No. 6 UConn Huskies No. 21 Creighton Bluejays
18-2 (9-0) 16-3 (8-0)
Date: Saturday, January 25th, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM
Where: CHI Health Center
Omaha, Nebraska
TV: Fox
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CREIGHTON | UCONN LEADS 9-0
H: 5-0 | 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
1/3/24 #12 UConn 90, Creighton 54 Omaha, Neb.
02/19/24 #15 UConn 73, Creighton 53 Storrs, Conn
Creighton Season to Date
Creighton has been a great representative of the Big East, many times in the Top 25. They started the seasonat No. 21. After an early season loss in their first game to South Dakota State 76-71, the Bluejays dropped out of the poll. They also lost to at the time No. 10 Kansas State 86-68. They used an 8 game winning streak starting with a win over at the time No. 21 Nebraska 80-74 to return to and hang around in the "receiving votes" area. But after the big loss to No. 1 UCLA 70-41 they dropped out of sight.
The Bluejays immediately went on another winning streak, seven games, all in the conference before the upcoming UConn game. They beat St. John's 75-56, Butler twice 68-64 and 63-52, Providence 60-46, Marquette 71-68, Seton Hall 72-64 and DePaul 92-71.
Right now they are only two spots outside the top 25 poll.
Comparative Team Statistics
(leader in bold)
UConn Creighton
80.5 PPG 74.0
50.5 Defensive PPG 64.1
29.6 Scoring Margin 9.9
51.8 Field Goal % 45.6
34.9 Defensive FG% 43.1
37.1 Three Point % 37.1
30.1 Defensive 3PT% 30.9
71.8 Free Throw % 79.9
36.5 Rebounds/game 32.6
6.1 Rebounding Margin -2.4
21.7 Assists per game 17.1
10.8 Turnover per game 11.1
2.0 Assists/TO ratio 1.6
11.3 Steals per game 7.6
3.3 Blocks per game 2.7
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
(In order of expected return)
Creighton Starters
Game Analysis
Creighton has an incredibly experienced lineup. They have 7 returning players in their rotation of 7 players. Yes, everyone is back except one player. That is one huge loss. Second leading scorer from last year 6'1" forward Emma Ronsiek has transferred to Colorado State.
They really haven't replaced her in the rotation as they only go seven deep as opposed to last year when they went eight deep with Ronsiek. The two off the bench will not add much to the box score. 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 Morgan Maley and Lauren Jenson. Their players used to live by the mantra "Depth is our strength". That is really not true this year.
6'1" Senior (this is her Covid season) guard/forward Morgan Maly is the leading scorer averaging 17.9 PPG. Playing 29.6 MPG she is shooting 50.9% from the field and has taken the most three point shots with 103 and shooting then at blazing hot 47.5%. She leads the team in rebounding at 5.3 RPG. She is 36-41 on free throws.
5'10" Senior (also her Covid season) guard Lauren Jensen is playing 33.8 MPG, She is averaging 17.7 PPG. Last year she led the Bluejays in scoring. She has had an off season in shooting at only 45.1% but her 38.2% on threes is solid. She does take care of the ball leading the team with 79 assists and only 41 turnovers. To continue the theme, she is shooting 37-40 on free throws for 92.5%.
5'7" Grad Student guard Molly Morensen averages 9.1 PPG in 29.1 MPG. She is a very good three point shooter at 38.5%. However, she only takes around 3 per game. She is second on the team in assists with 75 and only has 31 turnovers. She doesn't get to the line much but is 22-25.
6' Grad Student forward Mallory Brake PLaing 28.5 MPG, she leads the team in steals with 32. To put that in perspective, UConn has 4 players with 31 or more. She is only averaging 5.1 PPG and 4.3 RPG. A good ball handler she has 37 assists and 16 turnovers. She is also second in blocks with 15.
5'8" Junior guard Kiani Lockett is playing 29.1 MPG. She is the only new player in the starting lineup. Fourth on the team in scoring at 6.8 PPG she is one of the few poor three point shooters going 10-35 for 28.6%.
Off the bench 5'10" Junior Kennedy Townson only plays 19.7 MPG, and is a good three point shooter in her limited time on the court. She is averaging 6.4 PPG and shooting a solid 21-56 for 37.5% on threes.
5'10" grad student guard Jayme Horan gets the least minutes in the rotation at 15.5 MPG. She on shooting 31.5% on threes and averaging 4.8 PPG.
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.
This is a typical Bluejay 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-one percent of their shots are three pointers. They are shooting them as well this season so far at 37.1% same as UConn and are 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. This could be the difference in a close game or a blowout.
Prediction
You'd think the home court for Creighton would be a difference make but looking at last year's scores, it doesn't help the Bluejays. They were blown out last year 94-50 in Omaha. And back in Storrs in the second game betweem them it was closer with the Huskies winning 73-53. For this game they moved to the larger arena. I'm not sure anyone on this Creighton team has ever players there. So I'm not sure what advantage it will be. New rims, new line of site to the basket. If there is a large audience, maybe that will inspire the Bluejays. Or intimidate them.
I really like how this version of the Huskies are playing and I'm not convinced that Creighton is any better than last season. Probably worse. If Creighton gets hot from deep it could be a close game. Their only chance is outscoring UConn in a shoot out. That is a recipe for a blowout. Unless the Huskies go stone cold dead from the outside, I don't think the Bluejays have a shot to make a game of it.
In spite of Massey having it an 11 points game, I see UConn by 27+.
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