Thanks to a three-game winning streak, the members of the Creighton men’s basketball team went into the Christmas break in high spirits, especially considering where the team was two weeks ago.
After beating Utah Tech on Monday, the Jays got a few days off to head home and celebrate the holiday with their families before returning to practice on Friday.
“It was fantastic,” sophomore guard Austin Swartz said of the team’s turnaround. “It made break 10 times better. It was good to see everybody have a smile on their face leaving here, and that’s what it’s all about. Winning, it’s undefeated, especially going into Christmas like that. Some people probably got more gifts and stuff like that, but it was really good.”
Swartz admitted there was a bit of rust once they got back on the practice court, and Coach Greg McDermott said Saturday’s practice was a step back after a good first day back. However, he gave his team four practice days to ramp back up as they prepare to host Butler on Tuesday.
“It’s always hard coming back off that break,” McDermott said. “You’ve got a travel day in there, so that makes it difficult, but I think we understand what we have to do against Butler. We just need a couple really good practices leading up to that game.”
The biggest Christmas gift for the Bluejays was improved health, including a return to practice for freshman Hudson Greer. The 6-foot-7 wing pulled out of a planned redshirt against North Dakota and gave the team a big spark during the Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas. He averaged 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game in four appearances before a foot injury sidelined him.
Greer has missed the last six games and McDermott classified it as a game-time decision for him to play against Butler.
“Hudson has been on the practice for a little bit, which has been good to see, and so far, so good,” McDermott said. “But I think some of the guys that were ailing leading up to that Utah Tech game are feeling a little better.”
The Bulldogs will be a step up from the first two Big East teams the Jays beat to open conference play. Butler is 10-3 (1-1 Big East) and is 50th in KenPom with wins over Virginia, Northwestern and Providence.
“Really good team,” Owen Freeman said. “Obviously, they rebound really well, crash the glass really well, so we’re going to try and box out, get those boards and just continue to do what we do and play in transition and just get out and be us.”
The Bulldogs rank 20th in offensive rebounding rate, collecting 38.5% of their misses. The biggest reason for that is Gonzaga transfer Michael Ajayi, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward who is averaging a double-double at 16.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
“He’s a monster,” McDermott said. “He’ll take it off the glass and lead the break and obviously draws a lot of fouls with his physicality and ability to get to the rim. He’s one of the better offensive rebounding rebounders in the country.”
Defensive rebounding was a significant issue for the Bluejays earlier in the season, but they’ve improved in that area in recent games, allowing single-digit offensive rebounds in each of its three wins during the streak. None of those teams crash the glass like Butler, however.
“That’s a challenge for us, because they really have some positional strength that is concerning at a couple positions for us,” McDermott said. “We’re going to really have to fight tooth and nail. I think our first-shot defense, while it’s going to be important, the ability to get that rebound is going to be critical.”
Butler’s second-leading scorer is a returner in junior guard Finley Bizjack, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard. He’s averaging 16.3 points while shooting 35.5% on 7.2 3-point attempts per game.
“He’s fearless,” McDermott said. “He’ll come flying off screens and shoot it, and he’s creative going to the rim. He reads screens extremely well, so if you make a mistake, oftentimes he makes you pay for it. We’ve got to make his looks at the 3-point line as difficult as possible and try to turn him in a little bit more of a driver.”
Jamie Kaiser, a 6-foot-6 wing, is third in scoring at 10.3 per game and is a capable 3-point shooter at 39.5%. The Bulldogs lost starting point guard Jalen Jackson to a season-ending injury after six games, and freshman Azavier “Stink” Robinson has stepped in for him, averaging 7.4 points and 2.6 assists in his seven starts. Robinson (47.6%) and reserve guard Evan Haywood (8.6 points per game, 43.9% from 3) provide additional perimeter shooting.
Beyond offensive rebounding, Butler also excels at getting to the foul line, ranking 36th in free-throw rate. However, Creighton once again leads the country in opponent free-throw rate, making it a strength-on-strength game. The Bulldogs also do a great job of defending the 3-point line, with their opponents only attempting 32.1% of their shot attempts from deep (15th) and only connecting on them at a 30.8% clip (76th). Creighton sports the 24th-highest 3-point attempt rate in the country at 49.1% and is up to 34.8% from 3 on the season (129th). That includes a 40.8% hit rate over the past four games.
Tipoff at CHI Health Center Omaha Tuesday is set for 8 p.m. on FS1 with Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe on the call.
