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2006-07 Men's Basketball Recap
5/4/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2006-07 Year-End Recap (PDF) | 2006-07 Year-End Bios (PDF)
The 2006-07 Creighton men's basketball season was a year of unprecedented preseason hype and expectations, that ultimately were fulfilled as the Bluejays recorded their 10th consecutive postseason bid, ninth straight 20-win season, and seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the past nine years. Along the way, record home crowds of 15,909 fans per game were on hand, cheering on "Omaha's Team" in a season that will long be remembered for its second-half turnaround, strong finish and 22-11 overall record.
Ranked in the preseason polls for the first time ever, the national media considered the 2006-07 Creighton team one with the potential to be "the next George Mason," a term coined after the Patriots spectacular run to the 2006 Final Four. An early loss at in-state rival Nebraska would knock the Bluejays from their perch in the national polls, but CU responded with a home win over George Mason and would finish November with a 3-1 mark.
CU would go 4-3 in an up-and-down December that showed glimpses of CU's ability, but also saw the Bluejays struggle away from home. The Jays fell 60-54 at Dayton on Dec. 6th, but CU responded three days later by beating Atlantic-10 favorite and 24th-ranked Xavier, 73-67, at Qwest Center Omaha. After a week off for final exams, Creighton opened a nine-day road swing with a loss at Fresno State, which prompted a team meeting that turned the season around. Already on the West Coast, CU flew directly to Honolulu, where it enjoyed a few days in the sun before getting ready for the 43rd Outriggers Hotel Rainbow Classic. Once tournament action started, CU began to play up to its capabilities. CU beat Valparaiso and Houston to reach the finals, where it fell to host Hawaii in the championship game.
Though ballyhooed newcomer Ty Morrison would depart the team shortly after returning from the Christmas break, Creighton would thrive in league action. Valley play started with CU's most impressive comeback of the year, overcoming an 11-point deficit in the final five minutes during a 77-74 win over Missouri State on ESPN2. The Jays would also take down Illinois State, Evansville, Drake and Northern Iowa while starting the MVC with a 5-1 record despite the loss of injured point guard Josh Dotzler to a pair of broken fingers.
A win against Bradley was sandwiched by narrow last-second losses at Wichita State and at home to Southern Illinois, but once again Missouri State proved to be the right tonic. A 66-62 road win at Missouri State sparked a season-long five-game win streak, which also included road wins at Bradley and at Drake.
Though Creighton lost three games in a 10-day span in mid-February, the Bluejays recovered to hammer Wichita State 71-54 on Senior Night to clinch sole possession of second place.
Creighton then marched through Saint Louis to take its sixth Valley Tournament title in the past nine years, beating Indiana State, Missouri State and #11 Southern Illinois en route to the crown. The win over SIU snapped an eight-game skid to the Salukis and came before a nationally-televised audience on CBS as well as a sold-out crowd of 22,612 at Scottrade Center. Nate Funk was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and was joined on the all-tourney team by fellow seniors Nick Porter and Anthony Tolliver.
Creighton earned a 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament and was shipped to take on seventh-seeded and 15th-ranked Nevada in a first-round game in New Orleans, La. The two evenly-matched teams played the only overtime game of the first round before the Wolf Pack won a 77-71 contest.
Head coach Dana Altman rode the play of his seniors down the stretch, as Funk, Tolliver, Porter and reserve big man Manny Gakou provided the majority of the highlights.
Funk and Tolliver were both named first-team all-MVC and collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-Americans. Both men were also invited to the Portsmouth NBA Pre-Draft camp.
Tolliver also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team honors, Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American honors, and once again repeated as the I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Junior Dane Watts provided consistent effort on the glass and improved his dangerous inside/outside game, while Isacc Miles rounded out the regular starting five by earning a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team.
The bench was paced by Gakou and undersized Pierce Hibma along the front line, while Dotzler, Nick Bahe, Brice Nengsu and Dustin Sitzmann were backcourt reserves always ready to go.
Record crowds flocked to see the Bluejays all season long, as CU set school and MVC records by averaging 15,909 fans per game. Included in those was a school and state record crowd of 17,607 that saw an ESPN2 BracketBusters game versus Drexel.
Radio Broadcast Summary
KXSP (?Big Sports 590? AM) broadcasted all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2006-07 season. The audio was also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr handled play-by-play, while Kevin Sarver (home games) and Travis Justice (road games) did color analysis.
Television Broadcast Summary
Creighton had 28 games televised during the 2006-07 season, going 19-9 in those games. CU played eight games on local CBS station KMTV, six games on Fox Sports Net, four games on ESPN2, three games on KFVE at the Rainbow Classic, two games statewide on NETV, two games nationally on CBS, two games on ESPNU and one game statewide on NETV2.
Video Webcast Summary
Creighton also broadcasted many of its games via video webcast. All home games that weren't televised by ESPN/Fox Sports Net were aired, as were a fair amount of road games not on those networks as well.
Live Stats Summary
Creighton also did live stats for all home games, using the Gametracker software for the first time.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) finished up his 13th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 260-141 (.648) mark at CU and a career record of 343-208 (.623) in 18 years as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his 22 years as a head coach. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 10 straight seasons. He was helped by assistant coaches Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Kevin McKenna. Jake Muhleisen was the team's graduate manager.
MVC Tournament Recap
Creighton won its sixth MVC Tournament in the past nine years (and 10th overall), beating Indiana State (59-38), Missouri State (75-58) and #11 Southern Illinois (67-61) en route to the title. The Bluejays led the entire second half in all three games.
Seniors Nate Funk (22.0 ppg., 5.7 rpg.), Nick Porter (13.7 ppg., 8.0 rpg.) and Anthony Tolliver (13.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) were each named to the all-Tournament Team, with Funk taking home Most Outstanding Player honors.
NCAA Tournament Recap
Creighton fell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to #15 Nevada, 77-71, in overtime. The 10th-seeded Bluejays had the ball with the score tied and 19 seconds left, but missed a shot and subsequent tip-in that could have won it. In overtime, the Wolf Pack overcame the loss of All-America center Nick Fazekas to down the Jays.
Nate Funk led CU with 23 points, while Anthony Tolliver and Nick Porter also had 15 points. Nevada, seeded seventh, was paced by 27 points from Marcelus Kemp and 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots from Fazekas.
McKenna Takes Indiana State Job
Long-time assistant coach Kevin McKenna accepted the head coaching job at Indiana State on March 29th. McKenna played at Creighton and assisted Dana Altman from 1994-2001 and 2005-07. He is a member of the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame.
20 Overall Wins x 9 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 100-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post nine straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of nine teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last nine seasons (including 2006-07). That list consists of Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky and Syracuse.
Postseason x 10
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 10 consecutive seasons, tied for the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It matches the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 10 years (including 2006-07) are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton, which also boasts a men's soccer team with 15 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 10 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins x 11
Creighton's win at Drake on Feb. 3 was its 10th league win of the season. That extended the Bluejays' Missouri Valley Conference record with an 11th consecutive season of 10 or more league wins.
Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
On a national basis, the only teams with at least 11 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Arizona (22), South Carolina State (14), Stanford (13), Kansas (13) and Creighton (11).
Jays Among Attendance Leaders
During the 2005-06 season, Creighton finished ranked 20th nationally in average attendance with 13,901 fans per game.
The Bluejays averaged 15,909 fans per game in 14 home dates this season. Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders, according to figures compiled by the Creighton Sports Information Office.
2006-07 Attendance Leaders (Unofficial)
Rk. School Avg. Next Home Game
1. Kentucky 23,421 Done
2. Syracuse 21,516 Done
3. North Carolina 20,693 Done
4. Tennessee 19,661 Done
5. Louisville 18,488 Done
6. Ohio State 17,530 Done
7. Wisconsin 17,190 Done
8. Maryland 16,822 Done
9. Arkansas 16,720 Done
10. Illinois 16,618 Done
11. Indiana 16,474 Done
12. Kansas 16,300 Done
13. Creighton 15,909 Done
14. Marquette 15,345 Done
15. Memphis 14,878 Done
16. Michigan State 14,759 Done
17. Arizona 14,202 Done
18. North Carolina St. 13,952 Done
19. Virginia 13,521 Done
20. Connecticut 13,012 Done
Five Figure Crowds
Creighton hosted 17,607 fans for its Feb. 17 home game versus Drexel. Not only was it the largest home crowd in Creighton history, but for any basketball game in state history as well.
Creighton, which ranked 20th nationally in attendance in 2005-06, averaged 15,909 fans per game in 2006-07. Before this year, Creighton's largest crowd ever had been 15,700.
Creighton has played 75 straight home games in front of crowds of 8,000 fans or more and 44 in a row at home before 10,000 fans or more.
By comparison, Creighton had a total of 39,093 home fans in Dana Altman's first year on the Hilltop, an average of 2,792 per game.
10 Largest Home Crowds, Creighton & State History
Att. Opp. Result Date
17,607 Drexel L 58-64 02/17/07
17,459 Southern Illinois L 57-58 01/20/07
17,283 Indiana State W 71-55 01/27/07
17,110 Wichita State W 71-54 02/24/07
16,339 Bradley W 65-54 01/18/07
16,315 Drake W 79-56 01/09/07
15,872 #24 Xavier W 73-67 12/09/06
15,700 Fresno State W 67-62 02/18/06
15,684 Missouri State W 77-74 12/30/06
15,678 Wichita State W 57-55 01/28/06
10 Largest Crowds To See CU Play Since 1967, Any Site
Att. Schools Result Date
22,612 Missouri St. vs. CU# W 75-58 03/03/07
22,612 #11 So. Illinois vs. CU# W 67-61 03/04/07
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
18,250 CU vs. Toledo& W 48-46 03/25/42
17,935 CU vs. W. Kentucky& L 36-49 03/23/42
17,607 Drexel @ CU L 58-64 02/17/07
17,459 So. Illinois @ CU L 57-58 01/20/07
%NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.
$NCAA Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
&National Invitation Tournament in New York, N.Y.
#MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
MVC's Top Crowds Ever
Creighton has set MVC attendance records each of the past two seasons. Last year the program attracted a league-record 236,313 fans, smashing the previous league mark of 192,258 the Bluejays set in 2003-04. This season, Creighton set a mark with 15,909 fans per average home game.
Below are the top average home attendance totals in MVC history.
Ave. Att. School Year
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
12,009 Louisville 1967-68
Funk Finishes 31st On MVC Scoring List
Senior Nate Funk finished his career with 1,754 career points, good for sixth in Bluejay history and 31st in MVC history. Below is a list of the top scorers all-time in Creighton and MVC history:
Top Scorers, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name Years
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 1999-03
6. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-Pr.
Top Scorers, MVC History
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 3,008 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1984-88
2. 2,973 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-60
3. 2,850 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-79
30. 1,758 Slab Jones, New Mexico State 1976-80
31. 1,754 Nate Funk, Creighton 2002-Pr.
32. 1,736 Tarise Bryson, Illinois State 1998-02
A-Train Stops By ?Grand? Central Station
Senior center Anthony Tolliver scored 15 points against Nevada and finished his career with 1,004 career points. Tolliver became the 31st member of CU's 1,000 point club, and third in the last three years (joining Nate Funk in 2005 and Johnny Mathies in 2006).
Coach of the Century
Dana Altman was one of 10 coaches honored when the Missouri Valley Conference announced its all-Centennial Team. Altman, who ranks third in MVC history with 260 wins, was joined by the likes of Henry Iba, Eddie Hickey, Tubby Smith, Denny Crum and Phog Allen.
More Century Club Members
Creighton also had six players honored on the MVC's 50-person all-Centennial Team. CU's honorees included Benoit Benjamin, Rodney Buford, Chad Gallagher, Bob Harstad, Kyle Korver and Ryan Sears.
The league's ?starting five?, consisting of the top-five vote getters, consisted of Larry Bird (Indiana State), Hersey Hawkins (Bradley), Ed Macauley (Saint Louis), Xavier McDaniel (Wichita State) and Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati).
Six Out Of Nine Tourney Titles
Creighton owns six league tournament titles in the last nine years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (8), Duke (7), Winthrop (7) and Creighton (6).
Creighton's 10 Valley Tournament titles are twice as many as the next closest school, Southern Illinois (5).
Funk Joins Elite As 3-Time Tourney Champ
Nate Funk became just the sixth player in league history to play in three MVC Tournament finals victories on March 4. He joined Creighton's Kyle Korver (2000, ??02, ??03) and Tyler McKinney (2002, ??03, ??05) as well as Southern Illinois' Marcus Timmons (1993, ??94, ??95), Chris Carr (1993, ??94, ??95) and Paul Lusk (1993, ??94, ??95).
Not The Top Seed...Not A Problem
Including the men's basketball team at the 2007 MVC Tournament, Creighton has now won 22 MVC Tournament titles since Bruce Rasmussen took over as Director of Athletics in 1994.
Interestingly, only five of those 22 teams were actually the No. 1 seed entering that tournament.
In fact, each of the last 11 times Creighton has won an MVC Tournament, they've done it without the benefit of the top seed. The last time CU won any MVC Tournament as the No. 1 seed was the fall of 2002, when women's soccer did it.
Below is the list of Creighton's last 11 MVC Tournament titles, as well as their seed entering the tournament:
Sport Year Seed
Men's Basketball 2007 2nd
Men's Soccer 2006 2nd
Men's Soccer 2006 2nd
Men's Soccer 2005 2nd
Women's Soccer 2005 2nd
Softball 2005 3rd
Men's Basketball 2005 3rd
Women's Soccer 2004 2nd
Softball 2004 2nd
Men's Basketball 2003 2nd
Softball 2003 4th
Men's Soccer 2002 2nd
Another Reason He's The A-Train
Senior center Anthony Tolliver was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Tolliver owns a 3.53 GPA in Finance. He is the fifth men's basketball player in CU history to earn the accolade, joining Paul Silas (1964), Rick Apke (1978), Brody Deren (2004) and Michael Lindeman (2003 and 2004).
Tolliver was one of four MVC players named Academic All-District, joining SIU's Jamaal Tatum, UNI's Brooks McKowen and Indiana State's Trent Wurtz.
Tolliver was also named to the Division I-AAA (Division I schools without football) Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team. In addition, he was picked as the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, the first player to ever win the award twice.
Preseason MVC Poll Picked Jays First
For the fourth time in the last nine years, and first time since 2002-03, Creighton was picked to win the MVC in a preseason poll of league coaches, SID's and media.
Creighton earned 29-of-40 first-place votes and had 386 points in the voting. Southern Illinois was second with nine first place votes and Wichita State third with the two remaining votes for the top spot. Missouri State was picked fourth and Northern Iowa fifth. Rounding out the rest of the poll were Evansville, Drake, Bradley, Illinois State and Indiana State.
Creighton seniors Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named to the six-person preseason all-MVC team, joining Blake Ahearn (Missouri State), Grant Stout (Northern Iowa) and the Southern Illinois backcourt of Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum. Funk was picked as preseason Player of the Year, CU's first honoree since Kyle Korver in 2002-03.
Preseason Polls Ranked Jays 19th & 23rd
Creighton was voted to a No. 19 preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll. It was CU's first preseason ranking from the AP, and the first time it had been ranked by the writers since being #24 on Jan. 12, 2004.
Creighton was the first Valley school to be ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll since Wichita State (sixth) and Tulsa (11th) were among the nation's elite in the 1981-82 pre-season top-25 poll.
Creighton was also voted to the No. 23 preseason ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
For a complete rundown of Creighton's history in the Associated Press poll, see page 154 of the 2006-07 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
In & Out Of The Rankings
Creighton spent time in and out of the rankings during the 2006-07 season.
In the AP poll, CU opened the season ranked 19th, fell to 20th on Nov. 13, and were listed among those receiving votes on 11 other occasions.
In the Coaches poll, CU opened the year ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, were 25th on Nov. 13th, and then rejoined the poll at the 24th spot on March 12th. CU also received votes in nine other weeks.
Mid-Major All-Americans
Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named to collegeinsider.com's 21-person Mid-Major All-America Team. The Bluejays were the only team with multiple players named.
Portsmouth Hero
Anthony Tolliver was one of 12 players named to the Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament team at the annual pre-draft camp. Tolliver averaged 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocked shots in three games while helping his squad to the title.
Nate Funk averaged 8.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game for a team that went 2-1 and finished fifth at Portsmouth.
Redshirt Nation
Creighton redshirted four members of the team in 2006-07.
Chad Millard sat out as a transfer after playing in 2005-06 at Louisville. He will have three years of eligibility left, starting in the fall.
Kenny Lawson Jr. played in two November games, but was bothered by knee tendonitis the rest of the year. If he receives a medical redshirt, as expected, the freshman will retain four years of eligibility left.
Two other freshmen did not played a single minute and redshirted, Casey Harriman and Aaron Brandt. Both men will have four years left to play at Creighton.
Jays Against Ranked Foes
Creighton's win over #11 Southern Illinois on March 4 was the highest-ranked opponent the Jays have beaten since 1974. Creighton was 2-2 against ranked teams in 2006-07.
That moved the Bluejays to 18-109 all-time against teams that are ranked in the AP poll, including a 7-11 mark under Dana Altman.
CU's two wins over teams ranked in the AP poll this season tied a program-best, also done in 1973-74 and 2001-02.
Altman vs. Ranked Teams
Dana Altman is 7-11 against ranked teams since coming to Creighton. CU beat #18 Oklahoma State (Dec. 20, 1998), #23 Iowa (Nov. 27, 1999), #17 Western Kentucky (Nov. 27, 2001), #25 Northern Iowa (Jan. 31, 2006) and #24 Xavier (Dec. 9, 2006) at home and #15 Florida (March 15, 2002) and #11 Southern Illinois (March 4, 2007) at a neutral site.
Altman's seven wins against ranked teams are a school record for a CU coach, two more than Eddie Sutton's win total (5-18).
When he was at Kansas State, Altman went 6-18 against ranked teams. Notably, on Jan. 17, 1994, Altman's unranked team beat then-No. 1 Kansas, 68-64 in Lawrence, Kan.
Against Postseason Opponents
Creighton played six games versus teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this season, going 2-4 in those contests. Against NIT qualifiers, Creighton was 6-2.
vs. NCAA Qualifiers
Opponent Creighton
Southern Illinois SIU 57-58
SIU 68-72
CU 67-61
Xavier CU 73-67
Nevada NEV 77-71 OT
vs. NIT Qualifiers
Opponent Creighton
Bradley CU 65-54
CU 82-71
Drexel Drexel 64-58
Fresno State FSU 69-54
Miss. Valley St. CU 78-42
Missouri State CU 77-74
CU 66-62
CU 75-58
Halftime Momentum
Creighton buried Indiana State with a 15-2 run to end the first half in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, hit Missouri State with an 11-6 burst to close the first half in the MVC Tourney semifinals, and a 10-5 blast to take the lead for good against Southern Illinois in the Valley Tournament final. In the NCAA Tournament, the Bluejays took a 32-31 halftime lead thanks to a half-ending 12-6 run. That continued a recent trend, as seen below:
CU Runs To Close The 1st Half, Last Six Games
March 16: Creighton outscores Nevada 12-6 over the final 6:40 of the first half
March 3: Creighton outscores Southern Illinois 10-5 over the final 5:31 of the first half
March 2: Creighton outscores Missouri State 11-6 over the final 3:36 of the first half
March 1: Creighton outscores Indiana State 15-2 over final 5:59 of first half
Feb. 24: Creighton outscores Wichita State 10-2 over final 1:46 of first half
Feb. 20: Creighton outscores Illinois State 20-8 over final 5:46 of first half
Second Half Runs
Creighton consistently came out of the halftime break playing some of its best ball. For the season, Creighton outscored the opposition 205-122 in the first three minutes of the second half and 298-215 in the first five minutes of second half play this season.
Heartbreak Hotel
Five of Creighton's last six postseason runs have included a game that was decided in the final seconds, including the past four seasons.
This year, Creighton forced a turnover with 19 seconds left in regulation and the scored tied in its NCAA game versus Nevada. Nate Funk's shot while driving to the lane came up short, and CU was unable to get off a tip towards the basket. CU eventually lost 77-71 in overtime.
Last year in the NIT, Miami (Fla.) guard Guilermo Diaz drained a free throw with 2.6 seconds left to beat Creighton 53-52. A last-second shot attempt by Bluejay senior Johnny Mathies was knocked out of his hands.
In the 2005 NCAA Tourney, Nate Funk had his three-point try with seven seconds left blocked by Tyrone Sally, and Sally raced downcourt for a breakaway dunk with 2.4 seconds left to give West Virginia a 63-61 win. Funk's three-point try from the corner missed at the buzzer.
In 2004, Creighton fell 71-70 to Nebraska in the NIT. The Jays led nearly the entire second half before NU's go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left. Nate Funk's game-winning jumper from 18-feet away was blocked by Husker guard Jake Muhleisen. Muhleisen is now a graduate manager at Creighton.
In 2002, Creighton beat #15 Florida, 83-82, in Chicago. Terrell Taylor hit a game-winning trey with 0.2 seconds left in double-overtime, his final three of 28 points after a scoreless first half.
Consistent Challengers
One of the most impressive facets of the Dana Altman tenure is how often his teams have been in the running for the MVC regular-season title. Eight of his last 10 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 10 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.)
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.)
Thirty-Point Bluejays
Nate Funk is one of four Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other three players that did it were Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
The most points an Altman player has ever scored in a game was 62, which Kansas State's Askia Jones did in only 28 minutes against Fresno State on March 24, 1994, in an NIT quarterfinal. Jones hit an incredible 11 three-pointers in the second half of that game, and finished 14-of-18 from three-point range.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita St. 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford So. Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @No. Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri St. 02/15/97 L 82-88
Dynamic Duo
Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference. It marked CU's first pair on the first team since Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were honored in 1991.
