Creighton veterans Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman are both off to terrific starts this season, combining to average 39 points, 13.3 rebounds and 11.0 assists on a 69.1 true shooting percentage.
Alexander earned Big East Player of the Week after putting up 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists in a pair of wins, but it was Scheierman who led Creighton in scoring the last time out. The duo combined for 14 assists against Texas Southern, half of which were on each other’s buckets. Actions involving both players caused opposing defenses all kinds of problems this season.
“Obviously being able to find Trey in and out of ball screens and then also running him into ghosts and doubles is able to confuse the defense a lot and we’re able to find each other,” Scheierman said. “Trey’s got great vision, obviously, so he’s able to find me when I’m open and he knows the spots I like it, and I think vice-versa as well. So playing together, this being our second year together, we really just know each other’s games pretty well.”
The two have a strong bond, and Alexander said much of their conversation on the court doesn’t even have to do with basketball (much to Coach Greg McDermott’s chagrin).
“Baylor and I have a great off-the-court relationship too,” Alexander said. “So it just goes on. We just love playing with each other and we love playing the game of basketball. So for us to do it together, it’s been a blessing to play with him these last two years.”
Now Alexander and Scheierman will take their show on the road after a four-game home stand to open the season. Creighton will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Kansas City at the Hall of Fame Classic multi-team event.
“I would love to play every game at CHI we could, but obviously we can’t and Creighton fans travel well, so we’re going to be excited to go down there and play in front a lot of Bluejay fans over the holiday,” Scheierman said.
Creighton will open tournament play against Loyola Chicago on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT at the T-Mobile Center. The Ramblers are 2-2 this season ad ranked 123rd in KenPom. Junior Desmond Watson, a transfer from Davidson, is leading the team at 15.8 points per game while shooting 47.4% from 3. Senior Philip Alston, a 6-foot-6 wing who led the team in scoring a year ago, will miss the tournament with a calf strain.
“Loyola Chicago, obviously they’ve had a long tradition of success, especially the last six or seven years,” McDermott said. “So that’ll be, obviously, a challenging game. And then Colorado State’s playing great on the other side of the bracket, scoring a lot of points, and Boston College is much improved.”
Colorado State has climbed 20 spots in KenPom and is close to cracking the top 50 after a 4-0 start to the season. The Rams have a top-25 offense led by senior point guard Isaiah Stevens, averaging 16.8 points on a 71.2 true shooting percentage and 8.0 assists. Colorado State has three other double-digit scorers as well in senior forward Joel Scott (16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds per game), senior guard Nique Clifford (14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) and senior forward Patrick Cartier (13.3 points per game). Scott (Division II Black Hills State) and Clifford (Colorado) are in their first season with the Rams after transferring in, while Cartier joined the team as a transfer from Division II Hillsdale. Colorado State is sixth in 2-point percentage (65.4) and 17th in 30-point percentage (40.9) and boasts the second-highest assisted field goal rate in the country.
Boston College is off to a 4-0 start against a weak opening schedule and sits at 110th in KenPom. Quinten Post, a 7-footer from the Netherlands, is averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.8 assists Junior point guard Jaeden Zackery is averaging 13.8 points and 4.3 assists while Charleston Southern transfer Claudell Harris Jr. has chipped in 12.5 points per game.
“I think it’ll be a good tournament and I’m hopeful that we’ll have a good crowd down there,” McDermott said after Saturday’s win over Texas Southern. “But we need three pretty good days of prep. Tomorrow will be more of a mental day and then we have to hit the practice floor hard on Monday to get ready for two important games.”
Colorado State and Boston College will get things started at 12:30 p.m. before Creighton and Loyola face off on CBS Sports Network. The third-place game will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday with the championship to follow at 3.
“You can call it an away game, but I know Creighton fans are going to travel,” Scheierman said. “It’s always great to go somewhere else but also have your fans travel with you. So it’s going to be great to be on the road playing against a great Loyola Chicago team that’s going to give us a different look. It’s just going to be fun. We played at CHI, we love playing in front of our fans, but for us to be able to travel, it’s going to be first time this year and I’m excited to get that part of the season going.”
