2007-08 Gameday Previews: January 2008 Archives

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.