The Bluejays soar in and will face the Aztecs, with a potential date with Arizona coming in the second round.
After being picked to finish eighth in the Big East, Creighton will return to the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd time in program history!
This is Creighton sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past ten seasons, and first set of consecutive appearances since they made it into the Big Dance twice in a row in 2017 and 2018. This is Coach McDermott’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, having made it from 2004-2006 with Northern Iowa and having made it in 2012-2014, 2017-2018, and 2021-2022 with Creighton.
Creighton had a roller coaster of a season this year, with tough games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Kennesaw State to start the season, but explosive performances in Big East play to propel Creighton to a 9-seed. With a 22-11 (12-7) record, the Bluejays finished in sole possession of fourth place in the Big East, even with significant injuries to players who would otherwise be getting minutes, like Shereef Mitchell and Ryan Nembhard. Led by Ryan Hawkins (13.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.5 APG), Creighton looks to continue a tremendous season with wins in the NCAA Tournament.
To achieve this continued success, the 9-seeded Jays will have to face off against the 8-seeded San Diego State Aztecs. The Aztecs are a strong defensive team, allowing 57.7 PPG, and have an explosive scorer in senior guard Matt Bradley, who averages 17.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG at 6’4”.
The matchup between Creighton and San Diego State will be on Thursday in Fort Worth, TX as part of the Midwest Region. The winner will be set to face Kansas, Texas Southern, or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Game time, television, and streaming options will be available soon.