http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/03/08/usports/doc49b335327b8e6057390595.prt
ISU notes: Redbirds want to end it right this year
<TABLE id=photobox cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=323 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=infoBox>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #7e7e7e 1px solid">Osiris Eldridge (0) of Illinois State University looks for the call after a collision with a Creighton player during second half action at the Missouri Valley Tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Saturday, March 7, 2009. (Pantagraph, David Proeber) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Saturday, March 7, 2009 9:24 PM CST
By Jim Benson
jbenson@pantagraph.com
ST. LOUIS -- Osiris Eldridge and his teammates aren’t happy just being in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game again. | Kindred: Eldridge was the best player on the court | Photo gallery
The Redbirds got to their second straight Valley Tournament title game with a 73-49 semifinal rout over Creighton on Saturday at the Scottrade Center. ISU also advanced to last year’s championship game before Drake put a 79-49 pasting on the Redbirds.
“I’ve been thinking about it all season,” said Eldridge. “We made Sunday last year and it didn’t end right. I know from my standpoint I’m going to try to do everything in my power to win that game.”
ISU meets Northern Iowa at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, with the winner securing an automatic trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Alex Rubin said the Redbirds haven’t discussed last year’s title game loss to Drake this season.
But they haven’t forgotten, either.
“I wouldn’t say we were embarrassed, but it sticks with you when you lose by 30 and you’re so close to making the NCAA Tournament,” said Rubin. “You definitely want to redeem yourself.”
ISU hasn’t won the Valley tourney or advanced to the NCAA tournament since 1998. The NCAA drought is the longest of any Valley school.
Bulletin-board material
Maybe Creighton should have cut down the nets last weekend at the Qwest Center, after all.
After Creighton beat ISU, 74-70, last weekend to clinch a share of the Valley regular-season title, senior guard Josh Dotzler told the home crowd the Bluejays decided not to do the traditional cutting down of the nets to celebrate.
Dotzler said they were going to wait until St. Louis “when we win there.”
“It fired us up a little bit, we’re not going to lie,” said ISU senior Champ Oguchi. “Not because of what he said, but we want to be the ones to cut down the nets. Anything you can use as motivation these days, that’s what we need to do.”
ISU freshman Jeremy Robinson said Dotzler’s comments were talked about by the Redbirds quite often during the week.
“We quoted that before we came out on the court,” said Robinson. “We remembered what he said last weekend, and we said he was going to eat his words.”
UNI preview
For the second straight year, ISU will be playing a team in the tourney final which beat the Redbirds twice during the regular season.
Northern Iowa beat ISU, 59-55, in Cedar Falls on Jan. 28. Adam Koch’s putback basket beat the buzzer in double overtime as the Panthers squeaked out a 69-67 victory at Redbird Arena on Feb. 24 that eliminated ISU from the regular-season chase.
Koch, a 6-8 junior forward, was an all-Valley first-team selection. He scored 25 points against ISU in the second meeting as the Redbirds had trouble using the 6-6 Oguchi to guard him. Koch has scored 41 points in two games here this weekend.
“He plays a couple positions. He can really drive the ball,” said ISU coach Tim Jankovich. “He has an uncanny knack of getting calls. He really does. He shoots the ball well; he can post you; he can drive on you.
“We’ll have to try and solve the matchup issues. I don’t know if there’s really any answer. Sometimes there’s just not. We’ll have to play a tremendous game.”
Two points, seven stitches
Robinson made a rare first-half appearance on Saturday to give Brandon Sampay some rest with the Redbirds well ahead of Creighton. He sank a 15-foot jumper before leaving.
“When he (Jankovich) called my name, I just figured it was time to go out there and play hard and do what I do in practice,” said Robinson. “My (heart) was a little fast at first. I calmed down and did pretty well.”
When Robinson went back to the bench, he noticed blood coming from his right elbow.
“I elbowed somebody in the mouth and their tooth kind of busted up,” said Robinson, who needed seven stitches to close the wound.
ISU athletics trainer John Munn has been busy in the two games at the Scottrade Center with cuts and blood. Oguchi had a cut lip on Friday that didn’t need stitches as originally thought. Also, Eldridge had a cut on his knee Friday.
