I always like to find someone who really knows NC State's opponents when they in the NCAA Tournament, whether a coach in that league or media person. When Creighton popped up on the screen, I knew what former sportswriter and long-time friend to interview for this. I also purposely want him to be anonymous so he can be completely unfettered with his opinions.
Would you call Creighton a track meet team?
“I think this season, more than any other season, they've shown that they can play different styles, particularly in the halfcourt. But yes, they prefer to get up and down and play fast.
“I will tell you off the jump, I just saw the line at the book that I use and it's NC State plus-175 money line. That's a good bet to me. I would take the NC State money line. If you put a $100 on NC State, you’ll make $75. Creighton's favored by five points. Creighton, like if they are hitting their three’s, they're really tough to beat.”
How are they with four shooters around junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner?
“Trey Alexander has had two big games this season — included a couple of weeks ago — and Baylor Scheierman averages three made three’s a game. If they're hitting their three’s and they're taking care of the basketball, those are the two things. If they're doing those two things, I put them up against most teams in the country and feel pretty good about it.
“The problem is, I see a lot of weaknesses that NC State can exploit. There are a lot of strengths that NC State has that Creighton is going to struggle with. Creighton will roll out a starting lineup with three sophomores and Scheierman. I don't think the moments too big for them, but the way that this season has unfolded, I would rather trust my season with a team that starts senior guards. The second thing is, Kalkbrenner is a great defensive post player, but athletic bigs like [Oumar] Ballo from Arizona and [Adama] Sanogo from UConn, both put him on a poster on multiple occasions.
“The dude Burns is going to back him down. I do think that if they can play up-tempo and Burns gets into some foul trouble, plus the altitude, that is a problem.”
Anything about playing in Denver?
“They are going to pack Denver. There'll be 8,000 Creighton fans there. It's a simple flight and Omaha has a lot of money and they'll fly out there. It's an eight-hour drive.”
Does Kalkbrenner basically play within himself, hence 71.4 percent from the field?
“I do think that they are going to have a hard time guarding him because I think he just goes over the top. Around the basket, he can do a jump hook. I don't think Burns can put a hand on it [the hook].”
Does Creighton basically never foul?
“Creighton, they're like the least fouling team in the country. Kalkbrenner will give Burns open shots rather than foul. They never foul.
“They also don’t double the post. Ballo just totally dominated that game and they never doubled him. Never.”
Is sophomore power forward Arthur Kaluma just up and down this season?
“He doesn't use his size effectively. He's great on the fastbreak and he can shoot the three. He gets a lot of wide-open looks in Creighton's offense at the corner in particular. He's a strong athletic defender. He can't guard a point guard, but he can guard two-through-five.
“It wouldn't surprise me if they had some rotations where he's on Burns.”
Is freshman shooter Mason Miller the main guy off the bench?
“There is 200 minutes in a game combined and maybe 30 will come from the bench. The one guy on the bench who's gonna be notable in this game is Shereef Mitchell, the backup point guard. His whole thing is he's a defensive stopper. Like he's just an absolute pest. He's 6-1 and from Omaha, and he just plays with a fire up his butt. In the game against Xavier that they lost, he came in at the end to guard Souley Boum and give Ryan Nembhard some rest.
“Boum brought it up halfcourt and Mitchell just picked his pocket. Of course, he blew the layup at the other end. Mitchell is going to have to get 12 minutes in this game and they’ll put him on Jarkel Joiner.”
What is Creighton’s X-factor?
“Trey Alexander's the guy that if Creighton goes on a run this year, like let's say they make it to the Sweet 16 and they have a good game against Arizona again, he could end up getting a first-round grade and getting out.”
What happened in losing to Xavier in the Big East Tournament?
“They played Xavier and lost by 20 and they should have won that game [on paper], honestly. Xavier doesn't have star forward Zach Freemantle. They beat Xavier by 17 in regular season. I wonder if they had one eye on the title game and they clearly didn't show up. They just weren't even there.
“I’m a little concerned that they might fall into something similar with this game. I don't wanna say they're looking past NC State, but I don't know if they're gonna sell out the way that you need to in the tourney to win.
“This whole crew won last season against San Diego State in an overtime game. They clearly have had that experience.
“My prediction is basically, I think it's gonna come down to the wire. I think NC State could pull it out. The alternative is Creighton wins by 10. I think it's one of those two things.”
How do you feel about Creighton’s schedule and preparing for this moment?
“So [Coach Greg] McDermott like he deliberately scheduled. This has been by far the toughest schedule that Creighton has ever had, at least in my time.
“The crazy thing is like a lot of those, they lost. They lost six in a row. They lost Arizona, then they lost to Texas and that Nebraska game, which Kalkbrenner played. Then he sat out the next three, and they lost all of them.
“It could have been a totally different season had things played out differently with Kalkbrenner. They've played a lot of good programs, but they didn't really have a signature win this season. Xavier and UConn were both at home. Those were good wins.
“It isn’t the Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski, Mitch Ballock teams [from three years ago]. It’s just not. They were a No. 2 seed before the season got canceled [due to COVID].
“I think like this team last season barely lost to Kansas. They barely lost to Villanova in the Big East title game. This season, they barely lost to Arizona and Texas. They barely lost to Xavier, and they barely lost at home to Marquette.
“They have a lot of these close losses and I just don't know if they have what it takes to get over the top. I don't know if they look in those super tight games against elite level competition.
“They've got these four guys who are the four-out [with Kalkbrenner], but it’s probably Trey Alexander who takes the big shot. He’s not been crowned the guy. Often times it goes to Baylor Scheierman, and he’s not cold-blooded or a killer. When it comes down to crunch time, they haven’t found that guy to get a win yet.”
