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How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow
Game Time: 6:30pm CT
Location: CenturyLink Center, Omaha
TV: FS1 / FoxSportsGo
Radio: 1620AM the Zone in Omaha / 92.9FM in Farmville
Other Blogs: White & Blue Review - Creighton / LancersBlog - Longwood
Tweeters: Rob Anderson / Creighton MBB / Tom Nemitz / “Patrick Marshall” / Matt DeMarinis / Jon Nyatawa
Odds & Ends
Creighton opens as a 35 point favorite over Longwood according to OddShark.
Over/Under set at 156.
If you choose to gamble on this game thinking you missed a golden opportunity on Wednesday night I’d highly suggest you think otherwise. Your money would be better spent on groceries or prescription pills.
Series History
Longwood and Creighton’s history consists of just one basketball game, a game played during the 2012-13 season, a game that saw the #14 Bluejays decimate the Lancers by 48 points. At 105-57, four Bluejays scored in double digits and only Jahenns Manigat, Taylor Stormberg, and Joe Kellig failed to register any points.
The Bluejays shot 64.8% from the field that night as the defense forced 19 turnovers. At one point the Jays led by 50 in the waning moments of the game before Longwood managed to get a garbage time bucket on their 38% shooting night.
Not a single player from either team managed to acquire their fifth year of eligibility to play in this one, so the memory of this game hangs a bit thin.
Verba de Ludis
Longwood comes into this game ranked 338th in Kenpom rankings and 2-4 on the year, with wins over Salem International (87-74) and Dartmouth (86-80), and losses to Maine (80-58), Stephen F. Austin (66-60), Saint Francis (PA) (87-72), and James Madison (71-59).
Longwood was also taken to overtime by Hampden-Sydney in their exhibition game, with the Lancers squeaking out a 93-85 win.
The Lancers haven’t played a game in 6 days, so they’re going to be relatively fresh compared to the Bluejays, who, as you may know, beat Nebraska on Wednesday.
Impact Players
Darrion Allen - 6’2 176lbs - 15.7PPG, 4.3 RPG, 41% FG / 41% 3FG
Khris Lane - 6’6, 245lbs - 15.5PPG, 8.3RPG, 53% FG
Isaiah Walton - 6’4 185lbs - 13.3PPG, 3APG, 40% FG
Longwood will likely be without 6’8, 235lb power forward Damarion Geter, who apparently has been struggling coming back from shoulder surgery he received in the offseason. The redshirt junior played in the first three games of the season but has missed every game since. Without him the Lancers feature a pretty thin frontcourt, having to settle with sophomore Chris Shields at 6’8, 210lbs.
Isaiah Walton is a transfer guard from Iowa Western, so perhaps this game carries a bit of extra weight after serving as a Reiver and travelling back to a place so familiar. He’ll probably have a couple of friends from his Chemistry class show up and cheer him on.
Regardless, the statistics backing up the Lancers are pretty atrocious. Basing these opinions solely off of kenpom.com, Longwood ranks 332+ in both adjusted efficiency on offense and defense. They tend to give up globs of points while failing to score some of their own. They shoot pretty well from beyond the arc, relying on Darrion Allen to chuck up threes off of screens, but are relatively unable to score from elsewhere.
All I’m saying is that they’ve had six days to prepare for Creighton, a game that this kenpom site gives Longwood a .2% chance at winning, and if they can get hot from three then in some sort of bizarre twist of fate they can keep this game within 20 points. I’m not saying it’s going to happen but it certainly is within the realm of possibility. 40% of Longwood’s offense comes from three pointers. Chuck and pray, baby.
Longwood’s campus also happened to be the site of the Vice Presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. How naive and young we were then, just on the cusp of witnessing... something.
This Kenpom thing is pretty funny, as it still lists Longwood as having a .1% chance of finishing the season winless even though they’ve already won two games. Seems like a bad statistic but what do I know?
Look, this is a buy game for Creighton but it comes at a time of fatigue. Luckily the Jays have eight days off until they have to play Oral Roberts due to finals, so carrying the urgency to get to that sweet, sweet break may spur them to drop 70 in the first half and play the Manajays throughout the entirety of the second half.
I think we can all collectively agree that the schedule change for this game, which was originally supposed to occur tomorrow night, is worthwhile. Bud Crawford will be punching John Molina Saturday night while simultaneously reminding everyone that graduates of Bryan High can amount to something because I sure as shit know I can’t.