Men's Basketball Hosts Evansville Wednesday
1/7/2008 6:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Next Game
Creighton (10-3, 1-2 MVC) plays its first home game of the 2008 calendar year when it welcomes Evansville (5-8, 0-3 MVC) to Omaha.
Wednesday's tip will take place at 7:07 pm and the action will take place at Qwest Center Omaha (17,272).
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2007-08 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Travis Justice will call the action.
Wednesday's game will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 158.
Television Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game against Evansville will air statewide on NET-1 (Cox Channel 12 in Omaha) and also in high definition on NET-HD (Cox Channel 712, for those with that programming tier). Kevin Kugler and Scott Schumacher will announce.
Broadcast outlets still needing coordinates will need to contact NET for authorization. Out-of-town sports bars and homes will not be granted permission and won't have the necessary hardware to receive the equipment.
Video Webcast Available
A free video webcast of Wednesday's game will be available. Fans can go to http://netnebraska.org/television/stream/ to view the NET-1 broadcast on-line.
Live Stats Information
Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton improved to 10-3 overall (1-2 in the MVC) with a 50-49 victory at Missouri State on Saturday night.
The 2007-08 Creighton team boasts just one returning starter from last year's MVC Tournament champion squad that finished 22-11 and played in the NCAA's for the seventh time in nine years.
That starter is leading scorer and rebounder Dane Watts (13.6 ppg., 6.7 rpg.), who is expected to make his 100th consecutive start on Wednesday. Watts also leads the team with 12 blocked shots.
Leading a Bluejay bench that averages 41.5 points per contest (second-most nationally) is freshman P'Allen Stinnett, who averages 11.4 points per game and drained the game-winning free-throw in Springfield on Saturday.
The Bluejays are 8-1 at home this season, including wins over DePaul, Nebraska, Saint Joseph's and UALR. CU averages a league-best 15,529 fans per home contest as well.
As a team, Creighton averages 75.3 points per game while allowing just 62.5. The Jays also own a +5.8 rebound advantage on the boards. CU is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from three-point range and 71.8 percent at the line.
Scouting Evansville
Evansville enters Wednesday with a 5-8 record and is tied for ninth in the MVC with an 0-3 league mark. The Purple Aces have Valley losses to league co-leaders Indiana State and Drake, as well as fourth-place UNI thus far.
Junior guard Jason Holsinger paces the UE offense with 13.7 points per game. The southpaw also leads the team with 59 assists, 33 three-point baskets and 45.8 percent shooting from downtown.
Also in double-figures is Shy Ely, who has averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The Purple Aces average 60.6 points per game and allow 62.8 per contest. UE shoots 42.5 percent from the floor, 39.7 percent from downtown and 70.8 percent at the line.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 14th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 270-144 (.652) mark at CU and a career record of 353-211 (.626) in 19 years as a 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 previous 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 is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Mike Maker. Nick Earnest is the team's film coordinator.
One of the greatest players in Evansville history, Marty Simmons was hired to coach his alma mater in March after spending five previous years at SIU-Edwardsville. Simmons averaged 25.9 points per game as a senior in 1987-88, when he placed ninth in the voting for AP Player of the Year. He owns a record of 5-8 at Evansville, which moves his career record to 103-81 in seven seasons overall. He is assisted by Marcus Belcher, Jimmy Elgas and Ben Wierzba.
The Series With Evansville
Creighton leads the all-time series with Evansville by an 18-8 count, including a 10-2 lead in Omaha. The Bluejays have won the last eight Omaha meetings by an average of 20.25 points, but last year had to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to win by five in Omaha.
Each of Creighton's last six losses in the series has been by single-digits, and only one of the 26 all-time meetings has been decided by fewer than four points.
Dana Altman is 18-8 all-time against Evansville and has never faced Marty Simmons.
Last Game Recap
P'Allen Stinnett's free-throw with 56.9 seconds left proved to be the difference as Creighton escaped Springfield, Mo., with a 50-49 win at Missouri State. The Bluejays led 29-15 at the half and by as much as 35-17 in the second half before a Missouri State surge tied the game twice in the final two minutes. Stinnett hit the second of two free throws to give CU the lead, and the Jays forced an MSU turnover on the next possession.
CU then milked the shot clock and missed a three-point try with 12 seconds to play, and Spencer Laurie airballed an off-balance three-pointer as time expired to give CU the win.
Stinnett led all players with 18 points, while MSU was paced by 12 from Laurie and Chris Cooks.
Inside Out and Upside Down
A look at the MVC standings through three games only how meaningless the league's preseason poll actually is.
