[dropcap]Creighton[/dropcap] is off to a 3-1 start in league play, including road wins at St. John’s and Seton Hall, and can equal last year’s Big East win total with a “W” over the Providence Friars just two weeks into the season. It’s unquestionably the biggest home game in nearly two years — since the Friars were here in March of 2014, ironically enough — for a whole bunch of reasons. A win against the 12th ranked Friars would give the Jays a marquee win. A win would keep them in second place in the league, and with a winnable game to follow at DePaul, give them a clear, attainable path to a 5-1 start. With four home games against the bottom of the league still to come, a 5-1 start would give Jays fans a chance to dream a little bigger than an NIT berth.
Plus, if they’re 5-1 with three road wins and home W’s over Georgetown and Providence, you might start seeing the Jays receiving votes in the polls and among the teams on the NCAA bubble in Bracketology predictions. Heady stuff for a team picked to finish ninth in the league, and given up for dead by a lot of folks on social media and the Bluejay Underground a week ago after the loss to Villanova.
On the other hand, a loss to Providence moves the Jays back into the middle of the pack in the Big East, drops them to 0-2 at home against the top four teams in the league, and puts doubt back in people’s minds. You’ve heard the Doubting Thomas’ excuses for the Jays’ early-season wins — St. John’s is terrible, Georgetown looked tired, Seton Hall melted down — that give CU little to no credit for the wins. Beating a team ranked 12th in the country, and one as well-respected as Providence, changes that narrative.
So yeah, it’s a big game tonight.
The Friars have spent the last seven weeks ranked in the Top 25, and enter tonight’s game at #12. They own wins over a pair of Top 10 teams (Arizona and Butler), and have just two losses — one to #3 Michigan State, and one to Marquette, by a single point at home. They’ve had a week off to contemplate that one, which probably isn’t great for the Bluejays, because Providence is a terrible matchup for them on a good day, much less one where they’re ticked off.
They have the top two scorers in the league, and three of the top 12. Sophomore Ben Bentil, a 6’9″ forward, is leading the Big East with 19.4 points per game to go along with a team-best 7.9 rebounds. As the Friars’ tallest player, Bentil has generally been matched up against opponent’s centers, and he’s used that mismatch to his advantage because of his ability to put the ball on the floor and to shoot from anywhere. That was on full display against UMass earlier this year, where Bentil scored 32 points with 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals — he was 8-11 from two-point range and 3-5 from three-point range, abusing UMass’ big men.
It’s a stunning transformation for the second-year player, as Bentil averaged 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds a game last year. He’s scored 20 or more in eight of their 16 games this year, and has three double-doubles so far. He’ll be a really tough defensive matchup for Geoff Groselle and Zach Hanson tonight, particularly because you can’t double-team him as they did with Angel Delgado of Seton Hall on Saturday.
And why not? Because the Friars also have Kris Dunn, the Big East’s second-leading scorer, preseason conference player of the year, first-team All-American, and candidate for National Player of the Year. Dunn averages 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists (tops in the league) and 3.2 steals per game (also tops in the league), and is probably the most complete player the Jays will face all season. He had a rare triple-double earlier this year, logging 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds vs Hartford, and nearly had three others: he had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists vs NJIT, 11 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals against Brown, and 20 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds against Butler.
Dunn’s 6’4″, 220-pound frame makes him difficult to defend for the Jays’ typically smaller guards, and they had no answer for him a year ago. In the first meeting, he had six points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds; in the rematch in Omaha, Dunn had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. How they scheme to defend Dunn — and how well they execute that scheme — will probably decide the outcome of the game. Do you use your help defense to cut down on dribble penetration and keep Bentil from getting touches at the rim, but give up some open looks on the perimeter and hope Dunn is having an off-night shooting the three? Or pressure the perimeter to take away outside shots and hope your help defense can cut off dribble drives, while possibly giving up some easy looks for Bentil inside? It’s a pick your poison situation, either way.
Complicating the situation is the fact that the Friars have a third scoring option, Rodney Bullock, who is also among the best in the league. He’s third on the team (and 12th in the Big East) at 13.9 points per game and second on the team with 7.8 rebounds per game, and had 25 points with 10 rebounds in their win at Butler — a game where he shot 6-9 from three-point range.
If there’s one place where the Friars have a weakness, it’s in their depth. Their rotation is just seven-deep, and Bentil, Dunn and Bullock all play 32+ minutes a game. If the Jays can push the tempo and force this to be a fast-paced game, that could be a factor late. That requires defensive stops and rebounding, of course.
