December 2005 Archives

JAYS 78, Missouri State 56

Lets put this thing to rest, shall we? On a night when Creighton Basketball went head to head with Nebraska Football, in a bowl game no less, 13,898 tickets were sold. More importantly, 11,547 people came through the turnstiles. So to all the haters, all the people who talked smack to us Jays fans that no one would be at the game; that we'd all rather be watching Nebraska on TV somewhere -- turns out, um, NO. You bet.

Props to the arena PA for ignoring the Husker game and refusing to announce the score at any point during the game, even at halftime when they read the out-of-town basketball scores. And for that matter props to everyone who showed up to make everyone notice Jays basketball is not simply a bandwagon of disgruntled Husker fans.

Well then, with that off my chest, on to more important things.

I was not in the office two minutes before someone posed the question of the day to me:

"So you're still going to the Creighton game over watching Nebraska-Michigan?"

It was 8:06, and already this was happening? Fine. I answered matter-of-factly, "Why would I stay home to watch Nebraska? I'm not a Husker fan."

From the cubicle next to me, I heard giggling. "You go, Tom." It was our office manager, who like me, is an import. This of course only goaded me further.

"Even if it was Iowa playing tonight, I'd go to the Jays game. My first allegiance is to my boys in blue. And watching a game in person is no comparison to sitting in your living room. Give me a choice between watching Iowa State in person or Iowa on TV, I would take the tickets. Have done that many times, as a matter of fact. Of course!"

From the cubicle next door: "Go Michigan Spartans!" Its Wolverines, but whatever, thanks for the support!

Jays 61, Xavier 59

A couple of years ago, when I was in Cincinnati for a few days at a conference, I had a chance to talk hoops with several of the locals at a bar one night. I was curious if they were Cincinnati or Xavier fans. Certainly, the Bearcats were the more successful program, but Xavier with none of the thuggery or drunken coaches was the better program. I was somewhat shocked to learn, at least in their opinion, that Xavier was who almost everyone pulled for. They had played Creighton that year and won in Omaha on a late shot, after handing Kyle Korver's 02-03 Jays their first loss in Cincinnati a year earlier, so they knew of the Jays and had much respect for their program.

Over the past four years, these two Jesuit schools have played some absolutely fantastic games, all three won by a combined 11 points. In a way, these two programs are almost mirror images. I'm glad they have decided to continue this series thru the 07-08 season, and likely beyond. Creighton and Xavier should play every year, dammit.

Tonight's game was originally part of a proposed Jesuit classic, including Gonzaga and Marquette, to be put on by ESPN in the vein of their Big 10-ACC Challenge. But Gonzaga and Marquette wouldn't agree to do it. Whatever. XU and CU still locked horns, and it was a good game.

JAYS 70, Nebraska 44

Wow. Didn't see that one coming. In my prediction post yesterday, I thought Creighton would win a slugfest 49-46, but could easily see Nebraska winning. What happened?

Creighton came out with huge energy, and despite shooting poorly, hit the big shots when they needed them. And they did EVERYTHING else: staunch defense, stellar rebounding, all the hustle plays, diving on the floor and beating Nebraska to the ball time after time. Meanwhile, Nebraska came out flat, unable -- or unwilling - to match Creighton's intensity.

For all the talk by Husker fans the past three weeks about this being the biggest game on their non-conference slate, about this being the year Nebraska knocks off Creighton, apparently the message didn't get to the players. Because, quite frankly, they didn't bother to show up. The score was 31-11 at the half. AT THE HALF. I cannot remember a game anywhere with any team where they only scored 11 points in a half. Much less in an in-state rivalry game of such importance, in front of the largest crowd in the state's history.

Long story short, in a game their coach absolutely had to win, against a bitter rival who was reeling and down to just 8 players, they got outhustled, outschemed and flat-out outplayed. They got run out of the gym, folks.

Before we go any further, lets face facts. Nate Funk, our leading scorer, rebounder and the heart and soul of the team, is out. Pierce Hibma, a defensive plus and solid "system" guy, is out. And now, Jimmy "Instant Offense" Motz is out. Creighton will suit up 8 players, plus one walkon. The Creighton you know, the pressing, running, high-scoring Creighton, doesn't exist right now. They can't, because they simply don't have the bodies. They are going to struggle to win this game.

The Jays come in 3-2, playing a moderately tough schedule thus far, with good wins and bad losses in their resume. But with all the injuries, you just don't know what this team has. Will Johnny Mathies be able to fill the scoring void? Will Anthony Tolliver and Jeffrey Day be able to at least hold their own inside? Can they still press with only 8 players?

I grew up in Iowa, 160 miles from the Nebraska border. Before coming to Omaha for college 9 summers ago, my knowledge of the Huskers was limited to the yearly drubbings of nearby Iowa State in football, their successes and failures in bowl games, and their general mediocreness in every other sport. But I had no real feelings one way or the other towards them. Oh sure, the Husker fans that existed in Fort Dodge were obnoxious; talking smack when they were outnumbered by fans of not one but two schools 100-1. But every school has those fans.

Likewise, my knowledge of Creighton was even less. I remembered them losing to Iowa in basketball a couple of times in the early 90s, but that was about it. Lets just say that since I enrolled in the fall of 1997, my knowledge of them is, well, lets just say I've done what I can to educate myself on their past to fill in those gaps.

When I came down here to go to school, the extent of my knowledge of Nebraska basketball was this: Andre Woolridge had left their program to transfer to the Hawks in the early 90s. And they had a coach with Pat Riley's hair. That was about it. I lost a drinking contest in the dorms on this question: Name two Big-6 conference teams to have never won an NCAA Tournament game. I knew Northwestern. Figured Florida State was the other. Really? Nebraska? No! A lot of shots went down that night.

Jays 64, Chattanooga 69

When Nate Funk went down with a season-ending injury last week, he took nearly 25 points and 10 boards a game with him. You don't replace that overnight, even on a Jays team that has plenty of other talent. Conventional wisdom would say you need a few games to settle in after losing a player of that magnitude, to both figure out who the new go-to guy (or guys) will be, and for the team as a whole to gain familiarity in their new roles.

That said, last night's game was a killer. Funk or no Funk, there is no way a team with NCAA-tourney aspirations should lose to a team winless against Division I opponents this season. That can't happen. The fact that it did does not speak well for the next few games, I'm afraid. Until someone else steps up and takes the leadership role on this team, it will be a struggle.

Jays 72, George Mason 52

Jays 91, Dayton 90 (2 OT)

Jays 57, DePaul 72

--

Sorry folks, been out of town with the holidays and what not...missed the last two games (hence no posts). I donated my tickets to the Dayton game to the United Way, and they got $200 for 'em. So while I missed an instant classic, at least someone got their money's worth and was able to enjoy the game from my seats.

I unfortunately made it back just in time to listen to their first loss of the year, a 72-57 defeat at DePaul. It seems to have taken some of the wind out of our sails, so to speak, but I think people are overreacting. A road loss in November is not the end of the season. And there will not be many nights when the Jays shoot 30%. Seriously, the defense forced almost 20 turnovers on the road...they kept pace on the boards...but the shots just wouldn't fall. This happens occasionally. If anything, its just frustrating that on a night we played good enough defense to win, the shots didn't go. We all know with the shooters this team has, that won't be the case many times this year. So don't worry, yet.