2 posts tagged “missouri valley”
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 – Sluggish starts to both halves were the norm in the fifth game of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as the Creighton men’s basketball team finished the first half strong to gain a lead they would not relinquish and beat the Indiana State Sycamores 59-38.
Within the first 12 minutes to start each half the two teams combined for a total of only 56 points, largely as a result of poor shooting.
For the game, Creighton shot 41 percent to the Sycamores 23 percent.
The 38 points scored by the Sycamores in the game were the lowest scored in conference tournament history.
Senior center Anthony Tolliver credited a strong overall defensive effort for the Sycamores low scoring output. The Jays forced 17 turnovers and had 10 steals and four blocks.
In spite of a 37 percent shooting first half, the Jays rallied from a 12-6 deficit at the 13-minute mark to a 32-20 halftime lead.
The 26-8 run propelled the Jays and jumpstarted the Creighton contingent of the crowd.
Freshman guard Isacc Miles and senior guard Nate Funk led the first half rally with 21 points combined, including 3 of 4 from 3-points for Miles. The freshman also led the team with five rebounds and added a steal. He finished the game with nine points.
Funk led the Jays with 14 points for the game, adding in five rebounds, a block and two steals.
The Sycamores did not have any players in double-figures, with forward Adam Arnold leading with nine points and six rebounds.
With a double-digit lead for the entire second half, Creighton was able to rest starters Funk, Tolliver, senior guard Nick Porter and Miles in preparation for the semifinals of the tournament.
“It’s even bigger that the guys that came in after us did their job,” Funk said. “That was a key thing. It’s nice to have some rest going into tomorrow.”
Tolliver agreed with Funk but also said that resting was tough because he wanted to get back out and compete.
Altman said he did not know if the extra rest would be beneficial or not, suggesting he had seen both positive and negative reactions to rest during his time at Creighton.
“Manny [Gakou] probably got tired playing that many minutes,” Altman jokingly added. “He won’t be able to play tomorrow.”
Junior guard Brice Nengsu saw his first extended stretch of playing time in the second half, playing eight minutes. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds for the Jays. Sophomore walk-on Dustin Sitzmann also saw action, finishing the final 3:37 of the game.
The win was the 20th of the season for the Jays, extending their streak of 20 win seasons. Altman said that the leadership of Tolliver was a big reason for the success this season.
“I think this team has done a good job of overcoming adversity,” Altman said. “Anthony Tolliver is a fine young man. I don’t know if there is any area he has a weakness … he did a great job of keeping this team together.”
The Jays will Missouri State in the semifinals Saturday at 4. The Bears defeated the Wichita State Shockers Friday night, 67-64.
