Creighton Basketball: 3 takeaways from letdown defeat to Providence Friars

Mitch Ballock struggling from deep

In the last two games combined, Mitch Ballock has played 79 minutes. He is just 0-8 from three-point range.

Now, it’s not the fact that he hasn’t made a three for two games, but it’s the number of shots he’s able to get up that has me worried. Mitch Ballock is a terrific shooter– you’ll find little room for debate on that. But, Mitch hasn’t been able to get any rhythm at all as he hasn’t been able to get off any clean attempts.

Six of the eight three-point attempts in these past two games have been while he was basically smothered by the defense. If Mitch isn’t able to create shots, and the Jays offense isn’t able to create shots for him,  it’ll be a real problem going forward.

It’s not that Mitch’s three-point count is an overarching sign of wins and losses, but when he hits a three it seems to really bring energy. A huge amount of Creighton runs in the past few years have come off the heels of a Mitch Ballock three-pointer.

He does a lot of things off the ball well and attracts so much attention that occasionally it opens up driving lanes for guards. His ability to shoot also pulls a help-side defender towards him, enabling one on one opportunities in the post for Damien and Christian.

So, by no means am I calling for fewer minutes from Mitch Ballock. However, being one of the more unselfish players I have ever seen play the game, Ballock needs to take authority a bit more. Get to the rim and good things happen– and he has that capability. People consider him a three-point only type of guy, but he can get to the bucket and finish. Perhaps doing that will lighten up the pressure on him beyond the arc.

Until we get more Ballock Bombs, here’s a thread to hold you over.