I never get sick.
OK, check that. I never got sick until I had a kid.
But two consecutive late February flu bouts lead me to believe my fortunes have changed for the worse. So while a large but silent crowd was filing into the CenturyLink Center Tuesday night, I was curled up on the couch. With little energy and even less of an appetite, I settled in for what I hoped would be a Creighton drubbing of Southern Illinois.
Despite an eventual 14-point win, it took the Jays seemingly forever to pull away from the Salukis. To say Creighton’s energy and focus were lacking is an understatement. It took a spark plug effort by reserve big man Will Artino (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 steal; 6-6 from the field) to steer CU past Barry Hinson’s pesky SIU team.
A month earlier, the Jays had traveled to Carbondale and crushed the Salukis by 30 points. But my, how things have changed during those four weeks.
After posting three consecutive victories against SIU, Missouri State, and Bradley following their first two conference losses of the season, Creighton has lost four of six games. The fourth came in California this weekend, against a Saint Mary’s team that like CU seems fixed on the NCAA Tournament bubble. It wasn’t but a few weeks ago that the Jays seemed a lock for the Big Dance. But the Bluejays have gone cold, and in the midst of a frustrating February nothing seems certain except a grind to the finish of the Valley race this week.
A few things caught my attention during the past week, among the trips to the bathroom and the hours spent sleeping off my ailments.
A few days after attempting 9 total 3-pointers against SIU, the Jays took 13 3s against the Gaels … in the first half. And CU hit only three of them en route to posting a 23% success rate from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s BracketBusters game.
The only five shots the Jays made other than those three 3-pointers were layups by Gregory Echenique and Doug McDermott. Rather than pound the ball into the paint and hope that Echenique and McDermott could repeatedly find some high percentage shots in the front court, CU hoisted jump shot after jump shot to no avail.
The game plan changed to start the second half. For the first few minutes, Echenique was given every opportunity to touch the basketball in a position to score. Only one other Jay (McDermott) even attempted a shot during the first 6 minutes of the second half, during which time Echenique scored 7 points.
But Creighton couldn’t get stops.
Down 14 at half, Creighton cut the Saint Mary’s lead to 9 in the first 5 minutes of the second half. McDermott finished a traditional three-point play after a Beau Levesque foul. The Jays, thanks to a steady diet of looks inside, had cut the deficit to a manageable position with plenty of time to play.
But then Gaels star Matthew Dellavedova calmly hit a 3-pointer. And then Jahenns Manigat, seemingly lost on the offensive possession, had the ball stolen by Jordan Giusti. A Saint Mary’s free throw later, Grant Gibbs turned the ball over, Avery Dingman fouled Brad Waldow as he made a layup, Waldow hit the free throw, and just like that the lead was 16 in favor of the Gaels.
It was a crushing sequence. Sure, the Jays scored the next 6 points to get the Gaels lead back down to 10, but Creighton wouldn’t get closer than that until less than a minute to play. The Jays made a move and the home team answered (and then some).
The Gaels’ offense made Creighton’s defense look terrible. As Max wrote in the Morning After piece, Jimmy Dykes’ analysis — specifically about the CU defense — during ESPN’s broadcast of the game was telling. Unlike many of the Worldwide Leader’s color analysts, Dykes knows what he’s talking about. And while he spent equal time speaking glowingly about McDermott and his capabilities as a scorer, there was plenty of chatter about Creighton’s defensive shortcomings.
So why not go zone? It is a question my father, a long-time CU fan, asks repeatedly. Dellavedova is a special player, don’t get me wrong. But how many more guards have to eat ours alive when facing man-to-man defense before the coaching staff makes a change?
The Jays switched to a zone during a stretch of the second half, and they forced some stops. Sure, the Gaels were content to wind the clock a bit, leading by double figures most of the game. But the zone looked to at least cause the efficient Saint Mary’s offense some second thoughts. Isn’t that the point?
The lack of adjustments is frustrating to watch, as a fan. Coach Greg McDermott and his staff have forgotten more about basketball than I could ever learn. Execution is one thing; the coaches can’t execute on behalf of the players. But the coaches can and should have the nerve to go away from something that isn’t working in an attempt to change momentum.
I’ll put it another way. Many coaches will say “we are a man-to-man team” or “we are a matchup zone team” or whatever. That’s fine. You can say that. But that doesn’t mean you are a good or great man-to-man or matchup zone team. I can say that I’m a writer. Sure, I write. So yeah, I suppose I’m a writer. But that doesn’t make me a good or a great one, right?
Remember last season, when the Jays came out in a zone look in the closing seconds of a critical road game at Missouri State? Threw everyone on the Bears offense off, and the Jays forced a late stop to win by a point. Same thing happened against Alabama in the NCAA Tournament; a late change by the CU coaching staff send Anthony Grant scrambling for a play that eventually didn’t work. CU won both those games by the slimmest of margins.
Listen, I’m not saying the Jays all of a sudden become Syracuse. But it was clear to every Creighton fan watching at home Saturday during the first part of the first half that without an adjustment or better execution on defense, the Gaels were going to take what they wanted from the Bluejay defense.
The Bluejays’ offensive ability has covered up defensive liabilities far too long. But when shots aren’t falling, it is easy to see how one-dimensional CU is. The trip to Saint Mary’s featured Creighton’s second-worst shooting performance of the season from the field and the team’s second consecutive sub-30% shooting performance from behind the arc.
During their last 7 games (3-4 record), the Jays are just 44 of 140 from deep, 31.4%. Once leading the nation in field goal and three-point shooting percentage, CU has slipped to third in both statistics. Again, still spectacular. But the drop-off has taken place during a time in the season when teams can ill afford to see their bread and butter turn moldy.
And yet, with two wins this week, the Jays can win at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference championship. As Coach Mac and others reiterated the past few days in the media, the team can still accomplish its goals. There are plenty of programs around the country that cannot say the same.
The Bluejays have to take things one game at a time (COACH SPEAK!). There is an always tough road game at Bradley Wednesday. And if you thought the Jays struggle with athletic, slashing guards, just wait until Dyricus Simms-Edwards shows up to play lights out on Senior Night in Peoria.
Meanwhile, before they come to Omaha for the final game of the regular season, Wichita State hosts Evansville for Senior Night. The Aces beat the Shockers a few weeks ago.
The next week will be a grind. Here’s hoping the Jays have enough in the tank to hang a banner.