College Basketball: A quirky game for No. 8 Creighton

Some great games are on the Big East schedule Saturday: Villanova at St. John's, Xavier at Butler, Seton Hall at Providence, Truman State at Creighton.

Wait. Rewind.

Truman State at Creighton?

It's not a misprint. The nation's eighth-ranked team will take on a Division II school from Kirksville, Mo., Saturday in Omaha.

Here's the story: The annual Big East marathon, with all 10 teams involved in five games running from noon to 11 p.m., is set for Monday, Martin Luther King Day, on Fox Sports 1. When the schedule came out in September, it was discovered that nine teams would be in action 48 hours before, with Creighton having an open date.

The conference office noticed and told the Bluejays they would have to play Saturday so they wouldn't have an advantage over Monday's opponent, Xavier, in rest time or preparation time. Coach Greg McDermott said the team's home court, CenturyLink Center, was available, so a game could be scheduled.

With just about every Division I team committed for Saturday, McDermott turned to Truman State coach Chris Foster, who played for McDermott at Northern Iowa from 2001 through 2005. Thus the game was set up, one that will count on Creighton's record and statistics but not its RPI.

The Bulldogs were 12-4 going into Friday's home game against Bellarmine, then will take a 253-mile bus ride to Omaha in expected icy conditions to play their third game in three nights.

The analytics website KenPom.com says the chances of a Bluejays victory are 100 percent. Hearing that, Forster can't help but laugh.

"I don't take that as an insult," he said in an Associated Press story. "I wouldn't expect too many people to give us a shot."

Have you checked out the Big Ten standings? Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio State - teams that have combined for 14 NCAA appearances in the last six years - are limping along with a combined 2-10 record in conference play.

Hard to believe. The Wolverines, who annually are among the top defensive teams in the country, have seen opponents shoot 46.3 percent from the field. As coach John Beilein told MLive.com: "The ball is real small and the basket is real big when you're playing Michigan right now."

Ohio State gave up 23 offensive rebounds in an 89-66 loss to Wisconsin to drop to 0-4 in the league. Coach Thad Matta told the Columbus Dispatch, "Stuff happens to us. It's the oddest thing, but we've got to be able to find ways to correct that."

Indiana had a chance to extend its game at Maryland but missed its last shot and lost, 75-72. At 1-3, the Hoosiers already have lost as many Big Ten contests as they did all of last year.

Baylor didn't get very long to enjoy the view from the college basketball penthouse. One day after being voted No. 1 for the first time in program history, the Bears committed 29 turnovers against West Virginia's suffocating defense and lost, 89-68.

"We weren't overconfident, they just kicked our butt," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

Despite the team's No. 10 ranking, West Virginia fans rushed the court at the buzzer, leading coach Bob Huggins to say: "There was nobody in our locker room that didn't think we should win. My hope is we get to the point where it's expected, rather than celebrating."

Kansas has been on a roll since losing its season opener to Indiana and now is poised to ascend to No. 1 if it can defeat Oklahoma State on Saturday. However, after his team's win Wednesday night over Oklahoma, coach Bill Self said he felt his team did not deserve the top ranking for now.

"I've coached for a while," he said in an AP story, "and I've felt like there's some teams that put in the time and the effort and the toughness to earn that, but I don't feel like this team quite has."

Cynics have attributed his success to being the coach's son, but UCLA guard Bryce Alford continues to pass some pretty big names on the Bruins' all-time scoring list. Alford hit nine three-point baskets and scored a career-high 37 points Thursday night at Colorado. With 1,687 career points, 15th in program history, he now has Gail Goodrich (1,691) and David Greenwood (1,721) in his sights. Alford also has 275 three-point baskets and is within range of the school record of 317 held by Jason Kapono.

"It's not something that I ever even could imagine dreaming about," Alford told the Los Angeles Times. "The opportunities this place has given me, it's been remarkable what I've been able to do here."

Former Philadelphia Boys Latin star Maurice Watson Jr. continues to spark No. 8 Creighton's high-powered offense while leading NCAA Division I in assists at 9.0 per game. The 5-foot-10 senior point guard also averages 13.6 points and 1.5 steals while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. Under Watson's on-court leadership, the Bluejays lead the nation with a field-goal percentage of 53.7 and are averaging 87.5 points.

Caleb Swanigan: Purdue, forward - Swanigan has 14 double-doubles, including a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound performances, in 18 games this season for the Boilermakers and leads the nation in rebounding at 12.6 per game. He also is shooting 55.9 percent from the field and leads Purdue in scoring with an 18.2-point average.

Duke at Louisville: Saturday at noon, ESPN - This game matches two of the seven 2-2 teams in ACC play and features the potent offense of the Blue Devils against a Cardinals defense that ranks among the national leaders in points allowed and opposing field-goal percentage.

Florida St. at N. Carolina: Saturday at 2 p.m., ESPN - Coming off a win over Duke, the Seminoles will get a big test in the Dean Dome against a Tar Heel squad that is sixth in the nation in scoring (89.3 points per game) and first in rebound margin (plus-13.6).

Xavier at Butler: Saturday at 2 p.m., FS1 - Both teams are coming off blowout Big East losses - Xavier to Villanova, Butler to Creighton - and need better performances from their key scorers, the Musketeers from Trevon Bluiett, the Bulldogs from Kelen Martin.

St. Mary's at Gonzaga: Saturday at 10 p.m., ESPN2 - The Bulldogs, the last undefeated Division I college basketball team, have the Gaels at home in their first of two meetings but need to find a way to stop 6-foot-11 Jock Landale, who averages 17.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks.

Kansas at Iowa State: Monday at 9 p.m., ESPN - Depending on what happens Saturday, the Jayhawks could come in as the nation's No. 1 team. The Cyclones won't be fazed, especially point guard Monte Morris, who has had four games this season with 20 points and zero turnovers.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq