Key Stats:
Creighton assists on 25 of their 40 made baskets, and Mo Watson ties a Paradise Jam tournament record with 13 assists. No Bluejay plays more than 21 minutes (Watson), all 14 players see at least five minutes of action, and all of them scored, which is huge in setting up the rest of the weekend. And here’s the most bizarre stat: until WSU hit their first three-pointer midway through the second half, Creighton had outscored them 36-0 from three-point range.
WSU’s Conor Clifford scored 29 points in 28 minutes and could have probably gone for 40+ in a closer game where he didn’t sit on the bench most of the second half.
Standout Performance:
Watson had 13 assists in 21 minutes, which is absurd, but in terms of setting the tone for the game, the standout was Cole Huff. He was deadly in the first half, scoring not only from long range (3-5) but on his mid-range jumper and even on a nifty drive to the basket. He wound up with 19 points and six rebounds, and for the first time this year looked like the Cole Huff of February and March last year.
If he’s draining long three-pointers at a 40-45% clip with the ability to also put the ball on the floor and make that jab-step back mid-range jumper, it makes Creighton’s offense — already nearing “Pick your poison” territory for opposing defenses because of the sheer number of weapons — that much more difficult to defend. A scary proposition for opponents, and an exciting one for the Jays.
Recap & Analysis:
Coming into the season, Washington State coach Ernie Kent said he was excited to play at a faster pace and run in the open floor. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for; trying to run with the Bluejays led to the Cougars being run out of the gym.
Playing what seemed like the entire first half in transition, Creighton made 63% of their baskets, went 10-15 from three-point range, and scored 60 points in the first half. WSU did try to get them off-balance by switching between man and zone defenses, but by allowing the Jays to play the game at their tempo — as fast as possible — it mattered little what defense WSU ran in the halfcourt because the Jays rarely ran a halfcourt offense.
Cole Huff got the night started with a three-pointer 17 seconds in, followed by buckets from Watson and Justin Patton. Then Huff added another three at the 17:37 mark, an aggressive bucket at the rim following a WSU turnover moments later, and their huge contingent of fans were so loud they forced a shot clock violation on Washington State.
Let’s take a minute to talk about that. Creighton’s tremendous fanbase not only fills the CenturyLink Center’s 17,000 seats regularly, they follow the team to tournaments in the kind of numbers that are the envy of most of college basketball. While fans of football schools flock to bowl games, CU fans follow their hoops team to holiday tournaments, and their contingent in the Virgin Islands is reportedly more than the other seven schools playing in the tourney combined. I mean, look at the send-off from the hotel:
And how 90% of the arena was in blue:
Creighton really does have an amazing fanbase, and don’t ever let anyone in red tell you differently. But I digress.
Buoyed by Huff’s early offense, the Jays took flight after the first media timeout — literally. A fastbreak dunk from Khyri Thomas started a 20-7 run:
And then three-pointers from Marcus Foster, Isaiah Zeiden, Toby Hegner, and Maurice Watson buried the Cougars in an avalanche of offense. When Zach Hanson’s one-handed baby hook went in at the 8:53 mark, it was 32-14 Creighton.
They had an assist on eight of their first 10 field goals, with Watson dishing out six in his first seven minutes of action — “Witchcraft” as WBR’s Matt DeMarinis called it on Twitter. They made six of their first seven 3-point shots. And after 12 minutes of action, the outcome was basically no longer in doubt. Foster made sure they ended the first half with momentum, nailing a 26-foot three-pointer and then an uber-athletic layup in transition:
The starters did play briefly in the second half, punctuating the blowout with one of the most ridiculous dunks you’ll see all week. Justin Patton poked the ball away on defense, Cole Huff fed the ball to Khryi Thomas in transition, and Thomas threw a behind-the-back bounce pass to a streaking Patton for the dunk.
After that, the game was in cruise control and the Bluejay starters rested for a tough battle against NC State on Sunday night. That game, televised on CBS Sports Network at 7:30pm Omaha time, features a freshman guard that could be a lottery pick in next summer’s NBA Draft — 6’3” Dennis Smith, who scored 21 points Friday night.
They’re short-handed up front, with forward Omar Yurtseven serving a nine-game NCAA suspension and forward Ted Kapita back home because of a student visa issue that prevented him from traveling to the Virgin Islands. And wing Maverick Rowan, who traveled with the team, also sat out because of concussion-like symptoms. That could be a factor with such a short turnaround, but the Wolfpack remains a talented team. The aforementioned Smith is a handful, and his length could cause problems for the Jays. Abdul-Malik Abu, playing in place of Yurtseven and Kapita, scored 25 points with 8 rebounds in the win over Montana, and was unstoppable around the rim.
NC State guard Terry Henderson led them in scoring the first two games, but missed his first five 3-pointers and scored just eight points. But they were more than good enough defensively, and got plenty of offense from Abu inside and Smith outside.
Sunday night’s matchup will likely be the kind of fast-paced game Washington State foolishly thought they could play against Creighton. The Wolfpack is much better, but if the Bluejays are clicking on all cylinders, the score may be closer but the outcome may be the same.
