The end to Creighton’s championship run through Arch Madness was fitting both in method and in meaning. A team that, Saturday’s semifinal not withstanding, spent the better part of the last month engaged in one- and two-possession wins needed overtime to outlast #4 seed Illinois State for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. And the last Bluejay to climb the ladder and cut down the net was senior Antoine Young, who will lead Creighton back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 — in his final chance as a Jay to do so.
Young and his teammates will rest easy this Championship Week, watching intently as other teams fight for spots in the Big Dance. But because of MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Doug McDermott, the Bluejays can focus not on if they’ll get in but against whom they’ll likely wear their home whites in the tournament.
Great players take over the most important of games, and McDermott did so Sunday afternoon in front of a national broadcast television audience. He scored 12 straight points during one stretch of the second half, cutting into Illinois State’s 4-point lead and answering every Redbird run with a pick-and-pop three-pointer or a nifty finish in the frontcourt. Jon Ekey played solid defense against McDermott, and the sophomore Player of the Year in the Valley still managed to score 33 points, grab 6 rebounds, and carry the Jays and Creighton Nation on his back to a tournament title.
Doug McDermott was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 MVC Tournament (Adam Streur/WBR)
He got plenty of help, though. Leading the charge among the supporting crew was Grant Gibbs, a player who chose Creighton over Northern Iowa as his transfer destination after leaving Gonzaga because McDermott was winding up in Omaha instead of Cedar Falls. To a man, the Bluejays — with McDermott the most vocal and frequent advocate — give Gibbs credit for keeping the team loose all season and facilitating much of the offense through his off guard position. On Sunday, two days after one of his least impressive games of the year, Gibbs (career-high 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, no turnovers) proved his teammates profits.
Gibbs made just about every play he could have to keep his team in the game and push them over multiple obstacles to a title. Three-pointers that kept Creighton close in regulation. Two free throws late to keep Illinois State from getting the stop they needed at the stripe. The first basket of overtime — a three — that allowed the Jays to open the extra period with momentum. He crashed the boards hard, even while getting fouled but not getting calls. He routinely outfought taller, bigger Redbird players for long caroms and loose balls.
Aside from a few McDermott treys and some threes from Gibbs, not many CU shooters were able to get on a roll from deep. Meanwhile Illinois State shot the ball well from the perimeter, keeping Creighton at bay while making bubble teams around the nation more nervous with each passing media timeout. Redbird fans spent the afternoon outnumbered by those in white and blue, but the crowd cheering for ISU grew louder as the game progressed. Dramatic foul calls against the Bluejays, including a ridiculous flagrant foul call against Gregory Echenique, fueled Tim Jankovich’s team and their fans. Creighton played five on eight for stretches of the afternoon, but never let the uneven foul discrepancy disrupt their focus and effort.
Instead, as the game dragged on and it became evident Illinois State wouldn’t surrender, McDermott started to display “The Look” — that poise, that body language shown by a tremendous individual and team player when he decides it is time to take over a game. As a frontcourt player, McDermott is dependent on teammates to find him in good spots to score. Gibbs and Young did that, and Dougie Fresh rewarded them with finish after finish. His 33 points tied Nate Funk for Creighton’s single-game record in a Valley tournament game. But all apologies to The Dimer; McDermott’s was more impressive given the stage (championship game, versus the semifinals) and the fact his game was close (Funk’s 33 came in a 75-58 blowout against Missouri State in 2007).
Echenique, McDermott’s frontcourt mate, spent the afternoon doing the dirty work. He almost tipped in Young’s miss at the buzzer at the end of regulation, in a play that looked eerily similar to his game-tying tip against Evansville in the regular season. He finished with 8 of the toughest points he’s scored all season, and capped a tremendous weekend that saw him join McDermott and Young on the All-Tournament team.
Young couldn’t connect on that leaner right before regulation ended and with the game tied. But he took over in the extra five minutes, scoring 8 of his 14 points in overtime. He missed a few free throws in the first 40 minutes that I’m sure Young and CU supporters would have agonized over had the Jays dropped this title game. But he was smooth in OT. And his old running buddy from the AAU days, Josh Jones, picked a heck of a time to contribute his only bucket of the night — a thunderous one-handed jam in transition to give Creighton a 9-point lead with 1:15 left. From there, Young and Jones and the Jays had to withstand Ekey, Jackie Carmichael, Nic Moore, and Tyler Brown trying to will a tired group of Redbirds starters past the wall and into a position to win. They couldn’t do it, thanks to tremendous perimeter defensive effort down the stretch by Jones, Young, and Gibbs.
As the final Redbirds shot attempt glanced off the rim and into Echenique’s massive arms, I prepared myself for the mad dash to catch a 4:50 p.m. flight. My heart was torn; I contemplated catching the late flight just to watch Young cut down the net at the Scottrade Center. Many haven’t given the guy what’s truly due to him; recognition as one of the recent Creighton greats. He’s the team’s only senior, the longest tenured Bluejay on a team that two years ago lost the coach who recruited many of them to their school. Young didn’t have to stay for his last two years; his decision to give coach Greg McDermott a chance paved the way for today’s championship. He is an understated leader, letting his actions speak and his maturity serve as a guidepost for a team full of underclassmen.
Antoine Young led the Bluejays to his first NCAA Tournament berth (Adam Streur/WBR)
There’s no doubt: McDermott’s the star. Echenique is the giant. And Gibbs was more than the glue Sunday. But I’ll forever think of this as Antoine’s Arch Madness, because it’s the one I’ve always wanted him to have. He committed to Creighton in the midst of Dana Altman’s exceptional run of tournament titles. He recommitted to the school when Altman left for Oregon. He’s talked at length about his ultimate goal being to play in the NCAA Tournament. And his teammates used that goal as theirs; not only to play in the Big Dance, but to do so for Antoine Young.
Young got his wish. The other Bluejays got theirs. And as Creighton fans, we got ours. CU is going back where it belongs, and the Jays are doing so with nets around their necks. It means so much more that way.
The Creighton Bluejays stand with their 2012 MVC Tournament trophy (Mike Spomer/WBR)
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