Creighton Basketball: 2018-19 keys to success at St. John’s

3. Creighton must dominate the defensive boards

The third key to a Creighton victory will also come at the defensive end, they must limit the Red Storm to one-and-done opportunities, because St. John’s is one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country. On the season, Mullin’s squad has snatched just created just 122 second-chance opportunities, that averages out to just seven offensive rebounds per game, which is 341st out of the 351 teams ranked in that category.

While the Bluejays aren’t a fantastic rebounding team, pulling down 25.59 defensive rebounds per game, but this is a major aspect of the game that Creighton will need to take advantage of. Creighton has just two players that pull down more than five per game with junior big man Krampelj grabbing six boards per game as well as a team-high 72 defensive boards on the season and Jefferson averages 5.4 rebounds per contest.

If the Bluejays want to get back in the Big East race with a win in this game, making sure that St. John’s only gets one chance at points each possession will be important and because the Red Storm shoot the ball so well, when they do miss, securing the rebounds will give Creighton the best chance at coming away with a win.