I think this will be a close game, and if that comes to pass, the crowd could once again be the tipping point as it was against Georgetown. In the second half of that game, the noise level in the CLink got to the Hoyas, gave the Bluejays an extra gear they maybe weren’t aware they had, and for sure played a role in the outcome.
“When the crowd got in the game, it gave us another level of energy that we maybe didn’t even know we had. And I hope our crowd understands that. They can have this impact. They can wake up our sleeping team. That’s why we have such an advantage. Not many places have 16,000 people watching them play. When our fans get off their seats like they did tonight, and get into the game…our guys were energized. They were fired up like I haven’t seen them all year in our huddles. That’s what we need to have, and it was huge.” -Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame following the Georgetown game
Quick Notes on the Friars:
- Other Friars to look out for include Jalen Lindsey (7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds per game) and Junior Lomomba (6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds).
- The Friars are +3.0 on the glass per game and average 75.9 points per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from three-point range and 71.0 percent at the free-throw line. PC allows opponents to score 66.8 points per game and shoot 42.9 percent from the floor.
- Opponents are averaging 14.8 turnovers per game against the Friars, and they rank second in the conference with a +4.0 turnover margin.
Bluejay Bytes:
- With his 14 assists on Saturday at Seton Hall, Mo Watson became the first Bluejay with 10+ in three games of the same season since Grant Gibbs in 2011-12. The last Bluejay to do it four times in one season? Duan Cole in 1989-90.
- Isaiah Zierden ranks second in the Big East with 29 steals this season, trailing only Kris Dunn’s 45. Zierden owns seven games this season with three steals or more, and has at least three in each of CU’s league victories this season. He had a total of three steals (in 28 games and 304 minutes) as a freshman, and 12 steals (in 20 games and 558 minutes) a year ago, and had just two steals in 23 career Big East games entering the season.
- Creighton has started 3-1 or better in league play for the fifth time in Greg McDermott’s six seasons at the helm. Three of the first four teams that started 3-1 or 4-0 not only reached the NCAA Tournament, but won a game in the Big Dance, while the other one won four postseason games in the 2011 CBI to reach the title series. Each of Creighton’s 12 teams since 1980-81 to start 3-1 or 4-0 in league play have reached the postseason, a stretch that includes nine NCAA Tournaments, two NIT’s and one CBI.
The Series:
Providence owns a 10-5 lead in a series that dates back to 1961, though the teams have split six meetings in Omaha. Since becoming Big East rivals, Creighton has lost four of the five meetings, including the 2014 Big East Tournament final at Madison Square Garden. Creighton’s only triumph since joining the league came on March 8, 2014, when they won 88-73 thanks to Doug McDermott’s career-high 45 points on Senior Night.
Greg McDermott is 1-4 against Providence and Ed Cooley. Cooley is 3-3 against the Bluejays, as his Fairfield team fell on March 22, 2010 in a CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament game contested at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
The Last Time They Played:
Providence used a 12-2 run at the beginning of the game and an 11-2 run at the end of the half to lead to them to a 74-65 victory on January 17, 2015 in Omaha. The Bluejays opened the second half on a 9-3 run that ended with 3-pointers by senior forward Ricky Kreklow and junior guard James Milliken to cut Providence’s lead to 37-33 with 16:49 remaining in the period. With his team in need of an answer, Big East leading scorer LeDontae Henton scored five of his 18 points as part of a 10-0 Friars run to push the lead back to double digits, where it stayed the rest of the day.
Gratuitous Linkage:
How will the Jays, and specifically Mo Watson, match up with the nation’s best player in Kris Dunn? This in-depth article explores how they might defend Dunn, and how Watson might be able to score and distribute against him. I can’t recommend it enough.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On January 12, 1984, Creighton had 12 steals in a victory over Southern Illinois, 78-62. Vernon Moore carried the Jays with 24 points, five assists and three steals, while making 9 of 11 field goals and all six of his free throws. He picked a good time for one of the best games of his career, as Benoit Benjamin had one of his worst — contributing just five rebounds while committing a ghastly seven (7!) turnovers. After the game, Benjamin would admit to the media that he “was trying hard out there tonight, but I wasn’t mentally ready to play.” I’d make a snarky comment, but really, it writes itself.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
RIP to one of the best ever, David Bowie.
The Bottom Line:
This is a measuring stick game for the Jays. I think they’ll measure up well.
Creighton 76, Providence 73