by gofriars08 » Wed Jan 13, 2016 10:53 am
Creighton had all the chances in the world but could do nothing with them. The middle 20 minutes of the game (last 10 of first half, first 10 of second half), PC was committing dumb turnovers and had to sit Bentil and Bullock most of the time. They were playing their SF at center and yet Creighton couldn't do anything to take advantage.
The difference, even with his poor shooting, during that stretch was Dunn. He put the clamps on Watson, who is the only guy who can actually create on that Creighton team. Yes, the Creighton guys missed some open jumpers, but so did PC - Lindsey and Fazekas missed about 6 corner threes. The difference was that Creighton really, really struggled to finish over the length of PC.
It'll be a fun one to watch in Providence later this year. Creighton has that size advantage but I think they struggled to figure out how to utilize it effectively with Dunn pressuring Watson so heavily. I would guess (a) both teams shoot a lot better next time and (b) Creighton finds a way to exploit those interior mismatches a bit better.
PC is a very matchup driven team. I like their chances against any team that can't throw a bunch of size at them up front - teams like SJU, Seton Hall, Butler, and even Nova (they really only have Ochefu down low). However, Xavier, Marquette and Creighton are bad matchups thanks to the fact that they have a bunch of burly guys in the paint.