Thursday, November 19
Bloomington, Ind.
6:01 PM
Creighton University
2-1
65
at
86
Indiana
3-0
1
2
F
Creighton
32
33
65
Indiana
51
35
86
Photo by: Mark Davis
Men's Basketball Falls to No. 14 Indiana, 86-65
11/19/2015 7:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Fourteenth-ranked Indiana proved too much for the Creighton men's basketball team on Thursday at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., as the Hoosiers rode a 51-32 halftime lead to an 86-65 victory over the visiting Bluejays. The game was part of the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games series, which pits Big Ten schools against teams from the BIG EAST.
Indiana improved to 3-0 with the win, while Creighton fell to 2-1 with the loss. The Bluejays were playing their first true road game of the season after a pair of lopsided home wins during the previous week.
Indiana broke open a close game with a 12-0 run to expand a 14-10 lead into a double-figure margin. Five different men scored for the Hoosiers during the streak, which started and ended with three-point baskets.
The Bluejays struggled with foul trouble throughout the first half, as Khyri Thomas picked up two fouls before the first media timeout, and Maurice Watson Jr. earned three fouls in a span of five minutes and spent the final 6:10 of the first half on the CU bench.
The Hoosier lead reached as large as 20 points in the first half (45-25) before the hosts settled for a 51-32 lead at the break. Thomas and Watson each had nine points to lead CU at the break, while Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell and Thomas Bryant each scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes for IU.
Watson tied his career-high with 21 points for the Bluejays, matching a figure first done when he played for Boston University. Thomas was the only other Bluejay in double-figures, finishing with 11 points. CU made just 3-of-18 three-pointers on the night, snapping a 70-game streak of four or more three-pointers that was the nation's third-longest active streak. Overall CU made 8-of-16 foul shots and hit 27-of-60 field goal attempts.
Five Hoosiers scored in double-figures, a quintet led by 19 points from James Blackmon Jr. Thomas Bryant added 17 points and had four blocked shots, while Troy Williams scored 13 points. The Hoosiers shot an even 50 percent (35-70) and sank 10-of-28 three-pointers.
Creighton returns to action on Monday night at 11 pm Central when it takes on Rutgers in Las Vegas, Nev., as part of the 2015 Men Who Speak Up Main Event. That game will air on 1620 AM. It will not be televised, but will be video webcast for free at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24_4oRV9Os2e0EZxpMeyPA.
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott
Post-Game Quotes
Opening Statement…
"I thought we took some ill-advised shots. That's not necessarily who we are. Our guys are trying to take it on their own shoulders instead of trusting our offense, and we were a little stagnant offensively. Defensively, they punched us a few times and we did not react to it very well. We have got a lot to learn and hopefully we can clean some of our play up."
On Creighton's play tonight…
"Obviously we did not shoot the ball very well. We did not shoot it well from the 3-point line; we could not make a free throw. Defensively I did not think we stayed true to who we are during the first half. We were jumping around on shot fakes and getting beat on back cuts. Granted, it is a one-day prep and these guys are playing together for the first time, but we have to be able to take some of these things on a short prep. We need to execute them, and we did not tonight. Having said that, Indiana is still a very good basketball team."
On the play of Indiana…
"Don't kid yourself; we were going to have to come in here and play really well in order to win tonight. They have got a lot of pieces. Thomas Bryant adds another dimension to them that I do not think they had last year. He has the ability to protect the rim, he can make some plays in the paint, and he even hit a three tonight. Overall, at times it seemed like they played harder than we did. I do not think we reacted well to the adversity. It's the first time this team has been in this situation, but we need to learn to bounce back from it. That's a very good basketball team that we just played."
On Yogi Ferrell…
"He is a versatile player. He can hit the three in transition. When he was younger he played on a USA team with my son and he did not have the ability to go both directions and finish at the rim the way he can now. His intermediate game is very good and obviously his leadership is second to none. He has started a lot of games here for them and he is playing like a seasoned vet."
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Indiana Players – Thomas Bryant and James Blackmon, Jr.
Postgame Quotes
Q. Thomas, I think everyone watching was evident of the passion you played with today. Where do you get all the passion from?
THOMAS BRYANT: I've always had that passion in me, ever since I started playing in grade school. I had to do something. I wasn't the most talented player, so I had to do something to separate myself from others, and the passion, the will to drive and the will to play was the difference, and I've always kept it with me.
