Death. Taxes. Creighton women’s basketball playing one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the NCAA.
The 2014-15 season follows the same pattern that each of the first 12 seasons under head coach Jim Flanery have followed. That pattern? Flanery putting his team to the test against high-caliber non-conference competition to prepare the Bluejays for conference play and set themselves up for an NCAA at-large bid.
Flanery, Bluejays don’t back down
Many thought, myself included, that Flan might ease up on his non-conference scheduling philosophy with the move to the Big East. When the program’s all-time winningest coach decided to accept an invitation from Geno Auriemma to face his defending NCAA champion Connecticut Huskies, it became clear that Flan is not backing down from any challenges due to his new conference home.
The Big East announced its conference slate this week and while Creighton’s non-conference schedule was previously released, we thought now would be a good time to break down the Jays’ entire 2014-15 calendar. The earliest league start in program history and the longest home stand in 24 seasons highlight the 42nd season of women’s basketball on the Hilltop.
Of note, just as the Big East men’s basketball schedule was thrown together in odd fashion for its first year under a new regime, the women’s schedule last year didn’t have much of a pattern either. That changes this year, with the league moving to a Friday-Sunday schedule for a majority of conference games on the women’s side. To that end, after Creighton’s first two league games fall on a Wednesday and a Tuesday respectively, its final 16 conference games all fall on a Friday or Sunday.
The Non-Con
Creighton will again start its season with a closed-door scrimmage at the University of Iowa. Flan has done this for the last handful of years, opting to travel to Iowa City each time. He has cited the benefit of not only getting to play a game against strong competition, but getting his team’s first road trip under their belt before the regular-season begins.
The Bluejays host Minnesota State in their lone public exhibition on Nov. 5. The Jays have never lost an exhibition game under Flanery, but they will have their hands full with this NCAA Division II team which put together a 23-6 season last year.
Creighton opens regular-season action at two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference co-champions Wichita State. The Shockers, 26-7 last year, have not only shared the regular-season crown in each of the last two years (with Creighton in 2013 and Indiana State in 2014), but they also captured the MVC tournament title both seasons to advance to their first two NCAA tournaments in school history.
The reigning five-time Summit League champion South Dakota State is up next. SDSU posted a 26-10 record, including an unblemished 18-0 mark at home, last year. If the Jackrabbits can defeat BYU (a Sweet 16 squad in 2014) in their home opener, they’ll carry a 22-game home winning streak into their game with Creighton in Brookings on Nov. 18. CU, which defeated SDSU at home in the regular-season last year, will look to erase the memories of 28 unanswered points scored by the Jacks in CU’s 62-51 season-ending loss in the 2014 WNIT Second Round (SDSU would advance to the WNIT Semifinals before falling to UTEP).
The Bluejays welcome another former conference foe to town for their home opener and lone home game in November when Utah plays at D.J. Sokol Arena on Nov. 20. Yes, former conference mate. Two conferences in fact. Back when the Bluejay women played in the High Country Athletic Conference and the Western Athletic Conference, they faced the Utes 12 times between 1988 and 1992. The Bluejays and Utes haven’t played since they were conference foes. Utah, now in the Pac-12, went 12-19 last year, including 4-14 for an 11th-place conference finish.
UConn.
If you know women’s basketball, then not much more needs to be said about the caliber of Creighton’s next foe. Flan has scheduled non-conference games with teams coming off Final Four appearances before – Minnesota, Oklahoma, Notre Dame – but the Bluejays have never been so bold as to play the (two-time) defending NCAA champions, much less on their home court. Creighton will travel to UConn to take on the Huskies on Nov. 23. Good luck ladies.
Thanksgiving will be spent in the Bay Area, as the Bluejays will take part in the Cal Classic, playing their opening game against Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 28. The Bearcats, a 13-18 team last year, will be playing CU for the first time in program history. The CU-Cincy winner will take on the winner of San Jose State and host California the next day. San Jose State went 11-19 last year, including just 2-13 away from home, while Cal posted a 22-10 record, losing to Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tourney. The Jays have never faced SJSU and only clashed with Cal in the 1987 WNIT (an 86-82 CU loss).
The earliest conference game in program history opens up a home-heavy month for the Bluejays, when they host Seton Hall on Dec. 3. That game is the first of four Creighton contests scheduled to air on Fox Sports 1 this season. CU swept the Pirates in their first run through the Big East, including a 20-point victory in SHU’s first visit to Omaha.
Creighton Hall of Famer and former Bluejay staffer Tanya Warren and her Northern Iowa Panthers host the Jays in their only road game of the month on Dec. 8. The Panthers, 17-13 last year, open the year with six road games, making their contest with the Bluejays their home opener. Creighton is 13-11 all-time in Cedar Falls and the Jays won their last five against UNI before leaving The Valley.
Another Bluejay Hall of Famer is next on the docket for the Jays, as former Bluejay head coach Connie Yori and the Nebraska Cornhuskers visit D.J. Sokol Arena on Dec. 11. CU played its worst offensive game in the Jim Flanery era in a 63-38 drubbing in Lincoln last year. NU, which finished 26-7 and won the Big Ten Tournament last year, returns four starters this year. The Bluejays hope this nationally televised FS1 contest will yield the same results as 2012, when Creighton upset nationally-ranked Nebraska in its last trip to Omaha.
Yet another former league foe, Drake, makes the short trek across I-80 to continue the most played series in program history on Dec. 14. The Bulldogs handed Creighton a loss in a forgettable season-opener last year in Des Moines. DU posted a 17-15 mark last year and finished fifth in the MVC with a 9-9 mark. Reigning Valley Player of the Year, Kyndal Clark, is one of four returning starters back for the Bulldogs.
While the Bluejays have faced Drake every year since 1993, the Jays haven’t played cross-town foe Nebraska-Omaha in the regular-season since 1988. That changes this year, when CU and UNO renew the rivalry at D.J. Sokol Arena on Dec. 20. Creighton has won its previous eight meetings with UNO, but the Mavericks own the all-time series lead 14-9. UNO went 12-16 in its third year in transition into Division I last year, as led by first-year head coach and former Bluejay Brittany Lange.
Creighton and Kansas are no strangers either, as Jim Flanery has scheduled the Jayhawks all but one season he’s been at the helm. The Jays will look to snap an 11-game skid in the series with Kansas when the Big 12 foes come to town to conclude non-conference play on Dec. 22. After consecutive Sweet 16 appearances and six straight winning seasons, KU was 13-19 last year.
The longest Creighton home stand since the 1990-91 season concludes with a fifth straight home game on Dec. 30 when Georgetown comes to town. As referenced above, this Tuesday contest marks the final time the Jays will play a mid-week game in the regular-season.
Big East Play, Proper
The conference season falls into place after the New Year, with weekend play filling up league arenas. The Bluejays face fellow Big East newcomers Xavier (Jan. 2) and Butler (Jan. 4) in their first league road trip of the season. CU knocked off Butler in the Big East Tournament last year, but the Bulldogs were the lone conference team the Jays did not defeat in the regular-season.
Other notable contests in January include consecutive Friday-night televised road affairs at Providence (Jan. 16) and DePaul (Jan. 23). Both games are slated to air on Fox Sports 1. CU plays its third straight league road game at Marquette on Jan. 25, before returning home to host Xavier and Butler.
The Bluejays will then benefit from a three-game league home stand in February, hosting Providence (Feb. 15), DePaul (Feb. 20) and Marquette (Feb. 22) before ending the regular-season on the road at Georgetown (Feb. 27) and Villanova (March 1).
The Big East Tournament returns to Allstate Arena in suburban Chicago on March 7-10, where host school DePaul, will look to repeat as champions. The semifinals and finals will be televised nationally on the Fox Sports networks, while opening round games and quarterfinals will appear on the newly announced Big East Digital Network.
A young Bluejay squad led by 2014 Big East Player of the Year Marissa Janning will welcome five freshmen into the fold and must figure out a way to replace three starters in order to keep the season going after March 10. The 2014-15 has many unknowns, but one certainty remains, Flan and his Bluejays will be ready to go when conference play begins. Start the countdown clock now.