A record number of Creighton fans are heading down to St. Louis for the MVC Tournament this weekend. The outright regular season champs are looking to defend their tournament title in what could be a historic run for Creighton basketball.
Avid fan @BluejayBuff is one of those fans heading to St. Louis. As part of our coverage of Arch Madness, he will be checking in with us periodically to give us a description of the sights, sounds and everything else going on down there. So for fans that can’t be there, maybe these descriptions can make them feel like they are there too cheering the team to victory.
See all of our Arch Madness coverage here.
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Monday, March 11th
9:24am: As I sit here in my Kansas City hotel room, reading tweets and weather reports from Omaha, I’m finding it difficult to imagine that this really might be the last trip to Arch Madness for Creighton fans. Walking out of the arena and into the hallways of the Scottrade Center yesterday, I couldn’t help but feel sad and happy at the same time. Sure, I want the school to reap the benefits and rewards of being in a bigger conference with more publicity, more attention, and more money, but how can you beat Arch Madness? The answer is that you can’t, and this weekend, and yesterday’s game in particular, proved that to me once and for all.
When I walked into the Scottrade Center at approximately 12pm on Sunday, it made me incredibly happy to see the line of Creighton students wrapping around the concourse, waiting to be seated in an orderly fashion. It made me even more happy to see how little the Wichita State student line appeared after seeing the Creighton student line. When I finally entered the arena through the 123/124 entryway, I almost had to take a deep breath and soak it all up for maybe the last time. I found myself doing that several times that afternoon, all the way up until the moment I was leaving for good.
The game itself started poorly; five minutes in and the score was 1-2 in favor of Creighton. Not exactly the best way to start for Creighton, since the team usually fares better in high scoring up-tempo games. The good news for Creighton was that Ethan Wragge and Jahenns Manigat decided to show up to the Championship with their A-game. From the 11:25 mark to the end of the first half, Creighton made 6 three’s, 4 of which belonged to Ethan Wragge. Then, in the second half, there was a 4-minute stretch where the team made 4 three’s, 2 of which belonged to Jahenns Manigat. With 5 minutes remaining in the game and the Jays up 13, the Championship appeared all but wrapped up for a team that had fought so much diversity in its last 2 months.
Unfortunately, the Championship wasn’t over and it certainly wasn’t won. From the 4:57 mark until the 0:13 mark, Wichita State outscored Creighton 15-3. It was then that Jahenns Manigat made his biggest contribution to the Jays. With 13 seconds left and Creighton only up 1, Jahenns made a seemingly impossible layup to force Wichita State to try to tie it with a three. You all know the rest of the story of the game, so here’s the rest of the story following the game…
“One More Year” chants were loud and apparent, though not nearly as in unison as I would have liked, but the students did well and Doug didn’t do a single interview without that ringing in the background. When Doug received the MOP (Most Outstanding Player) Award for the tournament, the chant began and he appeared to rush off the stand while raising the plaque above his head. The players seemed much happier than following last year’s Championship, and I’d like to think that it has something to do with their struggles in February. Grant Gibbs, as usual, didn’t appear phased by the win; maybe he’ll show some emotion if the team makes it to the Sweet 16? Players took to twitter last night to express their excitement, and Austin Chatman and Avery Dingman even did a hilarious twitter Q&A last night. All in all, a great weekend and it was obviously better because of the wins. Maybe next year the team can raise a trophy above their heads in New York?
Random Thoughts
- I was surprised to hear that Jackie Carmichael made it onto the All-Tournament team. Sure, he had 22 in a loss to Wichita State, but he, Tyler Brown, and Bryant Allen combined to shoot 11 of 37(!) with only 8 rebounds. Jackie, by himself, only shot 7 of 16 and only had 5 rebounds. Granted, he played well against UNI, but I think this might have been a senior parting gift from the MVC.
- No surprise on the other awards, but I want to give serious props to WSU’s Ehimen Orukpe for winning the Elite 18 award.
- Daddy’s Boy chants don’t work guys, how have you not figured that out?
- It’s been way too long since the last Grant Gibbs off-the-back pass to himself. NCAA tournament?
- Austin Chatman is allergic to peanuts. Please, ladies, stop sending him peanut butter cookies.
- Wichita State fans disappeared after the game faster than Dana Altman left Arkansas. I would have too.
- Gregg Marshall’s post game press conference almost made me like him.
- When a WSU and Creighton fan get into an accident on I-70, what do they talk about while waiting for police?