Q. James, how much do you guys feed off Thomas' passion?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: So much, man. I'm kind of a laid-back-type of guy, but when I see him like that, that makes me want to bring more energy to the game. Guys like that on our team make it so much better for the fans and also us, we feed off that.
Q. Do you feel like you didn't have that?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I feel like we've had it from guys, but Thomas brings it on a whole other level.
Q. Thomas, talk about being fed down low?
THOMAS BRYANT: We've always had that standpoint of just going and playing inside the post and also with the three-point shooters that we have, it's emphasized in practice. But we've always played through what coach gives us and we just run through them. Luckily it was my game for me to get the game in the post, and I just went to work in it. The shooters were out there waiting to shoot.
Q. James, you talked a lot about your efficiency last year and you guys were able to knockdown shots. How much do you feel like there is not a slump you can't break out of with the shooters you've got and having Thomas and Max?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I just feel like everyone on our team can bring scoring and shooting. I don't think there is one guy on our team that can't shoot. So that spreads the floor, and also having Thomas (Bryant), Max (Bielfeldt), Juwan (Morgan), O.G. (Anunoby), guys in there on the inside who can go with the other big men, that helps us.
Q. Were the defensive efforts tonight even more satisfying?
THOMAS BRYANT: Oh, it feels good. With Coach coming out and giving us the personnel in practice and also on film. When you hold a team like that and hold them to that standpoint, that's a really good effort. With the guards going out and closing out into the corners, JB (Blackmon) stepping up and Yogi (Ferrell) and everybody else stepping up for the better of the team and always being with it, staying engaged with it, it helps a lot. That gives a lot of encouragement to us knowing that what we're doing is right.
Q. Thomas, talk about the defense and being a lion in the gym?
THOMAS BRYANT: Yeah, the lion came out of me.
Q. Talk about what that means?
THOMAS BRYANT: A person that works on his craft on and off the court, and a person that always brings it and always has the passion, no matter what. No matter the circumstances if you're down by 20 or up by 20, you're going to have that passion and that will to try to get that win or try to get that stop or always work with your teammates to get open shots for them or you scoring down low on the post. You always have that passion with it.
Q. This team had its first true test of the season with Austin Peay, but what do you guys learn when facing a power conference opponent?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: It definitely was a huge test. You could tell the level of play that they brought. I feel like they're going to be a great team down the road. I feel like it got us going, the plan, they're so good offensively, I felt like if we wouldn't have had that defense, it would have been an up and down game and could have gone either way. So I feel like our game plan went well.
Q. You've talked a lot about rebounding this season.
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: That is the key to some of our games. Me, Yogi (Ferrell), Rob (Johnson), Nick (Zeisloft) getting in there and getting those rebounds to take the pressure off of our big men. So I feel like every time we do that, we come out with the win.
Q. How easy is it working with a team that had to really work hard to get rebounding from its guards last year and now you're stepping in. How easy is it for you guys to basically just sort of fit into that on the rebounding side?
THOMAS BRYANT: It helped a lot. With us rebounding and the guards rebounding, that gives us a lot of transition offense that will lead to rim runs that we had tonight and also open three-point shooters, also executing the plays faster and getting it to them faster to always attack the defense.
Q. Why is it you've created a ton of turnovers?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Ball pressure, knowing we have guys behind us that can block shots. We can get up in the ball, push the ball, and I feel like all of our guards can do that. So I feel like the ball pressure and knowing that we have people behind us.
Q. Do you feel like you guys take chances?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Yeah, we definitely can, it just comes down to personnel, who it is, and who coach trusts to take those chances. But we definitely can.
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean
Postgame Quotes
COACH CREAN: First thing I want to do is thank the fans and especially all the students that didn't go home when they could have. The energy in there was fantastic, just from start to finish, it really was. Could hear it in the back during warm-ups, and never take that for granted. To see that kind of turn out tonight, especially with the weekend coming up and next week coming up, to have them stay was big. Our team fed off that. Our team was really ready to play.
We knew and they learned quickly that we were playing a very, very tough, physical opponent. Obviously the respect for the Big East is high. They weren't as familiar maybe with Creighton's personnel as they became during the quick time of film and being on the court. But they quickly saw that it was a physical team, very aggressive team. We kept preaching how well-coached they are and how disciplined they are with what they want.
