RTC is providing coverage of The Hall Of Fame Classic in Kansas City.
Three Key Takeaways.
- Jo-Lual Acuil brought the intensity on the defensive glass. Creighton wasn’t known as a gifted rebounding team coming into tonight’s championship game and Baylor’s Jo Lual-Acuil ensured that would remain the case tonight. While the senior’s extreme length gives him an inherent advantage nearly every night out, his lack of bulk in the form of a 225-pound body on a 7’0″ frame and corresponding effort isn’t always there. This means that he can be too easily moved off the blocks by other high-level forwards like Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ. For at least one night, however, Lual-Acuil flipped the script in pulling down 15 of his team’s 38 total rebounds to deny Creighton a number of opportunities for second chance points.
- Both teams turned up the defense. After allowing 1.06 points per possession to UCLA on Monday night, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott stressed the need for his team to improve its defense. As a result, the Bluejays put the clamps on Baylor’s offense by hard-hedging screens at the point of attack, preventing the smallish Manu Lecomte from locating defenders over the top. On the other end of the floor, Baylor tightened things up after giving up several Creighton drives in the first half. The Bears were much more active defensively down the stretch, holding the Bluejays to just 29 percent shooting after the half.
- Marcus Foster is going to want tonight’s effort back. Creighton needed a spark in the second half but the senior guard hurt his team more than he helped in shooting a frosty 5-of-17 from the floor, including a ghastly 1-of-9 dud from the three-point line. Foster’s last two misfires, a pair of corner threes during the final minute, sealed Creighton’s fate and allowed the Bears to leave town with the Hall of Fame Classic title.
Player of the Game. King McClure, Baylor. The Bears were offensively starved for most of the night, but the junior stepped up in an impressive manner, scoring 15 of his game-high 19 points after the intermission. Mixing several tough drives with a pair of three-pointers, McClure showed the ability that has made him such a valued part of Scott Drew‘s unit over the last two seasons.
Quotable. “Our leadership was amazing. Manu and Jo said ‘We’re going to do this together. We’re going to fight and we’re going to win this.'” – Baylor’s King McClure, on the two Baylor seniors who rallied the team after a sloppy start.
Sights and Sounds. While the thousands of Creighton faithful who made the three-hour drive to Kansas City could be heard throughout the arena, both teams’ players audibly directed traffic in an effort to down their opponents’ offensive attacks. Creighton’s Martin Krampelj was especially vocal in calling out Baylor’s actions.
What’s Next. After four straight games against stout competition, Creighton will get a breather when it hosts SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday. It’s a much different story for Baylor, which turns right around to face a very difficult Xavier team in Cincinnati next Tuesday night.