Creighton Scouting Report

[mauconnfan]

I trust Alex's learning curve on how to play the post without fouling over Johnson's. If my memory is correct Alex has been playing organized ball much longer than Johnson and just has a better sense of playing long stretches on the floor.

Have you been watching Chin? He may be a little better but not by a lot. He’s brought hands down in the paint when he’s already done a solid job defending, ultimately getting a foul called for no reason other than him not just staying straight up.

I mean maybe a little on Kalk but we need SJ on him as much as possible.

 

[NJHoops]

Uh oh, Clingan's not playing. I was hoping that we might be able to get a few spot visits from him.

It hasn’t been decided yet.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Have you been watching Chin? He may be a little better but not by a lot. He’s brought hands down in the paint when he’s already done a solid job defending, ultimately getting a foul called for no reason other than him not just staying straight up.

I mean maybe a little on Kalk but we need SJ on him as much as possible.

Karaban has been bad; Johnson has been worsterer.

 

[gtcam]

Worst possible match-up without DC after being named the dreaded No. 1,
Rebounding is not a strong suit and without DC vs Creighton's line-up is daunting to say the least
UConn better have on their shooting shoes with springs attached.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Need to get Kalkbrenner in foul trouble early. Tristen and Steph need to be a bit more aggressive and controlled when driving. A $2 miller lite crowd will be worth a few points on that end. Get in the refs heads right away.

 

[navery12]

Need to get Kalkbrenner in foul trouble early. Tristen and Steph need to be a bit more aggressive and controlled when driving. A $2 miller lite crowd will be worth a few points on that end. Get in the refs heads right away.

I'd prefer Kalkbrenner is on the court as much as possible, getting torched on defense by our quicker players

 

[AllHusky]

Our overly aggressive perimeter defense might help us in this one. Creighton seems to struggle with in-your-face defense

But I am very scared of Kalkbrenner.

#1 not scared

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I'd prefer Kalkbrenner is on the court as much as possible, getting torched on defense by our quicker players

My concern is Samson and Karaban are going to rack up fouls trying to stop him on the offensive end.

 

[Palatine]

When we go small it results in fouls on Karaban. We've been lucky so far going small but it should not be our primary offense. To be honest, it didn't matter who we put out there against G'town. But there now is much more tape of our small line lineup. Creighton will be well prepared for it.

I don't think we can keep Johnson on the shelf for most of the game like last time out. I think we will need him.

 

[AntG168]

My concern is Samson and Karaban are going to rack up fouls trying to stop him on the offensive end.

He’s not an isolation back to the basket player. I don’t think he’ll be as much as a mismatch as most think. I think the GTown kid was a way bigger mismatch

 

[WhereistheDove?]

He’s not an isolation back to the basket player. I don’t think he’ll be as much as a mismatch as most think. I think the GTown kid was a way bigger mismatch

He’s a mismatch in the PnR and a mismatch on the glass. Both areas where quick fouls are easy to rack up

 

[yungdowork]

He’s not an isolation back to the basket player. I don’t think he’ll be as much as a mismatch as most think. I think the GTown kid was a way bigger mismatch

Agreed. Kalk is a rim runner who gets most of his baskets off of pick and rolls and offensive boards. He’s a lot closer to Samson than Sanogo in terms of what he wants to do on offense.

Kalk having to guard Karaban or Castle is also terrible for the way Creighton likes to play defense, which is to funnel people towards him while he averages 2.5 blocks and a lot more contests a game

 

[Captbluefin]

Kalk is going to be THE problem. Have faith Hurley and the staff will figure out a plan to slow him down without having Don available.
But….. we can run Kalk ragged and keep him in the perimeter when we have the ball.

 

[Tiamat7]

Singare and his 5 fouls should come in handy! ☺️

 

[DogMania]

I think we’ll definitively see AK vs Kalkbrenner for some decent stretches and I think AK is up for it

Like others, I'm concerned with AK getting into early foul trouble. I'd rather see Kalkbrenner work hard to get his points against SJ and maybe Stewart or whoever Hurley throws out there, w/out going off for some career game, stay out of serous foul trouble with our scorers while keeping their other weapons in check. Yeah, that's a mouthful, but you get idea.

We just need to have a solid defensive game, limit their second chance opportunities and hope our multiple weapons can out score theirs. As we've seen throughout the season, on any given night, a different player leads the team in scoring with others contributing not far behind.

They get a lot of their scoring from 3 players. If we can get one of them into foul trouble, I like our chances.

 

[AntG168]

He’s a mismatch in the PnR and a mismatch on the glass. Both areas where quick fouls are easy to rack up

We’ll see. I’m leaning towards Samson holding his own

 

[McLovin]

Creighton is a very good defensive team with some interesting quirks.

They limit assist opportunities (5th best) and 3 point attempts (4th best) all while not forcing turnovers (worst in NCAA in TO forced) and not committing fouls (best in NCAA in not committing fouls).

They also, as a team, don’t draw many fouls (part of that has to do with them shooting so many 3s).

The refs have been a topic of discussion after many of our games this season, but this one is hopefully setting up to have fewer whistles and better offensive flow.

 

[UConn Esq]

The line opened at UConn -5.5

 

[NJHusky]

But….. we can run Kalk ragged and keep him in the perimeter when we have the ball.

If Kalk is covering someone in the small ball lineup, he will be playing way too far from the hoop to be an effective rebounder, IMO.

Not sure how we defend him? try to deny him the ball?

 

[McLovin]

If Kalk is covering someone in the small ball lineup, he will be playing way too far from the hoop to be an effective rebounder, IMO.

Not sure how we defend him? try to deny him the ball?

We might just have to take our medicine with him in the post. They have so many shooters, doubling could put us in a really bad spot on the perimeter.

 

[giddyup]

We are horrible on the boards and that is a mighty big problem against this line up. Samson will be eaten for dinner and AK just doesn’t have the physical talent to neutralize their big men without getting into foul trouble. If we can squeeze a W out it will be because we are hitting 3s… which is a hill you can thrive or just as easily die on.

 

[Husky68]

UConn has a better rebounding margin and effective FG % and FG % defense. Not by much but still better. Home court advantage. Creighton doesn't play "Cooley" ball so stupid refereeing should not be a big issue. Need to be able to win most of these pretty evenly matched games (especially at home).

 

[auror]

We are horrible on the boards and that is a mighty big problem against this line up. Samson will be eaten for dinner and AK just doesn’t have the physical talent to neutralize their big men without getting into foul trouble. If we can squeeze a W out it will be because we are hitting 3s… which is a hill you can thrive or just as easily die on.

Creighton is one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the conference. It's only Kalkbrenner and then King off the bench.

 

[imno1]

We are horrible on the boards and that is a mighty big problem against this line up. Samson will be eaten for dinner and AK just doesn’t have the physical talent to neutralize their big men without getting into foul trouble. If we can squeeze a W out it will be because we are hitting 3s… which is a hill you can thrive or just as easily die on.

It may seem we are "horrible" on the boards but UConn has out rebounded every team since Donovan went down. We've given up a few too many offensive boards though imo

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Whoever this is, if you are on the Boneyard, I salute you!