Frankly, they were better at some things that we want to be good at. Their spacing, staying committed to it and their guard rebounding, and I thought our guys responded.
19 rebounds was a real key thing for us from our guards, because there are going to be long rebounds. The way we defended the three was positive. The way we got back in the break, we gave them some baskets and turnovers in the post. But those were the key things that we needed to defend the corners, especially on the break.
We needed to not come off shooters. We had tremendous respect for (Isaiah) Zierden, and he made the one three from deep because we just didn't get a hand up. I'm sure Greg (McDermott) will look at it, just like I would, and you can see some shots that you know your team would probably make.
But I was really proud of the way we gave really good effort, and then the pace of the game kept going. We played through the post a lot more tonight. Like I said, the activity on the glass was huge for us. And we have guys who played through things.
I thought Robert Johnson, even though he had foul trouble all night, I thought every time he was in the game with the exception of the fouls, he did the right play, and that's a sign of maturity. No one planned for him to have foul trouble. No one planned for him not to have a big night, but sometimes it happens. It will happen to somebody next week, but the way you respond and make it better for your teammates has a lot to do with the success you'll have moving down the line.
So those are some of the things that were highlights to me. Again, great win for us. Fully expect to see that team continue to get better and better as they integrate their transfers and freshmen into that, and would fully expect them to be a ranked basketball team as the season goes on.
Q. When you were recruiting Thomas Bryant, how quickly did it become apparent to you exactly the level of action?
COACH CREAN: On film, literally on film. Because we always knew about Thomas Bryant, but we didn't see a real inroad based on conventional wisdom with him maybe potentially leaving the East Coast. But once we knew there was an opportunity that he might, and then you really started to dive into it, that was the biggest thing. You could see the dunks. You could see the running. But you knew that he had infectious energy, and the more you watch him you see that he really is infectious to his teammates. In the case of tonight, infectious to the crowd because it's for real.
He doesn't run around stomping his feet every day in practice, but he does play hard. He has to be careful because he's wearing a boot most of the time that he's not on the court, so we don't want him stomping too hard. But he's playing with more confidence all the time. Still a lot to learn and still a lot of reps to get in practice that he didn't get when he was out for the first couple weeks with the foot injury.
But he's been well-coached, he's poised, and what I'm proudest of is that he's playing with emotion, and it's not emotional. He's got great emotion. If it was emotional, he wouldn't be able to make the plays he's making and he wouldn't make the finishes that he's making. So it was apparent early.
Q. To follow up on that, you talked about him not wanting to hurt himself, I guess. But beyond that, do you restrain a guy like that much when it comes to the energy and the emotion?
COACH CREAN: It would have been a technical if I would have run out there and done that. We don't need that. He's fine, he's fine. He's enjoying himself. You're playing that hard. The good news is he can get better. He can play lower. His lower body is going to continue to get stronger, and he's comfortable with his shooting. Maybe a little too comfortable at times, but especially when we're in a high-low game and trying to go inside.
But we're on a good path with him. Eventually he'll be driving the ball. Eventually you'll see him in some ball screens where he's a handler. He's learning more and more about his foot work in the post. But he's got really good timing. He can really pass. That's one of the areas that we're really going to get better at is playing through the post.
That's one thing that separated Cody (Zeller). He could pass so well, and then he became a driver where he could pass off the drive. That will come for Thomas, but Thomas can find people because he can see, and he's got that poise.
Q. You said before that he played with emotion. How does he divorce those two in his mind?
COACH CREAN: I think it's the execution. I think it would show up in the lack of execution or if he was getting down on himself or something like that. But he's tuned in. He's tuned in. It's a lot easier in life, as everybody knows, to turn somebody down than it is to turn them up. If it gets to that, we'll worry about that later.
But he's got energy. I use the term emotion because he's having a lot of fun when he plays. But he's got a lot of energy, and he has it every day. That's really important. He really, really wants to get better. When you have that kind of skill set to go with that body and knowing that he's going to get a lot stronger as he goes through it, and that kind of awareness, again, we'll see what he looks like in a few weeks and a month when he gets more practice and games under his belt. I think he'll get better and better.
Q. What is the learning curve of the high-low game?
COACH CREAN: Oh, I think so. But they've got to get used to – James (Blackmon Jr.) and Rob didn't really play with the post-up last year. Yogi has with Cody and with Noah (Vonleh), and some have. But the other night we went to Yogi in the post quite a bit, especially in the 12, 13-foot range in post-up. We tried a little bit tonight.
