2008-09 Game Recaps: February 2009 Archives

2008-09 Game #30: Jays 64, Missouri State 59

By
Max Univers
on February 24, 2009 11:20 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Well, the Jays certainly pulled that one out of their nether regions, didn't they? Ah, but its late February, when results matter more than how you get them. Its Machiavelli crossed with Al Davis, in a way; the ends justify the means. I don't care how you win, just win, baby.

That's all nice and good in theory, but I've got a litany of new clever smack-talk phrases that beg to differ. Like all creative endeavours, there's no off and on switch on the smack talk, and my best stuff comes out when I'm cheering on during either a blowout loss or a tight game. Ask any of my college roommates from years ago; they used to make me sit and watch them play Madden 64 because they knew it would piss me off, I'd start talking smack, and they'd get some cheap laughs.

For some reason, I yelled out "What's the Frequency, Kenneth? 96.Awesome!" after Kenny (Kenneth) Lawson's second block in as many possessions. I also at one point or another told a lustily-booing MSU crowd to "Get some facts, and come and see me!", although the facts I had in mind were more easily defensible than Jim Calhoun's. I sang the Casey's General Store commercial jingle after Casey Harriman's last two three's; "Casey's its all good!". To say I was excited is an understatement. At one point or another during the depressing first half, I lamented the fact that I had picked the wrong week to stop:

Smoking
Drinking
Sniffing glue
Taking amphetamines

By the ten minute mark of the second half, I was out of vices that I'd picked the wrong week to stop associating with, so I was quite relieved that the Jays decided to play better. Tell your old man that it gets tiring dragging Walton up and down the court for 48 minutes a night!

Based on the notebook pages of new material I got last night, the means did matter, at least to me. Coming out lethargic and with no energy, the Jays turned in one of the worst halves of basketball they've played all season long against the last place team in the league. In a game they HAD to have to stay in the race for the league championship, they came out flat. As late as 8:25 PM, things looked awfully bleak. Ten minutes of inspired ball, jump-started by Kaleb Korver knocking a ball loose, diving on the floor and in the process getting fouled was the catalyst for a comeback.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #30: Jays 64, Missouri State 59.

2008-09 Game #29: Jays 76, George Mason 63

By
Max Univers
on February 22, 2009 5:32 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Publicly, I predicted a win for the Jays in my Gameday post, but privately, I had concerns about this game. George Mason likes to play a slow, half-court game with scores in the high 50s and low 60s; Creighton, as we all know, likes to play up-tempo, the higher the score the better. Why is this a concern, you ask? Doesn't this kind of clash-of-styles happen all the time?

Well, yeah, except George Mason and their excellent coach, Jim Larranaga, have been relatively adept at forcing tempo on their opponents from what I've seen -- and a half-court game favors the team that rebounds better and plays better defense. Neither of those characteristics have generally favored the Jays this year, current win streak aside.

I needn't have worried. As has become the norm with Saturday night games, the crowd was rambunctious, boisterous and had an alcohol-fueled aggression ten minutes before tip off, traits which continued for the duration of the night. You could sense it when you walked into the building. You could sense it during starting lineups. And you couldn't mistake it during the first four minutes of the game: there was a different vibe, a different energy in the building, and not just in the stands.

The ESPNU commentators commented in the first minutes of the game that the atmosphere was as good as any they'd seen, that the crowd was in on every play -- and that George Mason would have to adjust because it was going to be a huge factor. Love it. Polyfro props to everyone in the building who contributed to that.

Continue reading 2008-09 Game #29: Jays 76, George Mason 63.

2008-09 Game #28: Jays 89, Evansville 84

By
Max Univers
on February 18, 2009 12:09 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
In which the Jays almost succumb to the first of two Booby Trap Games...

My first indication that Tuesday's game was going to have a saucy finish should have come around 6:37 PM CST. Waiting in line for my usual pregame ritual of Chicken Tenders, Fries and Pabst Blue Ribbon, the concessionaire asked me a startling question: would I like to try the new hot wing sauce? Yes, yes I would! As anyone who's seen the latest photos on my Facebook page can attest, I do like the hot wings. Combining my two favorite culinary things during the winter months -- chicken tenders at a Jays game AND hot wing sauce -- well, that's just a dangerous combination. I tore into the opportunity with reckless abandon.

Incidentally, props to the geniuses at the cheap beer stand who made the decision to pull the PBR tap and go back to cans. Cans equal bigger glasses equal a happier stomach for Max Univers. See, back in the first years of the Qwest, the cheap beer stand had PBR, Schlitz, Old Style, Falstaff and Old Milwaukee...two cans for $5. The signage read "Free Beer Tomorrow", although tomorrow never came. Then after a couple of years, the price went to $6 when sales were cutting into the numbers of the more, ahem, mainstream beers. This year, the cans went away, the taps went in, the glasses got smaller (20 oz instead of 24) and the price stayed at $6, although the signage now read "$7", with the 7 crossed out and replaced by a 6. People who don't go to every game ever would think, hey, we're saving a buck! Yay! But I know better. My buddy G. Clarke and I were pleased to see the return both of cans and of larger glasses.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #28: Jays 89, Evansville 84.

