I’ve been to 15 consecutive Arch Madness weekends, and only once before Saturday do I remember as dominant a half of basketball played by Creighton during that stretch than the one the Bluejays pulled off in the MVC Tournament semifinals against Indiana State. It was nearly 10 years ago to the day, when Creighton shot 49% from the field and held Southern Illinois to 16% shooting during the first half of the 2003 MVC Tournament championship game. The score after 20 minutes was 42-16 Bluejays, but somehow it didn’t even seem that close. CU would cruise to an 80-56 win in the title game.
Fast-forward a decade, to yesterday afternoon. Coming off a double-digit win over Drake in the quarterfinals, a win that was hardly a walk in the park, Creighton jumped out to a 14-2 lead over the Sycamores during the game’s first 5 minutes. But instead of seeing the Trees mount a push of their own, similar to what Illinois State would do after getting down big against Wichita State in Saturday’s second semifinal, Jake Odum and ISU-Blue couldn’t make shots or get stops. And the Bluejays’ vaunted offense started to snowball.
Just before the under-4:00 media timeout, an Austin Chatman jump shot gave Creighton a 28-point margin, 39-11. The game was over, the remaining 24 minutes merely a chance for Doug McDermott to pad his already impressive stat line and for his father, head coach Greg McDermott, to get some of the Bluejay “Bench Mob” players a few minutes here and there.
Doug McDermott was nearly perfect against Indiana State in the MVC Semis (Spomer/WBR)
By the time the first half closed, the Jays were up 41-18. McDermott and the entire Sycamores squad were tied at the break with 18 points apiece. McDermott made all five of his three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes and only missed one field goal, en route to a ridiculous 18 points and 5 boards in 16 minutes of play. The Jays shot nearly 62% from the field in the first half, including 73% from three-point range (8-11). Meanwhile, Indiana State shot 25% from the floor and didn’t make a three in 7 attempts.
After the break, the Bluejays pulled back on the reigns a bit. Coach Mac could rest folks as he saw fit. Starters McDermott (35 minutes), Chatman (34 minutes), and Grant Gibbs (39 minutes) all played nearly all the game Friday against Drake. So it was advantageous that the Bluejays could put the Sycamore away early and save some wear and tear on the regulars. McDermott played 27 minutes against ISU, Chatman logged 29 minutes, and Gibbs played 28 — his lowest total since January 30.
The Sycamores outscored the Jays 25-23 in the second half. But not one of the thousands of white-and-blue-clad Creighton fans at the Scottrade Center seemed to care. Thoughts were floating to making celebratory plans for Saturday night and, for some people, changing travel plans for Sunday. Some folks stuck around to watch Wichita State beat Illinois State, but most Jays fans headed to the hotel lobbies and Sundecker’s and other watering holes, content to drink away their last night of Arch Madness in St. Louis.
Andre Yates (#11) and the rest of the Bluejays Bench Mob enjoyed the laugher in the MVC Semis (Spomer/WBR)
If this is Creighton’s swan song in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Jays couldn’t ask for a better scenario to leave with a bang. Already with a regular season championship under their belts, the Bluejays can complete the sweep with a win against the Shockers Sunday afternoon. It won’t come easy, especially after Gregg Marshall’s team suffered a double-digit loss to CU in Omaha that cost WSU its second straight league title. Rebounding will be critical for Creighton against the Shockers, who outrebounded the Redbirds 48-31 a day after outrebounding Missouri State 43-24. Wichita State has grabbed 36 offensive rebounds in two games of this tournament; if they snare another 15 Sunday afternoon, chances are they convert those into easy put-backs and beat the Jays.
Creighton’s Will Artino and Jahenns Manigat box out against Indiana State (Streur/WBR)
But do the Shockers have any answers for McDermott? He’s already scored 66 points against WSU this season, with games of 25 and 41. He’s 25 of 37 from the field (67.5%) and 9 of 13 from three-point range (69%) against Wichita State this season. Last weekend McDermott made Carl Hall look like he hadn’t played defense in a Division-I game before. Hall is a stout defender, the type of smaller post player that usually is able to take McDermott a bit off his game. And Hall is arguably been the second best player in St. Louis this weekend, behind Dougie Fresh of course.
This game will probably come down to the guard play. Can Gibbs, Chatman, and Jahenns Manigat find a way to outduel WSU’s Malcolm Armstead, Demetric Williams, and Tekele Cotton? Cleanthony Early will likely get his, although he’s struggled with foul trouble in recent games. If the Bluejays can avoid turning the ball over against a tough defensive backcourt in black and gold, Sunday should present CU fans the type of St. Louis send-off they’ll remember for ages.