Men's Basketball Trio Earn All-BIG EAST Honors

OMAHA, Neb. -- For the first time since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, Creighton had three men's basketball players pick up All-Conference honors in the same season when the awards were announced on Sunday. After tabulating the votes of league coaches on Sunday, Marcus Zegarowski was named First Team All-BIG EAST, Damien Jefferson recognized as Second Team All-BIG EAST and Denzel Mahoney bringing home Honorable-Mention All-BIG EAST acclaim.

It's the first time the BIG EAST has recognized both Jefferson and Mahoney, while Zegarowski brought home Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades in 2019-20 when he was also named an All-American by three different organizations.

A junior from Hamilton, Mass., Zegarowski leads Creighton in points per game (15.4 ppg.) and assists per game (4.39) this season while starting all 23 appearances. He ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in eight different categories and tied his career-high with 32 points in yesterday's season-ending victory vs. Butler.

Jefferson averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during his senior campaign. The East Chicago, Ind., product is shooting 55.3 percent from the field and ranks second on the club in rebounds, steals and assists. Jefferson can be seen in six of the league' statistical categories.

Mahoney leads Creighton with 35 steals and is second on the team with 13.5 points per game. The Oviedo, Fla., native ranks tied for fourth in the BIG EAST in steals per game and seventh with 2.29 three-pointers per contest. Mahoney was previously a First Team all-Ohio Valley Conference choice at Southeast Missouri State in 2017-18 after he earned Second Team All-OVC recognition during his freshman campaign in 2016-17.

Creighton (18-7, 14-6 BIG EAST) will be the second seed later this week when the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep begins at Madison Square Garden. The Bluejays will play on Thursday at 5 p.m. Central against the winner of Wednesday night's match-up between seventh-seeded Xavier and 10th-seeded Butler. CU split with both teams in the regular-season, with the home team winning each match-up. The game will air on FS1.

The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from the All-BIG EAST First Team. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, March 10. Other league individual awards, including BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man Award and Sportsmanship Award will be announced Monday morning, March 8.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM+
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton, G, Jr., 6-2, 180, Hamilton, Mass.
James Bouknight, Connecticut, G, So., 6-5, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Julian Champagnie, St. John's, G-F, So., 6-8, 220, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall, F, Sr., 6-11, 240, Tbilisi, Georgia
*Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova, F, So., 6-9, 230, Kansas City, Kan.
Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Damien Jefferson, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-5, 220, East Chicago, Ind.
David Duke, Providence, G, Jr., 6-7, 210, New York, N.Y.
Nate Watson, Providence, F, Sr., 6-10, 260, Portsmouth, Va.
Zach Freemantle, Xavier, F, So.,6-9, 225, Teaneck, N.J.
Paul Scruggs, Xavier, F, Sr., 6-4, 196, Indianapolis, Ind.

ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Denzel Mahoney, Creighton, G-F, Sr., 6-5, 220, Oviedo, Fla.
Jahvon Blair, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-4, 190, Brampton, Ont.
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova, F, Sr., 6-7, 230, Franklin, Mass.

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
*Chuck Harris, Butler, G, 6-2, 190, Washington, D.C.
Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, F, 6-9, 240, Bamako, Mali
*Dawson Garcia, Marquette, F, 6-11, 235, Prior Lake, Minn.
*Posh Alexander, St. John's, F, 6-0, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Colby Jones, Xavier, G, 6-5, 195, Birmingham, Ala.

*Denotes unanimous selection
+Due to a tie in the voting, an additional position was added

Players Mentioned

Damien Jefferson

Denzel Mahoney

Marcus Zegarowski

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