Thursday, March 11
New York, N.Y.
5:00 PM
Creighton University
19-7,14-6Big Ea
87
vs
56
Butler
10-15,8-12Big E
1
2
F
Butler
26
30
56
Creighton
42
45
87
Swarming defense helped Creighton vs. Butler on Thursday
Photo by: Porter Binks
Men's Basketball Runs Past Butler In BIG EAST Quarterfinals
3/11/2021 6:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton bench scores 34 points on 14-of-18 shooting
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Second-seeded and 17th-ranked Creighton never trailed in an 87-56 win over 10th-seeded Butler on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, presented by Jeep.
With the win, the Bluejays advance to Friday's semifinal round game that will tip at 8 p.m. Central and air on FS1. Creighton will play the winner of tonight's fourth and final quarterfinal between UConn and DePaul, two teams that CU beat twice during the regular-season.
Creighton (19-7) raced out of the gates, scoring the game's first seven points while getting five straight defensive stops en route to a 9-3 lead by the first media timeout. A 14-0 run helped the lead grow to 23-7 thanks to 11 early points from Damien Jefferson, but the senior forward would have to leave following a nasty collision with teammate Alex O'Connell after a basket. Both men would return later in the half.
Creighton's lead would stretch as large as 18 (39-21) in the first half before settling for a 42-26 lead at the break. Jefferson made 6-of-7 shots and had 14 points and two blocked shots for CU, while 8-of-9 Bluejays to appear had at least one basket. The Bluejay reserves combined for 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while shooting 5-for-5 in the first half. Creighton shot 66.7 percent for the half (18-27). Bryce Nze topped BU with 10 points in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Zegarowski in the opening minutes of the second half helped Creighton to a 48-28 lead, and made Zegarowski the 10th player in CU history with 200 career trifectas. Triples a short time later by Shereef Mitchell, Zegarowski and Antwann Jones were part of a 13-0 run and expanded the Bluejay lead to 65-35 with 10:54 remaining.
Creighton led by as much as 33 (79-46) in the victory.
Zegarowski led Creighton with 18 points while also adding five assists. Creighton shot 62.5 percent for the contest, including 13-of-24 from three-point territory.
Butler was led by 21 points from Nze. Chuck Harris, who scored 29 points vs. Creighton last Saturday, was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. The Bulldogs shot 35.1 percent from the field.
NOTES: This was the 24th all-time meeting between Butler and Creighton, but first at the BIG EAST Tournament. The only previous neutral site matchup between the schools had been on Dec. 26, 1975 in Bloomington, Minn., at the Pillsbury Classic (Creighton won 68-62) ... This was the first time that Creighton played the same opponent in consecutive games since 2011, when CU ended its season with a victory vs. Northern Iowa and then beat the Panthers less than a week later at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ... Creighton improved to 6-6 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, and 3-4 in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton improved to 8-4 all-time when ranked 17th and 139-53 all-time as a ranked team ... Creighton is now 23-4 all-time in conference tournament play as a No. 2 seed, including a 3-1 mark as the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament ... The win was the 249th at Creighton under Greg McDermott ... Creighton is now the best seed remaining in the tournament after top-seeded Villanova lost to eighth-seeded Georgetown in Thursday's first quarterfinal ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 908 straight games and 279 consecutive contests before halftime ... Marcus Zegarowski has made a three-pointer in 18 straight games ... Butler's 26 points in the first half tied the fewest ever allowed by the Bluejays in a half at the BIG EAST Tournament ... Devin Davis and Andrew Merfeld both scored the first points of their career late in the second half ... Creighton's 87 points, 56 points allowed, 35 field goals made, 62.5 percent shooting, 22 assists, 16 point halftime lead and 31 point victory were all program-bests for CU at the BIG EAST Tournament.
A transcript with: Creighton Bluejays, Greg McDermott
105425-1-1045 2021-03-12 01:26:00 GMT
http://asaptext.com/asap_media/media/1076/1190/transcripts/105425.pdf
http://asaptext.com/asap_media/media/1076/1190/transcripts/105425.html
Creighton - 87, Butler - 56
COACH MCDERMOTT: I'm just really, really proud of our guys. Their preparation was really great. They were obviously really connected tonight on both ends of the floor -- sharing the basketball with 22 assists, and trying to disrupt what Butler was trying to do offensively and get stops out in transition which we thought was really critical.
It's a special group of guys. They've had a lot of success in the last two years in this league. I really wanted them to enjoy tonight and enjoy March. March was taken away from them except for half a basketball in the Garden last year for us. So the fact that they got this opportunity to get back there tonight and advance, I couldn't be more proud.
Q. (Indiscernible) struggled to find consistent rhythm in the second half of the season. What do you feel he did so well tonight to get in the rhythm and stay in that in the second half?
COACH MCDERMOTT: He slowed himself down a little. Really made some nice plays with the basketball for his teammates -- four assists in 12 minutes whatever he played. Made a couple of nice plays when he got into the paint for himself.
