Greg McDermott has preached defense since he took over at Creighton, and in the last three games, they’ve had a stretch of defense unlike anything seen in years on the Hilltop. First they held Western Illinois to 47 points, then Samford to just 40, and then Illinois State to 53 on their home court. Before you dismiss the last three games as products of poor shooting opponents, think back to the last couple of seasons when a litany of poor shooting teams scored almost at will against the Jays. Think back to the uncontested layups. Think back to the completely ridiculous coast-to-coast layup from Northern Iowa’s Lucas O’Rear in the MVC opener last year. Does that happen this year? I’d bet you a beverage of your choice that it would not.
How much of that is attributable to Gregory Echenique? Its a slightly misleading stat given the quality of the opponents he’s faced, but in the first nine games of the year (without Echenique), opponents made 153-of-330 shots from two-point range, good for 46.4%. In four games with Echenique in uniform, opponents have made 53-of-141 from two-point range, a massive difference at 37.6%.
They’re a more intimidating team defensively. They’ll give up some looks from outside the arc, but anything you get from 15-feet and in will come at the cost of bruises and soreness. That’s a marked difference from last year, and a welcome one as far as I’m concerned. They’ve now held the opposition’s leading scorer below their average (entering that game) in 10 of the last 12 games, including five straight, with only Northwestern’s John Shurna and Nebraska’s Lance Jeter exceeding their norms. That’s great stuff. And it has many fans optimistic about the future of the Jays program.
Drake comes into tonight’s game also 1-0 in the MVC, but the sense of optimism around their program is not the same. Despite two highly-touted recruiting classes in a row (the best in the MVC, according to some scouting services, two years in a row), the wins haven’t materialized and Bulldog fans are restless with Mark Phelps to show improvement on the court. They got a taste of the NCAA Tournament three years ago and are eager to get back.
Their weak spot is point guard, a point made clear by early-season starter Frank Wiseler being replaced in the starting lineup by Kurt Alexander the last two games — though officially he was replaced due to injury, its likely the move would have been made sooner or later regardless . Alexander hasn’t impressed either, and so fans and media around the program have no idea who Phelps will start tonight, as Mark Emmert of the Des Moines Register told us. You’re just not going to go anywhere without solid point guard play, regardless of how much talent you have elsewhere, and Exhibit A is Drake this year.
Drake does have some nice talent elsewhere, as you’d expect with the recruiting classes they’ve had. Seth VanDeest is an effective scorer in the post and thoroughly dominated Kenny Lawson, both offensively and defensively, in the two meetings a year ago (though it will be interesting to see how he reacts to Echenique). Freshman Rayvonte Rice is averaging 13.8 points a game, even better than the stellar 12.1 average by dynamite Jays freshman Doug McDermott. And Ryan Wedel leads the MVC in three-pointers with 35 made, while shooting better than 42% from behind the arc.
Against Southern Illinois on Wednesday night, they had 19 turnovers — on their home court — which is an excessive amount, especially when you consider the Salukis defense is a shadow of its former glory. It was the sixth time this year they’ve had 16 or more turnovers in a game; they’ve had 19 twice and had 20 in a ghastly 91-43 loss to Iowa State. The Bulldogs struggles to get anything resembling competent play out of the point guard position — more than anything else — have contributed to their struggles. Sure, they’ve struggled in switching to a man-t0-man defense (so much so that Phelps has reluctantly played zone at times in recent games), but its the point guard position that is keeping them from being the sort of team they could be with players like VanDeest and Rice. If it doesn’t improve, it will be what condemns them to the play-in games in St. Louis as opposed to a middle-of-the-pack finish.
