The DAC was every bit as hostile as I expected it would be. As fans entered the arena, they were offered a chance to take a sledgehammer to an old busted Yugo with "CREIGHTON" painted on the side of it. Nice. And once inside the arena, a sign hung prominently from a section across from the CU bench read, "Where'd y'all park yer Trakters?" I saw that one on the TV broadcast and just about spit out my Bud Light. I don't know what's funnier, the thought of a bunch of CU fans driving tractors (oop, sorry, TRAKTERS) across the country and into downtown Philadelphia, or that the owner of the sign didn't know how to spell tractors...
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The first road game of the year is the first time you can really gauge a team, and in that respect, it would be awfully tempting to paint Creighton's 24-point win in broad strokes and say it was a resounding success. And in a lot of respects, it was. Their press forced Drexel into 29 turnovers (18 in the first half!), their stifling defense held Drexel to just 40% shooting, and they made 20 of 23 free throws.
That's all good stuff, isn't it? You bet it is. There was also 16 Creighton turnovers, 18 fouls, 4-24 shooting from behind the arc, and an almost uncanny ability to keep Drexel in the game with inopportune mistakes. In other words, if they didn't do all of those things, they could have won this game by 40 points.
Just pointing out such negative stuff makes me feel like an unappreciative ingrate, so I'll stop now. But come on, a 24-point win on the road in a hostile environment against a decent team, when you have 10 steals, force 29 turnovers and shoot 4-24 from three-point land? How is that possible?
Alright, I'm done now. I promise.
So how exactly DID this happen? Well, since I was so steadfast in my disbelief, and because my only other television viewing options on a Sunday afternoon was a Nebraska press conference (yawn), I went back and watched the gametape a second time. Join me, won't you?
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During the first four minutes, the teams were even 6-6. Creighton's first three buckets all came from newcomers: a jumper from Chad Millard, a layup from Kenny Lawson and a jumper from P'Allen Stinnett. Coming out of the media timeout, Lawson hit another jumper to put the Jays up 8-6. After Drexel's Randy Oveneke tied it 8-8, Creighton ran off an 11-0 run to go up 19-8, and they were off and running. Their press was the main culprit, forcing a turnover on what seemed like every other possession.
Breaking down the stats, Creighton scored 18 of their 31 points in the first half in the paint, a stunning number to me because I really thought Frank Elegar would hurt them inside. He dominated Anthony Tolliver a year ago, after all, so what chance did Kenny Lawson or Kenton Walker have? Quite a bit, actually. Kenny Lawson and Dane Watts, and to a lesser extent, Chad Millard, made Elegar a virtual non-factor. Re-watching the game, you could see his frustration in not getting touches on offense, and in his struggles to defend the Jays' post players. His frustration led to foul trouble, and was eventually his teams' downfall.
As the second half started, it was 31-18 Creighton, but it didn't feel like it was that close, primarily because the Jays were 1-13 from behind the arc, and nearly all of the misses were wide-open looks.
The first three-and-a-half minutes were among the most ridiculous stretches of basketball I've seen in some time. The Jays suddenly turned foul-happy, and put Drexel into the bonus before the first media timeout. Here's that stretch, by the numbers:
19:45 Foul on Hibma
18:40 Foul on Dotzler
18:29 Foul on Hibma
18:18 Foul on Millard
17:32 Foul on Witter
16:58 Foul on Witter
16:46 Foul on Stinnett
How ridiculous is that? And lets be honest, this wasn't a ref issue. They were all legitimate fouls. Was it a young team buckling under the pressure of a lead on the road? I don't know. What I do know is that whatever it was, they stopped doing it after the under-16 timeout. Thank God.
They had managed to build their lead to 40-25 during that absurd stretch, a lead they nursed over the next four minute stretch. It was 42-29 at the next media timeout, 11;32 to play, and Frank Elegar had just picked up his fourth foul.
Game, set, match, right? Not so fast my friend. Creighton held serve until Elegar returned at the 7:54 mark, and they held a 48-31 lead. Elegar promptly scored the next five points, and suddenly it was 48-36. The DAC was rocking, Creighton began making "young team" mistakes, and I started to become very nervous. Drexel was making a run...could Creighton bring their nerves under control and hold off the Dragons?
They didn't have to. At the 6:47 mark, Elegar went up for a rebound in traffic and picked up his fifth foul. He immediately voiced his displeasure at being DQ'd, sending the crowd into a tizzy. Annnnnnnd then...Randy Oveneke spiked the ball into the ground. Technical Foul! Bruiser Flint came charging off the bench, yelling and screaming. Technical Foul! The student section went bats***, causing security to escort three of them from the premises. Those who remained taunted the cops with a chant of "Throw Us All Out!". Stay classy, Philadelphia.
Cavel Witter went to the free throw line and calmly sank four consecutive technical foul free throws, Dane Watts sank two free throws for the Elegar personal foul, and just like that it was 54-36. Drexel never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.
What shouldn't be lost in the excitement of the double-technical is Witter's ability as a first-year player to sink four straight free throws in a hostile environment. Furthermore, he's made his first 22 free throws this season, breaking Kyle Korver's all-time Jays record for consecutive free throws made to begin a season. His 20 points for the day led the team, half of which cam from the line.
For the day, Creighton continued a streak of getting huge production from their bench. After getting 60 points on Thursday night, they got 41 points from the bench on Saturday.
And in the final analysis, Creighton did an awful lot of good things. They got their first-road game jitters out of the way and earned a 24-point win over a good team. Now they go on to #22 Xavier, where their mistakes will be magnified and where they will need to shoot better than 16% from three-point range to compete. The good news is their defense and depth should keep them in the game, and if shots fall, they might have a shot at pulling the upset.
Isn't it great to win by 24 on the road and feel like it could have been 40 if you'd only done some things you know they're capable of doing? Seriously, I'm beginning to think this team could be extraordinarily dangerous not only in February, but deep into March. What a great time to be a Bluejay.
You bet.
POLYFRO HEEE-HAW PLAYER OF THE GAME, INANIMATE OBJECT CATEGORY: Drexel's Dragon is officially named "Mario The Magnificent", but on this day, the dragon was named Spike. Specifically, when Randy Oveneke spiked the ball into the ground, sparking a chain of events that led to a double technical, six straight free throws and a complete reversal of momentum from Drexel to Creighton, it was for all intents and purposes, the end of the game. I hereby raise a 12 oz. can of generic yet infinitely tasty to both the pocketbook and the taste buds, Mountain Dew to you, Spike.
POLYFRO HEEE-HAW PLAYER OF THE GAME, PLAYER CATEGORY: Two words: Cavel Witter. On his 20th birthday, fighting a cold, he led the team with 20 points and sank 10-10 free throws including four straight after the double-technical debacle. For that, could there be any doubt as to who should win the coveted virtual glass of Heee-Haw Cola? No doubt in my mind, I can tell you that much. You bet.
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