Like most everything else, this only happens in stretches, not the entire game. The Aces won’t press, but they will run, which I think can be deceiving for folks who enter thinking they’re playing an old-fashioned half court motion team. JL: “This team is seemingly at its best when it can force a turnover and score quickly in transition. WBR: How has Evansville’s defense been so far this season? Have they forced teams into a lot of turnovers? The Aces rarely move to a zone - they’ve maybe done that in just two games - and really rely on their players to switch well through screens and help with dribble drives.” JL: “That I honestly don’t know, but Evansville hasn’t played too far out of its identity this season when facing other high-profile players, such as Jack Cooley at Notre Dame and Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan. What will Evansville look to do to neutralize him or will they not play him any differently than any other player? WBR: Doug McDermott is having another great season for the Bluejays. Missouri State aside, everyone looks like a threat to beat any team on a given day. Wichita State has kind of surprised me, and Illinois State looks strong even under a first-year head coach. I feel they can still finish there, but at the same time, this team could end up seventh or eighth with the way the rest of the league is playing. JL: “I picked Evansville third, which was probably higher than anyone. WBR: Now that we have watched the non-conference season, Where do you predict Evansville to potentially end up in the MVC standings at the end of the season? Has the non-conference season changed where you projected them? He still splits time there with sophomores Ryan Sawvell and Jaylon Moore, but with time he could be a guy who can go for a double-double and play 30 minutes.” Mockevicius (pronounced something like Mosk-eh-veech-us) has overcome a foul-prone beginning and now starts at the five spot. He’s a 6-foot-10 center from Lithuania and a former player on that country’s U20 national team. JL: “I believe in Egidijus Mockevicius they’ve found a long term solution. WBR: The thing seemingly missing over the past few seasons for Evansville is a good big man. Balentine scored as many as 26 points in a game against Colorado State, he hits more than 40 percent of his 3s, and he’s as confident as a freshman can be.” That’s not to say Balentine wouldn’t have stepped up anyway, but he definitely filled the scoring void when Ryan was out (and even when Ryan returned). Balentine, an in-state freshman, fits both of those descriptions. WBR: With Ryan slowed a bit, which players stepped up in his absence and who was the biggest surprise? They haven’t really proven to anyone yet that they can beat a Creighton, Wichita State or Illinois State type of team.” Looking back at the beginning, I think this team could have expected to win one or two of those matchups and walk into MVC play with some confidence. Colt Ryan played in each of those, and the Aces didn’t win one. Evansville had four marquee games, really, against Notre Dame, Colorado State, Murray State and Butler. With him back, does the team seem like they are where they wanted to be at the beginning of the season and is he back to 100% now? White & Blue Review: The Aces got off on the wrong foot to start the season with Colt Ryan suffering an injury. He gives us some insight before the game on Saturday night. We check in with Jonathan Lintner of the Evansville Courier Press who has done a spectacular job covering the Aces since starting with the newspaper earlier this year. In his three career games in Omaha, he has scored 31, 16 and 43 points.įortunately there is more to Evansville than just Ryan. However, Ryan is just starting to really come on after an injury to start the season and could be a thorn in the side again as he loves playing in Omaha. On Saturday, the Bluejays get to do the opposite by playing Evansville in the first game of conference play instead of towards the end. The Bluejays ended up blowing out the Aces a couple weeks later at Arch Madness in St. The following game on Senior night against Evansville, probably was not.Ĭolt Ryan scored a CenturyLink Center record 43 points and Denver Holmes scored another 25 points of his own as the Purple Aces came within a tip by Gregory Echenique in regulation and clutch shooting of Josh Jones in overtime of upsetting the Bluejays. The one against Long Beach State in the Bracketbuster might have been expected. Last season, Creighton finished the regular season with a couple of dramatic wins.
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