For 40 minutes on Saturday, Creighton looked precisely like the team they were expected to be at this point of the season. Against a Butler defense giving up the second-fewest points in the Big East, partially due to their defensive talent but mostly because of the methodical pace they play at, Creighton hung 93 points on the board. They did it by turning the game into a 72-possession affair, a veritable track meet by Butler standards; it’s the most possessions in any Butler game that didn’t go overtime in over two years. The last time they played a regulation game at a faster pace? January 25, 2019 in Omaha against Creighton, a 75-61 Bluejay win with 73 possessions.
The Jays drained 48.0% of their threes (12-of-25). They assisted on 20 of their 33 made baskets. Preseason Big East Player of the Year Marcus Zegarowski was exhilarating, tying a career high with 32 points on 10-of-12 shooting (including 5-of-7 on three-pointers and 7-of-8 from the line). And they led for all by 13 seconds, winning handily enough to empty the bench and give each of their seniors a separate curtain call.
This play late in the first half was a microcosm of the entire game. Zegarowski beat his defender off the dribble and drove to the baseline, and when a help-side defender sealed him from the basket, he whipped a one-handed laser beam to Mitch Ballock for a wide-open three. A Butler defender was closing out on him, but wouldn’t have gotten there quick enough to change the shot. No matter. Ballock noticed Butler’s defense had been rotated entirely out of position, leaving the other side of the court unguarded. So he zipped a pass to Damien Jefferson, standing behind the arc for an even more wide-open three. Butler’s defense, utterly confused at this point, sent a pair of defenders scrambling his direction. That left Christian Bishop alone on the baseline. Jefferson dumped off a no-look pass to him for a slam dunk. Six seconds, four passes covering three corners of the court, one defense with whiplash, two points for Creighton.
Then they managed to one-up themselves on their first possession of the second half. Zegarowski drew a double-team and passed ahead to Jefferson, who took one dribble to suck in a closeout defender and rotate everyone else a step, then zipped a cross-court pass to Ballock. With no dribbles, he passed to Zegarowski who in turn passed to Jefferson with no dribbles (again, still in virtually the same place). With Butler’s defense now spread too thin, Denzel Mahoney slipped into the corner wide-open. Jefferson got it to him, Bishop sealed off his defender — the only Bulldog with a chance to close out on Mahoney — and he splashed in a three. 10 seconds, five passes across the entirety of one end of the floor, one defense again rotated out of position, and this time three points for Creighton.
โWeโre always going to try and play unselfish,โ Zegarowski said afterward. โThatโs who we are. And thatโs why we are one of the best teams in the country.โ
For 40 minutes, that’s exactly what they looked like, albeit without the architect of the team, Greg McDermott. He was watching from home while on indefinite suspension following a tumultuous week. Interim head coach Al Huss said he was told about the temporarily promotion Thursday night around 7:00pm, and he immediately began work on a game plan with the rest of the staff. Assistant to the Head Coach Steve Merfeld was elevated to a full assistant to give the team a full compliment of voices on the bench for however long McDermott is out. The plan: try to keep things as close to the normal routines as they could.
โ(McDermottโs) one of the best coaches in the country โ he knows all the right buttons to press and beyond that, heโs so poised,โ Huss said. โWe just felt as a staff the more we could keep it exactly the same, the better.โ
It must have worked.
After a poor showing Wednesday in Philadelphia, Christian Bishop was cooking early and often in this one. Twice in the first three minutes, he put the ball on the deck to collapse Butler’s defense on him, then kicked it out to a teammate for a wide-open three. First to Denzel Mahoney, and then to Mitch Ballock:
Ballock’s second 3-pointer later in the half was his 300th career triple, making him the first Bluejay ever with 300 career three-pointers and 300 career assists.
In 14 first-half minutes, Bishop had six points, seven rebounds and three assists. He combined with Ryan Kalkbrenner to provide rim protection and keep Butler from scoring at will in the paint. And then Zegarowski did the rest. Making up for lost time after missing the first game against Butler due to injury, he had 18 first half points — 6-of-7 shooting, 2-of-3 on three-pointers, a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, and one turnover in 17 minutes.
Ahead 46-32 at the half, Creighton used a 10-2 run early in the second to open up an 18-point advantage. Jefferson scored five straight during the stretch, and the Jays played the rest of the game on cruise control. Well, except for one sequence a moment later where things got a little heated.
