# 2020–21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University in the 2020-21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays were led by 11th-year head coach Greg McDermott and played their home games at the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 14–6 to finish second in Big East play. They defeated Butler and UConn in the Big East tournament before losing to Georgetown in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the West region. They defeated UC Santa Barbara and Ohio to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. This marked the first time Creighton had won consecutive games in the same tournament and the first time they had advanced to the Sweet Sixteen since 1974 when the tournament had 25 teams. There they lost to eventual National Runner-Up Gonzaga.
On March 4, 2021, head coach McDermott was suspended for using racially insensitive language to his team. On March 8, the school reinstated McDermott after only missing one game and allowing him to coach in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.

## Previous season

The Bluejays finished the 2019–20 season 24–7, 13–5 in Big East play to finish tied for first place. As the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, they were slated to play St. John's in the quarterfinals, but the tournament was cancelled at halftime of the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the NCAA postseason.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Davion Mintz | 1 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduate transferred to Kentucky |
| Ty-Shon Alexander | 5 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Declared for the 2020 NBA draft |
| Jordan Scurry | 12 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Senior | Chestnut Hill, MA | Graduated |
| Jalen Windham | 21 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Freshman | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred to Ball State |
| Kelvin Jones | 43 | C | 6'11" | 230 | Senior | Chihuahua, Mexico | Graduated |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Rati Andronikashvili SG | Tbilisi, Georgia | 35 Sajaro Skoka | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 7, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Ryan Kalkbrenner C | Saint Louis, MO | Trinity Catholic High School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 23, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Modestas Kancleris PF | Kaunas, Lithuania | Varpas Gimnazija | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | May 11, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 27, 2020. ||||||

### 2021 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Arthur Kaluma PF | Boston, MA | Dream City Christian | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 16, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ryan Nembhard PG | Aurora, ON | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jun 6, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Mason Miller PF | Germantown, TN | Houston | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 23, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| John Christofilis SG | Seattle, WA | O'Dea | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 25, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Trey Alexander SG | Oklahoma City, OK | Heritage Hall | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 2, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 12 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021. |||||||

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Alex O'Connell | 5 | G | 6'6" | 186 | Junior | Roswell, GA | Transferred from Duke. Under NCAA transfer rules, O'Connell will play this season and will gain an additional extra eligibility. |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 29, 2020* 3:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 11 | North Dakota State | W 69–58 | 1–0 | 16 – Bishop | 7 – Ballock | 6 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (252) Omaha, NE |
| December 1, 2020* 4:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | Omaha | W 94–67 | 2–0 | 18 – Bishop | 8 – Bishop | 11 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (251) Omaha, NE |
| December 4, 2020* 4:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | Kennesaw State | W 93–58 | 3–0 | 14 – Tied | 7 – Jones | 4 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (201) Omaha, NE |
| December 8, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | at No. 5 Kansas Big East/Big 12 Battle | L 72–73 | 3–1 | 19 – Mahoney | 9 – Bishop | 5 – Ballock | Allen Fieldhouse (2,500) Lawrence, KS |
| December 11, 2020* 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 8 | Nebraska Rivalry | W 98–74 | 4–1 | 22 – Zegarowski | 8 – Kalkbrenner | 5 – Tied | CHI Health Center Omaha (254) Omaha, NE |
| December 14, 2020 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | Marquette | L 84–89 | 4–2 (0–1) | 26 – Ballock | 6 – Tied | 5 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (255) Omaha, NE |
| December 17, 2020 4:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 9 | at St. John's | W 94–76 | 5–2 (1–1) | 20 – Zegarowski | 10 – Tied | 8 – Jefferson | Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY |
| December 20, 2020 11:00 a.m., FS1 | No. 9 | at UConn | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 (2–1) | 19 – Bishop | 13 – Mahoney | 4 – Jefferson | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| December 23, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 13 | No. 22 Xavier | W 66–61 | 7–2 (3–1) | 13 – Tied | 7 – Bishop | 2 – 4 Tied | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,673) Omaha, NE |
| January 2, 2021 11:00 a.m., FOX | No. 11 | at Providence | W 67–65 | 8–2 (4–1) | 20 – Zegarowski | 8 – Jefferson | 4 – Zegarowski | Alumni Hall Providence, RI |
| January 6, 2021 9:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 7 | Seton Hall | W 89–53 | 9–2 (5–1) | 19 – Jefferson | 7 – Kalkbrenner | 4 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,689) Omaha, NE |
| January 9, 2021 12:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 7 | St. John's | W 97–79 | 10–2 (6–1) | 24 – Mahoney | 6 – Tied | 5 – Jefferson | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,777) Omaha, NE |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 p.m., FOX | No. 8 | at Butler | L 66–70 $^{OT}$ | 10–3 (6–2) | 29 – Mahoney | 7 – Tied | 4 – Mitchell | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,693) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 20, 2021 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 11 | Providence | L 70–74 | 10–4 (6–3) | 26 – Jefferson | 5 – Kalkbrenner | 3 – Tied | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,731) Omaha, NE |
| January 23, 2021 1:30 p.m., FOX | No. 11 | No. 23 UConn | W 74–66 | 11–4 (7–3) | 20 – Mahoney | 5 – Jefferson | 3 – Ballock | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,839) Omaha, NE |
| January 27, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 17 | at Seton Hall | W 85–81 | 12–4 (8–3) | 29 – Ballock | 7 – Mahoney | 4 – Ballock | Prudential Center Newark, NJ |
| January 30, 2021 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 17 | at DePaul | W 69–62 | 13–4 (9–3) | 19 – Zegarowski | 6 – Tied | 5 – Zegarowski | Wintrust Arena Chicago, IL |
| February 3, 2021 9:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 15 | Georgetown | L 79–86 | 13–5 (9–4) | 22 – Mahoney | 10 – Bishop | 6 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,845) Omaha, NE |
| February 6, 2021 5:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 15 | at Marquette | W 71–68 | 14–5 (10–4) | 14 – Bishop | 8 – Tied | 6 – Jefferson | Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, WI |
| February 9, 2021 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 19 | at Georgetown | W 63–48 | 15–5 (11–4) | 17 – Bishop | 9 – Bishop | 4 – Tied | McDonough Gymnasium Washington, DC |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 p.m., FOX | No. 19 | No. 5 Villanova | W 86–70 | 16–5 (12–4) | 25 – Zegarowski | 10 – Tied | 5 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (2,544) Omaha, NE |
| February 24, 2021 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 13 | DePaul | W 77–53 | 17–5 (13–4) | 13 – 3 Tied | 7 – Kalkbrenner | 4 – Zegarowski | CHI Health Center Omaha (1,936) Omaha, NE |
| February 27, 2021 4:00 p.m., FOX | No. 13 | at Xavier | L 69–77 | 17–6 (13–5) | 19 – Jefferson | 9 – Jefferson | 10 – Zegarowski | Cintas Center Cincinnati, OH |
| March 3, 2021 7:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 14 | at No. 10 Villanova | L 60–72 | 17–7 (13–6) | 14 – Ballock | 8 – Jefferson | 4 – Tied | Finneran Pavilion Villanova, PA |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 p.m., FOX | No. 14 | Butler | W 93–73 | 18–7 (14–6) | 32 – Zegarowski | 10 – Bishop | 6 – Ballock | CHI Health Center Omaha (2,419) Omaha, NE |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 5:00 p.m., FS1 | (2) No. 17 | vs. (10) Butler Quarterfinals | W 87–56 | 19–7 | 18 – Zegarowski | 4 – 3 Tied | 5 – Zegarowski | Madison Square Garden Manhattan, NY |
| March 12, 2021 9:00 p.m., FS1 | (2) No. 17 | vs. (3) UConn Semifinals | W 59–56 | 20–7 | 14 – Jefferson | 12 – Jefferson | 3 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (824) Manhattan, NY |
| March 13, 2021 6:30 p.m., FOX | (2) No. 17 | vs. (8) Georgetown Championship | L 48–73 | 20–8 | 17 – Zegarowski | 5 – Ballock | 4 – Zegarowski | Madison Square Garden (824) Manhattan, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 2:30 p.m., truTV | (5 W) No. 19 | vs. (12 W) UC Santa Barbara First Round | W 63–62 | 21–8 | 17 – Zegarowski | 11 – Bishop | 7 – Zegarowski | Lucas Oil Stadium (6,512) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 22, 2021 5:10 p.m., TNT | (5 W) No. 19 | vs. (13 W) Ohio Second Round | W 72–58 | 22–8 | 20 – Zegarowski | 15 – Bishop | 5 – Ballock | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,058) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 28, 2021 1:10 p.m., CBS | (5 W) No. 19 | vs. (1 W) No. 1 Gonzaga Sweet Sixteen | L 65–83 | 22–9 | 19 – Zegarowski | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Hinkle Fieldhouse (1,060) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 19 | Not released |
| Coaches | 11 | 11^ | 7 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 14 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.