October 2007 Archives

You know, at this point I'm not sure what's more amazing: Creighton having to cap season tickets because they don't want to sell too many, or seeing 2000 people show up for a freaking open house.

2000 people was a good crowd for a non-conference game against Grambling State my freshman year (1997). Now they get that many people to show up to a scrimmage! Well, they don't call it that -- its called an Open House, and its stated intent is to allow season ticket holders to find their seats, and prospective buyers to find open seats. While that's going on, Coach Altman runs a practice and gets his players some time on the Qwest Center court, which for the newcomers is their first experience in the building.

Maybe I'm a dreamer, but wouldn't it be cool to call a rose a rose and market this baby as "The Blue/White Scrimmage", akin to football programs' Spring Game? Its clear the interest is there, and last night's "Open House" was essentially that anyway, disguised as a practice. The 20-minute scrimmage featured referees, five-minute periods, shot clocks and a cheering crowd.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Bradley Braves.

2006-07 REWIND: Jim Les' squad was the "other" MVC team to make the Sweet 16 in 2006; they just didn't squawk about it nearly as loud as Wichita State and thus were sort of forgotten. That year's dynamic duo of Patrick O'Bryant and Marcellus Sommervelle turned over the reigns to another duo last year in Daniel Ruffin and Jeremy Crouch. To everyone's surprise, they ran off a 22-win campaign that sets up the Braves as perhaps the second-best team in the league going into 2007-08.

The teams' first meeting took place in Omaha, where Creighton has won nine straight against the Braves. The Jays won 65-54, paced by 25 points from Nate Funk, and 10 points and 13 rebounds from Anthony Tolliver. It was Dana Altman's 250th career win.

Two weeks later, the teams rematched in Peoria. The Jays opened the game with a 16-0 run, featuring two three-pointers from Isacc Miles and one each from Dane Watts and Anthony Tolliver, and that was the deciding run of the game. Bradley never got closer than 9 points the rest of the way, as Creighton cruised to a 82-71 victory.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Wichita State Shockers.

2006-07 REWIND: 2006-07 looked soooo good at the outset for the Wheatshockers. Coming off unprecedented momentum after a Sweet 16 berth and national exposure, they signed Mark Turgeon to a huge extension and sold out their entire home schedule before a game had even been played. They began the year ranked in the Top 25, and got as high as #8 with a 9-0 start. Then they went 1-6 over their next seven games, fell from the rankings and never recovered.

The first matchup saw Wichita escape with a 62-59 win. Here's how I described it:

"On a night when they played an average game -- even above-average in stretches -- they had a chance to steal a road win and put Wichita State down for the count. Hell, Wichita State spent the last 30 minutes of the game trying desperately to give the game away, and Creighton just wouldn't take it from them because of foolish, awful turnovers and sloppy play."

The rematch went a little better for Creighton. My description of that battle:

"Wichita went on a quick 5-0 run to knot it at 23...then the Jays closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 33-25 lead into the locker room. They opened the second frame with an 11-4 run -- making it a 21-6 run over two halves -- and all of a sudden, a 23-all tie was a 43-29 advantage. Game, set, match. Oh, Wichita made a run here and there, but was never closer than 8 points the rest of the way, and the game never felt in doubt."

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Evansville Purple Aces.

2006-07 REWIND: When your coaches' greatest triumph is shown in the standard montage of clips CBS shows every March, generally speaking, your job is secure. When that triumph was at your previous job, and you've led your current team through five consecutive losing seasons, not so much. Thus, Steve Merfeld, just five seasons removed from coaching 15-seed Hampton over 2-seed Iowa State, and Evansville mutually agreed to part ways. But make no mistake: Evansville is bad.

In a way, its sad what has become of the UE program. As recent as 1999, they won the regular season crown and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA tourney (after losing to the Jays in the MVC championship). But that was under legendary Bob Knight protege Jim Crews, and seems like an eternity ago.

Creighton and Evansville matched up twice last year. Both games were, as Dick Vitale would call them, Ex-Lax Specials, Baby! In Evansville, the Jays used a 12-0 run to take a 30-17 lead, then coughed it up during a 18-2 UE run. A Jays defensive change held them to just two field goals in the first 16 minutes of the second half, and they ran off a 18-4 run to put the game away and they won 75-62. The rematch saw Evansville take a 48-34 lead into the locker room at halftime -- records for points and margin of lead at halftime for Creighton opponents at Qwest Center Omaha. A 25-4 run out of the break rallied the Jays to a 79-74 win.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Missouri State Bears.

