An early nonconference challenge sees Creighton head over to Gonzaga for a Tuesday night battle; have the Bluejays got an upset brewing away from home or do the Bulldogs get their first notable win of the year?
TV schedule: Tuesday, November 11, 10:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington
This should be a fantastic game for the late night hoops crowd!
Bluejays Enter New Era Without Kalkbrenner
We’ve only seen one game from Creighton (1-0) this season but it was bizarre not seeing Ryan Kalkbrenner out there for the Bluejays. This program is in a new era without him and other recent talent, but Greg McDermott hasn’t been sitting on his hands in the offseason. He’s got a new crop of players that are ready to make their own mark on the program, fresh off a solid season-opening win over South Dakota.
Former Iowa big man Owen Freeman (19.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) is the new man in the paint for the Bluejays and he has a pretty solid showing in his first action in Omaha. Plenty of attention will be on sophomore Jackson McAndrew (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) his frontcourt mate who’s expected to take a major step forward this season. The new point guard in town is Nik Graves (15.0 ppg, 5.0 apg), fresh off a solid first showing after previous work at Charlotte.
This Bluejays team may have opened the season #23 in the AP Top 25 but currently find themselves way down at 43rd in KenPom. The offense should be pretty good, but this team lost a lot on defense without Kalkbrenner’s presence. The performance against South Dakota was far from perfect and this team needs even more out of Freeman and the other new faces to get the job done.
Bulldogs Look Locked In Early
On the other side Gonzaga (2-0) is riding their own kind of high early in this season. After destroying Texas Southern, the Bulldogs got a quality win over Oklahoma, knocking off that SEC foe by 15 points this past weekend. The Bulldogs are looking to return to national prominence in their final year in the WCC and certainly have the talent to keep making these statements.
Nobody is surprised to see Graham Ike (16.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg) continuing to play at a high level and he should anchor Gonzaga’s success all year long in his final campaign. The Bulldogs remain very thankful that fellow senior Tyon Grant-Foster (14.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) was ruled eligibility just a few weeks ago. Four other Bulldogs are averaged double figures through the first two games, but let’s not forget about Adam Miller (10.5 ppg), another veteran and a talented sharpshooter who really elevates this backcourt.
Gonzaga sat #21 in the AP Top 25, though that was before the voters knew about their work against Oklahoma in the opening week. KenPom is more favorable, as the Bulldogs have moved up to 8th in the nation, sitting Top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. This team simply has the tools and experience to win games and dominate on defense, especially with other talent like Braden Huff and Jalen Warley in this lineup.
Creighton Needs a Hot Start to Hang Around
With the way the Bulldogs have opened the season, it’s understandable why they’re solid favorites, especially with another game coming at home. Creighton looked shaky at times over a weaker foe and are still adjusting to a new lineup with new pieces like Freeman and Graves. We’re by no means counting the Bluejays out of this contest, but they’ll need a better shooting effort in Spokane to get the job done.
They’ll need both Freeman and McAndrew in top form, especially against the talent of Huff and Ike and the rest of this Gonzaga front. Whoever wins those battles early in the game will help set the tone. Creighton needs a big push early before the Bulldogs crowd gets too raucous, but we just don’t see them having enough to upend this deep Gonzaga team on the road.