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.
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
I saw someone post this on the Bluejay Cafe, and when something is so brilliant, you don't try to one-up it. You acknowledge its greatness, then begin using it (with proper credit given, of course). And so it is, the February 14, 2009 game is forever known as The St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
82-60. Can you comprehend that score? I don't know where to begin. Winning by 22 in Carbondale is one thing; scoring 82 points on the Salukis at home is quite another. Beaten down or not, I did not envision a day when the Jays -- or anyone for that matter -- would hang 82 points on SIU at home.
I've been wrong twice this week.
Earlier in the week, I attempted to set up a date with a girl way out of my league. My friends figured, at best, I had a miniscule 8.5% chance of succeeding with this inquiry. If Vegas oddmakers gave odds on such things, they'd have refused to take bets on the scenario because 91.5% of the time, I probably get shot down by her. Ah, but I defied the odds! I was, and continue to be, quite happy to have been wrong. (At least until I screw something up on the date; but hopefully when/if I do, I'll at least get a classic story out of it.)
In my Gameday post, I wrote a collection of things that look incredibly silly in hindsight. I scoffed at a reader who predicted the very 20-point rout that actually happened. I said, and I quote, "SIU is not going to roll over and play dead. Not against Creighton. They'll leave it all on the court today, and if the Jays are to win, they have to want it more. They have to hustle, they have to be tough, they have to defend, they have to rebound."
I also said quite emphatically that "There is no way in hell this game gets into the 70s." Whoops. Again, I am quite happy to have been wrong.
The thing is, my prediction wasn't all that off-base. I wrote that the Jays would have to leave it all out on the court, want it more than SIU, hustle, be tough, defend, and rebound. And the reason they won by 22 is that they did all of those things in spades. Unlike any Creighton team since Kyle Korver's sophomore year, the Jays refused to be intimidated the the SIU Arena atmosphere. And that team had seniors Ben Walker and Ryan Sears to combat the Dawg Pound, plus Big Al Huss to play the role of enforcer against any potential shenanigans. I didn't know if this Jays team had the toughness to do the same.
After six straight Valley wins and a hardass blowout smackdown that was the basketball equivalent of every Charles Bronson movie ever, the Jays toughness can no longer be questioned. This means you, Tom Shatel. Also me, because I've said it too. Granted, my timing was better when I said it, but still. No more.
I know this version of Southern Illinois is not of the ilk of recent teams, but you still have to play well to go into SIU Arena and get a win. To walk in, punch them in the mouth at the opening bell, keep punching, and knock them out before half time is simply stunning. They led 12-3 before the first media timeout, led 42-19 at the half, and cruised through the final twenty minutes.
As Bob Knight said on SportsCenter late Saturday night, its just not done. No one walks into Carbondale and wins by 20. Well folks, that's exactly what the Jays did. Celebrate it. Go crazy. Go nuts. Drink an extra beer at the next game. Have an extra bag of mini donuts. Run an extra mile at the gym. Whatever. What's important is that the Jays, on Saturday, were reminiscent of Charles Bronson and the Salukis were reminiscent of every other actor in every Charles Bronson movie. Namely, they got their asses summarily handed to them by Charles Bronson.
As with most blowouts, there were several standout performances. Booker Woodfox continued to be consistently awesome, scoring 15 points on an array of three pointers and jump shots. Kenny Lawson battled through early foul trouble to score 13 and grab 9 boards, just missing a double-double. And Kaleb Korver had 14 points, including four three pointers and another two point shot, just his second of the year (but his second in as many games).
More standout stats: the Jays shot 56% from the floor, 50% from behind the arc (9-18), 88% from the free throw line (15-17), outrebounded SIU 35-27, dished out 17 assists on 29 made buckets, and turned it over just 10 times (and just twice in the first half).
Those are the kind of stats that get you a blowout, and a game with a name. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre. You bet.
*****
With UNI's fortuitous loss to Wichita State, the Jays now sit just one game back with three to play. Here's how the remaining schedules look:
Jays:
Evansville, @ Missouri State, ISU Red
The first two are games the Jays ought to be favored to win, because they should win them. They handled Evansville easily on the road, and have traditionally played Missouri State well in Springfield (despite the new arena this year). Illinois State scares the bejeezus out of me even at home, with visions of Osiris Eldridge's Evil Mohawk dancing in my nightmares like Jamar Howard's Face and Jamal Tatum's Dreads Of Doom used to.
Panthers:
Drake, @ ISU Red, ISU Blue
I don't need Biff Tannen's Sports Almanac to tell you that they'll go at best 2-1 through that stretch, and could even go 1-2. Illinois State in Normal is going to be a B****, and I'll voluntarily give up PBR for a future Jays game if fail to not only lose, but lose by 10+ points. Indiana State is playing really well in the last two weeks, and could play spoiler. Drake is playing awful and would have to do something miraculous to win in Cedar Falls.
Your guess is as good as mine as to how this shakes itself out. Strap yourself in, it should be one helluva two weeks.
You bet.
*****
Today's Polyfro Player of the Game is brought to you by The Union of Unprepared Television Commentators. Come on, Eric Collins and Steven Bardo of ESPN2! These guys came in cold and unprepared, proving it when they believed Dana Altman's "line change" substitution patterns were a coaching strategy unique to this particular game, because of SIU's extreme lack of depth. Of course, that's been his trademark for years, and his newer five in, five out strategy has been in place for a couple of games now.
Kenny Lawson is a Man in a glass case of Awesome. He is his own trophy with two loaded guns named Jack Johnson and Tom O'Leary, ready to temporarily disarm and tranquilize any and all competitors. His 13 points and 9 rebounds brought me great happiness as a guy who believes in saucy interior play as much as he believes in apple pie and America. Good stuff, Kenneth.
Beat Evansville.