Copyright © 2009, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
ISU notes: Redbirds want to end it right this year
<TABLE id=photobox cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=323 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=infoBox>
Saturday, March 7, 2009 9:24 PM CST
By Jim Benson
jbenson@pantagraph.com
ST. LOUIS -- Osiris Eldridge and his teammates aren’t happy just being in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game again. | Kindred: Eldridge was the best player on the court | Photo gallery
The Redbirds got to their second straight Valley Tournament title game with a 73-49 semifinal rout over Creighton on Saturday at the Scottrade Center. ISU also advanced to last year’s championship game before Drake put a 79-49 pasting on the Redbirds.
“I’ve been thinking about it all season,” said Eldridge. “We made Sunday last year and it didn’t end right. I know from my standpoint I’m going to try to do everything in my power to win that game.”
ISU meets Northern Iowa at 1:05 p.m. Sunday, with the winner securing an automatic trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Alex Rubin said the Redbirds haven’t discussed last year’s title game loss to Drake this season.
But they haven’t forgotten, either.
“I wouldn’t say we were embarrassed, but it sticks with you when you lose by 30 and you’re so close to making the NCAA Tournament,” said Rubin. “You definitely want to redeem yourself.”
ISU hasn’t won the Valley tourney or advanced to the NCAA tournament since 1998. The NCAA drought is the longest of any Valley school.
Bulletin-board material
Maybe Creighton should have cut down the nets last weekend at the Qwest Center, after all.
After Creighton beat ISU, 74-70, last weekend to clinch a share of the Valley regular-season title, senior guard Josh Dotzler told the home crowd the Bluejays decided not to do the traditional cutting down of the nets to celebrate.
Dotzler said they were going to wait until St. Louis “when we win there.”
“It fired us up a little bit, we’re not going to lie,” said ISU senior Champ Oguchi. “Not because of what he said, but we want to be the ones to cut down the nets. Anything you can use as motivation these days, that’s what we need to do.”
ISU freshman Jeremy Robinson said Dotzler’s comments were talked about by the Redbirds quite often during the week.
“We quoted that before we came out on the court,” said Robinson. “We remembered what he said last weekend, and we said he was going to eat his words.”
UNI preview
For the second straight year, ISU will be playing a team in the tourney final which beat the Redbirds twice during the regular season.
Northern Iowa beat ISU, 59-55, in Cedar Falls on Jan. 28. Adam Koch’s putback basket beat the buzzer in double overtime as the Panthers squeaked out a 69-67 victory at Redbird Arena on Feb. 24 that eliminated ISU from the regular-season chase.
Koch, a 6-8 junior forward, was an all-Valley first-team selection. He scored 25 points against ISU in the second meeting as the Redbirds had trouble using the 6-6 Oguchi to guard him. Koch has scored 41 points in two games here this weekend.
“He plays a couple positions. He can really drive the ball,” said ISU coach Tim Jankovich. “He has an uncanny knack of getting calls. He really does. He shoots the ball well; he can post you; he can drive on you.
“We’ll have to try and solve the matchup issues. I don’t know if there’s really any answer. Sometimes there’s just not. We’ll have to play a tremendous game.”
Two points, seven stitches
Robinson made a rare first-half appearance on Saturday to give Brandon Sampay some rest with the Redbirds well ahead of Creighton. He sank a 15-foot jumper before leaving.
“When he (Jankovich) called my name, I just figured it was time to go out there and play hard and do what I do in practice,” said Robinson. “My (heart) was a little fast at first. I calmed down and did pretty well.”
When Robinson went back to the bench, he noticed blood coming from his right elbow.
“I elbowed somebody in the mouth and their tooth kind of busted up,” said Robinson, who needed seven stitches to close the wound.
ISU athletics trainer John Munn has been busy in the two games at the Scottrade Center with cuts and blood. Oguchi had a cut lip on Friday that didn’t need stitches as originally thought. Also, Eldridge had a cut on his knee Friday.
Copyright © 2009, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