What Were The Patches For
Creighton wore two patches on its uniform during the 2006-07 campaign.
Just below the right shoulder was a patch that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Located near the top of the shorts on the left leg was a black patch with the words ?Doc? inscribed. The patch honors Dr. Lee ?Doc? Bevilacqua, Creighton's volunteer team physician for 32 years until his passing in October of 1998. A member of the Creighton Athletics and MVC Hall's of Fame, Bevilacqua never received monetary compensation and always paid his own way when he traveled with teams.
Some Good Wins Already
Sixteen of Creighton's 33 games in 2006-07 were against teams that reached the postseason last year. The Bluejays are 8-4 in 12 games against NCAA qualifiers and 3-1 against NIT participants from a year ago.
The clubs Creighton beat combined for 10 NCAA wins and five victories in the NIT last season.
Creighton's pre-NCAA Tournament strength of schedule stood at 19 and CU has played just three games against teams ranked 140 or lower.
RPI Rants
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Creighton owned a 7-3 record against teams in the Top 50 of the www.kenpom.com RPI rankings.
CU's .700 winning percentage against Top 50 competition ranked sixth nationally among teams that have played five such games.
Creighton had a year-end RPI of 20, while Nevada's RPI entering the Tourney stood at 23.
Win Pct. vs. Top 50 RPI Opponents (min. 5 GP)
School W-L Win Pct.
UCLA 10-1 .909
Kansas 5-1 .833
Butler 4-1 .800
North Carolina 11-3 .786
Ohio State 10-3 .769
Creighton 5-3 .625
?entering NCAA Tournament
Nothing Mid-Major About The Valley
The 2006-07 campaign marked the ninth consecutive season that the Missouri Valley Conference has had multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, as two teams were in the Big Dance.
The only leagues to send at least two teams to the last nine NCAA Tourney's (since 1998-99) are the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, MVC, SEC and Pac-10.
Magic Number
The magic number for Creighton was 62. Creighton was 20-2 this year when scoring 62 points or more, but just 2-9 when being held to fewer than 62 markers. Both losses when scoring 62 points or more came to ranked teams, falling 77-71 in NCAA play to #15 Nevada, and 72-68 at #21 Southern Illinois.
Magic Numbers, Part II
Another category to keep an eye on was Creighton's field goal percentage. The Bluejays were 22-4 this season when shooting 37.8 percent or better from the field, but 0-7 when falling short of 37.8 percent.
Senior Class
Creighton had four seniors, but all of them entered the program at different times. Nate Funk is in his fifth season, Anthony Tolliver his fourth, Nick Porter his third and Manny Gakou his second. Over the past five years, Creighton went 114-46 with five 20-win seasons and five postseason appearances (three NCAA's, two NIT's).
Funk played in a school-record 135 games. He finished with 1,754 points and 323 assists, both among the top-10 marks in school history. A preseason All-American, Funk led the MVC in points per game this year (17.7 ppg.).
Gakou finished up his second year with the Bluejay program. The Paris, France native has played in 45 games, and has 43 points and 35 rebounds to his credit.
The 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year, Porter averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. He played in 63 games at CU, owning 642 points, 333 rebounds and 147 assists.
A first-team all-Valley selection, Tolliver averaged 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year. He had 1,004 career points, 603 rebounds and was fourth in CU history with 136 blocked shots.
Funk, Tolliver and Gakou are all on pace to graduate in May, while Porter is expected to get his degree in August.
Contributions By Class
Category Sr. Jr. So. Fr.
Points 1417-63.8% 536-24.1% 56-2.5% 211-9.5%
Rebounds 546-54.4% 358-35.7% 22-2.2% 78-7.8%
Assists 247-56.0% 81-18.4% 55-12.5% 58-13.2%
Blocks 62-74.7% 18-21.7% 2-2.4% 1-1.2%
Steals 104-49.5% 48-22.9% 23-11.0% 35-16.7%
Minutes 3291-49.7% 2074-31.3% 508-7.7% 752-11.4%
Charges Taken 29-63.0% 13-28.3% 0-0.0% 4-8.7%
Senior Leaders
Seniors Nick Porter, Nate Funk, Manny Gakou and Anthony Tolliver scored at least half of the team's points in each of CU's last 24 games (since Dec. 22 vs. Houston), including every MVC contest this year.
On March 3 vs. Missouri State, the quartet scored CU's first 28 points of the game, the first 24 points of the second half, and 65 of CU's 75 overall. In three meetings with Missouri State, they combined for 170 of CU's 218 points.
As a group, they combined for 1,417 of CU's 2,220 points this season, good for 63.8 percent of the squad's points.
The quartet took 524 of CU's 710 free throw attempts, a whopping 73.8 percent of the shots taken from the charity stripe.
Senior Class
Creighton had four seniors, but all of them entered the program at different times. Nate Funk is in his fifth season, Anthony Tolliver his fourth, Nick Porter his third and Manny Gakou his second. Over the past five years, Creighton went 114-46 with five 20-win seasons and five postseason appearances (three NCAA's, two NIT's).
Funk played in a school-record 135 games. He finished with 1,754 points and 323 assists, both among the top-10 marks in school history. A preseason All-American, Funk led the MVC in points per game this year (17.7 ppg.).
Gakou finished up his second year with the Bluejay program. The Paris, France native has played in 45 games, and has 43 points and 35 rebounds to his credit.
The 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year, Porter averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. He played in 63 games at CU, owning 642 points, 333 rebounds and 147 assists.
A first-team all-Valley selection, Tolliver averaged 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year. He had 1,004 career points, 603 rebounds and was fourth in CU history with 136 blocked shots.
Funk, Tolliver and Gakou are all on pace to graduate in May, while Porter is expected to get his degree in August.
Contributions By Class
Category Sr. Jr. So. Fr.
Points 1417-63.8% 536-24.1% 56-2.5% 211-9.5%
Rebounds 546-54.4% 358-35.7% 22-2.2% 78-7.8%
Assists 247-56.0% 81-18.4% 55-12.5% 58-13.2%
Blocks 62-74.7% 18-21.7% 2-2.4% 1-1.2%
Steals 104-49.5% 48-22.9% 23-11.0% 35-16.7%
Minutes 3291-49.7% 2074-31.3% 508-7.7% 752-11.4%
Charges Taken 29-63.0% 13-28.3% 0-0.0% 4-8.7%
Senior Leaders
Seniors Nick Porter, Nate Funk, Manny Gakou and Anthony Tolliver scored at least half of the team's points in each of CU's last 24 games (since Dec. 22 vs. Houston), including every MVC contest this year.
On March 3 vs. Missouri State, the quartet scored CU's first 28 points of the game, the first 24 points of the second half, and 65 of CU's 75 overall. In three meetings with Missouri State, they combined for 170 of CU's 218 points.
As a group, they combined for 1,417 of CU's 2,220 points this season, good for 63.8 percent of the squad's points.
The quartet took 524 of CU's 710 free throw attempts, a whopping 73.8 percent of the shots taken from the charity stripe.
Tolliver's a Senior CLASS All-American
Creighton center Anthony Tolliver was one of 10 finalists for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male senior basketball player who excels both on and off the court.
Other finalists included eventual winner Alando Tucker (Wisconsin), as well as Jared Dudley (Boston College), Nick Fazekas (Nevada), Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh), Adam Haluska (Iowa), Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech), Acie Law IV (Texas A&M), J.R. Reynolds (Virginia) and Curtis Sumpter (Villanova).
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Finalists were selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete. These areas of excellence are identified under the categories of classroom, character and community, as well as the candidate's performance and team loyalty on the court.
Tolliver was the only MVC men's athlete named, and the second Creighton candidate in the past six years. Kyle Korver was a finalist for the award in 2003 and named a Senior CLASS All-American. Tolliver was named a Senior CLASS Second-Team All-American after the season.
S*W*A*T* City
Anthony Tolliver had at least one blocked shot in 32 of his last 39 games dating to last season, including three games with five each.
Benoit Benjamin owns the Creighton (and MVC) record with 411 career rejections. Tolliver finished his career fourth in CU history and 15th in MVC history with 136 career rejections.
Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Rk. Blk. Name Years
1. 411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
2. 183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
3. 138 Brody Deren 2001-04
4. 136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
5. 109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
Most Blocked Shots MVC History
Rk. Blk. Name Years
1. 411 Benoit Benjamin, CU 1982-85
2. 222 Grant Stout, UNI 2003-07
3. 209 Antoine Carr, WSU 1979-83
4. 183 Chad Gallagher, CU 1987-91
4. 180 Donald Powell, BU 1984-88
5. 168 DeCarsta Webster, INS 1975-78
7. 167 Danny Moore, MSU 1996-99
8. 160 Greg Dilligard, ILS 2003-07
9. 159 Bradley Strickland, UE 2003-07
10. 158 Ashraf Amaya, SIU 1989-93
11. 154 Adebayo Akinkunle, BU 1994-98
12. 152 Randal Falker, SIU 2004-Pres.
13. 147 Patrick O'Bryant, BU 2004-06
14. 138 Brody Deren, CU 2001-04
15. 136 Anthony Tolliver, CU 2003-07
What's Your Point
Creighton made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the past nine years. It's worth noting that in each of the two seasons the Jays didn't make the Big Dance, they went to the NIT without their starting point guard.
In 2004, the Jays started 12-0 become a season-ending eye infection to Tyler McKinney caused the team to finish 20-9.
Last season, CU started 17-5 before losing starting point guard Josh Dotzler to a knee injury. The Jays finished 20-10 last year.
National Leader Stat Finishes
Creighton had two players ranked among the nation's final top 100 statistical leaders.
Nate Funk was 29th in free throw percentage at 86.3 percent and 72nd in scoring average at 17.7 points per game. In addition, Anthony Tolliver was 69th in blocked shots per game at 1.7 per contest.
As a team, CU was 15th in free throw percentage (75.4 percent), 23rd in scoring defense (60.9 points allowed per game), 42nd in fewest personal fouls per game (16.7), 50th in fewest turnovers per game (12.6 per game), 58th in scoring margin (+6.3), 60th in win-loss percentage (.667) and 74th in field goal percentage defense (41.6 percent).
Stat Champs
In the recently-completed 18-game league slate, Creighton had several categories in which it led the conference. The Bluejays were tops in free-throw percentage (76.6 percent), field goal percentage defense (42.6 percent), home attendance (145,375) and average home attendance (16,153). Individually, Nate Funk led the MVC with 18.3 points per game. Funk also led the MVC in league-game scoring in 2004-05 at 18.9 ppg.
When looking at all games, Creighton is tops in free throw percentage (75.4 percent), home attendance (222,728) and average home attendance (15,909). Individually, Funk led the league with 17.6 points per game.
The Best Never Rest
Nate Funk averaged 34.5 minutes per game, easily the most on the team and fifth-highest in the MVC this season. That's the most by any Bluejay player since Ryan Sears clocked 35.0 minutes per game during his junior (1999-00) season.
