Bluejay Beat Podcast:
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Key Stats:
This was a strange game, and easily the Jays worst offensive showing of the year. They were 6-of-25 from three point range, only assisted on 12 of their 26 made baskets, and were 5-of-9 at the line. They had a season-worst 17 turnovers. Marcus Zegarowski and Denzel Mahoney combined to shoot 2-of-12 on threes, and scored 14 points on 18 shots.
But defensively the Jays were terrific. They held Georgetown to .649 points per possession and an effective field goal percentage of 35.3%. They set a new program record with 19 steals — 24.7% of Georgetown’s possessions ended in a Creighton steal. Zegarowski and Mahoney combined for 9 defensive rebounds and 6 steals. CBSSN’s broadcast crew commented that they didn’t play well, and if all you look at is offense that’s true. But they also held Jahvon Blair and Dante Harris to 5-for-20 on field goals and forced 7 turnovers. Those two combined for 30 points and 12 assists in Omaha.
The Hoyas’ 48 points are their lowest total under Patrick Ewing, and the fewest the Jays have given up in a game since moving to the Big East (besting the 49 they gave up to Marquette in their first-ever league game). It was the fewest by any power conference opponent against the Jays since Nebraska scored just 42 against them in 2012. And the Hoyas’ 27.6% shooting percentage was also the lowest ever by a Big East opponent against the Bluejays.
Recap & Analysis
Six days after their defense was shredded by Georgetown in an 86-79 home loss, Creighton took the lessons they learned from it and devised a gameplan that led them to a decisive win in the rematch. Recognizing that the Hoyas big men are not great passers, the Jays attacked them and forced them to do something with the ball other than shoot it.
“We made the decision after the first game that we were not going to allow their bigs to beat us,” Greg McDermott said on his postgame radio show. “We were going to be aggressive early and go after the basketball. We were not going to be interested in trapping, we were going to try to take the ball. Then it would be in the back of their minds all night that we were going to be there anytime they caught it. I think that takes aggression away from a post player.”
It was an effective strategy. Chudier Bile had six turnovers and looked uncomfortable most of the night after scoring 17 points a week ago. Qudas Wahab had four turnovers. Timothy Ighoefe only played five minutes, took zero shots, and had two turnovers. All totaled, the Jays were so effective inside that the Hoyas wound up taking 28 of their 38 shot attempts from three-point range, scored just 12 points in the paint, and as a result didn’t take a free throw until there were four minutes left in the game.
“We were just playing our tails off,” Christian Bishop said. “Being able to give 100% the entire time you’re out there is going to make the difference. The effort plays will change the game.”
On the perimeter, they were committed to being more aggressive, too. Denzel Mahoney played 33 minutes and guarded Jahvon Blair for most of them; a week after he scored 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range, he was just 2-of-8 in this one and scored eight points. A lot of that can be chalked up to not letting him get started.
“Our activity defensively spoke for itself,” McDermott said. “We got in there, knocked balls loose and made most of their looks pretty challenging.”
Meanwhile, they noticed that while the Hoya big men are good shot blockers, they don’t defend the pick-and-roll effectively — especially at the pace Creighton is capable of. Time after time the Jays exploited this by pulling Bile and Wahab out of position and then attacking the basket behind them.
“Teams are worried about our shooting, so when Christian catches it in the middle of the floor they have a decision to make,” McDermott explained. “Are you going to bring help and make him kick it out to a shooter, or are you going to let him attack one-on-one?”
From the second the ball was tipped, Creighton took the fight directly to the Hoyas. They scored the game’s first six points — or rather, Damien Jefferson scored them — forcing Patrick Ewing to call timeout 90 seconds into the game. It didn’t do much good; Jefferson threw down a hammer dunk on the Jays next possession.
DJ scored the team’s first eight and assisted on the next bucket, a layup from Christian Bishop. Before the first media timeout at the 12:34 mark, Creighton had already established a 14-2 edge on points in the paint — flipping the script from Georgetown’s 32-30 edge in that stat a week ago. Meanwhile, on defense Mahoney set the tone early and often. In the first ten minutes of the game, Jahvon Blair was 1-of-4 from three point range with Mahoney hounding him everywhere he went. Mahoney had five rebounds during that stretch, too.
It wasn’t always pretty, but with five minutes left in the half CU had built a double-digit lead at 29-19. Then they ripped off a remarkable series of five consecutive steals over a minute and 48 seconds. Four of them were stolen by Mitch Ballock. Ahead 33-21 at the break, Creighton had more steals (11) than Georgetown had made baskets (8). Percentage wise, Georgetown had turned it over on 37.1% (!!) of their possessions, while scoring on only 22.9% of them. If Creighton had shot anything close to their average, they’d have been winning by twice as much.
That nearly happened as the second half commenced. Bishop and Jefferson combined to score eight quick points, and at the 17:15 mark CU led 41-24.
As the lead swelled to 20, 50-30, Ballock hit another three from another logo.
Their 63-48 win completed a two-game revenge road trip sweep where the Jays avenged their two ugliest losses with a tough, aggressive mentality. And a showdown with Villanova is next.