Saturday, March 13
New York, N.Y.
5:30 PM
Creighton University
vs
Georgetown
Damien Jefferson and Creighton will face Georgetown on Saturday with the BIG EAST Tournament title on the line.
Photo by: Porter Binks
Men's Basketball Meets Georgetown For BIG EAST Tourney Title
3/13/2021 4:44:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays in search of first BIG EAST Tournament crown
Game #28: Georgetown Hoyas vs. #17 Creighton Bluejays
Saturday, March 13, 2021 • 5:30 p.m. CST
Madison Square Garden • New York, N.Y.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; www.1620thezone.com; Westwood One Sports
SiriusXM: Sirius 84; XM 84; App 84
Television: FOX (Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson)
Series History vs. Georgetown: Creighton leads, 10-8 (1-1 this season)
Last Meeting: #19 Creighton 63, Georgetown 48 on Feb. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
CU NOTES | GU NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
Next Game
Seventeenth-ranked and second-seeded Creighton (20-7) seeks its first BIG EAST Tournament title when it squares off with upset-minded Georgetown (12-12) on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. Central.
The game will take place in New York, N.Y., and be contested at Madison Square Garden.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) will also broadcast all home games that start after 5 p.m. The game can also be heard on Sirius channel 84 or XM 84 or channel 84 on the SiriusXM app.
John Bishop will call the action with Nick Bahe. The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
The game will also air nationally on Westwood One Radio affiliates.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's final will be televised nationally by FS1, with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson handling the call.
Of Creighton's last 158 games, all but the three contests at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic have been televised. CU is 107-51 in those contests.
Video Webcast Information
Live streaming video will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). A cable authorization may be required.
The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store, and the games are now available internationally.
John Fanta will also host a special pregame edition of BIG EAST Shootaround starting at 4:30 pm Central on Saturday that can be found at via links that will come Saturday on the @BIGEASTMBB Twitter feed.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. 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 your choosing.
With A Win...
• Creighton would improve to 21-7 on the season with its fourth victory in the five games this March.
• Improve Creighton to 8-6 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 1-2 record in the championship game.
• Clinch Creighton's 13th all-time conference tournament title, joining the league record 12 titles won in the Missouri Valley Conference (1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013).
• Improve to 25-4 all-time in conference tournament play as a No. 2 seed, and 5-1 as the No. 2 seed in BIG EAST Tournament play.
• Creighton would improve to 51-26 all-time in conference tournament play (including the MVC), including a 13-3 mark in championship round action.
• Clinch Creighton's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018.
• Secure an NCAA Tournament bid for at least one team within the Creighton Athletic Department for a 34th straight academic year.
• Creighton would improve to 141-53 all-time as a nationally-ranked team.
• Creighton would improve to 10-4 all-time when ranked exactly 17th.
• Would give Greg McDermott his 400th career Division I win (251 at Creighton, 59 at Iowa State, 90 at Northern Iowa).
• With a win on Saturday, Creighton would clinch its 21st all-time NCAA Tournament bid, and 12th since the 1998-99 season. Creighton is 12-21 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, but has won at least one game in three of its four appearances in the Big Dance under Greg McDermott.
McDermott has coached his teams to seven NCAA Tournament appearances at the Division I level (three at Northern Iowa, four at Creighton), with an additional appearance last year canceled by COVID-19.
• Creighton is making its third BIG EAST Tournament finals appearance in history, having lost 65-58 to Providence in the 2014 final and 74-60 to Villanova in the 2017 final.
Villanova (5) and Creighton (3) are the only teams in the BIG EAST to appear in three or more title games over the past eight seasons since the BIG EAST reorganized. Others to appear in that time include Providence (2), Seton Hall (2) and Xavier (1). Georgetown is playing in its first title game since 2010.
• Creighton is 12-3 all-time in conference tournament championship games, but 0-2 in the BIG EAST after losing the 2014 title tilt to Providence and the 2017 championship contest to Villanova. Creighton went 12-1 in MVC Tournament finals, winning its last 10 title games. Creighton won the league tournament in 1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2013. The program's only runner-up finish in the MVC came in 1984, a 70-68 overtime loss at No. 12 Tulsa.
• With a win on Saturday, Creighton can become the first of the three teams (with Butler and Xavier) to join the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013 to win a BIG EAST Tournament title.
- Creighton has won 13 of its last 15 conference tournament games decided by four points or less, including Friday's 59-56 win over UConn.
- Greg McDermott is 3-2 all-time in conference tournament title games at the Division I level, and all three victories have gone down to the wire. His 2004 Northern Iowa squad defeated Missouri State in double-overtime, his 2012 Creighton team topped Illinois State in one overtime, and his 2013 Bluejay team topped Wichita State 68-65 when the Shockers missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.
McDermott is 14-7 as Creighton's coach in league tournament action. Saturday will mark his fifth conference tournament title game in the last 10 years with the Bluejays.
-Creighton went 6-3 in its final nine conference games this year. Each of the previous six times before 2020-21 the Jays went exactly 6-3 in its last nine league games, CU reached the league tournament final. In five of those seasons, the Jays won it all.
-Creighton went 4-2 in its final six conference games this year. Five of the last seven times (before 2020-21) the Jays went exactly 4-2 in its last six league games, CU won the tournament. During one of the exceptions (2014), the Jays lost in the final.
• Creighton's current full-time coaching staff and players have combined for nine postseason Division I conference tournament titles.
Assistant coach Alan Huss was on Creighton's 1999 and 2000 MVC Tourney champs, while Greg McDermott owns three MVC Tourney titles under his belt (one as Northern Iowa coach, two as Creighton coach). Terrence Rencher also won the 1994 and 1995 Southwest Conference Tournament while a student-athlete at Texas, earning Most Outstanding Player accolades in 1995. Assistant coach Paul Lusk has been a part of a Big Ten title as an assistant coach at Purdue in 2009. In addition, Alex O'Connell won an ACC Tournament title while at Duke in 2019.
Here's a breakdown of how many conference tournament titles each person has been a part of:
Name Titles Won Years With A Title
Greg McDermott 3 2004@, 2012*, 2013*
Alan Huss 2 1999^, 2000^
Terrence Rencher 2 1994!, 1995!
Paul Lusk 1 2009#
Alex O'Connell 1 2019$
@ won a MVC title as a head coach at Northern Iowa
* won two MVC titles as a head coach at Creighton
^ won two MVC titles as a player at Creighton
! won two Southwest Conference titles as a player at Texas
# won a Big Ten title as an assistant at Purdue
$ won an ACC title as a player at Duke
• Creighton owns eight league tournament titles since 1999. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this (shown with titles won entering 2020-21) are Gonzaga (17), Duke (12), Winthrop (11), Kentucky (10), New Mexico State (10), Kansas (9), Belmont (8), Creighton (8), Iona (8), Montana (8), Murray State (8) and Utah State (8).
• Saturday will mark the seventh time in 10 weeks that Creighton will play in the Saturday afternoon window on FOX. After a rough start on FOX, the network has been a good luck charm for the Bluejays in recent seasons. Creighton lost its first seven appearances and was 2-10 on FOX in its first six seasons as a BIG EAST member. But over the past two seasons, Creighton is 7-1 on the network, going 2-0 in 2019-20 and 5-1 so far in 2020-21.
Creighton's Record on FOX Since 2013-14
Year W-L
2013-14 0-0
2014-15 0-0
2015-16 0-1
2016-17 0-4
2017-18 1-3 (lost first 2)
2018-19 1-2 (won last 1)
2019-20 2-0
2020-21 5-1
• A few approaching milestones...
Christian Bishop
• Is one block shy of 80 in his career, which would move him into sole possession of ninth in CU history.
Mitch Ballock
• Is five rebounds shy of 500 in his career.
• Is two starts shy of making his 100th career start, and 100th consecutive start.
Greg McDermott
• Is one win shy of 400 in his Division I career (251 at Creighton, 59 at Iowa State, 90 at Nothern Iowa).
Marcus Zegarowski
• Is four steals shy of 100.
• Creighton never trailed in Friday's 87-56 win vs. Butler. It was CU's fourth-largest win against a league foe since joining the BIG EAST. The 31-point victory was also Creighton's largest winning margin in any conference tournament game in program history (MVC or BIG EAST).
Creighton's Largest BIG EAST Winning Margins
Margin Score Date
41 at Creighton 100, St. John's 59 02/28/16
36 at Creighton 89, Seton Hall 53 01/06/21
35 Creighton 93, at DePaul 58 02/11/17
31 Creighton 87, Butler 56 03/11/21
29 at Creighton 93, DePaul 64 02/15/20
28 at Creighton 88, Butler 60 01/14/14
28 Creighton 68, at #4 Villanova 68 01/20/14
• Through games of Friday, Creighton was up to 10th in the KenPom ratings.
The Bluejays were also 20th in the NET ratings through games of Thursday, including a 5-1 mark vs. Quad 1 opponents and a 6-1 mark vs. Quad 2 foes.
• Creighton has 20 wins this season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
Only 21 teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous five seasons: Belmont, Cincinnati, Creighton, Duke, East Tennessee State, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, New Mexico State, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Vermont, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State and Wright State.
Of those 21 teams, the only 14 programs to do it without a coaching change are: Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Vermont, Villanova and Virginia.
