Men's Basketball Year-End Wrap-Up
4/17/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 17, 2002
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Recapping 2001-02
The 2001-02 men's basketball season saw Creighton rise above preseason expectations as they won a MVC regular-season title, MVC Tournament title and NCAA first round game in the same year for just the second time in school history.
The Jays fourth consecutive start of 3-0 or better was highlighted by a thrilling 94-91 double-overtime win over #17 Western Kentucky on Nov. 27. The Jays rallied from an 18-point deficit to down the Hilltoppers and stretch CU's home-court winning streak to 17.
Creighton opened December by downing in-state rival Nebraska for the third straight year, 76-70 before 9,369 fans in Omaha.
Four days later Creighton opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 70-46 win over Indiana State despite the absence of Kyle Korver, who missed the game with a partially torn meniscus.
Creighton endured another two-game losing streak heading into the holiday break when they lost a rematch at Western Kentucky and had their 20-game home win streak snapped vs. eventual Atlantic-10 champ Xavier.
Buoyed by a healthy Korver, Creighton emerged from their funk by winning 9-of-10 games after the break, falling only in overtime to Northern Iowa in that time.
Included in that stretch were impressive road wins at Illinois State, SMS and Wichita State as well as home wins over SMS and Illinois State.
Creighton wasted a golden opportunity to take a commanding lead in the MVC race on Feb. 3 when they blew a 14-point halftime lead and lost to Southern Illinois, 79-77 in Omaha.
Despite a propensity to build and then surrender double-digit leads, CU won four straight, including a pair of games in February where Tyler McKinney came through in the closing seconds to lift the Jays to victory.
Southern Illinois defended its home floor on Feb. 20 to prevent CU from clinching the regular-season title in Carbondale, 65-62 on a late three-pointer by Kent Williams.
Undaunted, Creighton clinched a share of its second-straight regular-season crown with a 80-64 win over Bradley. The win was Creighton's first in Peoria since 1991 and broadcast nationwide on espn2.
The Jays wasted an opportunity to clinch the Valley's outright crown on the final night of the regular-season, losing to an upstart Drake squad, 75-73.
Unfazed by those two late-season setbacks, Creighton played its best ball of the season in the next four games to open the postseason.
Creighton rolled to an 80-65 victory over Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals of the Valley Tournament behind a 17-point, eight-rebound effort from Brody Deren.
CU then crushed a red-hot Illinois State squad, 90-63 in the MVC semi-finals. The Jays matched a season-best with 13 three-pointers and led by as much as 37 late in the contest to ease into their third tournament final in the last four seasons.
The MVC Tournament game between the two regular-season co-champs saw Creighton beat Southern Illinois, 84-76 to seal their fourth straight NCAA bid.
Creighton opened the NCAA Tournament in Chicago against fifth-seeded Florida, who was ranked 14th nationally after reaching as high as second earlier in the year. Creighton had other ideas though, as the Jays rode the heroic shooting of Terrell Taylor into the second round with an 83-82 double-overtime victory in the best game of the tournament.
Taylor rebounded from a scoreless first half to score 28 points after intermission, including eight three-pointers. Three of those trey's came in the final 2:40 to help CU rally from an eight-point deficit. Taylor added two more three-ball's in the second overtime, including the game winner with 0.2 seconds left to set off a jubilant celebration in the sold-out United Center.
Creighton's bid for a first-ever Sweet 16 appearance came to an end as fourth-seeded and #16 Illinois downed the Jays, 72-60 in front of a pro-Illini crowd in the second round.
As with any memorable campaign, there was no shortage of awards and honors bestowed on the Creighton program.
Creighton coach Dana Altman repeated his Rawlings/MVC Coach of the Year accolades, becoming just the second Valley coach to be a repeat winner in the last 30 years.
Junior forward Kyle Korver was named MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP while leading the Jays to a pair of titles. He was also named a mid-major All-American by collegeinsider.com and an honorable-mention All-American by the Associated Press and Basketball America while leading CU in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists average in 2001-02.
Sophomore transfer Brody Deren earned second-team all-MVC honors, while also landing a spot on the league's All-Newcomer squad. Deren averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 boards per game while ranking third in the MVC with 1.56 blocks per contest.
Super-sub Terrell Taylor earned recognition from the league's coaches as the Valley's Sixth Man of the Year and was an honorable-mention pick on the all-MVC team.
The Coach
Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) finished his eighth year as head coach of the Bluejays owning a 146-95 (.606) mark at CU and a career ledger of 229-162 (.586) in his 13th year as an NCAA Division I head coach. Altman has been named 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year and has led the Jays to four straight NCAA Tournaments. Creighton has improved its win total in every season but one under Altman and his teams have played in the postseason in eight of the past 11 years. Altman owns a 2-5 record in NCAA Tournament action, including a 2-4 mark at Creighton. He was assisted by Greg Grensing, Len Gordy and Darian DeVries.Lights, Camera, ActionCreighton was 11-4 on television this season. The Jays have won seven straight games on ESPN or ESPN2, including MVC Tournament titles in 1999, 2000 and 2002. Creighton has gone 4-1 on MVC-TV each of the last three years.
NCAA Tournament History
Creighton made its fourth consecutive and 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They own a 10-14 (.417) overall mark, including a 7-6 mark in the first round of games. They are 0-7 in second-round games and 3-1 in consolation games (which no longer exist). Creighton owns a 0-1 mark in both the East and Mideast Regionals, a 1-1 mark in the South Region, a 3-2 West Region mark and a 6-9 record in the Midwest Region.
Unlucky Seven
Creighton's 72-60 defeat to Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament dropped the Bluejays record vs. Illinois all-time to 0-7. They are also 0-7 in NCAA Tournament second-round games. Creighton is 7-6 in first-round play all-time. They are 3-4 in the first round since the seeding system began in 1981 despite playing the underdog role on each time.
