No. 24 BYU Makes First Trip To South Dakota For Neutral Court Tilt With Creighton

PROVO, Utah – Saturday’s BYU/Creighton game is a rare matinee game for the Cougars, and it’s even rarer to make a trip to South Dakota. For the first time in BYU basketball history, the Cougars will play a game in the Mount Rushmore State.

puttin' in work pic.twitter.com/Wp4tBtYqWA

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) December 10, 2021

The game will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, which holds a capacity of 3,250 fans. The number of fans attending the game will be interesting as there is a winter storm warning for Sioux Falls on Friday night into the early hours of Saturday morning.

This is the first of a two-game series between the programs. Next year BYU and Creighton will meet in another neutral site game in Las Vegas.

Both teams come into this matchup with good records. BYU is 8-1, still reinventing itself after losing starting center Gavin Baxter for the season. At the same time, Creighton is 7-2, with one of those losses coming in their last outing against Iowa State on December 4.

No. 24 BYU vs. Creighton

Tip: 10 a.m. (MT)

Location: Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM – Pregame begins at 9 a.m.)

Series: BYU leads 7-3

Last Meeting: 2016: BYU 88, Creighton 82 in Provo (NIT Quarterfinals)

Retooled BYU basketball is still feeling out its identity after injuries to key players

BYU left for South Dakota on Thursday night, just one day after defeating in-state rival Utah State in the Marriott Center. While BYU has a quick turnaround, the Bluejays from Creighton have regrouped with a week off after a setback to Iowa State.

“Utah State had three extra days, UVU had two extra days, Utah had a whole week, what’s going on, guys? It just does not seem fair,” said Pope when asked if it’s more challenging to face a team that’s been off for a week. “You know, it’s actually working in our favor because if you gave us a couple of extra days to prepare, I would ruin the team. So the fact that these guys only have to listen to me for a day and a half before we play is actually the secret recipe for us. But yeah, it makes it challenging.”

Regardless of the limited prep time, Pope believes there will be some challenges for the Bluejays in preparing for this retooled BYU team that is still finding its identity after injuries to crucial frontcourt personnel.

“The great thing about Creighton right now is we’re not exactly sure who we’re becoming, so it might be hard for them to predict who they are going to be playing,” said Pope.

LSU transfer Seneca Knight has started the past two games at power forward for the Cougars alongside Caleb Lohner at the five.

Lohner, a preseason All-WCC pick coming into this year, isn’t putting up the eye-popping numbers many envisioned for the sophomore standout. But he’s providing valuable contributions to the way BYU operates offensively.

“We’ve put so much on his shoulders,” said Pope. “…But people that know basketball, they look at our team, and they are like, ‘These guys would have no chance without him.’ He is carrying so much of a load on the glass, taking up space, and running the floor.”

What to know about Creighton

A member of the Big East Conference, Creighton is coached by Greg McDermott. McDermott is the second-winningest coach in Creighton history, behind only Dana Altman. He’s been coaching at Creighton since 2010, where he has amassed 260 wins during his time in Omaha.

“Coach McDermott, I think, is one of the most creative offensive coaches in the country. I’m a huge fan. Like, I watch his clips in the summer, to try and learn [from him],” said Mark Pope.

❄️𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫❄️#GoJays x @SanfordPentagon pic.twitter.com/5LNGWOVZpn

— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) December 10, 2021

Last season, McDermott led Creighton to their first Sweet 16 run since 1974. The year before that, they were on pace to receive a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament before COVID-19 took away March Madness.

This season, the Creighton offense is 17th nationally in field-goal percentage at 49.6% on the season through nine games. Most of their success comes inside the arc. The Blue Jays are 259th in the country in three-point field goal percentage from the three-point range, shooting 31.4%.

Creighton has an intriguing starting five that consists of experience plus heralded freshmen. However, the most glaring challenge for BYU against Creighton is in the post, where 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner handles the post. He participated in Team USA’s goals medal run in the U19 World Cup. Alongside him is Ryan Hawkins, a former transfer from a DII program.

The Jays starting guard is Ryan Nembhard. If the name sounds familiar, you’re right; he’s the younger brother to Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard. The younger Nembhard was a top-70 recruit nationally, according to 247Sports.

Arthur Kaluma was a top-50 recruit in the 2021 cycle, initially committed to UNLV before he flipped his pledge to Creighton. He’s been an immediate day one starter.

Probable Starters

BYU (8-1)

G – Alex Barcello, 6-2, 192, Sr.

G – Te’Jon Lucas, 6-1, 187, Sr.

G – Trevin Knell, 6-5, 197, Jr.

F – Seneca Knight, 6-6, 224, Jr.

F – Caleb Lohner, 6-8, 235, Soph.

Creighton (7-2)

G – Ryan Nembhard, 6-0, 167, Fr.

G – Alex O’Connell, 6-6, 185, Sr.

F – Arthur Kaluma, 6-7, 220, Fr.

F – Ryan Hawkins, 6-7, 222, Sr.

C – Ryan Kalkbrenner, 7-1, 256, Soph.

BYU vs. Creighton Prediction

Day games haven’t always been kind to BYU during the West Coast Conference era (since 2011). Former BYU head coach Dave Rose always preferred night games for his team. So that adds an interesting angle to this matchup.

But what BYU did offensively against Utah State on Wednesday is something that can give Mark Pope’s confidence coming into this tough matchup. BYU knocked down 45.8% of its three-point attempts to win over the Aggies. Coming into that game, they were sub-300 in three-point field-goal percentage.

I look for BYU to continue that shooting, especially with Spencer Johnson, who has been playing some of his best basketball coming off the bench. Also, BYU has the edge in the backcourt with seasoned guards in Alex Barcello and Te’Jon Lucas to counter the talented but young Creighton guard line.

BYU 74, Creighton 70

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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