Sunday, March 10th
9:15am: Well, that was something else, wasn’t it? I almost had déjà vu sitting in my seat in the Scottrade Center remembering back to last year’s game against Evansville. Different opponent, different point guard, same result: Championship Sunday in St. Louis.
The atmosphere in the Scottrade Center was amazing. The Indiana State contingent was surprisingly noisy during the introductions, partially due to the introduction video of Larry Bird calling the Scottrade Center, “our house.” I’m sure they just gave the Scottrade Center a copy of their own home introduction video, but I’m sorry, Larry, the Scottrade center is Creighton’s house.
From the moment Gregory Echenique won the tip, everything went Creighton’s way in the first half. Dominating, unbelievable, crazy, whatever you want to call it, Creighton destroyed Indiana State’s confidence and spirit very early in the game. Once the second half started, the game suddenly became much less interesting to watch. Creighton’s shooting slowed and Indiana State still couldn’t hit a thing. What was interesting was a moment when Doug was called for a charge and Creighton fans rained boos down onto the court. Feeling good about their team’s ability to avoid losing by 30, Indiana State fans began taunting Creighton students and making the “whiney baby” face. What resulted ended up being my favorite part of the game, outside of the winning. Creighton students simply began pointing to the scoreboard. Simple, easy, and effective, the taunting stopped and the winning continued.
When the game ended, something very special happened that, if you we’re watching on television, you probably heard: “One More Year! One More Year!” What made it special wasn’t just the chant or the sheer volume of it. What was awesome was when exactly it occurred. Just as Doug was beginning his post-game interview, the chant began and didn’t stop for at least a minute. I didn’t see his reaction, but I’m guessing he smiled. What a perfect way to end that way, but I can certainly think of a better way to end a college career.
I’m not going to lie, I wanted Illinois State for the same reason I wanted Drake and Indiana State…revenge. Now that this team has redeemed itself against opponents that got the better of them in their last meeting, it has to reaffirm a good win in Omaha with a better win in St. Louis. Wichita State is certainly the right matchup for this final game of the tournament, and maybe the final game of Creighton’s MVC tenure. Welcome to the Championship, Wichita State, we don’t lose here very often.
Saturday, March 9th
8:24am: Nothing brightens up an already magnificent Bluejays victory like seeing van loads of Creighton fans being dropped off at the entrance of Sundeckers. Nothing can spoil a night after a Bluejay victory, even losing too much money at Lumiere couldn’t hold back my excitement for the win. Creighton fans were a plenty in downtown St. Louis last night, roaming the streets, drinking all the beer, and eating as much food as they could handle. Hopefully, we see more of that tonight.
February 6th, 2013 holds a special place in the pit of my stomach. It marked the only game of the 2012-2013 season that I was unable to watch because I was eating dinner with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. It also marked the worse game of the 2012-2013 season. Our beloved Bluejays were trounced 76-57 in a game that was never close, and a game that, in my opinion, ended the real discussion of Doug McDermott winning the overall player of the year award. Doug was held to 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 turnovers, and if you go to ESPN.com, it might be the only game of the year where Doug isn’t in the stats leaders column.
February 6th wasn’t all bad, right? Will Artino, once again, proved that he could take over where Josh Jones left off and spark a Creighton bench that had been reeling for a month. Nevin Johnson had a few nice plays to remind Jays fans that, with a little more work, he can be a real contributor next season. But you know what? That isn’t good enough to soothe the pain of that loss, or the next two losses that contributed to Creighton’s free fall out of the top 25 and squarely onto the bubble. I apologize for being a drama queen, but February 6th was just the worst, and that brings me to today’s game.
I’m sorry, but I already wrote about the “revenge factor,” and I don’t feel like doing it again…but I’m going to. This game might be the biggest “revenge factor” opportunity since…well, since Wichita State blew the opportunity last year by losing to Illinois State in the semifinals. This year, however, the opportunity is here, and I sure hope the Jays are ready. Indiana State has seen its ups and downs this season, from calling Justin Gant “the next Doug McDermott” to Manny Arop’s recent suspension for violating team rules, but Creighton has had their ups and downs too. Indiana State, in my opinion, started it all for the Jays and now it’s time for the Jays to finish it. I have a good feeling about this game, and I hope that feeling stays with me until 4pm this afternoon.
Enjoy your semifinal Saturday, Jays fans. It might be the last one ever.
