Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

By Thomas Giustino

Mar 13, 2021; New York, NY, USA; Georgetown Hoyas players celebrate after defeating the Creighton Bluejays in the final game of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2021; New York, NY, USA; Georgetown Hoyas players celebrate after defeating the Creighton Bluejays in the final game of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big East Basketball Creighton Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Big East Basketball Creighton Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

2020-2021 Record: 22-9 (14-6)

Probable Starters: Ryan Nembhard, Shereef Mitchell, Alex O’Connell, Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Kalkbrenner

Bench: Rati Andronikashvili (missed last season with a torn ACL), Ryan Hawkins, Keyshawn Feazell, Trey Alexander, Mason Miller, John Christofilis, Modestas Kancleris (missed last season with a torn ACL), Devin Davis, Sami Osmani, Zander Yates

Creighton is coming off what looks like a great season on paper. They finished 2nd in the Big East before losing to Georgetown in the Big East Conference finals. The Bluejays also made the programs first ever Sweet 16 after earning a 5 seed. However, anyone who was following the season knows that Coach McDermott said some unsavory things and is starting from scratch. Last season’s success is really a testament to the players for blocking out the noise and salvaging the season.

This year’s team is essentially brand new. Creighton returns just 18.2% of their minutes from last season after losing their top five scorers in Marcus Zegarowski (15.8 PPG, 4.3 APG), Denzel Mahoney (12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG), Damien Jefferson (11.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG), and Mitch Ballock (9.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG) who all elected to pursue professional opportunities. Christian Bishop (11.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG) transferred to Texas. So, who does Creighton return and who did they bring in?

Doug McDermott reloaded with his 2021 recruiting class, ranked 7th overall in the country and 1st in the Big East. This class includes five top 150 players, four of whom are top 75 recruits. However, the Bluejays will be asking a lot of their freshman this season as Alex O’Connell, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Shereef Mitchell are the only returners who played meaningful minutes last season. Is 10-15 MPG meaningful? It’s at least on court experience. I’d argue that Kalkbrenner provided the most spark out of the three returners and will be a big key to any success the team has this year.

This will clearly be a bit of a rebuilding year for Creighton after losing so much talent and experience. That said, Creighton might have some tricks up their sleeve. Regardless of how you feel about McDermott, you have to admit he is a great basketball coach. Creighton routinely thrives on offense in a league built on defense.

McDermott may be able to salvage this year by plugging in some experienced transfers while the freshmen can learn to grow into their roles. Ryan Hawkins, a DII transfer, was an all-around player for Northwest Missouri State, averaging 23 PPG (46% from three) and 9 RPG.

It’s not fair to expect probably even close to this production when making a jump to the Big East, but he brings steady veteran leadership. KeyShawn Feazell is another transfer, from McNeese State, who should help bring some stability on the court. He averaged 13 PPG and 10 RPG last season.

This season could go either way for Creighton, but I expect you’ll see marked improvement in their play over the course of the season. The Bluejays won’t be down for long.

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