Recently in 2007-08 Gameday Previews Category

I was going to write a pregame analysis of this game, and then I decided to go drink a bunch of green beer instead for St. Patrick's Day. Something has to give, and when the competition is writing versus green beer, the latter wins every time.

In lieu of an original post, I want to share an email from a reader who happens to be an Arizona fan. Sure, it has nothing to do with Creighton or Rhode Island, and he does take some veiled shots at some teams near and dear to us, but it made me laugh, and that's good enough for me.

I don't want to say that the Evansville game is akin to a gimme in golf, because no matter what, a road game in conference is never easy. That said, the Purple Aces are 7-16 overall and 2-11 in the Valley, their point guard is out for the season with a broken hand, and the Jays won the first meeting by 18.

Shy Ely is averaging 14 points a game and 5.5 boards, but the loss of Jason Holsinger makes an already overmatched Aces squad that much weaker. As Creighton's game notes point out, "Jason Holsinger was averaging 13.0 points per game but broke his non-shooting right hand on Saturday and is not expected to play on Wednesday. Holsinger's 103 assists are 64 more than any other UE player and he's also made 60 of the team's 128 three-pointers to date."

On paper, this shouldn't be much of a game. But as I've often said, games aren't played on paper, they're played on television -- or in tonight's case, radio, because its the first road game of the season to not be televised in Omaha. Think about that, its February 13 before there's a road game we can't watch on TV. (The Xavier game on December 5 was technically televised, although the broadcast was rightfully pre-empted for coverage of the Westroads shooting).

PREDICTION: Jays 76, Evansville 58.

I don't hate Southern Illinois; hate is an awfully strong word. I have a grudging respect for what they've accomplished. but that doesn't mean I like them. How's this: I really, really, really don't like them. Really, really, really, really, REALLY don't like them.

Which makes the nine-straight regular season losses hurt me like getting shafted out of dollar PBR night at the Musette Bar (which actually happened to me this week).

Its absurd but true: the last time Creighton beat Southern Illinois in the regular season was a fire marshal special nationally-televised on ESPN. Played before 1000 more fans than there were seats at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, the Kyle Korver-led Jays beat the Salukis 85-76. Those Salukis were coached by Bruce Weber; the Jays are winless against both of his successors (Matt Painter and Chris Lowery).

Since that victory, here are the results of the SIU/Creighton series in the regular season (last year's MVC tourney win not withstanding):

School Databank:

Location: Des Moines, IA

Enrollment: 3,164

Famous sports alumni: Zach Johnson (PGA, Masters Champion)

Last game: Beat Northern Iowa 58-54

Last game vs Creighton: Drake won 68-60 last week in Omaha

Series: Creighton leads 86-53 (Drake leads 34-31 in Des Moines)

Well, the rematch between Creighton and Drake happens tonight in Des Moines, and looky-what-we-have-here, the Bulldogs are still rated. In fact, now they're a Top-20 team (!) and their winning streak has reached 17 games (!).

The last two games, both losses, may have represented a key turning point in the season. Going from 5-2 in the league to 5-4 puts the Jays in an unfamiliar position at the halfway point of the league season. As Otter pointed out in his typically excellent post after the SIU loss, the reality of the current Jays' squad is a rude awakening to many fans who only began following the team during their current run of success. The idea of not competing for a conference title this year is a shock to a lot of people. But you've got to look at the big picture, folks.

Maybe we're all just too close to the situation. I found the thoughts of my college roommate John, who lives in Des Moines and has only seen the Jays a couple of times this year, to be interesting.

School Databank:

Location: Des Moines, IA

Enrollment: 3,164

Famous sports alumni: Zach Johnson (PGA, Masters Champion)

Last game: Beat Illinois State 79-73

Last game vs Creighton: Creighton won 67-62 on February 2, 2007

Series: Creighton leads 86-52 (52-17 in Omaha)

The Jays and Bulldogs have played 138 times, but its safe to say none of them have been as heavily anticipated on both sides of the border than this one. Drake will take the court tonight as a rated team for the first time since 1971, looking to continue steamrolling through their schedule. At 16-1 and 7-0 in the league, they are the best team in the Valley. Say what you want about Drake, but the fact of the matter is that they are in sole possession of first place, are undefeated in the league, and are the only ranked team in the MVC.

If Drake can win tonight in Omaha, they'll make the MVC a two-team race between themselves and Illinois State. But if Creighton can pull off the upset, they'll be just a game back of the leaders and make it a three-team race for the regular season championship. There are 10 conference games left after tonight, sure, but this is a big one.

