# 2016–17 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by seventh-year head coach Greg McDermott, played their home games at the CenturyLink Center Omaha, as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. In the Big East tournament, they defeated Providence and Xavier before losing to Villanova in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest region. There they lost in the first round to No. 11-seeded Rhode Island.

## Previous season

The Bluejays finished the 2015–16 season 20–15, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in sixth place in conference. They lost to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament where they beat Alabama in the first round and Wagner in the second round before losing to BYU in the quarterfinals.

## Preseason

Prior to the season, Creighton was picked to finish third in a poll of Big East coaches. Maurice Watson Jr. was selected to the preseason All-Big East first team. Marcus Foster received an Honorable Mention.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Malik Albert | 12 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Texas A&M–Commerce |
| Drew Cayce | 5 | G | 6'1" | 165 | Freshman | Libertyville, IL | Transferred to Illinois |
| Geoffrey Groselle | 41 | C | 7'0" | 240 | Senior | Plano, TX | Graduated |
| James Milliken | 23 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Siler City, NC | Graduated |
| Alex O'Neill | 20 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Freshman | Peoria, IL | Transferred to St. Cloud State |
| Marlon Stewart | 1 | G | 6'1" | 210 | Freshman | Eldridge, IA | Transferred to North Dakota |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kaleb Joseph | 14 | G | 6'3" | 165 | Junior | Nashua, NH | Transferred from Syracuse. Under NCAA transfer rules, Joseph will have to redshirt for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Sam Dunkum | 31 | F | 6'10" | 215 | Sophomore | North Little Rock, AR | Transferred from Lafayette. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dunkum will not be eligible until the spring semester of the 2017–18 season. |

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Davion Mintz G | Charlotte, NC | North Mecklenburg High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 4, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Kobe Paras SG | Quezon City, Philippines | Cathedral High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 18, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015. ||||||

### 2017 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ty-Shon Alexander SG | Mouth of Wilson, VA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 31, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Mitch Ballock SG | Eudora, KS | Eudora High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Feb 7, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015. |||||||

