Wichita State at Creighton--MVC Title

[sixth ace]

nice game Creighton Congrats on your win and the MVC title

[LaurelP]

Tremendous atmosphere and I'm not sure I have ever seen a player do what Doug did today.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

Look I give CU props for the regular season crown. Okay? Tip of the cap.

But one thing that I am genuinely excited with the season winding down and CU leaving us is that the Doug McD hyperbole machine will finally cease. Drives me crazy. He is good. POY. Okay? Sure. But some people hold him in reverance as if he is the greatest thing to happen to this game since James Naismith got bored inside of a gym on a cold Massachusetts winter day. Come on...will you please!?!

[Deanthonybowdenfan]

But the Shockers definitely had a very bad defensive outing all on their own. Statistically, the worst in the 107 years. Bad interior defense (again, tons of open lay-ups), and horrific perimeter defense.

I have no idea what to expect from the Shockers in the tournament. We've looked very beatable.

Man I think if you watch a replay of the game you will realize your guys played their asses off, both teams did. You guys did NOT have a bad defensive outing, I saw how hard they were playing and all players for both teams really gave it all they had. It is just really hard to defend a team that is playing that well on offense. Fact is both teams played really well. I thought it was a great college basketball game. The layups you speak of were actually guarded well, they were just good finishes, and on the lobs good passes. Creighton shot well from 3 but it wasn't because of bad defense, it really was good ball movement and plays made to get open. IMHO you guys played one of your better games, we just played one of our better games as well. Not many teams would of beat us tonight. If that shocker team that played today, were to play the same Creighton team you saw in Wichita, you guys would of won. If the shocker team you saw tonight were to play the Creighton team of late January/early February you would of won by at least 10.

[rlh04d]

Creighton deserves a ton of credit, but Wichita State's defense was the worst it has been all season. We gave up large numbers of almost completely unguarded shots and didn't really defend the paint. If Creighton has shot just "good", the difference would have been the winning margin (2-3 instead of 12).

If I were a neutral observer, I would come away with few positives about Wichita State's defense in this game. Not exactly an impressive outing. Very impressed by the difference between the two school's play on their senior nights.

You're not a neutral observer. In fact, for being a WSU fan, you're generally biased against WSU. You have your way of looking at things, so whatever. It's not like you're suddenly going to start seeing things anyway other than how you've always seen them. You'll see three or four poorly defended plays the entire game and you'll bitch about it non-stop. People like you aren't happy unless you're bitching.

As for your absurd point about what would have happened if Creighton shot "good", if Creighton had shot 50% from the field, including the 52% they already shot from 3, and the 87.5% they shot from the line, Creighton would have scored 73 points and WSU would have won. Not only would that have done more than change the margin of victory, not only would WSU have won, but WSU would have won by 6. Show of hands from the non-"neutral" observers here ... how many Creighton fans would have thought they would win that game if they shot 50% FGs, 52% 3s, 88% FT, and won the rebounding margin? Those numbers wouldn't be a "good" game for Creighton? Because every single one of those numbers is over Creighton's season average, except rebounds. I don't think there are many Creighton fans who would have been anything but happy with and confident in those numbers from this game.

You are wrong. We defended quite well over the course of 40 minutes. You can look at the four bad plays during that stretch and color your biased opinion however you want to. As a WSU fan, I have never been happy with them following a loss ... but I was very happy with how they played today. If we play like that in the tournament, no team outside of Creighton can touch us ... and that's only assuming Creighton plays like this again, rather than just merely above their season averages in almost every category.

[rlh04d]

Look I give CU props for the regular season crown. Okay? Tip of the cap.

But one thing that I am genuinely excited with the season winding down and CU leaving us is that the Doug McD hyperbole machine will finally cease. Drives me crazy. He is good. POY. Okay? Sure. But some people hold him in reverance as if he is the greatest thing to happen to this game since James Naismith got bored inside of a gym on a cold Massachusetts winter day. Come on...will you please!?!

Except they don't. He's recognized as being the best player in the Valley, and a contender for POY. Whether you like him or not, he deserves credit for what he did against a very good WSU defense tonight, and he is deservedly, by a huge margin, the MVC POY, and a legitimate contender for national POY.

I don't think there's much hyperbole about him beyond that. There are legitimate questions about his defensive ability and his ability to play in the NBA. But he deserves credit as the best Valley player in years.

[Deanthonybowdenfan]

Agree with your posts Rhlo4d. I would of liked what I saw from WSU if I was a WSU fan too. When the team is excited to play they always play good defense. Whats givin you guys some trouble has been the offense, but your offense looked much better today, mostly just cause they showed the ability to hit their shots from outside. That game shouldn't hurt your NCAA chances, it was a road game against a team who was on senior night and who was a very good team, at least tonight. I think you guys are still in the tournament even if you lose your next game, which i doubt will happen. You guys could still win the tournament in St. Louis, and I'd have to say probably have the best chance of any team to win 3 games in 3 days with all that depth. I think both CU and WSU have a chance to make the sweet 16 this year, of course the NCAA is so much about match ups, you just never know whats going to happen. But I think when CU is playing their best ball they are a legitimate top 20 team, if not top 15. I would say the same about Wichita. Before people jump on me for this, i do mean when WSU and CU are playing THEIR A-GAME. Both teams also can look pretty average when they aren't focused.

[shoxrox]

Congrats to Creighton. I don't think many teams in the country would have beaten them today.

This loss doesn't disappoint me near as bad as Wednesday night. The Bluejays demonstrated how team is supposed to play on Senior Night with a Valley title at stake.

I'm thrilled with 24 wins this year. We excelled expectations yet again. Tough to not repeat as Valley champs, but Creighton earned it.

We need to come out like a team on fire in St. Louis if we want to go where we want to go.

[CBB_Fan]

You are wrong. We defended quite well over the course of 40 minutes. You can look at the four bad plays during that stretch and color your biased opinion however you want to. As a WSU fan, I have never been happy with them following a loss ... but I was very happy with how they played today. If we play like that in the tournament, no team outside of Creighton can touch us ... and that's only assuming Creighton plays like this again, rather than just merely above their season averages in almost every category.

Hasn't Wichita State allowed teams to shoot 70% or greater in three of their last four quarters? Under no circumstances can I call that good defense. If we play like that in the tournament, any team in the tournament can and WILL beat us, so we need play better.

I can't take much positive from a historically bad showing. You better believe that any team in the Valley could beat us shooting 70%, or even anything over about 55%.

One positive was the toughness Cotton and Armstead showed, getting back into the game after a nasty collision after about a minute of rest. Still, I can't say I'm happy about the way we played today.

[pawball]

As a neutral observer.....

I thot Jays were moving the ball extremely well on offense, but there were times when Doug and Wragge got open looks from outside that St Mary's hardly ever allowed. OTOH, Jays were moving their feet and the ball that split-second quicker that can make all the difference in the world. In the game in Wichita the Shocks were jacked-up so big, like on steroids. Thot both teams played better than their norm today, but Jays were simply red-red hot.

An easy and simple prediction: neither team will play anywhere near as good in St Louis if they meet in the finals, and not just because it would be the 3rd game in three days.