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