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2019-20 Men's Basketball Recap
4/7/2020 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Looking back at a championship season
Download 2019-20 Recap as a PDF
2019-20 Creighton Men's Basketball Recap
Picked to finish seventh in BIG EAST in a preseason poll of league coaches, the Creighton men's basketball team had a breakthrough 2019-20 season that saw it share the conference's regular-season title and end the year ranked seventh nationally in the Associated Press poll.
Creighton got a head start on the season, taking a memorable trip to Australia from August 1-13 that allowed the team and coaches to bond and get three games under their belt together. That chemistry would have immediate dividends in helping the Bluejays prepare for the season.
After a lopsided 95-63 win over McKendree in an exhibition contest, Creighton opened its 102nd season of basketball with an 81-55 victory over Kennesaw State. That jump-started a 4-1 stretch the open the year, which also included home wins over Louisiana Tech (82-72), Cal Poly (86-70) and North Florida (76-67) in addition to a 79-69 setback at Michigan in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
CU then headed to Las Vegas for the 19th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. Following a loss to San Diego State in the first game at Orleans Arena, the Bluejays would rebound to post an eye-opening 83-76 overtime win over defending national runner-up Texas Tech.
The triumph over No. 12 Texas Tech started a season-long eight-game win streak that featured home wins over Nebraska (95-76) and Oklahoma (83-73) as well as a road victory at Arizona State (67-60). The win over Oklahoma on December 17th improved CU to 9-2 and marked the Bluejay debut of Southeast Missouri State transfer Denzel Mahoney, the eventual BIG EAST Sixth Man of the Year.
Creighton opened 2020 with a dominant 92-75 victory in its BIG EAST opener vs. Marquette before dropping consecutive games at No. 11 Butler (71-57) and vs. No. 16 Villanova (64-59) in its lone home loss of the winter.
Creighton returned to the victory column on January 11 with a 77-65 win at Xavier, which doubled as Greg McDermott's 500th career head coaching victory and moved CU into the top-25 for the first time all season. CU then headed to Washington, D.C., for a loss at Georgetown, but not before touring the White House, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and more.
The Bluejay season turned around on January 18th with a late-game rally to beat Providence in Omaha. CU trailed 74-69 with just over 90 seconds remaining before a compiling a game-ending 9-0 run. That victory started a stretch that saw the Bluejays win 11 of their final 13 games en route to the title.
CU followed up the Providence game with double-digit victories at DePaul (83-68), at home vs. Xavier (77-66) on the Pink Out, and an impressive 76-61 road win at No. 8 Villanova.
Creighton had its four-game win streak snapped at Providence on February 5 before embarking on a new five-game win streak that included an 87-82 win at No. 10 Seton Hall, a 73-65 win at No. 19 Marquette and an 81-59 home win vs. No. 21 Butler.
CU lost its March opener on the road against a hot-shooting St. John's team before closing the regular-season with home wins vs. Georgetown (91-76) and vs. No. 8 Seton Hall (77-60) on Senior Day. The win over Seton Hall, in front of a sold out crowd of 18,519, helped CU earn a three-way share of its first BIG EAST title with Seton Hall and Villanova.
Creighton had four men average in double-figures, led by All-BIG EAST First Team guard Ty-Shon Alexander. The junior paced the club with 16.9 points and 1.3 steals per game while also developing into one of the top defenders in the conference. Following the season, Alexander was tabbed a Third Team All-American by USA Today.
Point guard Marcus Zegarowski was named an All-American by the Associated Press, NBC Sports and Stadium in addition to Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades. The sophomore averaged 16.1 points per contest and led CU with 5.0 assists per game.
Junior guard Mitch Ballock averaged 11.9 points per game and led the Bluejays with 93 three-pointers made and 43.5 percent marksmanship from downtown. He also paced the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio.
Mahoney averaged 12.0 points per game and turned into a valuable weapon to the Bluejay arsenal. He teamed with junior Damien Jefferson (9.4 ppg., 5.5 rpg.), sophomore Christian Bishop (8.6 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.1 bpg.) and graduate transfer Kelvin Jones (3.0 ppg,. 3.6 rpg.) to hold down the frontcourt.
Making CU's success all the more impressive was the loss of two key figures to season-ending injuries, as neither Davion Mintz (ankle) nor Jacob Epperson (leg) logged a single minute of playing time all year.
Leading the Bluejays was Greg McDermott, who was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year, USBWA District VI Coach of the Year, NABC District 5 Coach of the Year and Basketball Times Midlands District Coach of the Year.
Creighton ranked fifth nationally by averaging 17,314 fans per home contest, hosting a single-season program-record 311,651 fans to CHI Health Center Omaha.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) broadcasted all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2019-20 season. John Bishop handled play-by-play for each contest, and was joined by analysts including Nick Bahe, Josh Dotzler, Brody Deren, Ross Ferrarini and Tyler Clement.
The audio was also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasted all home games.
Television Broadcast Information
All 31 of Creighton's games were televised in 2019-20. Of Creighton's last 131 games, all but three games at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic have been televised.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season had free live stats. Fans could visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of their choosing.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) wrapped up his 10th year as head coach at Creighton in 2019-20 as the BIG EAST Coach of the Year as well as the USBWA District VI Coach of the Year, NABC District 5 Coach of the Year and Basketball Times Midlands District Coach of the Year. He is 231-116 with the Bluejays. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 511-311 after his 26th season and is 380-247 after 19 Division I campaigns. Alan Huss, Paul Lusk and Terrence Rencher assisted McDermott.
Picked 7th in BIG EAST; CU Finishes 7th In Nation
The Creighton men's basketball team finished the season ranked seventh in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, earning a spot in the poll for the eighth time this season (also 25th on Jan. 13th, 21st on Feb. 3rd, 23rd on Feb. 10, 15th on Feb. 17 and 10th on Feb. 24, 11th on March 2; 7th on March 9).
This year marked the seventh time in Greg McDermott's 10 seasons on The Hilltop that Creighton has cracked the top-25 at least once, after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton has now been ranked in the AP poll in 96 weeks in program history, with 68 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 120-46 all-time as a ranked team.
Creighton is 86-34 all-time under McDermott when ranked in the top-25.
Creighton also finished as the ninth-ranked team in the final USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.
McDermott Named Coach Of The Year
After leading Creighton to a share of the BIG EAST title, Greg McDermott picked up multiple Coach of the Year awards.
McDermott was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year on March 11. He was CU's first Conference Coach of the Year recipient since Dana Altman in 2001-02 when CU was in the Missouri Valley Conference. The recognition marked the second time McDermott has been lauded as Conference Coach of the Year, as he had previously been named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 1999-00 while the head coach at Wayne State.
On March 10, McDermott was honored as District VI Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. He is CU's first USBWA District Coach of the Year since Altman in 2002-03.
On March 23, the National Association of Basketball Coaches awarded McDermott District 5 Coach of the Year plaudits. McDermott was last named NABC District Coach of the Year in 2012-13 when Creighton was in District 16.
Basketball Times also named McDermott Midlands District Coach of the Year.
All-American Backcourt
Both Marcus Zegarowski and Ty-Shon Alexander picked up All-America honors following the season.
Zegarowski was named a Second Team All-American by NBC Sports, a Third Team All-American by Stadium and an Honorable Mention All-American choice by the Associated Press.
A Hamilton, Mass., native, Zegarowski averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He shot 48.8 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three-point range and 76.3 percent at the charity stripe. Zegarowski played his best in some of CU's biggest games, averaging 18.9 points per game while shooting 60.4 percent from the field and 51.4 percent from three-point range in eight games against top-25 foes.
Zegarowski ranked third in the BIG EAST in assists per game (5.1), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.95), sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.42), sixth in points per game (16.1), sixth in minutes per game (34.6) and 11th in field goal percentage (.488). The point guard was also named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Alexander was recognized by USA Today as a Third Team All-American. He led Creighton and ranked third in the BIG EAST with 16.9 points per game while also adding 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a team-high 1.3 steals per game. The junior from Charlotte, N.C., was second in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (.860), fourth in three-pointers per game (2.61), fifth in minutes per game (34.7), sixth in three-point percentage (.399) and eighth in steals per contest (1.3).
Alexander is one of two players in Creighton history with 80 or more three-pointers in consecutive seasons and one of 10 men in the Bluejay record book with multiple seasons of 500 points or more.
Sixth Man Mahoney
Creighton junior Denzel Mahoney earned the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award, a recognition voted on by league coaches.
Mahoney is the 12th different recipient of the award, which was first handed out in 2007-08. Past winners include Dion Waiters, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
Creighton's last player to earn Sixth Man Award acclaim had been Ethan Wragge, who was honored by the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013.
Coronavirus Ends Season Early
The 2019-20 season ended prematurely do to the COVID-19 coronavirus that spread throughout the country and caused widespread shelter-in-place declarations in the weeks to come.
The NCAA wasn't the only organization affected, as virtually all sports worldwide were cancelled for months.
The First Round of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament was played as normal on March 11th. That evening, after an NBA player was diagnosed with COVID-19, the BIG EAST decided that the rest of the league tournament would be played under a restricted attendance policy in which attendees were limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and conference staff, television personnel, credentialed media and immediate family members of participating teams. Schools were limited to 200 tickets per institution.
While other conferences cancelled the remainder of their tournaments, Creighton and St. John's took the floor on March 12th and actually played a half. St. John's was leading 38-35 at halftime when the teams were informed that the remainder of the tournament was cancelled.
During that first half, Mitch Ballock surpassed 1,000 career points, and Jett Canfield had made 3-of-3 shots in his Madison Square Garden debut to score a career-high eight points. Alas, with the game not being completed, none of the stats for the game will not count.
