2020–21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

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2020–21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
Creighton Bluejays wordmark.svg
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 19
2020–21 record22–9 (14–6 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCHI Health Center Omaha
Seasons
2020–21 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Villanova 11 – 4   .733 18 – 7   .720
No. 19 Creighton 14 – 6   .700 22 – 9   .710
UConn 11 – 6   .647 15 – 8   .652
St. John's 10 – 9   .526 16 – 11   .593
Seton Hall 10 – 9   .526 14 – 13   .519
Providence 9 – 10   .474 13 – 13   .500
Xavier 6 – 7   .462 13 – 8   .619
Georgetown † 7 – 9   .438 13 – 13   .500
Marquette 8 – 11   .421 13 – 14   .481
Butler 8 – 12   .400 10 – 15   .400
DePaul 2 – 13   .133 5 – 14   .263
† 2021 Big East Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2020-21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University in the 2020-21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays were led by 11th-year head coach Greg McDermott and played their home games at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 14–6 to finish second in Big East play. They defeated Butler and UConn in the Big East Tournament before losing to Georgetown in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the West region. They defeated UC Santa Barbara[1] and Ohio to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.[2] This marked the first time Creighton had won consecutive games in the same tournament and the first time they had advanced to the Sweet Sixteen since 1974 when the tournament had 25 teams.[3] There they lost to eventual National Runner-Up Gonzaga.[4][5]

On March 4, 2021, head coach McDermott was suspended for using racially insensitive language to his team.[6] On March 8, the school reinstated McDermott after only missing one game and allowing him to coach in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.[7]

Previous season[]

The Bluejays finished the 2019–20 season 24–7, 13–5 in Big East play to finish tied for first place. As the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament, they were slated to play St. John's in the quarterfinals, but the tournament was cancelled at halftime of the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the NCAA postseason.[8]

Offseason[]

Departures[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Davion Mintz 1 G 6'3" 185 Senior Charlotte, NC Graduate transferred to Kentucky[9]
Ty-Shon Alexander 5 G 6'4" 195 Junior Charlotte, NC Declared for the 2020 NBA draft[10]
Jordan Scurry 12 G 6'2" 200 Senior Chestnut Hill, MA Graduated
Jalen Windham 21 G 6'5" 180 Freshman Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Ball State[9]
Kelvin Jones 43 C 6'11" 230 Senior Chihuahua, Mexico Graduated

2020 Recruiting class[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Rati Andronikashvili
SG 		Tbilisi, Georgia 35 Sajaro Skoka 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 7, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN: N/A
Ryan Kalkbrenner
C 		Saint Louis, MO Trinity Catholic High School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sep 23, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Modestas Kancleris
PF 		Kaunas, Lithuania Varpas Gimnazija 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) May 11, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020.

2021 Recruiting class[]

Incoming transfers[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Alex O'Connell 5 G 6'6" 186 Junior Roswell, GA Transferred from Duke. Under NCAA transfer rules, O'Connell will play this season and will gain an additional extra eligibility.

Roster[]

