Tuesday night in Norman, Creighton’s shortcomings were laid bare: against a long, athletic power conference opponent, they missed their first 12 three pointers, made just seven of 30 overall from long range, turned it over 18 times, missed nine free throws (going 5-for-14), and were shredded defensively in the paint to the tune of 44 points allowed.
And small mistakes defensively added up: They fouled jump shooters at crucial moments, they missed box-outs resulting in offensive rebounds and second-chance points, and they were late on rotations that resulted in open looks.
In losses to Gonzaga, Nebraska, and now Oklahoma, CU played well enough to win for 30 minutes but were done in by one long, bad stretch of basketball that buried them in a hole they couldn’t dig out of.