Creighton Basketball: Biggest takeaways from Cayman Islands Classic championship run

KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 20: Ty-Shon Alexander #5 of the Creighton Bluejays reacts after scoring during the National Collegiate Basketball Hall Of Fame Classic game against the UCLA Bruins at the Sprint Center on November 20, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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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) /

1. The Jays have silenced the critics… for now

Coming into the 2018-2019 season, Creighton was picked to finish ninth in the Big East coaches preseason poll. As mentioned before, head coach Greg McDermott and the Jays were forced to replace three starting spots including key pieces Khryi Thomas and Marcus Foster. Just about everyone in the media projected Creighton to finish eighth or ninth in the Big East and most doubted the inexperienced squad would make it to the NCAA tournament.

Now, just three weeks into the season and the Jays are off to a fast start as they sit at 5-1 and fly back home to the states holding onto a new trophy. After Creighton nearly pulled off their first upset last week against Ohio State, the Jays rolled in the Cayman Islands, picking up resumé building wins over Boise State, Georgia State, and No. 16 Clemson.

The group of freshman and sophomores that weren’t expected to hang with the big boys is the same group that scored the 64 of the Jays 87 points on Wednesday against Clemson, including the first 20 points of the game. The Jays look to be in good hands behind breakout star Ty-Shon Alexander and the future looks bright for this squad. In addition, guard Marcus Zegarowski is already making a case for himself to be considered for Big East freshman of the year.

Yes… yes I know, it’s early. But that’s the thing, you wouldn’t expect this young group to start off so strong. Nor would you have guessed that this “inexperienced” squad would snag their first victory over a ranked opponent in just the sixth game of the season.

A lot is still to be said about this young and talented Bluejays team and we can’t get ahead of ourselves just yet. But for what we have seen up to this point, the Jays are out to prove the critics wrong and a big opportunity awaits them on Dec. 1 when they will take on a Gonzaga team who just knocked off No. 1 Duke.

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