Scouting: Creighton

[GoBigRed]

Creighton does not match up well against very athletic teams and teams that have a good 5 protecting the rim. We don't have a good 5, so our only hope is to out-athlete them.

 

There is a reason McDermott has never fouled out of a college basketball game (I believe) in 3 1/4 years, and that is that he doesn't try very hard on defense. He and Wragge are their big offensive threats, but when they are in the game they give the opponent lots of chances for offensive rebounds.

 

If the Jays are hitting from long range, we'll be in huge trouble (which I suspect they will being a big game in Omaha; they always show up for this one). I'm sure we'll pick up a crapton of fouls in this game, while Doug will probably finish with 1, 2 max in 35+ minutes.

 

The good thing for us is Creighton does not have an Echinique who can expose our lack of a post presence. But Doug will be a tough guy for us to guard. This game will be a real test for Tai Webster, as he will never have played in a road environment like this before. Creighton's guards are pretty experienced. You know Biggs will be ready for this one though.

 

As much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a huge opportunity for Petteway to take over on offense. That guy needs to spend the good majority of the game attacking the rim and drawing fouls. I don't think Creighton will be able to defend him without fouling.

[hhcmatt]

As much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a huge opportunity for Petteway to take over on offense. That guy needs to spend the good majority of the game attacking the rim and drawing fouls. I don't think Creighton will be able to defend him without fouling.

 

No reason this couldn't be Biggs or Webster.

[GoBigRed]

 

As much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a huge opportunity for Petteway to take over on offense. That guy needs to spend the good majority of the game attacking the rim and drawing fouls. I don't think Creighton will be able to defend him without fouling.

 

No reason this couldn't be Biggs or Webster.

 

 

True, I just like that Petteway is 6'6". Don't see anyone on Creighton's roster who can match up with him.

[kldm64]

 

 

As much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a huge opportunity for Petteway to take over on offense. That guy needs to spend the good majority of the game attacking the rim and drawing fouls. I don't think Creighton will be able to defend him without fouling.

 

No reason this couldn't be Biggs or Webster.

 

 

True, I just like that Petteway is 6'6". Don't see anyone on Creighton's roster who can match up with him.

 

 

I'm guessing Avery Dingman could match up with Petteway

[GoBigRed]

 

 

 

As much as I hate to say it, this game seems like a huge opportunity for Petteway to take over on offense. That guy needs to spend the good majority of the game attacking the rim and drawing fouls. I don't think Creighton will be able to defend him without fouling.

 

No reason this couldn't be Biggs or Webster.

 

 

True, I just like that Petteway is 6'6". Don't see anyone on Creighton's roster who can match up with him.

 

 

I'm guessing Avery Dingman could match up with Petteway

 

 

Not sure if you're serious...but Dingman plays 13 minutes a game. And his own fans don't even want him on the court that much. Since Petteway has basically gotten to the rim whenever he wants, I'm not worried about Avery Dingman being the answer.

[lanigan123]

This will be last year Creighton wins for some time. It will be close if we play D.

[hhcdave]

Let's beat Miami first and then worry about this game. CU will mean nothing if we can't protect our home court against a very plain jane team. With my coach speak out of the way , I'll put in my two cents. We win the Creighton game by 5. Why? Ray Gallegos gets hot and hits five three's. Book it.

[Cazzie22]

Creighton is no shoo-in for an NCAA bid.  They will be in trouble in several Big East Road games.  NU has a better chance to win than I first thought after watching the losses to George Washington and S. Diego St.   If the Jays shoot the ball well, then it's probably "turn out the lights, the party's over!"

[GoBigRed]

Although the Big East isn't that good, I think they are in for a rude awakening when they find out that every team in the conference has athletes like San Diego State and George Washington, if not better. They only had a .722 winning percentage in the MVC last year competing against the likes of Bradley, Drake, Missouri State, Southern Illinois...now the worst teams they will play are Xavier, Seton Hall and DePaul. Looking at their schedule, I could easily see them going 2-7 or 1-8 in their road games. Wouldn't be shocked if they don't even get to .500 in their conference play. Definitely don't think it's a lock they get to 20 wins total.

[hhcmatt]

I think being able to put Walt on Wragge will be one of the best "what do you do with Walt on defense" scenarios of the year.

[hhcdave]

It will be awfully fun to make Creighton our bitch for the next ten years.

 

I believe this is a 40 minute game. The smart money is on Creighton to win by 5-8 points, but I believe we have a 40% chance at winning this year.

 

Hope they're reading this and will quote me over on the Creighton MB. Always enjoy reading my stuff over there the last eight years.

