On Tuesday night when the family and I headed out to the CenturyLink Center, we were all a little unsure of what to expect as the Bluejays hit the court. The conference opener last week against Missouri State was definitely disappointing, not to mention a little eye opening. Two of their players, Kyle Weems and Anthony Downing, had career nights and the Creighton defense was much to be desired. One of the criticisms by some of the national media has been the holes in Creighton’s defense. It was on display in the first night of Missouri Valley Conference competition.
Then there was the game in Wichita on New Year’s Eve. The Bluejays started strong, but then got down by double-digits at the end of the first half. What was amazing though was that they did not back down from the challenge. The defense was great in the second half and the Bluejays rallied back to steal a win in the always tough Koch Arena.
After the quick turnaround with the Shockers, there was still a little question of what we would see. Drake outran Indiana State in Des Moines and then came up just short at Missouri State. The good news was that Creighton picked up from where they left off in Wichita.
McDermott picked his spots to score
The Bluejays raced out to an 11-0 lead before the first media timeout. Gregory Echenique sprinted down the court in the first minute of the game to alter a fast break opportunity for the Bulldogs. Drake turned it over a couple of times. There was even an airball from Rayvonte Rice, arguably one of Drake’s best players.
Antoine Young also continued to be aggressive and pick his spots to score. While Rice and others did everything, and I mean everything, to try and stop Doug McDermott, other players stepped up and made the Bulldogs pay. McDermott finished with 24 points and had to work all night to get those scores.
Drake was very intent on having Rice play defense against McDermott. But doing that helped Creighton contain him as well. Using all that energy to guard McDermott, Rice was held to 2-of-10 shooting, including 0-of-3 from three, and finished with six points.
McDermott on the other hand, for his 20th birthday, picked his spots to score. He was an efficient 9-of-12 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds and went perfect from the free throw line. Young also had a great night with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, but getting to the free throw line nine times making eight of them. The play of McDermott and Young allowed Grant Gibbs to dish out five more assists. Shooting 60% from the field and 16 assists on 27 baskets will win a lot of games.
Young is scoring in conference play.
Really about the only area you could pick at on this night is in the turnover area. Drake has some pesky, tight defense that can cause some problems. 20 turnovers are a lot. Drake turned those turnovers into 18 points. If the Bluejays hold onto the ball a little better, they could have walked out with a 30 points win.
However, in Missouri Valley Conference play you take any win you can get. While the game had troubles getting into a flow due to the combined 35 turnovers and 39 fouls called on both teams, the Bluejays move to 12-2 and 2-1 in conference play.
A winnable game on the road against Bradley on Saturday is next on the docket. I’m sure the Bluejays will remember last season in Peoria as they allowed the Braves to get their first conference win after an 0-10 start in a game moved up due to a pending blizzard. The weather isn’t expected to be a factor this time, but the Bluejays could be a quick blizzard that blows through Peoria. If the defense continues like it has the past couple of games, then it will be tough to stop Creighton when they have scoring weapons and defenders.
Creighton 76, Drake 59.
See the Photo Gallery from the game.