On Friday morning via Twitter, Creighton released the non-conference schedule game-by-game, in ten minute increments. It features seven home games, highlighted by a game with California and their star freshman Jabari Bird on December 22. Both of their true road games are against NIT teams a year ago (Saint Josephs and Long Beach State), and the tourney in Anaheim offers them a chance to play an NCAA hopeful in Arizona State. That tourney also has the chance for a game with perennial NCAA Tourney team San Diego State, as well as Miami and Marquette. It’s a very solid schedule that should get them prepared for their Big East slate, and if the opponents play as expected, offer them several chances for nice resume wins should they need an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament next March.
Keep in mind all times are TBA, and won’t be determined until closer to the date of the game. Here’s some quick reaction to the non-conference slate:
Exhibition Game: vs Northern State, Friday November 1
Northern State was the exhibition opponent in Greg McDermott’s first season at Creighton, and returns to the exhibition slate this year. A school from Aberdeen, South Dakota, Coach Mac is very familiar with them, going 7-5 against the Wolves when he was the coach at Wayne State. Fun fact: the Jays’ 79-67 win over the Wolves in 2010-11 is the only game — exhibition or regular season — that Doug McDermott hasn’t started at Creighton. He came off the bench to score 18 points with 7 rebounds in that game, erasing any thoughts of a possible redshirt.
Game #1: Alcorn State, Friday November 8
The Jays open up the regular season with Alcorn State on a Friday night. Creighton is 80-15 all-time in season openers & 84-11 in home openers all-time, and the Braves shouldn’t be much of a challenge to those numbers; they went 10-24 a year ago and don’t figure to be much better this year. Fun fact: Alcorn State holds the record for fewest points scored in a game in CenturyLink Center history, scoring just 40 points in their 74-40 loss to the Jays in 2004.
Game #2: UMKC, Monday November 11
The Kangaroos of UMKC come to Omaha on Monday, November 11 for the eleventh meeting in the schools’ history. A staple of the Jays’ late-eighties and nineties schedules, Creighton has gone 7-3 all-time against the ‘Roos and has had some terrific individual performances against them, including Doug Swenson’s 8 blocks in a 1998 game (tied for fifth all-time in CU history) and Rodney Buford’s 7 steals in a 1996 game (tied for third all-time). The schools haven’t met since 1998, but the series resumes at an opportune time — Kirk Korver, the youngest of the four Korver brothers, is a senior for the Kangaroos.
Game #3: at Saint Josephs, Saturday November 16
Creighton goes on the road in their third game, traveling to Philadelphia to continue the series with fellow Jesuit school Saint Josephs. Phil Martelli’s squad went 18-14 and earned an NIT bid a year ago, but after being predicted to be at the top of the A10, an NIT berth was seen as disappointing by many. They lost to the Jays 80-51 last December, and as they head into 2013-14, they feature a senior-laden team hungry for an NCAA berth after missing out on it last year. A core of Ronald Roberts, Halil Kanacevic and Langston Galloway gives them the talent to compete, but they’ll miss C.J. Aiken and Carl Jones, both of whom depart. DeAndre Bembry, a 6’6 wing player ranked #92 by ESPN for the Class of 2013, should help. Saint Josephs won the previous meeting in Philly 80-71, so whether the game is played in the Hagan Arena or at the Palestra, it will be a stiff early-season test for the Jays.
Game #4: Tulsa, Saturday November 23
Creighton takes a full week off after the trip to Philly, and when they get home, they’ll prepare for Danny Manning to bring the Golden Hurricane to Omaha for a second consecutive year as part of the old MVC rivals’ four-year contract. A vastly improved squad as the season progressed, Tulsa finished 18-16 and earned a CBI bid after going 8-8 in Conference USA. They return three starters from last year’s team, including guard James Woodard who lit up the Jays in last December’s meeting, notching a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. They’ll be a tougher opponent than the Golden Hurricane team Creighton saw a year ago.
Game #5: Arizona State, Thursday November 28 (10pm, ESPN2)
In the opening round of the Wooden Legacy, Creighton will tangle with Arizona State on Thanksgiving Night. The Jays are all too familiar with the Sun Devils, having played them in the Championship Game of the Las Vegas Invitational a year ago, and the player they struggled the most to contain in that game — Jahii Carson — is back. The sensational guard had 30 points and 7 assists, getting to the rim, and the free throw line, with maddening frequency. If not for a late-season swoon, they’d have been a lock for the NCAA Tournament; as it was, they won 22 games and went to the NIT. With a nice recruiting class and some solid returnees surrounding Carson, the Sun Devils will likely be one of the better teams in the Pac12 and a probable NCAA team come March.
