2016–17 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

2016–17 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
Paradise Jam champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record25–10 (10–8 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCenturyLink Center Omaha
Seasons
2016–17 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Villanova † 15 – 3   .833 32 – 4   .889
No. 21 Butler 12 – 6   .667 25 – 9   .735
Creighton 10 – 8   .556 25 – 10   .714
Seton Hall 10 – 8   .556 21 – 12   .636
Providence 10 – 8   .556 20 – 13   .606
Marquette 10 – 8   .556 19 – 13   .594
Xavier 9 – 9   .500 24 – 14   .632
Saint John's 7 – 11   .389 14 – 19   .424
Georgetown 5 – 13   .278 14 – 18   .438
DePaul 2 – 16   .111 9 – 23   .281
† 2017 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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.[1] Maurice Watson Jr. was selected to the preseason All-Big East first team.[1] Marcus Foster received an Honorable Mention.[1]

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[2]
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[3]
Marlon Stewart 1 G 6'1" 210 Freshman Eldridge, IA Transferred to North Dakota[4]

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

College recruiting information
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 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars
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

College recruiting information (2016)
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 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Mitch Ballock
SG 		Eudora, KS Eudora High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Feb 7, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
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:

Roster

2016–17 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Marcus Foster 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Hirschi HS
Kansas State 		Wichita Falls, TX
G 1 Davion Mintz 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr North Mecklenburg HS Charlotte, NC
G 2 Khyri Thomas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Fork Union Omaha, NE
G 4 Ronnie Harrell Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So East HS Denver, CO
G 5 Jordan Scurry (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr St. Mark's Chestnut Hill, MA
G 10 Maurice Watson Injured 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Boys' Latin
Boston University 		Philadelphia, PA
G 11 Tyler Clement (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr St. Thomas Aquinas HS Overland Park, KS
F 13 Cole Huff 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Campbell Hall
Nevada 		Altadena, CA
G 14 Kaleb Joseph Current redshirt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Cushing Academy
Syracuse 		Nashua, NH
F 15 Martin Krampelj 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Fr Impact Academy Grosuplje, Slovenia
G 21 Isaiah Zierden 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Benilde-St. Margaret's St. Louis Park, MN
C 23 Justin Patton 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Fr Omaha North HS Omaha, NE
G 24 Kobe Paras 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Cathedral HS Quezon City, Philippines
F 31 Sam Dunkum Current redshirt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So North Little Rock High School
Lafayette 		North Little Rock, AR
F 32 Toby Hegner 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Berlin HS Berlin, WI
F 40 Zach Hanson Injured 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr T. F. Riggs Pierre, SD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

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

See also: 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP22221210101091010871622232023RVRVRVNot released
Coaches2320181212109910871622232223RVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ a b c "Villanova Picked Unanimously Again To Win In Preseason Coaches' Poll". Big East Conference. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "Malik Albert - 2016-17 Men's Basketball Roster - Texas A&M-Commerce Athletics". lionathletics.com.
  3. ^ "Creighton Transfer Alex O'Neill To Join Huskies Men's Basketball Team". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "Marlon Stewart to transfer to North Dakota". Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.