BALTIMORELamar Jackson had a plan for this season. During an offseason workout back home in Florida several months ago with his personal QB coach, Joshua Harris, the Ravens QB declared: My first game is gonna be in Miami, and my last game is gonna be in Miami.

The Ravens season instead ended in Baltimore, with a 28-12 loss to the Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs that stunned both the home crowd and a team that had allowed itself to talk openly about playing in Super Bowl LIV in South Florida. But against No. 6 seed Tennessee, the top-seeded Ravens got our awhipped, said running back Mark Ingram. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey said it felt like the game was one big dream, and it was not really happening.

It did really happen, but so did the rest of the 2019 season. It all went according to Jacksons plansexcept for the ending. Seasons are judged by how they end, and rightfully so, but dont let the ending of this season make you believe that none of the rest happened: That the Ravens went all-in on an offense that defied norms. That they valued a QBs running ability with equal weight as his passing, resulting in the first 3,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing season in NFL history. That they drafted a 21-year-old who wasnt a finished product and at age 22 he blossomed into the (presumptive) most valuable player in the NFL.

Just a reminder for the next eight months: All of that happened, and it still matters.

No, Jackson did not always look like an MVP on Saturday night. He completed just 31 of his 59 passes, with his second-lowest passer rating of the season (63.2). He turned the ball over three times, two interceptions (one on a high throw and one on a floating out route that was undercut by the defensive back) and one lost fumble deep in Ravens territory that quickly led to a Titans score. This, after hed only given away the ball eight times during the entire 19 regular season. I had a lot of mistakes on my behalf, Jackson admitted in the first answer of his post-game press conference.

But so did the entire team. They committed costly penalties that surrendered field position. Titans running back Derrick Henry ran over the Patriots defense last week and picked up where he left off this week, averaging 6.5 yards per carry on his way to 195 rushing yards. Ravens receivers dropped passes, including the one that bounced off Hayden Hursts chest at the goal line.

We have been spoiled this year because Lamar has made every play, said rookie receiver Miles Boykin. So thats really more on us. Weve gotta make more plays for him. The guy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. If we can take that burden off a little bit, thats what weve got to do.

It had been 20 days since some starters, including Jackson, had played in a game. Was rust a factor? Its unanswerable, coach John Harbaugh said. What is for certain, though, is that things that had worked all season werent working in this game. Like Harbaughs decision to go for it on two fourth-and-1s in Titans territory. This was the kind of game situation the Ravens excelled in this season, converting fourth downs at a 70% clip with a perfect 8-for-8 mark on fourth-and-1. Both QB keepers failed, and both times the Titans scored a touchdown when they got the ball back. The Ravens also abandoned the run game after falling into a 14-0 deficit, leading to Jacksons 59 pass attempts on 92 offensive plays, by far the most hed thrown the ball this season.

We just got out of our element a little too fast, Jackson said. Added veteran guard Marshal Yanda: I wont get that far into it, but I just dont feel like we ran the ball effectively, long enough.

Despite the Ravens struggles, Jackson kept fighting, and there were times when it seemed like he might be able to spark his team yet again. There was the brilliant 38-yard throw-and-catch to bestie Marquise Brown, who was surrounded by three Titans defenders, at the 4-yard line. But they ran out of time in the first half and settled for a field goal two plays later. In the first drive after halftime, Jackson found open grass ahead of him on a second-and-17 play, somersaulting forward onto the NFL 100 logo in Titans territory. Soon after, though, was the fourth-and-1 stall. He kept alive the Ravens first and only TD drive in the fourth quarter by juking at least four times on a third-and-2 for a 27-yard gain. But on their following possession, after a fourth-and-5 pass at the goal line fell incomplete, three plays after that pass that bounced off Hursts chest, Jackson snapped off his chin straps in frustration.

Standing at his post-game press conference, still wearing his uniform pants and with sweat dripping down his face, he was asked about his 0-2 playoff recordand if it would be painful to hear people talking about that.

I dont really care about what they say, said Jackson. This is my second year in the league. Many people [arent] able to bring it to the playoffs. I've got a great team with me. I don't really worry about what the people say. Were just going to keep going, like I said, [and] get ready for next year.

