On this week’s episode of “Creighton Commentary” former Bluejays Tyler Clement, Marcus Foster, and Khryi Thomas get together to rewatch their thrilling win over Xavier in the Big East Tournament.
On March 10, 2017, the Bluejays rallied from an 8-point second-half deficit to beat the Musketeers in the final seconds to advance to the conference tournament title game. Creighton opened that season by winning 18 of their first 19 games, but compiled just a 6-7 record heading into the semifinal matchup with Xavier after senior point guard Maurice Watson, Jr. tore his ACL in the first meeting between the two teams, which Creighton won 72-67 in Cincinnati. The Musketeers won the rematch, 82-80, in Omaha, but followed it up by losing six of their final eight games to end the regular season by an average of 12.8 points. Their only wins in that span were over a DePaul team that finished in last place in the Big East with a 2-16 record in conference play.
Xavier beat the Blue Demons a third time to advance out of the play-in round, then took down Butler to set up the rubber match with Creighton in the semifinals. The Bluejays dropped three of four to end the regular season, but got their Big East Tournament run started by forcing 15 second-half turnovers in a 70-58 win over Providence in the quarterfinal round. They got off to a slow start the next against Xavier, falling behind by as many as nine points in the first half, but made 10 of their first 11 shots after halftime to pull ahead, 55-50, with 11:14 to play. This battle of old non-conference rivals morphed into an epic clash down the stretch that featured three ties and two lead changes over the last six minutes. The last of those lead changes came with just under four minutes to play when Clement cut to the corner in front of Creighton’s bench and cashed a spot-up 3-pointer to give the Jays a 67-65 lead.
Despite what was a physical, back-and-forth affair throughout, the Musketeers needed to foul five times over the final minute before the Bluejays entered the bonus. Leading by three with 30 seconds left, Cole Huff missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett tied things up again on a slick step-back jumper over Marcus Foster with 16 seconds on the clock. Foster got him back right away, pulling up for the go-ahead 3-ball with Bluiett guarding him and burying it with 6.6 seconds to go. Like CU, Xavier kept their final timeout in their pocket as they pushed the ball up the floor. J.P. Macura got off a clean look to send the game to overtime, but his 30-footer at the buzzer clanged off the front of the rim as Foster strolled back to the Bluejay bench and flexed his jersey as his teammates mobbed him.
Grab some popcorn, and your beverage of choice, and relive this memorable win as Clement, Foster, and Thomas analyze the action.