Out Of His Funk
Creighton went 10-4 in its last 14 games, and a major reason was because Nate Funk continued to light up the opposition early in games.
Funk hit 50 percent or better of his first half shots in 12 of CU's last 14 games. In that time, he made 48-of-85 shots (56.5 percent), including 15-of-30 (50 percent) from downtown.
Funk's streak of 24 straight games in double-figures to close his career is CU's longest since Bob Harstad in 1990-91.
Below is a list of the nation's (according to STATS Inc.) longest active scoring streaks of 12 or more point games, as well as Creighton's longest double-figure streaks since 1989-90:
Nation's Longest Streaks of 12 or More Points
Rk. Name, School Streak
1. Trey Johnson, Jackson State 45
2. Brandon Heath, San Diego State 44
3. Caleb Green, Oral Roberts 43
4. Adrian Banks, Arkansas State 33
5. Dashaun Wood, Wright State 28
6. Kevin Durant, Texas 26
7. Reggie Williams, VMI 25
Antoine Agudio, Hofstra 25
9. Nate Funk, Creighton 24
10. Larry Blair, Liberty 23
CU's Top Double-Figure Point Streaks, Since 1989-90
No. Name Dates
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
27 Bob Harstad Nov. 27, 1989-Feb. 17, 1990
25 Chad Gallagher Jan. 22, 1990-Jan. 5, 1991
24 Nate Funk Dec. 23, 2006-Present
Gotta Have That Funk
Nate Funk was the leading scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference, no matter how you slice it. He finished the season as the league's career active scoring leader with 1,754 points, leads the MVC with 17.7 points per game in all games, and was also tops with an 18.3 scoring average in league-only contests.
Funk scored 12 points or more in a league-best 24 straight games, a run which started Dec. 23 at Hawaii.
After his 23 points vs. #15 Nevada on March 16, Funk finished with 24 career games of 20 or more points and three games of 30 or more.
Game Tested
Fifth-year senior Nate Funk played in 135 games as a Bluejay, seven more than Bob Harstad and Kyle Korver for most in Creighton history. According to STATS Inc., Funk's 135 games played ranked tied for fourth nationally among players active in 2006-07.
Rk. Name, School GP
1. Chris Richard, Florida 141
2. Tony Young, Southern Illinois 138
3. Brandon Jenkins, Louisville 136
4. Nate Funk, Creighton 135
Brandon Wallace, S. Carolina 135
Combo Guard
Nate Funk saw much of his time as the Creighton point guard, bringing the ball up against pressure, before playing as a shooting guard within the half-court offense.
The numbers reflect this as well, as Funk was the only player in the MVC to lead his team in points per game and assists per game in league action.
Since 1970, the only four players to lead Creighton in scoring and assists in the same season are Funk (2003-04 and 2006-07), Kyle Korver (2001-02), Matt Petty (1992-93) and Kevin McKenna (1979-80). Funk was the first Bluejay player on record to lead the team in both points and assists twice in his career.
Technically Speaking
The Creighton bench was assessed a technical foul on Feb. 17 in the second half against Drexel, a rarity for the program.
In the 13-year tenure of Dana Altman, it was just the seventh technical foul charged to the bench, and first since Jan. 21, 2004 at Wichita State. The last technical foul on the Bluejay bench in a home game came on Jan. 12, 2000 against #19 Tulsa.
Only 23 technical fouls have been charged to a CU player of coach in the 401 games Altman's been on the sideline. Here's the list: Bench (7), Jeffrey Day (4), Terrell Taylor (3), Jason Bey (2), Dane Watts (1), Joe Dabbert (1), DeAnthony Bowden (1), Larry House (1), Joel Templeman (1), Kevin Mungin (1) and Donald Davenport (1).
CU also had a technical foul called in a 1998 game at Wichita State when it called a timeout it didn't have.
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 46 charges this season. Over the previous five seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 46.0 per year. Below is a list of the charges that have been taken in that time:
Name 2002-05 ??05-06 ??06-07 Total
Anthony Tolliver 6 17 23 46
Dane Watts 8 7 11 26
Nate Funk 5 2 4 11
Isacc Miles n/a n/a 4 4
Pierce Hibma 1 0 2 3
Nick Porter n/a 6 1 7
Manny Gakou n/a 0 1 1
Josh Dotzler n/a 4 0 4
Former Players 119 9 n/a 128
Total 139 45 46 230
More Charge Info
Anthony Tolliver took a team-best 23 charges this season. Since 2002-03, the following players have taken 10 or more charges in a season:
Most Charges Taken, Season (since 2002-03)
23 Anthony Tolliver 2006-07
17 Mike Grimes 2002-03
17 Anthony Tolliver 2005-06
13 Joe Dabbert 2002-03
11 Joe Dabbert 2003-04
11 Tyler McKinney 2004-05
11 Dane Watts 2006-07
High Voltage
Dane Watts scored in double-figures in nine of Creighton's last 13 games. Watts has now scored in double-figures 34 times in his career. The Bluejays are 26-8 in those contests, including an 13-2 record when he pumps in 13 points or more.
It's also worth pointing out that after making just 45.5 percent of 55 free throw attempts last year, he made 71.1 percent at the line in 83 attempts. He hit 32 of his last 40 attempts (80 percent) over the final 17 games.
Watts also made at least half his three-point attempts in eight of CU's last 12 games.
A steady performer who can shoot from the outside or bang away inside, Watts owns a team-best 86 consecutive starts.
Road Warriors
Creighton finished 5-4 on the road in MVC play this season. The Jays have made the NCAA's each of the last seven times they've been over .500 on the road in MVC play, but were sent to the NIT both times they were under .500 in league tilts on the road.
Since rejoining the MVC in 1977, each of Creighton's previous five teams that opened 4-2 on the road or better in league action went on to win the MVC Tournament (also 1988-89, 1990-91, 1998-99, 2001-02, 2002-03). Each of those last four teams also won its first NCAA Tournament game that season. This year's team started 4-2 in MVC road games.
Additionally, two of Creighton's league away wins were by 10 or more points (at Bradley, at Evansville). The rest of the league had four combined double-digit road wins (one each for SIU, UNI, Illinois State and Bradley) in MVC play.
It Counts In Horseshoes
Creighton's five MVC losses were by a combined 21 points. The Bluejays lost by three points at both Indiana State and Wichita State, to Southern Illinois by both one and four points, and by 10 at Illinois State.
In four of those five losses, Creighton had the ball with a chance to tie or win in the final 10 seconds.
Ten of Creighton's 18 MVC games this year were decided by eight points or less.
Big Man Deluxe
Anthony Tolliver was the only player to rank in the top 10 in the MVC in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
Tolliver ranked second in blocked shots (1.73 bpg.), 10th in scoring (13.4 ppg.) and fifth in rebounds per game (6.7 rpg.).
It's worth noting that last year Wichita State's Paul Miller was named MVC Player of the Year after averaging 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game and helping WSU to a 14-4 league mark.
Charity Tosses
Creighton made 75.4 percent of its free throw attempts this season, tops in the MVC and 15th nationally.
The 75.5 percent accuracy rate is a fraction ahead of the school-record of 75.3 percent set by the 1992-93 team.
Including this season, each of Creighton's last six teams to shoot 70 percent or better at the free-throw line have made the NCAA Tournament.
Korver Comes Back
Former Creighton All-American Kyle Korver (1999-2003), who now plays in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, skipped the NBA All-Star Game Three-Point Shootout to attend Creighton's Feb. 17 game against Drexel.
Korver was in town to promote and raise funds for the Kyle Korver Foundation. Bobblehead likenesses of Korver in a Bluejay uniform were available for a $20 donation to his charity, with additional information on-line at http://www.kylekorver.com.
Korver's brother, Kaleb, is a senior at Pella (Iowa) High School and has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Creighton next fall.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continued to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 260 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 148 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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. 260 Dana Altman Creighton
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. 148 Dana Altman Creighton
4. 126 Phog Allen Kansas
Normally Nifty at 50 (Percent)
Since coming to Creighton, head coach Dana Altman's teams are 98-4 when his teams make at least half of their shots from the field.
Creighton's 53.8 percent marksmanship (21-39) against Southern Illinois on Feb. 10 was its best shooting percentage in a loss under Altman.
Creighton's last previous loss when shooting 53.5 percent or better had come on Jan. 28, 1993, when it shot 56.1 percent in a 60-58 loss at Northern Iowa.
Assisting Others Too
Nate Funk's 323 career assists ranked ninth in CU history, just ahead of Kyle Korver. With 1,754 points, Funk is the only player in school history with at least 1,700 points and 300 assists.
Creighton Career Assist Leaders (Since 1970-71)
Rk Ast. Name Years
1. 570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
2. 549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
3. 458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
4. 430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
5. 418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
6. 382 Duan Cole 1987-92
7. 332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
8. 323 Nate Funk 2002-Pr.
9. 317 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
10. 294 Kyle Korver 1999-03
Porter Picking It Up
After scoring 10 points or more in just two of 12 non-conference games, senior guard Nick Porter scored in double-figures in 17 of Creighton's 21 games against MVC schools this year.
Since moving into the starting line-up on Dec. 30 after Josh Dotzler was sidelined, Porter averaged 12.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He made 82-of-170 shots from the floor (48.4 percent), 112-of-139 at the line (80.1 percent) and 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) of his three-point attempts.
Porter had a career-high 19 points against Evansville on Feb. 7, 16 of which came after halftime. He then erased that mark with a career-best 21 points in the win over UNI, 17 of which came after intermission.
For the year, Porter shot 38.5 percent and averaged 4.2 points in the first half of games, but made 53.5 percent and scored 6.5 points in the second half of contests.
Defensive Gem
Last year as a freshman, Josh Dotzler had two or more steals in 16 of 23 games. However, his season ended on Feb. 11 when he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his knee, for which he underwent surgery for in May.
Playing one day shy of the one-year anniversary of that knee injury, Dotzler shined on the defensive end at Southern Illinois on Feb. 10. Dotzler tied his career-high with five steals and also added his first blocked shot of the season. He played 25 minutes, his most extensive action since breaking two fingers in a Dec. 21 game vs. Valparaiso.
Dotzler had three steals in the final 10 minutes versus UNI on Feb. 13, sparking the game-changing 19-5 run that led the Bluejays to victory.
Leading Scorer, Again
Nate Funk owned at least a share of Creighton's team-lead in scoring in 10 straight games, before Nick Porter paced the squad on Feb. 13 vs. UNI. That was the longest run by any player in the 13-year tenure of Dana Altman, two more than the previous bests done twice by Rodney Buford.
It was also the longest run since 10 in a row by Rod Mason, who did it from Jan. 28 to Feb. 20, 1988.
Ticket Information
Creighton sold 12,126 season tickets for this season. The previous mark was the 10,452 season-tickets bought for the 2005-06 season.
Much more info available on the PDF's at the top of this document.
