Creighton Post Game Thread

[Icehawk]

Bummer of a loss, after the last two years it can be hard to remember this ain’t easy.

Finally saw the “lazy” Reed to my dismay on his first rotation, he picked it up afterwards though but Sampson was the better fit. Way too many blowbys on drives to the basket, our guys have got to do better with positioning - this felt like a regression vs the last game in this area.

I hate the “no continuation” on fouls but the refs didn’t kill us here even if, IMO, Creighton’s no foul calls seem more than a bit BS. I think they said Kalk had 1 foul in 5 games prior? Come on man. Then again, at one point I think it was Stewart had his assignment in a full on bear hug from behind with no call…

Sick of the Creighton kryptonite though and hope we find a way to beat them at home. With the recent losses we need to beat Marquette - twice.

 

[storrsroars]

It might seem like time is short and there's a lot to be done. But 2 years ago at this time of January the general feeling on the board was we were gonna miss the tournament and Dan Hurley was headed for the hot seat if not fired. And then we won back to back championships.

Two years ago at this time Dan Hurley had a super athletic guy who was being misused. Once the staff figured out what to do with him, it all clicked.

I want to believe Ross is that guy, but I can't sell myself on it. I'm pretty positive Ball is not that guy.

 

[CTBasketball]

Two years ago at this time Dan Hurley had a super athletic guy who was being misused. Once the staff figured out what to do with him, it all clicked.

I want to believe Ross is that guy, but I can't sell myself on it. I'm pretty positive Ball is not that guy.

The difference between Jackson and these guys is that Jackson had high basketball IQ. Often times he was thinking ahead of his teammates, combine that with athleticism and he had to be dialed back.

Ball and Ross don’t think. They rely on their athleticism to cover up mistakes. It works against Le Moyne and Sacred Heart. Does not work against good competition.

 

[Umami Zen]

Masterclass by McDermott on how to work the refs(again)- Cracking jokes with them-0 foul shots for UConn in first half- Setting them up for calls at crunch time on your opponent's home court. It's a formula that works for him vs Hurley .

Turn the page. Play with intensity- Get your shooters involved early and keep your foot on the gas.. Let's get a W on Tuesday. Xavier helped with the W vs conference leader. Drifting back to the pack.

 

[navery12]

Two years ago at this time Dan Hurley had a super athletic guy who was being misused. Once the staff figured out what to do with him, it all clicked.

I want to believe Ross is that guy, but I can't sell myself on it. I'm pretty positive Ball is not that guy.

Well luckily the goal isn't for Dan Hurley to complete a replica of the 2023 team but find a formula that works for this team

 

[dennismenace]

I’m not surprised at all at where we are. To be really good, we needed a huge jump from Solo and Stew, we needed Samson to contribute more offensively and protect the rim, we needed Mahaney to be really good and we needed McNeeley to be as good as advertised. For all of that to happen was a big ask.

I actually came into the season thinking Diarra might be our best player and I knew AK couldn’t create off the dribble. I’m just disappointed the all star coaching staff hasn’t blown me away again with their genius. Reality is, you can’t win natties every year.

There’s still time for another amazing transformation, but our flaws seem a little too obvious this time around. We need more defensive speed and offensive firepower. We also need a serious rim protector to play this style of defense.

I think that is a good take. To accomplish that Nowell and Abraham would have to get more minutes to speed the game up.
That would be a pretty radical move at this stage of the season and I don't see Dan Hurley taking minutes away from sophomores or upperclassmen to effect that.
We'll have to depend on the staff to do the best they can to improve this years team as is and hope that the returnees next year and incoming frosh will pay off on that wager.

 

[dennismenace]

Masterclass by McDermott on how to work the refs(again)- Cracking jokes with them-0 foul shots for UConn in first half- Setting them up for calls at crunch time on your opponent's home court. It's a formula that works for him vs Hurley .

Turn the page. Play with intensity- Get your shooters involved early and keep your foot on the gas.. Let's get a W on Tuesday. Xavier helped with the W vs conference leader. Drifting back to the pack.

LOL. We and Creighton should see if we can sign up Psychology Today as a sponsor.

 

[superjohn]

I’m not surprised at all at where we are. To be really good, we needed a huge jump from Solo and Stew, we needed Samson to contribute more offensively and protect the rim, we needed Mahaney to be really good and we needed McNeeley to be as good as advertised. For all of that to happen was a big ask.

McNeeley is as good as advertised or better than advertised, he's our best player. Solo made a massive jump, Jaylin made a big jump, Samson contributes more offensively and protects the rim more than he did in the past.

 

[djct1999]

McNeeley is as good as advertised or better than advertised, he's our best player. Solo made a massive jump, Jaylin made a big jump, Samson contributes more offensively and protects the rim more than he did in the past.

Hmmm, most of this isn’t good enough. You are spot on w Liam. Solo made a huge jump offensively, not defensively. Jaylin hardly made a big jump at all. Samson contributes more because he is playing more. He is scoring mostly the same way just a bit more frequently because of more minutes.

 

[storrsroars]

Well luckily the goal isn't for Dan Hurley to complete a replica of the 2023 team but find a formula that works for this team

10 weeks of looking, 10 weeks to go. Hope he finds it.

Also, I don't know why you're taking my comment literally. My point was that in 2023 AJax stepped out of the crowd and made a huge impact few fans were expecting (in fact, the majority were pretty negative on AJ thru Jan). If we're gonna still have a deep run, we're gonna need 1, 2 or 3 players to step up who really haven't yet. Whether it's on offense or defense I don't really care.

 

[Mike Honcho]

McDermott has Hurley’s number. Beat a guy 8 times out of 10 and it’s hard to see it any other way. It happens. He is a good coach who has figured out a way to beat UConn. And of course he has the talent to pull it off. Other coaches haven’t figured it out. But his guys didn’t get lost with all the movement. They stayed home on defense. And on many occasions on offense they made the extra pass.

I will say that there seems to be a special rule book for Kalkbrenner. He is an offensive foul looking for a call when he takes it to the rim. And if travelling and 3 seconds were still rules they actually called any more he’d be a turnover machine.

The cockroach reappears after losses like clockwork. See you after next loss, @freescooter

 

[dennismenace]

10 weeks of looking, 10 weeks to go. Hope he finds it.

Also, I don't know why you're taking my comment literally. My point was that in 2023 AJax stepped out of the crowd and made a huge impact few fans were expecting (in fact, the majority were pretty negative on AJ thru Jan). If we're gonna still have a deep run, we're gonna need 1, 2 or 3 players to step up who really haven't yet. Whether it's on offense or defense I don't really care.

That would be a great way to complete the season. Hoping McNeeley bounces back well too. I think the staff can get this right and work together to get things going on the front burner. It's starting to get to a point where people need to step up as you say and start leading the rest. Kind of like getting a fire going. I am concerned about Tarris' play because we need him badly to shore up middle and augment Samson.

 

[Zonepress]

I think folks need to ease up. We lost 7 guys to the pros in two years. Seven. From 2010 to 2020 that number was only five. Our guys are working hard, trying to figure it out and playing team ball. That's all I can ask. We lose a game and now the Fellowship decides to leave Samson alone and sink their teeth into Tarris? They had a similar funk two years ago around this time. Why can't we enjoy the journey instead of continuing to pick out the flaws?

Like your post!
I think it’s fair to say that many on this board had unrealistic expectations for the team based on the off-season comments from the coach in which he continued to beat the drum about a three peat and how talented team was

Hopefully the team will improve over the next 6 weeks ,find an identity and Win enough games
To make the tournament which imho would be a successful season!

 

[UCann]

People

Hilarious that people really think Liam is not that important. He’s our best player. Guaranteed 10-15 ppg. The injury is costing us and that was so predictable. But people like to pretend that we will just figure it out.

People somehow all of a sudden forget we’re UNDEFEATED with Liam on the mainland this season. That includes a strong out of conference and the early Big East. Come on have a little more faith. All the gloom and doom is pathetic for how much success this staff and program has had.

 

[Umami Zen]

Still think these guys have the ability to make a deep March run. We need to grab a few Ws before Liam returns and re-establish some momentum. However-in order to do so-I am less concerned about our offense and more concerned about our D-boards- 50/50 balls-turning over the opposition. There is no question we've seen a soph bump- offensively- from Solo and Stewie. But defensively-How many times did Ashworth thread the needle on back door cuts while they were watching him-the ball handler- and not maintaining contact and focusing on their own guy? I wish these guys had the same passion for D that Hass has been showing.

I'm sure the D will continue to be a huge focus in the film room as Danny turns up the heat on the intensity and focus on that side of the ball. Improvement can be made but not at the level of the last two years. Right now we have to out-score teams to win-Not shut them down with the elite D of the last few years.

Still have a lot of ball to play. Keep grindin'

 

[jdb50]

McDermott gave Samson the Andre treatment when we had the ball. They let Samson hold the ball at the key with no defender daring him to do something. Didn't Neptune do the same thing with Dixon in the lane? They disrupted our offense by ignoring Samson and protecting the rim. Will be interesting to see if and how we adjust to this. Samson does not even look at the rim. while the shot clock runs down.

