Game Guide: Wayne State v #22 Creighton (Exhibition)

How to Watch, Stream, Listen

Game Time: 7:00pm CT

Location: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska

TV: Watch live on the Creighton website

Radio: 1620AM the Zone & 101.9FM the Keg in Omaha

Game Preview:

Wayne State went 5-22 overall last year but beat Midland University 70-66 in their first non intra-squad exhibition of the year. They bolster four Nebraska natives on their roster and five Iowa natives as well. Their center is a 6’9 junior from Lithuania. That’s about it. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say. I’m writing a game preview for an exhibition game. This is where my life is at.

Verba de Ludis

Hello again friends. It’s time for basketball season once again. The passionate throes of baseball have ended, the granular amount of care towards the NFL is in its premier state, the lackadaisical meandering of NBA fandom waning and waxing, but we’re on the cusp of the college basketball season, and it’s beautiful.

Never before have I become so enamored in the hype of a sporting season as I have this one. With the BIG EAST reigning as champions and a semi-complete retooling of teams from top to bottom, it’s clear that this is going to be a raucous season full of ups and downs and twists and turns.

But before we get into the meat and root veggies of the season we must begin with a glorified practice. In this practice the general public will be welcome to peer upon the court and see the transformation of this Bluejay squadron. Beer will flow from the beverage stations on the concourse; children will have blue glitter plastered to their faces; a dance cam will be initiated to show the jackassery of fans wary of their sedentary positions. A basketball will enter the hoop and the joy of the game will wash over the fine folks of Omaha.

This is a game that will only matter to the observer. A game that will provide intel on the progression of seldom seen stars such as noted tallman Justin Patton, vaunted basketball superhero Marcus Foster, the high flying talents in the Filipino Prince in Kobe Paras, the magical touch provided by Davion Mintz. It will provide fans the familiar feeling of watching basketball in one of the best venues in college hoops.

The game won’t count in the standings, but it will count for the observer.

Perhaps the more educated fans will watch for differences in the playbook now that noted playbook aficionado Greg McDermott has a brand new Swiss army knife to play with. Perhaps they’ll be more in tune with how Patton and Watson run the pick and roll, how Huff comes off of multiple off ball screens to get open to nail beautiful mid-rangers, how TOBY! Hegner will trail in transition and knock down open 3’s. Perhaps they’ll be looking for the 1-2-3-knockout punches provided by Watson, Foster and Thomas, keeping a keen eye on Khyri’s ability to shoot the ball; to shoot and play with an emboldened sense of confidence. Maybe they’ll even swoon over Isaiah Zierden’s triumphant return to the hardwood.

Perhaps the more casual fans will take in this game with their friends, family, and season ticket neighbors. This game offers them an amicable space to share their lives with one another, to tell stories of drunken nights or cutthroat business deals, to fawn over newborns and nieces and nephews, dogs and cats, to show off photos of new homes and begrudge the cost of fixing their flooded basements. It gives them an opportunity to laugh and love without the stress of being a college basketball fan. It gives them an opportunity to be human beings, saving their breath to berate a referee for a game that actually matters.

The weightlessness of an exhibition game is what the city needs at this particular time, an opportunity for the community to come together and forget about the viciousness of the election season, to share in the disappointment that our days are getting shorter, to loathe or celebrate the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series.

For I no longer believe in superstitions and curses any longer, I feel safe saying that there will come a time, probably about at the 4 minute mark in the first half, where the outcome will not be in doubt, that the Bluejays will most certainly play basketball at a much higher clip than Wayne State and that it’ll be over in the blink of an eye. So take the 2 ¹⁄₂ hours you’ll spend at the CenturyLink Center and have some great conversation.

If you’re listening on the radio or watching the live stream, call someone you care about during the game and tell them that they should probably clean their gutters soon; it’s about to get pretty messy out there.