In a game that redefined ugly basketball, Creighton edged Alabama 58-57 Friday afternoon in Greensboro. Alabama controlled the tempo of the game for about 38 of the 40 minutes. But the beloved Jays found a way to "survive and advance"!
As was scripted, our daughter, Rachel, was on hand to witness the victory while our son, Alex, and I were burning up the text messages. The celebration via Twitter, Facebook and text messages was both unique and fun!
The Bluejay victory has earned them the privilege of playing the top seed in the Midwest Region, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in Greensboro, NC, just 50 miles from the University of North Carolina campus.
The match up has a great story line. Creighton All-American sophomore Doug McDermott and UNC All-American sophomore Harrison Barnes played together at Ames (Iowa) High School, leading their teams to consecutive state championships during their junior and senior campaigns and winning 53 straight games during that span. McDermott spent most of his junior year coming off the bench, yet still earned second-team all-state accolades before ascending to the starting five for his senior campaign. The story has been well documented in recent days.
Unfortunately, Barnes has a deeper and more talented supporting cast than does McDermott including ten McDonald's All-Americans. I think the Tar Heels will be heavily favored, but that doesn't mean a whole lot (does it Duke and Missouri?).
Creighton has a rich basketball tradition, but it’s safe to say that Sunday is the biggest day in its basketball history. In addition to the Bluejays game against top seeded North Carolina on Sunday, the Lady Jays play Saint John’s Sunday in Norman, OK and Creighton is also the host institution for the 2nd/3rd-round games in Omaha this weekend. It's about as close to the center of the March Madness as any one school can be.
Bring on the Heels!!
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