Heartbreak in Lawerence: Creighton men's basketball falls to Kansas
Photo courtesy Creighton Athletics
By Matt Kirkle, Contributor
(OMAHA, Neb.)—Jayhawk freshman sensation Jalen Wilson knocked down a three-pointer with 42 seconds left to help lead the No. 5 Jayhawks past No. 8 Creighton on Tuesday evening. His role of hero was solidified after Marcus Zegarowski missed the last of his three free-throw attempts with one second left to try to tie the game.
The Jayhawks have been on the good end of a lot of close contests early on this season, now with three wins by four points or less in their last four games. Losing Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike to the NBA has forced guys like Christian Braun, Ochai Agbaji, and Wilson to settle into their new roles offensively. Due to this, turnovers and running effective offense is a struggle in the early going. Against Kentucky and North Dakota State, Kansas shot a combined 37% from the floor and 19% from behind the arc. They needed to see progress in order to beat the Bluejays.
Creighton used three 3-pointer’s in the first five minutes to kickstart a 12-2 run, jumping out to a 14-8 lead. The three-point specialist for Creighton since last season has been Mitch Ballock, who was 43% from behind the arc in 2019 with almost 100 made three’s on the year. 2020 has been a forgettable start for the preseason second-team All-conference selection, shooting just 28% from behind the arc in Creighton’s first four games. He made two of the three 3’s in the Bluejays opening run, but proceeded to miss all of his next six shots for the remainder of the contest. Kansas responded with a quick 13-2 run before the second media timeout to take a 21-16 lead.
David McCormack was giving the Bluejays headaches in the first half. He scored 12 points on 5-of-8 from the floor in the opening frame and was able to create what he wanted in the paint. McCormack and Wilson combined for 25 of Kansas’ 39 first half points and were 10-of-16 from the floor, to the rest of the Jayhawks who were 5-of-19.
With Ballock and Zegarowski combining for just three made baskets in the first half, Creighton needed reinforcements to come in and provide relief. The relief came in the form of Christian Bishop and Denzel Mahoney. They were finding ways to score and did so efficiently. Bishop was a perfect 4-of-4 in the opening half from the field and had nine points at the break, and Mahoney added seven. Mahoney’s biggest contributions to the Bluejays didn’t come until the second half, but nonetheless their efforts kept Creighton around down the stretch of the first half. The pair scoring six straight to tie the game at 33 with 3:11 left in the half. After a small burst of Kansas points, the Jayhawks into the break with a 39-35 lead.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said after the game that he is very impressed with Mahoney’s production early on.
“He’s playing good basketball, especially when you consider the amount of time that he’s been off the practice floor,” McDermott said.
Zegarowski came out of the locker room with something to prove after scoring just three first half points. He hit two three’s in the opening two minutes and helped Creighton regain the lead. Damien Jefferson added six points in the opening eight minutes of the half as well, and his jumper with 12:46 left in the game tied the contest at 50.
Christian Braun proved to be a nice piece to the Jayhawk puzzle in their opening six games, scoring 13 points per game on almost 50% from deep. He made two three’s in a 90-second span to push Kansas to their largest lead of the game at 58-50 with 11 minutes left. With the pace of the game at that point, it was clear that Creighton wasn’t done hanging around. The Bluejays promptly responded with a 9-1 run to even the game once again at 59. The pair of top-ten teams were not ready to disappoint the 2,500 fans inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Despite how close of a game the contest was, Creighton definitely did not play its best. It was very easy to tell. They shot 33% from three, 50% from the free-throw line, gave Kansas numerous extra possessions by allowing 13 offensive rebounds in the game, and had a season-high 17 turnovers. Even with all of that, Creighton was neck and neck with one of college basketball’s bluebloods for all 40 minutes.
Kansas took a 70-65 lead with 1:39 left before Mahoney made his biggest contributions to the Bluejays to that point. In a matter of 19 seconds, he hit a three, forced a steal, and took it back for the game-tying layup with 1:08 left. Just like that, it was back to square.
“(I wanted to) just try to make the best play possible … to help us win,” Mahoney said.
Wilson was unstoppable for the entire game, going 8-for-12 from the floor and adding four three’s when the rest of the Jayhawks were shooting just 33%. He hit a wide-open three from a McCormack assist with 42 seconds left to give Kansas the lead. Zegarowski missed a three with 19 seconds left that forced Braun to the line for a chance to ice the game for Kansas.
Braun proceeded to miss the front end of a one-and-one—leaving the door open for Creighton.
On the ensuing possession, Wilson fouled Zegarowski on a three point attempt with one second left on the clock. Zegarowski is a 76% career free throw shooter, and had overtime at his fingertips. He sunk the first two shots before the free-throw bug bit the Bluejays one final time, except this time it was fatal.
Zegarowski missed the tying free throw attempt off the back iron which expired the clock giving the Jayhawks the win in thrilling fashion, 73-72.
“Marcus is a perfectionist. So he’s crushed,” McDermott said. “Our guys are hurting. We had some guys miss some free throws — not just Marcus. ... That’s going to weigh on their mind throughout the night and into (Wednesday).”
“To have their best player miss one late, yeah, we were fortunate. Very fortunate,'' said Bill Self, Kansas head coach.
Wilson led Kansas with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Braun added 14 followed by McCormack with 13. Mahoney had 12 second half points to lead Creighton with 19, followed by Zegarowski with 16. Jefferson and Bishop added 13. Creighton returns to action to face Nebraska at the CHI Health Center on Friday at 6 p.m.