Small-town Scheierman makes NYC splash

A kid from small-town Aurora lived out another one of his dreams while another came true for a second time. 
Baylor Scheierman’s first time on the floor of the iconic Madison Square Garden was certainly memorable, nearly reporting a triple-double while his Creighton Bluejays secured a spot in the NCAA tournament, announced Sunday evening. 
Surely a smile came over his face when asked over the phone about walking through the halls of MSG. It never left his face on television, for sure. 
“It was just a lot of fun,” he said. “I really wanted to just soak it all in. That’s the biggest stage in basketball. I’m just a kid from Aurora, Nebraska. To be there, not only play, but play well while I was there, I didn’t take it for granted.”
The former Husky didn’t just play well in Creighton’s 87-74 quarterfinal win over Villanova, Scheierman looked like he belonged in the world’s most famous arena. At times, he was the best player on the floor. A statline of 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists easily backs that claim. 
A triple-double has eluded Scheierman so far in college basketball, and he really wanted it Thursday night. He knew he was close. 
With the clock inside a minute remaining, Scheierman, needing one more assist, showed off another one of his signature “where is that going?” passes to Arthur Kaluma. He just couldn’t finish.  
“I knew,” he said, laughing. “I threw it to Art looking for it. I knew I needed one more and I wish I could have gotten it. And, to have done it at Madison Square Garden in my first time playing there would have been something. It was still a great performance and a great experience.”
It also would have been Creighton’s first points/rebounds/assists triple-double in program history. In the world’s most famous arena. 
Just a kid from Aurora, Nebraska. 
Scheierman has had seven or more assists in 10 of his college games with both South Dakota State and Creighton. In five of those, he had 10-plus rebounds and in all of those was over 10 points. 
Yet, Scheierman has become Creighton’s double-double king. No one in program history has more than his 13 this season. 
One of his flashiest plays against Villanova came on a rare four-point play, converting while being fouled on a three. It was part of a 9-0 personal run from Scheierman. 
By Friday night, Scheierman had tied Creighton’s school record with his 33rd consecutive game with a made three-pointer in Bluejay Blue. That streak is 43 total going back to last season, which is the fifth-longest streak nationally. 
In my lifetime, almost 31 years for those counting, only three times has a college basketball player tallied more than 270 rebounds, 100 rebounds and 75 made threes in a season. Small-town Scheierman has done it twice. 
For those paying attention to the Big East tournament with Creighton on the floor, besides seeing Baylor taking repeated elbows to the chest and asking for more, there were other familiar faces on the screen, too, with his family courtside to see it all. 
“It’s special to have my family there,” Scheierman said. “They’ve seen the struggles and successes. To have them there, at Madison Square Garden in New York City was a blessing. I didn’t take it for granted.”
And while the Big East semifinals against Xavier didn’t go well, an 82-60 loss, Scheierman felt the team put its best foot forward and is excited about the next step. 
That’s the NCAA tournament, starting Thursday. 
Creighton has the No. 6 seed in the south region and will play No. 11 NC State Friday at 3 p.m. in Denver. The winner of that game gets either No. 3 Baylor or No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Sunday. 
It’s Scheierman’s second appearance in the tournament he grew up dreaming about playing in from his driveway. 
With South Dakota State a year ago, one of Scheierman’s first opportunities on a large scale, he played well, posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Providence. 
“I remember the feeling very well from last year,” he said. “To be able to do that again is a blessing, for sure.”
Last year was a great experience. He came back not hoping, but expecting to be in position again. He knows what to expect – nothing will come out of left field. Now it’s just time to play ball.
“I know what to expect, but I will certainly be as excited as I was last year,” Scheierman said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience most people don’t get.”
Creighton enters the tourney with a 21-12 record. Truthfully, the Bluejays received a good draw. In both the midwest and west regions, the No. 6 seed has to play the winner of the first four games. 
Those are dangerous matchups because those teams who win in the first four games pick up some momentum and could easily steam right through. 
NC State was one of those bubble teams that was on the fence. But, this is the NCAA tournament. It’s not supposed to be easy. 
Besides, it would be one heck of a tongue twister with Baylor Scheierman playing the Baylor Bears in the round of 32. 
He isn’t worried about any of it. 
“I have the same mentality no matter where we’re playing or what we’re playing,” Scheierman said. “This is March Madness. It’s win or go home, the biggest stage in college basketball. But you have to approach it like any other game. I take pride in my preparation and I’ll do the same this week.”
Fine, if no one else will, I’ll stake claim. 
Creighton to the Final Four. 
Marquette, Houston and Kansas, too. 
Is my Baylor Scheierman bias showing? Absolutely. 
But, here’s the thing. If I’m right, genius. If I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter anyway. 
Here’s hoping a small-town Nebraska kid gets another once-in-a-lifetime moment. Like a basketball game in a football stadium from Houston. 
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.