Oklahoma Sooners MBB | Opponent Preview: Creighton Bluejays

Making the journey to Omaha, the Oklahoma Sooners must play inside a challenging environment. Over the past several years, Greg McDermott has built a program worthy of earning an invite into the Big East Conference. With the sustained success, the program has watched fan attendance soar through the roof to just shy of 18,000 butts in seats at each home game. Needless to say, the Creighton Bluejays are not to be over looked.

Through the first two games of the season, the Bluejays have averaged 94 points per contest with a single returning starter, Austin Chatman. Add to it the fact that Creighton out rebounds their opponents 81-59 and it's easy to see why this will be the first big test for Oklahoma.

After losing a player like Doug McDermott, it may seem near impossible to recover. However, talent has been waiting in the wings ready for a time to shine. Fans look to the likes of Will Artino (17 ppg) and Isaiah Zierden (17 ppg) to lead the way in scoring and to keep the 20-game home winning streak alive.

On the other side of the equation, the Sooner defense hopes to slow down the opponent by creating turnovers and forcing uncomfortable shots. Per usual, the attention remains on Buddy Hield as he continues to the lead this team into the future. As far as the backcourt is concerned, the talent and skill is there. Competing in the blocks becomes the issue.

Not sure of how much progress TaShawn Thomas has made since the last outing, he will need to be much improved to counter the attack of Creighton's Artino.

Look for the game to tip off on FS1 around 7 PM CST.