Creighton Post Game Thread

[Madmannsucks]

We can say whatever, the bottom line at this point is we just do not match up well with them...is this 3 or 4 straight losses?

 

[superjohn]

We can say whatever, the bottom line at this point is we just do not match up well with them...is this 3 or 4 straight losses?

5.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If ASU could beat Creighton, UConn should have beaten them easilly, twice.

Well the good news with this logic is that we beat Kentucky I guess. jUsT sAyIn.

 

[UConNick]

I think part of the anger after this one, at least on my end, is that it’s yet another one step forward (finally got over Nova) followed by a step back. I understand progress isn’t linear, but like so many hear I WANT, no, I NEED UConn to be back. And after the Nova win, there was some palpable buzz of pushing for that protected seed. You know, where the actual second weekend participants generally come from.

With this loss, I think we’re locked into the 5/6 range (assuming we beat DePaul) unless we win the BET. And that’s a tougher first round game, not geographically protected, and a harder road back to the second weekend and the relevance so many of us are pining for.

This year has been overall a step in the right direction. We’ve spent almost all of it with a little number next to our name. That’s vital for national recognition. But we never really threatened to make that push to the next level, always throwing up a clunker (WVU, both Creighton games) when we had the chance. And I think that’s where the frustration sets in.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

CBB is crazy. You can gameplan until the cows come home and then get foiled by some scrub or freshman player deciding to play out of his mind.

In the 7 games prior to last night, Kaluma had shot 3-23 from 3pt range. Leaving him open for 3's is a solid gameplan. Kid decides to make his first 3 attempts, including a BS banked 3. Was key to setting the tone for the game, as those shots were pivotal in Creighton opening up that 16-pt 1st half lead. We had to plan catch-up the rest of the night.

 

[Kemba15]

I didn't say anything about our conference record. I'm talking about McDermott owning Hurley over two different teams and having to replace basically a whole new roster. Creighton should not be beating us this season, especially without their point guard.
We never adjusted to Kalkbrenner, he scored 20 points in the final 16 minutes of the second half all off of layups/dunks.

Fair enough but you brought up preseason conference picks multiple times in this thread. Marquette beat Nova 2x this year too. The conference is a huge jumble and not much separates the 1 seed from the 6 seed. 13-6---assuming we get there---is pretty darn good.

 

[XLCenterFan]

I’m calling this a good loss. You’re not supposed to win every night in the BE. We showed that we can come back, on the road, and this may have brought us back down to earth. The guys were probably looking ahead to MSG (or the Final 4).

 

[XLCenterFan]

Also, can we get a $1 beer night?

 

[auror]

We never adjusted to Kalkbrenner, he scored 20 points in the final 16 minutes of the second half all off of layups/dunks.

He didn't score on the same plays over and over. This wasn't Hall and Richmond.

We adjusted to some of them, but McDermott continued throwing new wrinkles at us.

He scored on offensive rebounds. He scored on slipped screens. He scored on solid screen pick and roll. He scored on free throws after a switch got Martin on him. He scored on a fast break when he beat Sanogo down the court. He scored on a post up. He even shot a 3 (that Sanogo blocked).

A few of his buckets were just because of Sanogo's laziness/tiredness. At least 3.

 

[Vancat]

Death by Kalkbrenner

 

[HuskyHawk]

He didn't score on the same plays over and over. This wasn't Hall and Richmond.

We adjusted to some of them, but McDermott continued throwing new wrinkles at us.

He scored on offensive rebounds. He scored on slipped screens. He scored on solid screen pick and roll. He scored on free throws after a switch got Martin on him. He scored on a fast break when he beat Sanogo down the court. He scored on a post up. He even shot a 3 (that Sanogo blocked).

A few of his buckets were just because of Sanogo's laziness/tiredness. At least 3.

Sanogo is tired because we have him chasing too far and expending energy he doesn't need to. I think most of those blamed on Sanogo last night were because Sanogo is pulled out as Hurley wants him to be and Creighton exploits it. They did it all night, and the last time we played. It isn't new. Expecting a 5 to always recover that position in time to block a shot or disrupt it is not reasonable. Olajuwon and Russell couldn't be expected to do that, and they are probably the best that ever did it. Hurley has to give Sanogo a rest on D and let him roam the paint. If not all the time, some of the time. Especially when the opposing 5 is killing us in the paint.

