After long layoff, Creighton controls DePaul for a fourth-straight win
Photo Courtesy Creighton Athletics
By Matt Kirkle, Contributor
The No. 13 Bluejays struggled to clearly define themselves this season based off of their results thus far. It seems backwards, but Creighton is a perfect 8-0 against Big East teams who are above .500 in conference play, and just 4-4 against league teams below that .500 mark.
However, the Jays seemed to answer that identity crisis Wednesday night, as they dominated an under .500 team in DePaul to win a fourth straight contest.
This DePaul team just picked up their second conference win of the season on Feb. 20, as they took down St. John’s on the road. The Blue Demons only needed eight 3-point attempts as a team to get an upset win. DePaul made sure to not only intensify their focus from behind the arc, but continue their momentum into Wednesday night.
DePaul shot eight 3-point attempts in the opening nine minutes of Wednesday’s Creighton matchup, connecting on half of them. The reign of three’s forced Creighton’s hand on both sides of the floor, as DePaul took an 11-3 lead out of the gate.
The Blue Demons packed the interior defensively to take away the driving lanes, and Creighton struggled to hit open looks from the perimeter.
“I think we had a little rust, we just had to get our timing and rhythm back,” Denzel Mahoney said following the game. “Second part of the first half, we got it back.”
The Bluejays had just seven points in the first eight minutes of the game, and yet only trailed by six. DePaul’s offensive production halted after the under-eight timeout, and they finished the half shooting just 28% from the floor. This kept the door wide open for Creighton.
Having an 11-day break seems to be the obvious suspect for the slow offensive start. The Bluejays let it bother them just long enough to build a little bit of confidence for the Blue Demons—then they shut it down.
Creighton was electrifying for the remainder of the half. They proceeded to make seven of their next eight shots from the floor to take a 29-21 lead.
Marcus Zegarowski had zero points with 8:30 left in the half, and then scored eight points in the next four minutes to spark a 16-3 Bluejay run. Christian Bishop attacked the glass effectively the entire half to get second chances for Creighton, and added seven points in the opening frame.
All together, Creighton finished on a 21-5 run and took a 34-23 lead into the break. Zegarowski led the way at the half with 10 points, while Mahoney added three 3’s to notch nine points along with three rebounds.
The Bluejays never looked back after the intermission. The home team began the second half on a 13-4 run, opening up a 20-point lead going into the under-16 timeout.
Creighton didn’t need any production from Mitch Ballock either. He scored his one and only basket with 16:40 left in the second half. The offense just didn’t flow toward him tonight, but it didn’t need to.
Creighton kept inching their lead behind a balanced scoring attack and obvious defensive effort, forcing 16 Blue Demon turnovers in the game.
“We’ve been a better defensive team this year,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “Their ability to follow and trust a scouting report has gotten better, and let’s face it, I have a lot of veteran guys out there.”
With 4:29 left, the Bluejays led 71-44. Coach McDermott had the luxury of putting in the scout team with less than three minutes in the game.
“These guys have been helping us scout DePaul all week,” McDermott said. “We actually ran a few of DePaul’s plays because we figured they would know those plays better than ours.”
Creighton cruised to a 77-53 win over DePaul, making it seven wins in their last eight games. Mahoney, Bishop, and Zegarowski all finished with 13 points to lead the way for Creighton, with Alex O’Connell notching 10.
Romeo Weems and Charlie Moore led DePaul with nine points for DePaul.
Creighton hits the road next to take on Xavier on Saturday, with a 4 p.m. tip-off. The Bluejays remain 0.5 game back from the lead in the Big East Standings behind Villanova, who Creighton faces on March 3rd.