Creighton reacts to appearing in the 2018 NCAA Tournament
Photo by: Dave Weaver
Men's Basketball Earns 21st NCAA Tourney Bid; Meets Kansas State First
3/11/2018 5:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton earns consecutive at-large bids for the first time since 1974 and 1975
OMAHA, Neb. - The Creighton men's basketball team is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in seventh seasons, and 21st time in program history. The eighth-seeded Bluejays earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will meet ninth-seeded Kansas State on Friday, March 16 in a game played in Charlotte, N.C.
The Bluejays and Wildcats will play at 5:50 p.m. Central on TNT, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call.
The bracket was unveiled on Sunday evening on TBS, with the Bluejay team gathering at D.J. Sokol Arena to watch the Selection Show with their fans.
Creighton enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 record. The Bluejays tied for third place in the BIG EAST Conference, only to fall to Providence in overtime in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. Senior guard Marcus Foster (20.3 ppg.) leads the team in scoring and has been named an All-BIG EAST First Team selection each of the past two seasons. He began his college career with two seasons at Kansas State. Junior guard Khyri Thomas was a Second Team All-BiG EAST performer and repeated as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. The Omaha native leads the team with 53 steals while also contributing 15.3 points per game.
Creighton is coached by Greg McDermott, who owns a 187-93 record in eighth year with the Bluejays. This year marks his eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level, including trips to the third-round in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
This year marks Creighton's 20th postseason bid in the last 21 seasons, which includes 12 NCAA Tournament bids in that span. The Bluejays have won at least one game in eight of its last nine postseason appearances. This is the second straight year that Creighton has earned an at-large bid, something done just once previously in 1974 and 1975.
Kansas State went 22-11 overall and 10-8 in Big 12 play. The Wildcats are led by Dean Wade and his 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Barry Brown averages 16.0 points and 3.4 assists per contest. The Wildcats average 72.4 points per contest and allow 67.9 per game. K-State shoots 47.2 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 74.3 percent at the line. KSU has been outrebounded by 3.2 caroms per contest to date. The Wildcats are coached by Bruce Weber.
Creighton is 8-7 all-time against Kansas State.
The winner of Friday's Creighton/Kansas State game will meet the winner of the game between top-seeded Virginia and 16th-seeded UMBC on Sunday. The winner of that second-round contest advances to the South Regional, held March 22 and 24 in Atlanta, Ga. Teams that advance out of the Regional will head to the Final Four, contested on March 31 and April 2 in San Antonio, Texas.
The Bluejays and Wildcats will play at 5:50 p.m. Central on TNT, with Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call.
The bracket was unveiled on Sunday evening on TBS, with the Bluejay team gathering at D.J. Sokol Arena to watch the Selection Show with their fans.
Creighton enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 record. The Bluejays tied for third place in the BIG EAST Conference, only to fall to Providence in overtime in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. Senior guard Marcus Foster (20.3 ppg.) leads the team in scoring and has been named an All-BIG EAST First Team selection each of the past two seasons. He began his college career with two seasons at Kansas State. Junior guard Khyri Thomas was a Second Team All-BiG EAST performer and repeated as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. The Omaha native leads the team with 53 steals while also contributing 15.3 points per game.
Creighton is coached by Greg McDermott, who owns a 187-93 record in eighth year with the Bluejays. This year marks his eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level, including trips to the third-round in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
This year marks Creighton's 20th postseason bid in the last 21 seasons, which includes 12 NCAA Tournament bids in that span. The Bluejays have won at least one game in eight of its last nine postseason appearances. This is the second straight year that Creighton has earned an at-large bid, something done just once previously in 1974 and 1975.
Kansas State went 22-11 overall and 10-8 in Big 12 play. The Wildcats are led by Dean Wade and his 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Barry Brown averages 16.0 points and 3.4 assists per contest. The Wildcats average 72.4 points per contest and allow 67.9 per game. K-State shoots 47.2 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from three-point range and 74.3 percent at the line. KSU has been outrebounded by 3.2 caroms per contest to date. The Wildcats are coached by Bruce Weber.
Creighton is 8-7 all-time against Kansas State.
The winner of Friday's Creighton/Kansas State game will meet the winner of the game between top-seeded Virginia and 16th-seeded UMBC on Sunday. The winner of that second-round contest advances to the South Regional, held March 22 and 24 in Atlanta, Ga. Teams that advance out of the Regional will head to the Final Four, contested on March 31 and April 2 in San Antonio, Texas.
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