Just got back from the game.
Crowd was great. Got loud at every opportunity, especially in the second half when we began to cut into the lead. Each time it got to 10, 9, 8, etc, the crowd was looking for a basket to go absolutely bananas. Creighton would make a play and take a bit of the air out of the building.
The first half was tough. Missed chippies inside by our forwards, Ponds/Lovett missing shots at the rim they typically make, having no answer for Patton, and Watson controlling the game. He really is that good. Hit back-breaking 3's when we started to get towards single digits, plays smart all the time, always seems to be under control, and has an insane handle.
The fight in the second half made this game worth attending. It also showed me that these kids deserve us to show up throughout the year, even when we deal with a stretch of losses, which we will. Creighton's core 6 all can score, pass, and move without the ball. There aren't many teams like that - Nova is probably the only other one in the conference that can do so on a consistent basis. When facing a team like that, you simply cannot have the defensive lapses we had. That is the biggest area of improvement for the players and staff. Yes, Williams, Owens and Co. need to be tougher on the block and make shots at the rim when presented. But more importantly, they need to be more aware on defense when playing against a team that has 5 guys who can hurt you at any time. Our guards or forwards got screened WAY too many times, leading to easy baskets, simply because the guy defending the screen (typically one of our forwards) did not have the awareness to help out.