Men's Basketball Heads To St. Louis Looking For Third Straight MVC Tourney Crown
3/2/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Creighton (19-7, 11-6 MVC) opens defense of its back-to-back MVC Tournament crowns on Saturday when it plays Southwest Missouri State (17-13, 9-9 MVC) in quarterfinal action at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Tip time at the Savvis Center (20,000) is set for 2:37 p.m., or 24 minutes after the completion of the first game of the day.
If Creighton beats Southwest Missouri State, they would advance to a semifinal match-up on Sunday at 2:37 p.m. on Fox Sports Net.
The league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs Monday at 8:05 p.m. on ESPN.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOMJ (“Magic” 590 AM) broadcasts all Creighton’s men’s basketball games. The games are also webcast live at www.magic590.com. T. Scott Marr and Kevin Sarver will call the action.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net Midwest, Fox Sports Net Chicago, Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain and Fox Sports Digital Central as part of the Missouri Valley Conference’s TV package. Dan McLaughlin (play-by-play) and Scott Highmark (analyst) will announce. Coordinates are below:
What: Creighton vs. SMS
When: Saturday, March 6 -- 2:30 p.m. (Central)
Clearances: Live at 2:30 p.m. on March 6 on Fox Sports Net Midwest (4.2 million homes); Live at 2:30 p.m. on March 6 on Fox Sports Net Chicago (3.8 million homes); Live at 2:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain (3.0 million homes); Live at 2:30 p.m. on March 6 on Fox Sports Digital Central (4.0 million homes).
On Air: 2:30 p.m. Central
Tipoff: 2:37 p.m. Central
Satellite Coordinates: Galaxy 11K, TR 19 -- Digital Slot C
Band: Digital KU
Bandwidth: 9 Megahertz
Parameters: FEC - 3/4; Symbol Rate: 6.1113
Downlink Frequency: 12086 Megahertz Horizontal
On-Air Talent: Dan McLaughlin (play-by-play), Scott Highmark (analyst).
Scouting Creighton
Creighton wrapped up the regular-season with a 20-7 record and tied for second in the MVC with a 12-6 league mark. Creighton’s 12-0 start this year was its best since 1942-43, but the team is 10-7 while playing without junior point guard Tyler McKinney.
Fifth-year senior center Brody Deren leads the team in scoring (10.9) and rebounding (6.8). Sophomore guard Nate Funk scores 10.8 points per game and paces the squad with 71 assists this season.
Kellen Miliner has been consistent off the bench, scoring 9.9 points per game, while Mike Grimes shoots 59.0 percent from the field and scores 9.4 points per game.
With McKinney sidelined by vision problems, sophomore guard Johnny Mathies has taken over the starting point guard position, averaging 7.4 points and a team-best 1.3 steals per contest.
Scouting Southwest Missouri State
SMS brings a 17-13 overall record into the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, including a 9-9 conference mark. The Bears were just 5-9 away from the Hammons Student Center and have not won on the road since Jan. 31st.
Three players average in double-figures, led by freshman Blake Ahearn. Ahearn scores 10.4 points per game and has made 107-of-110 free throws (97.3 percent), one of the best seasons at the stripe in NCAA history.
Monwell Randle (10.3 ppg) leads the team with 6.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocked shots per game. Merrill Andrews paces the squad with 97 assists and scores 10.2 points per game while also being a defensive menace (40 steals).
The Bears are averaging 65.7 points per game (they allow 62.7 ppg.) and shoot 43.6 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from three-point range and 67.7 percent at the free throw line.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton’s Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 10th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 195-107 (.646) mark at CU and a career record of 278-174 (.615) in his 15th year as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton’s all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named conference, regional, district or national coach of the year in 10 of his 19 years as a head coach at all levels. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. Additionally, 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 is assisted by Greg Grensing, Len Gordy and Darian DeVries.
Barry Hinson (Oklahoma State, 1983) is 87-67 in his fifth season at SMS. He owns a career mark of 123-90 in seven years overall. Hinson was previously a head coach for two years at Oral Roberts. He is assisted by Ric Wesley, Steve Lynch and Troy Collier.
Series History vs. SMS
Creighton leads the all-time series vs. SMS by a 20-18 margin, including victories in seven of the last eight meetings. However, that SMS win was a convincing 70-46 triumph in Springfield last Saturday (Feb. 28).
Five of the last six meetings have been decided by six points or less, all Bluejay wins. The Bluejays have won 13 of the last 16 meetings, including MVC Tournament match-ups in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Dana Altman is 15-10 against SMS in his career and 9-4 in head-to-head meetings with Barry Hinson.
MVC Tournament History vs. SMS
Creighton owns a 4-3 record in MVC Tournament play against SMS, including victories in 1999, 2000 and 2001. However, Creighton is just 1-3 when opening playing the Bears in first round action.
Creighton has won its first-round contest in five straight MVC Tournaments, but the Bears have been even better, as SMS has won its’ Tournament opener in eight straight seasons.
The teams have met in the Tournament finals in both 1991 and 2000, with CU winning by double-digit margins times.
Creighton’s History As The Fourth Seed
This is Creighton’s fourth trip to the MVC Tournament as the fourth seed. In each of the previous three trips (1984, 1988, 2000) the Bluejays won their first round contest.
In both 1984 (#12 Tulsa) and 1988 (#14 Bradley), the Bluejays ran into a ranked host school in their second game and were eliminated. In 2000, fourth-seeded Creighton beat Bradley, Indiana State and SMS in St. Louis en route to the title.
Creighton’s 1999-2000 club remains the only #4 seed to win the MVC Tournament since it moved to St. Louis.
Last Game Recap
Creighton’s nation-best quartet of fifth-year seniors combined for 50 points, 28 rebounds, 10 assists and five blocked shots in a 75-61 win over Wichita State on Senior Night in Omaha. The win gave CU 20 wins for an MVC-record-tying sixth straight season.
CU’s seniors scored all but three of its first 24 points as the Jays would build a 35-29 halftime lead. In the second half, sophomore guard Nate Funk drained three treys to help bury the Shockers.
Mike Grimes had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Creighton, while Michael Lindeman had 15 points, five boards and five assists. Wichita State was led by 18 points in 26 foul-plagued minutes from Jamar Howard.
Back-to-Back Facts
Creighton is one of just six schools to have won a conference tournament title in each of the previous two seasons. Joining the Bluejays in this elite company are Duke, Holy Cross, Oklahoma, UNC-Wilmington and Western Kentucky.
Creighton is also one of just four schools to have won their conference tournament in four of the last five seasons. That select company consists of Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga and Winthrop.
It’s worth noting that Pennsylvania has won the Ivy League’s automatic bid in the last two years and four of the last five campaigns as well, but their bid is awarded to the regular-season champion since they do not have a tournament.
Run of Success
Creighton has won four of the last five MVC Tournament titles, going 13-1 in the last five MVC Tournaments. Impressively, the Bluejays were the second seed on three of those occasions and were the fourth seed once.
Going For Three
Creighton will look to become the second program in MVC history to win three straight MVC Tournament titles this weekend, joining Southern Illinois (1993-94-95). Creighton has won eight MVC Tournament titles, twice as many as any other school.
Deren Looks For Three-Peat Too
Brody Deren has been named to the all-Tournament team in each of the past two seasons. If he earns all-Tournament accolades this weekend, he will join Kyle Korver (Creighton), Bob Harstad (Creighton) and Marcus Timmons (SIU) as the only three-time all-Tourney picks in league history.
Creighton has had at least one all-Tournament selection in five straight seasons.
Jays Winning The Rubber Match
Creighton has won nine straight games at the MVC Tournament against teams that they split its two regular-season meetings with. Creighton split the regular-season meetings with SMS this season. Below is that list:
Reg. Season
Year Opponent Won Lost Tourney
2003 So. Illinois 85-76 62-70 W 80-56
2003 Wichita St. 86-60 74-80 W 70-69
2002 Northern Iowa 83-56 79-85 W 80-65
2001 SMS 72-48 67-74 W 63-41
2000 SMS 63-69 58-59 W 57-45
2000 Indiana St. 64-58 46-56 W 71-69
2000 Bradley 73-56 65-73 W 71-62
1999 Evansville 90-80 79-84 W 70-61
1999 Illinois St. 95-84 77-79 W 68-63
Defending The Jays’ J’s
Creighton’s two poorest shooting performances from the field this season have come in their meetings with SMS. Creighton shot just 35.8 percent (19-53) on Dec. 30th in Omaha and were an even worse 29.5 percent (13-44) on Feb. 28th in Springfield against the Bears. Against the rest of the MVC, Creighton shot a collective 45.9 percent on the season.
