Let me begin by acknowledging that giving up multiple second-half leads in the past few weeks is never a sign that your season is going great. With that said, the competition that the Creighton men’s basketball team has faced this year in the Missouri Valley Conference is a notch above what they have seen the last few years.
The MVC has two legitimate NCAA tournament at-large teams for the first time since 2007 in Missouri State and Wichita State, both of which have received votes to be ranked in the two major polls this season.
Missouri State, currently at the top of the MVC standings, is enjoying its best start since Bill Clinton was president. At 16-4, the Bears are ranked 33 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll and posted huge away wins at the UNI, Creighton and Wichita State.
Leading Missouri State this season is junior forward and favored MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weems. Weems, who is averaging 16.4 points a game, is a rare breed of player in the MVC – a wing player who can score from outside and post up on undersized forwards.
Another cog that rounds out the formidable MVC slate is Wichita State. Two of the Shockers’ losses this season were to the University of Connecticut and San Diego State University, both of which are ranked in the AP top five.
Two other teams that are legitimate contenders for the MVC championship are Indiana State and UNI. Both have overcome rough patches this season to find themselves in the thick of the Valley hunt.
Indiana State has overcome horrendous non-conference play, which was highlighted by a 5-6 record and a 30-point loss to the University of Wyoming. Since then, it has posted impressive wins against Missouri State, Creighton and UNI.
Defending MVC Champion and NCAA Tournament Cinderella team UNI played a brutal non-conference schedule that involved four BCS schools, and it walked away relatively unscathed at 9-3.
The tables quickly turned, however, when the Panthers found themselves at 0-2 in Valley play. Since then they have rattled off six wins in their last seven games, and are currently in fourth place in the standings.
With four legitimate title contenders, where does this leave the Jays and their fans? Perplexed.
Creighton is arguably the most talented team in the Valley with sophomore transfer Greg Echenique, MVC Preseason Player of the Year Kenny Lawson Jr. and Freshman of the Year candidate Doug McDermott holding down the front court.
The team has endured its share of hiccups this season, however. The Jays have held halftime leads in every conference game they have lost, including the 67-66 loss they incurred at Missouri State last Saturday.
While most people see this as a failure to protect a second-half lead, I choose to remain optimistic.
Creighton going into Springfield, Mo., and pushing the Bears around for 39 minutes is, at the very least, a faint light at the end of the tunnel.
The Jays have shown that they can compete with anyone in the conference. And while they might be out of range for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, March Madness only requires the Jays to play well for 120 minutes to reach their 17th Big Dance in school history.
So, when all is said and done, the Valley is experiencing some renewed rivalries, a few surprises and what looks to be one exciting month left in conference play – and hopefully beyond for the Creighton Bluejays.