Tuesday 2/4 Games

[ljay]

Why should anyone else on the team take an inordinate number of shots when the best offensive player in the country is getting one on one easy opportunities the entire game? If Lavin throws that out as his strategy again I wouldn't be surprised to see Doug get 45 this time.

[JohnnyBoy]

Why should anyone else on the team take an inordinate number of shots when the best offensive player in the country is getting one on one easy opportunities the entire game? If Lavin throws that out as his strategy again I wouldn't be surprised to see Doug get 45 this time.

I can guarantee you this: Doug will not get 45. He got 40 last time as the entire offense. I expect other Creighton players will take more chances this time to free him up more. The dangerous thing about being a 1 trick pony is that when your godlike player is off just 1 game, it's very hard for you to win. If he's even decent instead of good SJ can win by double digits. Doug needs to be great, not good. Anything less than 30 points from him and I expect SJ to win.

[cujaysfan]

i'm really hoping Lav follows some SJU fan's advice and again defends Doug one on one and presses CU non-stop to "wear CU out".

Jays might score 150 if that happens - and Doug might end up with about 60.

Especially if Grant is back - Jays are more effective in transition with him - along with getting McD easier looks.

[NJRedman]

Why should anyone else on the team take an inordinate number of shots when the best offensive player in the country is getting one on one easy opportunities the entire game? If Lavin throws that out as his strategy again I wouldn't be surprised to see Doug get 45 this time.

Thats fine, and the rest of the team will score 20 points. The plan worked pretty well, and if we hit the shots we're supposed to we win the game that way. The rest of Creighton isn't athletic enough to play with SJU when the Johnnies are playing with intensity. Look at all the steals and turnovers created. The Bluejays are slow, and can be easily covered. Also i'm sure the SJU coaches are telling the refs to look for the elbow hook and moving picks Creighton likes to use. No home cooking for you guys this time around. The crowd booing every single foul against the Bluejays isn't going to sway the refs this time.

[cujaysfan]

(giggle)

the Jays aren't athletic enough to hang 100 on Villanova (man what a bunch of stiffs they are(i forget, was that game at home, too?)), or beat Marquette by 20, etc

[TrueBlueJay]

cujaysfan...you gotta lose the giggle thing.

St. John's is a talented team that is heating up. It will be a difficult game to win for Creighton. You have to understand though, we have heard the Wichiturd and other fan bases say that we are slow and unathletic, yet all we do is go out and win. We shall see what happens but according to some Johnnies fans we might as well not even fly out to NYC...Creighton has no chance of winning.

The Jays have to worry about DePaul first...but just for fun I will predict:
St. John's - 99
Creighton Slow Plodding Unathletic Lucky to be on the same Court Team - 12

[cujaysfan]

yeah - probably...

but - this idea that CU can't hang with athletic teams has already been disproven by games against VU, MU, and to a degree SDSU who is more athletic and more skilled than SJU.

it's silly, it exhibits a real lack of understanding of basketball.

i like SJU - they've got an assload of talent - but some of their fans are about as myopic as I've experienced

[Lavinwood]

Jays fans, what does it say about your team when 1 player scored 40 points AND the game winning NBA 3...and beat SJ by that last second 3? It says that you are 1 dimensional: Doug McDermott is the only game in town. He has to be essentially perfect and carry the entire team for you guys to win. I don't care about Gibbs or Wragge...McDermott is the only one on that team that is responsible for your record. If McDermott scores any less than 30 points you guys are screwed.

[SecureDaBall]

my 2 cents... the only way Creighton loses is if Shoot DMC makes playing at the Garden more than it is and has a bad game. I think Creighton isn't affected by St. John's length . Also, Creighton is fundamentally sound while St. John's is not. Creighton will find the open guy and has enough shooters to make St. John's pay when they are lazy on their defensive rotations.

If that is the case then why didn't you guys do it the first time? You didn't have an open shooter besides Dougie getting open on his own all game. Our Defense is smothering and the support for Dougie isn't athletic enough to to force an opening and get a shot off. Thats why Wragge had his first shot like 5 min into the second half.

who is you guys?... I'm a St. John's fan originally from Gravesend, Brooklyn. I don't speak about teams I like as if I am an actual member of the team and I don't drink the red Kool-aid just for the sake of it. I'm impartial and I think Lavin is one of the worst coaches when it comes to teaching fundamentals and in-game adjustments. I also think Creighton is one of the smarter teams in the BE so I think they pose a bad match up for St. John's

[cujaysfan]

Jays fans, what does it say about your team when 1 player scored 40 points AND the game winning NBA 3...and beat SJ by that last second 3? It says that you are 1 dimensional: Doug McDermott is the only game in town. He has to be essentially perfect and carry the entire team for you guys to win. I don't care about Gibbs or Wragge...McDermott is the only one on that team that is responsible for your record. If McDermott scores any less than 30 points you guys are screwed.

time for the bulls to take down all those banners - it's too bad. Chicago enjoyed all those championships - but according to Lavinwood logic - that team wasn't any good since Jordan was the best player in the world.

To answer the question - it says that CU has the best player in the country who is capable of carrying his team to a win.

But - again - myopic - looking at the rest of the season - Jays have other guys who are capable of stepping up - as evidenced by wins over other teams that are also athletic.

You want to double Doug? Fine - he'll kick out - to open guys who have proven they can drill shots. You want to defend Doug one on one? Fine, he'll rip your team for 30+.

You may not care about Gibbs, or Wragge, or Chatman, or Brooks, or Manigat, etc. But those guys are capable of burning you based on the choices you make defensively.

You also refuse to accept that the turnovers and lapses by CU against SJU are an outlier. The Jays have proven over 20+ games against some really good teams - that they can beat very good defenses, that they can defend against talented players, that they can take care of the basketball.

I think SJU is an interesting contrast in styles and matchup against CU. But, to pretend that what happened in Omaha is some sort of mind boggling aberration - is in itself both mind-boggling and laughable.