CU Basketball Schedule Breakdown
The first practice of the season for the Creighton men’s basketball team is right around the corner. With that in mind, now seems like a good time to take a look at the schedule and see what this year might have in store for the Jays.
Early Non Conference (UMKC through Paradise Jam)
The highlight of this portion of the schedule is the home game against Wisconsin. Based on early preseason rankings, the Badgers will likely be a top 10 team when they make their way to Omaha. Obviously a win against Wisconsin would be huge for Creighton from a perception standpoint on a national level.
The Jays will also face Washington State in the Paradise Jam, and could possibly see North Carolina State, St. Joseph’s or Ole Miss in later rounds. If Creighton can come out of this portion of the schedule with a 4-1 record they will be off to a good start.
Late Non Conference (Loyola-Maryland through ASU)
This portion of the schedule includes a few games against mid major teams (Oral Roberts, Buffalo and Akron) that are always competitive. It also includes road trips to Nebraska and Arizona State.
Winning against Nebraska is an obvious must, but aside from that rivalry game there are some potential pitfalls in this part of the schedule. Any of the mid major games mentioned could be an issue if Creighton doesn’t bring their “A” game and going on the road against Arizona State could be tricky as well.
That being said, I would be surprised if the Bluejays dropped more than one game through this stretch of seven contests. That would bring the Jays non-conference record to 10-2.
First Half Conference Schedule (plus Truman State)
The conference schedule starts with Seton Hall and Villanova at home, followed by St. John’s and Providence on the road. These four games could be challenging but Creighton should go 3-1 or 2-2 at the worst.
The first half of the conference schedule finishes with Butler and Truman State at home, Xavier on the road and Marquette back at home. The Jays then travel to Georgetown before wrapping up the first half of the conference with DePaul at home which is also the Pink Out game.
While winning on the road is always tough, going to Xavier is nearly an impossible task. That being said, there are four home games in this stretch and I expect Creighton to win all four of those. I see the Bluejays going 4-2 or 5-1 through these six games.
If things go the way I see them, the Jays best case scenario through the first half of conference play is 8-2 or a worst case scenario of 6-4.
Second Half Conference Schedule
The second half of conference play in order goes at Butler, Xavier at home, at DePaul, at Seton Hall, Georgetown and Providence at home, at Villanova, St. Johns at home and finally at Marquette.
The first four games are going to be really challenging. While DePaul shouldn’t be an issue, even on the road, the other three games are all losable. I don’t expect Creighton to go 1-3 in those four games, but this is the part of the schedule that seems most likely to cause the Jays to stumble. I’m predicting they go 2-2 through these four games.
That being said, the last five games of the schedule give Creighton a great opportunity to head into the Big East Tournament with some momentum. Outside of the trip to Villanova, the Jays will likely be favored to win each of those games. I expect them to go 4-1 through this stretch, worst-case scenario 3-2 if Georgetown or Providence is better than expected.
If you tally it all up, the best-case scenario I see for conference play is 13-5 and the worst-case scenario I see is 9-9. I believe this is consistent with the widely accepted view that the conference is wide open after Villanova and Xavier. Creighton could easily place anywhere in the three through five spots in the conference.
Overall
If everything works out well, with Marcus Foster returning to all-conference form and Justin Patton and Kobe Paras making early contributions, this could be a special season for Creighton and a record somewhere in the neighborhood of 23-7 would likely be the result.
On the other hand, if things do not transition as smoothly and there is a bit of a learning curve with the newcomers, the Jays could drop some games they are capable of winning and a record in the 19-11 range is possible as well.
The best-case scenario would likely have Creighton as an NCAA tournament lock, where in my worst-case scenario they would likely need to win a game or two in the Big East tournament to make the Big Dance.