Preview:
Creighton is a private Catholic university in Omaha with about 5000 undergraduates, and they play in the Big East along with UConn, DePaul, St. Johns, etc. They are ranked 16th in both the AP and Coaches poll, 22 by Massey and 19 in NET. Creighton is 8-2 having just dropped a game Saturday to #21 Arkansas. They have beaten South Dakota State, Nebraska, and Villanova--all three were ranked at the time.
They are coached by Jim Flanery, in his 21st year and with 379 wins, including 5 trips to the NCAAs, including last year. Last year they won three games in the tournament before South Carolina finally snuffed them out in the elite 8.
In short, this is a serious team with a unique style of play that consistently brings them great success. Last year they played UConn tight in their first game, ultimately losing by 10.
At today's Tennessee chalk talk, Katy told us a little bit about Creighton. They play a lot of 5-out fluid basketball with a lot of improvisation which is difficult to predict. To me, they sound like a better version of Florida Gulf Coast, who we played in Hawaii, and who gave us a bit of trouble.
Creighton has played 10 different players this year, all 10 have attempted three point shots, although only 6 in any number and only 4 in volume. If I just count those with 10 attempts, 6 out of 7 are shooting above 300 and 3 of them are shooting above 400. In short, this is a three point shooting team extraordinaire. That said, about 2/3 of their shots are NOT from three point range, which leads me to think that they shoot the trey when the defense sags and drive when the defense plays close. FGCU should be excellent preparation for them.
Also interesting about Creighton is that their assists are widely distributed. Eight players have double digit assists and three have more than 25. It makes me think their offense is constantly churning in motion as interchangeable cogs.
Creighton has 4 players averaging about 10 points or more.
The leader, coming in at 18ppg, is 6'1" junior guard/forward Morgan Maly. Maly is shooting .485 overall, .328 from three, and 90% (in volume) from the free throw line.
At only one point less at 17ppg is Laura Jensen, a 5'8" guard shooting .444 and .317 from three. Jensen was a transfer from Iowa to Creighton a year ago, and she hit the last second three point shot to lead 10 seed Creighton over 2 seed Iowa in the NCAAs last year, knocking her old team out.
Next at 12ppg is Emma Ronsiak, a 6'1" junior forward shooting .387 and .359 from three.
I'll stop with a 4th starter, Molly Mogensen, a 5'7" junior guard shooting .441 from three and leading the team with 35 assists.
Sadly, I cannot find any game of Creighton's on ESPN replay to watch, other than the ESPN+ games that cost extra, so I can't comment much more than the above. Based on the stats and the highlights (below) what we will see is Creighton starting the halfcourt offense with 5 players on the three point line, then different players streaking the the basket either to collect layups or to draw defenders away from the perimeter. With lots of assists and lots of layups they force teams into choosing whether to guard the paint which leaves the three point shots open, or guard the perimeter which leaves them free to pass and cut to the basket.
I was able to find these highlights from their loss to St. John's a couple of weeks ago, and their loss to Arkansas Saturday. It gives an idea of their style of play:
Creighton Women's Basketball 12-4-22 - YouTube
Creighton Women's Basketball Highlights vs. Arkansas 12/17/22 - YouTube
And their recent win over Drake:
Creighton Women's Basketball Highlights vs. Drake, 12/10/22 - YouTube
Creighton is a private Catholic university in Omaha with about 5000 undergraduates, and they play in the Big East along with UConn, DePaul, St. Johns, etc. They are ranked 16th in both the AP and Coaches poll, 22 by Massey and 19 in NET. Creighton is 8-2 having just dropped a game Saturday to #21 Arkansas. They have beaten South Dakota State, Nebraska, and Villanova--all three were ranked at the time.
They are coached by Jim Flanery, in his 21st year and with 379 wins, including 5 trips to the NCAAs, including last year. Last year they won three games in the tournament before South Carolina finally snuffed them out in the elite 8.
In short, this is a serious team with a unique style of play that consistently brings them great success. Last year they played UConn tight in their first game, ultimately losing by 10.
At today's Tennessee chalk talk, Katy told us a little bit about Creighton. They play a lot of 5-out fluid basketball with a lot of improvisation which is difficult to predict. To me, they sound like a better version of Florida Gulf Coast, who we played in Hawaii, and who gave us a bit of trouble.
Creighton has played 10 different players this year, all 10 have attempted three point shots, although only 6 in any number and only 4 in volume. If I just count those with 10 attempts, 6 out of 7 are shooting above 300 and 3 of them are shooting above 400. In short, this is a three point shooting team extraordinaire. That said, about 2/3 of their shots are NOT from three point range, which leads me to think that they shoot the trey when the defense sags and drive when the defense plays close. FGCU should be excellent preparation for them.
Also interesting about Creighton is that their assists are widely distributed. Eight players have double digit assists and three have more than 25. It makes me think their offense is constantly churning in motion as interchangeable cogs.
Creighton has 4 players averaging about 10 points or more.
The leader, coming in at 18ppg, is 6'1" junior guard/forward Morgan Maly. Maly is shooting .485 overall, .328 from three, and 90% (in volume) from the free throw line.
At only one point less at 17ppg is Laura Jensen, a 5'8" guard shooting .444 and .317 from three. Jensen was a transfer from Iowa to Creighton a year ago, and she hit the last second three point shot to lead 10 seed Creighton over 2 seed Iowa in the NCAAs last year, knocking her old team out.
Next at 12ppg is Emma Ronsiak, a 6'1" junior forward shooting .387 and .359 from three.
I'll stop with a 4th starter, Molly Mogensen, a 5'7" junior guard shooting .441 from three and leading the team with 35 assists.
Sadly, I cannot find any game of Creighton's on ESPN replay to watch, other than the ESPN+ games that cost extra, so I can't comment much more than the above. Based on the stats and the highlights (below) what we will see is Creighton starting the halfcourt offense with 5 players on the three point line, then different players streaking the the basket either to collect layups or to draw defenders away from the perimeter. With lots of assists and lots of layups they force teams into choosing whether to guard the paint which leaves the three point shots open, or guard the perimeter which leaves them free to pass and cut to the basket.
I was able to find these highlights from their loss to St. John's a couple of weeks ago, and their loss to Arkansas Saturday. It gives an idea of their style of play:
Creighton Women's Basketball 12-4-22 - YouTube
Creighton Women's Basketball Highlights vs. Arkansas 12/17/22 - YouTube
And their recent win over Drake:
Creighton Women's Basketball Highlights vs. Drake, 12/10/22 - YouTube