2002-03 Men's Basketball Season Recap
4/22/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A school-record 29 wins.
A spot in the national rankings for 15 consecutive weeks, including an appearance in the top 10.
A fourth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title in the last five seasons.
A fifth consecutive NCAA berth and sixth straight postseason appearance.
Consensus All-America honors and National Player of the Year consideration for senior Kyle Korver.
New school records for home attendance, including six straight home sellouts to close a 48-year run at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
For many long-time Creighton fans, the 2002-03 season was the best in the school’s modern era. The Bluejays opened the season with 10 straight wins and never looked back under the masterful direction of head coach Dana Altman.
When Creighton tipped off the season with a 106-50 win over Texas-Arlington, fans got their first glimpse of a team that would captivate the attention of the city and state for the next five months.
A week later, a 99-52 rout of eventual NCAA qualifier IUPUI gave CU a showdown with Big East power Notre Dame. The Jays never trailed in the second half en route to an 80-75 victory. The win looked even better when the Irish beat three top-10 teams the following week.
Creighton began defense of its MVC title with a 65-52 victory at Northern Iowa on Dec. 4 in the league earliest game in Valley history. The Jays then returned home and improved to 6-0 by knocking off unbeaten BYU, 74-64. Two days later, the Bluejays moved into the AP top 25 poll for the first time since 1975.
CU improved to 9-0 on Dec. 21 with an 81-73 victory at Nebraska. It was CU’s fourth straight victory over the rival Cornhuskers.
Creighton put its perfect 10-0 record on the line on Dec. 31 with a difficult road test at #19 Xavier. Creighton rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes to tie it, only to lose 75-73 in the waning seconds.
Undaunted by the loss, CU returned to league action with six straight wins. An overflow crowd of 10,184 (and national ESPN2 audience) witnessed CU rally to beat Southern Illinois on Jan. 18 to improve to 15-1.
Two days later, CU earned a spot in the top-10 for the first time in program history as the coaches voted them ninth and writers 10th nationally.
Perhaps done in by unprecedented hype, including front-page attention from the USA Today, CU suffered its first MVC loss on Jan. 23 when they lost at Evansville. However, the Jays responded with a Super Bowl Sunday victory over TCU, 89-79 while overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit. That victory initiated another six-game winning streak.
A nationally televised 67-66 victory over Fresno State on Feb. 22 helped kick off the inaugural Bracket Buster Saturday and set the tone for the MVC’s perfect 4-0 afternoon.
CU’s chance for a third-consecutive MVC regular-season crown ended on March 1 in Carbondale. Southern Illinois took advantage of a sellout crowd to beat Creighton, 70-62, and take a one-game lead in the standings with one game to play.
Creighton closed the regular-season with a 86-60 whipping of Wichita State on Senior Night. The win closed out a 17-0 home campaign and also was the final game at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
For the second straight season, CU entered the MVC Tournament as the second seed and emerged with the title. The Bluejays won one-point games vs. both Indiana State and Wichita State to reach the finals and play Southern Illinois. Creighton scored the first 10 points of the game while playing one of its best halves of the year to leap to a 42-16 halftime lead on the Salukis.
Creighton closed the regular-season with a 29-4 record and earned a fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Shipped to Salt Lake City as the West Region’s sixth seed, Creighton was matched with Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan.
Creighton shot a season-low 25 percent in the first half and fell behind 38-22 at the break. When the Chippewas opened the second stanza on a 12-2 run, Creighton found themselves trailing 50-24 with 16:24 to play.
Rather than fold, Creighton showed its character with inspired play that carried them to that point. The Jays made 11 straight field goals, including four three-pointers and four dunks. The Bluejays climbed almost all the way back before falling just short. CU trailed just 72-70 with 1:20 left, only to turn it over their next three possessions and lose 79-73.
When it came to awards and honors, this season’s team picked up its fair share of hardware.
Head coach Dana Altman was named the District Coach of the Year by the USBWA and was also a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award. With his victory on Jan. 29 at Indiana State, Altman became CU’s all-time winningest coach ever.
Individually, forward Kyle Korver graduated as one of the most highly decorated athletes in school history. Korver was tabbed as Dick Vitale’s Midseason National Player of the Year and the honors just kept rolling in. Korver was a four-time MVC Player of the Week and also earned regular-season and tournament MVP honors from The Valley.
A consensus All-American, Korver earned second-team plaudits from the Associated Press, ESPN.com, USBWA and Senior CLASS All-America teams. He was a finalist for the John Wooden, Oscar Robertson and Naismith National Player of the Year Awards, in addition to the Senior CLASS award given to the senior student-athlete.
Michael Lindeman and Mike Grimes each earned MVC Player of the Week laurels once while Brody Deren, Tyler McKinney and Lindeman also earned MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors at least once.
Deren, Lindeman and Larry House all earned all-MVC honorable-mention attention, while DeAnthony Bowden and Grimes were both named to the league’s all-Bench squad.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton’s Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his ninth year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 175-100 (.636) mark at CU and a career record of 258-167 (.607) in his 14th year as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Altman became Creighton’s all-time winningest coach with his 164th Bluejay triumph, a 74-46 road win at Indiana State on Jan. 29. He has been named conference coach of the year nine times in his 18 years as a head coach, including recognition in 2001 and 2002 from the Missouri Valley Conference and in 2003 on the district level. This year he was also one of 25 finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award.
Altman has led Creighton to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in nine of the past 12 years. He was assisted by Greg Grensing, Len Gordy and Darian DeVries.
Final Rankings
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in both final regular-season polls produced by the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25. The coaches poll, which also conducts a post-tournament poll, dropped CU to 23rd after the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton’s 1974 (#17) and 1975 (#16) were both ranked in the year-end UPI polls (which preceded the coaches poll). However, prior to this season the Jays had never been ranked in the year-ending AP poll.
Creighton vs. The NCAA Field
Creighton owned a 5-3 record this season against the teams in this season’s NCAA Tournament.
Date Opponent CU Result
11/25 vs. IUPUI Creighton won 99-52
11/26 vs. Notre Dame Creighton won 80-75
12/07 BYU Creighton won 74-64
12/31 at Xavier Xavier won 75-73
01/18 Southern Illinois Creighton won 85-76
03/01 at Southern Illinois S. Illinois won 70-62
03/10 vs. Southern Illinois Creighton won 80-56
03/20 vs. Central Michigan C. Michigan won 79-73
A March Tradition
Did you know that Creighton is one of 17 teams nationally to have played in the NCAA Tournament each of the last five years The select company, listed alphabetically, also includes Arizona, Cincinnati, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan St., Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
20 Wins x 5 Years = Unprecedented Success
This season was Creighton’s fifth consecutive campaign of 20 or more wins, the best stretch in school history. The Jays have gone 29-5, 23-9, 24-8, 23-10 and 22-9 over the past five seasons. Creighton now owns 16 seasons with 20 or more wins.
Creighton’s 29 wins this year gives them 52 over the last two seasons, 76 over the last three years, 99 over the last four years and 121 over the last five campaigns. All of those marks set a school-best for most wins in consecutive seasons.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton is one of nine teams to have won 22 or more games in each of the last five seasons:
98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03
Arizona 22 27 28 24 29
Butler 22 23 24 26 27
Creighton 22 23 24 23 29
Duke 37 29 35 31 26
Florida 22 29 24 22 25
Gonzaga 28 26 26 29 24
Kansas 23 24 26 33 31
Kentucky 28 23 24 22 33
Tulsa 23 32 26 27 23
Creighton is one of just seven schools to win 22 or more games and reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five years, joining Arizona, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Kentucky.
One Shy of One Hundred
Senior Kyle Korver owned a 99-32 record over his four year career, including a 98-30 record in games he appeared in. Prior to this current stretch, CU had never won more than 92 games in a four-year span.
Altman A Finalist For Naismith Coaching Award
Creighton head coach Dana Altman was named as one of 25 finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award. Kentucky’s Tubby Smith won the award.
USBWA Names Altman District’s Top Coach
Creighton head coach Dana Altman was named the United States Basketball Writers Association District VI Coach of the Year on March 11th. It marks the ninth different time in his 18 seasons as a head coach that he’s been named either conference, regional or district coach of the year. District VI includes the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Korver Named 2nd-Team AP All-American
Creighton senior Kyle Korver became the first player in school history to earn second-team All-America honors by the Associated Press. He is the first MVC player named to the first or second team since Hersey Hawkins in 1988 while also becoming the fourth Bluejay ever to repeat AP All-America honors, joining Rick Apke, Benoit Benjamin and Paul Silas.
Prior to this season, Silas’ third-team accolades in 1964 was CU’s most decorated honoree by the Associated Press.
Xavier’s David West was named AP Player of the Year.
Korver A Finalist For Naismith Award
Creighton senior Kyle Korver was named one of 20 finalists for the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award given to the nation’s top player. Texas guard T.J. Ford won the award.
Korver A Finalist For Wooden Award
Creighton senior Kyle Korver was also named one of 22 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award given to the nation’s top player. Korver was not selected on either of the five-player first or second teams.
CLASS Act
Creighton senior forward Kyle Korver was also named as one of 10 finalists nationally for College Basketball's Senior CLASS Award. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying In School.
The award is designed to Celebrate the Loyalty of senior basketball players for remaining committed to their university and honoring those student athletes for great Achievement on the court and in the classroom while Staying in School.
Last year's inaugural winners both played for national championship teams. Juan Dixon of Maryland won the men's award, while Connecticut's Sue Bird claimed the women's award.
Xavier’s David West won the men’s award this year while Mississippi State’s LaToya Thomas claimed the women’s honor.
Korver finished seventh in the balloting and was a second-team Senior CLASS All-American.
Korver Named To NABC All-District Team
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) voted Creighton senior Kyle Korver to their all-district 12 first-team. Korver was the lone Missouri Valley Conference representative named on any of the 10-person squads that cover 15 districts. The NABC also honored Korver as a third-team All-American. Only Benoit Benjamin (3rd team) and Paul Silas (2nd team) had previously earned NABC All-America status in Bluejay history.
Korver A USBWA All-American & All-District Pick
Kyle Korver has been honored as the District VI Player of the Year and a second-team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
District VI includes the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Nick Collison and Hollis Price both made first-team All-American by the USBWA, ahead of Korver, despite Korver’s nod as the District VI Player of the Year.
He is CU’s first USBWA All-American honoree ever and CU’s first second-team All-American since ESPN named Benoit Benjamin a second-team choice in 1985.
More All-American Honors For Korver
Kyle Korver continues to reel in the accolades from the national media. Korver was named a second-team All-American by ESPN.com’s Andy Katz, a third-teamer by ESPN’s Dick Vitale and Basketball Times and a fourth-team All-American by FoxSports.com.
Korver was also named the national Mid-Major Player of the Year by collegeinsider.com.
Three-Point Contest For Korver
Creighton senior Kyle Korver finished second of eight men in ESPN’s 15th Annual Three-Point Championships in New Orleans. Korver advanced to the men’s final before settling for second to Butler’s Darnell Archey in the event.
Korver Repeats MVC Player of Year Honor
Creighton’s Kyle Korver became the Missouri Valley Conference’s first repeat Player of the Year since Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins repeated in 1987-88. The only five players in MVC history to previously repeat as Player of the Year are Hawkins, Xavier McDaniel, Lewis Lloyd, Larry Bird and Junior Bridgeman. All enjoyed long and productive careers in the NBA after leaving The Valley.
MVP! MVP!
With his showing in St. Louis, Kyle Korver became the first player to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in consecutive seasons.
Korver is just the third player in league history to earn the MVC’s regular-season and Tournament MVP honors, joining Southern Illinois’ Chris Carr (1995) and Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins (1988).
Korver is also just the third player in Valley Tournament history to earn three all-Tournament teams, joining SIU’s Marcus Timmons and Creighton’s Bob Harstad.
One Shy of 30 Wins
Creighton finished one victory shy of becoming the 47th different school in NCAA history to win 30 or more games in a season. Since 1938, 46 different schools in NCAA history have posted 30 or more wins in a season a combined 107 times. Only two schools in MVC history are members of that elite club, as seen below:
Wins School Year
33 Indiana State 1978-79
32 Bradley 1985-86
32 Bradley 1950-51
32 Bradley 1949-50
29 Creighton 2002-03
29 Cincinnati 1961-62
Below is a listing of the most wins nationally in 2002-03, according to STATS Inc.:
Rank Wins School
1. 32 Kentucky
2. 30 Syracuse
30 Kansas
4. 29 Creighton
Collegeinsider.com Likes Korver Too
Count collegeinsider.com as one of those on the Kyle Korver bandwagon. The basketball website named Korver their MVC Player of the Year and a Mid-Major All-American for the second consecutive season.
Korver Looks For History
Creighton senior Kyle Korver became the MVC’s third player since 1985 to reach 500 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists and 50 steals in the same season.
Player, School Year Pts. Reb. A S
Hersey Hawkins, BU 85-86 656 200 104 66
Hersey Hawkins, BU 87-88 1125 241 111 82
Shea Seals, TU 94-95 601 222 127 52
Kyle Korver, CU 02-03 604 217 104 50
On the national level, Korver was one of four players at that elite level, joining Marquette’s Dwyane Wade, Oregon’s Luke Jackson and Auburn’s Marquis Daniels. Here are how those compare, according to STATS Inc.:
Player, School Pts. Reb. A S
Marquis Daniels, Auburn 625 210 113 77
Kyle Korver, Creighton 604 217 104 50
Dwyane Wade, Marquette 710 209 145 71
Luke Jackson, Oregon 513 221 115 54
Bowden, Grimes Named To All-Bench Team
Creighton’s bench averaged 29.7 points per game this season, so it should come as no surprise that both DeAnthony Bowden and Mike Grimes were named to the MVC’s all-Bench team. Bowden averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Grimes was third on the team with 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. Grimes also took a team-high 17 charges.
Saving The Best For Last
Creighton’s Larry House had a career-high 28 points in 22 minutes vs. Wichita State on Senior Night in his final home game. House’s 28 points were the most by a Creighton senior in their final home game since Kenny Evans scored 31 vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 21, 1987.
Civic Swan Song
Creighton’s March 3rd win over Wichita State marked Creighton’s final game in the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Creighton first played at the Civic in 1955 and moved there full-time for the 1961-62 season. The Jays owned an all-time record of 432-155 at the Civic, including an 100-28 mark under Dana Altman.
The Civic was home to five regular-season MVC champs and eight MVC Tournament champions in the last 26 years alone.
Creighton’s future home is under construction less than a mile from the current floor. The Omaha Convention Center & Arena is a $291 million project that will seat 15,800 fans for basketball and be ready for the 2003-04 season. The new arena is located between downtown Omaha and Eppley Airport on the former Union Pacific Railroad yards.
Civic Leader
With his season-opening win over Texas-Arlington, Dana Altman now owns the distinction of winning more games at the Civic Auditorium than any previous Creighton coach. Altman’s 100 home wins passes Tom Apke, who was 83-16 at the Civic from 1974-81.
Best Home Season...Ever
Creighton’s 17 home wins this season were the most in a single-season in school history, passing the 16 home victories by the 1921-22 squad.
Creighton’s 17-0 home record this year was its third undefeated season at the Civic and seventh overall at home.
With a sixth consecutive sellout vs. Wichita State on March 3, Creighton’s home attendance also broke the single-season attendance record. This year was the seventh time that CU passed the 100,000 barrier, as seen below:
Home Attendance, Most Fans Since 1967-68
Year G Attendance Average
1. 2002-03 17 140,174 8,246
2. 1982-83 17 134,042 7,885
3. 1984-85 16 116,139 7,259
4. 1983-84 18 110,873 6,160
5. 1979-80 14 103,540 7,396
6. 1980-81 14 103,155 7,368
7. 2000-01 14 101,067 7,219
We’ve Got A Winner
Kyle Korver played in 52 wins at the Omaha Civic Auditorium over the last four seasons, more than anyone else in Creighton history. Justin Haynes (1996-01), Ryan Sears (1997-01), Ben Walker (1997-01) and Kevin McKenna (1977-81) held the previous record as they all played in 48 victories at the Civic during their careers at Creighton. Since Korver’s arrival, CU were 53-6 in home games, including a 52-5 mark in games he played in.
Home Win Streak Reaches 17
According to the NCAA, Creighton’s 17-game home winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest nationally heading into next season.
Longest Men’s Basketball Home Win Streaks
Team Streak Next Home Game
Western Kentucky 36 Next Year
Duke 28 Next Year
Southern Illinois 27 Next Year
Pittsburgh 22 Next Year
Weber State 18 Next Year
Butler 18 Next Year
Creighton 17 Next Year
Illinois 17 Next Year
Wake Forest 17 Next Year
Syracuse 17 Next Year
Most Home Wins Nationally
Creighton’s 17-0 record at home tied them with national champion Syracuse for the most home wins by any school in the country. Below is that list, courtesy of STATS Inc.:
Most Home Wins, 2002-03
Team Home Wins
Creighton 17
Syracuse 17
Duke 16
Illinois 16
Kansas 16
LSU 16
Oklahoma 16
Pittsburgh 16
Wake Forest 16
Wisconsin 16
Korver Moves Into Top Five
Kyle Korver’s 27 points vs. Fresno State on Feb. 22 moved him into fifth place on Creighton’s all-time scoring chart, passing Paul Silas and Rick Apke. Silas is widely regarded as Creighton’s best player in school history.
Creighton All-Time Scoring List
1. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-99
2. 2,110 Bob Harstad 1987-91
3. 1,983 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
4. 1,876 Bob Portman 1966-69
5. 1,801 Kyle Korver 1999-Present
6. 1,682 Rick Apke 1974-78
7. 1,661 Paul Silas 1961-64
Sellout’s The Norm
When Creighton went to Wichita on Feb. 15, the town held a pep rally. When the Jays headed to Carbondale on March 1, they were greeted by thousands of tired SIU students who camped out in hopes of claiming a ticket.
In its last 10 regular-season games, Creighton played in front of six home sellouts, while also playing in front of sellout crowds at SIU (March 1), at SMS (Feb. 26), at Drake (Feb. 1). The only non-sellout of the bunch was a crowd of 9,754 fans at Wichita State (Feb. 15), which was WSU’s second-largest home crowd of the season.
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
All five of Creighton’s losses this season were by eight points or less, and in each case, the game was decided in the final minutes.
Against Xavier, Creighton tied the game at 73 before a David West leaner with four seconds left gave XU the 75-73 win.
In the loss at Evansville, Creighton led with three minutes to play and were down by two with one minute to play before falling by eight.
In the loss at Wichita State, Creighton led 74-73 with one minute left before WSU scored the final seven points of the game.
In CU’s March 1 loss, Creighton was down by two with 1:10 to play before SIU ended the game on a 8-2 run.
Creighton’s final loss to Central Michigan saw them trail 50-24 early in the second half. However, a furious rally cut the deficit to two with 1:30 left before the Chippewas held on to win.
Most Wins Ever
Creighton’s 29 wins this season were the most in school history, five more victories than the 1990-91 and 2000-01 clubs that finished 24-8.
Creighton’s 15 MVC wins were also its best total in school history, passing the 14 triumphs each of the previous two seasons. Below is a list of CU’s all-time winningest seasons:
Most Wins, Season
Rk. W-L Year Postseason
1. 29-5 2002-03 NCAA
2. 24-8 2000-01 NCAA
24-8 1990-91 NCAA
Most MVC Wins, Season
Rk. W-L Year MVC Finish
1. 15-3 2002-03 2nd
2. 14-4 2001-02 Tie-1st
14-4 2000-01 1st
When Conference Powers Collide
The March 20 match-up between Mid-American Conference champ Central Michigan was CU’s ninth game against a team that finished in first or second place of its league/division this season. The Jays went 6-3 in those games.