Rank and File
Dana Altman is 4-6 at Creighton vs. ranked teams, including a 2-1 record this season. Altman was 6-18 at Kansas State vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press poll. CU's first ranked battle was a 94-91 win over #17 Western Kentucky in November. In the NCAA Tournament, Creighton downed #14 Florida 83-82 in double-overtime before dropping a 72-60 decision to #16 Illinois. Below is a closer look at the ranked teams Altman faced over the past eight seasons at Creighton:
Date Team CU Result3/17/02 vs. #16 Illinois (NCAA) L 72-603/15/02 vs. #14 Florida (NCAA) W 83-82 (2OT)11/27/01 #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 70-52Title Run
Creighton won a share of the regular-season MVC title in 2002, giving the Jays consecutive regular-season titles for the first time since going back-to-back-to-back during the 1940-41 to 1942-43 campaigns. Creighton has won seven outright MVC titles all-time and shared the league crown on six other occasions, including this season.Dana [and] Tubby Two of a KindNot only did Dana Altman clinch a second-straight regular-season title for Creighton, but he also repeated Rawlings/MVC Coach of the Year plaudits. The only previous coach in the last 30 years to earn MVC Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back campaigns was when current Kentucky coach Tubby Smith did it at Tulsa in 1993-94 and 1994-95. The only other MVC coaches to go back-to-back were George Smith when he had Oscar Robertson at Cincinnati (1958-59) and Maurice "Maury" John at Drake from 1968-70.
Korver Named Player of the Year
Kyle Korver was named MVC Player of the Year in a vote of league media, coaches and sports information directors. The last previous Creighton player to earn MVC Player of the Year honors was when Chad Gallagher did it in 1990-91. Korver ranked among the league's top-15 in 11 different categories and paced the conference in steals. Korver was also named the MVC's Player of the Year by collegeinsider.com. That website also honored Korver as a Mid-Major All-American choice. Korver was also named the MVC Player of the Year by Basketball America.
All-American Kid
Kyle Korver was named an honorable-mention All-American by the Associated Press. He is just the fourth Creighton player in the last 25 years to earn All-American honors from the AP, joining Vernon Moore, Benoit Benjamin and Rodney Buford. Korver was also named an honorable-mention All-American by Basketball America.
Taylor Named MVC's Top Sixth Man
Junior guard Terrell Taylor has been named the Missouri Valley Conference's Sixth Man of the Year. The voting is done by league's coaches. Taylor averaged 12.6 points per game off the Creighton bench and has scored in double-figures in 19 of 32 games this year.
White Man Can Jump
With Creighton playing as many close games as they did, it helped to get every possession possible. That being said, Creighton was glad to have Brody Deren on their side. Creighton won the opening tip in all but two of Deren's 26 starts this season, and had a streak of 17 straight jumps won prior to the season finale vs. Illinois. The only other opening tip he lost was to SMS on Jan. 13.
On The Double (Digits)
Creighton showed it can play with just about anyone this season, often racing to big first-half leads. In fact, the Jays have owned a double-digit lead in 15 straight games entering the NCAA Tournament.
Close To A Perfect League Season
Creighton finished with a 14-4 record in MVC action this season, but all four losses were games they had chances to win. They lost games to Southern Illinois by three points and two points, lost to Drake by two points, and lost to Northern Iowa by six in overtime after leading by seven with five minutes to play in regulration. In 18 conference games this season, Creighton trailed for just 99:33 of a possible 730 minutes, just 13.6 percent of the time. They only had two games where they trailed for more than 10 minutes of the same game (at Northern Iowa and at SMS). Creighton played six games where they trailed for less than one minute total (including just 54 seconds at Southern Illinois in a loss) and two games where they never trailed.
So Good, So Young
Faced with the task of replacing four-year starters Ben Walker and Ryan Sears, the pundits figured this season to be a rebuilding year for Creighton. What made this season's success encouraging is that the team does not have a senior and the starting line-up includes two juniors, two sophomores and a true freshman point guard. Here's how the stats break down by class, with the number in parentheses indicating what percentage of the team's category that class contributes:
Minutes Points Rebounds AssistsSr. 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)Jr. 2817 (43.0) 1236 (51.1) 432 (41.3) 227 (46.5)So. 2819 (43.0) 981 (40.5) 524 (50.2) 185 (37.9)Fr. 914 (14.0) 204 (8.4) 89 (8.5) 76 (15.6)
Winter To Remember
Despite true freshmen point guards, both the Creighton men's and women's basketball won at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title this season. Since the MVC began sponsoring women's sports, no school had won the men's and women's basketball regular-season titles in the same season. Creighton was one of 17 teams nationally with both their men's and women's basketball teams in this year's NCAA Tournament.
Player [and] Coach of the Year x 2
Not one to be upstaged by their male counterparts, Creighton's women's basketball team also had the league's top player and coach. Sophomore Christy Neneman (16.6 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 2.90 apg., 1.87 spg.) earned MVC Player of the Year honors (and like Kyle Korver MVC Tournament MVP laurels), while Connie Yori earned the Valley's Coach of the Year award. It marked the first time in league history that the same school had both the men's and women's basketball Player of the Year. The last time the same school had both Coach of the Year winners was Evansville in 1998-99, when Jim Crews and Kathi Bennett earned both awards. According to STATS Inc., the Creighton men's and women's basketball teams are also one of two schools in the country that had both their men's and women's team win seven conference road games. The other is Louisiana Tech which had seven men's and eight women's victories.
CU Men CU WomenMVC Reg. Season Champs Creighton CreightonMVC Tourney Champs Creighton CreightonMVC Player of Year Kyle Korver Christy NenemanMVC Tourney MVP Kyle Korver Christy NenemanMVC Coach of Year Dana Altman Connie YoriNCAA Seed #12 #12
Thrill Of Victory, Agony of Defeat
Six of Creighton's eight games in February were not decided until the final 30 seconds of regulation or overtime. Consider these six games that went down to the wire: *Feb. 3: Creighton's Mike Grimes hits two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to tie it, only to have SIU's Kent Williams drain 2-of-3 free throws with 0.3 seconds left for the 79-77 SIU road win. *Feb. 6: Indiana State's Matt Broerman hits a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to give ISU a 63-62 lead, only to have Creighton's Tyler McKinney nails two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to give CU the 64-63 road win. *Feb. 13: Creighton erases an 82-77 deficit in the final 45 seconds behind three-pointers from Kyle Korver and Terrell Taylor. Drake missed a shot at the buzzer that could have won it in regulation. CU wins 95-91 in OT. *Feb. 17: Creighton sees its 67-64 lead erased when Wichita State guard Randy Burns drains his fourth three-pointers in as many minutes to knot the score with eight seconds left. Creighton guard Tyler McKinney drives the length of the court for the game-winning lay-up with 0.4 seconds left. *Feb. 20: Trailing by a deuce, Southern Illinois forward Kent Williams drains a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to give SIU a 63-62 lead. Tyler McKinney's game-winning attempt is blocked by Jermaine Dearman with 2.2 seconds remaining, and SIU nails two free throws to secure the win. *Feb. 25: After Drake rallies from an 11-point second-half deficit, they take a three-point lead on a Luke McDonald with 1:36 left. Tyler McKinney splits two free-throws to draw CU within two with 18 seconds left, but Drake ices the game at the free throw line for a 75-73 win.
