In the swan song of the BracketBusters experiment, Creighton takes on Saint Mary’s in the marquee game — a 5pm tip on ESPN that has been heavily promoted during almost every other game televised on an ESPN network all week. It seems like every time I turn on a game this week, a promo graphic with Doug McDermott’s picture has popped up. This sort of high-profile opportunity to re-impress voters and NCAA Tournament committee members who may be dubious of Creighton’s resume after their recent three-game losing streak is just what the doctor ordered…provided the Jays are up to the challenge.
The confidence, enthusiasm and swagger that this team played with during their 17-1 start has evaporated over the last month; the tentative and at times lethargic team that has replaced that group has gone 5-5 since. No one was satisfied with the way they played in Tuesday night’s 59-45 win over Southern Illinois; a long closed-door meeting followed the game, causing coach Greg McDermott to miss his customary postgame radio interview for the first time in his three years at Creighton.
Can they regain that swagger in time to salvage the season? A game against a foe unfamiliar with Creighton’s offensive and defensive schemes, instead of a conference opponent that seemingly knows all the ins-and-outs of the Jays’ playbook, seems like the perfect chance to regain their offensive rhythm and, yes, their swagger.
There’s two questions entering Saturday’s game, in my mind. Can they hit the open looks they get, and can they play passable defense on Matthew Dellavedova?
The first part of that equation, whether they can hit shots, is important not only to their chances at winning Saturday, but going forward. It will be very interesting to see if things open up offensively against an opponent that has had 48 hours to adjust/prepare for the Jays, rather than a conference foe who’s seen every Creighton game either in person or on film — and in turn, whether any confidence they gain carries over to Bradley next week.
It seems like teams that see Creighton for the first time have struggled to defend them much more so than teams who’ve played them in the past — for example, Wisconsin and California are solid defensive squads who look to be headed for the NCAA Tournament, yet both struggled to defend the Jays, and seemed surprised at some of Doug McDermott’s moves, whereas MVC teams who have first-hand experience against McDermott have figured out ways to slow him down.
The second part of that equation is perhaps tougher, but also the biggest key to victory. They can win a shootout where Dellavedova directs the SMC offense to 75-80 points, but are not likely to win a game where their own shots aren’t falling. Still, how successful they are at keeping Dellavedova from scoring 35 points or dishing out 20 assists to teammates — distinct possibilities given the Jays troubles containing guards of his caliber the last two years — will go a long way towards telling whether they win or get blown out.
The Gaels point guard is a fantastic player, and in Thursday night’s 64-57 win over BYU, he played all 40 minutes. He scored 20 points, and also contributed heavily on defense as he was part of a rotation of players that held the WCC’s leading scorer, Tyler Haws, to just 12 points. One of three Gaels in double figures with an 16.0 per game scoring average, Dellavedova hands out a league-best 6.4 assists a game. He’s also the school’s all-time career leader in assists, 3-point field goals and games started, is third in career scoring, second in games played and has four of the school’s top ten single-season assist records. The closest comps in the MVC are probably Colt Ryan or Jake Odum, which is frightening for the Jays since both players have made a habit of having career games against the Jays’ defense.
Dellavedova is physically imposing for a guard, and one of the headiest players in the country. His passes are frequently not just timed perfectly, but thrown to the perfect spot; in addition to his ability to score points in bunches, he puts his teammates in position to score themselves. And he has plenty of teammates to pass to; the Gaels may not have All-WCC forward Rob Jones anymore after he graduated last spring, but they have a rotating cast of players who, on any given night, can be the top scoring option.
Versatile junior guard Stephen Holt missed four games earlier this year, including their win over Drake, but averages 11.9 points a game to rank second on the team and was a preseason All-WCC selection. He scored 23 in their 83-78 loss at Gonzaga last month, and 22 in the 70-69 win at BYU.
6’9″ sophomore Brad Waldrow was an All-WCC freshman player a year ago, and has built upon his resume this year. He shoots 62.2% from the floor, and averages 10.9 points a game to go along with a team-high 5.5 rebounds. Forward Beau Levesque is third on the team in scoring, and had a huge game against BYU Thursday night with 17 points and 8 rebounds. He provides them an “instant offense” spark off the bench, averaging 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds a game in a sixth-man role.
It won’t be easy, but it’s exactly the kind of test — and opportunity — Creighton needs to re-solidify their NCAA Tournament resume. Lets hope whatever was said in the locker room following Tuesday’s game has ignited a fire under the team, and we see a group closer to the one that we saw prior to conference play than the one we saw in, say, Terre Haute.
