Men's Basketball

Polyfro Primer: Creighton vs Marquette

Creighton and Marquette played four times in two weeks during February of 1923, playing back-to-back games first in Omaha and then in Milwaukee. CU won the first game and lost the next three, and it was the start of a decades-long rivalry that saw the two midwestern schools play nearly every year, save for a ten year break from 1941-1950, until the late 1980s.

Back when Creighton — and Marquette and DePaul — were independents, those three midwestern schools were national programs that competed with one another for recruits and NCAA Tournament bids. They drifted apart during the 1980s, after Creighton joined the Missouri Valley and the other two joined first the Great Midwestern Conference, then Conference USA, and finally the Big East. Now, finally Creighton is reunited with those two old rivals, and it’s fitting that two of their first three games in their new conference will be against those teams — Tuesday night at home against Marquette, and next Tuesday night at DePaul.

People who’ve followed Creighton basketball for 30, 40, 50 years are downright emotional about Marquette being the opponent in the conference opener — not just excited, emotional. There was a bond between the three midwest Jesuit schools that was temporarily interrupted after all three ceased being independent basketball powerhouses, but now they’re reunited in the same league, as the western contingent of the Big East.

There’s more recent history with Xavier, Georgetown is arguably a bigger name nationally, and Villanova is unquestionably the better team this year, but it’s the combination of the First Big East Game and Marquette that sent this game from “11” on the amp to breaking the amp altogether. The first Big East game would be a historic moment no matter the opponent, but if it was, say, Seton Hall on the other bench, it wouldn’t have the same juice that this one does. I don’t think I’m alone when I say I’ll have trouble sleeping on Monday night, as my excitement for this one is so off-the-charts that it’s hard to concentrate on much else.

It promises to be one of the most electric atmospheres we’ve ever witnessed at CenturyLink Center, and there’s no doubt it will be the most emotional. Now if Creighton can just figure out a way to win the game…

teamcomp-mucu

To that end, Marquette was the preseason pick to win the reconstituted Big East, but has struggled through the non-conference slate to the tune of an 8-5 record. They probably over-scheduled for their level of talent, with games against likely NCAA Tournament teams #3 Ohio State, Arizona State and New Mexico to go along with the annual in-state rivalry game against #4 Wisconsin. They lost all four games, though only the game against Ohio State was uncompetitive — they had opportunities to win the other three, as well as a neutral court game against #20 San Diego State, but were unable to close the games off. Marquette’s five losses this season have come to teams currently in possession of a 53-6 combined overall record and three of the programs are among those ranked in the top-25 polls.

Over those 13 games, they’ve proven that they have one of the best defenses in the country, and in a lot of ways this looks to be a classic “strength vs strength” battle. The Golden Eagles are first in the Big East Conference and 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.385) and also tops in the league in scoring defense (61.5 ppg.), which ranks 19th in D1. Meanwhile, Creighton is scoring a league-best 82.9 points per game (23rd in the nation) and is tied with Georgetown for tops in field goal percentage (.492, 24th in nation). Which side will better be able to dictate tempo? Will defense win, or offense?

Contrary to popular belief, Marquette can score, just not consistently. When you only manage 35 points in a nationally-televised loss to Ohio State, though, it’s tough to shake that reputation. Here’s how inconsistent they are: in their eight wins, they average 80.6 points, but in their five losses, they average only 60.6 points. That 20 point swing is one of the largest in D1, and practically Jeckyll And Hyde in nature. Digging deeper, they’ve shot 50.2% in their eight wins, and only 38.3% in their five losses, and perhaps most damning, in their eight wins they have 19.5 assists a game, but in their five losses they have only 8.4 assists a game.

Simply put, their defense gives them a chance to win every night, but isn’t good enough to win on it’s own. If they’re ever able to put a consistent offensive effort together, they’ll be a very dangerous team. Until then, most games will be a knock-down, drag-out fight, and that doesn’t necessarily favor the Jays. The more points scored in this game, the better it is for Creighton’s chances at victory. CU needs to clog the interior and force Marquette to shoot as many jump shots as possible, and then box out, box out, and box out some more — if the Golden Eagles are able to get rebounds and easy putbacks, forcing them to shoot jumpers will have been for naught.

Individually, Marquette has struggled to find a replacement offensively for Vander Blue. The standout who turned pro after his junior year was their most consistent scorer a year ago, and his mere presence opened things up for Davante Gardner (who won the Big East Sixth Man award). Gardner continues to come off the bench, leading to a strange situation where two of their three top scorers are reserves.

