The Creighton Bluejays have defeated the Akron Zips 77-60. The starters shined for the Bluejays, but a lack of depth may concern the team moving forward.

All five starters scored double-digit points for the Bluejays, but senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner led the team with a 23-point performance. Despite not leading in scoring, senior guard Baylor Scheierman had a double-double, showing why he was named a third-team All-American. The third member of their trio, junior guard Trey Alexander added a 19-point performance himself. This was a great showing for the stars, but from the bench – nothing. Literally nothing. No points, and only one shot attempt. This lack of depth could hurt the team in the future.

The focus for the Bluejays, as with any team, is on their stars. But the team, a three-seed, faced a 14-seed Akron. They won by 17. They should not have needed their stars to do this much. Not every member of the bench needs to add to the team, but at least a couple should. What happens if one of their big three has an off-game? Faces a bad matchup? The team won’t be able to succeed. In a game like this, the team needed to get their bench involved and solidify their rotation. They were unable to do this.

Why Didn’t Creighton Involve Their Bench?

Perhaps coach Greg McDermott wanted to focus on the trio to up their draft stock. All three are hoping to hear their names called in June, but none are locked in first-round picks, or even locks to be drafted. Maybe he wants to give them every opportunity to change that. 

McDermott could believe the team’s only chance to win the tournament is by having the trio play big minutes. This can certainly work, as they are immensely talented. The team struggled with consistency throughout the season; however, relying on a few players won’t help that. When they match up against a deeper team, it could be tough. Their next game will be against the winner of six-seed South Carolina Gamecocks and 11-seed Oregon Ducks.

Overall, it was a good win for the Bluejays, but if one of their stars doesn’t perform as well as they did today, the lack of depth could cause the end of the Bluejays season.

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