When will the times be officially announced?
On paper, this is the best possible matchup for Akron I think. No matter who were playing, we knew we were going to have to make our shots. So with that factor being a given, here is why I love this matchup...
- Creighton is only 6-7 deep. They have 4 guys that play 30+ minutes, 2 guys that play 21-22 minutes, and another that is 9.8 minutes per game. In terms of production, they're even more thin, with 3 guys averaging 17-18 ppg, another averaging 10.7 ppg, and then the next closest is 5.7 ppg.
- They're top producer is a 6'7" "guard" named Baylor Scheierman. 18.4 PPG, 9(!) RPG, an 86.8% FT shooter, 37.2% 3P shooter, and 44.8% overall from the field. Ali Ali will most likely be on him. Not sure you can stop him, but slowing him down is going to be required.
- Creighton is 177th in the country in possessions per game, and only 1.5 possessions more per game than Akron. We're not going to get ran out of the gym with pace; the only way we get blown out is if we don't hit our shots, meaning there's a decent chance we're in the game start to finish.
- Creighton is 94th in the country in opponent points against at 69.7. Akron is 30th in the country at 66.8. Regardless of the competition level, defense travels. This will be a strong defensive matchup overall.
- Creighton's guards, outside of Scheierman, are 6'3" or shorter. We have the height advantage in the backcourt, and I don't believe they have any quick, shifty guards that can give us fits like Santiago, Sullinger, or Jaylin Hunter. Tribble staying out of foul trouble will be a massive factor.
- Creighton has the height advantage in the front court with their center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, being 7'1" and their other 2 semi-contributing forwards (Mason Miller and Isaac Traudt) being 6'9" and 6'10" respectively. I don't know Kalkbrenner's game, but against Freeman, bigger isn't always better with how quick Enrique's moves are.
If we don't make our shots, none of this will matter; we'll get blown out. If we make our shots, game on.