Purple Aces hope to knock off 25th-ranked Bluejays

St. Louis, MO – Winners of five in a row, the 25th-ranked Creighton Bluejays take their best shot against the Evansville Purple Aces when the two teams collide in the semifinals of the 36th annual Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

The second seed in this year's tournament, the Jays are the most successful team in this event in terms of championships (10) and overall wins (38), although the team has not taken home the trophy since 2007 and hasn't been back to the title game during the interim. Last night, Creighton took a step in the right direction by dismissing the Drake Bulldogs in the quarterfinals by a score of 68-61.

Over on the other side, the third-seeded Purple Aces are the only current members of the MVC still without a tournament title and prior to last night's 72-64 triumph over sixth-seeded Missouri State, the team had a record of just 4-17 in the tourney all-time.

The teams split their two meetings during the regular season, with each winning on their own home floor. Evansville delivered a 65-57 final in early February and then Creighton needed overtime to slip by the Purple Aces two weeks later in a 93-92 decision. With the latest victory the Jays moved to 26-10 in the all-time series with Evansville.

The winner of today's contest heads to the title game on Sunday afternoon to face the survivor of the Illinois State/Wichita State game, the victor in that case earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Purple Aces built a nine-point lead after 20 minutes of action last night thanks to 53.6 percent shooting from the floor, a crucial effort considering the team made a mere eight field goals in the season half against Missouri State. Kenny Harris stepped up to produce 20 points and eight rebounds as he knocked down all eight of his free-throw tries, followed by Colt Ryan with 19 points and Denver Holmes 11 as the team survived 3-of-11 shooting from behind the three-point line by outscoring the Bears, 23-14, at the charity stripe and winning the battle of the boards, 37-22. The advantage on the glass was rather stunning given the fact that Evansville is pulling down only 29.6 rpg this season overall, compared to 34.1 rpg by the competition. Ryan, one of the top men on the glass with 4.3 rpg, is by far the leading scorer for the group with 20.5 ppg, thanks to his 174-of-205 (.849) showing at the free-throw line and 43.2 percent accuracy on the perimeter.

Once again Doug McDermott proved why he is not only the top player in the Missouri Valley this season but also a candidate for player of the year honors nationally as he delivered 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Drake last night. Not only did McDermott work hard in the paint, he also dragged defenders out beyond the three-point line where he made good on 4-of-6 shots, the rest of his team connecting on a mere 1-of-13 on the outside which was why the game remained relatively close. Antoine Young chipped in 16 points and Gregory Echenique 10 and five boards. McDermott is easily the most recognizable player for the Jays, leading the team in scoring in nearly every game this season as he posts 23.2 ppg and is also first on the unit with 8.2 rpg. What is most remarkable about McDermott is his versatility, able to handle the rough play in the paint while also stepping out to shoot 49.0 percent behind the three-point line, lifting the entire squad to 42.3 percent on the perimeter.