Although statistically he leads them in scoring at 13.5 a game, Gardner has struggled mightily to be the consistent scorer they need. He’s just as likely to have a sub-par game as he is to take charge — against Ohio State, he scored 10 points and attempted just six shots, against San Diego State he scored only 6 points on 2-5 shooting, and against New Mexico he scored 8 points on 4-9 shooting, while on the other side of the coin, he scored 16 points on 7-13 shooting against Wisconsin and 20 points on 8-18 shooting against George Washington.

Jamil Wilson, a 6’7″, 230-pound senior who is their best pro prospect and should probably be their best player, generally isn’t, which also adds to their inconsistency. Their top scorer in the starting five, he averages 11.7 points a game, but much like Gardner, is just as likely to be a virtual non-factor as he is to explode for 20+. Wilson had a monster game against Wisconsin, making 10-20 from the floor for 22 points, but also had just three points against Ohio State, going 1-9 from the field. He scored 24 points on 10-14 shooting, including 3-3 from long range, in scoring 24 against Cal State Fullerton but then scored just 5 the next night against George Washington. Wilson injured his knee in the game against Samford and was limited to just five minutes as a result, but he’s expected to play Tuesday night.

Their third-leading scorer is also a reserve, as Todd Mayo, a 6’3″ guard, averages 9.6 points a game. Their bench has provided solid production all year long, with their reserves accounting for nearly 50 percent (35.8-of-72.9) of the team’s total offensive production. That’s insane. In their last game, Jajuan Johnson led the way with 14 points and the six-person bench contributed 16-of-26 from the field and chipped in 10 rebounds, nine assists, six steals and three blocked shots.

Just like against Cal, this is a game where Creighton has more avenues to victory than their opponent. If Doug McDermott, Ethan Wragge and company get hot and score 80+ points, it’s possible but not probable for Marquette to score enough to win a shootout. If it’s a down-and-dirty game controlled in the trenches and played in the 50s or 60s, that favors Marquette but as the Jays showed against Cal, they’re capable of winning that type of game, too.

I think the emotion and the energy of the home crowd will fuel the Jays’ offense and make this a high-scoring game despite the terrific defense of the opponent, much like the game against Wichita State last March. In that type of game, I like CU’s chances.

About the Golden Eagles: Through the first 13 games this season, Marquette is averaging 24.7 trips to the charity stripe. Unfortunately for MU, the team has connected on just 66.0 percent (212-of-321) of its opportunities … 10 active scholarship players on the roster are averaging at least 10 minutes per contest, with junior guard Derrick Wilson pacing the team at an average of 29.5 minutes per night. Only five players have been on the court for more than 20 minutes per game, and the shared playing time has allowed 11 players to collect at least one double-digit scoring game this season … MU is currently second in the league in rebounding offense (39.7 rpg.), first in rebound margin (+7.2), fourth in offensive caroms (12.8 orpg.) and third in defensive boards (26.9 drpg.) … Led by senior forward Davante Gardner’s 6.2 boards per outing, the Golden Eagle roster features six players contributing at least 4.0 rebounds per contest.

One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton owns an 11-4 record in its last 15 conference openers, which improved it to 32-22 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers … CU is 3-0 all-time in their first game in past conferences, winning 32-14 over Morningside in their NCC opener in 1923, 38-25 over Grinnell in the first MVC opener in 1929, and 71-70 over Wichita State in their return to the MVC in 1977. Interestingly, they finished first or second each of those three years … Tuesday night’s 9:02 pm Central tip-off makes the Creighton-Marquette tilt the final game of the 2013 calendar year anywhere in the country … Creighton owns just four games in CenturyLink Center Omaha’s 11-year history in which it hit a game-winning shot in the final five seconds, but two of those (Rhode Island and Long Beach State) came among the five games that tipped after 9 pm.

The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott enters Tuesday’s game tied for 59th in NCAA history with 2,513 points. As you’d expect, the list compresses significantly the more he scores; with 21 or more points on Tuesday, he’ll move into the top 50, and if he matches his career-high of 44 points, he’ll surge all the way to 41st place all-time.

Out of Context Ron Swanson Quote: “Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets.”

