Doug McDermott Makes History in Win Over Seton Hall

Last night, No. 11 Creighton took on Seton Hall in a thrilling Big East matchup. Although the Bluejays were projected to completely run away with this game, the Pirates showed some life that has not been visible all season, and they made the game a lot closer than anyone could have expected. Unfortunately, they fell short in the final minutes, and Creighton came out with its 23rd win of the season by the score of 72-71.

Of course, one cannot mention this year’s Creighton team without talking about its star player Doug McDermott. He currently leads the nation in scoring with an average of 26 points per game, and last night, his scoring ability earned him a spot in college basketball history. With a free-throw late in the game, McDermott passed Alfredrick Hughes on the NCAA all-time scoring list. He is now amongst the top 10 best scorers in college basketball history, which is without-a-doubt a tremendous accomplishment. McDermott finished the game with 29 points, which was enough to lead his team to victory and to the top of the Big East standings.

Although Creighton did come out with the W, it still made the game way too close. It missed too many free-throws late in the game, and it also turned the ball over during points in the game where it needed to maintain possession. If it wants to be crowned Big East champions, and also make a strong run in the NCAA tournament, then it needs to be able to perform in crunch time.

The Bluejays are way too talented of a team to dominate an entire game, then lose as a result of stupid mistakes in the final minutes. Most tournament games come down to who performs the best under pressure, and right now, Creighton needs to work on becoming a clutch team.

As long as McDermott continues this surge, then the team should have no problem at all sweeping through its conference in the postseason. He could pretty much do it all, and it is almost guaranteed that he will be a threat at the next level. The only other team that could give them trouble in the Big East is Villanova, but Creighton has already defeated it twice this season.

This was a huge win for a team that probably already has its sights set on the postseason, and it must keep up this momentum in its final three games. All of those games are against unranked teams, so it should close out the season on a high note, but nothing is ever set in stone in college basketball.

McDermott is a star, but individual talent is only important if it can help a team accomplish their goals. It will be very interesting to see just how much damage this year’s Creighton team can do in the postseason, and also how many records McDermott will break before he heads to the NBA.