Key Stats:
There’s a lot of surprising stuff on the stat sheet after this one. Creighton outrebounded Providence 37-35, and though the Friars had more offensive rebounds (11 to 8), Creighton had more second chance points (8 to 7). The teams were even on points in the paint (22 apiece). And CU, who committed 18 turnovers last week against UMKC, and 15 against Coe College and 18 against Oklahoma the week before, turned it over just four times in the first half — and 12 times for the game.
“Coach McDermott said if we outrebounded them and limited the turnovers, we were going to win the game,” Marcus Zegarowski said after the game. “He was spot on.”
What’s not surprising? Creighton’s three-point shooting. They made 13-of-29 (44.8%) from behind the arc, a great number but just slightly above their season average of 42.6%, which ranks fifth-best nationally. Though it’s not surprising in general, the fact that it happened against the Friars is. Those 13 made threes are their most in a game against Providence since joining the Big East. They’ve made more than 40% of their threes just twice versus the Friars in that time — the two regular season games in Doug McDemott’s senior season — and an average of 30% in the rest, starting with the Big East Tourney final in McDermott’s senior year.
“Making 13 against Providence is like making 30 against anyone else,” Greg McDermott told the Big East Digital Network after the game. “They’re hard to come by because of their defense. They have great length that allows them to close out on you so quickly.”
Individually, Martin Krampelj & Christian Bishop combined for 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Meanwhile, Providence big men Kalif Young & Nate Watson combined for 9 points and 8 rebounds. Creighton won the battle of the bigs, then let the 3-ball take them home.
The biggest stat? Creighton is 1-0 on the road in a Big East where road wins will be as hard as ever to get.
“It’s hard to win on the road in this league, and it’s hard for us to win against Providence because of the way they control tempo,” McDermott said afterward. “They had 68 points on 70 possessions today. If we can do that on the road, we’re going to win a lot of games.”
Recap:
Anytime Creighton and Providence lock horns, rebounds and turnovers are key to winning for the Bluejays because the Friars are so good at minimizing the number of possessions in the game by controlling the pace. And in the first half on Monday, Creighton set the tone early and often on both counts. They turned it over just four times, fought hard on the glass, and it was a big reason they held a lead for a large portion of the half.
After 12 minutes of going back-and-forth, Providence took the lead 22-19 on a three-pointer by Mak Ashton-Langford. Mitch Ballock answered with a three on the other end a couple of possessions later, sparking a 9-0 run that silenced the rowdy New Years Eve crowd at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
That run also featured four straight points from Christian Bishop, who only played seven minutes but left his fingerprints all over the game on both ends of the floor. This dunk gave the Jays a 26-22 lead:
In the huddle during a timeout, FS1’s cameras showed Coach Greg McDermott telling his team, “So far, we’re getting the loose balls and that has to continue!”
Bishop and fellow freshman Marcus Zegarowski scored seven of the Jays’ final 12 points of the half, and they took a 34-31 lead into the locker room.
After doing a good job of taking away high-percentage shots in the first half, and forcing Providence to attempt shots against a set defense — meaning no offensive rebound putbacks, no transition layups or dunks — they had a bad defensive stretch to open the second half. Providence had four second-chance shot attempts in the first four minutes of the half, thanks to four offensive rebounds.
It had the look of a vintage Creighton-Providence game, and that’s not a good thing.
Thankfully, the Jays answered the Friars’ scoring during those four minutes, starting with a defensive stop that led to a runout layup for Ty-Shon Alexander:
And continuing with a transition dunk for Martin Krampelj:
After those first four minutes, Creighton surrendered just two more offensive boards the rest of the game, and once their own offense caught fire from behind the arc, Providence couldn’t keep up. Krampelj nailed a three with 15:30 to go, tying the game at 41. It was the start of an incredible stretch where they made nine-of-ten 3-pointers.
