Creighton Basketball: 3 keys to Bluejays beating San Diego State in Round of 64

Creighton Basketball hops into March Madness fresh off a disappointing end to the Big East Tournament, a 54-48 loss to Villanova. In a game where the Bluejays simply couldn’t get anything to drop offensively, it was their defense that kept them hanging around in this one.

Well, prepare for another slog in this one, Creighton fans. The San Diego State Aztecs are Creighton’s first-round foe, hailing from the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs boast the second-best Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rating (and the 160th best offense) per KenPom. With the betting total at 119.5, the Jays may be in for another ‘first to 60 wins’ type of game.

The story surrounding Creighton for the past handful of weeks now is the loss of Ryan Nembhard. The Big East Freshman of the Year, Nembhard, was lost for the season due to a broken wrist suffered in a win over St. John’s. Since that point, the Jays are 3-3 including wins over three teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Last season, Creighton suffered a one-point loss to Kansas in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, a defeat that Creighton coach Greg McDermott would be happy to return in the second round of the Big Dance. But first, Creighton has to get past one of the best defensive teams in the entire country.

SDSU finished 23-8 on the year and placed third in an uber-competitive Mountain West. While perhaps not as formidable as the Big East, the MWC was a really solid conference all year long. Let’s take a look at three keys for the Bluejays to advance past San Diego State.