2008 NIT Capsule: Creighton

Creighton Bluejays

Missouri Valley Conference (21-10-10-8)

Seed: #3

RPI: 45

Big Wins: 12/9 St. Joseph’s (90-84), 2/10 Southern Illinois (72-53), 2/23 at Oral Roberts (65-64)

Bad Losses: 1/2 at Indiana State (54-62), 2/13 at Evansville (56-60), 2/16 at Bradley (59-87)

Coach: Dana Altman

Probable Starters:

Josh Dotzler, Junior, Guard, 3.5 ppg, 3.6 apg

P’Allen Stinnett, Freshman, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 spg

Nick Bahe, Senior, Guard, 6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Dane Watts, Senior, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg

Kenny Lawson, Freshman, Center, 6.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Booker Woodfox, Junior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 1.3 apg

Cavel Witter, Sophomore, Guard, 9.0 ppg, 2.7 apg

Pierce Hibma, Senior, Guard, 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Chad Millard, Sophomore, Forward, 4.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg

Casey Harriman, Freshman, Forward, 3.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

Creighton does not have a go-to-scorer like they did last year with Nate Funk, but there are about a half dozen players on the team who could lead the team in scoring on any given night. Five of those players are a threat to hit the three-point shot and that can make it extremely difficult for the opposition to defend. No one individual is a prolific shooter from long range and Booker Woodfox hits the most on the team with 1.7 per game. But P’Allen Stinnett, Dane Watts, Cavel Witter and Nick Bahe hit about one per game as well and everybody but Stinnett hits them at least 40 percent of the time.

Stinnett may not be the most consistent three-point shooter on the team, but he is the most dynamic scorer. The freshman leads the squad with 12.4 points per game and will use his athleticism to finish around the basket. Witter and Bahe on the other hand, will spend most of their time on the offensive end behind the arc. Watts is the scoring threat under the basket, despite his ability to hit the long ball. Along with Stinnett, Watts is the only other double-digit scorer on the team and he also leads the way in the rebounding department.

Why They Can Disappoint:

With a healthy season under his belt, junior Josh Dotzler is finally showing what he can do. Dotzler will hardly do any scoring, but he has developed into a solid team leader and he dishes out 3.6 assists and turns the ball over just 1.8 times per game. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is not so effective taking care of the ball. Witter only plays 18.5 minutes per game, but somehow he manages 2.7 turnovers per contest.

Who To Watch:

Kenny Lawson is not a great scorer, but the 6-9 center does at least provide a scoring threat in the paint. He is a decent rebounder when he is on the floor, but despite starting about half the games this season, Lawson only plays about 15 minutes per contest. Having depth from former Louisville forward Chad Millard helps keep the frontcourt fresh and out of foul trouble, but Creighton will need somebody to become a larger scoring threat in the paint if they want to be able to get open looks on the perimeter.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 72.0 (113^th in nation, 3^rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 65.2 (91, 7)

Field-Goal Percentage: 45.1 (121, 2)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.6 (73, 3)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.3 (35, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.0 (92, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 71.9 (86, 5)

Rebound Margin: 1.7 (122, 4)

Assists Per Game: 14.8 (84, 3)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.0 (143, 7)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Rhode Island

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