## Roster

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Justin Patton | Zach Hanson | Martin Krampelj |
| PF | Cole Huff | Toby Hegner | Ronnie Harrell |
| SF | Khyri Thomas | Kobe Paras | |
| SG | Marcus Foster | Isaiah Zierden | Jordan Scurry |
| PG | Davion Mintz | Tyler Clement | |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 4, 2016* 7:00 pm | No. 22 | Wayne State | W 93–46 | | 13 – Foster | 7 – 2 tied | 7 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (15,128) Omaha, NE |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, FS2 | No. 22 | UMKC | W 89–82 | 1–0 | 17 – Watson Jr. | 8 – Patton | 9 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,686) Omaha, NE |
| Nov 15, 2016* 7:30 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | No. 9 Wisconsin Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 79–67 | 2–0 | 18 – Thomas | 7 – Patton | 10 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (17,879) Omaha, NE |
| Nov 18, 2016* 7:30 pm | No. 22 | vs. Washington State Paradise Jam quarterfinals | W 103–77 | 3–0 | 19 – Huff | 6 – Huff | 13 – Watson Jr. | Sports and Fitness Center (2,223) St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 20, 2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 22 | vs. NC State Paradise Jam semifinals | W 112–94 | 4–0 | 20 – Huff | 10 – Huff | 7 – Watson Jr. | Sports and Fitness Center (2,755) St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 21, 2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 12 | vs. Ole Miss Paradise Jam finals | W 86–77 | 5–0 | 25 – Foster | 6 – Foster | 7 – Watson Jr. | Sports and Fitness Center (2,699) St. Thomas, VI |
| Nov 26, 2016* 3:30 pm, FS2 | No. 12 | Loyola (MD) | W 82–52 | 6–0 | 17 – Patton | 6 – Patton | 4 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,907) Omaha, NE |
| Nov 29, 2016* 7:30 pm, FS1 | No. 10 | Buffalo | W 93–72 | 7–0 | 22 – Foster | 12 – Thomas | 8 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,434) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 3, 2016* 7:00 pm, FS2 | No. 10 | Akron | W 82–70 | 8–0 | 27 – Foster | 7 – Patton | 13 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,852) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 7, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 10 | at Nebraska Rivalry | W 77–62 | 9–0 | 25 – Watson Jr. | 10 – 2 tied | 8 – Watson Jr. | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,902) Lincoln, NE |
| Dec 9, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1 | No. 10 | Longwood | W 113–58 | 10–0 | 16 – 2 tied | 9 – 2 tied | 11 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,697) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 17, 2016* 7:00 pm, FS2 | No. 10 | Oral Roberts | W 66–65 | 11–0 | 22 – Foster | 6 – Foster/Patton | 10 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (16,489) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 20, 2016* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 9 | at Arizona State | W 96–85 | 12–0 | 29 – Foster | 9 – Hegner | 7 – Watson Jr. | Wells Fargo Arena (14,198) Tempe, AZ |
| Dec 28, 2016 7:00 pm, FS2 | No. 10 | Seton Hall | W 89–75 | 13–0 (1–0) | 21 – Watson Jr. | 9 – Patton | 10 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (18,084) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 31, 2016 12:00 pm, FS1 | No. 10 | No. 1 Villanova | L 70–80 | 13–1 (1–1) | 22 – Foster | 8 – Patton | 9 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (18,831) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 4, 2017 7:30 pm, FS1 | No. 10 | at St. John's | W 85–72 | 14–1 (2–1) | 25 – Patton | 9 – Patton | 2 – Watson Jr. | Carnesecca Arena (4,928) Queens, NY |
| Jan 7, 2017 1:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 10 | at Providence | W 78–64 | 15–1 (3–1) | 20 – Patton | 6 – Patton | 14 – Watson Jr. | Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,176) Providence, RI |
| Jan 11, 2017 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 8 | No. 12 Butler | W 75–64 | 16–1 (4–1) | 21 – Watson Jr. | 12 – Thomas | 7 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (18,032) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 14, 2017* 12:00 pm, FS2 | No. 8 | Truman State | W 101–69 | 17–1 | 21 – Foster | 10 – Patton | 6 – Watson Jr. | CenturyLink Center (17,466) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 16, 2017 1:00 pm, FS1 | No. 7 | at No. 22 Xavier MLK Day Marathon | W 72–67 | 18–1 (5–1) | 15 – Foster | 9 – Patton | 4 – Thomas | Cintas Center (10,348) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 21, 2017 1:30 pm, FOX | No. 7 | Marquette | L 94–102 | 18–2 (5–2) | 30 – Foster | 5 – Zierden | 8 – Mintz | CenturyLink Center (18,145) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 25, 2017 6:00 pm, FSN/MASN2 | No. 16 | at Georgetown | L 51–71 | 18–3 (5–3) | 20 – Patton | 8 – Thomas | 3 – Huff | Verizon Center (8,185) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 28, 2017 1:30 pm, FS1 | No. 16 | DePaul | W 83–66 | 19–3 (6–3) | 18 – Thomas | 7 – Thomas | 6 – Thomas | CenturyLink Center (17,611) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 31, 2017 6:00 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | at No. 16 Butler | W 76–67 | 20–3 (7–3) | 15 – 3 tied | 7 – Patton | 6 – Clement | Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100) Indianapolis, IN |
| Feb 4, 2017 2:00 pm, FOX | No. 22 | Xavier | L 80–82 | 20–4 (7–4) | 17 – Foster | 7 – Huff | 5 – Thomas | CenturyLink Center (17,886) Omaha, NE |
| Feb 11, 2017 1:00 pm, FS1 | No. 23 | at DePaul | W 93–58 | 21–4 (8–4) | 14 – Hegner | 11 – Patton | 7 – Thomas | Allstate Arena (6,409) Rosemont, IL |
| Feb 15, 2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 20 | at Seton Hall | L 81–87 | 21–5 (8–5) | 23 – Foster | 6 – Foster | 6 – Foster | Prudential Center (6,637) Newark, NJ |
| Feb 19, 2017 2:35 pm, FS1 | No. 20 | Georgetown | W 87–70 | 22–5 (9–5) | 35 – Foster | 6 – 2 tied | 6 – Foster | CenturyLink Center (17,626) Omaha, NE |
| Feb 22, 2017 8:00 pm, FSN | No. 23 | Providence | L 66–68 | 22–6 (9–6) | 18 – Foster | 9 – Thomas | 4 – Mintz | CenturyLink Center (17,382) Omaha, NE |
| Feb 25, 2017 2:00 pm, FOX | No. 23 | at No. 2 Villanova | L 63–79 | 22–7 (9–7) | 25 – Foster | 5 – 2 tied | 8 – Foster | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA |
| Feb 28, 2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | St. John's | W 82–68 | 23–7 (10–7) | 18 – Foster | 12 – Thomas | 7 – Thomas | CenturyLink Center (17,006) Omaha, NE |
| Mar 4, 2017 1:30 pm, FS2 | | at Marquette | L 83–91 | 23–8 (10–8) | 23 – Thomas | 7 – Thomas | 7 – Mintz | BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,630) Milwaukee, WI |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| Mar 9, 2017 8:30 pm, FS1 | (6) | vs. (3) Providence Quarterfinals | W 70–58 | 24–8 | 19 – Thomas | 8 – Patton | 2 – 3 tied | Madison Square Garden (16,003) New York City, NY |
| Mar 10, 2017 8:00 pm, FS1 | (6) | vs. (7) Xavier Semifinals | W 75–72 | 25–8 | 21 – 2 tied | 4 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York City, NY |
| Mar 11, 2017 4:30 pm, FOX | (6) | vs. (1) Villanova Championship | L 60–74 | 25–9 | 13 – 2 tied | 7 – Harrell Jr. | 3 – Harrell Jr. | Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York City, NY |
| 2017 NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 16, 2017* 3:30 pm, TBS | (6 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Rhode Island First Round | L 72–84 | 25–10 | 15 – 2 tied | 7 – 2 tied | 4 – Harrell Jr. | Golden 1 Center (15,833) Sacramento, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | 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 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 22 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | 23 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings