College Basketball Preseason Top 25: #17 Creighton

By Kels Dayton
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Updated: September 18, 2013

Doug McDermott and the Bluejays have a real chance at a Big East title. (CBSSports.com)

17. Creighton Bluejays

We’re betting when Doug McDermott signed on with his father at Creighton, he never in his wildest dreams imagined that just four years later, he’d be the frontrunner for Big East Player of the Year. We never imagined it, either. But whatever, Creighton is in the Big East. And they’ve got a chance to win it, too. It’s mostly because of McDermott, who is the school’s all-time leading scorer and needs just 784 points to become the eighth player in the history of Division I basketball to score 3,000. It’s not a stretch to say that the two-time first-team All-American could be the best player in all of college basketball this season. And now, he’ll get the chance to showcase his talent on a bigger national stage in front of tougher competition (although the Missouri Valley was pretty tough, as Wichita State demonstrated last March).

It’s not all about McDermott, though we would like to also throw in there that the senior set a Creighton record for three-point percentage last year, knocking down a ridiculous 49% of his shots from downtown. Junior guard Austin Chatman returns to run the offense, as does glue guy and leading assists man Grant Gibbs, who was given an NCAA waiver for a fifth season of eligibility. Gibbs is the ultimate team guy–a wristbands-wearing, unathletic-looking hustler who does all of the dirty work for Creighton (8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.8 apg). He led the Valley in assists each of the last two years. Also back is senior forward Ethan Wragge, whose 224 career threes put him behind only Bluejays legend Kyle Korver for the most all-time.

BOTTOM LINE: This Creighton team is well-equipped to handle the step-up in competition. After ruling the Valley for more than 50 years, Creighton has a legitimate chance to take home the first-ever, watered-down Big East title. Doing so would probably result in a 3-4 seed, and that could mean a deep run into March.

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