Recap:
Favored by 18 points over Georgetown on Wednesday, Creighton covered the spread in six-and-a-half minutes — and eventually led by as many as 42 in demolishing the hapless Hoyas. They scored the game’s first 19 points, with Ryan Kalkbrenner scoring seven and Baylor Scheierman six in an opening salvo.
Meanwhile, Georgetown missed their first 12 shots from the floor — most of them the same foolish shots they’ve taken all year, including in the ugly first meeting with Creighton — just taken to an extreme level of ineptitude. They didn’t make their first field goal until the 12:12 mark. By then it was 19-0 Creighton and any Jays fans who had dawdled in getting to their seats on time had missed the only competitive portion of the game.
The fun was just beginning though, as Trey Alexander made a three-pointer on four consecutive Bluejay possessions — 12 points spanning one minute and 53 seconds of game clock, a blur of shots that came so quickly you almost couldn’t process what was happening in the moment. It was “Let it Fly” personified, the type of run Kyle Korver, Ethan Wragge, Mitch Ballock and others used to go on to the delight of the Bluejay faithful.
Alexander’s first two came in transition, both as he was trailing Ryan Nembhard up the floor. That they came 20 seconds apart and were so similarly executed shows how poor Georgetown’s defensive attention to detail is. And it prompted a timeout from Patrick Ewing, as the Jays had opened up a 32-7 lead.
30 seconds later, Alexander’s third consecutive three came in the half court as the Bluejay defense rotated and got Georgetown out of position, opening up a look for Alexander.
25 seconds after that, Alexander banged home his fourth straight, again in transition with him standing alone in the corner where Nembhard found him wide-open. 38-9 Bluejays.
And after a layup from Fredrick King ended Alexander’s run, he made a fifth straight 3-pointer without a miss — again as the trailer in transition with the Hoyas defense ignoring him. 43-13 Bluejays.
If you’re counting, that’s 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting from behind the arc in 3:05. By way of comparison, Wragge’s legendary night at Villanova in 2014 featured seven consecutive made threes in 5:42. And anytime you’re comparing something to THAT, you’re in rarified air.
“I’ve worked on my shot more than I’ve ever done in my career,” Alexander said. “Coming out of high school I had the ball in my hands a lot and was working on a lot of stuff off the dribble. So for me, it was a change of scenery for me to have to be off the ball a bit and catch and shoot a lot.”
“He was in the gym working, and he’s continued to do that throughout the season,” Greg McDermott added. “They’re right down below my window there, so I know who’s in there doing what. He’s very consistent with his work ethic.”
And with a renewed sense of defensive intensity, they literally and figuratively ran the Hoyas off the court. Time after time, their defense funneled shooters inside the arc, then dared them to shoot. And though Hoya players like Primo Spears love to take mid-range two-pointers, the Jays made them tough, contested shots — much like they did in D.C. — except this time the Jays turned the missed shots into fuel for their transition offense. And that offense buried Georgetown in an avalanche of threes.
“After the Villanova game we kind of had to evaluate and get back to playing defense the way we know how,” Alexander said. “For us to get out and run and play the way we want to play, we have to get stops.”
CU had 10 made threes in the first half; Georgetown had eight total made baskets. The 51-24 halftime lead was tied for 10th largest in arena history. And then the Jays did something equally impressive: they kept their foot on the gas and turned a blowout into an all-time laugher. Six minutes into the second half, they led by 42 (!) points, 73-31. That early barrage included Alexander’s seventh made 3-pointer:
And an alley-oop in transition from Scheierman to Arthur Kaluma, followed by a Kaluma three that pushed the Jays past the 75-point threshold for free pizza for season ticket holders — at the 12:00 mark. According to Rob Anderson’s estimation, it’s believed to be the 11th quickest in arena history.
The bench slammed the door shut, with Shereef Mitchell’s spin move to create a layup giving them their largest lead of the night — 43 points, 84-41.
It’s a move you really have to see from the baseline camera in slow motion to truly appreciate.
Coming in, most felt like if the Jays are a team with plans on making a March run, they needed to blow out this bad Hoyas team. They did that and more, sending Patrick Ewing out in what is likely his final Big East regular season game with one of the largest margins of defeat in program history.
“It’s always nice to have a game like this where everything feels good and everyone feels good,” Scheierman said. “But we’ve gotta get back to work and have another great two days of preparation like we had for this one and get ready for the regular season finale.”
Baylor Scheierman was honored after the game as part of Senior Night festivities. (Photo by Ken Juszyk/WBR)
Inside the Box:
If you were scripting Wednesday night’s game, you couldn’t have improved much upon it. The Jays had a season high in made three-pointers (19) and their second-best three-point shooting percentage (55.9%). Their starting five, who have played gigantic minutes through January and February, spent most of the second half on the bench; Nembhard logged 24 minutes, Alexander 23, Scheierman 22, Kaluma 21 and Kalkbrenner just 15.
That meant extended minutes for the bench, even though their actual performance was a mixed bag. Mitchell scored eight points with three boards and an assist in 18 minutes, combined with his patented aggressive defense. King picked up three quick fouls against the Hoyas frontline but played solid minutes later in the night, allowing Kalkbrenner to play just eight minutes after halftime.
And though Mason Miller and Francisco Farabello struggled, it was glaring that a lineup of Ben Shtolzberg, Miller, Farabello, Mitchell and King looked more disciplined with a better sense of their plan than Georgetown’s starters.
Alexander’s seven made 3-pointers moved him into exclusive company; the only four Bluejays to have multiple games in the same season with seven or more made 3’s are Alexander, Korea, Wragge and Ballock.
- Kyle Korver (4, 2002-03)
- Ethan Wragge (2, 2013-14)
- Mitch Ballock (2, 2018-19 and 2020-21)
- Trey Alexander (2, 2022-23)
Baylor Scheierman had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers in what might be his final home game. He joined Ronnie Harrell, Jr., Ryan Hawkins, and Damien Jefferson as the only Jays with 10/10/5 and 0 turnovers since 2010-11. He’s just the second Bluejay with a double-double on a night he’s been honored on Senior Day since 1998, joining Geoffrey Groselle in 2016. And how’s this: his 12 double-doubles this season (so far) are the most by a Creighton player in one season since Bob Harstad in 1989-90.
The win leaves CU with these seeding scenarios for the Big East Tournament, keeping in mind that a 3 seed gets them an opening round game against either Villanova or Seton Hall, and a 4 seed gets them UConn.
- Win at DePaul + a win by Seton Hall or Butler = 3 seed
- Win at DePaul + losses by Seton Hall and Butler = 4 seed
- Loss at DePaul = 4 seed