About the Bulldogs: Sparked by a pair of 16-point performances from senior Ryan Wedel and freshman Rayvonte Rice, Drake opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 69-55 triumph over Southern Illinois … The victory against Southern Illinois marked the Bulldogs first win at home in a league opener since a 66-62 triumph over Wichita State on Jan. 4, 1996 (!) … Since the 1980-81 campaign, Drake has struggled in its first league road game of the season, owning a 7-23 record; the Bulldogs last won their first league road contest, 62-54, at Wichita State on Dec. 29, 2007 … Drake is playing in its eighth game in school history on Jan. 1 tonight, and the Bulldogs own a 2-5 overall mark, including 0-4 on the road in those contests … Kraidon Woods has proven to be nearly automatic from the field of late for Drake as he is shooting more than 71% from the field over the Bulldogs’ last five games, missing just two shots from the floor in that span, while also registering 5.0 rebounds per game … Over their last five games, all at home, Rayvonte Rice and Ryan Wedel are averaging 15.8 and 14.2 points per game, with Seth VanDeest and Kraidon Woods pacing Drake in rebounding at 5.8 and 5.0 caroms a tilt, respectively … The Bulldogs are shooting 45.6% from the field and 37.4% beyond the arc during that five-game span.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton has won the rebound battle in five of its past six games, while Drake has been outrebounded in four of its past five contests … For the year, Creighton ranks sixth in the MVC by outrebounding the opposition by an average of 3.3 rebounds per game, while Drake ranks 10th in the league with a -5.3 margin per game … Creighton is 12-3 over the past two seasons when Josh Jones scores five or more points, another reason to hope his performance Wednesday against Illinois State is the start of good things … The last Bluejay coach to start 9-4 or better after 13 games, as McDermott is this year, was Tom Apke who started 9-4 in 1974-75 … Creighton has started 2-0 in MVC play 18 times previously, and they’ve wound up finishing first or second in the MVC in all 18 of those seasons … Tonight marks the 25th straight meeting between Drake and Creighton that a member of the Korver family has been on the roster for one team or the other … This will be the first time since 2006-07 that Creighton is home for the New Year’s Day holiday, as each of the previous three years, Creighton has played in Terre Haute, Ind., at Indiana State on either Dec. 31, Jan. 1 or Jan. 2.
The Last Time They Played: Creighton overcame an early 15-point deficit to rally and tie the score, but could not complete the job while suffering a 79-74 loss at Drake on January 30, 2010. Seth Van Deest, Ryan Wedel and Josh Young all scored 20 points to pace the Bulldogs.
Young grabbed the opening tip and scored just four seconds into the game, and the Bulldogs made their first six shots and eight of their first nine while roaring out to a 17-6 lead in the game’s opening five minutes. The early flurry included three trifectas from Wedel in the first 2:15 of the contest, and the Bulldogs would go on to sink 9-of-12 shots to start the game in going ahead 22-9.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Drake by an 88-57 margin, including a 53-19 mark in Omaha. The Jays 88 wins and 145 meetings with Drake are both easily its most against any opponent.
Creighton has won 11 of the last 17, 14 of the last 21 and 21 of the past 30 meetings between the schools — but the Bulldogs have posted victories in five of the last seven meetings.
Greg McDermott is 9-5 in his career against Drake, going 8-2 while in the MVC at Northern Iowa, and 1-3 while at Iowa State. McDermott is 1-1 in head-to-head meetings with Mark Phelps.
Gratuitous Linkage: The damnedest things show up on my Google News homepage sometimes. At what point do you become so bored that shooting cows out the window of your car with an AK-47 sounds like a good idea? I’m a sucker for bizarre stories like this and always click on them to give them a cursory glance, which is probably why Google keeps putting them on my homepage, but still. Picking off cows with an assault rifle from inside your car? Really?
Out of Context Simpsons quote: “A lifetime of working with nuclear power has left me with a healthy green glow…and left me as impotent as a Nevada boxing commissioner.” -Mr. Burns
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On January 1, 2007, Creighton played a rare Monday afternoon game. Senior center Anthony Tolliver was 11-for-11 from the field and had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds, leading Creighton to a 79-71 victory over Illinois State. Freshman Osiris Eldridge hit 8-of-11 three-pointers and finished with a then-career-best 28 points.
In addition to Tolliver, Funk had 19 points, while Nick Porter also scored in double-digits with 13 points. Providing a spark off the bench was junior Brice Nengsu, who finished with a season-best nine points. Sadly, those nine points still didn’t make anyone forget the name Rodney Buford.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: What else? “New Years Day” from U2.
Prediction: The Jays are 10.5 point favorites tonight, but given their propensity for allowing opponents to stay in games — and Rayvonte Rice’s ability to shoot from the perimeter — I think the game will be closer than that.
Jays 66, Drake 59