Later in the day on March 12th, it was also announced that the NCAA Tournament would be cancelled. Creighton University and CHI Health Center Omaha had been scheduled to host First and Second Round games of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Bluejay Guards Named All-BIG EAST
Ty-Shon Alexander and Marcus Zegarowski have been honored by the BIG EAST in a vote of league basketball coaches.
Alexander was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection, and Zegarowski brought home Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades.
Alexander led Creighton with 16.9 points per game and 41 steals while also ranking among the best on the Bluejay team in rebounds per game (5.0), minutes per game (34.7), assists (72) and three-pointers (81). The Charlotte, N.C., native ranked in the top-10 in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage (2nd), points per game (3rd), three-pointers made per game (4th), minutes per game (5th); three-point percentage (6th), and in steals per game (8th). Last year Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice.
Zegarowski led Creighton with 5.0 assists per game and was second on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg.) and steals (34). The sophomore from Hamilton, Mass., ranked third in the BIG EAST in assists per game, third in three-point percentage, fifth in assist/turnover ratio, sixth in three-pointers per game, sixth in points per game, sixth in minutes per game and 11th in field goal percentage. He is the sixth sophomore in Creighton history to score 500 or more points.
Mahoney Is BIG EAST's Top Sixth Man
Creighton junior Denzel Mahoney earned the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award, a recognition voted on by league coaches.
A native of Oviedo, Fla., Mahoney averaged 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for Creighton since gaining eligibility on December 17th. Mahoney scored in double-figures in 14 of 21 appearances, helping CU win 16 of those games. In BIG EAST play, Mahoney shot a league-leading 89.8 percent (53-59) at the charity stripe.
In three games against top-10 competition, Mahoney has excelled, averaging 18.3 points per game while helping CU win all three contests. He scored a season-high 21 points in Creighton's victory at Villanova, and scored 16 and 18 points in triumphs over Seton Hall.
Mahoney is the 12th different recipient of the award, which was first handed out in 2007-08. Past winners include Dion Waiters, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
Moving On Up
Creighton was 56 in the initial NET rankings released on Dec. 16, but finished the season with a league-best mark of No. 11.
Creighton's five Quad 1 road wins were tied for fifth-most in the country, its nine Quad 1 overall wins were tied for the seventh-most and the 16 Quad 1 games played were tied for fourth-most as well.
Creighton owned a 9-7 mark in Quadrant 1 games and was unbeaten in contests in Quadrant 2 (6-0), Quadrant 3 (3-0) and Quadrant 4 (5-0) games. The Bluejays were one of five teams nationally that did not suffer a Quad 2, Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss this year.
Most Quad 1 Road Wins
Rk. Quad 1 Road Record Team
1. 7-1 Kansas
7-3 Seton Hall
3. 6-1 Baylor
6-3 Villanova
5. 5-5 Creighton
5-2 Kentucky
5-4 Michigan State
5-6 Wisconsin
Most Quad 1 Wins
Rk. Quad 1 Record Team
1. 12-3 Kansas
2. 11-2 Baylor
3. 10-6 Villanova
10-6 Butler
10-7 Seton Hall
10-8 Wisconsin
7. 9-7 Creighton
9-7 Michigan State
No Losses Against Quad 2/3/4
Q1 W-L Record Q2/3/4 W-L Record Team
9-7 14-0 Creighton
12-3 15-0 Kansas
8-7 16-0 Maryland
5-2 24-0 Dayton
6-2 25-0 Gonzaga
Most Quad 1 Games Played
Rk. Q1 Games (Record) Team
1. 18 10-8 Wisconsin
18 6-12 DePaul
3. 17 10-7 Seton Hall
4. 16 9-7 Creighton
16 10-6 Villanova
16 10-6 Butler
16 9-7 Michigan State
16 8-8 Iowa
16 4-12 Minnesota
16 4-12 Georgetown
16 1-15 Iowa State
16 0-16 Nebraska
Quest For 23,000, Completed
Creighton has scored 23,015 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha and passed the 23,000 mark on March 7 vs. No. 8 Seton Hall.
Creighton has currently outscored the opposition 23,015 to 19,283 at the 17-year old facility in 294 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 22-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CHI Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Ka. Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15 16,000-13,498 (211) Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16 17,000-14,349 (224) Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17 18,000-15,166 (235) Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17 19,000-15,927 (246) Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18 20,000-16,741 (258) Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19 21,000-17,619 (270) Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19 22,000-18,463 (282) Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20 23,000-19,280 (294) Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
All The Three's
Creighton drilled a season-high 17 three-pointers on March 4 vs. Georgetown, tied for the fifth-most in program history for a single game.
Here's a list of Creighton's all-time games with 16 or more treys.
Most 3FG in a Game, Creighton History
Rank 3FG Opponent Date Score
1. 22 Coe 12/20/2018 W 110-60
2. 21 at #4 Villanova 01/20/2014 W 96-68
3. 20 Chattanooga 02/19/2005 W 100-69
4. 19 USC Upstate 12/20/2017 W 116-62
5. 17 #21 Marquette 01/09/2019 L 104-106 (ot)
17 Georgetown 03/04/2020 W 91-76
7. 16 Evansville 01/04/1999 L 79-84
16 Drake 01/08/2013 W 91-61
16 Chicago State 12/29/2013 W 90-58
16 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/2016 W 86-77
16 Alcorn State 11/12/2017 W 109-72
16 at Georgetown 01/06/2018 W 90-66
Yearly Pink Out Totals
In addition to the $31,803.18 raised from the auction, Creighton also collected $27,637.12 in donations to benefit the Hope Lodge.
Adding those two totals to past figures means that Creighton has raised 294,351.30 since the start of the 2011-12 season during its annual men's basketball Pink Out.
2011-12: $20,600
2012-13: $24,444
2013-14: $48,247.11
2014-15: $16,384.03
2015-16: $16,527.90
2016-17: $26,361.64
2017-18: $28,796
2018-19: $19,595
2019-20: 31,803.18
Additional Donations: $53,625.44
Nine-Year Totals: $294,351.30
Pink Out Auction Raises $31,803.18 This Year
Creighton raised $31,803.18 via a jersey auction for its January 26th "Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out" Pink Out game vs. Xavier. Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year:
#0 $1725 #1 $585 #4 $710
#5 $7000 #10 $1100 #11 $7350
#12 $600 #13 $3000 #20 $751.55
#21 $910 #23 $860 #24 $2800
#34 $826.66 #41 $710 #43 $460
Ball 1: $355 Ball 2: $355 Ball 3: $355 Ball 4: 365 Ball 5: $375
McDermott's Shoes: $350 McDermott's Tie: $259.97
No Place Like Home
Creighton played 18 home games this season, and didn't trail at any point in eight of those.
In nine league games at home, Creighton led wire-to-wire in four of them (GU, BU, XU, MU), trailed for minimal amounts vs. DePaul (14 seconds) and St. John's (20 seconds), trailed for 3:26 vs. Villanova, 9:00 vs. Seton Hall and for 18:28 vs. Providence. That amounts to a total of 31:28 (in 360 minutes), and only 12:43 of that (in 180 minutes) came after halftime.
Past Titles
Creighton has now won 22 regular-season conference titles in program history, including this year's BIG EAST crown.
Creighton's title history dates back to 1916-17 when the Jays were champs of both the Nebraska Colleigate Conference and the Western Athletic Conference (no, we're not sure how).
CU won four North Central Conference titles in a span of five seasons in the 1920s.
CU won 15 regular-season titles as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, including eight outright crowns. Only Oklahoma State (11) and Kansas (10) own more outright MVC titles than Creighton.
Before this season, Creighton's most recent regular-season title had come in 2012-13 in the MVC. A complete list can be found on page 108 of the 2019-20 media guide.
Alexander Wasting No Time
Junior Ty-Shon Alexander owns 1,241 career points after his junior season. In Creighton history, that point total ranks 13th in program history among players in their first three years as a Bluejay, as seen below.
Most Points, First 3 Seasons, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name
1. 2,216 Doug McDermott
2. 1,876 Bob Portman
3. 1,661 Paul Silas
4. 1,575 Benoit Benjamin
5. 1,540 Bob Harstad
Rodney Buford
7. 1,369 Gene Harmon
8. 1,363 Chad Gallagher
9. 1,303 Elton Tuttle
10. 1,292 Marcus Foster
11. 1,272 Bob Gibson
12. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas
13. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander
14. 1,197 Kyle Korver
Alexander Slows Down Top Threats
Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver once said of former Creighton baseball and basketball standout Bob Gibson "Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher in baseball. He is always pitching when the other team doesn't score any runs."
Soon, it might be Ty-Shon Alexander who is being spoken of in such endearing terms in relation to the player he guards.
Alexander emerged as Creighton's top defensive stopper this season. He helped limit Marquette's Markus Howard to 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting on January 1st and 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the Feb. 18 rematch, Seton Hall's Myles Powell to 12 points on 3-of-16 shooting on February 12th and more recently, DePaul's Jalen Coleman-Lands to six points on 2-of-7 marksmanship, Butler's Kamar Baldwin to seven points in 15 injury-limited minutes on Feb. 23 and Jahvon Blair to 8-for-23 shooting on March 4.
Alexander had five steals in the Feb. 15 win over DePaul, which was one shy of his career-high six that he had in the win earlier this year vs. Marquette.
In four head-to-head games this season against Marquette and Seton Hall, Alexander has averaged 19.0 points while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and owning just two turnovers. Meanwhile, Howard and Powell have combined to average 14.5 points per game on 32.2 percent shooting and committed 16 turnovers.
Creighton went 4-0 in those contests.
Full House
Creighton averaged 17,314 fans per home game this season, good for fifth place nationally.
It marked the 15th straight season that CU has been among the nation's top 25 in average home attendance, and the ninth straight season in the top-10.
2019-20 Average Home Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Syracuse 21,704
2. Kentucky 20,160
3. North Carolina 20,103
4. Tennessee 18,990
5. Creighton 17,314
6. Wisconsin 16,912
7. Louisville 16,658
8. Kansas 16,388
9. Memphis 16,312
10. Indiana 16,300
Some Loyal Fans
Creighton played in front of more than 300,000 home fans for the third straight season in 2019-20, hosting a program-record 311,651 fans this winter.
The 311,651 fans ranked fourth-most nationally.
Creighton had never attracted more than 141,000 home fans in any season prior to the opening of CHI Health Center Omaha, and now has done it each of the last 17 seasons.
Creighton has led its conference in average home attendance every year since moving into CHI Health Center Omaha, which is in its 17th season.
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,413 Creighton 2016-17
17,314 Creighton 2019-20
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,048 Creighton 2014-15
17,000 Creighton 2017-18
Creighton's Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Year G Attendance Average
1. 2019-20 18 311,651 17,314
2. 2017-18 18 306,000 17,000
3. 2018-19 19 303,629 15,980
4. 2015-16 19 302,887 15,941
5. 2008-09 19 302,676 15,930
5. 2010-11 22 297,161 13,507
Ranked vs. Ranked
Creighton is 10-12 all-time as a ranked team when facing a ranked team, including a 8-8 overall mark under Greg McDermott. Creighton was also 4-0 this season in such contests.
Here's those games:
Date CU Rank Opponent Rank Result
03/04/1974 #16 #14 South Carolina L 69-78
03/14/1974 #19 vs. #14 Kansas L 54-55
03/16/1974 #19 vs. #16 Louisville W 80-71
03/08/1975 #13 #5 Marquette L 60-64
12/31/2002 #15 at #19 Xavier L 73-75
03/18/2012 #19 vs. #4 North Carolina L 73-87
03/24/2013 #22 vs. #6 Duke L 50-66
02/16/2014 #18 #6 Villanova W 101-80
03/23/2014 #16 vs. #23 Baylor L 55-85
11/15/2016 #22 #9 Wisconsin W 77-69
12/31/2016 #10 #1 Villanova L 70-80
01/11/2017 #8 #12 Butler W 75-64
01/16/2017 #7 at #22 Xavier W 72-67
01/31/2017 #22 at #16 Butler W 76-67
02/25/2017 #23 at #2 Villanova L 63-79
12/01/2017 #25 at #15 Gonzaga L 74-91
12/28/2017 #25 at #23 Seton Hall L 84-90
01/13/2018 #25 at #10 Xavier L 70-92
02/12/2020 #23 at #10 Seton Hall W 87-82
02/18/2020 #15 at #19 Marquette W 73-65
02/23/2020 #15 #21 Butler W 81-59
03/07/2020 #11 #8 Seton Hall W 77-60
The Avengers
Creighton had nine BIG EAST losses last season en route to tying for a third-place finish in league play. This year's team played nine of those same teams at the same site, and won six of them (five by double-figures).
Category 2018-19 2019-20
Marquette Lost 106-104 (OT) Won 92-75
at Butler Lost 84-69 Lost 71-57
Villanova Lost 90-78 Lost 64-59
at Xavier Lost 64-61 Won 77-65
at Villanova Lost 66-59 (OT) Won 76-61
St. John's Lost 83-67 Won 94-82
at Seton Hall Lost 63-58 Won 87-82
at St. John's Lost 83-66 Lost 91-71
Seton Hall Lost 81-75 Won 77-60
Alexander Surpasses 1,000 Points
Ty-Shon Alexander became the 42nd member of Creighton's 1,000 point club on Jan. 15 at Georgetown.
Alexander, needed 85 career games to reach the milestone as he became the first Bluejay to reach 1,000 points since Khyri Thomas reached 1,000 points in the 94th game of his career on Feb. 10 vs. No. 5 Xavier, finishing the game with 1,009 career points.
Mitch Ballock has played in 99 games and owns 996 career points.
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 18 Bluejays
Name CU Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Ty-Shon Alexander 85 01/15/20
Khyri Thomas 94 02/10/18
Marcus Foster 54 01/17/18
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
A Grand For Alexander; Ballock Next?
Ty-Shon Alexander ranks 25th in Creighton history on the all-time scoring list with 1,241 points.
Mitch Ballock owns 996 career points and is up to 43rd on Creighton's scoring list. He actually surpassed 1,000 career points during the first half of CU's quarterfinal game vs. St. John's at the BIG EAST Tournament, but those stats were erased when the game was called off at halftime.
Most Career Points, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 3,150 Doug McDermott 2010-14
2. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-99
3. 2,110 Bob Harstad 1987-91
4. 1,983 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
5. 1,876 Bob Portman 1966-69
6. 1,801 Kyle Korver 1999-03
7. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-07
8. 1,682 Rick Apke 1974-78
9. 1,661 Paul Silas 1961-64
10. 1,654 Vernon Moore 1981-85
11. 1,575 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
12. 1,526 John C. Johnson 1975-79
13. 1,500 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
14. 1,437 Eddie Cole 1951-55
15. 1,369 Gene Harmon 1971-74
16. 1,361 Duan Cole 1987-92
17. 1,342 Antoine Young 2008-12
18. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
19. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
20. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
21. 1,292 Marcus Foster 2016-18
22. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
23. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
24. 1,254 Gary Swain 1983-87
25. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-Pres.
25. 1,238 Ben Walker 1997-01
27. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-54
28. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1956-59
29. 1,155 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
30. 1,152 Dane Watts 2004-08
31. 1,140 Khyri Thomas 2015-18
32. 1,116 Kenny Evans 1982-87
33. 1,115 Doug Brookins 1972-75
1,115 Daryl Stovall 1978-82
35. 1,093 Tim Powers 1964-67
36. 1,050 Reggie Morris 1982-86
37. 1,031 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
38. 1,024 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-10
39. 1,023 Rod Mason 1986-88
40. 1,013 Austin Chatman 2011-15
41. 1,006 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
42. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
43. 996 Mitch Ballock 2017-Pres.
44. 994 Chuck Officer 1960-62, 1963-64
Ball Control Offense
Creighton led the BIG EAST with a 1.45 assist/turnover ratio in all games, and its 10.9 turnovers per game were tied for the fewest in the league.
Mitch Ballock led the league with a 3.39 assist/turnover ratio (95/28) in all games and also finished first with a 3.53 assist/turnover ratio (60/17) in league play. For his career, Ballock owns an impressive 269/111 (2.42) assist/turnover ratio.
Sophomore teammate Christian Bishop turned his season around in that category as well. After 11 assists and 21 turnovers in non-conference play, Bishop owned 30 assists and 26 turnovers in league action.
One final Bluejay with eye-popping numbers in the assist/turnover chart is junior Ty-Shon Alexander. Alexander had 47 assists and just 16 turnovers in league play this year. Alexander did not have a turnover in eight of Creighton's 18 league games, and multiple turnovers just three times.
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton led the BIG EAST with 78.3 points per game, 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 38.6 percent shooting from three-point territory, +8.6 scoring margin, 1.45 assist/turnover ratio and 15.77 assists per game.
In the final KenPom.com ratings, Creighton had the nation's third-best offense.
This season is the fourth time in the last nine seasons that Creighton has had a top-10 offense per KenPom.
What's My Line?
Creighton held foes to 31.4 percent shooting from three-point range, a key reason why the Bluejays out-scored foes by 210 points behind the arc.
Bluejay opponents shot 28.7 percent from downtown when CU wins, but 42.0 percent from deep in CU losses.
The 31.4 percent shooting from three-point range by CU opponents was the third-best mark in program history.
Here's how the three-point shooting has broken down in CU's games this season, including the seven losses:
Category CU 3FG (%) Opp 3FG (%)
In CU's 24 wins 261-618 (.422) 169-588 (.287)
In CU's 7 losses 41-165 (.248) 63-150 (.420)
vs. Top 25 Teams 73-178 (.410) 56-214 (.262)
at Michigan 7-20 (.350) 9-23 (.391)
vs. San Diego State 4-23 (.174) 11-18 (.611)
at #11 Butler 4-22 (.182) 6-19 (.316)
#16 Villanova 3-14 (.214) 6-33 (.182)
at Georgetown 13-32 (.406) 5-15 (.333)
at Providence 6-27 (.222) 12-20 (.600)
at St. John's 4-27 (.148) 14-22 (.636)
McDermott Coaches Them Up
Creighton University's Greg McDermott was one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year, as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
McDermott guided a Creighton team that was picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST to a No. 7 spot in the final Associated Press poll, a No. 11 slotting in the year-end NET, and a share of the BIG EAST title.
The Bluejays tied for third nationally with six top-25 wins this season, and on Jan. 11 McDermott became the 27th active Division I coach to reach 500 career wins. Creighton's success came despite the loss of key returnees Davion Mintz and Jacob Epperson for the season due to injury.
Greg and his son Doug McDermott have already become the BIG EAST's first men's basketball father/son tandem in history to have won both a Coach of the Year and Player of the Year award.
Mr. Perfect
Marcus Zegarowski became the 71st player in NCAA history to be perfect on seven or more three-point attempts during Creighton's win vs. No. 21 Butler on Feb. 23rd.
Zegarowski was 5-for-5 from deep in the first half and made his only two attempts from distance after the break before checking out after CU took a 61-32 lead with 12 minutes left.
Zegarowski was the third player in the country with a 7-for-7 (or better) performance form three-point land this season, joining South Dakota's Tyler Hagedom (8-8) vs. Texas Southern on Nov. 15 and Florida State's Devin Vassell vs. Virginia Tech on Feb. 1.
Zegarowski broke Kyle Korver's Creighton record for most three-point attempts without a miss, as Korver opened his senior year with a 6-for-6 showing from distance vs. Texas-Arlington on Nov. 17, 2002.
Single-Game 3-Point Percentage Leaders, CU History
Pct. Name, Opponent (min. 5 3 FGA) Date
1.000 Marcus Zegarowski (7-7) vs. Butler 02/23/20
Kyle Korver (6-6) vs. Texas-Arlington 11/17/02
Porter Moser (5-5) vs. Bradley 01/21/89
Ben Walker (5-5) vs. Evansville 02/28/00
Michael Lindeman (5-5) vs. Bradley 02/08/03
Marcus Zegarowski (5-5) vs. Seton Hall 03/07/20
.917 Mitch Ballock (11-12) vs. DePaul 03/09/19
.857 Kyle Korver (6-7) vs. Missouri State 01/19/00
Ryan Sears (6-7) at Indiana State 02/04/01
Booker Woodfox (6-7) vs. Indiana St. 01/19/08
Doug McDermott (6-7) vs. Indiana St. 03/09/13
Rick Kreklow (6-7) vs. Marquette 02/14/15
Zegarowski is also the fourth player in BIG EAST history to be 7-for-7 or better from three-point range in a league game:
Single-Game 3-Point Percentage Leaders
BIG EAST History (League Games Only)
Pct. Name, Opponent Date
1.000 CU's Marcus Zegarowski vs. Butler 02/23/20
BU's Kellen Dunham vs. Seton Hall 03/08/14
MU's Jerel McNeal vs. Cincinnati 01/04/09
WVU's Da'Sean Butler at St. John's 02/06/10
Zegarowski Named Player of the Week
Marcus Zegarowski was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Feb. 24 after helping Creighton to a pair of top-25 wins. The Massachusetts native averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in wins over No. 19 Marquette and No. 21 Butler.
He is Creighton Basketball's first Player of the Week since Ty-Shon Alexander on Jan. 28, 2019.
Zegarowski made 69.6 percent of his shots from the field (16-23), shooting 87.5 percent from three-point range (7-8) and 75 percent at the line (3-4). The Bluejays never trailed against Butler, and never trailed in the final 29 minutes vs. the Golden Eagles.
The sophomore started his week with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists in Tuesday's 73-65 win at Marquette. Zegarowski made 7-of-11 shots from the field, including 4-of-4 marksmanship in the second half, in Creighton's third top-25 road win of the month.
On Sunday vs. Butler, Zegarowski tied a BIG EAST single-game record by making 7-of-7 three point shots en route to 25 points in only 25 minutes. He was 5-for-5 from downtown in the first half as Creighton raced to its largest halftime lead (40-21) in league play since 2017. He would make 9-of-12 shots overall, also adding three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Zegarowski was also named the National Player of the Week by the USBWA for his efforts, the first Bluejay with such an honor since Doug McDermott earned the accolade twice in 2013-14.
Winning Away From Home
Creighton went 6-5 in true road games this season.
Since 1999-00, Creighton has posted six road wins or more on 12 occasions (including 2019-20), making the NCAA Tournament nine of those times. Creighton has won either a regular-season title or reached the conference tournament final in 11 of those 12 campaigns (including 2019-20).
Year Road W-L League Road W-L Postseason
2019-20 6-5 5-4 No Tourney Held
2016-17 7-4 5-4 NCAA (0-1)
2013-14 7-4 5-4 NCAA (1-1)
2012-13 7-5 5-4 NCAA (1-1)
2011-12 10-3 7-2 NCAA (1-1)
2008-09 8-4 7-2 NIT (1-1)
2004-05 7-5 5-4 NCAA (0-1)
2003-04 6-6 4-5 NIT (0-1)
2002-03 7-4 6-3 NCAA (0-1)
2001-02 7-5 7-2 NCAA (1-1)
2000-01 7-5 5-4 NCAA (0-1)
1999-00 8-6 4-5 NCAA (0-1)
Big Night For Bishop
Christian Bishop had the best night of his career on Feb. 23 vs. No. 21 Butler.
Bishop had career-highs in points (19), blocks (4) and steals (3) while tying his previous best in assists (5).
The sophomore forward had five dunks while shooting 7-of-10 from the field and making 5-of-6 free throws.
Bishop followed that game up with five more assists at St. John's on March 1st.
After 11 assists and 21 turnovers in non-conference play, Bishop owned 30 assists and 26 turnovers in league action.
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott currently has 231 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .666 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more 80 years ago.
Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
2. 231-116 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-1981
24 Wins And Counting
Creighton finished the season with a 24-7 record. In 102 seasons of Bluejay Basketball. This was just the 10th team to have won 24 times or more.
This year's club was just the sixth squad to reach 24+ wins before the league tourney.
Prior to Greg McDermott's arrival, Creighton MBB won 23+ games nine times in 93 seasons. This season marks McDermott's sixth time in 10 years with 23+ victories on the Bluejay sideline. Creighton has averaged 23.1 wins per season under McDermott.
Most Creighton MBB Wins, Season
Pre Pre-Post Postseason
Year Final W-L Tourney Season Tournament
2002-03 29-5 26-4 29-4 NCAA
2011-12 29-6 25-5 28-5 NCAA
2012-13 28-8 24-7 27-7 NCAA
2008-09 27-8 25-6 26-7 NIT
2013-14 27-8 24-6 26-7 NCAA
2016-17 25-10 23-8 25-9 NCAA
1990-91 24-8 20-7 23-7 NCAA
2000-01 24-8 23-6 24-7 NCAA
2019-20 24-7 24-7 No postseason tourneys
20 Wins, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 20 of the last 22 seasons (including 2019-20), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just three schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 22 years: Duke (22), Gonzaga (22) and Kansas (22).
Kentucky has done it 21 times. Creighton and Florida have done it 20 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 22 Years
Team 20-Win Seasons 2019-20 W-L
Gonzaga 22 31-2
Kansas 22 28-3
Duke 22 25-6
Kentucky 21 25-6
Creighton 20 24-7
Florida 20 19-12
Big Mac Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced some of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category Pre-McDermott Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams 18-115 21-32
vs. Top 10 Teams 5-31 9-14
vs. Top 10 on Road 1-28 4-7
vs. Top 25 on Road 2-63 8-14
Ranking News & Notes
- Creighton is 21-32 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 14 more top-25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 18-115 all-time against top-25 foes.
- Creighton has beaten at least one top-12 team each of the last five seasons (including three in 2019-20). On a national basis, the only 12 teams with a top-12 win each of the last five seasons (including 2019-20) are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
- Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last seven seasons (including 2019-20), and multiple ranked foes in each of the last five years.
- Creighton has beaten at least one top-25 team each of the last seven years (including 2019-20). On a national basis, the only 27 teams with a top-25 win each of the last seven seasons (including 2019-20) are Baylor, Cincinnati, Clemson, Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, NC State, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin and Xavier.
- Creighton is 16-15 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 16 wins over ranked teams in that time is tied for 13th nationally, and trails only Villanova (21) among BIG EAST clubs.
- Creighton beat four ranked teams in the same month for the first time in program history in February when it defeated No. 8 Villanova, No. 10 Seton Hall, No. 19 Marquette and No. 21 Butler.
- Creighton, Michigan State and Wisconsin were the only teams with three or more top-25 road wins this season.
- Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the nation's only teams with four top-25 wins in the same month of February have been Creighton (4 in 2019-20), Providence (5 in 2019-20) and Kansas (4 in 2015-16).
- Creighton's six top-25 wins this season trailed only Iowa (7) and Michigan State (7) nationally. Other teams with six top-25 wins were Ohio State, Oregon and Baylor.
Top 25 Success
Creighton had six wins over top-25 teams this season, breaking a school-record set in 2016-17. This is Creighton's ninth team with multiple top-25 wins in a season, and fifth consecutive.
Most Top-25 Wins, Season
Wins Season Top-25 Victims
6 2019-20 #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
#12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
#21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
4 2016-17 #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
#16 Butler, #22 Xavier
4 2017-18 #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
#20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
2 1973-74 #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
2 2001-02 #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
2 2006-07 #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
2 2013-14 #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
2 2015-16 #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
2 2018-19 #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson
Junior Jumpers
Mitch Ballock and Ty-Shon Alexander shot the ball at a rate rarely seen by juniors at Creighton.
Ballock made 93 three-pointers this season, while Alexander drained 81 treys. Ballock broke the previous program record for three-pointers made by a junior of 82 by Tad Ackerman in 1994-95.
Ballock and Alexander became the second and third players in Creighton history with 80 or more three-pointers in multiple seasons, joining legendary marksman Kyle Korver. Ballock and Alexander, however, are the only players to do it in consecutive campaigns.
Only four sophomores in Creighton history have ever made 70 or more three-pointers in a season. Korver (100) in 2000-01, Alexander (97) and Ballock (95) last year, and Zegarowski (75) this winter.