Jackson doesnt really care about the nebulous they in the question. But, he does care about letting down his teammates. Not that he had. Said Ingram: Its a team game. We had guys out there that didnt make plays sometimes. It aint on him. Its on all of us. And Yanda, the 13-year veteran: Its one game. You take his entire body of work for the 2019 season, and the kid played his ass off. Thats where I stand on that. And after the Ravens final drive, following which the Titans were able to kneel out the clock, right tackle Orlando Brown Jr., sought out his QB. Over a lunch at a seafood restaurant less than two years ago, a group of four Ravens rookiesJackson, Brown, Hurst and Mark Andrewsplotted out how they would help build a dynasty in Baltimore. In a way, Brown was telling Jackson in this moment that nothing had changedthis was just one tough night.

I just let him know this doesnt necessarily define who he is as a player and define his year, Brown said. He is somebody that I came in with, that Ive grown with. Ive gotten to know him and his family, and vice versa. He is a great man, and I just wanted him to know that I dont feel let down for anything that went wrong today. Nothing is on his shoulders. Its a family here.

Jacksons accountabilityto his teammates, his franchise, this cityis why it smarted to be standing there again after another early playoff exit. Last year, it was a wild-card round loss to the Chargers, when Jacksons first-half struggles led to calls for Harbaugh to go back to Joe Flacco. Harbaugh stuck with the new face of his franchise, but Jackson hated letting his team down. So a month later, when he returned to McNair Park in Pompano Beach, Fla., he started working with a very different outcome in mind. Harris borrowed drills that QB guru Tom House uses with Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and used them with Jackson. Meanwhile, the Ravens coaching staff worked in Baltimore to revamp their offense playbook.

No, that did not beget a Super Bowl. But, it did beget the 2019 MVP. So while we know this 28-12 game ended a season, lets stop ourselves from these wild projections that this has ended an era, cancelled a change agent, closed all the doors that Jackson flung wide open this year. Oh, hes going to respond [to this], says receiver Willie Snead. You already know what type of answer youre going to get. Hes gonna be ready. Hes going to talk about the Super Bowl next year. He just wants to win. Hes a winner, and weve gotta match that.

More From Maven Team Sites:Ravens: Record-Setting Season Comes To End vs. TitansTitans: Early Stops Mean Titans Keep PlayingRavens: Ravens Report CardTitans: Quotes From Baltimore Ravens Players

Excerpt from:
One Loss Doesn't Erase Everything the Ravens Did This Season - Sports Illustrated

Rebel Wilson has been flaunting her incredible weight loss as she vowed to have a healthy 2020.

The actress, 39, took to Instagram to post a picture of herself on the beach as she showed off her slimmed down figure.

In the snap she looked visibly slimmer as she posed in a sports jacket, gym leggings and a pair of sunglasses.

In the caption she declared that this year would be her "year of health" as she swore to cut down on junk food and sugar in favour of a healthy lifestyle.

Rebel wrote: "Okay so for me 2020 is going to be called 'The Year of Health' so I put on the athleisure and went out for a walk.

"Deliberately hydrating on the couch right now and trying to avoid the sugar and junk food which is going to be hard after the holidays I've just had but I'm going to do it!

"Who's with me in making some positive changes this year?"

Her fans quickly flooded the snap with compliments.

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

Play now

One commented: "I'm so proud of you!! You look fantastic already with your weight loss."

"You look amazing!! 2020 bring on health, I'm with you!!" another posted.

A third wrote: "You look great, you looked absolutely beautiful beforehand and still now."

"You look great Rebel!" another agreed.

Rebel went on a health kick last year when she enlisted the help of celebrity personal trainer Gunnar Peterson.

She now works out four times a week.

Gunnar told US Weekly : "When she's in town, shes a solid four days a week . She is such a cool person to work with."

Original post:
Rebel Wilson shows off incredible weight loss as she vows to make 2020 her 'year of health' - Mirror Online

A MUM who went through the heartbreak of losing her son 10 years ago has turned tragedy into triumph after setting up her own business to help others.

Sheila Henshall, from Dentons Green, lost three stones in three months after starting The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan after she had gained weight following the tragedy.