The top four teams in the preseason poll (SIU, BU, MSU and CU) have a combined 3-9 league record, while the bottom four teams in the preseason poll (UE, DU, INS and UNI) are a combined 8-4 in conference action.
99 and Counting...
Dane Watts has started Creighton's last 99 games, dating to his first start on Dec. 28, 2004.
In fact, the only MVC game he didn't start was his first, a Dec. 22, 2004 loss at Evansville.
Watts' streak ranks as the MVC's longest active streak of consecutive starts, and is also fifth nationally according to STATS Inc. through Jan. 6.
Longest Active String of Consecutive Starts
Source: STATS -- Chicago
Through Jan. 7, 2008
Rk. Name, School Streak Next
1. Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown 114 01/08
2. Dominique Kirk, Texas A&M 110 01/12
3. Leon Williams, Ohio 108 01/12
4. William Byrd, Ark.-Pine Bluff 101 01/12
5. Dane Watts, Creighton 99 01/09
6. Gabe Moore, Indiana State 96 01/09
7. Mark Porter, Wagner 95 01/10
Century Club For Hibma
Speaking of 100, Saturday marked the 100th game in the career of Bluejay senior Pierce Hibma. Hibma owns 24 career starts to date and also owns 283 points, 154 rebounds and 59 assists in his career.
Book It!
Creighton junior guard Booker Woodfox had a career-high 16 points in last Wednesday's game against Indiana State, easily eclipsing his previous best of 11 points at Xavier on Dec. 5. Woodfox drained 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc to score his 16 points in just 16 minutes of action.
Woodfox's owns a team-high 18 three-point baskets this season. He also leads the squad with 43.9 percent accuracy from long-range. Woodfox started the season just 4-of-19 from behind the arc (21.1 percent), but has drained 14-of-22 from downtown (63.6 percent) in the past six contests.
Hammons Success = MVC Champs = NCAA?
Including last Saturday, Creighton has won just six times in 21 tries at Missouri State all-time.
Even better, each of those previous five Bluejay teams to win in Springfield went on to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament that March.
Halftime Score A Good Indicator
Incredibly, just two of Creighton's first 13 games have had a lead change in the second half.
The most recent contest came in Creighton's Dec. 9 home victory over Saint Joseph's. In that contest, Creighton and St. Joe's combined for four ties and six lead changes after the break. In overtime, CU scored the first six points and went on to a 90-84 win.
The Nov. 9 season-opener against DePaul is the only other Bluejay contest with a lead change in the second half. Creighton trailed that game by six at the break but went on to win by 12, 74-62.
Million Fan March
Creighton is closing in on welcoming its one millionth basketball fan to Qwest Center Omaha.
The Bluejays have hosted 970,393 fans in 72 all-time regular-season and NIT home games. The works out to an average of 13,478 fans per home contest in the five-year span of the facility.
Based on CU's average home crowds of 15,529 this year, it appears likely that the millionth fan will be welcomed in a Jan. 19 game against Indiana State.
Halftime Advantage
Creighton's 47-20 halftime lead over Nebraska on November 24 was the second-largest intermission margin in the five-year history of Qwest Center Omaha. Creighton led Alcorn State 39-11 on Nov. 15, 2004 for the largest halftime margin.
Wednesday's opponent, Evansville, owns the Qwest Center Omaha record for a halftime lead over Creighton. The Aces led 48-34 in last season's meeting in Omaha.
Below is a list of Creighton's top halftime leads and deficits at Qwest Center Omaha:
CU's Largest Halftime Leads at Qwest Center
Margin Score Opponent Date
28 39-11 Alcorn State 11/15/04
27 47-20 Nebraska 11/24/07
23 41-18 St. Bonaventure 11/29/03
21 42-21 Bethune Cookman 12/03/03
20 31-11 Nebraska 12/11/05
20 37-17 San Diego 11/22/03
CU's Largest Halftime Deficits at Qwest Center
Margin Score Opponent Date
-14 34-48 Evansville 02/07/07
-13 29-42 Illinois State 12/29/07
-11 27-38 Indiana State 02/22/06
-10 19-29 Miami (Fla.) 03/20/06
-10 28-38 Bradley 01/18/06
Tenacious D
Saturday's 50-49 win at Missouri State improved Creighton head coach Dana Altman to 42-0 in his Division I coaching career when his teams allow 50 points or less.
Saturday's victory marked the Bluejays fewest points in a win since a 50-48 victory over Nebraska on Dec. 11, 2004. The Jays hadn't won a Valley contest when scoring 50 points or fewer since a 50-47 victory at Wichita State on Feb. 23, 1994.
