- Aug 13, 2009
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Any thoughts Creighton Providence Under 153
- Thread starter Flashlight
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In most of the nation?s college basketball conferences, a bitter loss owns the opportunity to fester and sting for as much as a full year. Not in the Big East.
The Big East is one of the few leagues in the country that plays a perfect double round robin schedule. The 10 teams play each other twice, home-and-home, for a total of 18 games. It?s the only formula that can not only decide a true champion but create a chance to avenge a January loss with a February win.
Such an opportunity falls into the laps of the Providence Friars Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin? Donuts Center. The Friars will look to avenge their worst Big East defeat of the season, a 83-64 whitewash at Creighton back on Dec. 31. The Friars have yet to play Villanova, Seton Hall or Georgetown but are set to face the Bluejays a second time.
?The Big East is one of the most competitive conferences in the country. Every game is unpredictable so this is a chance for us to get back at Creighton,? said senior Jalen Lindsey. ?They played well the first time so this is a chance for us to get one back.?
The Bluejays (15-4) flashed their explosive offense that day, putting up 39 first half points and following with 44 after the break. They canned 10 three-pointers and shot 46 percent from the field. Those numbers are fairly typical for a Creighton team that is among the national top 10 in both points (88 ppg) and shooting percentage (51%).
?Collectively as a team we didn?t play well,? Lindsey said. ?We?ve had to improve on some things and I think we have in the last few games. We?ve locked in on defense so we?ll be prepared.?
The Friars feel that loss came with a bit of an asterisk. Kyron Cartwright rolled his ankle in the first half, went to the bench to get re-taped but played just seven ineffective minutes in the second half. He finished with two points, four turnovers and five assists and coach Ed Cooley correctly said afterwards that ?we?re not the same team unless Kyron is on the floor.?
Cartwright wasn?t the only limited Friar in that game. Alpha Diallo played 32 minutes on a sore ankle but shot 4-of-13 and Lindsey played through an illness. The Friars shot just 38 percent and missed 20-of-23 tries from the 3-point line.
?We didn?t play well,? Cooley said. ?When Kyron went down, Alpha was on half a foot and Jalen wasn?t feeling well, so we weren?t healthy and we played like that. There were a lot of mistakes that we?ll have to clean up.?
The biggest focus will come in slowing Creighton?s offense, especially in transition. The Jays boast free-swingers in guards Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas, and even big man Toby Hegner will pull up and launch a 3-ball in transition. Cooley says the Jays scored 11 points in transition plays where his team?s defense wasn?t remotely ready for action.
If the Friars can tighten up on those plays, they?ll stand a chance to win a fourth consecutive Big East game. It looms as a major swing game in the season with trips to No. 1 Villanova, No. 19 Seton Hall and Marquette up next.
PC?s Cartwright did not practice Thursday due to an undisclosed illness but is expected to play. The same can?t be said for Martin Krampelj, a Creighton sophomore forward who was an emerging star. Krampelj landed awkwardly on his left knee late in the first half of a win over Seton Hall Wednesday and tore his ACL.
After playing just 6 minutes per game last season, Krampelj quickly blossomed into a force for the Jays this year. The 6-9 Slovenian was averaging 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and 11th in the country with a 67 percent shooting percentage.
This is the second straight season that Creighton is faced with moving on from a major injury. A year ago the Jays lost starting point guard Maurice Watson (torn ACL) in the sixth game of conference play. Creighton was 18-1 and ranked seventh in the country at the time but would finish 7-9 the rest of the way with a first round NCAA Tournament loss to Rhode Island.
The Big East is one of the few leagues in the country that plays a perfect double round robin schedule. The 10 teams play each other twice, home-and-home, for a total of 18 games. It?s the only formula that can not only decide a true champion but create a chance to avenge a January loss with a February win.
Such an opportunity falls into the laps of the Providence Friars Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin? Donuts Center. The Friars will look to avenge their worst Big East defeat of the season, a 83-64 whitewash at Creighton back on Dec. 31. The Friars have yet to play Villanova, Seton Hall or Georgetown but are set to face the Bluejays a second time.
?The Big East is one of the most competitive conferences in the country. Every game is unpredictable so this is a chance for us to get back at Creighton,? said senior Jalen Lindsey. ?They played well the first time so this is a chance for us to get one back.?
The Bluejays (15-4) flashed their explosive offense that day, putting up 39 first half points and following with 44 after the break. They canned 10 three-pointers and shot 46 percent from the field. Those numbers are fairly typical for a Creighton team that is among the national top 10 in both points (88 ppg) and shooting percentage (51%).
?Collectively as a team we didn?t play well,? Lindsey said. ?We?ve had to improve on some things and I think we have in the last few games. We?ve locked in on defense so we?ll be prepared.?
The Friars feel that loss came with a bit of an asterisk. Kyron Cartwright rolled his ankle in the first half, went to the bench to get re-taped but played just seven ineffective minutes in the second half. He finished with two points, four turnovers and five assists and coach Ed Cooley correctly said afterwards that ?we?re not the same team unless Kyron is on the floor.?
Cartwright wasn?t the only limited Friar in that game. Alpha Diallo played 32 minutes on a sore ankle but shot 4-of-13 and Lindsey played through an illness. The Friars shot just 38 percent and missed 20-of-23 tries from the 3-point line.
?We didn?t play well,? Cooley said. ?When Kyron went down, Alpha was on half a foot and Jalen wasn?t feeling well, so we weren?t healthy and we played like that. There were a lot of mistakes that we?ll have to clean up.?
The biggest focus will come in slowing Creighton?s offense, especially in transition. The Jays boast free-swingers in guards Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas, and even big man Toby Hegner will pull up and launch a 3-ball in transition. Cooley says the Jays scored 11 points in transition plays where his team?s defense wasn?t remotely ready for action.
If the Friars can tighten up on those plays, they?ll stand a chance to win a fourth consecutive Big East game. It looms as a major swing game in the season with trips to No. 1 Villanova, No. 19 Seton Hall and Marquette up next.
PC?s Cartwright did not practice Thursday due to an undisclosed illness but is expected to play. The same can?t be said for Martin Krampelj, a Creighton sophomore forward who was an emerging star. Krampelj landed awkwardly on his left knee late in the first half of a win over Seton Hall Wednesday and tore his ACL.
After playing just 6 minutes per game last season, Krampelj quickly blossomed into a force for the Jays this year. The 6-9 Slovenian was averaging 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and 11th in the country with a 67 percent shooting percentage.
This is the second straight season that Creighton is faced with moving on from a major injury. A year ago the Jays lost starting point guard Maurice Watson (torn ACL) in the sixth game of conference play. Creighton was 18-1 and ranked seventh in the country at the time but would finish 7-9 the rest of the way with a first round NCAA Tournament loss to Rhode Island.