[dropcap]During[/dropcap] Creighton’s seven-game losing streak, bad starts have done them in almost every game. After 10 minutes, they’ve not had a lead in any of the games, though they were tied with Georgetown. The average deficit in those seven games after 10 minutes is 5.8 points. And the problem actually starts earlier than that; after five minutes in those games, Creighton has trailed by a slightly lower, yet no less aggravating, average of 4.4 points.
In other words, during this seven-game losing streak, the Jays have, on average, been spotting their opponent two baskets a game during the first few minutes of the game (and against Providence both home and away, and against DePaul, significantly more than that). For a team that has been offensively-challenged all year, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Remarkably, the Bluejays have only had a second-half lead twice in this seven-game stretch, in the two buzzer-beater losses to Seton Hall and Marquette. At the other extreme, DePaul led wire-to-wire, and North Texas and Providence (in Omaha) nearly did the same — at UNT, the Jays last lead came with 18:16 to play in the first half, and against Providence at the CLink, their last lead came just 47 seconds in the game.
It’s not just about getting off to a better start; in games where they have started well, they’ve not finished halves well. They’ve not strung 40 minutes of consistent basketball together, and in the Big East, that’s what you have to do to win games, because there’s no off nights.
Their next chance to attempt to get their first win comes tonight against Butler, a team that experienced a season very similar to what Creighton is currently enduring last year. The Bulldogs started out 0-5 in the Big East in 2014 with three of the losses coming in overtime (and one in double-overtime). Their first win came in OT over Marquette, followed by two more losses, and then a win over Seton Hall. Seven straight losses followed, and they were 2-14 in the league before closing the season with back-to-back wins.
That’s probably the trajectory Creighton is on; it’s difficult to find more than four wins in the remaining 12 games, and even getting to four might be a struggle.
Butler’s emergence this year does offer some hope to Creighton, though. They came back almost as suddenly as they fell down, and currently sit at 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the league. Their return to prominence has been spearheaded by junior guard Roosevelt Jones, who missed the entire season last year with a wrist injury. He ranks second on the team in scoring (13.1) and rebounding (5.7), and first with 71 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field. Jones has upped his numbers since conference play started, averaging 16.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in league games.
He’s coming off perhaps his best week of his career, too. Jones led Butler in the victory at #21 Seton Hall with 23 points, including 17 in the second half and overtime period, the second-highest scoring total of his collegiate career. He then topped that effort with a career-high 28 points at Georgetown, making 12 of 19 shots and scoring Butler’s final eight points in the game. For the week, he connected on 21 of 34 (61.8%) shots and topped 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his college career. Those numbers are all the more impressive when you consider he has not attempted a single three-point shot all year — the 6’4″ guard does all of his damage inside the arc.
Their leading scorer is Kellen Dunham, who averages 16.6 points a game. He’s been the model of consistency, too: Dunham has scored in double-figures in all 19 games this season and in 34 of his last 38 games, and he’s hit at least one 3-point field goal in 47 of his last 51 games. While his 45.8% shooting percentage from three-point range is second-best in the league, he’s an other-worldly 55.3% from three-point range at Hinkle (21-38). He also rarely misses from the line, making 85.7% from the charity stripe.
Former walk-on Alex Barlow, a 5’11” senior, has emerged as a steady, consistent player for the Bulldogs. He’s started 52 consecutive games and has scored in double-figures in four of Butler’s first six Big East games this season. He has been mired in a mini-slump of late, scoring just six points against Seton Hall and three points at Georgetown, but even when he’s not scoring, he contributes in other ways. He ranks 17th in the country and second in the Big East by averaging 2.27 steals a game, and is an effective rebounder as evidenced by his six boards at Georgetown. In the game against Creighton last year at Hinkle, Barlow had all of those skills on display — he scored 13 points with four rebounds and three steals.
Speaking of rebounds, Kameron Woods, Butler’s 6’9″ 200 pound senior, is one of the elite rebounders in college basketball. He’s been in double-figures in rebounds in four of the last five games, and had nine or more rebounds in 11 games this season. And he does it on both ends of the floor; Woods leads the Big East in defensive rebounds (6.2 per game) and is second in offensive rebounds (3.1 per game). A year ago, he grabbed 10 rebounds in the game in Omaha and 12 in the rematch in Indianapolis against a Creighton team that was both better at making shots and better at rebounding the ones they missed. It’s likely that he’ll feast on the glass tonight.
