Musketeers Beat: Xavier looks to continue roll at Creighton in Big East road test

CINCINNATI — Fresh off a win against the two-time defending National Champion UConn Huskies, the Musketeers are now in position to build an NCAA Tournament resume. That starts Wednesday night at Creighton, a team that’s always solid, well-coached and prolific on offense.

Let’s look at the Players to Watch on the Creighton Blue Jays.

 

Players to Watch

1. #11. Ryan Kalkbrener  7’1′  270 lbs.  Sr.  Center  Florissant, Mo.
17.7 pts, 8.4 rebs, 56 blk, 66.5 FG%, 37.9 3-PT FG%, 72.3 FT%, 32.5 mpg

One of the best players in the Big East and one of the best big men in the country, Kalkbrenner is only the third player to win the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year three times. The other two? Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. That’s the company Kalkbrener keeps.

Kalkbrener began his season with a bang by scoring 49 points in the Blue Jays season-opener. He has five 20-point games since, including four of those in Big East play. Kalkbrener has six double-doubles this season and has 11 games with three or more blocks. That includes back-to-back Big East games with six blocks EACH. Kalkbrener has played 30+ minutes in nine of his last 10 games.

2. #1. Steven Ashworth  6’0″  175 lbs.  Sr.  Guard  Alpine, Utah  Utah State Transfer
16.6 pts, 3.9 rebs, 128 ast.-68 TO, 40.8 FG%, 36.5 3-PT FG%, 97.1 FT%, 34.9 mpg

With seven games with multiple three-pointers this season, Ashworth has asserted himself as a great shooter on this Blue Jays team. But Ashworth’s best part of his game is his ability to distribute the ball. He has 14 games with five+ assists and two games with double-digits. Ashworth also has six games with 20+ points, and he’s played 30+ minutes in 15 of his last 16 games.

3. #5. Jamiya Neal  6’5″  190 lbs.  Sr.  Guard/Forward  Toledo, Ohio  Arizona State Transfer
11.4 pts, 5.7 rebs, 22 stl, 45.9 FG%, 33.3 3-PT FG%, 66.7 FT%, 32.2 mpg

Neal played the first three seasons of his career at Arizona State, averaging a career-high in points and rebounds per game last year. He has 11 games with double-digit points this season with the Blue Jays. That includes three 20-point games and a season-high 24 points with three three-pointers in 40 minutes that led to a Blue Jays win at UConn. Neal has three games three games with three or more three-pointers, including six three-pointers in a win over Villanova in mid-December.

4. #23. Jackson McAndrew  6’10”  220 lbs.  Fr.   Forward  Wayzata, Minn.
8.2 pts, 4 rebs/gm., 40.1 FG%, 34.6 3-PT FG%, 16-23 FT, 18.9 mpg

McAndrew is Creighton head coach Greg McDermott’s most highly-regarded recruit in his tenure as the head coach of the Blue Jays. A top 50 recruit by four outlets, McAndrew was named Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball and the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024. McAndrew chose Creighton over Xavier, and his father played at North Dakota in the early to mid-90s when McDermott was an assistant there.

5. #41. Isaac Traudt  6’10”  225 lbs.  So.  Forward  Grand Island, Neb.  Virginia Transfer
5.6 pts, 2.7 rebs, 47.4 FG%, 42.9 3-PT FG%, 10-11 FT. 17 mpg

Traudt has three double-digit scoring games in his last four games overall. He also has five games with at least three three-pointers. Last season, Traudt was 19-of-37 from three-point range in home games. That’s the third-best single-season mark in the history of CHI Arena.

6. #33. Frederick King  6’9″  250 lbs.  Jr.  Center  Mangrove Cay, Andros, Bahamas
3.7 pts, 1.8 rebs, 69.6 FG%, 10-19 FT, 7.8 mpg

King has played seven games in double-digit minutes, and he made one start this season. Against Notre Dame on November 30th, King played a season-high 26 minutes with a season-high 14 points in his lone start this season.

7. #0. Jasen Green  6’8″  230 lbs.  So.  Forward  Omaha, Neb.
3.2 pts, 2.7 rebs, 50% FG, 30% 3-PT FG, 7-11 FT, 16.7 mpg

Green has started each of Creighton’s last eight games and has played 20+ minutes in two of them. He has scored in each of those eight games with a season-high seven points in 13 minutes against DePaul on January 21st.

8. #13. Mason Miller  6’9″  195 lbs.  Jr.  Forward  Germantown, Tenn.  Houston Trasnfer
1.4 pts, 2.2 rebs, 20% FG, 16.1 3-PT FG%, 6-10 FT, 15.3 mpg

The son of former 17-year NBA veteran Mike Miller, who won two NBA Championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 and ranks in the top 30 in NBA history with a 40.7 three-point field goal percentage and 1,950 three-pointers, Mason Miller is in his fourth season with the Blue Jays. Last year, Miller led the Big East with a 45.4 three-point field goal percentage. This season, Miller has three games with 20+ minutes played and has played double-digit minutes in all but two games this season.

 

Head Coach: Greg McDermott (15th season)

McDermott has had a lot of success at Creighton, including two straight Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight in 2023. The 2020 Big East Coach of the Year has taken Creighton to nine NCAA Tournaments in his tenure with the Blue Jays. He took over Creighton in 2010 and led the Blue Jays to a regular-season title in both the Missouri Valley Conference and the Big East.

Prior to Creighton, McDermott was the head coach at Iowa State for four seasons and the head coach at Northern Iowa for five seasons, leading to the Panthers to three straight NCAA Tournaments.

 

Keys to the Game

1. Rebounding: The Blue Jays are a really good rebounding team. But now with Zach Fremantle back in the lineup, the Musketeers have the ability to rebound with any team in the country. Bringing rebounding on the road is paramount to winning these kinds of road games.

2. Be disruptive on defense: Creighton averages 17 assists per game and shoots 47.6 percent from the floor. The Musketeers must do something to disrupt the Blue Jays offensive rhythm.

3. Offensive efficiency: This Blue Jays team has the ability to score and be really efficient in shooting the ball. The way for the Musketeers to beat that is to match them on the offensive end and keep the pressure on the Blue Jays.

Score Prediction: Musketeers 78 – Blue Jays 76
The Musketeers have a lot of momentum right now. They should be 6-4 in the Big East, had they held on against St. John’s. But not letting that loss linger against UConn was massive in the big-picture. Xavier will keep the momentum rolling against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.