• Creighton has won 20 or more games in 20 of the last 22 seasons (entering 2020-21), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just three schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the previous 22 years: Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas. Kentucky has done it 21 times. Creighton and Florida have done it 20 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 22 Years (before 2020-21)
Team 20-Win Seasons 2020-21 W-L* Next Game
Gonzaga 22 26-0 TBD
Kansas 22 20-8 TBD
Duke 22 13-11 TBD
Kentucky 21 9-16 TBD
Creighton 20 20-7 3/13
Florida 20 14-9 TBD
*after games of March 12, 2021
• Mitch Ballock had three points on Thursday and nine more last night, pushing his career total to 1,273 points.
The 1,273 career points are one more than legendary two-sport athlete Bob Gibson (1,272). Gibson actually played a year for the Harlem Globetrotters before electing to join the St. Louis Cardinals and become a Hall of Fame pitcher.
Rank Points Player Years
22. 1,273 Mitch Ballock 2017-Pres.
23. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
24. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
• To win three games in three days at the BIG EAST Tournament, a team will need to get contributions from its bench. Creighton has done that so far.
The Bluejays played all 10 reserves in uniform on Thursday, and those men combined for 73 minutes played, 34 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and three steals. The reserve corps shot 14-for-18 from the field, including 10-of-10 from two-point range. CU'S 34 bench points were its most vs. a BIG EAST team since scoring 46 at Xavier on Jan. 13, 2018.
On Friday, Creighton's bench combined to play 34 minutes, contributing nine points and 12 rebounds. Alex O'Connell's eight rebounds were his most as a Bluejay, and came in just nine minutes of action. He also hit his only field goal attempt to reach 500 career collegiate points (431 at Duke, 69 at Creighton).
While Creighton's starters have played a total of 293 minutes in two games thus far, Georgetown's starting five has logged a combined 477 minutes this week and will be playing its fourth game in as many days on Saturday.
• A dozen or so teams across the country will become huge Creighton fans on Saturday night as those teams worry about Georgetown stealing an at-large bid to the field of 68. Among those? Creighton's former MVC rival Drake, which is coached by former Creighton assistant coach Darian DeVries.
• No team has more wins against BIG EAST teams over the past two years than Creighton's 29.
Last year Creighton was part of a three-way tie for first place with 13 league wins.
This season Creighton won 14 regular-season BIG EAST games (three more than Villanova and UConn), and that doesn't include victories the past two nights vs. Butler and UConn.
• A year ago, Creighton was picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST Conference and ended up sharing the league's regular-season title and ranked seventh nationally in the year-end polls.
This year's Creighton team was picked a much loftier second in the polls, and finished second.
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, all eight Creighton teams have met or exceeded their preseason poll expectations, a testament to the continued development of the Bluejay staff.
• Marcus Zegarowski leads the BIG EAST with 2.68 three-pointers per game. He's made at least one trifecta in each of his past 19 contests. There's only been 11 longer streaks in Bluejay history.
Georgetown's Jahvon Blair ranks second in the BIG EAST with 2.65 three-pointers per game. He's made a three-pointer in each of the last 36 games he's played in.
• Creighton's defense has often scrutinized in the past, but the Bluejays have tightened the screws this weekend in the World's Most Famous Arena.
Creighton has limited both Butler and Connecticut to exactly 56 points. It's the first time in five seasons (March of 2017 vs. Wagner and Alabama in the NIT) that CU's allowed 56 points or less in consecutive games. The last time Creighton allowed 56 points or less to consecutive conference opponents came in March of 2013, when it allowed 53 to Drake and 43 to Indiana State in the first two rounds of the MVC Tournament. CU would defeat Wichita State the next day (68-65) to win Arch Madness, which was also the last time the Bluejays won a conference tournament.
The last time Creighton met Georgetown, the Hoyas had just 48 points. That's the fewest points allowed by CU to any BIG EAST foe since joining the league in 2013.
Creighton currently has the nation's 36th-best defense per KenPom. The Bluejays have not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
Creighton did not allow a field goal to UConn last night in the final 6:08 as the Huskies missed their final eight shot attempts.
Creighton is allowing teams to shoot just 40.4 percent this season, its best mark since the 1962-63 club that starred "Tall" Paul Silas to 39.3 percent marksmanship.
• Creighton outrebounded UConn 50-33 on Friday, its biggest victory in the rebound column since outrebounding St. John's by 18 (44-26) on Dec. 17, 2020. CU's 50 rebounds were its most against a Division I team since hauling 51 rebounds vs. UMKC in the second game of the 2013-14 season on Nov. 11, 2013.
Creighton is 13-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
Damien Jefferson's 12 rebounds yesterday tied a career-high, and helped contribute to his fourth double-double of the season.
• Creighton leads the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+9.9), field goal percentage (.483), three-point field goal percentage (.371), field goal percentage defense (.404) and three-point field goals per game (9.74).
• Creighton's opponents have been whistled for 25 fouls during the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament, and they've hacked seven different Bluejays.
Notable among the players who have not been fouled yet? That'd be CU's primary ballhandler and the BIG EAST Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, Marcus Zegarowski.
For the season, Zegarowski has been fouled "just" 65 times in 25 games played. That's far behind how many times teammates Christian Bishop (93) and Denzel Mahoney (77) have been hacked.
• Including yesterday vs. UConn when the Jays fell behind 13-2 in the opening minutes, Creighton owns 23 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season 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. Twelve of those 23 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's comeback from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th was its largest since trailing by 18 vs. No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014.
In that Seton Hall game Creighton trailed 68-52 with 10:40 to play before rallying to win thanks to a 33-13 run. It was the first time that Creighton overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win since trailing 35-24 vs. No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014, and the first road win after trailing by 10 or more points at halftime since overcoming a 32-21 margin at half in a 65-59 win at Missouri State on Feb. 24, 2009.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. UConn 03/12/21
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
• Creighton's 59-56 win vs. UConn in the semifinals wasn't exactly an offensive game that will head to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, but it's symbolic of the kind of rock fight that the Bluejays haven't always won in the past.
Creighton is now 13-0 this season when allowing under 70 points.
CU's 59 points last night were a season-low and its fewest in any win since a 57-47 win vs. Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 29, 2014.
Last night's victory improved Greg McDermott to 5-33 when Creighton scores 59 points or less.
• This week marks Creighton's seventh trip to the BIG EAST Tournament, not counting last season's abbreviated trek that was halted at halftime of its first game.
In the previous six trips played to completion, the only men to earn All-Tournament Team honors has been Doug McDermott and Austin Chatman, who helped take CU to the finals in 2014, and Marcus Foster, who led the Jays to the 2017 title tilt.
McDermott scored 94 points in his three games, making 34-of-63 shots from the field, 14-of-28 three-point shots and 12-of-14 attempts from the line. He set a BIG EAST Tournament record for points in a half when he scored 27 in the first half vs. DePaul.
Chatman averaged 8.7 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game while directing the Bluejay offense. He made 9-of-16 shots from the floor.
In 2017 Foster averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game at The Garden. His three-pointer in the closing seconds of the semifinal lifted Creighton to a 75-72 win and advanced the Bluejays to their second title game in four seasons.
• Creighton limited Georgetown to 27.6 percent shooting on Feb. 9th. That's CU's best performance in terms of field goal percentage defense against a BIG EAST foe since joining the league in 2013.
It was also the poorest field goal percentage by a Georgetown team since shooting 25 percent (12-48) vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 23, 2011.
Best FG% Defense vs. BIG EAST since 2013-14
FG% Defense School, Date FG-FGA
.276 at Georgetown, 2/9/21 16-58
.296 Providence, 1/12/16 16-54
.300 Xavier, 2/9/16 21-70
.309 at DePaul, 2/11/17 17-55
.328 Butler, 1/23/16 21-64
.333 at Seton Hall, 2/9/19 20-60
.333 Seton Hall, 1/6/21 17-51
• Creighton allowed just 48 points in its 15-point victory at Georgetown on Feb. 9th in its best defensive effort of the season.
It's the fewest points the Jays have allowed in a league game since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, and least against a Power 5 or BIG EAST team since holding Nebraska to 42 in 2012.
Georgetown's 48 points were its fewest in a game since scoring 48 points in back-to-back games in January of 2013 vs. Marquette and Pitt.
Below is a list of the top seven defensive efforts by Creighton against a BIG EAST team since joining the league. Three of the top six have come this season.
Fewest Points Allowed vs. BIG EAST since 2013-14
Pts. Allowed School, Date Result
48 at Georgetown, 2/9/21 CU 63-48
49 Marquette, 12/31/13 CU 67-49
50 Providence, 1/12/16 PC 50-48
53 at Marquette, 1/14/15 MU 53-52
53 Seton Hall, 1/6/21 CU 89-53
53 DePaul, 2/24/21 CU 77-53
54 Xavier, 2/3/19 CU 76-54
• Creighton picked up 19 steals on Feb. 9th at Georgetown to break a school-record of 18 set five times previously.
The Bluejays had previously pilfered 18 swipes five times previously, doing so at Cleveland State (12/18/91), vs. Illinois State (12/12/99), vs. Savannah State (11/29/07), vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/20/08) and vs. DePaul (2/15/20).
Creighton's 11 steals in the first half were its most in any half since also having 11 in the first half vs. Southern on Dec. 15, 2008.
