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On the Prowl: Methods to Arch Madness
This year marks the first time that I have gotten the coveted all-session pass and used it all weekend. While switching from concerned observer to rabid band member was a little tricky, I managed to come up with something to say about every game, and I'll share these observations now.
Game 1: Drake 101, Evansville 96 (OT)
Play-in games in the Valley tournament have basically become an opening act: no one comes to see them, really, and most of the time they are really of no consequence. This game was interesting because it really did a terrific job of showing everyone why that's the case.
Drake racked up 101 points, and anyone who has followed this team knows that the more they score, the more they will likely win. Evansville made the horrendous mistake of believing they were up to the challenge of trying to out-shoot Drake. They were not. The end result was Evansville always being on the immediate tail end of Drake's methodical shoot-em-out victory. Sure, Drake needed Matt Webster to inexpicably boing two free throws at the end of regulation, either one of which would have proven UE's game winner, but this was Drake's game to win.
The issue here is that as Drake celebrated their win, everyone in the arena knew that they were prolonging the inevitable. While a 101-96 NBA-type with lots of threes and scoring and dunking is grand fun for the kiddies, it's not going to win a lot Valley basketball games. The fact that both of these teams were at the bottom of the league demonstrates that. If Drake wants to be competitive in the near future, they simply MUST start focusing on lockdown D. They do that, and they could be highly successful.
Game 2: Indiana State 68, Illinois State 65
What is there to say about The Game That Got Porter Moser Fired? I would have never guessed that both of these coaches were playing on borrowed time, and I CERTAINLY would have never guessed as my father and I left early because my fever was raging out of control to the point of delirium that Illinois State was going to lose up 12 points with ten minutes left. I can't tell you how they lost, but my guess is that their inconsistency did them in again.
Porter Moser's firing seems like a knee-jerk move. The 'Birds were made up of a lot of young guys who were starting to come together as a unit, at times looking very good. The fact that they were still very young, however, turned their inconsistency into a 1000-pound weight being carried around their neck. I can only assume that's what happened here as Royce Waltman survived one more game.
Game 3: Southern Illinois 71, Drake 59
And so it is. Drake ran into a savage, lockdown defense that would rather die than give teams a wide-open look. The end result was Drake never really being blown out, but always perilously two-stepping that line the entire game. Southern Illinois wasn't shooting well (and they wouldn't the entire tournament) but the result was never in doubt because all good Valley teams live by the creed that when you aren't shooting well, you double down on defense. Drake continued to aggressively move the ball on offense to get what were sometimes good looks at the hoop, but in the end you have to know how to defend. There's no confetti here.
Game 4: Bradley 51, UNI 48
Many tried cursing UNI's bad luck as a prayer shot taken by the Braves at the end of the game found it's way to the bottom of the net. In the end, however, everyone knew the truth: UNI had many opportunities to win the game long before that particular moment.
UNI lost like it had throughout the season: rarely if ever being set down on their butts and getting throttled, but always being unable to completely put the clamps down and go on that magical run that would put them up for good. UNI's shooting woes were one reason why they lost quite a few games in the second half of the season, but it had so much more to do with young guards getting frustrated and forgetting to defend. That added up to the opposition going on small runs throughout the course of the game, leaving UNI heartbroken. Such was the case here as Bradley shot out to a 16-4 lead early. UNI spent the rest of the game playing catch-up, and fell sadly short. One thing I learned though is that our team is not dumb, and will learn their lessons taught throughout this season in preparation for 07-08.
Game 5: Creighton 59, Indiana State 38
There's not much to say here except that it marks the end of the Waltman era for the Trees and that this would be the beginning of Creighton's obliteration of all puny opposition. Plus shooting only 23 percent never helps you out.
Game 6: Misssouri State 67, Wichita State 64
Wichita State has always managed to match up well with a lot of teams, and MSU is one of them. That being said it occurred to me that WSU's halftime lead was in serious jeopardy considering that the 34-32 score was achieved mainly on the hands of 3-point shooting. I was right: Missouri State stayed patient, and calmly took the lead halfway through the second half. Wichita State stayed close, but couldn't get key shots to fall. Welcome to life in the Valley. By the way, Wichita State is the winner of the "Good Grief, What Next?" Award this season for numerous ridiculous injuries, no doubt being a big reason for the disappointing finish.