50/50/50
Creighton shot 50 percent or better in all three games of the MVC Tournament, making 51 percent vs. Northern Iowa, 58 percent vs. Illinois State and 51 percent vs. Southern Illinois. The last time CU shot better than 50 percent in three straight games was Feb. 26-March 4, 2000 when they beat Wichita State, Evansville and Bradley. Dana Altman's Creighton teams are 56-2 when shooting 50 percent or better, including a 9-0 mark this season. They have won 24 straight when making more than half their attempts dating back to an 88-83 loss at Evansville on Jan. 23, 2000.
Korver Leads All-Tournament Team
Creighton had three players honored on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-Tournament team. Kyle Korver was named the MVC Tournament MVP, while teammates Brody Deren and Terrell Taylor were also on the squad. Southern Illinois' Rolan Roberts and Kent Williams rounded out the quintet.
Grimes, Lindeman Honored
Creighton had a pair of players honored by the Valley in a poll of MVC writers. Sophomore Mike Grimes was named to the league's all-Bench team, while classmate Mike Lindeman was a pick on the MVC's Most Improved Team.
Swats And Shots Combined
Creighton had a statistical oddity vs. Wichita State on Feb. 17, compiling 10 blocks as well as 10 three-pointers, both of which matched a season-best. It marked the first time in school history that a CU team had 10 blocks and 10 three-pointers in the same game. According to Stats Inc., Creighton was one of 19 teams nationally to have 10 or more three-pointers and blocks in a game in 2001-02.
20 x 4
With 23 wins in 2001-02, Creighton won 20 games for an unprecedented fourth straight season. The Jays were 24-8, 23-10 and 22-9 in the last three campaigns. Creighton owns 15 seasons of 20 or more wins in school history, including a school-record total of 24 wins in 1990-91 and again last season. Creighton's 23 wins this year gives them 47 over the last two seasons, 70 in the last three years and 92 in the last four seasons. All four of those marks tie or set a school-best for most wins in consecutive seasons.
Fantasy League Dream
With the numbers he produces in so many different categories, junior forward Kyle Korver would be a fantasy league owners' dream. The Missouri Valley Conference tracks 12 different statistical categories, and Creighton's Kyle Korver ranked among the top-13 in all but one category (offensive rebounding). Korver led the Valley in steals and free throw percentage and also ranked among the top-five in three-point field goals made, three-point field goal percentage, scoring and assists. He led Creighton in points, three-pointers, rebounding, assists and steals. Korver became the first player in school history to lead the team in points, steals and assists in the same year since they began recording steals in 1980-81. Korver had two or more assists in all but one game he played in this season.
Korver Makes It Look Easy
Creighton junior forward Kyle Korver made 40 of his last 43 free throw attempts and improved to school-record 89.0 percent on the campaign. Here's a look at how Korver ranks on the single-season and career lists for free-throw percentage at Creighton, as well among the national active leaders.
Creighton Free Throw Percentage Leaders (Season)(Minimum 70 Attempts) Pct. Name (Class, Year) FTM-FTA .890 Kyle Korver (Jr., 2001-02) 97-109 .883 Doug Brookins (Sr., 1974-75) 98-111 .880 Mike Caruso (Sr., 1970-71) 95-108 .867 Kyle Korver (So., 2000-01) 72-83 .855 Ryan Sears (So., 1989-99) 71-83Creighton Free Throw Percentage Leaders (Career)(Minimum 200 Attempts) Pct. Name, Years FTM-FTA .883 Kyle Korver, 1999-Present 203-230 .844 Mike Caruso, 1968-71 276-327 .807 Ryan Sears, 1997-01 330-409 .800 Rick Apke, 1975-78 336-420
NCAA Active Free Throw Percentage Leaders (Career)(Min. 200 Attempts) * Through 2001-02 Season *Courtesy Stats Inc. Pct. Name, Years Year FTM-FTA .927 Gary Buchanan, Villanova Jr. 278-300 .911 Brent Jolly, Tennessee Tech Jr. 226-248 .883 Kyle Korver, Creighton Jr. 203-230 .877 Troy Bell, Boston College Jr. 583-665 .874 Brian Burke, Lafayette Sr. 292-334 .870 Tony Brown, Utah State Sr. 275-316 .870 Chris Spatola, Army Sr. 389-447 .869 Roger Mason Jr., Virginia Jr. 318-366 .865 James Gillingham, Bradley So. 212-245 .865 Andy Toole, Pennsylvania Jr. 198-229
Lindeman Earns More Honors
Creighton sophomore forward Michael Lindeman has been named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District VII men's basketball team. Lindeman is joined by Iowa's Luke Recker, Nebraska's Cary Cochran, Denver's Brett Starkey and Iowa State's Jake Sullivan. This marks the fifth consecutive season that Creighton has had a player honored, as Lindeman joins Ryan Sears (1999, 2000 and 2001) and Joel Templeman in 1998. The Verizon Academic All-District VII men's basketball team is selected by the district's members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
MVC Honors Two CU Scholars
Creighton landed a pair of players on the MVC Scholar-Athlete team, announced Feb. 14. Brody Deren, a sophomore with a 3.62 GPA, was named to the first team, while Michael Lindeman, a sophomore with a 3.98 GPA was a second-team selection. Nominees for the team must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA. They must have also reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution.
Conference Victory Record Tied
Creighton's 14 conference wins tied a school record done last season. Last season CU also went 14-4 and won the league by two games over Bradley and Illinois State.
