Was Doug McDermott Best Player on the Floor Against Illinois State?

By bertdesalvo
Doug Mcdermott Creighton Bluejays
Dave Weaver-US Presswire

The Creighton Bluejays dropped a home Missouri Valley Conference game to the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday evening.

In the game, Doug McDermott, a Wooden Award Finalist and quite possibly the best player in college basketball this season, had a double-double as he scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. McDermott also added three assists.

Despite McDermott’s solid night, the question must be asked was he even the best player on the court?

The Redbirds have a star of their own, Jackie Carmichael, who scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Advantage McDermott.

What about the Redbirds Tyler Brown though? Brown scored 27 points, grabbed three rebounds and added five assists. In addition, Brown shot 10-18 from the field, including 3-8 from 3pt-range, and 4-5 from the foul line.

On the other hand, McDermott was ust 7-16 from the field, 0-5 from 3pt-range and 10-12 from the charity stripe. The stats are pretty close.

However, Brown shot over 50% from the field, while McDermott was uncharacteristically not over 50%, his average.

The Redbirds at 6-7 do not have a realistic chance at getting back in the MVC race, but they can gain some momentum from beating one of the MVC’s top teams.

Creighton now finds itself in a tie for first place, but has lost to both Wichita State Shockers and the Indiana State Sycamores. So in all reality they are the 3rd place team in the conference.

Considering what was at stake for the Bluejays, the nod has to go to Brown, as the best player on the floor. McDermott is by far a better player and will by all accounts have a productive and long NBA career.

Still on this night McDermott was not up to his usual standards and he would even most likely admit it.

So tonight Tyler Brown bested McDermott and the Bluejays. Enjoy it Mr. Brown because it does not happen very often against McDermott.

Follow Bert DeSalvo on Twitter @CoachDeSalvo

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like