Opponent Place Conf./Division CU Result
Xavier 1st Atlantic-10/West L 73-75
Fresno St. 1st Western Athletic W 67-66
S. Illinois 1st Missouri Valley L 62-70
S. Illinois 1st Missouri Valley W 85-76
S. Illinois 1st Missouri Valley W 80-56
C. Michigan 1st Mid-American L 73-79
BYU T-1st Mountain West W 74-64
IUPUI T-2nd Mid-Continent W 99-52
Delaware St. T-2nd Mid Eastern W 68-48
Highs & Lows
Though both men went 0-for-6 from the floor, that didn’t mean that Michael Lindeman and Brody Deren didn’t make an impact in CU’s win over SMS on Feb. 26. Lindeman’s eight rebounds tied his career-high, while Deren blocked a season-best four shots. For Deren, it was the only time in 66 games as a Bluejay he’s been held without a field goal.
Checking In For the Bluejays...
With a 10-man rotation that ranked as The Valley’s deepest, Creighton head coach Dana Altman didn’t hesitate to go to his bench at the MVC Tournament. Altman made 112 substitutions in three MVC Tournament contests, including 40 substitutions in the championship game blowout of Southern Illinois. He made 55 substitutions against Central Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Korver Passes 600 Points This Season
Creighton senior Kyle Korver became the first Bluejay to score 600 points in a season since Chad Gallagher scored 620 points as a senior in 1990-91. Creighton has now had a player score 600 points in a season 10 times in school history, done by nine different players.
The Slimmest of Margins
Creighton’s 67-66 win over Fresno State on Feb. 22 was its first one-point win of the season, something later duplicated twice in as many days at the MVC Tournament. Before this season, the Bluejays last one-point win was the memorable 83-82 double-overtime triumph over Florida in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Dana Altman is now 7-6 in games decided by one point, including five straight victories.
Lindeman, Deren On MVC Scholar-Athlete Team
Creighton starters Michael Lindeman and Brody Deren were each named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team. Lindeman owns a 3.927 GPA in Finance and was the lone unanimous selection to the top team. Deren owns a 3.621 GPA in Exercise Science and was one of three players to repeat on the five-man first team.
Lindeman, Deren Named Academic All-District
Michael Lindeman and Brody Deren have also been named to the Verizon Academic All-American All-District VII team. The Bluejays are the district’s lone school with two team members. Lindeman and Deren now advance to the Verizon academic All-American national ballot, which will be announced on March 6. Lindeman owns a 3.927 GPA in Finance and is one of three players to repeat on the first team. Deren owns a 3.621 GPA in Exercise Science. Creighton has now had a Verizon Academic all-district pick in six straight seasons.
A SportsCenter Moment
The first time Creighton played on ESPN2 on this season (Jan. 18), Kyle Korver broke the Missouri Valley Conference career record for three-pointers when he drained five, including three in less than a minute in a decisive second-half flurry.
In CU’s Feb. 22 ESPN2 appearance, Korver drained seven trey’s and broke the Creighton single-season record for three’s in a season with 105.
Korver made 129 treys in 2002-03, smashing the Creighton record he established as a sophomore. He now owns three of the top four spots, as his sophomore season total of 100 is second while his 79 last year is fourth-best all-time. Below is where Korver stands on a number of single-season and career three-point shooting lists:
MVC’s Career Three-Point Leaders
3FG Name Years
371 Kyle Korver, CU 1999-Present
314 Shane Hawkins, SIU 1994-98
Creighton Single-Season Three-Pointers Made
3FG Name Year
1. 129 Kyle Korver (Sr.) 2002-03
2. 100 Kyle Korver (So.) 2000-01
3. 82 Tad Ackerman (Jr.) 1994-95
4. 79 Kyle Korver (Jr.) 2001-02
MVC Single-Season Three-Pointers Made
3FG Name Year
1. 134 Troy Hudson, SIU 1996-97
2. 129 Kyle Korver, Creighton 2002-03
3. 100 Kyle Korver, Creighton 2000-01
Creighton Single-Season Three-Pointers Pct.
(minimum 50 attempts)
Pct. Name Year
1. .480 Kyle Korver (129-269) 2002-03
2. .470 Duan Cole (63-134) 1990-91
3. .468 Ben Walker (36-77) 1999-00
4. .462 Michael Lindeman (30-65) 2002-03
5. .456 Matt West (41-90) 1999-00
Creighton Career 3-Point Percentage Leaders
Pct. Name Years
.453 Kyle Korver (371-819) 1999-Present
.441 Rod Mason (132-299) 1986-88
Korver In The NCAA History Books
Bluejay senior Kyle Korver finished his career tied for sixth in NCAA history with 371 career three-pointers. Curtis Staples graduated from Virginia in 1998 with an NCAA record 413 treys. Below is the list of the NCAA leaders for made three-point baskets all-time:
Three-Point Field Goals Made Leaders (All-Time)
Rk. Name, School Ht. Last Yr G 3FG
1. Curtis Staples, Virginia 6-3 1998 122 413
2. Keith Veney, Lamar & Marshall 6-3 1997 111 409
3. Doug Day, Radford 6-1 1993 117 401
4. Ronnie Schmitz, UMKC 6-3 1993 112 378
5. Mark Alberts, Akron 6-1 1993 107 375
6. Kyle Korver, Creighton* 6-7 2003 128 371
Brett Blizzard, UNC-Wilmington* 6-4 2003 125 371
8. Pat Bradley, Arkansas 6-2 1999 132 366
9. Bryce Drew, Valparaiso 6-3 1998 121 364
10. Jeff Fryer, Loyola Marymount 6-2 1990 112 363
11. Dennis Scott, Georgia Tech 6-8 1990 99 351
*active
Korver’s Accurate Too
Senior Kyle Korver has been shooting his way into the Creighton record books, owning the school’s single-game, single-season and career marks. He also shot towards NCAA history.
In fact, Korver’s career 45.3 percent accuracy from three-point range (371-819) ranks him 14th in NCAA history among those with 200 or more three-pointers. He is first all-time among players 6-7 or taller and first all-time among players with 335 or more career treys. Below is the list of the most accurate three-point shooters in NCAA history (min. 200 3FG).
Three-Point Field Goal Pct. Leaders (All-Time)
Rk. Name, School Ht. 3FG FGA Pct.
1. Tony Bennett, UW-Green Bay 6-0 290 584 .4965
2. David Olson, Eastern Illinois 6-4 262 562 .4662
3. Ross Land, Northern Arizona 6-5 308 664 .4639
4. Dan Dickau, Wash. & Gonzaga 6-0 215 465 .4624
5. Sean Jackson, Ohio & Princeton 5-11 243 528 .4602
6. Barry Booker, Vanderbilt 6-3 246 535 .4598
7. Kevin Booth, Mt. St. Mary’s 6-0 265 577 .4592
8. Dave Calloway, Monmouth 6-3 260 567 .4586
9. Tony Ross, San Diego State 6-3 270 589 .4584
10. Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh 6-3 259 567 .4568
11. Corey Reed, Radford 6-6 232 510 .4549
12. Jim Barton, Dartmouth 6-4 242 532 .4549
13. Shawn Respert, Michigan State 6-3 331 728 .4547
14. Kyle Korver, Creighton 6-7 371 819 .4530
15. Carlton Becton, N.C. A&T 6-6 209 462 .4524
16. Eric Channing, New Mexico St. 6-4 283 627 .4514
17. Ray Allen, Connecticut 6-5 233 520 .4481
Triple Threats
Kyle Korver finished with 129 three-point baskets to rank third nationally this season and tied for 15th in NCAA single-season history. Below is the leaders for most three-pointers in a single-season in NCAA history:
NCAA Single-Season 3-Pointers Made List
Rk. Name, School Year G 3FG
1. Darrin Fitzgerald, Butler 1987 28 158
2. Freddie Banks, UNLV 1987 39 152
3. Randy Rutherford, OK State 1995 37 146
4. Terrence Woods, Florida A&M 2003 29 139
5. Dennis Scott, Georgia Tech 1990 35 137
Demon Brown, Charlotte 2003 29 137
7. Rashad Phillips, Detroit 2001 35 136
8. Troy Hudson, Southern Illinois 1997 30 134
9. Timothy Pollard, Miss. Valley St. 1988 28 132
Jason Williams, Duke 2001 39 132
11. Dave Jamerson, Ohio 1990 28 131
Sydney Grider, La.-Lafayette 1990 29 131
13. Keith Veney, Marshall 1997 29 130
Curtis Staples, Virginia 1998 30 130
15. Kyle Korver, Creighton 2003 34 129
16. Lazelle Durden, Cincinnati 1995 34 127
17. Jeff Fryer, Loyola Marymount 1989 31 126
18. Shane Battier, Duke 2001 39 124
Timothy Pollard, Miss. Valley St. 1989 28 124
20. Bobby Phills, Southern U. 1991 28 123
Mr. Automatic
Kyle Korver also ranks as one of the top free throw shooters in NCAA history. Finishing his career with 312 makes in 350 attempts, his 89.1 percent accuracy placed him ninth in college history and second among active players. Below is that complete lists, courtesy of STATS Inc.:
Free Throw Percentage Leaders
(All-Time, min. 300 FTM)
Rk. Name, School Last Yr. FTM FTA Pct.
1. Gary Buchanan, Villanova 2003 324 355 .913
2. Gregg Starrick, Kentucky & SIU 1972 341 375 .909
3. Jack Moore, Nebraska 1982 446 495 .901
4. Steve Henson, Kansas State 1990 361 401 .900
5. Steve Alford, Indiana 1987 535 596 .898
6. Bob Lloyd, Rutgers 1967 543 605 .898
7. Jim Barton, Dartmouth 1989 394 440 .895
8. Tommy Boyer, Arkansas 1963 315 353 .892
9. Kyle Korver, Creighton 2003 312 350 .891
10. Rob Robbins, New Mexico 1991 309 348 .888
Active Free Throw Percentage Leaders
(Minimum 300 career FTA)
Rk. Name, School FTM FTA FT%
1. Gary Buchanan, Villanova 324 355 .913
2. Kyle Korver, Creighton 312 350 .891
3. Brent Jolly, Tennessee Tech 347 391 .887
4. Jake Sullivan, Iowa State 271 306 .886
5. Luis Flores, Manhattan 420 481 .873
Streaking...All The Rage
Junior forward Michael Lindeman made 28 consecutive free throws over the final 16 games dating back to a miss in the game at Evansville on Jan. 23. His streak was the longest on the team this season.