The 2006-07 Creighton men's basketball season was a year of unprecedented preseason hype and expectations, that ultimately were fulfilled as the Bluejays recorded their 10th consecutive postseason bid, ninth straight 20-win season, and seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the past nine years. Along the way, record home crowds of 15,909 fans per game were on hand, cheering on "Omaha's Team" in a season that will long be remembered for its second-half turnaround, strong finish and 22-11 overall record.
Ranked in the preseason polls for the first time ever, the national media considered the 2006-07 Creighton team one with the potential to be "the next George Mason," a term coined after the Patriots spectacular run to the 2006 Final Four. An early loss at in-state rival Nebraska would knock the Bluejays from their perch in the national polls, but CU responded with a home win over George Mason and would finish November with a 3-1 mark.
CU would go 4-3 in an up-and-down December that showed glimpses of CU's ability, but also saw the Bluejays struggle away from home. The Jays fell 60-54 at Dayton on Dec. 6th, but CU responded three days later by beating Atlantic-10 favorite and 24th-ranked Xavier, 73-67, at Qwest Center Omaha. After a week off for final exams, Creighton opened a nine-day road swing with a loss at Fresno State, which prompted a team meeting that turned the season around. Already on the West Coast, CU flew directly to Honolulu, where it enjoyed a few days in the sun before getting ready for the 43rd Outriggers Hotel Rainbow Classic. Once tournament action started, CU began to play up to its capabilities. CU beat Valparaiso and Houston to reach the finals, where it fell to host Hawaii in the championship game.
Though ballyhooed newcomer Ty Morrison would depart the team shortly after returning from the Christmas break, Creighton would thrive in league action. Valley play started with CU's most impressive comeback of the year, overcoming an 11-point deficit in the final five minutes during a 77-74 win over Missouri State on ESPN2. The Jays would also take down Illinois State, Evansville, Drake and Northern Iowa while starting the MVC with a 5-1 record despite the loss of injured point guard Josh Dotzler to a pair of broken fingers.
A win against Bradley was sandwiched by narrow last-second losses at Wichita State and at home to Southern Illinois, but once again Missouri State proved to be the right tonic. A 66-62 road win at Missouri State sparked a season-long five-game win streak, which also included road wins at Bradley and at Drake.
Though Creighton lost three games in a 10-day span in mid-February, the Bluejays recovered to hammer Wichita State 71-54 on Senior Night to clinch sole possession of second place.
Creighton then marched through Saint Louis to take its sixth Valley Tournament title in the past nine years, beating Indiana State, Missouri State and #11 Southern Illinois en route to the crown. The win over SIU snapped an eight-game skid to the Salukis and came before a nationally-televised audience on CBS as well as a sold-out crowd of 22,612 at Scottrade Center. Nate Funk was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and was joined on the all-tourney team by fellow seniors Nick Porter and Anthony Tolliver.
Creighton earned a 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament and was shipped to take on seventh-seeded and 15th-ranked Nevada in a first-round game in New Orleans, La. The two evenly-matched teams played the only overtime game of the first round before the Wolf Pack won a 77-71 contest.
Head coach Dana Altman rode the play of his seniors down the stretch, as Funk, Tolliver, Porter and reserve big man Manny Gakou provided the majority of the highlights.
Funk and Tolliver were both named first-team all-MVC and collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-Americans. Both men were also invited to the Portsmouth NBA Pre-Draft camp.
Tolliver also excelled in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team honors, Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American honors, and once again repeated as the I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Junior Dane Watts provided consistent effort on the glass and improved his dangerous inside/outside game, while Isacc Miles rounded out the regular starting five by earning a spot on the MVC's All-Freshman Team.
The bench was paced by Gakou and undersized Pierce Hibma along the front line, while Dotzler, Nick Bahe, Brice Nengsu and Dustin Sitzmann were backcourt reserves always ready to go.
Record crowds flocked to see the Bluejays all season long, as CU set school and MVC records by averaging 15,909 fans per game. Included in those was a school and state record crowd of 17,607 that saw an ESPN2 BracketBusters game versus Drexel.
Radio Broadcast Summary
KXSP (?Big Sports 590? AM) broadcasted all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2006-07 season. The audio was also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr handled play-by-play, while Kevin Sarver (home games) and Travis Justice (road games) did color analysis.
Television Broadcast Summary
Creighton had 28 games televised during the 2006-07 season, going 19-9 in those games. CU played eight games on local CBS station KMTV, six games on Fox Sports Net, four games on ESPN2, three games on KFVE at the Rainbow Classic, two games statewide on NETV, two games nationally on CBS, two games on ESPNU and one game statewide on NETV2.
Video Webcast Summary
Creighton also broadcasted many of its games via video webcast. All home games that weren't televised by ESPN/Fox Sports Net were aired, as were a fair amount of road games not on those networks as well.
Live Stats Summary
Creighton also did live stats for all home games, using the Gametracker software for the first time.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) finished up his 13th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 260-141 (.648) mark at CU and a career record of 343-208 (.623) in 18 years as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his 22 years as a head coach. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 10 straight seasons. He was helped by assistant coaches Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Kevin McKenna. Jake Muhleisen was the team's graduate manager.
MVC Tournament Recap
Creighton won its sixth MVC Tournament in the past nine years (and 10th overall), beating Indiana State (59-38), Missouri State (75-58) and #11 Southern Illinois (67-61) en route to the title. The Bluejays led the entire second half in all three games.
Seniors Nate Funk (22.0 ppg., 5.7 rpg.), Nick Porter (13.7 ppg., 8.0 rpg.) and Anthony Tolliver (13.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) were each named to the all-Tournament Team, with Funk taking home Most Outstanding Player honors.
NCAA Tournament Recap
Creighton fell in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to #15 Nevada, 77-71, in overtime. The 10th-seeded Bluejays had the ball with the score tied and 19 seconds left, but missed a shot and subsequent tip-in that could have won it. In overtime, the Wolf Pack overcame the loss of All-America center Nick Fazekas to down the Jays.
Nate Funk led CU with 23 points, while Anthony Tolliver and Nick Porter also had 15 points. Nevada, seeded seventh, was paced by 27 points from Marcelus Kemp and 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots from Fazekas.
McKenna Takes Indiana State Job
Long-time assistant coach Kevin McKenna accepted the head coaching job at Indiana State on March 29th. McKenna played at Creighton and assisted Dana Altman from 1994-2001 and 2005-07. He is a member of the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame.
20 Overall Wins x 9 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 100-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post nine straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of nine teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last nine seasons (including 2006-07). That list consists of Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky and Syracuse.
Postseason x 10
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 10 consecutive seasons, tied for the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It matches the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 10 years (including 2006-07) are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton, which also boasts a men's soccer team with 15 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 10 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins x 11
Creighton's win at Drake on Feb. 3 was its 10th league win of the season. That extended the Bluejays' Missouri Valley Conference record with an 11th consecutive season of 10 or more league wins.
Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
On a national basis, the only teams with at least 11 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Arizona (22), South Carolina State (14), Stanford (13), Kansas (13) and Creighton (11).
Jays Among Attendance Leaders
During the 2005-06 season, Creighton finished ranked 20th nationally in average attendance with 13,901 fans per game.
The Bluejays averaged 15,909 fans per game in 14 home dates this season. Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders, according to figures compiled by the Creighton Sports Information Office.
2006-07 Attendance Leaders (Unofficial)
Rk. School Avg. Next Home Game
1. Kentucky 23,421 Done
2. Syracuse 21,516 Done
3. North Carolina 20,693 Done
4. Tennessee 19,661 Done
5. Louisville 18,488 Done
6. Ohio State 17,530 Done
7. Wisconsin 17,190 Done
8. Maryland 16,822 Done
9. Arkansas 16,720 Done
10. Illinois 16,618 Done
11. Indiana 16,474 Done
12. Kansas 16,300 Done
13. Creighton 15,909 Done
14. Marquette 15,345 Done
15. Memphis 14,878 Done
16. Michigan State 14,759 Done
17. Arizona 14,202 Done
18. North Carolina St. 13,952 Done
19. Virginia 13,521 Done
20. Connecticut 13,012 Done
Five Figure Crowds
Creighton hosted 17,607 fans for its Feb. 17 home game versus Drexel. Not only was it the largest home crowd in Creighton history, but for any basketball game in state history as well.
Creighton, which ranked 20th nationally in attendance in 2005-06, averaged 15,909 fans per game in 2006-07. Before this year, Creighton's largest crowd ever had been 15,700.
Creighton has played 75 straight home games in front of crowds of 8,000 fans or more and 44 in a row at home before 10,000 fans or more.
By comparison, Creighton had a total of 39,093 home fans in Dana Altman's first year on the Hilltop, an average of 2,792 per game.
10 Largest Home Crowds, Creighton & State History
Att. Opp. Result Date
17,607 Drexel L 58-64 02/17/07
17,459 Southern Illinois L 57-58 01/20/07
17,283 Indiana State W 71-55 01/27/07
17,110 Wichita State W 71-54 02/24/07
16,339 Bradley W 65-54 01/18/07
16,315 Drake W 79-56 01/09/07
15,872 #24 Xavier W 73-67 12/09/06
15,700 Fresno State W 67-62 02/18/06
15,684 Missouri State W 77-74 12/30/06
15,678 Wichita State W 57-55 01/28/06
10 Largest Crowds To See CU Play Since 1967, Any Site
Att. Schools Result Date
22,612 Missouri St. vs. CU# W 75-58 03/03/07
22,612 #11 So. Illinois vs. CU# W 67-61 03/04/07
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
18,250 CU vs. Toledo& W 48-46 03/25/42
17,935 CU vs. W. Kentucky& L 36-49 03/23/42
17,607 Drexel @ CU L 58-64 02/17/07
17,459 So. Illinois @ CU L 57-58 01/20/07
%NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.
$NCAA Tournament in Chicago, Ill.
&National Invitation Tournament in New York, N.Y.
#MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
MVC's Top Crowds Ever
Creighton has set MVC attendance records each of the past two seasons. Last year the program attracted a league-record 236,313 fans, smashing the previous league mark of 192,258 the Bluejays set in 2003-04. This season, Creighton set a mark with 15,909 fans per average home game.
Below are the top average home attendance totals in MVC history.
Ave. Att. School Year
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
12,009 Louisville 1967-68
Funk Finishes 31st On MVC Scoring List
Senior Nate Funk finished his career with 1,754 career points, good for sixth in Bluejay history and 31st in MVC history. Below is a list of the top scorers all-time in Creighton and MVC history:
Top Scorers, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name Years
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 1999-03
6. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-Pr.
Top Scorers, MVC History
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 3,008 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1984-88
2. 2,973 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-60
3. 2,850 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-79
30. 1,758 Slab Jones, New Mexico State 1976-80
31. 1,754 Nate Funk, Creighton 2002-Pr.