The Last Time They Played: These two old rivals last met in the 1998 NIT, when Marquette was a member of Conference USA and Creighton was a member of the MVC. CU dominated the game most of the way, leading 36-35 at the half as they had their way offensively against the top defensive team in CUSA, with Rodney Buford scoring 16 first-half points and Doug Swenson adding 14.

In the second half, the Jays began to pull away, and led 57-48 with ten minutes to play. Up 62-55 with just over five minutes left, a frustrating sequence tipped the game in Marquette’s favor. Offensive fouls on Creighton were whistled on three consecutive possessions away from the ball — moving screen violations on Joel Templeman and Kevin Mungin, and a push on Rodney Buford when the ballhandler was 25 feet away — and Marquette made all six free throws to cut the lead to one. Back-to-back baskets on the next two possessions gave Marquette their first lead, and that proved to be the back-breaker; all totaled, they ended the game on a 25-6 run en route to a 80-68 win.

Can you imagine if that sequence of off-ball offensive fouls happened in the social media age? I can remember keeping track of the game using a primitive 1998 version of live stats — with a 28.8 dial-up modem! — and screaming obscenities to no one in particular. Twitter, or even a message board to vent on, would have been clutch. Alas.

The Series: Marquette leads 48-28, but the series is much closer in Omaha, where Marquette holds a scant 19-18 edge. Greg McDermott has never faced Buzz Williams or Marquette, and Williams has never faced Creighton.

Gratuitous Linkage: Marquette beat Samford 71-48 on Saturday in their final tuneup before Tuesday’s Big East opener. Following the game, Buzz Williams told the media what he anticipated for the game in Omaha. “I think it’s going to be unbelievable. I think we’re walking into a buzz saw, and I think they’re waiting.”

This Date in Creighton Hoops History: Creighton’s first New Years Eve game came in 1940, when the Bluejays travelled to East Lansing, Michigan for two games in two days against the Spartans. They won the first game, 37-29, on December 30, but lost the second on NYE, 34-29.

They played another NYE game in 1946 against Miami of Ohio on a neutral court in Cincinnati, losing 57-38. The next year, they’d play another road game on NYE, losing 43-41 to Western Michigan. In 1950, they travelled to Seton Hall and lost 73-49 on NYE. Finally in 1953, they got off the schnied, winning a game in the St. Paul (Minnesota) Invitational against Illinois Wesleyan, 76-67. But another NYE loss followed in 1956, this time at St. Bonaventure, where they lost 70-60.

It would be nearly three decades before they played another New Years Eve game. On December 31, 1983, they hosted #4 DePaul at the Civic Auditorium, and played an all-time classic, taking the powerhouse Blue Demons to overtime before losing 59-57. The Bluejays twice led by as many as 10 points in the first half, before Ray Meyer’s team clawed back to make it 30-24 Jays at the break. A 9-2 run gave them the lead right after halftime, but the Jays refused to let them pull away. Down 53-50 with 23 seconds to play, Creighton’s 7-foot All-American Benoit Benjamin took a quick pass inside and laid it in, drawing a foul. He’d sink the free throw to force overtime. In the extra period, Creighton turned it over on their first two possessions, before Gary Swain hit a jumper and Benjamin slammed home a dunk to tie it at 57 in the final minute. DePaul’s Tyrone Corbin got the ball with less than 10 seconds to play, drove the baseline, then pulled up and lofted a game-winning buzzer beater over the outstretched Benjamin. The fourth-ranked Blue Demons escaped with a 59-57 win.

In 2002, they travelled to #19 Xavier and lost on NYE, also in overtime, in a game we profiled in-depth earlier this month. But the happiest memory for Bluejay fans on NYE is probably the 2011 game at Wichita, where they fell behind 39-31 but rallied to win 68-61, spoiling the party for Shocker fans, which is always fun.

Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: The video promo Fox produced for their New Years Eve marathon used lots corrugated steel textures and robotic smashing sounds, which makes me think of a monster truck rally and the voiceover for said monster truck rallies. “TUESDAY! TUESDAY! TUESDAY! MARQUETTE AND CREIGHTON! ARRGHHH!” Anyway, I went to a monster truck rally once when I was six, and they played a song by Dio. Not this song, sadly.

The Bottom Line: Creighton struggles early, as the big, noisy crowd has them too amped up, but Doug McDermott and Company will not allow the school’s entrance to the Big Stage start with a loss.

Bluejays 83, Marquette 75

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