The No. 13 Creighton men’s basketball team kicked off the 2012-13 season with a 71-51 victory against the University of North Texas Mean Green.
A crowd of 17,139 – the largest crowd for a season opener in Creighton history – showed up to watch the match-up between two preseason All-American forwards in Creighton’s junior Doug McDermott and North Texas’ sophomore Tony Mitchell, and the two did not disappoint.
Mitchell, one of the most athletic players in the country and a projected NBA lottery pick, threw down a couple high-flying dunks en route to an 18-point, seven-rebound performance that also included two steals and two blocks. However, those points did not come easy.
“We made him work for all those points,” McDermott said. “I thought we did a good job on him. We were bringing double-teams, not to start because Gregory [Echenique] started on him, but we switched it up a little and we had a really good game-plan on him. He got some offensive rebounds, but that’s Tony Mitchell for you. But I think we did a good job of containing him.”
As impressive as Mitchell was, it was McDermott who got the better of the match-up with 21 points on 6-11 shooting, 11 rebounds and two assists to go with the 20-point win.
But as head coach Greg McDermott said, the Jays are more than just Doug McDermott, and Creighton put forth a total team effort.
Sophomore point guard Austin Chatman made his debut in the starting lineup replacing the departed Antoine Young, and after a shaky start Chatman put forth a solid effort with 11 points and two assists.
“I think at the beginning I got off to a bad start,” Chatman said. “I came out with a lot of energy and excitement because I knew a lot of the guys [on North Texas], so I was a little nervous. But once I settled down, I think I played pretty well for the most part.”
Neither senior center Gregory Echenique nor junior reserve forward Ethan Wragge put up big numbers offensively, scoring seven and four points respectively, but the duo’s defense on Mitchell was key to the game. Echenique, the MVC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, battled inside with Mitchell all game and limited his effectiveness in the post, and also recorded two blocks and a steal. Wragge came off the bench and provided toughness defensively, taking a charge, blocking three shots and pulling down seven defensive rebounds.
Sophomore guard Avery Dingman, who scored 18 points in the exhibition against the University of Mary, again provided an offensive spark off the bench. Dingman, who was used primarily as spot-up 3-point shooter as a freshman, scored inside an out on his way to 10 points on 4-5 shooting.
Creighton’s bench outscored the North Texas reserves 20-7, and Doug McDermott highlighted the play of Dingman and Wragge in particular.
“I thought [the bench] did a great job as well,” McDermott said. “Avery came in and hit some big shots there in the second half that kind of sealed the deal. Ethan as well, Ethan was our shot-blocker tonight. He did a great job defensively, he took a couple charges and I think that was big.”
Creighton had one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball last season, but the questions and concerns about the team coming into this year centered around the defense. Would the Jays be able to improve on their 222nd ranking in field goal percentage defense? After one game against a quality opponent, the answer is yes. On a night when the Jays couldn’t find their stroke from long-range, the Creighton defense held the Mean Green to 51 points on 31.9 percent shooting.
“To hold them to 32 percent shooting, that’s a pretty good team, so defensively there was some improvement,” Greg McDermott said. “We needed it because our 3-point shooting, which has been a staple of our team and I think will continue to be, wasn’t quite where it normally is tonight.”
The Jays shot just 1-8 from 3-point range in the first half, but shot 13-16 inside the arc. It was a struggle early and the game was tied at 13-13 with 11:20 remaining before the Jays took control and closed out the half on a 26-12 run. The Jays expanded their lead to 23 points with a 14-4 run to begin the second half and the Mean Green never got closer than 19 for the rest of the game.
“Obviously, very pleased to win a game when we didn’t shoot it well … Probably some first game jitters and some nervousness and some fatigue that comes with that,” McDermott said. “But once we settled down, I thought we played pretty well … So really pleased to get a win against a very good team.”
The Jays improved to 2-0 on Wednesday by knocking off the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers 77-60 at the CenturyLink Center. The Jays fell behind in the first half but came back behind 18 second half points by senior guard Josh Jones. Check out Creightonian.com for a full recap of the game.
The Jays continue their season opening home stand on Sunday against Presbyterian University. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. at CenturyLink Center Omaha.