uneblinstu's Post Game Chatter: ed 7, vol 7 - Creighton

[uneblinstu]

The demise of the Creighton Bluejays has been greatly exaggerated.

 

- It started out so great. The energy was high, the crowd was alive and the Huskers were making shots. And then it all stopped. It was like the Huskers landed the first punch and then didn't expect the Jays to respond.

- I think the game turned when, up 24-16 and Pitchford took an ugly step back 18' fade-away jumper and the whole arena said "NOOOOOOOOO!". It led to Creighton finding Rick Krecklow wide open in the corner to cut the lead to 5. The game never felt the same after that.

- Really, nobody had a good game. Terran started out hot, but didn't have much the rest of the way.

- The three unforced turnovers from Parker were killer. 

- Parker vs. Chapman was fun to watch, though I think AC got the better of BP more often than not, that was a fun matchup.

- NU has absolutely no identity on offense right now. I have no idea what they're trying to do. When they face a team that does a good job of cutting off the lane, they look lost. 

- If we're going to be a team built on defense, we have to bring the intensity for longer stretches. We lost it after the first ten minutes of the game or so. From that point, the Jays outscored us 51-31 after we went up 24-14. We got dominated the last 25 minutes of the game. That's unacceptable.

- We'll see a lot more of this if they can't find someone to consistently hit from the perimeter or score from the post. They have neither right now, which makes them easy to defend when you face a team with similar athletes. That kept Shields and Petteway from being able to get to the rim, thus they were unable to get to the line, which is where they make their living. Tip your hat to CU there.

- That said, I though NU had a bunch of opportunities to push the tempo and maybe get the Jays in some foul trouble and for whatever reason chose not to. It cost them the game.

- Our perimeter defense was bad tonight, especially in transition. The Jays have been loaded with shooters for roughly 15 years now. That they still have them shouldn't be a surprise.

- Bad Walt showed up tonight. NU can't win if he's going to keep going 1-9 from the floor and a couple of them were U-G-L-Y. Also, he can't keep giving away fouls on those illegal screens. We're short on post depth as it is, stop giving away fouls on the offensive end.

- McDermott flat out-coached Miles tonight. No bigger moment on the inbounds play with about a minute left when CU checked in Artino, I think, and NU was in a small lineup, Walt or Moses should have immediately checked in with him. It was an easy lob and score for the Jays and it broke the will of NU at that point. That was coaching.

- If Webster is going to play the 2, he has to be a scoring threat. 

- There were a couple things I liked from this game. Webster's defense is really good. He brings a high level of energy more consistently than most. He can be really disruptive when he does that.

- The other thing I liked is that Moses looks more comfortable out there. He's still a step slow, but he looks more relaxed. He's making more plays on the defensive end than he did early in the season.

 

I'm sure there's more I could say. But for right now, I'll leave it there. Really disheartening to lose this game. This team still has a long way to go and there's still a lot of season left, but I fear that with all the emotion and energy spent on this one, it could linger. Hopefully it doesn't or Cincinnati will come in here next weekend and give us everything we can handle. 

[hhcmatt]

Here is my entire week on twitter

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7thb4T3Lqc

[FredsSlacks]

Here is my entire week on twitter

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7thb4T3Lqc

[ballgame]

The demise of the Creighton Bluejays has been greatly exagerated.

 

Bunches more coming soon...

 

They just got waxed by Tulsa. I'm concerned this result says more about us than it does about them.

[huskerbaseball13]

Do the players have a curfew nights before games? Do they stay at a hotel near by? Some photos of Pitchford surfaced looking like he was partying it up last night. It's about time he gets his head in the game because right now he is brutal.

[doc1394]

Surely Nick Fuller isn't so unbelievably bad that he can't play some minutes just to space the floor. Desperately need a shooter

[The Polish Rifle]

 

Here is my entire week on twitter

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7thb4T3Lqc

http://i.imgur.com/FER1V0V.gif

 

Pretty much sums up how I currently feel. Nice work.

[huskerbaseball13]

At this point Doc...could he be worse than Tai? Tai getting 20 minutes is about 15 minutes too much. It will be nice to have a few more options at guard next year so we don't have to play players just to play them.

[Huskerone]

I heard a fan behind me say with about 30 seconds left, "this is my worst nightmare", as Creighton fans in the section over were chanting CU, CU, CU.  Maybe we can repay the favor next year.

[hhcmatt]

[Norm Peterson]

I heard a fan behind me say with about 30 seconds left, "this is my worst nightmare", as Creighton fans in the section over were chanting CU, CU, CU.  Maybe we can repay the favor next year.

Bullshit.  I don't want to repay the favor next year.  We should have repaid the favor this year.  If CU fans were having their fun, good for them.  They have scoreboard.  We have no right to bitch about some Creighton fans enjoying their win.  We do have a right to bitch about not being the fans that got to enjoy the win.

