[dropcap]Saturday[/dropcap] afternoon, Creighton travels to Norman to take on the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, the rare team that might be even better than their reputation indicates. They’re 7-0, have led at halftime of all seven games, and have won five of them by 20 or more points. It’s not like they’ve played bad teams, either: their wins include beat-downs of Big East favorite Villanova 78-55 and 2015 national runner-up Wisconsin 65-48. Their only game decided by fewer than 10 points came in the season opener against a solid Memphis squad, a contest OU won 84-78.
By averaging 87.9 points per game while giving up just 63.0, they have a +24.9 scoring margin, which is fourth-best in D1. They rank first in the country in three-point field goal percentage (48.7%), and make an average of 10.7 threes a game, 10th best in the country. Defensively, they rank second in the nation in field goal percentage defense (34.0%), and fourth nationally in three-point field goal defense (24.0%). On the boards, they rank second in the country in total rebounds per game (45.9), and first in defensive rebounds (33.6). They outrebound opponents by an average of 10 per game, putting them 20th in the country in that metric. And they have the second-fewest fouls in the nation with 115 this year.
How’s this for balance: they rank 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom, and 3rd in adjusted defensive efficiency. It’s not very often you encounter a team that is elite both offensively AND defensively; when you do and they’re firing on all cylinders, it’s a tall order to even be competitive with them, as Villanova and Wisconsin discovered.
Individually, they have six — count ’em, SIX — players shooting 50% or better from three-point range. They have four players averaging 4.5 rebounds or more per game. Their four senior starters have started each and every one of the last 75 games, and all four are averaging career-highs in points so far this season, with three of the four also averaging career highs in rebounding. And all five starters have positive assist-to-turnover ratios.
At the head of the pack is National Player of the Year candidate Buddy Hield. The senior guard is averaging 22.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals in 29.3 minutes, and is shooting 47.1 percent (49-104) from the field, 50.0 percent (21-42) from long distance and 90.0 percent (36-40) from the charity stripe.
A preseason first team All-America selection by Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports and a third team selection by Sporting News, Hield was also named an AP Preseason All-American. He scored 30 points (9-15 FG, 4-7 3FG, 8-8 FT) in their last game vs Oral Roberts, the second time this season he’s scored 30 or more in a game and the fourth time in his career. Hield scored 21 points with seven rebounds and four assists in the game in Omaha a year ago, though the damage could have been worse as he was just 7-18 from the floor.
Joining him in averaging double-figures is Isaiah Cousins, a 6’4″ senior guard averaging 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists a game. Cousins has been red-hot of late, averaging 16.7, 7.3 and 6.3 over the last three games, and had two straight double-doubles in games against Central Arkansas and Villanova. Impressively, those double-doubles came in different categories — he had 16 points and 11 rebounds against UCA, and 19 points with 10 assists against Villanova. He’s lethal from anywhere on the court, and is shooting 54.8% from three-point range (17-31) for the year.
Jordan Woodard, a 6’0″ junior guard, is shooting an identical 17-31 from three-point range, and is averaging career highs in points (13.0) and rebounds (4.6) so far this season. Against Central Arkansas, he made six straight 3-pointers, finishing with 24 points. He’s scored nine or more points in six of their seven games this season.
6’8″ senior forward Ryan Spangler is a finalist for the 2016 Karl Malone Award (which goes to the nation’s top power forward), and why not: he’s averaging 12.4 points and 9.3 rebounds a game so far. Spangler has 21 career double-doubles, with four so far this year, and has shot 50% or better from the floor in 26 of his last 27 games and in 62 of his 75 career games. That’s impressive enough on it’s own, but it’s no small sample size and the shots don’t all come in the paint — he’s 33-53 from the field and 8-15 from three-point range.
Rounding out the starting five is sophomore Khadeem Lattin, a 6’9″ forward averaging 4.0 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. On a team with this many scorers he’s not asked to shoot much, but when he does, he’s effective, making 57.1% (12-21) of his shots. And he’s their second-leading rebounder, grabbing four or more in six straight games.
They play without a true center more often than not, but because their three starting guards (Hield, Cousins, and Woodard) and two forwards (Spangler and Lattin) can all shoot from anywhere on the court, rebound the shots they miss, and defend without fouling, it works.
Meanwhile, the Jays sit at 7-3 entering the game, having lost both of their true road games plus their only home game against a Top-100 opponent, while piling up seven wins against lesser opponents. They desperately need a statement win before Big East play starts, but it’s hard to find a recipe for getting it against Oklahoma. CU has struggled to stop perimeter shooters from torching them this year (or in several recent years), and OU has great ones everywhere you look. CU has struggled to find an offensive rhythm against aggressive defensive teams, and OU is perhaps the best defensive team they’ll face all year. CU’s best offense has often come in transition this year, but Oklahoma doesn’t turn it over much, doesn’t miss many shots, and is adept at rebounding the ones they do miss for second-chance opportunities. Without consistent stops, CU will need to win a shootout by scoring in the half court, and that’s a tall order against anyone, much less a team as gifted defensively as Oklahoma.
