It's a question that's answer might vary from one situation to the next.

If a team gets a rematch with its final regular-season opponent in the opening round of the conference tournament, which team has the advantage?

In this case, will it be Creighton, which posted an 82-71 victory against Bradley on Saturday? Or will the Braves have some extra incentive, having just lost to Creighton for the second time this season?

“I don't know if anyone has an advantage or a disadvantage,” Creighton center Kenny Lawson said. “We know what they like to do because we just played them.

“But they're probably thinking the same thing. If nothing else, things should be fresh in both of our minds. We're not going to need much of a scouting report to know what they're going to do.”

Creighton and Bradley square off Friday in a 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal game at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis. The winner advances to a Saturday semifinal, while the loser could be facing the end of its season.

This will be the sixth time for Creighton and the eighth time for Bradley that their opening game in St. Louis comes against their final regular-season opponent. Bradley is 4-3 in such games, while Creighton is 4-1, including 3-1 under coach Dana Altman.

The Bluejays faced a similar situation two seasons ago when they defeated Bradley 111-110 in double overtime to close the regular season. Six days later, Creighton beat the Braves 74-70 in St. Louis.

“We'll be pretty familiar with each other,” Altman said. “I know a lot of people might be saying they'll have an advantage because we've beaten them twice. When two teams are really close, it's difficult to beat them three times.

“If you're better than they are, then it's not. But in this case, both teams are pretty close, so that's going to make it pretty tough on us.”

Creighton posted a 73-68 win at Bradley on Jan. 27. Saturday, the Bluejays got 20 points from Lawson, 17 from Justin Carter and 12 each from Ethan Wragge and Antoine Young to post their third straight win. The streak is Creighton's longest of the season, as well as the longest by any of the 10 teams in the tournament.

“I think we are playing better,” said Altman, whose team brings a 16-14 record into the tournament. “If there's a corner to be turned, I don't think we've gotten that far. But we are playing better, and a lot of that has to do with Antoine.

“He's played better the last 10 days, and that's made a big difference in our team.”

Young added eight assists and two steals against the Braves. In the three-game streak, the 6-foot sophomore from Bellevue West has averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals compared with his season averages of 6.6 points, 2.6 assists and 0.8 steals.

Young also has made 15 of his 18 free throws after making just 28 of his first 59.

“His free-throw shooting is something he's doing awfully well,” Altman said. “He's also taking the ball to the basket and creating some things there. Defensively, he has some steals that have helped us out.

“He's just been more aggressive and he's finished more plays. That adds to your ability to make another play.”

Young admits that there were times this season when sagging confidence affected his play-making ability.

“Now, I'm ready to go in there and just swing away,” he said. “I feel good right now, and I'm ready to go. I think we have a chance to win it.”

Three wins would send the Bluejays to the NCAA tournament as the Valley's automatic qualifier. Anything less and Creighton likely will find itself pondering a possible berth to the College Basketball Invitational or the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Altman was asked if he's concerned his team might be overlooking Bradley since it already has beaten the Braves twice.

“I don't think overconfidence has been a problem with this team all year,” he said, laughing. “When you're 16-14, you don't have to worry about that too much.”

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

« Sports - Bluejays Today

Share