OMAHA, Neb. — The Creighton men’s basketball team finished the 2023-24 season ranked 13th in the nation by the Associated Press and 10th in the USA Today Coaches poll. The Bluejays were also 11th in the NET.
It’s the 20th time in 21 polls this season that Creighton has been included in both the AP and Coaches rankings. Creighton’s NET ranking of 11 is its best at the end of the season since also being 11th in 2019-20, though that postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.
This year marks the first time that the AP has done a poll at the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament, and marks the seventh time in program history that Creighton ends the year in the Top 25. The Bluejays were No. 7 in the 2019-20 poll (when COVID-19 canceled the NCAA Tournament), as well as No. 15 (2002-03), No. 16 (2013-14), No. 19 (2011-12 and 2020-21) and No. 22 (2012-13).
It’s also the 10th time that Creighton has been in the end-of-season USA Today Coaches poll Top 25, also being recognized in 1973-74 (17th), 1974-75 (16th), 2002-03 (23rd), 2011-12 (21st), 2012-13 (21st), 2013-14 (20th), 2019-20 (9th), 2020-21 (14th) and 2022-23 (12th).
Creighton’s best AP ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022). CU owns 29 weeks in the AP Top 10 in its history, with all but one of those recognitions coming during Greg McDermott‘s tenure. Creighton’s best AP rank this year was eighth, done four times.
Including today’s ranking, Creighton has now been ranked by the AP 141 times in program history, with 114 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 175-73 all-time as a ranked team, including a 141-61 figure under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott’s 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton was one of three BIG EAST Conference schools in the top 25, joining No. 1 Connecticut and No. 12 Marquette. The top five teams in the AP poll are Connecticut, Purdue, Alabama, Houston and Tennessee.
Creighton is also one of eight schools in the country with both its men’s and women’s teams ranked in the year-end AP Top 25, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, NC State and South Carolina.
Creighton joined Baylor as the only schools with a top-25 team in the year-end poll in men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball in 2023-24.
Creighton finished the 2023-24 season with a 25-10 record, matching its most wins in a season since 2016-17. The Bluejays made their third trip to the Sweet 16 in the past four seasons and were one of three teams to defeat eventual national champion Connecticut.
Associated Press Top 25
April 9, 2024 (Year-End)
Rk School W-L PTS
1 Connecticut (58) 37-3 1450
2 Purdue 34-5 1386
3 Alabama 25-12 1217
Houston 32-5 1217
5 Tennessee 27-9 1203
6 Illinois 29-9 1095
7 North Carolina 29-8 1048
8 Iowa State 29-8 1012
9 Duke 27-9 982
10 NC State 26-15 928
11 Arizona 27-9 828
12 Marquette 27-10 825
13 Creighton 25-10 797
14 Clemson 24-12 740
15 Gonzaga 27-8 684
16 Baylor 24-11 535
17 San Diego State 26-11 505
18 Auburn 27-8 467
19 Kansas 23-11 265
20 Kentucky 20-10 247
21 Saint Mary’s 26-8 207
22 Utah State 28-7 186
23 Washington State 25-10 135
24 South Carolina 26-8 117
25 Dayton 25-8 112
Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 87, Oregon 77, Colorado 75, BYU 71, Texas 62, James Madison 61, Seton Hall 39, Grand Canyon 37, Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 23, Texas Tech 19, Indiana St 18, Miami 13, Michigan St. 12, Duquesne 9, Yale 7, Arkansas 6, New Mexico 6, Colorado St. 5, Maryland 5, Florida 4, Rutgers 2, Oakland 1, Nevada 1.
USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll
April 9, 2024 (Year-End)
Rk School W-L PTS
1 UConn (31) 37-3 775
2 Purdue 34-5 744
3 Houston 32-5 651
4 Alabama 25-12 642
5 Tennessee 27-9 638
6 North Carolina 29-8 578
7 Illinois 29-9 545
8 Iowa State 29-8 540
9 Duke 27-9 521
10 Creighton 25-10 473
11 Marquette 27-10 458
12 Arizona 27-9 440
13 NC State 26-15 389
14 Baylor 24-11 331
15 Clemson 24-12 326
16 Gonzaga 27-8 313
17 Auburn 27-8 302
18 San Diego State 26-11 218
19 Kentucky 23-10 172
20 Utah State 28-7 164
21 Kansas 23-11 136
22 Saint Mary’s 26-8 129
23 South Carolina 26-8 124
24 Washington State 25-10 62
25 Texas Tech 23-11 50
Others receiving votes: BYU 49; Florida 44; Dayton 37; Colorado 36; Wisconsin 31; James Madison 30; Seton Hall 27; Texas 16; Indiana State 16; Michigan State 15; Texas A&M 13; Oregon 10; Oakland 10; Grand Canyon 10; Northwestern 5; Yale 2; Boise State 2; Nevada 1;
First appeared on gocreighton.com