Be honest. Entering Wednesday’s Creighton roadie in Birmingham, you had a flashback to last season. Particularly, road games in which the Bluejays surrendered second-half leads. When the going got tough, the Jays often succumbed to the situation, ultimately dropping winnable games.
Early in the season, when teams are far from the known commodities they’ll be in January and February, it is easy to get hung up on streaks. I do. I considered Creighton’s lack of a true non-conference road win in the past few years, coupled with UAB’s masterful defense of their home court in non-conference situations, and felt frustrated. Would this turn into 2006 all over again, when a touted Creighton team made an unfortunate trip to Lincoln and lost to an inferior Huskers squad?
That season ultimately ended with the Bluejays in the Big Dance, but only after winning the MVC Tournament Championship in St. Louis. For Creighton to realize their goal of an NCAA Tournament bid this March, they can ill afford to slip up during what looks to be a challenging but manageable series of non-conference road games this November and December. A win over UAB might not be the equivalent to one over UNC come March, but it beats a loss to the Blazers — ammunition mid-major haters can use to discredit a team like the Bluejays.
Creighton left Bartow Arena with a win over UAB in tow, fighting back to beat the Blazers after coughing up a 12-point lead in the second half. It was a situation that would have gone the other way in Greg McDermott’s first season at CU. Here are a few thoughts as to why the Bluejays found a way to win their first non-Valley road game since Booker Woodfox dropped 29 on the St. Joe’s Hawks in December 2008.
The defensive intensity by the guys in the new blue uniforms was greater than that of the home team.
The offensive production was the story through Creighton’s first two games this season. Putting up 97 and 95 points, respectively, will catch the casual basketball fan’s attention. But watching the Bluejays defend the Blazers left me doing double takes. I had not seen that type of sustained energy on defense, especially in the man-to-man sets, by a CU squad in some time.
The stats show Creighton swiped 6 steals and forced 18 UAB turnovers. The video paints an exciting picture of the Jays challenging most passes, pressing opponents to make a move with or without the ball while defended closely, and rotating well on the help side. They weren’t perfect, but they beat an athletic team by making athletic plays on defense. I haven’t typed that type of sentence about a Creighton team in a while.
A better opponent leads to a shorter bench … for now.
After playing 12 and 15 minutes in his first two games, freshman Avery Dingman played just 2 against UAB Wednesday (2 points, 1 rebound, 2 fouls). And after logging 13 and 15 minutes in the two previous games, Will Artino saw just 5 minutes of action against the Blazers (No points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 turnover).
The Bluejays managed to wear down the Blazers using just 8 primary players. And Greg McDermott’s starters played the majority of minutes at their positions. That CU could keep up defensive intensity and manage to attempt 63 field goals and 19 free throws in 40 minutes while playing 8 people — and win — bodes well for when guys like Dingman and Artino can be called on to play for longer stretches.
Manigat managed to shake off shooting woes, help Creighton win in other ways
Jahenns Manigat, vocal team leader and burgeoning player, led the Bluejays with 36 minutes against UAB. This despite a cold night from the floor; he went 0-8 from the field. But the sophomore guard was extremely active for the Creighton defense, and he used his range and intensity to jump in front of a few Blazer passes and collect a team-high 2 steals.
And while the rest of his teammates were bricking free throws in the waning minutes of the game, Manigat calmly stepped to the charity stripe and knocked down two freebies with 16 seconds to play, extending an 8-point lead to the final 10-point margin and erasing any realistic thoughts UAB coach Mike Davis had of his team making a last-second push to tie or win.
This time last year, no one around the program had an idea of what Manigat could be for the Bluejays. Twelve months later he’s playing nearly the entire game in a Creighton road win. He won’t go oh-fer many nights, and if he keeps improving on defense Manigat can become one of the better all-around guards in the Valley for the next few seasons.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but Creighton could have won big…
…had it not been for missed layups, missed dunks, and TEN BLOCKED SHOTS by the Blazers. Seriously? Ten blocks? The last time a Creighton opponent swatted away that many shots, the Bluejays were man-handled by Fresno State a day after finishing final exams in 2006.
Cameron Moore, preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, had a career-high 7 blocks himself, to go with 7 points and 12 rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action for Mike Davis’ Blazers. The Bluejays won’t meet many post players the rest of the season with the combination of height and skill as the 6-10 Moore, but it was great to see the Jays’ frontcourt able to overcome his defensive presence and still outscore UAB in the paint 40-28.