In two very different games, men’s basketball beat No. 21 UConn 56-53 Saturday in a defensive dogfight at home before falling in two overtimes 86-94 on the road to Providence Tuesday.
Both games were back-and-forth battles that came down to the wire, but Tuesday’s double-OT affair with Providence was an instant classic.
“That was a heck of a basketball game,” coach Greg McDermott said.
The thriller saw 20 lead changes and 18 ties, with neither team leading by more than six points until 48 minutes of the game later at the end of the second overtime.
After shooting 51.7% from the field to the Friars 41.9% in the first half, the Bluejays figured to have a sizable lead. But, due mostly to unfortunate foul trouble and turnovers, they led by just one at the end of the first.
The second half was much of the same back-and-forth scoring seen in the first half and nearly 20 minutes later the Jays found themselves in a 73-73 game with the ball and 8.1 seconds left in regulation. After a timeout, the Bluejays failed to get a decent look, sending the game to overtime, their first trip to an extra period this season.
Like all of regulation, neither team could break away from the other and once again the Jays found themselves with possession in a tied 84-84 contest, this time the clock reading 9.1. Recent history would repeat itself however as the Friars defense prevented Creighton from getting a good shot off, sending it to double OT.
“A lot of our better players stepped up to the plate and unfortunately we just weren’t able to make one more in regulation or the first overtime to come out on top,” McDermott said.
It was the hosts who would finally outlast their opponents in the second overtime, as the tired Creighton shooters failed to make a single field goal in the entire five minutes. Within under three minutes, Providence built its largest lead of the night at just five points, and never looked back, winning 89-84 and putting an end to the Bluejays’ eight game win streak.
After scoring just two points in the first half, guard Ryan Nembhard finished with a Bluejays high 21 points and a double-double. On the other side, three Friars finished with 20 points, led by sophomore Devin Carter’s career-high 25 off the bench.
Previously one of the best teams in the nation at not sending opponents to the free throw line, Creighton’s continued trend of unlucky foul trouble led to 18 Providence points.
Saturday’s preceding affair against UConn, the Jays conference rival of recent years, was a different type of dogfight; one with much less scoring and that was overall messier.
“It’s part of playing college basketball,” said junior Baylor Scheierman. “You gotta be able to win games in different ways. You gotta be able to win games when it’s high-scoring and when it’s low-scoring.”
The Huskies hung close with the Jays for the entirety of the game due to foul trouble and turnovers on Creighton’s end. It was UConn who had the ball on the final possession this time, down 54-51.
Huskies guard Jordan Hawkins would nail a shot that was ruled a tying three with 2.7 seconds left. But after a review, the officials ruled that his foot was on the line, meaning UConn was short a point. Ryan Kalkbrenner drew a foul on the other end and made both shots to help the Bluejays ice the game, 56-53.
It wasn’t the prettiest basketball game as overall Creighton shot 39.6% and UConn just 32.3%. Guard Trey Alexander led the Jays with 17 points while Huskies big man Adama Sanogo had 17 himself, including a career-best three 3s, all in the first half. The win bumped the Jays up from 23rd to 18th in Monday’s AP Poll.
The Bluejays (17-9, 11-4) remain in the fight to win the Big East regular season title and travel to play St. John’s on Saturday before hosting 11th ranked and conference-leading Marquette (20-6, 12-3) next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Creighton is 12-1 on its home court this season, but the Golden Eagles will be the toughest opponent to walk into the CHI Health Center to date.