briannorton’s blog

If you haven't heard the news already, it appears men's basketball coach Dana Altman has taken the head coaching job at Arkansas. We'll have breaking coverage following the press conference this afternoon and more coverage throughout the coming weeks as the University searches for a new coach (and maybe a new Athletic Director - more on that in a moment).

Indeed this is a Black Monday in Bluejayland with the loss of a great coach that helped make the program the success that it is today. And, if the rumors are proven to be true, he might be bringing Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen with him. The loss of those two could be a huge blow for the program and could make for an interesting few weeks. How do you hire a coach without an AD? And how do you hire an AD when the previous one, and preview coach of the main sport, left in such a hurry. Again, this is pure speculation, but if Rasmussen leaves, things could be grim for the Jays.

We will be providing updates throughout the process, visit http://press.creighton.edu for breaking coverage and The Blog for any thoughts that staff members have on the search process and where this will leave the program.

Teams are out warming up ... three minutes until tip.

CU ball to start.

Jays up 4 with 15 minutes left. Funk missed a layup, about the only way his seems to be able to miss, but Watts followed with a tough put back. Watts still is off with his shot. Tolliver was out, Gakou put in some strong minutes by denying Fazekas the ball. If Creighton can stop the Nevada guards from making some great shots, then the lead might expand here in the next few minutes.

47-43 Creighton, 13 left. Funk is just on fire, 16 points now.

47-45 Creighton, 11:45 left, timeout. Funk is playing very well for Creighton but they lack another offensive weapon with Tolliver on the bench with three fouls. Watts has not shot well at all so far, which has been trouble for Creighton. Funk should still be able to create his own shots, but the rest of the team will need to get things in gear if Creighton is going to pull this one out.

50-49 Nevada, 8:32 left. Both Tolliver and Fazekas have four fouls each, Watts got the fourth on Fazekas with a great charge. Fazekas appeared to be coming alive, this is a big break for Creighton. Watts has not played well on offense but has done well on defense on the boards, with seven. This one looks like it will go down to the wire.

52-51 Nevada, 7:49 left. Porter should be strong for the Jays down the stretch without Fazekas down low for Nevada. When will Tolliver and Fazekas check back in? That is the question resting on everyone's mind right now with both big men in foul trouble.

57-52 Creighton, 6 left. Three straight turnovers for Nevada results in a five point Jays lead. Credit Miles with strong  defense on that one, grabbing two steals and  making two layups in the process. A huge swing for the Jays. Tolliver and Fazekas back in.

59-57 Creighton, 3:14 left. Watts had two open threes but continues to be off the mark. Tolliver and Fazekas are both still around. Kemp is matching Funk with 18 points, he is the only thing keeping Nevada in at this point.

59-59, 1:37 left. Fazekas got open for an easy runner. Three seconds on the shot clock for the Wolf Pack. Nerves of steel are needed right now, it's going to be a close one to the end it appears. Funk is trying to get open but the Nevada guards have held him in check and he has forced a few shots. We'll have post game coverage either way.

59-59, 36.3 left. Nevada got two offensive rebounds to keep it alive. Creighton has been strong on defense but can't get to the rebounds. Fazekas missed an open shot from the top of the key that could have put the Wolf Pack up.

59-59, 1.4 left. Burleson threw it away, Creighton had a chance with Funk but he lost his handle, threw up a poor shot and Tolliver missed a put back attempt. Long three attempt by Shiloh is no good, we are going to overtime. I'll keep it in this one for OT.

OVERTIME:
66-62 Nevada, 3:06 left. Fazekas just fouled out ... huge for Creighton. Funk missed a FT earlier, has a chance now. Porter had a good drive and got the foul to keep CU in.

70-66 Nevada, 1:16 left. Creighton looks out of sync on offense, as they have a lot of the game. They took the shot clock down to under five two possessions ago, didn't get a basket. Nevada's guard are playing very strong on offense, barring a quick turnover here, the Jays could be in trouble.