Would you call Creighton a track meet team?
“I think this season, more than any other season, they've shown that they can play different styles, particularly in the halfcourt. But yes, they prefer to get up and down and play fast.
“I will tell you off the jump, I just saw the line at the book that I use and it's NC State plus-175 money line. That's a good bet to me. I would take the NC State money line. If you put a $100 on NC State, you’ll make $75. Creighton's favored by five points. Creighton, like if they are hitting their three’s, they're really tough to beat.”
How are they with four shooters around junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner?
“Trey Alexander has had two big games this season — included a couple of weeks ago — and Baylor Scheierman averages three made three’s a game. If they're hitting their three’s and they're taking care of the basketball, those are the two things. If they're doing those two things, I put them up against most teams in the country and feel pretty good about it.
“The problem is, I see a lot of weaknesses that NC State can exploit. There are a lot of strengths that NC State has that Creighton is going to struggle with. Creighton will roll out a starting lineup with three sophomores and Scheierman. I don't think the moments too big for them, but the way that this season has unfolded, I would rather trust my season with a team that starts senior guards. The second thing is, Kalkbrenner is a great defensive post player, but athletic bigs like [Oumar] Ballo from Arizona and [Adama] Sanogo from UConn, both put him on a poster on multiple occasions.
“The dude Burns is going to back him down. I do think that if they can play up-tempo and Burns gets into some foul trouble, plus the altitude, that is a problem.”
Anything about playing in Denver?
“They are going to pack Denver. There'll be 8,000 Creighton fans there. It's a simple flight and Omaha has a lot of money and they'll fly out there. It's an eight-hour drive.”
Does Kalkbrenner basically play within himself, hence 71.4 percent from the field?
“I do think that they are going to have a hard time guarding him because I think he just goes over the top. Around the basket, he can do a jump hook. I don't think Burns can put a hand on it [the hook].”
Does Creighton basically never foul?
“Creighton, they're like the least fouling team in the country. Kalkbrenner will give Burns open shots rather than foul. They never foul.
“They also don’t double the post. Ballo just totally dominated that game and they never doubled him. Never.”
Is sophomore power forward Arthur Kaluma just up and down this season?
“He doesn't use his size effectively. He's great on the fastbreak and he can shoot the three. He gets a lot of wide-open looks in Creighton's offense at the corner in particular. He's a strong athletic defender. He can't guard a point guard, but he can guard two-through-five.
“It wouldn't surprise me if they had some rotations where he's on Burns.”
Is freshman shooter Mason Miller the main guy off the bench?
“There is 200 minutes in a game combined and maybe 30 will come from the bench. The one guy on the bench who's gonna be notable in this game is Shereef Mitchell, the backup point guard. His whole thing is he's a defensive stopper. Like he's just an absolute pest. He's 6-1 and from Omaha, and he just plays with a fire up his butt. In the game against Xavier that they lost, he came in at the end to guard Souley Boum and give Ryan Nembhard some rest.
“Boum brought it up halfcourt and Mitchell just picked his pocket. Of course, he blew the layup at the other end. Mitchell is going to have to get 12 minutes in this game and they’ll put him on Jarkel Joiner.”
What is Creighton’s X-factor?
“Trey Alexander's the guy that if Creighton goes on a run this year, like let's say they make it to the Sweet 16 and they have a good game against Arizona again, he could end up getting a first-round grade and getting out.”
What happened in losing to Xavier in the Big East Tournament?
“They played Xavier and lost by 20 and they should have won that game [on paper], honestly. Xavier doesn't have star forward Zach Freemantle. They beat Xavier by 17 in regular season. I wonder if they had one eye on the title game and they clearly didn't show up. They just weren't even there.
“I’m a little concerned that they might fall into something similar with this game. I don't wanna say they're looking past NC State, but I don't know if they're gonna sell out the way that you need to in the tourney to win.
“This whole crew won last season against San Diego State in an overtime game. They clearly have had that experience.
“My prediction is basically, I think it's gonna come down to the wire. I think NC State could pull it out. The alternative is Creighton wins by 10. I think it's one of those two things.”
How do you feel about Creighton’s schedule and preparing for this moment?
“So [Coach Greg] McDermott like he deliberately scheduled. This has been by far the toughest schedule that Creighton has ever had, at least in my time.
“The crazy thing is like a lot of those, they lost. They lost six in a row. They lost Arizona, then they lost to Texas and that Nebraska game, which Kalkbrenner played. Then he sat out the next three, and they lost all of them.
“It could have been a totally different season had things played out differently with Kalkbrenner. They've played a lot of good programs, but they didn't really have a signature win this season. Xavier and UConn were both at home. Those were good wins.
“It isn’t the Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski, Mitch Ballock teams [from three years ago]. It’s just not. They were a No. 2 seed before the season got canceled [due to COVID].
“I think like this team last season barely lost to Kansas. They barely lost to Villanova in the Big East title game. This season, they barely lost to Arizona and Texas. They barely lost to Xavier, and they barely lost at home to Marquette.
“They have a lot of these close losses and I just don't know if they have what it takes to get over the top. I don't know if they look in those super tight games against elite level competition.
“They've got these four guys who are the four-out [with Kalkbrenner], but it’s probably Trey Alexander who takes the big shot. He’s not been crowned the guy. Often times it goes to Baylor Scheierman, and he’s not cold-blooded or a killer. When it comes down to crunch time, they haven’t found that guy to get a win yet.”
