Table of Contents Creighton won its first BIG EAST title last season, finishing the year 24-7 and ranked No. 7 nationally. Table of Contents Publication Credits The 2020-21 men’s basketball media guide is a General Information 2019-20 Season Review Table of Contents 1 2019-20 Season Recap 70-71 production of the award-winning Creighton Sports CHI Health Center Omaha 2-3 2019-20 Statistics 72 Information Office. The Championship Center 4 2019-20 Game-by-Game Leaders/Results 73 Omaha, Neb. 5 2019-20 Miscellaneous Statistics 74 2020-21 Outlook 6 2019-20 Season Highs and Lows 75 Design, writing and editing by Sports Information 2020-21 Roster and Quick Facts 7 2019-20 Plus/Minus and Situational Records 76 Director Rob Anderson. Cover designs by Joey 2020-21 Preseason Notebook 8 2019-20 Game-By-Game Comparisons 77 Gardner. 2020-21 Schedule 9 2019-20 BIG EAST Statistical Leaders 78-79 Media Information 10-11 2019-20 BIG EAST Summary 80 2019-20 Game-By-Game Box Scores 81-87 Editorial assistance provided by Glen Sisk, Basketball Staff 2019-20 Honors 87 Anthony Robinson, Joey Gardner, Kevin Sarver, Greg McDermott 12-14 Alan Huss 15 The Record Book Creighton Basketball and Creighton Marketing Paul Lusk 16 Team Records and Last Time It Happened 88 & Communications. Terrence Rencher 17 Single-Game Records 89 Steve Merfeld 18 Season Records 90 Jeff Vanderloo 19 Career Records 91 On the front cover (counterclockwise from top Len Gordy 20 1,000-Point Scorers 92-97 left): #13 Christian Bishop, #23 Damien Jefferson, Support Staff 21 All-Time Roster 98-100 #11 Marcus Zegarowski, #24 Mitch Ballock and #34 Athletic Training and Athletic Performance 22 Annual Leaders 101-103 Denzel Mahoney. Academic Support 23 Yearly Statistics 104-105 All-Time Coaches 105 The Players Doug McDermott’s Historical Career 106 Photography provided by Rob Anderson, #24 Mitch Ballock 24-25 All-Americans 107 Associated Press, Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Tip-Off #23 Damien Jefferson 26-27 Retired Jerseys 108 #34 Denzel Mahoney 28-29 Creighton Classics 109 Club, Tony Bailey, Porter Binks, Steven Branscombe, #5 Alex O’Connell 30-31 Creighton Basketball Glossary 110-113 Scott Bruhn, Mark Burch, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago #13 Christian Bishop 32-33 Draft Pick History 114 Bulls, David Cao, Greg Carroccio, Dave Crawford/ #41 Jacob Epperson 34-35 Bluejays In The NBA 115 #11 Marcus Zegarowski 36-37 CHI Health Center Omaha Records 116-117 Creighton University Archives, Creighton University #10 Jett Canfield 38 CHI Health Center Omaha Records 118-120 Media Services, Wendell Cruz, Mark Davis, Sara Davis, #0 Antwann Jones 39 Wilbur DeLashmet, Doug DeVoe, ESPN Photos, Jim #4 Shereef Mitchell 40 Postseason and Team History #20 Nic Zeil 41 NCAA Tournament History 121 Fackler, FIBA, Gregory Fisher, Eric Francis, Doug #44 Rati Andronikashvili 42 NCAA Tournament Statistics 122-123 French, Joey Gardner, Darren Georgia, Catherine #22 Devin Davis 43 NCAA Tournament Teams 124-140 Grosdidier, Kristen Holmes, Kent Horner/NBAE/ #32 Ryan Kalkbrenner 44 NIT, CBI, CIT and NCIT History 141 #55 Modestas Kancleris 45 NIT Teams 142-150 Getty Images, Dennis Hubbard, Jeff Huehn, Paul #12 Andrew Merfeld 46 CIT Team 151 Kim, Mitchell Layton, Mitchell Leff, LOOK Portrait, #14 Sami Osmani 47 CBI Team 152-153 Los Angeles Athletic Club, Brandon McKenna, Joe Career Game-By-Game Stats 48-55 NCIT Teams 154 Career Stats vs. 2020-21 Opponents 56-57 All-Time Scores 155-164 Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images, Naismith Memorial Overtime History 165 Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA Photos, New Orleans 2020-21 Information Creighton in the AP Poll 166 Pelicans, Chelsea Nicholson, A.J. Olnes, Gabby 2020-21 Opponents 58-62 Creighton Against Ranked Teams 167 Ricciardi, Jimmy Rash, Corey Solotorovsky, Mike Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic 62 100-Point Games 168 Greg McDermott vs. 2020-21 Opponents 63 Spomer, Sports Illustrated, Bob Stevens, Bill Streicher, Series History vs. 2020-21 Opponents 64-66 About Creighton University Adam Streur, Vanderbilt Athletics, Dave Weaver, All-Time Series History 67 BIG EAST Conference 169 Brad Williams and Joe Willman. 2021 BIG EAST Tournament 68 Creighton University 170-171 BIG EAST Conference 69 Head Coaches and Athletic Dept. Staff 172-173 Athletic Director and President 174 Printing by Creighton University Print Center. 1 2020-21 Guide (1-11).indd 1 11/14/2020 9:52:55 PM CHI Health Center Omaha Built for $291 million and finished in the fall of 2003, CHI Health Attached to the facility via a skywalk is the eight-story, 600-room Center Omaha is a key element in the continued renovation and Hilton Omaha hotel. That $71-million building opened in April 2004. development of Omaha’s riverfront. Funding for CHI Health Center Omaha came from private The facility formerly known as Qwest Center Omaha (2003-11) donations, taxes and projected revenue from the facility. and CenturyLink Center Omaha (2011-18) is located on a 421-acre The facility has hosted some of America’s top sporting events, site of the former Union Pacific Railroad yards, just a few blocks from including the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships (2008, 2012, Creighton’s campus, the historic Old Market and three miles from 2015 and 2018), NCAA Volleyball Championships (2006, 2008 and Eppley Airfield. 