Something special is happening. At the risk of sounding like a Buffalo Springfield song, I’ll just say that the smaller but louder crowds coming to Qwest Center Omaha for Creighton’s College Basketball Invitation games are witnessing the evolution of a middle-of-the-pack Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball team.
I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it’s something. A team that many times during the season seemed to struggle just to run offensive sets, let alone score in bunches, has shot better than 50% from the field and better than 40% from 3-point range in consecutive CBI games. A team that slugged through second halves of some Valley games has, for two straight games, brought a renewed energy to the court. And the key players in this short-lived evolution will, barring any unforeseen issues, don the White and the Blue on the Hilltop next season.
Sure, the Jays haven’t exactly played the best defense these past two games. They allowed San Jose State to shoot 49% from the field, and last night the Davidson Wildcats hit at a 53% clip. But the Bluejays forced stops late in both games when the opponents seemed poised to take command of the game. And the Jays won the battle of the boards in both instances.
Against San Jose State, Jahenns Manigat and Gregory Echenique had the hot hands, along with Freshman All-American Doug McDermott. Against Davidson, though, Manigat scored just 3 points and Echenique spent most of the night on the bench due to foul trouble. He managed to score 10 points on perfect shooting from the floor (3-3) and the free throw line (4-4). But decked out in his pink shoes, the refs whistled Gregory for fouls that wouldn’t be called in a women’s basketball game.
It was clear early in the game neither team was going to slow down. Thus, Antoine Young asserted himself as the quickest guard on the floor. The Wildcats had no answer for his ability to get to the paint and convert, and Young racked up 22 points on 9-18 shooting. This came a game after he failed to score.
But it wasn’t just his ability to score that led Young to have a fantastic night. Coach McDermott mentioned during his postgame radio interview that the junior point guard had his best game of the season relative to picking his opportunities to score and pass, and the stats back up that assessment. He also dished 9 assists while not committing a turnover for the second straight game. If you’re tallying at home, that’s 17 assists and zero turnovers in two CBI games.
Plus, Young’s quickness and his energy led to 3 steals. It may not sound like much, given that he is in prime position at the top of the backcourt to swipe a few here or there. But Young’s 3 steals against Davidson equaled his output in that category during the previous 7 games combined.
Josh Jones scored a career-high 21 points against Davidson (WBR/Adam Streur)
Aiding Young in the backcourt was his former AAU teammate Josh Jones, who had a career night. The redshirt sophomore scored a career-high 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half, and went a perfect 4-4 from 3-point range. He made 7 field goals, equaling his total from Creighton’s previous 4 games. Jays fans keep begging for the coaching staff to secure a wing scorer with the final scholarship for next season, and maybe that will happen. But perhaps Jones can use his CBI experience to pave the way for a major improvement as an upperclassman next fall? He has the ability, the drive, and energy. Can he find the defense and some consistency?
If he wants to learn about consistency, Jones needs to look no further than his teammate wearing #3. Doug McDermott made a mockery of Davidson’s interior defense Monday evening, scoring on a bevy of inside moves, deft baby hook shots, and even a few runners. In his two CBI games, McDermott is 18-28 from the field, a scorching 64.2%. That includes knocking down 50% of his 3-point attempts (6-12). Teams must respect his inside and outside scoring ability, making him a difficult matchup … as a freshman. In fact, he’s hit a 3-pointer in each of his last 8 games. During that stretch, he’s 50% from behind the arc (14-28).
Doug McDermott poured in 31 points, a career high (WBR/Adam Streur)
He’s scored 57 points in the two CBI games, bumping his season average to an even 15 points per game. In a game plagued by quick whistles and a landslide of fouls, McDermott went 13-14 from the free throw line. He logged his 9th double-double of the season, adding 10 rebounds to his career-high 31 points.
Creighton fans have come to expect such output from McDermott and Young. And CU fans sense that when Jones gets going on offense, he has the ability to put up points in a hurry. But after last night’s game, the unsung hero of the evening was senior forward Wayne Runnels. He played admirably in the post, in place of Echenique and Lawson. Runnels logged more than double his per game average of playing time, seeing 23 minutes of action off the bench (his longest stretch of action since playing 22 minutes against BYU December 1).
Giving up plenty of inches and pounds to the Wildcat frontcourt players, Runnels managed to slow down, if not stop, some of the scoring on the interior. And he chipped in 9 points himself; in his previous 6 games, he scored a total of 9 points. Echenique (12) and Lawson (12) combined to play just 24 of a possible 80 minutes, leaving Runnels and McDermott to play out of position. And while McDermott was busy breaking down the Davidson defense, Runnels was trying his best to maximize his minutes on both ends of the floor.
Wayne Runnels helped control the front court with Echenique and Lawson in foul trouble (WBR/Adam Streur)
In the end, McDermott, Young, Jones, Echenique, and Runnels scored 93 of the team’s 102 points. That’s right … 102 points, the highest total for a CU team since Cavel Witter put the Bluejays on his back during a 111-110 double overtime win against Bradley a few years ago. A shade under 5,000 fans watched the game at The Phone Booth, and the rowdies who showed up created a raucous atmosphere. It helps when a team that has struggled offensively at times finds a groove. Those same fans, and the ones who suffered through some horrible non-conference home games in November and December but decided not to attend the CBI games, can only hope the groove continues into next season.