32. 1,736 Tarise Bryson, Illinois State 1998-02
A-Train Stops By ?Grand? Central Station
Senior center Anthony Tolliver scored 15 points against Nevada and finished his career with 1,004 career points. Tolliver became the 31st member of CU's 1,000 point club, and third in the last three years (joining Nate Funk in 2005 and Johnny Mathies in 2006).
Coach of the Century
Dana Altman was one of 10 coaches honored when the Missouri Valley Conference announced its all-Centennial Team. Altman, who ranks third in MVC history with 260 wins, was joined by the likes of Henry Iba, Eddie Hickey, Tubby Smith, Denny Crum and Phog Allen.
More Century Club Members
Creighton also had six players honored on the MVC's 50-person all-Centennial Team. CU's honorees included Benoit Benjamin, Rodney Buford, Chad Gallagher, Bob Harstad, Kyle Korver and Ryan Sears.
The league's ?starting five?, consisting of the top-five vote getters, consisted of Larry Bird (Indiana State), Hersey Hawkins (Bradley), Ed Macauley (Saint Louis), Xavier McDaniel (Wichita State) and Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati).
Six Out Of Nine Tourney Titles
Creighton owns six league tournament titles in the last nine years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (8), Duke (7), Winthrop (7) and Creighton (6).
Creighton's 10 Valley Tournament titles are twice as many as the next closest school, Southern Illinois (5).
Funk Joins Elite As 3-Time Tourney Champ
Nate Funk became just the sixth player in league history to play in three MVC Tournament finals victories on March 4. He joined Creighton's Kyle Korver (2000, ??02, ??03) and Tyler McKinney (2002, ??03, ??05) as well as Southern Illinois' Marcus Timmons (1993, ??94, ??95), Chris Carr (1993, ??94, ??95) and Paul Lusk (1993, ??94, ??95).
Not The Top Seed...Not A Problem
Including the men's basketball team at the 2007 MVC Tournament, Creighton has now won 22 MVC Tournament titles since Bruce Rasmussen took over as Director of Athletics in 1994.
Interestingly, only five of those 22 teams were actually the No. 1 seed entering that tournament.
In fact, each of the last 11 times Creighton has won an MVC Tournament, they've done it without the benefit of the top seed. The last time CU won any MVC Tournament as the No. 1 seed was the fall of 2002, when women's soccer did it.
Below is the list of Creighton's last 11 MVC Tournament titles, as well as their seed entering the tournament:
Sport Year Seed
Men's Basketball 2007 2nd
Men's Soccer 2006 2nd
Men's Soccer 2006 2nd
Men's Soccer 2005 2nd
Women's Soccer 2005 2nd
Softball 2005 3rd
Men's Basketball 2005 3rd
Women's Soccer 2004 2nd
Softball 2004 2nd
Men's Basketball 2003 2nd
Softball 2003 4th
Men's Soccer 2002 2nd
Another Reason He's The A-Train
Senior center Anthony Tolliver was named a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Tolliver owns a 3.53 GPA in Finance. He is the fifth men's basketball player in CU history to earn the accolade, joining Paul Silas (1964), Rick Apke (1978), Brody Deren (2004) and Michael Lindeman (2003 and 2004).
Tolliver was one of four MVC players named Academic All-District, joining SIU's Jamaal Tatum, UNI's Brooks McKowen and Indiana State's Trent Wurtz.
Tolliver was also named to the Division I-AAA (Division I schools without football) Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team. In addition, he was picked as the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, the first player to ever win the award twice.
Preseason MVC Poll Picked Jays First
For the fourth time in the last nine years, and first time since 2002-03, Creighton was picked to win the MVC in a preseason poll of league coaches, SID's and media.
Creighton earned 29-of-40 first-place votes and had 386 points in the voting. Southern Illinois was second with nine first place votes and Wichita State third with the two remaining votes for the top spot. Missouri State was picked fourth and Northern Iowa fifth. Rounding out the rest of the poll were Evansville, Drake, Bradley, Illinois State and Indiana State.
Creighton seniors Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named to the six-person preseason all-MVC team, joining Blake Ahearn (Missouri State), Grant Stout (Northern Iowa) and the Southern Illinois backcourt of Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum. Funk was picked as preseason Player of the Year, CU's first honoree since Kyle Korver in 2002-03.
Preseason Polls Ranked Jays 19th & 23rd
Creighton was voted to a No. 19 preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll. It was CU's first preseason ranking from the AP, and the first time it had been ranked by the writers since being #24 on Jan. 12, 2004.
Creighton was the first Valley school to be ranked in the preseason Associated Press poll since Wichita State (sixth) and Tulsa (11th) were among the nation's elite in the 1981-82 pre-season top-25 poll.
Creighton was also voted to the No. 23 preseason ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
For a complete rundown of Creighton's history in the Associated Press poll, see page 154 of the 2006-07 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
In & Out Of The Rankings
Creighton spent time in and out of the rankings during the 2006-07 season.
In the AP poll, CU opened the season ranked 19th, fell to 20th on Nov. 13, and were listed among those receiving votes on 11 other occasions.
In the Coaches poll, CU opened the year ranked 23rd in the preseason poll, were 25th on Nov. 13th, and then rejoined the poll at the 24th spot on March 12th. CU also received votes in nine other weeks.
Mid-Major All-Americans
Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named to collegeinsider.com's 21-person Mid-Major All-America Team. The Bluejays were the only team with multiple players named.
Portsmouth Hero
Anthony Tolliver was one of 12 players named to the Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament team at the annual pre-draft camp. Tolliver averaged 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocked shots in three games while helping his squad to the title.
Nate Funk averaged 8.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game for a team that went 2-1 and finished fifth at Portsmouth.
Redshirt Nation
Creighton redshirted four members of the team in 2006-07.
Chad Millard sat out as a transfer after playing in 2005-06 at Louisville. He will have three years of eligibility left, starting in the fall.
Kenny Lawson Jr. played in two November games, but was bothered by knee tendonitis the rest of the year. If he receives a medical redshirt, as expected, the freshman will retain four years of eligibility left.
Two other freshmen did not played a single minute and redshirted, Casey Harriman and Aaron Brandt. Both men will have four years left to play at Creighton.
Jays Against Ranked Foes
Creighton's win over #11 Southern Illinois on March 4 was the highest-ranked opponent the Jays have beaten since 1974. Creighton was 2-2 against ranked teams in 2006-07.
That moved the Bluejays to 18-109 all-time against teams that are ranked in the AP poll, including a 7-11 mark under Dana Altman.
CU's two wins over teams ranked in the AP poll this season tied a program-best, also done in 1973-74 and 2001-02.
Altman vs. Ranked Teams
Dana Altman is 7-11 against ranked teams since coming to Creighton. CU beat #18 Oklahoma State (Dec. 20, 1998), #23 Iowa (Nov. 27, 1999), #17 Western Kentucky (Nov. 27, 2001), #25 Northern Iowa (Jan. 31, 2006) and #24 Xavier (Dec. 9, 2006) at home and #15 Florida (March 15, 2002) and #11 Southern Illinois (March 4, 2007) at a neutral site.
Altman's seven wins against ranked teams are a school record for a CU coach, two more than Eddie Sutton's win total (5-18).
When he was at Kansas State, Altman went 6-18 against ranked teams. Notably, on Jan. 17, 1994, Altman's unranked team beat then-No. 1 Kansas, 68-64 in Lawrence, Kan.
Against Postseason Opponents
Creighton played six games versus teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this season, going 2-4 in those contests. Against NIT qualifiers, Creighton was 6-2.
vs. NCAA Qualifiers
Opponent Creighton
Southern Illinois SIU 57-58
SIU 68-72
CU 67-61
Xavier CU 73-67
Nevada NEV 77-71 OT
vs. NIT Qualifiers
Opponent Creighton
Bradley CU 65-54
CU 82-71
Drexel Drexel 64-58
Fresno State FSU 69-54
Miss. Valley St. CU 78-42
Missouri State CU 77-74
CU 66-62
CU 75-58
Halftime Momentum
Creighton buried Indiana State with a 15-2 run to end the first half in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, hit Missouri State with an 11-6 burst to close the first half in the MVC Tourney semifinals, and a 10-5 blast to take the lead for good against Southern Illinois in the Valley Tournament final. In the NCAA Tournament, the Bluejays took a 32-31 halftime lead thanks to a half-ending 12-6 run. That continued a recent trend, as seen below:
CU Runs To Close The 1st Half, Last Six Games
March 16: Creighton outscores Nevada 12-6 over the final 6:40 of the first half
March 3: Creighton outscores Southern Illinois 10-5 over the final 5:31 of the first half
March 2: Creighton outscores Missouri State 11-6 over the final 3:36 of the first half
March 1: Creighton outscores Indiana State 15-2 over final 5:59 of first half
Feb. 24: Creighton outscores Wichita State 10-2 over final 1:46 of first half
Feb. 20: Creighton outscores Illinois State 20-8 over final 5:46 of first half
Second Half Runs
Creighton consistently came out of the halftime break playing some of its best ball. For the season, Creighton outscored the opposition 205-122 in the first three minutes of the second half and 298-215 in the first five minutes of second half play this season.
Heartbreak Hotel
Five of Creighton's last six postseason runs have included a game that was decided in the final seconds, including the past four seasons.
This year, Creighton forced a turnover with 19 seconds left in regulation and the scored tied in its NCAA game versus Nevada. Nate Funk's shot while driving to the lane came up short, and CU was unable to get off a tip towards the basket. CU eventually lost 77-71 in overtime.
Last year in the NIT, Miami (Fla.) guard Guilermo Diaz drained a free throw with 2.6 seconds left to beat Creighton 53-52. A last-second shot attempt by Bluejay senior Johnny Mathies was knocked out of his hands.
In the 2005 NCAA Tourney, Nate Funk had his three-point try with seven seconds left blocked by Tyrone Sally, and Sally raced downcourt for a breakaway dunk with 2.4 seconds left to give West Virginia a 63-61 win. Funk's three-point try from the corner missed at the buzzer.
In 2004, Creighton fell 71-70 to Nebraska in the NIT. The Jays led nearly the entire second half before NU's go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left. Nate Funk's game-winning jumper from 18-feet away was blocked by Husker guard Jake Muhleisen. Muhleisen is now a graduate manager at Creighton.
In 2002, Creighton beat #15 Florida, 83-82, in Chicago. Terrell Taylor hit a game-winning trey with 0.2 seconds left in double-overtime, his final three of 28 points after a scoreless first half.
Consistent Challengers
One of the most impressive facets of the Dana Altman tenure is how often his teams have been in the running for the MVC regular-season title. Eight of his last 10 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 10 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.)
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.)
Thirty-Point Bluejays
Nate Funk is one of four Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other three players that did it were Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
The most points an Altman player has ever scored in a game was 62, which Kansas State's Askia Jones did in only 28 minutes against Fresno State on March 24, 1994, in an NIT quarterfinal. Jones hit an incredible 11 three-pointers in the second half of that game, and finished 14-of-18 from three-point range.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita St. 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford So. Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @No. Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri St. 02/15/97 L 82-88
Dynamic Duo
Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were both named first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference. It marked CU's first pair on the first team since Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were honored in 1991.
