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Men's Basketball

Morning After: Arizona State 79, Creighton 77

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[Box Score]

Key Stats:

Arizona State outrebounded Creighton 34-29. The Jays shot 50.8% for the game (30-59), and 45.8% from three-point range, while ASU shot 51.7% (31-60) and 7-17 from three-point range (41.2%). Arizona State went 10-16 from the line, Creighton went 6-11. CU turned it over 13 times, ASU turned it over 12. So, the overall stats were extremely even, huh?

In the second half, Arizona State shot 64.3% (18-28) and 50% from three-point range (4-8), while the Jays were “merely” 15-29 for 51.7%. And the Jays were a ghastly 1-5 from the free throw line in that second half.

Ouch.

Standout Performance:

Isaiah Zierden was the “Player of the Game” as announced in the arena, likely because he made four 3-pointers at key moments of the game, but I heard a lot of grumbling from folks around me that his defense canceled out what he scored, and it’s hard to argue with that. Z was hardly alone, but he played the most minutes of anyone on the team — 35 — and his mistakes on ball-screens and on staying in front of shooters were more glaring than others.

So let’s give it to Geoff Groselle, who for the third straight game played an outstanding game on both ends of the floor. He scored 15 points on 7-9 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds, and while his defense wasn’t superb, it seemed like his mistakes came from being too aggressive. Given the choice between that and mistakes caused by being too passive or from lack of activity or energy, I’ll take aggressive every time.

Recap & Analysis:

Last year, Creighton had eight games where they led in the final 90 seconds only to lose. Coming into this year, there was lots of belief that Mo Watson and Cole Huff, the two transfers who watched those excruciating losses from the bench while redshirting, would turn that around with their playmaking ability. Their first six games were all blowouts — five wins, one loss to Indiana — and their first chance to show that this year’s team would not be plagued by those late-game stumbles came last night.

It did not go well.

The final three minutes started off well enough. Trailing 75-72, Mo Watson drove to the rim, his missed shot bounced around the court, was corralled by his teammates, and he fired up a three-pointer which also missed. Khyri Thomas grabbed the offensive board, and Zierden took a three which was off the mark. Toby Hegner grabbed the offensive rebound this time, and finally Watson converted with a quirky layup at the rim to cap a wild 68-second possession. After a missed free throw at the other end left the lead at 75-74, Hegner drained a three-pointer to give the Jays the lead with 1:16 to play.

On the next possession, Zierden came up with a steal, but Watson missed a quick (perhaps ill-advised) shot at the other end, and now with 25 seconds left the shot clock was off and the Jays were clinging to a two-point lead. Lock down the perimeter, force them to drive inside, and at worst, you go overtime, right?

Kinda. They did keep the Sun Devils’ shooters in front of them and forced a drive, but James Milliken fouled Savon Goodman as he caught the ball in the paint, putting him at the line. After making the first, he missed the second free throw to leave the Jays lead at 77-76. Zierden corralled the rebound, and with 18 seconds left, all they needed to do was make a couple of free throws, play some defense, and go home a winner.

Instead, the ghosts of 2014 returned, and the Jays found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Cole Huff is consoled by James Milliken after the final buzzer. (Photo by Adam Streur / WBR)

Cole Huff is consoled by James Milliken after the final buzzer. (Photo by Adam Streur / WBR)

Arizona State’s Tra Holder picked Zierden’s pocket after grabbing that rebound, and immediately put up a shot. Groselle attempted to block it, but was correctly called for goal-tending. Just like that, in the span of three seconds, the game had turned. It wasn’t over, though, as the Jays now had the ball, down one, with 13 seconds left. They got the ball to Cole Huff, who was fouled under the basket with six seconds left and sent to the line for two shots, needing one to tie and two for the lead (and likely, the win).

As he stepped to the line, Huff was a 70% free-throw shooter, one of the best on the team. The odds were overwhelming in favor of him at least tying the game. Instead, he clanked both off the rim, and they remained down one. Somehow, both the Bluejays and Huff got another chance — Willie Atwood rebounded Huff’s second miss, was promptly fouled, and he could only convert one of two free throws. Bringing the ball up court, Watson found Huff with a clean look at the basket from the top of the circle, and he launched a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

It clanged harmlessly off the rim. Huff collapsed to the floor in agony, having missed not only the two free throws but also the final shot. His teammates helped him up, offering encouragement, but the dejection on his face was obvious.

***

In the immediate aftermath of yet another late-game collapse, it was tempting to feel like this season might be a cruel continuation of last winter’s endless gut-punches. It was easy to be negative, pessimistic, even fatalistic. It was a terrible loss in a vacuum, and a brutal, emotional loss in the context of all the close losses this team has suffered the last season-plus.