Creighton is allowing 62.5 points per game so far. This marks the sixth straight season the Jays have allowed less than 65 points per game.
Mid-Week Maestro's
Creighton has never lost a game at Qwest Center Omaha on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, going a combined 19-0 on those dates.
Thirteen of those wins came on a Wednesday, while five others were on Thursday's. Creighton's only Friday night home game since 1997 was this season's opening win over DePaul, giving the Jays a 1-0 home record on Friday night at the five-year old facility.
All That Jazz
Creighton's only current NBA player, Kyle Korver, plays for Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Sloan played at Evansville from 1962-65.
Stinnett Takes Another Newcomer Honor
Freshman P'Allen Stinnett earned his second MVC Newcomer of the Week honor when he was selected on Jan. 7 for his play during the week of Dec. 30-Jan. 6.
Stinnett averaged 11.5 points per game in road games at Indiana State and Missouri State. He scored a game-high 18 points against the Bears, including the game-winning free throw with 56.9 seconds left in the Jays 50-49 win.
Stinnett Off To A Good Start
P'Allen Stinnett has scored 148 points in his first 13 games as a Bluejay. That ranks as the most by any CU player in their first 13 games since Nate King scored 203 points to open his 1993-94 campaign.
Putting it in perspective, former Bluejay Anthony Tolliver scored just 22 points all of his freshman season. Tolliver ended with 1,004 career points and was named second-team all-MVC (2005-06) and first-team all-MVC (2006-07) before graduating last May.
10 x 10 Points
According to January 6 research by Navy men's basketball SID Chris Forman, Creighton's offensive diversity puts them in select company as one of six schools nationally to have 10 different players score 10 points in a game this year.
Wofford has 11 different players that have scored at least 10 points to lead all schools. Others with 10 players to score 10 points in a game, besides Creighton, include Duquesne, Navy, Southeast Missouri State, Belmont and Lipscomb.
Birds of Prey
Creighton has lost a total of 15 home games in the last eight seasons. Following almost every setback, Creighton has taken out its frustration in its next regular-season home game.
Creighton has followed all but one of its previous 14 home losses with a win in its next home game by an average of 18.5 points, including eight double-digit triumphs.
Since February of 2000, Creighton has suffered consecutive home losses just once, as it fell Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, 2004 to Kent State and Wyoming, respectively.
The last time CU dropped consecutive MVC contests at home was Jan. 4 and Jan. 17, 1999, when they lost to Evansville and Indiana State.
Home Losses, Last Eight Years
Home Loss Next Home Game
L 67-80, Illinois St. Wednesday vs. Evansville
L 58-64, Drexel W 71-54, Wichita State
L 57-58, S. Illinois W 71-55, Indiana State
L 52-53, Miami Fla. W 78-42, Miss. Valley State
L 67-74, S. Illinois W 67-62, Fresno State
L 71-79, Missouri St. W 83-82, Northern Iowa
L 77-82, Illinois St. W 73-69, Wichita State
L 63-69, S. Illinois W 82-67, Drake
L 64-68, Wyoming W 71-62, Bradley
L 58-67, Kent State L 64-68, Wyoming
L 70-71, Nebraska W 74-40, Alcorn State
L 60-61, S. Illinois W 74-56, Bradley
L 73-75, Drake W 106-50, Texas-Arlington
L 77-79, S. Illinois W 83-56, Northern Iowa
L 65-72, Xavier W 90-65, Miss. Valley State
Lawson Earns First Start
Redshirt freshman Kenny Lawson Jr. made the first start of his young career on Saturday at Missouri State, replacing Chad Millard in the opening line-up.
Lawson had six points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist while helping to limit MSU center Drew Richards to three points and two rebounds.
The change was the first in Creighton's starting line-up this season.
Watts Nearing 1,000 Points
Creighton senior Dane Watts owns 957 career points and stands just 43 points from becoming the 32nd member of the school's 1,000-point club (see media guide pages 90-93).
Watts has averaged 8.7 points in 110 career games, including a career-best 13.6 ppg. this year. His single-game high is 29 points.
Getting Defensive
Creighton held Missouri State without a field goal for the final 10:07 of the first half, then without a basket for the first 2:15 of the second half. That 12:22 is the longest period without a field goal by any Bluejay opponent this season.
