2020-21 Creighton Men’s Basketball Game #2: Nebraska-Omaha at #9 Creighton • Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020 • 4:00 p.m. SID Contact: Rob Anderson • Office Phone: (402) 280-5544 • Cell Phone: (402) 660-5854 • E-mail: [email protected] Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks at #9 Creighton Bluejays CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) • Omaha, Neb. Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, www.1620thezone.com Television: FS1 (Lane Grindle, Jess Settles) Series History: Creighton leads, 40-3 (1-2) Last Meeting: Creighton 74, Nebraska-Omaha 71on Nov. 30, 1995 in Omaha, Neb. (1-0) November Next Game Live Stats Information 29 NORTH DAKOTA STATE (FS1) W 69-58 No. 9 Creighton (1-0) returns to action on Tuesday, All of Creighton’s games this season will have free Dec. 1 with a home game against Nebraska-Omaha live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click December (1-2). on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at 1 NEBRASKA-OMAHA (FS1) 4:00 pm Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health the top of the page for the event of your choosing. 4 KENNESAW STATE (FS1) 4:00 pm Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb., is set for 4:00 p.m. Home games can also be followed by those who 8 at Kansas ! (ESPN) 4:00 pm have mobile devices with internet capability at 11 NEBRASKA (BTN) 6:00 pm Radio Broadcast Information www.gocreightonstats.com. 14 MARQUETTE* (FS1) 8:00 pm KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men’s 17 at St. John’s* (FS1) 4:00 pm basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Scouting No. 9 Creighton 20 at Connecticut* (FS1) 11:00 am KOOO (101.9 FM) will also broadcast all home Creighton returns four starters and five of its top 23 XAVIER* (FS1) 2:00 pm games that start after 5 p.m. six scorers from last season’s team that finished John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor 24-7 and won a share of its first BIG EAST regular- After Dec. 23 To Be Determined Stormberg will call the action. The audio is also season title. CU’s 2019-20 team was ranked No. 7 in January webcast live at www.1620thezone.com. the year-end Associated Press poll, while this year’s To Be Determined club was 11th in the preseason AP poll. Both are Television Broadcast Information program bests for a preseason or postseason poll. February Tuesday’s game against Nebraska-Omaha will be Point guard Marcus Zegarowski has been To Be Determined televised by FS1, with Lane Grindle and Jess named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and Settles on the call. is a Preseason All-American by nearly every outlet March Of Creighton’s last 132 games, all but the three after averaging 16.1 points and 5.1 assists per game To Be Determined contests at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic have last season. He started his junior season with 12 been televised. The Bluejays are 88-44 in those points and six assists. BIG EAST Tournament (New York, N.Y.) contests. Other high-powered weapons that return 10 First Round (FS1) 3;30 / 6:00 / 8:30 pm include BIG EAST Sixth Man Award winner Denzel 11 Quarterfinals (FS1) 11:00 am/1:30/6:00/8:30 pm 12 Semifinals (FS1) 5:30 / 8:00 pm 13 Championship (FOX) 5:30 pm Creighton -- Last Game Starters Antwann Jones • G • Memphis transfer who started his Creighton debut vs. NDSU (11/29), finishing with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. * BIG EAST Conference regular season games 0 6-6 • 220 • So. • Orlando, Fla. % Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic (Sioux Falls, S.D.) • Chose Creighton in part because he was impressed with the CU ! Big 12 - BIG EAST Battle PPG RPG APG FT% program after an NIT game (while with Memphis) in 2018-19. All times listed are Central and subject to change Home games in BOLD CAPS at CHI Health Center Omaha 11.0 5.0 4.0 1.000 • Led CU in SPG (3.3) and RPG (6.3) in Australia in August 2019 trip. Marcus Zegarowski • G • Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and a Preseason First 11 6-2 • 180 • Jr. • Hamilton, Mass. Team All-American by multiple outlets. • On the Naismith Trophy and Bob Cousy Point Guard Watch List. PPG APG 3FG% FT% • Leading returning scorer in the BIG EAST (16.0 ppg. in 2019-20). 12.0 6.0 .182 --- • Brother of Orlando Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams. Christian Bishop • F • Led Creighton with 16 points in season-opener vs. NDSU (11/29). 