Creighton Bluejays – Page 6 – North Platte Post Archive

Creighton Edges Seton Hall 2-1, goes to Title Game

Posted on May 24, 2014May 25, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Sova allowed one run in a five-hitter as Creighton advanced to the Big East tournament title game with a 2-1 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday.

Sova (6-1) struck out five and walked none, throwing 82 of his 110 pitches for strikes to lead top-seeded Creighton (32-16-1) at MCU Park in Brooklyn. The Bluejays got two runs in the third inning on an RBI triple by Mike Gerber and a run-scoring double by Reagan Fowler, and that was all that was needed for Sova — Creighton’s closer for most of the season.

Luke Cahill (10-2) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings for Seton Hall (39-14), which was scheduled to play Xavier later Saturday. The winner would advance to face Creighton in the championship Sunday.

Derek Jenkins had an RBI single in the sixth, but that was all Seton Hall could muster against Sova.

Huskers Can’t Make it in Time to Play Creighton

Posted on May 13, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s baseball game against Creighton scheduled for Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park has been cancelled because of the Cornhuskers’ travel issues.

Nebraska spokesman Jeremy Foote said the Huskers’ problems started in East Lansing, Mich., on Monday. Their 4-1 win at Michigan State was shortened to seven innings because of delays caused by rain and a shooting near campus. The team’s flight to Chicago was canceled because of inclement weather.

After an overnight bus trip to Joliet, Ill., the Huskers spent a few hours at a hotel. Another bus that was supposed to take the team to Omaha was two hours late, making it impossible for the Huskers to make it to the ballpark on time for the Creighton game.

The Huskers won two previous games against Creighton this season.

Creighton Signs Boston U. Guard Maurice Watson Jr.

Posted on April 15, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Boston University point guard Maurice Watson Jr. is transferring to Creighton.

Bluejays coach Greg McDermott announced that Watson signed a letter of intent Tuesday and will have two years of eligibility starting in 2015-16.

The 5-foot-10 Watson averaged 13.3 points and 7.1 assists per game last season. He was an All-Patriot League first-team selection.

McDermott said Watson, from Philadelphia, is an unselfish player who’s a capable scorer and will be a good fit in the Bluejays’ up-tempo offense.

Creighton’s Doug McDermott Accepts Wooden Award

Posted on April 11, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Doug McDermott of Creighton has accepted the John R. Wooden Award, one of several honors the senior won this year as college basketball’s player of the year.

The women’s award went to Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford on Friday night.

McDermott received 3,930 points in nationwide voting. He was announced as the winner last week at the Final Four in Arlington, Texas. Jabari Parker of Duke finished second with 2,569 points.

McDermott’s father, Greg, who coached his son at Creighton, was on hand.

Russ Smith of Louisville finished third with 2,228 points, followed by Cleanthony Early of Wichita State with 1,907, and Nick Johnson of Arizona with 1,758.

AP Player of Year: Creighton’s Doug McDermott

Posted on April 3, 2014

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Doug McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketball’s fifth-leading scorer, is a near-unanimous selection as The Associated Press’ player of the year.

McDermott is the 11th three-time All-American and first in almost 30 years. He led the nation in scoring with a 26.7 average while shooting 52.6 percent from the field including 44.9 percent from 3-point range.

The 6-foot-8 McDermott averaged 7.0 rebounds in leading the Bluejays to a 27-8 record in their first season as a member of the Big East. He finished his career with 3,150 points.

McDermott received 64 votes Thursday from the same 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Russ Smith of Louisville got the other vote. The voting ended on Selection Sunday.

Doug McDermott Leads AP All-America Team

Posted on March 31, 2014

Doug McDermott of Creighton is a unanimous choice for The Associated Press All-America team, the first three-time selection in 29 years.

McDermott is the nation’s leading scorer at 26.9 points a game. The senior is joined on the team Monday by freshman Jabari Parker of Duke and seniors Russ Smith of Louisville, Shabazz Napier of Connecticut and Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati.

Smith, Napier and Kilpatrick all played in the first-year American Athletic Conference, the first time a conference had three players on the first team since the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2000-01.

McDermott finished his career with 3,150 points, fifth on the all-time list. He is the 11th three-time AP All-American and the first since Patrick Ewing of Georgetown and Wayman Tisdale of Oklahoma from 1982-85.

Creighton’s Wragge Entered in 3-Point Competition

Posted on March 28, 2014

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton forward Ethan Wragge will participate in the 3-point shooting contest that will be held in conjunction with Final Four weekend in the Dallas area next week.

The 26th annual event is Thursday at Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus.

Wragge was one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in Creighton history and this season made 47 percent of his attempts. Wragge started the week ranked fifth nationally in 3-point shooting.

Wragge will be the third Creighton player in 12 years to take part in the contest. Kyle Korver finished second in 2003. Booker Woodfox did not advance to the semifinals in 2009.

Baylor Shuts Down McDermott and Creighton, 85-55

Posted on March 23, 2014

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip each scored 17 points and Baylor shut down Creighton’s Doug McDermott with suffocating defense, ending the career of the one of the most prolific scorers in college history with an 85-55 win Sunday night in the NCAA tournament West Regional.

