Five home games, five neutral site games and a road trip to Texas for the BIG 12 – BIG EAST Battle are part of Creighton’s 2022-23 non-conference men’s basketball schedule, announced by head coach Greg McDermott on Thursday, July 28th.
On the heels of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, Creighton’s non-conference schedule has the potential to rank among the toughest in program history.
“I’ve always felt like if you’ve got a good team and some veterans returning, you need to challenge yourself with a good schedule,” said McDermott, who enters his 13th season with the Bluejays. “We’ve done that and then some. Not only are we playing a good schedule, but almost all of them are coming away from home. Most of them are neutral sites but we’re at Texas, and then we have the one high-major game at home with Nebraska, so that’s going to prepare us for just about anything we’re going to see in the BIG EAST. The BIG EAST will be outstanding again as always.”
The slate gets underway with a home exhibition game against Drury on Sunday, Oct. 30. McDermott’s teams are 29-0 in fall exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including a 12-0 mark at Creighton.
Creighton’s first four regular-season games will take place inside CHI Health Center Omaha, a stretch that starts on Nov. 7 with a game against the University of St. Thomas. Creighton is 8-1 all-time against the Tommies, including season-opening victories in 1970-71 and 1976-77.
Creighton hosts North Dakota on Nov. 10 for a match-up against the Fighting Hawks, then welcomes Holy Cross for a Nov. 14 tilt in Omaha against its Jesuit counterpart. The Bluejays and Crusaders have not met on the hardwood since 1956. The Bluejays close out their opening stretch of home games on Nov. 17 for its first meeting ever against UC Riverside.
CU’s next three weeks feature seven games against some of the best teams in America. The stretch starts with three games at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Hawaii. CU will play games on Nov. 21, Nov. 22 and Nov. 23 against a field that features Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, Ohio State, San Diego State and Texas Tech. That bracket is expected to be unveiled next month.
The Jays return to the mainland on Dec. 1 when it plays at Texas in the Big 12 – BIG EAST Battle. The Longhorns are being projected as a top-15 team in preseason polls for next year under head coach Chris Beard.
In-state rival Nebraska comes to CHI Health Center Omaha on Dec. 4 for Creighton’s final non-conference home game of the season. The Bluejays have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Cornhuskers.
The Bluejays close out non-conference play with a pair of neutral site games in Las Vegas while CHI Health Center Omaha gets ready to host the NCAA Volleyball Championships. CU faces BYU on Dec. 10, then Arizona State two days later. Both contests will take place at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort.
The 20-game conference schedule for Creighton’s 10th season in the BIG EAST is expected to be released in September. The 2023 BIG EAST Tournament is scheduled for March 8-11 and will once again be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.