As one of only four teams that have made it to the NCAA tournament for each of the past 17 years, Creighton enters the Missouri Valley Conference tournament with the pressure of great expectations. The good news is it’s nothing new for the Jays.
“Every year, expectations are high,” head coach Bob Warming said. “It’s one of the reasons the players are here.”
The Jays (7-3-5, 4-2-4 MVC), seeded No. 3 in the Valley, take on Drake Friday in a semifinal rematch of last Saturday’s 3-3 tie in Des Moines, Iowa.
With an RPI of 35, the Jays cannot rely on getting an at-large bid if they want to make the NCAA tournament. They likely need to win the automatic bid from the MVC tournament championship to continue their postseason, Warming said.
“If we were to win this tournament, it’d be a big high for us,” senior forward Jeff
Thayer said.
Creighton started out the season ranked in the top 10, but dropped out of the rankings at the end of September. Since then, however, the Jays have lost just one of their last 10 games and beat No. 7 UCLA.
They have lost to two conference opponents that Warming predicts will receive at-large bids, including a Drake team he described as “by far the best team Drake’s ever had.”
After a 0-1 loss and last weekend’s tie, gaining the advantage over the Bulldogs will be a matter of small adjustments.
“We need to go out with better execution,” senior forward Byron Dacy said. “We can’t let them have dangerous chances, and we need to focus on finishing our chances. We’ll hope for some luck as well.”
Warming attributed some of the Jays’ recent defensive struggles to mental errors, and he said the players need some days off to recharge.
“We need to win that game,” Warming said. “We have to put all our efforts to physically and mentally prepare for this game.”
Friday’s match will be the third time this season Creighton faces Drake, something it has never done with any team before. Although it’s a new situation, the Jays know what they will be facing.
“With Drake, everyone knows everyone,” Thayer said. “There’s not going to be any surprises. It just comes down to who’s going to make the big mistake. So we’re working on being almost perfect.”
Perhaps even in soccer, the third time’s the charm.
“Everybody will be really excited,” Dacy said. “I think we’ll be looking for some revenge. We don’t want to go a season without beating Drake. If we can get that win, it’ll be huge for us.”