Central Arkansas vs. Creighton game recap: Bluejays take care of business

Perhaps life after Doug McDermott won't be so bad after all.

The Creighton Bluejays took the floor at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Friday night and for the first time in five years, Doug McDermott was not in uniform. That didn't seem to faze anyone on the Bluejay roster though as Creighton would go on to soundly defeat Central Arkansas by the tally of 104-77.

Everyone seemed to lending a helping hand in this game, as six members of the Creighton roster got into double figures on the night. They were led by the play of Rick Kreklow, a transfer from California who also played at Missouri at one time, as he would score 18 points and shoot 50.0 percent off 10 field goal attempts.

Elsewhere, the Jays were led by the play of Isaiah Zierden who had 16 points after one half of play. Newcomer James Milliken, a JUCO transfer who sat out last season, added 13 points of his own and was a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.

Austin Chatman, Devin Brooks, and Will Artino were the other three players who had 10+ points on the night.

The Creighton offense seems to be just fine, and they seemed to be fine on the defensive side of the ball, too. Although it was lowly Central Arkansas that they squared up with on Friday night, the Bluejays limited the Bears to a field goal percentage of 43.8 percent, and 36.8 percent along the perimeter. Another eye-popper was on the rebounding end where Creighton bested their opponent 39-22.

Creighton gets a crack at another light heavyweight opponent this Sunday when they take on Chicago State, but the real early test for this offense will be against Oklahoma, who was one of the best offensive teams in the nation a season ago. They'll be led by Buddy Hield, an outstanding player who flies under the radar in the loaded Big 12 Conference.

If both offenses are up to form in that contest, expect it to be nothing less than a shootout.