Kansas vs Creighton: 2024-25 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Kansas heads to Creighton for their Big 12-Big East Battle matchup; do the Jayhawks continue a perfect start or can the Bluejays score a much needed upset at home?

TV schedule: Wednesday, December 4, 8:30 pm ET. FS1

Arena: CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska

November has come and gone and Kansas (7-0) couldn’t have had a better opening month. The Jayhawks weren’t at any of the holiday tournaments, but still managed to score impressive wins over Duke, North Carolina, and Michigan State in the first few weeks of the season. They’ve defended that top ranking and look like a juggernaut yet again.

Year five for All-American center Hunter Dickinson (15.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg) is off to a nice start, and his presence is a catalyst for the Jayhawks. Among the impressive crew of new talent, Zeke Mayo (11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.7 apg) has really stood out in recent weeks after transferring from South Dakota State. Always reliable, point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (9.7 ppg, 6.1 apg) continues to make plays on both sides of the ball and is a must-watch athlete.

Despite their #1 ranking in the AP Top 25, the Jayhawks are just 7th in KenPom and 9th in the NET ranking. They are a rare team sitting in the Top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Even in the games where the outside shots haven’t fallen, Kansas does enough with Dickinson and the others inside the paint to take care of business, while the defense has performed well each and every night.

Things are a little different for Creighton (5-3), as the Bluejays are settling back in after a tough trip at Las Vegas. Right after an abysmal effort against Nebraska, Creighton lost two of three at the Players Era Festival, finally bouncing back against Notre Dame to stop a three-game skid. With both offense and defense struggling, they’ll need instant answers in a major opportunity against Kansas.

Creighton depends on center Ryan Kalkbrenner (18.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg) for quite a lot both scoring in the paint and as a defender, though he did miss that win against the Fighting Irish this past weekend. Senior guard Steven Ashworth (15.6 ppg, 5.6 apg) also missed one of those Vegas games, and the Bluejays certainly need him playing at his best in running this offense. The major transfer of the offseason was Pop Isaacs (14.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.9 apg), a significant scoring threat who spent his first two years at Texas Tech and has seen these Jayhawks up close several times.

There’s no surprise that Creighton fell out of the national rankings this week after those losses, while their KenPom rating slid all the way to 51st. This team is actually just 99th in the initial NET rankings, though that rough stretch might be exaggerated. This team dominant weaker foes in the paint with Kalkbrenner and will need him to play at a special level going forward, especially on nights where the outside shots aren’t going in the basket.

After winning three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards in the Big East, Kalkbrenner has certainly stood out as one of the nation’s best players, though he won’t even be the best center on the court. Dickinson is a special talent and the individual matchups between the two will be the thing to watch in this game. The Jayhawks have more talent in the backcourt and can win this contest there, but Kalkbrenner getting work done could be a harbinger for the Bluejays.

Overall, it’s hard to be excited with Creighton based on their recent results. They were awesome against weak mid-majors and either okay or dreadful against legitimate foes. This isn’t to say that they can’t turn things around, especially as this lineup grows and gets healthy, but we’re leaning heavily on this talented juggernaut of a Kansas squad to come to Omaha and do what’s necessary for the victory.

Prediction: Kansas 75, Creighton 69