[The Polish Rifle]

 

I heard a fan behind me say with about 30 seconds left, "this is my worst nightmare", as Creighton fans in the section over were chanting CU, CU, CU.  Maybe we can repay the favor next year.

Bullshit.  I don't want to repay the favor next year.  We should have repaid the favor this year.  If CU fans were having their fun, good for them.  They have scoreboard.  We have no right to bitch about some Creighton fans enjoying their win.  We do have a right to bitch about not being the fans that got to enjoy the win.

 

Yeppppp.....They returned 1 starter and lost the best player in the history of their program. We returned 5 starters and were playing at "The Vault" and still managed to lose by 10. If there was ever a time to beat CU, that was it.

[uneblinstu]

 

The demise of the Creighton Bluejays has been greatly exagerated.

 

Bunches more coming soon...

 

They just got waxed by Tulsa. I'm concerned this result says more about us than it does about them.

 

It's a rivalry game. Those tend to bring out the best in teams. For the Jays, until NU beats them, there's nothing to fear, even in our building. It's a "throw out the records" situation. The Jays got up for this game, don't take too much stock in their poor showings leading up to it on the road.

[uneblinstu]

I wonder if we'll see more teams "let Terran get his" and try to shut down Shavon. Worked tonight. Makes sense, really. 

 

[HuskerCager]

- I think the game turned when, up 24-16 and Pitchford took an ugly step back 18' fade-away jumper and the whole arena said "NOOOOOOOOO!". It led to Creighton finding Rick Krecklow wide open in the corner to cut the lead to 5. The game never felt the same after that.

Bingo.

Well, actually it was two consecutive possessions.  The possession before that, Terran launched the 3 with the rest of the team still coming down the floor behind him, right?  Terran was scolding himself for taking that on the way back on defense and did not close in on whomever, who got an easy layup.  We live and die on offense like that, but if it backfires on you, you have to make up for it on the defensive end.

 

[hhcmatt]

Post game quotes

 

Nebraska Postgame Notes
*-Nebraska saw its 12-game home win snapped dating back to last season and fell to 19-2 all-time at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
*-Tonight’s loss marks the first home non-conference loss for the Huskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
*-Nebraska allowed Creighton to shoot 47.1 percent, a season high for a Husker opponent. It also marked the first time this season that Nebraska was out-shot in a game
*-Terran Petteway finished with 21 points – his fifth 20-point game this season and 17^th in two seasons at Nebraska. Petteway has now scored in double figures in 18 straight games – the longest stretch of his career. 
*-David Rivers’ eight rebounds was a season high, as his previous best was six on two occasions.
 

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles
On what he thought of Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott’s game plan
“I thought his game plan was better than my game plan.  I thought they did a nice job of playing off guys and staying with their discipline. Some teams lose their discipline. And I thought he had those guys in the same amount of time probably because we see each other so much. Those guys held firm with their game plan. And I felt like we could go out there and run what we run to beat him. But I was wrong and he was right. And that’s on me. I thought we were ready to play. It’s not that. We just weren’t able to take away the things they were able to take away from us.”

 On how he gives junior forward Terran Petteway freedom, but makes sure he stays in check
“Well we usually try to take him out and get self-corrected as quickly as we can. To me, when he settles for the threes, sometimes he’s not good enough for us. When he doesn’t get to the foul line, good things don’t happen. Creighton has got a great ability forcing us to take tough twos with their defense.”

On the issue of scoring
“It’s always an issue. We scored 11 points in the last nine minutes and two of those were a gimme. That’s a problem. First of all, I want to say that Austin Chatman is outstanding. He’s a really good player in any league. With us, sometimes I think that if the offense for the guys doesn’t go well, the defense doesn’t go well either.”

 On what has been going on with junior forward Walter Pitchford
“You know, I thought Walt was getting better. I really did. But tonight he just wasn’t getting there. If I knew that answer, I would have solved it two and a half weeks ago. He was great all the way through preseason practice and through our scrimmage. And then our first exhibition game he struggled. I thought we had him back because he played two pretty decent games, but then again tonight he struggled. He defense isn’t as good when his offense isn’t there. That has to be firmed up.”

 

                                                                     

David Rivers and Terran Petteway
On why Creighton won the game
Petteway: “You have to give those guys credit. They shot the lights out. In the second half, they hit ten threes. They shot like 47% from the three-point line. We didn’t play good enough defense. When you give a team like that open looks, they build momentum and keep knocking them down back to back.”

On offense
Petteway: “It really wasn’t them, it was us. We didn’t attack. We stopped attacking and became soft with our execution. It wasn’t so much them, it was us, the way we were running our offense.”

