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Creighton Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Bluejays

Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) drives against Akron Zips forward Enrique Freeman (25) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament at PPG Paints Arena, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) drives against Akron Zips forward Enrique Freeman (25) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament at PPG Paints Arena, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Basketball has been tough in the Big East in recent years and Creighton is one of the bigger reasons for that success. While they don’t have the national success as Connecticut or Villanova, their decade-plus since joining the Big East has been very prosperous, with Greg McDermott building quite the basketball program in Omaha.

The Bluejays have been in each of the four NCAA Tournaments since the beginning of the pandemic, including three trips beyond the opening weekend. A program that’s finished Top 4 in the Big East in eight straight seasons, Creighton was back in the Sweet Sixteen again last season, surviving a tough battle with Oregon in the second round before falling to Tennessee to end the year. That tough loss came on year after an even harder defeat to San Diego State in the final moments of the Elite Eight.

Creighton has come up just shy of that breakthrough success in recent years, though the focus is certainly on the future. They’ve established themselves and prove they belong in the Big East, but could the tides be changing in this league? There’s a long list of talented players and coaches in this conference and it’ll be harder than ever for the Bluejays, though they’ve shown no signs of backing down during this recent run of success.

The roster looks different than that Elite Eight run in 2023 or even from last season, but there’s still a lot to like about this squad in Omaha. We’re going to dive into the current makeup of the roster, look a bit at the season’s schedule, and try to gleam what we can about where Creighton could be headed this season. A fifth straight trip to the Big Dance is certainly an initial goal, but can these Bluejays make it an even more special season than that?