Creighton’s matchup with Missouri State Wednesday marked the first game of the second half of the conference schedule for both teams. The Bluejays entered the night with a chance to climb back into a tie for first place in the league, thanks to Indiana State’s convincing road win at Wichita State Tuesday. The Bears? They entered the evening 4-4 in MVC play and leaning heavily on multiple freshmen to help Anthony Downing try and upset some league leaders in the last month-plus of the season.
MSU couldn’t muster a road win last night, though, succumbing to Doug McDermott and the Bluejays. Unlike the Shockers, the Jays took care of business and forced a tie atop the standings at 8-2 (with the Sycamores lurking one game back, at 7-3) with 8 league games to play.
The final month of Valley action promises to be intense. WSU still has road games at feisty Northern Iowa, talented-but-turbulent Illinois State, confident Indiana State, and rival Creighton. The Bluejays too hit the road for games in Terre Haute and Cedar Falls; CU also pays a visit to Evansville, which already defeated the Shockers at the Ford Center. The Sycamores are poised to make a push for a title, with their road games at Drake, Missouri State, Bradley, and UE.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here are a few thoughts about the win against Missouri State.
After making 9 three-pointers in the first win over Missouri State, the Bluejays bested themselves in the second meeting. Creighton went 9-17 from deep the first time these teams played (53%), and followed that showing by making 15-28 threes Wednesday (54%). The Bluejays’ 15 makes were the second most in a game this season (16 in win versus Drake).
After hitting 12 triples (on 20 shots) at SIU Sunday night, Creighton is shooting 56% from behind the arc in its two-game winning streak. In CU’s two losses to Wichita State and Drake, the Jays shot just 32% from three-point range (13-41). What’s that statement about living by the three or dying by it?
In those losses, junior forward Ethan Wragge struggled to knock down his bread-and-butter three-point shots, going 3-13 from behind the arc. But in wins against SIU and MSU, Wragge made 9-14 from deep. He missed only one of his six attempts from distance against the Bears.
And after missing all six of his three-point attempts in a flu-riddled performance against Drake, Doug McDermott has made 7 of his last 9 threes, including 5-7 against MSU.
As Nick Bahe said more eloquently than I can write during the postgame radio show, it is exceedingly difficult for CU opponents to defend the Jays when the team’s two best forwards go 10-13 from behind the arc in a game.
Plus guards Jahenns Manigat, Austin Chatman, and Avery Dingman each added at least one made three-pointer against the Bears, as the Jays displayed the even-handed approach to outside accuracy that will make them an extremely tough matchup in March.
For the season, the Jays remain the leading three-point shooting team in the country by percentage (45.3% after Wednesday) and makes (214).
Speaking of Austin Chatman, what an outstanding night for the sophomore guard. In the first meeting against the Bears, Chatman had a horrific shooting performance (0-7 from the field, 0-4 from the arc) but the Bluejays got the win. Wednesday Chatman had himself a stat sheet-stuffer, posting his first career double-double thanks to 14 points (4-7 from the field, 2-4 from three) and 10 assists.
Oh, and he only had one turnover, the 8th time in 22 games he’s committed one or none.
Chatman played a large part in Creighton’s unselfish evening of offense, as evidenced by his ten dimes and the way he pushes the tempo. The Jays dished 24 assists on 30 made shots, padding their nation-lead assists total (400 after Wednesday) and keeping them among the national leaders in assists per game (18.2, good for second in the country).
But the sophomore guard can score when needed; in his past 8 games, Chatman has four double-figure scoring outputs and a night with 9 points, too. He doesn’t score in the same way his predecessor, Antoine Young, did (i.e., physical drives to the paint), but he’s capable of cashing open jump shots — his 48.9% from three-point range is 5th in the MVC.
Chatman’s second in the Valley in assists per game (4.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1:1). The only guy ahead of him in both categories? Grant Gibbs. And Chatman is the only underclassman among the league’s leaders in minutes played (31.4 mpg, 9th).
Steady point guard play will be crucial to success down the stretch in MVC play and the postseason. Chatman seems poised to flourish in the face of the challenge.
Creighton’s defense was far better than Missouri State’s 77 points and 55% field goal shooting percentage would suggest. Yeah, the Bears hit at better than a 50% clip, becoming only the second CU opponent to do that this year (Boise State made 60% in Creighton’s first loss of the season.) But the Bluejays routinely put MSU in situations late in the shot clock, with the ballhandler far from the hoop. The result was a lot of one-on-one play by Bears guards. The Jays picked up plenty of defensive rebounds to limit MSU’s second-chance scoring opportunities, too.
Missouri State made 8 threes in the second half, but 6 of those came after Creighton had opened a 24-point lead, the game’s largest margin, with 8:11 to play. Even a night of exceptional shooting accuracy compared to their season averages couldn’t keep the Bears in the game (55% FG% and 55% 3FG%, compared with season averages of 41.2% FG% and 32.1% 3FG%).