Big East Coast Bias - Creighton vs. Chicago StateWhere our expanding tentacles stretch from coast to coasthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51653/becb-fav.png2013-12-29T23:35:27-05:00http://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/rss/stream/50156952013-12-29T23:35:27-05:002013-12-29T23:35:27-05:00Creighton breezes by final non-conference test
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<figcaption>Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Creighton's tune up game against Chicago State was a rip-roaring success. The Bluejays were sensational behind the arc, and Doug McDermott joined an elite club. </p> <p>With 15:11 left in the 1st half, Creighton forward <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123401/doug-mcdermott" class="sbn-auto-link">Doug McDermott</a> launched a 3-point attempt. Once the ball swished through the net, the senior from Ames, Ia. landed into the history books.</p>
<p>With that 3-pointer, 13th point of the night at that point int he game, McDermott became the 64th member of the 2,500 points club. He joins a host of terrific players from years past to achieve this mark. It is just another accolade added to an already terrific career in Omaha.</p>
<p>McDermott's 24 points, six rebounds and four assists helped pave the way for Creighton's 10th victory of the season. The Bluejays picked up the tally, beating the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/chicago-st-cougars" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago St. Cougars</a> to the tune of 90-58.</p>
<p>Not only did Creighton's superstar flourish. The Bluejays were sensational from the perimeter Sunday evening. The ninth best 3-point shooting team in the country threw down a barrage from the arc, going 16-25, totaling 64.0 percent from the arc. Five different Bluejays scored on 3-point attempts, with <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100577/ethan-wragge" class="sbn-auto-link">Ethan Wragge</a> and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123402/jahenns-manigat" class="sbn-auto-link">Jahenns Manigat</a> leading the way with five each.</p>
<p>Wragge, Manigat and Doug McDermott represented the Bluejays who found themselves in double figures against the Cougars. Both Wragge and Manigat finished their nights with 15 points. Freshman <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/229157/zach-hanson" class="sbn-auto-link">Zach Hanson</a> surprised many with his nine points and 100.0 FG% on his four attempts, just a point shy of making it four Bluejays in double figures.</p>
<p>The Chicago State Cougars were very good in their own right from the 3-point line as well. They shot 41.7 percent on 24 attempts, with <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/175263/quinton-pippen" class="sbn-auto-link">Quinton Pippen</a> leading the way with four made threes. Pippen, the nephew of NBA great Scottie Pippen, finished the night with 13 points, just a point shy of Clarke Rosenberg's team-high 14 points.</p>
<p>On tap for the Bluejays is their first ever BIG EAST Conference game. They will tip off against the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/marquette-golden-eagles" class="sbn-auto-link">Marquette Golden Eagles</a> at 10:00 p.m. ET on New Year's Eve. The game will be televised on FOX Sports 1, as the nation will watch Creighton finally jump into the big time.</p>
<h3>Grading the Bluejays</h3>
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<td>Doug McDermott</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>A terrific night for McDermott in a long list of them. He did cool down a bit in the second half but his efforts cannot go unnoticed. He will definitely be the torch bearer for Creighton going forward.</td>
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<td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145236/austin-chatman" class="sbn-auto-link">Austin Chatman</a></td>
<td>B</td>
<td>Very good effort from Chatman. While he did not necessarily score much (just two points) he added five rebounds and five assists. The distributor of the offense will have to keep this stretch of play going into conference season.</td>
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<td>Jahenns Manigat</td>
<td>B+</td>
<td>Manigat has been catching fire as of late and Sunday night's game was no different. Manigat scored 15 points, all attained from the 3-point line and collected four rebounds and two assists elsewhere.</td>
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<td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53820/grant-gibbs" class="sbn-auto-link">Grant Gibbs</a></td>
<td>B</td>
<td>In 17 minutes, Grant Gibbs six points, three rebounds and five assists. His foul total (4) was somewhat disconcerting but in the end, this was par for the course for Gibbs.</td>
