So far this spring, Rivals.com, Collegebasketballtalk.com and ESPN.com have come out and publicly questioned the Bluejays upcoming schedule for 2012-13...and it's only May. It's understandable why the media is taking an interest in Creighton this early though. The team is going to have the biggest spotlight ever placed upon a Bluejays squad heading into a season. Get ready for covers of magazines and multiple ESPN trips to Omaha for interviews.
Doug McDermott will become a household name, if he isn't already, and his mug will be shown on national TV as much as possible. The Valley will promote him as their star, and rightfully so. This could be a rare season for boys of Omaha. The key word is COULD be.
The Jays return 4 of their 5 starters and are adding 2 redshirt players that should have an immediate impact. Gregory Echenique could play in the Olympics this summer and Grant Gibbs will have another offseason to rehab is multiple injuries.
To say that there is a lot expected of the team this year would be an understatement. So now the expectations have everyone looking at the schedule and voicing opinions on it already.
Creighton will play in an exempt tournament in Las Vegas where they could see Wisconsin and Arkansas. CU will travel to California and play Nebraska on the road as well. The home schedule in the non-conference is not outstanding but hopefully, a few of the teams coming in have better than expected seasons.
However, there is a chance that Creighton will not face an at-large worthy team in the non-conference and the fear that it could impact the Jays seeding come March is being discussed. Getting a decent seed without facing a tourney team in the non-conference is not unheard of as neither did Murray State last year and they were awarded a 6-seed by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Bluejays will have a better non-conference schedule than Murray State did this past year and the Missouri Valley slate will be much more difficult than the Ohio Valley schedule the Racers played. Yet, Murray was dominate all year long. It would be surprising to see the Jays run through their schedule with a 30-1 record.
So here we are once again with scheduling back in the news and so we asked Coach Mac to answer a few questions about how things are going at the moment for next year's list of games.
BJC: What is your reaction to some in the national media saying that the MVC and MWC have made a big mistake by scheduling Creighton and Boise State together this year and not CU vs. a top MWC team?
Coach Mac: First of all, Boise State played several freshmen last year and will be much improved. They are well-coached and will provide a very challenging game. Secondly, the contract was agreed upon between the two leagues four years ago, the options in year four are very limited for every team because of the language of the contract.
Creighton needs to find one more game to finish the schedule. Are you having any luck finding a "name" team for your opening?
A “name” team isn’t nearly as important to us as a solid RPI game. I am confident that we will be able to find a team that fits that description.
Has this year been easier or the same in terms of difficulty is scheduling a BCS school in the
non-conference?
We were able to secure a great home and home series with California. This comes on the heels of a home and home with Northwestern. I’m not sure it has been any easier, but I am pleased with the results.
Has any TV network gotten involved to try to help you guys schedule a team in the non-conference?
We have talked with ESPN about a few options but have yet to find something that fits our needs.
How do you feel about your current schedule in terms of building a resume for postseason consideration?
Scheduling is very unpredictable. We are in the middle of several multi-year contracts against teams that have been traditionally strong. If we can add one more quality game, I really like this schedule.
As the offseason progresses, more and more people will take a long hard look at who the Jays are going to face next fall in the non-conference. One more game against a quality opponent picked to go to the NCAA Tournament could really help to quiet down some of the critics who are already making noise.
This post was edited on 5/20 7:09 PM by Matt Perrault
Doug McDermott will become a household name, if he isn't already, and his mug will be shown on national TV as much as possible. The Valley will promote him as their star, and rightfully so. This could be a rare season for boys of Omaha. The key word is COULD be.
The Jays return 4 of their 5 starters and are adding 2 redshirt players that should have an immediate impact. Gregory Echenique could play in the Olympics this summer and Grant Gibbs will have another offseason to rehab is multiple injuries.
To say that there is a lot expected of the team this year would be an understatement. So now the expectations have everyone looking at the schedule and voicing opinions on it already.
Creighton will play in an exempt tournament in Las Vegas where they could see Wisconsin and Arkansas. CU will travel to California and play Nebraska on the road as well. The home schedule in the non-conference is not outstanding but hopefully, a few of the teams coming in have better than expected seasons.
However, there is a chance that Creighton will not face an at-large worthy team in the non-conference and the fear that it could impact the Jays seeding come March is being discussed. Getting a decent seed without facing a tourney team in the non-conference is not unheard of as neither did Murray State last year and they were awarded a 6-seed by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Bluejays will have a better non-conference schedule than Murray State did this past year and the Missouri Valley slate will be much more difficult than the Ohio Valley schedule the Racers played. Yet, Murray was dominate all year long. It would be surprising to see the Jays run through their schedule with a 30-1 record.
So here we are once again with scheduling back in the news and so we asked Coach Mac to answer a few questions about how things are going at the moment for next year's list of games.
BJC: What is your reaction to some in the national media saying that the MVC and MWC have made a big mistake by scheduling Creighton and Boise State together this year and not CU vs. a top MWC team?
Coach Mac: First of all, Boise State played several freshmen last year and will be much improved. They are well-coached and will provide a very challenging game. Secondly, the contract was agreed upon between the two leagues four years ago, the options in year four are very limited for every team because of the language of the contract.
Creighton needs to find one more game to finish the schedule. Are you having any luck finding a "name" team for your opening?
A “name” team isn’t nearly as important to us as a solid RPI game. I am confident that we will be able to find a team that fits that description.
Has this year been easier or the same in terms of difficulty is scheduling a BCS school in the
non-conference?
We were able to secure a great home and home series with California. This comes on the heels of a home and home with Northwestern. I’m not sure it has been any easier, but I am pleased with the results.
Has any TV network gotten involved to try to help you guys schedule a team in the non-conference?
We have talked with ESPN about a few options but have yet to find something that fits our needs.
How do you feel about your current schedule in terms of building a resume for postseason consideration?
Scheduling is very unpredictable. We are in the middle of several multi-year contracts against teams that have been traditionally strong. If we can add one more quality game, I really like this schedule.
As the offseason progresses, more and more people will take a long hard look at who the Jays are going to face next fall in the non-conference. One more game against a quality opponent picked to go to the NCAA Tournament could really help to quiet down some of the critics who are already making noise.
This post was edited on 5/20 7:09 PM by Matt Perrault