Assist To McKinney
Sophomore point guard Tyler McKinney led the Missouri Valley Conference with 141 assists and a 2.61 assist/turnover ratio. McKinney’s 141 assists were a Creighton record for a freshman or sophomore. McKinney’s passing numbers compares favorably with those accumulated by his predecessor, Ryan Sears:
McKinney Sears
Year Asst./Turn. Ratio Asst./Turn Ratio
Freshman 66/34 1.94 134/59 2.27
Sophomore 141/54 2.61 124/59 2.10
Junior - - - - 175/71 2.46
Senior - - - - 137/63 2.17
Career 207/88 2.35 570/252 2.26
Half The Story
Creighton’s second-half comebacks at the MVC Tournament were nothing new, as they finished the season with a 7-2 record in game they trailed at the half. Dating back to the middle of last season, Creighton has won 10 of the last 13 games they’ve been trailing at the intermission.
Creighton went 4-2 when facing double-digit deficits this season. CU trailed Southern Illinois 40-27 with 4:16 left in the first half, 53-37 with 17:31 left in the second half vs. TCU and faced its largest deficit of the season when they were down 34-17 with 3:30 left in the first half vs. SMS. Creighton also trailed Wichita State 38-25 with 1:15 left in the first half of the MVC Tournament semifinals before posting a 70-69 win.
CU’s only failures to rally from a double-digit deficit was at SIU on March 1st and in the NCAA Tournament vs. Central Michigan. In the SIU game, the Jays trailed by 11 with four minutes to play, rallied to within two, but fell short. In the NCAA game vs. CMU, Creighton trailed 50-24 with 16:20 to play, rallied to within two in the final minute, and lost by six.
Bright Lights, Big Wins
Creighton was 14-3 on TV this season, with a 5-1 record on local TV (4-1 on KMTV, 1-0 on WEEK), a 4-1 mark on national TV (2-0 on HDNet, 1-0 on ESPN, 0-1 on CBS and 2-0 on ESPN2) and a 4-1 mark on regional TV (Fox Sports Midwest/Chicago).
Creighton owns 10 straight wins on ESPN stations since a Feb. 14, 1999 setback at Illinois State. Below is a chart of CU’s last 10 appearances on ESPN or ESPN2:
Date Opponent Score Network
03/10/03 Southern Illinois W 80-56 ESPN
02/22/03 Fresno State W 67-66 ESPN2
01/18/03 Southern Illinois W 85-76 ESPN2
03/04/02 vs. Southern Illinois W 84-76 ESPN2
02/23/02 at Bradley W 80-64 ESPN2
02/17/01 Wyoming W 84-72 ESPN
02/10/01 at Southern Illinois W 77-63 ESPN
03/06/00 vs. SMS W 57-45 ESPN
02/07/00 at Colorado State W 78-67 ESPN
03/01/99 vs. Evansville W 70-61 ESPN
Lindeman Named MVC Player of the Week
Michael Lindeman was named the Feb. 10 MVC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two wins while shooting 70 percent from the floor (14-20), 80 percent from three-point range (8-10) and 100 percent from the free throw line (5-5). Lindeman scored a career-high 20 points on 8-12 shooting and 3-5 from three-point range vs. Northern Iowa on Tuesday. Then on Saturday, Lindeman established a new career-high with 21 points, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, while tying his season highs with seven rebounds and four assists. Entering that week, Lindeman had scored more than 15 points just once in his career.
Lindeman Named Top Scholar-Athlete Too
In addition to his MVC Player of the Week honor, Michael Lindeman was also named the Feb. 14 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week for his play in games vs. Northern Iowa and Bradley. In the classroom, Lindeman owns a 3.92 GPA in Finance.
Altman Approaching Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to approach some of the coaching greats in MVC history in a pair of categories. Altman’s 175 wins at Creighton are ninth in league history while his 100 triumphs in conference games have him sixth in league history. Here is those lists:
MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 187 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 163 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 126 Phog Allen Kansas
4. 111 Rich Herrin Southern Illinois
5. 110 Jim Molinari Bradley
6. 100 Dana Altman Creighton
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 225 Rich Herrin Southern Illinois
4. 220 Ralph Miller Wichita State
5. 211 Maury John Drake
6. 197 Joe Stowell Bradley
7. 194 Chuck Osborn Bradley
8. 185 Ken Hayes Tulsa & New Mex. St.
9. 175 Dana Altman Creighton
10. 169 Phog Allen Kansas
Give Me Five
Creighton head coach Dana Altman had started Tyler McKinney, Larry House, Michael Lindeman, Kyle Korver and Brody Deren in 49 consecutive games between Jan. 9, 2002 and March 1, 2003 before senior DeAnthony Bowden started for Lindeman on Senior Night vs. Wichita State in the regular-season finale on March 3.
Prior to that switch, CU had started the same starting five in 49 consecutive games, going 42-7 in that span.
Before that switch, the only other schools to use the same starting five in every game this season were Butler, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Syracuse and Chattanooga.
That’s A Winner
Creighton’s 29 wins this year is a school record and tied #1 Kentucky for the most nationally in the regular-season. Before this season, CU had never won more than 24 games in a season or more than 14 conference games in a season.
Unexpected Treasure
Not only were Michael Lindeman’s 20 points vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 4 a new career-high, but it also came just three days after scoring none of CU’s 88 points at Drake on Feb. 1. The last Bluejay player to score 20 points the game following a scoreless effort was Chris Rodgers, who scored zero vs. Bradley on Dec. 16, 1991 and 20 vs. Cleveland State two days later. Lindeman poured in a new career-high with 21 points in his next game vs. Bradley on Feb. 8.
Career Nights
Three different Creighton players matched their career high point totals in CU’s Feb. 1 win at Drake. Larry House (23), DeAnthony Bowden (17) and Tyler McKinney (14) all scored at will as Drake focused most of its attention on Kyle Korver, who dished out a career-best eight assists on the evening.
Deren Earns Top Honors For Weight Work
Creighton junior center Brody Deren has been named a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American. He is one of 151 athletes nationally to earn such honors and joined by women’s basketball schoolmate Teresa Wessling.
Shooting Stars
In the final NCAA stats, Creighton ranked fifth in the country in field goal percentage at 49.8 percent. The Bluejays shot 50 percent or better in 36 of 69 halves (or overtime) of play this season and 20-of-34 games this season. The Jays have now won 44 straight games when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
Of Creighton’s 13 active players, six shot better than 50 percent overall and 9-of-10 players in CU’s regular rotation are making 43.5 percent or better. In addition, all 13 players made 40 percent or better of their shots from two-point territory.
Below is the national rankings of the most accurate shooting teams in 2002-03.
Rk Team W-L FGM FGA FG%
1 Morehead St. 20-9 854 1674 51.0
2 Pittsburgh 28-5 893 1766 50.6
3 Colorado St. 19-14 876 1733 50.5
4 Central Michigan 25-7 864 1714 50.4
5 Creighton 29-5 974 1956 49.8
As a team, Creighton ranked fifth nationally by making 974 field goals on the season. Here were the national leaders for made field goals, according to STATS Inc.:
Rk Team FGM G FG/G
1 Kansas 1182 38 31.1
2 Kentucky 1026 36 28.5
3 Syracuse 1020 35 29.1
4 Texas Tech 979 35 28.0
5 Creighton 974 34 28.6
6 Arizona 973 32 30.4
7 UAB 969 34 28.5
8 Connecticut 964 33 29.2
League Leaders
Creighton led the Missouri Valley Conference in nine team categories and eight individual categories in 2002-03. The CU team is tops in points per game, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal defense, three-pointers made per game, blocked shots per game, assists per game, steals per game and assist/turnover margin.
Individually, Kyle Korver led the way in points scored, free throw percentage, three-point percentage and three-pointers per game; Mike Grimes leads in field goal percentage; Tyler McKinney leads in assists and assist/turnover margin and Brody Deren leads in blocked shots per game.
Three's Still Falling
Creighton continued to shoot the trifecta well in 2002-03, having made 270 for the year. Creighton is one of eight schools to have made 200 or more three-pointers in each of the last six seasons. Below is a list of other schools that have done this according to STATS Inc.:
97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03
Creighton 203 236 289 249 230 270
Duke 273 293 284 407 301 235
Florida 285 289 266 256 232 287
Gonzaga 274 273 260 245 237 239
Lafayette 207 238 249 225 222 209
Princeton 265 229 245 218 219 220
Temple 216 217 274 281 298 270
Tulsa 211 223 264 288 259 217
Creighton’s 270 three-pointers made and 693 three-point attempts this season rank third and fifth in MVC history, respectively.
Three-Pointers Made, Season
1. 289 Creighton 1999-00
2. 270 Creighton 2002-03
3. 268 Southern Illinois 1995-96
Three-Pointers Attempted, Season
1. 778 Southern Illinois 1995-96
2. 698 Southern Illinois 1996-97
3. 694 Creighton 1999-00
694 Creighton 2000-01
5. 693 Creighton 2002-03
6. 656 Southern Illinois 1997-98
More Three’s Please
Creighton’s 270 three-pointers on the season were tied for 12th nationally in 2002-03. STATS Inc. compiled a list of the top shooting teams, as seen below:
Most Three-Pointers Made, Nationally
Rk. School 3FG G 3/G
1. Troy State 312 32 9.8
2. Charleston 308 33 9.3
3. Mississippi Valley State 299 29 10.3
4. Oregon 291 33 8.8
5. North Carolina 290 35 8.3
6. Florida 287 33 8.7
7. Notre Dame 283 34 8.3
8. Butler 274 33 8.3
9. UMKC 272 29 9.4
Louisville 272 32 8.5
11. St. Bonaventure 271 27 10.0
12. Creighton 270 34 7.9
Temple 270 34 7.9
Jays Were First To 20 Wins
With an 84-75 victory on Jan. 29 vs. Northern Iowa, Creighton became the nation's first team to 20 victories. Creighton's 29-5 record also ranked fourth among the nation’s best in winning percentage. With its 20th victory, Creighton extended its program record of consecutive 20-win seasons to five, the longest stretch by any MVC school since Louisville (1971-75).