Sheila went on to win an all-expenses paid trip to Iceland after seeing off much competition to win the National Family Champion Slimmers Award.

Since then Sheila, 55, has trained as a consultant for The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan and since April last year has helped dozens of people lose weight and keep it off.

Sheila Henshall

She now has a well-established business and a small team of consultants to help residents in St Helens, and further afield, in losing weight quickly, efficiently and to provide lots of one to one support.

Sheila suffered the heartbreak of losing son Dean, aged 12, in October 2009. Dean had a rare form of epilepsy and died after a severe seizure.

A year before his death he had been diagnosed with GEFS+ Syndrome which causes sufferers to have seizures when their temperatures are high.

Meanwhile, Sheila's daughter Lucy, now 24, suffers from an even more rare and severe type of epilepsy called Dravets Syndrome.

Dean Henshall

Following the tragedy, Sheila turned to comfort eating and after gaining weight was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and was also experiencing problems with her back and feet which impacted on her ability to care for Lucy.

Now, after turning her life around, Sheila wants to use her experience to help others and this led her to train as a 1:1 Diet consultant.

"After successfully losing weight on The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan and then going on to win the award I started to feel so much more positive about life," said Sheila.

"After struggling with my weight for so long I found myself feeling healthier, fitter and having a much more positive frame of mind.

"This motivated me to train as a consultant so I could support and encourage others to lose weight, become healthier and improve their mental well-being," added Sheila.

"I understand, from my own experience that people have got to be ready to lose weight for themselves and my job is to support them through the process and to help them to achieve their goals.

Sheila also mentioned that the need to look after her daughter Lucy was also a driving factor behind her weight loss.

The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan has been around for 35 years and has a variety of products and plans to suit everyone and comes with a full package of 1:1 support from a trained Consultant.

Sheila added: Since the recent medical research of the DROPLET trial whereby Doctors referred overweight people to low energy treatment there has been much research and interest in how a very low-calorie diet can help people with type two diabetes, cardio vascular disease, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis and psoriasis to name a few conditions.

"Although the research is new it is exciting to think that losing just 10 per cent of your body weight on a very low-calorie diet can have such a beneficial effect in such a short space of time.

Throughout January Sheila is offering a reduction of 10 per cent on all products.

To book a FREE consultation, contact Sheila on 07305921434.

See more here:
Mum who lost son 10 years ago turns tragedy into triumph after starting own business - St Helens Star

Christmas and new year holidays are traditionally over Laden with different meats table, so after a series of feasts many are faced with the problem of excess weight. For those who miscalculated and went too far with her beloved Olivier, nutritionists told me how to lose weight quickly after the New year.

To speed up the process and a week to demonstrate a trim figure will help a few useful habits. To implement the recommendations of nutritionists advise in the morning. After the Christmas holidays to start the day is with Breakfast with a high content of easily digestible protein. This will allow to decrease appetite and reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin. For the morning meal, experts advise to choose boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, cheese, nuts and Greek yogurt with fruit. You also need the morning drink 2 glasses of water. This habit accelerates metabolism by about 30% and reduces the amount of consumption for Breakfast calories. Another useful rule, called morning weigh-in. This allows to evaluate intermediate results and to increase motivation. Will positively affect the process of weight loss and sunlight. Every morning should start with a walk in the fresh air. Also effective will be the work plan over their own bodies. It is recommended to include swimming or fitness. Especially useful will be the morning session. To give preference nutritionists suggest strength training and cardio. Will help in weight loss and restful sleep.

Your diet specialists recommend to plan ahead. This will correct no snacks and dinners in restaurants. Be sure to monitor the amount of calories consumed. From public transport to new year period should be discarded. To replace it will help Hiking. And the last recommendation is to start a food diary. It is necessary to record all foods eaten per day and physical exercise. At the same time need to count calories burned. It will quickly determine what is easier to drop weight.

Maria Batterburyis a general assignment reporter at the Saxon. She has covered sports, entertainment and many other beats in her journalism career, and has lived in Manhattan for more than 8 years. Vivian has appeared periodically on national television shows and has been published in (among others) NPR, Politico, The Atlantic, Harpers, Wired.com, Vice and Salon.com..

