The exhibition season unofficially tipped off last weekend, when Creighton traveled to Ames to take on Iowa State. I say "unofficially" because the game was cloaked in more mystery than a government secret. Finding anything out about that "game" has proved just this side of impossible.
I asked someone I know who is not connected to the program but who knows a guy who knows a guy who saw someone at 38 Flavors who claimed he saw the game if he could tell me anything about it.
This isn't the Ark of the Covenant we're talking about, but much like the Ark, the happenings of the Iowa State-Creighton exhibition have apparently been crated up and shoved into some random corner of a warehouse. And there they will stay, thanks in part to an NCAA rule that essentially killed teams like EA Sports, Global Sports, etc. that routinely provided exhibition tuneups for Division 1 teams.
As I understand it, exhibition games now must be against D-II or D-III teams. Alternatively, teams can play a "scrimmage" against a D-I team, provided no media, fans or non-team personnel are present and no details of the game are made public. As games against D-II opponents aren't expected to offer much of a tuneup -- Creighton's struggles against Nebraska-Omaha notwithstanding -- many D-I schools opted to have just one "true" exhibition game on their schedule.
Thus, we have Sunday's big Creighton-Central Missouri tilt.
I asked someone I know who is not connected to the program but who knows a guy who knows a guy who saw someone at 38 Flavors who claimed he saw the game if he could tell me anything about it.
Me: "So, can you tell me anything about the game?"
Him: "I haven't been able to find out. But I have top men working on it right now."
Me: "Who?"
Him: "Top...Men."
This isn't the Ark of the Covenant we're talking about, but much like the Ark, the happenings of the Iowa State-Creighton exhibition have apparently been crated up and shoved into some random corner of a warehouse. And there they will stay, thanks in part to an NCAA rule that essentially killed teams like EA Sports, Global Sports, etc. that routinely provided exhibition tuneups for Division 1 teams.
As I understand it, exhibition games now must be against D-II or D-III teams. Alternatively, teams can play a "scrimmage" against a D-I team, provided no media, fans or non-team personnel are present and no details of the game are made public. As games against D-II opponents aren't expected to offer much of a tuneup -- Creighton's struggles against Nebraska-Omaha notwithstanding -- many D-I schools opted to have just one "true" exhibition game on their schedule.
Thus, we have Sunday's big Creighton-Central Missouri tilt.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O'Dots(TM):
Central Missouri is an MIAA school located in Warrensburg, MO, which coincidentally happens to be the hometown of recently graduated Jays big man Dane Watts...Their mens athletic teams go by the "Mules" nickname, while their female teams use the "Jennies" name...The Mules finished 18-10 a year ago, return all-MIAA guard Joe Young, and will already have one exhibition under their belt before coming to Omaha, as they lost 80-75 at Austin Peay on Thursday...The Mules have three starters who were part of the 31-4 Final Four team two years ago...They are the second-winningest program ever in NCAA Division II and have won 49 games the last two years.
The Last Time They Played:
The Jays and Mules have met just once before, a 44-25 victory by the Jays on December 9, 1946. I'm sure you all remember it. I know I do. (sic)
Official Brent Musburger Line:
N/L
Creighton game notes
Central Missouri game notes (not available at post time)
Gratuitous Linkage:
Guns N' Roses, some £10m of Axl grease and Chinese Democracy
Wait...Buckethead had a chicken coop with LIVE chickens in the recording studio, and Axl's wolf cubs broke in to the coop and devoured them? That's amazing stuff.
Official gametime snack:
Paraphrasing the prophet David Letterman, "This is not a competition, this is only an exhibition so please...no snacking!"
The totally random song I'd play right now if I were still a radio DJ:
"Hello" by Lionel Richie
True story to segue you into that song:
My sophomore year at Creighton, I was in a 3D Forms class and one of the assignments was to sculpt a seashell out of plaster. Because I thought that sounded boring, I came into the studio after hours and decided to create a plaster bust of the professor. It looked nearly as bad as the Lionel bust in the Hello video, except I didn't have the excuse of being blind. If you must know, I got a B on the seashell and a stern lecture on the bust.
Prediction:
Jays 79, Central Missouri 62. The offense will come out sluggish, struggling for proper spacing without the veteran Watts in the paint. The Jays superior athleticism will eventually be too much for Central Missouri to stop, and they will put on a show the fans will love. Coach Altman will be disappointed in their defense, and will tell T. Scott on the postgame that the team has "a long ways to go to be as good as we want to be."
Central Missouri is an MIAA school located in Warrensburg, MO, which coincidentally happens to be the hometown of recently graduated Jays big man Dane Watts...Their mens athletic teams go by the "Mules" nickname, while their female teams use the "Jennies" name...The Mules finished 18-10 a year ago, return all-MIAA guard Joe Young, and will already have one exhibition under their belt before coming to Omaha, as they lost 80-75 at Austin Peay on Thursday...The Mules have three starters who were part of the 31-4 Final Four team two years ago...They are the second-winningest program ever in NCAA Division II and have won 49 games the last two years.
The Last Time They Played:
The Jays and Mules have met just once before, a 44-25 victory by the Jays on December 9, 1946. I'm sure you all remember it. I know I do. (sic)
Official Brent Musburger Line:
N/L
Creighton game notes
Central Missouri game notes (not available at post time)
Gratuitous Linkage:
Guns N' Roses, some £10m of Axl grease and Chinese Democracy
Wait...Buckethead had a chicken coop with LIVE chickens in the recording studio, and Axl's wolf cubs broke in to the coop and devoured them? That's amazing stuff.
Official gametime snack:
Paraphrasing the prophet David Letterman, "This is not a competition, this is only an exhibition so please...no snacking!"
The totally random song I'd play right now if I were still a radio DJ:
"Hello" by Lionel Richie
True story to segue you into that song:
My sophomore year at Creighton, I was in a 3D Forms class and one of the assignments was to sculpt a seashell out of plaster. Because I thought that sounded boring, I came into the studio after hours and decided to create a plaster bust of the professor. It looked nearly as bad as the Lionel bust in the Hello video, except I didn't have the excuse of being blind. If you must know, I got a B on the seashell and a stern lecture on the bust.
Prediction:
Jays 79, Central Missouri 62. The offense will come out sluggish, struggling for proper spacing without the veteran Watts in the paint. The Jays superior athleticism will eventually be too much for Central Missouri to stop, and they will put on a show the fans will love. Coach Altman will be disappointed in their defense, and will tell T. Scott on the postgame that the team has "a long ways to go to be as good as we want to be."
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