Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Predictions: Creighton Bluejays

It's another short turnaround, as the Kansas Jayhawks are back in action again this afternoon against the Creighton Bluejays. But with the game in a weird time during a weird season, what can you expect from this game? Our crew gets together to give you some last-minute predictions.

Disagree with anything said here? Tell us about it with your predictions in the comments below!

Kyle_Davis21: Creighton’s offensive firepower should be worrisome for the Jayhawks, but there are a couple of factors that make this difficult to judge. One is that Creighton hasn’t played anyone better than 175th in KenPom (North Dakota State – the BlueJays won by 11) and the other is that this is Creighton’s first trip away from home. It won’t be the normal AFH, but there will be some fans making noise. I think this will be a one-possession game in the final minute and will take KU to rebound from a poor performance on Saturday. Kansas 73, Creighton 71

dnoll5: I don’t know enough about Creighton to be particularly useful in this prediction, but I’ve watched most of KU’s games (sometimes closely!), and I’m not sure KU is ready to beat a good team. That said, they showed resilience against Gonzaga (good team), Kentucky (it’s Kentucky), St. Joe’s (fine), and NDSU (c’mon man) so that’s one thing KU has going for it. Bill Self hasn’t had to call out their toughness. I still think they’re going to have to do more than grit one out. Not sure KU can do that yet. Creighton 78, KU 74.

Mike.Plank: To me, Kansas looked super sluggish against NDSU. Was that due to the number of games they’ve played in the last 8 days? Seems unlikely, these are college kids after all. Maybe they were just looking forward to this matchup? That seems more likely, but I’m having a hard time getting over that NDSU game, even though it was a win. I don’t think Bill Self will switch to the five-guard lineup soon enough, so I’m gonna predict a loss and hope to be surprised. Creighton 85, Kansas 80.

Fizzle406: Are they trying to keep this game a secret? Playing at 3 pm (MT) on a Tuesday in the middle of a pandemic. It sure seems like it. Plus this is, what, the 4th game they’ve played in the last week? Yeah, I don’t see the good guys winning this one. Creighton 77, Kansas 70

David: Fortunately KU has had two days off without any travel, because NDSU was their third game in five days, and we all saw how well that went. My concern is that, with how tired this team looked Saturday, just two days off may not get them to 100%. And Creighton is a great offensive team, so you'd really like to be at 100%. If Garrett and Agbaji have their legs back, we might be able to chase Creighton around the perimeter, force a few turnovers, and have a decent shot at winning. I just worry that we'll see a team that's still a bit too tired (and possibly sick?) to do that, and may give up some easy buckets in the paint. Creighton 79, Kansas 72

Brendan: There’s got to be some level of concern with playing another game in such a short period of time, not to mention the fact that Creighton is legitimately strong on offense. Was NDSU a fluke or was it a major red flag? A loss here probably makes me take off the homer glasses, but I’ve still seen a lot to be optimistic about through five games. It will take a group effort and probably the best defensive performance yet, but I think KU squeaks this one out. Kansas 78, Creighton 77.

Andy Mitts: Brendan and I talked about this on the pod, but this game comes down to whether Kansas can cause problems the paint for Creighton’s offense. Don’t be surprised to see Marcus Garrett helping out down there. Creighton has a great offense, but they haven’t faced a defense this good either. Unless Bill Self force-feeds us a diet heavy on David McCormack minutes, we should see a victory, even though it won’t be easy. Kansas 72, Creighton 70.