Friday, March 8th
3:46pm: I just watched Creighton basketball history happen. After a wonderful breakfast surrounded by fellow Jays fans, I traveled down to Union Station, parked my car, and walked the same path to the Scottrade Center that thousands of Creighton fans have walked before. Other than dodging ticket scalpers and avoiding that awkward stare down that occurs between a Northern Iowa fan and a Creighton fan, the walk to the arena was fairly uneventful. The same cannot be said for what occurred once I was in the Scottrade Center.
From the moment you walk into the Scottrade Center, you can tell that the arena just feels different. Maybe it’s the 5,000 Creighton fans outnumbering the other fanbases 5-1… maybe it’s the fact that every Creighton fan in the arena knows that Creighton basketball history is about to be made…or maybe it’s the idea that this may or may not be the very last time that St. Louis sees 5,000 Creighton fans converging on the city for anything other than an NCAA tournament game. Regardless of the real reason for the odd feeling in the Scottrade Center, it definitely felt strange.
If you couldn’t tell from just looking at the seating chart for the arena, at least half of the lower bowl is Creighton blue. It looked more overwhelming in person and the noise coming from the Creighton sections took over the entire arena. The moment you stepped into the hallways, you knew that you would never have to ask who scored because you could tell just by listening to the crowd. Of course, the dedicated Wichita State fanbase came to the aid of the Drake fans, even joining in on Drake cheers, but it didn’t last long. When the team would push the lead from 3 to 5, Creighton fans would make you think that the lead was pushed up to 10.
Until the 7 or 8 minute mark of the second half, Creighton really couldn’t create any separation. I credit Drake’s ability to make tough shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and Creighton’s ability to make stupid mistakes in both halves. You can thank Will Artino for making sure that Creighton maintained its steady scoring and you can thank Gregory Echenique for having maybe his best half, defensively, in his Creighton career.
I left the best for last, so here is where I talk about Doug breaking the Creighton basketball scoring record. You could hear pretty much everyone in the crowd counting down, and when the moment came for him to break the record, all I could think was that I expected it to happen differently. Doug broke the record on the first of two free throws. No one will remember that Doug missed the second free throw, but that’s okay because it’s Doug McDermott, Creighton’s best scorer ever.
7:51 A.M: We arrived in St. Louis last night exhausted and excited for the weekend. The approximately 6 and a half hour drive to St. Louis is much easier to make when you’re listening to Electric Light Orchestra, but they only have so many songs. After playing “Mr. Blue Sky” for the 8th or 9th time on the drive, we finally arrived in the STL. We had dinner at the hotel bar where we ran into some Wichita State fans, one of whom was reading Dungeons and Dragons literature (not kidding). I considered ordering them a Blue Kamikazi, but decided it was best to let them buy their own Natty Ice. Now, on to today’s game.
I understand that a lot of people believe that the “revenge factor” is something that should probably be overlooked in college basketball, but I know someone who has two thumbs and strongly disagrees with them…me. Coming off a loss to Wichita State, the last thing this team wanted to do was lose to Drake University, home of the Drake Relays and the most overrated MVC POY of all time (Adam Emmenecker). Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they did…lose. Grant Gibbs played out of his mind, but Doug only scored 19 points on 0-for-6 shooting from the three point line. The team, as a whole, shot under 24% from three for the game and when you shoot 21 three’s, that often means bad news.
So here’s my theory: Creighton likely won’t shoot 24% from three today (knock on wood), and they likely will have more than 13 assists (knock on wood). They won’t shoot even close to 21 three’s and Doug will have over 19 points. The reason for this will be two-fold:
- Creighton is a better team and wins 9 out of 10 games against Drake.
- Creighton should still be super angry about losing to Drake (revenge factor!). The players and coaches say revenge doesn’t come into play, but don’t think for even a second that Grant Gibbs, Doug McDermott, and Will Artino have forgotten about that game on January 23rd when they allowed Daddy Ugbede, of all people, to score 12 points and bring in 4 offensive rebounds against them.
You can say no to it all you want, but the revenge factor exists. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and I think you’d all agree that this dish has had plenty of time to cool since January 23rd. Anyway, I’ll see you all at the Scottrade Center. I’ll be the one wearing blue and yelling really loudly. Maybe I’ll see you at the Lumiere or Sundeckers tonight, and hopefully I’ll see you all at 1:35pm tomorrow when we play Indiana State to get into the Championship game. If I remember correctly, the last time we played Indiana State, we were treated to a nice, fresh can of whoop-#$% (revenge factor, yay!).
Go Jays!
#RememberDaddyUgbede
