Michigan plays its third Gavitt Games game since the inception of the Big Ten/Big East showdown, squaring off with the Creighton Bluejays. Michigan survived a late 27-3 run against Appalachian State to pull off a 79-71 victory and start the Juwan Howard era 1-0. Eli Brooks led the team with 24 points on five-for-eleven three-point shooting while Jon Teske had a double-double in just fourteen minutes of game time. They now move on to a Creighton that is just a couple spots behind them on KenPom and BartTorvik. The early non-conference game is a big opportunity to get an early win against a P6 team and, especially with the game being at home, this is a big opportunity to bolster the resume for the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton -- An Overview:
The Bluejays are coming off a 20-15 2018-19 season that saw them on the bubble and ultimately just miss the NCAA Tournament. A two-seed in the NIT, they fell to the one-seed of their region (TCU) in the quarter-finals to bring an end to a year where they showed signs of the talent they possess, but never put everything together. Their biggest loss was star junior forward Martin Krampelj to the NBA Draft, but they have also been hit by injuries to start this season. Jacob Epperson was ruled out just a couple weeks ago after breaking his leg in practice. Then, before the season opener, Davion Mintz was ruled out with a high ankle sprain and could miss several weeks of action. The Bluejays will also be without Denzel Mahoney, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State, until December after transferring but having left school during the second semester due to personal reasons.
Creighton was prolific from three last season finishing 11th in the country in 3P% (38.7%) and 17th in 2P% (56.1%). They made 372 threes, good for fifth-most in the country last season as well. They also averaged nearly 78 points a game, though they did average 73.2 points per game to opponents as well. They are certainly going to be a handful for the Michigan defense. They opened their season with an 81-55 victory over Kennesaw State where they shot 12-for-25 from three, but just three-for-eight from the free-throw line.
Starting Five:
Creighton's leader for this season is guard Ty-Shon Alexander (#5). The 6'4" junior has racked up the preseason accolades with being named to the Jerry West Award Watchlist (best collegiate shooting guard) as well as the John R. Wooden Award Watchlist (best collegiate player). He was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team as well, making him the fourth Bluejay to earn Big East preseason first-team honors. Alexander led the Bluejays with 15.7 points per game while also shooting 36.5% from three on 266 attempts. He also shot 79.4% from the free-throw line but only on about three attempts per game -- highlighting a big part of his game being perimeter shooting. He started the season strong with a team-high nineteen-point game with a five-for-eight performance from three. He made a massive jump from his freshman to sophomore seasons to the tune of a 10.2 point per game jump, highest in the Big East. He did not score fewer than seven points in any game last season (the season-low coming against Xavier) and he had a career-high 36 points on seven threes. Alexander is a confident dead-eye shooter that made a jump and will be expected to do the same this season as well in his performance. He is without question the key player on this Creighton team and I would expect to see Zavier Simpson guarding him during the game despite two players shorter than him also in the starting five.
Second-in-command is guard Mitch Ballock (#24). The 6'5" junior started in all 35 games last season, making him (likely) the only available player for Creighton on Tuesday to have that achievement. Described as a "consummate winner" by McDermott, Ballock averaged just over eleven points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game last season. He, like so many of these Bluejays, made a big freshman-to-sophomore jump as he saw an increase in points per game (from 7.3) and rebounds per game (from 4.4) to go along with his remarkable shooting. Ballock shot 41.9% from distance including a program-high eleven made threes in a 39-point outing against DePaul. In addition to some great games, though, he also had fourteen games where he shot 30% or worse, including a tough zero-for-nine outing against Oklahoma. The key to his season will be consistency. He is projected to be the PORPAGATU! (points over replacement player per adjusted game at that usage) leader for Creighton with a very, very, strong 4.6, but if he is to reach that mark he is going to have to find consistency. He could also sink into a more glue-guy role, which is also fine too, but this is a fairly young Creighton team that is going to need Ballock to have number-two guy production if they are to hit their peak. His usage was only 16.2% in the opener as he went two-for-seven (zero-for-two from three) with four points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Still, just one game does not mean a ton for the rest of his season.
