MEN’S BASKETBALL: Creighton Jumps Back Into Top Ten In Both AP and Coaches Polls

OMAHA–(CU Athletics Jan. 4)–The Creighton men’s basketball team matched its best ranking in school history when the Bluejays were voted seventh in the Associated Poll on Monday, January 4th. The Bluejays had previously been ranked seventh on Jan. 16, 2017, March 9, 2020 and March 16, 2020.

Creighton surged up four spots in the rankings following a 67-65 win at Providence on Saturday in a game that was nationally-televised on FOX. It was CU’s fourth straight victory.

This is the 17th time that Creighton has earned a top-10 ranking in program history, with all but one of those weeks during Greg McDermott’s tenure.

Creighton (8-2, 4-1 BIG EAST) remains one of 10 schools that have been ranked each of the past 14 AP polls (since Feb. 3, 2020), joining Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee and Villanova.

It’s the 103rd week in program history that the Bluejays have been ranked, with 75 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 128-48 all-time as a ranked team, including a 94-36 mark under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in eight of McDermott’s 11 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.

CU is one of two BIG EAST teams that are nationally ranked by the AP this week, joining No. 3 Villanova. Seton Hall, Xavier and Connecticut are among those also receiving votes.

In the newly-sponsored Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, Creighton climbed from 10th last week to fifth this week. It’s the best mark in school history for the coaches poll, surpassing the No. 7 rank on Jan. 16, 2017 that was matched on Dec. 7, 2020. Villanova is third in this week’s coaches poll. Among those receiving votes are Xavier, UConn and Seton Hall.

Creighton will host Seton Hall (8-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) on Wednesday night in a game that tips at 8 p.m. on FS1.

Associated Press Top 25
January 4, 2021
Rk    School    W-L     PTS
1    Gonzaga (63)    10-0    1599
2    Baylor (1)    9-0    1537
3    Villanova    8-1    1453
4    Texas    8-1    1415
5    Iowa    9-2    1298
6    Kansas    8-2    1224
7    Creighton    8-2    1140
8    Wisconsin    9-2    1085
9    Tennessee    7-1    1076
10    Michigan    9-0    1039
11    Houston    8-1    977
12    Illinois    8-3    878
13    Missouri    7-1    747
14    West Virginia    8-3    706
15    Rutgers    7-2    703
16    Minnesota    10-2    559
17    Oregon    8-1    545
18    Texas Tech    8-3    445
19    Clemson    8-1    411
Virginia Tech    8-1    411
21    Duke    3-2    280
22    Virginia    5-2    258
23    Saint Louis    7-1    133
24    Michigan State    7-3    133
25    Florida State    5-2    120
Others receiving votes: Florida 110, Louisville 103, Ohio State 96, Northwestern 86, Oklahoma State 68, Arizona 25, Colorado 19, BYU 18, Drake 17, North Carolina State 16, Oklahoma 15, Arkansas 14, Seton Hall 11, UCLA 6, Xavier 5, San Diego State 4, Connecticut 4, LSU 3, Boise State 3, Indiana 2, Alabama 2, Syracuse 1.

Ferris Mowers Top 25 Coaches Poll
Jan. 4, 2021
Rk    School    W-L     PTS
1    Gonzaga (29)    10-0    797
2    Baylor (3)    9-0    771
3    Villanova    8-1    726
4    Texas    8-1    694
5    Creighton    8-2    587
6    Kansas    8-2    583
7    Iowa    9-2    575
8    Tennessee    7-1    541
9    Michigan    9-0    529
10    Wisconsin    9-2    524
11    Houston    8-1    464
12    Illinois    8-3    435
13    Missouri    7-1    387
14    Rutgers    7-2    351
15    Oregon    8-1    320
16    West Virginia    8-3    314
17    Minnesota    10-2    289
18    Clemson    8-1    235
19    Texas Tech    8-3    197
20    Virginia Tech    8-1    151
21    Virginia    5-2    108
22    Florida State    5-2    104
23    Saint Louis    7-1    87
24    Duke    3-2    85
25    Louisville    7-1    69
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 64; Florida 62; Michigan State 59; Ohio State 58; Oklahoma State 50; UCLA 42; Drake 30; San Diego State 22; Arkansas 13; North Carolina State 11; Colorado 11; Boise State 11; Xavier 10; Connecticut 10; Seton Hall 6; Saint Mary’s 5; Oklahoma 3; Tulsa 2; Southern California 2; Colorado State 2; Alabama 2; SMU 1; Loyola (Chicago) 1.