Most 3-Pointers Made In A Season, Creighton History
3FG-FGA 3FG% Name Year
129-269 .480 Kyle Korver* 2002-03
110-234 .471 Ethan Wragge 2013-14
100-221 .452 Kyle Korver 2000-01
96-214 .449 Doug McDermott* 2013-14
97-266 .365 Ty-Shon Alexander 2018-19
95-230 .413 Marcus Foster 2017-18
95-227 .419 Mitch Ballock 2018-19
93-214 .435 Mitch Ballock 2019-20
91-191 .476 Booker Woodfox* 2008-09
82-210 .390 Tad Ackerman 1994-95
81-203 .399 Ty-Shon Alexander 2019-20
79-184 .429 Kyle Korver* 2001-02
78-175 .446 Ethan Wragge 2012-13
77-157 .490 Doug McDermott* 2012-13
76-175 .434 Rod Mason 1987-88
*Conference Player of the Year
Most 3-Pointers Made by a Creighton Junior
3FG-FGA 3FG% Name Year
93-214 .435 Mitch Ballock 2019-20
82-210 .390 Tad Ackerman 1994-95
81-203 .399 Ty-Shon Alexander 2019-20
79-184 .429 Kyle Korver 2001-02
78-175 .446 Ethan Wragge 2012-13
77-157 .490 Doug McDermott 2012-13
73-214 .341 Marcus Foster 2016-17
67-194 .345 Ryan Sears 1999-00
67-176 .381 Terrell Taylor 2001-02
67-143 .469 Nate Funk 2004-05
Most 3-Pointers Made by a Creighton Sophomore
3FG-FGA 3FG% Name Year
100-221 .452 Kyle Korver 2000-01
97-266 .365 Ty-Shon Alexander 2018-19
95-227 .419 Mitch Ballock 2018-19
75-177 .424 Marcus Zegarowski 2019-20
66-161 .410 Ethan Wragge 2011-12
Creighton's Most 3-Pointers Per Game, Season
3FG/G 3FG GP Name Year
3.79 129 34 Kyle Korver 2002-03
3.15 82 26 Tad Ackerman 1994-95
3.14 110 35 Ethan Wragge 2013-14
3.13 100 32 Kyle Korver 2001-02
3.00 93 31 Mitch Ballock 2019-20
2.88 95 33 Marcus Foster 2017-18
Ballock & Alexander Reach 200 Treys
Mitch Ballock led Creighton with 93 three-point baskets this season, which gives him 232 in his Bluejay career. That puts him in fifth place in program history in that category. Classmate Ty-Shon Alexander is up to seventh place with 210 career treys.
Ballock and teammate Ty-Shon Alexander have joined Kyle Korver and Ethan Wragge as the only Bluejays to reach that milestone as juniors. Korver ended his junior year with 242 treys, while Wragge had 234 trifectas after his junior campaign.
Ballock ranked 19th nationally with 93 three-pointers made and 11th in three-point percentage (.435).
Most Career 3FG, Creighton History
Rank 3FG Name Years
1. 371 Kyle Korver 1999-03
2. 334 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
3. 274 Doug McDermott 2010-14
4. 245 Ryan Sears 1997-01
5. 232 Mitch Ballock 2017-Pres.
6. 212 Rodney Buford 1995-99
7. 210 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-Pres.
8. 206 Jahenns Manigat 2010-14
9. 200 Nate Funk 2002-07
10. 185 Matt Roggenburk 1986-90
Iron Man Mitch
Junior Mitch Ballock led the BIG EAST with 35.97 minutes per game, a number that climbed to 36.83 minutes per contest in league play, as he played all but 57 minutes in CU's 18 league games. He is CU's first player to lead a conference in minutes played per game (all games) since at least 1996-97.
CU was also the nation's only team with three men averaging 34.6 minutes per game or more.
Here's the league's top six players in minutes per game.
BIG EAST Minutes Per Game Leaders
Rank Name, Team G MIN MPG
1. Mitch Ballock, CU 31 1115 35.97
2. Naji Marshall, XU 31 1105 35.65
3. Charlie Moore, DPU 32 1139 35.59
4. Jagan Mosely, GU 32 1115 34.84
5. Ty-Shon Alexander, CU 31 1076 34.71
6. Marcus Zegarowski, CU 31 1073 34.61
Creighton Minutes Per Game Leaders Since 1994-95
Rank MPG Name Year
1. 36.0 Mitch Ballock 2019-20
2. 35.7 Antoine Young 2010-11
3. 35.033 Edward St. Fleur 1996-97
4. 35.030 Ryan Sears 1999-00
5. 34.7 Ty-Shon Alexander 2019-20
6. 34.6 Marcus Zegarowski 2019-20
7. 34.48 Nate Funk 2006-07
8. 33.84 Ryan Sears 2000-01
9. 33.79 Austin Chatman 2014-15
10. 33.7 Doug McDermott 2013-14
The Race To 70
Creighton scored 70 or more points in 23 of its 24 victories this season, and was 23-2 when reaching that plateau this winter.
Creighton was also 14-1 this season when allowing fewer than 70 points.
Alexander The Great
Ty-Shon Alexander is in the midst of the best stretch of his career on both ends of the floor.
The junior guard scored in double-figures in each of the last 15 games, and made multiple three-pointers in 14 of those 15 contests.
Following several talks about body language and leadership with head coach Greg McDermott after a Jan. 15 loss to Georgetown Alexander averaged 18.3 points per game while shooting 40-of-94 from three-point range (42.6 percent). He also owned a 36/9 assist/turnover ratio and owned 20 steals in that time while playing an average of 34.9 minutes per game.
Creighton was 11-2 in this stretch.
Alexander owned 524 points this year, reaching 500 points for a second consecutive year. Only nine other Bluejays had done this previously (Doug McDermott 4x; Bob Harstad 3x; Rodney Buford 3x; Paul Silas 3x; Bob Portman 2x; Marcus Foster 2x; Chad Gallagher 2x; Nate Funk 2x; Rick Apke 2x).
Jays2K
Creighton had 2,428 points this season, surpassing 2,000 points for the 14th straight season. Making that even more impressive is that CU did it just 8-of-12 seasons from 1994-95 to 2005-06. This year's team averaged 78.4 points per game.
Greg McDermott is 66-4 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points, including a 60-4 mark on the Creighton sideline.
Creighton is 63-3 all-time when scoring 100 points or more, and had a streak of 36 straight wins
when scoring triple-digits since a 1977 loss to North
Texas State snapped in the Jan. 9, 2019 loss to Marquette (106-104).
Road Warriors
Creighton went 5-4 on the road in BIG EAST play, with three of those victories coming by 10 or more points (by 12 at Xavier, by 15 at DePaul, by 15 at Villanova).
There were only seven other occasions this season in which a road team won a BIG EAST game by 10 points or more...Butler (at Providence), Providence (at Georgetown), Seton Hall (at Xavier), St. John's (at DePaul), Villanova (at St. John's and at DePaul) and Xavier (at Seton Hall).
This season marks the first time Creighton owned three conference road wins of 10 or more points since 2016-17 (at St. John's, at Providence, at DePaul).
Creighton also led the BIG EAST with 17 home wins this season, and is 22-1 in its last 23 home games against all teams. The Bluejays are 41-22 all-time in BIG EAST home games.
Home teams went 53-37 in BIG EAST play this year.
.500 Or Better in League Play, Again
Creighton went 13-5 in league play finishing with a .500 mark or better once again. It's the 24th time in the last 25 seasons that Creighton has gone .500 or better in league play.
Xavier went 8-10 in the league, snapping its streak of 37 straight seasons in which it has finished .500 or better in league play. That had been the nation's longest active streak, five seasons more than Murray State's 32. The rest of the top-five consists of Kansas (30), Kentucky (30) and Gonzaga (30).
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the last four seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall. Those are the same three teams that tied for the 2019-20 league title.
How Many Days???
After just two top-25 road wins from 1949-2013, Creighton has picked up eight such victories in the past seven seasons.
On two occasions (from 1949-74 and from 1978-2014) there was a gap of more than 9,000 days. Most recently, the Bluejays have won top-25 road games in a 15-day span three times since 2017.
Date Top 25 Road Win Days Until Next Top 25 Road Win
01/20/49 First AP Poll introduced 9,151
02/09/74 CU 75, #6 Marquette 69 1,449
01/28/78 CU 72, #13 Indiana St. 64 13,141
01/20/14 CU 96, #6 Villanova 68 1,092
01/16/17 CU 72, #22 Xavier 67 15
01/31/17 CU 76, #16 Butler 67 288
11/15/17 CU 92, #20 Northwestern 88 473
03/03/19 CU 66, #10 Marquette 60 335
02/01/20 CU 76, #8 Villanova 61 11
02/12/20 #23 CU 87, #10 Seton Hall 82 6
02/18/20 #15 CU 73, #21 Marquette 65 TBD
Jays Earn Another Top 10 Road Win
Since the start of the 2013-14 season when Creighton joined the BIG EAST, the Bluejays own four top-10 road wins. Creighton beat No. 4 Villanova in 2014, No. 10 Marquette in 2019, No. 8 Villanova in 2020 and No. 10 Seton Hall in 2020.
The four top-10 road wins in those seven seasons rank tied for the fourth-most nationally, trailing only Kansas (7), Duke (5) and Oklahoma (5) and equal with Michigan (4).
Since 2013-14, only 13 teams in the country posted multiple top-10 road wins in the same season, a group that included Creighton, Seton Hall and Florida State this winter.
This year marked Creighton's first season with multiple top-10 road wins in program history.
You Can Only Hope To Contain Him
Mitch Ballock was 0-for-3 from deep at No. 10 Seton Hall on Feb. 12, snapping his 23-game streak of games with a made a three-pointer that had ranked tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history.
Creighton was 12-0 this season when Ballock made four or more three-pointers, but also 2-0 when he's held without a trey.
Ballock (23) is one of four current Bluejays to have compiled a streak of 19 or longer straight games at some point in their college career, joining Ty-Shon Alexander (33), Marcus Zegarowski (20) and Denzel Mahoney (19 at Southeast Missouri State).
3-Pointers, By Average
Creighton made 9.74 three-pointers per game this season, it fourth-most ever. The Jays had never averaged more than 8.76 triples in any season before Greg McDermott's arrival.
Here's a look at the most three-pointers per game in Creighton history. Creighton's Most 3-Pointers Per Game in a Season
3FG/G Season 3FG GP W-L (Postseason)
10.63 2018-19 372 35 20-15 (NIT)
10.39 2017-18 343 33 21-12 (NCAA)
10.17 2013-14 356 35 27-8 (NCAA)
9.74 2019-20 302 31 24-7 (No Tourney)
8.76 1999-00 289 33 23-10 (NCAA)
8.69 2016-17 304 35 25-10 (NCAA)
8.62 2004-05 293 34 23-11 (NCAA)
8.53 2012-13 307 36 28-8 (NCAA)
Alexander A Finalist For Jerry West Award
Creighton's Ty-Shon Alexander is one of five finalists for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Feb. 4th.
