Key Stats:
Creighton exerts it’s will inside, outrebounding Truman State 55-29 including 16-3 on the offensive glass, leading to a 23-2 advantage on second-chance points.
Here’s the real key stat, to me: 12 Bluejays played between 11 and 21 minutes. The Jays kept their starters fresh without running them into the ground, and got their reserves extended minutes that would otherwise be hard to come by in the rigors of Big East play.
Standout Performance:
Several Bluejays had big games — Justin Patton had another (Yawn) double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Marcus Foster scored 21 on 9-11 shooting including 2-3 from three-point range, Mo Watson had 9 points and 6 assists in only 20 minutes. But of the reserves who played huge minutes, Ronnie Harrell stood out.
He’s kind of become a forgotten man, in some respects, playing a total of only 91 minutes all season and only 27 since December 1. Harrell played 13 minutes on Saturday, scoring nine points on 4-6 shooting, had six rebounds, and two steals, while playing active defense. Will the 6’7” guard be able to use that performance to propel himself into more playing time over the final six weeks? We’ll see.
Recap & Analysis:
Marcus Foster opened up Saturday afternoon’s scoring with a three, Cole Huff followed with trey, Justin Patton connected on back-to-back layups at the rim, Huff hit a second three and then a layup, and after five minutes of action, Creighton led 15-3. Huff, Patton and Khyri Thomas checked out of the game, and though the realities of college basketball roster construction would never allow it, many wondered if they were already done for the day.
Eventually, those players returned, and built a 24-8 lead after Patton dunked on one end and did this on the other:
That swat led to a shot clock violation, but it also seemed to calm the nerves of a Truman State team that had been playing tentative and perhaps a little nervous early on. They got back-to-back threes from Jack Green, came up with a pair of steals, and though they’d only cut the deficit to 12 at 30-18, they were finally playing the way they were capable of — draining threes, being pesky in passing lanes, and running quick transition offense. They probably felt they could play with the Jays a bit. Then this happened:
Patton secured a rebound without even leaving the floor, using every bit of his 7’0” frame to ridiculous advantage against the undersized Truman players, and threw a one-handed pass to half court where a streaking Marcus Foster was already running. Foster, without even dribbling, threw it to Thomas, who lobbed it back to Foster without dribbling, and Foster slammed it home. The ball went the length of the floor in four seconds and never touched the ground.
Still, Truman State wouldn’t go away. They arrived in Omaha at 11:00pm Friday night after playing two games in two days, had not had time to prepare for Creighton by running their plays on the floor, and barely had time for a team breakfast before shootaround for the noon tip. This was an exhibition game for them, and after the nervousness of those first few minutes dissipated, they began to play loose because they had nothing to lose. Meanwhile the Jays got sloppy after building that big early lead, and a series of bad passes, poor shots, and a pair of missed layups let the Bulldogs put together an 11-2 run to end the half. They made 10 of their last 18 shots, and suddenly it was an 11-point game at the half.
McDermott was visibly annoyed as his team exited the court, and when they returned, they appeared determined to put the game on ice as soon as possible. Foster scored the first six points on a fierce two-handed slam in traffic, a layup off a back-door cut, and a windmill dunk set up by a steal at the other end.
Foster soon departed, and moments later with a 62-44 lead, Watson joined him. The reserve unit, led by Davion Mintz, went on a mini 8-2 run — Isaiah Zierden hit a three, and then Mintz made a pair of free throws and a three of his own to make it 70-46. That early blast gave McDermott the opportunity to play his bench the final 11 minutes of the game, giving guys like Ronnie Harrell, Kobe Paras, Martin Krampelj and others an extended run.
In the end, both teams got a win of sorts — Creighton satisfied the Big East’s mandate to play a game while earning a relatively stress-free victory where the starters were able to rest a bit, the bench was able to get huge minutes, and no one got hurt. For Truman State, their players — most of whom hail from Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri — got the unbelievable experience of playing in a Big East arena, on national TV, in front of their family and friends. Not to mention the pretty substantial check ($35,000 according to an AP article earlier this week) which is a huge thing for the budget of Chris Foster’s budding DII program.
