Doug McDermott had his best scoring game and most of the points in No. 23 Creighton's 83-64 victory over Tulsa on Monday night came on a variety of the low-post moves the 6-foot-7 sophomore is becoming known for.
McDermott, the nation's second-leading scorer entering the game, finished 16 of 23 from the field and made both of his 3-point attempts.
''Doug is very versatile in the post,'' said Creighton coach Greg McDermott, Doug's
father. ''He can go around you and loop it under if you guard him with a tall guy. Obviously Tulsa was wanting to take away the 3-pointer and you've got to pick your poison. Tonight we were able to get it inside and we executed as well as we have all year.''
The Bluejays (9-1) trailed 20-19 but went on an 8-0 run spurred by three baskets by Antoine Young. McDermott scored the Bluejays' final 11 points of the half as Creighton took a 42-34 lead.
Center Gregory Echenique, who played just 2 minutes in the first half, scored eight points in the opening 2:52 of the second before picking up his third foul as Creighton took a 51-34 lead. Tulsa never came closer than 12 points again.
McDermott ''single-handedly broke the spirit of my team, particularly my post defenders,'' Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. ''That was one impressive performance by Doug McDermott. We really wanted to defend the 3-point line because they make 10 a game, but I was surprised at just how good he was in the post. His size, his strength, his stamina, his feet and just how good his hands are. He was shooting jump hooks over (6-11) Kodi Maduka, who is long, and I don't think he even saw the basket and they were going in.''
Sophomore guard Jordan Clarkson scored 14 points and Tim Peete added 12 for Tulsa (5-7), which lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Tulsa, which has exceeded 70 points in two games, one of those in overtime, did not have the offensive firepower to keep pace with the Bluejays who average 86.3 points and shoot 51 percent, compared to 65.9 points and 43 percent for Tulsa.
McDermott hit a 27-footer with 1 second on the shot clock to push the lead to 60-40, then added another 3 on the next possession as if to emphasize his versatility to the NBA scouts in attendance.
The Bluejays made 34 of 58 field goals (58.6 percent).
Young had 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and five steals.
''Young is a senior guard who really controls the floor for them, uses ball screens well and gets the ball inside,'' Wojcik said.
McDermott tied his career-high of 31 points on a floater with 7:30 left, then ripped an offensive rebound from three Tulsa players on the next possession and laid it in to set a new personal best.
''It was just one of those games,'' Doug McDermott said. ''I had the touch around the basket early and my teammates did a great job of finding me. Tulsa is the probably the most physical team we've played.''
Tulsa shot 43 percent and was outrebounded 37-29. The Hurricane made just nine of 19 free throws.
''Our plan was to take away the 3-point shots and just try to tame McDermott,'' Peete said. ''Tonight, he was untamable.''
