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Last season: The Creighton Bluejays, lead by senior Doug McDermott, cruised to one of their most successful seasons in the school's history. Finishing the season 27-8 and 14-4 in Big East play, the Bluejays finished the season ranked number 16 in the country and a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Creighton's run ended short, however, in a second round loss to Baylor.
Last Meeting/All-Time Series: The Wildcats faced off against the Bluejays twice last season, and neither ended with a positive result for Villanova. Creighton came into the Wells Fargo Center as underdogs, but demolished Villanova 96-68 behind 27 points from senior Ethan Wragge. The Wildcats then traveled to Omaha to avenge their loss, but Doug McDermott would have none of that. McDermott dropped 39 points on the Wildcats in a 101-80 win to sweep the season series. Villanova leads the all-time series 3-2.
Head Coach: Perhaps most famous as the father of Doug McDermott, Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott has served as the head coach for four years. He has been wildly successful, going 107-38 in his short tenure with the program. McDermott is well-known for his fluid motion offense which places an emphasis on shooting.
Top Returners: Creighton only has one returning starter, senior guard Austin Chatman. Coach McDermott also returns three key senior bench players, guard Devin Brooks, swingman Avery Dingman, and center Will Artino..
Key Losses: Although the losses of shooter Ethan Wragge and guard Grant Gibbs will hurt, there is no bigger departure in college basketball than the graduation of Doug McDermott. "Dougie McBuckets" led the nation is scoring with 26.7 ppg and became the fifth all-time leading scorer in college basketball history with 3,150 career points. Now a member of the Chicago Bulls, McDermott was drafted 11th overall by the Denver Nuggets before being traded to Chicago.
Key Additions: Creighton picked up two freshman commitments, ESPN Top-100 recruit Ronnie Harrell and Leon Gilmore. Both are versatile swingmen who will aim to ease the loss of McDermott. The Bluejays also added Boston University transfer Maurice Watson, but he will sit out next season per NCAA rules.