Key Stats: Creighton commits 15 turnovers (8 of them unforced) and SIU grabs nine offensive rebounds. Those two stats allow Southern Illinois to attempt 12 more shots than the Jays.
Favorite Moment: Midway through the first half, the student section began counting down the shot clock in unison as a Southern Illinois player dribbled around. He quickly threw up a terrible shot which missed badly. Of course, the student section was ten seconds ahead on their count, so…yeah. I’ve seen this sort of deke happen dozens of times around the country, and it’s always hilarious, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it ACTUALLY WORK. Bravo, students. Tip o’ the cap.
500-ish Word Recap: Can anyone remember a less satisfying 14-point win? After Creighton opened a 9-2 lead four minutes into the game, they scored just 50 more points over the remaining 36 minutes of the game. Part of that was Southern Illinois making them play their pace, and part of it was Creighton’s continued struggles on offense. Six of the Jays turnovers were the result of errant passes, and two of them were the result of stepping on the sideline accidentally. Court awareness isn’t exactly their speciality at the moment.
If not for Will Artino, it’s fair to wonder where the Jays would be sitting this morning. Would they be licking their wounds after a humiliating home loss to the last-place team in the league? I think it’s quite possible they would be. On a night when Gregory Echenique wasn’t terribly effective — though I can’t exactly blame him when he’s playing against defenders six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter, whose only defense is to clobber him — the quicker, nimbler Artino provided a spark off the bench.
Artino did a little of everything. He scored a career-high 13 points on an array of jump shots, layups, alley-oops and post moves. He grabbed five rebounds, including two big offensive boards. He had two assists, including one nifty pass to Nevin Johnson for an alley-oop. Heck, he even had a steal when he literally ripped the ball away from SIU’s Davante Drinkard; when he scored a layup on the resulting possession, it was the loudest roar of the night from the 17,000+ in attendance. Artino was rewarded with a career-high 17 minutes, and left his coach with some interesting decisions on playing time distribution going forward.
His performance was so important because it came on a night when Doug McDermott went 4-11 from the field — and an unbelievable 1-4 in the second half — and a night when they went 2-9 from behind the arc. The second half belonged to the bench, and they responded. McDermott played just 10 minutes after the break and Echenique just seven; both players sat on the bench for long stretches, including important minutes in crunch time. Whether anything should be read into that is debatable, but luckily the second half play of Artino (4-4, 9 points in 13 second half minutes), and Johnson (4 points and an assist in 10 minutes) made it a discussion for a later date.
What is it an old coach on the Hilltop once said? A win is a win is a win? That certainly applies to this one. The Jays won, and live to win another.
Quotables:
“My hat goes off to Barry Hinson, the way he’s continued to have his team compete. When you look at the scores the last five games, no one has beaten them by 14 points so maybe we’re a little bit more down than we should be. They’ve made everybody play like we played (tonight), including a one-point loss at Indiana State right after Indiana State handled us.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“It’s hard to win in this league right now. Every game is a grind. As much as I would have liked to run away from Southern Illinois, there aren’t many teams doing that in our league right now to anyone.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“We’ve got to find a way to get that swagger back. Our message in the locker room was that we have to find a way to capture that enthusiasm and the enjoyment with which these guys have played with each other in the past. Part of it is certainly the pressure of being on this team with the expectations that have been placed upon these guys throughout the season. That’ll wear on you – its human nature. Part of it is the bumps and bruises that go with a long season, but we have to find a way to find ‘it’. It’s an unbelievable group to coach. If they have a fault their fault is that they’re too good of guys, and they probably don’t demand as much of each other as they should demand of each other at times. Those attributes are going to get them a long way in life. They’re going to be really successful because of that. They’re going to be great husbands. They’re going to be great fathers, but it takes a little bit more to be a teammate sometimes. That’s what we’re trying to capture, and I think we can get there, I really do.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“I love my guys, I really do. I want so much for them to achieve all of their goals. But they’re going to have to step out of their comfort zone a little if we’re going to get there.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“Will was huge. He saved us. He’s so active, so long, and he has great feel. He understands how to find open lanes on the court, and his teammates found him. We needed him tonight.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“We have to demand a little more of each other, and that’s something we’ve always struggled with. There’s not a lot of time left to fix it, and I think each individual understands that it’s do or die whether or not we make those changes. It’s now, or the moment is going to pass and we’re going to regret it forever.” -Grant Gibbs in postgame press conference
“We’re trying to force things, me especially. We’ve kind of gotten away from making the extra pass, for whatever reason. Some of it is the way teams are playing us, but the other end of it is people trying to force their own action when we should be playing off each other, making the extra pass and getting those great shots.” -Grant Gibbs in postgame press conference
(On making the extra pass) “Some of it is how they’re defending us. Grant’s a smart guy, he understands the game and he sees the game well, but they’re not allowing us to make that extra pass on some occasions. The pass to the post isn’t there all the time, and maybe it isn’t as easy as it was early in the year. So you might look four times and it might only be open once, where in December you’d look four times and it was open three times. So you maybe give up on it too soon. It’s just about staying disciplined and understanding what we’re looking for. These guys are trying, and in some ways I think they’re trying too hard and because of that they’re making some mistakes.” -Greg McDermott in postgame press conference
“I’m not the strongest guy or the most athletic guy, so I try to bring the most energy and give a spark to the team.” -Will Artino in postgame press conference
And now, here’s what you had to say on Twitter:
This is likely the first game in Creighton history that its opponents have worn more pink shoes than the Jays. #siu
— Rob Anderson (@_robanderson) February 20, 2013
@bluejaymbb is shooting 62.5% to 18.2% for SIU. But it’s only 12-4 w 12 min to go in 1st. #imgettingbored
— Chase Williams (@chasepwilliams) February 20, 2013
Creighton 24, SIU 18. #Salukis had five guards out there, with 6-4 Diamond Taylor guarding the 6-11 Will Artino. 359 left, SIU hanging in.
— Todd Hefferman (@Todd_Hefferman) February 20, 2013
Jays have been able to get it inside but they need to keep at it since Greg and Doug are a lot taller than most salukis guarding them
— Creightonian Sports (@sports_cu) February 20, 2013
We have to time to spare why not check for an elbow?
— Tyler Anderson (@millionthfan) February 20, 2013
#SIUSalukies coach Barry Hinson ought to try clogging, as much as he stomps his feet
— Eric Olson (@ericolson64) February 20, 2013
No touches for Doug McDermott in nearly four minutes to begin second half.
— Matthew DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) February 20, 2013
So who is taking over the game tonight? Will Artino. This is ridiculous. #mvchoops
— Jays Sportsfeast (@Creighton_SF) February 20, 2013
Gerry Pollard’s reprimand from @mvcsports for butchering Sunday’s WSU-ISU game? Collecting a hefty paycheck on Tuesday. Get a clue, Valley.
— Danny O’Byrne (@dannyobyrne) February 20, 2013
Gerry Pollard wondering how many times he can screw up FT situations. Has to be another punishment coming from @mvcsports for that one.
— Danny O’Byrne (@dannyobyrne) February 20, 2013
Do we get pizza because @royyyce said #Jays 75 times?
— Bleeds Blue (@CUAlum81) February 20, 2013
Long wait for Coach Mac and the players at the post-game presser. I doubt they’ll be in a good mood when the emerge.
— Matthew DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) February 20, 2013