72-69 Nevada, 31.1 left. Getting some good looks on offense, Funk nails a three to keep the game alive. They need a D stop now.

76-71 Nevada, .8 left. Jays are gonna lose. We'll have post game coverage at press.creighton.edu.

The score is 19-14 Nevada with 11:35 left in the first half.

Anthony Tolliver just picked up his first foul, oddly enough it was without Fazekas in the game. Tolliver had played well so far for the Jays, getting a few buckets from the elbow.

Jays have looked a little lost on offense.

Tolliver picked up his second foul, with a little under eight minutes left in the second half. This was something that the Jays did not want to happen. Manny Gakou will need to have some strong minutes for the Jays.

Creighton seems to be picking things up on defense but have missed some open shots offensively. Dane Watts is scoreless so far with three missed threes. And Nick Porter, considered the Jays "X-factor" by many, has two points but has not been able to drive to the basket, which is his biggest strength. The two of them will need to pick up the pace with Tolliver on the bench. 23-18 with 7:56 left.

Pierce Hibma tied the game with a three. If Watts isn't stepping up Hibma will need to have some big minutes for the Jays. The score is 25-25, 3:31 left in the first half.

Although neither team has looked strong offensively, the pace seems to favor Creighton, which is known for playing a slower more defensive minded game. Nevada would like to pick things up.

HALFTIME: Jays up 1 at the half, 32-31. This is the first halftime lead for Creighton in the NCAA tournament under coach Dana Altman. Both teams have looked rusty at times but have also made some unbelieavable shot, including Kyle Shiloh's shot-clock beater with 4 seconds left in the half. That three cut the Jays lead from four points to 1.
Notes of the first half: Funk has 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting compared to Ramon Sessions 9 points on 4 of 6 shooters for the leading scorers. Both big men, Tolliver and Fazekas have two fouls and have seen somewhat limited action. Tolliver has six points and three rebounds while Fazekas has four points and three rebounds. He also has three blocks, his defensive presence throwing of the Jays down low.

Looking at the box score, Creighton shot 43 percent from the field but only 18 percent from beyond the arc. Nevada has shot 41 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. The rebounding edge goes to Nevada by four points, but Creighton wins the turnover advantage with only two.

More to come in a separate post about the second half.

Update: Swing in favor of the Jays, CU leads 32-28 with 38.3 seconds left in the half. Nate Funk leads with 10 points, 6 of 7 from the field. Fazekas has four points and three boards with two fouls. He has looked winded and out of it this half. Much like Randal Falker of the Salukis did in St. Louis. With that said, he still has the talent to get hot here soon.

NEW ORLEANS - Memphis finally showed some strength in the second half by pulling away from the 15the seeded Mean Green. But on the whole, I really don't know if Memphis is a top eight team in the country. The team that I just saw was not a top eight team. They played well, have some athleticism but also have plenty of flaws.

About 20 minutes to tip off here at the New Orleans Arena. Michael Stacy and I are courtside with updates.

The already half-full Arena has cleared out following Memphis' win, so the crowd will be sparse for the Nevada-Creighton matchup. This crowd will pale in comparison to the full Scottrade Center of a few weeks ago. 22,000 pack that house but today will be under 10,000. The New Orleans Arena holds 19,000 but is not a sellout.

NEW ORLEANS - The Tigers have been capitalizing on many UNT mistakes and now have a 14 point lead.

One thing that has bothered me about both teams is their carelessness on fast breaks. Both teams have missed multiple opportunities on fast breaks that have been blown with attempts at dunks. For UNT they have just missed straight dunks, while Memphis has tried, unsuccessfully, for alley-oops. It hasn't been a great display of basketball and, you would hope, that most teams would finish with the easy lay-up instead. I know that nothing fires a crowd up like a crazy dunk, but nothing hurts a player's or team's momentum then a dunk off the back of the rim.

