No. 12 UConn Huskies No. 21 Creighton Bluejays
22-5 (14-0) 21-3 (12-2)
Date: Monday, February 19th, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM
Where: XL Center
Hartford, Connecticut
TV: Fox
0
CREIGHTON | UCONN LEADS 8-0
H: 4-0 | A: 4-0 | N: 0-0
11/23/14 #1 UConn 96, Creighton 60 Storrs, Conn.
12/17/20 #3 UConn 80, Creighton 47 Storrs, Conn.
02/25/21 #1 UConn 81, Creighton 49 Omaha, Neb.
01/09/22 #9 UConn 63, Creighton 55 Storrs, Conn.
02/02/21 #10 UConn 76, Creighton 56 Omaha, Neb.
12/28/22 #8 UConn 72, #21 Creighton 47 Omaha, Neb.
02/15/23 #6 UConn 62, Creighton 60 Storrs, Conn.
01/01/24 #12 UConn 94, Creighton 50 Omaha, Neb.
Creighton
Creighton has been a great representative of the Big East, consistently in the Top 25 and they are still there so far this season at No. 20.
Their season started well with two easy wins against weak opponents winning 75-52 over North Dakota State and 81-55 over South Dakota. A bump in the road occured in their next game, a 65-53 loss to Green Bay. That bumped them out of the Top 25 into the "receiving votes' group.
They then beat three power-5 teams, Nebraska 79-74, Georgia Tech 57-46, and Michigan State 83-69. The next game was a blowout of Northern Iowa 115-62. This brought them back into the Top 25 at No. 22.
They then beat Wyoming 73-61 in the lead up to their big Big East game against Marquette moved them to No. 20 in the AP Poll. . In a tough loss, the Bluejay's did their best but lost 76-70. They only dropped one spot to No. 21.
In their three games before meeting the Huskies in the first match up they beat Drake 89-78, South Dakota State 58-46 and then fellow Big East team St. John's 67-56.
UConn handed Creighton an embarrassing loss, losing 94-50 in their second Big East loss. But since then they have ripped off 11 straight conference wins beating mostly the weaker Big East teams.
They did get their rematch with Marquette, their only other Big East loss, beating the Golden Eagles 76-71. They beat up on St. John's 71-51 in their last game before the UConn rematch. No doubt they are the second best team in the conference.
It's been a great season so far for the Bluejays. Some good wins, some games that were closer than expected. Their best win has been against Marquette not exactly a signature win for them.
Comparative Team Statistics
(leader in bold)
UConn Creighton
82.1 PPG 74.1
58.6 Defensive PPG 62.0
23.5 Scoring Margin 12.1
50.7 Field Goal % 44.8
36.7 Defensive FG% 39.7
38.0 Three Point % 35.8
29.5 Defensive 3PT% 29.7
74.5 Free Throw % 82.0
38.3 Rebounds/game 36.3
6.1 Rebounding Margin 2.2
20.3 Assists per game 17.9
13.0 Turnover per game 11.2
1.6 Assists/TO ratio 1.8
10.2 Steals per game 6.8
3.6 Blocks per game 3.8
UCONN
The player and coaches names for both teams
are clickable to see their Bios
are clickable to see their Bios
UConn Starters
UConn Injuries
OUT FOR THE SEASON
Neck and Head issues
ACL
Achilles Injury
Creighton Starters
Creighton Bench
Game Analysis
Creighton has a senior filled lineup. Five senior starters, one senior off the bench and two sophomores will get all the minutes. If the game is close the starters will get the majority of them. In the first matchup UConn got out to a double digit lead early and built on that. They usually go eight deep, with the three off the bench not adding much to the box score. Two more added minutes in the blowout. Unlike many Creighton teams of the past, who spread around the minutes and the points pretty evenly between their players, this year is really top heavy with Ronsiek, Maley and Jenson. Their players used to live by the mantra "Depth is our strength". That is really not true this year. The second five off the bench don't contribute much.
