[dropcap]The[/dropcap] non-conference slate comes to a close on Sunday afternoon as the Bluejays take on North Texas. Located in Denton, UNT is about 25 miles from Austin Chatman’s hometown of The Colony and 37 miles from Geoffrey Groselle’s hometown of Plano. It should be fun for those two to play a game in front of their friends and family, and it’s nice to see CU give them that opportunity.
North Texas is 5-4 on the year, with two of those wins coming against non-D1 opponents (DII Arkansas Monticello and NAIA Langston University). The other teams they’ve beaten? Nicholls State (ranked 332nd out of 351 by KenPom), Delaware State (#267), and Mississippi Valley State (#346). They’ve played some stiffer competition, but lost to them all — Iona, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Stephen F. Austin all rank in top 90 on KenPom, and all four games ended in a double-digit loss for the Mean Green.
Offensively, they rank in the bottom-third of D1 in almost every single statistical category, averaging 66 points a game while shooting 31% from three-point range, 44.5% from the field, and 66.1% from the line. They also get an assist on just 48% of made baskets. Senior guard Jordan Williams is their top scorer, averaging 14.3 points a game, but he continues to be an inefficient scorer — he’s 42-106 from the field (39%) and 14-43 from three-point range (32%). He’s also turnover-prone, with 27 giveaways in 9 games. Those trends are nothing new; two years ago in Omaha, Williams scored 9 points on 4-14 shooting, and committed five turnovers in 30 minutes of action.
Their second-leading scorer is Jeremy Combs, a 6’7″ freshman forward who averages 10.3 points a game. He’s been a terrific shooter so far, making 63% from the floor (37-58), so you’re better off fouling him — he’s beyond terrible at the line, making 48% (19-39).
This is a team that makes their mark defensively. They’ve held teams to just 42% from the field and 33% from three-point range, playing primarily a zone scheme. While the Jays have struggled against zone defenses in the past, they were able to force Texas Pan-Am out of their zone on Friday night by attacking it and hitting open threes. Teams that have had success against the Mean Green have burned their zone — Oklahoma State made 10 threes and shot 40% from long range, and was 67% from the field on two-point shots; Arkansas made 11 threes, and also shot 40% from behind the arc. Teams that can’t make outside shots have struggled, because UNT’s zone hopes to pack the paint and take away easy, close-range shots — and for the most part, they’ve succeeded with that.
As for the venue, Coach Mac noted in the postgame on Friday night that he expects it to be tough. “The reality is, North Texas doesn’t have many Big East teams come to their place. This was scheduled a couple of years ago when we were still in the Valley, it was a 2-for-1 because we needed a home opener and we thought it would be a good one. I’m sure they’re going to be ready, and their fans are going to be excited to have us come down there.”
Indeed, North Texas has put together a #PackThePit event for this game against — as the flyer reads — “National Power Creighton”.
Hey #UNT, help us #PackThePit on Sunday when @MeanGreenMBB takes on national power Creighton at 1 p.m. pic.twitter.com/WZdWcgvQDr
— UNTsocial (@UNTsocial) December 20, 2014
With that said, they’re averaging about 1,700 fans a game in a 10,000 seat venue, and when we talked to their beat writer, he didn’t seem enthusiastic about today being any different. “Support has dwindled. The Super Pit is a big venue. When attendance is down, it’s kind of dead…The student section has almost died out completely. UNT is trying to bring it back, but it’s going to take wins for the Mean Green to get back to where it had a couple of sections full of students every game. The fact that Creighton is in will help a little, but the game is on Sunday. There will be a couple thousand people there, but that will be about it.”
Creighton’s struggled to create energy in dead environments (see: Emerald Coast Classic, at Tulsa) so that worries me somewhat. I’d almost rather see an rowdy, packed gym than one that’s 20% full. The saving grace is that North Texas is so bad offensively, even a bad shooting afternoon for the Jays will likely still be enough to win.
About the Mean Green:
NT doesn’t have a player ranked among the top 10 rebounders in C-USA, yet as a team NT is among the league’s leaders. Five NT players average between 4.0 and 6.3 rebounds, and NT leads C-USA and ranks 18th in the NCAA with 28.4 defensive boards … Not counting redshirt seasons, North Texas entered 2014-15 with just 11 seasons of Division I experience on its roster. Only eight teams in the country have fewer season of DI action … NT has been nearly unbeatable at the Super Pit over the last few years, and has a 97-32 (75.2 percent) at the Super Pit since 2006-07, though it’s worth noting most of that came during their run of six straight winning seasons, including five 20-win campaigns, five conference tournament finals and two NCAA tournament bids.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™:
Creighton is 9-3 heading into its final game before Christmas break. A win on Sunday would mark just the fifth time in program history the Jays own 10 or more wins by Dec. 25th … Friday night, Austin Chatman moved into seventh place in Creighton history on the career assist chart, and now owns 429 in his career. Only seven previous men in school history have reached 400 career assists as a Bluejay. With two assists on Sunday, Chatman can pass Tyler McKinney (430 assists) for sixth place … Chatman owns a 57/17 assist/turnover ratio (3.35) so far this season, a figure that ranks first in the Big East and 14th nationally.
The Series:
North Texas was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference for 18 years, but their tenure came during Creighton’s absence. Despite never meeting as conference foes, Creighton holds a 5-4 edge in nine all-time meetings, including a 71-51 win in Omaha two years ago. The Jays are 0-2 at the Super Pit, and dropped their last trip in February of 1977, 108-105.
The Last Time They Played:
Creighton and North Texas met in the season opener two years ago in a game most predicted would be close. UNT had athleticism, size, and explosiveness, and mostly, they had Tony Mitchell. No matter. CU busted out to a 39-25 lead at the half, then put them away and won by 20 thanks to a solid defensive effort — Gregory Echenique closed off the paint, and effective help-side defense forced UNT to settle for mid-range jumpers all night long.
Notably, Austin Chatman had 11 points and 2 assists in that game, turning it over four times in his first start at point guard.
Gratuitous Linkage:
Freshman Jeremy Combs has been on a tear lately — he’s hit 19 of his last 27 shots from the field over the course of UNT’s last three games — and has done most of his damage driving to the rim. The Denton Record-Chronicle’s Brett Vito profiles the player that might be the key to the Mean Green having a successful season.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On December 21, 2006, Creighton dropped Valparaiso 68-43 in the first round of the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. Nate Funk, who had been in a five-game slump while battling an illness that made him lose 15 pounds, was in the midst of a 3-26 stretch from three-point range entering the tourney. He scored 20 second-half points, including 4 of 5 from long range, and keyed an 11-2 run to open the half that broke the game open.
They’d go on to beat Houston the next night, 80-72, before losing to Hawaii in the championship 76-60.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
It’s a Polyfro Primer tradition that goes back to the beginning of this column — the last game before Christmas, it’s time for Wham!
The Bottom Line:
Creighton moves to 10-3 with a double-digit win. Jays 69, North Texas 59