They Said It:
“Getting those two steals was fun, because right after I got both of them I knew I was going to be able to dunk it. On the first one, I almost started laughing at half court like ‘Yeah, I’m about to dunk this!’ But that was to see to see my teammates standing and cheering for me.” -Ronnie Harrell on 1620AM Postgame
(On his lack of playing time) “It’s kind of shock to me, because like you said I changed and did my part. But we’re winning games so I have to do my best to try to be positive and cheer on the team because like you saw today, they do the same for me. Not focusing on myself, but keeping the focus on my teammates has helped me. I’m continuing to work hard because at any moment my number could be called and that would be a bad thing if I got my number called and I didn’t perform. I’m staying ready, staying positive, and knowing everything will work out for the best.” -Ronnie Harrell on 1620AM Postgame
“I don’t want to look like a freshman or like someone who just started playing when I get on the floor. As for next year, I’ll be a junior so I’ll be a veteran who’s been around and kind of knows how things work. I’ll know what calls refs make and don’t make. I can be a guy that bring that calming effect on the team. I haven’t played a lot, but I’ll be somebody who’s been around — we’re probably going to go to the tournament this year, so I’ll be someone who has had that experience and took it all in.” -Ronnie Harrell on 1620AM Postgame
“It’s definitely a lot of fun. And us winning definitely makes it more fun. Even the coaches, they kind of hop in on the fun sometimes. It’s hard to be around the team, even as a coach, and not laugh. We even catch them laughing at us goofing off sometimes. But something that’s funny to me, is we argue like little girls sometimes (laughs). Martin and Justin will start arguing in the locker room over a shot in warmups or something, and Coach Mac will have to come in and say ‘Calm down, calm down, calm down.’ We’re just so close and connected we argue like brothers. It’s just really fun.” -Ronnie Harrell on 1620AM Postgame
“I wasn’t real happy at halftime. We kind of got away from who we are. We got a little selfish, a lot of guys dribbling and everybody else standing, not paying attention to detail defensively, and not doing what we prepared to do. Fortunately we got back on track, and we were much better in the second half.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“I think the concern with a game like this is on gameday. When you’re sandwiched between Xavier and Butler, does human nature allow you to prepare like you’re supposed to prepare and the answer is probably no. We won the game, nobody got hurt, we got a lot of guys on the floor, we were able to get a look at some guys off the bench which is really valuable for them. And now we’ve got a big one on Monday afternoon, in 48 hours we tip it up again. Our preparation is going to be really important. We’re going to watch some film and practice in the morning to get out of here before the storm. What we get done in the morning is going to be really critical.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“I thought Davion did some good things on both ends of the floor. I liked Ronnie’s energy. I thought Martin did some really good things, he didn’t finish a couple that I thought maybe he should have. Toby was his normal consistent self. Z didn’t shoot it great but he did everything else that he’s supposed to do. And it was great to get guys like Jordan Scurry and Tyler Clement out there. Kobe got a good run which is great for him. All of that stuff helps in their development, it keeps them hungry and keeps them motivated. It was great to see. I especially liked Ronnie’s energy, especially late in the game you could hear his voice above everything else on the defensive end. There was a ball that went bouncing down by the scorer’s table, and he’s chasing it with a minute left. That’s what Ronnie needs to be for us. If he can do that, he can have an impact. Ronnie’s not far out of the rotation. It’s not like that decision has been made. There are games he can help us in. He’ll get an opportunity before the season is over.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“Marcus’ injury was something with his toe. I said in the media room it was a hangnail or something (laughs). Those Texas guys aren’t the toughest guys in the world (laughs). No, he’s fine, I think somebody landed on it and it was pretty sore for a little bit. But this was good for him today. You talk about the value a game like this. Marcus has struggled shooting it, and today he goes 9-11. Is this something that can knock him out of the three or four game slump that he’d been in? This is maybe one of the longest slumps he’s been in as long as I’ve known him. Sometimes you just need to see that ball go through the net. For him tonight that was good.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
You Said It:
https://twitter.com/cjlathrop/status/820330892052852736
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/820337726755049472
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/820351914814697479
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/820353146786639875
https://twitter.com/cjlathrop/status/820354460522283013
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/820354590881251328