2020–21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Antwann Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Oak Ridge
Memphis 		Orlando, FL
G 4 Shereef Mitchell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Omaha, NE
G 5 Alex O'Connell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Sr Milton HS
Duke 		Roswell, GA
G 10 Jett Canfield 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS So Hayden HS Topeka, KS
G 11 Marcus Zegarowski 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Tilton School Hamilton, MA
G 12 Andrew Merfeld (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr V. J. and Angela Skutt Catholic HS Omaha, NE
F 13 Christian Bishop 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr West Lee's Summit, MO
G 14 Sami Osmani (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Oak Lawn Community HS Oak Lawn, IL
F 20 Nic Zeil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Park Hill HS Kansas City, MO
G 22 Devin Davis (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr George Westinghouse College Prep Chicago, IL
F 23 Damien Jefferson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Central HS
New Mexico 		East Chicago, IN
G 24 Mitch Ballock 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Eudora, KS
C 32 Ryan Kalkbrenner 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Trinity Catholic HS St. Louis, MO
G/F 34 Denzel Mahoney 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Hagerty
Southeast Missouri State 		Oviedo, FL
C 41 Jacob Epperson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr La Lumiere (IN) Melbourne, Australia
G 44 Rati Andronikashvili Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr 35 Sajaro Skoka Tbilisi, Georgia
F 55 Modestas Kancleris Current redshirt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Varpas Gimnazija Kaunas, Lithuania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 29, 2020*
3:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 11 North Dakota State W 69–58  1–0
  16 – Bishop   7 – Ballock   6 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (252)
Omaha, NE
December 1, 2020*
4:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 Omaha W 94–67  2–0
  18 – Bishop   8 – Bishop   11 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (251)
Omaha, NE
December 4, 2020*
4:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 Kennesaw State W 93–58  3–0
  14 – Tied   7 – Jones   4 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (201)
Omaha, NE
December 8, 2020*
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 8 at No. 5 Kansas
Big East/Big 12 Battle 		L 72–73  3–1
  19 – Mahoney   9 – Bishop   5 – Ballock  Allen Fieldhouse (2,500)
Lawrence, KS
December 11, 2020*
6:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 8 Nebraska
Rivalry 		W 98–74  4–1
  22 – Zegarowski   8 – Kalkbrenner   5 – Tied  CHI Health Center Omaha (254)
Omaha, NE
December 14, 2020
8:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 Marquette L 84–89  4–2
(0–1)
  26 – Ballock   6 – Tied   5 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (255)
Omaha, NE
December 17, 2020
4:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 at St. John's W 94–76  5–2
(1–1)
  20 – Zegarowski   10 – Tied   8 – Jefferson  Carnesecca Arena 
Queens, NY
December 20, 2020
11:00 a.m., FS1 		No. 9 at UConn W 76–74 OT 6–2
(2–1)
  19 – Bishop   13 – Mahoney   4 – Jefferson  Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, CT
December 23, 2020
7:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 13 No. 22 Xavier W 66–61  7–2
(3–1)
  13 – Tied   7 – Bishop   2 – 4 Tied  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,673)
Omaha, NE
January 2, 2021
11:00 a.m., FOX 		No. 11 at Providence W 67–65  8–2
(4–1) 		 20 – Zegarowski   8 – Jefferson   4 – Zegarowski  Alumni Hall 
Providence, RI
January 6, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 7 Seton Hall W 89–53  9–2
(5–1) 		 19 – Jefferson   7 – Kalkbrenner   4 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,689)
Omaha, NE
January 9, 2021
12:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 7 St. John's W 97–79  10–2
(6–1) 		 24 – Mahoney   6 – Tied   5 – Jefferson  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,777)
Omaha, NE
January 16, 2021
1:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 8 at Butler L 66–70 OT 10–3
(6–2) 		 29 – Mahoney   7 – Tied   4 – Mitchell  Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,693)
Indianapolis, IN
January 20, 2021
8:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 11 Providence L 70–74  10–4
(6–3) 		 26 – Jefferson   5 – Kalkbrenner   3 – Tied  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,731)
Omaha, NE
January 23, 2021
1:30 p.m., FOX 		No. 11 No. 23 UConn W 74–66  11–4
(7–3) 		 20 – Mahoney   5 – Jefferson   3 – Ballock  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,839)
Omaha, NE
January 27, 2021
6:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 17 at Seton Hall W 85–81  12–4
(8–3) 		 29 – Ballock   7 – Mahoney   4 – Ballock  Prudential Center 
Newark, NJ
January 30, 2021
7:00 p.m., CBSSN 		No. 17 at DePaul W 69–62  13–4
(9–3) 		 19 – Zegarowski   6 – Tied   5 – Zegarowski  Wintrust Arena 
Chicago, IL
February 3, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 15 Georgetown L 79–86  13–5
(9–4) 		 22 – Mahoney   10 – Bishop   6 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,845)
Omaha, NE
February 6, 2021
5:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 15 at Marquette W 71–68  14–5
(10–4) 		 14 – Bishop   8 – Tied   6 – Jefferson  Fiserv Forum 
Milwaukee, WI
February 9, 2021
9:00 p.m., CBSSN 		No. 19 at Georgetown W 63-48  15–5
(11–4) 		 17 – Bishop   9 – Bishop   4 – Tied  McDonough Gymnasium 
Washington, DC
February 13, 2021
5:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 19 No. 5 Villanova W 86–70  16–5
(12–4) 		 25 – Zegarowski   10 – Tied   5 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (2,544)
Omaha, NE
February 24, 2021
8:00 p.m., CBSSN 		No. 13 DePaul W 77–53  17–5
(13–4) 		 13 – 3 Tied   7 – Kalkbrenner   4 – Zegarowski  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,936)
Omaha, NE
February 27, 2021
4:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 13 at Xavier L 69–77  17–6
(13–5) 		 19 – Jefferson   9 – Jefferson   10 – Zegarowski  Cintas Center 
Cincinnati, OH
March 3, 2021
7:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 14 at No. 10 Villanova L 60–72  17–7
(13–6) 		 14 – Ballock   8 – Jefferson   4 – Tied  Finneran Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
March 6, 2021
4:00 p.m., FOX 		No. 14 Butler W 93–73  18–7
(14–6) 		 32 – Zegarowski   10 – Bishop   6 – Ballock  CHI Health Center Omaha (2,419)
Omaha, NE
Big East Tournament
March 11, 2021
5:00 p.m., FS1 		(2) No. 17 vs. (10) Butler
Quarterfinals 		W 87–56  19–7
  18 – Zegarowski   4 – 3 Tied   5 – Zegarowski  Madison Square Garden 
Manhattan, NY
March 12, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1 		(2) No. 17 vs. (3) UConn
Semifinals 		W 59–56  20–7
  14 – Jefferson   12 – Jefferson   3 – Tied  Madison Square Garden 
Manhattan, NY
March 13, 2021
6:30 p.m., FOX 		(2) No. 17 vs. (8) Georgetown
Championship 		L 48–73  20–8
  17 – Zegarowski   5 – Ballock   4 – Zegarowski  Madison Square Garden 
Manhattan, NY
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2021
2:30 p.m., truTV 		(5 W) No. 19 vs. (12 W) UC Santa Barbara
First Round 		W 63–62  21–8
  17 – Zegarowski   11 – Bishop   7 – Zegarowski  Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
March 22, 2021
5:10 p.m., TNT 		(5 W) No. 19 vs. (13 W) Ohio
Second Round 		W 72–58  22–8
  20 – Zegarowski   15 – Bishop   5 – Ballock  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 28, 2021
1:10 p.m., CBS 		(5 W) No. 19 vs. (1 W) No. 1 Gonzaga
Sweet Sixteen 		L 65–83  22–9
  19 – Zegarowski   5 – Tied   3 – Tied  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings[]

