Creighton 77, Dayton 59

Turning the Corner

“From my perspective, that was a lot of fun.” ~ Dana Altman, leading off the postgame press conference (video here) following Creighton’s 18-point drubbing of the Dayton Flyers.

Well, Dana, I think all of the 15,400-ish Jays fans at The Phone Booth last night probably agree with you. And for good reason.

Just like Booker Woodfox angling around a screen and knocking down a jump shot, the Jays are turning a corner. Things are never as good as they seem, nor as bad. You have to keep an even keel during a 30-plus game season. But after suffering two 2-point defeats on the road, CU bounced back with a beat down of Mississippi Valley State and their two best games of the season against St. Joe’s and Dayton.

In the two losses, the Jays jumped out to double-digit leads against physical, defensive-minded opponents. Against Dayton, arguably the most athletically gifted and physical team CU will face from now until March, the Jays again opened up a double-digit margin yet refused to stop attacking.

Just like Booker coming off a screen, these Jays are turning a corner

After 4 minutes of action, the game looked like it would be anything but a blowout … unless maybe it was Dayton delivering the stomping. The Jays, down 5-0 early, looked a bit apprehensive about how to attack what at many times was a punishing defensive effort from the Flyers guards. So what did Altman do? He went to a lineup of Casey Harriman, Cavel Witter, Kenton Walker, Kaleb Korver, and “Young Antoine” (as I’m now calling him for the rest of his freshman year).

It was Young Antoine who put the ball on the floor, blew past a few Flyers, and got to the free throw line. Granted, he only made 1 of 2 shots on his first trip to the line, but it put the Jays on the board and no doubt gave the freshman some confidence to couple with his raw speed and quickness. And from then on, the Jays woke up a bit. Two Kaleb Korver 3-pointers later (the second by way of a Young Antoine assist) it was 7-7 and that would be the closest Dayton would come for the rest of the evening.

In the days leading up to this game, much was made (by me included) of Dayton’s high-flying offensive ability. Their members of Team 40, players who have leaping ability in excess of 40 inches, can put a scare into the opposition with just the slightest of room to work with. But it was Creighton who put another Team 40 on the floor: 11 guys giving max effort for a full 40 minutes of game time. Everyone who stepped on the floor made the most of their minutes both offensively and on D. Creighton outrebounded what had been a superior rebounding team 42-31. Creighton shot 44% from the field against a team that hadn’t allowed a 40% shooting effort all season. Conversely, the Jays held the Flyers to 36% shooting, including a chilly 32% in the second half.

They did all this using an excellent evening of substitutions and game management by Altman. Eleven players logged minutes, and 10 played more than 10 minutes. But no single Jays was on the floor for more than 24 minutes (Cavel Witter and P’Allen Stinnett played 24 apiece). In the Gameday Pick ‘em I wrote, I touched briefly on the depth the Flyers were able to put on the floor. But Creighton’s press and substitution patterns wore out Dayton, and the Jays’ fresh legs were evident in the energy each player brought to the court.

And just as the Jays seemed to turn a corner as a team, a few individual efforts were similar in nature:

• Booker Woodfox continues to shine. In just 23 minutes of play, the efficient Texan scored 21 points (7-12 from the field; 5-8 from 3-point range). He also grabbed 4 rebounds, dished 2 assists, and served as a shoot-at-any-time-from-any-distance threat that Dayton’s defenders had to worry about all night.
  
  


• Kaleb Korver continues to look more comfortable with each passing game. In 19 minutes he hit 4-5 3-pointers for 12 points, added 5 rebounds, and slowed the game down with his patience a few times when the Jays were looking hurried.
  
  


• Casey Harriman grabbed 7 rebounds; 6 of them on the offensive glass. Pure hustle. He looked off a couple of shots to find better options for his teammates, but his intensity and effort on the boards was something that Altman and the other coaches live for. A solid 21 minutes of play.
  
  


• The lead guards. Josh Dotzler and Cavel Witter combined for 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 3 steals, and 8 rebounds. Witter had an outstanding night, especially in the second half. Things weren’t happening for him offensively in the first stanza, but he didn’t try to press the issue. Instead, he let the game come to him and ended up with 14 points in 24 minutes.
  


• The big guys. Kenny Lawson (6 points, 7 rebounds) led the way for the primary post players. It was difficult for our guards to establish any inside game against Dayton, so Justin Carter (2 points, 5 rebounds), Chad Millard (2 points, 2 rebounds), and Kenton Walker (0 points, 1 rebound) didn’t have productive evenings. But they kept their composure against a physically superior team.
  
  


• The only disappointment of the night? Dustin Sitzmann didn’t play, despite the Jays entering the final few minutes with an insurmountable lead.

Altman has many reasons to be pleased with his players’ performance against a good Dayton team. And they should have some positive momentum as they play in the Las Vegas Invitational starting this weekend. If this team has truly turned a corner, then the next couple of weeks and months should be pretty entertaining for the players and the fans alike.