The Creighton Bluejays are moving on in the NCAA Tournament and will face the winner of Auburn vs. Alabama State. The Bluejays are moving on thanks to guard Jamiya Neal, who had his best game of the season at the right time.
The Bluejays had a solid season in a tough Big East conference, especially after losing leading-scorer Pop Issacs very early on in the season in December due to a hip injury. Creighton needed someone to step up, and Neal seemed to be the guy.
In Creighton's 89-75 win over Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Neal seemed to be a walking bucket with a career-high 29 points, recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds, and was four assists short of a triple-double with six assists. took 16 shots in the game and only missed five, shooting a stellar 68.8% from the floor and going 2-for-5 from three-point range.
It is not like this is a shocker to the Creighton faithful, as Neal made some noise in the Big East Tournament as well, with double digits in two of Creighton's three games. Neal struggled against DePaul in the Semifinals in Creighton's 85-81 double OT win, but against UConn, Neal came alive again.
Against the Huskies, Neal went off for 19 points sinking three three-pointers to help the Bluejays take down the back-to-back NCAA Champions. In the Big East Championship, Creighton struggled against the dominant St. John's squad, but Neal still had a solid game with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Neal spent three seasons with Arizona State before transferring to Creighton this season and is averaging 11.5 points per game. It is even more impressive that Neal averages 6.1 rebounds per game and 4.4 assists per game.
Against Louisville, any time the Cardinals started to make some sort of run or show any sign of life, Neal was able to squash it with a huge bucket. Then, late in the game, when the Cardinals had pulled within 12 points and hit the Bluejays with a press out of a timeout, Creighton executed a long football pass perfectly to Neal, who slammed it down, the final nail in Louisville's coffin.
Neal has been a star at Creighton all season long, but March seems to be the time everyone begins to notice certain players, and now it is Neal's time to shine. The Bluejays will now wait to see who they will take on in the second round between Auburn and Alabama State, and Neal will be ready to go when the time comes in the second round.