 

[alphasigko]

This is what I said in the Thread "ASU Beats Creighton in Omaha!" back in mid December:

Great game for Coach Dan's brother, Bobby, and the Sun Devils!

The Bluejays did not look as sharp as past teams. From what I saw our Huskies should match up well with them. Their center is the major concern. This game film will be very instructive on how to beat them!

 

[superjohn]

He didn't score on the same plays over and over. This wasn't Hall and Richmond.

We adjusted to some of them, but McDermott continued throwing new wrinkles at us.

He scored on offensive rebounds. He scored on slipped screens. He scored on solid screen pick and roll. He scored on free throws after a switch got Martin on him. He scored on a fast break when he beat Sanogo down the court. He scored on a post up. He even shot a 3 (that Sanogo blocked).

A few of his buckets were just because of Sanogo's laziness/tiredness. At least 3.

One made ft and then one made ft off of an and 1 layup. 18 points off of dunks and layups in the last 15 minutes for Kalkbrenner.

 

[auror]

This is what I said in the Thread "ASU Beats Creighton in Omaha!" back in mid December:

Kaluma went 1/5 from 3 in that one, 3/5 today. Looks like Hurley took your advice and tried leaving Kaluma wide open and it backfired.

Overall Creighton shot 20% from 3 against them and 41% across 2 games against us.

 

[UconnU]

Creighton was selected 2nd in the preseason rankings last year. We were 4th. Stop acting like we lost to some bottom feeder. They were expected to be a better team and ultimately showed it.

Does it suck to get swept by them this year, ofcourse. Tonight’s game, much like the 1st game at home, was frustrating to say the least. We clearly lack shooters and McDermott coached with that in mind. Let’s learn from it and move on.

Creighton replaced its entire starting roster from that year and last night they were without their starting point guard. We should have won. They were much better coached and prepared than we were.

 

[auror]

Creighton replaced its entire starting roster from that year and last night they were without their starting point guard. We should have won. They were much better coached and prepared than we were.

Their starting point guard was probably their 5th best player. He's a freshman and has been pretty inefficient all year. He shoots below average on 3s, 2s, doesn't draw fouls, turns it over higher than average, and had the 10th/11th best assist rate among starting BE guards. He'll be good eventually, but after a game to adjust, they're not much worse off. In the 2 games they've had a lower turnover rate than their season-long average, despite playing 2 of the best teams in the league.

 

[superjohn]

Their starting point guard was probably their 5th best player. He's a freshman and has been pretty inefficient all year. He shoots below average on 3s, 2s, doesn't draw fouls, turns it over higher than average, and had the 10th/11th best assist rate among starting BE guards. He'll be good eventually, but after a game to adjust, they're not much worse off. In the 2 games they've had a lower turnover rate than their season-long average, despite playing 2 of the best teams in the league.

This is laughable, you clearly don't watch many Creighton games.

 

[Sea Goat]

If you don't think Hurley is the right guy for this program then you are clueless. Do you remember where this program was at 4 years ago?? We have great young talent, excellent recruiting classes coming in and the way he's developed guys like Bouk and Sanogo is very impressive. We're a top 20 team in the country that has the potential to make a deep March run. Asking if DH is the right guy is comical

He very few meaningful adjustments intra-game. You sound like a toady!

 

[BlueJayFan]

Their starting point guard was probably their 5th best player. He's a freshman and has been pretty inefficient all year. He shoots below average on 3s, 2s, doesn't draw fouls, turns it over higher than average, and had the 10th/11th best assist rate among starting BE guards. He'll be good eventually, but after a game to adjust, they're not much worse off. In the 2 games they've had a lower turnover rate than their season-long average, despite playing 2 of the best teams in the league.

This is the best take I’ve seen on here. Nembhard is really talented but having him play 35 plus minutes isn’t ideal. Most Jays fans turn a semi-blind eye to his shortcomings due to his resemblance to Zegarowski game-wise, but I agree we can be just as good without him due to Trey Alexander...

...which leads me to the other thing I would comment on: the ASU game. First, it’s not fair to use a team’s worst effort of the season as some sort of baseline for judgement. Also our offense is incredibly complicated to run; the choreography is such that if you don’t have a lot of time in the system you’ll gum it up, and when you have 4 new guys and one fairly new one (OConnell) it’s a disaster. Alexander was the state POY in Oklahoma last year but he was nearly useless in the non-con, he was so unsure of himself his go-to moves were to dribble into the lane, stop, and desperately try to pass it back out, and the other was to throw a pass to no one. Now that he’s playing 35 minutes a game and has most of a season under him, he’s playing with confidence and is night and day better. Same with Kaluma, he’s far better now than then as well.

