Live Chat: Log on at 5:30 p.m. Saturday for a pregame edition of Bluejay Talk Live, a chance to chat with Creighton beat writer Steven Pivovar as the Jays prepare to host Missouri State. Details on Omaha.com/sportschat.

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Ask Creighton forward Casey Harriman a question, and chances are the answer you'll get will be direct and to the point.

The junior shies away from pussy-footing around issues. He tends to size things up and then tells you what's on his mind.

So, Casey, why can't the Bluejays hold onto leads, especially in the second half when opponents turn up the pressure, as Illinois State did last week in turning a 10-point halftime deficit into a nine-point victory?

“When teams start making a run, we start playing scared,'' Harriman said. “You can't play scared. We start getting worried that the other team is going to come back and win. Bottom line, you can't play this game scared.''

Some of Harriman's teammates and coaches might disagree with his choice of wording but agree that the 9-10 Bluejays take on a different personality when opposing teams ratchet up the intensity. Whatever the reasoning, the failure to come through in such situations has been the downfall of this team to this point.

“I think it's lack of focus, I think it's leadership, I think it's not hitting your free throws,'' Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “Those things are all a part of finishing games.''

Asked if he would use the word “scared'' to describe how his team has played in some tight spots, Altman replied, “No. But when you don't have leadership, you might make tentative plays. We're just not executing.''

That has led to disappointment for a team that was expected to produce great things. Picked as the prime threat to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley, Creighton enters tonight's 7:05 home game against 14-5 Missouri State tied with the Bears and two other teams for fourth place.

The Bluejays are a win out of third place and a loss out of eighth. At this point, a date in the play-in round at the conference tournament is as much a possibility for this team as an upper-division finish.

Creighton's inconsistent ways have boggled observers, including one who now finds himself playing a greater on-court role. A slower-than-expected recovery from a foot injury left senior Chad Millard watching more than playing for the first half of the season.

He's had a chance to play more in the past three games, logging double-digit minutes in two of them.

“From observing our games, I do sense a little bit of tentativeness in the second half in terms of attacking and doing what made us successful in the first half,'' Millard said. “I don't have a reason for why that happens, and I'm not even sure that is what is happening.

“But from observing and watching film, I have sensed at times a loss of composure. Knowing the guys on our team, I don't think anyone gets scared. I don't think guys are afraid of having the ball in crunch time. But we have had some of our weaknesses exposed in crunch time.''

Three times this season — against Dayton, New Mexico and Illinois State — Creighton has failed to protect double-digit first-half leads. The Bluejays wound up losing by 10 to Dayton, by five to New Mexico and by nine to the Redbirds.

Creighton never led by more than eight in its games against Michigan, Iona, George Mason and Northern Iowa. In those contests, it was the inability to finish that cost the Bluejays potential wins.

Creighton put together one of its best halves of the season in building a 38-28 lead Wednesday at Illinois State. The Bluejays showed signs of being in sync on offense and determined on defense. When the Redbirds made a run, Creighton closed the half with a 12-4 surge.

“In the first half, we just went in there and swung away,'' guard Antoine Young said. “In the second half, we started second-guessing ourselves. We didn't play loose.

“We just have to play loose and keep attacking the whole games. I don't know why we start second-guessing ourselves, but we just need to keep swinging the whole game and playing the way we know how to play.”

In spite of their struggles, the Bluejays are convinced that they are close to becoming the team they were expected to be this season.

“It all comes down to making plays,'' Young said. “We just have to start making things happen in the second half.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

• Steven Pivovar chats Fridays at noon during Bluejay Talk Live to discuss all things Creighton athletics. Details at Omaha.com/sportschat.

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