Can PC Continue Its Momentum - Travels to Creighton
Robert McMahon, Sports Columnist
Can PC Continue Its Momentum - Travels to Creighton
The Friars' offense has suddenly emerged from hibernation in the last three games, with 84 points in the loss to Connecticut, 84 points in the win against Butler, and 91 points this past Saturday in the win against Seton Hall. The win against Seton Hall saw the Friars shoot 53% from the floor, including an astonishing 48% from behind the arc. All this is without Bryce Hopkins, who continues to be sidelined with a reported knee injury.
Can the Friars continue this offensive explosion against the run-and-gun Creighton Bluejays, who average 75.4 pts/game and feature all Big East player 7’1” senior Ryan Kalkbrenner? Two weeks ago, after the embarrassing loss to Marquette, I would have circled this away game versus Creighton as a probable loss. Let’s take a look at the Creighton season numbers compared to the Friars.
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Three numbers stand out. The points per game, the FG % per game, and the assists per game. They reflect the Creighton offensive style—get up the floor, pass the ball around, and either shoot the three or go low to an easy bucket for their big guy, Kalkbrenner.
Sometimes, overall numbers, however, don’t tell you the whole story. This Creighton team is a real enigma. They were a pre-season pick to be runner-up to Connecticut in the Big East and a potential top-10 team nationally. Kalkbrenner was considered by many to be a Big East MVP, and he has some impressive stats: 17.7 pts/game and 8.1 boards/game. So why does Creighton have a modest 10-6 overall record and is only a 3-2 in the Big East?
Turns out Creighton is a really inconsistent team. They have had some big wins—a stunning win over Kansas, # 1 at the time, 76-63, and quality wins over Big East rivals Villanova, 86-79, and St. John’s, 57-56. They have also had some head-scratching losses, like losses to middle-of-the-road teams like Nebraska and San Diego State, and an embarrassing loss to Georgetown, 81-57, in their first Big East game of the year.
In addition to Kalkbrenner, the Blue Jays feature a pretty good senior guard in Steven Ashworth, who is averaging 17.1 pts/game and who dishes out 6.7 assists/game. One of their top shooting guards, “Pop” Isaacs, who was averaging 16 pts/game through the first eight games of the year, is out for the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery.
So, the overall Creighton metrics look pretty good—good enough to suggest a top Big East team. But the overall numbers conceal the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team. This could be another high-scoring contest for the Friars, like the Seton Hall game. Even though the Friars are only 4-7 all-time at Creighton, I think PC has a shot to steal an away game win against Creighton.
The keys to a PC upset are:
1) PC’s big guy, Oswin Erhunmwunse, needs a second straight effective game in the low post
2) PC protects the ball and keeps turnovers under ten, and
3) One or two of the other guards besides Bensley Joseph get hot behind the arc.