Nov 7, 2023; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Steven Ashworth (1), center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11), forward Mason Miller (13) and guard Baylor Scheierman (55) watch from the bench against the Florida A&M Rattlers in the second half at CHI Health Center Omaha. (Steven Branscombe/USA TODAY Sports)
Creighton Great Measuring Stick for Hawkeyes
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa Basketball sits at 2-0 after beating up on two inferior opponents last week. That won't be the case Tuesday night in Omaha.
The Hawkeyes visit No. 8 Creighton (9:10 pm CT, FS1) as part of the Gavitt Games. They're facing the Blue Jays (2-0) for the first time since 2011 and for the 26th time overall. Iowa holds a 14-11 advantage in the series. It's the first meeting in Omaha since '99.
Creighton will face its toughest competition of the season on Tuesday as well. The Big East Conference member has wins against Florida A&M and North Dakota State, teams with a combined record of 23-39 a year ago.
Despite star guard Ryan Nembhard leaving for Gonzaga during the offseason, the Blue Jays still put plenty of talent on the court. The group is led by returning starters Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 PPG, 76.9 FG%) and Baylor Scheierman (16.0, 5.5 RPG., 4.0 APG), both seniors, and junior guard Trey Alexander (20.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.5 APG).
Iowa will need to be creative when dealing with the skilled, 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner, a '22-23 All-Big East First-teamer. That's on both ends of the court. Freshman Owen Freeman (6-10) will the the tallest player available for the Hawkeyes. Patrick McCaffery, Ben Krikke and Even Brauns all are listed at 6-9.
Alexander (6-4) keeps improving and is another guy Iowa must contain. The Oklahoma product is one of the better two-way guards the Hawkeyes will face this season. He can shoot it from deep, get to the rim and lock down on defense.
Scheierman plays well off of Alexander. At 6-7, he stands out as a versatile wing that is shooting 6 of 13 (46.2 percent) on three-pointers through two contests.
That trio has help. Senior guard Steven Ashworth is averaging 12.0 points a game, aided by 6 of 10 shooting from behind the arc. Nebraska native Isaac Traudt, who Iowa offered in high school, is chipping in 9.5 points and 5.0 boards a contest.
It will be a good test for a Hawkeye defense that ranked 296th out of 352 Division I programs in scoring defense (74.7 PPG) a year ago. Creighton is shooting 30 of 66 (45.5 percent) on treys and is hitting 58.7 percent of its field goals overall.
Iowa has held up well on defense so far. It's allowed 67.5 points, limiting opponents to 37.5 percent shooting from the floor, including 21.3 on three-pointers. It should be noted that the competition - North Dakota and Alabama State - combined for a 21-43 record a year ago.
A key for the Hawkeyes hanging in defensively will how well it performs on the backboards. Creighton is out-rebounding its opponents by 23.0 a game. Iowa's advantage is just 4.0.
The Hawkeyes will be playing on the road for the first time this season, doing so in a very tough environment. It's a good experience for a squad utilizing two sophomores and four freshmen in its rotation with trips to Iowa State and 10 away contests in Big Ten play.
Five Iowa players are averaging double figures in points, led by wing Payton Sandfort (19.0 PPG). The junior from Waukee also paces the team with 10.5 rebounds per game. Iowa is averaging 104.0 points a game, third best in the country so far.
