the Student Section

As I watched the Creighton-Missouri State game from the comfort of my futon on Saturday night, I caught myself frequently reaching for the remote, because I wanted to turn it off.  The Jays were disappointing in every sense of the word.  It was really difficult to keep watching, yet at halftime I felt completely calm.  I realized that the similarities between the game’s first half and first half against Drake last weekend were undeniable.  In the second half of the Drake game, the Jays tied the game and I hoped that they could get over the hump and grab the lead this game.  I hoped, but it didn’t generate any results as the Bears blew out Creighton.

Now for the similarities.  In both games Altman’s squad got down 14 points or more early in the game.  They battled back to bring the deficit to seven points or less but ended the half losing by approximately 10 points (they were down eight against Drake and 11 against Missouri State).  Most importantly, they shot about 38% in the first half of both games, a big reason why they ended the half losing.  I hoped they could improve their shooting and pull out a victory.  I hoped wrong, again.

The second halves were a completely different story.  With 8:53 remaining in the Drake game, the Jays had tied the game at 58-58.  At the 8:53 mark in the Missouri State game, the Jays had similarly allowed 58 points.  The problem is that they forgot to score their own points and therefore found themselves down 58-30 after the Bears scored 17 straight points.

From my perspective, the second half of each game had my hopes doing very different things.  Against Drake, they went on a rollercoaster ride.  With 8:53 left, my hopes had reached the top of the ride, but a quick seven points from the Bulldogs helped create the big drop of the ride.  Luckily after such an up-and-down season, I had my seat belt fastened.  Energized play helped Creighton make a late run at the lead, but the rollercoaster ride ended too soon and the Jays fell by five, 79-74.

On the other hand, during the Missouri State game, I felt like I was on the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World.  It was a 17 point Bears run that shot the Jays chances and my hopes straight down.  Again, I luckily had my seat belt fastened and am always a little weary of this happening.  Similar to the Drake game, some energized play helped Creighton make a late run, but not at the lead.  The late run helped save Altman from losing by 20 for the first time all season.  This time, the ride couldn’t end soon enough and the Jays fell by 18 points, 70-52.

With two home games up next on the schedule, the team will look to use add to their impressive home record this season (10-1) and regain sole possession of third place in the MVC.

Next game:  Tuesday, February 9th vs. Indiana State at 7:05 PM at the Qwest Center Omaha.