2006-07 REWIND: Barry Hinson can't catch a break. Universally recognized as the biggest cheerleader for the MVC during their recent renaissance, he uses every opportunity he gets to brag up other schools to the national media. His teams have won over 60 games the last three years, putting them in upper echelon of the conference with Southern Illinois and Creighton. Their RPI the last three years has been 66, 22 and 48.

But he's yet to take them to an NCAA Tournament. In fact, their last NCAA Tourney berth came almost a decade ago under Steve Alford.

Snubbed by the committee two years in a row despite 22 wins each year, the MSU administration to their credit backed Hinson and brought him back for a ninth year. With a new arena opening next year, consistency at the head job should set up the Bears to contend for the title in future years.

Last year's first meeting with Creighton was nationally televised on ESPN2 on December 31, and with 4 minutes to play the Bears were close to sending Jays fans for the exits, leading 70-59. But Anthony Tolliver and Nate Funk scored 13 points in a 16-1 run that fueled a come-from-behind 77-74 win.

In Springfield, the Jays led most of the way, with seniors Nick Porter, Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver combining for 52 points in a 66-62 win. Funk's 16 second-half points keyed the win.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Drake Bulldogs.

2006-07 REWIND: Coaching legend Dr. Tom Davis, who put Drake back on the map when he took the head job in Des Moines four years ago, built the Doggies into the best team in the state by his fourth year. Doubt it? They went 4-0 against in-state competition (Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa), including a two-game sweep of arguably the second-best team, UNI. After leading them to their first winning season since the mid-eighties heydey of Gary Garner, Davis retired and handed the reigns over to his son Keno.

In the teams' first meeting in Omaha, Creighton shot 65.9% from the field and routed the Bulldogs 75-59; they hit 18-23 in the second half (78%). The rematch in Des Moines was much more competitive. Drake had a 43-36 lead in the second half before a 14-0 Creighton run gave them the lead; Creighton held on for a 67-62 win.

Basketball Times Magazine runs a special report every five years that they call The Best Of The Best. Top Gun references aside, the report ranks only those programs who have won two-thirds of their games over the previous ten years. Duke came out on top in both the 1997 and 2002 rankings, and is once again top dog in the 2007 rankings.

What's more interesting is that our own Creighton Bluejays are ranked #7 in the 2007 list. Here's the top ten, which is a virtual who's-who of college basketball.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Indiana State Sycamores.

2006-07 REWIND: Indiana State capped another disappointing season under veteran coach Royce Waltman with a last-place finish in the Valley, a campaign which ultimately cost Waltman his job. In the first meeting between the Jays and Trees, Indiana State overcame a halftime deficit thanks to a 10-0 second half run and won 53-52; Nate Funk drove the lane at the buzzer and his attempted game-winning shot rimmed out. Creighton struggled in the second meeting as well, winning 71-55 in what was a tight game throughout. The teams had a rubber match in the MVC tourney, but there would be no struggles this time; the Jays set an MVC tourney record by holding the Trees to 23% shooting from the field in a 59-38 win.

Over the next several days, I'll be posting previews of each team in the Valley. Today I take a look at the Illinois State Redbirds.

2006-07 REWIND: Illinois State, despite having the Freshman of the Year and two members of the All-Newcomer team, finished a decidedly mediocre 15-16 overall and 6-12 in the conference. Creighton defeated the Redbirds on New Years Day 79-71 in Omaha behind 23 points and 9 boards from Anthony Tolliver on 11-11 shooting from the field; the Jays as a team set a Qwest Center record by shooting 64% for the game. In Normal, the Jays lost out on a chance to catch SIU for first place in the league as a game of streaks ended in a 65-55 win for the Redbirds. Osiris Eldridge scored 18 second-half points to lead Illinois State.

One of the things that has Jays fans excited for the upcoming year is the number of highly-touted newcomers to the team. Up to this point, all we know about them is what we've read on message boards, Rivals and the like. For instance, Chad Millard, the transfer from Louisville.

His pre-Creighton story is well documented. Born in Lincoln, he grew up in New Hampshire and grew into a Top 150 prospect who was recruited by Rick Pitino to play at Louisville. Starting three games as a Freshman, his work ethic seemed to be endearing him to a coach traditionally hard to please.

Then he abruptly decided to transfer to Creighton. Showing up on campus last year with what can best be described as an Epic Mullet, he redshirted and lent an Allman Brothers look to the bench that had sorely been missing in the Dana Altman era. At least until his mullet went the way of the Flock of Seagulls style on every hipster in 1985 when their second single failed to chart.

Its not quite the new practice facility for Men's Hoops that many have longed for, but this is still a HUGE development for CU Athletics: