Missouri Valley Conference Basketball - CIT Tournament Recap

CIT Semifinal Recap - Creighton vs Missouri State

Missouri State 67, Creighton 61

Cuonzo Martin was a great defensive stopper when he played college basketball. On Wednesday night in Springfield, Mo., he wasn't wearing a tank top, gym shorts and sneakers, but Mr. Martin - in a suit and tie - had to love what he saw from his Missouri State basketball team.

Martin was a member of Purdue's best basketball team in the Gene Keady era. The 1994 Boilermakers - with "Big Dog" Glenn Robinson as the leading actor and Martin a core part of the supporting cast - rolled to the Southeast Regional final before being eclipsed by Grant Hill and Duke in an epic battle in Knoxville, Tenn. That Purdue team went as far as it did because of Martin's infectious energy and his ability to play with sustained intensity for 40 minutes.

Today, Martin is the coach of a Missouri State program that's looking to make an upward move in the Missouri Valley Conference. Given the unique opportunity to play conference foe Creighton for a third time this season, the Bears had a chance to make a statement to the rival Bluejays... a statement that would reverberate into late December, when the next MVC season begins.

After 40 minutes of hard-nosed hoops, Martin and his players just might have delivered the announcement that they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2010-11 campaign.

Creighton and coach Dana Altman have suffered through a miserable season, but in this semifinal game, the outfit from Omaha, Neb., had a chance to win another Missouri Valley game and advance to the CIT championship game next week. Sure, the CIT is a lower-tier tournament, but a championship game is a championship game, and the Bluejays could have at least added that accomplishment to their resume with a couple more wins. By pulling through against a Missouri State team that finished two games below them in the regular-season MVC standings, the Bluejays could have punched their ticket for a title tilt and gained a small but meaningful amount of satisfaction in late March.

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Instead, they came away disappointed, while the underdog Bears - gifted with a home game - seized the opportunity in front of them at JQH Arena. Defense made the difference, in a contest whose ultimate resolution had to warm Martin's heart.

With 6:18 left in regulation, the two teams stood in a flat-footed 52-all tie. The veteran experience of the Bluejays - who are accustomed to playing tournament games in March (even if they're not always NCAA Tournament contests) - figured to hold sway, but instead, the upstarts came good and sent Creighton home empty-handed.

Missouri State simply produced the best defense of the night on either side, holding Creighton to one field goal in a span of five minutes and 31 seconds. MSU used its defense to uncork a 15-3 run and establish a 67-55 lead with less than a minute left. When Creighton broke free of its prolonged spell by hitting another shot at the 47-second mark, the outcome had already been decided. A Cuonzo Martin team won a basketball game in a Cuonzo Martin way.

As a result, the good news Bears will play for a championship.

What's Next?

Missouri State awaits the winner of Thursday's second CIT semifinal between Pacific - of the Big West Conference - and Southern Conference representative Appalachian State.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer