2021–22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

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2021–22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
Creighton Bluejays wordmark.svg
ConferenceBig East Conference
2021–22 record9–3 (1–0 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Alan Huss (4th season)
  • Jalen Courtney-Williams (1st season)
  • Ryan Miller (1st season)
Home arenaCHI Health Center Omaha
Seasons
← 2020–21
2022–23 →
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 21 Providence 1 – 0   1.000 11 – 1   .917
Creighton 1 – 0   1.000 9 – 3   .750
No. 23 Xavier 1 – 1   .500 11 – 2   .846
UConn 1 – 1   .500 10 – 3   .769
No. 22 Villanova 1 – 1   .500 8 – 4   .667
DePaul 0 – 0   – 9 – 1   .900
No. 15 Seton Hall 0 – 0   – 9 – 1   .900
St. John's 0 – 0   – 8 – 3   .727
Butler 0 – 0   – 7 – 4   .636
Georgetown 0 – 0   – 6 – 5   .545
Marquette 0 – 2   .000 8 – 5   .615
† winner
As of December 23, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021–22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represents Creighton University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays are coached by 12th-year head coach Greg McDermott and play their home games at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, as members of the Big East Conference.

Previous season[]

The Bluejays finished the 2020–21 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]

Marcus Zegarowski and Damien Jefferson were named to the All Big East Conference first and second teams, respectively. Denzel Mahoney was named as an All-Big East Honorable Mention.[8] Zegarowski also earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the Associated Press.[9]

Offseason[]

Departures[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Antwann Jones 0 G 6'6" 210 Sophomore Orlando, FL Transferred to Louisiana[10]
Jett Canfield 10 G 5'10" 165 Sophomore Topeka, KS Transferred to Drury[11]
Marcus Zegarowski 11 G 6'2" 180 Junior Hamilton, MA Declared for the 2021 NBA draft[12]
Christian Bishop 13 F 6'7" 205 Junior Charlotte, NC Transferred to Texas[13]
Nic Zeil 20 F 6'8" 210 Sophomore Kansas City, MO Transferred to Colorado Christian[14]
Damien Jefferson 23 F 6'5" 220 Redshirt Senior East Chicago, IN Graduated; Declared for the 2021 NBA draft[15]
Mitch Ballock 24 G 6'5" 205 Senior Eudora, KS Graduated; Declared for the 2021 NBA draft[16]
Denzel Mahoney 34 G/F 6'5" 220 Redshirt Senior Oviedo, FL Graduated; Declared for the 2021 NBA draft[17]
Jacob Epperson 41 C 6'11" 235 Junior Melbourne, Australia Graduated early; chose not to return to program

2021 Recruiting class[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Arthur Kaluma
PF 		Boston, MA Dream City Christian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 16, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ryan Nembhard
PG 		Aurora, ON Montverde Academy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jun 6, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Mason Miller
PF 		Germantown, TN Houston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 23, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
John Christofilis
SG 		Seattle, WA O'Dea 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sep 25, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
Trey Alexander
SG 		Oklahoma City, OK Heritage Hall 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 2, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 12
  • 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:

  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.

Incoming transfers[]

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
KeyShawn Feazell 1 F 6'9" 230 Graduate Student New Hebron, MS Transferred from McNeese State[18]
Ryan Hawkins 44 F 6'7" 222 Graduate Student Atlantic, IA Transferred from Northwest Missouri State[19]

Roster[]

2021–22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 KeyShawn Feazell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS McNeese State New Hebron, MS
G 2 Ryan Nembhard 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Fr Montverde Academy Aurora, ON
G 4 Shereef Mitchell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Jr Omaha, NE
G 5 Alex O'Connell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Milton HS
Duke 		Roswell, GA
F 10 Zander Yates (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Houston Germantown, TN
C 11 Ryan Kalkbrenner 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 256 lb (116 kg) So Trinity Catholic HS St. Louis, MO
F 13 Mason Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr Houston Germantown, TN
G 14 Sami Osmani (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So Oak Lawn Community HS Oak Lawn, IL
G 15 John Christofilis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Fr O'Dea Seattle, WA
G 21 Rati Andronikashvili 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) RS Fr 35 Sajaro Skoka Tbilisi, Georgia
G 22 Devin Davis (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So George Westinghouse College Prep Chicago, IL
G 23 Trey Alexander 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Heritage Hall Oklahoma City, OK
F 24 Arthur Kaluma 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Dream City Christian Glendale, AZ
F 44 Ryan Hawkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) GS Northwest Missouri State Atlantic, IA
F 55 Modestas Kancleris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Fr Varpas Gimnazija Kaunas, Lithuania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Alan Huss (Creighton)
  • Jalen Courtney-Williams (Moorhead State)
  • Ryan Miller (Northern State University)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench
C Ryan Kalkbrenner KeyShawn Feazell
PF Arthur Kaluma Mason Miller
SF Ryan Hawkins Rati Andronikashvili
SG Alex O'Connell Trey Alexander
PG Ryan Nembhard Shereef Mitchell

Schedule and results[]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2021*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		Upper Iowa W 76–61 
 15 – Hawkins   9 – Tied   8 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (14,844)
Omaha, NE
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:00 p.m., FS1 		Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 90–77  1–0
  20 – O'Connell   11 – Hawkins   10 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (15,072)
Omaha, NE
November 11, 2021*
7:30 p.m., FS1 		Kennesaw State W 51–44  2–0
  13 – O'Connell   10 – Hawkins   2 – 3 tied  CHI Health Center Omaha (16,092)
Omaha, NE
November 16, 2021*
6:00 p.m., FS1 		at Nebraska
Rivalry/Gavitt Tipoff Games 		W 77–69  3–0
  22 – Nembhard   10 – Hawkins   5 – 2 Tied'  Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,939)
Lincoln, NE
November 19, 2021*
2:15 p.m., ESPN3 		vs. Brown
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Quarterfinal 		W 78–57  4–0
  19 – Kalkbrenner   5 – 3 Tied   4 – 2 Tied  Sports and Fitness Center (322)
St. Thomas, USVI
November 21, 2021*
4:45 p.m., ESPN3 		vs. Colorado State
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Semifinal 		L 81–95  4–1
  16 – Kaluma   7 – Feazell   5 – Nembhard  Sports and Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, USVI
November 22, 2021*
6:45 p.m., ESPN3 		vs. Southern Illinois
U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam 3rd place game 		W 66–64  5–1
  14 – Kalkbrenner   6 – Hawkins   5 – Nembhard  Sports and Fitness Center 
St. Thomas, USVI
November 27, 2021*
5:00 p.m., FS2 		SIU Edwardsville W 70–65  6–1
  14 – Hawkins   7 – Hawkins   5 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (16,417)
Omaha, NE
November 30, 2021*
8:00 p.m., FS2 		North Dakota State W 80–55  7–1
  17 – Kalkbrenner   8 – Feazell   6 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (15,428)
Omaha, NE
December 4, 2021*
8:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 19 Iowa State
Big East–Big 12 Battle 		L 58–64  7–2
  25 – Hawkins   10 – Kalkbrenner   2 – 2 Tied  CHI Health Center Omaha (18,294)
Omaha, NE
December 11, 2021*
11:00 a.m., FS1 		vs. No. 24 BYU W 83–71  8–2
  25 – Hawkins   9 – Kalkbrenner   3 – Andronikashvili  Sanford Pentagon (2,835)
Sioux Falls, SD
December 14, 2021*
7:00 p.m., FS1 		Arizona State L 57–58  8–3
  16 – Kalkbrenner   10 – Hawkins   8 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (15,011)
Omaha, NE
December 17, 2021
7:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 9 Villanova W 79–59  9–3
(1–0) 		 19 – Hawkins   11 – Hawkins   4 – Nembhard  CHI Health Center Omaha (17,208)
Omaha, NE
December 20, 2021
5:30 p.m., FS1 		at DePaul postponed due to COVID-19 issues Wintrust Arena 
Chicago, IL
December 28, 2021
8:00 p.m., FS1 		Georgetown postponed due to COVID-19 issues CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
January 1, 2022
11:00 a.m., FS1 		at Marquette       Fiserv Forum 
Milwaukee, WI
January 5, 2022
7:30 p.m., FS1 		at Villanova       Finneran Pavilion 
Villanova, PA
January 11, 2022
8:00 p.m., FS1 		Providence       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
January 15, 2022
11:00 a.m., FOX 		at Xavier       Cintas Center 
Cincinnati, OH
January 19, 2022
6:00 p.m., FS1 		St. John's       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
January 22, 2022
4:30 p.m., CBSSN 		DePaul       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
January 26, 2022
6:30 p.m., FS2 		at Butler       Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
January 29, 2022
1:00 p.m., FS1 		Xavier       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
February 1, 2022
5:30 p.m., FS1 		at Connecticut       XL Center 
Hartford, CT
February 4, 2022
6:00 p.m., FS1 		at Seton Hall       Prudential Center 
Newark, NJ
February 8, 2022
8:00 p.m., CBSSN 		Butler       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
February 12, 2022
11:00 a.m., FS1 		at Georgetown       Capital One Arena 
Washington, DC
February 20, 2022
2:00 p.m., FS1 		Marquette       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
February 23, 2022
6:30 p.m., FS1 		at St. Johns       Carnesecca Arena 
Queens, NY
February 26, 2022
7:30 p.m., FS1 		at Providence       Dunkin' Donuts Center 
Providence, RI
March 2, 2022
7:30 p.m., FS1 		Connecticut       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
March 5, 2022
TBD, FOX/FS1 		Seton Hall       CHI Health Center Omaha 
Omaha, NE
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

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. ^ "Seton Hall's Mamukelashvili, Villanova's Robinson-Earl Named Unanimously To All-BIG EAST First Team". Big East Conference. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. ^ "The Associated Press Men's All-America Teams". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  10. ^ Buckley, Tim. "Former Creighton, Memphis basketball guard Antwann Jones commits to Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns". Daily Advertiser. www.theadvertiser.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Jett Canfield". May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski declares for the NBA Draft". WOWT. April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "Former Creighton forward Christian Bishop announces transfer to Texas". The Athletic. April 16, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "Nic Zeil". April 28, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  15. ^ "Creighton's Jefferson declares for NBA Draft". KMA (AM). April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  16. ^ "Creighton Bluejays sharpshooter Mitch Ballock fifth starter to leave men's hoops team". ESPN. April 15, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  17. ^ "Creighton's Denzel Mahoney won't return for extra season". Omaha World-Herald. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Uglem, Ross. "Jays land McNeese State big KeyShawn Feazell". 247 Sports. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  19. ^ Vandevoort, Michael. "Ryan Hawkins headed to Creighton". 247 Sports. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
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