2020-21 Creighton Men's Basketball #19 Creighton Season Schedule/Results & Leaders (As of Apr 07, 2021) All Games
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2020-21 Creighton Men’s Basketball 2020-21 Season Recap SID Contact: Rob Anderson • Office Phone: (402) 280-5544 • Cell Phone: (402) 660-5854 • E-mail: [email protected] Creighton’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1974 highlighted a 2020-21 season that will be remembered for years to come because of the adversity the Bluejays had to overcome. The Bluejays returned all five starters from a team that was ranked No. 7 following the abrupt ending of the 2019-20 season due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and started the 2020-21 campaign 11th in both the AP and coaches polls. With COVID-19 still running rampant, the start of the 2020-21 season was pushed back roughly three (22-9, 14-6 BIG EAST) weeks. The pandemic also eliminated virtually all international travel, and as a result CU’s long-anticipated trip to the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas instead moved to nearby Sioux Falls, S.D., where it was November (1-0) rebranded as the Crossover Classic. Days before CU was to start the season in Sioux Falls, the Bluejay pro- 29 NORTH DAKOTA STATE (FS1) W 69-58 gram had multiple positive COVID tests to Tier I individuals, which forced the program to withdraw from the Crossover Classic and temporarily halt practice to minimize the risk of the virus spreading. December (6-2) As a result, on November 25th Creighton announced it had added a game to its schedule, the regular- 1 NEBRASKA-OMAHA (FS1) W 94-67 season opener vs. North Dakota State, to be played on November 29th. The Bluejays would go on to 4 KENNESAW STATE (FS1) W 93-58 defeat the defending Summit League Tournament champions, 69-58. 8 at #5 Kansas ! (ESPN) L 72-73 Two days later, Creighton faced Nebraska-Omaha in the regular-season for the first time in 25 seasons 11 NEBRASKA (BTN) W 98-74 and defeated the Mavericks, 94-67. 14 MARQUETTE* (FS1) L 84-89 CU improved to 3-0 with a 93-58 victory vs. Kennesaw State before hitting the road for the first time on 17 at St. John’s* (FS1) W 94-76 Dec. 8 for a top-10 showdown at No. 5 Kansas. Playing inside historic Allen Fieldhouse, the game featured 20 at Connecticut* (FS1) W 76-74 (OT) nine ties and 13 lead changes before the host Jayhawks escaped, 73-72, when CU missed a potential 23 #22 XAVIER* (FS1) W 66-61 game-tying free throw with 1.1 seconds left. Creighton responded from its setback by hosting Nebraska in the regular-season for a second straight January (6-2) season, using a 23-2 second half run to once again blitz the Cornhuskers 98-74, and close non-conference 2 at Providence* (FOX) W 67-65 play with a 4-1 record. 6 SETON HALL* (FS1) W 89-53 The Bluejays opened league play on December 14 with a surprising home loss to Marquette before 9 ST. JOHN’S* (FS1) W 97-79 reeling off a six-game win streak that included road victories at St. John’s (94-76), UConn (76-74 in OT) and 16 at Butler* (FS1) L 66-70 (OT) 20 PROVIDENCE* (FS1) L 70-74 Providence (67-65) in addition to home triumphs vs. No. 22 Xavier (66-61), Seton Hall (89-53) and St. John’s 23 #23 CONNECTICUT* (FOX) W 74-66 (97-79). 27 at Seton Hall* (FS1) W 85-81 Consecutive losses to Butler and Providence dropped CU to 6-3 in league action before a 74-66 home 30 at DePaul* (CBSSN) W 69-62 win vs. No. 23 UConn in the Huskies’ first trip to Omaha. CU closed out January with road triumphs over Seton Hall (85-81) and DePaul (69-62), rallying from 16 February (4-2) points down in the final 11 minutes to upend the Pirates. 3 GEORGETOWN* (FS1) L 79-86 The Bluejays opened February with an 86-79 home loss on the program’s annual Creighton vs. Cancer 6 at Marquette* (FOX) W 71-68 Pink Out prior to a four-game win streak featuring triumphs at Marquette (71-68) and Georgetown (63-48, 9 at Georgetown* (CBSSN) W 63-48 as well as home victories vs. No. 5 Villanova (86-70) and DePaul (77-53). 13 #5 VILLANOVA* (FOX) W 86-70 Creighton -- Last Game Starters 24 DEPAUL* (CBSSN) W 77-53 Marcus Zegarowski • G • First Team All-BIG EAST after being Preseason BIG EAST POY. 27 at Xavier* (FOX) L 69-77 6-2 • 180 • Jr. • Hamilton, Mass. • Tied career-high with 32 points vs. Butler on March 6th. 11 • On the Naismith, Wooden & Bob Cousy Point Guard Watch Lists. March (5-3) PPG APG 3FG% FT% • Leading returning scorer in the BIG EAST (16.0 ppg. in 2019-20). 