Saturday begins the most difficult stretch of the season for Creighton men’s basketball as the Bluejays face the top three teams in the Big East in an eight-day span, including the top two on the road next week.
However, before the Bluejays face those difficult tests on that court, they had to navigate another difficult stretch emotionally. Josh Dix was absent from practice on Thursday to be with his family and attend his mother’s wake, and the team attended her funeral on Friday morning. McDermott has praised the way his team has stuck together during a difficult time for one their own.
“We’re going to need it tomorrow and this weekend, because obviously it’s going to be a challenging day tomorrow, so that’s what I’m most worried about,” Coach Greg McDermott said after Thursday’s practice. “I know we’ve got a game Saturday, and I know it’s important to a lot of people. It’s important to me, but not as important to make sure as making sure we get through tomorrow.”
Waiting for the Bluejays on Saturday is a rematch with Villanova (195, 10-3 Big East, ranked 29th in KenPom) at CHI Health Center Omaha.
“Obviously, they’ve played really well,” McDermott said. They’re third the league, and I think we’re their only loss to someone that’s not named UConn or St. John’s. We’re going to get their best shot. We had an incredible offensive half the second half where we shot 70%. You’re going to win most games when that happens. I think there’s a little more teeth to what they’re doing defensively than when we played them the first time, and we’re going to have to make sure we match that.”
Creighton beat Villanova 76-72 at Finneran Pavillion on Jan. 7, the Bluejays’ best win of the season to date by far. Austin Swartz, Josh Dix and Blake Harper combined for 54 points in the game while exploiting Villanova’s drop ball screen coverage to an extreme degree in the second half. Creighton also battled Villanova to a draw in second-chance points while grabbing one addition offensive rebound, the last time Creighton has won the rebounding battle.
Swartz said the Bluejays will try to execute a similar game plan on Saturday.
“I think we were able to do a really good job of limiting them to one shot, not giving up too many offensive rebounds,” Swartz said. “Duke Brennan is a very physical big down there, and he’s probably one of the best rebounders in the country getting offensive rebounds. So just limiting him and staying in front of the guards and making them shoot tough shots.”
Swartz was back in the lineup for Wednesday’s loss to DePaul after missing the win over Seton hall with an ankle injury and didn’t show much rust, leading the team with 15 points while connecting on all three of his triples. The Bluejays will need another big game from the sophomore on Saturday to counteract the firepower Villanova has in the backcourt with three guards averaging double figures and a fourth just below.
In conference play alone, junior Tyler Perkins (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) leads the way at 15.8 points on 54.5% inside the arc and 35% from deep. Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis, who led the Wildcats with 20 points and seven assists in the first meeting with Creighton, isn’t far behind at 13.1 points per game, and he’s second in the Big East with 5.3 assists per game overall this season. Sophomore Bryce Lindsay has struggled in conference play since a strong start to the season but is still averaging 12.7 points per game overall, while senior Devin Askew has shot 46.9% from 3 and averaged 10.2 points in Big East play.
“It’s difficult because we can’t hide anybody defensively, because they have so many guys,” McDermott said. “Lewis is playing at a high level. Lindsay has not shot it great as of late, but we all know what he’s capable of. Askew is playing at a really high level.”
Brennan, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound senior, put up 16 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line plus 12 rebounds and three assists in the first meeting. Creighton could opt to roll out a bigger lineup to deal with Brennan after Jasen Green and Owen Freeman gave the team some really good minutes together against DePaul.
“We actually talked about it as a staff today,” McDermott said. “I think we’ll see a little bit more of that. The issue is Hudson [Greer] is played pretty well too, Isaac [Traudt] had a great game two games ago, so it becomes a little tricky to find those minutes when those other guys are playing well.”
Greer is coming off a nine-point performance — the most since he’s returned from his injury — on 3-for-4 from deep in 20 minutes. He’s played 10, 24, 10 and 20 minutes in his past four games as he’s continued to round back into shape and find a rhythm on the court.
“I personally thought I was in shape [when I got cleared], and then I quickly found out that I wasn’t, to be honest with you,” Greer said. “Mac’s done a great job of just integrating me back in and getting me back up to speed and stuff like that, because we like to play fast, and we’re going to continue to play fast. Whether it’s riding the bike or running after practice some days, just getting back in that space.”
Saturday is Creighton basketball’s alumni day with more than 50 former Bluejays set to be recognized at halftime. That includes Charlotte Hornets rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who dropped by practice on Thursday with his wife, Rachael, and their infant daughter.
Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on FOX with Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe on the call.