Marcus Zegarowski (#11) is a sophomore point guard who is looking to build off a strong freshman season. The 6'2" guard started in half of last season's games and with Mintz's injury is set to bear the load at point guard until he can return and dole some of those responsibilities off. Zegarowski had a strong game alongside Alexander in the opener, scoring eighteen points on four-for-five shooting from three. He also led the team with five assists, though that came with three turnovers. He dealt with injuries as a freshman to both his hand and hip but still was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team as a unanimous choice. He was the leader in assists per game last season (3.4) and shot a team-high 42.6% over 141 attempts. He was also a near-77% free throw shooter and finished the year averaging 10.4 points per game. He is still returning to full fitness but after his offseason hip surgery, he seems to be returning to that form given his performance in the season opener. His strength in shooting will cause a decision in putting Simpson or Eli Brooks on him, but with Brooks's development as a standout defender as of late, it's a problem that Juwan Howard has two good answers to.
Shereef Mitchell (#4) is one of two freshmen on this Creighton team. The 6'0" guard weighs just 155 pounds but was impressive over the summer and was one of four players to play at least 28 minutes in the season opener. He also became just the fourth true freshman to start a season opener since the 1992-93 season. Also a point guard, Mitchell is going to be able to offer Zegarowski support in that role on the court. Mitchell went four-for-seven with eight points, six rebounds, and three assists in the season opener. He also led the team with three steals highlighting his strength on the defensive end. He is a hard-worker and willing to find his teammates, making him a valuable freshman piece to have on a team. He is a hometown kid from Omaha who is living out a dream come true. He still has a bit to go in improvement, the key is his three-point shooting where he was zero-for-two in the season opener. All-in-all, he is a tough defender who, despite being a freshman, could give headaches to the Michigan guard he is assigned to.
Rounding out the starting five, but likely to see similar minutes as the Bluejays's key bench pieces are forward Christian Bishop (#13). Epperson's injury left Creighton shorthanded in the frontcourt, enter the 6'7" Bishop. The sophomore was always likely to have a larger role in the season, but the injury has certainly helped push him into the starting line-up. Bishop's versatility is welcome as he can play the four alongside Kelvin Jones or the small-ball five as is the case with him in this starting five. Bishop went six-for-ten with twelve points and seven rebounds in the season opener and also recorded three blocks on the defensive end. He is a good finisher around the basket and is hoping to see a jump in production given the sustained minutes increase this season. He shot 70% from the field last season but only 43.2% from the free-throw line, marking a possible point of improvement. He has also logged only three shots from distance, missing all three, thus far in his college career. Despite being just 6'7" and able to extend to the perimeter, he's not a shooting threat and would figure to be a fine match-up for Jon Teske.
Bench Rundown:
Playing the most minutes off the bench in the first game of the season was the second member of Creighton's 2019 freshman class that is almost certain to see action, Jalen Windham (#21). A 6'5" guard, Windham is a swingman who is going to be looked at to provide some three-point shooting off the bench. Windham impressed early in practices and was praised as one of the team's best, if not the team's best, three-point shooting. However, he did not make a three in the team's opener and struggled in the closed scrimmage. He did hit two threes (going two-for-four) with eight points and five rebounds in the opener. An Indianapolis native, he asked out of his commitment to Georgia State after Ron Hunter left the head coaching position there for Tulane. He is going to be a work in progress, but the shooting will be welcomed.
Jett Canfield (#10) is a redshirt freshman and provides Greg McDermott with a point guard on the bench. The 5'10" guard only took two shots in the season opener, showing he is most likely going to help keep the offense flowing while on the court. A former walk-on, Canfield has been the cliche 'next man up' with the injury to Mintz necessitating another rotational piece at point guard. After the Creighton closed scrimmage with Missouri, McDermott gave Canfield a strong account saying, "He understands who needs to shoot on this team, and he understands ball movement and how to get a guy a shot. He makes up for his lack of stature with a huge heart." He will be tasked with being a young, but smart, player whose second season in the system is requiring perhaps a larger role than expected.
Offering some size off the bench is 6'11" Kelvin Jones (#43). The grad transfer is a senior center who made his way to Creighton by way of Idaho State. His size is going to be much-welcomed as Creighton has to square off with Jon Teske and a possible Teske/Colin Castleton line-up. Jones signed with Creighton after Krampelj left for the NBA Draft and is joining his fourth collegiate team of his career. He spent two years with UTEP, playing one as a redshirt freshman, before transferring to Odessa College. He then transferred up to Idaho State before graduating and joining the Bluejays. He was a regular starter for the Bengals with 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 55.3% shooting. He opened his account with a seven-point, six-rebound, performance on three-for-six shooting. He does his damage entirely from two and offers experience and size off the bench.
