Opener no creampuff for either Jays, Mean Green

[Harry]

It seemed like a good idea in August.

That’s when Creighton and North Texas announced they’d open the basketball season with a game against one another. That meeting comes Friday night at the CenturyLink Center.

A matchup partly made of necessity now has the two head coaches talking buyer’s remorse, with a smile.

“I don’t know why I scheduled them,’’ North Texas coach Tony Benford said. “You’d think my first one as a head coach, I would have found someone easier to play. This is going to be a challenge. A big one.’’

The announcement that the Mean Green would be coming to Omaha left some Creighton fans grumbling. They had their sights set on a higher-profile opponent for a veteran team that won 29 games last season and returned the country’s only first-team All-American.

“Why are we playing North Texas?” was a question being asked in some corners of Bluejay Nation.

With the opener just days away, Creighton coach Greg McDermott has a different spin on that take.

“Now that I scheduled it I’m the one saying that, ‘Why are we playing North Texas?’ ’’ said McDermott, laughing.

Read more: http://sports.omaha.com/2012/11/06/opener-no-creampuff-for-either-jays-mean-green/

[Stan R]

Both coaches are talking nonsense. This is a great matchup from both the perspective of creating a challenge for the players and a great matchup for fans to watch. Contrary to these coaches coachspeak, we need tough matchups to prove ourselves. Get your teams ready to play and this isn't a problem.