On what was lacking defensively
Petteway: “Urgency. We didn’t have enough urgency in the second half. The first half, they hit a couple, but we were still playing with the urgency that we needed. The second half, they got on that run and it kind of went away.”

On leaving without a win against Creighton
Rivers: “It’s bad. We didn’t execute well offensively and defensively. They made all the right plays. It’s unfortunate, but we have to learn from this and get better. We need a quick turnaround.”

On lack of urgency
Petteway: “It’s mental. We have to stay locked in on our person. Number 21, we let him get open looks. He’s a good shooter. He shoots like 47% from the three. When you give him open looks, the rest of the team starts feeding off of him then everybody starts knocking them down. It’s just a lack of detail to personnel really.”

On emotion going into an in-state rivalry
Petteway: “We tried to treat it like it was another game. We didn’t want to get our emotions too hyped up. That’s not who we are. We try to come in at an even keel. It was a great atmosphere tonight.”

On if Terran thought they could put them away in the 1^st half
Petteway: “Yeah then I took a quick shot and I think somebody else did and that let them back into it. I think I took a quick shot then they came down and hit a three. We took another one then they came back and hit another three. That’s when they went on that 10-0 run to tie it at 24.”

On why David was successful on offense
Rivers: “They were sagging off of me a bit. I was just trying to make the next best play. I was trying to do anything to help our team out for a victory.”

On transitions opportunities
Petteway: “I think we could have had a little bit more. They are a great transition team, that’s how they get a lot of their three’s. Chapman is electric in transition, him and Brooks. We were just trying to slow it down, grind it out and play defense for thirty seconds. We missed out on a couple opportunities.”

Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott 
Opening Statement 
"It is a heck of a win for us, at this stage of the season with this group of guys. To come on the road against a team as good as Nebraska and really execute our game plan almost to perfection. The offensive rebounds were not part of the plan, but other than that I really thought the guys dug in defensively. Pettaway is going to hit some and will make some tough shots and we were prepared to live with that. Our execution down the stretch just to stay patient and be who we are I thought was really good. We have three seniors who have beaten Nebraska four straight times and that hasn't happened often in our history. I am really proud of them given what we lost last year. This is their team now and our preparation this week was really, really good. To come in with this crowd that really got into it a few times, but we found a way to respond each time that happened without having to burn a bunch of timeouts. I am very proud of my team. I obviously have great respect for Tim (Miles) and the job he does, we beat a heck of a basketball team tonight."

On playing in the atmosphere tonight
"I was really worried just trying to get through the first two TV timeouts. We did a good enough job early in the game. I think Nebraska only scored on three of their first 10 possessions and even though they led 7-5 at that point, we didn't throw any fuel on the fire to spark the crowd. So we were able to get through that. We have some veterans on this team. They are just inexperienced in the roles they are playing in right now. We obviously looked to Austin a lot on the floor to put some plays together in big moments. But this is an unbelievable win for us in front of this crowd. It is incredible to have to programs in this state to fill their arenas and their fans are so engaged in their basketball teams the way these two are."

On worrying about Shields alongside Pettaway
"I think Pettaway was taking 20 shots no matter what we did. Shields is obviously a little more choosey and efficient sometimes with his shot selection. So we just didn't want to give him rhythm, we wanted to plug up those lanes especially when he was going to that right hand where he is so good. But lets be honest, he missed a few that he normally makes. So to win a game like this, you need a little luck as well." 

On the hype of this game tonight
"It is always significant when you beat Nebraska because they are our rival. I think it is the one game that all fans mark on their calendar. So that makes it fun. I think it is great that we were both NCAA tournament teams last year and we are both off to good starts this year. I think that is awesome for basketball in the state of Nebraska. But the thing that this group of guys was we hadn't found a way to get a win against a quality opponent on the road and we needed to check that off our list. I think there is something in the belief that you can actually do it. And had we lost a close game after how we played defensively that would have been a tough pill to swallow."

 

Creighton Guard Austin Chatman 
On following the game plan tonight: 
"We just tried to keep the ball out of Pettaway and Shields hands and make the other guys score and I think we did a good job of that going into late in the second half." 

On how to slow Pettaway down 
"He is a guy there is not a lot you can do. He is going to hit tough shots. But you just kind of have to live with that and try and keep everybody else shut down. He is a great player. A lot of credit to him."

On also have Shields alongside Pettaway
"We just needed to take away his drive. He wanted to go to the rim a lot and that was a big key trying to clog up that lane and take away his right hand.  

On the atmosphere tonight
"It was pretty tough. It felt like my freshman year when we played at San Diego State, everybody was jumping around, the floor was shaking a little bit, it was loud. We couldn't really hear Mac trying to call plays as much, it was a pretty tough environment."

