Everything You Didn’t Want To Know About UC’s Opening Round Opponent The Creighton Bluejays

Friday afternoon your Cincinnati Bearcats take on the Creighton Bluejays in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament. This is the third straight year that Mick Cronin has guided UC to the Big Dance and while his team earned the lowest seed of any during his tenure, just getting their named called on Selection Sunday is impressive all the same. I’m sure Baylor, Kentucky, Xavier, and Maryland would rather be in Cincinnati’s shoes right now.

As such, with the much anticipated clash just days away I’ve prepared an extensive preview of UC’s brand new most hated enemy. First we’ll look at the school itself, then the coach who dares walk on the same sideline as our beloved Mick Cronin, then a deep dive into a very strong Creighton Bluejays program that won 27 games this season and a Missouri Valley Championship – The system, the players, and the key numbers that makes this team click. In the end I hope you’ll not only gain a respect for Creighton but also detest them with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

Sounds good? Good. Here we go!

The School

Creighton University is a Jesuit school of roughly 7,700 students located in Omaha, Nebraska. Think of them as a Xavier in a city with an extraordinarily higher bovine per capita ratio. Notable Creighton alumni include Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts, who is most famous for taking an already mediocre baseball franchise and turning it into a national punchline. So point, Cincinnati.

On the court, though, Creighton is no team that should be taken lightly in any year. The Bluejays have posted 7 Missouri Valley Conference tournament championships, 4 regular season championships, and have made it to the NCAA Tournament 8 times since 2000. And on the rare occasions when they miss out on a bid to the Big Dance Creighton usually goes to the NIT.  Clearly they are one of the marquee “mid-major” programs, if you feel inclined to call them that. This season is no different and perhaps the Bluejays’ strongest year in a decade as they’ve won 27 games including a MVC regular season and tournament championship.

The Coach

Greg McDermott is his name and winning is his game. He’s in his third year at Creighton since going there from Iowa State. In his fifth stint as a head coach McDermott is experiencing incredible success. He has yet again guided his Bluejays to a postseason tournament and this year will be their second time in the Big Dance under him. Creighton has won no less than 23 games during his tenure and have clearly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with out of the MVC.

Key Numbers

Creighton has a reputation of operating a high-scoring offense. But they don’t do so by being up-tempo like most teams. The Bluejays average just 67 offensive possessions per game which isn’t even the most in their own conference. The key for them is being extremely efficient with every possession. Statistically they are one of the best, if not the best, scoring teams in the country. Creighton leads the nation in field goal percentage (50.8%), three point shooting (42.1%), and is second in points per game (76).

I can’t emphasize enough just how impressive it is to see that a team makes a bucket half the time they put up a shot. Incredible!

Essentially Creighton moves the ball well to give their shooters the best possible opportunity to score. Crazy concept. They are fourth best in the country in assists per game and have a pretty solid assist/turnover ratio of 1.4. But where they struggle is on the glass. Creighton averages just 35 rebounds per games and are absolutely horrible on the offensive end, picking up a little over 8 boards per game. The Bluejays are markedly better on the defensive end but clearly rebounding is an area of weakness for this team.

Player To Watch

Doug McDermott (#3): If that name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the coach’s son. But Doug is not like one of those preppy kids who gets force-fed the ball on every possession because his dad wants to live vicariously through him. He can actually play and damn near dominates at times. The younger McDermott paces his team by a good margin with 23.1 points per game and his performance this year has earned him the top spot on Creighton’s all time scoring list. Interestingly enough he shoots nearly as well as from beyond the three point line (49.7%) as he does from the field in general (56.1%). Basically McDermott is as a pure a scorer as there is in college basketball. But remember he’s still a 6’8″ forward so he pulls down his fair share of rebounds as well, leading the team in this stat at about 7.5 per game. All in all, McDermott presents a matchup nightmare for any opposing team.

Austin Chatman (#1) vs. Cashmere Wright: Doug McDermott clearly takes the boatload of the attention from opposing coaches but the Creighton Bluejays have weapons across their entire starting lineup. It’s tough to hone in on the next most dangerous guy behind McDermott but if I had to choose one player it would be sophomore Austin Chatman. The idea is that this offense begins at the point guard position and this young man does a nice job running it in his second year at Creighton. Expect Cashmere Wright to stick close to him and use his experience and craftiness to force Chatman into mistakes. This will be an interesting battle to watch Friday afternoon and could determine who moves on to play on Sunday.

Reasons This Matchup Scares Me

Doug McDermott, plain and simple. He’s a pain in the ass to gameplan for because he has the ability to shoot from beyond the three point line in addition to the speed and size to do damage in the lane. Mick Cronin doesn’t have one single player on his roster to matchup with him man-to-man so if McDermott starts to get in a rhythm expect to see quite a bit of zone of Friday. However I envision the UC head coach putting the task of slowing the Creighton forward down on JaQuon Parker. The senior has the quickness to guard along the perimeter and the length to be effective inside. In addition I wouldn’t be surprised if Mick told his centers Cheikh Mbodj and David Nyarsuk to keep a watchful eye on McDermott and crowd him when he starts to drive the lane. Overall, though, keeping the forward, and Creighton’s entire offense, in check is no easy task.

Reasons I Love This Matchup

While Creighton’s offense is impressive, it must all be put in perspective. They play in the MVC which isn’t exactly known as a murder’s row of basketball teams. The conference typically only sends one representative to the NCAA Tournament and that one is usually the team that wins the auto-bid by taking down the conference tournament crown. As such I think the offensive stats are skewed a bit by a team that simply feasts off of a weak conference like Cincinnati did at times back in Conference-USA.

Essentially the Creighton Bluejays haven’t faced a defense like UC’s all year. Say what will about Mick Cronin’s offense, the man flat out knows how to coach defense. He’s created a mentality in the Bearcats that they will force opponents to give 110% on every single possession. It’s a game of attrition that Cincinnati tends to win and that Creighton won’t be ready for. Plus Cincinnati will have the clear edge on the glass. While UC’s interior play has gone downhill since Yancy Gates graduated Cheikh Mbodj has been playing like a man possessed recently and should be a factor in Friday’s game.

Final Thoughts And Prediction

The Bearcats are back in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and are welcomed with an offensive juggernaut in their opening game. The Creighton Bluejays score half the time they touch the basketball and with such insane efficiency on offense it’s difficult for most teams to keep up. But the Bearcats are one of the best defensive teams in the country and have a very experience starting 5. The depth isn’t quite where it was last season but Cincinnati has looked better on both ends of the court in recent weeks. This game will not be an easy one by any means but I have faith that UC will come out victorious in the end.

Cincinnati: 64

Creighton: 62