So for us, we've got to get fouled. For us to get better, we've got to get fouled. Whether it's through the post, through the drive, whether it's the offensive board, whatever it is. So, yes, I think our vision will get better. I think as we keep telling our post-up action, we can do a better job of demanding the ball. We can do a better job of stealing. Our foot work is not bad, but we've got to do a better job of setting up our foot work with one-two steps, and V-cuts and things of that nature that takes a little time to get integrated, but we will. I think we'll become better and better with it.
Understand when you've got the guy buried in the post, and a big part of our game, and it takes time for guys to learn this, when you catch that ball 8, 10, 12 feet off to go into a face-up move. Once Cody developed that here, look out. I mean, he could do so many things. But that's one of the reasons that we put those guys in the positions to work with the perimeter so much so they really learn how to push the dribble out, drop the shoulders, it's really the same thing in the post.
Q. Did this team have a better defensive performance tonight?
COACH CREAN: A high-quality opponent. I think with the way they were shooting the ball averaging 98 points, I don't care who you're playing if you're scoring 98. We watched as much film from last year. We game planned hard for (James) Milliken and Zierden. We certainly know what (Maurice) Watson's capable of.
When you watch his old film from BU (Boston), even in the short time he's played for them, he was 12 assists, I believe, four turnovers coming into the game. I mean, he's quick, strong. Before he's done, he'll be one of the elite point guards in the country because he's got that low center of gravity, sees, finds people. When he gets that shot, he was a low 30s percent shooter at BU, when he get that's shot going, he's going to be really hard to deal with.
So that was a big deal for us, because they're a very physical team. Greg's team always, always are going to play physically and sound. And they can bring a lot of people out there. We were concerned too about Thomas's cutting and rebounding and getting out on the break. So they've got a lot of strengths. Fortunately our guys were able to handle that.
Q. Can you talk about your ability and depth? Are you happy with where that is?
COACH CREAN: I think the key is it's like offense. We said this before the game again. We want to hit singles on offense, right? We want to make simple passes. So we tell the guys, the simpler you make the game, the more exciting it looks. Because when the ball is moving quickly and it's flowing, it's not about trying to throw home run plays.
Well, sometimes the same thing happens on defense. They're trying to make a steal that's not there. You'll gamble because you think you can get it, and all of a sudden you're putting a lot of pressure on your team.
We want to be a very, very good point of attack team so we've got to defend the corners and the rim better. So much of that starts up higher now because we are young down low. It's got to be out front and not everything fettering out. So to me, when we keep it really tight, and we keep it in a box type of element with the ball when we're keeping the ball on one side and we're pressuring the ball without gambling on the ball, and we had three fouls in the first half and we went for seals, or we got called for the foul when we came down on the ball.
So some of that is adjustment to the game. But the other night we had seven turnovers that we got, and we gave it right back to them. So in answer to that, we've got to be able to capitalize on the turnovers and make something happen for it. At the same time, take care of the ball on our end better.
Q. Back on media day you were talking about how teamwork and depth. How do you feel about those efforts?
COACH CREAN: Well, I think it's a learning situation, especially for a guy like O.G. (Anunoby) and Juwan (Morgan) tonight. That game was moving. And you come in, they're off the bench and they're flying. They never slowed down either. So it's that kind of game experience that helps you.
You've got to have an incredible level of awareness. I thought our guys really tried to manage the minutes, but at the same time we wanted to manage the score. So to me, guys being able to play through fatigue. A couple times Thomas wanted out and we had him play through a couple more possessions because he's got to learn he has more in the tank than sometimes he maybe realizes.
But depth is going to be huge. Depth is only what your consistency level is. If it's not consistent, you just have bodies. When you have consistency, now you have depth, and we've got a long way to go to get to that.
Q. How big a role will depth play in Hawaii?
COACH CREAN: Oh, paramount, no question about it. Because there will be all kinds of unknown things. You've just got to control what you can control. Be ready to go in, get into the flow of the game, talk on defense, run the court on offense and clean up. What we'll have is time over the weekend to clean up some of the stuff we've got to get better at while we're preparing, and it will be huge.