From Pine To Shine
Terrell Taylor's 28 points off the bench vs. Drake were the most by a Creighton player off the pine in at least 25 years in a check of box scores dating back to the 1977-78 campaign. Taylor matched his scoring best with 28 points (all after halftime) against Florida on March 15 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. According to Stats Inc., Taylor was one of five players nationally with two or more games of 28+ points off the bench in 2001-02, joining the players listed below:
Terrell Taylor, Creighton 28 (2/13) 28 (3/15)Karim Souchu, Furman 31 (11/28) 30 (1/19)Ronald Blackshear, Marshall 33 (1/29) 29 (2/14)Jannero Pargo, Arkansas 35 (1/26) 33 (1/30)Reggie Borges, Oral Roberts 28 (1/12) 40 (2/21)
Taylor In The Zone
Terrell Taylor had the kind of half that shooters only dream about Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Taylor shook off an 0-for-6 first-half with a 10-for-14 shooting display that included an awesome 8-of-10 from three-point range after the break. Taylor drained three trifecats in the final 2:42 of regulation to help send it to overtime, then made two more treys in the second overtime. His final long-range bomb came with 0.2 seconds left in the game and gave Creighton the 83-82 double-overtime win over the Gators. For his efforts, Taylor was named espn.com's Player of the Day and his shot landed on ESPN's Plays of the Week and was CNN's Play of the Day. Taylor fielded numerous media requests in the 24 hours after his shot, including phone interviews with the nationally-syndicated ESPN, Fox Sports and The Sporting News radio networks, in addition to a live interview on CBS Sports after the game and the following day as part of CBS's pre-game festivities.
Taylor Makes The "Pod Squad"
Terrell Taylor's two-game showing in the NCAA Tournament was enough to earn him a spot on cbs.sportsline.com's All-Pod team for the Chicago site. He was joined on the Chicago "Pod Squad" by Jermaine Dearman and Kent Williams from Southern Illinois, Jarvis Hayes and Rashad Wright from Georgia and Frank Williams from Illinois.
Taylor Made Career Night
Terrell Taylor's 28 points against Drake were a new career high and marked the sixth time in his career he's surpassed 20 points on the scoreboard. Taylor added 28 points later in the year vs. Florida as well. Taylor's 28 point efforts tied Kyle Korver's 28 points (vs. Grambling State) for the most by a Creighton player this season.
When Taylor's Hot...Look Out
Terrell Taylor has made 50 percent or more of his shots in 10 games this season, with CU going 8-2 in that time. Last year they were 12-1 when he made half his shots after going 15-4 under those circumstances his freshman year. In his career, CU is 35-7 when Taylor makes 50 percent of his attempts or better, while they are just 35-20 when he is below that mark.
T-Time
For Terrell Taylor, a late January visit from his mother Audrey was just the right medicine to help turn around an up-and-down season. Coming off a stretch of seven straight games with nine or less points, Taylor has exploded in the last 11 games on both ends of the floor, averaging 17.0 points and making 30-of-33 free throws (90.9 percent), 33-of-72 three-pointers (45.8 percent) and 62-of-132 shots overall from the floor (47.0 percent). Taylor didn't have his best offensive game of the season vs. Indiana State, but a late steal and key offensive rebound were crucial in the Jays one-point win over the Sycamores. Against Northern Iowa, Taylor made 4-of-8 shots and finished the game with 12 points. Taylor had a superb night at Drake, finishing with a career-best 28 points. Taylor hit 10-of-14 shots, including 5-of-8 three-pointers and his trifecta with 26 seconds left tied the game and sent it to overtime. Taylor also added three steals and three rebounds without a turnover in 32 minutes of play. Taylor made 4-of-5 three-pointers vs. Wichita State and had 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Taylor also knocked down all four free throw attempts. Taylor struggled vs. Southern Illinois, going 3-for-12 and scoring just seven points in 23 minutes of play. Taylor regained his form vs. Bradley, leading CU with 19 points including five three-pointers. More impressively, he had a season-best seven rebounds. Taylor made 6-of-11 shots vs. Drake, hitting 4-of-6 treys, 3-of-3 free throws and finishing with 19 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of action. At the MVC Tournament, Taylor had nine points vs. Northern Iowa, 19 points in 20 minutes vs. Illinois State and finished with 20 points in 26 minutes vs. Southern Illinois while being named to the all-Tournament team. Taylor's heroics reached a peak when he torched Florida for 28 second-half points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Taylor made eight three-pointers to tie a CU record, including a trey with 0.2 seconds left to give the Jays an 83-82 victory. Here's Taylor's stats of late:
Taylor Stats FG's FG% 3FG's 3FG% FT's PPGFirst 21 Games 79-210 .376 34-104 .327 23-31 10.2Last 9 Games 62-132 .470 33-72 .458 30-33 17.0
Eight Is Enough
Terrell Taylor's eight three-pointers tied the school record previously owned by Tad Ackerman in February of 1995 vs. Drake. Taylor's 15 three-point attempts set a Creighton record and were two more than the previous high of 13 done five times. Taylor's eight three-pointers were the most by a player in the first or second round of NCAA action since Miami's Johnny Helmsley made nine trifectas vs. Lafayette in 1999. Taylor's eight trey's tied for fifth-most in an NCAA Tournament first or second round game. Taylor tied a Midwest Regional record with eight three-pointers, doing something done just three times ever before. Creighton's 13 three-pointers as a team are tied for fifth-most in Midwest Region history.
Creighton Three-Pointers Made, Single Game 3FG Name, Opponent Date 8 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 3/15/02 Tad Ackerman at Drake 2/23/95 7 Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86 6 16 times, last by Kyle Korver vs. Indiana State 3/04/01Creighton Three-Pointers Attempted, Single Game FGA Name, Opponent Date 15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 3/15/02 13 Kyle Korver vs. Iowa 3/15/01 Kyle Korver at Nebraska 1/02/01 Edward St. Fleur vs. SMS 3/02/96 Tad Ackerman vs. Southern Illinois 2/27/95 Tad Ackerman at Drake 2/23/95Among The School's Best
Junior sixth man Terrell Taylor heated up from long-range down the stretch, making 33-of-72 three-point shots in his last 11 games after a 1-for-16 slump prior to that. Taylor now has 143 career three-pointers, which ties him for sixth in school history. Here's that list, which includes teammate Kyle Korver, who is second.
Creighton's Career Three-Point Leaders 3FG Name Years 245 Ryan Sears 1997-01 242 Kyle Korver 1999-Present 212 Rodney Buford 1995-99 185 Matt Roggenburk 1986-90 177 Duan Cole 1987-92 143 Matt Petty 1989-93 143 Terrell Taylor 1999-Present 132 Rod Mason 1986-88
Korver Named All-District
Creighton University men's basketball junior forward Kyle Korver has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Pontiac Division I All-District Team, announced Feb. 12. Korver was a second-team member of the all-District 12 squad. Korver is just the third different Bluejay player to be honored by the NABC in the last 10 years. Rodney Buford was honored in both 1998 (second-team) and 1999 (first-team), while Ryan Sears was a second-team pick in 2000. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, these student-athletes represent the finest basketball players across the country. The 150 student-athletes, from 15 districts, are now eligible for the NABC/Pontiac Division I All-American Team to be announced at the conclusion of the 2001-02 season.
90 or Bust
When Creighton cracked the 90-point barrier vs. Illinois State, it was a refreshing sign for the large turnout of Bluejay fans that made the trek to St. Louis. Not only is Creighton 16-0 under Dana Altman when scoring 90 or more points, but they have now won 32 straight games when they score 90 or more dating to a 102-98 loss to Southern Illinois on Jan. 11, 1988. The 90 points vs. Illinois State was the most ever scored by a CU team in an MVC Tournament game and set an MVC Tournament semi-finals record since the event was moved to St. Louis 11 years ago.
Extra Session Excellency
With the win over Florida, Creighton improved to 7-6 in overtime games under Dana Altman, including a 3-1 mark this season. The last time CU had three overtime games in the same year was in 1999-00, when they beat Baylor and Northern Iowa in overtime but lost at Drake in overtime. Creighton has now won seven straight multiple-overtime games dating back to March 1, 1985 when they fell in double-OT to Wichita State. According to Stats Inc., Creighton's three overtime wins in 2001-02 tied them for fourth nationally in that category. Going a step further, Creighton was one of three teams nationally with two double (or more) overtime wins in 2001-02, where they were joined by Eastern Kentucky and Temple.
De-Day
Creighton guard DeAnthony Bowden entered CU's Feb. 9 game vs. Northern Iowa with the reputation of being a defensive stopper and having made just nine three-pointers all season. That game was a different story, as the junior connected on his initial four three-point attempts in the a span of 5:30 in the first half. Bowden helped cement CU's momentum going into the half with his fifth trifecta just before the intermission buzzer as well. In the second half, Bowden's only shot attempt was a spectacular breakaway dunk after a lead outlet pass from Terrell Taylor. Bowden finished the game with a career-high 17 points and matched his season-best with five rebounds.
Patience, Patience, Patience
Perhaps the most telling number on the Feb. 9 Northern Iowa box score was that Kyle Korver did not attempt a field goal in 24 minutes of play while being hounded by UNI's diamond-and-one defense. Though Korver's offense wasn't at his best, he didn't let that affect the rest of his all-around game. Korver had nine rebounds (all defensive), three assists and three steals. Korver's only two points came on free throws following a technical foul on the UNI bench. According to Stats Inc., there were 77 instances of a player playing 24 or more minutes without a field goal attempt, including Korver. The most was 36 minutes by Darnell Miller of George Washington. *It marked Korver's first game without a field goal attempt since Jan. 6, 2000 vs. Indiana State. *It marked Korver's lowest scoring output since being shutout in three-straight games, Jan. 2-8, 2000 as a freshman, a time when he played just 15 minutes over those three game. *It marked the first time this season that a Creighton player did not attempt a field goal in a game they started. *Prior to Feb. 9, the most minutes played by a CU player that did not shoot that game was nine minutes by DeAnthony Bowden (1/16) and Ismael Caro (12/12). For comparison, last year's high was 14 minutes without a shot by John Klein vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 10, 2001. *Prior to Feb. 9, the only time in the last seven years that Creighton had a player log 20 or more minutes without a shot from the field was when Adam Reid played 24 minutes vs. Evansville on Feb. 2, 1997. In that game, a 75-62 CU win, Reid made two free throws and had two rebounds and two assists.
Road Kill
Keeping in mind that Dana Altman inherited a 30-game road losing streak, it is nothing short of remarkable how the tables have turned on the road in recent years for Creighton. With a 7-5 overall road record, the Jays finished with a winning road mark for the third straight season, something they had not done in three straight years since a five-year span from 1973-74 to 1977-78. Creighton's owned a impressive 7-2 road record in MVC play this season, two games better than the next best league foe (SIU). To find the last previous time that Creighton won six conference road games in the same season, you'd have to get in a time machine and go all the way back to 1923-24. This season also marks the only time in school history that Creighton has won at both Illinois State and Bradley in the same year.
Korver Among Best Nationally
Creighton Kyle Korver finished his junior year with 242 three-pointers made in his career, good enough to rank tied for 34th among all active players. He ranks eighth among the juniors in that grouping:
Career Three-Point Leaders, Active JuniorsAs of end of 2001-02 season * Courtesy Stats Inc. 3FG Name Years 313 Jason Williams Duke 282 Tommy Adams Hampton 262 Brett Blizzard UNC-Wilmington 258 Robert Rushing Troy State 253 Jason Kapono UCLA 252 Jason Gardner Arizona 249 Gary Buchanan Villanova 242 Kyle Korver Creighton 228 Brett Nelson Florida 226 Kareem Rush Missouri
Omaha Swat Team
Creighton blocked 10 shots in two of their final three home games. That figure ranks as the most in the MVC by any team this season. That marked the most by a CU team since an 11-block effort vs. UMKC Nov. 18, 1998.
A Grand Honor
A free throw with 19:09 remaining vs. SMS made junior Kyle Korver the 28th member of Creighton's 1,000-point club. Korver finished that game with 20 points and now has 1,197 career points to his credit, which ranks him 20th in CU history. Teammate Terrell Taylor is closing in on 1,000 points himself, with 969 points in 96 career games. Last season Creighton had two players surpass 1,000-- Ryan Sears (1,309) and Ben Walker (1,238). Sears surpassed 1,000 points in his 97th game while it took Walker 105 games. Korver's reached that milestone in the 81st game of his career. By comparison, all-time leading scorer Rodney Buford (2,116) scored his first 1,000 points in 59 games and his next 1,000 points in 52 games.
