Creighton will bring 'fast and balanced' attack

[IE]

When BYU hosts Creighton at the Marriott Center Tuesday night, fans shouldn?t expect a slow-paced slugfest.

The Cougars like to play fast, and the visiting Bluejays will do everything they can to keep up.

?(The Bluejays) prefer to play fast too,? said Steve Pivovar, the Omaha World-Herald?s Creighton beat writer. ?They prefer to score in transition and get out on the break. I don?t see them slowing it down, even though altitude and home court could affect that.?

The Bluejays are a much different team since former star and three-time All-American Doug McDermott entered the NBA. When McDermott played for his father from 2011-14, he averaged well over 20 points per game. Now, the Bluejays rely on an arsenal of players for consistent production.

Creighton?s high-tempo attack is impressively balanced, with all five starters scoring over 9.7 points per game. There is only a four-point difference between the Bluejays? leading scorer and their fifth-leading scorer.

?Any time you have a lot of weapons, it?s going to benefit you,? said Pivovar. "They just have a lot of weapons they can go to, whereas when Doug (McDermott) played here, he was the show.

?This group is a little more versatile and it depends on a lot more guys. They play fast and balanced.?

That doesn?t mean there is no room for a star, though. Point guard Maurice Watson Jr. has averaged 14 points and 6.5 assists per game this season, earning him all-Big East accolades.

At 5-foot-10, his style is reminiscent of Ole Miss guard Stefan Moody, who torched BYU last season in the NCAA Tournament.

?Most teams try to negate Maurice?s effectiveness by putting a bigger defender on him,? said Pivovar. ?So much of his game is to take it inside and either score or set up teammates. When opponents have been able to put bigger defenders on him, it has taken away some of his effectiveness, and I bet that?s the first thing BYU tries.?

In the tail end of conference play, most Big East teams found ways to limit Watson?s scoring and, in turn, slowed down Creighton?s attack. That led to five losses in the Bluejays' final six games, which ended any hopes of an NCAA at-large bid.

The Bluejays responded well, though, blowing out Alabama and Wagner by double-digits in the NIT?s opening rounds.

?It?s tough to win in the second part of your conference season,? Pivovar said. ?Teams get to know you and have better scouting reports. That hurt Creighton; that hurt Watson.

?Now you?ve got two NIT games against opponents that don?t know them as well, and they took advantage of that. Bottom line is they?re playing free, they?re making it easy.?

BYU and Creighton should provide an exciting game on ESPN, and Pivovar believes that the Cougars will escape with a narrow victory.

 

[IE]

When BYU and Creighton square off in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals, a trip to New York City?s famous Madison Square Garden is at stake.

But the No. 2 seed Cougars may not be at full strength Tuesday (7 p.m., MST, ESPN) when they host the fourth-seeded Bluejays.

Senior guard Kyle Collinsworth did not practice Monday due to a bout with the flu and he could be sidelined for his final game at the Marriott Center.

BYU coach Dave Rose said that a flu virus has gone through much of his team the last three weeks.

?It?s going to be interesting to see because some of them have been 48 hours, some of them 72 hours,? Rose said. ?Hopefully this is quick because we don?t have a lot of time. Today?s not an ideal day to miss (practice). We put our game plan in. But (Collinsworth's) got a lot of experience. We?ll see how he feels (Tuesday). Hopefully, the rest of the guys can step up and we?ll have another game and he can catch us in New York, if that?s what it comes down to.?

?It would definitely be a big loss. We love playing with Kyle,? center Corbin Kaufusi said of the prospect of being without the NCAA career leader in triple-doubles. ?He?s our dude. We need him back.?

If Collinsworth can?t play, freshman Nick Emery is expected to start at point guard. But Emery is confident that Collinsworth will be on the court, no matter what.

?He?s playing for sure. Kyle?s a tough guy,? Emery said. ?Even if he was sick, he?ll play through it.?

During his time as head coach, Rose has dealt with late-season personnel issues several times before.

?When things happen like this, I try to do the least disruptive thing to the starting lineup to allow us to continue to play how we?ve played,? he said. ?Obviously, in this situation, you?re taking away a huge part of what we do. I?m sure it will take two or three different guys to try to fill the hole.?

BYU?s other big concern, of course, is its opponent. Creighton, from the Big East Conference, walloped Wagner the day after the Cougars squeaked past Virginia Tech Friday night.

?Sometimes you watch film and you get intrigued by the players and sometimes you?re intrigued by the system. Both of those things are really fun to watch,? Rose said of the Bluejays. ?They?ve got a great offensive philosophy. Three or four really good guards who know how to play, that can beat you off the dribble and can shoot it. The posts are really skilled. They run a really good offense. I like how they share the ball."

Creighton?s leading scorer is junior guard Maurice Watson Jr., who averages 14.4 points per game. He is the Bluejays? version of Collinsworth.

?Not only can he really score, but he can drive and assist the ball. He?s one of the better players in the Big East,? Rose said of Watson. ?I think our game plan will be to try to get him to not be able to do so many things. Kind of the same things teams try to do with Kyle ? Kyle?s been pretty good at being able to run our team and this kid seems to be the same way ? (Watson?s) a great dribble penetrator and finisher. If you bring help to try to stop his penetration, he?s got great court vision.?

Creighton also boasts 7-foot senior center Geoffrey Groselle, who, like Gonzaga?s Domantas Sabonis, is a left-hander.

"That kid?s pretty good. We?ll try to be physical and handle him with a couple guys and hopefully we can find something that works for us,? Rose said of Groselle. ?He?s really skilled. He shoots 70 percent from the field. We?ll have to pay attention to him and hopefully we can keep the ball out of his hands. But to do that, you have to contain those guards.?

?Usually a team has one or two things they?re really good at," Emery said. "Creighton has five or six things they?re really good at. They play like a team. We?re going to have to beat them. We can?t have a bad game.?

This marks the Cougars? third consecutive NIT home game and they?re hoping to capitalize on their home-court advantage once again. BYU drew 12,379 fans in the win over Virginia Tech and it is hoping for an even larger crowd Tuesday.

The Cougars and Bluejays desperately want to win one more game to earn a spot in the NIT semifinals in New York City, which will be played March 29.

?I feel like we?re playing a lot more loose right now. We?re playing free. Losing?s not an option for us,? Emery said. ?We?re continuing to battle and fight through these games. We?ve just got to keep winning.?

 

[boilermaker]

Might as well turn off the shot clock. Don't think it will come into play.