Trailing 10-4 four minutes into Sunday’s season opener, Creighton looked a bit rusty — they missed three of their first four 3-point attempts, and North Dakota State’s Sam Griesel was creating opportunities all over the floor. Then a pair of Bluejays changed the momentum of the game.
Shereef Mitchell checked in at the 15:48 mark and immediately began harassing Griesel and making him uncomfortable. His on-ball defense was tremendous, and Greg McDermott noted in his postgame press conference that Mitchell “changed the game. We were sluggish defensively, and he gave us a spark.”
Speaking of sparks, Memphis transfer Antwann Jones got the start on Sunday when Denzel Mahoney opted to sit out less than 24 hours after returning from COVID-19 quarantine.