Game 7: SIU 53, Bradley 51
Classic Saluki warfare never looked so good. Bradley was denied time after time, but still kept it close as these two teams defended each other like champs. SIU got the upper hand this time, mainly because I learned one thing watching this tournament: Jamaal Tatum is a beast. When SIU needed a key basket, who else would you go to? Tatum. Randall Falker was noticiably quiet in this game, too, which would later come back to haunt the Salukis...
Game 8: Creighton 75, Missouri State 58
Look, I'm going to spoil the ending and tell you that Creighton wins the tournament in Game 9. Why? NATE. FUNK. Make all the ugly jokes you want, what God may have not given Nate Funk in looks, he gave him in talent. Funk's play is simply breathtaking at times, and Missouri State had no answer for him and his sick 33-point performance. This game was actually a lot closer than the score indicated, but that's the price you pay when you decide to play The Foul Game with two minutes left, a practice I have always abhorred at the college level. It doesn't work 99 times out of 100, and all it does is take up time. And usually inflate margins of victory.
Game 9: Creighton 67, SIU 61
When it was decided that Creighton and Southern Illinois were meeting in the tournament, I suggested that the title be changed from "Arch Madness" to "The MVC Tournament: Oh Yes. There will be blood." Fans were already taking shots at one another the night before the game after Creighton's victory, and the bubbling point was reached late in the first half as Creighton fans booed a questionable call, and Southern Illinois fans teased them mercilessly. What Southern Illinois achieved in terms of heckling, though, the Jays did on the court as Nate Funk did it again, this time only racking up 19 (only?) points. SIU hung around because of their defense in the first half, but their inability to compensate for Funk and Anthony "Such A Nice Guy That He Makes Me Sick" Tolliver burned them pretty bad in the second half. This prompted a Creighton run that put them up by 12, causing their fans to smugly chant at the misbehaved SIU student section "Why so quiet?" Here's the rule: don't dish out what your team can't back up.
And so the tournament comes to a close, but many teams will live to play another game. Creighton suddenly finds themselves looking at the possibility of being a 6 or 7 seed thanks to becoming molten hot at the right time (Altman to Funk and Tolliver: "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"), and SIU's only fear is that they might not get that 2-seed that would have looked awesome come tourney time. Everyone else? Be prepared to be nervous this coming weekend.
This year marks the first time that I have gotten the coveted all-session pass and used it all weekend. While switching from concerned observer to rabid band member was a little tricky, I managed to come up with something to say about every game, and I'll share these observations now.
Game 1: Drake 101, Evansville 96 (OT)
Play-in games in the Valley tournament have basically become an opening act: no one comes to see them, really, and most of the time they are really of no consequence. This game was interesting because it really did a terrific job of showing everyone why that's the case.
Drake racked up 101 points, and anyone who has followed this team knows that the more they score, the more they will likely win. Evansville made the horrendous mistake of believing they were up to the challenge of trying to out-shoot Drake. They were not. The end result was Evansville always being on the immediate tail end of Drake's methodical shoot-em-out victory. Sure, Drake needed Matt Webster to inexpicably boing two free throws at the end of regulation, either one of which would have proven UE's game winner, but this was Drake's game to win.
The issue here is that as Drake celebrated their win, everyone in the arena knew that they were prolonging the inevitable. While a 101-96 NBA-type with lots of threes and scoring and dunking is grand fun for the kiddies, it's not going to win a lot Valley basketball games. The fact that both of these teams were at the bottom of the league demonstrates that. If Drake wants to be competitive in the near future, they simply MUST start focusing on lockdown D. They do that, and they could be highly successful.
Game 2: Indiana State 68, Illinois State 65
What is there to say about The Game That Got Porter Moser Fired? I would have never guessed that both of these coaches were playing on borrowed time, and I CERTAINLY would have never guessed as my father and I left early because my fever was raging out of control to the point of delirium that Illinois State was going to lose up 12 points with ten minutes left. I can't tell you how they lost, but my guess is that their inconsistency did them in again.
Porter Moser's firing seems like a knee-jerk move. The 'Birds were made up of a lot of young guys who were starting to come together as a unit, at times looking very good. The fact that they were still very young, however, turned their inconsistency into a 1000-pound weight being carried around their neck. I can only assume that's what happened here as Royce Waltman survived one more game.