School Databank:

Location: Terre Haute, IN

Enrollment: 8,537

Famous sports alumni: Vencie Glenn (NFL), Bruce Baumgartner (2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling), Zane Smith (MLB) and, um, Larry Bird (NBA)

Last game: Lost at Missouri State, 65-44

Last game vs Creighton: Indiana State won 62-54 on January 4 of this year

Series: Creighton leads 45-22 (25-7 in Omaha)

Tonight's game has revenge written all over it. The last time these teams met three weeks ago, Creighton turned in perhaps their laziest, sloppiest performance in years -- and it was on the heels of their worst loss ever at the Qwest Center. Those losses dropped them to 0-2 in the MVC for the first time ever under Dana Altman. Chad Millard lost his starting role after the game, after two particularly ugly plays that summed up that atrocity in Terre Haute:

School Databank:

Location: Cedar Falls, IA

Enrollment: 10,727

Famous sports alumni: Kurt Warner (NFL), Bryce Paup (NFL)

Last game: Lost to Bradley 75-73

Last game vs Creighton: Jays won 66-55 on 2/13/07 in Omaha

Series: Creighton leads 23-11 (UNI leads 9-7 in Cedar Falls)

Series notes: Creighton has won seven straight vs UNI and 18 of the last 21

Back when I was at Creighton, my brother was in school at UNI. Of course, back then you needed to invent a better word for "terrible" to describe the Panthers' basketball team, because it got old describing them as simply terrible all the time. They stunk. They only beat the Jays one time in those years, an overtime thriller at the old Civic Auditorium. I never heard the end of it.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time up in Cedar Falls, and likewise my brother spent a lot of time in Omaha. I can't tell you how many times I enjoyed the penny beers at Suds or one of the other great college bars on "The Hill". I can still taste the greasy late-night pizza from the Stein. Cedar Falls is a good time.

After we both graduated, UNI got to be awfully good. And then the smack talk really commenced, because his boys could finally back it up on the court. I'll save you the horror stories of "interesting" bets won and lost between us over the years -- interesting because they're not the sort of bets where money changed hands, if you catch my drift...

School Databank:

Location: Wichita, KS

Enrollment: 15,000

Famous sports alumni: Bill Parcells (NFL), Antoine Carr (NBA), Joe Carter (MLB), Xavier McDaniel (NBA)

Last game: Lost to Missouri State 71-47

Last game vs Creighton: Jays won 71-54 on 2/24/07 in Omaha

Series: Creighton leads 47-39 (WSU leads 25-18 in Wichita)

Series notes: Creighton has swept the season series 8 of the last 13 years; Creighton has won 30 of the last 38 meetings; Dana Altman is 25-6 against the Shockers

Creighton has owned Wichita State of late. By "late", I mean "pretty much forever". Look at those numbers above! And what's truly amazing is that a fairly good percentage of those came against good Shocker teams. There were years where it seemed like Wichita would beat practically everybody else on their schedule and still lose to the Jays. I know it was frustrating for their fans, and with a new coach, they have optimism that things will change.

Maybe things will change, but not this year. Wichita State is (how do I say this diplomatically?)...not very good. They're a respectable 8-7 overall, and own a 1-3 record in the Valley, although they've lost to the top two teams in the league (Drake and Illinois State), so that record is a little deceiving.

School Databank:

Location: Springfield, MO

Enrollment: 17,425

Famous sports alumni: Bill Mueller (MLB), Ryan Howard (MLB), Jackie Stiles (WNBA)

Last game: Beat Bradley 91-80

Last game vs Creighton: Jays won 75-58 in MVC Semifinals

Series: Creighton leads 25-22 (MSU leads 15-5 in Springfield)

Series notes: Creighton has won 18 of the last 25, including a three-game sweep last season

Coming into the season, just about everyone was ignoring Creighton, believing this would be a rebuilding year. Then they rattled off nine wins in their first ten games, and all of a sudden the media was ready to put the target on their back as favorites to win the league. If the last two games prove anything, its that the Jays are who we thought they were (apologies to my boy Denny Green). They're a young team that will play really well at times and beat teams they shouldn't, and they'll play terribly at times and lose games they should win. Is that the definition of a rebuilding year? I don't know.

School Databank:

Location: Terre Haute, IN

Enrollment: 8,537

Famous sports alumni: Vencie Glenn (NFL), Bruce Baumgartner (2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling), Zane Smith (MLB) and, um, Larry Bird (NBA)

Last game: Won at Evansville 70-56

Last game vs Creighton: Jays won 59-38 in MVC Quarterfinals

Series: Creighton leads 45-21 (16-13 in Terre Haute)

Someone asked me today, "What would you most like to see in tonight's game?" Contrary to popular belief, its not a different starting lineup. Its defense. Hard-nosed, grind-out, steel-will defense. A game played in the 50s with Indiana State shooting 35% from the field would be music to my ears, after that pathetic reappearance of "The Ministry Of Silly Defense" on Saturday.

No uncontested layups. Recognition of a shooter with a hot hand. Simple things. You bet.