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The Creighton Bluejays, led once again by their three-headed monster of returnees, defeated Texas Southern 82-50 on Saturday night in Omaha.
Following a performance where he was just an assist away from a 20-point triple-double, Trey Alexander continued his exceptional play. Alexander tallied 20 points on 7-15 shooting. He also managed seven rebounds and eight assists. It cannot be understated how incredible his splits are this season. Genuinely National Player of the Year caliber stuff through four games for Trey. He also has picked up much of the play-creation slack without Ryan Nembhard this year. Offense has ran much more smoothly with Alexander at the helm rather than Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth, who has looked uncomfortable getting into sets at times.
Baylor Scheierman was the high scorer in the game, with 23. He, like Alexander, had an exceptionally balanced performance, adding six assists and nine rebounds. Scheierman looks largely improved from a season ago. He looks spry off the dribble, getting to the line on three different occasions today (6-6). Many people said that Baylor was the most improved Bluejay this offseason, and through four games, I can see why. He and Alexander both have made noticeable jumps in athleticism.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is the final head of the monster. He returned to form on both ends a bit, after a couple of lackluster games to begin the year. He shut Texas Southern down in the paint, who mustered just 30% from the floor. Kalkbrenner put up 16 points on 7-11 from the floor, and added 10 rebounds. The first double-double for Kalkbrenner comes in game number four. The Bluejay offense looked to feature him much more prevalently in the first half of this game, after he had seen his usage rate be below what it was a season ago through first three games.
A 20-0 run over a six-minute stretch in the second half put this one far from reach of Texas Southern, who really had their hands full all day long on both ends. Texas Southern will compete for another SWAC championship this season, but in this one they were just outmatched.
Creighton's bench has had incredible production so far this year. After three games, 91 points were scored off the bench, a Creighton record. It was a bit quieter, production-wise, against TSU but the quality minutes were still there. Francisco Farabello and Isaac Traudt combined for 10 points on 4-9 from the floor.
A fair question regarding Creighton in the preseason was how would they fare at the power forward position. Mason Miller and Isaac Traudt have provided quality groundwork at that position that really stabilizes the floor of this team. Combined, they have gone 18-39 (46%) from the field, and are averaging 8.5 rebounds per game as a unit. If that is truly the 'weak spot' of Creighton's rotation, this team is going to be a tough out.
Creighton has made efficient work of their three 'buy games' early on in the season, as well as managing a comfortable win over Iowa. They will play their first game outside of the friendly confines of CHI Health Center next Wednesday when they head to Kansas City for the Hall of Fame Classic. Creighton will have Loyola Chicago first in the four-team bracket. On the other side of the field is a feisty Colorado State team as well as Boston College.