Creighton has 13 different stretches this season in which it has held an opponent without a field goal for more than five minutes in a row, as seen below:
CU Holding Opponents 5:00+ Without a FG (13)
Span Opponent, Date Half
12:22 at Missouri State, 1/5 Both
8:57 at Indiana State, 1/2 1st
8:43 at Drexel, 12/1 Both
7:51 Arkansas-Little Rock, 12/22 1st
7:27 at Drexel, 12/1 1st
7:19 Savannah State, 11/29 Both
6:46 Mississippi Valley State, 11/17 2nd
6:41 North Carolina Central, 12/20 1st
5:21 Nebraska, 11/24 1st
5:13 Arkansas-Little Rock, 12/22 2nd
5:12 Mississippi Valley State, 11/17 1st
5:11 at Indiana State, 1/2 2nd
5:02 North Carolina Central, 12/20 2nd
More Defensive Excellence
When Creighton bolted to a 29-15 halftime lead last Saturday at Missouri State, it helped set a couple of Hammons Student Center records.
Missouri State's 15 points in the first half were its fewest in the 32-year history of Hammons Student Center, which has hosted 486 games. MSU's previous low had been 19 against Arkansas on Dec. 18, 1983.
It was also MSU's lowest scoring half at any site since they got 14 points at Purdue on Dec. 23, 1991.
Missouri State's 4-of-22 shooting in the first half (18.2 percent) was the lowest marksmanship by a Bluejay opponent in a half since Nebraska was just 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) in the first half of a loss to Creighton on Dec. 11, 2005.
A Strong Start
Creighton is 10-3 after 13 games, its best start since the 2003-04 team began 12-1. Like this year's club, that team also played exhibition games in Canada prior to the start of the season.
The Jays have now opened 10-3 or better after 13 games five times under Dana Altman. CU was 12-1 in 2003-04 and 2002-03 and 10-3 in 2000-01 and 1998-99 before this season.
Prior to the 1998-99 season, CU hadn't started 10-3 or better since an 11-2 start in 1980-81.
Reserve Corps
Creighton's 77 bench points on Dec. 17 against Houston Baptist were its most in at least 20 years.
The 77 points is incredible when you consider that Dana Altman's 1994-95 Bluejay team (his first at Creighton) had a single-game season-high point total of 76.
Bench Press
Creighton's bench has outscored its own starting five by a 539-440 margin through 13 games. The 55.1 percent of scoring coming from CU's bench easily the nation's best mark, through games of Jan. 6 according to Allan Spear at STATS Inc.
Percentage of Points Scored by Bench
Source: STATS -- Chicago ? Through Jan. 6
Rk. Team Start% Bench%
1 Creighton 44.94 55.06
2 Southeast Missouri State 49.71 50.29
3 Texas State 49.73 50.27
4 North Carolina A&T 49.95 50.05
5 Buffalo 50.83 49.17
6 Central Michigan 51.01 48.99
7 Long Island 53.28 46.72
8 Duquesne 54.40 45.60
9 Arkansas-Little Rock 54.65 45.35
10 Cal State Northridge 55.37 44.63
Creighton has scored 31 or more bench points every game this fall but two, compared to a high of 30 for last year's team. This year's team averages 41.5 points per game off the pine, the second-highest mark nationally through Jan. 6 as well.
Bench Scoring Per Game
Source: STATS -- Chicago ? Through Jan. 6
Rk. Team G Bench PPG
1 Texas State 13 43.38
2 Creighton 13 41.46
3 Duquesne 13 40.23
4 Virginia Military 13 39.31
5 Southeast Missouri State 16 38.38
6 North Carolina A&T 13 36.85
7 Cal State Northridge 13 35.77
8 Central Michigan 13 35.54
9 Buffalo 13 34.15
10 Long Island 13 33.92
Last year's Bluejay club had 356 bench points for the entire season, an average of 10.8 points per game.
Creighton's bench has outscored the opposition's bench by a 539-277 margin, which amounts to a +20.2 point per game differential. Here's a breakdown of CU's starters and bench this season:
Stat CU Starters CU Bench
Points 440 539
Minutes 1365 1260
FG% .448 .472
3FG% .336 .378
FT% .743 .701
Rebounds 235 233
Assists 109 92
Steals 66 61
All About The Bench-amins
Creighton's Dec. 20 win over North Carolina Central marked the third time this season that the Creighton bench had outscored the entire line-up of the other team.
In that game, Creighton's bench scored 61 points, while the North Carolina Central squad scored 54 total.
CU's bench has also outscored the entire teams from Savannah State (60-52) and Houston Baptist (77-73) this year.
Balancing Act
Creighton has 11 players averaging 12.0 minutes per game or more, with all of those men scoring at least 3.3 points per game as well. Four of CU's top five scorers have one start or less this year.
