10 Pressing Questions for Creighton Men's Basketball

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Creighton’s best chance for regular season matchups against that caliber of team comes from the crapshoot that is multi-team events. Usually scheduled a few years out, these tournaments litter the early season schedule of college basketball and give ESPN and other networks made-for-TV matchups in warm locations like Hawaii and Florida. This season, the Jays head to Vegas for the crown jewel of their non-conference slate: an arranged meeting with perennial power Wisconsin and then a game against either Arkansas or Arizona State.

Greg McDermott and the men’s basketball staff put together a solid non-conference schedule (Adam Streur/WBR)

Don’t listen to ignorant college hoops fans: the neutral court event is far from the only captivating non-conference piece of Creighton’s schedule. McDermott saw an opportunity and scheduled a road game at California in mid-December. Mike Montgomery’s team came on strong at the end of last season, advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and returns a few key players from that squad. Traveling halfway across the country after taking final exams isn’t easy, but a game against the Pac-12 Bears will offer CU a name opponent against which to collect a win. You can apply the same theory to the annual game against Nebraska. A win against the Huskers this season would give CU a “W” against a team from the Big Ten, which is usually one of the top three conferences by RPI.

Sure, there are some certified stinkers (Presbyterian, Longwood) scheduled for home games this season. But what college hoops teams don’t play a few sub-250 RPI schools each year? Once again, McDermott and his staff have put together a slate of non-conference games that, if thing break correctly, could leave CU in a solid position among the computer rankings later in the season. Don’t be surprised if Creighton’s home-opener against North Texas is one of the most challenging games the Jays play all season, in or out of conference play. Potential lottery pick Tony Mitchell gets plenty of publicity for the Mean Green — he graces many of the same All-American teams and lists of best college players as CU’s Doug McDermott — but UNT will put plenty of talent on the floor on November 9. The favorite in the Sun Belt Conference has road games at CU and Saint Louis and will participate in the NIT Preseason Tip Off, where a win against Alabama-Huntsville on November 12 could set Mitchell and the Mean Green up for a game against Kansas State. Its name may not carry the same cache as most major-conference teams, but come March a win over North Texas could do the Jays good.

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