Jays get 7th straight 20 win season - a Mo Valley first

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:49 pm

Omaha World Herald wrote: Jays put Redbirds in state of Funk

NORMAL, Ill. - Creighton continued a late-season surge Monday night by keeping Illinois State in a tailspin.

The Bluejays combined solid defense with Nate Funk's 20 points and a couple of key rebounds to produce a 64-59 victory over Illinois State before 6,155 at Redbird Arena. Creighton's fifth straight win in a 20-10 season locked up the No. 3 seed in this week's Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

The Bluejays' first-round opponent Saturday will be the Redbirds, who lost their sixth straight league game to fall to 17-12 and 8-10. The fact that the teams appear headed in opposite directions is inconsequential at this point to Creighton Coach Dana Altman.

"It's a new season, and it doesn't really matter," said Altman, whose team finished tied for third in the Valley with Northern Iowa with an 11-7 record. "We knew we'd be playing Northern Iowa, Southwest Missouri or Illinois State. They're all good clubs. Porter will have them ready, we'll try to get ready and it could be a heck of a game."

Funk helped keep Illinois State and Coach Porter Moser from snapping out of theirs by 17 of his 20 points in the game's final 23 minutes. After missing five of his first six shots, Funk made six of his last seven, including four 3-point baskets, to push his career scoring total to 1,002 points and become the 29th player in school history to top the 1,000-point mark.

"That's just a milestone that I don't think about too much," Funk said. "It's an accomplishment, but we still have a lot of season left."

No other Creighton player scored more than nine points, and the Bluejays were outrebounded 32-26. But they got arguably the two biggest rebounds to maintain their grip on the game in the final minute.

Illinois State, which trailed by nine when Funk buried a 3-point shot with 9:23 to play, had trimmed the deficit to 54-50 on Gregg Alexander's 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining. The Redbirds fouled Pierce Hibma on Creighton's next possession, but the redshirt freshman missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity.

Freshman forward Dane Watts managed to get a hand on the rebound and tip the ball back to teammate Johnny Mathies. Illinois State fouled Mathies, but he, too, missed the bonus opportunity.

This time, Watts knifed into the lane, grabbed the missed free throw and scored on a layup to put the Bluejays ahead 56-50.

"On that first one, I just tried to keep it alive," Watts said. "On the second one, I don't know what happened to their guy but the ball just came right to me. I was very blessed to get those two and to put that one in."

Funk called Watts' rebounds the plays of the game. Moser wouldn't argue.

"Obviously, it hurt that we couldn't rebound those missed free throws," the former Creighton guard said. "We got what we wanted. We put them on the line and they missed two in a row, but we just couldn't get the rebound."

The misses, on its first two attempts of the night, were Creighton's only from the line. The Bluejays closed out the Redbirds by making eight straight foul shots, six by guard Tyler McKinney and two by Funk, in the final 34 seconds.

Equally important to the Bluejays was the defensive effort they turned in against Illinois State guard Trey Guidry and forward Lorenzo Gordon. The pair had combined for 49 points - 30 by Guidry - in Illinois State's 82-77 overtime win over Creighton on Jan. 22 in Omaha.

Monday, Gordon got just four shots and finished with eight points. Guidry, one of three Redbird seniors playing for the last time at home, missed 9 of 10 shots in scoring a season-low three points.

"We really concentrated on those two," McKinney said. "We knew we couldn't let Guidry get going because he can shoot it. And we had to lean on our big guys not to let Gordon get it in the post, and they did a great job."

Creighton mixed its defenses, combining a 2-3 zone with man-to-man pressure. Vince Greene led four Illinois State players in double figures with 14, but Altman was pleased with how Guidry and Gordon were neutralized.

"Our guys did a little better job of fronting them, and we got some good weakside help," he said. "Guidry got some good looks, but they just didn't go in. In Omaha, they all went in. We know we'll have our hands full again on Saturday. They'll bounce back and be ready. I just hope we will, too."

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Post by **OmahaDevelopmentMan** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:19 pm

Yea, I was pretty pumped to hear this, did anyone notice Creighton is now a bubble team again. Espn.com bracketology experts have Creighton in the "Last 4 in". But if they want to get there, they will have to win 2/3, or just win 3 and get the outright bid

.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:20 pm

I hope CU wins in STL and gets a shot at the NCAA tournament. I know the Mo Valley conferance is HQd in STL, but it would be nice to have the Valley tournament at the Qwest Center.

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Post by **OmahaDevelopmentMan** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:24 pm

Well, since its in STL, it can be more neutral,even though SIU is right there...

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:29 pm

And kind of SMS. The Qwest Center is just as nice as the Saavis Center, but neutrality is important in these things. It still would be nice for us to get it. Maybe even rotate with STL.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:34 pm

I can't imagine they'll ever want to give up the 'Arch Madness' moniker.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 7:40 pm

Then we'll build an arch too.

Like I said it won't happen but it'd be cool.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:16 pm

The Savvis Center is not even close to the Qwest Center. It was filty where we were last year.

