Men's Basketball

Ott’s Thoughts: #16 Creighton 74, Cal 64

Ott's Thoughts Presented by State Farm -- Talk to Bluejay Alum Grant MussmanThree thoughts while trying to remain quiet about Creighton’s conference membership, present and future.

The Bluejays won with defense.

Creighton shot a season-worst 41% from the field. The Jays made only 8 threes in 22 attempts, the third-worst percentage from long range in a game this year. Cal crushed Creighton on the glass, recording 53 rebounds. Nineteen of those came on the offensive end. And both are season-high totals for a CU opponent.

The Golden Bears outscored the Jays in the paint (36-30), on second chances (14-3), and off the bench (16-2). Yet the Bluejays never trailed in their trip to Haas Pavilion. Why?

For as poorly as the Bluejays shot the basketball, due in part to being on the wrong end of the mismatch against lengthy defenders for Cal, the Bears were horrific from the field. Led by Jahenns Manigat, the Bluejays applied constant defensive pressure, particularly on perimeter stars Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. The result was one of the worst shooting performances by a CU opponent all season.

Only North Texas and Nebraska (32%) shot worse from the field against the Jays than Cal (35%). And only North Texas (13%) misfired from three-point range as poorly as the Bears did (18%). And when given an opportunity at the line, Mike Montgomery’s team connected on just 7 of 13 free throws.

Forgive the crude description, but Jahenns was in Crabbe’s jock from the opening tip. There’s really no other way to explain Manigat’s methods; he constantly forced Crabbe into poor, low percentage shots. Cal’s leading scorer didn’t make a field goal in the first half and had just two free throws at the break. Meanwhile, McDermott had 18 of his team’s 34 first-half points and had missed only two of his shots.

Crabbe forced things even more in the second half, and found some opportunities. But he hoisted 17 attempts from the floor and made just 6 shots — none of his five three-point attempts were successful. He scored 12 in the second half, but they came too late. Manigat played almost the entire second half and spent his trip to California chasing Crabbe into his worst performance of the season.

Manigat was hardly Creighton’s only solid defender against the Bears. Gregory Echenique turned in a solid effort, too. He grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds while blocking 5 shots and adding 10 points. It marked Echenique’s second double-double in his last three games. He’s averaging 12 points and 9 rebounds in his last four games. Echenique, last year’s MVC Defensive Player of the Year, is playing outstanding defense in the post.

It is amazing what having the best player on the floor can do for a basketball team.

While Cal’s prolific scorer Crabbe was struggling, Creighton’s Doug McDermott continuing a torrid stretch of play. He was the best player on the court (again) and carried Creighton on his back (again). McDermott dropped 34 points on Cal, doing so in a scarily efficient manner: 10-17 from the field, 4-7 from three-point range, and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. He was a rebound away from a double-double, too.

In the five games since the Jays returned from Las Vegas, McDermott has improved on his usual stellar play and taken it to another level. He is averaging 27 points per game during that stretch, making 59% of his shots from the field, 68% of his three-point attempts, and 87% of his free throws.

Entering the week, McDermott’s 23.7 ppg is third in the country, behind Lehigh’s CJ McCollum at 24.9 ppg and Virginia Tech’s Erick Green at 24.8 ppg. His 261 points lead America.

Saturday, with a shortened and ineffective bench, the CU coaching staff put the ball in McDermott’s hands and asked him to take over the game. He obliged, and the scenario may become more frequent than in previous seasons.

With Josh Jones out indefinitely and only Ethan Wragge and Avery Dingman positioned to play meaningful minutes off the bench right now, McDermott and the other starters will need to shoulder more of the load offensively.

Wragge and Dingman struggled shooting against Cal. Wragge missed all six of his three-point attempts and has missed his last nine in total. Dingman missed all three of his shots — three-pointers — against the Bears.

Manigat must build on his exceptional effort against Cal.

With Jones out for the foreseeable future, Manigat will need more games like Saturday’s. His 11 points were a season high; in his last two games, he’s scored 20 of his season’s 51 points. His 5 rebounds against Cal were also a high for this season, as were his team-high 6 assists. He accomplished this, as well as the aforementioned suffocating defense, in a season-high 32 minutes.

Manigat struggled with injury during preseason practice, and he’s admittedly been slow to return to form. But with Jones unable to play due to his heart issues, Manigat will have an increased load to shoulder. His last two games have been his best, and the Bluejays have to hope that this trend continues against Tulsa this week and into the start of Missouri Valley Conference play.

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