Three-time All-American Doug McDermott scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and point guard Austin Chatman added 15 points and six assists to lead the third-seeded Creighton Bluejays to victory over an upset-minded Louisiana team, 76-66, on Friday afternoon in 2nd round action of the West Region at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
After watching 14-seeded Mercer upset the Duke Blue Devils prior to the game, the Ragin’ Cajuns came out looking to make Cinderella’s carriage a party for two. Contrary to what scouting reports showed, Louisiana came out and tried to control tempo and limit the game’s possessions against Creighton as Providence was able to do successfully in winning the Big East Tournament championship last weekend. Despite only getting two early points from their go-to guy Elfrid Payton, the Ragin’ Cajuns took a 17-13 lead with 11:53 to go in the first half.
“They did a great job slowing it down, they kind of went with the Providence scheme there in the first half,” said senior forward Ethan Wragge. “They were a high octane offense and we were worried about them in transition. With the point guard they have and how fast he was, we thought they would try to run from us.”
While Louisiana (23-12) was doing their best to contain McDermott and grind away at the Jays, junior point guard Austin Chatman gave Creighton the lift they desperately needed. The veteran floor general got the Jays off and running when ever possible, even if it meant just racing down to a one-on-three and pulling it back out to run the offense. It started with an assist to a cutting McDermott for a lay-in to tie it at 17-all. Then Chatman raced across the lane to rebound a misfire from Wragge and quickly kick it out to Jahenns Manigat for a wide open three, which the Canadian Red Bull nailed after Louisiana had retaken the lead at 19-17.
With a one-point lead and a his teammates now playing with increased urgency, Creighton’s star provided a bit of breathing room with his work on both the offensive and defensive boards, as well as down low in the paint offensively. McDermott scored nine points in a row for the Bluejays (27-7) to give Creighton their largest lead of the opening half at 31-22 with 5:40 to go. The frontrunner for National Player of the Year recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds in the opening period, which just so happened to be the first time in his legendary career that he recorded a double-double before halftime.
Chatman added a three after McDermott’s shot inside was swatted away into his waiting arms. With no around him he calmly buried the bomb before Payton returned the favor from the top of the key in the closing seconds of the first half to make it 39-33 Creighton going into the locker room.
Though they had built a bit of a lead Louisiana wasn’t about to lay down for the higher-seeded Bluejays. The Ragin’ Cajuns held Creighton scoreless for nearly four minutes and thanks to a jumper by big man JJ Davenport and a layup by Payton the Sun Belt Conference tournament champions found themselves in front, 50-46, with 12:15 left to go. After a 30-second timeout and a short banker off the glass by senior Grant Gibbs to bring Creighton within two, Manigat found a wide open path down the lane for himself. He drove, left his feet and surprised maybe everyone in attendance watching their first Creighton game of the season by passing up the uncontested bunny in mid-air and instead sticking a pass to Wragge in the corner for a 3-pointer that put Creighton up for good, 51-50, with 11:09 to play.
It’s not typically considered a smart move to pass up what seemed like two easy points for a potential three, but these Creighton Bluejays aren’t your typical college basketball team. “Jahenns made an unbelievable play,” Wragge said. “He had a wide open but he kicked it out to me. That’s our team for you right there. I don’t think he even realized how open he was, but I called for it late and those are the kind of guys I play with. It makes it unbelievable.”
Shortly after that sequence Wragge bounced home another three from the corner, this time getting a friendly roll from the rim before going down to put the Jays up by four with 10:25 to play. Louisiana cut it to a one possession game, 59-56, with barely over five minutes remaining before the senior sharpshooter drilled another patented “Wragge-bomb”.
Austin Chatman added six straight points soon after that to put Creighton up by eight. Then Doug McDermott put the dagger in the Ragin’ Cajuns’ heart with a three from the top of the key and a lay-in over Payton.
McDermott’s 30 points were the most by a Creighton player in an NCAA Tournament game, but it was Austin Chatman’s 15-point, five-rebound, six-assist performance that drew most of the praise from his head coach and teammates. “I thought Austin was outstanding,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. “He controlled the game with the tempo. He was able to get it there quick and make good decisions in transition. He attacked the basket to finish as well as he’s finished in a long time, and he attacked the basket and sprayed it so he played a great game. We would not have won this game without his performance.”
In a later question, the elder McDermott added that he’s not quite ready for this run to end, and thanks to the play of his son Doug, along with Chatman and Wragge the Jays survive to play another day. They’ll take on the sixth-seeded Baylor Bears on Sunday with a chance to be the first team in school history to reach the Sweet 16. The time of the game is yet to be announced.