Creighton may be hungrier than usual

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Talk about bad timing.

It's never easy to play Creighton on its home floor, but the Northern Iowa men's basketball team has to do it after an embarrassing Bluejays defeat.

"Creighton is a really good team," Panther guard Ali Farokhmanesh said. "I think we're all really excited to play them and go into Omaha, be at their venue."

There will be an added sense of urgency for the 7 p.m. showdown at the Qwest Center.

Creighton coach Dana Altman is hoping his players bounce back from a lackluster 86-64 loss Saturday at Illinois State.


"I was really disappointed in our lack of physical play and our lack of defense," Altman told reporters. "Our ball movement was not very good, and when we did make some plays, we didn't hit shots."

The Bluejays (12-3, 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference) were preseason favorites to win the league.

Another loss would drop Creighton two games behind Illinois State or Bradley in the standings, since the Redbirds and Braves also play tonight.

"We have a lot of work to do," Altman said.

Northern Iowa (8-6, 2-1) is riding a two-game win streak after dropping its conference opener in double overtime to Indiana State.

The Panthers have lost their last nine meetings with Creighton.

"Three of our last four basketball games, we've played very well," coach Ben Jacobson said, including a win over South Dakota State. "So we're better than we were four or five weeks ago.

"The key is, how much better will we be in two or three weeks."

 

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Hungry Bluejays concern Panthers



Timing can be everything in the world of basketball.

Three times in the past eight meetings with Creighton, Northern Iowa has faced a Bluejays team that is coming off a loss. Creighton won each time.

When the Panthers show up tonight at Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton again will be packing some extra motivation. The Bluejays are coming off a 22-point loss Saturday at Illinois State. Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson admits the timing could be better for his team.

"But it's hard to play Creighton each year, mainly because it's good," Jacobson said. "Anything added in just makes it that much more difficult. That will be the case tomorrow night.

"But had they found a way to win that last basketball game and were riding a good wave of confidence, they'd still be tough. We're just going to get the other side of it. Bottom line, I don't know if there is a good time to catch Creighton."

Working in Northern Iowa's favor heading into the 7:05 p.m. Missouri Valley game is the fact that the Panthers have won their last two games in impressive fashion. One was a 59-51 victory at Southern Illinois, a venue at which Northern Iowa had not won since the 1996-97 season.

The Panthers had lost in 11 straight visits to Carbondale. Snapping that skid, Jacobson said, should give his team a boost of confidence as it attempts to tackle another lengthy skid. Creighton has won the last nine games against the Panthers, and Northern Iowa hasn't won in Omaha since a 58-57 win in 1996.

"Our guys were extremely excited after beating Southern Illinois," Jacobson said. "Back in the locker room after the game, there were some emotions present that we hadn't felt all year. Winning at a place we hadn't won in a long time added something to that.

"We played a good game. It was a good team win. And to know we had done something that only two other (Valley) teams had done since 2001, that just added to the excitement and the emotion."

Backing up the Southern Illinois win with a 78-54 pounding of Wichita State on Saturday makes Northern Iowa a dangerous team, Creighton guard Josh Dotzler said.

"They're going to be coming in here with a lot of confidence," Dotzler said. "They're playing as well as they have all year, and any time you win at a place like Southern, a place where anyone rarely goes into and gets a win, it's going to give you a lot of confidence.

"They're going to be excited to play here, and we know they're going to give us their best shot."

Creighton and Northern Iowa are two of four teams tied for third place in the league with 2-1 records. Overall, the Bluejays bring a 12-3 record into the game, while Northern Iowa is 8-6.

The Panthers have not won three straight games this season. Jacobson said some of his team's inconsistency is tied to trying to integrate three new backcourt starters into the mix with veterans Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch up front. The Panthers also do not have a senior in the starting lineup.

"Even though they're juniors, Jordan and Adam don't have as many game minutes as some other juniors in the league," Jacobson said. "The best way to look at our season is that we're a work in progress. All three guards are new to the lineup. We've struggled at times as we've attempted to get everyone on the same page."

In spite of the three new starters at guard, Northern Iowa has excelled in taking care of the basketball. The Panthers average a league-low 11.9 turnovers per game. Another statistic sure to catch Creighton's eye is Northern Iowa's plus-1.2 advantage in rebounding margin.

That puts the Panthers fifth in the Valley, while Creighton is ninth at minus-3.0. The Bluejays have been outrebounded in eight of 15 games, including seven times by 10 or more.

No Creighton player ranks among the top 15 in the Valley in rebounding. Sophomore center Kenny Lawson is the Bluejays' leader at 4.9 per game.

"There has to be a willingness to go after the basketball," Creighton coach Dana Altman said. "Everyone has to contribute, and we knew that from the start. Rebounding does start with your big guys, and we're not getting a lot of production out of them. But we need everyone to contribute."