The piece de resistance of a non-conference gauntlet is on deck for Jim Flanery\u2019s Creighton Bluejays.<\/p>\n
2nd-ranked Stanford.<\/p>\n
Maples Pavilion.<\/p>\n
Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
The Bluejays are up for the challenge against Stanford (Williams \/ WBR)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u2019s pecking order is earned and unquestioned.<\/p>\n
All Creighton wants for Christmas is to get some respect of their own and to prove that last year\u2019s run to the Elite Eight wasn\u2019t a flash in a pan from a plucky underdog that got hot at the right time. Proving that wasn\u2019t 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\u2019s the reason they got right back in the gym when they returned to Omaha. It\u2019s the reason they organized their own workout at The Ruth instead of going home this summer. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
To a large degree, that mission has already been accomplished. They went to Frost Arena on opening night and won relatively comfortably against a South Dakota State team that has since beaten No. 10 Louisville and No. 24 Kansas State. They throttled in-state rival Nebraska three weeks before the Huskers ran No. 20 Maryland out of their own gym. They tore up a Northern Iowa team that No. 13 Iowa and No. 14 Iowa State struggled to put away. They went out east and spoiled No. 25 Villanova\u2019s home-opener by holding reigning Big East Player of the Year Maddy Siegrist to 25 points on 26 shooting possessions in a 21-point win. They sport an 8-2 overall record. Six of those wins came away from D.J. Sokol Arena. The two setbacks \u2014 both by single digits \u2014 were to No. 17 Arkansas and No. 25 St. John\u2019s, who are a combined 24-0 on the season. This Creighton team is a battle-tested group. They also know that it\u2019ll be hard to find many people outside their locker room who believe they can win on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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