Creighton has seven wins in MVC play this year, and their biggest margin in those seven wins came against Drake on New Year’s Day. That 73-57 victory was decisive in just about every way, as the Jays outrebounded the Bulldogs 45-24, they made 22-23 free throws, and got double-doubles from two players. Doug McDermott had 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Kenny Lawson had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
It was a case of the Jays exploiting a huge advantage, as Drake’s interior players — namely Seth VanDeest and Kraidon Woods — were no match for the Jays in the paint. I’m not sure how much that applies to tonight’s game, unfortunately, because Drake has reinvented themselves on the fly since that game, and in the last five games in particular, have been shooting the ball with extraordinary accuracy. If you shoot near 50% from three-point range consistently, you can overcome a lot of deficiencies in the paint. That’s exactly what Drake has done the last five games, making 43-88 from long range over that span which includes a video game-type performance on the road at Southern Illinois where they made 16 of 24 from behind the arc, and an impressive 10-18 against Missouri State.
Drake is 2-3 in those five games, but with a couple of breaks could easily be 4-1. Against MSU, senior Ryan Wedel hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left to make it 71-70; after MSU made two free throws, a three-point attempt at the buzzer by freshman stud Rayvonte Rice rolled just off the rim and out. Then five days later, Kurt Alexander was the one taking the three-pointer at the buzzer in an overtime clash with Illinois State. This time, the shot went in and the team celebrated an apparent road win. But the referees, after consulting the monitor, determined the shot left his hands after the horn, waved it off, and gave the Redbirds the win. Those two tough finishes are what stand between Drake being stuck in position for the Play-In round in St. Louis, and being tied with the Jays in fourth place.
For the season, the Bulldogs are averaging 6.8 three pointers per game, and they’ve topped the double-digit mark five times, connecting on a season-high 16 triples at SIU, 15 triples versus Chicago State, 11 triples against both Weber State and Illinois State (1/18), 10 versus Missouri State (1/25), while draining nine against Texas Southern and Southern Illinois and eight against Southern Utah. Ryan Wedel leads the MVC in three pointers made (2.4), while he, Aaron Hawley and Ben Simons rank among the top-10 in the league in three-point percentage and Wedel, Simons and Rayvonte Rice stand among the top-15 in triples made. Wedel’s 57 three pointers are nine shy of equaling his total for all of the 2009-10 campaign.
If the Bulldogs were merely shooting a prolific percentage from three-point range, this game would worry Jays fans because one of the Achilles Heels of this team has been defending the perimeter. But combine that with the fact that the Bulldogs are also playing some pretty good basketball right now, and the fact that they feature the only freshman besides Doug McDermott to win the MVC Newcomer of the Week award more than once, and you’re excused if thinking about this game gives you heartburn.
Its a big game. The Jays haven’t won two straight games in over a month, and after tonight, three of their final four MVC games come at home — a win tonight could set the stage for a momentum building run. A loss tonight would put them right back where they were a week ago, heading back home following a road loss.
About the Bulldogs: Rayvonte Rice won the MVC Newcomer of the Week award this week after averaging 21.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in helping spark the Bulldogs to back-to-back wins in league play for the first time this season … Seth VanDeest and Ryan Wedel average 12.3 and 10.3 points, respectively, against the Bluejays in their careers … The Bulldogs own a 7-15 overall mark, including 4-7 at home, when playing on February 8 … Drake has outrebounded opponents in two straight MVC games this season after netting a 30-28 margin over the Panthers … Rayvonte Rice ranks seventh in The Valley in scoring at 13.6 points per game, a mark which is second among the league’s freshman class behind Creighton’s Doug McDermott … Rice’s 326 points through 24 games represent 21.3 percent of Drake’s overall offensive output (1,533 points); he leads the Bulldogs in steals (1.3) and rebounding (4.8) and is second in assists (1.7), while having scored in double figures in 10 of 13 league contests … Among all MVC players, Rice is ranked fourth in the conference in steals (1.3), seventh in scoring (13.6), 10th in three pointers made (1.4) and 14th in blocked shots (0.7), and in league-only games, Rice sits fifth in blocked shots (0.9), sixth in steals (1.2), seventh in scoring (13.5), 11th in defensive rebounds (4.2) and 15th in rebounding (5.2) … In seven home MVC games, the Bulldogs are outshooting their opponents, 44.6 percent to 43.4 percent, while outscoring the opposition 66.0 to 64.7 … Drake is seeking to avoid being swept in the season series by Creighton for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The Bulldogs have taken the season set from the Bluejays 13 times. Conversely, Creighton has taken the season series from Drake 30 times.