Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.

Creighton has trotted out the same five players to start each of its first 22 games.

Whether that streak reaches 23 Wednesday night against Illinois State will depend on the state of Jahenns Manigat's knee.

Manigat played sparingly in the second half of Saturday's win against Bradley. He spent most of Monday's practice pedaling a stationary bike but went through Tuesday's practice. He said he expects to be ready to play against the Redbirds in the 7:05 p.m. game at CenturyLink Center.

"I'm excited to get back out there," said Manigat, who has been bothered by a buildup of fluid on the knee. "It's kind of funny that whenever you're away from the game is when you want to be out there the most."

Manigat — along with Doug McDermott, Gregory Echenique, Grant Gibbs and Antoine Young — has heard his name announced before the start of each game this season.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott admits he's not one to spend much time worrying about who's on the court for the opening tip.

"I'm not a coach who's in to who starts and that kind of stuff," McDermott said. "And I think it's way more important to parents than it is to the players. You get 12 seconds of fame when you're name is announced, but beyond that, it really doesn't matter who starts in the game.

"I never talk in terms of starting five. I don't put a lot of value in who starts. This group has done a good job of getting us off to good starts most of the season. Guys accept their role coming off the bench, and there's value in being able to do that."

McDermott has played a 10-man rotation most of the season, though the playing time of freshmen Avery Dingman, Will Artino and Austin Chatman decreased early in the Missouri Valley Conference season. As the Bluejays got deeper into conference play, the three freshmen have seen an increase in minutes.

"We felt we had to get those guys on the floor more if we wanted to still be strong at the end of February," McDermott said. "With that additional playing time for the freshmen, they've played better.

"As a result of that improved play in games, their confidence increases and they practice a little better. That increases the confidence we, as a coaching staff, have in them. It all goes hand in hand."

No. 13 Creighton (20-2) has won 10 straight to build a one-game lead over Wichita State in the Valley race. Illinois State (14-8) enters Wednesday's game having won its last two games.

The Redbirds are tied for third in the conference with Drake and Missouri State at 6-5. Not that Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich is keeping track.

"I honestly try very hard not to look at the standings, because it doesn't do any good on the positive side," he said. "And it certainly brings a lot of stress on the negative side.

"To separate ourselves from those other teams, the simple answer is to win a lot of games. But that is very, very difficult in this league this year. That's why focusing on the big picture just brings a lot of stress. It's better for us to just focus on the small picture, like who's our next opponent."

Creighton already has posted an 87-78 win against Illinois State in a Jan. 13 meeting in Normal. The Bluejays built an 18-point lead midway through the second half but had to sweat out the win as the Redbirds closed within two points with a minute to play.

Illinois State had lost two of three games before recording wins last week against Missouri State in overtime and Southern Illinois. Junior forward Jackie Carmichael averaged 22.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in those wins, earning league player of the week honors.

The 6-foot-9 Carmichael leads the Redbirds in scoring with a 13.6 average. He'll match up Wednesday against Echenique, who is looking forward to squaring off against the 240-pounder.

"It's good to play against players that are good," Echenique said. "It's better than playing against guys that are undersized that change how you have to play the game. It's easier for me to play against tall players. I prefer that, and I'll be ready."

McDermott said all the Bluejays need to be as the first meeting with the Redbirds showed that Illinois State can be a dangerous team. Particularly concerning to McDermott is the Redbirds' size up front with the 6-9 Carmichael, 6-9 John Wilkins and 6-7 Jon Ekey.

"They are so long and athletic across the front line that it scares the daylights out of me," McDermott said. "Those guys can play some of our front-line players one on one, and there aren't many teams that we play that have the ability to do that.

"That cause us some problems when we're on offense, and we had trouble stopping them on defense in the last game. They kind of got anything they wanted in the last eight or nine minutes."

Contact the writer:

402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

twitter.com/PivOWH

NOTES:

• Creighton has won the last three meetings and 19 of 29 games between the teams. Overall, Illinois State leads the series 40-27.

• The Redbirds have lost their 22 games against ranked opponents. Illinois State's last victory over a rated team came in 1987.

• Wednesday's game will be the 150th at the CenturyLink Center. Creighton has posted a 127-22 record in the arena. Illinois State owns three of the victories over the Bluejays.

• Creighton's Doug McDermott and Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael lead the Valley with seven double-doubles each.

• Carmichael leads the Valley in rebounding at 8.7 per game, while McDermott is second at 8.4.

« Sports - Bluejays Today

Share