Sharp-shooting forward Damien Jefferson (#23) did not play in the opener and has been hobbled by a lower leg injury. He has been named as a game-time decision ahead of tonight's game. The 6'5" junior is a Chicago native who transferred to Creighton after a solid freshman campaign with New Mexico. The year learning Creighton's system let him be an immediate impacter as he averaged eighteen minutes per game last year with 6.2 points, four rebounds, and 14-for-34 shooting from three on the season (41.7%). He has survived his share of injuries while with Creighton and both he and McDermott will be hoping he can make his return to the line-up in Ann Arbor.
Rounding out the Creighton bench are two other players that saw game time against the Owls in the blowout. Jordan Scurry (#12) is a 6'2" senior guard who saw seven minutes against KSU, while Nic Zeil (#15) is a 6'8" freshman forward who played six minutes in that opener. Scurry was a walk-on that earned a scholarship this past January. McDermott described him as a "shining example of what a teammate should be" to Blue Ribbon. He scored twelve points last season with 34 minutes played and scored five in the opener. Zeil is a freshman who was set to join his brother at D2 Truman State until his strong senior season in high school earned him a walk-on spot with Creighton. Zeil did not record a stat in the season opener.
Pre-Game Thoughts:
This is a Creighton team that, like this Michigan team, will not get super deep into their bench this game. That, in their case, is as a result of injuries and they should end up playing a bit deeper later this season. For Michigan, the defense will be the key. Creighton is an elite shooting team. Ballock was quieted in the opener and the Bluejays still won by over 25 points thanks to Alexander, Zagarowski, and Windham. Guard play will be massive as Simpson and Brooks will likely be assigned to Alexander and Zagarowski, while I'd expect Adrien Nunez to guard Shereef Mitchell. Michigan did, however, play the majority of their opener with David DeJulius in the line-up -- I would expect that to continue. DeJulius had some trouble with the elite scoring and driving ability of Justin Forrest, but he has proven more than capable of playing tough defense on or off the ball. I would expect him to guard Mitchell generally. In the post, Jon Teske will be covering Christian Bishop and the hope is that that will continue. Michigan post defenders (Teske, Colin Castleton, Brandon Johns and Isaiah Livers for spells, too) held Isaac Johnson and Hunter Seacat to just four shots at the rim. Silencing Bishop and Kelvin Jones at the rim makes Creighton less dimensional than they would be if they could dump it down low and allow either forward/center to work on the block.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more college basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
Creighton -- An Overview:
The Bluejays are coming off a 20-15 2018-19 season that saw them on the bubble and ultimately just miss the NCAA Tournament. A two-seed in the NIT, they fell to the one-seed of their region (TCU) in the quarter-finals to bring an end to a year where they showed signs of the talent they possess, but never put everything together. Their biggest loss was star junior forward Martin Krampelj to the NBA Draft, but they have also been hit by injuries to start this season. Jacob Epperson was ruled out just a couple weeks ago after breaking his leg in practice. Then, before the season opener, Davion Mintz was ruled out with a high ankle sprain and could miss several weeks of action. The Bluejays will also be without Denzel Mahoney, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State, until December after transferring but having left school during the second semester due to personal reasons.
Creighton was prolific from three last season finishing 11th in the country in 3P% (38.7%) and 17th in 2P% (56.1%). They made 372 threes, good for fifth-most in the country last season as well. They also averaged nearly 78 points a game, though they did average 73.2 points per game to opponents as well. They are certainly going to be a handful for the Michigan defense. They opened their season with an 81-55 victory over Kennesaw State where they shot 12-for-25 from three, but just three-for-eight from the free-throw line.
Starting Five:
Creighton's leader for this season is guard Ty-Shon Alexander (#5). The 6'4" junior has racked up the preseason accolades with being named to the Jerry West Award Watchlist (best collegiate shooting guard) as well as the John R. Wooden Award Watchlist (best collegiate player). He was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team as well, making him the fourth Bluejay to earn Big East preseason first-team honors. Alexander led the Bluejays with 15.7 points per game while also shooting 36.5% from three on 266 attempts. He also shot 79.4% from the free-throw line but only on about three attempts per game -- highlighting a big part of his game being perimeter shooting. He started the season strong with a team-high nineteen-point game with a five-for-eight performance from three. He made a massive jump from his freshman to sophomore seasons to the tune of a 10.2 point per game jump, highest in the Big East. He did not score fewer than seven points in any game last season (the season-low coming against Xavier) and he had a career-high 36 points on seven threes. Alexander is a confident dead-eye shooter that made a jump and will be expected to do the same this season as well in his performance. He is without question the key player on this Creighton team and I would expect to see Zavier Simpson guarding him during the game despite two players shorter than him also in the starting five.