They Said It:
“I felt pretty good actually when I went out on the floor tonight, I had good blood flow and good adrenaline. I’m so locked in on basketball that I don’t have much time to think about my knees. Obviously we do have to do some extra things when I come off the court, to make sure my knees don’t get cold, but overall I feel fine.” -Cole Huff on 1620AM Postgame
“I just wanted to be aggressive tonight, but at the same time let the game come to me. I think in the first section of the game, they were in a zone and I got lost in it; I was open so I put up a couple of shots and they went in. Then they went back to man-to-man, and I felt like I had a mismatch with the guy guarding me. My teammates and coaches ran some plays for me, and I was aggressive in attacking them. Luckily things went my way.” -Cole Huff on 1620AM Postgame
“The ball movement was great. It all started with Maurice, 13 assists. I don’t know if that’s a personal high for him or not, but he’s one of the best playmakers if not the best playmaker in college basketball. He really set the tone tonight. Once I had it going, someone else got it going and we all fed off each other. The ball was zipping around the perimeter. Everything was uncontested, wide-open threes. That was really good for us.” -Cole Huff on 1620AM Postgame
“For the most part I think our defensive plan and effort was pretty solid. Once a guy gets going, like Clifford did tonight, it’s hard to cool him off no matter who it is. Especially a big body like that. No matter what spot you get to, or what position you’re in, he’s so big and tall he can pick his spots. And he was feeling it. We’ve all had nights like that where the rim seems really big, but luckily for us no one else on their team got it going. If one guy is going to score all their points and we shut the rest of the team down, we’re fine with that.” -Cole Huff on 1620AM Postgame
“Of the young guys that saw time tonight, Martin stood out the most to me. He has overcome a lot with his ACL injury last year. He has to learn so much, playing the ‘5’ and the ‘4’, it’s a lot for him sometimes. So it was really good to see him play with a clear mind tonight. He got the ball in the post, he faced up, he was really aggressive, and the ball went in for him. He got a couple of box-outs on the defensive end, too. That was really cool for me to see.” -Cole Huff on 1620AM Postgame
“Maurice had 13 assists and only took four shots. He was controlling the game. The kid wants to win, and he did what he needed to tonight. Obviously, our ball movement early was great. I thought we got out and put a lot of pressure on the rim in transition, and with some of our ball-screen stuff. They didn’t really have an answer for it. Then we got open shots, and we knocked down shots. That’s what this team’s going to need to do.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“It’s good to see Cole playing aggressively. His parents got in yesterday and I told them, he’s making gradual progress coming back from the injury. You see it in little amounts; he gets a little better every day. It was nice we were able to limit his minutes tonight because that will help come Sunday. I thought he played really well, he did some good things on the defensive end, and he attacked the basket a few times. We’re going to need him to get back to the old Cole Huff, and he’s getting closer.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“It was also good to see Toby come in tonight and play well, Ronnie did some good things late in the game, and Martin did some really good things. Film is invaluable from a game like this, for these young guys to get a taste in this environment, make some mistakes and make some plays that we can teach about.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“I thought Marcus did a good job, he attacked the rim a couple times in transition and there was contact but he’s so big and strong that guys bounce off of him. We need him to attack the rim like that, we need him to put pressure on the rim. That gets him to the free throw line a little more, and I think that’s going to be important as we move forward — that we’re able to go to him on the high-post and get him to the line. I think that can happen.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“We’ll let the guys sleep in a little bit (Saturday), and then I think we’re going out on the water for a couple of hours on a catamaran. Then we’ll practice, and while it can’t be a physical practice, we need to be engaged from a mental standpoint. We’ll watch a lot of film of NC State tonight and tomorrow. We’ll get a feel for what we think is the best plan for them, so we’re all on the same page when we walk out on the practice floor. It’s important to enjoy the island and enjoy the experience, but it’s also important to take care of yourself and get some rest.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“NC State is so big and physical, so long at every position. You’ve got some mismatch nightmares in the guard corps. Especially if we’ve got Maurice and Z out there at the same time, NC State’s guards are a lot bigger. And their frontline is going to chase shots on the glass. It’s going to be a challenge. They’re picked fourth or fifth in the ACC which everybody says is one of the best leagues in college basketball. But that’s the kind of game you want and that you come to these tournaments for. For us to be four games in and have a game against Wisconsin and now NC State, that’s huge for us.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
“We’re playing really well, but from my perspective and from my staff’s perspective, this team has a lot of room for growth. That’s really exciting, as we continue to put the pieces together.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame
You Said It:
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/799803073971503104
https://twitter.com/crimebait/status/799805891881107456
https://twitter.com/abbott_07_10/status/799812840588791808
(And how could we leave off a collection of the best #BluejayCafeTweets after another webcast-only game? It’s a tradition Bluejay fans have used to entertain themselves through games they can’t watch for going on four years!)
https://twitter.com/commonswense/status/799822621655388160
https://twitter.com/PRspcDerek/status/799788642797555716