Creighton Game thread

[muskieman]

When: Wednesday, Dec 17 6:30 PM
Where: Cintas

the league opener for both teams

TV: FS1 with play-by-play from Jeff Levering and analysis from LaPhonso Ellis.
Xavier Radio: 55KRC

Creighton Bluejays (5–5, 9th Big East) Struggling with two straight losses (Nebraska, Baylor).
Averaging 74.6 points per game, but defensive rating outside the top 200 nationally

Quick Take: The 2025–26 Creighton Bluejays are a retooled squad under Greg McDermott, blending transfer talent with returning veterans. They’ve shown flashes of offensive firepower but remain inconsistent, especially on the road
Creighton
Weaknesses
Loss of star power: Without Ashworth’s shooting and Kalkbrenner’s rim protection, Creighton lacks proven elite talent. Defensive consistency, chemistry with many new faces, and limited proven scoring beyond Dix

Bench scoring: Heavy reliance on underclassmen who must adapt quickly.

Dimitrijevic is 7' and a potential replacement for Big K, but is redshirting this year

Interior defense: Freeman isn’t the same shot-blocker as Kalkbrenner.

Team Overview
Record so far: 5–5 overall, 0–0 in Big East play.

Coach: Greg McDermott, entering his 16th season at Creighton.

Style of play: Balanced offense with perimeter shooting, but defensive efficiency lags behind elite Big East teams

Key Players
Josh Dix – Leading scorer at 12.3 PPG, versatile 6'6" guard who can create off the dribble.

Blake Harper – 6'7" Transfer forward averaging 9.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG, provides interior toughness.

Nik Graves – Senior, 6'2" point guard from Charlotte, steady ball-handler expected to anchor the offense. Leads team in Assists 3.2 Per game and 8.9 ppg

Owen Freeman – Iowa transfer, 6'10", 240 lbs center, adds size and rim protection. He leads the team in blocks at 1.1 per game. Strong rebounder

Fedor Zugic – 6'6" Sophomore guard off the bench, offers shooting depth, averaging 12.3 minutes per game and 4 points, bringing international experience, perimeter shooting, and depth to the Bluejays’ rotation. He’s still adjusting to Big East play but has shown flashes of scoring ability.

Isaac Traudt (Jr, 6'10") – Stretch forward, can shoot from outside, adds versatility.

Jasen Green (Jr, 6'8") – Omaha native, tough interior presence, developing offensive game

Key Matchups
Josh Dix (Creighton) vs Tre Carroll (Xavier)

Dix leads Creighton with 12.3 PPG, while Carroll is Xavier’s top scorer at 16.9 PPG. Carroll’s efficiency (47.7 FG%) gives Xavier an edge.

Nik Graves (Creighton PG) vs Roddie Anderson III (Xavier PG)

Graves provides steady ball-handling, but Anderson’s pace and playmaking could tilt the backcourt battle.

Owen Freeman (Creighton C) vs Pape N’Diaye (Xavier F/C)

Freeman’s rebounding and rim protection will be tested against N’Diaye’s athleticism and size.

Strengths & Weaknesses
Creighton Strengths: Size across positions, balanced scoring, and strong free-throw shooting.

Creighton Weaknesses: Road struggles (1–4 away), defensive efficiency outside top 200 nationally.

Xavier Strengths: Momentum (5-game win streak), deeper guard rotation, stronger assist-to-turnover ratio.

Xavier Weaknesses: Inconsistent shooting stretches, still building chemistry under new coach Richard Pitino.

Outlook
Xavier Advantage: Playing at home (Cintas Center), riding a win streak, and boasting more offensive firepower.

Creighton Path to Victory: Control tempo, limit turnovers, and get hot from three-point range. Freeman’s interior defense will be critical.

Prediction: Xavier enters as the favorite, but Creighton’s size and veteran guards give them upset potential if they can slow Carroll and win the rebounding battle.

Creighton’s success hinges on Freeman anchoring the paint and Graves running the offense. If Harper and McAndrew emerge as reliable scorers, the Bluejays could push into the Big East’s upper half.

[Kevin Reilly]

Talk about awful. We were not ready to play. Nothing about the first half looked like Xavier basketball. Milicevic is 0-6 and cannot finish around the basket. The closeouts are late and lazy. Can you legally hold back the N.I.L. money for this game? I know the students are gone but this is not Xavier effort. Glad to see N'Diaye make a couple of baskets. You have to wonder what Robinson did to not get in a game ? Is he injured? We couldn't have been worse.

[muskieman]

Largest loss in the history of the Cintas Center. The last time it was this bad was UCLA CU 60% X 36% Nothing good about this, except that it is over.

[skyhops]

That's as poor of an effort that I've seen from Xavier in years and that includes Santa Clara and Iowa. Carroll, Jovan, and Wright simply gave up and Pitino waved the white flag too early. Our defense was at the bottom of the Big East coming in and good coaches will light our perimeter up. Switching on every screen, losing your man, and having no rim protector is unacceptable. Robinson is simply not playable and thats not going to change. Walker is not a Big East player and unfortunately we are have roles players. This was bad.

[X-man]

Either Pitino didn't have them ready, or they don't belong in the Big East. My money is on the latter. Every aspect of our game was exposed as failing to be at BE level. They'll be lucky to win a game in the league this year. I hope I am wrong, but there seems to be no BE-level talent on this team.

[Wedgeman]

X is the new DePaul… and UConn’s coming to town.

[Kevin Reilly]

Well the positives were Anderson with 10 points and a lot of hustle , N'Diaye with 7 points and two blocks and Moore with12 points and some aggressive moves on offense. The negatives go on forever. The defense looked like a YMCA pickup game. Wright is not a Big East caliber starting guard. .Losing by 41 points at home to a 5-5 Creighton team that has blown out by Gonzaga (27 points ) , by 18 points to Iowa State and losing to Nebraska by 21 points shows how far we have to go . Milicevic is a 6-10 guy who is better suited as a small forward. The effort level needs to go up a lot on both ends of the court. Hopefully Pozzato can bring some much needed athleticism to the roster

[longliveskip]

besides the first 5 minutes of this game, it's hard to pick out anything remotely good.

Death, taxes, and Creighton absolutely destroying us from the 3 pt line. it's inevitable.

pretty sure all Creighton's losses were Q1 losses and all of our wins are Q2 or below. that showed up last night in a big way.

and we are about as soft as tissue paper inside. our bigs' nickname should be Scott because even Charmin or Quilted Northern would be insulted if our bigs were compared to them.

[skyhops]

Our starters (the big money guys besides Pozzato & Robinson) scored 30 points with is pathetic. Its amazing how many (Jovan, Fillip, Robinson, Wright, etc) have no idea where and how to play defense against five out. CU went on a 42-13 run to end the half, which no adjustments on our end. We've had only one true road game and great crowds, which will end soon.

[bluegrass]

Pops and 3M had ok games.Other than that it was a train wreck.What was up with Carrol?Seemed like he was on the bench a lot.His defense is about on par with Freemantle.Maybe even worse.I know it's only one game. Gonzaga lost by 40 to Michigan.Purdue got clobbered at home by Iowa St.But we were completely uncompetitive.Where was the team we saw vs.GA, W VA and UC? I don't see us winning Saturday and no way vs. UCONN.