The piece de resistance of a non-conference gauntlet is on deck for Jim Flanery’s Creighton Bluejays.
2nd-ranked Stanford.
Maples Pavilion.
Tuesday night.
The Cardinal are off to an 11-1 start to the season. They won a national championship in 2021, went to the Final Four in 2022, and are heavily favored to be one of the last teams standing on the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. Their place in college basketball’s pecking order is earned and unquestioned.
All Creighton wants for Christmas is to get some respect of their own and to prove that last year’s run to the Elite Eight wasn’t a flash in a pan from a plucky underdog that got hot at the right time. Proving that wasn’t a fluke has been a major motivating factor for the nine returning players ever seen the clock hit 0.0 against eventual national champion South Carolina. It’s the reason they got right back in the gym when they returned to Omaha. It’s the reason they organized their own workout at The Ruth instead of going home this summer. It’s the reason they got shots up in the dark instead of turning around and going back to the dorm when no one was around to turn on the lights.
To a…
