Semifinal Thrills Continue With Creighton's 75-72 Victory Over Xavier
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special BIGEAST.com
NEW YORK -- It was going to be very difficult to top the Villanova-Seton Hall game for last-second drama and pure thrills in the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden Friday. But somehow Creighton and Xavier managed to do just that.
A clutch three-pointer by Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett that tied the game with 15.6 seconds to play was met by a game-winning 3-ball from Creighton’s Marcus Foster with eight seconds remaining. And when Xavier’s J.P Macura caught the front iron with his potential game-tying three with three seconds to go, Creighton was able to exhale after it held on for a 75-72 victory over Xavier in the BIG EAST semifinals before a raucous sold-out crowd of 19,812.
The sixth-seeded Bluejays will now face top-seeded Villanova in Saturday’s title tilt. It will be Creighton’s second appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game after reaching the final in 2014 where the Jays lost to Providence. The Bluejays will also be looking to become the first No. 6 seed to win the tournament since Syracuse defeated No. 4 Villanova in three overtimes in the 1981 tournament at the Carrier Dome.
“That was quite a game. A terrific win for us,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said. “We’ve been in this league for four years. This will be the second trip to the championship game which is a credit to the people in the locker room, staff and players.”
Leading the pack of those receiving credit is Foster, the transfer from Kansas State who finished second in the conference in scoring this season at 18.4 points a game and who seems to have a knack for coming up big in big spots.
“I watched him (his) freshman year (at Kansas State) against Oklahoma (and) both games he hits the game-winning three at the end,” McDermott said. “He’s got confidence. He works on that shot. Obviously gets it off quick.”
“Quick” doesn’t do the final 15.6 seconds of the game any justice. Frantic, frenzied, furious. Pick one, they all work.
After Creighton extended its one-point lead to 72-69 when Justin Patton (21 points on 10-of-13 shooting) tipped in a Foster missed layup with 1:20 to play Xavier had a chance to pull closer when Bluiett went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 51.0 seconds left. But the normally dependable foul shooter missed the front end, giving Creighton a chance to extend its lead.
But Xavier caught a break when Creighton’s Cole Huff missed the front end of his 1-and-1 with 30.4 seconds to go and this time Bluiett made the Bluejays pay when he drilled a clutch three-pointer with 15.6 to play to knot the game at 72-all as a legion of Xavier fans – and the Musketeers bench – exploded.
“Trevon made a great move. I thought he was going all the way to the goal but he stepped back to the three and made a good shot,” Foster said.
But while Xavier rejoiced, Foster kept his eye on the prize. He got the ball and bolted down the court and launched a picture-perfect three-ball that splashed through the nets with eight seconds to play for a three-point Bluejays lead and sending the large contingent of Creighton fans – they call themselves “Blue York” – into a frenzy.
Xavier then raced down the court itself, and when Macura fired up his three-point attempt it looked at first like it might find its mark. But it clanged off the front rim and Creighton’s Khyri Thomas grabbed the rebound, the win was secured and the Jays were title game bound.
For Foster, who sat out last season as a transfer, it was a moment he waited a lifetime to experience.
“Means a lot to me, especially growing up and always wanting to play in Madison Square Garden and having this moment,” Foster said. “It’s just an amazing feeling to have. And me and Justin redshirting last year and not seeing much time on the court, it means a lot. (It) shows how all the hard work and effort we’re putting is paying off.”
There was a fan in the stands who held up a sign after the game that read: “Make the BIG EAST Great Again.” If there was any doubts about the greatness of the conference before yesterday’ games, they was surely erased after Friday night.