2006-07 Game Recaps: January 2007 Archives

2006-07 Game 21: Jays 71, Sycamores 55

By
Max Univers
on January 27, 2007 5:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
For Saturday's game, my parents made the 3-1/2 hour drive to Omaha. My mom hadn't been to a game since I was a student, which is coming up on six years now. So she hadn't been to the Qwest Center -- the last Jays game she was at took place at the venerable Civic Auditorium. Her sudden interest in attending a game had a decidedly non-hoops reason: she wanted to see the tunnelwalk video that I helped to produce. Parental pride, you know.

Around the first of the year, I circled the Indiana State game for a couple of reasons. One, it was an afternoon game, and two, there should be plenty of tickets available for that one. So of course, by the time they decided to make the drive, the game was already sold out.

Luckily, my dad was in town on business and attended the Drake game earlier this year, so on Saturday, it was a no-brainer which of them would be using my other ticket. And after watching a zillion of my games from 3rd grade up to high school, she's a pretty astute fan of the game, often picking up on things that I don't even notice. You watch that many games, you're bound to pick up some things. Between my brother's baseball playing and my basketball, she became an expert in two sports.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 21: Jays 71, Sycamores 55.

2006-07 Game 20: Jays 66, Missouri State 62

By
Max Univers
on January 24, 2007 5:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
If I told you the Jays would go on the road and gut out a tough, gritty win against a probable NCAA Tourney team, would that be something you'd be interested in?

Well, that's exactly what happened on Wednesday in Springfield, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. The win is huge in so many respects. For the team, the Jays now own a sweep against one of the two teams they're likely to be fighting with for an NCAA Tourney berth, and they go to 7-3 in the conference, tied for first place. For Anthony Tolliver, he finally gets a win in his hometown after three previous visits ended in losses, and he contributes 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks to the effort. For Nate Funk, who scored 9 consecutive points during one stretch of the second half, and had 21 points, 4 assists and 3 HUGE free throws in the final minute of the game. For Nick Porter, who put the team on his back for stretches of both halves before fouling out with 3 minutes remaining, exiting with 18 points and 6 big rebounds.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 20: Jays 66, Missouri State 62.

2006-07 Game 19: Jays 57, Southern Illinois 58

By
Max Univers
on January 21, 2007 5:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I'm always conflicted when Southern Illinois comes to town. On the one hand, their style of play more closely resembles rugby than basketball, and the result is generally completely unwatchable unless your team happens to be the opponent. My buddy Rob sums it up best: "A Saluki game is like watching a rugby match and having a basketball game break out." But on the other hand, their record speaks for itself and while I loathe them with every fiber of my being, I do respect their sustained level of excellence.

Southern Illinois is a reflection of their town, Carbondale, a blue-collar town nestled in the middle of the southern half of Illinois, an area known as "Little Egypt". They recruit hard-working players who compete for 40 minutes with a massive chip on their shoulder, making up for what they lack in skill with pure, gritty toughness.

When you bring the ball upcourt, their guards apply a witches brew of hand and body checks intended to both intimidate their opponent and dictate the style and pace of the game. When you throw it inside, their bigs go with the same philosophy. This is how Southern has played for years, and everyone -- refs included -- knows it. Its simply expected that Southern will be rough, and the result is a game with tons of fouls, and tons of no-calls. And this is the genius of their style: they know, their opponents know, and the refs know that they can't call a foul on every play.

A foul is a foul is a foul, generally speaking. When Southern is involved, things get a bit more gray: is that a foul or is it a FOUL? I can only imagine the inner monologue a ref has when calling a game involving SIU: "He hit the shooter in the face and drew blood, but it wasn't as bad as the last trip down when he knocked a tooth loose, so its not a foul this time." I actually feel sorry for refs who get assigned to an SIU game.

For the longest time, I honestly believed that the way to play Southern was to fight fire with fire. Like Rocky against Ivan Drago, you go toe to toe and blow for blow. When they relentlessly hand-check, you do it right back. When they smack you in the head, you do the same on the other end.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 19: Jays 57, Southern Illinois 58.

