“Are you kidding me?! Are you KIDDING me?!”
No, Travis Justice. There’s no joke. No deception, either. Justice, the KMTV play-by-play announcer, gushed midway through the second half Saturday night following a nifty finish by Doug McDermott. Justice, like anyone watching the game, was beside himself watching McDermott score 44 points against Bradley, on 18-23 shooting from the field, in Creighton’s 92-83 win against the Braves. Viewers of ESPN’s College Gameday show this morning probably laughed, too, when Jay Bilas called McDermott his midseason player of the year nationally. But there’s nothing funny about what the sophomore did against BU, or what he’s done about halfway through his second season of college basketball. He’s the best player in the conference and arguably the most efficient player in the country.
I’m banging away at the keyboard while hoisting a cold Heineken to honor McDermott, who etched his name among some fairly special company in the Creighton record books tonight. McDermott’s 44 points are the sixth highest total in a single game in the program’s history, and the highest output since Benoit Benjamin scored 45 points against Indiana State in 1985. In back to back games in 1985, Benjamin made 18 field goals against Southern Illinois and Indiana State. No one at Creighton has made 18 field goals in a game since that week nearly 22 years ago — until tonight. McDermott went 18-23 from the floor, tying him with Benjamin (x2) and Eddie Cole for the second-highest field goal makes in a game in CU history (Bob Portman (x2) and Wally Anderzunas share the record with 19 makes).
Poor Bradley really had no chance. Pop in a tape of the game, sit back, and watch McDermott score with almost any possible low post move. Then track him as he picks and pops on the perimeter, knocking down three of the five 3-pointers he attempted. I feel sorry for Max; his highlight reel for tonight’s game, like the one for the win at Tulsa, will take a little longer to make considering he’ll have to account for almost all of McDermott’s shot attempts. It will surely draw a lot of viewers, the Bradley highlight reel, because it could serve as Exhibit A as to why McDermott posts the kinds of numbers he does.
The Braves tried to play him one-on-one, they tried to double-team him. It didn’t matter. McDermott either went around, over, or even through the defense en route to the hoop. Meanwhile other guys, namely Gregory Echenique (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Jahenns Manigat (13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists), were thriving thanks to heightened attention Bradley paid to McDermott. Little good it did, right?
To their credit, Antoine Young and Grant Gibbs did an exceptional job overall getting the ball to McDermott in places where he could convert attempts. The two primary Bluejays’ ball-handlers combined for 14 assists and 5 turnovers; overall, Creighton assisted on 28 of 33 made baskets. Couple unselfish, efficient distribution with an 11-rebound advantage on the boards and solid shooting percentages from the field (61%), from three-point range (50%), and from the free throw line (84%), and a blowout is in order.
Except, that’s not what happened. Bradley, instead of folding as McDermott and the Jays exploded on offense in the second half (McDermott scored THIRTY-ONE points in the second half), seemed to catch fire as Creighton scored. The Braves entered Saturday night 305th in the country in three-point shooting (29%) but connected on 54% of their long-range shots against CU. Bradley scored almost 20 points more (83) than its season average (63.9; 259th in the NCAA). Multiple Braves scored well above their season averages, including Taylor Brown (25 against Creighton; 15.2 ppg), Walt Lemon Jr. (18; 12 ppg), and Shayok M. Shayok (9; 3.9 ppg). The Braves only committed 11 turnovers, while turning Creighton over 15 times (including 8 steals).
With just under 2 minutes to play the Bluejays led by just 5 points. Creighton fans caught up in McDermott’s antics temporarily had to turn their attention to what, remarkably, was a close game until the closing 90 seconds. But the Jays when 7-8 from the free throw line in the last minute to seal the deal. And instead of remembering this night for an individual performance gone to waste, Creighton fans can recall tonight’s win against Bradley for what it truly was: Doug McDermott’s best game in a year and a half as a Bluejay, and one of the best individual performances in the last 50 years of CU hoops.