Alex O’Connell drove to the rim for a dunk attempt, and got hit in the face inadvertently by Myles Tate. O’Connell took exception and said so. Myles Wilmoth took exception to that and shoved O’Connell, who proceeded to stare him down before Ryan Kalkbrenner pulled them apart. Tate and O’Connell were T’d up. But because it’s 2021 and college basketball officiating is what it is this year, the refs decided to give O’Connell a second technical and an ejection as he walked away. The Jays were still up by 17 after all the nonsense, making it a mere footnote.
Players End Silence on McDermott
While the players mostly declined to comment publicly about the situation during the week, that changed before tipoff on Saturday. The “Star Spangled Banner” was moved up in the pregame program and played while both teams were in their locker rooms. In its usual place, right before the announcement of the starting lineups, was this video.
Pretty powerful stuff.
โNot everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed without being faced,โ Christian Bishop said, quoting from author James Baldwin.
Reading off of his phone, Shereef Mitchell detailed what plantation life was really like for slaves. Then it cut to Denzel Mahoney, who said bluntly, โAnd that is why what Coach Mac said hurt me and my teammates.โ
Antwann Jones added that he hopes this will be the start of “a new conversation and a chance for growth.” And then Damien Jefferson delivered the gut-punch. “If I was your son, would it matter then? Let’s not be OK with racism. Let’s start the conversation.”
In the postgame press conference, Marcus Zegarowski elaborated. He said the team will continue to talk about the impact of McDermott’s remarks, and that the pregame video message was part of that. He made clear that they’ll continue to fight together on the basketball floor. And then he delivered an impassioned defense of McDermott.
“Obviously it’s a real sensitive topic. A lot of guys in that locker room were hurting from it, and I was hurting from what he said. But at the same time, you know, Coach Mac, he has been a huge mentor for me. And I know he would take a bullet for me, and everybody in that locker room, including the coaching staff. I just want to make that point across to whoever’s watching.
Obviously the whole situation is real tough. It’s a sensitive topic. But I just wanted to say, I know he made a really bad mistake with what he said. But I only know everything he’s done for me, as a player but more importantly as a human being. He loves me. He loves everybody in that locker room. He’s shown that every single day that I’ve been on this campus, since June of 2018. That’s my coach. And I love that dude. People make mistakes. That’s my guy.”
Creighton’s Seniors Shine
Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson, and Denzel Mahoney all played well in their CHI Health Center finales. Ballock hit a pair of threes and added eight rebounds and six assists, and he held court in a Senior Day speech for the ages that went on for almost 10 minutes. He pointed to individual people in the crowd and thanked them, sharing stories about each, and then said, “If I forget to mention you tonight, you have my number. I’m available to sit down and talk about whatever. We’re in a bubble and I have all the time in the world.”
Scanning the crowd for his high school coach, Ballock said “I was looking for you during the game so I could show off my defense, but we both know I didn’t play any back then and I don’t play it very well now either.”
Looking at trainer Jeremy Anderson, Ballock thanked him for “figuring out my legs. I mean, I have one leg that’s an inch and a half longer than the other. My hips are a little out of balance. That’s kinda why I run weird. You figured that out, revived my career and kept me on the floor.”
Jefferson had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal, and one of his last baskets on his home floor was this one — a vintage Jefferson play created by hustling to a loose ball, and reaping the rewards with a fastbreak dunk.
Jefferson, who’s taken this week’s events harder than almost anyone else, didn’t intend to speak. He had second thoughts as the ceremony began and asked for the mic, telling the crowd it would be “selfish to not come out and thank you all.” He talked about wondering what he was getting himself into after hearing the roar of 18,000 Creighton fans cheering for the team during his redshirt season, and said he always thinks “These fans are crazy, man, coming to games when it’s four degrees and snowing! But it’s because you all just love Creighton basketball that much, and we can’t thank you enough for that.”
Mahoney’s in the same boat as Jefferson after this week’s events, and also didn’t plan to speak. He too decided to take the mic at the last minute. “This has been a tough year, with a lot of ups and downs,” Mahoney said, “but we love each other and it shows, on and off the floor.”
Agreeing with Jefferson on CU’s fans, he added, “You guys are one of the biggest reasons I came here. You’re the best fans in the country. I appreciate you all and I love you all.”
And Jacob Epperson, despite having another year of eligibility remaining, announced his decision to retire from basketball after suffering three consecutive season-ending injuries and struggling to get back on the floor this year. Epperson recalled in his speech, “There’s been a lot of great moments at Creighton for me. One of them was when I broke my leg last year. I mean, not the moment itself — that wasn’t great, I didn’t enjoy it all too much (laughs) — but it was all the love that I received from you guys. It was a dark time for me, but I tried to stay positive about it, and you helped so much.”