2015), U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012 and 2016), In 2018, CHI Health agreed to pay $23.6 million over 20 years for NCAA Wrestling Finals (2010), the U.S. Figure Skating Championships the naming rights to the arena. (2013) as well as four fights for boxing champion Terence Crawford. Among the amenities at CHI Health Center Omaha are seven The facility has also hosted concerts by artists such as The Eagles, locker rooms, five dressing rooms and a media interview room. The Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, ZZ Top, Prince, Creighton locker room contains secure, wood-paneled lockers and is Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, located just a short walk off the court. Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Travis Scott, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, A $6 million Daktronics, Inc., scoreboard hangs from the Alan Jackson, U2, KISS, Jimmy Buffett and Garth Brooks. arena center. The scoreboard is more than 26 feet in height and More than 1,700 new seats were added to the upper deck on the approximately 32 feet in diameter. The scoreboard was upgraded in north side of the building during the summer of 2006, moving capacity the summer of 2013 and is one of the nation’s finest, as CHI Health to 17,352 for basketball. Center Omaha is one of the nation’s only arenas to have 4 mm and Located one block northwest of CHI Health Center Omaha is 6 mm pixel configurations to give fans significantly better resolution. TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, which opened in 2011 as the home of Twelve permanent concession stands and 20 free-standing kiosks Creighton baseball and the NCAA Men’s College World Series. help feed and quench thirst for crowds of up to 17,352 for basketball and 18,300 for concerts. CHI Health Center Omaha provides more than 194,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the Exhibit Hall can hold dinners for up to 15,000 people at once. Downtown Omaha’s 40-story First National Bank Tower could be laid down inside the length of the exhibit space. CHI Health Center Omaha Facts Cost ...................................................... $291 million Seating Capacity . .18,300 (Concerts), 17,352 (Basketball) Architect ...................................................DLR Group Square Footage ..................................1,100,000 square feet Arena Height ...................................................90 feet Adjoining Hotel . Hilton Omaha (600 rooms) Construction Timeline ...................March 2001-September 2003 Luxury Suites.......................................................32 Parking.......................... 4,978 parking spaces on the premises First Private Event.......................Grand Funk Railroad (Concert) First Public Event..........................River City Roundup (Rodeo) First Basketball Game ...........Minnesota vs. Atlanta (NBA Exhibition) First Regular-Season CU Game.............Creighton 79, San Diego 44 2 2020-21 Guide (1-11).indd 2 11/14/2020 9:52:58 PM CHI Health Center Omaha What Others Have Said About CHI Health Center Omaha ATTENDANCE “As you look through the top 10 in attendance in the country and Creighton jumps out at No. 5, we’re the school that doesn’t look like we fit. But once you come to our arena and see how passionate our fans are, and what an understanding they have of the game of basketball, it’s really a special place.” - Greg McDermott, Creighton coach “Creighton basketball is one of the true gemstones of this sport. The university is committed to excellence, the city of Omaha is fully engaged, and the fan base is as passionate and dedicated as any in the nation.” - Seth Davis, CBS Sports/The Athletic THE ARENA “I’ve seen a lot of basketball games, and I would call this a pro-quality game presentation. It’s exceptional. The fans here are terrific, but I knew coming in that you had something special because of the turnout for our men’s basketball tournament.” - Val Ackerman, BIG EAST Commissioner “This is a great arena with a great fan base.” - Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg “It’s definitely one of the loudest places in the country and their style of play kind of plays to it. When they get out running and hitting threes and throwing their lob dunks, that place gets wild. You’ve got to make sure you can keep it as quiet as you possibly can. It’s always a great challenge.” - Villanova coach Jay Wright THE ATMOSPHERE “Just being at home, knowing that we’re in front of all our fans -- obviously we feed off them.