Creighton Releases Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule For 2021-22

OMAHA–(CU Athletics July 29)–Fresh off its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1974, the Creighton men’s basketball team announced its non-conference schedule for the 2021-22 season on Thursday.

Head coach Greg McDermott’s 12th season on The Hilltop begins with an October 30 exhibition game against Upper Iowa. The Division II Peacocks are coached by Brooks McKowen, who played for McDermott at the University of Northern Iowa from 2003-06.

The campaign gets underway with a Nov. 9 home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Creighton has won 26 straight home openers and 23 of its last 24 season-openers at all sites. Two nights later, the Bluejays host Kennesaw State. CU has defeated the Owls each of the previous two seasons in non-conference play.

Creighton breaks out its road jerseys for the first time on Nov. 16 when it heads to Lincoln, Neb., to take on Nebraska in the sixth edition of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Creighton has won 18 of the past 22 regular-season match-ups vs. Nebraska, and leads the all-time series 28-26. The meeting continues a series that has been played at least once each season since 1977.

A trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands beckons for three games from November 19-22 for the Paradise Jam. Creighton opens play on Nov. 19 against Brown, then will play either Bradley or Colorado State. CU’s final game on the islands will consist of a match-up against either Duquesne, Southern Illinois, Northeastern or Colorado.

CU returns to the floor on November 27 with a home game vs. SIU Edwardsville before North Dakota State heads to Omaha for the second straight season three days later. SIUE is coached by Brian Barone, the son of former Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame basketball coach Tony Barone.

A challenging closing stretch to non-conference play begins on December 4 when the Bluejays host Iowa State as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The Cyclones and Bluejays have not met in Omaha since 1995.

Creighton heads north on I-29 a few hours for a December 11 battle vs. BYU in a game that will be contested in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Bluejays wrap up non-conference action on December 14^th when it hosts Arizona State to wrap up a home-and-home series with the Sun Devils.

The BIG EAST Conference schedule will once again be a double round-robin slate, giving Creighton 20 additional games against elite competition. The league schedule is likely to be released with start times and television coverage for most games in early September.

Creighton adds a top-five recruiting class to seven returning lettermen from last year’s team that finished 22-9 and finished as runner-up in the BIG EAST Conference standings. The Bluejays also defeated UC Santa Barbara and Ohio in the NCAA Tournament to reach its first Sweet 16 since 1974.

For season ticket information, contact the CU Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS or visit http://GoCreighton.com.

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