Link:
Nutritionists told how to lose weight quickly after the holidays - The Saxon

After decades of bingeing on sweet treats and failed yo-yo diets, weight loss expert Molly Carmel finally discovered the secret to transforming her relationship with food for ever.

Sugar addiction comes in all shapes and sizes and in all bodies.

If you find yourself deep into a box of doughnuts when youve sworn to yourself you wouldnt, then you probably have a problem with sugar.

If youre in the kitchen at night finishing off a loaf of bread, hoping no one wakes up to hear you, you are probably in an abusive relationship with sugar.

If you are successful in many parts of your life yet cannot succeed at eating sugar in moderation, then you know how it feels to be addicted to the stuff.

I know how much pain, shame, isolation and suffering this relationship with sugar can cause .

I battled my food and weight disorder tipping the scales at 23st for more than 20 years.

Being morbidly obese and unknowingly trapped in an abusive relationship with sugar is a pain I wouldnt wish upon my worst enemy.

But I was able to piece together a recovery and find a way to create the help I needed.

I amassed degrees, researched and went beyond the traditional fields of psychology, addiction and nutrition to open the doors to my Manhattan clinic, the Beacon, back in 2012.

Thousands of clients later, Ive never looked back.

Today, my relationship with food is everything I hoped it would be.

Surf your cravings

Sugar cravings can be overwhelming. However, they are episodic, not constant, and they rarely last more than 30 minutes. Ride out the cravings and take back control. Research shows that when we eat the foods we crave less frequently, our cravings for that food decrease.

Meditate

Meditation is one of the single most important practices you can adopt to protect your new relationship with food. It helps regulate behaviour and emotions, and reduces stress.

Find your joy

When you experience joy, connection and laughter, your brain releases dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, chemicals that enhance your feelings of pleasure and block feelings of stress and pain.

Detoxing doesnt last

If youre feeling tired, sad, irritable or have headaches, muscle aches, an upset stomach or sleep problems, youre experiencing sugar detox. Physical withdrawal from sugar can last from two days to two weeks.

Avoid cheat days

Cheat days are a slippery slope that will lead you right back into the arms of sugar. Very rarely do planned cheat days last just a day and if they do, the damage done is enough for a week.

I am incredibly satisfied with the food I put into my body, maintaining a healthy weight naturally.

I feel zero shame about food and I live a full, busy, and generally awesome life.

If you too are struggling with sugar, remember that our relationship with the sweet stuff has taken a nasty turn.

Today, processed food is made with highly concentrated sugar and minimal amounts of fibre and protein, activating the brains reward pathways with a new intensity and magnitude.

1 Fat is your friend

While sugar cues our brain to keep eating and not feel the effects of fullness, fat actually sends the proper stop message to the brain. But be mindful. If youre eating processed foods that contain fat and sugar, they may trigger your urge to eat more.

2Carbs are on the menu

Its not about no carbs, its about slow carbs. Carbohydrates including fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole grains are digested and absorbed more slowly, so they keep you satisfied for longer.

3 Have fun with fruit

Fruit is rich in fibre, which helps to slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, helping you avoid blood-sugar spikes. However, some fruits, such as bananas, grapes, and pineapple have higher concentrations of sugar, which might then set off some serious cravings.

4 Dont eat after dinner

After-dinner snacks can quickly become the foot in the door for a night of eating and a morning of shame. Eating at night supports the idea that you need food after dinner. Thats simply not true.

5 Cut calorie counting

Not all calories are created equal. But different foods affect our metabolism and digestion differently, not to mention our hormones ghrelin and leptin, which control our feelings of hunger and fullness. Sugar increases your appetite and encourages the body to store weight but protein increases feelings of fullness and promotes weight loss.

Its also hidden in bottled and packaged foods such as peanut butter, salad dressing and sauces. In the UK, sugar intake per capita has more than doubled since 1950 and with that, the obesity rate has quadrupled.

We know it impacts our looks causing weight gain, breakouts, wrinkles and tooth decay.

But sugar has also been linked to inflammation, migraineheadaches , anxiety, brain fog, trouble sleeping, gum disease, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver and diabetes.

