ORLANDO, Fla.-- Their lack of identity made Rodney Buford and Creighton University basketball an ideal matchup.

"Nobody wanted me. I was a skinny kid, maybe 180, 185 pounds and all I could do was jump," said Buford, a Milwaukee native who will become Creighton's all-time scoring leader if he scores eight points today against Maryland in the NCAA South Regional.

"I didn't have any confidence and coach [Dana] Altman made me feel good about myself and taught me what I needed to do to be successful. I had never heard of Creighton before I came there either, but I felt comfortable. I made the right decision."

That is an understatement. The nation's active career scoring leader with 2,103 points has carried himself and the Bluejays out of the woodwork and into national recognition. After upsetting Louisville in the first round, they can really make some waves by surprising fifth-ranked Maryland. It would be a signature victory for a program on the rise.

Altman's brilliant strategy -- switching to a zone press and matchup defense that Louisville never figured out -- and Buford's clutch shooting were the key elements in Thursday's breakthrough. The senior hit a three-pointer that proved the key shot of the game, punctuating Creighton's comeback from 13 points down, after he had struggled mightily.

"He just took over late in the game," said Louisville forward Nate Johnson.

But that is nothing novel for Buford, who said he wanted to be the "difference maker" when Creighton won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to qualify for the NCAAs, who scored 24 points in an upset win at Iowa, and who poured in a career-high 40 against Bradley.

Ever ebullient on offense, the knock on him was that he didn't exert himself on defense and he wasn't enough of a leader.

But in the MVC title game, he buried those criticisms and said, "I went out tonight and I was going to fight. Don't ever say this team can't fight."

Buford is still somewhat of a string bean at 6 feet 5, 195 pounds, but he certainly has no more to prove at Creighton, the Jesuit school in Omaha more famous for its other athletic teams.

"When we first got Rodney, we were coming off a very bad season and we were terrible my first year," said Altman, a native Nebraskan who left a 20-game winner at Kansas State to resurrect the dormant Bluejays.

"The team was bad even before that and we were just looking for athletes and he was one. Obviously, he's made a big difference. He was our first real player and he started us going forward. When you get one, others get interested in you and he has helped us in that way, too."

Buford's major positive in the opening round is that he didn't become flustered when the shots weren't dropping (he was 6-for-21 and finished with 13 points). When crunch time arrived and Altman had jump-started the Bluejays with the change in defensive tactics, Buford was at home.

He said he feels no undue pressure against Maryland and plans only to play his game.

"I'm not going to force any issues," said Buford. "We're just going to come out and play our hearts out. I rely on the team as much as they rely on me."

Pub Date: 3/13/99