All 14 Bluejays on the roster have scored at least six points or more.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 270 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 149 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
A victory on Wednesday against Evansville would make him the third coach in conference history to earn 150 wins in conference action.
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. 270 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. 149 Dana Altman Creighton
4. 126 Phog Allen Kansas
10 Conference Wins x 11 Seasons
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for an 11th consecutive season. 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).
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, and the two that didn't both won the MVC Tournament.
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.)
One of the Best Programs Around
Every five years since 1997, Basketball Times has evaluated the best of the best NCAA programs -- those that have won two-thirds of their games over the previous 10 season span. The 2007 edition of the report had 29 teams that met that qualification, including Creighton.
Those 29 schools were then ranked from 1-29 on categories like 10-year winning percentage, number of active NBA players, freshman graduation rate and US News & World Report's academic peer assessment score, as well as a subjective vote of 10 panelists who judged teams based on “program cleanliness” and “head coach ranking”.
Creighton finished an impressive seventh, trailing only Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Stanford, Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Basketball Times Overall Rankings
Rk. School Ave. Ranking
1. Duke 3.7
2. North Carolina 7.5
3. Florida 8.0
4. Stanford 8.8
5. Gonzaga 10.0
Michigan State 10.0
7. Creighton 10.2
8. Kansas 10.8
9. Xavier 11.5
10. Illinois 12.0
11. Arizona 13.5
12. Connecticut 13.7
13. Syracuse 14.5
14. Butler 14.8
15. College of Charleston 15.2
Southern Illinois 15.2
Texas 15.2
18. Kentucky 16.0
Pennsylvania 16.0
20. Maryland 17.3
21. Pittsburgh 17.5
22. Utah State 18.3
23. Kent State 18.8
24. Utah 20.2
25. Cincinnati 20.5
26. Murray State 20.7
Oklahoma 20.7
28. Oklahoma State 21.0
29. Memphis 23.0
Small Screen Superstars
Creighton's Dec. 22 game against UALR began a 14-game stretch in which each Bluejay game will be televised.
Five of those games will air on KMTV, two games each will air on FSN Midwest, ESPNU and ESPN2 and one game will be on Mediacom (Des Moines), Cox 2 (Omaha) and NET-1.
Creighton's Feb. 13 game at Evansville is the only contest on the remaining docket that will definitely not be televised.
ESPN will announce BracketBuster pairings and coverage for the Feb. 23 game in early February, while the MVC office will announce television coverage for CU's March 1 game with Bradley in early February as well.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton's recent wins over Houston Baptist , North Carolina Central and UALR continued five impressive streaks.
Creighton has won 30 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 34 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 55 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 43 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 14 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
To The Century Mark And Beyond
Creighton's 110 points on Dec. 17 against Houston Baptist were its most points in a game since 1985, and fourth-most in school history.
It marked Creighton's 41st all-time game of 100 or more points. CU is 39-2 in those games.
It marked Creighton's first 100 point game since a 100-68 win over Chattanooga on Feb. 19, 2005.
CU's 110 points were its most since scoring 115-80 over Indiana State on Jan. 19, 1985.
Below is a list of Creighton's top-five scoring games all-time. A complete list can be found on page 145 of the 2007-08 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Score Opponent Date
124-94 Miami (Fla.) 02/10/1964
120-76 Nevada 12/21/1962
115-80 Indiana State 01/19/1985
110-73 Houston Baptist 12/17/2007
109-81 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 12/16/1967
40-Point Halves = Wins
Creighton scored 43 points in the first half of its Dec. 22 win over UALR.
Dating to Jan. 29, 2005, Creighton has won its last 33 games when it scores at least 40 points in a half.
Creighton's 61 points in the second half of its Dec. 20 win over Houston Baptist were its most in any half since scoring 63 in the second half of a 106-50 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 17, 2002.
Lawson Was MVC Newcomer of the Week
Redshirt freshman Kenny Lawson Jr. was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 26 for his performance from Dec. 17-24. Lawson averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game off the bench while hitting 70.6 percent of his shots from the floor in three CU wins.
The Oceanside, Calif., native led Creighton in scoring on Dec. 17 and 20, with 15 points against Houston Baptist and 13 points vs. North Carolina Central, respectively.
Lawson became the first Bluejay freshman to lead Creighton in scoring during consecutive games since Terrell Taylor on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9, 1999. Like Lawson, Taylor did it while coming off the bench in both games he paced the team in scoring.
Plenty of Newcomer Awards
On Dec. 26, Kenny Lawson Jr. became the fourth different Bluejay to earn a MVC Newcomer of the Week Award in the first seven weeks of the season. Previously, P'Allen Stinnett (Nov. 12), Cavel Witter (Dec. 3) and Chad Millard (Dec. 10) had been honored.
