No. 8 Creighton opened the season in impressive fashion on Tuesday night as the Bluejays blew out Florida A&M 105-54 at CHI Health Center Omaha.
The Jays shot 18-of-38 (47.4%) from 3 and addd 38 points in the paint as all 10 active players converted multiple buckets, led by Trey Alexander with 20 points and five assists in 26 minutes.
Here are there takeaways from the game.
Bluejay Backcourt as Advertised
Ryan Kalkbrenner is the returning headliner for the Bluejays, but it was the backcourt that stole the show on Tuesday night. Kalkbrenner only took five shots, finishing with nine points as he was content to set screens and kick out of the double-teams the Rattlers sent his way.
Alexander picked up where he left off in the exhibition, reaching 20 points and missing just one shot for the second straight game. He went 7-for-8 from the field with a pair of triples and 4-of-4 from the foul line, and he also dished out five assists. Alexander scored 10 points in the paint to go with his two 3s and four free throws, and all five of his assists were for 3-pointers.
“From the beginning of the game, I kind of kind of saw a couple coverages that I hadn’t really seen before,” Alexander said. “They were kind of golding Kalk (“gold” means to stay attached to the screener as the guard goes under) so I was able to get downhill pretty early and shots were falling tonight, so that’s always a plus.”
Newcomer Steven Ashworth was on the receiving end of three of those Alexander assists as he finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting including 5-of-7 from deep. He also dished out four assists without a turnover — three for 3-pointers and one for a dunk.
“Steven’s a great shooter, obviously,” Alexander said. “You don’t shoot 43% last year for no reason. The team just to go 18-for-38 today was pretty impressive. I think that it was a display of our unselfishness and I think it goes to show that’s why we’re kind of separating ourselves is being more unselfish and just being able to get the ball clicking early.”
Baylor Scheierman added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting (3-of-8 from deep), eight rebounds and two assists (both to Kalkbrenner). He threw down a dunk for his first bucket and also converted a tough reverse layup on a baseline drive.
The veteran perimeter trio combined for 52 points on 18-for-27 shooting and 11 assists, and Creighton fans are going to see a lot of stat lines like that this season if teams focus on limiting Kalkbrenner’s opportunities in the paint.
Miller, Traudt Find the Range and Hit the Boards
The biggest question about the team heading into the season was the four spot. With Jasen Green sidelined by a hand injury, it left just Mason Miller and Isaac Traudt to fill all of those minutes on Tuesday. Both got off to slow starts but eventually found their rhythm.
Miller got the start and finished with seven points, shooting 2-of-5 from deep and splitting a pair of free throws. He missed his first two triples but then knocked down two in a row in the second half in the span of a few possessions.
Traudt, the Grand Island native who transferred to Creighton after a redshirt year at Virginia, missed four of his first five 3s but went 2-for-3 in the last 10 minutes and also converted a three-point play inside to finish with 12 points in his debut. Two of his three 3s were off movement as well, showing the 6-foot-10 forward can be more than just a spot-up shooter.
Whoever is at that four spot is going to get some good looks playing with the other four starters, and the way they finished after slow starts can be a confidence-builder moving forward.
“They’re both very capable shooters,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “Everybody in our program has confidence in them and they know if they’re open, they’re supposed to shoot it. I don’t want them turning anything down because they missed the last one; that’s not the way we really think around here.”
The part of their performance that stood out to McDermott wasn’t the scoring or 3-point numbers, however. It was the rebound column as Miller corralled eight of them and Traudt secured six.
“The four spot, we get 19 points and 14 rebounds out of those two, that was a good sign of progress from the Wayne State game,” McDermott said. “I thought they were both more active on the glass than they were the other night.”
Green will provide a different look at that spot once he’s healthy, but for the most part, Tuesday was a solid debut for two guys who will get plenty of opportunities to make an impact this season.
Redshirt, Greenshirt
When Josiah Dotzler first committed to Creighton out of Bellevue West, the plan was likely for him to redshirt during his first season considering the talent and experience returning in the backcourt. However, that plan changed as the preseason played out and the true freshman made rapid improvement.
The younger brother of former Bluejay Josh Dotzler — and former Creighton ball boy — made his debut on Tuesday, checking in for the first time at the under-8 timeout in the first half.
“The last two-plus weeks, he’s really made good strides offensively, getting to the rim, putting pressure on the rim, and we feel like there’s a place for that,” McDermott said. “And now it’s just how quickly can we get him up to speed defensively? It’s just hard for freshmen. But the good news with Jo, his body’s pretty good for a younger player, so at least the physicality of what he’s going to see isn’t going to kill him. Now he’s just got to learn a few of the tricks and being around Trey and Baylor and those guys, that will help him.
“But Josiah was very unselfish. He’s like, ‘I’ll do whatever I have to do to help us win.’ We needed one of those guys to be ready to play and he was the most ready.”
Creighton’s other three freshmen — Sterling Knox, Brock Vice and walk-on Shane Thomas — are all planning to redshirt this season, as is walk-on forward Joshua Townley-Thomas, a transfer from North Platte Community College. Senior walk-on Sami Osmani is also injured, leaving the Bluejays light on backcourt options.
Dotzler played 15 minutes in his debut, finishing with six points and a rebound. His first bucket was an and-one on a drive to the rim where he caught a pass from the corner and attacked a closeout. He also knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3 and set up a teammate or two for good looks that didn’t fall.
“Hometown kid growing up and to be able to go out there and play like he did was great to see,” Scheierman said. “He’s made huge strides since he’s got here to now and I’m just looking forward to continuing to follow his development and try to help him any way I can.”
With Ashworth and Alexander likely handling most of the point guard minutes in competitive games, Dotzler may not play heavy minutes this season. However, she’s shown the coaching staff enough to think he can help the team more this year by playing than redshirting, and he’ll provide a different look off the bench than they would have had otherwise.
