Shocker fans enjoyed their trip to Omaha for a second straight season.
The score: Wichita State 89, Creighton 68
Key statistics: WSU made 32 of 55 shots (58.2 percent), 8 of 16 threes and all 17 of its free throws.
Records: WSU 22-4, 13-2 MVC; CU 21-5, 11-4
- It is hard to come up with a better all-around performance on the road by a WSU team in recent seasons. Last season’s team won at Virginia Tech in the NIT, a comparable victory. The 2005-06 NCAA team lost its biggest road games, although it did win at Bradley before the Braves went on their run that got them in the NCAA Tournament. The 2006-07 team won at George Mason, LSU and Syracuse. I’m not sure any of those wins are more impressive, given the circumstances, stakes and opponent.
- WSU’s team defense took the fight out the Bluejays, a team already struggling through a shooting slump. The game was decided in the first half, when the Jays shot 13 of 30 from the field. WSU kept Creighton guard Antoine Young from breaking down their defense and drawing fouls as easily as he did in Wichita. Gregory Echenique scored 16 points, but took only six shots. Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Josh Jones scored 22 points on 8 of 14 shots and 4 of 8 threes in Wichita, a 68-61 Creighton win. On Saturday, that trio combined to score 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. The image that stuck with me is WSU’s Toure Murry digging on Doug McDermott in the post, then hustling out to bother a Jones three in the first half. Not every team has players who can do that.
- Ben Smith delivered his best performance in two seasons as a Shocker. He tied his career high with 22 points, making 8 of 12 shots. He grabbed six rebounds, one shy of his career high. And he played a big role in guarding McDermott, who scored 13 points on 14 shots. “(Smith) won that battle against a guy that is probably going to be a first-team All-American,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said.
- Smith scored eight of his 15 first-half points in the final 3:41 of the half, guiding WSU’s 16-8 run in that time to build a 49-36 lead. “Ben beat us in a lot of ways,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “He hit a couple three-point shots off set plays in the first half. He posted in transition. He beat us off the dribble. We didn’t have an answer for him in the first half.”
- WSU’s perfect 17 at the line is a record. Its previous best was 12 for 12 against Kansas State in 1990.
- WSU guard Joe Ragland may have put himself onto the All-MVC team with his 24 points and six assists. In MVC games, he leads point guards in scoring (13.9 points), shooting percentage (53.7) and three-point accuracy (46.3). He ranks ninth in assists at 3.4.
- Everything went WSU’s way, and Demetric Williams’ basket in the second half proved that. Creighton cut WSU’s lead to 70-55 to get the crowd interested in what passed for a run. Williams drove, got fouled and lost the ball for a split-second. He managed to guide it in the hoop. His free throw made it 73-55. “We were trying to get into a clock play, and then I saw how they were defending me so close,” Williams said. “I just drove past him and was going to the basket hard. He fouled me, and I was able to keep it up and get it in.”
- Williams said the Shockers wanted a lot of paint touches on offense. They got that, even without center Garrett Stutz doing a lot. Carl Hall scored nine points. The guards penetrated for layups and Smith scored in the lane.
- Creighton has some regrouping to do after its third straight loss. The schedule helps with a trip to Southern Illinois and then two more home games. The Bluejays are an NCAA Tournament team, but they need to get some stops on defense. “We’ve got to get back to playing defense,” Gibbs said. “Our effort has got to be a lot better. I could name a million things, but it starts with caring more and playing harder.”
- It is normally good to be the home team. The Creighton crowd didn’t help its team play from behind. Every missed shot drew a groan from a nervous crowd that a week ago planned this day as a big party. A similar gloom hit WSU last season when SIU upset the Shockers at Koch Arena. Sometimes a crowd can give off a negative energy, and the Bluejays fed it by falling behind and missing shots.
- Doug McDermott is 9 of 23 for 25 points in two games against WSU. He averaged 23.3 points on 61.6-percent shooting entering the game.
- WSU won two in a row in Omaha for the first time since the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Creighton had won 30 previous home games after losing two previous games. It had also won 90 straight home games when scoring 68 or more.
- The Shockers took a big step toward becoming the first team to win the MVC title the season after winning the NIT. Five previous NIT champions from the Valley finished second. One finished fifth.
- WSU won a school-record 29 games last season. To top that, it only needs to win out in the regular season, win the MVC Tournament and win its first round NCAA Tournament game.
- Marshall won game No. 298, 104 of them at WSU. He could win No. 300 at Davidson on Saturday.
- The life of a sportswriter, no doubt, seems glamorous with its trips to Terre Haute, Carbondale and Cedar Falls. I’m writing this from the Holiday Inn in Concordia, which is where our rental car developed transmission problems. So close to home, and yet so far away.
Next up: Missouri State, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday (Cox 22)