About the Gaels: Saint Mary’s is one of five programs nationally to have won at least 25 games in each of the previous five seasons, along with BYU, Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas … Matthew Dellavedova and former SMC guard Patrick Mills formed the starting backcourt and led Australia to the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics … SMC won a school-record 14 conference games last season (tying the WCC record for most in a season), and has won at least 10 conference games in each of the last six seasons including this year … The Gaels’ finished 16-1 at home in 2011-12 and have won at least 15 home games five times in the previous eight years … SMC has finished no lower than 3rd in the WCC in each of the last nine seasons and has finished no worse than 2nd eight times during that span … In league play, SMC owns a 67-26 (.720) overall record and a 38-5 (.884) mark at home over the last 6 seasons. SMC is 36-1 at home against WCC teams other than Gonzaga during that period.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Greg McDermott is 9-1 in his career in games associated with the BracketBuster series, going 5-1 in the original BracketBuster game, and a perfect 4-0 in the return trips … Creighton owns a 5-2 mark in televised BracketBuster games, and remarkably, three of those five wins have come against teams from California (Fresno State in 2003 and 2006, Long Beach State in 2012) … Doug McDermott was coached by Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett in the summer of 2011 when both men were part of the Team USA U19 National Team that competed in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Riga, Latvia … Creighton has had 101 games on television in the last four seasons, including 10 each on both ESPN2 and ESPNU, but hasn’t appeared on ESPN proper since a 2009 NIT loss to Kentucky … Creighton averages 17,064 fans per home game and has attracted 273,030 fans at home this season, while Saint Mary’s averages 2,859 fans per home game and has attracted 40,020 fans all season long … McKeon Pavilion’s capacity of 3,500 is the smallest venue that Creighton will have played in since a 72-48 win at Drexel on Dec. 1, 2007. The John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center has a listed capacity of 2,532.
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott led the nation last year with 307 field goals made, and his 218 buckets this year are once again leading the country. No player has led the country in field goals made in back-to-back seasons since at least 1995-96, the furthest back such records are easily accessible.
The RUN-DMD Show, Part Deux: Doug McDermott scored 36 points in last year’s win vs. Long Beach State, the most ever in a televised BracketBusters game.
The Last Time They Played: On December 20, 1979, Creighton defeated the Gaels 79-73 at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha.
The Series: Creighton and Saint Mary’s have spilt four previous meetings, with the Jays going 1-1 in Omaha, 0-1 in Moraga and 1-0 on neutral courts.
Greg McDermott has never faced Randy Bennett or Saint Mary’s, and Bennett has never faced Creighton.
Gratuitous Linkage: Sports Illustrated had a terrific profile of Dellavedova earlier this month, giving nice insight into the career of the Olympian and All-American.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On February 23, 1991, a crowd of 6,188 at the Civic paid tribute to five seniors in their final home game in a Bluejay uniform — Bob Harstad, Chad Gallagher, Todd Eisner, Darin Plautz and Bill O’Dowd — who had returned the program to prominence. They defeated SIU 76-73 that night to clinch their third straight 20-win season, and their second outright MVC title in three years.
The Salukis led most of the night, until Eisner hit a three-pointer with 5:20 to play to give the Jays a 62-60 lead. Clinging to a 68-66 edge minutes later, the Jays gave up a rebound after Duan Cole missed on a drive to the rim. The Salukis were bringing the ball up court with a chance to tie when Bob Harstad dived like Superman for the ball from behind an SIU player and tipped it to Cole. An outlet pass to Chad Gallagher led to an easy bucket, and a 70-66 lead that clinched the game and the title. After the game, assistant coach Dick Fick gushed to the media. “That was one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen when Harstad came back for that ball. They had the momentum turning their way, then he dove to the floor and changed that. That epitomizes Bob Harstad.”
Harstad had his worst shooting day of his senior season year (3-17), but he contributed in other ways, grabbing a season-high 17 rebounds and making 14 of 16 free throws, and one gigantic steal.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: The Jays are goin’ back to Cali for the second time this season, which is the first time they’ve played there twice in the same season in at least 20 years, and probably even longer than that (but I got bored with the exercise after looking back that far).
The Bottom Line: Creighton finds their offensive rhythm, and slows down Matthew Dellavedova just enough.
Creighton 78, Saint Mary’s 74