The final-week push to win a piece of the regular season MVC crown for the first time since 2001 begins in Springfield on Tuesday night. While its staggering that for all that Creighton has accomplished they haven't won even a share of the regular season crown in eight years, it might be more staggering that KMTV has chosen to pre-empt the State of the Union Address to show the Jays game. They've pre-empted the Jays for breaking news stories in the past, and one couldn't have really blamed them if they'd chosen to show the President instead of basketball.
Travis Justice and Action 3 are the leaders in the clubhouse for Polyfro Players of the Game for making the decision to televise the game. Rumor in the advertising world in which I work is that CBS is not hiding their displeasure at KMTV's decision. Matter of fact, they're pissed, and are not allowing them to join their coverage "in progress" after the game. So we get a special half-hour postgame show after the game and before the news, something they've never done before. My advice is to watch the game live, and watch out-of-context sound bites of the speech on the Daily Show later.
On behalf of my hundreds of daily readers, I tip my fake plastic 'fro to KMTV. You bet.
*****
That wondrous wordsmith and newly mustachioed Godfather of Creighton Blogs, Otter, points out in his game preview that two years ago the Jays entered the final week in a similar scenario. Game #17 was a road game against a lower-tier opponent, a game most assumed the Jays would win to set up a Senior Day chance to win the MVC Title on national TV. The opponent was Illinois State. The outcome was not pleasant. The Evil Mohawk (or as Otter brilliantly calls it, the O Hawk) was born.
The similarities may be eerie on the surface, but the main difference is that the 2006-07 Illinois State team was an up-and-coming squad of young talent that was better than its record indicated. Missouri State is a struggling team that is in full-on rebuilding mode with a new coach. The Bears have won just three conference games, none of them against the top half of the league. They're bottom-tier in the league in both three-point offense AND defense. They're worst in the league in shooting percentage. They're not deep. They have the most turnovers in the league and the fewest steals.
Naturally, this game scares the bejeezus out of me. Its precisely the type of game previous Jays teams have found a maddening way to lose, which is a huge reason they haven't won a regular season championship since 2001. Its Senior Night for the Bears, and they haven't lost such a game in 19 years. Why do I feel like I need to throw up?
Ah yes, that's much better. I might still throw up, but it'll be because I ran through a brick wall and not because I fear losing this game.
LETS WIN! EYE OF THE BLUEJAY! YOU BET!
More ridiculousness after the jump.
Did I really just say "Eye of the Bluejay?" Good Lord, I am a moron sometimes.
One Big Paragraph With Lots O'Dots (TM): Missouri State had lost four straight in the Valley before going on the road to defeat Tennessee-Martin 79-77 on Saturday. UTM is in first place in the Ohio Valley and had won 11 straight games ... Despite that impressive win, the Bears are 11-17 overall and 3-13 in the league. Regardless of the outcome of their games this week, they will be the #10 seed in Arch Madness ... Senior Chris Cooks will be playing his last home game as a Bear. Cooks leads the team in nearly every significant statistical category ... Freshman Kyle Weems has turned the corner his last five games, averaging in double figures and hitting the game-winning shot against UTM ... To use baseball sabermetrics terminology, the Bears actual record is close to their Pythagorean Record. They allow 2.2 more points than they score, they shoot just 40% on twos and 32% on threes, and allow opponents to shoot in the high 40s and low 40s respectively. Yup, sounds like a last place team to me ... The Jays have won six straight vs Missouri State, dating back to when they were still known as SMS. Yes, genius, this means the Jays are *technically* undefeated all-time against Missouri State, although against MVC Schools from Springfield, the Jays are 28-22 all-time.
The Last Time They Played: The second win in the Jays' current eight-game streak came against Missouri State on February 1, a 75-51 smashing that has proved to be the jumping off point for their late-season resurgence. Sure, they had beaten Indiana State four days earlier, but it was a close game; the MSU win was a throttling and sent a message to the league that the Jays were about to make one of their patented February runs.
Pete Rose Memorial Odds: Creighton by 6. Considering its Senior Night, that seems about right.
Gratuitous Linkage: Cheez-it Scrabble! Just like a Centaur, kind of like Old Spice 2-in-1, and only slightly like BL Lime, its Two Things! Edible Scrabble Pieces. You bet.
Official Gametime Snack: In honor of the State of the Union address that I will not be watching -- because basketball is best watched live and political speeches are best watched as out-of-context sound bites on the Daily Show -- I recommend Big City Sliders as sold by Billy Mays. Not only are you eating a uniquely American food, you're stimulating the economy by buying crap you don't really need (sic). I mean, you do what you want, but that's what I'll be eating.
The totally random song I'd play right now if I were still a radio DJ: "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. The Jays had better not be looking ahead to Illinois State on Saturday. Don't forget about the Bears. Do not.
Prediction: On a night when the President delivers his State of the Union Address, the Jays deliver their own State of the Valley Address. They send a message to Northern Iowa and Illinois State that the league is theirs, and that if either of them want it, they're gonna have to pry it out of the Jays cold dead hands.
Jays 78, Missouri State 56
