Last Friday against an Iowa State team expected to be one of the nation’s best defensive clubs, we saw glimpses of what the 2025-26 Bluejays’ ceiling could be, specifically during a 7-1/2 minute stretch of the first half where they had a 23-0 run that featured 10 straight defensive stops. The second half gave Greg McDermott’s staff plenty of teaching moments on film, as the 46-23 lead they’d built in the first half let them go deep into the bench almost from the beginning of the second half. Perhaps as a result of their experimenting with lineups, they had 10 turnovers in the second half after committing just one in the first half.
It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the blowout win happened without arguably their two best players. Owen Freeman hasn’t played a minute for the Jays yet, and hasn’t played period since a January finger injury ended his season at Iowa. Nonetheless, he was named Preseason First Team All-Big East on Tuesday based on his pre-injury excellence for the Hawkeyes a year ago (16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds). Jackson McAndrew sat out last Friday’s exhibition with an undisclosed minor injury, and was named to the Preseason Third Team All-Big East list after setting a Creighton freshman record with 69 made three-pointers a year ago.
Both are progressing and practiced this week. At Friday’s practice, McDermott told WBR’s Matt DeMarinis that they will be game-time decisions tomorrow. No doubt they’d like to get them on the floor at least briefly before the season opener on November 5, if they can — but they’re also not interested in rushing either of them back if it means risking a setback. The November 11 road game at Gonzaga is right around the corner, and they’ll need both of them that night…