Creighton Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Bluejays

By Brian Rauf | Sep 14, 2018

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: The Creighton Bluejay looks to the crowd during a timeout against the Kansas State Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: The Gonzaga Bulldogs huddle against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Non-conference schedule

Nov. 6 – Western Illinois
Nov. 11 – East Tennessee State
Nov. 15 – Ohio State
Nov. 19-21 – Cayman Island Classic
Nov. 28 – Montana
Dec. 1 – Gonzaga
Dec. 8 – at Nebraska
Dec. 14 – Green Bay
Dec. 18 – at Oklahoma
Dec. 20 – Coe
Dec. 27 – UMKC

This is the kind of non-conference schedule that is going to test Creighton early and often. Their two road games come against Power 5 competition, including their annual rivalry showdown against Nebraska, who is expected to make the NCAA Tournament and be one of the Big Ten’s better teams this season. Oklahoma figures to take a step back following Trae Young’s departure but will still test the Bluejays.

Yet Creighton’s two biggest non-conference tests will come at home, first when they host Ohio State as part of the Gavitt Games and then on Dec. 1 when they host preseason top-10 team Gonzaga. The Buckeyes are coming off an impressive season in head coach Chris Holtmann’s first year in charge and continue to be a program on the rise. As for the Bulldogs, they return almost all of their major contributors from last year’s Sweet 16 team and appear to have Final Four potential.

Creighton will also make the trip to take part in the Grand Caymans Classic, where their first game will be against Boise State. Other participants in the tournament include Georgia State, St. Bonaventure, Akron, Clemson, Georgia, and Illinois State.

In terms of the rest of their games against mid-major opponents, there are two sneaky tough tests. East Tennessee State is one of the best teams in the Southern Conference on a yearly basis and will compete for an NCAA Tournament bid in 2018-19, while Montana is coming off an NCAA appearance of their own and is ranked 87th in CollegeSportsMadness.com’s Top 144 preview.

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