11,547 = Omaha's Team

***

Every game, my brother and I watch Dana Altman the first four minutes. He will walk as far out of the coaches box onto the court as he can, seeing how far he can go before the ref tells him to get back. This is an old Bob Knight coaching technique taught in many coaching classes to gauge how good the ref is, or better put, how much you can get away with. Theory being if he lets you wander around outside the box, he'll call a loose game and let a lot slide; but if he sends you back behind the line, he'll enforce the rules and call a tight game. Last week against Norfolk State, Altman roamed the court freely with no warning all night. Tonight, he didn't make it to the 18 minute mark before being asked to move back.

And true to form, the refs called it extremely tight. In places. They blew their whistles way too often. A non-OT game should not go until 9:15. Period. End of discussion. The first half went a full hour, with Creighton leading by 6. Ugly, but a lead is a lead. The guy behind us was on them quite a bit; I yelled my share of uglies at them too, but the best was a comment by my brother. He said "Stop blowing your whistle!" at a quiet moment when everyone in the arena probably heard him. Good times.

For all their tight calls, they let a lot of cheap shots go. Johnny Mathies landed a cheap shot on a Missouri State player trailing a fast break. Anthony Tolliver was the recipient of an elbow to the face and spent 5 minutes of the second half getting work done on a split lip. These things happen.

During that stretch without Tolliver, the Jays started to pull away. And when Tolliver returned, his second possession resulted in a thunderous fastbreak dunk that was, for all intents and purposes, the dagger. Missouri State tried to make runs, but the stifling Creighton defense wouldn't allow it. And the 11,500 in attendance wouldn't allow the energy in the building to get low enough to allow it.

As the Jays rolled to a 78-56 win, we pondered whether Creighton is actually better off without Nate Funk. I think they are, to a degree. Everyone has to play better without him, and they do. Its so much easier to lay back knowing you will get 20-10 from one player every night. When you have to scrap and claw for everything, the team plays better defense, they rebound, and they have more energy. Its a valid point that if and when Funk does return (some folks at the Bluejay Cafe message board believe as soon as Illinois State over the weekend), will it mess up the chemistry this team has going right now? I don't think adding an All-American who can shoot lights-out, rebound and take the tough shot is a bad thing. And don't get me wrong, I wish Funk would return yesterday. But it is something to ponder as this Funk-less team is now 7-2, and just blew out one of the best teams in the league by 20 points.

***

As my brother and I entered the Qwest Center, my phone buzzed -- the familiar "The Final Countdown" meant it was my buddy Donovan. He and his wife had received complimentary tickets, and were looking for us. The couple who have the two seats to the left of mine only go to two games a year, and never give their tickets away. The guy has told me several times that if they're not there by the under-16 timeout, to go ahead and move someone I know into those seats. I did just that, and Donovan moved up from section 220 to the seats next to me in 113.

During the under-16 timeout, they always run a promotion called the Clear View Of The Game, where a local eye care company sponsors two people to move up from the upper bowl to behind press row. Sure, Donovan and his wife didn't get the free t-shirts or the requisite hi-five from Billy, but they did get a clearer view of the game, courtesy of me...

While waiting in line for a beverage, he said our friend Drew had called him about going somewhere to watch the Nebraska game. He called Nate and discovered he had been given skybox passes, and would be at the Creighton game. He knew not to even bother calling me; in his words relayed through Donovan, "I know where his allegiances lay". That's right buddy. You bet. So when he called Donovan, only to find out he too would be at the Creighton game, he was really upset. "Doesn't anyone in this state root for Nebraska anymore?" Hilarious.

(Being from Iowa, if they had been in the Alamo Bowl instead of Michigan? That's what the Cox DVR is for.)

***

I had been afraid Missouri State's shooting would bury Creighton early. But the Jays played good defense and kept the open looks to a minimum. Missouri State knocked down most of the ones they had, so it was a good thing they didn't have many...

Blake Ahearn, the crew-cut sharpshooter, only had 13 points -- well below his Valley-leading 20 per game. My brother and I could only think of two times all night where he even had a good look at the basket. Two reasons for that, both of them hugely encouraging: Nick Porter's lockdown defense, and strong rebounding to keep second chances to a minimum. Ahearn makes his living off of second chances where the defense collapses for a rebound, the offense gets it back and kicks out to a wide open Ahearn for the three. Its a killer.

With Jamar Howard gone from Wichita State, Ahearn is now the Villian Of The Valley. His position at that spot was cemented when he showboated and dunked with 14 seconds left in last years' game in Springfield, after the defense had pretty much stopped playing as the clock ran out. Villianous.

Around the under-8 timeout, we got a call from our friend Nate. I'd heard my phone buzzing, but I don't answer my phone during a Jays game. Donovan's rang next, and he answered. Nate and his fiance were in a skybox, waving to us. Nice. I was just glad they finally made it to a Jays game. I also felt a little sorry for him, because by sitting up in that skybox instead of in 113 with the rest of us, he missed out. My brother was in rare form, and we had some good laughs. Since I know he'll be reading this, I'll try to summarize what I can remember:

-The substitute high school band played "The Stroke" during the under-4 timeout of the first half. I initially ignored it, but when Donovan called it to my attention, I immediately yelled out "Not Billy Sqiuer! Nooo!" So many jokes. That song was released in 1982, when I was 4 years old. I've been out of high school for 10 years. That means, well, you know. What got us laughing the most was trying to think of where high school kids would even know that song from to want to play it. Billy Madison is the last movie I could think of that used it. And that movie is old enough now that today's high schoolers were in kindergarten when it was released. I will now throw up inside my mouth. This revelation did however lead to a Billy-quote-off between Nemitz brothers. The best? I pointed to the Missouri State Sign Guy behind their bench as he held a sign reading "Always the best: Win, Lose or Drew". I pointed to it and said, "That is the stupidest sign I have ever read, and we are all dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." I win. I always do.

-During the t-shirt toss, my brother pantomimed taking off his shirt, squirting a target on his belly with ketchup, and yelled "I Need a shirt! Gimme a shirt!" Obscure reference, to be sure, and even I didn't get it. Donovan leaned over and recognized it was Homer from the Simpsons episode where his wife dies after being struck by a flying t-shirt.

-At halftime the PA played "New Age Girl" by Dead Eye Dick, better known as "Mary Moe, she's a vegetarian" or the song from Dumb & Dumber. This once again started a quote-off, with my brother winning by pointing at Missouri State coach Barry Hinson as he pointlessly argued a foul call and said "Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this and totally redeem yourself!"

-In the second half, the video board showed a kid holding a sign that read "Nate: We Miss You!". Obviously referring to Nate Funk. But Donovan and I still made lots of jokes about who was missing our Nate. Good times.

***

Great, great win for the Jays in front of, circumstances considered, the most impressive crowd of the year. Jays go to 1-0 in the Valley, 7-2 overall, in front of the tough yearly mid-Illinois road trip to Illinois State and Bradley. With the full roster, I'd have figured on them being 8-1 at this point. So to be down like they are and be only one game back of that? Top notch.

You bet.