You try to get them to understand to go in and have a positive impact in the game. That's why we look at plus-minus so much. Are you affecting the score in a positive way? It's not about going in and making great plays or a bunch of plays. It's about going in and playing right. That is a huge part of building that consistency level, especially for a young guy.
Indiana improved to 3-0 with the win, while Creighton fell to 2-1 with the loss. The Bluejays were playing their first true road game of the season after a pair of lopsided home wins during the previous week.
Indiana broke open a close game with a 12-0 run to expand a 14-10 lead into a double-figure margin. Five different men scored for the Hoosiers during the streak, which started and ended with three-point baskets.
The Bluejays struggled with foul trouble throughout the first half, as Khyri Thomas picked up two fouls before the first media timeout, and Maurice Watson Jr. earned three fouls in a span of five minutes and spent the final 6:10 of the first half on the CU bench.
The Hoosier lead reached as large as 20 points in the first half (45-25) before the hosts settled for a 51-32 lead at the break. Thomas and Watson each had nine points to lead CU at the break, while Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell and Thomas Bryant each scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes for IU.
Watson tied his career-high with 21 points for the Bluejays, matching a figure first done when he played for Boston University. Thomas was the only other Bluejay in double-figures, finishing with 11 points. CU made just 3-of-18 three-pointers on the night, snapping a 70-game streak of four or more three-pointers that was the nation's third-longest active streak. Overall CU made 8-of-16 foul shots and hit 27-of-60 field goal attempts.
Five Hoosiers scored in double-figures, a quintet led by 19 points from James Blackmon Jr. Thomas Bryant added 17 points and had four blocked shots, while Troy Williams scored 13 points. The Hoosiers shot an even 50 percent (35-70) and sank 10-of-28 three-pointers.
Creighton returns to action on Monday night at 11 pm Central when it takes on Rutgers in Las Vegas, Nev., as part of the 2015 Men Who Speak Up Main Event. That game will air on 1620 AM. It will not be televised, but will be video webcast for free at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24_4oRV9Os2e0EZxpMeyPA.
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott
Post-Game Quotes
Opening Statement…
"I thought we took some ill-advised shots. That's not necessarily who we are. Our guys are trying to take it on their own shoulders instead of trusting our offense, and we were a little stagnant offensively. Defensively, they punched us a few times and we did not react to it very well. We have got a lot to learn and hopefully we can clean some of our play up."
On Creighton's play tonight…
"Obviously we did not shoot the ball very well. We did not shoot it well from the 3-point line; we could not make a free throw. Defensively I did not think we stayed true to who we are during the first half. We were jumping around on shot fakes and getting beat on back cuts. Granted, it is a one-day prep and these guys are playing together for the first time, but we have to be able to take some of these things on a short prep. We need to execute them, and we did not tonight. Having said that, Indiana is still a very good basketball team."
On the play of Indiana…
"Don't kid yourself; we were going to have to come in here and play really well in order to win tonight. They have got a lot of pieces. Thomas Bryant adds another dimension to them that I do not think they had last year. He has the ability to protect the rim, he can make some plays in the paint, and he even hit a three tonight. Overall, at times it seemed like they played harder than we did. I do not think we reacted well to the adversity. It's the first time this team has been in this situation, but we need to learn to bounce back from it. That's a very good basketball team that we just played."
On Yogi Ferrell…
"He is a versatile player. He can hit the three in transition. When he was younger he played on a USA team with my son and he did not have the ability to go both directions and finish at the rim the way he can now. His intermediate game is very good and obviously his leadership is second to none. He has started a lot of games here for them and he is playing like a seasoned vet."
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Indiana Players – Thomas Bryant and James Blackmon, Jr.
Postgame Quotes
Q. Thomas, I think everyone watching was evident of the passion you played with today. Where do you get all the passion from?
THOMAS BRYANT: I've always had that passion in me, ever since I started playing in grade school. I had to do something. I wasn't the most talented player, so I had to do something to separate myself from others, and the passion, the will to drive and the will to play was the difference, and I've always kept it with me.
Q. James, how much do you guys feed off Thomas' passion?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: So much, man. I'm kind of a laid-back-type of guy, but when I see him like that, that makes me want to bring more energy to the game. Guys like that on our team make it so much better for the fans and also us, we feed off that.
Q. Do you feel like you didn't have that?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I feel like we've had it from guys, but Thomas brings it on a whole other level.
