Creighton Proves Voters Wrong, Should be Ranked Right Now

Creighton 96, #4 Villanova 68.

Let that sink in for a second.

A team ranked in the top 5 in the country got beat by almost 30 points on their home floor.

How was it done you ask? Ask Ethan Wragge, senior sharpshooter for the Bluejay. Wragge, who is now 74-148 (50%) from three point range, went 7-7 from behind the arc during the first six minutes of the game. As a team, the Blue Jays made 14 threes in the first half and scored 54 points on a Villanova team that was previous ranked first in the Big East in defensive efficiency before last night’s showing.

The Bluejays did not hold back in the second half either. They shot 56.9%, made seven more threes, and actually outscored Villanova more in the second stanza (42-27) than the first (54-41). Wragge finished with a career-high 27 points, while Doug McDermott added a 23. All in all, this was as an impressive of a win as we have seen this season.

But what is more surprising is that Creighton is 16-3 and 6-1 in the new Big East, yet they are not ranked in the AP Top 25.

WHAT?????!!!

Is it because they moved to a new conference? Not a chance The Big East was an upgrade from the Missouri Valley conference they formerly resided in.

In fact, on Jan. 23 last season, Creighton was defeated by Drake 74-69, dropping their record to 17-3 and 6-2 in the conference. This record is very similar to this season, except they are 6-1 in the new Big East.

The difference?

Last year at that time, Creighton was ranked 17th!

So Creighton has a similar record and a better conference record in a better conference. Their reward? Being passed in the polls by teams like Memphis, Kansas State, and Oklahoma.

After their statement win against Villanova, Creighton should easily crack the polls in next week’s AP Top 25. However, with the way these voters evaluate teams, you never know.

@kylefstackpole

College Bball GURU

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Kyle Stackpole

Senior Staff Writer at The Left Bench

Kyle is a New Jersey native and a sophomore journalism major at the University of Maryland. In addition to contributing to The Left Bench, Kyle covers wrestling for The Diamondback, the university’s school newspaper. From November to April, you can most likely find Kyle at a TV watching college basketball. Twitter: @kylefstackpole

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