The Creighton men's basketball team is headed to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships this week, and while it was a season to remember for the Jays, an NCAA Tournament bid was not always a forgone conclusion.
Creighton started off the season hot with a 79-67 win over No. 9 Wisconsin followed by beating Washington State, North Carolina State and Ole Miss to become the 2016 Paradise Jam Champions.
The Bluejays' first loss came at home with a 80-70 loss to No. 1 Villanovaon New Years Eve.
Creighton bounced back beating St. John's, Providence along with No.12 Butler 75-64.
The next impressive victory was againstNo. 22 XavierMonday, January 16th. The Jays may have added an impressive win to the resume but lost its starting point guard in the process. Maurice Watson Jr. tore his ACLduring the victory.
After the loss of Watson, the Jays struggled. Creighton lost its next two games to Marquette and Georgetown before rebounding with wins over DePaul and No. 16 Butler. Despite taking down No. 16 ButlerCreighton fell to Xavierand Seton Hall shortly after.
Creighton faced some more adversity when Watson was suspendedfrom all athletic-related activities.
The night the information was released about Watson theBluejays lost to Providence 68-66followed by another loss to No. 2 Villanova.
Creighton ended its regular season with a 82-68 win over St. John's and a 91-83 loss to Marquette.
Despite the Bluejays struggle towards the end of the regular season they put up a good fight in the BIG EAST Tournament. Creighton beat Providence 70-58 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals where they took on Xavier. The Bluejays came away with a big win over Xavier in the semifinals. Creighton advanced to the finals of the BIG EAST Tournament against No. 2 Villanova. The Bluejays fell to Villanova in the finals 74-60.
Sunday, March 12th Creighton was selected a six seed in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Creighton takes on Rhode Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.
2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship bracket: pic.twitter.com/38FiSaM3ZW
— Omaha Sports Insider (@OSIsports) March 13, 2017