[big red22]

Ok lets be honest.  I've thought about this long and hard

 

2 things stand out to me regarding this game on Sunday

 

1.  They have no one that will be able to handle Smith down low.  Smith will finish with another Double Double

 

2.  This one I have sat back and really thought about.  Other than Mcdermott... who on their team would you take above our top 7 players?

 

You can make a case for Wragge, but we have Rey and he is just as good from behind the arc

 

Maybe Gibbs

 

Maybe Chapman

 

Other than that I see our top 7 players better than everyone on their team other than McDermott

 

What say you?

 

I see the following 7 players better than Creighton's roster other than Mcdermott

 

Webster

Pitchford

Petteway

Shields

Rey G.

Biggs

Smith

[uneblinstu]

This will be last year Creighton wins for some time. It will be close if we play D.

 

I've been hearing this for about a decade now.  I can't project NU to leap frog CU until it actually happens.

 

Although the Big East isn't that good, I think they are in for a rude awakening when they find out that every team in the conference has athletes like San Diego State and George Washington, if not better. They only had a .722 winning percentage in the MVC last year competing against the likes of Bradley, Drake, Missouri State, Southern Illinois...now the worst teams they will play are Xavier, Seton Hall and DePaul. Looking at their schedule, I could easily see them going 2-7 or 1-8 in their road games. Wouldn't be shocked if they don't even get to .500 in their conference play. Definitely don't think it's a lock they get to 20 wins total.

Uh, no.  SDSU will be the most athletic CU faces except for maybe Georgetown.  That team was loaded with athletes.  They'll face better athletes than they saw in the Valley, but few will be as athletic as SDSU was.  I don't see a ton of teams having success shutting down McDermott.  They'll try and do what those teams did in California, but few will be able to duplicate it and CU will be prepared for it.  

 

That said, I do think NU has a shot in this game if they can defend McDermott.  CU doesn't have a post threat like Echnique to bang the Husker post players around like they have in the past.  Those are the teams that have given NU trouble in the past.  Wragge vs. Pitchford will be a fun matchup to watch and could be the key to the game.  We'll get CU's best effort we've seen to date, NU will need to match that intensity or NU could get run out of the gym.  That is a real possibility for this team who has yet to face a hostile crowd.  NU showed a lot of fight on the road last year, will that happen again?  We'll see.  This team seems to rise to a challenge, I hope we see that again this year.  

[royalfan]

The thing is it wasn't that idiotic.  But Doug is obviously the best player in a landslide.  We aren't delusional enough to deny it.  But they are delusional enough to deny the fact they have a program that is facing some hard times in the near future.  Not a great coach, not great recruiters, not a hotbed of talent in these parts, and not the Big East as we know it.  But we are the delusional ones Husker fans.  Not them. 

[BrasketballIfYouNeedThem]

If Nebraska can stay out of foul trouble, they can win. I just don't see that happening. McDermott will get "fouled" every single time he touches the ball.

[hhcmatt]

If Nebraska can stay out of foul trouble, they can win. I just don't see that happening. McDermott will get "fouled" every single time he touches the ball.

 

Last night shows what can happen when you have a team like Nebraska who fouls a lot playing against a team like Miami that doesn't draw a lot of fouls:  The Huskers were not in foul trouble.

 

Creighton is very similar to Miami in the fact that they don't foul nor generate fouls at a very high rate which potentially should lead to another cleaner game with us having little foul trouble.

 

This has man to man written all over it as zoning up Creighton is asking to get killed.  It's the same deal with doubling McDermott because he just passes it out and it rotates to whatever dude is open for 3.  Moving guys to double team McDermott in the paint also doesn't work because he typically makes quick decisions.  

 

The ultimate question is what guy(s) do you use to single cover McD in the paint and on the perimeter?

[Norm Peterson]

Petteway has size, athleticism and aggressiveness going for him to man up against McD.  McD wins that battle, of course, but against which of our players would McD NOT win that battle?  We could see a lot of 6'6" - 6'7" players on the floor for us switching screens to stay on McD.

 

We need to harass their shooters and make McD work for his points.  From what I've read on their board, they basically have no inside game at all other than when McD posts up.  But, otherwise, no production.  Their starting Center, Artino, averages less than 15 minutes/game.  Two backups combine for just more than 10.  And the three of them combined are generating less than 10 points of offense and less than 6 rebounds/game.

 

They might have some guys who can drive, but outside of McD (who can score from anywhere) this is a very perimeter-oriented team.  I think they've really underestimated the effects of losing Echinique.  Not having to worry about him (or anyone else inside) makes this a much different Creighton team.

