Creighton men’s basketball is 0-2 against ranked teams on the road this season (and 1-4 on the road overall). The Bluejays will have an opportunity to reverse that trend on Saturday when they visit No. 14 UConn (13-4, 5-1 Big East) for an early tipoff.
Against Alabama and Marquette, both top-10 teams, Creighton dug itself a hole and rallied late before coming up short at the end. The Jays can’t afford to make the same mistakes if they want to break through on Saturday.
“You can’t beat yourselves on the road,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “They’re going to provide enough adversity with the way they play and how difficult of a place it is to play. So you can’t stub your toe and beat yourself. I thought we made too many mistakes against Marquette, whether it be some defensive breakdowns or turnovers or especially at Marquette, some of the shots we missed at the rim that really could have flipped that game.”
Mason Miller said the biggest key for Creighton (11-6, 4-2) to give itself a chance is to prevent the crowd at Gampel Arena from becoming a factor early.
“It’s a crazy experience there,” Miller said. “Last time I remember it was like a noon game too, and the whole place was packed out and loud like it was 7 o’clock at night. It’s always going to be pretty packed out again, so we’re going to be looking forward to that one for sure.”
As McDermott said, limiting the mistakes is the surest path toward minimizing crowd impact. While UConn has yet to lose at home, it has faced some close calls, including a 76-72 victory against Baylor, a 94-89 overtime win against Xavier and an 87-84 game against Providence. This year’s Huskies have been far more vulnerable on the defensive end than they were during their title runs, ranking 109th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.
“When you make mistakes, generally those mistakes end in a run out or a dunk or an easy basket, and that fuels the crowd,” McDermott said. “So you have to play as mistake-proof as you possibly can. Now, that’s easier said than done against their pressure, because they’re relentless, especially at home, on the defensive end of the floor with their pressure. We just have to take our time, be strong with the basketball and get it to where it needs to be, and hopefully get a good look at the basket, and when you get a good look, you’ve got to let it rip.”
The departure of Donovan Clingan to the NBA is a big part of UConn’s defensive decline, though the Huskies still have a talented center rotation with Samson Johnson (7.6 points per game on 77.5% shooting) and Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. (10.1 points per game on 68% shooting and 7.5 rebounds per game). UConn is still third in the country in block percentage, swatting 18.3 of opponent field goal attempts as a team, and 13th in opponent 2-point percentage at 43.7%.
“Clingan was one of the elite rim protectors in the country,” McDermott said. “Now having said all that, they’re third in the country in blocked shots. Samson Johnson does a great job protecting the rim, and Reed does as well, but their wings will fly in there and block some shots as well. You have to be smart when you go in there, when you’re going to go to the rim, and when you’re going to set your feet and look to spray it out.”
A big part of UConn’s defensive ranking is the result of some unfortunate shooting variance. The Huskies rank seventh nationally in opponent 3-point rate (teams only attempt 31.3% of their field goals from deep against UConn), but those opponents are also shooting 38.4% on those attempts (353rd). The Jays are coming off one of their best shooting performances of the season against Providence and will need to replicate that on the road Saturday.
Alex Karaban, the lone returning starter from last year’s title team, is averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks while shooting 43% from 3 on nearly seven attempts per game. Sophomore guard Solo Ball has taken a big step forward this season, averaging 13.6 points while shooting 43.9% on 6.3 3-point attempts per game. Senior Hassan Diarra has taken over as the team’s starting point guard and is averaging 8.9 points and 6.5 assists per game, though he’s only shooting 27.7% from deep.
The Huskies’ second-leading scorer is five-star freshman Liam McNeeley, a 6-foot-7 wing averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 37.9% from beyond the arc. He’s missed the previous three games with an ankle injury, however, and his status is up in the air for Saturday.
“He’s going to be a first-round draft pick,” McDermott said. “You take a guy like that out of your lineup, it’s going to have an impact. Outside of his scoring, he’s such a good decision maker for a young player. Danny [Hurley] puts it in his hands a lot, lets him make decisions. Whether it’s coming off pin-downs or zooms, he’s made really good decisions with the basketball. Obviously, they’re not the same team without him, but they’re still really good without him. I fully anticipate that he’ll play.”
UConn boasts the fifth-best offense in the country this season with the second-highest assist rate (67.5%) and the ninth-best effective field goal percentage (58.1%).
Fedor Žugić is one of a handful of Bluejays preparing for his first trip to Gampel and is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about this rivalry,” Žugić said. “One of the recruitment videos I watched was the game against UConn, so I’m pretty pumped for this game. Obviously, I don’t I don’t know a lot about them or playing on the road against UConn, but I’m hoping for a dope game, and I want it to be loud and I want to go home with a win.”
Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on FOX with Jason Benetti and Donny Marshall on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on ESPN Radio (Marc Kestecher and Bob Valvano) in addition to the normal local broadcast on AM 1620 or FM 101.9 with John Bishop.