Theres even terrifying research showing that sugar increases the risk of developing certain cancers.

I vow to be free of artificial sweeteners

Studies show that artificial sweeteners can raise the body mass index (BMI). This is because sweeteners trick the brain into thinking we need more sugar, causing us to overeat.

I vow to be free of drinking my calories

Scratch the health benefits of juice cleanses, coconut water and smoothies. Without the fibre of fruit and vegetables in their whole form to slow the sugars down, your insulin will spike and send your blood sugar crashing. And limit your booze intake to two units a week of sugar-free alcohol such as gin, vodka and whiskey, mixed with no-calorie mixers like soda water.

I vow to be refined flour free

When you eat flour, your body reacts to it as if it is sugar, causing quick blood-sugar and insulin spikes. And flour, just like sugar, is hiding in almost everything. Some people can handle almond or chickpea flour, while others find they leave them wanting even more.

I vow to be mindful of my volume

Start to weigh exact portions. Eating large volumes of food can be habitual, soothing and comforting. Environmental factors and triggers TV in the background, supersized containers and large portion sizes also cause us to underestimate exactly how much were eating.

I vow to eat every3 to 4.5 hours

People who struggle with their weight snack frequently, eat large portions, binge-eat and miss meals. Dont let more than 4.5 hours go by between any meal or snack, ensuring you limit urges to binge, overeat, or undereat. Its easier to avoid sugar when you feel satisfied and know when your next meal is.

I vow to be a planner

Plan what you are eating, when you are eating, your meals when you dine out and your snacks and meals when youre on the go. Think ahead to when youre going to the supermarket and exactly what youre going to buy there. Plan your online orders and when you will prepare your food for the week.

I vow to weigh myself in a loving way

Weight loss is an outcome, not a goal. Decide to weigh yourself at predetermined times, either twice monthly (on the first and 15th of the month) or on the first of the month.

Dont deviate from this schedule, especially if youre feeling thin or fat. The point of this vow is to ensure that youre moving in a direction toward optimal physical health.

But Im going to help end your unhealthy relationship with sugar with my unique meal plan, recipes and self-care tips.

Follow my plan for 66 days the length of time it takes for new behaviour to become automatic starting with a series of promises to yourself. Im so proud that youre making this important next step. Im with you all the way.

Ingredients in packaged foods are listed in descending order.

First come the ingredients that are present in the highest quantities, and then gradually down to the ingredients with the lowest quantities.

If sugar, flour, or any of the words that mean sugar and flour (words that end in -ose, such as glucose, dextrose, fructose, or starch) are listed in the first four ingredients, dont eat that food.

If sugar or flour are listed as the fifth ingredient or later, the food is good to go.

Breaking Up with Sugar by Molly Carmel (14.99, Yellow Kite) is out now.

View original post here:
'I beat my abusive relationship with sugar after tipping scales at 23st - here's how you can too' - Mirror Online

Belongings are useful to novelists, for obvious reasons. They can be hoarded, handed on, lost, stolen, used instrumentally or inappropriately and, most importantly, become the vessels of feelings we cant or dont want to understand. Their materiality illustrates issues of manufacture, decay and social and historical context; our attitudes towards them lay bare our habits of consumption and interest in ownership and provenance.

When the object is something not quite inanimate, as in Chris Canders tale of a Blthner piano, an extra dimension emerges; ideas of potentiality, and of the interplay between human and thing, come in to play. Like Annie Proulxs Accordion Crimes, The Weight of a Piano imagines what might happen if something designed for the nonverbal expression of thoughts and feelings were pressed into the service of speaking for a range of characters.

Canders central subject is parental loss; both Greg and Clara have suffered the deaths of parents

Two substantial stories alternate: that of Katya, a woman living in the Soviet Union with her brutish husband, who trades her precious piano in order to fund their escape to America; and that of Clara, a young car mechanic in California who has eventually become the Blthners owner. When a combination of straitened circumstances and whim prompt Clara to sell her piano, it is bought by Greg, a New York photographer who plans to escort it around Death Valley, capturing images of its silence; what he is interested in is a visual representation of the absence of sound, in particular the quality that exists immediately after noise has ended. His plan does not find favour with Clara, who has had a change of heart and tracks him round the desert, ostensibly ensuring no harm comes to the piano but, as quickly becomes apparent, also being confronted by her unresolved emotions.

