Creighton took care of business Friday night, winning convincingly by 39 against an opponent they were favored to beat by 31.5. That’s a bit deceiving, though, as anyone who watched could tell you.
The Jays opened both halves similarly — they began the game on a 12-0 run and began the second half on a 12-2 surge — but after that hot first half start, they failed to put Maryland Eastern Shore away when they had the chance, and wound up with a competitive game on their hands for longer than it should have been.
Owen Freeman had a hand in all 12 of those early points, scoring five himself and assisting on layups by Jackson McAndrew and Josh Dix, and this three by McAndrew.
Jackson McAndrew. Cash. #GoJays x @JacksonMcAndrew pic.twitter.com/qbZIKnUsiU
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 15, 2025
One of his baskets came on an alley-oop from Nik Graves, who found a streaking Freeman running to the rim. But after that four-minute burst, he was noticeably gassed and played just seven more minutes in the first half spread across two stints. He scored just two more points with zero assists after that initial run.
Nik throws it up. Owen throws it down. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/fw2uMQ7CN3
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 15, 2025
With Creighton slicing up the Hawks’ man-to-man defense, they switched into a zone and it flummoxed the Jays. CU made just 4-of-21 from the floor over the final 10 minutes of the half, and UMES cut the deficit into single digits.
“It slowed the game down and we didn’t adjust very well, and we have to be better at that,” Greg McDermott said on his postgame radio interview. “But we had some decent shots (against the zone) and when we got into the teeth of the zone good things happened. When we kind of wandered around and just moved the ball on the perimeter, it wasn’t very good.”
In the second half, UMES didn’t score for the first 4-1/2 minutes. Meanwhile, Creighton made 7-of-8 from the field on three layups, two dunks and two 3-pointers to open up a 24-point lead at 49-25. Asked what his message to the team was at halftime, McDermott relayed a sanitized version to John Bishop. Suffice it to say, he was displeased.
“I threatened them with, uh, a few days they would remember the rest of their lives next week in practice if we didn’t play with a little bit more energy,” he said. “You have to play with energy whether you’re scoring or not. It’s hard when you’ve got good shots and they don’t go in. It can be frustrating. I get that. But you still have to play with energy and enthusiasm. And I thought our energy and our effort was a little better the second half, I thought the ball moved better, and I thought our pace finally wore into them.”
Among the baskets in that second-half salvo was a dunk in traffic by Kerem Konan, and a wild shot from Graves where he used a shot-fake to get his defender in the air, then put up a shot with the defender literally on top of his back.
KEREM KONAN SLAM. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/et1dvEk1Ym
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 15, 2025
Count it!#GoJays x @coaches_dream pic.twitter.com/rB2Yqj7B4l
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 15, 2025
After UMES’ Justin Mondin hit three consecutive mid-range jumpers to hold serve with the Jays, CU delivered the knockout blow with a 10-2 run that pushed the lead to 30 at 69-39. They then scored 15 of the next 19 points to build a 41-point lead. All totaled it was a 25-6 run spanning nearly 11 minutes.
The blowout win looks on paper like it was expected to be, but but the fact that it took as long to get there as it did — with many of the same problem areas that have been present through two exhibitions and three regular season games — leaves the Jays with a lot to work on. McDermott again sounded frustrated somewhat on his postgame radio interview with the team’s progress. He said they’ve gotten better at pushing each other in practice instead of the coaches’ having to do that work, but consistency remains a problem.
“We have to stack (good days) days on top of each other. I can’t beg them for that to happen,” McDermott said. “I challenged them in the locker room to get to the point where I don’t have to coach energy and communication, and we don’t have to do drills that enhance our communication and enhance our energy. Those should be a given, and as I explained to them, every drill we do that takes five minutes or seven minutes is five or seven minutes we’re not working on the game of basketball and trying to grow our team in other ways. So I’m hopeful they’re getting that message and that I’ll see a hungry group on Sunday morning when we get back to the practice floor.”
Inside the Box:
Jasen Green and Blake Harper tied for the team high with 14 points apiece, and got there in different ways. Green showed more offensive versatility that we’re used to seeing from him, making 3-of-5 inside the arc and 2-of-3 from three-point range. Green said on the postgame radio show that three-point shooting was the biggest thing he worked on in the offseason, and it shows.
“I mean, I’ve always been a decent three point shooter, but not great by any means,” Green said. “I’ve been working on it so much and it’s coming so much more naturally. I’m so much more confident with it too.”
Green noted that assistant coach Mitch Ballock worked with him to retool his mechanics a bit. The results have been promising so far.
“Mitch had me change where my shooting pocket is at, and making sure that I’m shooting the ball in one motion,” Green explained. “In the past, I would like bring it up and then shoot it, but now I’m getting the ball in my pocket and just going straight up with it.”
Harper, on the other hand, scored his 14 points entirely in the paint, making 5-of-9 on two-pointers and 4-of-4 from the line while drawing five fouls. He also finished one rebound shy of a double-double, grabbing nine boards. While McDermott continues harping on his team’s leadership vacuum, it’s clear that both Green and Harper are stepping into that role.
“Blake’s really trying. I think he’s getting more settled in, understanding his role, what we do and why we do it and how we’re doing it,” McDermott noted. “I think he’s felt more comfortable to use his voice. When I re-watched the (Gonzaga game) I noticed him pulling guys together during huddles and stoppages. Those are things that we need.”
Green said he spent the long flight home from Spokane thinking about what he could do to help the team out, and what he could do both during and outside of practice to make sure his teammates stayed confident.
“I’ve been trying to be a lot more vocal and I think I’ve been doing like a much better job at that,” Green said. “Naturally we’re a pretty quiet team, but we just have to bring the bring the voices out of each other. I’ve never been a yeller but now I am; you can kind of hear it in my voice a little bit. Throughout practice I’m just yelling the whole time, trying to get everyone else engaged and everything like that.”
Owen Freeman scored nine points with eight rebounds, but is still far away from being the player he was pre-injury, especially from a conditioning standpoint. Kerem Konan was his primary backup, and while obviously inexperienced, continued to tease what he’s capable of. In 14 minutes he scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with three rebounds, all offensive. The only shot he missed in the second half, to go along with four makes, came on a mistimed alley-oop.
Living above the rim.#GoJays x @KeremKonan pic.twitter.com/qJeiviPLjF
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 15, 2025
“Kerem wasn’t here all summer and that’s a killer. There’s so much that we put in and work on and drill in the summertime that would have been invaluable,” McDermott said. “And then the language barrier, you know, he does okay but on the move if he’s not looking at you it can be hard. The speed of the game and the way we play is different how they play over there, too. Martin (Krampelj) had the same adjustment period when he came here. But you see signs of what he can bring us, with his ability to put pressure on the rim and defensively to block some shots. Jasen also provides some stability when we throw him in at that spot. He knows what to do and how to do it. So, you know, I was pleased with the production we got out of that spot tonight.”
Creighton’s 12-0 lead to start the game was tied for its third-best start to any game under Greg McDermott, trailing only a 19-0 lead vs. Georgetown on March 1, 2023 and a 13-0 lead against Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 15, 2017, in the Hawks only other meeting with CU.
And finally, CU outscored the Hawks 18-2 in fast break points, 17-4 in second chance points and 28-7 off turnovers.