Prior to this season, CU had only had three different individuals earn the honor at any time (Nick Porter and Josh Dotzler in 2005-06 and Isacc Miles last season).
Creighton is the third school in the five-year history of the MVC Newcomer of the Week award to have four different players honored during the same season.
Last year's Illinois State team (Dom Johnson, Boo Richardson, Anthony Slack and Osiris Eldridge) and the 2004-05 Bradley team (Patrick O'Bryant, Daniel Ruffin, Tony Bennett and Lawrence Wright) can also make that claim.
If either Aaron Brandt, Booker Woodfox, Casey Harriman, Kenton Walker or Kaleb Korver also earn the honor this year, CU would become the first squad to have five different players honored in the same season with the weekly Newcomer award.
Millard Named Newcomer of the Week
Sophomore Chad Millard was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 10. Millard averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in games against No. 21 Xavier and Saint Joseph's.
Millard helped key Creighton's win over Saint Joseph's with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.
Versatility A Bonus
Through games of Jan. 7, Creighton's Chad Millard and Drake's Jonathan Cox were the only MVC players with at least 10 blocks and 10 three-pointers made this season.
Millard has 16 three-pointers and 11 blocked shots this year. Cox has 16 three-pointers and 17 blocked shots to date.
Seniors Score In Bunches
Creighton's seniors Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma and Dane Watts were averaging 21.5 points per game combined heading into a Dec. 9 game with Saint Joseph's.
In the overtime win, they scored 60 of CU's 90 points. Hibma (17) and Watts (29) both exceeded their previous career-highs by three points each, while Bahe (14) was one shy of his career-best.
CU's seniors scored its final eight points of regulation and added 12 of the team's 20 points in overtime.
Watts Up For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton senior Dane Watts is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which focuses on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition.
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 and complete college education brings.
Watts leads Creighton in scoring and rebounding this season, and has made 93 straight starts. In addition to being a solid student in the classroom, the business management major is actively involved in the community. Watts is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in the summer of 2006 toured France with Athletes in Action.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in January 2008. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient.
Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation's premier tribute for college seniors. Previous winners of the men's award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Redick of Duke (2006) and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007).
The Drive For Five
Creighton had its five-game winning streak snapped at Xavier on Dec. 5. The Bluejays have now had at least one five-game win streak in each of the last 11 seasons, and 17 such streaks overall in the 14-year tenure of Dana Altman.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 13 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the postseason all six times they haven't.
3-0 Start, Again
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in nine of the last 10 seasons, including this year's 5-0 open before losing. Last year's team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Thanks in large part to the quick starts to open the year, Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Wednesday will be the 326th game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
Crowds Increase For League Action
Compared to its non-conference crowds, Creighton's attendance has increased in MVC action each of the previous seven years:
Creighton's Yearly Home Attendance
Year Non-MVC Games MVC Games Change
2000-01 7,132 7,268 +2%
2001-02 6,333 6,800 +7%
2002-03 7,401 8,996 +22%
2003-04 11,467 12,443 +9%
2004-05 9,926 12,207 +23%
2005-06 13,404 14,343 +7%
2006-07 15,471 16,153 +4%
2007-08 15,369 16,808 so far +9%
Five Figure Crowds
Creighton hosted 17,607 fans for its Feb. 17, 2007 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 has played 84 straight home games in front of crowds of 8,000 fans or more and 53 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
17,049 Nebraska W 74-62 11/24/07
16,808 Illinois State L 67-80 12/29/07
16,730 Miss. Valley St. W 76-46 11/17/07
16,339 Bradley W 65-54 01/18/07
16,315 Drake W 79-56 01/09/07
16,104 DePaul W 74-62 11/09/07
Helping Hand
Junior point guard Josh Dotzler tied a career-high with 10 assists in the win over Saint Joseph's on Dec. 9.
Dotzler's performance matched his 10 assists in a Feb. 4, 2006 overtime win at Drake.
Dotzler's 10 dimes were also the most in Qwest Center Omaha history by a Creighton player.
For the season, Dotzler leads Creighton with 55 assists, 29 more than any other Bluejay.
P'henomenal Debut
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points on Nov. 9 against DePaul were the most by a Bluejay in their first game since Cyril Baptiste scored 24 points on Dec. 1, 1969 against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Stinnett's 23 points were the most by any Creighton player in a season-opener since Rodney Buford tipped off his senior campaign with 24 points against Towson State on Nov. 14, 1998.