Back to the action. Keith Wooden, the big man for the Mean Green, is having a great game, keeping his team in it. And Joey Dorsey is a load down low for Memphis. He had 10 boards in the first half alone and has changed the game when in there, UNT has a hard time getting rebounds with him in there.

If you are looking for coverage of the Jays, we will be here with updates throughout the game. And you can read our pregame and post game coverage by visiting http://press.creighton.edu and clicking on the NCAA tournament coverage button.

NEW ORLEANS - I'm sitting courtside in a half-full (at best) New Orleans Arena for the North Texas-Memphis team. The UNT crowd is into this game and is at least equal to the Memphis crowd. The Mean Green are defintely quite mighty. Memphis has struggled from the field on their first two positions, but their defense appears to be overwhelming the Eagles, unless they get out on the break.

I will be interjecting my own, random thoughts throughout the game as we make our way towards the very important Creighton-Navada game.

A few thoughts on the trip so far:
-New Orleans is a proud and vibrant city that is slowly rebuilding. Bourbon Street is very much alive and should be hopping with college kids all weekend.
-The city really isn't ready for this type of event. Compared with other arenas there just isn't much demand for the NCAAs here. In comparison, the Qwest will be hosting the first and second round next year and the event is already sold out, here there are plenty of seats still available.

Also, as a side note, I have to pull for UNT in this game. Denton, the home of the Eagles, is not far from my house and it is always fun to see a 15 seed upset a 2. They are leading 12-9 right now and are playing great. Edit: 14-11.

UPDATE: Tigers on a big run, 35-28 Memphis with 2 minutes left in the half. The crowd is really in Memphis' favor, this place is nuts, UNT keeps turning it over, they have gotten too sped up, just aren't getting into their offense. Credit the Memphis defense, which as really come alive here to end the half.

No matter what, this Memphis team looks beatable for either Nevada or Creighton, whoever might face them in the next round.

A few notes on the teams:
-Both teams are very athletic and play a very up-tempo style but turn the ball over when they get moving too fast. There have been some strong fast break dunks so far to get the crowd into it.
-The big men for the Mean Green started strong and were dominating early, but Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey have come alive for the Tigers, which has helped spur their run.
-Don't be shocked to see UNT come out on a run to start the half, Johnny Jones is a good coach and will find a new attack to get big men Keith Wooden and Quincy Williams back into the game.

As I sit near gate G15 in the Minneapolis airport waiting for my flight to Memphis where I will then catch another flight to New Orleans, I thought I would post and let everyone know that we will have two reporters (Michael Stacy and I) and two photographers (Colin Conces and Courtney Wittmann) in New Orleans to cover the tournament. Visit our main page, http://press.creighton.edu, for complete tournament coverage.

As long as Internet access will allow, we plan on posting game previews and recaps as well as columns about our thoughts on the tournament and our experiences courtside at the New Orleans Arena, as well as plenty of photos. Check back often for our updates. And feel free to e-mail me at my Creighton account if you have any questions or suggestions for us, we are heading to New Orleans to provide you with the best coverage possible. I will even try and provide my thoughts on the Jays potential second round opponents, Memphis and North Texas, following their game tomorrow.

I will spare you a projection of the first game as my predicition for the Jays' seed certainly flopped, but at the very least tomorrow's game with Nevada should be a good, exciting game between two strong "mid-majors." It's defintely worth watching, to say the least. And both teams should have a shot at making it past Memphis and into the sweet sixteen in San Antonio.

ST. LOUIS – The second seed in St. Louis was sweet again for the Creighton men’s basketball team.

The Jays defeated Southern Illinois for the first time since the 2003 Missouri Valley Conference tournament final 67-61. The win secures the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament for Creighton.

After a tight first half that saw no lead larger than seven points for either team and a 32-28 Jays’ halftime lead, Creighton used a 15-6 run in the first nine minutes of the second half to pull away from the Salukis.

