Men's Basketball Hosts Evansville Wednesday
1/7/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2002
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Next GameCreighton returns to its homecourt for the first time in 2002 when they host Evansville on Jan. 9 at 7:05 p.m. in the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays are 7-5 on the season, including a 2-1 mark in the MVC, while Evansville is 3-9 and 0-3 in The Valley.
Scouting the BluejaysCreighton returns home after dropping an 85-79 overtime decision at Northern Iowa on Saturday, snapping a streak of 11 straight regular-season MVC wins. After opening the season 3-0, including a win over #17 Western Kentucky, the Jays have gone just 4-5 over their past nine games. Preseason all-MVC pick Kyle Korver, missed three games after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 20, but has sparked the Jays since returning. Korver averages a team-best 15.9 points per game. Sixth man Terrell Taylor pours in 12.0 points per game and leads the Jays with 27 three-pointers on the year, while Northwestern transfer Brody Deren chips in with 11.2 points and a team-best 6.4 caroms per game in the paint.
Scouting the AcesWhat's been a rough season got even worse for Evansville when they lost sophomore center Dan Lytle last week. Lytle was leading UE in scoring (16.2), rebounding (5.6) and blocked shots (1.9) per game. He is scheduled go under the knife to repair torn cartilege in his knee on Jan. 7. Among the healthy players, Adam Seitz leads the way with a 10.7 scoring average. Mark Allaria is the only player to start every game and he leads the MVC with 5.2 assists per game. One of nine schools to currently own 15 straight seasons of a .500 conference record or better, the Aces are off to an 0-3 start in league play, including a 45-40 loss to Indiana State last Saturday. UE is 0-4 on the road this year.
The CoachesCreighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, '80) is in his eighth year as head coach of the Bluejays, owning a 130-91 (.588) mark at CU and a career ledger of 213-158 (.574) in his 13th year as an NCAA Division I head coach. Altman led the Bluejays to a 24-8 mark last season and their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Altman has led four teams to 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths as a head coach. Teams coached by Altman have played in the postseason in seven of the past 10 years. Creighton has improved its win total in every season under Altman. He's assisted by Greg Grensing, Len Gordy and Darian DeVries.Jim Crews (Indiana, '76) owns a 290-197 record in 17 years as a head coach at Evansville, including a 3-9 mark this season. Crews was a senior on Indiana's undefeated 1976 national championship basketball team, then served as an assistant on the 1981 title squad as well for the Hoosiers. He is assisted by Kirk Sarff, Marty Simmons and Lennox Forrester.The Evansville SeriesCreighton leads the all-time series 8-6, including a 4-2 record in Omaha. The home team has won the last four games in this series.
Last Year vs. EvansvilleCreighton won 87-57 in Omaha on Dec. 30 before Evansville took the rematch 61-52 on Jan. 24 in Evansville. In the first encounter, Terrell Taylor hit two three-pointers to open the game and scored 12 of Creighton's first 20 points as CU led 46-32 at the half. Taylor finished with 17 points to lead all players, while UE was led by Clint Cuffle's 10 points. Evansville got revenge in the rematch by holding CU to a season-low 26 percent shooting as they hit just 13-of-50 field goals for the game. Creighton used a 9-0 run to pull within 52-50 with two minutes to play before the Aces put the game away with a 7-0 run. Ryan Sears led the Jays with 13 points, while Adam Seitz proved unstoppable with 28 points and nine rebounds.
Creighton's Last Game Creighton had its 11-game regular-season MVC win streak snapped as they dropped an 85-79 overtime contest at Northern Iowa. The Jays trailed 63-53 with 8:37 to play before an 18-1 run gave them a 71-64 lead with 5:18 to go. UNI responded with nine straight points of their own to take a two-point lead before Larry House's jumper with 25 seconds left evened the score and sent it to overtime. In the extra session, Ismael Caro got Creighton on the scoreboard first, but UNI got baskets by Robbie Sieverding, Blake Anderson and a three-ball by Erik Smith to take a five-point lead and cruise to victory. Brody Deren and House both scored 19 points to lead Creighton, which hit just 4-of-19 three-pointers in the game. Northern Iowa was paced by a career-high 25 points by Chris Foster, 22 points and 11 rebounds from David Gruber and 20 from Smith in the win.