Named after Class of 1980 Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its sixth year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men's college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel narrowed down the watch list from 10 to just five candidates.
Alexander was one of three BIG EAST representatives on the candidate list, as he was joined by Kamar Baldwin (Butler) and Myles Powell (Seton Hall).
8 Games And Counting
Creighton's bench scored 471 points this season, an average of 15.2 points per contest.
However, on Feb. 5 at Providence, the Bluejay reserve corps was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting in a combined 32 minutes.
It marked the first time since a 68-62 win at Drake on February 24, 1986, that Creighton's reserves were held without a point. On that night, Creighton's bench logged just one total minute by Keith Smith, as starters Gary Swain, Ed Johansen, Kenny Evans and Reggie Morris played all 40 minutes and Renard Edwards logged 39 minutes.
Since that 1986 evening, Creighton had played 1,082 games while making 24 postseason appearances (including 14 NCAA Tournaments) and won six regular-season league titles and 10 league tournaments.
Bonus From The Bench
Denzel Mahoney scored a season-high 21 points in Creighton's game at Villanova on Feb. 1.
It was the most points by a Bluejay reserve in any game this winter, and the most by a Bluejay sub since Mitch Ballock scored 22 points in a win over No. 23 UCLA on Nov. 20, 2017.
Mahoney's 21 points at No. 8 Villanova were the most ever by a Creighton reserve in a victory over a top-10 opponent under Greg McDermott.
After being outscored 216-137 off the bench in the first 10 games of the season, the Bluejay reserves have outscored foes 328-280 after Mahoney became eligible on Dec. 17th.
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through 2019-20
Category Stat NCAA Rank
3FG Made 3,096 2nd
3FG Percentage .385 2nd
Assists 5,629 3rd
FG Percentage .480 5th
FG Made 9,466 9th
Wins 231 30th
Winning Percentage .666 33rd
Canfield Earns Scholarship
Jett Canfield was surprised with a scholarship for the 2019-20 season during a team huddle at practice at The Palestra on February 3rd.
Canfield is Topeka, Kan., native who redshirted with the Bluejays a year ago.
Upon learning the news, Canfield's teammates mobbed the freshman guard before he embraced head coach Greg McDermott in a warm hug.
Midterm Report
Creighton started 6-3 in the BIG EAST, owning a winning percentage over .500 at the midway point in league play for the 22nd time in the past 24 seasons.
Entering this season Creighton has gone 5-4 or better in the second half of league action in 20 of the last 24 years.
Here's how Creighton's teams have fared in the various halves of the MVC/BIG EAST season since 1995-96.
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2019-20 6-3 7-2
2018-19 4-5 5-4
2017-18 6-3 4-5
2016-17 6-3 4-5
2015-16 5-4 4-5
2014-15 1-8 3-6
2013-14 8-1 6-3
2012-13 7-2 6-3
2011-12 8-1 6-3
2010-11 5-4 5-4
2009-10 5-4 5-4
2008-09 5-4 9-0
2007-08 5-4 5-4
2006-07 6-3 7-2
2005-06 7-2 5-4
2004-05 5-4 6-3
2003-04 7-2 5-4
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
Total 142-83 (.631) 142-83 (.631)
Foul Stripe Fun
This season, Creighton made 236 free throws in BIG EAST play, while its opponents attempted just 257 (making 180).
Creighton was 14-0 this season in all games when owning as many or more free throw makes than the opposition has attempted, and won its last 17 games overall when that occurs.
Toe The Line
Ty-Shon Alexander ranked second in the BIG EAST in free throw percentage, draining 117-of-136 attempts (86.0 percent).
Alexander attempted 19 free throws in Creighton's seven losses (2.7 attempts per loss), and 117 foul shots in CU's 24 victories (4.9 attempts per win).
Creighton was 9-1 this season when Alexander attempts six or more free throws this season.
Win Over Xavier Completes BIG EAST Sweep
A January 26th victory over Xavier means that Creighton has now swept both regular-season meetings against all nine opponents in the BIG EAST at least once since the league's reconfiguration in 2013-14.
Besides Creighton, the only other school that can claim that is Villanova.
Since the league's reconfiguration only two teams have won both regular-season meetings in the same year against Villanova even once.
Creighton did it in 2013-14, while Butler did so in 2016-17.
Multiple Choices
Creighton had five men score in double-figures on in BIG EAST road wins at Xavier (Jan. 11), at DePaul (Jan. 22) and at No. 10 Seton Hall (Feb. 12), as well as six double-figure scorers on Feb. 8 vs. St. John's
The Bluejays had five or more men score 10 or more points in the same game eight times this year.
Creighton has won 13 straight games when five or more players score in double-digits.
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Marcus Zegarowski's go-ahead three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left on Jan. 18th helped beat Providence, and was the latest game-winner in a Bluejay win at home since some heroics from Doug McDermott against St. John's in 2014.
It was the third time in the last five Omaha meetings between Creighton and Providence that has seen a game-winner in the final five seconds.
Before Jan. 18th, Creighton's last win at any site when trailing by five or more points in the final 90 seconds of regulation or an overtime was on March 18, 2008 vs. Rhode Island.
Creighton is now 8-8 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in the fall of 2003.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
McDermott Climbs BIG EAST Charts
Greg McDermott owns 69 career regular-season BIG EAST wins, which ranks tied for 18th in league history with Buzz Williams.
Of the 25 men with 50 or more regular-season BIG EAST wins, McDermott's .548 win percentage in league play ranks 15th-best, trailing only Jamie Dixon, Jay Wright, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Lou Carnesecca, John Thompson Sr., Buzz Williams, Chris Mack, Jim Calhoun, Mike Brey, Mike Jarvis, Rollie Massimino, John Thompson Jr. and Steve Lappas.
McDermott Earned 500th Career Win
Greg McDermott earned his 500th career victory as a head coach during the Jan. 11 game at Xavier. He's won 50 or more games at four different schools. His 500th win came in his 808th game, and his 26th season as a head coach.
McDermott then received a standing ovation on Jan. 18 when he was recognized for the achievement prior to CU's next home game.
Including McDermott, only 28 active Division I men's coaches own 500 or more career victories.
Greg McDermott's Milestone Victories
Date Career W-L Opponent & Site Score
01/14/00 100-50 Moorhead State at WSC 92-59
11/23/05 200-117 UNI at Western Michigan 69-63
03/15/11 300-209 San Jose State at CU 85-74
02/24/15 400-248 CU at DePaul 75-62
01/11/20 500-308 CU at Xavier 77-65
Most Career Wins Among Active Division I Coaches
Rank W-L Coach, Current School
1. 1157-350 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
2. 964-399 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
3. 885-253 Roy Williams, North Carolina
4. 881-372 Bob Huggins, West Virginia
5. 780-518 Cliff Ellis, Coastal Carolina
---
25. 525-204 Gregg Marshall, Wichita State
26. 511-311 Greg McDermott, Creighton
27. 510-373 Jeff Jones, Old Dominion
Dynamic Duo of Denzel and Damien
After Denzel Mahoney became eligible prior to the Dec. 17 game vs. Oklahoma, both Mahoney and Damien Jefferson have played a key part of CU's success.
In those 21 contests, Jefferson averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while Mahoney checked in at 12.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Jefferson scored nine or more points in 14 of the last 20 games, while Mahoney reached double-figures in 14 of his 21 contests.
Jefferson was 6-for-6 from the field on Jan. 22 at DePaul. It was the most attempts by a Creighton player without a miss since Jacob Epperson was 7-for-7 on Feb. 17, 2018 vs. Marquette.
Eight Was Enough
Creighton had an eight-game winning streak snapped at Butler on January 4th, the program's longest since starting the 2016-17 campaign with a 13-0 record. It was CU's sixth different win streak of eight or longer under Greg McDermott.
During the win streak, Marcus Zegarowski averaged 19.9 points and 5.6 assists per game, making him one of five Bluejays averaging in double-figures. Ty-Shon Alexander topped CU with 7.3 rebounds per game in that time.
Longest Creighton Win Streaks Under McDermott
Wins Dates Snapped By
13 - Nov. 11 - Dec. 28, 2016 #1 Villanova, 80-70
11 - Dec. 31, 2011 - Feb. 1, 2012 at Northern Iowa, 65-62
11 - Dec. 1, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 at Wichita State, 67-64
10 - Dec. 3, 2013 - Jan. 14, 2014 at Providence, 81-68
8 - Feb. 14 - March 16, 2012 vs. #4 North Carolina, 87-73
8 - Nov. 29, 2019 - Jan. 1, 2020 at #11 Butler, 71-57
7 - Nov. 11 - Dec. 4, 2011 at Saint Joseph's, 80-71
McDermott Still Getting Buckets
Creighton great Doug McDermott is in his second season in Indianapolis as a member of the Pacers, and sixth campaign in the NBA.
McDermott ranks sixth in NCAA history with 3,150 career points following a Creighton career (from 2010-14) that saw him become the first three-time First Team All-American since Patrick Ewing and Wayman Tisdale in the early 1980s.
In the Pacers' Jan. 4 game at Atlanta, McDermott joined Pete Maravich, Hersey Hawkins, Freeman Williams and Lionel Simmons as the only players to ever score 3,000 career points at both the NBA and at the Division I level.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked seventh in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
Seton Hall edged Villanova by one point to be named league favorites for the first time since 1992-93, as both the Pirates and Wildcats garnered five first place votes.
Xavier was third, with Marquette and Providence tying for fourth place. Georgetown was tabbed sixth, just ahead of Creighton, while Butler, St. John's and DePaul round out the poll.
