Creighton has become somewhat of a regular in Philadelphia, playing in the City of Brotherly Love five of the last seven years — at Drexel in 2007, at St. Joseph’s in 2008 and 2011, and in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. They’ve had success there, going 3-2 in those five games, which is good since with the move to the Big East, they’ll be making an annual trip there to play Villanova, as well as one more trip to St. Joseph’s in the current contract after Saturday night.
The Hawks visited Omaha last December and were smoked by the Jays 80-51, but its hard to know how much can be gleaned from that game as it pertains to this weekend’s matchup; that was one of CU’s best performances of the year, and one of St. Joseph’s worst. Creighton was angry, to put it mildly, after an embarrassing double-digit home loss to Boise State two days prior. St. Joseph’s had a series of flight delays that resulted in them not arriving in Omaha until late Friday night for a Saturday afternoon game, and looked predictably weary. The result? Creighton literally blew them out of the gym, using a 33-8 first half run to jump ahead 45-13, with Doug McDermott scoring 18 points in the game’s first 12 minutes.
Langston Galloway, the Hawks’ standout guard, was the only SJU player to score in double figures with 10 points. In three games against the Jays, Galloway has averaged 11.6 points, just off his career average of 14.1 — though he’s taken a lot of shots to score his points (4-11 overall and 1-7 from three point range in 2012, 5-8 overall and 0-1 from three in 2011, and 3-11 overall and 2-6 from three in 2010).
Galloway has recorded back-to-back 20-point games in the first two games this season, going 6-for-8 from the field, and 3-for-5 from three-point range, while also grabbing eight rebounds in their home opening win over Marist earlier this week. Though he’s been a consistent scorer, he’s not been terribly efficient in his career against Creighton’s defense, which is something to watch for Saturday — if he once again misses a ton of shots, do his teammates get offensive rebounds that result in easy second-chance points? Or can Creighton grab the board and use that to play in transition?
Fellow senior starter, Halil Kanacevic, fills up the stat sheet like few 6’8″ 255 pound players can. He just missed a triple-double against Marist on Wednesday, recording 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and for his career, he averages 8.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 blocks a game. None of those numbers are outstanding on their own, but combined, they make up a pretty solid all-around performer. He struggled in Omaha a year ago, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds, but also had five turnovers — four of them in the first half. In Philadelphia in 2011, however, he was a menace on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds, six of them offensive, and combined with Carl Jones to give Bluejay fans nightmares for a week.
Their third senior starter, Ronald Roberts Jr., has been held down offensively by the Jays, averaging 6.3 points against them in three games — well off his career average of 9.6. He’s contributed in other ways, though, most notably the Hawks’ 2011 win in Philadelphia where he had six rebounds and three blocks. Joining him in the lineup is newcomer DeAndre Bembry, who’s started both games despite being a freshman. Bembry has impressed, scoring 11 points in his debut against Vermont — including the team’s first six points. Originally from Charlotte, N.C., Bembry averaged 21 points as a senior at The Patrick School (N.J.) and earned All-State honors. At 6’6″, 200 pounds, he’s next in a long line of crazy athletic forwards at St. Joseph’s, and is likely to be a Bluejay nemesis over the next three years.
Creighton’s last visit to Hagen Arena was not a memorable one, at least not in a good way, with the Jays losing 80-71. All the posterizing dunks in that game, combined with the raucous atmosphere inside the high-school-sized venue, are enough to give any Creighton fan heartburn; it’s a really tough early-season test. A loss won’t be devastating, especially not with the entire Big East slate ahead of them bringing plenty of chances for resume-building wins, but a loss that looks like the 2011 game — with a quicker, more athletic team employing an arsenal of aerial acrobatics to turn in one highlight-reel play after another — would bode poorly for success against a conference schedule sure to be full of teams who employ those same methods. However, if they emerge victorious, the Jays will be ranked solidly inside the Top 25 next week, and take a solid dose of confidence into future East Coast battles this winter.
About the Hawks: The Hawks are aiming for their first 3-0 start since the 2009-10 campaign, as each of the last two years Saint Joseph’s has started 2-0 but lost its third game … Saturday’s game will feature a special recognition of the 1962-63 Saint Joseph’s team, which went 23-5 and reached the NCAA Regional Final. The members of that team, including coach Dr. Jack Ramsay, will be in attendance and honored at halftime … The Hawks are shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from three-point range and 66.7 percent at the line while averaging 77.5 points per contest … This is Phil Martelli’s 19th season coaching the Hawks, making him the longest tenured coach in the A10, and in addition to being the school’s career leader in wins with a 340-237 record, he’s second on the conference’s all-time wins list — trailing John Chaney of Temple (516).
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons … Grant Gibbs needs two assists to become the seventh player in Creighton history with 400 or more assists … Doug McDermott’s four-point play during Monday’s win over UMKC was just the third in the Greg McDermott Era — the other two players to achieve the feat are Kaleb Korver and Ethan Wragge … Doug McDermott opened his senior season with 20 points vs. Alcorn State and 37 points vs. UMKC, making him the first Bluejay to start a season with consecutive games of 20 or more points since Rodney Buford opened with three straight games in 1998-99 … Three years ago, Wragge had 22 points in 18 minutes of work against St. Joe’s, sinking 7-of-10 field goals and 6-of-9 shots from downtown, including perhaps the finest four minutes of his career, making five three-pointers and assisted one, while also taking a charge, in that stretch.
The RUN-DMD Show: In that same game, Doug McDermott went scoreless — he was 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-2 at the line in 19 minutes of play. That remains the only scoreless game of his entire career at Creighton. How remarkable is that? Doug has scored five points or more in each of his other 111 career games at Creighton, including 103 games of 10 or more points, 58 games of 20 or more points, 15 games of 30 or more points and two games in the 40’s.
More remarkableness: Doug has played in 224 halves (plus three overtime periods) in his career, and scored in all but six of those periods — Two of those six droughts came in that same scoreless game vs. SJU in 2010.
The Last Time They Played: Last December in Omaha, the 11th-ranked Bluejays won in a 81-50 rout. Doug McDermott scored 18 points in the first half, and 23 for the game, as the Bluejays ran out to a 21-5 lead in the first nine minutes, effectively burying the Hawks in an insurmountable deficit.
The Series: Creighton and Saint Joseph’s have played ten times, with each school winning five. However, the Bluejays have won five of the past six meetings — the teams will be playing for the sixth time in seven years, with Creighton winning close games in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Coach Greg McDermott is 2-1 against Saint Joseph’s and Phil Martelli. McDermott is 4-1 in his career against the current Atlantic-10 membership. Martelli is 1-4 in his career against Creighton.
Gratuitous Linkage: ESPN.com calls this one of the toughest games of the weekend, and says “You have to admire coach Greg McDermott for playing a true road game so early in the season.”
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On November 16, 2004, the Jays hosted Iona as part of the Guardians Classic, winning 68-62. It’s notable for being the smallest crowd to ever witness a regular-season Creighton game at the CenturyLink Center, as “just” 8,305 fans were in attendance to see Nate Funk score 18 points and grab nine rebounds to lead the Jays to Kansas City, where they’d beat both Missouri and Ohio State en route the tournament title.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: For some reason, I’ve been plowing through the entire Sammy Hagar catalog this week at the office, listening to album after album of solo material while designing a giant trade show booth design for a client. It’s inexplicable. Singing along badly to “Heavy Metal” while actually erecting pieces of real (not all that heavy) metal is pathetic. But enjoy!
The Bottom Line: Creighton falls behind early, but rallies late to win a close one.
Jays 83, Joes 78