Zegarowski hit a three to give them a 44-41 lead moments later as the shot clock was about to expire, and then a second three to give them a 49-48 lead a couple of possessions later:
Mitch Ballock stuck a three from the corner to go up 52-49; Providence’s Alpha Diallo answered with a three on the other end to tie it.
And then a minute later, Ballock created a shot for Kaleb Joseph, who hit a three to give CU the lead for good 55-53.
On the very next possession, Bishop swatted away a shot by Providence’s Nate Watson, and started a fastbreak which resulted in a three from Alexander.
Officially feeling it at this point, the Jays began making shots they probably had no business making. Krampelj hit a three from the top of the key created by Ballock’s dribble penetration at the end of the shot clock. Ballock then hit a contested three moments later, pump-faking a defender out of the way to create space for himself. Davion Mintz then hit a pullup three, heavily contested, to put the Jays ahead by nine.
“Our rebounds were so big, because it allowed us to get out in transition where we able to get into the teeth of their defense to create open threes,” McDermott said on his postgame show. “But let’s face it, we threw up a couple of prayers late in the shot clock that were fortunate to go in. Sometimes to win on the road you need a couple plays like that to go your way.”
With a 67-58 lead, they made every single free throw the rest of the way — eight in all — to clinch the win. Over those final five minutes, they also got a clutch layup from Zegarowski, who drove into the defense and got off a high-percentage look, and a steal after Ashton-Langford had made a three for the Friars and were looking to cut the deficit to five.
“Marcus is mature beyond his years,” McDermott said of his freshman point guard on the Big East Digital Network. “He’s a basketball junkie. He’s so skilled, and he works hard, and he asks all the right questions. I don’t know that I’ve coached a freshman with as much moxie as he has at such a young age. He’s going to have a heckuva career here. We’re really glad we have him.”
During most of the decisive stretch, Providence went with a small lineup they’ve rarely used — taking both Nate Watson and Kalif Young off the floor together. McDermott noted in his postgame radio interview that he believed the Friars had done that just once all season long, and that the previous time was due to foul trouble.
“That’s something we weren’t totally prepared for but I thought we did a good job against it,” McDermott said. “We had a great possession, with three resets of the shot clock. Tini went in and set a screen, and drew a foul. Then he drew another one. And that’s what you have to do — find the matchup you like, and exploit it.”
The Jays’ 79-68 win is a huge one. They begin Big East play on the road at Providence and Butler, then come home to play Marquette and Villanova. Getting the first win out of the way, in as tough of an environment as they’ll see anywhere in the league against as bad of a matchup, stylistically, as they’ll face in the league? Massive. The 13 made threes get the headlines, and rightfully so, but their effort on the glass and on defense was more impressive — they out-toughed the toughest team in the league on their own floor.
Equally impressive? Every time Providence seemed like they were about to make a run, someone from the Bluejays made a play to end it. In previous road games this year, that was not the case. Oklahoma had a 20-2 run in the first half to seize control. Nebraska had a 18-7 run that swung the momentum in their favor and began the avalanche that followed. Ohio State ended the game on a 13-0 run to erase a late Bluejay lead and steal the win. Gonzaga used a 12-0 run to erase a 73-72 Creighton lead and take control of that game. In all four contests, opponents made big game-changing runs, and CU was powerless to stop it. This time was different. They hit big shots time after time to answer Providence. They got defensive rebounds to eliminate second-chance opportunities. And in one of the biggest moments, their defense — Zegarowski specifically — came up with a steal to ice the win.
Creighton played the toughest non-conference schedule in the Big East and 24th toughest in the country, and though they failed to pick up wins in those four games, they grew from the losses — and Monday’s win over Providence is a result of that growth.
“The fact that we played a really good schedule, even though we only won one of those five games, I think we’re in a better place being 9-4 than playing two or three easier games and being 11-2,” McDermott told FS1’s studio crew in a postgame TV interview. “An 11-2 record would look a little sexier, but I don’t know if we come into this environment and win today had we not experienced the schedule that we’ve played thus far.”
