College basketball Week 2: 5 biggest takeaways

3. The Creighton Blue Jays will challenge in the Big East

Entering the season, Creighton looked like it would be a tier below the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers in a highly competitive Big East. Four games into the 2016-17 season, though, it looks like the Blue Jays might belong right up there at the top of the league. This week, Creighton handled No. 9 Wisconsin in Omaha on Tuesday and dispatched Washington State on Friday before handing a 20-point loss to North Carolina State and freshman phenom Dennis Smith on Sunday.

While a lot of the focus remains on guards Mo Watson and Marcus Foster, the supporting cast for the Blue Jays has been impressive. Sophomore guard Khyri Thomas has rounded out the backcourt with highly efficient scoring. Thomas has posted a ridiculous 78.0 true shooting percentage through the first four games of the season while knocking down seven of his 12 3-pointers. It’s obviously impossible for him to maintain that level of production all season, but with defenses keyed in on Watson and Foster, there should be plenty of looks to go around.

In the frontcourt, senior Cole Huff has continued to deliver the kind of versatile power forward play that makes Creighton’s offense so difficult to defend. Huff has been consistently knocking down jump shots and opening up space for the guards to attack. Redshirt freshman Justin Patton, meanwhile, may be one of the Big East’s breakout players despite not piling up numbers on the stat sheet. With Watson and Foster leading the way and a strong supporting task in tow, the Blue Jays are ready to compete at the top of the Big East.