Seton Hall standout Myles Powell was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Ty-Shon Alexander (Creighton), Kamar Baldwin (Butler), Alpha Diallo (Providence), Markus Howard (Marquette) and Naji Marshall (Xavier).
In 10 seasons under Greg McDermott, Creighton has exceeded its preseason poll placement on five occasions, matched its expectation four times, and in 2011-12 were picked first in the MVC but finished second. Creighton has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
Mintz & Epperson Redshirt
Senior guard Davion Mintz redshirted during the 2019-20 season, head coach Greg McDermott announced following the team's Dec. 28 victory over Midland.
Mintz suffered a high-ankle sprain in late October and didn't return to live drills in practice until late December.
Mintz entered the 2019-20 season having made 59 straight starts and with team-highs among active players in career starts (79), games played (97), assists (259) and steals (69).
In addition, sophomore center Jacob Epperson also missed the entire season after suffering a broken right tibia during practice on October 25.
Turn This Over
The Midland game saw three different Bluejays finish with at least five assists and no turnovers, as Shereef Mitchell (6/0), Marcus Zegarowski (6/0) and Mitch Ballock (5/0) all did it.
It's the first time in Greg McDermott's 10-year tenure that three different Bluejays had five or more assists without a turnover in the same game, and also the first time under McDermott that multiple Bluejays had six assists and no turnovers in the same game.
In fact, Creighton's starting line-up combined for 20 assists without a turnover in the victory.
The performance made Creighton the nation's first team this season to score 90+ points in a game with two turnovers or less. It was just the 10th time in the past 10 seasons it's happened.
Go Big Or Go Home
Creighton owned four regular-season non-conference wins this winter from teams that are in the Big Ten, BIG EAST, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big 12 or Pac-12 Conferences.
It's just the third time since CU dropped its independent status in 1977 that the Bluejays have picked up four such wins in the same winter. The 2016-17 club had six such wins, while the 2012-13 squad also had four.
After going 22-12 in such games under Dana Altman from 1994-2010, Creighton is 28-12 under Greg McDermott.
Here's a list of Creighton's yearly regular-season non-conference records in the past 25 seasons against teams from those top leagues:
Year W-L "Major" Conference Victories
1994-95 0-2 -
1995-96 0-1 -
1996-97 1-3 Florida
1997-98 1-1 Nebraska
1998-99 3-1 Iowa, Baylor, Oklahoma State
1999-00 3-0 Iowa, Baylor, Nebraska
2000-01 2-0 Providence, Nebraska
2001-02 1-0 Nebraska
2002-03 2-0 Notre Dame, Nebraska
2003-04 1-0 Nebraska
2004-05 3-0 Missouri, Ohio State, Nebraska
2005-06 1-1 Nebraska
2006-07 0-1 -
2007-08 2-0 DePaul, Nebraska
2008-09 1-1 DePaul
2009-10 1-1 Nebraska
2010-11 0-3 -
2011-12 3-0 Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern
2012-13 4-0 Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska, Cal
2013-14 3-0 Arizona State, Nebraska, Cal
2014-15 2-1 Oklahoma, Nebraska
2015-16 2-3 Rutgers, Nebraska
2016-17 6-0 Wisconsin, Washington St., NC St., Ole Miss, Nebraska, Arizona St.
2017-18 3-1 Northwestern, UCLA, Nebraska
2018-19 1-3 Clemson
2019-20 4-1 Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arizona St.
The 10 Wins of Christmas
Creighton went 10-2 prior to Christmas, the seventh time in program history that CU had picked up 10 or more wins by December 25th.
Five of those occasions have taken place under Greg McDermott.
Each of the previous six times it's been done, Creighton won at least 21 games that year.
Most Wins by December 25th
W-L Season Final W-L Postseason?
10-1 1963-64 22-7 NCAA (1-2)
10-2 2008-09 27-8 NIT (1-1)
10-1 2011-12 29-6 NCAA (1-1)
11-1 2012-13 28-8 NCAA (1-1)
12-0 2016-17 25-10 NCAA (0-1)
10-2 2017-18 21-12 NCAA (0-1)
10-2 2019-20 24-7 No Tourney
December To Remember
Creighton went 6-0 in the month of December, its first unbeaten December since the 2012-13 team.
Each of CU's last three teams (2008-09, 2012-13 and 2019-20) to go unbeaten in December also won their regular-season league title.
Christian Puts In Work Before Christmas
After a first half that saw him fail to record a point, rebound or blocked shot vs. Arizona State, sophomore Christian Bishop came up big in the second half against the Sun Devils.
Bishop had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots after halftime, helping Creighton to overcome a halftime deficit in the 67-60 win.
Bishop is the first Bluejay with a half of at least 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots since Gregory Echenique had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks before halftime vs. Houston Baptist on Dec. 17, 2011.
Creighton has not had a player post a double-double in the same half since Doug McDermott had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half of a win on March 21, 2014 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
Mahoney Makes Debut
The Dec. 17 win vs. Oklahoma marked the first appearance in a Creighton uniform for Denzel Mahoney, who gained his eligibility after CU's first semester concluded.
Mahoney didn't start for the first time in 65 contests as a collegian, but didn't have to wait long. He checked in just 18 seconds into the game after an early foul on Christian Bishop and drained his first three-pointer as a Bluejay just more than two minutes later. Mahoney finished the game with 14 points, one rebound, one assist and a steal in 29 minutes of action.
Mahoney averaged 19.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game the last time he was on the court during the 2017-18 season at Southeast Missouri State.
In two seasons with the Redhawks from 2016-18, Mahoney scored 1,091 points and grabbed 298 rebounds. He made 121 three-pointers while connecting at a 39.5 percent clip and also sank 314-of-380 free throw attempts (82.6 percent).
Mahoney is the sixth player in Greg McDermott's 10 seasons to make his Creighton debut with 14 points or more. Of those men, only Marcus Foster also had 14 points or more in his next game, as well.
Mahoney, who scored in double-figures each of his first four games as a Bluejay, joined Foster (8), Doug McDermott (8) and Justin Patton (8) and Maurice Watson Jr. (5) as the only Bluejays to post 10 or more points in each of their first four games (or longer) under Greg McDermott.
Getting Defensive
Creighton held 11-of-31 opponents under 40 percent this season after doing it a total of seven times in 35 games a year ago.
Creighton is 94-17 (.847) under Greg McDermott all-time when holding foes under 40 percent marksmanship.
Last season Creighton ranked 286th in opponents' field goal percentage (.457). This year's team held foes to 42.0 percent shooting (its' best since .407 in 2012-13), a figure that ranked 124th-best nationally.
The best finish by one of McDermott's Creighton teams in field goal percentage defense is 77th by the 2012-13 club.
What A Line -- 30-6-9
Marcus Zegarowski had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists in Creighton's 95-76 win over Nebraska on Dec. 7th.
The 30 points were the second-highest figure of his career, the six assists tied a season-high, and his nine rebounds were a career-best.
He's the first Bluejay with at least 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the same game since at least 1979-80.
Zegarowski is just the fourth Creighton player with a game of at least 30 points and nine rebounds in the same game under Greg McDermott, joining Cole Huff, Kenny Lawson Jr. and Doug McDermott (11x).
Zegarowski is also just the second Creighton player under Greg McDermott with a game of at least 30 points and six assists, joining Marcus Foster vs. Georgetown (35 points, 6 assists) on Feb. 19, 2017.
Zegarowski was one of five players in the nation with a 30/9/6 game this season, and the only man in the last 10 years to do it without attempting a free throw.
Zegarowski had 20 points, eight rebounds and a then-season-high seven assists vs. Oklahoma on Dec. 17, the first Bluejay with those numbers in the same game since Ryan Sears had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 8, 2000.
More Z's Please
Marcus Zegarowski led Creighton with 5.0 assists per game and was second with 16.1 points per game.
He is the first Bluejay to average more than 15 points and 3.5 assists per game for a full season since Vernon Moore (21.0 ppg., 5.0 apg.) in 1984-85.
Zegarowski's 10 assists at DePaul on Jan. 22 tied his career-high, first done against DePaul on March 9, 2019.
Birds of Trey
Creighton's backcourt featured three of the nation's best shooters, as Ty-Shon Alexander, Mitch Ballock and Marcus Zegarowski have combined to shoot 249-for-594 (41.9 percent) as a group from deep.
Alexander, Ballock and Zegarowski were one of two trios in the country with 75 or more three-pointers, joining North Florida. When CU defeated North Florida on Nov. 22nd, Creighton's trio shot 10-for-20 from deep, while the UNF trio shot 4-for-21 from downtown.
Creighton is 21-3 all-time when Alexander, Ballock and Zegarowski all score in double-figures, including a 14-1 mark this winter with 14 straight victories.
Sophomore Scorer
Sophomore guard Marcus Zegarowski averaged 16.1 points per game, quite an accomplishment for a guy who never scored more than 17 points in any game against a Division I opponent a season ago.
Here's a list of Creighton's top 10 sophomore scorers in the past 50 seasons:
Most Points/Game, CU Sophomores Since 1969-70
PPG Name Year
22.9 Doug McDermott 2011-12
19.6 Rodney Buford 1996-97
16.8 Rick Apke 1975-76
16.7 Bob Harstad 1988-89
16.2 Benoit Benjamin 1983-84
16.1 Marcus Zegarowski 2019-20
15.8 Gene Harmon 1971-72
15.7 Ty-Shon Alexander 2018-19
15.3 Chad Gallagher 1988-89
14.6 Kyle Korver 2000-01
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 882 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 6,937 trifectas, an average of 7.87 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 134 times, more than any figure.
Only four times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 245 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Creighton has also made at least one three-pointer before halftime in 253 consecutive contests (since 0-7 at Drake on 1/23/13).
