Through eleven non-conference games, Drake established an identity as a team with a ton of good shooters but a knack for failing to close out games and for a lack of defensive focus, leading to their pedestrian 6-5 record. They had a nine-point lead on California with seven minutes to play before losing 73-70; they led for a good chunk of the game against Xavier before falling 74-70; and they nearly beat Detroit before losing 85-79.
Ben Simons, their excellent forward, has 37 three-point makes so far this year, tied for the most in the MVC with Ethan Wragge. Four other players (Chris Hines, Joey King, Micah Mason and Gary Ricks) have made at least 14 threes each, and combined, their top five shooters made 45% from behind the arc in the non-conference. As a team, they averaged 9.5 three-point baskets per game while shooting 43.5% from beyond the arc — numbers that are eerily similar to Creighton’s national-best 43.7% percentage and average of 9.5 threes a game.
Then MVC play started, and the shots stopped falling. And when I say “stopped falling”, I mean “their shooters took up brick-laying as a hobby.” Simons is 6 of 20 from beyond the arc in their three MVC games, Hines is 4-16, King is 3-13, and Ricks is 1-6. As a team, Drake has made just 18 of 73 attempts from three-point range (that’s a ghastly 24.7%), a huge reason they suffered double-digit losses to Bradley, Wichita State and Missouri State.
Creighton has been able to survive nights when shots aren’t falling because of the interior play of Doug McDermott and Gregory Echenique; Drake has very few offensive weapons in the paint, so when their outside shots aren’t falling, they’re pretty much (pardon my French) hosed. Seth Van Deest, a player Creighton fans remember as being a prototypical skinny MVC center the last time they saw him, has added significant bulk to his 6’11” frame, weighing in at 269 pounds this year. But he’s their only real offensive threat, and even he’s been inconsistent. We asked their beat writer, Mark Emmert, about Van Deest and he told us, “VanDeest is much heavier and able to bang with the bigger bodies in the league now. He’s actually playing pretty well, scoring in the low block and getting to the free-throw line. But the extra weight has also caused some pain in his feet, and his minutes are limited as well by a lack of conditioning. They need more from him than he’s able to give right now.”
On the glass, they get outrebounded by an average of 3.8 boards a game, and they rank 302nd in the country in team rebounds — so needless to say, when their outside shots aren’t falling, they don’t get many second-chance opportunities. Jordan Clarke, a 6’8″ 256 pound senior, is their only great rebounder, as his 8.1 average shows. Van Deest averages 4.5; no one else averages more than 3.5 a game. Against a Creighton team that outrebounds its’ opponents by 3.9 boards a game, that’s problematic.
Interestingly, the Bulldogs were outrebounded by their non-conference foes by an average of 5.5 per game, but have managed to outrebound their MVC foes by 2.3 rebounds per game. That’s a nearly eight-rebound swing in rebounding margin, though one has to wonder how much of that is a product of there being so many more opportunities for rebounds, given the number of shots they’re misfiring on.
While Drake’s been ice cold from three-point range in MVC play, the Jays have been pretty much the opposite of ice cold, going 12-of-24 from downtown vs. Evansville, 13-25 at Illinois State, and 11-22 against Indiana State. It’s the first time since 2010 that Creighton’s had three straight games with 10 or more three-pointers, and the first time the Jays have shot 50% or better in three straight games from downtown since a four-game stretch in February of 1997. That’s impressive enough, but it’s also the first time ever that Creighton has shot 50% or better from deep while making 10 treys or more in three consecutive games. This is a historic run of shooting, for both teams.
It sets up as the classic scenario where you hope a slumping team — or a sleeping dog, if you’ll excuse the bad pun — doesn’t break out of it’s slump against you. If Drake continues their shooting slump, this game might be over by halftime. Even if they break out of their slump, it might only remain competitive for a few minutes of the second half. After nearly getting run out of their own gym by a Missouri State team that didn’t beat a single D1 team in the non-conference, it’s fair to ask at this point whether Drake is better than anyone in the MVC than Southern Illinois.
Creighton’s favored by nearly 20 points, and the Bulldogs will need not just Simons to get hot but three or four players to do so in order to keep this one close. I wouldn’t count on it.