Canders central subject is parental loss; both Greg and Clara have suffered the deaths of parents, although in strikingly different circumstances, and each has experienced issues of attachment and abandonment; neither has been able to settle easily into locations or relationships. In this way, The Weight of a Piano veers towards the schematic, as the reader waits for the chief protagonists to descend further into their turbulent family histories and psychological hangovers and begin the process of figuring them out. Complicating that process are the stories of their parents in particular, Katya, who regards herself as an exile, not an escapee, from the USSR, and can never adjust to the blinding California sunshine and their own spiky relationship with one another.

There are briefly glimpsed subplots; perhaps most teasing is that of the former member of the Waffen-SS who ends up in Zagorsk and whose death brings the piano to Katya in the first place; he also plays the piece of music, Scriabins Piano Sonata No 2 in G-Sharp Minor, that recurs throughout the narrative, sounding to the young Katya like a story shed never heard before. Decades later, she invents her own story, that of a young woman stopped from playing the piano by a violent and jealous husband and thereafter imprisoned in a coffin of frozen tears, which she repeatedly tells her young son.

If the novel is primarily concerned with transgenerational trauma, the outcomes it suggests are necessarily provisional and partial; the past cannot be altered, simply accommodated. But the specifics of how we address its physical remains those objects that we imbue with the uncanny and as communicants of the lives of the dead is a matter for individual reckonings; whether to enshrine them or to treat them as mere accessories to the great human drama is an uneasy and often painful area. Canders novel, although it falls occasionally between starkness and sentimentality, is an interesting exploration of an abiding dilemma.

The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander is published by Europa Editions (12.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p over 15

Continue reading here:
The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander review tale of transgenerational trauma - The Guardian

Good teams are going to lose. And eventually, one or more good teams finish last.

But thats the reality of Big East play this year.

All 10 league squads have built legitimate NCAA tournament rsums. Providence was perhaps the biggest long shot after a couple of damaging nonconference defeats but its NET ranking rose to No. 78 Friday morning.

Though no Big East team expects to sink to the bottom of the league standings, someone will. Thats the nature of competition.

But after two weeks of conference play, the differences are barely discernible between those whove triumphed from those who faltered. Home teams went into Friday with an 8-6 league record. Half of the games werent decided until the final four minutes.

Were sitting 0-3, and yet I think were not that far off, St. Johns coach Mike Anderson said on the leagues teleconference this week.

The Red Storm arguably picked up the best set of nonconference wins, taking down No. 17 West Virginia and No. 24 Arizona. Yet theyre at the bottom of the Big East. Theyre hosting 0-2 DePaul Saturday in what feels like an early must-win for two promising teams.

That might be the theme of the weekend, actually.

Creighton plays at Xavier on Saturday in a battle of squads with 1-2 conference records. Georgetown and Marquette are two other postseason hopefuls off to 1-2 starts. Theyll both be underdogs on the road this weekend.

Unforgiving. Thats the word Creighton coach Greg McDermott used when asked about the depth of the league after practice Friday.

Its inevitable that youre going to take some lumps during an 18-game schedule, McDermott said. How quickly youre able to respond will make the difference, he said.

Last years conference season unfolded similarly. Every team except one had at least one three-game losing streak during league play. Creighton lost four in a row twice, costing it an NCAA bid.

The Jays would like to avoid a similar slump this year. The Big East has improved, though. And Creighton has lost two in a row falling to the leagues two ranked teams in No. 6 Butler and No. 16 Villanova.

The teams that are mature enough and focused enough to get through the bumps in the road, theyre the teams that are still going to be standing in the end, McDermott said.

How Creighton handles this two-game road swing will be telling.

Then again, its opponents have identified this as a pivotal point in their seasons as well. Thats especially true for Xavier, which dropped a home game to Seton Hall on Wednesday.

Now the Musketeers are hosting Creighton. Neither team wants to be 1-3.

