Creighton at Seton Hall: 2020-21 storylines for Big East matchup

UNIVERSITY PARK PA - DECEMBER 06: Myles Cale #22, Shavar Reynolds #33 and Sandro Mamukelashvili #23 of the Seton Hall Pirates celebrate a win in overtime after a college basketball game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center on December 6, 2020 in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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Creighton Bluejays (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /

Ryan Kalkbrenner

This particular storyline goes beyond the fact that the Creighton Bluejays are not a big team. To put into context the decision-making Coach Greg McDermott has (not only prior to the game but during the game) is that 6’7 Christian Bishop is the tallest Bluejay to start. One adjustment Coach McDermott has made that was demonstrated during the Marquette game was having 6’5 guard Denzel Mahoney post up on the block.

A remedy for the size discrepancy the Bluejays will be facing would be 7’0 freshman Ryan Kalkbrenner (7.2 ppg, 4rpg). Currently, Kalkbrennar averages thirteen minutes per game, with his season-high coming against Nebraska when he logged eighteen. In his last two games, Kalkbrenner has totaled seven blocks and five field goal attempts, stats that are perfect for the Bluejays who will score around their 81.3 average whether the seven-footer is on the court or not.

Similar to every good storyline, the literary elements are not independent of each other. The urgency that Coach McDermott will have to play Kalkbrenner will depend on if the Bluejays are hitting their three-point attempts.

If Coach Willard is unable to maintain a pairing that includes some combination of 6’11 Mamukelashvili, 7’2 Obiagu, and 6’10 Tyrese Samuel on the court because the Bluejays are hitting too many outside shots, then the urgency to play Kalkbrenner extended minutes is not as pronounced.

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