Heading into halftime of Wednesday night’s game against Bradley, I expected to see Ross Ferrarini, Matt Dorwart and company get some action towards the end of the game. With a 25 point halftime lead and the Braves pretty much slumped over on the sidelines, I figured this was a great opportunity for the Bluejays to flex a little muscle, feeling good about themselves and to just take it to Bradley for the kill.
Instead, Creighton came out flat, had turnoveritis and let Andrew Warren heat up after holding him 1-of-4 from the field with 3 points in the first half. They were outscored 44-32 in the second half, Warren went for 19 more points and the second half woes continue for the Bluejays.
Sure there were a lot of positives out there.
Josh Jones took advantage of his move back into the starting lineup lighting things up in the first half shooting 4-of-5 from three and getting his career high of 14 points. I was happy to see Jones, despite his struggles this season, has kept working hard and deserved another chance to make some contributions. His 30 footer as the shot clock expired in a possession late in the first half got the crowd into it and started the Bluejays on a big run to separate themselves from an early tight ball game. It was raining three’s in the building on the cold winter night and it was Jones that got things going.
Gregory Echenique had one of his better games in his early Bluejay career. His grab from Antoine Young on a fast break for a nice flush continues to show the athleticism Echenique has and how he can dominate games whether it is down on the block in the set offense or on a fast break. He finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
Doug McDermott continued his remarkable freshman season with 17 points and 10 rebounds to get his fourth double-double of the season. There aren’t enough words to describe some of the things he has brought to this team and does not play like a freshman. At the same time, his stats sort of sneak up on you where you look at the stats board and it is hard to believe what all he has done.
In pretty much every stat category in this game, the Bluejays won the battle including 21 assists on 27 baskets, with Antoine Young recording 10 of those. They won the battle of the boards 33-28 (but gave up 12 offensive rebounds) and shot more free throws (several game in the final minutes). However, Creighton tied their season high with 15 turnovers and Bradley put up 16 more shots than the Bluejays. Had they not had the big lead at the half, this game could have come down to the wire.
We are now 20 games into the season and I am still having trouble getting a feel for this team. You can tell from my WBR Pick ’ems that I have no idea who is going to be the dominant player and how much the Bluejays may win or lose by. Maybe I am in the minority, but there is one thing I know for sure–There needs to be some way to make the second half the dominant half, especially at home. The Bluejays have now been outscored 134-84 in the second half in the past three games at the Phone Booth. Over the past three games home and away, opponents have grabbed 42 offensive rebounds. Those stats are staggering.
But I am happy the Bluejays survived for the win–any win right now is important. With Indiana State defeating Missouri State and Wichita State falling to Northern Iowa on Wednesday, it opens the door for an opportunity to still be in the conference regular season race. Going to Missouri State on Saturday is a great opportunity for redemption after the loss at the Qwest Center. If many are putting all their collective eggs in the one basket to win the MVC Tournament to get back to the NCAA’s this season, then the seeding is very important and they will need to get as many wins as possible. The idea at this point is to just survive.