How to Watch, Stream, Listen, Follow

Game Time: 8:00pm CT

Location: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE

TV: FSN

Stream: FSGO

Radio: 1620AM the Zone & 101.9FM the Keg in Omaha / 94.3FM WYBC in New Haven

Other Blogs: White & Blue Review - Creighton

Tweeters:

Creighton - Rob Anderson / Creighton MBB / Tom Nemitz / “Patrick Marshall” / Matt DeMarinis / Corey Lathrop / Jon Nyatawa / Fake Blue Crew / Bluejay Banter

Odds & Ends

Creighton is favored by 8 points according to OddsShark.

If you have a problem gambling on sports, with the dictionary I typically read from defining ‘problem’ as gambling on any sporting event ever, then feel free to call the gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700. Get help today.

Series History

This will be the first meeting between the two teams. This will also be the last D1 conference that Coach McDermott will coach against, covering 31 of the 32 conferences thus far. Creighton has also won 22 consecutive season openers, so there’s a streak on the line here, folks.

Verba de Ludis

***EDIT*** MAKAI MASON WILL NOT PLAY TONIGHT. DISREGARD EVERYTHING SAID ABOUT HIM, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IN THIS SEGMENT

Yale posted an 18-11 record last season, finishing 9-5 in conference. They feature a profile that boasts a relatively slow offense, ranking in the high 200’s in time per possession. On the flip side, they ranked in the top 100 in eFG%, or effective field goal percentage, showing that they made the most of each possession.

Their defense was solid but not phenomenal. They ranked 130th in eFG% allowed, while failing to force a lot of turnovers, ranking 269th in that category. It seems like they do a lot of the little things right on the defensive end, but not enough to tilt the scales in their favor.

After beating Washington and Lehigh last season, the Elis lost four straight to Virginia, Pitt, Vermont, and... Bryant - a team who ranked 281st in Kenpom. They were 0-11 against teams ranked higher thank 111th and lost three times to Princeton.

There’s a bizarre storyline that runs through Yale point guard Makai Mason. Mason suffered a season ending injury last season during a preseason scrimmage. Ivy League protocol, for whatever archaic reason, forbids players to take a red shirt. Mason will finish out his collegiate career at Yale and then proceed to transfer to Baylor next season, with an Ivy League degree in hand, and a year of eligibility remaining.

This wouldn’t be notable except that he’s an exceptional basketball player. He splashed onto the national scene in the 2015-16 season after his Bulldogs upset Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. With his absence last season, it’s hard to properly gauge how good the Elis will be while weighing his efficacy after injury and the squad they’ll put out this year.

Speaking of their squad, the Elis boast Miye Oni, a 6’7 205lb forward/guard that plays way above the rim. He’s got elite speed and is one of the primary proponents of Yale’s offense, scoring 12.9PPG. He plays equal fiddle to Alex Copeland, another 6’3 guard, who scored an equivalent 12.9PPG. With the two together, with Makai Mason back, they’ll prove to be a formidable opponent for the Jays.

In Mason’s sophomore season, when the Elis beat Baylor in the dance, his squad boasted a 23-7 record with a mid season 12 game win streak, eventually losing to Princeton.

One of the glaring losses was against a decent Albany team, where Mason’s Elis lost by a whopping 34 points. Somehow, Albany was able to keep Mason to scoring 8 points with only 3 assists. Shutting him down seemed to be the primary goal of the Great Danes, perhaps the Jays should elicit the same gameplan?

Song of the Day - Take It As It Comes - J Roddy Walston and The Business