Below is a list of how Stinnett's debut compares with some other notable names in Bluejay history.
Name, Yr. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Min. Result
Stinnett, 2007 23 4 3 3 26 W 74-62
Tolliver, 2003 0 1 2 0 7 W 79-44
Funk, 2002 3 5 4 1 21 W 106-50
Kyle Korver, 1999 2 2 0 1 10 W 70-62
Buford, 1995 3 4 0 0 19 W 63-59
Harstad, 1987 4 5 1 1 21 L 49-70
Gallagher, 1987 10 3 0 0 37 L 49-70
Benjamin, 1982 14 4 1 0 22 W 98-54
McKenna, 1977 14 3 7 ? ? W 95-66
Harmon, 1971 21 7 ? ? ? W 74-62
C. Baptiste, 1969 24 17 ? ? ? W 84-62
Portman, 1966 9 ? ? ? ? W 78-76
Silas, 1961 22 29 ? ? ? W 85-51
Gibson, 1954 19 ? ? ? ? W 66-51
Not Half Bad
P'Allen Stinnett scored all 23 of his points in the second half of Creighton's 74-62 win over DePaul on Nov. 9. The last Bluejay player to score 23 points or more in one half (without the aid of overtimes) was Kyle Korver, who had 26 of his 32 points in the second half of a game at #19 Xavier on Dec. 31, 2002.
Stinnett Named Newcomer Of the Week
P'Allen Stinnett picked up the league's first MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 9 after his extraordinary debut against DePaul.
Stinnett had 23 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists in the 74-62 win over DePaul. His 23 points were the most in a Bluejay debut since Cyril Baptiste in 1969, while his 23 point second half was the most by a Creighton player in one half since Kyle Korver on Dec. 31, 2002 at #19 Xavier.
Stinnett Shines Again
Freshman P'Allen Stinnett had 22 points against Illinois State on Dec. 29 in the first MVC game of his career. That ranked as the most by a Bluejay in an MVC debut since Rod Mason scored 23 points on Jan. 10, 1987 at Wichita State.
Jays Ink Pair of Recruits
Creighton signed a pair of left-handed guards on Nov. 14, the first day of the fall signing period.
Antoine Young is an all-state guard from Bellevue West HS in the south Omaha suburb of Bellevue. A 6'0” guard, Young averaged 20.6 points per game last year for the state-runner up. He is coached by Doug Woodard.
Josh Jones is an all-state guard from Omaha Central HS. A 6'2” shooting guard, Jones has helped lead Central to back-to-back state titles. He averaged 18.0 points per game as a junior and is coached by Eric Behrens.
Jones and Young have previously been summer AAU teammates with the Omaha Crusaders.
True Blue Brewster's Crew
Creighton's top two scorers on Nov. 9 against DePaul, freshman P'Allen Stinnett and sophomore Chad Millard, both spent a year of prep school at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. Stinnett was there in 2006-07, while Millard was there in 2004-05.
Stinnett had 23 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Millard had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in the Jays 74-62 win over DePaul.
Preseason Poll
Creighton has been picked fourth in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Southern Illinois was a unanimous selection with 39 first-place votes and a point total of 390. Bradley is second with 311 points while Missouri State is third with 283 points. Creighton comes in fourth with 266 points, just ahead of Illinois State's 235. Rounding out the bottom half is Wichita State (210), UNI (197), Indiana State (110), Drake (80) and Evansville (63).
The preseason all-MVC team does not include any Creighton players and is headed by preseason player of the year Randal Falker (Southern Illinois). Joining Falker on the first team are Eric Coleman (UNI), PJ Couisnard (Wichita State), Deven Mitchell (Missouri State) and Daniel Ruffin (Bradley). Honorable-mention picks include Jeremy Crouch (Bradley), Levi Dyer (Illinois State), Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State), Matt Shaw (Southern Illinois) and Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois).
Cashing In At The Line
Sophomore guard Cavel Witter made each of his first 22 free throw attempts, including a perfect 10-of-10 effort at Drexel, before missing on Dec. 5 at Xavier.
Witter's 22 in a row was tied for the ninth-longest streak in Bluejay records, 10 makes shy of the school record set by Michael Lindeman. Lindeman made 32 in a row from Jan. 23 - Nov. 29, 2003.
Witter's 22 in a row was the best mark in school history to start a season, two better than Kyle Korver's 20 straight to open 2001-02.
