ALLY SEEVERS/THE CREIGHTONIAN
Junior Austin Swartz roars after a go-ahead three to give the Bluejays their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. The Bluejays went on to beat the Kansas City Roos, 76-61.
Omaha barely had time to turn the calendar to November before Creighton basketball was back. The Bluejays opened their season Nov. 2, the earliest start in program history, with Alan Huss facing a familiar opponent in his first game as head coach.
On Nov. 14, 1997, Huss made his collegiate debut in Creighton uniform against Kansas City, helping the Bluejays win 81-59. Nearly 29 years later, he faced the Roos from the other side of the bench. His first game as Creighton’s head coach ended with a 76-61 win at CHI Health Center Omaha.
“If you would have told me in 2001 on my senior night that I was going to be back, being able to represent Creighton again, I don’t know what I would have said. This place meant so much to me as a player and a person,” Huss said. “I knew my career was coming to an end, and it was crushing that I wasn’t going to get to put that Creighton jersey on ever again. This isn’t as good as that, nothing is, but this is about as close as you can get.”
While the opponent was familiar, the circumstances were anything but. Huss’ first game as head coach didn’t come without its challenges, as the Roos gave the Bluejays an early test.
Kansas City controlled much of the first half, building a six-point halftime lead and making Creighton look uncomfortable against its pressure. The Bluejays found their response after the break, using defensive pressure and a 17-0 run to take control.
“Clearly Kansas City was the aggressor in the first half,” Huss said. “We waited for it to happen instead of making it happen.”
The Roos established their perimeter game early. They made seven of 16 3-pointers in the first half, while Creighton made just two of 12. Kansas City led 39-33 at halftime, and the Bluejays struggled to turn rebounds into consistent offense.
Creighton’s offense also went through a stretch without a field goal. The Roos tied the game at 9:38 and took their first lead around the 8:30 mark. By the 7:47 media timeout, Creighton trailed 24-19 and had gone roughly four minutes without scoring.
Transfers Wes Enis and BJ Davis helped keep the Bluejays within reach. Still, Creighton had not found a steady rhythm, and Huss said his team’s defensive approach contributed to the problem.
“We were fake aggressive,” Huss said. “We got overextended.”
The Bluejays were pressing high without consistently protecting the gaps behind that pressure. Kansas City found room to use and reject ball screens, creating situations Creighton could not recover from. Huss said the team needed to be more disciplined about where it applied pressure.
Enis helped change the game after halftime. The senior guard scored Creighton’s first eight points of the second half, and the Bluejays began turning defensive stops into better offensive possessions. Junior Austin Swartz hit a transition 3-pointer to give Creighton a 46-44 lead, its first since early in the first half.
The defensive energy continued to build. True freshman Trevon Carter-Givens gave Creighton a lift off the bench with blocks, dunks and activity around the rim. Katrelle Harmon found him for an alley-oop, and Carter-Givens helped bring the crowd into the game.
Creighton’s decisive stretch began after the Bluejays fell behind 44-38. They scored 17 consecutive points, while Kansas City went eight minutes without a basket and committed seven straight turnovers. A steal by senior Jasen Green led to an Enis 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 59-46 with 8:52 remaining.
Huss credited the improved energy and discipline after halftime. Enis said the team had to play with more force and make its defensive effort consistent.
“We got stops, and that got our offense going,” Enis said. “We dove on the floor probably five times in the second half. We didn’t do that once in the first half.”
Carter-Givens was central to that change. He finished with six points, four blocks, a steal and a rebound in just over 15 minutes. His tip dunk off a missed shot added another jolt late in the game.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a freshman play like that in his first game ever in all the time I’ve played basketball,” Enis said.
Carter-Givens kept his own assessment simple.
“I’m just grateful they trust me,” he said. He added that getting the crowd involved helped the team get back into the game.
Enis finished with a game-high 25 points, including 17 after halftime, marking the most points scored by a newcomer in a season opener since 1917. He played 32 minutes, 34 seconds, the most of any Bluejay. Davis added 13 points, and Creighton forced 22 turnovers, which produced 21 points.
The shooting numbers also shifted sharply after the break. Creighton made seven of 16 3-pointers in the second half, while Kansas City missed all six of its attempts. The Bluejays finished nine for 28 from beyond the arc.
Huss said the team still has work to do before its defensive identity is settled. Creighton wants to pressure opponents and force turnovers, but that approach requires players to stay connected and protect the gaps when the initial pressure does not produce a mistake.
“If we’re going to play this crazy style defensively, we’ve got to force turnovers because we’re going to give them some easy baskets from time to time,” Huss said.
He also described the system as a work in progress.
“We have a basic concept, but everyone that plays this style of defense, I think, finds their own identity in it, and I think ours is yet to be fully written,” he said.
The opener also brought Huss back to a program that shaped his playing career. Former Creighton coach Greg McDermott watched from behind the team bench Monday and gave Huss a hug before the game. Huss said McDermott had supported him throughout the process.
“He’s an elite basketball coach, but his emotional intelligence and understanding of basic human psychology probably supersedes his ability to coach basketball,” Huss said. “He knows when to stick his nose in there and when to kind of fade to the back, and he’s always there.”
Creighton returns to the court against Le Moyne on Thursday before heading to Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State on Tuesday at 8 p.m.