Greg McDermott begins every Creighton men’s basketball practice by gathering the team together, reciting a quote and asking a member of the team to expound on the quote. Monday’s quote: “Be where your feet are.”
That line is particularly relevant for his squad at this point in that season as it has been stuck in a holding pattern for a few weeks now, waiting for the College Basketball Crown.
Associate head coach (for one more week) Alan Huss said after his introductory press conference that non-NCAA postseason tournaments often come down to motivation, and getting the 15-17 Bluejays motivated to play in the Crown has been a focus for the past week. McDermott echoed that ahead of Monday’s practice.
“I think it’s tricky in a tournament like this,” McDermott said. “Number one, who’s available? Number two, what’s the level of motivation? I hope we can get ourselves ready before Thursday to just go in there and have a little bit of fun, fly around and see what happens.”
Creighton last played on March 12. The Crown starts on Thursday, April 2, three full weeks later. Both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT have already narrowed their fields to just four before the Crown even begins, although FOX’s tournament will start with just eight teams, a reduction from 16 in the event’s inaugural season last year.
“It’s been kind of weird, I’m not going to lie, seeing all these other teams playing already, even the NIT has been going on,” senior Josh Dix said. “I think it’s weird for the coaches too. They didn’t really know what to do, so they gave us some time off. We’ve been in the gym quite a bit with the GAs and assistants, so it’s definitely been weird.”
Creighton took advantage of the gap to officially announce the coaching transition that will follow the conclusion of the Crown, with Huss taking over as head coach as McDermott retires from his post. Dix said the conversations among players since McDermott made his decision have centered on gratitude for the man who sat in the back of last week’s press conference to keep the spotlight on his successor.
“We had a lot of new guys this season, and everyone’s grateful for the opportunity that he gave them, and it’s special to be a part of his last year, and not the way that we wanted to end it for him, but he’s a selfless human being, and he never made it about himself. So it doesn’t surprise me that that he went out like that.”
However, for the time being, McDermott is still operating as the head ball coach — at least when it comes to on-court preparation. He’s leaving the roster management to Huss, and sleeping better for it. That aside, it’s business as usual for McDermott who is leading his final practices inside the facility bearing his name after 16 years in charge.
“I think I’ll probably feel it later,” McDermott said Monday, with one more practice scheduled for Tuesday before the team departs for Las Vegas. “We’re trying to get ready to play a game, and obviously, I think they’ll still let me in this building once in a while. But it’ll probably be a little surreal tomorrow when we have the last one.”
The players stayed in the gym throughout the time off, and while McDermott has been running practices and leading the team like normal, Huss has already started holding conversations with the players and laying out his vision for the future.
“Pretty much it’s been us getting in the gym as much as we can,” junior Jasen Green said. “Obviously, we had a lot of skill workouts, just with the whole team together, but also individual stuff, whenever we had off days, making sure our shot stays right, we stay in shape and all that stuff. And then the coaching change has been pretty smooth so far. Huss obviously talked to us as a team just about what his plans were. We were all at the [press conference] but he was talking to us about just kind of what his plans are, what his hopes for the future were, and just kind of thanking Mac for what he’s done and all that stuff.”
For Creighton’s two seniors, Dix and Nik Graves, the motivation is clear: suiting up again for one last run with their teammates and looking to extend their college careers as long as possible.
“We’ve been working, kind of started a little bit of offseason workouts already,” Dix said. “It’s kind of weird for Nik and me, we know that we’re done after this. But just to play with these guys one more time, it means a lot. We’ve had a close bond all year long, and it’ll be exciting to get out there one more time in a tournament setting, and hopefully we win it.”
After a bumpy season filled with adversity, the Bluejays are looking to send their seniors and McDermott out on a high note. They’ll have to do so without sophomore sharpshooter Austin Swartz, who hasn’t been practicing while “dealing with some injury things that might require some work at some point,” according to McDermott. Swartz was not on the travel roster Creighton released Tuesday afternoon, though Jackson McAndrew is as he continues to progress through his rehab with head of athletic performance Jeremy Anderson.
This year’s Crown field features eight teams: Oklahoma (41st in KenPom), Colorado (72nd), Baylor (51st), Minnesota (76th), Stanford (62nd), West Virginia (63rd), Rutgers (122nd) and Creighton (74th).
The tournament tips odd Wednesday night with the Sooners (19-14) and Buffaloes (17-15) at 7 p.m., with the Bears (16-16) and Golden Gophers (15-17) to follow at 9:30 p.m. The Cardinal (20-12) and Mountaineers (18-14) begin the action on Friday at 7 p.m., with the Bluejays and Scarlet Knights (14-19) to follow at 9:30.
Rutgers bounced back from a seven-game losing streak to win five of its last nine games, including one in the Big Ten Tournament over fellow Crown participant Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights take good care of the ball (15.1% turnover rate, 72nd nationally) but struggle mightily to get the ball in the hoop in the halfcourt. They rank 326th in effective field goal percentage, struggling both inside the arc (46.6% on 2-pointers, 337th) and beyond it (32.8% from 3, 242nd). Their average 2-point distance of 7.9 feet is 360th in the country, meaning the Scarlet Knights take a lot of mid-range and long 2-pointers, which is what Creighton hopes to force on defense anyway. Offensive rebounding opportunities could be there as well for the Jays as Rutgers ranks 302nd in offensive rebounding rate allowed at 33.1%.
“I was probably a little surprised with how fast they play,” McDermott said of Rutgers. “I think they I think there were the third most in the in the Big Ten in transition points, so that was probably a little something that caught my eye. Obviously, they’re big and physical, like most of the Big Ten teams are, but it’ll be a really good matchup for us.”
Junior guard Tariq Francis is the lone Scarlet Knight averaging double figures in scoring at 16.9 to go with a team-best 2.9 assists per game. He shoots 90.5% on 5.1 free-throw attempts per game and 35.7% on 4.3 3-point tries. Per Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press, Francis is day-to-day after suffering a lower leg injury in Friday’s practice, though he is on Rutgers’ travel roster for the tournament.
Availability will be a key for all eight teams heading to Vegas, with both injuries and decisions to enter the transfer portal once it opens on Sunday impacting every team.
If Creighton can knock off Rutgers on Thursday, the Jays will face the winner of Stanford and West Virginia in Saturday’s semifinals, set for 3 p.m. CT. The championship is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 p.m.
“I think everyone’s been locked in, trying to work on their game, and I think we’ve got a good chance,” Dix said. “We’ve got to get one on Thursday, and then play into the weekend, Saturday, Sunday, get a couple more, and we’ll be good.”