[hhcmatt]

Their starting Center, Artino, averages less than 15 minutes/game. 

 

This would be the game for Artino or Hanson to have a career game.

I don't think either of them is talented or experienced enough to do this while Leslee is in the game.

[hhcmatt]

Petteway has size, athleticism and aggressiveness going for him to man up against McD.  McD wins that battle, of course, but against which of our players would McD NOT win that battle?  We could see a lot of 6'6" - 6'7" players on the floor for us switching screens to stay on McD.

 

Can David Rivers be this guy?  That's how you go from playing 0 minutes to 25-30.

[Norm Peterson]

Last year, they kicked our ass.  At home.  For real.

 

This will be different.

 

McDermott was awesome last year and will be awesome again this year.  Great player.  Fun to watch.  But he reached his potential shortly after his college career began.  That ladder doesn't go much higher.  He was already as good last year as he's likely to be this year.  He's reached his level of greatness and is probably as good now as he'll ever be and was pretty much that good last year as well.

 

Losing Echinique inside is HUGE for them.  We could not have matched up against him this year.  They'd kill us if he were around for another season.  But he's not.  And they have no one to replace him.  Not even close.  Instead, we end up with an advantage inside. 

 

We are a far more complete team this year than we were last year.  And you need look no further than the boxscore last night to see the evidence of that.  A full-time starter who averaged slightly under 30 minutes during conference games last year didn't even report to the scorer's table last night. 

 

We've upgraded our roster from last year; they've downgraded theirs.

 

And this year, we've been playing in PBA.  Why would that make a difference?  Because we're used to shooting in an open arena design.  That's thrown us off in years' past.  Throws off your depth perception when the hoop is just plopped in the middle of nowhere.  Remember how Coach Miles talked about needing to practice freethrows in the arena?  That's why.  Gives you a different look as a shooter.  Same look they'll see in Omaha.  We're used to it this year.  Hahahaha.

 

I predict a close game.  I've been saying for weeks if not months that Creighton winning this one is not a foregone conclusion in my view.  They probably will.  But they'll need to bring their A game to do it if we bring ours.

[basketballjones]

They screen so much for McDermott it's going to be hard to keep one guy on him. As in, "I'd put Petteway on him," probably won't be the case.

My philosophy? If you've got a guy as talented and involved in getting screened as DM is - let him get his without fouling him. Keep him off the FT line, if he scores he scores. Don't allow him to get any free buckets or wide open 3's.

Shut down Wragge. Lots of good things will come from that if he's held well below his average.

[GoBigRed]

Creighton fans actually believe the way to defend them is with a zone, against conventional wisdom. But McDermott is a man-to-man killer, and I really don't think we can defend him without "fouling". I'm sure we'll throw a few different looks at them to see what works. 

[hhcmatt]

Creighton fans actually believe the way to defend them is with a zone, against conventional wisdom. But McDermott is a man-to-man killer, and I really don't think we can defend him without "fouling". I'm sure we'll throw a few different looks at them to see what works. 

 

If you could shut down McD with a zone then it's the other 4 dudes camped at the 3 point line shooting over 40% that becomes the problem.

[Silverbacked1]

I agree with let him get his. Not matador d but if he gets close let him only get 2 and not an one type of deal.

To really throw things off how about Benny face guarding him and not helping. Kind of a box and one. I know they shoot the 3 to well but it might be kind of fun to mix it up. Creighton would just throw it over the top of Benny but McD'sdribble drive would be affected. Not something to do for the whole game just once or twice to really screw with them.

Remember when Tim Floyd went triangle and two on people when he was at Iowa State? It really screwed with kids heads, coaches figured it out, but the players had problems with it.

[huskerbaseball13]

I agree with let him get his. Not matador d but if he gets close let him only get 2 and not an one type of deal.

To really throw things off how about Benny face guarding him and not helping. Kind of a box and one. I know they shoot the 3 to well but it might be kind of fun to mix it up. Creighton would just throw it over the top of Benny but McD'sdribble drive would be affected. Not something to do for the whole game just once or twice to really screw with them.

Remember when Tim Floyd went triangle and two on people when he was at Iowa State? It really screwed with kids heads, coaches figured it out, but the players had problems with it.

 

 

How we defend Mcdermoot is really just going to come down to how the refs are calling the game that particular day.  If they are allowing Mcdermott to flop every time down the court it's going to be a long night and he will get 30 some points.  If the refs actually call it like it is like they did in Creighton's game vs GW then we can cause him to have some trouble.