A sense of desperation may be evident in the way both squads carry themselves on the court Saturday but that just might be how its going to go in Big East play this year.

You better play with urgency. Because youll get embarrassed every single night if you dont, Xavier coach Travis Steele said after Wednesdays loss. We better be ready to go on Saturday. We will be ready to go.

Meet the 2019-20 Creighton men's basketball team

Ty-Shon Alexander

Height/weight:6-4, 195

Class:Junior

Position: Wing

Hometown:Charlotte, North Carolina

The preseason All-Big East honoree emerged last season as Creightons best one-on-one bucket-getter, and he hopes an added year of experience will improve his efficiency. Hell also be looking to make his mark defensively.

Mitch Ballock

Height/weight:6-5, 205

Class:Junior

Position:Wing

Hometown:Eudora, Kansas

He was one of six underclassmen in Division I basketball to make 90 or more 3-pointers and still shoot better than 40%. Ballock led CU in assists as well last year.

Christian Bishop

Height/weight:6-7, 205

Class:Sophomore

Position:Forward

Hometown:Lees Summit, Missouri

He earned a spot in the rotation midway through the season and started to settle in toward the end, averaging 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks during three NIT games.

Jett Canfield

Height/weight:5-10, 155

Class:Redshirt freshman

Position:Point guard

Hometown:Topeka, Kansas

He understands the offense and knows how to make the right play. The walk-on whos improved considerably during the preseason will be a tone-setter in practice.

Jacob Epperson

Height/weight:6-11, 225

Class:Sophomore

Position: Center

Hometown:Melbourne, Australia

After rehabbing this offseason from season-ending surgery, Epperson suffered another setback in preseason camp. He broke a bone in his leg. Hell be out for a while.

Damien Jefferson

Height/weight:6-5, 200

Class:Junior

Position:Wing

Hometown:East Chicago, Indiana

Jefferson was the teams second-leading scorer (11.1) and top rebounder (5.8) during nonconference play last year. Then he got hurt. Hell look to return to form this season.

Antwann Jones

Height/weight:6-6, 205

Class:Sophomore

Position:Wing

Hometown:Orlando, Florida

The Memphis transfer is a former five-star prospect who was intrigued by Creightons track record of development, so he joined the CU program. He stuffed the stat sheet in Australia.

Kelvin Jones

Height/weight:6-11, 230

Class:Senior

Position:Center

Hometown:Chihuahua, Mexico

Jones, a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility, could be an X-factor on a team that lacks interior size. He has plenty to learn, but hes embracing the challenge.

Denzel Mahoney

Height/weight:6-5, 225

Class:Junior

Position:Wing

Hometown:Oviedo, Florida

Mahoney, who temporarily left the program last spring, wont be eligible until December. Hes strong, long and assertive. Hell provide an important boost at the start of league play.

Davion Mintz

Height/weight:6-3, 185

Class:Senior

Position:Combo guard

Hometown:Charlotte, North Carolina

An ankle injury tempered Mintzs enthusiasm after a productive summer, but his athleticism offensively and his effort defensively will make him a valuable asset when he returns.

Shereef Mitchell

Height/weight:6-0, 155

Class:Freshman

Position:Point guard

Hometown:Omaha, Nebraska

The Omaha Burke grad stepped on the CU practice floor with confidence after spending a year in prep school to add strength and improve his jump shot. Hes super quick. And he defends tenaciously.

Jordan Scurry

Height/weight:6-2, 200

Class:Senior

Position:Wing

Hometown:Dedham, Massachusetts.

Scurry played in just 12 games last year, but he consistently uplifts and inspires his teammates in practice. Hes been awarded with a scholarship the last two seasons because of that.

Jalen Windham

Height/weight:6-5, 180

Class:Freshman

Position:Wing

Hometown:Indianapolis, Indiana

He averaged 17.9 points per game as a senior in the highest level of Indiana high school basketball. Hes brought that scorers mentality to Creighton. Watch out when he gets hot.

Marcus Zegarowski

Height/weight:6-2, 180

See the article here:
Big East is full of must-win games this weekend, and Creighton-Xavier matchup is no exception - Omaha World-Herald