Arena Adventures: Entry #1
Arena: Wells Fargo Arena
City: Des Moines, IA
Date: November 21, 2010
Teams: Iowa St. Cyclones vs. Creighton Bluejays
I have to preface the remainder of this entry by saying that I don't expect to see either of these teams in the NCAA Tournament come March. That said, today's "neutral site" game between Iowa St. and Creighton certainly had an NCAA Tournament atmosphere. The Wells Fargo Arena is located less than an hour from Ames and about 2.5 hours from Omaha making this a very attendable game for all fans, as evidenced by the 10,000+ that were in attendance on a Sunday afternoon - must have been the sweet "Battle of the Birds" t-shirts given to all fans. While I would say the crowd was probably 2/3 red and gold, the Creighton contingent was certainly loud and proud. The arena itself was a pretty decent place to watch a basketball game. Probably helped having center court seats in the club section of the lower level, but I think even the upper levels would have made for an enjoyable experience. Ingress and egress from the arena was simple and smooth, which is always nice.
As for the game, I would have thought this was a mid-March game for a trip to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. The level of play was extremely high throughout. Creighton lead most of the way, including by 6 at the half and as many as 12 after a Kaleb Korver 3 to cap a 6-0 run out of the gate in the 2nd half.
ISU answered quick with a run of their own, but Creighton always seemed to have an answer to maintain the lead; whether it was an Antoine Young drive to the goal or a Kenny Lawson, Jr. 3 from the top of the key. As the game entered its final minutes, ISU finally grabbed a 1 point lead with baskets by Diante Garrett (from Milwaukee Vincent - shout out to Tom Diener) and Jamie Vanderbeken.
As the teams traded baskets again, insanity ensued in the final 30 seconds. Down 2, Creighton misses a shot and makes the cardinal sin of basketball...committing an intentional foul by almost ripping the shorts off an ISU player without going for the ball. Garrett makes 1 of 2 FTs on that visit and Melvin Ejim makes 2 of 2 for a 5 point lead. Creighton comes down an Lawson buries a 3 from the wing to cut the lead to 2. After ISU makes 1 of 2 FTs again, Young inexplicably takes the ball to the rack with less than 5 seconds left and draws a foul. He makes the first FT and intentionally misses the 2nd. Spectacularly, he grabs his own rebound and is fouled on a fadeaway jumper with 1.6 seconds left. One would think this is the height of drama with the game on the line, but this is just a helping of what's to come...Young calmly knocks home both FTs to tie the game at 88 and ensure overtime right? Jamie Vanderbeken from ISU had other ideas. Off a great inbounds pass from Scott Christopherson to about 35 feet from the basket, Vanderbeken takes 1 dribble, turns, and fires...SWISH as the horn sounds and the backboard
lights come on!!
In real time, the shot looked late, but the officials called it good. For some ungodly reason, this game was not televised ANYWHERE so the officials could not replay the shot and properly send the game to OT. Either way, this was one hell of a basketball game (best I've ever seen in 20+ of my life so far) and no fan should have left the building too disappointed. Sure, Creighton got the L, but everyone got their money's and travel time's worth.
On a side note, Creighton freshman Doug McDermott looked strong in the post with 16 points, Young could not be stopped on a penetrating drive (scoring 21 total), and Lawson has a smooth stroke from 20 feet and out for a big man (dropping 20 points on 4 triples). On the ISU side, if Garrett learns to regulate his shot selection a bit better, he could be a first or second-team All Big XII performer in my opinion. Ejim had a very quiet 22 points in support of Garrett's 28 as well.
Final Thoughts: This game far exceeding any expectations I had arriving in Des Moines today. Both teams look like they could be competitive in their conferences, especially Creighton in the MVC, as the Big XII will be extremely tough this season for ISU.
On to Kansas City tomorrow for #1/#1 Duke vs. Marquette and #3/#3 Kansas St. vs. #10/#11 Gonzaga in the CBE Classic semifinals. I just hope these games are half as competitive as today's game. A full report on the 2 semifinal games and the Sprint Center will be detailed on Tuesday so stay tuned to Arena Adventures!
