Kansas 79, Creighton 72

Game Summary:

With about 10 seconds to go in KU’s 79-72 win over Creighton, Christian Braun switched onto Blue Jay point guard Trey Alexander. With the game only being decided a few plays earlier, Braun mirrored Alexander’s moves as he attempted to take it toward the basket. After being cut off, Alexander pulled up from about 15′, looking to shoot a jump-shot. Braun mirrored that, too, getting an arm out to bother the would-be shot so much that Alexander decided to pass the ball at the last instance to avoid getting his shot swatted. But that proved unfruitful, as the pass did not connect and would result in a Creighton turnover. From there, all KU had to do was inbound and dribble out the clock.

This play was emblematic of Braun’s defense all game. No matter who he switched onto, he had the ability to defend that opponent. Another crucial play happened at the 3:28 mark of the second half. Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma had a game-high 24 points, but none of them were against CB. He did attempt to hit a mid-range jumper over Braun, but saw it get blocked straight over his head. In Braun’s 38 minutes of play, he only gave up 4 points on defense. Combined with an efficient offensive outing (1.29 PPP_af, 13 points, 4 assists), and he was nearly 10 points better than a bubble-level player.

Ochai Agbaji’s offense has noticeably dipped in recent weeks. But he turned up his defensive efforts on Saturday, only allowing 6 points on defense to go along with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. KU doesn’t win without either player.

Remy Martin was KU’s best offensive weapon against Creighton, scoring 20 points with a PPP_af of 1.24. And while he gave up 16 points, it wasn’t due to effort but due to Creighton making some deep 3’s over his short frame. This also shouldn’t be overlooked: Remy’s ability to generate offense allows guys like Braun, Agbaji, and Wilson to put more effort into making defensive stands and getting rebounds off misses on either end.

Jalen Coleman-Lands showed why he has been a better option off the bench than Joe Yesufu, first grabbing a miss and putting it back in the first-half and then hitting a second-half 3. His defense, while not great vs. Creighton, has been replacement-level for the year.

Jalen Wilson finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and a positive contribution despite some defensive lapses.

On the negative side: Mitch Lightfoot gave up a bad offensive rebound which resulted in a kick-out 3, David McCormack had trouble guarding the 3-point line and struggled to score like he normally does, Dejuan Harris got outplayed, K.J. Adams missed his only shot attempt, and Yesufu fouled a jump-shooter while turning it over twice.

The TEAM score of +6.83 was good enough to get the win. KU played down to Creighton’s level for most of the game, not putting away a scrappy team who was down to a 6-man rotation following key injuries. But in the end it was enough to win.