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
With its 59-54 win on Dec. 30, Creighton has now won the last five match-ups vs. SMS that have been decided by six points or less, as seen below:
Last Five Close Games, Creighton vs. SMS
Host Winner Score Date
CU Creighton 59-54 12/30/03
SMS Creighton 63-58 02/26/03
CU Creighton 70-67 (ot) 02/12/03
CU Creighton 80-74 01/30/02
SMS Creighton 76-72 01/13/02
Falling Behind The Norm
Creighton has trailed at the half in five of its last six meetings with SMS. Despite such bad opening halves, Creighton has won five of those six meetings, as seen below:
Largest
Date Half Score Final Score CU Deficit
02/28/04 SMS 34-24 SMS 70-46 28
12/30/03 SMS 31-27 CU 59-54 10
02/26/03 SMS 32-28 CU 63-58 8
02/12/03 SMS 36-25 CU 70-67 (OT) 17
01/30/02 CU 44-32 CU 80-74 3
01/13/02 SMS 36-34 CU 76-72 7
Prep Teammates Face Each Other
Last year at this time, Anthony Tolliver and Deven Mitchell were teammates for a nationally-ranked prep team at Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo High School. When they meet on Saturday, they’ll do it as rivals. Tolliver is now a forward at Creighton, while Mitchell stayed in his hometown to play for SMS. A third prep teammate, Spencer Laurie, is playing for Missouri.
Not surprisingly for a team with three first-team all-state picks, Kickapoo High went 30-1, finished 12th nationally in the USA Today poll, and won the Missouri class 5A state title.
Senior Night Notes
Creighton’s nation-best quartet of fifth-year seniors combined for one of their most dominating performances in their 75-61 Senior Night victory over Wichita State on Monday.
The Bluejay senior class combined for 50 points, 28 rebounds, 10 assists and five blocked shots. The point, rebound and assist totals were all season highs for a single game this season.
The production was a tremendous upgrade from CU’s Feb. 28 loss at SMS, where the seniors combined for just 10 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in a 70-46 setback. The seniors’ 10 points in that game were a season-low.
Below is a comparison of the performances of the Creighton seniors lately:
Creighton Seniors, Combined Stats
Opponent, Date Pts. Reb. Ast. Blks.
Wichita State, 3/1 50 28 10 5
SMS, 2/28 10 14 3 1
So. Illinois, 2/24 31 24 4 2
Kent State, 2/21 26 16 5 2
Indiana State, 2/18 42 18 9 4
Drake, 2/14 32 25 5 4
Bradley, 2/11 36 20 6 3
So. Illinois, 2/7 36 22 3 0
Northern Iowa, 2/4 37 20 5 3
Evansville, 2/1 17 11 2 4
Indiana State, 1/28 27 22 9 2
Illinois State, 1/24 36 17 7 4
Wichita State, 1/21 24 18 4 3
Evansville, 1/17 36 14 6 5
Northern Iowa, 1/14 35 14 3 2
Drake, 1/11 31 27 8 7
Illinois State, 1/7 28 15 6 3
Bradley, 1/5 40 27 5 4
SMS, 12/30 28 22 3 4
Wyoming, 12/22 43 19 1 4
Ark.-L.R., 12/20 42 24 7 1
Fresno State, 12/13 49 19 2 3
Nebraska, 12/10 31 11 6 1
Delaware State, 12/6 26 10 6 3
Bethune-Cook., 12/3 30 22 2 2
St. Bona., 11/29 46 24 8 6
San Diego, 11/22 31 20 4 1
Average this year 33.3 19.4 5.1 3.1
Accomplished Class
In the last four years, CU is 96-29 and has won two MVC regular-season titles and a pair of MVC Tournament crowns while extending the school-record streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to five. They’ve also been part of the most successful team in school history (29-5 in 2002-03) and were nationally ranked in each of the past two seasons. The quartet have helped Creighton go 57-4 at home in the last four seasons.
Taking Care of the Rock
Coming off back-to-back losses in which Creighton turned it over 20 times in each game, the Bluejays took better care of the basketball on Monday vs. Wichita State. Creighton had a season-low five turnovers, matching its lowest output since having five miscues against Grambling on Nov. 29, 2001 in a 102-64 victory.
More importantly, the Shockers were unable to convert any of those turnovers into points on the other end. Until that game, the fewest points off turnovers the Bluejays had allowed in a game this year had been two against Illinois State on Jan. 7th.
Making The Extra Pass
All 10 Creighton players to see time in Monday’s win over Wichita State recorded at least one of CU’s 19 assists. How rare is that You’d have to go to Dec. 3, 1992 (a 69-58 loss to Iowa State) to find the last time every Bluejay player in the line-up recorded at least one helper.
Strength of Schedule
Creighton swept all four teams that are seeded seven through 10 and will play in the play-in games on Friday. The Bluejays split the season series with the teams seeded second through fifth, and were swept by top-seeded Southern Illinois.
MVP Fun Facts
All three players to be named MVC regular-season MVP and MVC Tournament MVP in the same season went on to play professionally after their college days. Creighton’s Kyle Korver (2002 and 2003), SIU’s Chris Carr (1995) and Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins (1988) all played in the NBA and made their mark from the perimeter.
Neutral Floor War Success
Creighton has won its last eight neutral site games that weren’t part of the NCAA Tournament. CU was 5-0 in such contests last season and were 3-0 at the 2002 MVC Tournament.
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Part II
Creighton and Wichita State have played 15 games decided by 12 points or less during the 20 match-ups since Dana Altman became Bluejay coach. CU has gone 14-1 in those games, with the lone exception being last year’s 80-74 setback at the Kansas Coliseum. Altman also went 1-0 while at Kansas State in games vs. WSU decided by 12 points or less.
Looking To Avoid A Rare Sweep
If Creighton could meet Southern Illinois in the semifinals, they will look to avoid a rare season sweep against a conference opponent. In the last six seasons, the only school to sweep both regular-season meetings with Creighton was Southern Illinois, who did it in both 2001-02 and 2003-04.
The Bluejays exacted revenge in the 2002 MVC Tournament finals, winning 84-76 to earn the MVC’s automatic bid, and will hope to knock off the Salukis once again this year if given the chance.
The last MVC team to go unbeaten against Creighton in a season was the 1997-98 Bradley team that beat CU twice in the regular-season and once in the MVC Tournament, while Illinois State was 2-0 vs. CU in that same season.
Slow Starters
One reason that Creighton has gone 3-5 in its last eight games is that they continue to start slow out of the gate. CU has trailed at the first media timeout in six of its last eight contests.
In last year’s 29-5 campaign, CU outscored its opponents 318-216 in the opening five minutes of games and trailed just five times in 34 games at the 15:00 mark of the first half.
This season, the Jays own a 204-169 edge in the first five minutes of the game.
Low Points
Creighton’s 70-46 loss at SMS on Feb. 28 required a check through the record book to find the last time they had a game like that, as noted below:
Creighton’s 46 points were its fewest since a 56-46 loss at Indiana State on Jan. 6, 2000.
The SMS game marked the first game since Dec. 19, 2001 that Creighton never owned a lead. CU had owned a lead in 83 straight contests.
Creighton’s 24-point loss was its largest since a 95-61 setback at Western Kentucky on Dec. 19, 2001.
Creighton’s 24-point loss was its largest in MVC action since a 85-54 loss at Evansville on Feb. 4, 1995.
Creighton had not been outrebounded by 15 (41-26) since losing the battle of the boards by 17 (45-28) on Dec. 21, 2002 at Nebraska.
Creighton’s 13 field goals were its fewest since making 13 in a 61-52 loss at Evansville on Jan. 21, 2001. By comparison, CU had five different contests last year where they made 13 or more three-pointers in a game.
Creighton’s 29.5 percent shooting effort from the field was its poorest percentage since shooting 13-for-50 (26 percent) at Evansville on Jan. 21, 2001.
CU's only win under Dana Altman when scoring 55 points or less was a 50-47 win at Wichita State on Feb. 23, 1995.
Field Goal Droughts
Creighton’s offense has struggled in the last three losses, as they had five different spans of 5:00 or more between field goals in those contests. CU’s Feb. 28 loss at SMS featured three different droughts of five minutes or more (7:09, 7:37 and 5:09), while the Bluejays also had long droughts against Southern Illinois (5:04) and Kent State (9:25).
Attendance Record Broken
With 14,372 fans vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 7, Creighton shattered the school record for home attendance in a season. The Bluejays attracted 178,775 fans, breaking last year’s mark of 140,174 total home fans.
The Jays averaged 11,918 fans per home game, a figure more than CU’s previous largest single-game home crowd in history.
Among current schools, the league record for average home attendance had been 10,738 by Indiana State during Larry Bird’s senior campaign of 1978-79. Louisville averaged 13,674 fans in 1974-75 to set the MVC mark.
CU Home Attendance, Most Fans Since 1967-68
Year G Attendance Average
1. 2003-04 15 178,775 11,918
2. 2002-03 17 140,174 8,246
3. 1982-83 17 134,042 7,885
Leading The Charge!
Led by 10 from Joe Dabbert, Creighton has taken 37 charges this season. While respectable, that is 22 fewer than the 59 charges they took in last year’s 29-5 campaign.
Name 2002-03 2003-04 Change
Johnny Mathies n/a 6 +6
Jimmy Motz redshirted 5 +5
Brody Deren 5 7 +2
Kellen Miliner 0 1 +1
Michael Lindeman 2 1 -1
Nate Funk 3 1 -2
Joe Dabbert 13 10 -3
Tyler McKinney 9 1 -8
Graduated Players 10 n/a -10
Mike Grimes 17 5 -12
Total 59 37 -18
Miliner Named To MVC’s All-Bench Team
Junior guard Kellen Miliner has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference all-Bench team. Creighton has now had at least one representative on the all-Bench team in six of the last seven seasons. Miliner is averaging 9.9 points per game and paces the team in three-pointers made (46).
Miliner was joined on the all-Bench team by Illinois State’s Trey Guidry (captain), Wichita State’s Aaron Hogg and the Southern Illinois tandem of LaMar Owen and Jamaal Tatum.
Deren's Grand Chase
Senior center Brody Deren enters the MVC Tournament needing 39 points to reach the 1,000 point mark in his college career. Deren scored 85 points as a freshman at Northwestern and has scored 876 points the last three seasons at Creighton.
Tolliver Stands Tall
True freshman Anthony Tolliver had his most productive game of the season on Feb. 28 at SMS. The Springfield, Mo. native logged a career-best 19 minutes and turned in a season-high five rebounds and added four points to go with a blocked shot.
Lindeman, Deren Are Scholar-Athletes Again
Creighton seniors Michael Lindeman and Brody Deren have each been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, as voted on by the league’s sports information directors.
Lindeman owned a 3.947 GPA in Finance as an undergraduate and is current pursuing his MBA. This is the second straight season he was a unanimous selection.
Deren owns a 3.665 GPA in Exercise Science and was voted on the first-team for the third straight campaign.
Jays Tie MVC Record With Sixth 20-Win Year
With its win over Wichita State on March 1st, Creighton reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth consecutive season. In the 97-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference, only three teams had done this previously in six straight years. Those schools were Cincinnati (1957-58 to 1962-63), Bradley (1956-57 to 1961-62) and Oklahoma A&M (1943-44 to 1948-49).
Rule of 70
Creighton is 138-32 all-time under Dana Altman and 40-2 in the last two seasons when holding opponents under 70 points. Both setbacks in that 42-game stretch came against Southern Illinois this season.
Rule of 70, Part II
Since arriving at Creighton, Dana Altman owns a 17-3 mark against Wichita State. One common theme for the Bluejays in those contests has been tenacious defense.
Creighton has allowed the Shockers to score 70 or more points in just five of those 20 games, of which WSU won three times. However, in the 15 matchups the Shockers scored under 70, they are 0-15 vs. Altman and the Bluejays.
This trend also held true when Altman was at Kansas State, as the Shockers went 0-3 when scoring under 70 but 1-0 when they eclipsed the 70-point barrier.
Losing Streaks Rare
Creighton’s back-to-back-to-back losses at Kent State, at Southern Illinois and at SMS marked the first time CU had suffered three consecutive setbacks since falling in four straight games from Dec. 23, 1999 to Jan. 6, 2000. Creighton finished fourth in the MVC with an 11-7 record that season but got things together in March to win the MVC Tournament that year.
Perhaps more impressively, Creighton owns just 12 losses since March 18, 2002, a span of more than 23 months.
Creighton finished February with a 4-5 record, its first losing record for an entire month since going 3-4 in December of 2001.
Under A Dozen For Deren
Creighton is currently being led in scoring by senior center Brody Deren’s 10.9 points per game. The last time Creighton failed to produce a player averaging at least 12.0 points per game was 1957-58, when Jim Berry’s 11.3 average paced the squad. Berry would later become an assistant coach at Creighton and head coach at MVC rival Northern Iowa.
Starting Lineups Seem Set
Creighton has used just four different starting line-up combinations in the last 77 games. One of those line-up changes was a one-game switch to accommodate CU’s Senior Night last year.
Creighton’s current starting five of Johnny Mathies, Nate Funk, Michael Lindeman, Mike Grimes and Brody Deren has been together to start each of the last 19 games.
49 games (42-7) Jan. 9, 2002- March 20, 2003 McKinney, House, Lindeman, Korver, Deren
1 games (1-0) March 3, 2003
McKinney, House, Bowden, Korver, Deren
8 games (8-0) Nov. 22-Dec. 22, 2003
McKinney, Funk, Lindeman, Grimes, Deren
19 games (12-7) Dec. 30, 2003-Present
Mathies, Funk, Lindeman, Grimes, Deren
The 40 Percent Rule
Drake shot 38.1 percent vs. Creighton on Feb. 14, but managed a double-overtime win, snapping a CU streak of 19 straight wins when holding the opposition below 40 percent from the field. Since coming to Creighton, Dana Altman’s is 85-10 when holding opponents under 40 percent, including a 72-5 record in the last eight seasons and 59-3 mark in the last six seasons.
Altman & Opponent Field Goal Percentages
Year Under 40 % Season Mark W-L
2003-04 8-1 .422 20-7
2002-03 10-0 .435 29-5
2001-02 9-1 .435 23-9
2000-01 10-1 .428 24-8
1999-00 11-0 .433 23-10
1998-99 11-0 .450 22-9
1997-98 8-1 .428 18-10
1996-97 5-1 .438 15-15
1995-96 8-4 .410 14-15
1994-95 5-1 .455 7-19
Totals 85-10 -- 195-107
Bench Carries The Load
Last year the Creighton bench outscored its opponents 1,009-500, and this year’s team is following the same path. Creighton has outscored the bench of its opponents by a hefty 664-550 margin this season.
The Bluejay reserves outscored San Diego’s entire team by a 47-44 count in CU’s season-opener on Nov. 22.
Creighton’s bench has scored in double-figures in 116 consecutive games dating to a nine-point performance on Dec. 19, 2000 at Tulsa.
McKinney Loss Makes A Difference
After going a perfect 10-0 with Tyler McKinney in the line-up, CU has gone 10-7 in the games the junior point guard has missed. Without McKinney, CU’s scoring margin drops by 14.6 points per game, the team forces 5.5 fewer turnovers and Kellen Miliner takes over the team lead in scoring at 11.1 ppg. Below is a quick summary of those numbers:
With Tyler Without Tyler
W-L 10-0 10-7
Scoring Offense 71.8 65.9
Scoring Defense 55.1 63.9
Scoring Margin +16.7 +2.1
Reb. Margin +4.0 +1.9
FG% .470 .445
3FG% .391 .375
FT% .702 .698
Assists/Game 14.5 13.4
Turnovers/Game 13.7 13.6
TO’s Forced/Game 17.9 12.4
Steals/Game 8.1 6.0
Most Points Deren 11.9 Miliner 11.1
Most Rebounds Deren 7.2 Deren 6.6
Most Assists McKinney 3.9 Funk 3.1
Most Blocked Shots Dabbert 1.2 Dabbert 1.2
Most Steals Mathies 1.8 Mathies 1.0
Selling Out For Creighton
Last season Creighton played nine of its last 10 regular-season games in front of virtual (93% capacity or more) sellout crowds. This season. CU has had one home sellout (Nebraska) and played before four virtual sellouts on the road (at Wichita State, Drake, Kent State and Southern Illinois).
Most Wins, Last Two Years
Creighton owns 49 wins in the last two seasons to rank among the nation’s most successful programs. Since the start of last season, only Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Duke have more wins than Creighton after games of March 1st.
‘02-03 ‘03-04 Next Total
Wins Wins Game Wins
Pittsburgh 28 25 Mar. 2 53
Kentucky 32 21 Mar. 3 53
Duke 26 24 Mar. 3 50
Creighton 29 20 Mar 6 49
Gonzaga 24 25 Mar. 7 49
St. Joseph’s 23 26 Mar. 2 49
Syracuse 30 19 Mar. 2 49
Stanford 24 25 Mar. 4 49
Southern Illinois 24 24 Mar. 6 48
Kansas 30 18 Mar. 3 48
Arizona 28 18 Mar. 7 46
Utah 25 20 Mar. 4 45
Dayton 24 21 Mar. 3 45
A March Tradition
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 State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas and Wisconsin.
Creighton is also 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.
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.
22 Wins x 5 Years = Unprecedented Success
The 2002-03 season was Creighton’s fifth straight year of 20 or more wins, the best stretch in school history. According to STATS Inc., Creighton is one of 10 teams to have won 22 or more games in each of the previous 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
Kent State 23 23 24 30 22
Tulsa 23 32 26 27 23
Creighton’s 121 wins over the previous five seasons ranks as the third-most over a five-year stretch of any MVC program. Cincinnati had 136 wins from 1958-59 to 1962-63 while Oklahoma A&M had 136 triumphs from 1943-44 to 1947-48.