2008-09 Game #27: Jays 82, Southern Illinois 60

By
Max Univers
on February 15, 2009 11:16 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
Epic games against your biggest rival tend to be remembered by name. (Yes, I give names to games. Shut up.) Some examples of CU-SIU games I've named over the past several years:

The Mike "Ratface" Sanzere Game

The CU-SIU game on Super Bowl Sunday in 2002 where Kent F'n Williams made two of three free throws with .4 seconds left in a tie game after a B.S. foul on DeAnthony Bowden.

A Can O'Whoop Ass

The 2003 MVC Championship Game. That's really all I have to say, isn't it? Maybe I could add the score just to rub it in further: 80-56. If I ever get a tattoo, that might be incorporated into it. 80-56.

The Kyle Korver Game

Oh, sure, Kyle had dozens of great games, but at least in front of the home fans, there's really only one Game, capitalized. January 18, 2003. Trailing in the second half in front of a crowd that exceeded the arena's capacity by over 1000 bodies and a national audience on ESPN, #13 Creighton staged a raucous comeback. Korver hit 3 three pointers in a 56-second span -- you might not remember it because you were screaming so loudly -- to give the Jays a lead they would not relinquish. Oh, and Korver had a double-double with 24 pounds and 11 boards. That's how you get a game named after you.

The Bryan "F.U." Mullins Game

Bryan Mullins hits a runner with 4 seconds left to silence 17,500 at the Qwest Center in 2007. That's also how you get a game named after you. Its also how you get the initials for a phrase you wouldn't utter in the company of your mother or a priest attached to your name.

Today We Spell Redemption J A Y S

Paraphrasing one of my favorite underrated quotes from Anchorman, the Jays finally beat the Salukis after way too many losses in a row. The 72-53 rout on February 10, 2008 was joyous.

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have another game to add to the pantheon. After the jump, I give a name to a worthy addition to the group.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #27: Jays 82, Southern Illinois 60.

2008-09 Game #26: Jays 79, Bradley 65

By
Max Univers
on February 12, 2009 7:18 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
Wednesday was the consummate trap game. The Jays were coming off of two huge road wins, one over the defending conference champ and the other over the current leader which was on an 11-game winning streak. The game was the tweener game before the Valentines Day, ESPN televised rivalry week tilt against Southern Illinois. Even for the best teams, that's a potential recipe for disaster. That's the kind of game where teams show up too lackadaisical, hope the home crowd can give them an assist, and escape with a victory.

All of that would be trouble enough if not for Bradley entering the game licking its wounds after getting destroyed four days earlier and remembering the hurt Creighton put on them in front of a sold-out crowd in January. Unfortunately, nothing in the first 30 minutes of the game did anything to dissuade me from feeling my sad prophecy was coming true. I don't want to be Nostradamus. Nostradamus is a douchebag who says the world is going to end in 2012. But when you're coughing up multiple 10+ point leads at home, when you're allowing a half-court buzzer beater to be taken much less made, when you're expecting us to be entertained at halftime by a vaudeville reject from 1855 rolling around the court in a giant hamster wheel...

Trap game.

I'm glad to report that somewhere in the last ten minutes of the game, the Jays were tougher, stronger and wanted the game more than Bradley. On a night when they didn't shoot particularly well, rebounded basically even with the other team and were stuck in neutral most of the night offensively, they found a way to win by 14.

The toughness I'm talking about was epitomized by Kaleb Korver, who in a 30-second span showed anyone who cared to watch that the Jays of February are not the same Jays as December and January. After prying the ball loose, he dove on the floor with a Bradley player, attacking the ball and physically forcing a jump ball. On the ensuing possession, he had one the prettiest hesitation moves and drives to the basket that you'll ever see. The arena exploded. The bench exploded. Bradley called timeout to settle things down. THIS is Creighton basketball.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #26: Jays 79, Bradley 65.

2008-09 Game #25: Jays 77, UNI 71

By
Max Univers
on February 8, 2009 10:40 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
When you're playing on the road against the first place team in your conference -- a team that has won ELEVEN straight games, a team that beat you on your home court earlier in the season -- its not necessarily important to be picky about "how" you beat them, but merely that you beat them. It is in this vein that I profess not to caring about losing the battle of the boards by nearly 20, and profess apathy at the fact that UNI shot 30-32 from the foul line while Creighton missed ten throws. No, all I care about is one stat: Creighton 77, Northern Iowa 71, natch. You bet.

