March Madness: Creighton Bluejays prep for NCAA tournament run

DENVER (WOWT) - As the first of many NCAA March Madness games wrapped up Thursday, the Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball team was getting into the thick of things in Denver.

The Bluejays play North Carolina State on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and are hoping to earn a stay in the Rocky Mountain state through Sunday night.

The Jays were just on the court Thursday afternoon inside the arena also home to Denver Nuggets. The goal of these day-before practices for the NCAA Tournament game is to get a handle on the court and sight lines.

Teams won’t be running through game plans, though. The practices are open to the public, and they aren’t going to share what they hope will give them an edge.

Instead, it’s more of a laid-back practice with everything on the line Friday.

“The journey that we’ve been on to get here it’s been a little unique start of the season: so strong then losing six in a row, then fighting our way back to finish third in the Big East with two weeks left to still have a chance to win the championship,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “It’s been a fun ride with this group; it’s awesome attending the NCAA Tournament. We’ll see if we can’t put our best foot forward and try to stretch this season out as long as we can.”

Creighton is the 6 seed; the Wolfpack is an 11. It might feel like there is a lot of distance between the two teams based on those numbers, but it will no doubt be a battle on Friday.

Copyright 2023 WOWT. All rights reserved.