AfterShocks | 7/17/2021 12:57:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
The Basketball Tournament will patch, for one day, what ambition, success and conference realignment tore apart.
Creighton and Wichita State last played a men's basketball game against each other on March 10, 2013 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. That Bluejays win ended years of a rivalry during which both programs excelled in the MVC and used that success to improve their programs and move to new conferences.
On Sunday, the AfterShocks play the Omaha Blue Crew at 3 p.m. (ESPN) in Koch Arena in the second round of TBT. The winner advances to Tuesday's third round. While it's not Dave Stallworth vs. Paul Silas (1964), Antoine Carr vs. Kevin McKenna (1981) or Ben Smith vs. Doug McDermott (2012), it's a good way to bring back those memories.
AfterShocks coach Zach Bush is asking you to summon that passion – memories of screaming at Nate Funk, chills from the Matt Braeuer shot in 2006, and trips to Omaha. Most of the players on the court missed Wichita State-Creighton, so he is putting it on the fans to bring the energy.
"We've got a rival in here that we've been itching to play," Bush said. "For now, this as close as you can get. In a summer-time basketball setting, there isn't much more you could want."
Bush was a freshman in 2013 and one of the few AfterShocks who experienced the rivalry. The Shockers won the first meeting that season with a 67-64 victory at Koch Arena over No. 12 Creighton.
Guard Clevin Hannah is the lone player on the roster who faced Creighton, in addition to assistant coach Garrett Stutz and general manager Ron Baker.
"That was my first dose of college basketball," Bush said. "We blacked it out. Doug McDermott. Absolutely battled. The crowds were unbelievable for those."
That final meeting – in the tournament title game – tells the story.
Creighton won 68-65 in its final MVC game before moving to the Big East. That conference reformed itself with private, basketball-dominated schools when schools such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville began their switch to the ACC in a move largely motivated by football.
The Shockers lost that day in St. Louis and then didn't lose again until the Final Four in Atlanta. Their run brightened March for the MVC and elevated Wichita State in ways that continue to resonate. In 2017, Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference, also formed out of the upheaval in the Big East in 2013.
For the Blue Crew, Austin Chatman and Jahenns Manigat faced the Shockers, as did coach Josh Jones. Jones, after Friday's win over Purple & Black, joked that TBT got the narrative it angled for wanted when it set up the brackets.
"I never thought I would say this in my career – it's been so fun to be back in Wichita," Manigat said Friday. "It's been such a tough place for us to play when we were in the Valley. No matter the year, no matter the era, it's always been wars and that's what made it such a great Valley rivalry."
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Both teams will try to recover from bad shooting performances in the opener. The Blue Crew shot 27.5 percent from the field, 13.3 percent from three-point range in its 60-59 win. The AfterShocks made 8 of 17 three-pointers in the second half of their 60-53 win over Ex-Pats to finish at 10 of 37 and 23 of 61 overall.
"We probably played pretty well offensively, but we just weren't knocking them down," AfterShocks guard Conner Frankamp said. "We kept playing hard. Shooters knocked some down in the second half."
Bush wondered if shooters adjusting to the TBT basketball played a role before settling on the excitement of playing in front of 4,000-plus fans. Many of the players spent the past year performing in front of no or few fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"At times, you get so excited that you want to hear that roar, especially for us playing essentially a home game," Bush said. "You're just anxious to get that moment."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
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