2006-07 Game 18: Jays 65, Bradley 54

By
Max Univers
on January 19, 2007 5:09 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
How about some props to the Jays defense? The much-maligned Creighton defense had a stiff test Thursday against a Bradley team that came into this game LEADING THE COUNTRY in shooting the three -- over 40% per game -- and they were held to just 27%. The Jays played what could best be described as a "Pettit's Defense", a donut with a big ol' hole in the middle. Around the perimeter, they consistently denied good looks by simply bodying up to the shooters and forcing 8 or 9 passes per halfcourt possession. Did Bradley get some good looks? Sure, but when your entire offense is geared to do just that -- get open threes -- you're probably going to get a few.

Many of their three attempts were flailing, desperation shots. In fact, most of Bradley's offense in the first half came from exploiting the hole in the Pettit's Defense -- the black hole inside the perimeter. Matt Salley torched them for 18 points, a result of the A-Train having to help out on the perimeter.

In the second half, even that was taken away, as Creighton's slashers got both Salley and Zach Andrews -- Bradley's only real height -- in foul trouble. Just a good, good effort defensively; in my mind, its probably the best defense they've played all year, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 18: Jays 65, Bradley 54.

2006-07 Game 17: Jays 59, Wichita State 62

By
Max Univers
on January 15, 2007 5:07 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Was this a "Valley Classic" as Jays play-by-play man Travis Justice called it? No, because a game is not a classic if you lose. Period. End of story.

In case you're just joining us, here was the set-up: Creighton, the preseason favorite, came in at 5-1 in the league, with sole possession of first place. Wichita State, the preseason #2 and once ranked as high as 9th nationally, came in 2-4 in the league in 7th place. Creighton, on their toughest road trip of the year, was hoping for a split of the two games at Northern Iowa and Wichita State -- and having won in Cedar Falls, was playing with house money essentially. Meanwhile, Wichita State had its backs against the wall, with a loss putting them perilously close to extinction in the race for the regular season Valley championship. And this battle would be taking place in sold out Koch Arena in Wichita, one of the loudest and most intimidating venues in the league.

That sounds delicious, doesn't it? All the ingredients for an intense, hard-fought battle were there.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 17: Jays 59, Wichita State 62.

2006-07 Game 16: Jays 62, Northern Iowa 54

By
Max Univers
on January 14, 2007 5:04 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
What's this? A Dana Altman coached team, improving as the year goes along? No! A Dana Altman coached team showing steady improvement as January rolls around, and appearing headed for a peak in late February and March? You don't say! I'm calling Shenanigans here, because that never happens.

All the Debbie Downers and Negative Nancies who appeared to be turning on the team after a sputtering start are now seeing the same things I am: a team finally playing as a team, finally playing solid defense, and finally shooting the ball well. And, there is this too: an 11-5 overall record and a stellar 5-1 in-conference record.

The roll continued Friday night in Cedar Falls, where the Jays led wire-to-wire and beat Northern Iowa 62-54.

Coming out of the gates playing zone -- supposedly a no-no against Northern -- the Jays blitzed out to a 20-4 lead ten minutes into the game. By the time the Panthers figured out ways to scheme the Jays out of the zone, an insurmountable lead had already been built. Northern would get as close as 2 at one point in the second half, but never tied it and never led.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 16: Jays 62, Northern Iowa 54.

2006-07 Game 15: Jays 79, Drake 56

By
Max Univers
on January 11, 2007 5:01 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
We're a Valley family. My dad went to Drake, I went to Creighton and my brother went to Northern Iowa. My brother's wife also went to Northern Iowa. And I used to date a girl who went to Wichita State -- opportune words there being "used to". A man has got to have standards.

So every winter, the smack talk begins. Anytime UNI and Drake play, Drake and Creighton, or any other permutation of the three, things get pretty heated, in a familial sort of way, of course. All year long, I've heard the stories.