Since the start of the 1998-99 season, the Bluejays have a cumulative 121-41 overall record, own a 65-25 league slate and possess five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. While collecting five-straight 20-win campaigns from 1970-71 to 1971-75, former Missouri Valley Conference member Louisville had an overall record of 118-31, a league mark of 55-13 and two trips to the Final Four (1972 and 1975).
Shooting Down Another Record
Kyle Korver made 90.8 percent of his free throws this season, passing the 89.0 percent mark he set last year. Below is Creighton's top-five most accurate seasons at the charity stripe, three of which are held by Korver.
Free Throw Percentage, Single-Season
Pct. Name (Class, Yr.) FTM-FTA
.908 Kyle Korver (Sr., 2002-03) 109-120
.890 Kyle Korver (Jr., 2001-02) 97-109
.882 Doug Brookins (Sr., 1974-75) 98-111
.880 Mike Caruso (Sr., 1970-71) 95-108
.867 Kyle Korver (So., 2000-01) 72-83
Stealing The Show
With all the attention on his offense, few people recognize that Kyle Korver led the MVC in steals last season with 1.55 steals per game. This season, Korver again led the Jays with 50 steals, as he graduated as the MVC's active leader with 172. Korver's 172 career thefts places him fourth in CU history, as seen below:
Creighton Steal Leaders, Career (since 1979-80)
Stl. Name Years
283 Ryan Sears 1997-01
195 Rodney Buford 1995-99
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
172 Kyle Korver 1999-Pres.
Road Warriors
Creighton is in the middle of an impressive run in MVC play. The Jays are 38-7 in league action since the midway point of the 2000-01 season. Even more impressive, CU is 17-5 in road MVC contests in that span and 21-2 at in home Valley contests in that span.
Second Half Team
For the second straight season, Creighton finished the first half of the MVC record with an 8-1 mark. The second half of this year is the 15th 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 1st Half 2nd Half
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
1994-95 3-6 1-8
Total 49-32 (.605) 51-30 (.630)
Altman Becomes Creighton Victory Leader
With Creighton’s win over Indiana State on Jan. 29, Dana Altman passed Arthur A. Schabinger for first on Creighton’s all-time coaching wins list. Schabinger led the Jays from 1922-35 and coached eight teams to at least a share of a league title. Below is a list of Creighton’s victory leaders:
Rk. W-L Coach
1. 175-100 Dana Altman
2. 163-66 Arthur A. Schabinger
Double-Figure Scorers, Not Shooters
Despite no one taking more than nine attempts from the floor, Creighton had a season-high five players reach double-figures in its win over TCU. Entering the game, the Bluejays were the nation’s only ranked team with just one player averaging in double-figures. CU won all five games this season they played when no individuals took 10 shots or more.
Big Man Bonus
Creighton post men Mike Grimes continued to produce off the bench for Creighton. Grimes was the team’s third leading scorer at 8.4 points per game and made 66.3 percent of his shots from the field to lead the MVC. He also paced the squad by taking 17 charges this season and was third in rebounding. Grimes has made 50 percent or better of his attempts in all but four of the last 39 games.
Too Many Weapons
One of the pitfalls of a box-and-one defense on Kyle Korver is that his teammates would step up and hit big shots. Against Illinois State on Jan. 20th, Creighton had seven different players drain a three-point basket. Incredibly, it wasn’t even a season-high. In Creighton’s third game, a 99-52 win over IUPUI, the Jays had eight different players hit a trey in the first half alone.
Three-Point Ace
Creighton senior Kyle Korver finished his career tied for sixth in NCAA history with 371 career three-pointers. The NCAA record is 413 by former Virginia star Curtis Staples. Below are the active leaders at the end of the season:
Active Three-Pointers Made Career Leaders
Rk. Name, School 3FG FGA Pct.
1. Kyle Korver, Creighton 371 819 .453
Brett Blizzard, UNC-Wilmington 371 876 .424
3. Gary Buchanan, Villanova 337 856 .394
4. Jason Gardner, Arizona 318 875 .363
5. Jason Kapono, UCLA 317 705 .450
Vitale Says Korver Nation’s Best Player
Noted ESPN college basketball personality Dick Vitale tabbed Creighton senior Kyle Korver as his midseason Player of the Year on the national level. Also in the running, according to Vitale, were Dwyane Wade of Marquette, Maurice Williams of Alabama and Brian Cook of Illinois. Korver was featured in Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, The Sporting News, CNNSI.com and CBS.Sportsline.com among other national outlets this season, while Frank Burlison (Foxsports.com) and Mark Button (cnnsi.com) and Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star) have also tabbed him as a mid-season, first-team All-American.
Creighton was also featured on both the front page and sports page of the Jan. 23 edition of the USA Today, which was in town during CU’s game vs. Southern Illinois.
Some of the nation’s most respected basketball writers, including Dick “Hoops” Weiss (New York Daily News), Steve Wieberg (USA Today), Dennis Dodd (CBS.Sportsline.com), Andy Katz (ESPN.com), Dan Wetzel (CBS.Sportsline.com), Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star), Jay Bilas (ESPN.com), Tom Shatel (Omaha World Herald), Frank Burlison (FoxSports.com), Jeff Shelman (ESPN.com) and Curry Kirkpatrick (ESPN.com) came to Omaha this season to see Creighton play.
Ranking Information
Creighton was ranked 10th in the Jan. 20th Associated Press poll, the best ranking in program history. Before that, the team’s previous best was the 13th spot in the Feb. 25th and March 4, 1975 polls, as well as the week of Jan. 13, 2003.
Creighton entered the AP poll for the first time since the 1975 season with a #23 ranking on Dec. 9. It’s worth noting that Creighton was 15th in the United Press International coaches poll during the week of Feb. 22, 1977.
Creighton is tabbed a program-best 15th in both final regular season editions of the AP and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls.
Valley Rankings
Prior to Creighton this season, the last previous Missouri Valley Conference school to be ranked was Illinois State. The Redbirds were ranked the week of November 18, 1997 before losing at Wisconsin. League rival Bradley owned the distinction of being the last top-10 MVC school, as the Hersey Hawkins and Jim Les-led Braves earned the #9 rank in the March 4, 1986 poll.
Team Leader In More Ways Than One
Kyle Korver led Creighton with 21 points and nine rebounds vs. Central Michigan. He has now led the squad in points 23 times, rebounds 17 times, steals 13 times, assists 11 times and blocks eight times.
Dating back to Feb. 14, 2001, Korver led the Bluejays in at least one of those categories in all but one of his final 71 games (Feb. 13, 2002 at Drake).
Deren Joins Elite Company
Brody Deren became just the fourth player in Bluejay history to have consecutive seasons with 50 or more blocked shots. The only other players to do it were Benoit Benjamin, Doug Swenson and Chad Gallagher.
Deren & Dabbert Denying Opponents
Creighton’s center tandem of Brody Deren and Joe Dabbert continue to swat shots at an alarming rate. Deren led the Valley with 56 rejections, while Dabbert owns 33 blocks for third in the league. Creighton owns 153 blocked shots this season, 46 more than the next best MVC squad and fifth in MVC single-season history by a team.
Deren ranks fourth in Bluejay history with 106 career blocked shots, Dabbert has 69 and is seventh and Kyle Korver had 58 and moved up to ninth. Below is the all-time list:
Creighton Blocked Shots Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
106 Brody Deren 2001-Present
79 Adam Reid 1994-97
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01
72 Joe Dabbert 2000-Present
59 Rodney Buford 1995-99
58 Kyle Korver 1999-03
48 Randall Crutcher 1993-97
Most Team Blocks, MVC History
193 Creighton 1984-85
182 Creighton 1983-84
171 Southern Illinois 2001-02
157 Creighton 1982-83
153 Creighton 2002-03
139 SMS 1998-99
Lindeman Named Scholar-Athlete of Week
Creighton junior Michael Lindeman was named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Jan. 17 for the week of Jan. 6-12. Lindeman averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the free throw line to help Creighton win at Bradley and Illinois State. Lindeman owns a 3.941 GPA in Finance.
Deren Named MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Brody Deren was named the Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on March 13 after averaging 8.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots at the MVC Tournament. Deren, who has a 3.621 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, shot 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the floor, as the Bluejays won their fourth State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title in the last five years.
Triple Lindy
When opponents have switched to a box-and-one defense to hold Kyle Korver in check, Michael Lindeman continues to showcase his offensive abilities. Lindeman scored a career-high 20 points vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 4 and followed that up with his second career high in as many efforts with 21 vs. Bradley on Feb. 8. Lindeman made all five three-point attempts vs. the Braves. The Bluejays are now 16-2 all-time when Lindeman scores in double-figures. Lindeman is a former walk-on who has started all but one of CU’s last 66 games.
Getting To 20 Quicker Than Ever
With its win on Feb. 4 vs. Northern Iowa, Creighton ensured its 16th season of 20 or more wins. However, CU had never picked up 20 wins in fewer than 23 games or before February 12th on the calendar. Below is a list of Creighton's 20-win seasons in history as well as the days when they accomplished that milestone:
Final 20th Win Date of
Year W-L in Game # Win #20
2002-03 29-5 22 Feb. 4
2001-02 23-9 28 Mar. 2
2000-01 24-8 26 Feb. 17
1999-00 23-10 29 Feb. 28
1998-99 22-9 28 Feb. 28
1990-91 24-8 27 Feb. 25
1989-90 21-12 29 Feb. 24
1988-89 20-11 30 Mar. 7
1984-85 20-12 26 Feb. 14
1980-81 21-9 28 Mar. 5
1976-77 21-7 23 Feb. 12
1974-75 20-7 24 Feb. 22
1973-74 23-7 24 Feb. 19
1963-64 22-7 25 Feb. 26
1961-62 21-5 24 Mar. 12
1921-22 21-5 25 Unknown
What’s Your Twenty
Each of the previous five seasons, Creighton has started exactly 14-6 and ended up in the postseason. This year though, the Jays were 18-2 after the Jan. 29 win at Indiana State. Here’s a look at Creighton’s record after 20 games in the last nine seasons under Dana Altman.