Creighton All-Time Scoring List 1. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-9919. 1,238 Ben Walker 1998-0120. 1,197 Kyle Korver 1999-Present21. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-5422. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1957-60
Korver By The Numbers
Kyle Korver has made three or more three-pointers in 50 of his 94 career games at Creighton. Creighton is 38-12 in such contests, including a 10-5 record this year. With his shooting display (5-of-12) vs. Wichita State on Feb. 17, Korver has now made five three-pointers or more in a game on 14 occasions in his career (CU is 11-3 in such games), including five times this year. Korver's streak of making a three-pointer in each of the last 28 games he'd appeared in was snapped on Feb. 9 when he did not attempt a field goal in 24 minutes of action. Korver is already the only player in CU history to make 60 or more three-pointers in three different seasons.
3-Pt. FG Made by GameYear 0 1 2 3 4 5 6Freshman 9 6 6 7 2 2 1Sophomore 3 2 4 9 8 5 1Junior 1 8 5 4 6 5 0Totals 13 16 15 20 16 12 2
Korver Was MVC Player of the Week
The Feb. 4 State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week was Creighton's Kyle Korver. A junior from Pella, Iowa, Korver shot 66.7 percent (14-for-21) from the field -- including 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from three-point range -- and averaged 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a home win over Southwest Missouri State (80-74) and a home loss to Southern Illinois (79-77). Versus SMS on Jan. 30, Korver had 20 points and became the 28th player in Creighton history reach 1,000 career points. Korver also earned the honor Dec. 12, 2000 after shooting 75 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from the floor and 91.7 percent from the stripe while averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in wins over Colorado State and Georgia State last season.
Friendly Confines
Creighton's 12-3 record at home makes it the sixth straight season with 10 or more home wins. In fact, CU has had 10 or more home wins in 23 of the last 33 seasons going back to 1969-70.
Same Start, Same Result
For the fifth consecutive season, Creighton was 14-6 after 20 games. Each of the 14-6 starts in that time has resulted in a postseason bid. Here's a look at Creighton's record after 20 games under Dana Altman.
Year First 20 Final Postseason2001-02 14-6 23-9 NCAA2000-01 14-6 24-8 NCAA1999-00 14-6 23-10 NCAA1998-99 14-6 22-9 NCAA1997-98 14-6 18-10 NIT1996-97 10-10 15-15 ---1995-96 11-9 14-15 ---1994-95 6-14 7-19 ---
40 Percent The Tipping Point
Southern Illinois survived long odds when they shot just 37.3 percent from the floor but still downed the Bluejays on Feb. 20. Creighton is 50-2 when holding the opposition under 40 percent since Dec. 1, 1997. The lone exceptions in that streak is when Iowa defeated CU behind 39.1 percent shooting in last year's NCAA Tournament and Southern Illinois beat the Jays on Feb. 20 with 37.3 percent shooting. Offensively, Creighton's streak of 30 straight wins when making 45 percent or better, dating to a 78-74 loss at Wyoming on Dec. 1, 2000, was snapped by Drake on Feb. 25.
Second Half Team
Creighton finished the second half of the MVC schedule with a 6-3 mark, the 13th straight time that CU has been .500 or better in either the first or second-half of the league season. Here's how Dana Altman's club's have fared in the second half of the MVC season since his arrival:
Year First Half MVC Second Half MVC2001-02 8-1 6-32000-01 5-4 9-01999-00 5-4 6-31998-99 6-3 5-41997-98 5-4 7-21996-97 5-4 5-41995-96 4-5 5-41994-95 3-6 1-8Total 41-31 (.569) 44-28 (.611)
Win Streaks Become Common
Southern Illinois snapped Creighton's season-long seven-game win streak, their sixth streak of seven games or more in the last five years. Here's a list of the longest streaks in the 25 years since Creighton rejoined the MVC in 1977-78.
Longest Win Streaks Since 1977-78 Streak Dates Coach Postseason 11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 D. Altman NCAA 9 Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 1999 D. Altman NCAA 9 Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998 D. Altman NIT 8 Feb. 18-Mar. 14, 1991 T. Barone NCAA 8 Jan. 21-Feb. 14, 1991 T. Barone NCAA 7 Jan. 9-Jan. 30, 2002 D. Altman NCAA 7 Dec. 6, 2000-Jan. 2, 2001 D. Altman NCAA 7 Feb. 17-Mar. 11, 1999 D. Altman NCAA 7 Jan. 18-Feb. 4, 1988 T. Barone - - - 7 Nov. 28-Dec. 22, 1980 T. Apke NCAA 7 Dec. 19, 1979-Jan. 7, 1980 T. Apke - - -
Triple Trifecta Streak Snapped
One of Creighton's most impressive streaks came to an end at Evansville on Jan. 26. The Jays had made three or more three-pointers in 175 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. The streak was snapped when CU was 2-for-13 from downtown vs. the Purple Aces. One streak still intact is CU's 244 consecutive games with a three-pointer, including every game under the direction of Dana Altman. Creighton's last game without a three-pointer was a 59-53 loss at Illinois St. on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach. According to Stats Inc., Creighton is one of 14 schools nationally with 200 or more three-pointers made in each of the last five seasons. They are joined by Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Lafayette, Montana State, Princeton, Siena, Texas Christian, Temple, Tulsa.
Deren Earned Scholar-Athlete Honors
Center Brody Deren was named the Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week twice during his first season at Creighton. Deren, a sophomore from Harlan, Iowa, earned his first honor for the week of Jan. 14-20 after averaging 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game, as the Bluejays defeated Illinois State (63-56) on Jan. 16 and topped Bradley (76-63) on Jan. 19. After collecting 16 points and five blocked shots against Illinois State, Deren earned his second honor for the Feb. 18-24 timeframe after averaging 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds while shotting 64.7 percent from the floor. Deren, who has a 3.617 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, collected eight points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of action vs. Bradley.