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final 
AP 11 9 8 9 13 11 7 8 11 17 15 19 14 13 14 17 19 Not released 
Coaches 11 11^ 7 9 13 10 5 6 11 14 12 18 12 11 12 17 19 14

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References[]

  1. ^ "UC Santa Barbara vs. Creighton - Game Recap - March 20, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  2. ^ "Ohio vs. Creighton - Game Recap - March 22, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  3. ^ Anderson, Rob. "How Sweet It Is! Men's Basketball To Sweet 16 After Win vs. Ohio". Creighton University. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Creighton vs. Gonzaga - Box Score - March 28, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  5. ^ Press |, The Associated (2021-03-28). "Unbeaten Gonzaga keep rolling with Sweet 16 rout of Creighton". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  6. ^ Reineking, Jim. "Creighton suspends men's basketball coach Greg McDermott over racially insensitive remarks". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  7. ^ Rapp, Timothy. "Greg McDermott Reinstated by Creighton After Suspension for 'Plantation' Remark". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  8. ^ Litman, Laken (March 12, 2020). "Inside the Chaotic Decision to Cancel the Big East Tournament". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Nyatawa, Jon (April 10, 2020). "Former Creighton guard Davion Mintz transfers to Kentucky; Jalen Windham to Ball State". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  10. ^ Dauster, Rob (April 10, 2020). "Creighton's Ty-Shon Alexander declares for NBA draft". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
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