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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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How did Creighton do this year?

There is no question that the Creighton Bluejays had an extremely impressive year. No one expected Greg McDermott‘s team to do much at the beginning of the season but they will get to raise a banner in November as Big East conference champions.

The emergence of Creighton’s explosive offense was one of the biggest surprises in college basketball. The dynamic duo of Zegarowski and Alexander was almost impossible for opponents to stop and Creighton’s excellent 3-point shooting created a deadly attack.

This was also a Creighton team that gained tremendous confidence as the year went on. The Bluejays’ win over Texas Tech in Las Vegas offered a glimpse of the group’s potential but it wasn’t until late in Big East play where Creighton truly emerged as a title threat.

Winning the Big East was especially impressive this season when the league was as dynamic from top-to-bottom as it has been since the conference was reformed back in 2013. The Bluejays were certainly going to be a dangerous out in March, but their ultimate upside depended on how Zegarowski’s knee injury played out.

Zegarowski was expected to sit out of the Big East Tournament in hopes of being healthy for the NCAA Tournament, where Creighton was likely destined for a top-3 seed. The Bluejays’ three-point shooting made them a true boom-or-bust commodity since they could have gotten hot enough to win the tournament or cold enough to go out very early.