Doug McDermott’s first visit to the Garden didn’t go as planned.
But so far in his second trip to New York City, the National Player of the Year favorite has no complaints.
Creighton’s two-time All-American scored 32 points to lead the second-seeded Bluejays (26-6) to a 86-78 victory over No. 3 Xavier (21-12) at the Garden Friday night.
With 67 points through two games, he broke Allen Iverson’s record (58) for the most points in his first two Big East Tournament contests.
“I don’t think about that too much,” the star said. “That’s Rob Anderson’s gig, our SID. It’s been really cool, though, just seeing that happen.”
Creighton will face No. 4 Providence, which knocked off eighth-seeded Seton Hall 80-74, in the championship game Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. to cap its first season in the new-look conference.
“In less than 24 hours, we’re playing for a Big East championship,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “When [senior forward] Ethan [Wragge] and Doug made the decision to come to Creighton, when I made the decision to come to Creighton for that matter, none of us ever dreamed that would be a possibility.
“To be on the stage we’re going to be on [Saturday] night is a fitting way for an incredible senior class to end their regular season careers.”
Doug McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer who moved into fifth place all-time on the NCAA scoring list with 3,108 career points, struggled in his first visit to the Garden on Feb. 9 in a 70-65 loss to St. John’s. He’s put that off-night in his rearview mirror.
“I think it helped all of us,” Doug McDermott said. “We were kind of in shock mode when we got here the first time because all just dreamed of playing here. … And having 3,000 or 4,000 fans here is helping us, too.”
The Garden continued to feel like home away from home for Creighton, flooded by thousands of blue-clad Omaha, Neb. natives sending booming “C-U” chants reverberating through the arena. They will get to see the Bluejays attempt to win the league’s postseason tournament in its first year in the conference.
“It just impressive,” Wragge said. “We’re the road team traveling the furthest, and we can bring the most fans.”
Doug McDermott scored 19 points in the opening half as Creighton built a 45-32 lead, sinking jump shots, scoring inside on backdoor cuts and even dropping in a jump hook out of the post.
Creighton led by as many as 19 points, before Xavier got within five, 77-72, with 1:23 left.
It wasn’t solely the McDermott show for Creighton. The Bluejays hit 11 3-pointers and Wragge made five of them, scoring 17 points in support of Doug McDermott. Isaiah Philmore scored a career-high 23 points for Xavier.