Creighton Game

[Piratz]

Personally, I didn't take much out of last night's game in Villanova. They put us in the squeeze box and we were a bit sloppy because of it. Not a big surprise at this juncture. I'm sure Willard will have some stuff to coach off of, especially the defensive rebounding, which is basically what cost us more than anything.

The Creighton game in 48 hours is obviously pivotal with what comes up behind it. They were sneaky competitive last year despite the record and are improved this year. Will be a tough game, but need the team to obviously bounce back at The Rock.

We basically need to do to them what Villanova did to us last night. Squeeze them and out-muscle them. They are not a physical/defensive team. They rely on that typical McDermott offense. Have to disrupt it and get after them off the dribble.

 

[Bud Boomer]

Agree 100%. Creighton is going to score, but our guys need to make it tough. Also, on offense, don't force. Creighton doesn't bother playing defense, so there will be open looks on most possessions. There's no need to settle.

 

[mjs428]

Not a Must Win but certainly a huge game for us with games at Prov, home for Nova, & at X looming.

If the team doesn't want to be compared to last year, have to win on Sat.

 

[Piratz]

You also want to see a strong performance of a loss.

Last year the second we lost our first game - that one at Xavier - it started cracking. Like a glass jaw. That turned into an immediate 1-3 stretch. While we did rebound to win at Creighton (cue coincidence) as the lone win during that stretch following that Xavier fiasco, we did not play particularly well and needed a long-3 at the buzzer from Gibbs to win by a point.

Different team, different feel, but they need to prove it and get this sort of reputation off their back. It's part of the process in becoming a good team.

Go take Creighton out immediately with good energy, physicality, and athleticism right away in front of a home crowd at 2PM on Saturday. This is a TCB game.

 

[Merge]

They shoot the 3 a ton. Keep in front of Watson, and don't give them any open looks!
I think this is a pretty good matchup for us, definitely a game we should win at home.

 

[Seton75]

Not a Must Win but certainly a huge game for us with games at Prov, home for Nova, & at X looming.

If the team doesn't want to be compared to last year, have to win on Sat.

I think this is a must win. We cant lose to the bottom teams at home. They beat GU the other day, didn't they? Wont be easy. Little is from now on.

 

[Merge]

I think this is a must win. We cant lose to the bottom teams at home. They beat GU the other day, didn't they? Wont be easy. Little is from now on.

Tough to call any game a must win at this point. If we lose this one and win 2 of the next three, it is easily forgotten.

It is a must win in the sense that it is a game we should win, and we are unlikely to sweep any of the top tier teams this year which would give us that room for error.

 

[Piratz]

I think this is a must win. We cant lose to the bottom teams at home. They beat GU the other day, didn't they? Wont be easy. Little is from now on.

Absolutely. Teams make life exponentially harder on themselves when they cannot put teams at their level or below away at home. We need to develop good habits and that's one of them!

Creighton is #61 in KenPom. Yes, they just beat the Hoyas at home. Hammered them by 13. By far their best win of the season. Their previous best was Nebraska (KP #146).

They are 39th in the country in 3PT%, 108th in 3PA:FGA. Tall team that pushes out stretch-4 types. Really poor defense.

 

[SPK145]

How is Creighton NOT a must win??

And Seton Hall should bounce back and win.

 

[shu09]

We have played four games against Creighton in the reconfigured league, three of them have been one-point games. I expect another close game on Saturday. Creighton is a lot better than people give them credit for. #60 in KenPom as Piratz pointed out.

With that said, while this is not technically a "must-win" given it's early January, for all intents and purposes I think it is. Results against Creighton, Marquette and Georgetown will likely determine how spots 5-8 shake out in the standings. We need to have a good record against those three teams. DePaul and St. John's will finish 9th and 10th. We also have three incredibly tough games after Saturday, so losing this one would put a ton of pressure on the team over the next two weeks. We don't want that.

We need to bring the same intensity on defense that we had last night and at Marquette. Make Creighton play an old school Big East game. They are most comfortable when they can push tempo, get out in transition and run fluid half court offense. They spread the floor well so we need to have intensity and a smart defensive strategy. I am worried about our defensive rebounding (which is getting worse by the game as the competition level increases), specifically leading to open three point looks for the Jays off their own misses. Our bigs are going to be drawn away from the basket by Huff and Hegner, both "stretch" big men. They have to be in position to rebound even after being drawn away from the basket.

To me, this is an important game for Delgado. He needs to contain Groselle and make it physical for him. He also needs to come up big on the boards on both sides of the floor.

Offensively, going from Villanova's defense to Creighton's defense will be a break for our guys. With that said, we still need to play smart. We should see plenty of dribble drive opportunities, as well as drive and kick. This should be a big game offensively for our starters, especially Rodriguez, Whitehead and Carrington. I wouldn't be surprised if McDermott mixes in some zone in this game in an attempt to pack in the lane. His team is not good in man to man defense against athletic teams. We need to be prepared for that possibility.

We will be favored and it is a game we should win, but this will be no walk in the park. Creighton can pile up points in a hurry. Let's give them a dose of good, physical Big East defense and get in a comfort level offensively against their porous defense.

 

[Shuathelete]

How is Creighton NOT a must win??

