Oklahoma at Creighton

The post Doug McDermott era has begun at Creighton. The Blue Jays are not expected to do much in the Big East this season, but before you write this team off, know that this is a program that is good every year, and will find some answers. They may already have as Will Artino and Isaiah Zierden have already stepped up with each contributing 17 points per game and both shooting over 60%. Considering the fact that the pair combined for 8 ppg last season, they have some new weapons in the house. Creighton does not have the automatic scorer as they have had the luxury to have over the last four years, so the emphasis will be on defense and controlling the tempo - especially when they take on the better teams such as Oklahoma. The Sooners have TaShawn Thomas, a Houston transfer, that after months of decision making, the NCAA finally declared him eligible, and he does not have to sit out a year. He had big numbers at Houston, but had just 4 points and three boards in 23 minutes for the Sooners, and they will need more from him. Oklahoma likes to run, but suffered against SE Louisiana, scoring just 78 points and shot less than 40%, and were horrible from the free throw line. I think Creighton can slow this team down and force them into more bad shots. They will hang tough, keep the score down and shorten the game. The Sooners are 7-1 to the UNDER in their last eight after a 20+ point win, while Creighton owns a 21-7-1 mark to the UNDER in their last 29 out-of-conference tilts. Play on Creighton and the UNDER in this one.