Coach Greg McDermott got everything he wanted out of Friday’s exhibition as No. 23 Creighton men’s basketball took down No. 16 Iowa State 71-58 at CHI Health Center Omaha.
“A great game for us from a learning perspective,” McDermott deemed it. “There’s going to be a lot of things on film that we can take away, some positives and certainly some negatives. Obviously, we’re trying to figure this roster out, figure out combinations. I was really curious to see how we would perform with the lights on. Some guys performed better than others, and that’s OK.”
Creighton went 14 deep with 11 different players finding the scoring column. Both teams were missing starters, but Creighton put up 46 points in the first half and fended off a late rally from Iowa State to secure the victory.
“To score 71 points on Iowa State with 65 or 66 possessions, whatever it was, they’re a hard team to score on,” McDermott said. “I thought the first half, our ball security, ball movement were really good. The second half, they were able to muddy it up a little bit more and we coughed it up a little more than we needed to. All in all, I think nobody got hurt and we got a lot of guys on the floor. We played 11 guys 10 minutes or more, so that’s going to give us some really good film to evaluate.”
Here are three takeaways from the (exhibition) win.
Let it Fly
Creighton has nine new players this season, but the first half looked like vintage Creighton basketball.
It wasn’t quite Doug McDermott’s Bluejays against Villanova levels of onslaught, but Creighton put together a 23-0 run spanning seven and a half minutes. Defensively, Creighton got 10 straight stops, including a pair of blocks to prevent layups from two newcomers in Hudson Greer and Kerem Konan. Iowa State went 0-for-11 from the field with a turnover, fueling Creighton’s offense.
The Jays went 7-for-10 from the field including 6-for-7 from deep plus 3-for-3 at the line during that stretch. Five of those seven buckets were assisted by four different Bluejays, and five different players scored. Both Fedor Žugić and Austin Swartz hit back-to-back 3s during the run, while Nik Graves started and ended the run with his own triples.
“It feels great, honestly,” Graves said. “That unselfish play, everyone getting a touch, just moving the ball, everyone taking expected shots, so that we were able to either get back, go rebound, whatever the case may be … Our team’s really, really deep this year, so anyone can get it going at any given time.”
The Jays continued to let it fly the rest of the half, connecting on eight of their 18 3-point attempts (while only taking 13 shots inside the arc). They assisted 10 of their 15 field goals and only turned the ball over once against a team that has ranked in the top-10 in opponent turnover rate in each of the past four seasons seasons, doubling up the Cyclones at the half, 46-23.
“They did such a good job of keeping the ball on the move, and we really want to keep the ball out of the middle of the floor,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They kept getting to the middle of the floor, middle of the floor, and when they do that, now they have all kinds of options. They can get somebody late at the rim, they can kick out for wide open 3s, and they do such a great job of when they get it rolling, they keep their foot on the gas …
“I think it’s them in transition, them attacking the middle of the floor and them never really letting us apply the pressure we want defensively, and them keeping the ball on the move. The first half was a clinic by them on how to do that.”
Figuring it Out
As pretty as the first half was, the game got ugly in a hurry in the second as the Cyclones ratcheted up their physicality and shots stopped falling for the Jays. Creighton went 1-for-12 from the arc after halftime and had more turnovers (10) than field goals (seven) when the final buzzer sounded.
Iowa State kept hammering away at Creighton, trimming what was once a 28-point lead all the way down to eight at 65-57 with just under three minutes to play. McDermott opted against using timeouts, instead letting his team play through the adversity with a mix of starters and reserves on the floor.
In the midst of a scoring drought that nearly reached five minutes, Creighton put the ball in Graves’ hands, and he got a piece of the paint off the bounce before finding Josh Dix cutting to the basket for an easy bucket. Then Graves stole the ball on the other end and set up Jasen Green for a two-handed flush, pushing the lead back to double figures where it remained.
“In a normal game, I obviously would have taken a timeout or two maybe there, but I just wanted to see how they handled it and see if they could figure it out,” McDermott said. “I thought Nik’s poise in the quarter-court was really, really good. Iowa State’s kind of a hard team to run on, but I thought we had some opportunities in transition where we were able to attack, and Nik’s electric with the ball when he gets it in transition and can push it. To handle that pressure, early in that game, when it’s really pretty hot and heavy with that pressure, I thought Nik did a terrific job.”
Graves only logged 6:09 of playing time in the second half as McDermott liked what he saw in the first half and wanted to keep him healthy, but he made his minutes count late to help Creighton secure the victory.
The Charlotte transfer finished with a team-high 13 points on 4-of-7 from the field (3-of-4 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the line, five assists and only one turnover in 16 minutes of play. Graves has been one of the team’s most improved players since the start of summer workouts and is poised to play a key role for this year’s team.
“Nik’s got to run the show, and it’s a lot to learn,” McDermott said. “That’s a hard position to learn in one year, and I think he’s embraced what we need him to do. The scoring is one thing; the five assists, one turnover is even better, that he’s making good decisions against a team as physical and aggressive as they are.”
Friday was Graves’ first game in a Creighton jersey after transferring in during the offseason. He missed his first shot, but his second — a deep 3 late in the shot clock — went down, setting the tone for a big game.
“I felt pretty good,” Graves said. “Putting on this uniform in the first place is really surreal, really a blessing from God, and I just thank my coaches and teammates that instilled confidence in me … It’s always nice seeing the ball go in the basket, obviously. I was put in position by my teammates and coaches to have good, open shots. I think that’s the way that Creighton basketball is, unselfish play and taking the right shots, taking shots are expected. I think I was able to do that and was just fortunate enough to knock some shots down tonight.”
Two Men Short
Both teams will look significantly different when they meet each other again during the regular season at the Players Era Men’s Championship in late November. Starting point guard Tamin Lipsey is recovering from a knee injury for Iowa State, while sophomore Jackson McAndrew and junior center Owen Freeman sat out for Creighton. That Creighton put together a double-digit win without two projected starters (and likely two of the team’s top scorers) is a testament to the squad’s depth.
“We’re still putting things together, missing Jackson and Owen, but at the end of the day, we had to step up today, knowing we were missing those guys,” Graves said. “When they do come back, I know they’ll be ready to go. We won’t lose any steps, we’ll keep pushing forward.”
Freeman is still working his way back from offseason knee surgery, and Creighton continues to remain cautious with him. McAndrew is dealing with an undisclosed injury. McDermott provided an update on a possible return for both of them after the game.
“It all depends on how next week goes,” McDermott said. “Owen has just really started to do anything full court, but it’s limited in the full court, so we have to progress to the point where he’s able to do that in practice and then feels OK the next day.
“Jackson, I think it’s just kind of a wait-and-see. I don’t think there’s anything major there, but for an exhibition game, when something’s bothering him, we’re not taking a chance. We’ll take today and we’re off tomorrow, and it gets a couple more days rest and we’ll see how it is next week. There’s a chance they could play that next week, there’s a chance they won’t play next week. We’ll just wait and see.”
Creighton has a week to continue tinkering before returning to the CHI Health Center to face Colorado State in another exhibition on Oct. 25, the final dress rehearsal before the regular season begins on Nov. 5.
