The 2019-20 NCAA basketball season was shaping up to be a memorable one for the Creighton Bluejays.
 
It was a season that saw the Bluejays knock off six ranked teams in the regular season, including road wins at both Villanova and Seton Hall. There was the 24-7 overall record which helped Creighton reach No. 7 in the AP poll, matching the best ranking in school history. The Jays also earned a share of the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 13-5 mark and also grabbed the top seed for the BIG EAST Tournament.
 
Heck, there was even Denzel Mahoney earning the conference’s Sixth Man Award while the trio of Mitch Ballock, Ty-Shon Alexander and Marcus Zegarowski engaged in a spirited, season-long quest for team 3-point shooting supremacy. It was won by Ballock with 93 three-balls.
 
So perhaps no BIG EAST team was primed for some March success quite like the Bluejays.
But then the world went sideways and with the college postseason scrapped, Creighton’s dreams of basketball glory were reduced to a sad “what-might-have-been” story.
 
“Yeah that was definitely disappointing because you always think about the ‘what ifs,” said Ballock, whose 43 3-pointers going into Wednesday night’s home matchup with Georgetown trails Zegarowski’s 44 treys for the team lead. “But at the end of the day you just gotta keep perspective. It is what it is.”   
   
But fast forward to this season and it seems as if the Jays have simply picked up where they left off. They currently own a 13-4 overall record, are sitting in second place in the BIG EAST at 9-3 and are ranked 15th in the nation by AP.
 
“We’re still in a good position because we returned a lot of guys from last year’s team,” said Ballock, who had a season-high 29 points in a recent win over Seton Hall. “This year it’s a new team and we’re just kind of focused on this year. But (last year) has added a little fuel to the fire. There are a lot of obstacles this year that we’ve had to overcome just like every other team around the country. But you just have to kind of buckle up and focus on the positives going into each game. So that’s what we’re doing and hopefully we can keep rolling and do what we did last year, play hot at the end of the year and play well down the stretch.”
 
The Bluejays are currently riding a three-game winning streak with their latest victory coming at DePaul on Jan. 30. So how does Ballock think this year’s version of the Bluejays compares with last year’s?
 
“It’s a little different,” Ballock said. “Right now offensively our pace is not where it needs to be. In some games we’re getting a little stagnant and the ball is not moving as much, but we’re getting there. But we have the pieces. I think we’re a little deeper than we were last year but with that being said we had a lot of guys who came off the bench last year that gave us great minutes. But I think we’re trending in the right direction and if we can buy into the process then the sky’s the limit for this team.”
 
Creighton boasts four players averaging in double figures - Denzel Mahoney (15.2 ppg.), Zegarowski (14.9), Damien Jefferson (12.5) and Christian Bishop (11.0) with Ballock at 9.9. But this could potentially be the last run at a magical March for the senior trio of Ballock, Mahoney and Jefferson, though all own the option to return for another season (the one silver lining from this COVID plague). And while Ballock said he’ll make his decision following the season, with the future unknown, he plans on savoring every minute of this season.
 
“Definitely, and not just because it’s (potentially) my last year but also because of how last year ended,” Ballock said. “It ended so abruptly and no one knew what was going on and an opportunity was taken away from a lot of seniors that would never get that opportunity again. So when you look at it from that perspective you have a new appreciation for the game of basketball. Any day you get to come out and play is a good day. So we just focus on now. After last year you’ve just got to appreciate every game as if it were your last because it very well could be.”
 
Creighton goes into its game with Georgetown with those nine wins while first-place Villanova sits at 6-0 as the WIldcats have seen a number of their games postponed due to COVID. So how does Ballock see the regular season playing out this time around?
 
“It’s crazy like it is every year,” he said. “Anybody can go anywhere and beat anybody. There are no off days. We’re in a situation where we’re in the top of the league. But nothing is free. You have to prepare like you’re at the bottom and come out on game day and play like the underdog. When you’re at the top of the league and you have that (ranking) number next to you, it’s a target on your back and people are gunning for you. They want that win and you get everybody’s best shot.”
 
Following Wednesday’s tilt with Georgetown, the Bluejays hit the road for a pair, first at Marquette on Saturday Feb. 6, before a return engagement with the Hoyas in D.C. on Feb. 9. Creighton will then host Villanova in its first encounter with the Wildcats this season. It’s a time Ballock hopes to see the Bluejays round into form for a long March run. Much like the one that was taken away so suddenly last season.
 
“Our approach is always unfinished business,” Ballock said. “It’s always ‘see how far we can go.’ We haven’t played our best basketball yet. We’ve shown signs of it throughout the year, both offensively and defensively. But I don’t think we’ve put it together for a full 40 (minutes) yet. But we’re getting there. We’re getting better every day in practice. We’ve just got to win games at all costs. It doesn’t matter who scores the points, it just matters what it says in the win-loss column. So it’s definitely unfinished business.”