The Bluejays were also 23-1 this year when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 1-6 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 4 times 2: 15 times 3: 31 times
4: 70 times 5: 95 times 6: 90 times
7: 134 times 8: 113 times 9: 85 times
10: 72 times 11: 50 times 12: 47 times
13: 41 times 14: 16 times 15: 7 times
16: 6 times 17: 2 times 19: 1 time
20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 882 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the nation's 16th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks
Rk. Streak School
1. 1,102 UNLV
2. 1,090 Duke
3. 1,043 Arkansas
4. 1,036 Western Kentucky
5. 1,027 East Tennessee State
6. 1,013 Pacific
7. 1,001 Oakland
8. 996 Texas
9. 958 Princeton
10. 947 Marshall
11. 933 Baylor
12. 919 Gonzaga
13. 908 Long Island
14. 888 Mount St. Mary's
15. 885 Cornell
16. 882 Creighton
17. 876 Tennessee State
18. 872 East Carolina
Home Run
Since Greg McDermott took over in 2010, Creighton is averaging 81.12 points per home game (14,521 points in 179 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.99 points in non-conference home games (7,564 points in 89 home games).
Creighton is 115-5 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Sophomore Scorers
Marcus Zegarowski scored a career-high 32 points in the Nov. 29 victory over Texas Tech, becoming the latest Bluejay sophomore to pile up the points. He then added 30 points on Dec. 7 vs. Nebraska.
Each of the last three Creighton players to score 30 or more points have done it as a sophomore. Besides Zegarowski vs. Texas Tech and Nebraska, Mitch Ballock had 39 points vs. DePaul last season, and Ty-Shon Alexander added 36 vs. No. 16 Clemson on Nov. 21, 2018.
In addition to Zegarowski, Ballock and Alexander, one other player on the Bluejay roster has scored 30 or more points. That player is Denzel Mahoney, who scored 30+ points twice as a sophomore at Southeast Missouri State in 2017-18, and once as a freshman in 2016-17 with the Redhawks.
Creighton's last non-sophomore to score 30 points or more was then-senior Marcus Foster's 32 points vs. UT Arlington on Dec. 18, 2017.
Australia Recap
Creighton got a head start on the 2019-20 season with a trip to Australia from August 1-13. The Bluejays spent the majority of their time in Sydney, Cairns and the Gold Coast, and went 2-1 in three games while Down Under.
Five men averaged in double-figures in CU's three games, led by Mitch Ballock (18.3 ppg.), Christian Bishop (15.7 ppg.) and Davion Mintz (13.3 ppg.).
Among the activities on the adventurous trip were climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, SCUBA diving and snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef, a visit to Hartley's Crocodile Farm, zip lining and a high ropes course at the Tree Top Challenge and whitewater rafting.
For photos, videos and diaries from the trip, visit https://gocreighton.com/JaysDownUnder.
Foreign Tours Lead To Early Success
Creighton is coming off a trip to Australia in August, which it hopes will prepare the team for success as past trips have done.
This year's team went 24-7 after going to Australia in August.
A 2015 trip to Italy helped the Bluejays start the season 5-1.
A 2011 trip to the Bahamas helped get the Bluejays ready for a 7-0 start.
A 2007 trip to Canada paid dividends as Creighton started 5-0.
In 2003, the Bluejays also went to Canada and started the subsequent season 12-0.
Where In The World Is Ty-Shon Alexander?
Basketball took Ty-Shon Alexander all over the globe this summer.
The Charlotte, N.C., native stayed in Omaha for much of the summer before heading to the Chris Paul CP3 Elite Guard Camp in mid-July in Winston-Salem, N.C. Alexander then went to Providence, R.I., for USA Basketball training camp from July 21-26.
The team, which consisted solely current and former of BIG EAST players, then departed for Lima, Peru, where it played five games in five days from July 31-Aug. 4 and won the bronze medal.
Alexander then boarded a plane in Lima and flew nine hours to Los Angeles, Calif., where he had about two hours to change terminals and get through customs to board a 15 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia.
Upon arriving in Sydney, the jet-lagged junior once again had to clear customs and met the Creighton team at the gate as it was boarding a three-hour flight to Cairns.
Not surprisingly, minutes for a tired and travel-weary Alexander were closely monitored during the team's final two games in Australia.
Alexander Gets Preseason Hype
League coaches didn't give Ty-Shon Alexander anything more than Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST acclaim following last season, but don't tell that to the publishers of Street & Smith's.
The magazine named Alexander as a Preseason Second Team All-American in its annual basketball issue.
Alexander was also named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Watch List, the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List and was a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST choice.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 20 victories under Greg McDermott after trailing by double-figures at some point, none larger than the 18-point deficit the Bluejays overcame against then-No.18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014. Ten of those 20 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's largest comeback to win this season was nine, as the Jays overcame an early 17-8 hole to defeat North Florida on Nov. 24.
Creighton owns 11 victories since 2000 in which it has won after overcoming a deficit of 15 points or more, as seen below:
Overcoming Double-Digit Deficits, CU Since 2000
Deficit Opponent Date
19 Wichita State 01/28/06
18 #17 Western Kentucky 11/27/01
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 Missouri State 02/12/03
17 DePaul 11/09/07
17 Rhode Island 03/18/08
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 TCU 01/26/03
16 at Drake 02/04/06
16 New Mexico 11/16/08
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
15 Wichita State 02/02/08
Getting Votes A Good Sign
Creighton received four votes in the Associated Press preseason poll, good for 40th place.
It's the fifth time that Creighton has picked up votes in the preseason poll under Greg McDermott. Each of the first four times that's happened, the Bluejays would finish top three in the league, reach the finals of the conference tournament, and play in the NCAA Tournament.
Preseason Poll Votes Under Greg McDermott
Year Preseason Rank League Finish NCAA's?
2011-12 34th 2nd, MVC Yes
2012-13 16th 1st, MVC Yes
2013-14 27th 2nd, BIG EAST Yes
2016-17 22nd T-3rd, BIG EAST Yes
2019-20 40th T-1st, BIG EAST No Tourney
#ProJays
Creighton has five NBA players on NBA contracts as Kyle Korver (Milwaukee Bucks), Anthony Tolliver (Memphis Grizzlies), Doug McDermott (Indiana Pacers, Justin Patton (Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks) and Khyri Thomas (Detroit Pistons) have all been with NBA organizations.
Including 2019-20, Creighton has now had an NBA player in 36 of the last 37 years.
Korver ranks fourth in NBA history with 2,437 three-pointers and is 10th in league history with 42.87 percent marksmanship from three-point range. He set a single-season NBA mark that still stands with his 53.6 percent shooting from three-point range in 2009-10, and is the only player in league history to lead the NBA in three-point percentage four times. Korver is shooting 41.6 percent from three-point range this season (12th in the NBA) and averages 6.7 points per game. Korver became Creighton's all-time leading scorer in NBA play on January 14 vs. New York with a three-pointer to surpass Paul Silas' previous high of 11,782 points.
Tolliver is averaging 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season. He was traded from Portland to Sacramento on January 18th. His contract was bought out on Feb. 29 and on March 2 he joined the Memphis Grizzlies.
McDermott is in his sixth season in the NBA, and second with the Indiana Pacers. He is averaging 10.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this year while shooting 44.5 percent from three-point range (fifth-best in the NBA this season). He also ranks 19th in NBA history in career three-point percentage (.4134). On January 4, 2020, McDermott joined Lionel Simmons, Hersey Hawkins, Freeman Williams and Pete Maravich as the only men to score 3,000 or more points in the NBA and at the Division I level.
Patton has spent time in six organizations since being the 16th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He signed with the Thunder in August and played in five games this season for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.8 points per game in limited minutes. He was traded on January 24th to the Dallas Mavericks organization, then released, and cleared waivers before signing with the Wisconsin Herd, the G-League affiliate for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thomas was the 38th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded minutes later to the Detroit Pistons. Thomas was a two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year who has played in eight games this winter for Detroit, but underwent foot surgery on Nov. 13th and has 17 points in limited action.
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 294 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 17-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 243-51 (.827) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (19-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 23,015-19,283 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.69 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 84 different times.
Creighton is also 28-30 all-time in the 58 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 7-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 35-25 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 146-33 (.816) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott, including an 83-6 record vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 262-51 (.837) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time. Last season's Gonzaga game ranks fifth on that list, and was the best-attended non-conference home game in program history.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
10. 18,519 #8 Seton Hall 03/07/20
11. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
12. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
13. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
14. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
15. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
16. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
17. 18,321 #3 Villanova 02/24/18
18. 18,257 #5 Xavier 02/10/18
19. 18,191 DePaul 02/27/18
20. 18,160 Central Arkansas 11/14/14
BIG EAST Playing Big
Though the BIG EAST may not be considered of the traditional "Football 5" Conferences due to its lack of big time football, the performance of the league has been big time for a long time.
The league has owned a top-five RPI in the NCAA RPI rankings (per WarrenNolan.com) in every season since 2000-01, as seen below:
BIG EAST in Conference RPI Rankings
2000-01: 3rd
2001-02: 3rd
2002-03: 5th
2003-04: 4th
2004-05: 2nd
2005-06: 3rd
2006-07: 5th
2007-08: 5th
2008-09: 4th
2009-10: 3rd
2010-11: 1st
2011-12: 2nd
2012-13: 2nd
2013-14: 4th
2014-15: 3rd
2015-16: 4th
2016-17: 3rd
2017-18: 2nd
2018-19 5th
2019-20: 1st
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs.Connecticut Press Conference - 1/31/26
Saturday, January 31
Creighton Men's Basketball Availability - 1/30/26
Friday, January 30
Creighton Men's Basketball Press Conference - 1/27/26
Wednesday, January 28
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability - 1/26/26
Monday, January 26
