Before the season, this two-game road trip during the season’s final week was circled by many as perhaps the most treacherous stretch of the season. Xavier is very difficult to beat at home, and Georgetown is, well, Georgetown even when they aren’t GEORGETOWN. Going 1-1 during that stretch was a reasonable expectation, but after losing to Xavier on Saturday, the Jays need a win in D.C. to return to Omaha with that outcome.
Barring Villanova losing this week, the Jays are likely going to finish in second place. That’s the reality after the loss to Xavier over the weekend. Creighton ceded control over the regular season title race to Villanova, falling a full game behind the Wildcats despite sweeping them. They now have to win both of their final two games and hope ‘Nova trips up against either Xavier or Georgetown. Is tonight a must win, as a pair of local talk radio hosts declared this morning? No way. It’s a win they need if they want to stay in the hunt for a regular season title, but it’s not a must win. That infers some sort of bad thing happening if they don’t win, when in all likelihood their finish in the Big East and their seed in the NCAA Tournament won’t be affected much by tonight’s game, win or lose. It’s not a must win.
Not for Creighton, anyway. It’s a must win for Georgetown, without a doubt. The Hoyas team Creighton faces on Tuesday is a desperate team making their last stand. They’re 16-12, having failed to capitalize on the potentially season-saving win over Michigan State on Super Bowl weekend by losing three of their last four games. They need to win out — knocking off two top 20 teams in Creighton and Villanova — to give themselves any chance of making the tourney, and even then they probably need one more win in the Big East tourney to feel secure. This is it for not just their five seniors, but for their season.
In the first meeting in Omaha, two-thirds of Georgetown’s shots were taken by their two starting guards. Markel Starks scored 21 points on 9-20 shooting, and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera was 6-17 for 18 points. That’s been a trend all year long — the duo has averaged 33.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.0 steals a game, and they’ve combined to score 47.7% of Georgetown’s total points this season (948 of 1,987). Since center Josh Smith was declared ineligible at the semester break, they’ve struggled to get consistent production from their big men, and their over-reliance on their guards has led to long scoring droughts in many games.
Their interior play is better than it was when they visited Omaha, though, thanks to the return of junior forward Jabril Trawick (6’5″, 210), who missed five games with a broken jaw. He’s fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game, and since returning to the rotation, Trawick is averaging 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 50.0% from the floor (30-of-60) in 28.4 minutes game.
Trawick is back for GU, but Grant Gibbs is also back for Creighton after not playing in that first game. The Jays were just 7-21 from three-point range (33%) and 24-52 overall (46.2%) the first time they met, and Doug McDermott was 5-15 from the field and 1-5 from three-point range for 14 points. It was Doug’s second-lowest point total of the season, and one of just three times he’s failed to score at least 20 in a game — and the Bluejays won by 13. That makes me pretty confident for their chances tonight. He’s not likely to score just 14 again, they’re not likely to shoot so poorly (compared to their average) again, and that’s why I think a double-digit win is in store.
Double digits? Creighton is really good. Embrace it. 28 games into the season, CU has played 24 games against teams in the Top 150, which means they’ve had just four “cupcake” games. They’ve won 19 of those 24 games. There’s only nine teams in the country with fewer losses, with five of those teams being in leagues outside the traditional power conferences, and according to KenPom the only ones with a tougher schedule are Villanova and Arizona. It’s been an amazing season, and it’s down to two regular season games, the conference tourney, and the NCAA Tournament.
Enjoy it. The next month is going to be amazing.
