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How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow
Game Time: 8pm CT
Location: CHICO, Omaha, NE
TV: FS1
Stream: Fox Sports GO
Radio: 1620AM the Zone in Omaha / 107.5FM in Green Bay
Other Blogs:
White & Blue Review - Creighton
Mid Major Madness - UW-Green Bay
Tweeters:
Creighton - Rob Anderson / Creighton MBB / Tom Nemitz / “Patrick Marshall” / Matt DeMarinis / Corey Lathrop / Jon Nyatawa
Odds & Ends
Creighton is favored by 18 points. The over/under is set at 168.5 according to Odds Shark.
Betting on sports is stupid. If you win money; great, but you’ve emptied your bank of morality. If you lose money; well no shit, idiot.
Series History
Creighton has never played UW-Green Bay but Coach McDermott has a 4-0 record against the Phoenix. All four games occurred during McDermott’s tenure at Northern Iowa.
Verba de Ludis
Forget about what happened last time. Forget about everything that’s happened until now.
Forget about the headlines, the trash talk, the despair and the loss.
Forget about all of it.
Today is a new day.
Today we see Green Bay.
Creighton, coming off some game that might have been played, coming off of finals week, gets to face an opponent that ranks 10th in the nation in terms of pace. Creighton gets to face a team that sees the shot clock as something it can halve with a tempo that can only be described as impatient.
Green Bay is the finest of opponents at this particular juncture in terms of scheduling. They played victim to a massacre at Bowling Green. They played Iowa and Oregon relatively tough, losing by less than double digits to both squads on the road. Statistically, they play right into the Bluejays’ hand, forcing up quick shots and failing to defend on the other end. They’re like the Jays in a sense but far, far worse offensively.
Statistically, Green Bay doesn’t shoot free throws well and they don’t force their opposition into free throw opportunities. They’re a second-half team, making the proper adjustments to make games close after getting blown to bits in the first twenty five minutes.
They’re also a team that’s played two non-D1 teams. Their offense runs through Sandy Cohen, Tank Hemphill and Cody Schwartz, a trio of chuckers that can’t consistently find the bottom of the net from well beyond the arc. The Phoenix fail to deliver in terms of size, featuring two “big men” in the duo of 6’8 guys in Schwartz and Manny Patterson. The two don’t get a lot of offensive rebounds; in fact the entire team as a whole fail to get those second chance points as the team ranks 296th in offensive boards.
There won’t be a lot of defense played in this late Friday night affair. Nine of the ten games the Phoenix have been involved in ended with the winning team scoring 80+ points.
Creighton needed a bounce back game. A game that could center around their pace, their tempo, their three point shooting acumen. They couldn’t have asked for a greater opponent than Green Bay.
Perhaps this will be the night where Ty-Shon Alexander eclipses 40 points. Perhaps this is where the triple headed monster of Jacob Epperson, Martin Krampelj, and Samson Froling get their due, putting up ridiculous numbers because Davion Mintz and Marcus Zegarowski utilized their sure hands to make it happen. Maybe Mitch Ballock carries over the momentum from the game before and lights it up from beyond the arc.
This is a dream scenario for the Jays. A get right, get back on track sort of affair that can instill confidence with the trip to Norman waiting in the wings. This is a night where Christian Bishop could see some meaningful minutes in the second half, since his minutes are all meaningful at this point.
With finals over and a break in scholastic endeavors behind them, the Jays can make a statement that, yes, the previous game was a bit of an anomaly.
Green Bay offers a confidence booster.
Creighton needs one.
Forget about what happened last week.
Embrace the #BIGEASTAFTERDARK.
Song of the Night - Put A Flower In Your Pocket - The Arcs