School Databank:
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Enrollment: 12,906
Famous sports alumni: Malik Rose (NBA), Bob Alejnikov (NBA)
Last game: Lost to George Mason 85-38
Last game vs Creighton: Won 64-58 on 2/17/07
Series: Drexel leads 1-0
One of the toughest stretches of non-conference basketball in recent memory begins today for the Jays, as they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons in the Jays' first trip to Pennsylvania since a 1973 tilt with Duquesne. Afterward, its on to Cincinnati to take on Xavier, before playing St. Joseph's next Sunday back in Omaha.
I'm excited to see this game, because its the first chance to see Creighton's newcomers outside of the friendly confines of the Qwest Center. And as far as tough venues to play your first college road game in, it doesn't get much tougher than the Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC for short). The 2300-seat arena may be small, but its size actually works to its advantage, as it is loud and the close proximity of the fans to the court make it an intimidating atmosphere. Not exactly the type of place you'd prefer to take a team with just three returning letterman from a year ago, and certainly not for their first road game. Yet this is the hand they're dealt, so the outcome should be very interesting.
Both teams should have all the ammunition they need to be ready for this game. Creighton lost at home to Drexel last year on Kyle Korver Bobblehead Night, in a nationally-televised ESPN2 game in front of the largest crowd in state history, so needless to say they will be looking for revenge. Drexel, on the other hand, got their butts summarily handed to them by the Patriots of George Mason, losing by 47 points on Thursday night to Jim Larranaga's squad.
Coach Bruiser Flint's team went 23-9 a year ago, yet somehow managed to find themselves left out of the NCAA Tournament. They return 10 lettermen and two starters from that team, which sounds better than it is. The losses of Chaz Crawford and Bashir Mason are significant, and Dominick Mejia has proven tough to replace thus far. Further hampering the Dragons is the injury to 6'-9" center Frank Elegar, whose foot woes limited his minutes against George Mason and may keep him on the bench entirely against the Jays.
Mejia and Crawford absolutely killed the Jays in Omaha a year ago; Crawford grabbed 8 boards and blocked 3 shots, while Mejia scored 20 points, grabbed 8 boards and threw in four assists for good measure. Elegar scored 19 points, grabbed 3 boards and blocked a shot, so his injury problems are certainly a huge positive development for the Jays, as they had no answer for him a year ago.
Elegar is their main weapon, and the result against George Mason shows what the Dragons are without him. Namely, not very good. Tremaine Hawthorne is a speedy guard who is the next-best option offensively, and it will be imperative for the Jays to keep him from getting hot, as Drexel's scoring options are really limited if Elegar is out of the game (or ineffective) and Hawthorne is marginalized.
I think it would be a very, very good week if Creighton can come home from Cincinnati 5-1 after splitting the two-game road trip. Look for the Jays to ride their veterans early in an attempt to control the pace and keep the game in the 60s, and then go to their superior bench to tire out the Dragons in the second half.
Prediction: Jays 62, Drexel 54
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