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UND (1-0) @ #9 Creighton (1-0) 11/10 8 PM


SWSiouxMN

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UND started the season off on the right foot, getting a road win against Incarnate Word.  Now they hit the road once again, heading down to Omaha to take on the 9th ranked Creighton Blue Jays

About Creighton:

When you think of Creighton, you think of a problem that has been a top team in the Big East, very well coached, and a perennial team in the NCAA tournament.

However, the one thing that has been lacking has been a deep run in March.  

This year... there is many in Omaha that believe that this is the year. Some National Pundits have the Bluejays as a darkhorse team to make the Final 4 this year.  

The reason:  They have a great group of players coming back with Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Kalkbrenner leading the way.  Oh, and an old friend from SDSU: Baylor Schiereman, decided to take his talents down I-29 to Omaha to join the Bluejays.

This is a stacked offensive team but... can they play the defense to back it up.  It helps to have a 7 footer in the frontcourt but can the rest of the team match it.   If they do... there is no reason why they can't be one of the last 4 teams standing.

About the Coach: Greg McDermott (556-332 overall record, 276-137 at Creighton).

An old coaching friend will be on the opposing sidelines as fomer UND assisant coach Greg McDermott begins his 13th season at Creighton, with stops at UNI and Iowa State along the way.  He has lead Creighton to the NCAA tournament 9 times in 13 years, but is missing that 1 deep March top to put the cherry on top of a long and successful coaching career.  Is this the year it happens?

Key Player: Arthur Kaluma (6'7" Sophomore Forward)

The Sophomore from Glendale has an NBA body and can attack the basket.  His shot and his defense is preventing him from being a potential lottery pick in the NBA draft.  Will be a very tough defensive assignment for anybody on UNDs roster. 

The Numbers on Creighton

2022-23 Adjusted Offense: 105.6 Adjusted Defense: 89.4

2021-22 Adjusted Offense: 104.8, Adjusted Defense: 92.1 

Questions:

1) Can the defense continue to get better?

2) Can anyone outside of Norman consistenly hit an outside shot?

3) How do Omot and Brooks handle the bright lights?

4) How does the frontcourt handle the 7 footer?

The Call:

Creighton will want to come out and take UND down right away to reestablish themselves as a top 10 team in the nation.  UND is going to have their hands full on this one and if they are going to pull a shocker, they are going to have to hit shots and play great defense.  I think UND will keep it interesting in the first half before the Bluejays get their act together.

Creighton 81-62

Game is on FS1

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I will be at this game as I am also a Creighton fan! Super excited to watch it in person! I think Creighton had a wake up call against St. Thomas that they can’t just walk into these non-conference games and think they will win. They will come out on all cylinders to start the game. This will be a very tough matchup for UND but I’m excited to see how the freshman react on the big stage! 

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5 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

I want to see some growth, especially on the defensive side of the basketball. 

 

This will be a big test for the guards and wing defenders. I’m afraid we are out-sized on the inside now matter what we try do. Kalkbrenner has significant height advantage and then Kaluma is a strong athletic NBA prospect… going to be tough inside

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