UNI at CU

[Khan4Cats]

Well, let's see if we can make it three in a row.

The guys are playing with confidence and energy right now. They have some good momentum heading into Omaha.

Unfortunately, we are headed into Omaha. Against a team that we have not beaten in 5 seasons (9 games), at a place we have never won (Qwest), in a town we have not won at in 11 seasons, and to top it off, we're playing the Bluejays after they were just soundly beaten by Illinois State.

Not a great recipe for an upset. Can we do it? We can if we continue to play with the same defensive intensity and continue to execute the offense. That will be a huge test as Creighton will throw a multitude of defenses and they rotate players with regularity (no one averages over 30 minutes). Our guards will have to pick up the changes and handle the pressure (they average almost 10 steals a game).

This may not be a great game for Jordan as Creighton's biggest player's are 6'9" and more quick/athletic than bangers. They will probably try to stay smaller and quicker. If our guards can handle the quickness of their guards, we might be able to take advantage of Jordan on the offensive end, but I'm not sure how he'll match up on the defensive end. Need to have big games from Travis (time for some redemption) as well as Kerwin and I think Koch needs to be more assertive also.

Don't know if we'll be able to come away with a W, but if we keep playing hard like we have for 7 of the last 8 halves, we can make a game of it. It's about time we get on the positive end of one of these and it would be a huge statement to the rest of the Valley.

[TravelingPanther]

Re: UNI at CU

Hopefully Jordan doesn't play much this game.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: UNI at CU

Hopefully, Jordan has a good game and the Panthers get a win! Jordan has struggled in conference play this year, but he's due for a break out. I have faith that he will get it going soon.

Creighton has been pressing most/all of the game. This will be demanding on our young guards, but it could allow for some easy transition buckets. Millard, I think, is slightly injured, so that could put a little bit of a kink in their usual rotation...I honestly don't know how much though.

[Newshound]

Re: UNI at CU

UNI is going to have continue its strong perimeter shooting to win this game. Creighton hasn't thrown much zone at teams this year, but don't be surprised if they use a lot of it against UNI -- particularly early in the game. Don't get me wrong. Jordan can be and will be an important weapon for this team, but this team has played its best bb in the MVC with O'Rear, Koch and Rodenberg logging the minutes up front. They're versatile and can play at a faster pace.

It will be interesting how this team handles an environment like the Qwest. While Carbondale was tough, it was only 5,500 fans. This will be 15 or 16,000 strong and as mentioned, the Bluejays will be eager to put Saturday's debacle in the rearview mirror. In addition to the losses, UNI hasn't come close too many times in Omaha. This game will really tell how much progress this team has made in the past couple of weeks.

[Kyle]

Re: UNI at CU

Anybody making the trip? I've never been to the quest center and am thinking about going. Are tickets easy to get at the door?

[Victory_For_UNI]

Re: UNI at CU

Hopefully Jordan doesn't play much this game.

How dare you!

[BMPanther]

Re: UNI at CU

This is a d1 program and if they can't take a little public criticism, Waprtburg is right up the road.

...and the University of Wisconsin is right across the river. I really wish he would have went to a big ten school so he could have matched up against other bigs his size, instead of matching up against valley "centers" six inches shorter than him pushing him in the lower back the entire game.

With that said, I still believe Jordan has what it takes to be an all-conference player in the valley, I just believe the style of play in this league is not very well-suited for him. Put him on a team in the big ten and this "sluggishness" you talk of would not be obvious next to other centers his size and weight.

Above all of this, Jordan is about the nicest kid you would ever find on or off the basketball court, and while I understand message board is for fans to talk about the game of basketball, I think it's time some of you should get off his back!

[jman2004]

Re: UNI at CU

Hopefully Jordan doesn't play much this game.

If O'Rear and Rodenberg come ready to play like they were Saturday night, it wouldn't hurt to play Jordan sparingly.

[jman2004]

Re: UNI at CU

Need to have big games from Travis (time for some redemption) as well as Kerwin and I think Koch needs to be more assertive also.

Travis needs to be allowed to PLAY before anyone can expect a big game out of him . . . he's only averaging 16 minutes a game as our lone senior.

[jman2004]

Re: UNI at CU

With that said, I still believe Jordan has what it takes to be an all-conference player in the valley, I just believe the style of play in this league is not very well-suited for him. Put him on a team in the big ten and this "sluggishness" you talk of would not be obvious next to other centers his size and weight.

