Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Recap

Illinois State dominates from start to finish, damages Creighton's NCAA hopes

If Creighton had merely given Illinois State a tough battle in Saturday's second semifinal of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Bluejays--even in defeat--could have stood on the fence, and squarely on the bubble, in their pursuit of an at-large NCAA tourney ticket. Unfortunately for the outfit from Omaha, Osiris Eldridge and the ramped-up Redbirds had other ideas.
 
If Creighton stood on the fence heading into this showdown in the Scottrade Center, Illinois State sent the Jays tumbling from that fence with the force of a roundhouse punch that fully found its target. The third seed from Normal was anything but normal against not-so-credentialed Creighton, storming to a massive early lead and coasting for the game's final 25 minutes. The shockingly easy 73-49 win not only propelled coach Tim Jankovich's crew into the MVC Tournament's championship game for the second straight season; just as importantly, the decisive score will likely keep Dana Altman's second-seeded co-champs from reaching the field of 65.
 
There wasn't much of a story to be told as far as the on-court action was concerned. That sentence didn't figure to be written before this sexy semifinal started, but that's exactly how this contest can be fairly summarized. Behind Eldridge--who towered above everyone else on the floor with a dominating 21-point, 7-rebound performance--Illinois State roared to a 32-11 start at the 5:28 mark of the first half, and never trailed by fewer than 16 points over the remaineder of the game. More effective at finishing around the basket and generally superior in every facet of play, the sharper and quicker Redbirds made a tentative Creighton team look painfully slow. One squad had the polished look and the glint-in-the-eye hunger of a championship contender, while a shellshocked opponent possessed a deer-in-the-headlights look characteristic of an NIT team, and not an NCAA club.

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There really was no drama to be had in the Gateway City; Illinois State's only taste of tournament intrigue will have to wait until tomorrow's title tilt against top-seeded Northern Iowa.
 
In the meantime, it's worth taking one last look at Creighton's resume. The Bluejays will rightly tout their non-conference win over Dayton, a likely NCAA team, and their co-championship in the Valley's regular season. Those two pluses, combined with a strong finish to their season (an 11-game winning streak before this loss to ISU), makes Creighton's portfolio better than other teams in the hunt for an at-large bid.
 
On the other hand, that same profile--while superior to some--is inferior to most competitors across the country. Offsetting the Dayton win are two bad losses, to Nebraska and Arkansas-Little Rock. The MVC co-championship would have looked a lot better with an outright league title, and that would have come about had the Jays not lost to Drake at home, or to Wichita State on the road. Yes, Valley watchers know that the Bulldogs and Shockers are tough teams to play, but the undeniable reality surrounding this league in 2009 is that it lacks the heft of recent years, when Commissioner Doug Elgin could tout four NCAA Tournament teams and make a convincing claim to at-large bids for this non-BCS conference.

If Creighton was to make a really strong case for an at-large slot in the Big Dance, the Jays needed to show that their regular-season co-championship could be followed by a return engagement with Northern Iowa for the tournament title. By failing to reach the final--and by barely beating Wichita State the day before in the quarters--Creighton has told the NCAA selection committee that its regular-season quality appears to be slightly overrated, rather than slightly underrated. One thing's for sure: 24-point losses don't help the cause when so many other teams are out there clamoring for an invitation to college basketball's biggest party.
 
Enough about the Creighton story, though. Tomorrow, the cameras of CBS enter the Scottrade Center, and one year after getting drilled by Drake on national network TV, Illinois State will look to make amends against Northern Iowa. Tim Jankovich assisted Kansas boss Bill Self for a number of years. With a win tomorrow in St. Louis, Illinois State's coach will create his own new Self-made success story in the Missouri Valley Conference.

> Follw the entire 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament here at MVC-fans.com

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer