Heading into the 2012-13 season, expectations are higher for Bluejay fans. By going back to the NCAA Tournament last season, watching one of the best players in the nation in Doug McDermott and having almost every key member returning for this season, it is easy for a lot of people to be excited.
One of the question marks for Creighton men’s basketball team heading into the season is the non-conference schedule and whether they could raise the bar even higher than last year. The schedule just took a bump up as the pairings for the Las Vegas Invitational were released today.
Creighton will open against Wisconsin in the Las Vegas portion of the tournament on Friday November 23rd at 9:00 p.m. central time. The game will be televised by either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The Bluejays will then face either Arizona State or Arkansas the following evening. If the Jays advance to the winners bracket, the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 10:00 p.m., Saturday November 24th. The consolation bracket game will be played before at 7:00 p.m. and available on ESPN3.
Wisconsin is a likely top 25 team and is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance for the third time in five years. With the coaching of Bo Ryan and returning four of five starters, the Badgers will be a tough opponent in the tournament.
The Bluejays will have two games at home as a part of the Las Vegas Invitational before making the trip to Las Vegas. The rest of the field consists of Presbyterian, Cornell, Florida A&M and Longwood. Cornell has already released their non-conference schedule and will be playing Wisconsin and Arizona State leaving the other three teams as potential opponents for the Bluejays. A Longwood blog has previously reported that the Lancers will be one of the opponents.
Officially, other than the announcement of the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge games, where Creighton will host Boise State on November 28th, the games in Las Vegas are the only game announcements made by the University for the 2012-13 non-conference schedule. However, through several other sources, White & Blue Review has compiled a large part of the non-conference schedule and the dates that go with them.
Creighton is still looking to open the season against a top 75 RPI opponent either as a part of a new home-and-home series or a one time neutral site game. Unfortunately, the right opponent has not come available. Head Coach Greg McDermott has said in the past that if they cannot schedule the game they want, they may just leave the date open or play a lower division opponent. If they leave the date, it would be the second straight season that Creighton is not scheduling a full slate of games.
Below is the rest of the tentative non-conference schedule for the 2012-13 season.
- Oct. 27— Iowa (Closed Scrimmage)
- TBA– Exhibition game
- Nov. 9 or 10– Top 75 RPI-Start H/H or 1 time Neutral site game
- Nov. 14— UAB
- Nov. 18?— Longwood (Las Vegas Invitational Home Game)
- Nov. 20?— Florida A&M or Presbyterian ( Las Vegas Invitational Home Game)
- Nov. 23– vs. Wisconsin (Las Vegas Invitational) 9:00 p.m. ESPN2 or ESPNU
- Nov. 24– vs. Arizona State/Arkansas (Las Vegas Invitational) 7:00/10:00 p.m. ESPN3/ESPN2
- Nov. 28— Boise State (MVC/MWC Challenge)
- Dec. 1– St. Joseph’s
- Dec. 6— @ Nebraska
- Dec. 15— @ California
- Dec. 19— Tulsa
- TBD– Akron (’11 BB Return)
- Feb.– @ Bracketbuster
For updated Creighton scheduling information and non-conference schedule information for the other MVC schools, check our scheduling page