Among the Bluejays who established or tied career-highs in steals were Denzel Mahoney (4), Mitch Ballock (4) and Shereef Mitchell (3). Ballock had all four of his steals in a span of 98 seconds that saw the Hoyas turn it over on five straight trips.
Saturday, March 13, 2021 • 5:30 p.m. CST
Madison Square Garden • New York, N.Y.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; www.1620thezone.com; Westwood One Sports
SiriusXM: Sirius 84; XM 84; App 84
Television: FOX (Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson)
Series History vs. Georgetown: Creighton leads, 10-8 (1-1 this season)
Last Meeting: #19 Creighton 63, Georgetown 48 on Feb. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
CU NOTES | GU NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
Next Game
Seventeenth-ranked and second-seeded Creighton (20-7) seeks its first BIG EAST Tournament title when it squares off with upset-minded Georgetown (12-12) on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. Central.
The game will take place in New York, N.Y., and be contested at Madison Square Garden.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) will also broadcast all home games that start after 5 p.m. The game can also be heard on Sirius channel 84 or XM 84 or channel 84 on the SiriusXM app.
John Bishop will call the action with Nick Bahe. The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
The game will also air nationally on Westwood One Radio affiliates.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's final will be televised nationally by FS1, with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson handling the call.
Of Creighton's last 158 games, all but the three contests at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic have been televised. CU is 107-51 in those contests.
Video Webcast Information
Live streaming video will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). A cable authorization may be required.
The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store, and the games are now available internationally.
John Fanta will also host a special pregame edition of BIG EAST Shootaround starting at 4:30 pm Central on Saturday that can be found at via links that will come Saturday on the @BIGEASTMBB Twitter feed.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. 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 your choosing.
With A Win...
• Creighton would improve to 21-7 on the season with its fourth victory in the five games this March.
• Improve Creighton to 8-6 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 1-2 record in the championship game.
• Clinch Creighton's 13th all-time conference tournament title, joining the league record 12 titles won in the Missouri Valley Conference (1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013).
• Improve to 25-4 all-time in conference tournament play as a No. 2 seed, and 5-1 as the No. 2 seed in BIG EAST Tournament play.
• Creighton would improve to 51-26 all-time in conference tournament play (including the MVC), including a 13-3 mark in championship round action.
• Clinch Creighton's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018.
• Secure an NCAA Tournament bid for at least one team within the Creighton Athletic Department for a 34th straight academic year.
• Creighton would improve to 141-53 all-time as a nationally-ranked team.
• Creighton would improve to 10-4 all-time when ranked exactly 17th.
• Would give Greg McDermott his 400th career Division I win (251 at Creighton, 59 at Iowa State, 90 at Northern Iowa).
• With a win on Saturday, Creighton would clinch its 21st all-time NCAA Tournament bid, and 12th since the 1998-99 season. Creighton is 12-21 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, but has won at least one game in three of its four appearances in the Big Dance under Greg McDermott.
McDermott has coached his teams to seven NCAA Tournament appearances at the Division I level (three at Northern Iowa, four at Creighton), with an additional appearance last year canceled by COVID-19.
• Creighton is making its third BIG EAST Tournament finals appearance in history, having lost 65-58 to Providence in the 2014 final and 74-60 to Villanova in the 2017 final.
Villanova (5) and Creighton (3) are the only teams in the BIG EAST to appear in three or more title games over the past eight seasons since the BIG EAST reorganized. Others to appear in that time include Providence (2), Seton Hall (2) and Xavier (1). Georgetown is playing in its first title game since 2010.
• Creighton is 12-3 all-time in conference tournament championship games, but 0-2 in the BIG EAST after losing the 2014 title tilt to Providence and the 2017 championship contest to Villanova. Creighton went 12-1 in MVC Tournament finals, winning its last 10 title games. Creighton won the league tournament in 1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2013. The program's only runner-up finish in the MVC came in 1984, a 70-68 overtime loss at No. 12 Tulsa.
• With a win on Saturday, Creighton can become the first of the three teams (with Butler and Xavier) to join the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013 to win a BIG EAST Tournament title.
- Creighton has won 13 of its last 15 conference tournament games decided by four points or less, including Friday's 59-56 win over UConn.
- Greg McDermott is 3-2 all-time in conference tournament title games at the Division I level, and all three victories have gone down to the wire. His 2004 Northern Iowa squad defeated Missouri State in double-overtime, his 2012 Creighton team topped Illinois State in one overtime, and his 2013 Bluejay team topped Wichita State 68-65 when the Shockers missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.
McDermott is 14-7 as Creighton's coach in league tournament action. Saturday will mark his fifth conference tournament title game in the last 10 years with the Bluejays.
