| 31 March 2011
Fueled by 35 points off 20 Creighton turnovers, the Oregon Ducks recorded their 20th win of the season, 71-58, to force a CBI championship-deciding Game 3 against the Bluejays.
The game will be played at Matthew Knight Arena on Friday, tip off at 7pm.
“Too many of those turnovers led to easy baskets at the other end and got their crowd into the game,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said, as documented by the AP.
“That was our No. 1 goal, the first thing we talked about before the game, was not allowing those pick-six turnovers that turn into a huge play at the other end, and we weren't able to execute that part of our game plan.”
Turnovers weren’t the only problem. Doug McDermott, who led the Bluejays in scoring with 21 points, battled early foul trouble and managed only six points. For Creighton to have a chance of defeating Oregon, the coach’s son needs to be a consistent offensive force.
Game 2 was the opposite of Creighton’s first performance. They shot 41 percent as a team, committed those aforementioned turnovers, and only had two players score in double-figures, center Gregory Echenique and Jahenns Manigat.
As important to their success as McDermott is, Echenique appears to be the Bluejays backbone. As an inside presence against an undersized frontline, he has the skill to score 20 points and dominate the boards. Oregon’s energy on defense in front of their home crowd played a large role in flustering Echenique. But though they will be playing under the same circumstances with heightened pressure attached, his teammates need to recognize the advantage he has and allow him to assert himself offensively early.
For Oregon, they need to do exactly what they did to win Game 2. They have played aggressive defense at times this season, and when they have a victory has been attained more often than not. Head coach Dana Altman has professed defense constantly, as shown by his animation on the sidelines, and to decrease Creighton’s point total by 26 from Game 1 exemplifies that his players listened.
Said guard Johnathan Loyd in the aformentioned article, "Our main foundation for this game was defense because they scored too often and too easily in the first game."
Ducks forward Joevan Catron made sure they would capitalize on this defense, scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds to follow up a 19-point, nine-rebound performance in the series opener. Like Echenique, he is their catalyst. But as illustrated in the first two games he’s certainly not alone.
Four other Ducks scored nine points or more, and the team shot 53 percent. In the opener their offense was far more balanced, as five players scored in double-figures, so a resounding defensive effort and the home-crowd played important dividends in making sure similar offensive production led to a must-win.
Cutting down on their mistakes will be an important key for Creighton, because, as Game 1 exemplified, they have the offensive weapons to defeat Oregon if they do.
What Oregon has to do is go at them as they did in Game 2, being aggressive on both ends. On the other side, Creighton needs the scoring punch they brought in Game 1. Whichever duplicates their victorious performance can raise the trophy current Final Four participant VCU did in 2010.
photo: daylife
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