Year First 20 W-L Final W-L Postseason
2002-03 18-2 29-5 NCAA
2001-02 14-6 23-9 NCAA
2000-01 14-6 24-8 NCAA
1999-00 14-6 23-10 NCAA
1998-99 14-6 22-9 NCAA
1997-98 14-6 18-10 NIT
1996-97 10-10 15-15 ---
1995-96 11-9 14-15 ---
1994-95 6-14 7-19 ---
Korver A Four-Time MVC Player of the Week
Kyle Korver was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week four times this season and six times in his illustrious career.
Korver picked up his first honor on Nov. 19 by averaging 19.0 points per game while earning MVP honors of the Omaha Regional of the Guardians Classic. Korver made 13-of-19 shots overall (68.4 percent) and was 11-for-15 from three-point range (73.3 percent), while making his first eight tries of the season.
Korver’s earned his second honor on Dec. 2 by averaging 22 points and 5.5 rebounds per game against IUPUI and Notre Dame while earning MVP honors at the Guardians Classic finals in Kansas City, Mo. Korver shot 15-for-27 from the field (55.6 percent) and 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) from three-point range on the weekend, including a career-best seven treys vs. Notre Dame.
Korver’s third weekly honor came Jan. 5 after he averaged 27.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 64.3% from the field (18-28), 64.7% from three-point range (11-17) and 100% at the free throw line (8-8) in games vs. #19 Xavier and Drake. Korver scored a career-high 32 points in Creighton's 75-73 loss at #19 Xavier, including 26 second-half points. Korver tied the CU single-game record with eight three-pointers, including four in the final three minutes as CU rallied from a nine-point deficit to tie the game in the final minute. Korver also led the Jays with six rebounds and four assists in the setback. Against Drake, Korver scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play in CU's 84-63 victory. Korver made 7-of-9 shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 from downtown, while also making all six free throw attempts.
His fourth award came after Korver shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from the field, 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from three-point range and 100 percent (9-for-9) from the charity stripe the week ending Jan. 19 while averaging 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest last week. Against Evansville, Korver hit a school-record nine three-pointers and finished with 31 points. Three days later vs. SIU, Korver had 24 points and 11 rebounds while breaking the MVC career record for three-point baskets with 317.
Big Game Player
Creighton senior Kyle Korver continues to star in some of Creighton’s biggest games.
Korver made 7-of-11 three-pointers and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds to earn Guardians Classic MVP honors in Creighton’s win over Notre Dame.
Against BYU in a battle of 5-0 teams, Korver had 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Against in-state rival Nebraska, Korver made six three-pointers and finished with 25 points and seven rebounds to secure CU’s fourth straight triumph over the Huskers.
At #19 Xavier, Korver tied the CU record with eight three-pointers and had a career-high 32 points. Twenty-six of his points came after half.
Korver had his third double-double of the season in a nationally televised tilt against Southern Illinois, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Korver also broke the MVC record for career three-pointers in the contest.
In Creighton’s Bracket Buster Saturday win over Fresno State, an ESPN2 audience saw Korver drain seven three-pointers and finish with 27 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
In Korver’s final ESPN performance vs. Southern Illinois in the MVC title game, Korver had his third double-double of the year vs. the Salukis. He had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the 24-point romp while making 3-of-5 shots.
Korver Named National Player of the Week
For his Jan. 13-19 exploits, Kyle Korver was named National Player of the Week by ESPN’s Dick Vitale as well as websites collegebasketballnews.com and collegeinsider.com. In addition, Korver earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week plaudits for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career.
Korver shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from the field, 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from three-point range and 100 percent (9-for-9) from the charity stripe last week while averaging 27.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest last week. Against Evansville, Korver hit a school-record nine three-pointers and finished with 31 points. Three days later vs. SIU, Korver had 24 points and 11 rebounds while breaking the MVC career record for three-point baskets.
Korver Earns National Paine Webber Honor
Creighton senior Kyle Korver was named recipient of the Paine Webber Senior of the Week and recognized during the Jan. 18 basketball telecast of Duke vs. Maryland. The honor is given out by Paine Webber in conjunction with ABC telecasts and Paine Webber will donate $1,000 to its “Senior of the Week” scholarship fund in Korver’s name.
The Paine Webber is based on a combination of on- and off-court works. Off the court, Korver is mentoring students at Nathan Hale Middle School and has spoken to thousands of kids through Operation Bluejay programs about the importance of working hard, staying in school and making positive choices.
He (along with his teammates) have also devoted hours of service to organizations like the Nebraska Childrens’ Home, YMCA, Boy Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls’ Club, and Make-A-Wish. He has promoted literacy at Omaha’s Celebrate Literacy Fair and helped provide free basketball clinics throughout the area.
Big Man Free Throw Leaders
Last year center Joe Dabbert finished 17th nationally in free throw percentage among players 6-10 or taller at 77.5 percent. This year Dabbert made 80.4 percent at the stripe and ranked eighth nationally among players his height or taller this year with 50 attempts or more. He is also 16th in the career rankings among players that tall (min. 125 FTA) at 73.0 percent. Below are the leaders, courtesy of STATS Inc.:
Season Free Throw Pct. (6-10 or Taller, min. 50 FTA)
Rk. Name, School Ht. FT FTA Pct.
1. Dalron Johnson, UNLV 6-10 122 140 .871
2. Stephan Bachmann, Weber St. 6-10 44 52 .846
3. Brian Cook, Illinois 6-10 168 205 .820
4. Cameron Tragardh, Oral Roberts 6-10 49 60 .817
5. Earl Barron, Memphis 7-0 74 91 .813
6. T.J. Cummings, UCLA 6-10 65 80 .813
7. Jim Kessenich, IPFW 6-10 59 73 .808
8. Joe Dabbert, Creighton 6-10 45 56 .804
Career Free Throw Pct. (6-10 or Taller, min. 125 FTA)
Rk. Name, School Ht. FT FTA Pct.
1. Dalron Johnson, UNLV 6-10 314 378 .831
2. Amit Tamir, California 6-10 125 155 .806
3. Stephan Bachmann, Weber St. 6-10 231 290 .797
4. Brian Cook, Illinois 6-10 384 484 .793
5. Phillip Ramelli, Samford 6-10 106 136 .779
6. Darius Rice, Miami (Fla.) 6-10 259 339 .764
7. Ben McGonagil, UNC-Ashville 6-11 337 442 .762
8. Aaron Jennings, Northwestern 6-11 191 253 .755
9. Scott Merritt, Marquette 6-10 207 277 .747
10. T.J. Cummings, UCLA 6-10 149 201 .741
11. Nate Williams, Georgia State 6-11 211 285 .740
12. Matt Bonner, Florida 6-10 245 331 .740
13. Tim Frost, Utah 6-10 199 270 .737
14. Robert Reed, Rider 6-10 121 165 .733
15. Chris Bosh, Georgia Tech 6-10 127 174 .730
16. Joe Dabbert, Creighton 6-10 116 159 .730
Trifecta Barrage
Senior Kyle Korver had a career-high 32 points and tied the school record with eight three-pointers in Creighton’s 75-73 loss at #19 Xavier on Dec. 31. He broke the single-game record with nine three-pointers vs. Evansville on Jan. 15th and finished with 31 points. Below is the single-game record holders:
3FG Name, Opponent Date
9 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
8 Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
7 Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
6 19 times (including five times by Korver), last by
Kyle Korver at Nebraska 12/21/02
Bluejays Start Four Iowans
Creighton’s team includes five players that hail from the state of Iowa, Brody Deren, Tyler McKinney, Kyle Korver, Michael Lindeman, and Nate Funk. The first four of those players were starters, while Funk backs up McKinney at the point.
Grimes Named MVC Player of the Week
Junior Mike Grimes was named MVC Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 30. Grimes made 7-of-8 shots en route to a career-best 17 points in a 93-70 win over Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 29. Grimes also added five rebounds, two steals and an assist. It was Grimes’ first weekly honor of his career.
Perfect 10
With the Jan. 20 home win over Illinois State, Creighton assured itself of a seventh consecutive season of 10 or more home wins. The school record for consecutive 10-plus home win seasons is an incredible 12 straight from 1969-70 to 1980-81. The Jays were a perfect 17-0 at home this season and are 70-8 (.897) at home since Jan. 20, 1998.
Running Away With It
Creighton put together 27 different runs of 10 or more consecutive points this season, including one to start the season vs. Texas-Arlington. All but four of those runs included at least one Bluejay three-pointer. The Jays surrendered just seven 10-point runs this year. Here’s a list of Creighton’s runs of 10 or more:
Date Opponent Run Time Span 3FG
12/14 Tennessee Tech 17-0 2:56 2
01/05 Drake 17-0 7:26 1
02/19 Indiana State 15-0 5:01 1
11/18 Furman 14-0 2:19 3
11/25 IUPUI 13-0 2:06 3
11/26 Notre Dame 13-0 2:53 2
01/15 Evansville 13-0 5:27 1
03/03 Wichita State 12-0 1:19 3
12/29 SE Missouri State 12-0 2:41 1
11/25 IUPUI 12-0 2:43 2
01/26 TCU 12-0 2:58 0
12/16 Delaware State 12-0 3:16 2
01/11 Illinois State 12-0 4:08 1
02/08 Bradley 11-0 1:47 1
12/14 Tennessee Tech 11-0 2:47 1
11/18 Furman 11-0 3:05 1
01/29 Indiana State 11-0 3:54 1
01/05 Drake 11-0 4:49 0
11/25 IUPUI 10-0 1:25 1
11/17 Texas-Arlington 10-0 1:36 2
01/26 TCU 10-0 1:56 2
11/17 Texas-Arlington 10-0 2:18 2
01/15 Evansville 10-0 2:57 2
03/10 Southern Illinois 10-0 3:19 0
02/22 Fresno State 10-0 3:23 2
01/20 Illinois State 10-0 3:31 1
12/16 Delaware State 10-0 4:34 0
Frontrunners
Creighton trailed for just 213:59 of a possible 1165 minutes of game action this season in its 29 wins. The Bluejays trailed in the Notre Dame game for a span of 5:42, against BYU for a combined 1:20, Delaware State for 8:56, SE Missouri State for 3:33, Bradley for 3:33, Illinois State for 11 seconds, Evansville for 4:14, Southern Illinois for 20:13, TCU for 23:18, Indiana State for 1:24, at Drake for 5:11, vs. Northern Iowa for 12:53, vs. Bradley for 5:30 vs. SMS for 36:10, Indiana State for 1:05, Fresno State for 18:14, at SMS for 22:14, Indiana State for 11:57 and Wichita State for 28:51.
