Kansas basketball: Ranking the five most crucial non-conference games of 2020

2. Kansas vs. Creighton, December 3

In what will likely be the first “big” game in Allen Fieldhouse, the Kansas Jayhawks will face the Creighton Bluejays in what could be a season-defining game. Both teams are coming off of conference championships, and both are ranked highly.

Creighton is currently No. 5 in the nation according to Sports Illustrated‘s way-too-early top 25. Joe Lunardi also predicts the Bluejays to be a three-seed in the next NCAA Tournament based on his most recent Bracketology.

The Bluejays have a great chance to win the Big East which should be a strong conference again next season, so a victory for Kansas would be a really solid addition to the resume.

Other than the resume implications later in the year, the hype around this game should be immense. Both teams could very well be within the AP top 10, so the game could reshuffle some rankings towards the top.

The timing of this game is important as well. Both teams will have played around six games so far, and things will start to click on the court for both teams. It should also give Kansas a good feel for how they’ll match up with tough conference opponents like Baylor and Texas Tech when the Big 12 season begins.