-Creighton went 6-3 in its final nine conference games this year. Each of the previous six times before 2020-21 the Jays went exactly 6-3 in its last nine league games, CU reached the league tournament final. In five of those seasons, the Jays won it all.
-Creighton went 4-2 in its final six conference games this year. Five of the last seven times (before 2020-21) the Jays went exactly 4-2 in its last six league games, CU won the tournament. During one of the exceptions (2014), the Jays lost in the final.
• Creighton's current full-time coaching staff and players have combined for nine postseason Division I conference tournament titles.
Assistant coach Alan Huss was on Creighton's 1999 and 2000 MVC Tourney champs, while Greg McDermott owns three MVC Tourney titles under his belt (one as Northern Iowa coach, two as Creighton coach). Terrence Rencher also won the 1994 and 1995 Southwest Conference Tournament while a student-athlete at Texas, earning Most Outstanding Player accolades in 1995. Assistant coach Paul Lusk has been a part of a Big Ten title as an assistant coach at Purdue in 2009. In addition, Alex O'Connell won an ACC Tournament title while at Duke in 2019.
Here's a breakdown of how many conference tournament titles each person has been a part of:
Name Titles Won Years With A Title
Greg McDermott 3 2004@, 2012*, 2013*
Alan Huss 2 1999^, 2000^
Terrence Rencher 2 1994!, 1995!
Paul Lusk 1 2009#
Alex O'Connell 1 2019$
@ won a MVC title as a head coach at Northern Iowa
* won two MVC titles as a head coach at Creighton
^ won two MVC titles as a player at Creighton
! won two Southwest Conference titles as a player at Texas
# won a Big Ten title as an assistant at Purdue
$ won an ACC title as a player at Duke
• Creighton owns eight league tournament titles since 1999. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this (shown with titles won entering 2020-21) are Gonzaga (17), Duke (12), Winthrop (11), Kentucky (10), New Mexico State (10), Kansas (9), Belmont (8), Creighton (8), Iona (8), Montana (8), Murray State (8) and Utah State (8).
• Saturday will mark the seventh time in 10 weeks that Creighton will play in the Saturday afternoon window on FOX. After a rough start on FOX, the network has been a good luck charm for the Bluejays in recent seasons. Creighton lost its first seven appearances and was 2-10 on FOX in its first six seasons as a BIG EAST member. But over the past two seasons, Creighton is 7-1 on the network, going 2-0 in 2019-20 and 5-1 so far in 2020-21.
Creighton's Record on FOX Since 2013-14
Year W-L
2013-14 0-0
2014-15 0-0
2015-16 0-1
2016-17 0-4
2017-18 1-3 (lost first 2)
2018-19 1-2 (won last 1)
2019-20 2-0
2020-21 5-1
• A few approaching milestones...
Christian Bishop
• Is one block shy of 80 in his career, which would move him into sole possession of ninth in CU history.
Mitch Ballock
• Is five rebounds shy of 500 in his career.
• Is two starts shy of making his 100th career start, and 100th consecutive start.
Greg McDermott
• Is one win shy of 400 in his Division I career (251 at Creighton, 59 at Iowa State, 90 at Nothern Iowa).
Marcus Zegarowski
• Is four steals shy of 100.
• Creighton never trailed in Friday's 87-56 win vs. Butler. It was CU's fourth-largest win against a league foe since joining the BIG EAST. The 31-point victory was also Creighton's largest winning margin in any conference tournament game in program history (MVC or BIG EAST).
Creighton's Largest BIG EAST Winning Margins
Margin Score Date
41 at Creighton 100, St. John's 59 02/28/16
36 at Creighton 89, Seton Hall 53 01/06/21
35 Creighton 93, at DePaul 58 02/11/17
31 Creighton 87, Butler 56 03/11/21
29 at Creighton 93, DePaul 64 02/15/20
28 at Creighton 88, Butler 60 01/14/14
28 Creighton 68, at #4 Villanova 68 01/20/14
• Through games of Friday, Creighton was up to 10th in the KenPom ratings.
The Bluejays were also 20th in the NET ratings through games of Thursday, including a 5-1 mark vs. Quad 1 opponents and a 6-1 mark vs. Quad 2 foes.
• Creighton has 20 wins this season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
Only 21 teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous five seasons: Belmont, Cincinnati, Creighton, Duke, East Tennessee State, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, New Mexico State, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Vermont, Villanova, Virginia, Wichita State and Wright State.
Of those 21 teams, the only 14 programs to do it without a coaching change are: Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oregon, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Vermont, Villanova and Virginia.
