Bluejay Beat Podcast:
Recap & Analysis:
Roughly 30 minutes before gametime Saturday morning, word trickled out that Big East Preseason Player of the Year Marcus Zegarowski would not be in uniform. No reason was given when CU officially announced he was inactive via a tweet just before tip, which left the door open that it might not be anything serious. But given the program’s recent history with injuries, Bluejay fans’ thoughts immediately went to dark places.
Zegarowski’s been fighting through a nagging hamstring injury for some time, and it had flared up a bit in the days between Wednesday’s win over Seton Hall and Saturday. He’s vitally important both to their immediate goals — he leads the team in points (14.1) and assists (4.8) — and to their longer-term goals of advancing in March because of his leadership and playmaking ability. So the staff decided to hit pause, in hopes that a break would help it heal.
“We talked the last couple of days because he wasn’t able to practice on it,” Coach Greg McDermott said on his postgame radio show, “that if there was ever a time to rest and get this thing right for the stretch run, it’s now. We have a week off after this game. So we made the decision to sit him today.”
With Zegarowski out, Shereef Mitchell got his third career start and wasted little time getting into the statsheet. His three-pointer, set up by a drive from Christian Bishop to collapse the defense, opened the scoring 15 seconds into the game.
A back-and-forth game ensued, and with 15:34 to go in the half, St. John’s led 13-12. In those kind of games at home, it’s usually just a matter of time before the Jays unleash a huge run to bury an opponent, and in this one it happened early. Ryan Kalkbrenner’s three-point play following a dunk put CU ahead 15-13:
Mitch Ballock buried a three from in front of the visitor’s bench:
And then buried another on a play where he used a shot-fake to get his defender to over-commit on a closeout, and then slid out of the way for a wide-open look:
Alex O’Connell hit not one, not two, but three triples in the span of two minutes.
And all totaled, the Jays made 11 of their next 15 shots starting with Kalkbrenner’s dunk. And when Mitchell ripped away a steal and raced down court for a layup with 7:38 to go, they had opened up a 40-25 lead.
“I’m really happy,” McDermott said on his postgame radio show. “After the first 22 possessions we had 40 points. That run was some of the best offensive basketball I’ve seen in quite a while. Guys made the extra pass, we got into the paint and set our feet, and at times guys were probably turning down shots that were pretty open to make a pass for someone else. Most coaches would love to have that problem.”
They led 56-39 at the half, a score that had to be demoralizing for St. John’s. They had played fairly well, shooting 51% (16-of-31) with two players having the hot hand offensively in Julian Champagnie (16 first half points) and Marcellus Earlington (11). But Creighton had played even better. Their 56 first-half points were their most ever since joining the Big East.
“Creighton had one of those spurts right before the half, where our defense seemed like it was a step slow in terms of getting to where their shooters were and they did a good job of attacking outside,” St. John’s Coach Mike Anderson said. “When you play against a Creighton team you have to be able to defend.β
The Jays shot 59% (22-of-37) in that half, and 50% on threes (10-of-20). They had an assist on 15 of those 22 made baskets, and had only three turnovers despite constant pressure from St. John’s’ defense. And they turned five steals into nine points.
“It seemed like every loose ball we were right there, but you got to battle for them, you got to play with that desperation,” Anderson continued. “I thought that they played like they wanted it a bit more than we did.”
As the second half began, the Jays continued to push the tempo and got an early highlight when Ballock zipped a pass halfway down the floor to a streaking Damien Jefferson for a dunk.
And as CU was building what became a 22-point lead at its high point, O’Connell scored seven straight. The first came after a defensive rebound, where he dribbled the length of the floor past five St. John’s defenders for a layup.
Then he buried a three, and followed it up with a short jumper:
“I really think this offense and the way we share the ball, and the freedom we have, it’s freaking tremendous,” O’Connell said on the postgame radio show. “The way we share the ball, the way we play, I really think it’s like no other team in the country. That’s what makes us a top-tier team.”
Ahead 82-60 with just under 10 minutes to play, they got a little complacent and the Johnnies trimmed the lead in half in just over three minutes with a 14-3 run. But the Jays finished the game with a 12-5 run of their own, putting the ball in the hands of Denzel Mahoney and letting the senior go to work. He scored the first nine of those 12 Bluejay points in the decisive stretch, concluding with this three off of an absurd offensive rebound by Mitchell:
Creighton has now won six straight since dropping their Big East opener to Marquette, the first time they’ve ever won six consecutive league games in the same season since joining the Big East. Their 6-1 start is their best in league play since the Doug McDermott-led group started the 2013-14 season 9-1. And in two games this week, they led by double-figures for 28:18 vs. Seton Hall and 29:05 vs. St. John’s — and handed both teams their largest losses of the season.
Key Stats:
Creighton made a season-best 16 three-pointers against a St. John’s defense that had held Xavier to 0-for-12 shooting from three-point range in their last game.
They wound up with 24 assists on 37 made baskets, with eight different players recording at least two of them. Six players scored in double figures, and a seventh had nine points.
“Thatβs encouraging to see,” McDermott said, “especially with Marcus out and Shereef going into the lineup, itβs like we didnβt miss a beat.β
Mitchell wound up with 10 points and three assists, a showcase for all the ways he’s improved in his sophomore season. His tenacious on-ball defense has been the most evident trait up to this point in the season, and earned him praise after Wednesday’s blowout win. But he’s quietly become a much better shooter (5-of-12 from three-point range), and done a better job of setting up teammates for success (notching 21 assists against just eight turnovers for the year).
Denzel Mahoney scored 24 points, his most-ever in a Bluejay uniform, along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Big men Christian Bishop and Ryan Kalkbrenner combined for 19 points, 11 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists, five dunks and just three fouls.
But it was Duke transfer Alex O’Connell that turned heads with his 16-point effort. In 17 minutes, O’Connell made 6-of-7 from the floor, 4-of-5 from three-point range, grabbed six boards, dished out two assists, and had a steal, too.
“Coming off the bench as a guy who brings energy is definitely something I’m used to,” O’Connell said. “It’s something I’ve had to get a firm grasp on and be OK with, and it’s something I’ve actually gotten pretty good at. Being able to come in and give these guys an energy boost is something I pride myself on.
“I give these guys credit, we work our ass off in practice. The school I was at previously, two days or the day before a game we wouldn’t be doing much,” O’Connell said of his time at Duke. “Here at Creighton we really work and we’re locked in to be sure we’re ready for the next game. It’s showed the last two games. Our preparation has been really good.”
McDermott noted that it’s taken time for O’Connell to figure out where he fits into the rotation, and how to play alongside his new teammates. The first meeting with St. John’s on December 17 was O’Connell’s debut after the NCAA granted blanket waivers to transfers this season.
“When you watch him play, you see that there’s a lot of thinking going on,” McDermott said. “Especially defensively, because our system and what we do is different than what Duke tries to do. He has to relearn all that stuff, really. When you’re thinking that much it’s really hard to just play basketball. Today was a big step forward. He’s going to help us. I was really pleased with how he played today, and he’s only going to get better.”