Here's why that final score is hugely important, besides getting a win and knocking off the first place team on their home court: with five games to go, Creighton is just two back. Further, Illinois State lost a heartbreaker at home to Indiana State (thanks, Coach McKenna!) to knock the Redbirds out of a second-place tie and into third place. Not to get ahead of ourselves here, but this sets up the potential for two things: one, an absolutely BRUTAL season finale on February 28 when the Redbirds come to Omaha, and two, an opportunity to steal the league crown if UNI stumbles.

I wrote earlier in the week that I believed the Jays would go 2-0 on their road trip through Iowa, and was ridiculed by a few of my readers for it. I also wrote that Justin Carter was becoming the best player on the team. I've never been confused with a genius, mostly because I go around telling people how dumb I am despite ample evidence to the contrary, but those thoughts seem awfully smart at the moment.

So lets look closer at this game, because if we didn't, what would I write about? You bet.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #25: Jays 77, UNI 71.

2008-09 Game #24: Jays 79, Drake 68

By
Max Univers
on February 5, 2009 7:13 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
Wednesday night marked the Jays first trip to Des Moines that I didn't road trip for in five years. When you're only three weeks into a new job, its a little difficult to sneak out early to jump on I-80 for a basketball game, even if you are the Creative Manager. This meant I was stuck with a choice between the radio broadcast and the KMTV broadcast.

I hesitate to complain because I remember vividly the days when there were no games televised, and I appreciate their efforts. But I can't help it anymore. KMTV's production is brutal, with the white balance misadjusted on a majority of their cameras and a half-frame-rate replay system. The former is Videography 101 stuff and is inexcusable; the latter is no doubt a budget issue so I give them a pass -- although it is amusing. Last night seemed particularly rough, though. Nearly every time they went to them, their cameras under the basket were jerking around so wildly that it reminded me of The Blair Witch Project. Its a good thing I hadn't eaten contaminated Peanut Butter or I might have thrown up.

As for the announcers, I think my readers have it all wrong when it comes to my opinion of Travis Justice. I mean, he's my fourth favorite Justice of all time, which is a lot higher than I think most readers assume he'd be. You've got Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit, you've got David Justice of the Atlanta Braves/Cleveland Indians, you've got Chief Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court (who got married in Omaha), and then you've got Travis Justice. Its no shame to be fourth on that list, so I don't know where this wild idea about me being a hater comes from. You bet.

I rather like the 15-25 seconds of dead air during the course of a game where no one is saying anything. Especially when the game is being played in a two-thirds full arena. Good times.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #24: Jays 79, Drake 68.

2008-09 Game #23: Jays 75, Missouri State 51

By
Max Univers
on February 2, 2009 7:38 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
I'm convinced that Sunday's game will mark a turning point in the season. As the calendar turned to February, the team played with a zest that we haven't seen since December. They were tough, they were in position for tough rebounds and actually got them, they had great movement on offense, and once they started hitting shots, they blew Missouri State out of the gym.

The catalyst for this stunning transformation was Justin Carter who, 23 games into his Creighton career, is starting to prove that all of the wonderful things said about him over the summer are true. When he was on the court, there wasn't one loose ball he wasn't flying after. Not one. For the entire time he was on the floor.

In the second half, he even had a mid-court steal that led to a fast break dunk. This was old-skool stuff -- a strong, bad ass, authoritative one handed dunk -- followed by him sprinting back down the court to play defense. He didn't do any celebratory nonsense to draw attention to himself, he just matter-of-factly dunked the damn ball and then got back on defense. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate histrionics as much as the next guy in the 18-34 demo, but there's just something about a dude who appreciates defense.
Continue reading 2008-09 Game #23: Jays 75, Missouri State 51.
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About the Author

Max Univers (not his real name) is a graphic designer and author of two books, neither of which you’ve probably heard of. A 2001 graduate of Creighton University’s Journalism program, Max takes time out of his busy nightlife to share his thoughts on Jays hoops here during the season.

Why Univers? Its his favorite font, plus it just sounds really cool as a surname.

Why Polyfro? Years and years ago, Max had a giant afro wig that he wore as part of a Halloween costume. Not wishing to retire its giant fro awesomeness after the holiday, he began wearing the wig out in public as part of his everyday ensemble. One night at a dance club, the DJ called out the moniker over the soundsystem. Max thought it sounded cool, and purchased the URL shortly thereafter.

More questions? Send me an email: max-at-polyfro-dot-com. I like jokes, story tips, and generally all correspondence involving Bluejay athletics. Emails that point out how stupid I am and/or where I should go after I die are not encouraged.

About this Archive

This page is a archive of entries in the 2008-09 Game Recaps category from February 2009.

2008-09 Game Recaps: January 2009 is the previous archive.

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