CoSIDA Academic All-District Picks
Fifth-year seniors Michael Lindeman and Brody Deren have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VII First Team on Feb. 19th. It is Lindeman’s third consecutive year being honored, while Deren is also a repeat selection from 2003.
Both men will advance to the national ballot for a chance at Academic All-American plaudits. Lindeman, a second-team choice in 2003, Paul Silas (1964) and Rick Apke (1978) are CU’s only Academic All-Americans all-time.
Creighton has now had a player named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in six straight years, including Joel Templeman (1998), Ryan Sears (1999, 2000, 2001), Lindeman (2002, 2003, 2004) and Deren (2003, 2004).
Double-Digit League Wins
Creighton picked up its 10th league win of the season on Feb. 11 vs. Bradley. It marks the eighth consecutive season that the Bluejays have won 10 or more MVC games. In the 97-year history of The Valley, the only other league school to previous win 10 league games or more in eight straight seasons was Missouri, which did it from 1915-16 to 1922-23.
In those eight seasons, Creighton owns a 99-45 league record, which is easily the best in the MVC.
Last 8 Years, MVC Records
School MVC W-L All Games W-L
Creighton 99-45 174-73
Southern Illinois 93-51 154-90
SMS 87-57 148-103
Illinois State 75-69 130-109
Bradley 74-70 118-120
Evansville 68-76 112-125
Wichita State 67-77 117-117
Indiana State 61-83 109-125
Northern Iowa 58-86 94-122
Drake 38-106 74-151
It’s Miliner Time!
Kellen Miliner’s 22-point game against Bradley was a career-high for the junior guard. In fact, it was the most points scored in any Division I college game by any current member on the team.
Miliner’s previous best was a 20-point performance at Evansville on Feb. 1st. Miliner added to his strong play of late with 17 points at Drake on Feb. 14. Miliner finished second on the team lead in league play with 10.9 points per game.
The only other Creighton players to average double digits under Dana Altman without the benefit of a starting nod that same campaign were Terrell Taylor’s 12.6 points per game in 2001-02 and Doug Swenson’s 11.3 ppg. in 1997-98. Miliner is averaging 9.9 ppg so far.
Double Overtime Defeat
The most played rivalry in MVC history had never gone to such lengths, as Feb. 14 marked the first double-overtime game in the 132 game history between Creighton and Drake.
In fact, prior to the Feb. 14 78-73 double-overtime loss at Drake, Creighton had won eight consecutive double-overtime games, as seen below:
Creighton’s Last 10 Double-Overtime Games
Date Winner Loser Score
02/04/04 at Drake Creighton L 78-73
03/15/02 Creighton #15 Florida! W 83-82
11/27/01 at Creighton #17 W. Kentucky W 94-91
01/04/93 at Creighton Montana W 84-78
02/10/91 at Creighton SMS W 91-87
02/17/90 at Creighton Wichita State W 103-95
01/16/90 Creighton at Iowa State W 99-94
12/08/89 Creighton Western Michigan# W 98-87
02/04/88 at Creighton Tulsa W 94-92
03/01/86 at Wichita St. Creighton L 64-69
! NCAA Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
# Mazzio’s Pizza Classic in Springfield, Mo.
Rare Home Losses
Creighton’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 98-11 in the last four seasons. In fact, prior to February, 2004, the men and women hadn’t both lost a home game in the same month since February, 2000. Creighton has not been swept by a MVC team in both men’s and women’s play during the same season since SMS did it in 1996-97.
Creighton’s Home Records, Last Four Years
Year Men Women Combined
2003-04 14-1 7-1 21-2
2002-03 17-0 13-1 30-1
2001-02 12-3 11-1 23-4
2000-01 14-0 10-4 24-4
TOTALS 57-4 41-7 98-11
Unlucky Number 73
If there’s an unlucky number for Creighton, it would have to be the number 73. Creighton has scored exactly 73 points in three of its last eight losses and five of its last 14 setbacks.
Including Feb. 14th, Creighton has lost five straight games when scoring exactly 73 points. The Jays’ last win when scoring exactly 73 points was a 73-56 win over Bradley on Feb. 13, 2000.
Lucky Number 7
Creighton has won exactly seven road games in each of the previous three seasons while averaging 25.3 wins in those years. This year, the Bluejays closed the regular-season 6-6 on the road and won’t play a true road game again unless an NIT bid sends Creighton out of Omaha.
Korver Third At NBA Three-Point Contest
Philadelphia 76ers rookie Kyle Korver took third at the Three-Point Contest held in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Game. Korver, who finished his Creighton career (1999-2003) tied for sixth in NCAA history with 371 career three-pointers, ranks 10th in the NBA in three-point percentage at 41.6 percent and leads the league with 4.8 three-pointers per 48 minutes.
Korver took third place behind champion Voshon Lenard (Denver) and Peja Stojakovic (Sacramento). Last year Korver finished second to Butler’s Darnell Archey at the Three-Point Shootout at the Final Four in New Orleans.
Five-Figure Crowds
Creighton’s crowd of 11,117 vs. Wichita State on March 1st marked the 15th time this season that Creighton has played before 10,000 fans or more this season, extending a new school-record. Creighton is 24-8 in its last 32 regular-season games played before 10,000 fans or more. Additionally, CU is won 19-1 in its last 20 regular-season games played before crowds of 11,000 fans or more.
ESPN2=Close Games
Creighton’s two ESPN2 games this season have combined to have 14 ties and 30 lead changes. That continues a trend of back-and-forth contests when the Jays appear on national TV. In Creighton’s last five regular-season appearances on ESPN or ESPN2, there have been 31 ties and 53 lead changes.
What’s Your Twenty
Creighton has started 14-6 or better after 20 games for the seventh consecutive season. Here’s a look at Creighton’s record after 20 games in the 10 seasons under Dana Altman.
Year First 20 W-L Final W-L Postseason
2003-04 17-3
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 ---
Comparing Great Starts
Kyle Korver, DeAnthony Bowden and Larry House have departed from last year's team, but Creighton is off to another great start. Last year’s team started 24-3 while CU is 20-7 this season.
Below is a comparison of the two seasons after 27 games:
2002-03 2003-04
W-L 24-3 20-7
Scoring Offense 81.4 68.1
Scoring Defense 65.0 60.6
Scoring Margin +16.4 +7.5
Reb. Margin +1.7 +2.7
FG% .511 .454
3FG% .400 .380
FT% .687 .700
Assists/Game 17.6 13.8
Turnovers/Game 13.5 13.7
Turnover Margin +4.1 +0.7
Steals/Game 8.8 6.8
Most Points Korver 491 Deren 294
Most Rebounds Korver 160 Deren 184
Most Assists McKinney 112 Funk 71
Most Blocked Shots Deren 40 Dabbert 32
Most Steals Korver 44 Mathies 35
Gender Equity Equals Excellence
Creighton is one of six schools with men’s and women’s basketball teams that have won 20 or more games in each of the last two seasons. Joining the Bluejays in this elite group are Connecticut, Duke, Stanford, Texas and Vermont.
Snapped Streaks
A number of extended streaks were snapped in Creighton’s 61-60 home loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 7. CU had won 40 straight games when holding opponents under 70 points, 28 straight at home, 28 straight when outrebounding opponents, 10 straight on ESPN or ESPN2 and six straight games decided by a single point.
In the Creighton-Southern Illinois rematch on Feb. 24th, SIU again bucked the odds. Once again, SIU was outrebounded and scored less than 70, but once again they emerged victorious.
Birds of Prey
Including the Feb. 7 setback to Southern Illinois, Creighton has lost just four home games in the last four seasons. Just like past seasons, Creighton took out its frustration in its next home game.
Creighton has followed each of its last five home losses with wins in their next home game by an average of 31.8 points, including victories by 56, 33, 27, 25 and 18 points.
Home Loss Next Home Game
L 60-61, S. Illinois W 74-56, Bradley
L 75-73, Drake W 106-50, Texas-Arlington
L 79-77, S. Illinois W 83-56, Northern Iowa
L 72-65, Xavier W 90-65, Miss. Valley State
L 92-83, S. Illinois W 102-69, Evansville
Four Seniors....One Of A Kind
According to research by UAB sports information director Aaron Jordan, Creighton is the only men’s basketball team in the country to boast four fifth-year seniors. Both UAB and Arkansas have three fifth-year seniors. Creighton’s fifth-year seniors are Joe Dabbert, Brody Deren, Mike Grimes and Michael Lindeman.
Senior Citizens
Creighton’s fifth-year seniors stepped up in the team’s 58-47 win over UNI on Feb. 4th. The quartet scored 37 of the team’s points (63.8 percent) and grabbed 20 of the club’s 35 rebounds (57.1 percent). For the season, CU’s fifth-year seniors average a combined 33.3 points and 19.4 rebounds per game.