Creighton Guard Isaiah Zierden 
On following the game plan tonight: 
"I thought we did for the most part really well. We got away from it a little bit in the first half. But it was trying to clog gaps and make sure we were in the driving lanes and we were going to try and make them give it up. I thought in the first half we did a so-so job but in the second half we really did a good job." 

On the defensive performance
"Well (at Oklahoma) we didn't follow the game plan there and the result showed. I thought we did a much better job today in the second half. I think we need to as a team realize we need to follow the scouting report a little bit better."

[Norm Peterson]

We don't have a credible post and we lack shooters.  When they try to shut down the driving lanes and collapse on the ballhandler, there should be an open shooter somewhere.  When we found those open shooters tonight, they'd pump fake and pull the ball back out.  We don't have guys willing and able to take those "make 'em pay" shots.

 

And I hope I never again hear anyone try to tell me that it's a perfectly fine thing that Walter Pitchford has no inside game.  He doesn't need to fix his shot, Norm; he hits 40% for three.  He doesn't need to be able to score inside, Norm; it's his outside shooting that opens up the driving lanes for Petteway and Shields.  Oh really? 

 

I'd rather have another wing that shoots 40% from three and have at least one guy who's a legit threat to post someone up and score inside. 

[hhcmatt]

- NU has absolutely no identity on offense right now. I have no idea what they're trying to do. When they face a team that does a good job of cutting off the lane, they look lost. 

 

I wonder how much we're currently missing Craig Smith.

 

Yeah, it's one loss in a season. It's also a big kick to the pills.

[Norm Peterson]

 

- NU has absolutely no identity on offense right now. I have no idea what they're trying to do. When they face a team that does a good job of cutting off the lane, they look lost. 

 

I wonder how much we're currently missing Craig Smith.

 

Yeah, it's one loss in a season. It's also a big kick to the pills.

 

Can Craig Smith score inside or shoot more than 35% from three?

[BenJammin63]

This one is just so hard to swallow right now... This was our year to beat them, and this was our year to destroy them.  We definitely have major issues on offense with which player is going to be our go to guy.  Shields can't be it every night.  Terran needs to be a lot more consistent.  He needs better shots and recognize when he should and shouldn't force the issue.  Walt has issues.  Whether it is him just not being confident in his game or if it is something that his head and heart isn't in the game.  But if he doesn't figure it out, he is more of a liability, than he is an asset.  I know it's one game, and these are things we can most likely fix.  But our team has some issues.

[throwback]

Just an awful performance by NU, which seems to happen quite often for us against this particular opponent. It felt like our possessions were either a tentative throw-it-around-the-perimeter mess or a hurried-panicked disaster. When we were able to get the ball in the lane and pass out of it, rather than throw up wild shots against the collapsing defense, the offense was OK. It just happened so rarely. Incredibly frustrating to play so poorly.

 

Even as we built the 10-pt lead, it just didn't feel good offensively. Too many jump shots off one-on-one play, which isn't our way to success. Very few teams can succeed that way. It was almost worse that we hit several jumpers early - fool's gold - that we fell in love with the one-on-one outside shot.

 

Worst part is I think CU is pretty average. I didn't think they looked like an NCAA team. I know that doesn't say much about NU right now, but a lot of the ugly aspects of our play up to this point in the season were all on display tonight. 

 

Very little margin for error in the next 5 games now. Hopefully this was a blip, and the guys were just too keyed up and wanted it too much, so they played tight - or we're going to have a difficult time not entering B1G play at 7-5.

[a0t0w0]

I'd like to see a line drawn after this game.

 

Play the fundamentally sound guys as many minutes as possible.  Sit the others until they figure it out.  WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS FOR TWO MORE WEEKS.

 

So fargin sloppy at times.  Figure it out boys.

[Crush78]

This is a joke right?  The last 2 times we got within 1 possession, Webster lost his man, #21, and he hit 2 dagger 3s. Miles pulled him because his defense sucked!

 

 

- There were a couple things I liked from this game. Webster's defense is really good. He brings a high level of energy more consistently than most. He can be really disruptive when he does that.

 

 

 

 

[Norm Peterson]

I just want to, after all the fan jawing back and forth, just congratulate Creighton on the win.  They flat out were the better team tonight.  We have no business running any smack until our Huskers make this series a little more balanced.  Until then, I think we should probably just STFU about Creighton.

[HuskerCager]

Play the fundamentally sound guys as many minutes as possible.  Sit the others until they figure it out.  WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS FOR TWO MORE WEEKS.

It's a tough balance, isn't it, that coaches have?  I mean, I really don't want Miles to go Doc on our players and kill all the creativity they have.  Yet, I tear out what little hair I have when I see Terran launch some of the 3's he does without a single pass.

I think McDermott got it right.  Shut down Shields and make Terran beat you.