The charge was led by senior center Anthony Tolliver, who scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds and a steal during the run. Tolliver finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two steals for the game.

Tolliver’s strong game inside was aided by junior center Randal Falker being limited to only 22 minutes for the game. Falker ended the game with three points, five rebounds, one block and five fouls. Both Tolliver and Falker were on the all-MVC first-team, but Tolliver got the better end of the matchup in the tournament.

The leading scorer for the Jays was senior guard Nate Funk, who dropped in 19 points and grabbed four rebounds and had four assists. Funk was the named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-MVC Tournament team by Tolliver and senior guard Nick Porter, as well as Matt Shaw and Jamaal Tatum for Southern Illinois.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. This is my third experience, and it doesn’t get any better than this,” Funk said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m happy for these guys. I’m happy for my teammates, and it’s just fun.”

This was the third MVC tournament title for Funk, who won it in 2003 and 2005.

At times Funk appeared to will the team on to victory on his own, hitting shot after shot when the other team started to rally.

“I didn’t want to go out a loser, that’s for certain,” Funk said. “It hasn’t been picture-perfect this year for me, but to play this well towards the end of the year, put three games together the way we’ve played, especially on the defensive end, you know, for myself to have a decent tournament and a final showing here, it feels pretty good.”

The Jays were led throughout the tournament by the three star seniors – Funk, Tolliver and Porter. The three combined for 49 of the teams 67 points in the championship.

“It was a great game by our seniors, a great tournament by our seniors,” Altman said. “I feel really good about the way these three guys played. Southern’s really a good basketball team. They’ve given us fits over the last couple years.”

It was the first win for Tolliver and Porter against the Salukis in their ninth game and the first win for Funk since the 2003 MVC tournament final. SIU edged the Jays by one at the Qwest Center on Jan. 21 and by four at SIU in February.

“I felt that during the season they squeaked by us twice. We thought we had them at our house. They hit a tough shot during the game there,” Porter said. “We went up to Southern and played hard and just fell short. I just thought we had them, and to get another crack at them down here in this situation, with this much at stake just solidified a great feelings we had after we won.”

Now the Jays must wait a week to find out when and where the team’s next game will be. The Selection Sunday show will be on CBS at 5 p.m. Sunday. Although the wait will not be as tenuous as if the Jays did not have an automatic bid, Altman was not looking forward to the layoff.

“The only thing I don’t like is this long layoff. You play three games and now we’ve got a week until selection Sunday and then three or four more days before we play,” Altman said. “At this time of year, you know, 10 or 11 days off is an eternity. What do you do? You practice them all year, they’re tired of you, you’re a little bit tired of them, what do you do?”

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ST. LOUIS – Sandwiched in the CBS lineup between two of the biggest rivalries in college hoops, Kentucky vs. Florida and Duke vs. North Carolina, exists one of the most underrated rivalries – Creighton vs. Southern Illinois.

There is no hate lost between these two squads and their fan bases are the most active in the Missouri Valley Conference. It’s not as if the hatred isn’t seen on both sides. Southern Illinois fans wear shirts that say, “I H8 CR8ON,” and games at the Qwest Center against SIU have been big time student sell outs in recent years. No one likes the Salukis and the feeling from Carbondale is mutual.

Anyone who has been to a Creighton-Southern Illinois matchup in the past few years knows exactly what to expect: a hard-fought game, with a strong defense, clutch shots and a lot of energy. And, if recent history prevails, a close finish.

No matter how you slice it, this is the premier rivalry in the conference. Other teams want to knock off the Jays and the Salukis, but none have come close.

Today the entire nation has the chance to watch this matchup, which should be a good one. Nate Funk vs. Jamaal Tatum, Anthony Tolliver vs. Randal Falker. It should be a battle.