I was disappointed with the attendance last year too. Omaha would support it much better. But of course we can't fit 22,000 in for the Final either.

BTW Carbodale is close to 2 and a half hours from St. Louis, not exactly that close.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:28 pm

I had a chance to go to the Saavis Center last year but I passed it up. I'm surprised that it would be filthy. The place is only 11 years old.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:48 pm

It's wierd the upper deck areas is set up like bleachers, you can kick trash all the way to the floor, and it looked like the trash had been there a while.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:41 pm

I saw a Billikens game on tv and the place looked pretty empty. The top did look kind of dated too now that I think about it. The outside seemed nice though.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 4:53 pm

GO Jays! Creighton was in the dance according to Joe Lunardi's Braketology but not in according to Andy Glockner's Bubble Watch (both on espn.com). They need at least two wins in the MVC tourney.

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 5:19 pm

Remember last year?
Utah St was 25-3 and had a one point loss in the conference semis.
They were left out of the dance. Mid-Major rejection.

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Post by **OmahaDevelopmentMan** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 5:36 pm

But don't mid-majors get a leg up this season?

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:11 pm

Not necessarily. The only major rule change was in the RPI.
A road win now counts as 1.4 wins and a home win only counts as a .6 win.
Creightons RPI is .5572 or #67 (right behind Utah St.)
0-2 against top 25, 4-1 against 26-50 and 2-2 against 51-100

Thanks to a 7-5 away record (#35) including #44 N Iowa
and 2-0 on neutral fields (#13), v. #86 Missouri and #46 Ohio State,
they may be a favorite bubble team.

custudent · Post by **custudent** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:24 am

The Savvis Center isn't exactly a gem. That's part of the reason why SLU is building a brand new on-campus arena and getting out of there. That said, it's done pretty well in St. Louis and, kind of like the CWS, the Valley has put a lot of investment in promoting it as "Arch Madness" and the like. I'd love to see it in Omaha some day, but they already think we get too much of an advantage down in STL already.

Also, an important stat to keep in mind right now is that CU is 7-3 in their last 10 (8-2 if they win out till Monday). Fair or not, the Committee puts a lot of weight on how a team finishes. That helps the Jays quite a bit. The Committee will also be provided with RPI figures calculated with both the new and the old formula. While the New RPI has been great for mid-majors on the whole, it's actually penalized Creighton (Ken Pomeroy's site has both and CU would be a 57 in the old formula). It seems likely they're going to look at both figures and if they're going to give some BCS team a break because of a discrepency, then they have to give Creighton equal consideration. Also, again whether it's fair or not, the Committee has been known to give some consideration to history and what a team has done in the past. This is an area where we'll have a significant edge, with our frequent trips to the Dance and proving we can win when we get there.

Part of Utah State's problem last year was being in the Big West. Utah State was a quality team and did get screwed, however the Big West is more of a low-major conference and that hurt them badly (and may hurt Vermont this year, as they're in similar situations). The Missouri Valley is a very strong league this year, with 3 or 4 teams that could be considered legitimate bubble teams. Also, while Northern Iowa and Wichita State have higher RPIs than us, if it comes down to a discussion between the three of us, our 4-0 mark against them can't be ignored.

The at-large pool is relatively weak this year and RPI is going to be less of a factor. In all other considerations, save RPI, Creighton brings a strong case to the table. With some success this weekend in the Tournament, we should have an opportunity to even shore up that RPI number.

All this said, i'd be very skeptical if we didn't at least make it to the Finals on Monday. If we can do that, I think we have a real shot. Hopefully the team doesn't hold up on the gas this weekend and makes all this talk moot.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 9:38 am

I really think the key is the sweeps of Northern Iowa and Wichita State! This was mentined on Espn after they finished saying they really like UNI. Make it to the MVC finals and we are probably in, lose in the first round and we are probably out.

Post by **Coyote** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 3:49 pm

Saturday (8:35) vs. Illinois State (1-1)
Sunday (5:05) vs. Wichita St. (2-0)
Monday (8:05) vs. S. Illinois (0-2)

Bracketology at ESPN has taken Creighton out the the Last four in - no longer a bubble team, so a win over Wichita State may just be the ticket to the dance.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:15 pm

Still a bubble tam according to ESPN's Bubble Watch. Just keep winning so we don't have to fret.

Post by **Coyote** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:45 pm

One less bubble team to worry about - UNI goes down to SMS 70 - 62 in the first round!

Post by **Coyote** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:29 pm

One down two to go.
After leading 28-23 Creighton goes on a 20-2 run to whip it up on Ill. St. 69-52

Go Blue!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 10:46 pm

Come on Creighton! I really hope they win the Valley and then win ( yeah right

) or do well in the NCAA tournament.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 1:09 pm

In what will definatly be a boost to Creighton chances, Ohio State just knocked off previously undefeated Illinois.

custudent · Post by **custudent** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:16 pm

Also, Missouri complets the upset of Kansas (#7 in the polls, #1 in RPI). If CU can win this evening, it'll be a huge boost for our chances.