13 6-7 • 220 • Jr. • Lee’s Summit, Mo. • Made 6-of-7 shots from the floor vs. the Bison. • Led Creighton last year with 38 dunks and 35 blocked shots. PPG RPG FG% FT% • Mentioned by Greg McDermott as one of team’s most improved 16.0 4.0 .857 .800 players heading into 2020-21. Damien Jefferson • F • Flirted with the NBA Draft before withdrawing. 23 6-5 • 220 • Sr. • East Chicago, Ind. • Led Creighton with 5.5 rebounds per game last season. • Made a pair of SportsCenter Top-10 plays last season against PPG RPG APG FT% Seton Hall. 6.0 4.0 2.0 --- • Began college career at New Mexico, where his dad also played. Mitch Ballock • G • Surpassed 1,000 career points in season-opener vs. North Dakota 24 6-5 • 205 • Sr. • Eudora, Kan. State (Nov. 29) and now ranks 41st with 1,007 career points. • Ranks fifth in Creighton history with 234 career three-pointers. PPG RPG 3FG% FT% • Led BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio and minutes/game last year. 11.0 7.0 .222 .500 • Only player in CU history with 2 straight seasons of 90+ 3FG’s. 2020-21 BIG EAST Standings (through 11/29) Mahoney (12.0 ppg. last year), elite shooter Mitch the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. BIG EAST only All Games Ballock (11.9 ppg., 5.3 rpg. last year), last year’s Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is 4-4 Team W L W L rebound leader Damien Jefferson (9.4 ppg., 5.5 in games that count against Nebraska-Omaha. He Xavier 0 0 3 0 rpg. last year) and last year’s blocked shot leader went 3-3 when he was at Wayne State from 1994- Connecticut 0 0 2 0 Christian Bishop (8.6 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.1 bpg. last 2000, and split two meetings in 2000-01 while he Marquette 0 0 2 0 year). coached at North Dakota State. St. John’s 0 0 2 0 Memphis transfer Antwann Jones and true He has never faced Derrin Hansen in a game #9 Creighton 0 0 1 0 freshman Ryan Kalkbrenner figure to join return- that counts. Butler 0 0 1 0 ing reserves Shereef Mitchell (2.7 ppg. last year) Georgetown 0 0 1 0 and Jacob Epperson (4.8 ppg. in 2018-19) as key The Creighton Coaches Providence 0 0 1 0 contributors in the Bluejay line-up. Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a DePaul 0 0 0 0 Creighton opened its season with a 69-58 win vs. 232-116 record in his 11th season with the Bluejays. #12 Villanova 0 0 2 1 North Dakota State on Sunday. He owns a career mark of 512-311 in 27 seasons, Seton Hall 0 0 0 1 and is 381-247 in his 20th Division I campaign. Scouting Nebraska-Omaha McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST 2020-21 Honors & Awards regular-season title last season, taking a Bluejay Mitch Ballock Nebraska-Omaha is 1-2 this season after alternat- team that was picked seventh in the league’s pre- Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List (20) ing losses and wins last week against Austin Peay Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST (lost 72-66), Middle Tennessee (won 60-59) and season poll and ending the year ranked seventh Abilene Christian (lost 70-58) at the Gulf Coast nationally. For those efforts, he was recognized Marcus Zegarowski Showcase in Estero, Fla. as the BIG EAST Coach of the Year as well as the Associated Press Honorable Mention Preseason All-American Tuesday’s tilt just five miles from the UNO cam- USBWA District VI Coach of the Year, NABC District Basketball Times Preseason First Team All-American pus will be the closest thing to a home game the 5 Coach of the Year and Basketball Times Midlands Blue Ribbon CBB Yearbook Preseason First Team All-American District Coach of the Year. Blue Ribbon CBB Yearbook Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST Mavericks have for a while, as their home facility McDermott has previously been a head coach Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List (20) (Baxter Arena) is serving as a host site for a hockey at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), CBS Sports Preseason Second Team All-American pod from Dec. 1-Dec. 29 and will host 38 games in Jerey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List (5) that span. North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State NABC Preseason Player of the Year Watch List (20) Marlon Ruffin leads the Mavericks with 16.3 (1994-2000). Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year points per game, with Matt Pile (9.7 ppg., 9.7 rpg.) He is assisted by Alan Huss, Paul Lusk and Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST not far behind. UNO has made only 6-of-33 three- Terrence Rencher.