I'm prone to occasional fits of hyperbole and plead guilty to throwing around the phrase "best ever" a little too often. But unequivocally, without a doubt, Saturday night's game was the greatest Creighton game I've ever witnessed in the 12 years I have closely followed the team. And from talking to people who have watched the team for decades, I get the impression this game easily ranks in the top five EVER and is in the discussion for the top spot. Someone really ought to compile a list of those games. Maybe that someone should be me...sounds like a project for this summer.
Beyond the obvious things making this a game for the ages -- things like a one-point win in double-overtime, Cavel Witter scoring 42 points off the bench, coming back from a 12 point deficit and blowing a 17-point lead -- when you add in the fact that it was Senior Night and two important streaks were on the line, it takes on added significance. A loss in this game and the Jays' 12-year streak of winning 10+ MVC games would end. A loss would put the Jays' 10-year streak of winning 20+ overall games in serious jeopardy.
To win a game with all that on the line, in thrilling fashion, makes it one of those games we'll all be telling our kids about years from now. Here's just some of the fun facts from the game:
-Cavel Witter scored 42 points to set the Qwest Center record, bettering Nate Funk's 38 in a similarly thrilling double-overtime win over Dayton in 2005. Ironically enough, that game also ended with a one-point Jays win, 91-90.
-Witter's 42 points are the 8th most scored by a Jay in a single game. Sir Rodney Buford was the last Jay to get 40 in one game, ironically scoring 40 against -- you guessed it -- the Bradley Braves on December 30, 1998. The inimitable Benoit Benjamin was the last Jay to score as many as 42 in a game, going for 43 against Southern Illinois on January 17, 1985. The complete list of 40+ point scorers:
Bob Portman (51 vs UW-Milwaukee, 12/16/1967)
Eddie Cole (47 at Morningside, 11/29/1954)
Bob Portman (46 vs Weber State, 12/23/1968)
Tim Powers (45 at Idaho State, 01/29/1966)
Benoit Benjamin (45 vs Indiana State, 01/19/85)
Bob Portman (43 at Kansas State, 02/12/68)
Benoit Benjamin (43 vs Southern Illinois, 01/17/1985)
Bob Portman (42 vs LaSalle, 01/30/1968)
Cavel Witter (42 vs Bradley, 03/01/2008)
Chad Gallagher (40 vs Wichita State, 02/17/1990)
Rodney Buford (40 vs Bradley, 12/30/1998)
-Witter was 13-20 from the floor, 4-6 from behind the arc, and 12-13 at the line. 18 of his 42 points came in the two overtime periods, and he rounded out his line with 7 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench.
-The Jays also extended two other streaks on Saturday, albeit much less important streaks than 20 overall wins and 10 in the conference. The win was the 58th straight when they score at least 80 points, and the 44th straight when they score at least 90.
-The game was the first time in Creighton Basketball history that both teams scored at least 110 points. It was the first time in nearly 20 years that both teams cracked 100 points, and just the fourth time ever. The last time: a 102-100 overtime win over Southern Illinois on February 16, 1989.
-The 110 points allowed are the most in 22 years, since the Jays lost 115-73 to Iowa State on December 12, 1987 in Ames. It was the first time a Dana Altman-coached Jays team gave up 100 points or more to an opponent.
-The 111 points scored are the fourth most in school history. The last time they scored as many was against Indiana State on January 15, 1985, a game they won 115-80. The top five:
Jays 124, Miami 94 (02/10/1964)
Jays 120, Nevada 76 (12/21/1962)
Jays 115, Indiana State 80 (01/15/1985)
Jays 115, Memphis 82 (02/02/1966)
Jays 111, Bradley 110 (03/01/2008)
-The game drew 16,257 fans, bringing the season total to a staggering 268,052. That's an MVC record, and averages out to 15,768 per game, which is second all time...trailing only the Jays own record set last year of 15,909.
Add it all up, and you've got one of the greatest games in Creighton history.
***
Daniel Ruffin, the Bradley point guard who was arrested for allegedly committing domestic assault last weekend and who had been suspended for the previous two games, was back in action Saturday night. Now, I don't pretend to know whether the man is innocent or guilty, and its not for me to convict him. That doesn't mean the crowd should have treated him with the same respect normally showered on just the second player in MVC history with 1000 points and 600 assists. He had to expect a certain level of hostility. And to that end, I enjoyed it when the crowd responded by lustily booing him every time he touched the ball -- something that happened throughout the entire game, even in the overtimes.
Now, a Bradley fan might say it was poor sportsmanship to lustily boo a player who has only been charged but not convicted of a crime. Fair enough. I say as long as its just booing, its part of the game. There were no chants alluding to the alleged crime, no signs making fun of his plight, no students dressed in wife beaters with painted-on black eyes (something Memphis dealt with earlier this year).
I think the booing was an acceptable middle ground where the home crowd voiced its displeasure over the presence of a player in the lineup, without resorting to vicious personal attacks or name-calling.
We all know that if Ruffin's first game back had been in Carbondale or Wichita, he would have faced Armageddon-style hostility. Can you imagine what the Dog Pound would have done to him in Salukiville? The signs they would have had? Yeesh. Actually, the Braves might have continued his suspension for his own safety and/or sanity. Ditto if the game was in Wichita.
The fans behind the Bradley bench were not too pleased with the booing, and I've heard reports of Ruffin's mother engaging in gratuitous index-finger-flashing incidents with members of the Birdcage. The fact that the Bradley fans had obnoxiously large printouts of Ruffin's head that they held up every time he scored only fanned the flames. Sure, they probably felt he'd missed out on experiencing that during his own Senior Night, seeing as he spent it suspended for the events of the previous weekend. But doing that on the road and not expecting some kind of verbal push-back? Come on.
Ruffin, to his credit, responded to the criticism the best way a man can, by letting his play do the talking. 30 points on 10-23 shooting, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 48 minutes. That's right, he only sat out 2 minutes the entire game.
***
Yes, the Qwest Center has its moments where it earns its derisive nickname of the Quiet Center. But nights like Saturday show that on occasion, it can be one of the loudest places in the league, if not in the country. For parts of the first half, almost all of the second half and the entirety of the overtimes, the arena was constantly abuzz and pumping out decibel levels in the triple digits. 107 decibels at its peak, which is closing in on that of a 727 from close range. Forget the decibel meter, get the Richter Scale! You had to be physical to watch that game...if you were there, you now know what sound FEELS like.
You bet.
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