 

[uconnfan68]

I watched the replay, if only because I wanted to see if James Breeding was really as bad as it felt being there. It was worse

The raw numbers, maybe I missed something, I almost hope I did because I don't want any official to be this bad.

Breeding called 8 or 9 fouls.

3 fouls were on Creighton

Just before halftime, an arguably wrong touch foul Creighton wanted him to call that took a 3 point basket away from us. An intentional foul on Creighton with 14 seconds left. An intentional; foul on Creighton with 8 seconds left when he wrongfully denied us three free throws. He called three fouls on Creighton, all choreographed by Doug McDermott

5 or 6 calls on UConn.

A moving pick on Reed which wasn't a foul.
A legitimate reach in call on Ball under the hoop
A late in the game rebounding foul on Alex,
A late in the game charging call on Alex
A late in the game touch foul on Hass giving the best free throw shooter in the country two free throws keeping their lead at 3
Can't remember the 6th call

He called 8 or 9 fouls, all of them for the benefit of Creighton. He even called anticipation fouls at the end of both halves as instructed by Greg McDermott

Maybe I missed something, I'm not going to pretend I meticulously broke down the game film, kinda on the fly actually, but my argument doesn't change. James Breeding is a horrible referee with complete bias against Hurley and UConn. I'm being kind here. He's got to go

You can’t call them “intentional” fouls. They were, but that word implies harm, and they didn’t meet that. It was just good coaching.

It was coaching malpractice to foul Ashworth. Couldn’t they take a charge from him in that play? They had to know who was going to get the ball.

 

[Waquoit]

Samson does not even look at the rim. while the shot clock runs down.

Didn't he shoot the three in HS? I maintain that very player should be able to make a 3-pointer at the top of the arc. It's just a free throw with a bit more oomph. I could make that shot. If he can drain 'em in practice I say give him the green light. All we're trying to do is to get his man not to cheat.

 

[Hoophound]

McNeeley is as good as advertised or better than advertised, he's our best player. Solo made a massive jump, Jaylin made a big jump, Samson contributes more offensively and protects the rim more than he did in the past.

I didn’t say Liam hasn’t lived up to the hype. He’s great. He was just one bullet point. Samson does not protect the rim well enough, he’s only raised his scoring by 2 points per game and he doesn’t rebound.

Solo is a better shooter/scorer but he still can’t play defense and has trouble creating his own offense. Stewart is better, but he hasn’t even really had a good run yet because Ross seemed to be ahead of him in the rotation.

 

[F101Voodoo]

I know that during an emotional moment I made a negative comment about refs. This Creighton game was not the only game we lost bit not to the bad calls. This Creighton game was lost before we went into half time being 7 points in the negative. If we did not get that far dehind earlier on the calls in the last minute or so may likely not have mattered. You win or lose dazed on the entire game performance.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

We don’t keep the play in front of us… lots of chasing,,, slow feet and got beat off cuts all day long. We played better D in 2nd half but too little, too late.

Other question I had is why creighton seemed to be in front of every play and we were lagging.. I don’t know if that’s being slow. Karaban seems like he lost his D assignment quite a few times - looked confused on who he was supposed to be guarding.. That’s not good…

From the beginning of the game, even when UConn went up 12-4, Creighton players subtly & quickly shuffled 1 or 2 feet each time they caught the ball. After that, they established their pivot foot. Traveling wasn't called even once, and it helped established the game's tone.

Expect McDermott to test limits, and never expect him to abandon something that's working. He teaches his players to win the game they are in, and they can be quite disciplined in following his scheme. These things compound.

His methods don't always work, but he's pretty good at what what he does, and he's got a great record against UConn.

Very few have commented here on how small the margin was for the type of victory that could fit such a box score. UConn played Creighton's game and lost.

 

[UCann]

Ashworth just had a kid.
Kalk got married..

Thank god this is the last year of COVID guys

I totally thought this was a joke, and then a small part of me was like, well maybe not, let me google this, and lo and behold - yup, Ashworth is married and has a kid now and Kalk just got married too. The joke is that these guys are still allowed to play (not because they’re married and kids but because they’re the age that its pretty normal for them to be doing those things).

 

[Deleted at users request]

I’m not as caught up on wins and losses. Solo continued to show improvement with scoring in more ways than 3 point shooting. Stew continued to play well too. Karaban and Diarra are who they are at this point and I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more out of Reed recently it seems.

Think the team is setup pretty well for when Liam comes back with him and Solo as the two best options. Moving Diarra into the setup PG role and Karaban back to that off the ball finisher. Hopefully this time has let Stew grow comfortable continuing to contribute off the bench.