About the Bulldogs: Freshman Joey King is Drake’s top scorer in MVC play, and is the league’s top freshman, with 13.3 points per game after matching a career high with 21 points against Missouri State … Another freshman, Micah Mason, is shooting 58.1% from three-point range this season and has been their hottest shooter in MVC play, going 9-of-14 in his last 3 games. He missed the Missouri State game with the flu, but should play tonight … Ben Simons leads Drake with 14.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in 13-of-14 games this season … Drake is averaging 73.1 points per game, but has been held to 61.7 points in its MVC games.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton is 67-37 vs. MVC schools since the start of the 2007-08 season, including a winning record against every school except Drake and Missouri State — their two opponents this week. They’re exactly 6-6 against both Drake (Tuesday’s foe) and Missouri State (Friday’s foe) in that span … Creighton has won 10 or more home games in 16 straight seasons, a streak they will push to 17 with its next home win — which could come tonight against Drake … Creighton is a perfect 60-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha against home games against teams that enter with a winning percentage of .500 or worse. Overall, Creighton has won 70 straight home games against teams that are .500 or worse, dating to a February 25, 2002 loss to Drake on the final night of the regular-season, a loss that cost the Jays an outright MVC title … Since the start of last season, Creighton is a remarkable 43-7, which ranks as the best record over any 50 games since the Jays went 43-7 in 50 games from November 17, 2002 to January 24, 2004.
The RUN-DMD Show: Already seventh in school history with 1,728 career points, Doug McDermott can join Creighton’s Top 10 in rebounding as well vs. Drake. McDermott owns 677 career rebounds, just 11 shy of #10 on the list, Dane Watts (686). He should pass #9 Wally Anderzunas (696), #8 Rick Apke (709) and #7 Rodney Buford (716) in the next few games, too.
As great as Doug is, not even he stands a chance of becoming the school’s all-time leading rebounder. Paul Silas’ school record of 1,751 is over 600 more than his nearest competitor, and is as close to an untouchable record as there is in the Creighton record book.
The Last Time They Played: In the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament last March, Drake went up 12-2 in the opening three minutes, making its first four shots and forcing a pair of early Bluejay turnovers. An 8-0 Creighton run immediately closed the gap, and they would eventually take a 35-34 lead into the half, and pull off a 68-61 win. Doug McDermott had 26 points and 10 rebounds, while making 9-of-15 shots and 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Drake by a 92-58 margin, including a 55-19 mark in Omaha. CU’s 92 wins and 150 meetings with Drake are easily its most against any opponent.
Greg McDermott is 13-6 in his career against Drake. He was 8-2 while in the MVC at Northern Iowa, 1-3 while at Iowa State, and is now 4-1 at Creighton.
Gratuitous Linkage: The loss at home to a Missouri State team who didn’t beat a single D1 opponent in the non-conference was bad enough, but Drake nearly got run out of their own gym if the Bears hadn’t gotten in their own way. Mark Emmert of the Des Moines Register looks at whether the Bulldogs can turn it around, or whether they’ll be fighting Southern Illinois for the cellar, in this excellent blog post on the newspaper’s website.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: Ryan Sears broke out of the worst shooting slump of career in a 72-66 victory at Southern Illinois on January 8, 2000. He’d made just 3 of 27 attempts from behind the arc in the Bluejays’ previous five games, including a string of 18 straight misses, but connected on three straight in the first half against SIU. Coach Dana Altman had Sears work with Assistant Coach Kevin McKenna the day before the game instead of practicing with the team, and Sears responded by making 4 of 7 three-pointers and 7 of 11 shots overall, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds and eight assists.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: David Bowie unexpectedly released a new single today, and has a new album coming out in March, which is terribly exciting news. So Let’s Dance!
The Bottom Line: By the time Arch Madness rolls around, Drake could be a scary team — freshmen Joey King and Micah Mason seem like the kind of players that once they become more consistent, could give the Bulldogs some nice secondary scoring options to keep defenses honest and free up looks for Ben Simons. But right now, this is a pretty bad team prone to defensive miscues and they’re in a shooting slump to boot. Lots of time for Creighton’s bench tonight, I think.
Creighton 83, Drake 62