Things are coming so easily to the Creighton Bluejays, they’re making it difficult for fans to curb their enthusiasm. Some CU backers fretted quietly this week, wondering if the sudden rise to a top 25 ranking in coaches poll would widen the existing target on the collective backs of the Bluejays. But a few short days after dismantling an overmatched Iowa Hawkeyes team, Creighton rose up against the weight of expectations and posted one of the most amazing offensive performances in the program’s recent history.
A few family members from out of town came with me to the game for their first glance at this year’s Bluejays. I had adequately talked the team up, but no amount of blue-hued hype could prepare my guests or me for what we witnessed in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Jays racked up a baker’s dozen makes before missing their first field goal, riding a 13-for-13 hot streak to a 32-14 lead. Creighton, led by an improved (!) Doug McDermott, extended its lead to 22 before settling for a 60-40 margin at halftime — one point below the facility record for most points in a single half. On their way, the Jays shot 74% and assisted on 20 of their 23 made field goals in the first stanza. McDermott turned in a good game (18 points, 6 rebounds) in one half, Grant Gibbs (6 assists) and Antoine Young (7 assists) combined for 13 dimes and just 1 turnover, and the Bluejays left everyone in the CenturyLink Center shaking their heads.
But while Jays fans spent the majority of the second half trying to figure out exactly what they had witnessed earlier in the game, the Campbell Fighting Camels well, fought. They may have been outmanned against a deep Creighton team finding itself amidst a historic shooting groove — CU shot a school-record 70.4% for the night — but the Camels never quit. They followed their 40-point first half with 41 second-half points, hanging 81 points on a CU team that heads into the stronger part of its non-conference schedule needing to tighten the defensive effort. Talk about Doug McDermott overtook the postgame breakdown of individual play, but the focus could have easily shifted to Campbell’s Eric Griffin. The senior standout scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and CU coach Greg McDermott during his postgame radio interview was quick to point out that Griffin could play “anywhere” in the country. Griffin helped keep Campbell (relatively) close most of the game, or as close as a team allowing its opponent to make 7 out of every 10 field goals can be after 40 minutes of play.
Here are a few other thoughts following a fun Black Friday of Creighton hoops.
Five games are in the books, and the Bluejays are all over the national statistics leaders.
Creighton leads the country in assists per game (23.2), is second in points per possession (1.27), is third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.87), is fourth in points per game (89.6), and is fifth in field goal percentage (54.2%). The Jays are also seventh nationally in three-point field goal percentage (45.1%). I’d say Greg McDermott’s adoption of a more up-tempo offensive style has worked thus far. His son, Doug, won’t argue. He’s fourth in the nation scoring 23.4 points per game.
Against Campbell, Creighton blanked another opponent in situational stats.
The Bluejays outscored Campbell in the paint, off turnovers, off the bench, and on the fast break. That’s the third time it has happened this season, as the Jays swept those situational stats against North Carolina A&T and Chicago State. Only a deficit in bench points kept Creighton from sweeping those stats against UAB, too.
The box score is only the beginning of trying to describe Doug McDermott’s effectiveness.
Due to some health issues, Friday night’s game was the first of the season for my dad. He watched the Bluejays on the Big Ten Network against Iowa and marveled yet again at the way McDermott plays the game. But Friday was an even better display of the super sophomore’s all-around abilities and talent. He made twice as many shots (13) as he missed (6). He picked and popped for six three-point attempts, making four. He had 2 assists to 1 turnover, while snagging a team-high 11 rebounds. In short, he dominated — again.
You have to wonder, like my dad did, how a team can limit McDermott for a full game. He does so many things well, and he doesn’t rush what will naturally come to him. He can finish with either hand, shoot from outside as well as inside, and can score after cleaning up plays that don’t work just as well as he can running sets. The strength McDermott added entering his second season of college hoops could be the difference this season when he goes head to head with Missouri State’s Kyle Weems — the closest thing to an all-around forward like McDermott in the Missouri Valley Conference. McDermott hasn’t lost agility while adding the weight, furthering his seasoning as arguably the best player in the league along with Weems, the reigning MVC Player of the Year.
Grant Gibbs gives Creighton an exceptional combo guard (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Grant Gibbs gives this team a chance to be great.
The Bluejays have a standout scorer and rebounder (McDermott), a center who can change shots and game plans (Gregory Echenique), and a senior point guard who can defend, distribute, and score (Antoine Young). But the Jays also have Grant Gibbs, who just five games into his Creighton career shows the ability to do a little bit of everything. In a virtual tie with Young at 26 minutes per game, Gibbs is fourth on the team in points, third in rebounds, first in assists, and second in steals per game.
His effort against Campbell was as complete as the stats confirm. He didn’t miss a shot from the field en route to 12 points in 24 minutes, and he dished 7 assists while committing no turnovers. He added 3 steals, too. It is easy to see why Greg McDermott doesn’t want him overdoing it as the transfer from Gonzaga battles back from a college career plagued by injuries. With Gibbs combining with Young and any combination of Jahenns Manigat, Josh Jones, and Austin Chatman, the Bluejays can compete with most types of opponents’ backcourts. During no week will that likely be clearer than this one, when the Jays travel to San Diego State and then host Nebraska. SDSU features guards Chase Tapley (16.5 ppg, 50% from three-point range), Xavier Thames (11.75 ppg), and Jamaal Franklin (15.7 ppg). The Huskers have guards Bo Spencer (16 ppg), Dylan Talley (12.4 ppg), and Caleb Walker (8.4 ppg). With Gibbs available to aid Young and the other CU perimeter players, the Bluejays have a better chance to neutralize opponents’ backcourt combos.