A year ago, a very surly Me left Wells Fargo Arena and stewed for two and a half hours on a dark car ride back to Omaha. About half way home, Mrs. Creighton Otter and I pulled into a Kum and Go to fuel up the ride and blow off some steam. The gas station was full of Creighton fans fuming over the ending of the Bluejays’ 91-88 last-second loss to Iowa State in the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge. It was the first loss in a season of close defeats on the road or on neutral courts, and it stung particularly badly because the Bluejays seemed destined for overtime before a heave from half court (that didn’t beat the buzzer) gave the Cyclones a win.
This year, Mrs. Creighton Otter and I are joined for the CU hoops season by our newborn son, who wasn’t quite ready for a trek to Des Moines this weekend. Couple the kiddo situation with the glorious high definition broadcasting capabilities of the Big Ten Network, and yesterday was the ultimate Lazy Sunday. There’s nothing like watching a presumably solid non-conference match-up in the comfort of one’s own home. Except unlike their in-state rivals a year before, the Iowa Hawkeyes failed to present a challenge to the Bluejays.
The final margin was 23 points, but it wasn’t even that close. The Bluejays led the Hawks by 33 points with 6 minutes to play, when Doug McDermott checked out of the game for good and fans clad in black-and-gold fled to the exits. Creighton dominated Iowa in every phase of the game, including the frontcourt (40 points in the paint to just 16 for Iowa), the boards (43 to 28 in favor of CU), and on defense (CU held UI to 36% shooting from the field and 33% from behind the arc; the Jays hit 55% from the floor and 47% from 3-point range).
Iowa had no answers for McDermott and Gregory Echenique. And when it seems the Hawks had bottled up the Bluejays’ inside efforts, Avery Dingman (14 points), Ethan Wragge (3 points), and Josh Jones (7 points) stepped in to hit some open perimeter jump shots. In almost every aspect, the game represented the type of outcome fans have been promoting as possible since the Jays ended last season with some momentum in the CBI tournament.
Here are a few other thoughts about what was arguably the most complete game by a Greg McDermott-coached CU squad in his year-plus on the Hilltop.
Doug McDermott and the rest of the Bluejays from the Hawkeye State performed well when back home.
Of all the Iowa-bred players in Sunday’s game, none had as big an effect on the outcome as McDermott and Grant Gibbs. Although he’s quickly become the known quantity opposing teams turn their attentions to before playing the Jays, McDermott employs ever possible method to beat teams anyway. He scored a game-high 25 points against Iowa, using a bevy of low post finishes and perimeter shots to frustrate anyone Fran McCaffery asked to guard the sophomore from Ames. McDermott added 9 rebounds and an assist in just 28 minutes of play, positioning him to win Valley Player of the Week honors when they’re announced Monday after his 27-point, 7-rebound effort against UAB.
Gibbs again did a little bit of everything for the Bluejays. Playing against his best friend, Iowa’s Matt Gatens, Gibbs scored 5 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished 6 assists while collecting 2 steals in 28 minutes. His ability to make solid decisions around the perimeter and in transition is clearly something that was missing from the last two or three Bluejay squads. Gibbs essentially gives Greg McDermott a second point guard, but one who at 6-4 can crash the glass and then make the right first pass in the up-tempo style being applied by this year’s team.
Things were going so well for the Iowa-bred Bluejays that even Will Artino got into the action. Artino, the redshirt freshman from Waukee, played just a few minutes against UAB Wednesday but logged a productive 10 minutes against the Hawkeyes. Artino was perfect from the floor (3-3) and grabbed a few rebounds while posting 6 points against Iowa. He even threw down a two-hand jam, in the building where he recorded his first dunk as a varsity player in high school.
Creighton’s frontcourt controlled the paint.
When Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique are playing well at the same time, few of Creighton’s opponents will be able to match up against the powerful frontcourt combination. After combining for 10 turnovers against the Blazers Wednesday, McDermott and Echenique only committed 2 against the Hawks. And in addition to McDermott’s 25 points and 9 boards, Echenique missed only two shots en route to 15 points and 9 rebounds.
While Gibbs has been a revelation early this season, Echenique’s conditioning is another reason why the Bluejays have been able to adapt and implement a more up-tempo pace. He retained his strength while redistributing his bulk, allowing the athletic Echenique to become a match-up nightmare for slow-footed stiffs or quick-but-light low post players. He left a few points on the line because of three missed free throws, but otherwise Echenique outplayed his Iowa counterparts.
And again, even Artino got into the act.
Senior point guard Antoine Young has more weapons at his disposal than ever before (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Antoine Young has to love his options on offense.
It is early in the season, but senior Antoine Young has to be beside himself with the number of contributors he finds himself surrounded by. Young scored just 5 points Sunday, dishing 4 assists to just 2 turnovers. He’s capable of scoring 18 a game, if needed. But with McDermott continuing to improve, Echenique ready to play a full season, Gibbs helping facilitate the offense, and sharpshooters like Dingman and Wragge waiting on the wings, Young can pick his spots on offense and expend even more energy on defense. Plus, with a backup in Austin Chatman, Young doesn’t have to play nearly 40 minutes to give the Jays a chance to win.
For those of you clamoring for Creighton to sign home-and-home series with even average BCS-league schools: Don’t hold your breath.
Games like Sunday’s are just one reason why successful and well-supported non-BCS schools such as Creighton have to fight tooth and nail to earn equal scheduling considerations from even the most average of BCS-league teams. If Iowa beats Creighton, even on a neutral court, casual college hoops observers think, “Yeah, that’s about right. I’d expect a Big Ten team to beat a Valley school most times.” If Iowa loses to Creighton — especially on the road — it isn’t considered a “good” loss in the eyes of those same speculators; and it costs the Hawkeyes money they could make by winning a home game against a worse opponent.
The Bluejays have a bit of a quandary. They haven’t reached sustained levels of success the likes of Gonzaga and Xavier can claim, so they don’t have the national status of the Zags or the Musketeers. But they play in front of a huge crowd night in and night out, they’re competitive each and every season, and Bruce Rasmussen and the athletic department have proven they won’t pay for one-and-done or two-for-one situations against BCS-league teams.
Some of the best opponents Creighton’s seen in Omaha in recent years during non-conference play are successful schools from non-BCS leagues, your Xaviers and Daytons and BYUs. Performances like Creighton’s against Iowa are some of the reasons for that. So if you want to see the Jays play good teams from the BCS leagues, add a line item to your budget for multi-team events such as next Thanksgiving’s tournament in Las Vegas (Wisconsin, Arizona State) and the 76 Classic in Anaheim in November 2013.