Second-in-command is guard Mitch Ballock (#24). The 6'5" junior started in all 35 games last season, making him (likely) the only available player for Creighton on Tuesday to have that achievement. Described as a "consummate winner" by McDermott, Ballock averaged just over eleven points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game last season. He, like so many of these Bluejays, made a big freshman-to-sophomore jump as he saw an increase in points per game (from 7.3) and rebounds per game (from 4.4) to go along with his remarkable shooting. Ballock shot 41.9% from distance including a program-high eleven made threes in a 39-point outing against DePaul. In addition to some great games, though, he also had fourteen games where he shot 30% or worse, including a tough zero-for-nine outing against Oklahoma. The key to his season will be consistency. He is projected to be the PORPAGATU! (points over replacement player per adjusted game at that usage) leader for Creighton with a very, very, strong 4.6, but if he is to reach that mark he is going to have to find consistency. He could also sink into a more glue-guy role, which is also fine too, but this is a fairly young Creighton team that is going to need Ballock to have number-two guy production if they are to hit their peak. His usage was only 16.2% in the opener as he went two-for-seven (zero-for-two from three) with four points, seven assists, and three rebounds. Still, just one game does not mean a ton for the rest of his season.
Marcus Zegarowski (#11) is a sophomore point guard who is looking to build off a strong freshman season. The 6'2" guard started in half of last season's games and with Mintz's injury is set to bear the load at point guard until he can return and dole some of those responsibilities off. Zegarowski had a strong game alongside Alexander in the opener, scoring eighteen points on four-for-five shooting from three. He also led the team with five assists, though that came with three turnovers. He dealt with injuries as a freshman to both his hand and hip but still was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team as a unanimous choice. He was the leader in assists per game last season (3.4) and shot a team-high 42.6% over 141 attempts. He was also a near-77% free throw shooter and finished the year averaging 10.4 points per game. He is still returning to full fitness but after his offseason hip surgery, he seems to be returning to that form given his performance in the season opener. His strength in shooting will cause a decision in putting Simpson or Eli Brooks on him, but with Brooks's development as a standout defender as of late, it's a problem that Juwan Howard has two good answers to.
Shereef Mitchell (#4) is one of two freshmen on this Creighton team. The 6'0" guard weighs just 155 pounds but was impressive over the summer and was one of four players to play at least 28 minutes in the season opener. He also became just the fourth true freshman to start a season opener since the 1992-93 season. Also a point guard, Mitchell is going to be able to offer Zegarowski support in that role on the court. Mitchell went four-for-seven with eight points, six rebounds, and three assists in the season opener. He also led the team with three steals highlighting his strength on the defensive end. He is a hard-worker and willing to find his teammates, making him a valuable freshman piece to have on a team. He is a hometown kid from Omaha who is living out a dream come true. He still has a bit to go in improvement, the key is his three-point shooting where he was zero-for-two in the season opener. All-in-all, he is a tough defender who, despite being a freshman, could give headaches to the Michigan guard he is assigned to.
Rounding out the starting five, but likely to see similar minutes as the Bluejays's key bench pieces are forward Christian Bishop (#13). Epperson's injury left Creighton shorthanded in the frontcourt, enter the 6'7" Bishop. The sophomore was always likely to have a larger role in the season, but the injury has certainly helped push him into the starting line-up. Bishop's versatility is welcome as he can play the four alongside Kelvin Jones or the small-ball five as is the case with him in this starting five. Bishop went six-for-ten with twelve points and seven rebounds in the season opener and also recorded three blocks on the defensive end. He is a good finisher around the basket and is hoping to see a jump in production given the sustained minutes increase this season. He shot 70% from the field last season but only 43.2% from the free-throw line, marking a possible point of improvement. He has also logged only three shots from distance, missing all three, thus far in his college career. Despite being just 6'7" and able to extend to the perimeter, he's not a shooting threat and would figure to be a fine match-up for Jon Teske.