What Were The Patches For
Creighton wore two patches on its uniform during the 2006-07 campaign.
Just below the right shoulder was a patch that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Located near the top of the shorts on the left leg was a black patch with the words ?Doc? inscribed. The patch honors Dr. Lee ?Doc? Bevilacqua, Creighton's volunteer team physician for 32 years until his passing in October of 1998. A member of the Creighton Athletics and MVC Hall's of Fame, Bevilacqua never received monetary compensation and always paid his own way when he traveled with teams.
Some Good Wins Already
Sixteen of Creighton's 33 games in 2006-07 were against teams that reached the postseason last year. The Bluejays are 8-4 in 12 games against NCAA qualifiers and 3-1 against NIT participants from a year ago.
The clubs Creighton beat combined for 10 NCAA wins and five victories in the NIT last season.
Creighton's pre-NCAA Tournament strength of schedule stood at 19 and CU has played just three games against teams ranked 140 or lower.
RPI Rants
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Creighton owned a 7-3 record against teams in the Top 50 of the www.kenpom.com RPI rankings.
CU's .700 winning percentage against Top 50 competition ranked sixth nationally among teams that have played five such games.
Creighton had a year-end RPI of 20, while Nevada's RPI entering the Tourney stood at 23.
Win Pct. vs. Top 50 RPI Opponents (min. 5 GP)
School W-L Win Pct.
UCLA 10-1 .909
Kansas 5-1 .833
Butler 4-1 .800
North Carolina 11-3 .786
Ohio State 10-3 .769
Creighton 5-3 .625
?entering NCAA Tournament
Nothing Mid-Major About The Valley
The 2006-07 campaign marked the ninth consecutive season that the Missouri Valley Conference has had multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, as two teams were in the Big Dance.
The only leagues to send at least two teams to the last nine NCAA Tourney's (since 1998-99) are the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, MVC, SEC and Pac-10.
Magic Number
The magic number for Creighton was 62. Creighton was 20-2 this year when scoring 62 points or more, but just 2-9 when being held to fewer than 62 markers. Both losses when scoring 62 points or more came to ranked teams, falling 77-71 in NCAA play to #15 Nevada, and 72-68 at #21 Southern Illinois.
Magic Numbers, Part II
Another category to keep an eye on was Creighton's field goal percentage. The Bluejays were 22-4 this season when shooting 37.8 percent or better from the field, but 0-7 when falling short of 37.8 percent.
Senior Class
Creighton had four seniors, but all of them entered the program at different times. Nate Funk is in his fifth season, Anthony Tolliver his fourth, Nick Porter his third and Manny Gakou his second. Over the past five years, Creighton went 114-46 with five 20-win seasons and five postseason appearances (three NCAA's, two NIT's).
Funk played in a school-record 135 games. He finished with 1,754 points and 323 assists, both among the top-10 marks in school history. A preseason All-American, Funk led the MVC in points per game this year (17.7 ppg.).
Gakou finished up his second year with the Bluejay program. The Paris, France native has played in 45 games, and has 43 points and 35 rebounds to his credit.
The 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year, Porter averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. He played in 63 games at CU, owning 642 points, 333 rebounds and 147 assists.
A first-team all-Valley selection, Tolliver averaged 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year. He had 1,004 career points, 603 rebounds and was fourth in CU history with 136 blocked shots.
Funk, Tolliver and Gakou are all on pace to graduate in May, while Porter is expected to get his degree in August.
Contributions By Class
Category Sr. Jr. So. Fr.
Points 1417-63.8% 536-24.1% 56-2.5% 211-9.5%
Rebounds 546-54.4% 358-35.7% 22-2.2% 78-7.8%
Assists 247-56.0% 81-18.4% 55-12.5% 58-13.2%
Blocks 62-74.7% 18-21.7% 2-2.4% 1-1.2%
Steals 104-49.5% 48-22.9% 23-11.0% 35-16.7%
Minutes 3291-49.7% 2074-31.3% 508-7.7% 752-11.4%
Charges Taken 29-63.0% 13-28.3% 0-0.0% 4-8.7%
Senior Leaders
Seniors Nick Porter, Nate Funk, Manny Gakou and Anthony Tolliver scored at least half of the team's points in each of CU's last 24 games (since Dec. 22 vs. Houston), including every MVC contest this year.
On March 3 vs. Missouri State, the quartet scored CU's first 28 points of the game, the first 24 points of the second half, and 65 of CU's 75 overall. In three meetings with Missouri State, they combined for 170 of CU's 218 points.
As a group, they combined for 1,417 of CU's 2,220 points this season, good for 63.8 percent of the squad's points.
The quartet took 524 of CU's 710 free throw attempts, a whopping 73.8 percent of the shots taken from the charity stripe.
Senior Class
Creighton had four seniors, but all of them entered the program at different times. Nate Funk is in his fifth season, Anthony Tolliver his fourth, Nick Porter his third and Manny Gakou his second. Over the past five years, Creighton went 114-46 with five 20-win seasons and five postseason appearances (three NCAA's, two NIT's).
Funk played in a school-record 135 games. He finished with 1,754 points and 323 assists, both among the top-10 marks in school history. A preseason All-American, Funk led the MVC in points per game this year (17.7 ppg.).
Gakou finished up his second year with the Bluejay program. The Paris, France native has played in 45 games, and has 43 points and 35 rebounds to his credit.
The 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year, Porter averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. He played in 63 games at CU, owning 642 points, 333 rebounds and 147 assists.
A first-team all-Valley selection, Tolliver averaged 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year. He had 1,004 career points, 603 rebounds and was fourth in CU history with 136 blocked shots.
Funk, Tolliver and Gakou are all on pace to graduate in May, while Porter is expected to get his degree in August.
Contributions By Class
Category Sr. Jr. So. Fr.
Points 1417-63.8% 536-24.1% 56-2.5% 211-9.5%
Rebounds 546-54.4% 358-35.7% 22-2.2% 78-7.8%
Assists 247-56.0% 81-18.4% 55-12.5% 58-13.2%
Blocks 62-74.7% 18-21.7% 2-2.4% 1-1.2%
Steals 104-49.5% 48-22.9% 23-11.0% 35-16.7%
Minutes 3291-49.7% 2074-31.3% 508-7.7% 752-11.4%
Charges Taken 29-63.0% 13-28.3% 0-0.0% 4-8.7%
Senior Leaders
Seniors Nick Porter, Nate Funk, Manny Gakou and Anthony Tolliver scored at least half of the team's points in each of CU's last 24 games (since Dec. 22 vs. Houston), including every MVC contest this year.
On March 3 vs. Missouri State, the quartet scored CU's first 28 points of the game, the first 24 points of the second half, and 65 of CU's 75 overall. In three meetings with Missouri State, they combined for 170 of CU's 218 points.
As a group, they combined for 1,417 of CU's 2,220 points this season, good for 63.8 percent of the squad's points.
The quartet took 524 of CU's 710 free throw attempts, a whopping 73.8 percent of the shots taken from the charity stripe.
Tolliver's a Senior CLASS All-American
Creighton center Anthony Tolliver was one of 10 finalists for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male senior basketball player who excels both on and off the court.
Other finalists included eventual winner Alando Tucker (Wisconsin), as well as Jared Dudley (Boston College), Nick Fazekas (Nevada), Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh), Adam Haluska (Iowa), Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech), Acie Law IV (Texas A&M), J.R. Reynolds (Virginia) and Curtis Sumpter (Villanova).
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Finalists were selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete. These areas of excellence are identified under the categories of classroom, character and community, as well as the candidate's performance and team loyalty on the court.
Tolliver was the only MVC men's athlete named, and the second Creighton candidate in the past six years. Kyle Korver was a finalist for the award in 2003 and named a Senior CLASS All-American. Tolliver was named a Senior CLASS Second-Team All-American after the season.
S*W*A*T* City
Anthony Tolliver had at least one blocked shot in 32 of his last 39 games dating to last season, including three games with five each.
Benoit Benjamin owns the Creighton (and MVC) record with 411 career rejections. Tolliver finished his career fourth in CU history and 15th in MVC history with 136 career rejections.
Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Rk. Blk. Name Years
1. 411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
2. 183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
3. 138 Brody Deren 2001-04
4. 136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
5. 109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
Most Blocked Shots MVC History
Rk. Blk. Name Years
1. 411 Benoit Benjamin, CU 1982-85
2. 222 Grant Stout, UNI 2003-07
3. 209 Antoine Carr, WSU 1979-83
4. 183 Chad Gallagher, CU 1987-91
4. 180 Donald Powell, BU 1984-88
5. 168 DeCarsta Webster, INS 1975-78
7. 167 Danny Moore, MSU 1996-99
8. 160 Greg Dilligard, ILS 2003-07
9. 159 Bradley Strickland, UE 2003-07
10. 158 Ashraf Amaya, SIU 1989-93
11. 154 Adebayo Akinkunle, BU 1994-98
12. 152 Randal Falker, SIU 2004-Pres.
13. 147 Patrick O'Bryant, BU 2004-06
14. 138 Brody Deren, CU 2001-04
15. 136 Anthony Tolliver, CU 2003-07
What's Your Point
Creighton made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the past nine years. It's worth noting that in each of the two seasons the Jays didn't make the Big Dance, they went to the NIT without their starting point guard.
In 2004, the Jays started 12-0 become a season-ending eye infection to Tyler McKinney caused the team to finish 20-9.
Last season, CU started 17-5 before losing starting point guard Josh Dotzler to a knee injury. The Jays finished 20-10 last year.
National Leader Stat Finishes
Creighton had two players ranked among the nation's final top 100 statistical leaders.
Nate Funk was 29th in free throw percentage at 86.3 percent and 72nd in scoring average at 17.7 points per game. In addition, Anthony Tolliver was 69th in blocked shots per game at 1.7 per contest.
As a team, CU was 15th in free throw percentage (75.4 percent), 23rd in scoring defense (60.9 points allowed per game), 42nd in fewest personal fouls per game (16.7), 50th in fewest turnovers per game (12.6 per game), 58th in scoring margin (+6.3), 60th in win-loss percentage (.667) and 74th in field goal percentage defense (41.6 percent).
Stat Champs
In the recently-completed 18-game league slate, Creighton had several categories in which it led the conference. The Bluejays were tops in free-throw percentage (76.6 percent), field goal percentage defense (42.6 percent), home attendance (145,375) and average home attendance (16,153). Individually, Nate Funk led the MVC with 18.3 points per game. Funk also led the MVC in league-game scoring in 2004-05 at 18.9 ppg.
When looking at all games, Creighton is tops in free throw percentage (75.4 percent), home attendance (222,728) and average home attendance (15,909). Individually, Funk led the league with 17.6 points per game.
The Best Never Rest
Nate Funk averaged 34.5 minutes per game, easily the most on the team and fifth-highest in the MVC this season. That's the most by any Bluejay player since Ryan Sears clocked 35.0 minutes per game during his junior (1999-00) season.