Bench Gets It DoneWith 11 players averaging 9.5 minutes per game or more, Dana Altman's club continues to get tremendous production off the bench. In fact, four of Altman's top five scorers (Taylor, Korver, Dabbert and House) entering the Mississippi Valley State game came off the bench in that contest, with Brody Deren as the only exception. This year, Creighton's bench has accounted for 44 percent of the team's points, 46 percent of the team's rebounds and 49 percent of the team's assists while playing 43 percent of the minutes, as seen below:
Stat Starting Five (Pct.) Reserves (Pct.)Points 514 (56.4) 398 (43.6)Rebounds 234 (54.4) 196 (45.6)Assists 90 (50.8) 87 (49.2)Minutes 1403 (56.7) 1072 (43.3)
Good Shooters Or Better SelectionCreighton shot a season-best 62 percent from the floor in its win at Illinois State, canning 31-of-50 shots from the floor. It helps that CU's "Big Three" went a combined 21-for-27 (76.9), as Kyle Korver was 8-for-9, Brody Deren 6-for-7 and Terrell Taylor 7-for-11. The last time CU shot better than 60 percent for a game was Feb. 28, 2000 when they were 34-for-52 (65.4 percent) vs. Evansville. The last time they shot better than 60 percent on the road came on Jan. 20, 1999 at Evansville when they hit 35-of 57 shots, good for 61.4 percent. Prior to doing it vs. Illinois State, the last time Creighton shot 60 percent or better in both halves of the same game was on Feb. 2, 1997 when they hosted Evansville and shot 61.9 percent in the first half, 65.2 percent in the second half and 63.6 percent (28-44) overall. Dana Altman's Creighton teams are now 49-2 when shooting 50 percent or better. They have won 17 straight when making more than half their attempts dating back to an 88-83 loss at Evansville on Jan. 23, 2000. It's worth noting that the CU performance came on the same night that they shot a season-low eight three-pointers, making four. That's the fewest number of three-pointers attempted since a 3-for-6 showing from downtown vs. Southern Utah on Jan. 20, 1997, a span of 147 games.
The Curse Of The 13th GameFor some people, the number 13 is a lucky number, but Creighton coach Dana Altman wouldn't necessarily agree. Entering Wednesday's Evansville game (Creighton's 13th this season), Altman is 0-7 in Creighton's 13th game of the season since arriving, as charted below:
Date Opponent Result W-L after 13 1/6/01 at Bradley L 73-68 (OT) 10-3 1/6/00 at Indiana St. L 56-46 9-4 1/4/99 Evansville L 84-79 10-3 1/12/98 at SMS L 72-54 8-5 1/8/97 at Nebraska L 71-52 5-8 1/10/96 at Bradley L 68-54 6-7 1/18/95 #14 Iowa State L 70-52 5-8
A Trifecta TraditionBased on Creighton's tradition of success and productivity behind the three-point line, youve got to figure that one of the main points of emphasis for each opposing coach that scouts the Jays is to take away the good looks from long-range. That being said, Northern Iowa joined Southwest Missouri State (on 1/12/98) as the only teams in the last six years to hold CU without a first-half three-pointer. Creighton missed all four first-half three-point attempts vs. UNI on Saturday, snapping a streak of 22 straight halves with at least one trifecta dating to a 0-for-5 second half showing vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 31, 2001.
House Picks It UpLarry House had a career-best scoring effort for the second time in his last three games when he tallied 19 points at Northern Iowa in just 20 minutes of play. He made 8-for-14 shots from the field, including his first four attempts vs. UNI. House's previous best came when he had 15 points in 18 minutes vs. Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 29. For the season, House is averaging 9.5 points per game to rank fourth on the CU squad.
Wins vs. Losses BreakdownIt shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Creighton shoots the ball better when they win compared to when they lose. However, the numbers below prove the distinct difference:
Stat 7 wins 5 lossesFG % 49.3 39.13 FG % 32.4 25.8Def. FG % 39.0 50.4Def. 3 FG % 33.6 41.5Korver FG% 51.7 32.1
Workin' OvertimeThe loss at Northern Iowa dropped Creighton's record in overtime under Dana Altman to 5-6, including a 1-1 mark this season. Creighton is 35-38 all-time in overtime. The last time Creighton played consecutive games that went into overtime was in February, 1994 when they lost 81-75 vs. Drake and 92-88 vs. Illinois State in a pair of one-overtime tilts.