Healthy Knee, Healthy Numbers
After 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 shooting numbers have been getting healthier too, as seen below:
Stat FG's FG% 3FG's 3FG% PPG RPGBefore Injury 27-68 .397 15-49 .306 15.7 6.0After Injury 104-206 .505 64-135 .474 14.9 5.4
Korver Carves Up Defenses
Just a junior, Kyle Korver has become the 12th player in MVC history (and third from Creighton) to make 200 three-pointers in his career. Korver's teammate the previous two seasons, Ryan Sears, owns the school record with 245 career trifectas, while former Southern Illinois standout Shane Hawkins holds the Valley mark with 314 in his career. MVC's Career Three-Point Leaders 3FG Name Years 314 Shane Hawkins, SIU 1994-98 283 Michael Menser, INST 1997-01 266 Johnny Murdock, SMS 1991-95 254 Kevin Ault, SMS 1996-00 250 Marcus Wilson, UE 1995-99 245 Ryan Sears, CU 1997-01 242 Kyle Korver, CU 1999-Present 233 Aaron Zobrist, BU 1993-97
Big Man With Touch
Sophomore center Joe Dabbert continued to rank among the best free throw shooters in the country among his peers. Stats Inc. compiled the national free throw percentage leaders of players 6-10 or taller. Dabbert ranked 17th on that list.
FT % Leaders, Division I Players 6-10 or tallerFinal 2001-02 * Minimum 40 FTA * Courtesy Stats Inc. Name, Team HT FTM FTA % 1. Brian Cook, Illinois 6-10 96 110 87.3 2. Lee Nosse, Mid. Tenn. St. 6-10 71 83 85.5 3. Tahj Holden, Maryland 6-10 61 73 83.6 4. Phillip Ramelli, Samford 6-10 53 65 81.5 5. Darius Rice, Miami (Fla.) 6-10 92 115 80.0 6. Matt Bonner, Florida 6-10 74 93 79.6 7. Stephan Bachmann, Weber St. 6-10 73 92 79.3 8. Jason Jennings, Arkansas St. 7-0 98 124 79.0 9. Matt Crawford, Lehigh 6-10 33 42 78.610. Earl Barron, Memphis 7-0 90 115 78.311. Chris Braun, Saint Louis 6-10 47 62 75.812. Matt Nelson, Colorado St. 7-0 103 136 75.713. Marius Petravicius, So. Carolina 6-10 53 70 75.714. Drew Gooden, Kansas 6-10 154 204 75.515. D'or Fischer, Northwestern St. 6-11 82 109 75.216. Brooks Sales, Villanova 6-10 109 145 75.217. Joe Dabbert, Creighton 6-10 33 44 75.0
Altman Second on CU Victory List
With his win over Northern Iowa on Feb. 9, Dana Altman has surpassed Red McManus for second on Creighton's all-time wins list. Below is a list of Creighton's victory leaders:
Rk. W-L Coach1. 163-66 Arthur A. Schabinger2. 146-95 Dana Altman3. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus
Starting Lineup Survivor
Mike Lindeman is the only Creighton player to start all 30 games for the Jays this season. What's surprising is Lindeman did not start any games last year as a freshman.
Best League Start In 60 Years
Creighton's 9-1 start in MVC action was their best open to league play since 1942-43 team finished 10-0 in the Valley. That team went 16-0 before losing the season finale in the NIT.
Bench Getting It Done
With 11 players averaging 11.1 minutes per game or more, Dana Altman's club continues to get tremendous production off the bench. The Jays' bench has had a player score in double-digits in all but five games this year and have accounted for 40 double-figures scoring outings this season. Creighton was 1-3 in the four occasions that their bench was outscored this season. As a whole, Creighton's bench accounted for 43 percent of the team's points, 44 percent of the team's rebounds and 42 percent of the team's assists while playing 42 percent of the minutes, as seen below:
Stat Starting Five (Pct.) Reserves (Pct.)Points 1372 (56.7) 1049 (43.3)Rebounds 582 (56.2) 453 (43.8)Assists 285 (58.4) 203 (41.6)Minutes 3799 (58.0) 2751 (42.0)
Bench Marks
Last season, the Creighton bench scored 682 points in 32 games, an average of 21.3 per game. This year, they scored 1,048 points, an average of 32.8 points per game. Creighton has won the last 17 games its bench has scored 36 or more points. In CU's Feb. 9 win over Northern Iowa, the Creighton bench scored 52 of the team's 83 points, good for 62.7 percent of the team's points. Those 52 points off the bench were the most since a 52-point bench effort vs. Evansville on Feb. 28, 2000 in a 102-69 romp. In that game, four CU players (Kyle Korver, Terrell Taylor, Livan Pyfrom and Justin Haynes) scored 11 or more off the pine.
Subs A Plenty
Creighton's tremendous depth allows head coach Dana Altman to substitute freely without much drop-off. In CU's three MVC Tournament games, he made 128 subs, an average of 42.7 subs per game. Altman sent in 54 subs during the game vs. Northern Iowa, 40 vs. Illinois State and 34 vs. Southern Illinois. Altman continued to substitute liberally in the NCAA Tournament, making 49 subs vs. Florida and 42 vs. Illinois.
20/20/20 Vision
Junior Kyle Korver had 20 points vs. SMS, 27 vs. Southern Illinois and 20 points vs. Indiana State in a three-game stretch in early February before his two-point effort vs. Northern Iowa. He was the first CU player to score 20 or more in three straight games since current Memphis Grizzlies player Rodney Buford did it, Jan. 17-23, 1999.
Halftime Lead Streak Ended
In a span of 17 days, Southern Illinois accomplished something twice that no team had in the last 14 years--overcome a double-digit halftime deficit to beat Creighton. First, the Salukis overturned a 48-34 halftime score on Feb. 3 to beat Creighton, 79-77 in Omaha. Then, SIU beat Creighton 65-62 in Carbondale after trailing 33-22 at the break. The last previous time Creighton blew a double-digit halftime lead and lost was a 66-62 loss to Wichita State on Feb. 13, 1989. In that game, CU wasted a 32-20 intermission advantage. In box scores dating back to 1979-80, Creighton had never lost a game it led by 14 or more at half before. Despite those two setbacks to SIU, Creighton is 41-4 when up at the intermission since Feb. 2, 2000.