As far as the lack of athleticism in next year’s class, we still have Nowell, Solo, IA, Ross, Stew, and Reed. The class actually compliments that group of guys really well. We just have to make sure to continue to recruiting high level athletes afterwards.

They all have to work on their defense though ESPECIALLY Solo.

 

[CT2SC]

X game is going to be critical now. Assuming we split with Marquette, and St John’s, and lose at Creighton and one unexpected loss in there it puts us at 9 losses. Not sure where that puts us seeding wise but I would guess somewhere around 8-9 meaning a one seed in 2nd round. How many losses can we afford given the weakness of the conference and still get a bid? 11?

 

[freescooter]

The cockroach reappears after losses like clockwork. See you after next loss, @freescooter

Except that I posted after the Georgetown game most recently, but why let facts get in the way. But not Villanova other than a couple of likes. Sometimes that’s what I do. I don’t really keep track other than that on when I post. Thanks for doing it for me. Good I have such loyal followers. But next time be a little more accurate, will you? You probably lost track when Hurley stopped short and you hurt your nose. Is that it?

 

[UCan3]

From the beginning of the game, even when UConn went up 12-4, Creighton players subtly & quickly shuffled 1 or 2 feet each time they caught the ball. After that, they established their pivot foot. Traveling wasn't called even once, and it helped established the game's tone.

Expect McDermott to test limits, and never expect him to abandon something that's working. He teaches his players to win the game they are in, and they can be quite disciplined in following his scheme. These things compound.

His methods don't always work, but he's pretty good at what what he does, and he's got a great record against UConn.

Very few have commented here on how small the margin was for the type of victory that could fit such a box score. UConn played Creighton's game and lost.

Excellent analysis.

I agree on pushing the limits. Maybe not enough kudos to Creighton - they executed we did not and margin of error - as you said was tight.

In a NCAA tourney I think we win that game but we play in the Big East.

It should only make us better. We won’t play too many teams that bomb away and seem to make 9/10 shots and get called for 1/3 fouls.

Live, learn move on but not time to bring the curtain down on our season either.

 

[freescooter]

From the beginning of the game, even when UConn went up 12-4, Creighton players subtly & quickly shuffled 1 or 2 feet each time they caught the ball. After that, they established their pivot foot. Traveling wasn't called even once, and it helped established the game's tone.

Expect McDermott to test limits, and never expect him to abandon something that's working. He teaches his players to win the game they are in, and they can be quite disciplined in following his scheme. These things compound.

His methods don't always work, but he's pretty good at what what he does, and he's got a great record against UConn.

Very few have commented here on how small the margin was for the type of victory that could fit such a box score. UConn played Creighton's game and lost.

Travelling is no longer called unless you pick up the ball and pretend you’re Barkley. I can’t remember last time I saw it called. Once the NBA legalized the Eurostep, basketball in general stopped calling it at every level.

I agree about McDermott. He’ll do what he needs to do.

 

[AllHusky]

Masterclass by McDermott on how to work the refs(again)- Cracking jokes with them-0 foul shots for UConn in first half- Setting them up for calls at crunch time on your opponent's home court. It's a formula that works for him vs Hurley .

Turn the page. Play with intensity- Get your shooters involved early and keep your foot on the gas.. Let's get a W on Tuesday. Xavier helped with the W vs conference leader. Drifting back to the pack.

Thought about this a bit after I read it. Think you are right. McD played Hurley and Refs like fiddles. I watched McDermott come over to Hurley during the game for a conversation and was perplexed. I think Hurley trying to be liked, thinks the fouls won't come as readily. He's wrong. Lean into the fact that everybody hates us. Us against the world always works. Be Darth Vader.

 

[alphasigko]

McNeeley is as good as advertised or better than advertised, he's our best player. Solo made a massive jump, Jaylin made a big jump, Samson contributes more offensively and protects the rim more than he did in the past.

Would that Samson could retrieve more than 3 Rebounds in a game...he just cannot seem to figure out how to position himself to be a better rebounder.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Except that I posted after the Georgetown game most recently, but why let facts get in the way. But not Villanova other than a couple of likes. Sometimes that’s what I do. I don’t really keep track other than that on when I post. Thanks for doing it for me. Good I have such loyal followers. But next time be a little more accurate, will you? You probably lost track when Hurley stopped short and you hurt your nose. Is that it?

Either you're an unconvincing troll or you are the most miserable person who ever lived. Congrats on posting after a victory! Baby steps.

Next up for you is learning how to celebrate championships. You went completely silent after the last two! Hurrah