Kentucky Literally Squeaks Past Creighton in 2009 NIT Second Round

The Kentucky Wildcats came out scrapping in the basketball game against the Creighton Blue Jays, but so did the Creighton Blue Jays.  The game was back and forth most of the first half with the Jays leading with a half-time score of 33-31.  Kentucky was able to score 31 points in the first half even though Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks only combined for 7 points at the half.  Patterson got into foul trouble early and Meeks was heavily guarded.  The Wildcats had very good balanced scoring in the half.

The second half was no different in the scrappiness category.  The game was close throughout with Creighton’s largest lead being 5 points and Kentucky’s largest was 1 point until the end.  Even though Creighton was smaller, they were able to win the rebounding category, but were mediocre at best in free throws, shooting only 58 percent from the free throw stripe for the whole game.

The basketball game came down to the wire.  The Wildcats had the ball, down by 1 point with 17.5 seconds left.  Jodie Meeks was handling the ball when Patrick Patterson came out to set a screen for Meeks, but Meeks went the other way and drove the ball to the lane.  A Creighton defender stepped in for the charge, but Meeks slid by him and shot the ball in the paint.  The ball went through the hoop and the refs called a foul on a Creighton player.  Jodie Meeks sunk the free throw to give Kentucky a 2 point lead with only 7.5 seconds left in the game.  Creighton drove the ball down the court and called a timeout.  After the timeout, Creighton threw the ball in and set a screen for a 3 point shooter.  The Creighton player had a good look at the shot, but it clanked off the side of the rim.  Jodie Meeks grabbed the rebound and time expired.  The final score of the game was 65-63 in favor of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Top Performers for Kentucky:
Jodie Meeks - 16 points and 2 rebounds
Perry Stevenson - 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks
Patrick Patterson - 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block
Ramon Harris - 9 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds
Michael Porter added 7 points and Darius Miller had 5 points

A great balance of scoring from the Kentucky Wildcats.  The Cats will play Notre Dame next in the third round of the NIT.

Kentucky vs Creighton, 2009 NIT Second Round

The Kentucky Wildcats play the Creighton Bluejays on Monday, 23 March 2009 at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) in the 2009 NIT second round.

The Creighton Bluejays sit at 27-7 and were co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season at 14-4 in conference play.  Many people believed that Creighton should have been an NCAA Tournament team and maybe they should have, but a few unexpected wins by teams such as Mississippi St in their respective Conference Tournaments probably put the Bluejays out of the NCAA Tournament.

The Jays will get a chance to prove themselves as they face Kentucky next.  Creighton does have a good team, but if the Kentucky Wildcats bring their agame, then we should be moving on to the third round of the NIT.  This should be a good basketball game!