Guards Turnover
Think 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 point guards--Ismael Caro, Tyler McKinney and DeAnthony Bowden (during the first 12 games before being moved to shooting guard)--combined for 162 assists and 113 turnovers. One encouraging sign is that McKinney has had 51 assists and just 22 turnovers over the last 20 games he started.
Straight Shooters
Trailing by one with 6.8 seconds to play, true freshman Tyler McKinney calmly stepped to the line and swished two free throws to help CU beat Indiana State on Feb. 6. One reason Creighton's been able to win close games is because of clutch free throw shooting. This season the Jays have made 141-of-183 (77.0 percent) at the stripe in the final five minutes of games this year and 73.0 percent during all attempts this year.Iowan ArmyAll four Iowa natives on the Creighton roster have been in Creighton's starting lineup over the last 20 games, a span since since Jan. 9. Those four include Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Kyle Korver (Pella), Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls) and Brody Deren (Harlan).
The Three's Were Falling
Creighton made 10 or more three-pointers in four of its final eight games, giving them six outings this season with 10 or more treys. Last year CU had 10 or more three-pointers in eight different games. The Jays had won 16 straight games when they've hit 50 percent or better of their three-pointers prior to falling to Drake on Feb. 25 when they made 12-of-24 trifectas. In Creighton's last 11 games, they were an eye-popping 100-for-218 (45.9 percent) from three-point land. Terrell Taylor (33-72, 45.8%), Kyle Korver (30-62, 48.4%) and DeAnthony Bowden (13-24, 54.2%) all shot the ball well from long distance in the final 11 contests.
Taylor Leads All Bench Scorers
STATS Inc. compiled a list of the top-scoring sixth-men in college basketball and Creighton junior Terrell Taylor led all players nationwide with 402 points off the bench this season. Taylor's 12.6 ppg. average was seventh among all sixth men. Here's those lists:
Most Points in Non-Starts - NCAA Division I -Final 2001-02 * Courtesy Stats Inc.Points scored in non-starts only Name, Team PTS 1. Terrell Taylor, Creighton 402 2. Ben Gordon, Connecticut 400 3. Sonny Johnson, Ohio 380 4. Reggie Borges, Oral Roberts 379 5. Chris Lynch, Northwestern St. 372Top Scoring Sixth Men - NCAA Division I -Final 2001-02 * Courtesy Stats Inc.To qualify, player must have played in 75% of his team's game,but started 35% or fewer of his own games Name, Team G GS PTS PPG 1. Sonny Johnson, Ohio 24 0 380 15.8 2. Karim Souchu, Furman 31 10 460 14.8 3. Reggie Borges, Oral Roberts 30 7 432 14.4 4. Travis Robinson, Jacksonville 24 4 336 14.0 5. Chris Lynch, Northwestern St. 31 5 410 13.2 6. Steve Ward, Alabama A[and]M 29 7 377 13.0 7. Terrell Taylor, Creighton 32 0 402 12.6 8. Ben Gordon, Connecticut 34 2 427 12.6 9. Blair Wilson, Colorado 29 4 358 12.310. Leonard Hopkins, North Texas 28 3 323 11.5
Home Sweet Civic
Creighton is 27-3 at home since the last home game of the 1999-00 season, losing only to Xavier, Southern Illinois and Drake 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. 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. With their Feb. 3 win, Southern Illinois snapped Creighton's win streak of 14 straight conference games at home.
A March Tradition
Did you know that Creighton is one of 20 teams nationally to have played in the NCAA Tournament each of the last four years The select company, listed alphabetically, also includes Arizona, Cincinnati, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan St., Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, Winthrop and Wisconsin. According to Stats Inc., Creighton is also one of just 22 teams nationally that have won 20 or more games in each of the last four seasons. Joining them in that category are Arizona, Butler, Charleston, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Syracuse, Tulsa, UCLA and Xavier. Creighton is one of just 15 schools to win 20 or more games and reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four years.
MVC vs. SEC in the NCAA's
Despite being the underdog on each occasion, the Missouri Valley Conference is 4-1 vs. the Southeastern Conference since 1995. Illinois State defeated Tennessee, 82-81 in overtime in 1998, Southwest Missouri State downed Tennessee, 81-51 in 1999. This year, Creighton beat Florida 83-82 in the first round and Southern Illinois beat Georgia in the second round. The lone setback came when Creighton fell to Auburn, 72-69 in 2000.
MVC Tournament Success
Creighton's 84-76 win over Southern Illinois in the MVC Tournament finale continued a trend of stellar play when the stakes are highest. Creighton is now 10-1 in the last four years at the MVC Tournament, including three titles. Creighton has appeared in eight MVC Tournament finals in school history, going 7-1 and winning their last five finals appearances.
We Want The Funk
Creighton's lone recruit from the early signing period was 6-3 guard Nathan Funk from Sioux City (IA) Heelan. Funk averaged 24.5 points per game while helping Heelan to a 22-4 record as the Crusaders went 22-4 and finished as the Class 3A state tournametn runner-up for the second straight season. Funk made 60.9 percent (235-of-386) of his shots from the field, including 43.7 percent (31-of-71) from three-point range and 87.3 percent (137-of-157) from the free-throw line. Funk also added 70 assists and 35 steals while being named first-team all-state.
Iowa To Chicago And Back x 2
Kyle Korver's parents (Kevin and Laine) had quite an exciting week following the basketball careers of their sons. Tuesday and Thursday, they watched as Klayton (Kyle's younger brother who is a high school junior) helped his Pella (IA) High team win a pair of games at the Iowa State HS Tournament in Des Moines. Friday morning, they awoke at 3:30 a.m. and drove from Pella to Chicago to watch Creighton's game vs. Florida. They then returned to Des Moines Saturday night to watch Klayton's team win the class 3A state title against Sioux City Heelan (and Creighton recruit Nathan Funk). Korver's parents and Klayton once again then made the trek from Pella to Chicago on Sunday to watch the Creighton-Illinois tilt.
Against NCAA Competition
Creighton was 3-5 in eight games vs. NCAA qualifiers this season, beating Florida, splitting with Western Kentucky, losing to Xavier and Illinois, and going 1-2 vs. Southern Illinois.