If UConn had played us then, with you guys playing well enough to beat Auburn, we would have lost by 20 plus, even if the game had been here. That’s how far we’ve come, but it’s not surprising since we are giving so many minutes to players new to the system.

 

[ArizonaHsky]

For this year:
I'd take Kalkbrenner over Whaley.
Ryan Hawkins over Jackson.
Kaluma over Hawkins.
O'Connell vs. Polley is a toss-u

For this year:
I'd take Kalkbrenner over Whaley.
Ryan Hawkins over Jackson.
Kaluma over Hawkins.
O'Connell vs. Polley is a toss-up.

If you don't think Hurley is the right guy for this program then you are clueless. Do you remember where this program was at 4 years ago?? We have great young talent, excellent recruiting classes coming in and the way he's developed guys like Bouk and Sanogo is very impressive. We're a top 20 team in the country that has the potential to make a deep March run. Asking if DH is the right guy is comical

You make it sound like DH is a great coach. What has he proven, he likes to be a cheerleader and chest bump players, he has proven that. DH is not a good in game coach.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

You make it sound like DH is a great coach. What has he proven, he likes to be a cheerleader and chest bump players, he has proven that. DH is not a good in game coach.

coach dan is a great coach.
fun and exciting game last nite. we didn't win but we also didn't lose anything. late season panics over missing the ncaa's are now long in the rear view mirror. change has come!
thanks coach, and keep up the good work bringing a winning and fun team to us.
get well soon hawk (and adama, tyrese, tyler, and, always, rj -that guy plays hard).

 

[Milo65]

I love the Wrench and this is in no way a reflection of his effort or ability...but I think he'd be more effective as 6th man. Start Hawkins if he's healthy. Then we have 3 shooters on the floor at tip

Totally agree, playing bothe Whalley and Sanogo at the same time against a team that can shoot is brutal. It forces Whalley to play on the perimeter.

 

[NotADime89]

You make it sound like DH is a great coach. What has he proven, he likes to be a cheerleader and chest bump players, he has proven that. DH is not a good in game coach.

He's proven he can take a team in the bottom up the AAC and take the to the top of the Big East. We're looking at a 5 seed at worst for the tournament, what else do you want from a guy in year 4? You expect a National Championship already? He's building the program back brick by brick, its not something that happens over night. Sounds like you're just super negative no matter how much good he does for the program.

 

[UCfor3]

This is nonsense, our roster is older and better than theirs and you know it.

There's a reason UConn was picked 2nd and favored in both games and Creighton was picked 8th.

Stop telling me what I know. I said i'd take UConn's roster but it's not the blowout you think it is and that Creighton has our # and that McDermott was the better coach right now. Newsflash, the most "talented" team whatever that means, isn't guaranteed to win. We lost a tough road game by 2. Didn't play a good 1st half and defense was lousy down the stretch. Some people seem to think losing to anyone other than a top 5 team should somehow never happen. Upsets and bad matchups are things that only happen to other teams, not us. Not acceptable cuz "talent." That's not how sports work. You and your preseason predictions again. They meant nothing and were inaccurate for Marquette, Creighton, and Providence but with UConn getting picked 2nd, we are suppoaed to hold up as some kind of evidence of roster talent. It was a preseason prediction based on projection. Means nothing now.

 

[August_West]

Sanogo is tired because we have him chasing too far and expending energy he doesn't need to. I think most of those blamed on Sanogo last night were because Sanogo is pulled out as Hurley wants him to be and Creighton exploits it. They did it all night, and the last time we played. It isn't new. Expecting a 5 to always recover that position in time to block a shot or disrupt it is not reasonable. Olajuwon and Russell couldn't be expected to do that, and they are probably the best that ever did it. Hurley has to give Sanogo a rest on D and let him roam the paint. If not all the time, some of the time. Especially when the opposing 5 is killing us in the paint.

Sanogo played 37 minutes last night. That's about 5 too many. However I'm sure some of that was due to Hawkins being out and us having a shorter bench. I wouldn't have minded seeing 2 minutes of Akok at some point to see if he had something to give us. If he didnt, fine , stick with the shortened bench.