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Creighton Basketball 2020: Takeaways from heartbreaking loss to Kansas

ByChris Thedinga|
NEW YORK, NY - March 12: The Creighton Bluejays mascot exits after a quarterfinal game against the St. John's Red Storm in the Big East Tournament was cancelled at Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2020 in New York City. Each team was allowed about 200 tickets under a reduced attendance policy because of the coronavirus COVID-19. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images).
NEW YORK, NY - March 12: The Creighton Bluejays mascot exits after a quarterfinal game against the St. John's Red Storm in the Big East Tournament was cancelled at Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2020 in New York City. Each team was allowed about 200 tickets under a reduced attendance policy because of the coronavirus COVID-19. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images).
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Creighton Basketball
Marcus Zegarowski Creighton Basketball (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)

Creighton Basketball losing heartbreaking games on primetime television: A tradition unlike any other.

Creighton Basketball’s 73-72 loss to #5 Kansas shows just how close the Jays are to taking the next step as a program. Mitch Ballock and Marcus Zegarowski combined for 22 points on just 7-22 from the floor and 3-6 from the free throw line. Yet, Creighton was in the game the entire way and lost by one point after a missed free throw that would have sent it to overtime. Believe it or not, Bluejay fans, this is a very good sign.

The Jays have yet to win an ESPN televised game in the past fourteen years. How crazy is that, considering Creighton has been a top-25 team for quite a bit of time during that stretch.

The game opened with a bang, as the Bluejays jumped out to a 14-8 lead after a couple threes by Ballock. Christian Bishop also started hot and hit his first three-point bucket of the year. Bill Self called a timeout quickly after this opening jolt, and by the time halftime rolled around, the Jayhawks held a 39-35 lead. Much thanks to David McCormack and his impressive first-half stat line(5-8, 12 pts).

Zegarowski began to shine for the Jays in the second half, hitting a couple of threes to get the ball rolling. Kansas was essentially face-guarding Mitch Ballock, who didn’t get a good look in the second half until very late in the game. This opened up other options, however, as the supporting cast of Creighton had opportunities to get the Jays going.

Kansas had a 68-63 lead with just over two minutes to play when Denzel Mahoney wouldn’t let KU walk away with this one. Mahoney hit a jumper, then a three-pointer to bring Creighton within 2. On the following possession, Mahoney got a steal and turned it into a fast-break layup, tying the game at 70 apiece.

From there, due to some defensive lack of communication, a wide-open three-pointer from Kansas’ Jalen Wilson saw the back of the net. With seconds to play, Zegarowski lined up a three and was fouled(!) by Wilson. He made the first two but missed the last.

Alas, the Jays lose by a score of 73-72.

There’s a lot to be learned from this one. Here are a few takeaways from this heartbreaking loss to KU.

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