And Seton Hall should bounce back and win.

Im assuming he meant its not a must win if we can win one of the next 2 games. But imo its a must win regardless. If it was in Omaha it wouldnt be a must win. But its home.

 

[Piratz]

Our forwards should be able to beat them up a bit.

 

[Section112]

Its a must win. Games with the bottom 5 in the BE at home are must wins. Simple as that. If we want to be in the top 4 or 5 teams or better beating Creighton at home is in fact a must win. We stole one on the road against Marquette - let's not give it back by losing to a team we should beat at home - simple as that.

 

[mjs428]

Lose to Creighton & Beat Providence on the road then it's a no big deal but I get what you're all saying important to take care of Business against weaker teams especially at home

 

[Piratz]

Lose to Creighton & Beat Providence on the road then it's a no big deal but I get what you're all saying important to take care of Business against weaker teams especially at home

Win both if you're serious.

 

[NYC Pirate]

I'd say we've probably played the game on our schedule that we were
destined to lose(@Nova). I believe we can win almost any other game
this season maybe with the exception of @Butler. The real issue is going to be how many games will we win combined home and away from this point forward in any combination. It's that simple.

After the Marquette impressive win SHU has been a mixed bag in the last 2 games against DePaul and Nova. Although it "feels" different this year we still have some of the problematic issues creeping into the picture. No doubt the defense looks better this season but I still have concerns about the productivity of the frontcourt now that we are in conference play.

I do believe that most of our success will come at Prudential. So you'll probably get a more relaxed group against Creighton on Saturday. Seton Hall has to bring a high effort level or they're not going to win enough of the remaining games.

 

[IHM Pirate]

This is a very tough league.

Creightown beat Gtown at home.

Every game will be a war. Pirate crew posters should take NO games for granted.

 

[urbanecane]

Someone in the game thread hit the nail on the head when they said Nova was much more polished than SHU. While it was hardly reasonable to expect a W last night, it's discouraging to see a team that makes basketball seem so easy. It starts with the lackluster free throw %.

 

[Piratz]

Villanova is KenPom's #1.

 

[Seton75]

Someone in the game thread hit the nail on the head when they said Nova was much more polished than SHU. While it was hardly reasonable to expect a W last night, it's discouraging to see a team that makes basketball seem so easy. It starts with the lackluster free throw %.

Nova scrapped and fought last night, hardly an easy game. They certainly looked better than us. But it didn't look easy to me.

 

[PeterN]

They shoot the 3 a ton. Keep in front of Watson, and don't give them any open looks!
I think this is a pretty good matchup for us, definitely a game we should win at home.

On defense Watson has problems with bigger guards. They are weak against drives. Need to keep the ball out of Groselle's hands as he shoots 74% on the interior.

 

[HALL85]

January is a "Must Month". A poor showing this month will strike at the confidence of the team (and coach) the rest of the way.

 

[SOBO1]

Creighton is a must win.

 

[Pirate64]

To me, Creighton is a must win or else I'll be muttering " here we go again".

I also think the outcome will greatly affect the team and coaches - all of them- confidence.

 

[Piratz]

Definitely. This is maturity came, IMO. No let-up, go get an important win.

I think we'll do just that.

 

[jimmylanjello]

Anyone who thinks this is a "must win" or a "we'd better win", just show up on Saturday and get loud for our Pirates!!! They feed off the crowd's energy, so give it to them!

 

[ironlung75]

I heard twice in the presser Willard say that Angel had a touch of the flu. I know that O has had his number even in our win last year, but if he was actually sick, is he better? If he is going to be the inside presence with at least 10 boards against these guys and a clog in the middle, then we should win. For him he seems to be the most impacted by emotion of anybody on the team. He needs this win as we all want this, but perhaps more than anyone else. He has Bentl and other bigs coming up and he has to maintain his board dominance.

 

[Halldan1]

Villanova is KenPom's #1.

Nope. They dropped ALLTHEWAY down to #2.

1 Kansas 13-1 .9511

2 Villanova 13-2 .9509

 

[Piratz]

I heard twice in the presser Willard say that Angel had a touch of the flu. I know that O has had his number even in our win last year, but if he was actually sick, is he better? If he is going to be the inside presence with at least 10 boards against these guys and a clog in the middle, then we should win. For him he seems to be the most impacted by emotion of anybody on the team. He needs this win as we all want this, but perhaps more than anyone else. He has Bentl and other bigs coming up and he has to maintain his board dominance.

BTW, credit to AD for bouncing back after a slow start to the season. I think the game at Nova snapped an impressive run of double-doubles.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Anyone who thinks this is a "must win" or a "we'd better win", just show up on Saturday and get loud for our Pirates!!! They feed off the crowd's energy, so give it to them!

I'll be leaving for Newark in a few.
Been resting my voice the last few days.

 

[ncaaball2]

As close to a must win game in mid January as there can be.

 

[NYC Pirate]

You want to see:

Tough in your face defense
Better team rebounding
IW playing a steady game at PG
Angel back to a double/double
Desi coming back to form
Singh hitting his 3's

 

[Piratz]

I think we got our answer. Team comes out a mess, star players benched, allow opponent to shoot 13/14 at one point, down 21. Yep. Same old, same old nonsense.