Halftime Leads Can Be Dangerous
Including Feb. 7, each of the last three meetings in Omaha between Creighton and Southern Illinois have seen the team with the halftime lead ultimately lose the game. SIU overcame a 14-point halftime deficit on Feb. 3, 2002 to win 79-77 on a pair of last-second free throws. Last year, Creighton trailed by 13 in the first half and 45-37 at the intermission before rallying to win 85-76.
This season, CU lost 61-60 after leading 29-28 at the break. The Jays had won 16 straight games when leading at the break before Feb. 7. CU is 71-8 in the last four years when leading at the half, including a 46-3 home record in such contests. Two of those home losses (and three overall) were vs. the Salukis after wasting halftime leads.
Last Three Years, SIU at Creighton
Date Half Score Final Score
2/3/02 CU 48-34 SIU 79-77
1/18/03 SIU 45-37 CU 85-76
2/7/04 CU 29-28 SIU 61-60
Long-Distance Streaks Alive...Barely
Creighton’s two three-point baskets vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 4 were a season-low, but were enough to keep alive a pair of impressive streaks. The Jays have made at least two three-point baskets in 324 consecutive games, including every game under the direction of coach Dana Altman. The last time they had just one three-pointer was a 74-70 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 22, 1993.
Overall, Creighton has made at least one trifecta in 334 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois St. on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
He Shoots, He Scores
Mike Grimes ranks as Creighton’s all-time leader in field goal percentage at 61.1 percent and leads the Valley this season at 59.0 percent.
Earlier this year had a 14-for-15 stretch over four games from Nov. 29-Dec. 10. Grimes also had a streak of 11 straight field goals that was snapped with an 0-for-2 showing vs. Northern Iowa on Feb. 4.
20/20 Backcourt
In Creighton's first 17 games of the season, Johnny Mathies had the team's top individual scoring effort with 20 points vs. Drake on Jan. 11. On Feb. 1 at Evansville, Nate Funk had a career-high 21 points while Kellen Miliner chipped in with a career-best 20 points off the pine. The Jays hadn't had multiple 20-point scorers since Jan. 13, 2002 when Kyle Korver and Terrell Taylor each scored 20 points in a 76-72 win at SMS.
In Case You Were Wondering
With an 84-9 home record since Jan. 20, 1998 and streaks of 28 and 20 straight home victories, home losses have been few and far between. In fact, Creighton has not lost consecutive home games since falling 59-58 to SMS on Dec. 29, 1999 and 75-67 to #19 Tulsa on Jan. 12, 2000.
Home Win Streak Among The Best
Creighton’s 28-game home winning streak was the third-longest nationally before being snapped on Feb. 7 by Southern Illinois.
Longest Men’s Basketball Home Win Streaks (2/6)
Team Streak
Pittsburgh 39
Duke 37
Creighton 28
Stephen F. Austin 25
Wisconsin 25
Home Win Streak Reached 28
Before a Feb. 7 loss to Southern Illinois, Creighton had won 28 consecutive home games, passing the school record of 20 set two seasons ago. Creighton’s last home loss had come vs. Feb. 25, 2002 in the regular-season finale vs. Drake. Below is a list of Creighton’s five longest home winning streaks all-time.
Longest Creighton Home Win Streaks
# Dates Snapped By
28 Nov. 17, 2002-Feb. 4, 2004 Southern Illinois
20 Feb. 28, 2000-Dec. 16, 2001 Xavier
18 Feb. 14, 1961-Dec. 17, 1962 St. Mary’s (CA)
16 Feb. 5, 1959-Dec. 2, 1960 Saint Louis
15 Feb. 3, 1979-Jan. 19, 1980 #1 DePaul
We Must Protect This House
Despite a Feb. 7 home loss to Southern Illinois, Creighton is still 58-4 (.935) in its last 62 home games and 84-9 (.903) at home since Jan. 20, 1998. In fact, since the start of the 2000-01 season, Creighton is 24-1 in non-conference home games, falling only to Xavier on Dec. 22, 2001.
A Bunch of Homers
A total of 271,017 Creighton fans were in the house during CU’s 28-game home winning streak. In those contests, the Bluejays won by an average of 18.9 points per game. Fifteen of the games were decided by 20 points or more, while just seven were decided by single digits. Below is some interesting numbers about the long home winning streak:
Category Games
Wins 28
MVC wins 14
Games Decided by 20 or More 15
Games Decided By 9 or Less 7
Games Decided By 5 or Less 2
Overtime Games 1
Largest Lead 56 (11/17/02 vs. UT-Arlington)
Largest Deficit 17 (2/12/03 vs. SMS)
Points Scored 2,241 (80.0 ppg)
Points Allowed 1,712 (61.1 ppg)
Largest Home Crowds
Creighton’s overflow crowd of 15,561 vs. Nebraska on Dec. 10 was the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in the state of Nebraska. In fact, that crowd of 15,561 would have made Qwest Center OMAHA the 12th-largest city in the state of Nebraska that night.
The top eight home crowds in school history have all come this season. In fact, the team’s home attendance average of 11,918 fans per game exceeds the previous single-game school record of 11,214 fans on Jan. 29, 1970 vs. New Mexico State. CU has played 11 straight home games in front of crowds of 10,800 fans or more.
Largest Crowds, Creighton History
Att. Opp. Result Date
15,561 Nebraska W 61-54 12/10/03
14,372 Southern Illinois L 60-61 02/07/04
14,313 Illinois State W 72-63 01/24/04
14,183 SMS W 59-54 12/30/03
13,353 Drake W 78-67 01/11/04
12,255 San Diego W 79-44 11/22/03
11,624 Indiana State W 69-65 02/18/04
11,360 Evansville W 72-53 01/17/04
11,214 #5 New Mexico St. W 72-68 01/29/70
Largest Crowds, State of Nebraska History
Att. Schools Site Date
15,561 Creighton-Nebraska Omaha 12/10/03
15,038 Nebraska-Oklahoma St. Lincoln 2/7/81
15,003 Nebraska-Oklahoma Lincoln 2/28/81
14,999 Nebraska-Colorado Lincoln 2/3/79
14,912 Nebraska-Kansas St. Lincoln 2/8/78
Largest Crowds in MVC History
The Dec. 10 crowd of 15,561 also ranks as the third-largest ever at a current MVC school. Northern Iowa owns the top two crowds, both wins over Iowa more than 12 years ago. Creighton’s crowd of 14,372 vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 7 was the largest crowd to ever see a regular-season MVC contest among current league members.
It’s worth noting that Louisville owns the all-time MVC record for a conference game with 17,661 vs. Louisville on Feb. 22, 1969.
Largest Crowds, MVC Teams, Home Game History*
Att. Home Team Road Team Date
22,797 Northern Iowa Iowa 1/3/90
19,042 Northern Iowa Iowa 12/10/91
15,561 Creighton Nebraska 12/10/03
14,372 Creighton Southern Illinois 2/7/04
14,313 Creighton Illinois State 1/24/04
14,183 Creighton SMS 12/30/03
13,913 Evansville Kentucky Wesleyan 3/13/60
*current league members only
Largest Crowds To See Creighton Play Ever
The 15,561 fans to see Creighton beat Nebraska ranks as the eighth largest crowd to see Creighton play at any location since 1967, according to available records. It was also the third-largest audience to see a CU win all-time.
10 Largest Crowds To See Creighton Play Since 1967
Att. Schools Result Date
22,013 #24 Auburn vs. CU% L 69-72 03/16/00
21,525 #13 Illinois vs. CU$ L 60-72 03/17/02
20,850 #15 Florida vs. CU$ W 83-82 (2ot) 03/15/02
18,686 CU @ #15 BYU L 68-96 12/11/71
16,437 CU @ #3 DePaul L 57-83 02/09/81
15,957 CU @ #15 UNLV L 59-90 12/23/87
15,703 Wichita St. vs. CU# W 70-69 03/09/03
15,561 Nebraska @ CU W 61-54 12/10/03
15,500 CU @ Iowa L 77-83 12/01/90
15,274 CU @ Saint Louis L 56-83 12/10/94
%NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.
$NCAA Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
#MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Fans Filing In
Through games of February 29, Creighton ranked 29th nationally with an average home attendance of 11,976 per game. Kentucky leads the way with 22,597 fans per home contest.
Home Attendance, Nationally (as of Feb. 29)
Team G Attendance Average
1. Kentucky 12 271,162 22,597
2. Syracuse 16 338,074 21,130
3. North Carolina 13 270,405 20,800
4. Louisville 14 271,819 19,416
5. Maryland 15 269,250 17,950
6. Wisconsin 15 257,130 17,142
7. Indiana 11 179,838 16,349
8. Kansas 13 211,900 16,300
9. Marquette 14 227,435 16,245
10. Illinois 13 208,935 16,072
11. Memphis 14 214,904 15,350
12. Michigan State 13 191,867 14,759
13. Arkansas 15 221,050 14,737
14. BYU 12 176,188 14,682
15. New Mexico 17 249,442 14,673
16. Arizona 14 203,831 14,559
17. Ohio State 13 187,503 14,423
18. N.C. State 15 215,980 14,399
19. Fresno State 14 197,270 14,091
20. Connecticut 17 233,709 13,748
21. Tennessee 16 215,400 13,462
22. Wake Forest 14 183,285 13,092
23. Iowa 14 181,680 12,977
24. Dayton 14 179,196 12,800
25. Cincinnati 15 185,258 12,351
26. Minnesota 16 195,280 12,205
27. Missouri 13 158,317 12,178
28. Oklahoma 14 169,920 12,137
29. Creighton 14 167,658 11,976
30. Michigan 16 185,189 11,574
Perfect 10
With the Jan. 24 home win over Illinois State, Creighton assured itself of an eighth 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.
