CU's McDermott Says 'There Was Blood in the Water' During Loss at Nebraska

Nebraska left little doubt in its 21-point rout of Creighton Sunday in Lincoln, and CU coach Greg McDermott took note.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott and his Bluejays ran into a buzz-saw Sunday in Lincoln, falling 71-50 to the Huskers. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

If you’ve followed the Nebraska-Creighton men’s basketball rivalry long enough, you’ve come to understand that there’s a reason fans of both teams are called “Jayskers” and not “Husjays.”

Creighton usually comes out on top – it just is what it is. That’s the feeling toward it until you actually look at the stats. Over the last ten meetings entering Sunday, the two teams battled to a split record of 5-5. If you wanted to zoom out to the all-time record of the rivalry, Creighton entered with a two-game lead at 30-28.

Well, Nebraska added the latest chapter – a dominating 71-50 win over the Bluejays Sunday. It’s the Huskers’ third win in the past four meetings, which means it might also be time to pass that “big brother” torch back over to the fellas in Lincoln.

 “Once they got ahead, it was like there was blood in the water, and we were in trouble,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said in his postgame press conference following the loss Sunday.

Nebraska had the upper hand from the jump in Lincoln Sunday, as they routed in-state rival Creighton. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After several slow starts at home this season, Nebraska shot out of a cannon, opening up a double-digit lead early on the Bluejays. It stretched to a 33-19 lead before the Huskers added seven more in the second half to put CU away.

It’s the first time the rivalry has seen Nebraska be the dominant team for all 40 minutes in quite some time, and it certainly caught the attention of McDermott.

“They were the tougher team, they were the more connected team,” McDermott admitted. “I thought the start of the game was going to be critical, and I was right. I felt like we needed to get off to a good start with this crowd and not allow them to get off to the start they did – 10-2 or 12-2 or whatever it was.”

McDermott said with each miss on the offensive end, Nebraska’s defense gained more “teeth” in what they were doing. It’s also exactly what Creighton expected coming into the game. McDermott said ultimately, the shots just weren’t falling for the guys in blue.

Every shot Creighton had seemed contested Sunday in Lincoln as the Huskers held the Jays to just 50 points in the NU win. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“I thought our shooters had pretty good shots,” McDermott said. “There (were) a couple I didn’t like, but there’s a reason Nebraska gives up more threes than anybody in the country – that’s kind of their philosophy. They’re going to send you hard to baseline; they’re going to trap it. If you can get it out of there successfully, you’re probably going to get a decent look. We worked on that all week, knowing that was their technique defensively.”

Ultimately, it worked in spades for the Huskers, who are now 9-0 on the year, and it’s sending Creighton back to the drawing board this week as they gear up for their own conference slate that is right around the corner.

Creighton's Jasen Green did all he could to slow down Nebraska Sunday, but it wasn't enough in a 71-50 loss to the Huskers. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“Throughout the season, there are going to be games like these,” Creighton junior forward Jasen Green said in CU’s postgame press conference. “Obviously, it’s really tough to come into an environment like this and play in front of a crowd like this, but there (are) going to be times that stuff like this happens, and we have to be able to rally with each other and help each other through these times because it’s one game.”

You might remember that Nebraska had a full week to get ready for the game with its bitter in-state rival. Now the shoe’s on the other foot as Creighton has a week off to get things ironed out from the loss.

The next game for the Jays isn’t until a December 13 showdown with Kansas State – a team that only lost to Nebraska by one point, which means Creighton will likely have their hands full again.

“It’s pretty important because there’s a lot of things that we’re going to be learning from this game,” Green said. “Having the amount of time we have from now until we play our next game is going to be crucial for us in order to fix those mistakes.”

Nebraska, on the other hand, doesn’t have a short week. They will take on their first conference opponent of the year Wednesday when 7-2 Wisconsin comes to Lincoln. It’s yet another game on the Husker schedule where fans seem a little uneasy.

Despite a pretty even series record, Nebraska's been an underdog to Creighton more times than not. However, they sure didn't play that way Sunday in their 21-point win over the Jays. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

That was the story entering Sunday’s Creighton game, as many “experts” said Nebraska hadn’t really faced tough competition yet this season despite wins over Oklahoma and Kansas State. Now, with a win over Creighton, even some of the doubters are at least giving the Huskers a chance in some bigger games this season, including CU coach Greg McDermott. He said there’s something different about this year’s Husker team compared to years past.

“I think their role players are really champions in their role, and that’s a little bit harder to accomplish in this day and age because guys don’t necessarily stay in one place,” McDermott said. “You know, Sam Hoiberg was a difference in the game today.”

Hoiberg with 15 points in the Nebraska win, which was second on the team behind senior forward Rienk Mast’s team-leading 20 points. However, it was the plays that don’t always show up on the stat sheet that made the difference for NU, according to McDermott.

Nebraska's Sam Hoiberg put up 15 points in a win over Creighton, but it's what he did without the ball that kept Creighton at bay. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“Sam doesn’t care if he scores,” he said. “Sam doesn’t care if he gets an assist. Sam just wants to win, and I think Kale Jacobson falls into that same boat. I think they just do whatever their team needs them to do, and it’s not about them.”

The Huskers will look to improve to 10-0 on the year if they can knock off Wisconsin Wednesday night, but for Creighton, a week of self-reflection is ahead before they take on the Wildcats in Omaha Saturday.

If the extended time off for Nebraska serves as any indicator, Creighton should learn a lot about themselves between now and the weekend.

“A lot of it is going to be fixed on the court and a lot of it’s also going to be fixed in the film room because there’s a lot of things that the coaches see that we don’t see, and they’re going to help us figure them out and get us right before our next game,” Green said.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg was thrilled with his team's physicality in a 71-50 NU win over Creighton. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

During Nebraska’s postgame press conferences Sunday, coach Fred Hoiberg and his players touted their physicality in the 21-point win. The Huskers outrebounded CU by four and also caused four more Bluejay turnovers compared to the NU in the win. At the end of the day, McDermott said his team will learn from the loss the hard way this week.

“We cut it to six there, and then I think there was two misses, an offensive rebound and then they end up with a 3-point play on the second one of those,” McDermott said. “That can’t happen. For the most part, they got eight offensive rebounds, we got nine, but that was a critical one I felt because I thought we had gained some of the momentum back.”

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