The Jays are playing some of their best basketball of the year over the last week-plus, which is bad news for their upcoming opponents. In addition to improved defense, they’ve started MVC play shooting a completely redonkulous percentage from downtown — the Jays were 12-of-24 from deep vs. Evansville on December 29th, 13-of-25 at Illinois State on January 2nd, 11-of-22 from long range vs. Indiana State on January 5th, an NBA-Jam-esque 16-of-27 last Tuesday vs. Drake, and then 9-of-17 from three-point range on Friday at Missouri State. That four-game stretch to start league play is the first time since January of 2008 that Creighton’s had four straight games with 10 or more three-pointers.
Not surprisingly, they’ve dominated opponents over that stretch. Their 91-61 victory over Drake last Tuesday was their largest in any MVC game since a 93-56 win over Evansville on January 15, 2003. Then they followed that up with a 74-52 win at Missouri State, the program’s largest margin of victory in an MVC road game since an 82-60 win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 2009.
Before last week, Creighton had not won consecutive MVC games by 20 points or more since the 2002-03 campaign. On Tuesday, they’ll attempt to win three consecutive MVC games by 20 or more for the first time since January of 1991. Standing in the way of that feat is a team on a bit of a roll of their own — the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Since starting 0-2 in league play, UNI is 2-1, taking advantage of an easing-up of the schedule (they opened with losses to Wichita State and Indiana State, and have since beaten Illinois State and Bradley). Much more so than in years past, the Panthers live and die by the three-pointer; in 17 games, they’ve made more three-pointers than their opponent 11 times, and they have just three wins in games where they have fewer threes than their opponent. It’s telling that they’re 0-7 in games where they score fewer than 70 points, as that sort of slow pace has been the hallmark of Ben Jacobson-coached teams and arguably a big part of their success. This year, all nine of their wins have come in games where they scored 70+, and five of the 24 all-time 80+ games in the Jacobson Era have come this season.
That feast-or-famine play was on display over the weekend in their 84-53 win over Bradley; the 31-point win was their largest margin of victory against an MVC foe since joining the league in 1991-92, and the Panthers’ 15 three-pointers in that game tied a school record. They were 15-26 from behind the arc in that game, but in the two games before that, they were a combined 15-47.
The most surprising thing, to me, is that Northern Iowa has been out-rebounded in 11 of 17 games, including three of five MVC games (and they were even on the boards in one, so they’ve only grabbed more boards than their opponent once in conference play). This is a different UNI team than we’re used to seeing; they still play tough, hard-nosed ball, but their success is much more tied to perimeter succes than in previous years.
It appears to me, from watching them a handful of times and researching them before this matchup, that the key to beating UNI is to play tough, physical defense on their perimeter shooters and keep them from getting hot, because if the Panthers aren’t hitting threes, they’re an average team. But if you give them open looks and they get in a rhythm, like Bradley did on Saturday, they’re very capable of hanging 80+ points on you.
Creighton has started 16-1 or better for the first time since 2002-03, and third time overall. The Jays have never started a season 17-1, as the 1942-43 team that went 16-1 only played 17 games, and the 2002-03 team lost at Evansville in their 18th game. If they can play tough defense on the perimeter and have just a decent night offensively, they should move to 17-1 after tonight.
About the Panthers: The last time UNI defeated a ranked league opponent on the road came Dec. 30, 2006, when the Panthers scored a 63-59 win at Wichita State … Over Marc Sonnen’s last 10 games, he is shooting 54.7 percent from 3-point range (29-of-53) … Sonnen is the team’s leader in made three-point field goals with 43 through the Panthers’ first 17 games, and has drained 148 3-pointers in his Panther career, which ranks him No. 7 on the Panthers’ all-time list … UNI’s starting lineup all scored in double figures for the first time this season in the win Saturday … Senior forward Jake Koch tallied the 100th block of his career on Saturday, becoming the fifth Panther to reach the 100-block mark in his career.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Creighton has won its sixth game of the MVC slate in 17 of the previous 18 seasons; Tuesday’s game is coincidentally their sixth MVC game this season … With a win, Creighton can become the nation’s first school to 17 wins this season. They’d also start 17-1 for the first time ever, and be the first MVC team since Drake (2007-08) to start 17-1 … Jahenns Manigat is off to another hot start, making 13-of-19 three-pointers in Valley action this year, ranking first in three point percentage and third in three-pointers made; over the past two seasons, Manigat is 44-for-82 from downtown in league action (53.7%) … Creighton has made 55.5% of its shots in five MVC games to date.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott’s 39 points at Missouri State rank tied for 13th-most in Creighton history, and he joined Bob Portman and Benoit Benjamin as the only players in Creighton history with multiple games of 39 points or more in a career.
McDermott outscored Missouri State by himself in the second half, 28-25, and outscored MSU
35-34, in the final 26:16 of the contest. Here’s some other fun facts from that game, courtesy of Rob Anderson’s always-stellar game notes:
- McDermott started the game 1-for-4 from the field, then sank his next 14 shots from the floor
- When he missed his final shot of the game with 4:13 to go, the JQH Arena crowd gave a sarcastic Bronx cheer
- McDermott scored Creighton’s first 18 points of the second half as the Jays extended a 32-27 halftime lead into a 50-32 margin
- McDermott’s 39 points were seven more than the previous JQH Arena record
- McDermott outscored Missouri State by himself in the second half, 28-25, and outscored MSU 35-34, in the final 26:16 of the contest
- McDermott is the only player in the country this season with 39 points and 10 or more rebounds in the same game
- His 28 points in the second half were the most by a Creighton player in a half since he scored 31 in the second half of his 44-point performance at Bradley on Jan. 7, 2012
- McDermott’s 39 points are tied for the most in the MVC by any player this season with Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early.
The Last Time They Played: The last meeting between these two teams is one Jays fans would probably rather forget. Antoine Young had a season-high 23 points and hit a game-tying three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left, but Northern Iowa’s Anthony James answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the host Panthers to a 65-62 win.
The Series: Creighton leads the all-time series with Northern Iowa by a 29-16 count, including a 18-4 mark in Omaha, but UNI is 2-2 in its last four trips to Omaha.
Greg McDermott is 4-5 against UNI (3-2 at Creighton) and 4-5 against Ben Jacobson.
Gratuitous Linkage: Carson Tigges of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier examined the Panther’s offensive explosion, and found that the biggest reason was Deon Mitchell finally being the dynamic player he was in the early season slate.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On January 15, 2005, Nate Funk grabbed a loose ball and hit a shot from the top of the key as time expired, giving Creighton a buzzer-beating 67-66 win over Northern Iowa at the UNI-Dome. It was a wild final sequence: the Jays inbounded the ball to Johnny Mathies, who drove the length of the floor and got into the lane, where he lost control of the ball, leading to a wild scramble. Pierce Hibma dove head first into the pile, and somehow directed the ball to Funk, who released his game-winning basket with 0.2 seconds to play.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: Old school Def Leppard, before their mid-eighties commercial peak.
The Bottom Line: Northern Iowa tries to grind out the game, and is successful for 30 minutes. The last 10 minutes, Creighton pulls away.
Jays 73, UNI 64