Creighton 83, DePaul 75

“Vegas, Baby. Vegas!”

There’s no such thing as a safe bet. Close to one, though, are Dana Altman’s chances at taking home an in-season tournament championship trophy when his Bluejays are entered into events such as the Las Vegas Classic. Hometown star P’Allen Stinnett and the rest of the Jays did not disappoint this Christmas season, giving the handful of CU fans in the crowd at the Orleans Arena an early holiday present by defeating DePaul for the second time in two seasons.

And what would a trip to Vegas be without copious amounts of “Swingers” references? This classic film from 1996 briefly reintroduced the mythos of Sin City to a generation of guys who probably had but a cursory understanding of the opportunities offered by the city in the desert. A few memorable lines from that movie raced through my mind when watching a (rather frustrating) webcast of the CU-DePaul championship game a few days ago. Enjoy.

“You’re so money and you don’t even know it.”

As Piv points out in this morning’s Omaha World-Herald, Booker Woodfox is “focused what he is not.” While that kind of attitude makes Altman and coaches like him giddy, Jays fans this season love Booker for his infectious effort, humble personality, and propensity to hit almost every shot he takes.

And I’m not making that up. Sure, he leads the Valley in points per game. And sure, he is 10th in the nation in 3-pointers made this season. But he isn’t one of those guys who has to take 15 shots to score 15 points; he might be the most efficient scorer in recent CU history.

Booker claims his first of (hopefully) a few trophies for his stellar play this year

Woodfox poured in 26 points in 27 minutes in the championship game. When DePaul pushed him further from the basket he shot anyway, making 5-9 from 3-point range. When they fouled him he made them pay, going 7-7 from the charity stripe. And he was as valuable during this tournament for CU as he has been for the season as a whole, winning the most outstanding player honors in Vegas – a possible foreshadow of what could come his way in St. Louis this March.

That’s right; the “Woodfox Watch” is officially underway. According to Statsheet.com, Booker’s 139.7 offensive rating is 4th best in the nation currently. He is slightly behind North Carolina’s Ty Lawson. He’s the fifth most accurate 3-point shooter in the country, hitting bombs at a 54.8% clip. What’s great, though, is how efficiently he shoots the ball. He’s only 110th in the nation in 3-point attempts (73) yet is 10th in 3-point shots made.

In comparison, Kyle Korver finished 3rd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage in 2002-2003, hitting those shots at a 48% clip. Korv finished 3rd in 3-point makes (129) and 8th in attempts (269) that year. Booker’s probably due for a cold streak at some point, but he ran the table in Vegas and looks poised to do the same during the upcoming slate of conference games.

And you know who else is money, or at least was in Vegas? My man “Carvel Witter.” (“Carvel” is the name given to Cavel by the less-than-money PA man at the Orleans arena; a man who also mispronounced Josh Dotzler’s last name during both games and who actually called Justin Carter “Jabari Curry” during the length of the CU-DePaul game. Oh well, he only gets paid to do it.)

We already discussed his box score in the semifinal win over Fresno State. His numbers were not as impressive against the Blue Demons, but once again he was clutch down the stretch. Six of his 9 points came in the second half, including 4-4 from the free throw line with the game on the line. With a minute left he doubled the Jays’ lead from 2 to 4 with a jump shot, and then calmly knocked down 4 free throws inside the last 25 seconds to help CU hold on to the win.

As the majority of Creighton’s non-conference schedule comes to an end, “Carvel” is 3rd on the team in minutes played per game (22.8) and points scored per contest (10.4). He’s hitting 40% of his 3-point shots, and even though he’s leading the team in turnovers he is also tied with Dotzler for the team lead in assists.

“Get those digits, baby.”

Josh Dotzler and P’Allen Stinnett continue to set the tone for Creighton’s frequent finagling of their opponents’ basketballs. The Jays recorded 9 steals against DePaul, with Stinnett (3) and Dotzler (4) doing most of the damage. It is reflective of the havoc both men have caused on the court so far this season.

For the season, Creighton is 6th in the nation in total steals (122) and 9th in swipes per game (10.2). Again, the senior Dotzler and sophomore Stinnett lead the way for the Jays. They rank first and second, respectively, in steals among MVC players (2.9 and 2.0 per game). Dotzler is 6th in the country in steals (35) and 11th in steals per game. And with his thefts in Vegas he moved into the top 5 in Creighton’s all-time steals list. P’Allen is also in the top 75 nationwide in steals per game (71st) and total steals (74th).

They’re going out and getting the digits they want. And that’s what wins basketball games.

“You’re like a big bear. With claws … and fangs!”

Kenny Lawson has almost doubled his per-game scoring average this season (9.2) over last year (5.9). He’s averaging more rebounds per game (5.6, good enough for 13th best in the MVC) and more blocked shots per contest (1.8, best in the Valley) this season. And yet many Jays fans want Lawson to do more.

He is. And he will. Remember, he’s only a sophomore. And a young third-year sophomore at that (he’s just 20 years old). He joined Woodfox on the all-tournament team after solid efforts Monday (15 points and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes) and Tuesday (12 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes vs. DePaul). People want him to be mean, to use his 6-9, 245-pound to toss other post players around the lane, and he will. But it is a process, one that is currently under way and should be maturing perfectly by the time CU is in the throes of conference play.

He’s a big bear, with fangs and claws. And he’s just learning how to kill the bunny. Which leads us to …

“You’re not hurting it. You’re just kind of gently batting this bunny around.”

Creighton led DePaul by 15 points with just more than 90 minutes to play in the first half. After a layup by Dotzler with 11:19 left in the game the Jays led by 14 points. And then the Blue Demons slowly cut the margin. And kept cutting. And kept cutting. They didn’t’ stop until they were just 2 points down with 2:21 to play in the game.

Creighton is leading the Missouri Valley in scoring margin and offensive production. But imagine what those leads could be if they wouldn’t allow teams to get back into games in the second half that they have no business being in. I know basketball is a 40-minute effort, but the Jays need to kill the bunny, not just gently bat it around.

Valley play should find Creighton having plenty of opportunities to “kill the bunny,” and they need to take advantage (especially with any leads the might have on the road). Based on the conference’s early-season record and efforts, it will take some remarkable runs by teams like Illinois State, Creighton, and even Evansville to place more than the MVC tournament (and maybe regular season champ) winner into the Big Dance. Creighton can’t look back at trips to places like Terre Haute and Cedar Falls and Wichita (and yes, even Evansville) and say they had a double-digit second half lead and let it slip away.

Just kill the bunny, Mikey. You’re money, Jays, and you don’t even know it.