Catching Up with the Hoyas: The Hoyas are 11-3 at home, where they average 8,892 fans per game … It’s Senior Night for five players — center Moses Ayegba, guard Aaron Bowen, guard John Caprio, forward Nate Lubick and guard Markel Starks … The Hoyas rank ninth in the Big East in scoring offense (71.0 points per game) and are fifth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 45.8 percent of their shots … Defensively, GU ranks sixth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 67.5 points per game and is fourth in that category in Big East games, allowing 68.5 points per game, while they rank third in the league in field goal percentage defense (40.9 percent) and first in three-point field goal percentage defense (32.2 percent) … Georgetown is still in the NCAA discussion despite a 16-12 record because their schedule strength is so solid — according to KenPom, their NCSOS is 88, and their overall SOS is 19.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton has lost once in each month of the season so far, falling on November 29, December 1, January 18, February 9 and March 1st; if the pattern holds, Creighton’s next loss won’t taken place until the Final Four at the earliest … Creighton owns 289 three-pointers this season, tied for third-most in school history. Their 2004-05 team made 293 (in 34 games), while last year’s club set the school standard with 307 in 36 games a year ago … Doug McDermott averages 7.0 rebounds per game and has corralled at least five rebounds in 25-of-28 contests overall this year. He’s in position to be the first player to ever lead the Bluejays in rebounding in four straight years in records that date to 1955-56.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott (2,944 career points) is eight points away from passing Danny Manning (2,951) for ninth on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list, and 30 shy of passing Oscar Robertson (2,973) for eighth place all-time. Wouldn’t it be something to pass them both in one night?
He’s averaging 26.9 points per game in Big East play. The ‘career’ record for a one-year player is 22.3 per game by Villanova’s Michael Bradley in 2000-01. Even if McDermott were held scoreless in the next two games, he’d still set the mark. Also, McDermott owns 431 points with two conference games left. The Big East record for points in a conference season is 468 by Providence’s Marshon Brooks in 2010-11, a very attainable mark.
Out of Context Ron Swanson Quote: “Would I like a salad? Since I am not a rabbit, no I do not.”
The Last Time They Played: In front of the largest home crowd in Creighton history, the Bluejays defeated the Hoyas 76-63 on January 25. Will Artino led five players in double figures with 14 points, Doug McDermott had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Ethan Wragge had 12 points all during a pivotal 15-4 first half stretch — three 3-pointers and three free throws.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series 2-0, with an 80-79 victory on December 30, 1970 in West Palm Beach, Florida, as part of the Gold Coast Classic, and a 76-63 win in Omaha in January.
Greg McDermott is 1-1 all-time against Georgetown and coach John Thompson III, losing 54-49 in a first round game that took place in the 2006 NCAA Tournament before getting revenge in January.
Gratuitous Linkage: Gene Wang of the Washington Post writes that Georgetown could make the NCAA selection committee at least think twice about its tournament credentials by winning its final two regular season games.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On March 4, Creighton has won three MVC Tournament titles, two against Southern Illinois and one against Illinois State. The first came on March 4, 2002, a 84-76 victory over SIU in which Terrell Taylor led the way with 20 points. Junior Kyle Korver added 18 along with nine rebounds and five assists. Trailing 36-33 at halftime, Creighton opened the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 44-38 lead. Over the second half’s first 12 minutes, the Bluejays shot 60% (12-for-20), while Southern Illinois mustered only 26%, missing 14 of 19 shots in falling behind 64-53. During that stretch, the Salukis had seven turnovers.
Then on March 4, 2007, the Jays toppled top-seeded and 11th ranked SIU 67-61 in front of 22,612 fans at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Their seniors led the way, as tournament most outstanding player Nate Funk scored 19 points, while Anthony Tolliver recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Porter had 15 points and a team-best six assists. The Bluejays snapped an eight-game losing streak to SIU, topping the Salukis for the first time since the 2003 MVC Championship game. They controlled the game throughout, owning a 32-28 halftime lead and pushing ahead by as many as 14 in the second half.
Most recently, they defeated the Redbirds on March 4, 2012, 83-79 in overtime to capture the first MVC Tournament title of the Greg McDermott Era. Doug McDermott scored 33 points, and senior Antoine Young had 14 — including eight in an overtime period where he literally put the team on his back.
March 4 has been pretty good to the Bluejays over the years, no?
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
The Bottom Line: A close game throughout, and Creighton pulls away late.
Creighton 79, Georgetown 69