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: In league games Creighton ranks second in the MVC with a +3.1 rebounding margin. That figure has skyrocketed in the past two weeks, as the Jays are +33 in their last four games … Drake, on the other hand, is last in the MVC in league games at -6.7 per contest, and when Creighton met Drake earlier this season, the Jays outboarded them 45-24. The +21 differential was Creighton’s best mark in a league game since Jan. 28, 2004 vs. Indiana State … Creighton is 7-1 when Gregory Echenique scores 11 points or more, but 3-5 when he plays and doesn’t score that many … Antoine Young has played every second of Creighton’s last two road games (at Bradley, at Northern Iowa), and all but 15 seconds of the road game before that at Missouri State … Creighton and Drake have played an overtime game five times in the last 11 years, including four such games in Des Moines … Creighton is 10-0 when making 15 free throws or more … Tonight is the 26th straight (and last barring an MVC Tournament match-up) meeting between Drake and Creighton that a member of the Korver family has been on the roster. Kyle Korver went 6-2 in eight games with Creighton against Drake from 1999-2003, while brother Klayton Korver was at Drake from 2003-08, going 4-7 against the Bluejays. Creighton senior Kaleb Korver is currently 3-5 against Drake … As our own Panon noted this morning, though, this stat is slightly deceiving: Klayton had a medical redshirt on 2005-06, so while he was on the roster he did not play. Technicalities!
The Last Time They Played: Doug McDermott sparked the Bluejays to a 73-57 victory over Drake at the Qwest Center with a 28-point, 10-rebound performance. Creighton registered five of its seven three pointers in the game in the second half and connected on 52.0 percent of its shots in the triumph. Junior Kurt Alexander led Drake in scoring, matching a then career-high with 12 points, while redshirt junior Kraidon Woods and sophomore Seth VanDeest each chipped in nine points.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Drake by an 89-57 margin, but are just 32-36 all-time in Des Moines. CU’s 89 wins and 146 meetings with Drake are easily its most against any foe.
Creighton has won 12 of the last 18, 15 of the last 22 and 22 of the past 31 meetings between the schools. Greg McDermott is 10-5 in his career against Drake, going 8-2 while in the MVC at Northern Iowa, 1-3 while at Iowa State, and 1-0 at Creighton. McDermott is 2-1 in head-to-head meetings with Mark Phelps.
Gratuitous Linkage: I’m rarely home on Saturday nights, but thanks to NBC On Demand, I generally still catch “Saturday Night Live” the next day. As someone who grew up watching the late-80s cast of Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Phil Hartman et al, you can imagine my giddiness when this week’s show featured a new Wayne’s World sketch.
Proof once again that there is no statute of limitations on a hilarious idea.
Out of Context Simpsons quote: “Shoplifting is a victimless crime. Like punching someone in the dark. ” -Nelson
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: Remember when Evansville was routinely one of the best teams in the Valley? If you’re relatively new to following the Jays or the MVC, you probably don’t. But after entering the league in the mid-90s, they were one of the dominant programs for a short while. They won the regular season MVC title in 1998-99, got an at large berth to the NCAA Tourney, and their star, Marcus Wilson, won the MVC Player of the Year. But on February 8, 1998, Rodney Buford — who never won a Player of the Year award thanks partially to Wilson — got the better of both him and the Aces. Buford had 20 points on 8-14 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds, and led the Jays to a 80-66 win in Omaha.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: After waiting four years for it, I activated my Verizon iPhone yesterday, and while searching the App store for amusing and/or helpful applications to load, I stumbled across something called “Diamond Dave.” It’s a soundboard of David Lee Roth soundbites, mostly isolated vocal tracks from songs, including several of his trademark shrieks which are absolutely hilarious when heard without musical accompaniment. This has led to a new favorite prank: sneaking up behind people and playing one of those shrieking sounds. It never fails to make them “Jump”, no pun intended. Ah, the perks of working in a creative field: this sort of behavior is not only allowed, but encouraged!
The Bottom Line: This game worries me. Drake is playing pretty well of late, has multiple shooters that can make baskets from behind the arc, and is at home. Its going to be a tight game, and if you were to pick the Bulldogs to win, I couldn’t blame you.
I, on the other hand, will pick the Jays. My prediction (which will likely be wrong, but its fun to think about): Kaleb Korver will channel the basketball spirit of Pierce Hibma, and be the next unexpected Iowan to have a massive game at the Knapp Center for Creighton, leading the Jays to victory.
Creighton 71, Drake 66