That said, it's all irrelevant if we can't take down the Shockers. I have faith in Coach Altman that his boys will play with the fire we showed last night.

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Post by **OmahaDevelopmentMan** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:05 pm

Chatanoga won their confrence today too, so come monday, assuming we win tonight, we will pry be in the low 50's in the rpi, basically putting us in no doubt.

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:18 pm

Actually the Ohio St. win would have hurt Creighton's chances by beating Illinois because they would have been a bubble team and with such a big win at the end of the year they would have a good chance at making a good last minute impression on the committee - would have - except for the fact that they are ineligible for post season play due to paying some players.

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 4:31 pm

Holy Toledo! SMS just beat #1 seeded S. Ill.
They will probably still be invited to the dance along with the winner of the Valley. The Valley would have placed three teams, so if CU doesn't beat Witchita St. their chances are now slim. But if they get past WSU they won't have to face S. Ill. now.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 7:58 pm

OK. We beat WSU by 10, I think we are in but I still would love to win the MVC tourney again (and pi$$ off the Salukis again!).

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:18 pm

I'm feeling a lot better about our chances.
A great win for CU - keeping it hot late in the season!

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 12:45 am

Coyote wrote:Actually the Ohio St. win would have hurt Creighton's chances by beating Illinois because they would have been a bubble team and with such a big win at the end of the year they would have a good chance at making a good last minute impression on the committee - would have - except for the fact that they are ineligible for post season play due to paying some players.

Ohio St. isn't going to keep us out. If it came down to us and Ohio St. we'd be in for the fact that we beat them. But we are a lock now more than likely. If we win tomorrow the Valley will probably get 3 in. CU, SIU, WSU.

GoWest · Post by **GoWest** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:27 am

SychoBC wrote:
Coyote wrote:Actually the Ohio St. win would have hurt Creighton's chances by beating Illinois because they would have been a bubble team and with such a big win at the end of the year they would have a good chance at making a good last minute impression on the committee - would have - except for the fact that they are ineligible for post season play due to paying some players.

Ohio St. isn't going to keep us out. If it came down to us and Ohio St. we'd be in for the fact that we beat them. But we are a lock now more than likely. If we win tomorrow the Valley will probably get 3 in. CU, SIU, WSU.

Ohio State is on a self imposed post season ban by their AD and President for alleged violations under their former coach. Ohio State won't even be going to the NIT.

OmahaDevelopmentMan · Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:32 am

Well SychoBC, if the valley gets 3, it will pry be SMS, SIU, and Creighton. Hopefully SMS doesn't win tonight, because I would rather be relaxing while watching selextion sunday than wondering if we got in or not.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:39 am

It dosen't hurt Creghton's chances at all that Ohio St upset Illinois yesterday either..

But I too would like to see the Bluejays win the MVC Tounament..Southwest Missouri State swept CU during the regular season so this game will be a tough one..SW is a pretty athletic team. We need to be very physical with them..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

GoWest · Post by **GoWest** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:56 am

It looks like the Ohio State win over Illinois and the Missouri win over Kansas is giving Creighton a nice bump in the RPI.

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:12 pm

In today's ESPN Bracketology, they have the Jays matched up against ISU. As an Iowa State alum, I would love to see this match up. I really like to follow BlueJay basketball and, of course, ISU basketball. In this situation, I would have to pull for my Clones. It would definitely be an awesome game to watch.

Anyways... good luck tonight Creighton in the MVC Championship!

Post by **Coyote** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:31 pm

And then Bracketology has them facing North Carolina. Ouch.

The Missouri Valley is ranked the 7 best RPI conference with 5 teams in the top 50:

16. Southern Illinois (25-7)
36. Northern Iowa (20-10)
46. Wichita St. (20-9)
48. Creighton (22-10)
50. Southwest Missouri St. (18-11)

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:48 pm

Posted by Coyote:

The Missouri Valley is ranked the 7 best RPI conference with 5 teams in the top 50:

16. Southern Illinois (25-7)
36. Northern Iowa (20-10)
46. Wichita St. (20-9)
48. Creighton (22-10)
50. Southwest Missouri St. (18-11)

Nice! It would be a great coup if the MVC got 4 teams into the big dance. Hopefully we'll get 3..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

jsheets · Post by **jsheets** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:04 pm

Way to go Creighton on beating SMS to make the Big Dance tonight! Great win, and showed that they can win even with Funk having an off night!

Alt(Bayern)München · Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:32 pm

They said this was Creighton's 9th MVC Tourney Championship...no other team in the conference has more than 4!!!

Post by **Coyote** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:46 pm

It took a while before Creighton figured out the zone defense but after they did - Wow!
Congrats to the Bluejays!

And the announcers talked all evening about how 'tired' they were. Yes Wichita St. played hard and physical yesterday, but in the end CU had more to offer. Here's hoping for a 9 or 8 seeding!