• Creighton has won 20 or more games in 20 of the last 22 seasons (entering 2020-21), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just three schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the previous 22 years: Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas. Kentucky has done it 21 times. Creighton and Florida have done it 20 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 22 Years (before 2020-21)
Team 20-Win Seasons 2020-21 W-L* Next Game
Gonzaga 22 26-0 TBD
Kansas 22 20-8 TBD
Duke 22 13-11 TBD
Kentucky 21 9-16 TBD
Creighton 20 20-7 3/13
Florida 20 14-9 TBD
*after games of March 12, 2021
• Mitch Ballock had three points on Thursday and nine more last night, pushing his career total to 1,273 points.
The 1,273 career points are one more than legendary two-sport athlete Bob Gibson (1,272). Gibson actually played a year for the Harlem Globetrotters before electing to join the St. Louis Cardinals and become a Hall of Fame pitcher.
Rank Points Player Years
22. 1,273 Mitch Ballock 2017-Pres.
23. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
24. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
• To win three games in three days at the BIG EAST Tournament, a team will need to get contributions from its bench. Creighton has done that so far.
The Bluejays played all 10 reserves in uniform on Thursday, and those men combined for 73 minutes played, 34 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and three steals. The reserve corps shot 14-for-18 from the field, including 10-of-10 from two-point range. CU'S 34 bench points were its most vs. a BIG EAST team since scoring 46 at Xavier on Jan. 13, 2018.
On Friday, Creighton's bench combined to play 34 minutes, contributing nine points and 12 rebounds. Alex O'Connell's eight rebounds were his most as a Bluejay, and came in just nine minutes of action. He also hit his only field goal attempt to reach 500 career collegiate points (431 at Duke, 69 at Creighton).
While Creighton's starters have played a total of 293 minutes in two games thus far, Georgetown's starting five has logged a combined 477 minutes this week and will be playing its fourth game in as many days on Saturday.
• A dozen or so teams across the country will become huge Creighton fans on Saturday night as those teams worry about Georgetown stealing an at-large bid to the field of 68. Among those? Creighton's former MVC rival Drake, which is coached by former Creighton assistant coach Darian DeVries.
• No team has more wins against BIG EAST teams over the past two years than Creighton's 29.
Last year Creighton was part of a three-way tie for first place with 13 league wins.
This season Creighton won 14 regular-season BIG EAST games (three more than Villanova and UConn), and that doesn't include victories the past two nights vs. Butler and UConn.
• A year ago, Creighton was picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST Conference and ended up sharing the league's regular-season title and ranked seventh nationally in the year-end polls.
This year's Creighton team was picked a much loftier second in the polls, and finished second.
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, all eight Creighton teams have met or exceeded their preseason poll expectations, a testament to the continued development of the Bluejay staff.
• Marcus Zegarowski leads the BIG EAST with 2.68 three-pointers per game. He's made at least one trifecta in each of his past 19 contests. There's only been 11 longer streaks in Bluejay history.
Georgetown's Jahvon Blair ranks second in the BIG EAST with 2.65 three-pointers per game. He's made a three-pointer in each of the last 36 games he's played in.
• Creighton's defense has often scrutinized in the past, but the Bluejays have tightened the screws this weekend in the World's Most Famous Arena.
Creighton has limited both Butler and Connecticut to exactly 56 points. It's the first time in five seasons (March of 2017 vs. Wagner and Alabama in the NIT) that CU's allowed 56 points or less in consecutive games. The last time Creighton allowed 56 points or less to consecutive conference opponents came in March of 2013, when it allowed 53 to Drake and 43 to Indiana State in the first two rounds of the MVC Tournament. CU would defeat Wichita State the next day (68-65) to win Arch Madness, which was also the last time the Bluejays won a conference tournament.
The last time Creighton met Georgetown, the Hoyas had just 48 points. That's the fewest points allowed by CU to any BIG EAST foe since joining the league in 2013.
Creighton currently has the nation's 36th-best defense per KenPom. The Bluejays have not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
Creighton did not allow a field goal to UConn last night in the final 6:08 as the Huskies missed their final eight shot attempts.
Creighton is allowing teams to shoot just 40.4 percent this season, its best mark since the 1962-63 club that starred "Tall" Paul Silas to 39.3 percent marksmanship.
• Creighton outrebounded UConn 50-33 on Friday, its biggest victory in the rebound column since outrebounding St. John's by 18 (44-26) on Dec. 17, 2020. CU's 50 rebounds were its most against a Division I team since hauling 51 rebounds vs. UMKC in the second game of the 2013-14 season on Nov. 11, 2013.
Creighton is 13-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
Damien Jefferson's 12 rebounds yesterday tied a career-high, and helped contribute to his fourth double-double of the season.
• Creighton leads the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+9.9), field goal percentage (.483), three-point field goal percentage (.371), field goal percentage defense (.404) and three-point field goals per game (9.74).
• Creighton's opponents have been whistled for 25 fouls during the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament, and they've hacked seven different Bluejays.