Hot Half Saves The Day
Creighton shot an incredible 16-of-20 (80 percent) in the second half of its Jan. 24 win over Illinois State. According to STATS Inc., CU’s 80 percent accuracy that half was tied for the best performance in the country this year for a team with at least 20 attempts (St. Peters, Jan. 3, 20-25 in 1st half). The best half in NCAA history was North Carolina’s 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) shooting vs. Virginia on Jan. 7, 1978.
Creighton’s hot half also is tied for the fourth-best half in MVC history, and the best ever in a league game. It’s worth noting the Bluejays shot 13-of-16 in the second half of a 83-74 win over Iowa State on Dec. 10, 1983, as seen below:
Best FG Percentage In A Half, MVC History
Pct. Team (Half) Opp. Date
.822 Bradley (1st) Chicago State 11/26/91
.814 Drake (2nd) Arkansas State 2/15/74
.813 Creighton (2nd) Iowa State 12/10/83
.800 Creighton (2nd) Illinois State 1/24/04
.800 Drake (2nd) Hawaii Pacific 11/30/86
.789 Drake (2nd) Wichita State 2/20/69
Second Half Team
Jan. 28 win at Indiana State marked Creighton’s halfway point of the MVC slate. Creighton owned a 7-2 record at the midway point of the league slate, and were 5-4 after the break. It marks the 17th straight time that it 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
2003-04 7-2 5-4
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 56-34 (.622) 56-34 (.622)
Time On Their Side
With its Jan. 28 win in Terre Haute, Creighton accomplished the rare feat of winning in all four time zones in the continental US this season. CU also owns wins in the Central time zone (10-0 at home), the Mountain time zone (at Wyoming) and the Pacific time zone (at Fresno State). CU hadn’t won in the four different time zones within the continental US during the same season since 1971-72 when Eddie Sutton’s club won games in San Jose, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Omaha, NE and Cleveland, OH.
The Season For Charity
For the year, CU has made 70.0 percent of its shots at the free throw line, while opponents are shooting just 63.7 percent at the stripe and an even worse 61.0 percent in MVC action.
In recent weeks, Creighton’s free throw “defense” has been at its best. Five MVC opponents have shot less than 50 percent at the stripe vs. the Jays.
Deren Picking It Up
Creighton center Brody Deren has been busy making amends after a perceived snubbing on the MVC’s all-Defensive team last year. Deren’s 29 blocked shots are fifth in the MVC. Deren leads all active MVC players with 135 career rejections, which ranks ninth in league history.
Ranking Information
Earlier this year, CU became the first MVC team to crack the AP poll in consecutive seasons since Tulsa did it in 1983-84 and 1984-85. CU was ranked 24th the week of Jan. 12 by the Associated Press.
The Jays were also tabbed 23rd the week of Jan. 5, 20th the week of Jan. 12th and 24th the week of Jan. 19 by the coaches poll.
Last season Creighton entered the AP poll for the first time since the 1975 season with a No. 23 ranking on Dec. 9. Creighton was ranked as high as 10th in the Jan. 20, 2003 Associated Press poll, the best ranking in program history.
Creighton finished 15th in the final regular season editions of both the AP and USA Today/ESPN coaches polls and was ranked the final 15 weeks of the regular-season in both polls.
History of Ranked Teams vs. Creighton
Dana Altman is 4-9 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll since arriving at Creighton. Creighton’s last win over a ranked team was its memorable 83-82, double-overtime victory vs. #15 Florida on March 15, 2002 at the NCAA Tournament in Chicago, Ill. Below is a list of Creighton’s results against ranked teams with Altman at the helm.
Creighton Under Altman vs. AP Ranked Teams
Date Opponent Result
01/18/95 #14 Iowa State L 52-70
11/30/96 vs. #24 Minnesota L 63-64
12/20/98 #18 Oklahoma State W 66-60
03/13/99 vs. #5 Maryland L 63-75
11/27/99 #23 Iowa W 85-76
01/12/00 #19 Tulsa L 67-75
03/16/00 vs. #24 Auburn L 69-72
03/15/01 vs. #24 Iowa L 56-69
11/27/01 #17 Western Kentucky W 94-91 (2OT)
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida W 83-82 (2OT)
03/17/02 vs. #13 Illinois L 60-72
12/31/02 at #19 Xavier L 73-75
02/24/04 at #16 Southern Illinois L 60-68
More Ranking Factoids
•Creighton owns a 15-107 record all-time against teams ranked by the Associated Press. CU is 9-29 at home, 2-59 on the road and 4-19 at neutral venues.
•Creighton has lost its last 21 road games against ranked teams since a Jan. 28, 1978 win at #13 Indiana State.
•Creighton coach Dana Altman went 6-18 against ranked teams while at Kansas State from 1990-91 to 1993-94. His only road win in nine tries against a ranked team was when his Wildcats squad upset #1 Kansas in Lawrence, 68-64 on Jan. 17, 1994. Since Altman left Manhattan, the Jayhawks have won 28 straight over the Wildcats.
•With his next win over a ranked team, Dana Altman can match Eddie Sutton for most coaching wins over a ranked team in school history. Sutton was 5-18 against ranked foes while at Creighton.
•Twelve of the last 13 games Creighton has played vs. ranked teams have been decided by 13 points or less.
•Creighton has lost 11 straight games vs. ranked MVC foes since a 53-41 win over #17 Illinois State on Feb. 10, 1983.
•A detailed listing of Creighton’s history with ranked teams can be found later in this release.
Balanced Attack
One undeniable strength to this season’s 20-7 start has been the tremendous depth and balance on the Creighton squad. Seven players average between 6.3 and 10.9 points per game and eight players average between 17.8 and 27.4 minutes per contest. The Bluejays have been led in scoring by seven different players, and both assists and rebounding by six different men each.
They Know How To Win
Creighton has been able to win close games down the stretch thanks to an extremely experienced group of players who have known nothing but success.
Creighton is 96-29 (.768) in the last four seasons and the current players own a combined 617-176 record (.778) in games they’ve appeared in at Creighton. Below is a chart of CU’s active players, accompanied by the team’s record in games that player has appeared in:
Name W L Win. Pct.
David Finklea 17 0 1.000
Tyler McKinney 62 14 .816
Nate Funk 49 12 .803
Kellen Miliner 48 12 .800
Mike Grimes 93 27 .775
Brody Deren 72 21 .774
Jimmy Motz 37 11 .771
Joe Dabbert 96 29 .768
Michael Lindeman 92 29 .760
Johnny Mathies 20 7 .741
Anthony Tolliver 18 7 .720
Quincy Henderson 13 7 .650
Total 617 176 .778
Altman Earns National Coaching Honor
Creighton head coach Dana Altman has won the Jim Phelan Mid-Season Coach Award, an award given annually by collegeinsider.com to the league’s top coach at the midseason point. Despite the graduation of seniors Kyle Korver, Larry House and DeAnthony Bowden from last year’s team that finished 29-5, the Bluejays owned a 9-0 record on Dec. 31 when the award was announced.
Altman has now been named conference, regional, district or national coach of the year in 10 of his 19 years as a head coach at all levels. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003.
Winning On The Road Too
Creighton owns a 6-6 record this year away from home while playing at some of the nation’s toughest venues. All six schools Creighton has beaten owned an all-time home winning percentage of 65 percent or better in that facility entering this year, as seen below:
School Venue All-Time W-L Pct.
Fresno St. Save Mart Center* 406-128 .760
Wyoming Arena-Auditorium 231-70 .767
Bradley Carver Arena 221-74 .749
Illinois State Redbird Arena 146-55 .726
UNI UNI-Dome 240-118 .670
Wichita St. Levitt/Koch Arena 513-186 .734
Indiana St. Hulman Center 277-144 .658
Evansville Roberts Stadium 532-183 .744
Drake Knapp Center 78-70 .527
Kent State Memorial Athletic Ctr. 406-236 .632
Southern Illinois SIU Arena 386-131 .747
SMS Hammons Center 327-87 .790
*Fresno State now plays at the brand new Save Mart Center after going 406-128 in 36 years at Selland Arena
Another Double-Digit Winning Streak
Creighton’s 12-0 start was its 13th stretch of 10 straight wins or more all-time. It was also Creighton’s longest winning streak since Tom Apke’s 1974-75 club won 14 straight. 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 Nov. 22, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004 D. Altman
12 1921-22 (dates unknown) A. Schabinger Didn’t exist
Winning The Close Games
Creighton’s 61-60 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 7 snapped the team’s trend of winning the close games. CU had won 10 straight games that went to overtime or were decided by five points or less, including a 5-0 mark this season.