Q. Thomas, talk about being fed down low?
THOMAS BRYANT: We've always had that standpoint of just going and playing inside the post and also with the three-point shooters that we have, it's emphasized in practice. But we've always played through what coach gives us and we just run through them. Luckily it was my game for me to get the game in the post, and I just went to work in it. The shooters were out there waiting to shoot.
Q. James, you talked a lot about your efficiency last year and you guys were able to knockdown shots. How much do you feel like there is not a slump you can't break out of with the shooters you've got and having Thomas and Max?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I just feel like everyone on our team can bring scoring and shooting. I don't think there is one guy on our team that can't shoot. So that spreads the floor, and also having Thomas (Bryant), Max (Bielfeldt), Juwan (Morgan), O.G. (Anunoby), guys in there on the inside who can go with the other big men, that helps us.
Q. Were the defensive efforts tonight even more satisfying?
THOMAS BRYANT: Oh, it feels good. With Coach coming out and giving us the personnel in practice and also on film. When you hold a team like that and hold them to that standpoint, that's a really good effort. With the guards going out and closing out into the corners, JB (Blackmon) stepping up and Yogi (Ferrell) and everybody else stepping up for the better of the team and always being with it, staying engaged with it, it helps a lot. That gives a lot of encouragement to us knowing that what we're doing is right.
Q. Thomas, talk about the defense and being a lion in the gym?
THOMAS BRYANT: Yeah, the lion came out of me.
Q. Talk about what that means?
THOMAS BRYANT: A person that works on his craft on and off the court, and a person that always brings it and always has the passion, no matter what. No matter the circumstances if you're down by 20 or up by 20, you're going to have that passion and that will to try to get that win or try to get that stop or always work with your teammates to get open shots for them or you scoring down low on the post. You always have that passion with it.
Q. This team had its first true test of the season with Austin Peay, but what do you guys learn when facing a power conference opponent?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: It definitely was a huge test. You could tell the level of play that they brought. I feel like they're going to be a great team down the road. I feel like it got us going, the plan, they're so good offensively, I felt like if we wouldn't have had that defense, it would have been an up and down game and could have gone either way. So I feel like our game plan went well.
Q. You've talked a lot about rebounding this season.
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: That is the key to some of our games. Me, Yogi (Ferrell), Rob (Johnson), Nick (Zeisloft) getting in there and getting those rebounds to take the pressure off of our big men. So I feel like every time we do that, we come out with the win.
Q. How easy is it working with a team that had to really work hard to get rebounding from its guards last year and now you're stepping in. How easy is it for you guys to basically just sort of fit into that on the rebounding side?
THOMAS BRYANT: It helped a lot. With us rebounding and the guards rebounding, that gives us a lot of transition offense that will lead to rim runs that we had tonight and also open three-point shooters, also executing the plays faster and getting it to them faster to always attack the defense.
Q. Why is it you've created a ton of turnovers?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Ball pressure, knowing we have guys behind us that can block shots. We can get up in the ball, push the ball, and I feel like all of our guards can do that. So I feel like the ball pressure and knowing that we have people behind us.
Q. Do you feel like you guys take chances?
JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Yeah, we definitely can, it just comes down to personnel, who it is, and who coach trusts to take those chances. But we definitely can.
Indiana vs. Creighton
Nov. 19, 2015
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean
Postgame Quotes
COACH CREAN: First thing I want to do is thank the fans and especially all the students that didn't go home when they could have. The energy in there was fantastic, just from start to finish, it really was. Could hear it in the back during warm-ups, and never take that for granted. To see that kind of turn out tonight, especially with the weekend coming up and next week coming up, to have them stay was big. Our team fed off that. Our team was really ready to play.
We knew and they learned quickly that we were playing a very, very tough, physical opponent. Obviously the respect for the Big East is high. They weren't as familiar maybe with Creighton's personnel as they became during the quick time of film and being on the court. But they quickly saw that it was a physical team, very aggressive team. We kept preaching how well-coached they are and how disciplined they are with what they want.
Frankly, they were better at some things that we want to be good at. Their spacing, staying committed to it and their guard rebounding, and I thought our guys responded.
19 rebounds was a real key thing for us from our guards, because there are going to be long rebounds. The way we defended the three was positive. The way we got back in the break, we gave them some baskets and turnovers in the post. But those were the key things that we needed to defend the corners, especially on the break.
We needed to not come off shooters. We had tremendous respect for (Isaiah) Zierden, and he made the one three from deep because we just didn't get a hand up. I'm sure Greg (McDermott) will look at it, just like I would, and you can see some shots that you know your team would probably make.
But I was really proud of the way we gave really good effort, and then the pace of the game kept going. We played through the post a lot more tonight. Like I said, the activity on the glass was huge for us. And we have guys who played through things.
I thought Robert Johnson, even though he had foul trouble all night, I thought every time he was in the game with the exception of the fouls, he did the right play, and that's a sign of maturity. No one planned for him to have foul trouble. No one planned for him not to have a big night, but sometimes it happens. It will happen to somebody next week, but the way you respond and make it better for your teammates has a lot to do with the success you'll have moving down the line.
So those are some of the things that were highlights to me. Again, great win for us. Fully expect to see that team continue to get better and better as they integrate their transfers and freshmen into that, and would fully expect them to be a ranked basketball team as the season goes on.
Q. When you were recruiting Thomas Bryant, how quickly did it become apparent to you exactly the level of action?
COACH CREAN: On film, literally on film. Because we always knew about Thomas Bryant, but we didn't see a real inroad based on conventional wisdom with him maybe potentially leaving the East Coast. But once we knew there was an opportunity that he might, and then you really started to dive into it, that was the biggest thing. You could see the dunks. You could see the running. But you knew that he had infectious energy, and the more you watch him you see that he really is infectious to his teammates. In the case of tonight, infectious to the crowd because it's for real.
He doesn't run around stomping his feet every day in practice, but he does play hard. He has to be careful because he's wearing a boot most of the time that he's not on the court, so we don't want him stomping too hard. But he's playing with more confidence all the time. Still a lot to learn and still a lot of reps to get in practice that he didn't get when he was out for the first couple weeks with the foot injury.
But he's been well-coached, he's poised, and what I'm proudest of is that he's playing with emotion, and it's not emotional. He's got great emotion. If it was emotional, he wouldn't be able to make the plays he's making and he wouldn't make the finishes that he's making. So it was apparent early.
Q. To follow up on that, you talked about him not wanting to hurt himself, I guess. But beyond that, do you restrain a guy like that much when it comes to the energy and the emotion?
COACH CREAN: It would have been a technical if I would have run out there and done that. We don't need that. He's fine, he's fine. He's enjoying himself. You're playing that hard. The good news is he can get better. He can play lower. His lower body is going to continue to get stronger, and he's comfortable with his shooting. Maybe a little too comfortable at times, but especially when we're in a high-low game and trying to go inside.
But we're on a good path with him. Eventually he'll be driving the ball. Eventually you'll see him in some ball screens where he's a handler. He's learning more and more about his foot work in the post. But he's got really good timing. He can really pass. That's one of the areas that we're really going to get better at is playing through the post.
That's one thing that separated Cody (Zeller). He could pass so well, and then he became a driver where he could pass off the drive. That will come for Thomas, but Thomas can find people because he can see, and he's got that poise.
Q. You said before that he played with emotion. How does he divorce those two in his mind?
COACH CREAN: I think it's the execution. I think it would show up in the lack of execution or if he was getting down on himself or something like that. But he's tuned in. He's tuned in. It's a lot easier in life, as everybody knows, to turn somebody down than it is to turn them up. If it gets to that, we'll worry about that later.
But he's got energy. I use the term emotion because he's having a lot of fun when he plays. But he's got a lot of energy, and he has it every day. That's really important. He really, really wants to get better. When you have that kind of skill set to go with that body and knowing that he's going to get a lot stronger as he goes through it, and that kind of awareness, again, we'll see what he looks like in a few weeks and a month when he gets more practice and games under his belt. I think he'll get better and better.
Q. What is the learning curve of the high-low game?
COACH CREAN: Oh, I think so. But they've got to get used to – James (Blackmon Jr.) and Rob didn't really play with the post-up last year. Yogi has with Cody and with Noah (Vonleh), and some have. But the other night we went to Yogi in the post quite a bit, especially in the 12, 13-foot range in post-up. We tried a little bit tonight.