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<td>Ethan Wragge</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>Whatever questions about Wragge's efficiency lately were quickly thrown aside after Sunday night's performance. Wragge scored all 15 of his points from deep, going 5-6 (83.3%). If he gets going in conference play, look out.</td>
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<td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123404/will-artino" class="sbn-auto-link">Will Artino</a></td>
<td>B-</td>
<td>Once again, Artino had a good night coming off of the bench. He picked up five points and three rebounds in 12 minutes, and made all three of his attempts from the FT line.</td>
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<td>Zach Hanson</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>Are you kidding me? Terrific performance for the youngster against the Cougars. 4-for-4, a season-high nine points, and two rebounds in just nine minutes? That is an A-worthy performance.</td>
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<td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/229143/devin-brooks" class="sbn-auto-link">Devin Brooks</a></td>
<td>C+</td>
<td>Brooks only scored four points and came away with one assist, but there does seem to still be a lot of confidence in the JUCO transfer. He played 16 minutes of action and was solid enough to attain those minutes. Still, you'd like to see more from him given the flashes he's seen. We will see how he adjusts to conference play.</td>
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<td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/177093/isaiah-zierden" class="sbn-auto-link">Isaiah Zierden</a></td>
<td>C+/B-</td>
<td>A decent night for Zierden who played 14 minutes and scored five points. Those of which included a trip to the free throw line where he made both attempts. Nothing world-beating, however, and the record will show that. A very nice night, though.</td>
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<td>Greg McDermott</td>
<td>A-</td>
<td>A very good game for Greg McDermott whose rotations still appear to be working. The 3-point defense was a bit concerning, but we will see if he can continue his prowess when Creighton steps into the big leagues starting Tuesday night.</td>
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https://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2013/12/29/5255458/game-recap-creighton-90-chicago-state-58Christopher Novak2013-12-29T08:00:03-05:002013-12-29T08:00:03-05:00Game Preview: Creighton vs. Chicago State
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<figcaption>Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Before their first ever BIG EAST Conference game, Creighton will get out their jitters against Chicago State on Sunday evening. For the Bluejays' sake, it would behoove them to not get caught looking ahead. </p> <p><b>Teams: </b>Creighton (9-2) vs. Chicago State (5-7)</p>
<p><b>Day: </b>Sunday, Dec. 29</p>
<p><b>Time: </b>5:07 PM ET</p>
<p><b>Location: </b>CenturyLink Center Omaha; Omaha, Neb.</p>
<p><b>TV: </b>FOX Sports 1</p>
<p><b>Radio: </b>1620 KZON-AM (Creighton)</p>
<h4>Creighton Storylines</h4>
<p>Creighton superstar forward <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123401/doug-mcdermott">Doug McDermott</a> is on the cusp of joining elite company in this upcoming contest. He is 11 points away from joining the 2,500 points club, which would make him the 64th entry into that club. Several of those names include <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/28248/jimmer-fredette">Jimmer Fredette</a>, Elgin Baylor, J.J. Redick, Allan Houston, Larry Bird and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/25624/tyler-hansbrough">Tyler Hansbrough</a> just to name a few. McDermott is also looking to continue his terrific stretch of play that he has been on as of late. In 10 of 11 games played this season, McDermott has notched 20 points or more, and going back to last season, he has etched that mark 17 of the last 19 times he's hit the floor. It goes without saying that he is one of the elite scorers in the country andit would be take a relentless defensive effort from Chicago St. to keep him down.</p>
<p>The Bluejays are steadily rising as one of the top offenses in all of college basketball. They rank in the amongst the elite in both baseline statistics and in advanced metrics as well. They rank 27th in points per game with 82.3, fifth in assists per game with 18.4, and 34th in FG% shooting 48.7 percent on the season from the field. Delving further, they are scoring 118.2 points per 100 possessions, possess an Effective FG% of 58.2 and as a team shoot 42.1 percent from the 3-point line. Those marks rank 4th, 3rd, and 10th respectively. On any given night the Bluejays can score at will, and lately they have been matched up with teams that simply cannot keep up with their pace. They will have to rebound after a tough shooting performance against California last Sunday, where they only shot 31.8 percent from the 3-point line and 44.6 percent from the field.</p>