Game 3: Southern Illinois 71, Drake 59
And so it is. Drake ran into a savage, lockdown defense that would rather die than give teams a wide-open look. The end result was Drake never really being blown out, but always perilously two-stepping that line the entire game. Southern Illinois wasn't shooting well (and they wouldn't the entire tournament) but the result was never in doubt because all good Valley teams live by the creed that when you aren't shooting well, you double down on defense. Drake continued to aggressively move the ball on offense to get what were sometimes good looks at the hoop, but in the end you have to know how to defend. There's no confetti here.
Game 4: Bradley 51, UNI 48
Many tried cursing UNI's bad luck as a prayer shot taken by the Braves at the end of the game found it's way to the bottom of the net. In the end, however, everyone knew the truth: UNI had many opportunities to win the game long before that particular moment.
UNI lost like it had throughout the season: rarely if ever being set down on their butts and getting throttled, but always being unable to completely put the clamps down and go on that magical run that would put them up for good. UNI's shooting woes were one reason why they lost quite a few games in the second half of the season, but it had so much more to do with young guards getting frustrated and forgetting to defend. That added up to the opposition going on small runs throughout the course of the game, leaving UNI heartbroken. Such was the case here as Bradley shot out to a 16-4 lead early. UNI spent the rest of the game playing catch-up, and fell sadly short. One thing I learned though is that our team is not dumb, and will learn their lessons taught throughout this season in preparation for 07-08.
Game 5: Creighton 59, Indiana State 38
There's not much to say here except that it marks the end of the Waltman era for the Trees and that this would be the beginning of Creighton's obliteration of all puny opposition. Plus shooting only 23 percent never helps you out.
Game 6: Misssouri State 67, Wichita State 64
Wichita State has always managed to match up well with a lot of teams, and MSU is one of them. That being said it occurred to me that WSU's halftime lead was in serious jeopardy considering that the 34-32 score was achieved mainly on the hands of 3-point shooting. I was right: Missouri State stayed patient, and calmly took the lead halfway through the second half. Wichita State stayed close, but couldn't get key shots to fall. Welcome to life in the Valley. By the way, Wichita State is the winner of the "Good Grief, What Next?" Award this season for numerous ridiculous injuries, no doubt being a big reason for the disappointing finish.
Game 7: SIU 53, Bradley 51
Classic Saluki warfare never looked so good. Bradley was denied time after time, but still kept it close as these two teams defended each other like champs. SIU got the upper hand this time, mainly because I learned one thing watching this tournament: Jamaal Tatum is a beast. When SIU needed a key basket, who else would you go to? Tatum. Randall Falker was noticiably quiet in this game, too, which would later come back to haunt the Salukis...
Game 8: Creighton 75, Missouri State 58
Look, I'm going to spoil the ending and tell you that Creighton wins the tournament in Game 9. Why? NATE. FUNK. Make all the ugly jokes you want, what God may have not given Nate Funk in looks, he gave him in talent. Funk's play is simply breathtaking at times, and Missouri State had no answer for him and his sick 33-point performance. This game was actually a lot closer than the score indicated, but that's the price you pay when you decide to play The Foul Game with two minutes left, a practice I have always abhorred at the college level. It doesn't work 99 times out of 100, and all it does is take up time. And usually inflate margins of victory.
Game 9: Creighton 67, SIU 61
When it was decided that Creighton and Southern Illinois were meeting in the tournament, I suggested that the title be changed from "Arch Madness" to "The MVC Tournament: Oh Yes. There will be blood." Fans were already taking shots at one another the night before the game after Creighton's victory, and the bubbling point was reached late in the first half as Creighton fans booed a questionable call, and Southern Illinois fans teased them mercilessly. What Southern Illinois achieved in terms of heckling, though, the Jays did on the court as Nate Funk did it again, this time only racking up 19 (only?) points. SIU hung around because of their defense in the first half, but their inability to compensate for Funk and Anthony "Such A Nice Guy That He Makes Me Sick" Tolliver burned them pretty bad in the second half. This prompted a Creighton run that put them up by 12, causing their fans to smugly chant at the misbehaved SIU student section "Why so quiet?" Here's the rule: don't dish out what your team can't back up.
And so the tournament comes to a close, but many teams will live to play another game. Creighton suddenly finds themselves looking at the possibility of being a 6 or 7 seed thanks to becoming molten hot at the right time (Altman to Funk and Tolliver: "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"), and SIU's only fear is that they might not get that 2-seed that would have looked awesome come tourney time. Everyone else? Be prepared to be nervous this coming weekend.
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