Creighton 80, St. Joseph’s 51
Two games, two very different results.
Walking out of the CenturyLink Center on Wednesday night, I was pretty upset at what I just watched. Granted, I probably didn’t have the same hangover as everyone else who went to Las Vegas. Instead I stayed in the great state of Nebraska, a couple hours from home, not partaking in what probably would have been an epic trip. Someday I’ll get to Vegas. So I didn’t understand what the players might have been going through on Wednesday night.
After watching the Bluejays tear apart St. Joseph’s on Saturday, I realized what a little rest and motivation can do. There were so many things that were going right–crisp passes, rebounding, only giving up one shot per possession–it all added fuel to the fire of the crowd that came to see if Creighton could answer the call after suffering a loss on Wednesday that was not on the preseason prognostication.
Before the game, fans had been talking since Wednesday night how the team was probably put through a few grueling practices leading up to Saturday’s game against the Hawks and that they had a ton of things that they will need to work on intensely. But there are reasons why none of us are part of the coaching staff. Head coach Greg McDermott took a different approach by actually taking it a little easy on the Bluejays. They had some focused practices, but also gave them a little rest leading up to the game. What we all don’t understand sometimes is that this is a long season and that these players are 18-23 year old’s. This team has been going strong since the start of October, with no real rest. They just keep moving day after day. Even after the wins in Vegas, assistant coach Steve Lutz told Bluejay Banter in the postgame show the team was up and at the airport the next day by 6 AM to come back to Omaha. In my own life, I start to realize when I go too much it eventually has an effect on me. Staying up to 2:30 a.m. all week and then getting up at 6:00 a.m. to get ready for work isn’t always the best thing to do, but when you are dedicated to your sport or the things that you do, it always seems worth it. The resting was worth it for the Jays.
How do you get going on the right foot in a big game? You give it to your All-American. Creighton looked like a totally different team against St. Joseph’s. From the opening tip, the Hawks didn’t know what hit them. Doug McDermott scores right away down low. McDermott scores from the top of the key for three. The crowd was electric. DMD took the first four shots of the game for Creighton and six of the first nine shots. St. Joseph’s decides to focus more on Doug and the next thing you know, McDermott is dumping it low to Gregory Echenique where he was able to be really effective or other players would find someone else to hit from deep. Whoops, then the Hawks forgot about McDermott and he scores more. Within 12 minutes of the first half, McDermott is beating St. Joseph’s by himself, 18-10 (29-10 was the actual score). Two minutes later, Creighton is up 39-10 and the rout is on. 21 assists were made on the Bluejay’s 30 baskets.
This game was circled on the calendar as one of the biggest non-conference games for the Bluejays. The manner in which they disposed of the Hawks was exactly what a top 25, or should I say, top 15 team would do after getting through an embarrassing loss. It just goes to show what character this team has and how they learn from their mistakes.
On the other side of the ball, I was a bit surprised how slow St. Joseph’s looked. Maybe it was their flight delay where they did not get into Omaha until late last night. Maybe it was some changes in the defensive pressure that the Bluejays applied. Or maybe, it is because the Hawks don’t jack up three-pointers at the same rate as Boise State. For being as athletic as this team is, you would not have known. One way or another, Creighton neutralized them.
You knew that St. Joe’s would make some type of run in the second half. While they did cut the lead down to 25 early in the second half, the Jays also extended the lead to 34 with just under eight minutes to go. Although Creighton only won the second half 33-31, they did more than what they needed to do in order to win this game.
It is also hard to ignore 15 assists to one turnover for Creighton’s main point guards Austin Chatman and Grant Gibbs. Gibbs had 9 assists himself, the most memorable a behind the back pass to Ethan Wragge to nail his only three pointer of the afternoon. Chatman had a spectacular assist of his own when he drove to the basket and did some amazing behind the back pass to the trailing Gregory Echenique for a big dunk.
Any doubts anyone has of this Bluejay basketball team should be erased after Saturday’s outburst. They made a statement to the national media who were watching this game as a key game of the weekend. They told them that the Bluejays are for real. Don’t make them mad.