I'm not buying this. I see what you're saying about size, and I don't think Jordan has quite yet figured out just how dominating he COULD be, but how is Valley "style" of play any different than Big Ten "style" of play? I would say that the "styles" are very similar while the "sizes" are different. Is that what you're saying? We don't have a lot of Valley schools that run and gun. We have a lot of schools that play the way we do. Work carefully on offense, bust tails on defense. How does this inhibit Jordan's play?

If Jordan would take it to the basket more often, instead of settling for cute turnaround moves, he'd become a force offensively. He seems to play too "careful" in my opinion, like he's afraid he's going to be called for fouls easily because of his dominating size. Until he gets over that, I don't think he will intimidate other schools as much as he should.

Besides, if Jordan can't get physical and "man up" against some of the weaker, smaller defenders in the Valley, what makes you think he'd fare any differently against similar sized, stronger opponents in the Big Ten?

Note: This was not meant to offend Jordan or anyone affiliated with Jordan. I like him. I think he's damn smooth for his size and has great touch around the basket. I just wish he'd get a little more physical, but maybe that just isn't his nature.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: UNI at CU

A couple things:

1.) Jordan has been healthy (at least as far as I know, aj can probably confirm/deny this) for almost 2 months now (cleared to play) after being away from the game for a couple months with injuries. He has been injured in the past during the year also, so hopefully he is now going to be playing fresher and better as the season wears on. I look for this to mean improved performance in MVC play.

2.) Jordan has been aggressive at times in the MVC play, but he has been the victim to guys flopping (heck, it's happened this year in non-con play). Jordan doesn't need to score 20 per game for this team to win. He's UNI's 2nd leading scorer, and hopefully at the end of the year, he's in that top 2 still. He's becoming wiser at when to choose his spots. He's the only guy to score 30 in a game in the past 3 years and even though I don't expect that number to be duplicated this year, I think he's capable of it when the timing is right. If Jordan is even a decoy at times to make teams double down on him, that leaves a guard open for 3's. With our guards, I'll take that. But, Jordan doesn't need to be a decoy. He's got it in him to get it done night in/night out.

I don't have time to look it up, but who was the last MVC big man to average over 15 points per game?

[BMPanther]

Re: UNI at CU

When referring to style, some of what I'm talking about the overall "style" and I'm not sure if that's what I should call it, of the Big Ten. Refs seem to let all players, especially bigs, play and pound down low. I think the tenativeness, if you will, that you see in Jordan, comes from early in the year, when he was called for several ticky-tack offensve fouls. From there, I think he backed off being as aggresive and really taking it to guys. That is when I, anyway, began to notice that fade-away shot he's been taking to avoid contact.

[Khan4Cats]

Re: UNI at CU

Travis needs to be allowed to PLAY before anyone can expect a big game out of him . . . he's only averaging 16 minutes a game as our lone senior.

First being a senior only means he should be playing smarter and that hasn't seemed to be the case all the time this year. He's had good games and bad, but his bad games aren't just because he has an "off" shooting, but because his effort and focus aren't there. That might be acceptable for a Fr or So, but shouldn't be the case with a senior.

Second, Travis has shown in his career to be much more effective off of the bench than as a starter. His freshman year as a reserve was his best year shooting period; inside the arc, from 3, and even more so free throws (86% as a Fr down to 65% last year-back to 78% this year). His minutes as a Fr- just under 9 a game, the last two years about 25 per game. His points totals the last two years were only slightly twice what he scored as a freshman in about a third of the time. He's the top scorer off the bench for us this year at 5.5 ppg.

What I meant by needing a big game from Travis is his size will be a factor at trying to contain the Creighton 3 and even 4's. hopefully he will be able to use some of his senior maturity and experience as well to negate some of what Creighton will try to do. He can do that in the 12-20 minutes he should get if his effort is where it should be.

[BtownPantherfan]

Re: UNI at CU

When referring to style, some of what I'm talking about the overall "style" and I'm not sure if that's what I should call it, of the Big Ten. Refs seem to let all players, especially bigs, play and pound down low.

I believe the same refs that ref Big Ten games also ref MVC games too. I believe they've made officiating more regionalized, and don't have officals for each conference. I've seen Ed Hightower ref a few games at the McLeod, and he even officiated a Big East game (Marquette) yesterday.

[TravelingPanther]

Re: UNI at CU

Anybody making the trip? I've never been to the quest center and am thinking about going. Are tickets easy to get at the door?

It's a different place. I've never tried to get walk-up.