3 at #10 Villanova* (FS1) L 60-72 15.8 4.3 .421 .786 • Andy Katz’s NCAA.com National Player of the Week on Feb. 15th. 6 BUTLER* (FOX) W 93-73 Christian Bishop • F • Led team with 50 dunks, including game-winning slam with 0.8 BIG EAST Tournament (New York, N.Y.) 13 6-7 • 220 • Jr. • Lee’s Summit, Mo. left at Providence (1/2). Last year CU-best 38 dunks. 11 vs. Butler (FS1) W 87-56 • Led BIG EAST in FG percentage (68.1%). 12 vs. Connecticut (FS1) W 59-56 PPG RPG FG% FT% • Made 2 FT with 16.0 left to beat UCSB in NCAA Tourney (3/20). 13 vs. Georgetown (FOX) L 48-73 11.0 6.4 .681 .562 • Career-high 15 rebounds vs. Ohio to clinch Sweet 16 bid (3/22). • Second Team All-BIG EAST Conference selection. NCAA Tournament (Indianapolis, Ind.) Damien Jefferson • F • Career-high 26 points vs. Providence (1/20). 20 vs. UC Santa Barbara (truTV) W 63-62 6-5 • 220 • Sr. • East Chicago, Ind. 23 • Had 10 points, 10 rebounds & 8 assists at St. John’s (12/17). 22 vs. Ohio (TNT) W 72-58 PPG RPG 3FG% FT% • Made game-tying shot at UConn with 0.2 left. CU won in OT. 28 vs. #1 Gonzaga (CBS) L 65-83 11.9 5.4 .348 .605 • Owned 10+ points in 23 games. * BIG EAST Conference regular season games Mitch Ballock • G • Surpassed 1,000 career points in season-opener vs. North Dakota % Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic (Sioux Falls, S.D.) State (Nov. 29) and finished 20th with 1,304 career points. ! Big 12 - BIG EAST Battle 6-5 • 205 • Sr. • Eudora, Kan. All times listed are Central and subject to change 24 • Ranked 3rd in Creighton history with 308 career three-pointers. Home games in BOLD CAPS at CHI Health Center Omaha PPG RPG 3FG% FT% • Led BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio and minutes/game last year. 9.9 3.2 .386 .571 • Won BIG EAST’s Sportsmanship Award in 2020-21. Denzel Mahoney • G/F • Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST Conference choice. 6-5 • 220 • Sr. • Oviedo, Fla. • Team’s active leading scorer with 1,717 career points when you 34 include his first two seasons at Southeast Missouri State. PPG RPG 3FG% FT% • Won BIG EAST Sixth Man Award last season. 12.5 4.1 .325 .728 • Had 10+ points in 34-of-51 games played as a Bluejay. 2020-21 BIG EAST Final Standings Cruising along with a 17-5 record and 13-4 mark in league play, Creighton closed February with a 77-69 BIG EAST only All Games loss at Xavier. Addressing his team in the locker room following the game, head coach Greg McDermott Team W L W L used an inappropriate and offensive analogy. Numerous public and private apologies in the days to fol- #18 Villanova 11 4 18 7 #19 Creighton 14 6 22 9 low preceded CU’s 72-60 loss at No. 10 Villanova, which clinched the BIG EAST regular-season title for the Connecticut 11 6 15 8 Wildcats. Seton Hall 10 9 14 13 With some civic leaders and members of the national media calling for his ouster and tensions still St. John’s 10 9 16 11 Providence 9 10 13 13 running high, McDermott was suspended for CU’s March 6 regular-season finale vs. Butler. Assistant Alan Xavier 6 7 13 8 Huss handled interim head coach duties in CU’s 93-73 win vs. the Bulldogs, and after the game CU rec- Georgetown 7 9 13 13 ognized seniors Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson, Denzel Mahoney as well as graduates Jett Canfield Marquette 8 11 13 14 and Jacob Epperson. Butler 8 12 10 15 DePaul 2 14 5 15 The Bluejays finished BIG EAST play with a 14-6 record -- good for second place -- and opened the BIG EAST Tournament five days later with a rematch against Butler. Creighton won the rematch, 87-56, with 2020-21 Honors & Awards McDermott returning to the sideline. Mitch Ballock Creighton then beat UConn for the third time of the season, 59-56 in the semifinals, to advance to the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List (20) BIG EAST Tournament title game for the third time in eight seasons. Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST The championship game wasn’t close, as eighth-seeded Georgetown compiled a 34-3 run to claim its first league tournament title since 2007 with a 73-48 win over CU. Damien Jefferson One day after the conclusion of the BIG EAST Tournament, Creighton earned an at-large berth to the Second Team All-BIG EAST NCAA Tournament, which was held in its entirety in Indianapolis this spring.