Arena: Wells Fargo Arena
City: Des Moines, IA
Date: November 21, 2010
Teams: Iowa St. Cyclones vs. Creighton Bluejays
I have to preface the remainder of this entry by saying that I don't expect to see either of these teams in the NCAA Tournament come March. That said, today's "neutral site" game between Iowa St. and Creighton certainly had an NCAA Tournament atmosphere. The Wells Fargo Arena is located less than an hour from Ames and about 2.5 hours from Omaha making this a very attendable game for all fans, as evidenced by the 10,000+ that were in attendance on a Sunday afternoon - must have been the sweet "Battle of the Birds" t-shirts given to all fans. While I would say the crowd was probably 2/3 red and gold, the Creighton contingent was certainly loud and proud. The arena itself was a pretty decent place to watch a basketball game. Probably helped having center court seats in the club section of the lower level, but I think even the upper levels would have made for an enjoyable experience. Ingress and egress from the arena was simple and smooth, which is always nice.As for the game, I would have thought this was a mid-March game for a trip to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. The level of play was extremely high throughout. Creighton lead most of the way, including by 6 at the half and as many as 12 after a Kaleb Korver 3 to cap a 6-0 run out of the gate in the 2nd half.
ISU answered quick with a run of their own, but Creighton always seemed to have an answer to maintain the lead; whether it was an Antoine Young drive to the goal or a Kenny Lawson, Jr. 3 from the top of the key. As the game entered its final minutes, ISU finally grabbed a 1 point lead with baskets by Diante Garrett (from Milwaukee Vincent - shout out to Tom Diener) and Jamie Vanderbeken.As the teams traded baskets again, insanity ensued in the final 30 seconds. Down 2, Creighton misses a shot and makes the cardinal sin of basketball...committing an intentional foul by almost ripping the shorts off an ISU player without going for the ball. Garrett makes 1 of 2 FTs on that visit and Melvin Ejim makes 2 of 2 for a 5 point lead. Creighton comes down an Lawson buries a 3 from the wing to cut the lead to 2. After ISU makes 1 of 2 FTs again, Young inexplicably takes the ball to the rack with less than 5 seconds left and draws a foul. He makes the first FT and intentionally misses the 2nd. Spectacularly, he grabs his own rebound and is fouled on a fadeaway jumper with 1.6 seconds left. One would think this is the height of drama with the game on the line, but this is just a helping of what's to come...Young calmly knocks home both FTs to tie the game at 88 and ensure overtime right? Jamie Vanderbeken from ISU had other ideas. Off a great inbounds pass from Scott Christopherson to about 35 feet from the basket, Vanderbeken takes 1 dribble, turns, and fires...SWISH as the horn sounds and the backboard
lights come on!!In real time, the shot looked late, but the officials called it good. For some ungodly reason, this game was not televised ANYWHERE so the officials could not replay the shot and properly send the game to OT. Either way, this was one hell of a basketball game (best I've ever seen in 20+ of my life so far) and no fan should have left the building too disappointed. Sure, Creighton got the L, but everyone got their money's and travel time's worth.
On a side note, Creighton freshman Doug McDermott looked strong in the post with 16 points, Young could not be stopped on a penetrating drive (scoring 21 total), and Lawson has a smooth stroke from 20 feet and out for a big man (dropping 20 points on 4 triples). On the ISU side, if Garrett learns to regulate his shot selection a bit better, he could be a first or second-team All Big XII performer in my opinion. Ejim had a very quiet 22 points in support of Garrett's 28 as well.
Final Thoughts: This game far exceeding any expectations I had arriving in Des Moines today. Both teams look like they could be competitive in their conferences, especially Creighton in the MVC, as the Big XII will be extremely tough this season for ISU.
On to Kansas City tomorrow for #1/#1 Duke vs. Marquette and #3/#3 Kansas St. vs. #10/#11 Gonzaga in the CBE Classic semifinals. I just hope these games are half as competitive as today's game. A full report on the 2 semifinal games and the Sprint Center will be detailed on Tuesday so stay tuned to Arena Adventures!
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