NOTES AND QUOTES:
-Creighton is 9-1 in 10 previous tournament title games, including seven straight victories. Three of those wins were against Southern Illinois and the Jays are 5-0 under Dana Altman, the all-time record holder for tournament victories by a coach.
-Creighton has won the MVC Tournament each of the last three times they’ve been the second seed.
-In all six previous MVC tournament meetings between Creighton and Indiana State, the winner of that game has gone on to win the tournament. And the last four times that the top four seeds made the semifinals (2003, 2002, 2000, 1999), Creighton went on to win the tournament despite facing a better seeded team in the final.
-"Both games, the one at Creighton and the one at Southern Illinois, were blood baths. They unfortunately had a game winner against us at home, and we couldn't come back at the end of the game at their place. I expect a real close game. I expect them to play tough defense like they always have. They're one of the toughest defensive teams in the nation and that's what we expect out of them," Nate Funk said.
-"I think the hardest part [of making the conference tournament final] is these first two games are always a grind, and then once you get in the championship, anything can happen, and you know, people think, you know, we get tired by the time the third game around, but you know, it's a championship game. You find energy. I don't know where it comes from. It's just pure adrenaline. I don't know what it is, but you find energy. So I think the toughest part, I mean, we're through. Now we've just got to play a game, one game and we're done. We're done with this tournament. Hopefully tomorrow we can come out and just play hard and see what happens," Anthony Tolliver said.

ST. LOUIS – For the first half it looked like the Missouri Valley Conference record crowd was in for an episode of the Nate Funk and Blake Ahearn show, but in the end it was all about the Funk.

In a league known for unselfish team play, the Creighton men’s basketball quarterfinal match with the Missouri State Bears was undoubtedly a star display.

Senior guard Funk scored 33 points on 10 of 15 shooting. If that wasn’t enough he grabbed eight rebounds and two steals.

Funk said he had already moved on, looking towards the championship.

“I already forgot about my 33 point performance,” Funk said. “I’m already looking ahead.”

“Like any shooter, when you hit a couple the basket just seems to get bigger and bigger,” Funk said, after being probed about his performance for a second time.

There’s reason to take a second and reflect on Funk’s performance. His 33 points were the most scored by a Creighton player in the MVC tournament and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jays.

In the first half, Funk and Ahearn traded shots back and forth, scoring 17 and 15 points respectively. Each star helped bolster his team’s attack, with Ahearn’s buckets keeping his team within reach.

Neither player appeared to be able to miss, approaching each and every shot with cockiness and without fear. Whether it was an Ahearn 3-pointer from 26-feet out or a Funk fadeaway from the top of the key, it was a definitely a show for those in attendance.

But the second half was a different story. Funk drop in an additional 16 points, scoring at will, while Ahearn was held to 5, spread throughout the half. It’s no surprise who ended up on top in this game.

Asked about Funk’s performance, senior center Anthony Tolliver jokingly deadpanned, “He’s a pretty good player.”

After waiting a moment for the media members to laugh, Tolliver added, “He plays at a different level sometimes, when he’s at that level I don’t think there are a lot of teams that can beat us.”

In a matchup between two teams that appear worthy of the NCAA tournament, the difference in mental toughness between Funk and Ahearn showed the potential difference between the two teams. With Funk, Tolliver and Porter, the Jays have someone to pick the team up and carry them, but Missouri State lacks this go-to player, the Bears seniors wilting in the spotlight.

Tomorrow’s game with the Southern Illinois Salukis should be a tough one, but the Jays looked poised to end an eight-game losing streak against SIU.

In fact, it might just be déjà vu all over again for the MVC, with No. 1 Southern Illinois and No. 2 Creighton facing off in the championship. The last time the top four teams made the quarterfinals was in 2003, when Southern Illinois was ranked No. 1 and Creighton was No. 2. The teams met in the finals with the Jays victorious in resounding fashion. That was the last victory for the Jays over the Salukis but that could come to an end tomorrow at 1 p.m. on CBS.

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