Arch Madness 1999 – Beginning of Bluejay Dynasty

(St. Louis, MO) – The question of the 1999 Missouri Valley Conference post season tournament was, “which team would fill the void left by the demise of the Illinois State program.” Creighton and Evansville were the first teams to try their hand.

Evansville, led by Player of the Year Marcus Wilson won the regular season title. Head Coach Jim Crews’ team ran their motion offense to perfection and Wilson had plenty of help from versatile forward Craig Snow and slick point guard Jeremy Stanton.

Dana Altman’s Bluejays were led by pre-season Player of the Year, Rodney Buford. The 6’6” forward was a physical presence, a strong rebounder and could score with anyone in the league. Creighton finished second in the regular season race.

In an ‘Arch Madness’ weekend where none of the margins of victory were more than nine points, the top two teams, with the top two players made it to the Monday night final.

Wilson scored nearly 60 points in his two games against Creighton in the regular season, but struggled some in the championship game. Buford, on the other hand was superior from start to finish. But he was far from a one man show. He and wing man Ben Walker both recorded double-doubles.

When Creighton tried to pull away, it was Wilson that held his team in the game.

 

As ‘momentum’ was wearing a blue and white jersey, Wilson fought gamely to keep his Aces alive

 

But Buford was a one man gang during certain portions of the game. He went inside, outside and to the glass. He finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Buford hit three, 3’s, grabbed two steals and blocked a shot. Broadcast partner Scott Warman and I marveled at his dominance.

 

The 70-61 victory brought the Jays their first MVC tournament title since 1991 that began a period of dominance few have ever seen in Valley lore. Creighton would win again in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007, a run of six titles in nine years. From our vantage point, it started looking like the “Dana Altman Invitational”.

It was the beginning of a new era of MVC basketball.

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