Lots of anger and frustration on the Board for a 15 point road win without your starting big man. I understanding it. This was one of the sloppiest, poor offensive performances of the last three years and the Cats were lucky it was against a bad St. John's team.
However, considering the faster pace of play and more possessions and the twenty turnovers, Nova playing without Ochefu gave up 53 points. That is some very solid defense (even against a bad offensive opponent.)
The Cats dominated the glass (even without Ochefu.)
But the missing point relates to the offense and some of it is cause for concern.
The Cats (other than Jenkins) shot poorly from the perimeter but for the first time appeared afraid to shoot. Hart was not even looking for his three ball and there was a sequence where they did the pass up an open three for a better shot but NOBODY would shoot.
The lack of Ochefu and confidence from three lead to dribble drives, which did get the Cats to the FT line and got Hart his points. But in general the Cats struggled to beat their man off the dribble. (even Hart had five turnovers). The amount of try to drive without a back up plan and panic was scary. All three lead guards (Arch, Brunson and Booth) suffered from it.
That does not bode well for the future if the offense becomes drive and panic, rather than drive and kick or drive and dish. Here is another missing point. St. John's despite being awful on offense and undersized, actually is a fairly athletic team that does a good job of stopping dribble penetration and/or channeling it to a shot blocker. In that regard and in the hustle category the Johnnies are not bad. This kept them in the game.
What does this mean going forward, I don't know. Creighton is not a particularly good defensive team and the Cats should be much more effective off the dribble against them. Hopefully, Ochefu is back and the Pavilion rims provide more confidence. Arch will bounce back but at least one of Brunson and Booth need to become productive (or at least decent) or some losses are on the horizon.
The facial frustrations, in my opinion were more from guys trying to force plays and failing. It made the guy who made the mistake frustrated but also frustrated open teammates. This is fixable. If a chemistry meltdown occurs it usually effects the defense. Defense, rebounding and effort were there even if focus was lacking.
Ochefu needs to return to form and shooting confidence needs to be regained.
