College Basketball Power 10: Time To Give Gonzaga Some Love
By Jeremy Karll
10. Creighton (15-1)
Since their tough 10-point loss to Villanova, Creighton has bounced back with double-digit wins on the road over St. John’s and Providence. It resulted in Creighton earning the highest ranking in school history by the Associated Press, eighth in the nation.
The Big East has a lot of good teams this year, but Creighton is in the thick of things, nonetheless. They score the 11th-most points per game in the nation and Marcus Foster looks like a legitimate star for Creighton.
The former Kansas State standout is averaging 18.6 points per game and has scored at least 15 points in all but one game, including 22 points against top-ranked Villanova.
Creighton has lacked a star since Doug McDermott left for the NBA and Foster could be good enough to lead them deep in the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton’s defense, which ranks 184th nationally in points allowed per game, is suspect, but Villanova and Wisconsin, their only ranked opponents this season, only scored 80 and 67 points, respectively.
There’s no doubting Creighton is a threat in the Big East, but their weak schedule makes it hard to rank them higher than 10th and to trust their defense.
Creighton’s schedule gets significantly tougher this week. They host Butler and Truman State before going on the road to Xavier.