Out Of His Funk
Creighton went 10-4 in its last 14 games, and a major reason was because Nate Funk continued to light up the opposition early in games.
Funk hit 50 percent or better of his first half shots in 12 of CU's last 14 games. In that time, he made 48-of-85 shots (56.5 percent), including 15-of-30 (50 percent) from downtown.
Funk's streak of 24 straight games in double-figures to close his career is CU's longest since Bob Harstad in 1990-91.
Below is a list of the nation's (according to STATS Inc.) longest active scoring streaks of 12 or more point games, as well as Creighton's longest double-figure streaks since 1989-90:
Nation's Longest Streaks of 12 or More Points
Rk. Name, School Streak
1. Trey Johnson, Jackson State 45
2. Brandon Heath, San Diego State 44
3. Caleb Green, Oral Roberts 43
4. Adrian Banks, Arkansas State 33
5. Dashaun Wood, Wright State 28
6. Kevin Durant, Texas 26
7. Reggie Williams, VMI 25
Antoine Agudio, Hofstra 25
9. Nate Funk, Creighton 24
10. Larry Blair, Liberty 23
CU's Top Double-Figure Point Streaks, Since 1989-90
No. Name Dates
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
27 Bob Harstad Nov. 27, 1989-Feb. 17, 1990
25 Chad Gallagher Jan. 22, 1990-Jan. 5, 1991
24 Nate Funk Dec. 23, 2006-Present
Gotta Have That Funk
Nate Funk was the leading scorer in the Missouri Valley Conference, no matter how you slice it. He finished the season as the league's career active scoring leader with 1,754 points, leads the MVC with 17.7 points per game in all games, and was also tops with an 18.3 scoring average in league-only contests.
Funk scored 12 points or more in a league-best 24 straight games, a run which started Dec. 23 at Hawaii.
After his 23 points vs. #15 Nevada on March 16, Funk finished with 24 career games of 20 or more points and three games of 30 or more.
Game Tested
Fifth-year senior Nate Funk played in 135 games as a Bluejay, seven more than Bob Harstad and Kyle Korver for most in Creighton history. According to STATS Inc., Funk's 135 games played ranked tied for fourth nationally among players active in 2006-07.
Rk. Name, School GP
1. Chris Richard, Florida 141
2. Tony Young, Southern Illinois 138
3. Brandon Jenkins, Louisville 136
4. Nate Funk, Creighton 135
Brandon Wallace, S. Carolina 135
Combo Guard
Nate Funk saw much of his time as the Creighton point guard, bringing the ball up against pressure, before playing as a shooting guard within the half-court offense.
The numbers reflect this as well, as Funk was the only player in the MVC to lead his team in points per game and assists per game in league action.
Since 1970, the only four players to lead Creighton in scoring and assists in the same season are Funk (2003-04 and 2006-07), Kyle Korver (2001-02), Matt Petty (1992-93) and Kevin McKenna (1979-80). Funk was the first Bluejay player on record to lead the team in both points and assists twice in his career.
Technically Speaking
The Creighton bench was assessed a technical foul on Feb. 17 in the second half against Drexel, a rarity for the program.
In the 13-year tenure of Dana Altman, it was just the seventh technical foul charged to the bench, and first since Jan. 21, 2004 at Wichita State. The last technical foul on the Bluejay bench in a home game came on Jan. 12, 2000 against #19 Tulsa.
Only 23 technical fouls have been charged to a CU player of coach in the 401 games Altman's been on the sideline. Here's the list: Bench (7), Jeffrey Day (4), Terrell Taylor (3), Jason Bey (2), Dane Watts (1), Joe Dabbert (1), DeAnthony Bowden (1), Larry House (1), Joel Templeman (1), Kevin Mungin (1) and Donald Davenport (1).
CU also had a technical foul called in a 1998 game at Wichita State when it called a timeout it didn't have.
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 46 charges this season. Over the previous five seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 46.0 per year. Below is a list of the charges that have been taken in that time:
Name 2002-05 ??05-06 ??06-07 Total
Anthony Tolliver 6 17 23 46
Dane Watts 8 7 11 26
Nate Funk 5 2 4 11
Isacc Miles n/a n/a 4 4
Pierce Hibma 1 0 2 3
Nick Porter n/a 6 1 7
Manny Gakou n/a 0 1 1
Josh Dotzler n/a 4 0 4
Former Players 119 9 n/a 128
Total 139 45 46 230
More Charge Info
Anthony Tolliver took a team-best 23 charges this season. Since 2002-03, the following players have taken 10 or more charges in a season:
Most Charges Taken, Season (since 2002-03)
23 Anthony Tolliver 2006-07
17 Mike Grimes 2002-03
17 Anthony Tolliver 2005-06
13 Joe Dabbert 2002-03
11 Joe Dabbert 2003-04
11 Tyler McKinney 2004-05
11 Dane Watts 2006-07
High Voltage
Dane Watts scored in double-figures in nine of Creighton's last 13 games. Watts has now scored in double-figures 34 times in his career. The Bluejays are 26-8 in those contests, including an 13-2 record when he pumps in 13 points or more.
It's also worth pointing out that after making just 45.5 percent of 55 free throw attempts last year, he made 71.1 percent at the line in 83 attempts. He hit 32 of his last 40 attempts (80 percent) over the final 17 games.
Watts also made at least half his three-point attempts in eight of CU's last 12 games.
A steady performer who can shoot from the outside or bang away inside, Watts owns a team-best 86 consecutive starts.
Road Warriors
Creighton finished 5-4 on the road in MVC play this season. The Jays have made the NCAA's each of the last seven times they've been over .500 on the road in MVC play, but were sent to the NIT both times they were under .500 in league tilts on the road.
Since rejoining the MVC in 1977, each of Creighton's previous five teams that opened 4-2 on the road or better in league action went on to win the MVC Tournament (also 1988-89, 1990-91, 1998-99, 2001-02, 2002-03). Each of those last four teams also won its first NCAA Tournament game that season. This year's team started 4-2 in MVC road games.
Additionally, two of Creighton's league away wins were by 10 or more points (at Bradley, at Evansville). The rest of the league had four combined double-digit road wins (one each for SIU, UNI, Illinois State and Bradley) in MVC play.
It Counts In Horseshoes
Creighton's five MVC losses were by a combined 21 points. The Bluejays lost by three points at both Indiana State and Wichita State, to Southern Illinois by both one and four points, and by 10 at Illinois State.
In four of those five losses, Creighton had the ball with a chance to tie or win in the final 10 seconds.
Ten of Creighton's 18 MVC games this year were decided by eight points or less.
Big Man Deluxe
Anthony Tolliver was the only player to rank in the top 10 in the MVC in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
Tolliver ranked second in blocked shots (1.73 bpg.), 10th in scoring (13.4 ppg.) and fifth in rebounds per game (6.7 rpg.).
It's worth noting that last year Wichita State's Paul Miller was named MVC Player of the Year after averaging 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game and helping WSU to a 14-4 league mark.
Charity Tosses
Creighton made 75.4 percent of its free throw attempts this season, tops in the MVC and 15th nationally.
The 75.5 percent accuracy rate is a fraction ahead of the school-record of 75.3 percent set by the 1992-93 team.
Including this season, each of Creighton's last six teams to shoot 70 percent or better at the free-throw line have made the NCAA Tournament.
Korver Comes Back
Former Creighton All-American Kyle Korver (1999-2003), who now plays in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, skipped the NBA All-Star Game Three-Point Shootout to attend Creighton's Feb. 17 game against Drexel.
Korver was in town to promote and raise funds for the Kyle Korver Foundation. Bobblehead likenesses of Korver in a Bluejay uniform were available for a $20 donation to his charity, with additional information on-line at http://www.kylekorver.com.
Korver's brother, Kaleb, is a senior at Pella (Iowa) High School and has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Creighton next fall.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continued to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 260 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 148 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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. 260 Dana Altman Creighton
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. 148 Dana Altman Creighton
4. 126 Phog Allen Kansas
Normally Nifty at 50 (Percent)
Since coming to Creighton, head coach Dana Altman's teams are 98-4 when his teams make at least half of their shots from the field.
Creighton's 53.8 percent marksmanship (21-39) against Southern Illinois on Feb. 10 was its best shooting percentage in a loss under Altman.
Creighton's last previous loss when shooting 53.5 percent or better had come on Jan. 28, 1993, when it shot 56.1 percent in a 60-58 loss at Northern Iowa.
Assisting Others Too
Nate Funk's 323 career assists ranked ninth in CU history, just ahead of Kyle Korver. With 1,754 points, Funk is the only player in school history with at least 1,700 points and 300 assists.
Creighton Career Assist Leaders (Since 1970-71)
Rk Ast. Name Years
1. 570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
2. 549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
3. 458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
4. 430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
5. 418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
6. 382 Duan Cole 1987-92
7. 332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
8. 323 Nate Funk 2002-Pr.
9. 317 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
10. 294 Kyle Korver 1999-03
Porter Picking It Up
After scoring 10 points or more in just two of 12 non-conference games, senior guard Nick Porter scored in double-figures in 17 of Creighton's 21 games against MVC schools this year.
Since moving into the starting line-up on Dec. 30 after Josh Dotzler was sidelined, Porter averaged 12.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He made 82-of-170 shots from the floor (48.4 percent), 112-of-139 at the line (80.1 percent) and 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) of his three-point attempts.
Porter had a career-high 19 points against Evansville on Feb. 7, 16 of which came after halftime. He then erased that mark with a career-best 21 points in the win over UNI, 17 of which came after intermission.
For the year, Porter shot 38.5 percent and averaged 4.2 points in the first half of games, but made 53.5 percent and scored 6.5 points in the second half of contests.
Defensive Gem
Last year as a freshman, Josh Dotzler had two or more steals in 16 of 23 games. However, his season ended on Feb. 11 when he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his knee, for which he underwent surgery for in May.
Playing one day shy of the one-year anniversary of that knee injury, Dotzler shined on the defensive end at Southern Illinois on Feb. 10. Dotzler tied his career-high with five steals and also added his first blocked shot of the season. He played 25 minutes, his most extensive action since breaking two fingers in a Dec. 21 game vs. Valparaiso.
Dotzler had three steals in the final 10 minutes versus UNI on Feb. 13, sparking the game-changing 19-5 run that led the Bluejays to victory.
Leading Scorer, Again
Nate Funk owned at least a share of Creighton's team-lead in scoring in 10 straight games, before Nick Porter paced the squad on Feb. 13 vs. UNI. That was the longest run by any player in the 13-year tenure of Dana Altman, two more than the previous bests done twice by Rodney Buford.
It was also the longest run since 10 in a row by Rod Mason, who did it from Jan. 28 to Feb. 20, 1988.
Ticket Information
Creighton sold 12,126 season tickets for this season. The previous mark was the 10,452 season-tickets bought for the 2005-06 season.
Much more info available on the PDF's at the top of this document.
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