Dabbert Sparks the BenchSophomore forward Joe Dabbert has proven to be a nice fit off the Creighton bench of late. Since coming off the pine, Dabbert has scored 52 points in 84 minutes over the course of six games. He made 3-of-5 field goals vs. Indiana State, 3-of-4 shots at Western Kentucky, 3-of-5 vs. Xavier, 5-of-8 at Illinois State and 4-of-7 at UNI. He's also made 14 straight free throws over the last six games. He recorded the first double-double of his career at Illinois State on Jan. 2 when he had 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action vs. the Redbirds.Deren Doing It As A StarterSince being inserted into the starting lineup, Brody Deren has played some of his best basketball to date. Deren is averaging 13.6 points in his last five starts, making 28-of-47 (59.6 percent) of his shots in that time. Last week Deren went 6-for-7 to score 14 points at Illinois State, then led CU with 9-of-15 marksmanship to notch 19 points vs. UNI.
Uncommon Late FadeIn Creighton's last game, they led UNI 71-66 with five minutes left to play before eventually losing in overtime, 85-79. The last time a Creighton team blew a five-point lead with five minute remaining in an eventual loss was Dec. 29, 1999 vs. SMS. In that game, Creighton led 55-45 with 8:15 to play but did not hit a field goal the rest of the way in that 59-58 loss in Omaha. In that game, Creighton led 57-52 with five minutes left.
Double-Digit Half DozenCreighton had six players with 11 points or more in its 90-65 romp over Mississippi Valley State. The last time CU had six players in double-figures was a 102-69 win over Evansville on Feb. 28, 2000. This season, Creighton has had 10 different players score 10 or more points in a game. The only players who havent reached double-digits this year are Tyler McKinney, Ismael Caro and Dan Bresnahan.
Korver Returns With A FlurryAfter missing three games following arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus, junior Kyle Korver returned to the floor an amazing nine days after his Dec. 20 procedure. Korver's game didn't appear to have suffered too much, as he totaled 12 points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists in just 11 minutes off the bench in his return vs. Mississippi Valley State. He kept up his stellar play with 24 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 33 minutes at Illinois State. Korver was near perfect on the night, going 8-for-9 from the field (including 3-for-3 on three-pointers) and making all five free throw attempts. Korver was limited to 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting at UNI but he did lead the Jays with four assists and four steals in 40 minutes of action in CU's most recent game.
Career Nights For QuintetFive different players notched career-highs in points vs. Mississippi Valley State, DeAnthony Bowden, Larry House, Jimmy Motz, Mike Grimes and Dan Bresnahan. Bowden had career-highs with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists while House had a career-high 15 points in his first game off the bench. Grimes had 11 points in 17 minutes and Motz had 13 points in 25 minutes as they both reached double-figures for the first time. Not to be forgotten, Bresnahan scored the first point of his young career in the final minute on a free throw.
Guards TurnoverThink Creighton doesn't miss Ryan Sears at all Last year the four-year starter had a solid 137 assists compared to just 63 turnovers. This year, CU's three point guards--DeAnthony Bowden, Ismael Caro and Tyler McKinney-- have combined for 71 assists and 55 turnovers. As a team, last year's team had 64 more assists than turnovers, while this year's team has 11 more turnovers than assists.
Rank and FileDana Altman is 3-5 at Creighton vs. ranked teams, including a 94-91 win over Western Kentucky earlier this season. Below is a closer look at the ranked teams he's faced over the past eight seasons:
Date Team CU Result11/27/01 #17 Western Kentucky W 94-91 (2OT)3/16/00 vs. #24 Auburn (NCAA) L 72-691/12/00 #19 Tulsa L 75-6711/27/99 #23 Iowa W 85-763/13/99 vs. #5 Maryland (NCAA) L 75-6312/20/98 #17 Oklahoma State W 66-6011/30/96 vs. #24 Minnesota (in San Juan) L 64-631/18/95 #14 Iowa State L 70-52
Altman Climbs Victory ListWith his win at Illinois State on Jan. 2, Dana Altman has tied Tom Apke for third on the school's all-time list with 130 victories. Below is a list of Creighton's victory leaders:
Rk. W-L Coach1. 163-66 Arthur A. Schabinger2. 138-118 John J. Red McManusT3. 130-91 Dana AltmanT3. 130-64 Tom Apke5. 127-71 E.S. "Eddie" Hickey
All You Need To KnowWant a good indication of who's going to win Take a look at the free throw shooting of Kyle Korver. Since Jan. 12, 2001, Korver is a near-perfect 54-for-55 from the stripe in Creighton's wins but just 21-for-28 (75.0 percent) in the Jays losses in that time. Of those losses, only once has Korver been perfect at the line.