Even more impressively, the Bluejays had won six straight games decided by a single point, all but one of which was away from home:
Creighton’s Last Seven Games Decided by One Point
Winner Loser Score Date
S. Illinois at Creighton L 60-61 2/7/04
Creighton at Illinois State W 56-55 1/07/04
Creighton vs. Wichita State W 70-69 3/09/03
Creighton vs. Indiana State W 57-56 3/08/03
at Creighton Fresno State W 67-66 2/22/03
Creighton vs. #15 Florida W 83-82 (2ot) 3/15/02
Creighton at Indiana State W 64-63 2/06/02
Defense Rules
Prior to surrendering 82 points at Northern Iowa on Jan. 14, Creighton had held its first 12 opponents this season to 67 points or less. The Bluejays had not held 12 straight foes to 67 or less since a 19-game stretch from Jan. 31-Dec. 20, 1949 when Duce Belford was the coach.
The Bluejays have won 28 straight games when holding opponents to 50 points or less since Jan. 7, 1993. The Jays haven’t lost a game when holding a foe under 45 points since Jan. 13, 1986. CU had also won 19 straight games when holding its opponents under 40 percent from the field before that streak was snapped on Feb. 14 at Drake.
Days of Thunder
Creighton has lost each of its last four Saturday games after a streak of eight straight Saturday wins was snapped on Feb. 8th by Southern Illinois. CU has also won 10 straight games on Sunday and nine straight on Monday’s.
Day of Week Streak Last Loss
Sunday Won 10 2/3/02 vs. Southern Illinois
Monday Won 9 2/25/02 vs. Drake
Wednesday Won 4 1/21/04 at Wichita State
Friday Won 1 3/15/01 vs. Iowa
Tuesday Lost 1 2/24/04 at #16 Southern Illinois
Thursday Lost 2 1/23/03 at Evansville
Saturday Lost 4 2/28/04 at SMS
McKinney McInjured
Creighton point guard Tyler McKinney’s streaks of 74 straight games and 62 straight starts came to an end when he missed the Bluejays’ Dec. 30 victory over SMS. McKinney has been bothered with vision problems and came off the bench at both Bradley and Illinois State. McKinney has not played since Jan. 7 and was released from an Iowa City, Iowa hospital on Jan. 16. He is expected to miss several weeks and is undergoing treatment on an hourly basis. He is not expected to return this season.
Point, Counterpoint
With Tyler McKinney sidelined, Johnny Mathies has averaged 7.4 points and has made just 31 turnovers in a starting role. Below is a chart comparing the first 19 starts at point guard for Mathies and recent predecessors McKinney and Ryan Sears.
First 19 Games as Starting Point Guard
Name Pts. Ast. TO W-L
Mathies 141 34 31 12-7
McKinney 130 48 17 15-4
Sears 203 90 42 13-6
Rocky Mountain High
Creighton’s tallest player, 6-11 Joe Dabbert, kept his tradition of playing well in high altitude games when he poured in a career-high 19 points vs. Wyoming (elevation 7720). Dabbert, who hails from Bailey, Colo. (elevation 9500) had 10 points at Wyoming as a freshman and 10 points in last year’s NCAA Tournament game vs. Central Michigan that was played in Salt Lake City, Utah (elevation 6900). He also scored six points as a sophomore in a game at BYU.
Television Stars
Fifteen of Creighton’s 27 games have been on television this season, with Creighton’s MVC Tournament run also appearing on television. Creighton owned an 14-3 record on television last year and is 8-7 on TV this season. However, they are 27-2 since the start of last year in games not on television, including a 12-0 record this year.
Seven Straight Years Of Seven Game Streaks
Creighton’s 12-0 start gave the Bluejays at least a seven-game win streak for the seventh straight season and eighth time overall under Dana Altman. Each of the previous streaking teams advanced to the postseason.
Creighton’s Longest Win Streaks Under Dana Altman
W’s Dates Postseason That Year
12 Nov. 22, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004
11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 NCAA
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 29, 2002 NCAA
9 Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998 NIT
9 Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 1999 NCAA
7 Feb. 17-Mar. 11, 1999 NCAA
7 Dec. 6, 2000-Jan. 2, 2001 NCAA
7 Jan. 9-Jan. 30, 2002 NCAA
Deren On The Double
Senior center Brody Deren had his second career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Creighton’s Dec. 20 win over Arkansas-Little Rock. Deren doubled his fun two weeks later with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at Bradley on Jan. 5. Deren’s third double-double of the year (and fourth of his career) came on Feb. 24 at #16 Southern Illinois when he finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Prior to this season, Deren’s only previous double-double came in CU’s 94-91 double-overtime victory over #17 Western Kentucky on Nov. 27, 1991.
Exclusive Company
With Creighton’s Dec. 10 win over Nebraska, seniors Joe Dabbert, Mike Grimes and Michael Lindeman joined Kyle Korver as the only players in Bluejay history to beat Nebraska four straight years. In fact, Dabbert, Grimes and Lindeman were also on a fifth team that beat Nebraska the year they redshirted. A two-time All-American, Korver was a part of four CU victories from 1999-03.
Fresno Done In By Funk
Creighton has won a pair of games in the final seconds this season, both on the road.
Sophomore Nate Funk drained a three-pointer as time expired in regulation to send Creighton’s game at Fresno State to overtime, where it later won 70-62. Down three with 5.1 seconds left, Creighton went the length of the floor to find Funk, who had time for a pump-fake and dribble before draining his shot.
On Jan. 7 at Illinois State, sophomore Johnny Mathies made 1-of-2 free throws with 1.4 seconds left to break a 55-55 deadlock and give the Jays a 56-55 win.
These heroics bring to mind some other buzzer beaters in recent seasons:
March 15, 2002: Terrell Taylor’s three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in double-overtime lifts Creighton to an 83-82 win over #15 Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Feb. 17, 2002: Tyler McKinney drives the length of the floor and hits a driving lay-up with 0.4 seconds left to beat Wichita State, 69-67.
Feb. 6, 2002: Tyler McKinney drains two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to lead Creighton to a 64-63 road win at Indiana State.
Teammates Win MVC Scholar Awards
Creighton senior Brody Deren has been named the MVC/Prairie Farms Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 4, Jan. 8, Jan. 15 and Jan. 22 this season. Deren owns a 3.665 student in exercise science and he is a three-time member of the MVC’s Scholar-Athlete first team. He has now been awarded MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels eight times in his career.
His teammate, Michael Lindeman, earned MVC/Prairie Farms Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels for Dec. 17. Lindeman owned a 3.947 GPA before graduating in May, and is currently pursuing his MBA. Lindeman had 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting vs. Fresno State. Lindeman repeated his MVC/Prairie Farms Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels on Dec. 30 and Feb. 13 and has now won this award five times in his career.
Pepperoni or Sausage
Godfather’s Pizza sponsors a promotion giving free pizza to fans with ticket stubs after any Creighton home game where the Bluejays score 70 or more points. With 60 points vs. SIU on Feb. 7 and 58 points vs. UNI on Feb. 4, Creighton finished under 70 points in consecutive home games for the first time since January of 2000. The Jays have scored 58 or more in its last 111 home games since Dec. 29, 1996.
3-0 The Way To Go
Creighton has now started 3-0 (or better) each of the last six seasons. Each of the five previous 3-0 starts under Dana Altman were culminated in an NCAA Tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Leading From Start To Finish
Of the 805 minutes of game action in its 20 wins this year, Creighton has been behind for just 126:05 of that time (1:56 vs. Bethune-Cookman, 4:40 vs. Nebraska, 27:52 at Fresno State, 2:20 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, 26:01 vs. SMS, 25:05 at Illinois State, 0:10 vs. Drake, 17:35 vs. Illinois State, 1:39 at Indiana State, 2:07 at Evansville, 14:51 vs. Northern Iowa, 1:03 vs. Indiana State and 0:46 vs. Wichita State).
Last year the Bluejays led from start to finish in 10 different games last season, something they’ve done seven times this year. All told, Creighton has not trailed in 17-of-60 (28.3 percent) of games dating to the start of last season.
Creighton’s largest deficit this season was 28 points (58-30) at SMS on Feb. 28.
Automatic At The Stripe
Michael Lindeman’s streak of 32 consecutive free throws came to an end when he missed his first attempt vs. Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 3. Lindeman’s streak stretched over 18 games dating back to a miss in the game at Evansville on Jan. 23. Lindeman’s 32 straight at the stripe surpassed his former roommate, Kyle Korver, for Creighton’s longest streak since 1980, and is tied for the fifth-longest in MVC history.