Bench Rundown:
Playing the most minutes off the bench in the first game of the season was the second member of Creighton's 2019 freshman class that is almost certain to see action, Jalen Windham (#21). A 6'5" guard, Windham is a swingman who is going to be looked at to provide some three-point shooting off the bench. Windham impressed early in practices and was praised as one of the team's best, if not the team's best, three-point shooting. However, he did not make a three in the team's opener and struggled in the closed scrimmage. He did hit two threes (going two-for-four) with eight points and five rebounds in the opener. An Indianapolis native, he asked out of his commitment to Georgia State after Ron Hunter left the head coaching position there for Tulane. He is going to be a work in progress, but the shooting will be welcomed.
Jett Canfield (#10) is a redshirt freshman and provides Greg McDermott with a point guard on the bench. The 5'10" guard only took two shots in the season opener, showing he is most likely going to help keep the offense flowing while on the court. A former walk-on, Canfield has been the cliche 'next man up' with the injury to Mintz necessitating another rotational piece at point guard. After the Creighton closed scrimmage with Missouri, McDermott gave Canfield a strong account saying, "He understands who needs to shoot on this team, and he understands ball movement and how to get a guy a shot. He makes up for his lack of stature with a huge heart." He will be tasked with being a young, but smart, player whose second season in the system is requiring perhaps a larger role than expected.
Offering some size off the bench is 6'11" Kelvin Jones (#43). The grad transfer is a senior center who made his way to Creighton by way of Idaho State. His size is going to be much-welcomed as Creighton has to square off with Jon Teske and a possible Teske/Colin Castleton line-up. Jones signed with Creighton after Krampelj left for the NBA Draft and is joining his fourth collegiate team of his career. He spent two years with UTEP, playing one as a redshirt freshman, before transferring to Odessa College. He then transferred up to Idaho State before graduating and joining the Bluejays. He was a regular starter for the Bengals with 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 55.3% shooting. He opened his account with a seven-point, six-rebound, performance on three-for-six shooting. He does his damage entirely from two and offers experience and size off the bench.
Sharp-shooting forward Damien Jefferson (#23) did not play in the opener and has been hobbled by a lower leg injury. He has been named as a game-time decision ahead of tonight's game. The 6'5" junior is a Chicago native who transferred to Creighton after a solid freshman campaign with New Mexico. The year learning Creighton's system let him be an immediate impacter as he averaged eighteen minutes per game last year with 6.2 points, four rebounds, and 14-for-34 shooting from three on the season (41.7%). He has survived his share of injuries while with Creighton and both he and McDermott will be hoping he can make his return to the line-up in Ann Arbor.
Rounding out the Creighton bench are two other players that saw game time against the Owls in the blowout. Jordan Scurry (#12) is a 6'2" senior guard who saw seven minutes against KSU, while Nic Zeil (#15) is a 6'8" freshman forward who played six minutes in that opener. Scurry was a walk-on that earned a scholarship this past January. McDermott described him as a "shining example of what a teammate should be" to Blue Ribbon. He scored twelve points last season with 34 minutes played and scored five in the opener. Zeil is a freshman who was set to join his brother at D2 Truman State until his strong senior season in high school earned him a walk-on spot with Creighton. Zeil did not record a stat in the season opener.
Pre-Game Thoughts:
This is a Creighton team that, like this Michigan team, will not get super deep into their bench this game. That, in their case, is as a result of injuries and they should end up playing a bit deeper later this season. For Michigan, the defense will be the key. Creighton is an elite shooting team. Ballock was quieted in the opener and the Bluejays still won by over 25 points thanks to Alexander, Zagarowski, and Windham. Guard play will be massive as Simpson and Brooks will likely be assigned to Alexander and Zagarowski, while I'd expect Adrien Nunez to guard Shereef Mitchell. Michigan did, however, play the majority of their opener with David DeJulius in the line-up -- I would expect that to continue. DeJulius had some trouble with the elite scoring and driving ability of Justin Forrest, but he has proven more than capable of playing tough defense on or off the ball. I would expect him to guard Mitchell generally. In the post, Jon Teske will be covering Christian Bishop and the hope is that that will continue. Michigan post defenders (Teske, Colin Castleton, Brandon Johns and Isaiah Livers for spells, too) held Isaac Johnson and Hunter Seacat to just four shots at the rim. Silencing Bishop and Kelvin Jones at the rim makes Creighton less dimensional than they would be if they could dump it down low and allow either forward/center to work on the block.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more college basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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