Korver's Free Throw Shooting (since 1/12/01) FT-FTA Pct. GamesWhen CU Wins 54-55 98.2 22When CU Loses 21-28 75.0 9
Trifectas Troubling TrendAfter 12 games this season, Creighton has hit 71-of-239 of its three-pointers, good for 29.7 percent, as nine different players have at least one trey. If the season ended today, that 29.7 percent would rank as the lowest mark from long-range in Creighton history. By comparison, last year after 12 games, the Jays were 95-for-264, making 36.0 percent of their trifectas.
Home Sweet CivicCreighton is 21-1 at home since the last home game of the 1999-00 season, losing only to Xavier in that time. Xavier snapped a CU-record 20-game home winning streak on Dec. 20 that had ranked as the seventh longest active streak in Division I. Before the Xavier setback, the last time the Bluejays had suffered a home defeat was a 92-83 loss on Feb. 19, 2000, when Southern Illinois escaped Omaha with a victory. It was Creighton's second non-conference loss at home in the last five seasons, the other being a 75-67 loss to #19 Tulsa on Jan. 12, 2000.
Moving Up The ChartsJust a junior, Kyle Korver has moved into fourth in Creighton history with 184 career three-pointers, surpassing Duan Cole's 177 (1987-92) for fourth in CU history and one behind Matt Roggenburk (1986-90) for third place. Korver's teammate the previous two seasons, Ryan Sears, owns the school record with 245 career trifectas. Junior Terrell Taylor owns 103 career three-pointers and in the Xavier game passed Ben Walker (1997-01) for 10th on the career chart at CU. Taylor leads the team with 27 three-pointers this season. Korver has made a three-pointer in each of the last 19 games he's appeared in, while Taylor has made at least one trifecta in 14 of his last 15 games, with the Dec. 29 Mississippi Valley State game as the lone exception in that run.
Creighton's Career Three-Point Leaders 3FG Name Years 245 Ryan Sears 1997-01 212 Rodney Buford 1995-99 185 Matt Roggenburk 1986-90 184 Kyle Korver 1999-Present 177 Duan Cole 1987-92 143 Matt Petty 1989-93 132 Rod Mason 1986-88 131 Tad Ackerman 1994-96 111 Porter Moser 1986-90 103 Terrell Taylor 1999-Present
Rare Losing StreaksCreighton entered the Mississippi Valley State game with a two-game losing streak. Recent history suggested the odds of that streak growing to three were unlikely. Since the start of the 1997-98 season, CU has lost consecutive games on 12 occasions. On all but two occasions, they've avoided a three-game spell and in most cases they've responded with a long winning streak.
Losing Streak Dates Response 2 Dec. 19-22, 2001 Won next 2 2 Dec. 4-8, 2001 Won next 2 2 Mar. 4-15, 2001 Won next 3 2 Jan. 6-8, 2001 Won next 2 2 Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2000 Won next 7 2 Feb. 19-23, 2000 Won next 5 4 Dec. 23, 99-Jan. 6, 00 Won 3 of next 4 2 Feb. 1,-6, 1999 Won 8 of next 9 2 Dec. 9-12, 1998 Won next 4 4 Feb. 21-Mar. 11, 1998 Won next 6 2 Jan. 10-12, 1998 Won 10 of next 11 2 Nov. 22-29, 1997 Won next 3
Valley Run Reaches Its PeakCreighton's mpressive 11-game winning streak in regular-season MVC games dating back to a Jan. 24, 2001 loss at Evansville wsa snapped during its 85-79 overtime loss at Northern Iowa. Creighton's best previous run through the league was a stretch of nine straight conference wins between Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998.
Dialing Long DistanceCount on more than a couple three-pointers being launched when the Bluejays host Evansville. The Jays have gone 224 consecutive games with a three-pointer, including all 221 games under the direction of Dana Altman. Creighton's last game without a three-pointer was a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was the coach. Going a step further, Creighton has hit three or more trifectas in 170 consecutive games dating to a 58-57 overtime loss to Northern Iowa on Feb. 16, 1996. In that game, CU was 2-for-16 from long-range. Both streaks appeared in serious jeopardy at Northern Iowa, as CU made its first trifecta with 8:09 left in the second half. Creighton's next three baskets were also three-pointers coming in a span of 1:40, but that's all the three's Creighton would make for the game.
A March TraditionDid you know that Creighton is one of 25 teams nationally to have played in the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years The select company, listed alphabetically, includes Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, Winthrop and Wisconsin.