Creighton led from wire-to-wire in 10 different games on the season (vs. Texas-Arlington, Furman, IUPUI, Northern Iowa, Tennessee Tech, Nebraska, Drake, Illinois State (#2), Wichita State (#2) and Southern Illinois (#3)).
Point, Counterpoint
Creighton point guards Tyler McKinney and Nate Funk did a pretty commendable job of taking care of the ball while finding the open man. McKinney was first in The Valley with a 2.61 assist/turnover ratio (141 assists, 54 turnovers). McKinney’s back-up, Funk, owned 62 assists and 46 turnovers on the season. In MVC play only, the duo combined for 101 assists and 39 turnovers. McKinney’s 141 assists led all MVC players this season.
Double-Digit Streaks
Creighton’s 10-0 start was its 12th stretch of 10 straight wins or more all-time. CU’s longest streak under Dana Altman is an 11-game stretch from Jan. 27-March 3, 2001. The school-record streak is 32 straight wins, set over the course of CU’s first four seasons of organized basketball.
Creighton’s Longest Win Streaks, All-Time
W’s Dates Coach NCAA/NIT
32 1917-1920 (dates unknown) Mills & Kearney Didn’t exist
17 Mar. 25, 1942 -Mar. 4, 1943 E. Hickey NIT
16 Jan. 31, 1928-Jan. 23, 1929 A. Schabinger Didn’t exist
14 Jan. 2-Feb. 22, 1975 T. Apke NCAA
13 1924-25 (dates unknown) A. Schabinger Didn’t exist
13 1916-17 (dates unknown) T. Mills Didn’t exist
12 1921-22 (dates unknown) A. Schabinger Didn’t exist
11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 D. Altman NCAA
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 31, 2002 D. Altman
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 31, 2002 D. Altman
10 Jan. 22-Feb. 22, 1974 E. Sutton NCAA
10 Jan. 27-Mar. 12, 1962 R. McManus NCAA
10 Jan. 18-Feb. 19, 1927 A. Schabinger Didn’t exist
Turnover Free At The Point
Tyler McKinney’s 12 assists without a turnover vs. Nebraska made him just the third player in Bluejay history to accomplish that feat. Here’s the single-game assist leaders at Creighton, along with their turnover statistics on that night:
Ast. Name, Opponent Date Turnovers
17 Ralph Bobik vs. Bradley 01/22/74 0
Ralph Bobik at St. Francis (Pa.) 02/23/73
16 Ralph Bobik vs. BYU 12/17/73 4
13 Jason Bey vs. Southern Illinois 02/27/95 1
Latrell Wrightsell vs. Nebraska 12/07/91 1
12 Tyler McKinney at Nebraska 12/21/02 0
Ed St. Fleur at CS-Sacramento 01/13/96 0
Latrell Wrightsell vs. N. Iowa 02/01/92 4
Duan Cole at Iowa State 01/16/90 5
Vernon Moore at Southern Illinois 01/17/85 2
Randy Eckker at Gonzaga 01/14/77 2
Randy Eckker at Bradley 01/12/77 4
According to STATS Inc., McKinney was one of seven players nationwide with at least a dozen assists and no turnovers in a game this year. He is joined by the following players:
Name, School Date AST TO
Aaron Miles, Kansas Dec. 14 13 0
Chris Thomas, Notre Dame Dec. 22 13 0
Robert Shannon, Sam Houston St. Feb. 13 13 0
Jamaar Walker, Northeastern Feb. 15 13 0
Tyler McKinney, Creighton Dec. 21 12 0
Roy Morris, San Diego Dec. 14 12 0
Steve Blake, Maryland Jan. 4 12 0
McKinney Earns Scholar-Athlete Award
Bluejays point guard Tyler McKinney was named the Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week for Dec. 21. McKinney averaged 7.5 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 67 percent from the field to help the Bluejays defeat Delaware State (68-48) on Dec. 16 and Nebraska (81-73) on Dec. 21. He had 12 assists without a turnover vs. the Huskers.
Dozen Dimes For McKinney
Sophomore Tyler McKinney did a superb job of controlling the tempo vs. Nebraska while also having his best all-around game to date. McKinney had 10 points and 12 assists without a turnover in 29 minutes of action. McKinney’s 12 assists were the most by a Bluejay since Ed St. Fleur had a dozen at Cal State-Sacramento on Jan. 13, 1996. The 12 assists were also the most this season by a MVC player.
McKinney’s Double-Double
Tyler McKinney’s 10 points and 12 assists were the first double-double of his career. It also marked Creighton’s first point-assist double-double since Ed St. Fleur had 14 points and 10 assists in CU’s 1996-97 season-opener.
Clean Sweep For Korver
With Creighton’s 81-73 win on Dec. 21, senior Kyle Korver became the first player in school history to play in four straight wins over Nebraska. Prior to two seasons ago, the Bluejays hadn’t won in Lincoln since 1932.
Korver is also the only player in Creighton history to appear in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
NCAA Statistical Rankings
CU was ranked in three individual and six team categories (top 30) in the final NCAA ranks:
Kyle Korver 2nd 3FG% 48.0
Creighton 4th Win Pct. .853
Creighton 4th Scoring Margin 14.3
Creighton 5th FG% 49.8
Kyle Korver 5th 3FG/game 3.8
Kyle Korver 9th Free Throw % 90.8
Creighton 16th Assists Per Game 16.9
Creighton 19th 3FG% 39.0
Creighton 21st Pts./Game 79.1
Computer Rankings
Jeff Sagarin’s daily computer rankings had Creighton ranked as the #1 team nationally for every day of a nearly four-week span between Dec. 10 and Jan. 5th. Creighton finished the season ranked 21st by Sagarin. The Missouri Valley Conference was ranked 15th by Sagarin. Creighton was ranked 23rd in the final regular-season collegerpi.com rankings. They ranked the MVC the 11th-best league.
Crowded House
The 10,184 fans that came to see Creighton beat Southern Illinois on Jan. 18 was Creighton’s largest since March 4, 1974. Below are the top-15 home crowds under Dana Altman, eight of which happened this year.
Att. Opp. Result Date
10,184 Southern Illinois W 85-76 01/18/03
9,377 Nebraska W 89-72 12/09/99
9,374 #23 Iowa W 85-76 11/27/99
9,369 Nebraska W 76-70 12/12/01
9,329 Fresno State W 67-66 02/22/03
9,286 Bradley W 88-65 02/08/03
9,244 Wichita State W 86-60 03/03/03
9,189 SE Missouri St. W 93-70 12/29/02
9,083 SMS W 70-67 (OT) 02/12/03
9,060 Nebraska L 67-88 12/06/95
9,023 SMS L 82-88 02/15/97
8,897 Northern Iowa W 83-56 02/09/02
8,883 #14 Iowa State L 52-70 01/18/95
8,875 Wyoming W 84-72 02/17/01
8,827 Northern Iowa W 84-75 02/04/03
8,813 Tennessee Tech W 101-72 12/14/02
Bandwagon Filling Up
Creighton closed the season with six consecutive home sellouts and 12 straight home crowds of 8,000 or more fans, including 10,184 that came to see the Jays beat Southern Illinois on Jan. 18. Prior to this season, CU's previous record for consecutive home crowds of 8,000 or more fans stood at four, done during the 1979-80 campaign.
Creighton averaged 8,246 fans per home game, far ahead of the previous record average of 7,885 fans that supported the Bluejays 1982-83 campaign.
Even when CU was away from the Civic this season, they've seen tremendous support. An estimated 3,000 Bluejay fans helped set a new Knapp Center attendance record of 7,152 on Feb. 1 at Drake, while both Guardians Classic games in Kansas City were also packed with the Bluejay faithful.
Non-Conference Power
Creighton’s 29-5 record included a 11-2 record in games vs. non-MVC opponents. Here’s a look at Creighton’s regular-season record vs. non-MVC teams under Dana Altman. Since December 1, 1997, the Jays are an impressive 46-11 (.807) in such games. Creighton is also 31-2 (.939) in home non-conference games since the start of the 1997-98 campaign.
Year All Games Non-MVC Home N-C
1994-95 7-19 3-5 2-2
1995-96 14-15 5-5 3-2
1996-97 15-15 5-6 4-1
1997-98 18-10 6-2 5-0
1998-99 22-9 7-1 5-0
1999-00 23-10 9-2 3-1
2000-01 24-8 9-2 5-0
2001-02 23-9 5-4 5-1
2002-03 29-5 11-2 8-0
Totals 175-100 60-29 40-7
3-0 The Way To Go
Creighton started 3-0 (or better) for the fifth season in a row. All five of those seasons have culminated in an NCAA Tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton finished with a 17-0 home record on the season, its third undefeated home season in Civic Auditorium history. It marks the seventh straight season they have opened 4-0 or better at home.
First Time For Everything
According to available records, Creighton had never won three games in the same regular-season tournament before a season-opening 4-0 run to the Guardians Classic title. That’s not to say they haven’t been successful in postseason action, as they’ve won four of the last five MVC Tournaments.
Don’t Blink
Creighton posted impressive starts to start both the first and seconds halves of its games. The Bluejays outscored their opponents 318-216 in the first five minutes of the first half, and 339-277 in the opening five minutes after half. Evansville (Jan. 15) and Fresno State (Feb. 22) were the only opponents to outscore the Jays in the first five minutes of both halves this season.