<h4>Chicago State Storylines</h4>
<p>The Chicago State Cougars suffered their worst loss of the season last Monday. Against Cincinnati, the Bearcats trounced the Cougars 102-62 at the Fifth Third Arena. One of the big factors in this loss was the fact that the Cougars were abysmal in the rebounding department. Cincinnati had a rebounding margin of 48, outpacing Chicago State 69-21 in that phase of the game. The margin was a school record for the Bearcats. To the Cougars' delight, Creighton is hanging right around the Division-1 average in Off. Rebounding%, ranking 192nd with a percentage of 30.9. Chicago State should not expect to be outpaced by that much, but it will be interesting to see how they can bounce back from such a disappointing performance .</p>
<p>When it comes to offense, Chicago State gets the most output from senior <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/175263/quinton-pippen">Quinton Pippen</a>. If the last name strikes you as familiar, it should. Quinton is the nephew of NBA legend Scottie Pippen. Pippen is scoring a team high 14.7 points per game in an average of 30.0 minutes per game. Pippen is doing his best work this season right at the rim. 17.2 percent of his shots are being taken at the rim, and he is converting 64.0 percent of those attempts. In terms of efficiency, there is certainly a large room for improvement. His TS% is only 50.4 percent and his eFG% is just 47.2. With that said however, expect the offense to run through Quinton Pippen and for Creighton to key on him for most of the game.</p>
<h4>X-Factors</h4>
<p>Lately, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123404/will-artino">Will Artino</a> has done an excellent job of collecting minutes off of the bench and contributing offensively. Since he was removed from the starting lineup for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100577/ethan-wragge">Ethan Wragge</a>, Artino has responded very well. The sophomore big man has scored an average of 7.8 points and collected an average of 4.3 rebounds in the four games in which he has come off the bench. He is learning his new role after Greg McDermott decided to go with a predominantly small lineup and he is adding a boost to the second unit of the Bluejays. We will see if he can continue that success against the Cougars.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/145195/clarke-rosenberg">Clarke Rosenberg</a>, a 6'3 junior, has been a very significant contributor for the Cougars through their first 12 games. Not only has he been dynamite from the free throw line, converting 80.4 percent of his 46 attempts, he has also been one of the Cougars' best 3-point shooters. On 28 attempts this season, he has converted 12 of them, making for a mark of 42.9 percent. If Rosenberg gets hot from beyond the arc, he could give the boost the Cougars could need to put a scare into the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/creighton-bluejays">Creighton Bluejays</a>.</p>
<h4>Four Factors</h4>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Factor</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Creighton</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Chicago State</b></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Effective FG%</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>58.2</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>46.8</b></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Turnover%</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>15.7</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>17.6</b></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Off. Rebounding%</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>30.9</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>28.1</b></td>
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<td style="text-align: center;"><b>FTA/FGA</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>34.9</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>33.3</b></td>
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<h4>The Prediction</h4>
<p>Is this a classic case of getting caught napping? All things considered, it could very well be. The Creighton BLuejays will take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/marquette-golden-eagles">Marquette Golden Eagles</a> on New Year's Eve, but two days before that, they host these Chicago State Cougars. While stats seem to indicate that the Cougars are not one of the better teams in the nation, they have given a lot of very solid teams runs for their money. This could perhaps be an indicator of things to come in this game. Greg McDermott will have to do a very good job of coaching his team up so that they do not fall into a trap in this game. With that said, talent should eventually prevail.</p>
<p><b>Creighton </b>81 <b>Chicago State </b>69</p>
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https://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2013/12/29/5249996/game-preview-creighton-vs-chicago-stateChristopher Novak