Kelvin Jones has already made an impact on this Creighton team (Juszyk / WBR)
As he was leaving his post-game press conference on Saturday night, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott had one final remark for the media: “That was best hustle play I’ve ever seen from a guy that size in all my years of coaching.”
He was referring to loose ball that big man Kelvin Jones hit the deck to secure with under two minutes to go in the second half that allowed the Bluejays to kill an extra 24 seconds off the clock with a seven-point lead. On the previous defensive possession Jones was whistled for his fifth foul on a block/charge call at the rim. Louisiana Tech’s JaColby Pemberton drew the foul, hit the shot, and appeared to be headed to the free throw line to attempt to cut Creighton’s lead to four with 1:58 to play. Before Pemberton stepped to the line, the officials went to the monitor to make sure Jones’ feet weren’t outside the restricted area. They were and the call was reversed. Creighton’s grad transfer big man’s fifth foul was rescinded, two points were taking off the board for the Bulldogs, and Pemberton was instead disqualified from the contest with his fifth personal foul.
Jones put up 14 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, but it was his willingness to go full steam ahead with no questions asked — a trait he has displayed consistently since he arrived on campus in July — that stood out to his head coach.
“Kelvin is a worker,” McDermott said. “His dad works with his hands; he’s a carpenter who fixes things, and if you gave Kelvin his choice that’s what he would like to do. He’s just a guy who’s a grinder, a worker, and he wants to please. He wants to please me. He wants to please the fans. He wants to please his family. He’s just a wonderful, wonderful person, and he plays the game for all the right reasons.”
McDermott brought Jones and sophomore point guard Marcus Zegarowski to the post-game press conference, and it had very little to do with the fact that they combined to score 38% percent of Creighton’s points on Saturday night. Prior to Jones’ two extra effort plays with under two minutes remaining, Zegarowski laid out with two consecutive full extension dives to scrape the ball away from Louisiana Tech’s DaQuan Bracey. As soon as he secured it, Zegarowksi rolled over and found Jones standing over him, Jones took a couple dribble across halfcourt and pitched it ahead to Mitch Ballock, who then drew the lone defender to him before tossing a lob back to Jones for a thunderous alley-oop dunk that blew the roof off the CHI Health Center Omaha.
“They changed the game,” McDermott said of the two men sitting beside him at the dais. “And the plays had nothing to do with basketball. Marcus’ dive, followed by another dive, followed by Kelvin’s dunk; and then Kelvin laying out at the top of the key going after that loose ball — it energizes the crowd and lifts everybody else, but it had nothing to do with the basketball in terms of dribbling it or passing it or shooting it. It was just about that ball is on the floor and it’s going to be mine, and those two made it happen.”
While McDermott felt that those plays changed the game, Ballock went a step further.
“Once Marcus got on the floor that was a wrap,” the junior sharpshooter said. “That set the game. It was over after that. It was over. We got a bucket and I think it was [60-55] after that, and I looked up and we were teed up. It was over. It was done. On the road, you’re not coming back from that.”
Creighton’s 3-point shooting
Creighton was efficient from three-point range. Mitch Ballock was a big contributor to that (Juszyk / WBR)
The Jays were 13-of-29 from beyond the arc on Saturday night. According to KenPom, through three games their adjusted offensive efficiency ranks fourth in the country behind only Michigan State, Louisville, and Gonzaga. Mixed in there is a 43.2% clip from the new 3-point line, which currently puts them at 15th in the nation as a team. Against Louisiana Tech, Mitch Ballock, Ty-Shon Alexander, and Marcus Zegarowski took 25 of CU’s 29 threes and accounted for all 13 of the makes — Ballock was 5-of-11, Zegarowski was 4-of-9, and Alexander was 4-of-5. On the season, Ballock is at 38.1%, Zegarowski is at even 50%, and Alexander is converting at a blistering 57.9%. The deeper line is going to separate the men from the boys this season, and Creighton has three legitimate snipers at their disposal for 35 minutes a night.
Louisiana Tech’s pressure
Last season, the Bulldogs ranked 20th in the country with a 25.7% turnover rate generated by their press defense. Creighton prepared for it in practice but didn’t see it very much on Saturday night. The one time they did face it early, the broke it quickly and got an open rhythm three in the corner for Mitch Ballock, which he turned down (a story for another day). That sequence likely discouraged Louisiana Tech from going to the well with regularity. Aside from a 12-possession stretch early in the second half where they coughed it up five times, the Bluejays only gave it away on 13.7% of their possessions. For the season, they are sitting at a 15.6% turnover rate, good for 40th in the country — one spot behind a Cassius Winston-led Michigan State squad.
Rebounding Issues
Creighton owned the glass in their loss against Michigan, finishing with an 83.3% defensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 18 of a possible 41 offensive rebounds, and outscoring the Wolverines 13-2 in second-chance points. They were the polar opposite in that area on Saturday as Louisiana Tech came away with 14 offensive boards and ended up +19 (26-7) in second-chance points.