While Creighton’s seed for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007 wasn’t exactly what it had hoped for, one thing is clear: it hasn’t affected the player’s focus for Friday’s game.
The Jays realize that they are facing their polar opposite in the University of Alabama, as the Crimson Tide are one of the top ranked defensive teams in the country.
Senior guard Antoine Young knows what he’s up against in this SEC team.
“We definitely have to take care of the ball,” Young said. “Their length and athleticism cause problems for a lot of teams. Their offense scores a lot of their points off of turnovers so we just have to take care of the ball each possession.”
Young isn’t completely worried about the problems that the Tide will create for Creighton however.
“We cause problems for people the same way people cause problems for us,” Young said. “It’s all about who exploits that better.”
Allowing only 58 points per game, Alabama will look to slow down Creighton’s powerful offense. This has a problem for Creighton opponents all season however.
“This is a very unselfish group,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “They’re willing to make the extra pass and as a result we have been a very efficient offensive team.”
The Jays rank first in the nation in field goal percentage and second in the nation in assists per game. Alabama meanwhile ranks 98 and 221 in the respective categories. Alabama prefers to play a slow, grind-it-out game that will force the Jays to settle for shots.
Junior center Gregory Echenique said it’s important that they are the ones who set the pace for the game.
“We’ve got to be patient,” Echenique said. “They’re a very good defensive team, but I feel like if we run our stuff and play to our pace and don’t panic, we should be able to get what we want [offensively].”
If the Jays can come out victorious against the Tide they will tie the school record for victories in a single season with 29. The 2002-2003 Kyle Korver led team holds the current record.
“[Tying the school record] would definitely be something special,” Young said. “I think our team has done some pretty special things this season and we don’t want it to end tomorrow and we’re going to play to prevent that.”