Leading scorer is 6'1" senior forward Emma Ronsiek who is averaging 18.1 PPG. She is a solid three point shooter at 35.4%. And she is 96-109 from the free thow line for 88.1%. Also second in rebounding at 5.8 per game. She leads the team in blocked shots. In the first match up she played only 27 minutes going 3-11 from the field, 0-3 on threes and scored a team high 13 points but grabbed only 1 rebound. She had 4 turnovers in the game.
5'10" senior guard Lauren Jensen is the second leading scorer averaging 17.2 PPG. Last year she led the Bluejays in scoring at 16.1. She has had an off season in shooting at only 45.2% and doing well shooting 37.5% on threes. She does take care of the ball with 77 assists and only 49 turnovers. To continue the theme, she is shooting 50-56 on free throws for 89.3%. Jenson was the only other double digit scorer in the first matchup with 12 points. She played 28 minutes going 5-13 from the field, 2-6 on threes, with a steal and a block.
6'1" Senior Morgan Maly is the third and last double digit scorer averaging 14.9 PPG. She is shooting 41.7% from the field and while she has taken the most three point shots she is only shooting then at 33.1%. She leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 RPG. And she is 39-41 on free throw. Yes, 95.1%. In the first matchup she played 25 minutes scoring only 7 points. She was 3-8 from the field and 1-4 on threes.
After these three, the production really drops. They take 66.4% of the shots, 64.5% of the threes. 68.6% of the free throws, and 67.1% of the points.
5'7" guard senior Molly Morensen averages 7.3 PPG and is a very good three point shooter at 41%. However, she only takes a litte more than 2 per game. She leads the team in assists with 103 and only has 50 turnovers. She doesn't get to the line much but is 21-27. In the first matchup she played 32 minutes scoring 5 points, handing out 4 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds.
6' senior forward Mallory Brake is the only new player in the starting lineup. She leads the team in steals with 43. She is only averaging 4.5 PPG. She doesn't take a lot of shots but is over 50% from the field. She didn't get much time in the first matchup. She played 14 minutes and was scoreless. She did get 1 rebond and 2 steals.
5'10" Sophomore Kennedy Townson only plays 15 MPG, but is a good three point shooter in her limited time on the court. She is averaging 4.7 PPG and shooting a solid 47.9% on threes. She played 16 minutes in the first match up and was scoreless.
5'10" senior guard Jayme Horan and 5'8" sophomore guard Kiani Lockett are mostly there to give the starters a blow. I'm not sure how much time they will see in this game but it won't be much.
So, how does this year's version of the Bluejays match up with this years UConn team? Geno mentioned how similar they are to Marquette in size and style. So the preparation for the Bluejays is also similar.
On offense Creighton likes to pass the ball around the perimeter looking for an open three. They drive to the hoop, looking for the kickout for an open three as well. Players are also constantly running through the lane, screening and looking for open spaces. The Bluejays will occasionally make the pass into the lane if the cutting player is open. Fourty-four percent of their shots are three pointers. They are not shooting them as well this season so far at 35.2% but still a very dangerous team from the arc.
Their other method of scoring is off the fast break and they do run well when they get the chance. Defensively I didn't see any pressing, even after a made basket. However, I expect Creighton to press some if they can make a decent percentage of their shots.
Creighton is strickly a man-man teams with plenty of switches. They will double in the post and they have to because of their lack of size. And their lack of size puts them at a real disadvantage in this game. They are even smaller than Marquette.
UConn is going to use the same pressure defense hoping to turn defense into offense. That is not easy as Creighton is a very good ball handling team. However UConn turned them over 9 times in the first matchup.
Prediction
Based on the first game, you'd think this would be an easy call. They beat Creighton by 44 points in the first match up. It was never a game. And this was on the Bluejays' home court. However, Creiighton is not as bad as they played in the first match up. And somehow I think this game will be a little closer.
I'm looking for a revived Ice Brady to continue her good play against the smaller Bluejays. Bu it will be a total team effort that rules the day.
UConn by 25+
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