbe is averaging 15.4 points per game and shooting 56.1% from the field. That number includes 53.3% from 3-point land (8-of-15). Ahelegbe has also dished out a team-high 21 assists to go against only nine turnovers over the past five contests.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Only two point guards rank among the top-15 in the MVC in scoring, and they’re Creighton’s Antoine Young and UNI’s Kwadzo Ahelegbe. Young leads the MVC with 96 assists and a 2.40 assist/turnover ratio, and with 4.6 assists per game. He is eighth in The Valley with 12.8 points per game, 10th with 76.9 percent from the free throw line and second in minutes (36.2). Meanwhile, Ahelegbe is seventh in the MVC with 12.8 points per game. He’s also 11th in the league with 2.6 assists per game, sixth in free-throw percentage (81.1) and 10th in minutes (30.5) … Doug McDermott has started all 21 games, leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg.) and rebounding (7.2 rpg.). He posted consecutive double-doubles last week, giving him a team-high five on the season, and has scored in double-figures in 17 of his first 21 games as a collegian … Wednesday’s meeting features seven of the last nine champions of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, and nine of the last 12 titlists, as Creighton has won crowns in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007, while UNI won tournament titles in 2004, 2009 and 2010 … Gregory Echenique has 13 blocked shots in his last two road games, including a Valley season-high of seven on Saturday at Missouri State. Echenique leads the MVC with 18 rejections in league play. Strangely, all 18 swats have come in CU’s five league road games, as he’s yet to record a rejection in any of CU’s four Valley home tilts to date.
The Last Time They Played: Northern Iowa overcame an early 7-0 deficit with a 28-5 run and never looked back while defeating visiting Creighton, 70-52, on February 16, 2010. Creighton scored on each of its first three possessions to take an early 7-0 lead, forcing UNI to call a timeout after less than two minutes. Kenny Lawson Jr. scored inside, followed by a trey from Darryl Ashford and a lay-up by Justin Carter. UNI would answer with the next nine points, making four free throws and a deep three-pointer by Ali Farokhmanesh, as well as a tear-drop in the lane by Johnny Moran.
With the win, UNI clinched its first-ever outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Northern Iowa by a 26-14 count, including a 9-10 mark in Cedar Falls. However, Creighton handed UNI its first-ever loss at McLeod Center, and is 3-1 all-time at the facility.
Interestingly, the road team has won three of the last four meetings in the series, and the Jays have actually won five of their last six trips to Cedar Falls. Creighton has won 10 of the last 13 and 21 of the last 27 meetings. Eight of the last 12 contests have been decided by nine points or less.
Greg McDermott is 1-3 against UNI and 1-3 against Ben Jacobson.
Gratuitous Linkage: In the category of “I’ll believe it when I hear it”, Van Halen is reportedly in the studio recording an album with David Lee Roth. This is approximately the 323rd time some version of this same story has been reported about my favorite band over the last 15 years. I may be one of the handful of people who have seen all three incarnations of the group live — with Sammy Hagar in 1995 and again in 2004, with Gary Cherone in 1999, and with David Lee Roth in 2008.
Maybe the 324th time for this story is the charm.
Out of Context Simpsons quote: “The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it’s time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!” -Homer Simpson
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On January 26, 1985, Creighton beat Marquette — and head coach Rick Majerus — for the first time in eleven years, 71-59. Benoit Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and 7 rebounds for the Jays, and managed to bring both a left and a right shoe to the Civic for the game.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: Don’t try to read too much into this one.
The Bottom Line: Given the Jays second half struggles, this fact is amusing to me: The team holding the first half lead in each of the past six meetings in the UNI-Creighton series has went on to win the game. The last time a team came back from a halftime deficit in the series was on Feb. 13, 2007, when Creighton overcame a 33-28 halftime at home to earn a 66-55 victory.
My best guess: Creighton bursts out to a first-half lead, fueled by the boos of the Panther crowd directed at the McDermotts. A late UNI rally gives them the win, leading to much wringing of hands and rending of garments among Bluejay faithful.
Northern Iowa 69, Creighton 67