First Five Minutes
Game 1st Half 2nd Half
UT-Arlington 12-4 13-5
Furman 17-5 7-7
IUPUI 14-2 15-11
Notre Dame 7-3 11-9
Northern Iowa 9-2 15-9
BYU 9-4 4-6
Tenn. Tech 9-5 15-4
Delaware St. 2-6 11-8
Nebraska 15-5 8-11
SE Missouri State 10-11 13-8
Xavier 7-6 4-12
Drake 9-2 7-12
Bradley 14-11 6-8
Illinois State 8-6 11-3
Evansville 5-8 9-14
Southern Illinois 11-12 9-2
Illinois State 14-10 13-8
Evansville 6-6 7-9
TCU 9-9 14-9
Indiana State 12-6 13-6
Drake 7-7 13-15
Northern Iowa 11-5 9-10
Bradley 11-10 6-8
SMS 5-14 5-2
Wichita State 10-4 10-13
Indiana State 7-6 11-2
Fresno State 5-8 7-14
SMS 9-7 6-7
Southern Illinois 9-8 13-9
Wichita State 4-4 9-3
Indiana State 11-2 13-8
Wichita State 12-12 10-4
Southern Illinois 10-2 11-8
Central Michigan 8-6 11-13
Totals 318-216 339-277
Passing Fancy
An unselfish Creighton squad racked up an impressive 26 assists on its 36 field goals vs. Tennessee Tech. Creighton averaged 16.9 assists per game as five different players averaged 1.8 or more per game. Those 26 assists were the most since a 27-assist showing vs. Evansville on Feb. 28, 2000.
Nothing But Nets
Did you know that Creighton was one of four schools nationwide to qualify a team for the NCAA Tournament in men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s basketball and women’s basketball in 2002 They were joined by Notre Dame, Connecticut and Stanford in this elite group. Of those four, Creighton was the only school to win its league tournament in all four sports.
The Blue Wave
Creighton’s depth has allowed it to gradually wear down the opposition this season. The Bluejays had 10 players average double-digit minutes with no sign of letting up.
In the season opener, the CU bench contributed 61 points, 24 rebounds and 11 assists vs. Texas-Arlington. Creighton’s 61 points off the pine was their most since the bench had 62 points in a win over Grambling on Dec. 6, 1999.
Against Southeast Missouri State, the Jays outscored the Indians bench 42-4 while winning by 23 points while CU outscored Drake’s bench 34-4 in a 20-point road win on Feb. 1
As a whole, Creighton’s bench averaged 29.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this season while playing 78.6 minutes per contest. An individual scored 10 or more points off the bench 35 different times this season.
It’s Up....And It’s Good
Kyle Korver started the season with a bang, making his first eight three-point attempts, including a CU-record 6-for-6 effort from long-range in the opener vs. Texas-Arlington.
Korver, who also made his last trifecta attempt last year, had a streak of nine snapped with a miss vs. Furman. The NCAA record for consecutive three-pointers made is 15, set by Todd Leslie of Northwestern over four games in 1990.
More Perfection
Before Kyle Korver’s 6-for-6 display from long-range vs. UT-Arlington, the last Creighton player to shoot 5-for-5 from three-point range was Ben Walker, who did it on Feb. 28, 2000 vs. Evansville. Creighton has had a player make six or more three-pointers 27 times (nine times by Korver) in school history, but Korver is the first to ever make all his 3-pt. attempts on such a night.
Guardians Classic All-Tournament Honors
Kyle Korver and Brody Deren were both named to the all-Tournament team for the Guardians Classic championship rounds in Kansas City. Korver averaged 22 points and 5.5 rebounds to earn tournament MVP accolades, while Deren averaged 11 points and seven rebounds to earn his spot. Rounding out the all-Tournament team were Chris Thomas and Matt Carroll from Notre Dame and Karim Souchu from Furman.
MVC All-Tournament Honors
Creighton seniors Larry House and Kyle Korver each were named to the MVC’s All-Tournament team, with Korver earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Korver is the first person in league history to earn consecutive tournament MVP laurels and just the third player to earn three all-Tournament team honors.
Joining the Creighton duo were SIU’s Jermaine Dearman, Wichita State’s Randy Burns and SMS’ Terrance McGee.
Good Luck Charm
Dan Bresnahan played just five minutes against Texas-Arlington but the sophomore walk-on made the most of his minutes. In addition to his tip-in at the buzzer, Bresnahan had four rebounds, a steal and an assist, all career highs. Bresnahan also had three uncles who played at Creighton. Creighton is 22-0 all-time when Bresnahan plays.
Fantasy League Dream
With the numbers he produced in so many different categories, senior forward Kyle Korver would have been a fantasy league owners’ dream. The Missouri Valley Conference tracks 12 different statistical categories, and Korver ranked among the top-13 in all but one category (offensive rebounding) last season. 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 has two or more assists in all but six of his last 61 games.
Once again this season, he is in the top-16 in each MVC category except offensive rebounding.
Korver By The Numbers
Kyle Korver made three or more three-pointers in 73 of his 128 career games at Creighton. Creighton was 58-15 in such contests, including a 21-3 record this year.
Korver made five three-pointers or more in a game on 26 occasions in his career, with the Jays winning 21 of those games. Prior to an 0-for-7 long-range performance at Evansville on Jan. 23, Korver had made at least one three-pointer in each of the last 54 games he’d attempted one dating to an 0-for-4 effort beyond the arc at Indiana State his sophomore season.
Korver is the only player CU history to make 60 or more three-pointers in three different seasons, something he has done all four years.
3-Pt. FG Made by Game
Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Freshman 9 6 6 7 2 2 1 0 0 0
Sophomore 3 2 4 9 8 5 1 0 0 0
Junior 1 8 5 4 6 5 0 0 0 0
Senior 1 3 7 6 5 5 3 2 1 1
Totals 14 19 22 26 21 17 5 2 1 1
The Pella Cannon
Senior forward Kyle Korver continues to shoot three-pointers with astounding accuracy. Korver has made 129-of-269 three-pointers (48 percent). He made at least one trey in all but eight of the 68 halves he played this season and five or more from downtown in 11 different contests.
Money Ball
Kyle Korver ranked second among the nation’s active players in career free-throw percentage, so it’s no surprise that he’d go long stretches at the line without a miss. In fact, Korver owned six career streaks of 20 or more consecutive free throws, including a streak of 20 straight snapped vs. Bradley on Feb. 8. He had a stretch of 21 straight from the stripe snapped on Nov. 25, 2002 with a miss vs. IUPUI and 20 straight snapped on Jan. 23 at Evansville.
Only twice in his career did Korver miss two free throws during the same trip to the line. Those times came Dec. 16, 2000 vs. Wichita State and on March 1, 2003 at Southern Illinois.
Here’s a chart showing Korver’s top streaks at the stripe.
Streak Dates
28 Jan. 27-March 15, 2001
27 Jan. 29-Nov. 20, 2000
24 Mar. 15-Dec. 4, 2001
21 Mar. 3-Nov. 25, 2002
20 Jan. 23-Feb. 4, 2003
20 Jan. 11-Jan. 23, 2003
Don’t Take Our Word For It
Count noted college basketball personality Dick Vitale among those who are fans of Kyle Korver. Vitale listed Korver on his All-AT&T team (Long Distance Bombers) in ESPN Magazine’s preseason college basketball preview issue dated Nov. 25, 2002. Korver was listed along with Brent Blizzard, Jason Kapono, Kirk Penney and Dante Swanson. Korver was also listed last season.
Preseason Hype
In addition to the preseason MVC poll, Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference by Athlon Sports, Basketball News, Lindy’s, The Sporting News and Street & Smith’s magazines. In addition, The Sporting News ranked Creighton 24th nationally.
The preseason favorite’s role is Creighton’s second in three years (also 2000-01) and fifth time since 1989-90. In addition, Kyle Korver was tabbed preseason MVC Player of the Year. Combined with the CU women’s selection as the top squad, this season marks the first time since 1992-93 that both The Valley’s men and women’s preseason favorite are from the same school.
Best Starts Ever
This season marked Creighton’s fifth 10-0 start in 85 years of basketball, though it hadn’t been done since in 60 years. Below is a list of Creighton’s most successful starts all-time without a loss:
Best Undefeated Starts
Start Year Final W-L
16-0 1942-43 16-1
13-0 1916-17 18-2
11-0 1917-18 11-0
10-0 2002-03 29-5
10-0 1918-19 10-0
Five Straight Trips Rare
Creighton’s current run of five straight NCAA Tournaments has been matched just one time previously by a MVC school. Cincinnati played in six straight NCAA Tournaments between 1958-63, including national titles in 1961 and 1962. Oscar Robertson played at Cincinnati from 1958-60.
Leading The Charge
Creighton took 57 charges this season, led by their post players. Leading the team with 17 was Mike Grimes while Joe Dabbert took 13 charges. The Bluejays took a season-high six on Nov. 18 vs. Furman and added five more vs. BYU.
Dana’s Arc
Creighton has made two or more three-pointers in 297 consecutive games, including every game under the direction of Dana Altman. The last time they had just one trey was a 74-70 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 22, 1993.
Overall, Creighton has made at least one trifecta in 307 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois St. on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Bombs Away
Creighton’s 15 three-pointers against UT-Arlington were one shy of the school and Civic Auditorium record set vs. Evansville on Jan. 4, 1999 in a 84-79 loss. In that game CU was 16-for-30. That Evansville game was the only previous time Creighton made as many as 15 three-pointers in a game. Creighton also made 15-of-25 three-pointers vs. IUPUI.
Kyle Korver tied the Creighton record and broke a Civic Auditorium record when he launched 15 three-point attempts vs. Fresno State. Earlier this year, Korver broke the Creighton and Civic single-game record with nine three-point baskets vs. Evansville.
Future Jays
Creighton coach Dana Altman signed a pair of Missouri natives on fall Signing Day. Anthony Tolliver, a 6-9 forward/center from Springfield, Mo. (Kickapoo HS) and Tim Blackwell, a 6-4 guard from Cameron, Mo. (Cameron HS) both will join Creighton next fall. Tolliver’s team finished the year ranked 12th nationally by USA Today. The Bluejays still have one scholarship remaining, which they plan to hold until the spring.