But he's just taking his time. And he does have the ability to impact the game. And I thought besides what he did on offense, I thought when D.J. went down, when they hit heads, I thought he came in and provided some defensive spark as well.
So the bench was critical tonight. It helped us extend the lead in the first half. And in the second half, but to outscore their bench 34-10 for us to be able to not log huge minutes for some of our starters was really good for us.
Q. Your guys looked like they were having fun. Were you worried at all that they may not be able to enjoy it, with what you guys have been through last week, the pandemic, being cooped up in a hotel? Just a weird set of circumstances. I wonder what you thought about going in?
COACH MCDERMOTT: We've had a lot of conversations obviously over the course of the last 10 days especially in New York more one-on-one with me, just continuing to kind of work through this process.
But the message I left all of them with is you have to enjoy this. Life's too short. And you've got a great opportunity in front of you. And I want -- we're at our best when we're hooting and hollering and smiling and laughing. That's when this team functions the best.
And I think you saw a lot of that tonight, both how the bench reacted when the starters were on the floor. And then you saw how our starters reacted once some of our walk-ons were on the floor at the end of the game, when they were making plays and hustle plays.
We've built this program on culture. And to have good culture you have to have good people. And I have good people. And that's why we've been able to get ourselves through a very difficult situation.
Q. Great start, obviously 23-7, do you think the things that you were just talking about is why you guys were able to jump out to that good start? Was it tied into that or was it more basketball related?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Obviously we played really good basketball. And we were able to establish some pace Saturday in that game against Butler. We thought that was really critical again tonight, especially with them playing an overtime game yesterday, to try to really turn up that heat and get out in transition and make some things happen. And that starts on the defensive end. You've got to get stops first. And I thought our guys were able to do that.
Q. You've had a long, close relationship with Steve Merfeld. I wondered if you noticed the player's reaction when Andrew hit that shot? They mobbed him. What that moment was like?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, finally Merfeld made a critical basket at a big time. Good to see. No, a really proud moment for a really special family. Merf has been with me from day one at Creighton for 11 years. And I've watched Andrew grow up. And obviously their family is really close to ours.
So to have that happen is pretty cool. And to see the way his teammates supported him and then I think how the team and the coaching staff was so happy for Steve when that happened as well. So that group of guys has meant a ton to our program and they get us ready every night. It was really fun to see several of those guys go out and make an impact tonight on this floor. It's something they'll never forget.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
With the win, the Bluejays advance to Friday's semifinal round game that will tip at 8 p.m. Central and air on FS1. Creighton will play the winner of tonight's fourth and final quarterfinal between UConn and DePaul, two teams that CU beat twice during the regular-season.
Creighton (19-7) raced out of the gates, scoring the game's first seven points while getting five straight defensive stops en route to a 9-3 lead by the first media timeout. A 14-0 run helped the lead grow to 23-7 thanks to 11 early points from Damien Jefferson, but the senior forward would have to leave following a nasty collision with teammate Alex O'Connell after a basket. Both men would return later in the half.
Creighton's lead would stretch as large as 18 (39-21) in the first half before settling for a 42-26 lead at the break. Jefferson made 6-of-7 shots and had 14 points and two blocked shots for CU, while 8-of-9 Bluejays to appear had at least one basket. The Bluejay reserves combined for 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while shooting 5-for-5 in the first half. Creighton shot 66.7 percent for the half (18-27). Bryce Nze topped BU with 10 points in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Zegarowski in the opening minutes of the second half helped Creighton to a 48-28 lead, and made Zegarowski the 10th player in CU history with 200 career trifectas. Triples a short time later by Shereef Mitchell, Zegarowski and Antwann Jones were part of a 13-0 run and expanded the Bluejay lead to 65-35 with 10:54 remaining.
Creighton led by as much as 33 (79-46) in the victory.
Zegarowski led Creighton with 18 points while also adding five assists. Creighton shot 62.5 percent for the contest, including 13-of-24 from three-point territory.
Butler was led by 21 points from Nze. Chuck Harris, who scored 29 points vs. Creighton last Saturday, was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. The Bulldogs shot 35.1 percent from the field.
NOTES: This was the 24th all-time meeting between Butler and Creighton, but first at the BIG EAST Tournament. The only previous neutral site matchup between the schools had been on Dec. 26, 1975 in Bloomington, Minn., at the Pillsbury Classic (Creighton won 68-62) ... This was the first time that Creighton played the same opponent in consecutive games since 2011, when CU ended its season with a victory vs. Northern Iowa and then beat the Panthers less than a week later at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ... Creighton improved to 6-6 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, and 3-4 in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton improved to 8-4 all-time when ranked 17th and 139-53 all-time as a ranked team ... Creighton is now 23-4 all-time in conference tournament play as a No. 2 seed, including a 3-1 mark as the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament ... The win was the 249th at Creighton under Greg McDermott ... Creighton is now the best seed remaining in the tournament after top-seeded Villanova lost to eighth-seeded Georgetown in Thursday's first quarterfinal ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 908 straight games and 279 consecutive contests before halftime ... Marcus Zegarowski has made a three-pointer in 18 straight games ... Butler's 26 points in the first half tied the fewest ever allowed by the Bluejays in a half at the BIG EAST Tournament ... Devin Davis and Andrew Merfeld both scored the first points of their career late in the second half ... Creighton's 87 points, 56 points allowed, 35 field goals made, 62.5 percent shooting, 22 assists, 16 point halftime lead and 31 point victory were all program-bests for CU at the BIG EAST Tournament.
