The 2021–22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

in the

2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2021 and concluded on March 13, 2022. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 15 and concluded on April 4 with the c ...

. The Bluejays were coached by 12th-year head coach

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach a ...

and played their home games at the

CHI Health Center Omaha CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the facility has a ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, as members of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. They finished the season 23–12, 12–7 in Big East play to finish in fourth place. As the No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament, they defeated Marquette and

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, before losing to Villanova in the Championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region, where they defeated

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

in the first round before losing to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

in the second round.

Previous season

The Bluejays finished the 2020–21 season 22–9, 14–6 to finish second in Big East play. They defeated

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

and

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

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 The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

when the tournament had 25 teams. There they lost to eventual National Runner-Up

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

. 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.

Marcus Zegarowski Marcus Zegarowski (born August 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. High school career Zegarowski attended Hamilton-Wenham, where as a freshman he av ...

and

Damien Jefferson Damien Jefferson (born October 3, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Karşıyaka Basket of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the Champions League. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos and th ...

were named to the All Big East Conference first and second teams, respectively.

Denzel Mahoney Denzel Mahoney (born January 18, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays and the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Hi ...

was named as an All-Big East Honorable Mention. Zegarowski also earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Offseason

Departures

2021 recruiting class

Incoming transfers

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big East regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Big East tournament , - !colspan=9 style=", NCAA tournament

Awards and honors

Big East Conference honors

All-Big East Awards

* Freshman of the Year:

Ryan Nembhard Ryan Nembhard (born March 10, 2003) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He played college basketball ...

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

Ryan Kalkbrenner Ryan Thomas Kalkbrenner (born January 17, 2002) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, Creighton Bluejays. He is from Florissant, Missouri. High school career Kalkbrenner played ...

All-Big East Second Team

Ryan Hawkins Ryan Hawkins (born May 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Stade Rochelais Basket of the Pro A. He played college basketball for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats and the Creighton Bluejays. High school career Hawkin ...

All-Big East Honorable Mention

*Ryan Kalkbrenner

Big East All-Freshman Team

Trey Alexander Trey Alexander may refer to: * Trey Alexander (soccer) (born 1983), an American soccer player * Trey Alexander (basketball) (born 2003), an American basketball player for the Denver Nuggets {{disambiguation ...

* Arthur Kaluma *Ryan Nembhard Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team Creighton Bluejays men's basketball seasons Creighton Creighton Creighton Creighton