The BigRich Sports Report

Baylor Scheierman has made a lot of threes in his lifetime. Watching him in warm-ups, I’m convinced he would make double digits consecutively with his eyes closed.
During his college career, he’s connected on 280 three-pointers between South Dakota State and Creighton. Scheierman’s streak of 58 consecutive games with a made three-pointer was second-best in the nation and something to follow each time out.
Unfortunately for Scheierman and the Bluejays, that three-point streak was snapped Dec. 20 as Creighton lost its Big East opener at home to Villanova, 68-66 in overtime. 
It was a game full of missed opportunities and one of those chalked up to an intense conference contest. 
Unfortunately, the loss left a cloud over what was a great night, honoring and retiring the jersey of Doug McDermott, one of Creighton’s best all-time talents. 
A potentially forgettable moment in the game felt moreso like one of the biggest detriments.
Scheierman never met a loose basketball he didn’t like. During the second half, the former Husky put his body on the line diving for a loose basketball on the defensive end, resulting in a hard collision with an opposing player.
It appeared as though Scheierman jammed his left wrist in the collision, coming out of the pile wincing and holding his wrist. 
Scheierman attempted to shake some life back into it and ultimately never came out of the game.
For a lot of people, an injured left wrist wouldn’t be as much of a detriment. For Scheierman, a left-handed dominant player, it’s a much different story. His aggressiveness off the dribble has also been something to pay attention to of late. He’s very unpredictable on his next move. 
After injuring his hand, Scheierman went for the pump fake, side-stepped the defender and hit the hole without a defender in sight for an easy slam dunk. 
Then the end of the game. I’m still not entirely sure what happened.
Scheierman got an impressive one-on-one stop defensively with the game tied, ultimately giving the Jays a shot on the other end for the win.
Scheierman’s driving lane was boxed the first time about eight seconds left as No. 55 tried once more, getting up a fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired.
The shot missed as Mason Miller made the save on the ball, falling out of bounds as he tossed the ball to Scheierman in the corner.
No. 55 didn’t miss this time, sinking a three-point bucket while whistles were going off.
Officials blew the play dead, saying the ball was out of bounds. After review, officials determined the ball did touch out of bounds, but off a Villanova player.
With three seconds left, Trey Alexander had a look, but couldn’t hit and the game went to overtime.
Overtime was something to forget for Scheierman, missing the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds left and the Bluejays down two.
Villanova also missed two one-and-ones, the second of which giving Scheierman one last look from the logo as time expired that didn’t go down, either. 
Creighton moves to 9-3 on the season, its first two losses coming on nights where the offense was not clicking whatsoever. 
One thing that needs to change, at least somewhat, is getting more of a dependable bench for the Jays.
Creighton’s big three, including Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner, all played over 40 minutes against Villanova. Scheierman only sat for 89 seconds the entire game. 
I love seeing No. 55 on the floor as much as anyone else, but it’s not realistic to expect him to play entire games out there. Something will have to give by the time March rolls around.
Good news is March is a long time away. Creighton had its early-season struggles last season, too, and that turned out with an Elite Eight run. 
One thing is certain. Scheierman’s confidence isn’t going to waver. He’s the nation’s only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 250 three-pointers, 450 assists and 1,000 rebounds.
Let Baylor cook.
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.