Game #6: San Diego State or College of Charleston, Friday November 29
Regardless of their second round opponent in the Wooden Legacy, Creighton will be squaring off with a postseason team from 2012-13. College of Charleston went 24-11 and earned a CBI berth, where they lost to George Mason on a buzzer-beater. C of C’s tremendous point guard from the last four years, Andrew Lawrence, graduated and is now playing professionally in Europe; there’s a nice core of young players still on the roster, though, including Canyon Barry, who was one of the 26 players invited to try out for USA U19 team this summer. He’s the son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Fun fact: the Cougars are coached by Doug Wojcik, the former Tulsa coach who uttered this now-famous line about Doug McDermott after their 2011-12 game.
If the opponent is San Diego State, they’ll be getting a team that has advanced to four straight NCAA Tournaments and won 20 or more games eight straight years. However, they return just two starters from last year’s 23-11 team, and among the three starters they lose are two of their standouts — Jamaal Franklin and Chase Tapley. However, they add Tulane graduate transfer Josh Davis, who becomes eligible immediately and adds firepower to their offense; he scored 617 points a year ago. It would be a surprise if the Aztecs weren’t in the conversation for a fifth straight NCAA bid come March.
Game #7: Miami, George Washington, Marquette or Cal-State Fullerton, Sunday December 1
For the Jays’ third game in the Wooden Legacy, they will play one of four teams from the other side of the bracket. Miami (29-6) and Marquette (25-8) both made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, while GW (13-17) and CSF (14-18) did not. Obviously the two headliners on that side are Miami and Marquette; given the fact that the Jays will play Marquette twice in the Big East, it would seem preferable to play Miami, even though the defending ACC Champs lose all five starters from last year’s team.
Game #8: at Long Beach State, Tuesday December 3
Creighton makes the return trip from their 2011-12 BracketBusters game two days later, playing Long Beach State on the way back to Omaha. The 49ers went 19-14 a year ago and went to the NIT, but their superstar wing James Ennis graduated and was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks in June. Replacing him will be tough for Dan Monson, though he’s brought in a generally well-regarded recruiting class of five players for the upcoming season.
Game #9: Nebraska, Sunday December 8
The in-state rivalry with Nebraska resumes with a Sunday showdown in Omaha. Tim Miles’ first Husker team went 15-18 and showed steady improvement, but they lose Dylan Talley (their top scorer), Brandon Ubel (their top rebounder) and Andre Almeida (their biggest body). Ray Gallegos was touted as a scoring machine before his first season in Lincoln last year, but was wildly inconsistent and failed to impress in the matchup with Creighton a year ago, going 2-8 from the field en route to just five points in 33 minutes. They do add Florida transfer Walter Pitchford, a 6’10” big man whose development will be key to the Huskers ability to compete.
Game #10: Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Tuesday December 17
After eight days off for finals, Creighton returns to the court to take on Arkansas Pine-Bluff, a team the Jays have played four previous times, winning all four by an average of 31 points. The Golden Lions went 16-14 a year ago in the SWAC, but make no mistake, this is a buy game in the strictest sense of the word.
Game #11: California, Sunday December 22
The second Pac12 team on the Jays’ 2013-14 schedule is the Cal Golden Bears, a squad that went 21-12 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Standout Allen Crabbe is gone, having been drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in June’s NBA Draft, and his loss will certainly hurt the Bears. Crabbe, who was last seen by Jays’ fans being smothered, chased and frustrated by Jahenns Manigat (going a ghastly 6-26 from the field in the Jays’ 74-64 win in Berkeley), will be tough to replace. Mike Montgomery’s high-profile recruit Jabari Bird will help soften the blow of Crabbe’s loss, and the Bears expect to be back in contention for an NCAA bid this March.
Game #12: Chicago State, Sunday December 29
The third Sunday game of the non-conference slate comes against Chicago State, a team that went 11-22 last year but got a CIT bid because they got hot for two days and won the Great West Conference tournament (a league without an auto bid to the NCAA Tourney). Chicago State will be the Jays’ final tuneup before the Big East schedule begins, reportedly with a New Years Eve battle against Marquette (some sources claim it’s a done deal, others say it’s still just a rumor — we’ll have to wait for the release of the Big East schedule to know for sure).