The fact that OU’s students are already on winter break, and the general fanbase is still more concerned with football at this point in the year as the Sooners are in the CFB playoff, means at least the environment shouldn’t be as intimidating as it otherwise might be. The Jays have that going for them, but not much else. Not many folks outside of the program expect CU to win this game.
I’m not much for moral victories, but the goal in this one should be to show improvement from the Indiana game, which took place exactly one month to the day. How would I measure growth? Keeping the game within 10-12 points for most of the afternoon, playing competent defense and making Oklahoma work for shots instead of getting wide open looks, and actually being able to run offensive sets instead of the “four guys unable to get open and just watching Mo Watson drive to the rim” offense they resorted to so often at Indiana. Doing those, even in a loss, would show this team might be ready to turn a corner once Big East play starts.
Quick Notes on the Sooners:
- The Sooners are getting significantly more production from their bench than a season ago. Through seven games in 2015- 16, OU’s reserves (excluding walk-ons) are averaging 64.7 minutes played (out of possible 200), 21.3 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Last season, Oklahoma’s reserves (excluding walk-ons) averaged 42.5 minutes played (out of possible 200), 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest (35 total games).
- In their win over Oral Roberts earlier this week, OU connected on a season-high 16 3-pointers (16-27, .593). It marked the fourth time this year the Sooners have tallied at least 10 buckets from behind the arc.
- Head Coach Lon Kruger owns a 568-353 (.617) collegiate record in 30 years and is 89-49 at Oklahoma (.645), now in his fifth season. He’s the only Division I head coach to ever take five programs to the NCAA Tournament (Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV and OU) and has taken each at least twice.
Bluejay Bytes:
- Through the first 10 games of their Bluejay careers, Cole Huff has 110 points and Maurice Watson Jr. has 117. Since 1995-96, those figures trail only Doug McDermott’s 128 points and Gregory Echenique’s 111 points through 10 contests among newcomers.
- Creighton ranks 21st nationally in scoring offense, averaging 85.5 points per game to date, the team’s second-highest mark after 10 games in the last 20 years, trailing only the 2011-12 team. This year’s team has scored 83 points or more in all seven victories, significantly better than last year’s team that reached 85 just twice all winter. And their 50.6 percent field goal percentage through 10 games is the fourth-best mark in the last 20 years, trailing only the three winningest teams in program history.
The Series / The Last Time They Played:
Creighton and Oklahoma have split four all-time meetings, but Saturday’s game will be the first played in Norman. The series began in 1921 with a 27-16 Creighton victory, followed by losses in 1973 (73-70 in Omaha) and 1986 (106-89 in Oklahoma City). Last year, Creighton rallied from an 18-point deficit to win 65-63 in Omaha. It wound up being one of the rare highlights in a disappointing 2014-15 campaign, so let’s relive it with a bunch of links to WBR’s postgame coverage!
- Morning After: Creighton 65, #18 Oklahoma 63
- Creighton Finds Itself in 2nd Half Upset of #18 Oklahoma
- Ott’s Thoughts: Creighton Creating an Identity in Wins Against Oklahoma and North Carolina Central
- Highlight Reel: Creighton vs #18 Oklahoma
Greg McDermott is 2-4 in his career all-time against Oklahoma, and 1-0 as Creighton’s caoch in the series. The six meetings have been decided by an average of 6.8 points.
Gratuitous Linkage:
The OU Daily’s John Walker tells the story of Rashard Odomes, who was recruited by Creighton, Marquette, Oklahoma State and others before choosing the Sooners.
What the Other Side is Saying:
“The biggest thing this team has that last year’s didn’t is depth off the bench. Last season, Dinjiyl Walker and Frank Boker were inconsistent streaky guards and Khadeem Lattin and D.J. Bennett were limited offensively when coming in at the forward spots. Now, Walker is much improved all around and though Lattin still doesn’t add much offensively (and has moved into the starting lineup), Akolda Manyang and Jamuni McNeace give some more of a threat to score off the bench. This team can match up in so many different ways because of that.”
-Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman, “WBR’s From the Other Side”
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On December 19, 1988, Tony Barone’s Bluejays beat Marquette 79-73 at the Civic thanks to a balanced scoring attack — Bob Harstad scored 17 points, James Farr 15, Chad Gallagher 14, Todd Eisner 13, Matt Roggenburk 12 and Troy Bell 8. Harstad scored 12 in the first half, but was slowed by an injury, and Gallagher picked up the slack by scoring 11 of his 14 in the second. “I think you saw great senior leadership from Farr at the end of the game,” Barone said after the game. “Gallagher did a great job in that spurt. Those were big baskets. Harstad got kicked in the head early in the game, so he was a little more goofy than normal as the game wore on, but he gave us a good rebounding effort.”
That leadership from Farr included making 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:18 to clinch the win.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
The Bottom Line:
Oklahoma is by far the better team, they’re at home, and with what Creighton did to them in Omaha last year, there’s zero chance of the Jays sneaking up on them. Wish I could write otherwise, but this one isn’t likely to have a happy ending.
Sooners 85, Bluejays 71