Bluejay Beat Postgame Podcast:
Recap & Analysis:
Thereโs been a lot of great games in the history of CenturyLink Center: the 91-90 double-OT win over Dayton in 2005 where Nate Funk scored 38, the 111-110 double-OT win over Bradley in 2008, the back-and-forth thriller against Long Beach State in 2012 that stands as the last court-storming in the arena and featured a buzzer-beater from Antoine Young, winning the regular season MVC title against Wichita State on the seasonโs final day behind 41 points (and 15-18 shooting) from Doug McDermott in 2013, and Senior Night a year later when he topped it with 45 against Providence, to name a few favorites.
Thereโs been a lot of great comebacks, too: rallying from 14 down in the second half to beat Evansville in overtime on Senior Night 2012, rallying from 12 down with three minutes left to beat Rhode Island in the 2008 NIT, and rallying twice to defeat SIU in overtime in 2009 โ first when Cavel Witter hit three free throws to tie it with two seconds left, then again in OT with consecutive threes in the final minute by PโAllen Stinnett and Booker Woodfox.
And thereโs been a lot of great finishes: Anthony Tolliverโs buzzer-beater against the Shockers in 2006, Doug McDermottโs buzzer-beater against St. Johnโs in 2014, Gregory Echeniqueโs tip-in at the horn to force OT in that 2012 Evansville win, Cavel Witterโs three to win the NIT game over Rhode Island.
All of which brings us to Saturday, when we witnessed a game that might very well top every one of those great wins (and memories).
Creighton entered the game as heavy, decided underdogs to the four-time defending Big East regular season champs, a team who had beaten them eight straight times including a 20-point drubbing less than three weeks before. They were short-handed, with Ronnie Harrell out with an infection in his foot and unable to play. They were emotionally drained coming off of three straight Big East losses, including a heart-breaker to Xavier, a meltdown against Marquette, and a blowout at Butler. And they had heavy hearts with senior leader Toby Hegnerโs mom battling breast cancer (and undergoing surgery on Thursday).
And yet somehow, they got career-defining performances from their two most important players, breakout performances from three freshmen, and were in position to do something not many thought possible: upset Villanova.
Khyri Thomas scored 15 points in the gameโs first 10 minutes. Marcus Foster buried a three at the first-half buzzer to give them momentum heading into the locker room. Jacob Epperson scored six straight mid-way through the second half to give the Jays a 54-49 lead. And as the under-eight timeout approached, Hegner hit a layup to tie the game at 60.
Then they went ice cold, missing five straight shots and turning it over once, and going six possessions in a row without points. With 4:30 to play, Villanova was one or two plays away from putting the game out of reach. Creighton had played a superb game, matching the Wildcats play-for-play, shot-for-shot, and run-for-run all afternoon. Neither team led by more than eight points at any point in what had been a back-and-forth affair, but at that moment, Villanova had their largest lead โ 68-60 โ after eight consecutive points from national player of the year candidate Jalen Brunson broke a 60-60 tie.
Momentum, the game, and perhaps even the trajectory of the season were slipping off the rails. Coach Greg McDermott sensed the enormity of the upcoming possession, and called timeout to give his guys an opportunity to take a deep breath. And he drew up a beauty of a play, slipping Jacob Epperson to the rim off of a screen, where Davion Mintz found him for a dunk to stop the run.
Then they got a stop, and a three-pointer by Marcus Foster, to trim the lead to three.
Another stop followed, and another huge shot from Foster, this time cutting the deficit to 68-67.
With 1:18 to play, Mitch Ballock was fouled driving the baseline, hit both free throws to cap a stunning 9-0 run, and gave the Jays an improbable 69-68 lead.
Brunson answered with a three-point play to put the Wildcats back ahead, and then 17 seconds later Ballock found himself wide open in the corner. The freshman buried a three-pointer in front of the bench, giving the Jays a 72-71 lead with 35 ticks left.
After Mikal Bridges missed a contested three, Thomas cleared the board and was fouledโฆbut he missed the front end of the one-and-one. With Donte DiVincenzo streaking up the floor, Foster fouled himโฆand he could only make one of two from the line. And though Foster got a good look at the rim for a final shot, it missed and the game headed to overtime.
In the huddle, McDermott told his players (as relayed by SID Rob Anderson on Twitter), โYou get to play 5 more minutes in the greatest game of your life, so let’s enjoy it.”
Enjoy it? Did they ever.
Creighton scored on all but one possession in overtime โ Thomas began the scoring with a driving layup, Epperson followed with a nifty shot off a pass from Ballock:
and after finally getting a stop, a bucket from Mintz with 3:18 to go pushed them in front for good 78-76. Theyโd hit six of eight free throws down the stretch, and set off as wild a celebration as the CenturyLink Center has ever seen with an 89-83 overtime win against the powerhouse Wildcats
Coach McDermott gave the crowd a fist pump and a jump in the air as the clock neared zeroes. Billy Bluejay climbed up on the basket support in front of the student section to lead cheers of “Let’s Go Jays!” And though the students were stopped from rushing the floor, they stayed to celebrate and soak in the moment.
What a game. Take your pick from the thesaurus of sports cliches โ guts, determination, heart, leaving-it-all-on-the-floor, you name it โ it applies to Creightonโs performance.
Key Stats:
Over their previous six Big East games, Creightonโs defensive rebounding percentage was 66.2%. In this game, they grabbed a defensive rebound on 79.1% of Villanovaโs misses โ Marcus Foster tied a career high with eight rebounds, Davion Mintz set a career high with nine rebounds, and Mitch Ballock had six boards to tie his career best.
As a team, CU shot 31-63 (49.2%) with an assist on 19 of those 31 made baskets. And they held Villanova to 12-39 from three-point range (30.8%), well below their season average.
Standout Performance:
CUโs rotation, without Ronnie Harrell, was essentially seven players โ and Foster, Thomas, and Ballock all played 43+ minutes. All three were spectacular. Foster had 28 points and 8 rebounds. Thomas had 24 points on 9-13 shooting, and forced Jalen Brunson into three turnovers and a rough (for his lofty standards) 8-20 shooting day defensively. Ballock had 13 points and 8 assists, with five of his points coming in the final 90 seconds of regulation.
There were standouts everywhere you looked, really. Mintz scored 10 points with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. Hegner was hobbled but played 21 gutsy minutes of defense and hit a huge shot to tie the game at 60. Epperson scored 12 points, all after halftime, and had five rebounds and two blocks.
They Said It:
You Said It:
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