Notable among the players who have not been fouled yet? That'd be CU's primary ballhandler and the BIG EAST Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, Marcus Zegarowski.
For the season, Zegarowski has been fouled "just" 65 times in 25 games played. That's far behind how many times teammates Christian Bishop (93) and Denzel Mahoney (77) have been hacked.
• Including yesterday vs. UConn when the Jays fell behind 13-2 in the opening minutes, Creighton owns 23 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season 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. Twelve of those 23 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's comeback from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th was its largest since trailing by 18 vs. No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014.
In that Seton Hall game Creighton trailed 68-52 with 10:40 to play before rallying to win thanks to a 33-13 run. It was the first time that Creighton overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win since trailing 35-24 vs. No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014, and the first road win after trailing by 10 or more points at halftime since overcoming a 32-21 margin at half in a 65-59 win at Missouri State on Feb. 24, 2009.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. UConn 03/12/21
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
• Creighton's 59-56 win vs. UConn in the semifinals wasn't exactly an offensive game that will head to the College Basketball Hall of Fame, but it's symbolic of the kind of rock fight that the Bluejays haven't always won in the past.
Creighton is now 13-0 this season when allowing under 70 points.
CU's 59 points last night were a season-low and its fewest in any win since a 57-47 win vs. Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 29, 2014.
Last night's victory improved Greg McDermott to 5-33 when Creighton scores 59 points or less.
• This week marks Creighton's seventh trip to the BIG EAST Tournament, not counting last season's abbreviated trek that was halted at halftime of its first game.
In the previous six trips played to completion, the only men to earn All-Tournament Team honors has been Doug McDermott and Austin Chatman, who helped take CU to the finals in 2014, and Marcus Foster, who led the Jays to the 2017 title tilt.
McDermott scored 94 points in his three games, making 34-of-63 shots from the field, 14-of-28 three-point shots and 12-of-14 attempts from the line. He set a BIG EAST Tournament record for points in a half when he scored 27 in the first half vs. DePaul.
Chatman averaged 8.7 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game while directing the Bluejay offense. He made 9-of-16 shots from the floor.
In 2017 Foster averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game at The Garden. His three-pointer in the closing seconds of the semifinal lifted Creighton to a 75-72 win and advanced the Bluejays to their second title game in four seasons.
• Creighton limited Georgetown to 27.6 percent shooting on Feb. 9th. That's CU's best performance in terms of field goal percentage defense against a BIG EAST foe since joining the league in 2013.
It was also the poorest field goal percentage by a Georgetown team since shooting 25 percent (12-48) vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 23, 2011.
Best FG% Defense vs. BIG EAST since 2013-14
FG% Defense School, Date FG-FGA
.276 at Georgetown, 2/9/21 16-58
.296 Providence, 1/12/16 16-54
.300 Xavier, 2/9/16 21-70
.309 at DePaul, 2/11/17 17-55
.328 Butler, 1/23/16 21-64
.333 at Seton Hall, 2/9/19 20-60
.333 Seton Hall, 1/6/21 17-51
• Creighton allowed just 48 points in its 15-point victory at Georgetown on Feb. 9th in its best defensive effort of the season.
It's the fewest points the Jays have allowed in a league game since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, and least against a Power 5 or BIG EAST team since holding Nebraska to 42 in 2012.
Georgetown's 48 points were its fewest in a game since scoring 48 points in back-to-back games in January of 2013 vs. Marquette and Pitt.
Below is a list of the top seven defensive efforts by Creighton against a BIG EAST team since joining the league. Three of the top six have come this season.
Fewest Points Allowed vs. BIG EAST since 2013-14
Pts. Allowed School, Date Result
48 at Georgetown, 2/9/21 CU 63-48
49 Marquette, 12/31/13 CU 67-49
50 Providence, 1/12/16 PC 50-48
53 at Marquette, 1/14/15 MU 53-52
53 Seton Hall, 1/6/21 CU 89-53
53 DePaul, 2/24/21 CU 77-53
54 Xavier, 2/3/19 CU 76-54
• Creighton picked up 19 steals on Feb. 9th at Georgetown to break a school-record of 18 set five times previously.
The Bluejays had previously pilfered 18 swipes five times previously, doing so at Cleveland State (12/18/91), vs. Illinois State (12/12/99), vs. Savannah State (11/29/07), vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/20/08) and vs. DePaul (2/15/20).
Creighton's 11 steals in the first half were its most in any half since also having 11 in the first half vs. Southern on Dec. 15, 2008.
Among the Bluejays who established or tied career-highs in steals were Denzel Mahoney (4), Mitch Ballock (4) and Shereef Mitchell (3). Ballock had all four of his steals in a span of 98 seconds that saw the Hoyas turn it over on five straight trips.
