Ho-hum. Nothing to see here, just a 107-61 pasting of lowly Alcorn State to start the season. Sure, things will get difficult in a hurry: this time next week we’ll have a better sense of the Bluejays after they play at Saint Joe’s in Philadelphia, a place they lost two seasons ago. But Friday’s home opener gave the Creighton Bluejays and their fans a sort of exhibition-plus. Plenty of guys got playing time. Doug McDermott didn’t have to do too much en route to another 20-point night. And a host of Jays had productive evenings in front of the ninth-largest crowd in Creighton history.
I know it is early, but consider me a charter member of the Devin Brooks Fan Club. Right before tip, I tweeted the three things I was most interested to watch during the game.
Devin Brooks was the second Bluejay off the bench, subbing for Austin Chatman at the 15:38 mark. He immediately made his presence felt, assisting on an Ethan Wragge three-pointer and then scoring himself two trips later. Before he would check out a few minutes later, Brooks snared a couple of offensive rebounds and converted two free throw attempts.
He sat for awhile and then reentered the game with the same instant impact as he brought earlier. Brooks snapped up a steal to start a break that ended with his layup, thanks to a nice dish by Jahenns Manigat. He rebounded a missed shot on the next trip by Alcorn State and then converted both of his free throw attempts after being fouled following the board.
He’d sit some more, but check in with 23 seconds left in the half and immediately assist on another Wragge three.
Devin Brooks had a productive career opener for Creighton vs. Alcorn State (WBR/Mike Spomer) CLICK PHOTO TO BUY
The junior college guard had a wonderfully productive 5 minutes of playing time in the first half — 8 points on perfect shooting from the field and the free throw line, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, no turnovers, and a steal. And for the game, Brooks’ 16 minutes were exceptional — 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and just 1 turnover. In the last 40 years, the only other player besides Brooks to debut with at least 15 points and 5 rebounds was Doug McDermott in 2010. Impressive.
Meanwhile, Isaiah Zierden couldn’t get his shot to fall. He played 10 first-half minutes and made only one of his three attempts, missing both shots he took from behind the arc. He looks comfortable and strong compared to the exhibition game last season. But the redshirt freshman’s shooting didn’t warm up much in the second half, either. He went one for five from the field in the second stanza, the one make coming from three-point range. He grabbed some rebounds and found the open teammate, but Zierden’s going to be asked to produce on the perimeter when he checks in for Manigat or Grant Gibbs or Brooks.
As for Avery Dingman, my hope was to see him play a lot of minutes against Alcorn State. But he picked up two quick fouls and played only 11 minutes all night. He was productive (5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) and didn’t get tapped for another foul after the first two. And the 10 minutes he played in the second half were consecutive, allowing the junior swingman to see some extensive time and get into a flow.
Everyone knows McDermott will get his. But in the Big East — and, heck, even before conference play begins — the Bluejays will need consistent, supporting production from the backcourt to help ease some of the pressure on the All-American’s shoulders. I’m excited to see how Brooks plays into that situation as the season progresses and roles become more clearly defined.
Creighton’s offense looked as efficient as ever. I know I have to consider the opponent, but the Bluejays committed only 6 turnovers, matching the low from last season (surprisingly, in a road loss at Saint Mary’s). Only one of those 6 miscues came from a guard, but even Brooks offset that turnover with 5 assists. His five dimes tied him for the team lead along with Chatman Gibbs (5 assists and no turnover each). Heck, Manigat had 4 assists and no turnovers as the starting backcourt combined for a 14:0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
As a team, the Jays shot 55% from the field and 46% from three-point range. Those percentages improved in the second half compared with the first 20 minutes: CU shot 63% from the field and 60% from deep during the second stanza. The 46-point win could have been even bigger, too, had the Jays hit more than 58% of their free throws in the second half.
Creighton’s chemistry, experience, and ability to execute on the offensive end will leave teams grabbing and trying to stay in step with CU’s offensive rotation. The Jays will get plenty of opportunities at the free throw line (see below) and will need to be as good from the charity stripe as they are from elsewhere on the floor.
The adjustment to officials’ emphasis on the hand checks will take some (very ugly) time. The Bluejays shot 36 free throws against Alcorn State, one week after attempting 33 free throws in the exhibition versus Northern State. Some context: only once last season did Creighton the Bluejays attempt more than 26 free throws (38, in a win over Longwood).
The Braves weren’t the only ones getting caught, though. I mentioned Dingman’s foul troubles, sure. But McDermott only scored 20 points because he only played 20 minutes — including just 3 in the second half. Certainly with the game in hand there was no reason for the most important player in the country to spend any more time on the floor than absolutely necessary. But you get a a sense that McDermott could have ended up with another 30-plus scoring night had the officials not tagged him with fouls no. 3 and 4 within the first six minutes of the second half.