Zach Hanson throws down a dunk for two of his four first-half points against Arizona State. (Photo by Adam Streur / WBR)

Zach Hanson throws down a dunk for two of his four first-half points against Arizona State. (Photo by Adam Streur / WBR)

And why not? They took an eight point lead into halftime, but failed to add greater separation of 12-15 points between themselves and the Sun Devils when they had the chance because of missed free throws and costly turnovers. They got destroyed on the glass in the second half, especially in the first eight minutes when ASU turned the tide. The offense was ragged (although somehow effective). The team played almost no defense at all in the second half, allowing Arizona State to score on 14 of their first 18 possessions — 10 of which were layups! After allowing 33 points in the entire first half, they allowed 25 in the first eight minutes of the second half. Though they clamped down a bit and gave up just 21 the rest of the game, the damage was done. That stretch of non-existant defense erased an eight-point lead, gave ASU the momentum, and turned the game.

Everyone on the court was guilty. Thomas and Watson weren’t defending ASU’s guards close enough, allowing them room to operate. Groselle was burned on pick and rolls because he reacted too slowly time after time. Huff continually was taken out of plays by cuts and screens, and provided little to no backside help defense. The defensive madness was a team effort.

They finally got burned by the missed free throws that have plagued them all season long; they shoot just 67% as team and four of the players getting the most minutes are major question marks at the line. Cole Huff is just 9-16 (60%). Mo Watson is just 22-32 (68%). Geoff Groselle is 17-26 (65%). Khyri Thomas is 4-10 (40%). Toby Hegner is 4-9 (44%). With struggles like that, it was only a matter of time before missed free throws hurt them in a close game.

Despite all of that, if Zierden secures the rebound with 18 seconds left instead of getting his pocket picked by Tra Holder, the Jays probably win. Even with Holder doing that and making a bucket to put them ahead, if Cole Huff makes those two free throws, Creighton likely wins. And even with the turnover and the missed FT’s, if Huff hits the three-pointer at the buzzer, Creighton celebrates a win.

As bad as that second half was, they had three opportunities to take the win, three chances to make up for all that had gone wrong.

On the one hand, that’s incredibly discouraging because despite all the new faces, another close game ended in another close defeat. On the other hand, it offers some cause for optimism, because they didn’t look like and/or play like the better team for any stretch of any of the eight games where they blew the lead in the final minute a year ago. It usually felt like they were doing all they could to stay in the game, or to rally from a big deficit, and then just couldn’t make the play to get over the hump at the end.

Wednesday night, they outplayed the Sun Devils in the first half, led for a good chunk of the night, and if they’d won the game, it wouldn’t have felt like stealing. That’s different. Their offense was solid and balanced, as they scored 33 points from three-point range and 34 in the paint. This wasn’t the “Let it Fly” style of chucking up 30 three-pointers and struggling to score when they don’t go in, something we so often saw in those losses a year ago. That’s different.

We’ll find out quickly whether this loss carries over to the next game, as it seemed to do when the losses began mounting last winter. Let’s hope that’s different, too.

They Said It:

“We got out-coached. We got out-played. We got out-toughed. We got out-executed. It’s relatively simple. For whatever reason at halftime we just decided we’re just going to try to outscore them in the second half. We weren’t interested in protecting the paint. We weren’t interested in guarding the dribble. We weren’t interested in challenging the rim. That was disappointing. Obviously we executed some things down the stretch to give ourselves a chance, but had a couple costly turnovers and some missed free throws and a missed shot — tough one to swallow.” -Head Coach Greg McDermott in postgame press conference

“I thought in the first half we defended at the level we’re capable of — they had 33 points on 34 possessions,” McDermott said. “[Willie] Atwood hit three threes, but that’s more on the scouting report than it is on our guys, but by doing that we took away some of their guard play. We probably missed four or five layups in the first half. We had some really good looks at rhythm threes that we didn’t make. We had a chance to probably be up 15 or 16 at the break and didn’t capitalize.” -Head Coach Greg McDermott in postgame press conference

“The reality of it is Cole spends more time in the gym than anybody in our program. If you’re asking me who I want at the line at the end and who I want to shoot the three at the end, he’s the guy, because he’s prepared himself.” -Head Coach Greg McDermott in postgame press conference

“I feel awful for him, but he should be able to sleep tonight knowing that he did what he was supposed to do to prepare himself for that moment. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to work out the way you want, but he was prepared.” -Head Coach Greg McDermott in postgame press conference

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