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Creighton basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 early preview

By Mike Phillips

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 12: Marcus Zegarowski #11 of the Creighton Bluejays shoots the ball against the Seton Hall Pirates during a Big East Conference game at Prudential Center on February 12, 2020 in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 12: Marcus Zegarowski #11 of the Creighton Bluejays shoots the ball against the Seton Hall Pirates during a Big East Conference game at Prudential Center on February 12, 2020 in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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Ty-Shon Alexander #5 of the Creighton Bluejays (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

Top Players

Marcus Zegarowski

One of Creighton’s players that made a huge leap from freshman to sophomore year was Zegarowski. The Bluejays thrived when Zegarowski was on the floor with the guard scoring 16.1 points per game and shooting an outstanding 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. Zegarowski hurt his knee late in the season and was held out of Creighton’s final game, which was the first half of a matchup with St. John’s in the Big East Tournament.

Ty-shon Alexander

While Zegarowski got the hype it was actually junior Ty-shon Alexander who led Creighton in scoring. Alexander averaged 15.7 points per game as a sophomore and actually boosted nearly all of his major offensive statistics this season. The Bluejays were set to lean very heavily on Alexander in the NCAA Tournament if Zegarowski was going to be limited with his knee injury.

Mitch Ballock

The story of Creighton’s season was their lethal 3-point shooting and no one was a better embodiment of that than Mitch Ballock. The junior wing shot a ridiculous 43.5 percent from beyond-the-arc, but he wasn’t only a perimeter threat, grabbing 5.3 rebounds a game and contributing 3.1 assists per night. Ballock was definitely a key role player for the Bluejays this season.

Damien Jefferson

The Bluejays played a truly small-ball brand to the point that 6-foot-5 Damien Jefferson led the team in rebounding. Jefferson averaged 5.5 boards a game, and he had to contribute most of his points from the interior after his three-point percentage plummeted back to 21.7 percent, which was in line with his performance as a freshman from beyond the arc. The Bluejays will need more gritty play from Jefferson to round out their roster in his senior year.