Indiana University Athletics
Creighton Opens Telling Stretch For Indiana
11/19/2015 11:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In Creighton, Indiana head coach Tom Crean sees skills and abilities he wishes his own team possessed.
The Bluejays space the floor as well as anyone Crean said he's seen. They'll find easy baskets in transition, create high percentage shots around the rim out of their half-court offense and rebound the ball effectively and efficiently.
Had he not been tasked with preparing No. 14 Indiana to beat Creighton at 7 p.m. tonight at Assembly Hall at part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, Crean said he'd use the Bluejays' film as a "template" of how to space the floor and run an offense.
Instead, he and Indiana will have to worry about beating them.
"There is no doubt that we are playing an extremely fast, very energetic, very tough opponent," Crean said. "It is going to take all of us going all out to have a shot to squeak out a win."
Crean had high praise for Creighton, a Big East opponent who he said already appears to be playing in mid-season form.
The matchup has the potential to be an up-tempo game, as both teams are averaging more than 73 possessions per game through two contests. The Hoosiers (2-0) and Bluejays (2-0) are similar in that aspect, playing quickly and highlighting their offenses while still looking to build on defensive principles.
Indiana's offensive-defensive efficiency split based on Ken Pomeroy's projections is No. 1/No. 77 while Creighton's is No. 50/No. 125.
Their point distributions are also similar, with Indiana scoring 39. 5 percent of its points off 3-pointers, 49.5 percent off 2-pointers and the remaining 11.1 percent from free throws while Creighton's splits are 38.3 percent, 49.0 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively.
"This is a very hard preparation because frankly they're better at what we want to be good at," Crean said.
Creighton is expected to give Indiana's defense its toughest challenge to date, though it is still early in the season. The Bluejays' speed and willingness to score from long distance makes matching up in transition all the more important if Indiana will want any chance of limiting Creighton's scoring.
"Everybody has a hard job because you have to be alert and aware," Crean said. "You can't watch the ball or someone is going to be cutting behind you or standing wide open for a three in the corner."
Tonight's game is the start of what will be a busy couple of weeks for Indiana. The Hoosiers will board an early-morning flight to Hawaii on Friday for three games in the Maui Invitational next week where a handful of ranked opponents could potentially await them.
From there, Indiana will return to the mainland for a game against Alcorn State before a highly anticipated matchup against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the reigning national champions.
It's by no means a season-defining stretch, but it could prove to be telling of where Indiana stands on a national scale.
"We're going to be playing some great teams the next couple weeks," fifth-year senior forward Max Bielfeldt said. "I think (we'll be able to) find out where we are right now against really good teams and see what we need to work on, see where we're good and what we need to keep improving on."
But the Hoosiers say they aren't looking past tonight's game with Creighton. They can't afford to.
Because with just a few missteps, Creighton and its high-powered offense could just as easily run right by.
"Right now, the most important thing is they stay centered on what we're doing Thursday night because that team is good," Crean said. "We'll take all those measuring sticks that we have to take as a team, but right now the most important thing by far is making sure we understand how good Creighton is."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In Creighton, Indiana head coach Tom Crean sees skills and abilities he wishes his own team possessed.
The Bluejays space the floor as well as anyone Crean said he's seen. They'll find easy baskets in transition, create high percentage shots around the rim out of their half-court offense and rebound the ball effectively and efficiently.
Had he not been tasked with preparing No. 14 Indiana to beat Creighton at 7 p.m. tonight at Assembly Hall at part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, Crean said he'd use the Bluejays' film as a "template" of how to space the floor and run an offense.
Instead, he and Indiana will have to worry about beating them.
"There is no doubt that we are playing an extremely fast, very energetic, very tough opponent," Crean said. "It is going to take all of us going all out to have a shot to squeak out a win."
Crean had high praise for Creighton, a Big East opponent who he said already appears to be playing in mid-season form.
The matchup has the potential to be an up-tempo game, as both teams are averaging more than 73 possessions per game through two contests. The Hoosiers (2-0) and Bluejays (2-0) are similar in that aspect, playing quickly and highlighting their offenses while still looking to build on defensive principles.
Indiana's offensive-defensive efficiency split based on Ken Pomeroy's projections is No. 1/No. 77 while Creighton's is No. 50/No. 125.
Their point distributions are also similar, with Indiana scoring 39. 5 percent of its points off 3-pointers, 49.5 percent off 2-pointers and the remaining 11.1 percent from free throws while Creighton's splits are 38.3 percent, 49.0 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively.
"This is a very hard preparation because frankly they're better at what we want to be good at," Crean said.
Creighton is expected to give Indiana's defense its toughest challenge to date, though it is still early in the season. The Bluejays' speed and willingness to score from long distance makes matching up in transition all the more important if Indiana will want any chance of limiting Creighton's scoring.
"Everybody has a hard job because you have to be alert and aware," Crean said. "You can't watch the ball or someone is going to be cutting behind you or standing wide open for a three in the corner."
Tonight's game is the start of what will be a busy couple of weeks for Indiana. The Hoosiers will board an early-morning flight to Hawaii on Friday for three games in the Maui Invitational next week where a handful of ranked opponents could potentially await them.
From there, Indiana will return to the mainland for a game against Alcorn State before a highly anticipated matchup against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to face the reigning national champions.
It's by no means a season-defining stretch, but it could prove to be telling of where Indiana stands on a national scale.
"We're going to be playing some great teams the next couple weeks," fifth-year senior forward Max Bielfeldt said. "I think (we'll be able to) find out where we are right now against really good teams and see what we need to work on, see where we're good and what we need to keep improving on."
But the Hoosiers say they aren't looking past tonight's game with Creighton. They can't afford to.
Because with just a few missteps, Creighton and its high-powered offense could just as easily run right by.
"Right now, the most important thing is they stay centered on what we're doing Thursday night because that team is good," Crean said. "We'll take all those measuring sticks that we have to take as a team, but right now the most important thing by far is making sure we understand how good Creighton is."
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