A transcript with: Creighton Bluejays, Greg McDermott
105425-1-1045 2021-03-12 01:26:00 GMT
http://asaptext.com/asap_media/media/1076/1190/transcripts/105425.pdf
http://asaptext.com/asap_media/media/1076/1190/transcripts/105425.html
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Thursday, March 11, 2021
New York, New York, USA
Creighton Bluejays
Madison Square Garden
Coach Greg McDermott
Postgame Media Conference
Creighton - 87, Butler - 56
COACH MCDERMOTT: I'm just really, really proud of our guys. Their preparation was really great. They were obviously really connected tonight on both ends of the floor -- sharing the basketball with 22 assists, and trying to disrupt what Butler was trying to do offensively and get stops out in transition which we thought was really critical.
It's a special group of guys. They've had a lot of success in the last two years in this league. I really wanted them to enjoy tonight and enjoy March. March was taken away from them except for half a basketball in the Garden last year for us. So the fact that they got this opportunity to get back there tonight and advance, I couldn't be more proud.
Q. (Indiscernible) struggled to find consistent rhythm in the second half of the season. What do you feel he did so well tonight to get in the rhythm and stay in that in the second half?
COACH MCDERMOTT: He slowed himself down a little. Really made some nice plays with the basketball for his teammates -- four assists in 12 minutes whatever he played. Made a couple of nice plays when he got into the paint for himself.
But he's just taking his time. And he does have the ability to impact the game. And I thought besides what he did on offense, I thought when D.J. went down, when they hit heads, I thought he came in and provided some defensive spark as well.
So the bench was critical tonight. It helped us extend the lead in the first half. And in the second half, but to outscore their bench 34-10 for us to be able to not log huge minutes for some of our starters was really good for us.
Q. Your guys looked like they were having fun. Were you worried at all that they may not be able to enjoy it, with what you guys have been through last week, the pandemic, being cooped up in a hotel? Just a weird set of circumstances. I wonder what you thought about going in?
COACH MCDERMOTT: We've had a lot of conversations obviously over the course of the last 10 days especially in New York more one-on-one with me, just continuing to kind of work through this process.
But the message I left all of them with is you have to enjoy this. Life's too short. And you've got a great opportunity in front of you. And I want -- we're at our best when we're hooting and hollering and smiling and laughing. That's when this team functions the best.
And I think you saw a lot of that tonight, both how the bench reacted when the starters were on the floor. And then you saw how our starters reacted once some of our walk-ons were on the floor at the end of the game, when they were making plays and hustle plays.
We've built this program on culture. And to have good culture you have to have good people. And I have good people. And that's why we've been able to get ourselves through a very difficult situation.
Q. Great start, obviously 23-7, do you think the things that you were just talking about is why you guys were able to jump out to that good start? Was it tied into that or was it more basketball related?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Obviously we played really good basketball. And we were able to establish some pace Saturday in that game against Butler. We thought that was really critical again tonight, especially with them playing an overtime game yesterday, to try to really turn up that heat and get out in transition and make some things happen. And that starts on the defensive end. You've got to get stops first. And I thought our guys were able to do that.
Q. You've had a long, close relationship with Steve Merfeld. I wondered if you noticed the player's reaction when Andrew hit that shot? They mobbed him. What that moment was like?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, finally Merfeld made a critical basket at a big time. Good to see. No, a really proud moment for a really special family. Merf has been with me from day one at Creighton for 11 years. And I've watched Andrew grow up. And obviously their family is really close to ours.
So to have that happen is pretty cool. And to see the way his teammates supported him and then I think how the team and the coaching staff was so happy for Steve when that happened as well. So that group of guys has meant a ton to our program and they get us ready every night. It was really fun to see several of those guys go out and make an impact tonight on this floor. It's something they'll never forget.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Team Stats
Butler
CU
FG%
.351
.625
3FG%
.269
.542
FT%
.692
.667
RB
29
32
TO
14
12
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballCreighton & Gonzaga Men's Basketball Press Conferences - 11/11/25
Wednesday, November 12
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability - 11/10/25
Monday, November 10
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. South Dakota Press Conference - 11/5/25
Tuesday, November 04
Creighton Men's Basketball Availability - 11/3/25
Monday, November 03
