GREG MCDERMOTT

By Jeff Borzello(Source ESPN Staff Writer):NEW YORK — The 2023 Final Four is poised to be the land of the unknown. Prior to last Friday, Florida Atlantic had never even won an NCAA tournament game as a program. Only six teams seeded lower than the Owls have ever played in a national semifinal, so they’re in pretty rare company. Here are the 10 unlikeliest Final Four runs since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985. (One quick note: 1985 Villanova was the unlikeliest national champion, but this isn’t the unlikeliest NCAA tournament runs, it’s the unlikeliest Final Four r

Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard sat quietly, tossing his head back and taking a deep breath as he reflected on the decisive foul called with 1.2 seconds left in the NCAA Tournament's South Region final against San Diego State. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman, seated next to Nembhard, had towels over their mouths. After Sunday's stunning conclusion to the best season in school history, Creighton's players were confounded, dejected and almost speechless.

The Creighton Bluiejays are one win away from a trip to the Final four - in the process, they ended the miraculous run of the 15th-seed Princeton Tigers.

Creighton used its size, 3-point shooting and a swarming second-half defense to end the March Madness run of Princeton, beating the 15th-seeded Tigers 86-75 in the Sweet 16.

The school said head coach Mark Adams had encouraged a player "to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters."

For the first time in conference history, Big East basketball is happening on Christmas Day. Here are the keys to the game.

North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll.

Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points and keyed an overwhelming blitz that sent Creighton into the Big East championship game with a stunning 85-58 blowout of No. 11 Providence in the semifinals.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points to help Creighton beat Ohio 72-58 on Monday in the NCAA Tournament, securing the program's first trip to the round of 16 in 47 years. The last time Creighton made it to the regional semifinals, it was 1974 and the tournament field had 25 teams. He also came up with some key late plays to keep Creighton in control after Ohio clawed back within 65-56. AdBIG PICTUREOhio: This was the Bobcats' first NCAA Tournament trip since 2012, when they made a surprise run to the Sweet 16 before losing to No. Creighton: The Bluejays had never won back-to-back games in the same NCAA Tournament.

“It felt really good to step up to the line and hit those two big free throws,” Bishop said. He received a one-game suspension and returned for the Big East Tournament last week. AdThe Bluejays' season will continue Monday in the West Region against 13th-seeded Ohio thanks to some unlikely clutch foul shooting. Creighton grabbed the lead back with 3:08 remaining when Bishop finished a pick-and-roll with a reverse two-handed dunk to make it 59-58. BIG PICTUREUC Santa Barbara: The Gauchos started fast, making nine of their first 12 shots and taking a 23-15 lead.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)NEW YORK – The most accurate shooting team in the Big East was having a hard time buying a bucket. The second-seeded Bluejays (20-7) will play eighth-seeded Georgetown Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in their third Big East final since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season. They came in shooting 48.7% to lead the Big East. Creighton will look for its first Big East Tournament championship a little more than a week after McDermott was suspended by the school for making racially insensitive remarks to his team. Creighton: Zegarowski struggled to find his groove most of the game against Cole and UConn's tough perimeter defense.

McDermott created a firestorm for twice using the term “plantation” as part of an analogy urging team unity. McDermott will be with team for the Big East Tournament this week and the NCAA Tournament that begins next week. “Let me be clear: Coach McDermott's use of the ‘plantation’ analogy was egregious and has absolutely no place in our society. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation,” McDermott told the players, using a term evocative of slavery and the antebellum South. Rasmussen announced McDermott had been indefinitely suspended the next night, with McDermott tweeting that he merited the suspension.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott shouts during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)OMAHA, Neb. – Five Creighton basketball players explained in a short pregame video Saturday why they were hurt by coach Greg McDermott's remarks in his locker room talk following a loss last weekend. AdCreighton players hadn't commented publicly about McDermott's remarks until five Black players spoke in the pregame video at CHI Health Center. Let's start the conversation.”The video ended in silence with all the Creighton players locked arm in arm on the court. “A lot of guys in that locker room were hurting from it, and I was hurting from what he said," Zegarowski said.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott shouts during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton University suspended basketball coach Greg McDermott on Thursday night for using racially insensitive language while addressing the team after a game last weekend. McDermott publicly apologized Tuesday and again Wednesday for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” after the 14th-ranked Bluejays' 77-69 loss at Xavier. Assistant coach Alan Huss will serve as interim head coach for the home game against Butler on Saturday. “Coach McDermott and our athletics program must use this incident as an opportunity for growth and learning, as clearly more work needs to be done.”McDermott, in an apology he posted on Twitter on Tuesday, acknowledged saying: “Guys, we got to stick together.

McDermott’s use of a phrase evoking slavery overshadowed what was expected to be fantastic showdown between the top two teams in the Big East. 10 Villanova capture the Big East title with a 72-60 win over 14th-ranked Creighton. “The pain I saw in their eyes was immense,” McDermott said after the game. The Big East title was a formality on the Main Line — Villanova is 114-26 with two national titles since the conference was reconfigured in 2013. BIG PICTURECreighton: McDermott isn’t off the hot seat yet.

Omaha, Nebraska — Creighton coach Greg McDermott apologized Tuesday for urging his players to "stay on the plantation" in a postgame locker room talk following a loss over the weekend. Creighton coach Greg McDermott wears a towel with an image of the late coach John Thompson over his shoulder during the team's NCAA college basketball game against DePaul on February 24, 2021, in Omaha. John Peterson / AP"I have never used that analogy and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach," McDermott said in his post. Creighton assistant coach Terrence Rencher, who is Black, tweeted that he was "deeply hurt" by McDermott's words. Creighton spokesman Rob Anderson declined to comment on whether players or staff complained to administrators about the remark or why the apology was made public.

FILE - In this Jan. 16, 2021, file photo, Creighton coach Greg McDermott watches the team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Butler in Indianapolis. McDermott apologized publicly Tuesday, March 2, for using insensitive language in his postgame locker room talk with players and staff following a loss over the weekend. In a tweet, McDermott said he used a terribly inappropriate analogy in making a point about staying together as a team despite the loss. – Creighton coach Greg McDermott apologized Tuesday for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a postgame locker room talk following a loss over the weekend. Ad“I have never used that analogy and it is not indicative of who I am as a person or as a coach,” McDermott said in his post.