From the time the schedule was released, this upcoming stretch has been highlighted as the toughest six-game stretch of the season. Starting tonight, they play six straight games against teams ranked in the Top 40 on KenPom.com — Butler, Villanova, St. John’s (twice), Georgetown and Xavier, with four of the six games on the road. The hope was that they’d be able to build up enough wins during the previous six games to come out on the other side with a chance to make a move during the final six-game stretch. Obviously, they went 0-6 in that comparably easy stretch, and now they head into this ruthless three week period needing a win or two to keep a season that has already careened off the tracks from bursting into flames.
Quick Notes on the Bulldogs:
- Butler will play five of its next six games at home. The Bulldogs are coming off what was nearly the team’s most successful week of the season, opening the week with a 79-75 victory in overtime at #21-ranked Seton Hall, before dropping a 61-59 decision in the closing seconds at Georgetown on Saturday.
- Butler sits at 8-1 in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season, following a victory over Xavier in the last home test. The Bulldogs have posted a winning record at home in each of the past 24 seasons and have at least ten wins at home in 18 of the past 19 campaigns. Butler’s current seniors are 43-16 at home.
- Butler was among the teams receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today national polls this week. The Bulldogs have been ranked as high as #15 this season and have been in the “Top 40” in at least one of the polls in seven of the first 11 weeks.
Bluejay Bytes:
- Creighton has been .500 or better after 20 games in each of the last 19 seasons, and enters Wednesday’s game at Butler needing a win to extend the streak to 20. Twice during that two-decade span, they’ve been 10-10 after 20 games; at the other end of the spectrum, they’ve been 18-2 twice.
- Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 699 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. Creighton’s last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
- Creighton’s top two scorers in non-conference play, Austin Chatman and Isaiah Zierden, currently rank seventh and eighth on the team in points per game in league action.
Possibly Motivational, Probably Hilarious TV Quote of the Day:
“The Drop House. Perfect name for a port-a-potty company. As soon as we get out of here I’m taking that straight to Shark Tank.” -Jake Peralta, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Series:
Creighton is 6-3 all-time vs. Butler, and has won five straight in the series. Butler’s last win over Creighton came 81 years ago.
Greg McDermott is 2-2 in his career vs. Butler, with both losses coming when he was coach at Northern Iowa. He has never coached against Chris Holtmann.
The Last Time They Played:
Last February in Indianapolis, Doug McDermott made a three-pointer in the final minute to turn a two-point deficit into a one-point lead, and then Will Artino played outstanding defense to deny Butler two chances to tie it. The 68-63 was sealed with four free throws from Austin Chatman.
The postgame quotes from Artino, who had his first career double-double, are worth revisiting. Especially the one about the mishaps he had trimming his beard on that road trip. I’d forgotten how amazing that story is.
Gratuitous Linkage:
Prior to their game at Georgetown last week, the Washington Post’s Gene Wang published this feature on head coach Chris Holtmann and the rebound of Butler’s fortunes.
What the Other Side is Saying:
ButlerHoops.com’ Dirkus Callahan previews the game from their side, and has this among his keys to the game:
“As bad as Butler has been at guarding the lane, Creighton has actually been worse during conference play, giving up a league-worst 51.4% shooting from the interior. While Butler’s bread certainly gets more butter shooting from outside the arc, where they shoot 36.2% as a team than it does inside the arc, where they are dead last in 2 point field goal percentage (43.4%), they are going to need to find a way to loosen things up for Dunham, and being able to successfully attack the interior of Creighton’s defense should help with that.”
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On January 21, 1998, Creighton defeated Southwest Missouri State 94-80 in front of 3,960 fans at the Civic. Rodney Buford, returning to the lineup after missing time with a sprained left ankle, scored 20 points with seven rebounds and seven steals. He had a lot of help, though: Doug Swenson scored a career-high 23 points, freshman Ben Walker scored a then-career-high 20 points, and fellow freshman Ryan Sears added 16 points, eight assists and six steals. They forced 15 first-half turnovers, including seven off their full-court press, in an early preview of what to come for opponents.
“Those 15 turnovers in the first half really got us going,” CU Coach Dana Altman told the media after the game. “We were flying around on the defensive end. As I envisioned our team at the beginning of the year, this was a lot more the picture I hoped for. I thought we played extremely hard. Except for some defensive breakdowns in the second half and some offensive rebounds we gave up, I was very pleased with our effort.”
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
Ex-Cops reminds me of 90’s alt-rock bands like the Breeders or the Stone Roses, which is a very good thing. One of my favorite new discoveries of 2014.
The Bottom Line:
Butler is favored by double-digits. While I’d like to say that’s foolish, I can’t.
Bulldogs 72, Bluejays 62