Saturday, December 9
Omaha, Neb./CHI Health Center
2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Central Michigan University
3-6,0-0MAC
64
at
109
Creighton
8-1,0-0Big East
1
2
F
Central Mich.
36
28
64
Creighton
56
53
109
Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography
No. 10/11 Creighton Defeats Men's Basketball 109-64
12/9/2023 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Derrick Butler and Anthony Pritchard lead Central Michigan with 28 and 22 points respectively, duo combines for 50 of CMU’s 64 points and 23 of CMU’s 29 field goals.
OMAHA, Neb.—Central Michigan guards Derrick Butler and Anthony Pritchard scored career-highs of 28 and 22 points respectively, but it was not enough as host and No. 10/11 ranked Creighton shot 65.1 percent from the floor, placed six in double figures, and rolled to a 109-64 victory Saturday at the CHI Health Center Arena.
Creighton converted 41 of 63 field goals (65.1 percent) and 15 of 31 3-point field goals (48.4 percent). Both were CMU opponent season-highs. Six BlueJays notched double figure scoring led by Isaac Traudt, who finished with 18 points on 5-6 3-point shooting, Mason Miller, who scored 17 points, and Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander, with 15 points apiece.
Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee knew his team faced a tough task in Creighton, one of the nation's top teams.
"You get exposed when you've got weaknesses," Barbee said. "That's what good teams do. We've still got a lot of things to work on and get better at."
For Central Michigan, Butler and Pritchard combined for 50 of CMU's 64 points and 23 of CMU's 29 field goals. Butler registered his second straight 20-point contest as he scored 28 points on 13 of 21 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers. He also led CMU in rebounds with seven. Pritchard scored 22 points on 10 of 19 shooting, led the Chippewas with four assists, and grabbed four rebounds.
For Butler, it was his second consecutive game 20-point scoring game as he finished with a previous career-high 24 points in a Wednesday evening win over Valparaiso. In the last two contests, Butler has averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists per game, while hitting 22-35 field goals, 6-12 3-pointers and 2-4 free throws.
"He's getting better and better," Barbee said. "That's the Derrick Butler I know, especially on the offensive end of the floor. He's a guy who can flat-out score the ball. He's doing better and better things rebounding for his position. We've just got to get him to improve defensively."
Pritchard scored 20 or more points for the second time this year and reached double figure scoring for the seventh time in nine contests.
With the loss, the Chippewas drop to 3-6 overall, while Creighton improves to 8-1.
In the first half, Creighton hit 11 3-pointers, shot 61.3 percent from the floor (19-31) and 52.4 percent on 3-pointers (11-21). Creighton took control after the game's first four minutes as it went up 11-2. The BlueJays opened the game on a layup and dunk by Kalkbrenner, and three straight 3-pointers from Miller, Baylor Scheirman and Miller for the 11-2 lead. Creighton went up 19 (40-21) with 5:30 to play in the first half and led by 20 (56-36) at halftime.
Creighton became the first team to score over 100 points against a Tony Barbee-Central Michigan coached team. The last time an opponent scored over 100 points vs. CMU was at DePaul (100-86) in the College Basketball Invitational on March 20, 2019.
"We've got to get something more out of our front line," Barbee said. "It was very disappointing today. You're talking about two veteran players, Brian Taylor and Markus Harding, who no-showed us today. It's going to be hard to beat anybody when your two veteran players play that way."
"Hopefully we can get Aidan (Rubio) healthy. He's a big piece that's missing and should be coming back here pretty soon. We need him desperately."
Central Michigan takes a week off from competition for final exams. The Chipppewas will return to play back-to-back home games at McGuirk Arena vs. Davenport (Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m.) and vs. Detroit (Thursday, Dec. 21, 7 p.m.) before a holiday break.
Creighton converted 41 of 63 field goals (65.1 percent) and 15 of 31 3-point field goals (48.4 percent). Both were CMU opponent season-highs. Six BlueJays notched double figure scoring led by Isaac Traudt, who finished with 18 points on 5-6 3-point shooting, Mason Miller, who scored 17 points, and Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander, with 15 points apiece.
Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee knew his team faced a tough task in Creighton, one of the nation's top teams.
"You get exposed when you've got weaknesses," Barbee said. "That's what good teams do. We've still got a lot of things to work on and get better at."
For Central Michigan, Butler and Pritchard combined for 50 of CMU's 64 points and 23 of CMU's 29 field goals. Butler registered his second straight 20-point contest as he scored 28 points on 13 of 21 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers. He also led CMU in rebounds with seven. Pritchard scored 22 points on 10 of 19 shooting, led the Chippewas with four assists, and grabbed four rebounds.
For Butler, it was his second consecutive game 20-point scoring game as he finished with a previous career-high 24 points in a Wednesday evening win over Valparaiso. In the last two contests, Butler has averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists per game, while hitting 22-35 field goals, 6-12 3-pointers and 2-4 free throws.
"He's getting better and better," Barbee said. "That's the Derrick Butler I know, especially on the offensive end of the floor. He's a guy who can flat-out score the ball. He's doing better and better things rebounding for his position. We've just got to get him to improve defensively."
Pritchard scored 20 or more points for the second time this year and reached double figure scoring for the seventh time in nine contests.
With the loss, the Chippewas drop to 3-6 overall, while Creighton improves to 8-1.
In the first half, Creighton hit 11 3-pointers, shot 61.3 percent from the floor (19-31) and 52.4 percent on 3-pointers (11-21). Creighton took control after the game's first four minutes as it went up 11-2. The BlueJays opened the game on a layup and dunk by Kalkbrenner, and three straight 3-pointers from Miller, Baylor Scheirman and Miller for the 11-2 lead. Creighton went up 19 (40-21) with 5:30 to play in the first half and led by 20 (56-36) at halftime.
Creighton became the first team to score over 100 points against a Tony Barbee-Central Michigan coached team. The last time an opponent scored over 100 points vs. CMU was at DePaul (100-86) in the College Basketball Invitational on March 20, 2019.
"We've got to get something more out of our front line," Barbee said. "It was very disappointing today. You're talking about two veteran players, Brian Taylor and Markus Harding, who no-showed us today. It's going to be hard to beat anybody when your two veteran players play that way."
"Hopefully we can get Aidan (Rubio) healthy. He's a big piece that's missing and should be coming back here pretty soon. We need him desperately."
Central Michigan takes a week off from competition for final exams. The Chipppewas will return to play back-to-back home games at McGuirk Arena vs. Davenport (Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m.) and vs. Detroit (Thursday, Dec. 21, 7 p.m.) before a holiday break.
—CMU—
Team Stats
CMU
CU
FG%
.397
.651
3FG%
.105
.484
FT%
1.000
.857
RB
25
40
TO
6
9
STL
6
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
13
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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