The Creighton Bluejays made it to the Elite Eight last season for the first time since 1941. While two starters did leave via the transfer portal, the top three scorers from that team did return. Ryan Kalkbrenner missed a few games early last season, which threw the whole team off. But after being inconsistent early, the Bluejays rebounded nicely and played well down the stretch. They’re also a little deeper now. This ranking is most likely too low for this team.
Check out the previous teams in my rankings here.
Preseason College Basketball Rankings: #12 Creighton Bluejays
When Kalkbrenner got hurt early last year and missed a few games, his absence was felt heavily. It threw the whole team off. But as I mentioned before, the team eventually righted the ship. He won Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and earned All-Conference honors. He was fifth in points scored, sixth in offensive rebounds, and led the conference in blocks. Kalkbrenner should be in the conversation for Big East Player of the Year this year.
Baylor Scheierman had no trouble adjusting to life in the Big East after transferring from South Dakota State. He is an incredible rebounder for a guard, being one of only two Big East players to grab over 300 total boards last season. Not to mention, he also averaged 12.8 points per game. Fellow guard Trey Alexander also returns after averaging 13.6 points per game and testing the NBA Draft waters.
Argentinian point guard Francisco Farabello regressed a bit last year after coming over from TCU, but he still provides experienced depth at that position. As a red-shirt freshman, Mason Miller provided some decent (albeit not many) minutes. The son of two-time NBA champion Mike Miller and former top 80 recruit will be in for a much-increased role this year.
Speaking of power forwards who were top 100 recruits and redshirted as a freshman, another one of those transfers is in the form of Isaac Traudt. He redshirted last season as a freshman at Virginia and should have a key role off the bench. Also, some wing depth transfers from Memphis in the form of Johnathan Lawson. Johnathan is the youngest of the four Lawson brothers; his older brothers, K.J., Dedric, and Chandler, have also played major Division 1 college basketball.
The prize of this transfer class, though, is point guard Steven Ashworth. He had a breakout season last year for the Aggies. He was eighth in the conference in scoring (16.2 points per game), fifth in assists (4.5 assists per game), and had the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Mountain West.
Projected Lineup
C – Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.1 BPG)
PF – Mason Miller (2.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG)
SG – Baylor Scheierman (12.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG)
SG – Trey Alexander (13.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.5 BPG)
PG – Steven Ashworth (16.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.0 BPG at Utah State)