So for us, we've got to get fouled. For us to get better, we've got to get fouled. Whether it's through the post, through the drive, whether it's the offensive board, whatever it is. So, yes, I think our vision will get better. I think as we keep telling our post-up action, we can do a better job of demanding the ball. We can do a better job of stealing. Our foot work is not bad, but we've got to do a better job of setting up our foot work with one-two steps, and V-cuts and things of that nature that takes a little time to get integrated, but we will. I think we'll become better and better with it.
Understand when you've got the guy buried in the post, and a big part of our game, and it takes time for guys to learn this, when you catch that ball 8, 10, 12 feet off to go into a face-up move. Once Cody developed that here, look out. I mean, he could do so many things. But that's one of the reasons that we put those guys in the positions to work with the perimeter so much so they really learn how to push the dribble out, drop the shoulders, it's really the same thing in the post.
Q. Did this team have a better defensive performance tonight?
COACH CREAN: A high-quality opponent. I think with the way they were shooting the ball averaging 98 points, I don't care who you're playing if you're scoring 98. We watched as much film from last year. We game planned hard for (James) Milliken and Zierden. We certainly know what (Maurice) Watson's capable of.
When you watch his old film from BU (Boston), even in the short time he's played for them, he was 12 assists, I believe, four turnovers coming into the game. I mean, he's quick, strong. Before he's done, he'll be one of the elite point guards in the country because he's got that low center of gravity, sees, finds people. When he gets that shot, he was a low 30s percent shooter at BU, when he get that's shot going, he's going to be really hard to deal with.
So that was a big deal for us, because they're a very physical team. Greg's team always, always are going to play physically and sound. And they can bring a lot of people out there. We were concerned too about Thomas's cutting and rebounding and getting out on the break. So they've got a lot of strengths. Fortunately our guys were able to handle that.
Q. Can you talk about your ability and depth? Are you happy with where that is?
COACH CREAN: I think the key is it's like offense. We said this before the game again. We want to hit singles on offense, right? We want to make simple passes. So we tell the guys, the simpler you make the game, the more exciting it looks. Because when the ball is moving quickly and it's flowing, it's not about trying to throw home run plays.
Well, sometimes the same thing happens on defense. They're trying to make a steal that's not there. You'll gamble because you think you can get it, and all of a sudden you're putting a lot of pressure on your team.
We want to be a very, very good point of attack team so we've got to defend the corners and the rim better. So much of that starts up higher now because we are young down low. It's got to be out front and not everything fettering out. So to me, when we keep it really tight, and we keep it in a box type of element with the ball when we're keeping the ball on one side and we're pressuring the ball without gambling on the ball, and we had three fouls in the first half and we went for seals, or we got called for the foul when we came down on the ball.
So some of that is adjustment to the game. But the other night we had seven turnovers that we got, and we gave it right back to them. So in answer to that, we've got to be able to capitalize on the turnovers and make something happen for it. At the same time, take care of the ball on our end better.
Q. Back on media day you were talking about how teamwork and depth. How do you feel about those efforts?
COACH CREAN: Well, I think it's a learning situation, especially for a guy like O.G. (Anunoby) and Juwan (Morgan) tonight. That game was moving. And you come in, they're off the bench and they're flying. They never slowed down either. So it's that kind of game experience that helps you.
You've got to have an incredible level of awareness. I thought our guys really tried to manage the minutes, but at the same time we wanted to manage the score. So to me, guys being able to play through fatigue. A couple times Thomas wanted out and we had him play through a couple more possessions because he's got to learn he has more in the tank than sometimes he maybe realizes.
But depth is going to be huge. Depth is only what your consistency level is. If it's not consistent, you just have bodies. When you have consistency, now you have depth, and we've got a long way to go to get to that.
Q. How big a role will depth play in Hawaii?
COACH CREAN: Oh, paramount, no question about it. Because there will be all kinds of unknown things. You've just got to control what you can control. Be ready to go in, get into the flow of the game, talk on defense, run the court on offense and clean up. What we'll have is time over the weekend to clean up some of the stuff we've got to get better at while we're preparing, and it will be huge.
You try to get them to understand to go in and have a positive impact in the game. That's why we look at plus-minus so much. Are you affecting the score in a positive way? It's not about going in and making great plays or a bunch of plays. It's about going in and playing right. That is a huge part of building that consistency level, especially for a young guy.
Team Stats
CU
IND
FG%
.450
.500
3FG%
.167
.357
FT%
.500
.667
RB
32
43
TO
15
18
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