Consecutive Free Throws, MVC History
60 Blake Ahearn, SMS Dec. 20, 2003-Feb. 14, 2004
48 Marcus Wilson, UE Dec. 1, 1996-Feb. 2, 1997
44 James Gillingham, BU Feb. 8-25, 2003
35 Aaron Zobrist, BU Dec. 27, 1996-Jan. 27, 1997
32 Mike Lindeman, CU Jan. 23-Nov. 29, 2003
32 Blake Ahearn, SMS Nov. 17-Dec. 20, 2003
28 Kyle Korver, CU Jan. 27-Mar. 15, 2001
28 Kevin Ault, SMS Jan. 21-Feb. 15, 1998
Tough Times Bring Out The Best In The Birds
Trailing SMS by 10 early in the second half on Dec. 30, Creighton found itself in some rare territory. The Bluejays have not lost at home by double-digits since Jan. 3, 1996, a span of 124 home games.
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 6-7 when facing double-digit deficits. CU overcame big deficits last year vs. Southern Illinois (13), TCU (16), SMS (17) and Wichita State (13) and this year vs. SMS (10) and at Illinois State (12).
CU’s most amazing comeback nearly took place in an NCAA Tournament loss to end last year. The Jays trailed Central Michigan by 26 with 16:24 left and closed the gap to two in the final minute, only to lose 79-73.
Goodbye Civic, Hello Qwest Center OMAHA
Creighton’s Nov. 9 overtime win over Nebraska-Omaha served as the first college game in Qwest Center OMAHA, the city’s new $291 million facility they share with Nebraska-Omaha hockey.
Last year, Creighton ended a long run at 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.
Fans Returning....And Then Some
Creighton ended last season’s magical 29-5 campaign with six straight home sellouts (9,377) at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. This year, the Jays have increased their season ticket base from approximately 5,200 to over 8,900, an increase of nearly 70 percent.
Altman Approaching Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to approach some of the coaching greats in MVC history in a pair of categories. Altman’s 195 wins at Creighton are seventh in league history while his 112 triumphs in conference games have him fourth 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. 112 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. 195 Dana Altman Creighton
Deren & Dabbert Denying Opponents
Creighton’s center tandem of Brody Deren and Joe Dabbert hold the top two spots on the MVC’s active shot-blocking list. In fact, Deren is one of three players in school history to have more than 700 points and 100 blocked shots at Creighton, joining Benoit Benjamin and Chad Gallagher, who both played in the NBA.
Creighton Blocked Shots Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years Points
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85 1,575
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91 1,983
135 Brody Deren 2001-Present 876
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99 683
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-Present 652
79 Adam Reid 1994-97 250
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01 302
59 Rodney Buford 1995-99 2,116
58 Kyle Korver 1999-03 1,801
57 Mike Grimes 2000-Present 769
Deren Moves Up MVC List
Creighton center Brody Deren’s 135 career blocked shots rank ninth in MVC history. Below is that list, which is headed by former Bluejay Benoit Benjamin:
Blk. Name School Year
411 Benoit Benjamin Creighton 1982-85
209 Antoine Carr Wichita State 1979-83
183 Chad Gallagher Creighton 1987-91
180 Donald Powell Bradley 1984-88
168 DeCarsta Webster Indiana State 1975-78
167 Danny Moore SMS 1996-99
158 Ashraf Amaya Southern Illinois 1989-93
154 Adebayo Akinkunle Bradley 1994-98
135 Brody Deren Creighton 2001-Pr.
134 Mike VandeGarde Illinois State 1990-94
Johnny On The Spot
With 13 points vs. San Diego and 10 points vs. St. Bonaventure, junior college transfer Johnny Mathies became the first Bluejay to score at least 10 points in his first two games since Doug Swenson opened with a pair of 10 point showings in 1997-98.
Jays Ink Three Recruits
Creighton signed three post players during the fall signing period, as Steve Smith, Dennis Howard and Dane Watts signed National Letters-of-Intent to join the Bluejay program. Smith is a 6-11 center from Sioux Falls, S.D., Howard is a 6-7 forward at Northeastern Junior College who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, and Watts is a 6-9 forward from Warrensburg, Mo.
Bluejays Still Have Five Iowans
Kyle Korver may have graduated, but Creighton still has five Iowans on this season’s team, including four starters. This year’s Creighton’s team includes five players that hail from the state of Iowa, Brody Deren, Tyler McKinney, Michael Lindeman, Nate Funk and Pierce Hibma. Hibma, CU’s new Iowa native hails from Korver’s hometown of Pella.
Creighton Moved To 12-0 For Third Time
Creighton earned the Bluejays’ third 12-0 start in 86 years of basketball before falling at Northern Iowa on Jan. 14. Below is a list of Creighton’s most successful starts all-time:
Start Year Final W-L First Loss
16-0 1942-43 16-1 Washington & Jefferson
13-0 1916-17 18-2 Dubuque
12-0 2003-04 at Northern Iowa
11-0 1917-18 11-0 - - -
10-0 2002-03 29-5 at #19 Xavier
10-0 1918-19 10-0 - - -
Back-to-Back 10-0 Starts
Creighton’s 12-0 start this year, combined with its 10-0 opening a year ago, made Creighton just the fourth program in MVC history to open 10-0 in consecutive seasons. The only previous occurrence in the last 80 years was Larry Bird’s Indiana State teams. Below is that complete list:
10-0 Starts, Back-to-Back Seasons, MVC History
School Year (Wins), Year (Wins)
Indiana St. 1977-78 (13), 1978-79 (33)
Kansas 1908-09 (19), 1909-10 (12)
Missouri 1919-20 (17), 1920-21 (17), 1921-22 (13)
Creighton 2002-03 (10), 2003-04 (12)
History Of MVC’s Best Starts
In the history of the Missouri Valley Conference, only 19 teams had opened the season 12-0, including this year’s Creighton club. The last club to start better than 12-0 was the 1983-84 Tulsa team that opened 15-0 and finished 27-4.
In case you’re wondering, the most wins by an MVC school to start the season is 33, done by Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1978-79.
Recapping Last Season
Creighton finished last season with a 29-5 record, a fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and won its fourth MVC Tournament in the last five seasons.
Some of last season’s highlights included CU’s first national-ranking in 25 years, a 10-0 start, a win over Notre Dame en route to the Guardians Classic title and a school-record 29 wins.
Kyle Korver was named second-team All-American and a finalist for several National Player of the Year awards, while Dana Altman was named District Coach of the Year and a finalist for National Coach of the Year.
Three's Still Falling
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
NBA Players x 2
Creighton boasts a pair of players that started the year in the NBA this season, as both Kyle Korver (‘03) and Rodney Buford (‘99) found themselves on opening-day rosters. Korver was drafted 51st overall by the New Jersey Nets and sold minutes later to the Philadelphia 76ers. Buford was taken 53rd overall in the 1999 draft by the Miami Heat and recently signed a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Overtime News
Creighton has not lost an overtime game at home since Feb. 17, 1996 ...The Jays are 38-39 all-time in regular-season overtime games and are 8-1 in double-overtime since a March 1, 1986 loss at Wichita State.
Blackwell Leaves Team
Freshman guard Tim Blackwell has left Creighton and enrolled at classes at UMKC. Blackwell played in three games, averaging 3.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 8.0 minutes per game. The Cameron, Mo. native was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back on Dec. 18 and was expected to miss the rest of the season.
Canada Trip Recap
Creighton used its foreign-trip exemption to play five exhibition games in western Canada from Oct. 18-24. In addition to the extra games, CU also was allowed 10 practices prior to leaving, a key factor in the development of CU’s inexperienced players.
Creighton went 4-1 on the trip, defeating British Columbia (83-62), Trinity Western (82-79), Vancouver EA Sports All-Stars (102-76) and Simon Fraser (90-53) but falling to Victoria (80-72). Sophomore guard Nate Funk led Creighton with 16.4 points and 5.0 assists per game on the voyage, while senior post players Brody Deren (13.0 ppg.), Mike Grimes (11.8 ppg.) and Joe Dabbert (11.2 ppg.) also averaged double-digits points.
Ticket Information
Fans can purchase single-game tickets to Creighton home games at Qwest Center OMAHA Box Office, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker’s, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212. Most available tickets cost is $10 for adults and $6 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free).
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center OMAHA™
Metro Area Transit and Creighton University have partnered to provide shuttle bus service from the CU campus to Qwest Center OMAHA for all men’s basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students. Round-trip cost is 50 cents for Creighton students with identification; $1.00 for adults and 50 cents for children under the age of 12.
The shuttle will start one-hour before tip-off and at least two buses will continue to operate the route during the game. The four designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th and Cuming (farside/southbound); 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and 18th & Cass (nearside/eastbound by the CU Soccer Field).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center OMAHA Arena entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes. Following the game’s conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center OMAHA Arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of four stops at 24th & Cuming.
