March Madness: Power ranking the Sweet 16 teams left in 2024 NCAA Tournament

11. Creighton Bluejays

There were just three Big East teams to make the NCAA Tournament and all of them have made it to the Sweet 16. But among them is Creighton, who was the closest to falling early on. They didn’t have much of an issue at first against Akron in the Round of 64, though it was a 5-point halftime game.

Creighton was able to run away with a 77-60 victory, with all five starters in double figures. Ryan Kalkbrenner led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Baylor Scheierman chipped in with 15 points and 13 rebounds. 

The next game was against 11-seed Oregon, who took care of South Carolina in the first round. It was a close matchup throughout that became an instant classic, ultimately going to two overtimes. The Bluejays had a dominant final five minutes to push to an 86-73 victory. Four players had at least 18 points, led by Steven Ashworth with 21 points and multiple clutch 3-pointers.

The competition rises for Creighton with a matchup with 2-seed Tennessee, who has one of the best players in the entire NCAA Tournament. The depth of starpower for the Bluejays might be good enough to overtake them.