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Men's Basketball

Morning After: Jays 79, Indiana State 66

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[Box Score]

Key Stats: Creighton scored 52 second-half points, making 8-13 from three-point range. Jays go to the line just four times in the first half (2-4), but 15 times in the second half (12-15). Indiana State outrebounds Creighton 17-14 in the first half, Creighton outrebounds ISU 19-8 in the second half and outscores the Trees 17-2 on second-chance points after the break.

Favorite Moment: With Indiana State up 27-21 and less than three minutes to go in the first half, Gregory Echenique blocked not one, not two, but three straight Indiana State shot attempts — sending the first one four rows deep into the stands. It gave a huge crowd waiting for a reason to explode the chance to yell, and gave the players the energy they needed to make a 6-0 run that tied the game at the break.

500(ish) Word Recap: Indiana State proved their 2-0 start in MVC play was no fluke on Saturday, matching every Creighton basket and responding to every run with one of their own — for most of the first 30 minutes, they looked like they might actually pull off the upset. As a result, it was an uneasy crowd inside the CenturyLink Center, with the 11th ranked Bluejays seemingly unable to stop Indiana State from doing anything. The Trees were outrebounding Creighton, they were shooting better from the field, and it even looked like they were outhustling them.

With 13:44 to go in the game, Doug McDermott headed to the bench after picking up his third foul, and the Jays down 44-41. How long would their star be on the bench? Could they come back without him? His teammates wasted little time in answering those questions; after ISU’s R.J. Mahurin missed both free throws, Gregory Echenique scored a layup on the other end to make it 44-43, then converted a three-point play on the next possession to tie the game at 46. Manny Arop nailed a three for ISU on their next possession, and it was immediately answered by a three from Ethan Wragge. Jake Odum then scored a bucket on ISU’s next trip down the floor to make it 51-49. It would be the Trees’ last lead of the afternoon, and the last field goal they would make for nearly six minutes.

Echenique tied it 18 seconds later on another bucket, then threw down a rim-shattering dunk on the next possession that had seemingly half the crowd mimicking Jahenns Manigat’s “muscle flex” gesture. Another three from Wragge followed, and as McDermott checked back in it was 56-52 Creighton. The 7-1 run his teammates had gone on without him turned into a 16-2 run following his return, with McDermott scoring six of Jays’ next nine points. When all was said and done, it was 65-53 Jays with just over five minutes to go, and the game was for all intents and purposes over.

Quotables: “They got off to a good start in the second half, and we just huddled together to tell ourselves to do what we’ve done all season: be patient, find some open looks, and on defense buckle down and get some stops.” -Doug McDermott on AM590 postgame show

(On being sick) “It’s tough. It’s that time of year, everybody usually gets sick one time every winter so it’s good for it to happen now rather than later in the Valley. I’m fine, I can play, we’ve got a couple of days before the next game. I’m getting better, just a lot of congestion.” -Doug McDermott on AM590 postgame show

(On whether the team was flat) “That had a lot to do with Indiana State. They have a way about them — they’re a real confident group, and that starts with Jake Odum. We did come out a little flat, but we escaped with a win and that’s all that really matters.” -Doug McDermott on AM590 postgame show

“The game changed with that lineup when Doug went out with his third foul, that group put a nice run on them. Gregory got a couple of baskets, the great crowd we had today got into it, and then we were able to run a couple of set plays for Ethan to get him loose and he knocked ’em down for us.” -Coach Greg McDermott on AM590 postgame show

“It was a tale of two halves. The first half we were pretty good defensively, we didn’t rebound it very well, we turned it over and we weren’t ourselves offensively. The second half we were very good offensively, we rebounded it well, we didn’t turn it over but we didn’t guard as well.” -Coach Greg McDermott on AM590 postgame show

“Indiana State’s going to win some games. They’re well-coached, they understand who they are, they controlled tempo the first half — the more we tried the worse it got. What happens when a team slows you down like that is that you have a tendency to rush, because you want to try to get the pace going the way you want it.” -Coach Greg McDermott on AM590 postgame show

“My message at halftime was the foolish turnovers — we tried to do the right thing but at the wrong time with some of our passes. And then we had some fouls that their intentions were right, the hustle was good but it wasn’t intelligent. Ethan’s two fouls 94-feet from the basket, my message to him was ‘Ethan, you’re playing hard but you have to be smart enough to understand that’s not the time for that play. We need the flexibility to have you on the floor.'” -Coach Greg McDermott on AM590 postgame show

What Others Are Saying:

Gregory Echenique proves his value in No. 16 Creighton’s win (Rob Dauster / NBC Sports.com)

McDermotts have become improbable father-son success story (Jeff Goodman / CBS Sports.com)

 

And now, here’s what you had to say on Twitter during and after the game:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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