"Drake is pretty good this year."
"Did you see them beat Iowa State at Hilton?"
"Hey, how about Drake running Iowa out of the gym? Some game, huh?"
"Dr. Tom is going finally has the athletes to run his press. Drake is going to be in the hunt for the MVC title!"
"You know son, I remember when we made the Final Four in 1969...we went 26-5 and had UCLA beat in the semifinal! And NOBODY beat UCLA!"

How's that 0-5 conference record working out for you?

You bet.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 15: Jays 79, Drake 56.

2006-07 Game 14: Jays 75, Evansville 62

By
Max Univers
on January 7, 2007 4:58 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I never do this, but for some reason I can't resist. I blame it on Bud Light.

"Do you guys really not understand how good the Aces are this year?

I mean, Merfeld would be an idiot to not copy ISU's strategy. AT will get in foul trouble vs Webster/Strickland.

We actually can hit 3's. We have arguably the second or third most talented starting 5 other than SIU and maybe WSU.

It's unfortunate but you guys are head cases on the road right now. Funk admits it. The only team that would be the perfect tonic for you would be a game AT Illy State. Not a game against a hungry Aces team that believes they can win every home AND away game this year.

That ISU game was a cupcake compared to this one. How you lost that game is incredible. They have TWO freshmen they depend on. They were in LETDOWN mode and still won. Just ridiculous.

Alot has to do with the injuries. This feels like Creighton at Bradley last year.

EU 65
CU 56

Outcome never in doubt"

That's an exact post, grammar and punctuation (or lack thereof) unedited, from a confident Evansville fan on the Bluejay Cafe. This gent bet $1000 on the Purple Aces, or should I say, LOST $1000. I know their mascot is a turn-of-the-20th-century Riverboat Gambler, but that's absurd.

You bet.

But that was a cheap shot, and I apologize.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 14: Jays 75, Evansville 62.

2006-07 Game 13: Jays 52, Indiana State 55

By
Max Univers
on January 5, 2007 4:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Here's an amazing thing to think about: last night's game was the the first road game all year not on TV...and there's just one more untelevised game all year, home or away. For long-time fans like me, that's simply absurd to consider. I can remember sitting in my dorm in Swanson Hall in '98, and the Jays MVC Tourney game in St. Louis was the first time they were on TV all year. Now, 24 of their 29 games are televised. Think about that. Oh, how far we've come.

So I sat there listening to the radio broadcast -- the webcasts do not work on my new MacBook, because the version of MediaPlayer required does not run, or even install, on Macs with Intel processors -- and tried to let T. Scott paint a picture of the game for me. No, I'm serious, really. Stop laughing. I had to close my eyes, because its hard to follow his call if you're doing anything else, but I was able to do it. Quite an amusing thing, honestly.

Coming into this game, I was privately concerned. Publicly, I was predicting a huge win, because that's what I do. Its not that I'm unrealistic about the Jays, I just refuse to ever say they will lose a game before they play it. Why bother paying attention to it if you're sure they will lose? I have better things to do if that's the case.

But I was concerned, because Indiana State shoots the ball incredibly well. Marco Stinson absolutely torched Drake in the previous game, making NINE CONSECUTIVE THREE's. The Trees handed media darling Butler their only loss of the year, kicked the bejeezus out of Big Ten bully Purdue, and were averaging nearly 85 points a game.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 13: Jays 52, Indiana State 55.

2006-07 Game 12: Jays 79, Illinois State 71

By
Max Univers
on January 3, 2007 4:52 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
I smell. Or at least, I need to take a shower. I reached this conclusion based on the fact that, at Monday afternoon's Creighton-Illinois State tilt, not only could I not find anyone willing to take a free ticket and go to the game with me, but no one in my entire row bothered to show up. There was no one behind me, either. And only a couple of people in the row in front of me. There was a DMZ of four seats on all sides of me.

A no-stink zone.

I don't really smell, at least, I don't think so. But you know what does stink? The Jays perimeter defense. Come on guys, this is bordering on the obscene here. Game in, game out, they fail to identify the shooter, and get torched.
Continue reading 2006-07 Game 12: Jays 79, Illinois State 71.
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This page is a archive of entries in the 2006-07 Game Recaps category from January 2007.

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