Baylor’s size and speed overwhelmed the third-seeded Bluejays (27-8) and their national scoring leader, earning a third trip to the Sweet 16 since 2010.

McDermott, who averaged 27 points this season, finished with 15 but had just three in the first half as Baylor built a 20-point lead. McDermott ranks fifth on the NCAA career scoring list.

No. 6 seed Baylor (26-11) had five players score in double figures and shot 64 percent in one of the dominant performances of the NCAA tournament.

Creighton Seniors Driven by Past NCAA Losses

Posted on March 22, 2014

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — For Doug McDermott and his Creighton teammates, the last two years at the NCAA tournament left them bitter after third-round losses robbed them of a chance to go farther than any Bluejays team before them.

They also were a major motivating factor in keeping this team together for another try.

With that goal in mind, McDermott skipped a chance to enter the NBA draft, rallying a senior-laden group to another big season. Third-seeded Creighton (27-7) plays No. 6 seed Baylor (25-11) on Sunday in the West Regional for a chance to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in school history.

“We’ve knocked on the door and come so close the last few years to try to get into that Sweet 16 and see what happens after that,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “I couldn’t think of a better way for their career to end than to go (farther) and have a chance to go to the Final Four.”

Creighton’s four senior starters give the Bluejays a blend of maturity and confidence to support a scorer like Doug McDermott, who leads the nation at 27 points per game.

Greg McDermott noted that the seniors could stay together because early career injuries led to redshirt seasons for Grant Gibbs and Ethan Wragge. Then his son Doug made the surprise decision not to turn pro.

“All of a sudden, you have these pieces in place again for a fourth year together,” Greg McDermott said. “There is a confidence about them. … They believe in each other.”

The group that earned their chops in the Missouri Valley Conference stepped up to the Big East and played for the conference title in their first season.

“This is our last go around,” Doug McDermott said. “We’ve been through so much together to get to this point.”

Baylor is a big and athletic team that all but collapsed in January, only to pick itself back up and turn things around with a frantic finish. Last season’s NIT champions started the season ranked No. 25 and rose as high as No. 7 behind a 13-1 start.

But the Bears nearly fell apart in the Big 12 with a 2-8 start in league play and were written off as one of the most disappointing teams in the country. They responded by winning 10 of their next 11 and made it to the Big 12 title game.

Baylor players called that life in the Big 12, arguably the best league in the country this season. Now the Bears are a team brimming with postseason confidence.

“No matter what we’ve been through this year, we feel like we’re a good team and we’re as good as any team in the country and can play with anybody,” Bears forward Royce O’Neale said.

Five things to know about Baylor vs. Creighton:

NO STOPPING MCDERMOTT: Doug McDermott has scored at least 30 points in four of the past five games. He had 30 on Friday against Louisiana-Lafayette. Baylor coach Scott Drew seemed to ready to concede him another 30 on Sunday, but hopes to keep it there.

“If we can just contest as many shots and make it as tough as we can so he can’t get into a rhythm,” Drew said. “There is a difference between 30 points and 45 points.”

BAYLOR ZONE: With their size and athleticism, Baylor plays a zone defense that can be impenetrable with 7-foot-1 center Isaiah Austin and 6-10 forward Cory Jefferson. Add 6-7, 270 pound bruiser Rico Gathers and the Bears can intimidate anyone trying to get to the basket.

Creighton hardly seemed worried. They’ll just shoot over it. “We have one of the best shooting teams in the country,” Doug McDermott said. “We actually like it when we get zone.”

That wasn’t the case when Creighton lost the Big East title game to Providence when the Bluejays were 8 of 30 from 3-point range against the Friars’ zone.

BRADY BARRAGE: Baylor’s Brady Heslip is the Bears’ top 3-point shooter at 47 percent on the season. He struggled in Baylor’s second-round win over Nebraska missing all six of his attempts, but was 10 of 10 from the free throw line.

Heslip shrugged off the misfires and dared defenders to back off him Sunday.

“If they leave me open, I’m not going 0 for 6 again,” Heslip said.

BLIND SPOT: Baylor’s Austin is one of the top big men in the Big 12 and a top prospect for the NBA draft if he leaves school early. He’s also partially blind. Austin wears a prosthetic right eye, the result of a detached retina injury in junior high. Doctors tried four surgeries to correct the problem.

McDermott Rolls on over Louisiana-Lafayette 76-66

Posted on March 21, 2014

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 30 points and third-seeded Creighton got three huge 3-pointers in the second half from Ethan Wragge to beat No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette 76-66 Friday in the West Regional.

McDermott had a double-double by halftime but went scoreless for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, leaving it to Wragge’s long shots to bail out the Bluejays from a potential upset by Ragin’ Cajuns, who attacked Creighton (27-7) with fearless defense and rebounding.

Sun Belt tournament champion Louisiana-Lafayette (23-12) led 50-48 before Wragge struck from long range to turn momentum.

The win means the Creighton family keeps marching on its final days together. McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer, opted against going to the NBA after last season to play one more year with his father, Creighton coach Greg McDermott.