Results tagged “NCAA Tournament” from Jays Blog

NCAA Tournament Round One: Jays 71, Nevada 77 (OT)

By
Max Univers
on March 17, 2007 11:32 AM |
In my preview of this game, I wrote "it will be a barnburner, coming down to a couple of plays late to win. Whoever makes the big play will win a game like that; the classic March Madness photo finish. And I trust the Jays to make that big play. I really do."

Well, it was indeed a game just like that. Except Creighton wasn't able to make the plays down the stretch to win. They played close the entire day, with 12 lead changes and 10 ties. Nevada's largest lead was 7 (coming in the first half), Creighton's 6 (coming in the second half).

Traditionally in NCAA Tournament games that CU has lost, Creighton has started slowly, fought back to make a game out of it, and ultimately lost in the waning moments. Only the West Virginia game two years ago broke the mold. Even in the two games they've won, slow starts were the rule.

Against Nevada, however, Creighton started reasonably well. In fact, the first half was incredibly competitive, and the Jays had a 32-28 lead with just 30 seconds left in the half. In that first half, they got points from Pierce Hibma, Manny Gakou and Isacc Miles -- all coming off the bench -- and that had to be seen as a positive sign.

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Gameday Preview: Jays vs Nevada

By
Max Univers
on March 16, 2007 11:31 AM |
Its time to set aside the jokes and the references to Star Wars, and its time to trade in your Heee-Haw for a can of Mountain Dew. Its time to get serious. Its gameday, baby.

Nevada and Creighton square off at 1:50 central time from New Orleans today, in the only 7-10 game between two ranked teams that I can ever remember. If you're looking for proof that the committee underseeded both of these teams, look no further than that fact. Nevada has been in the Top 25 for the better portion of the year, peaking with a run in the Top 10. Creighton opened up in the Top 25, was picked by Sports Illustrated at #13, then tumbled to a 150+ RPI after embarrassing losses at Nebraska, Fresno State, Dayton and Hawaii. But the Jays have played up to potential -- finally -- over the past two weeks, and enter today's game ranked #24.

The national media has found it tempting to look at the mere presence of three-time WAC Player of the Year and All-American Nick Fazekas, surrounded by a very solid supporting cast, and hand the game to Nevada before the tip. How good is Fazekas? He's one of six players EVER to score 2000 points and get 1000 rebounds while making half his shots from the floor and 80% from the charity stripe. The others? Larry Bird, Rick Barry, Bill Bradley, Christian Laettner and Keith Van Horn. That list started out pretty good...but being compared to Chode Boy, er, Laettner and Van Horn? You bet.

Nevada is 6th in the county in three-point percentage, at a robust 41%. They're 16th in field-goal percentage at 49%. They're 16th in free-throw percentage at 75%. They've only been outrebounded five times all year. They've won 27 games. Their shooting guard, Marcellus Kemp, has scored 81 points in their last three games.

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(10) Creighton vs (7) Nevada: Cliffs Notes Preview

By
Max Univers
on March 14, 2007 11:27 AM |
The last time Creighton played an NCAA Tourney game on a Friday afternoon? March 15, 2002 against Florida. You know how that ended.



I ate a fish sandwich combo with the upsized fries but a regular size drink at the Don & Millie's on 84th & Q that day for lunch, right before the game. You better believe I will be doing this pregame ritual this year -- even though its entirely out of my way to get to that particular D&M now that I work on West Dodge.

"OK, so you're driving 20 minutes to get to a D&M for lunch purely for superstitious reasons. But the real question is, does Creighton have a chance to win?"

ESPN would lead you to believe that they don't. ESPN is already salivating over a Nevada/Memphis second round matchup. ESPN is stupid, and ESPN is going to be disappointed...because Creighton is going to win this game.

Here's the Cliff's Notes version of why I believe Creighton wins.

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The Empire Strikes Back

By
Max Univers
on March 11, 2007 11:25 AM |

EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, BCS troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded BCS Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Creighton and Nevada have established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Renomaha. The evil lord Darth Packer, obsessed with destroying the rebellion, has dispatched thousands of his followers to persuade the NCAA Committee to pit them against each other, ensuring the group of freedom fighters will be halved after the first day...

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Projecting the Seed

By
Max Univers
on March 9, 2007 11:24 AM |
Projecting the NCAA Tournament bracket is an inexact science, much like meteorology, climatology and beerbong, um, ology. I'm always quite amused by jokers like Jerry Palm, Warren Nolan, and to a lesser extent, Joe Lunardi.

Believe it or not, my comparison of bracketology to meteorology was not just a cheap joke, although it certainly succeeded at being that. Both of these predictions are worthless more than a day or two out. How many times have you heard the weatherman predict 70 degrees and sunny 8 days from now, only to arrive at that day and have it be 50 degrees and rainy? Lots of intervening factors can change the outlook between the day of the prediction and the actual day.

This is a lot like bracketology. As of Monday, Missouri State was in most brackets. Then a couple of solidly "in" teams from otherwise one-bid leagues failed to gain their conferences' auto bid, thus stealing an at-large from someone else. Suddenly, Missouri State was out on most brackets. But yesterday, upsets galore in conference tournaments seem to have not only vaulted Missouri State back in, but have placed Bradley back in the discussion, if you can believe that.

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Max Univers (not his real name) is a graphic designer and author of two books, neither of which you’ve probably heard of. A 2001 graduate of Creighton University’s Journalism program, Max takes time out of his busy nightlife to share his thoughts on Jays hoops here during the season.

Why Univers? Its his favorite font, plus it just sounds really cool as a surname.

Why Polyfro? Years and years ago, Max had a giant afro wig that he wore as part of a Halloween costume. Not wishing to retire its giant fro awesomeness after the holiday, he began wearing the wig out in public as part of his everyday ensemble. One night at a dance club, the DJ called out the moniker over the soundsystem. Max thought it sounded cool, and purchased the URL shortly thereafter.

More questions? Send me an email: max-at-polyfro-dot-com. I like jokes, story tips, and generally all correspondence involving Bluejay athletics. Emails that point out how stupid I am and/or where I should go after I die are not encouraged.

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