Consecutive Free Throws Made (Since 1980)
FT Name Dates of Streak
32 Michael Lindeman Jan. 23-Nov. 29, 2003
28 Kyle Korver Jan. 27-March 15, 2001
27 Matt West Nov. 27, 1999-Jan. 15, 2000
Kyle Korver Jan. 29-Nov. 20, 2000
Nate Funk Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 12, 2007
24 Rick Apke Jan. 22-Feb. 5, 1977
Rod Mason Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 1988
Kyle Korver Mar. 15-Dec. 4, 2001
22 Matt Petty Jan. 4-Feb. 4, 1993
Ryan Sears Feb. 22-Nov. 22, 1999
Nate Funk Feb. 26-Mar. 17, 2005
Cavel Witter Nov. 9-Dec. 1, 2007
Is Anyone Left?
Creighton returned just 24.7 percent of its scoring from last season's team. According to STATS Inc., that ranks 10th-lowest nationally among Division I schools, as seen below.
Lowest Percentage of Points Returning
Source: STATS -- Chicago
Rk. School Last Year Return %
1. Long Beach State 2,575 85 3.3
2. Pepperdine 2,389 223 9.3
3. Colorado State 2,178 309 14.2
4. Florida 3,193 472 14.8
5. Louisiana Tech 1,922 354 18.4
6. Citadel 1,758 363 20.6
7. Eastern Washington 2,443 535 21.9
8. Southeastern Louisiana 2,050 501 24.4
9. Loyola Marymount 2,030 497 24.5
10. Creighton 2,220 548 24.7
Are You Experienced?
How much experience does senior Dane Watts have compared to the rest of the his CU teammates? The chart below shows his stats at CU compared to all of his teammates...combined.
Stat Watts Rest of Team
Starts 99 93
Blocks 36 37
FG Made 332 458
FG Attempts 720 1,054
3FG Made 118 177
3FG Attempts 324 482
FT Made 175 252
FT Attempts 256 359
Points 957 1,347
Off. Rebounds 180 200
Def. Rebounds 381 415
Rebounds 561 615
Who Are These Guys?
Program sales are up as Creighton fans try to figure out who all the newcomers on the roster are this winter.
Creighton has just one regular starter back from last year, Dane Watts. The last time Creighton listed just one returning starter was all the way back in 1985-86, when Gary Swain was the lone returning starter.
Additionally, Creighton's returners accounted for just 44 games started last year. That's the fewest games started that are returning since at least the start of the 1980-81 campaign.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 178-39 in the last eight seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just three times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Eight Years
Year Men Women Combined
2007-08 8-1 5-0 13-1
2006-07 12-2 7-7 19-9
2005-06 15-2 5-7 20-9
2004-05 11-5 12-3 23-8
2003-04 14-2 12-1 26-3
2002-03 17-0 13-1 30-1
2001-02 12-3 11-1 23-4
2000-01 14-0 10-4 24-4
TOTALS 103-15 75-24 178-39
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its Nov. 9 win over DePaul, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 23 times in the last eight seasons, including once this year.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 8 Years
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
03/09/03 vs. Wichita State 13 W 70-69
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05 at Northern Iowa 11 W 67-66
11/30/04 at Xavier 11 W 73-72
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida 11 W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
02/16/05 at Wichita State 10 W 82-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
Double-Digit Comebacks
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 18 of its 72 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 11 of those 18 games, the Bluejays came back to win.
Creighton's incredible streak of 181 straight games without a double-digit home loss (dating to Jan. 3, 1996) was snapped on Dec. 29, 2007 by Illinois State. That had ranked as the nation's oldest streak in that obscure category.
Double Digit Deficits at Qwest Center Omaha
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
12/07/04 Kent State 16 L 58-67
12/18/04 Wyoming 13 L 64-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
02/05/05 Missouri State 15 L 71-79
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
02/11/06 Southern Illinois 14 L 67-74
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 12 L 52-53
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 12 L 57-58
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
12/29/07 Illinois State 19 L 67-80
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton's has played 72 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 60-12 (.833) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 13-0 figure on Wednesday's. The 12 losses have been by a combined 62 points. CU has outscored its opponents 5,262-4,396 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.0 points per game.
The Charge Chart
Creighton has taken 28 charges so far this season, including five on both Dec. 17 and Dec. 20. 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 2002-06 ?06-07 ?07-08 Total
Casey Harriman n/a n/a 7 7
Dane Watts 15 11 6 32
Chad Millard n/a n/a 5 5
Kenton Walker n/a n/a 3 3
Josh Dotzler 4 0 3 7
Kenny Lawson Jr. n/a 0 1 1
Cavel Witter n/a n/a 1 1
P'Allen Stinnett n/a n/a 1 1
Dustin Sitzmann 0 0 1 1
Pierce Hibma 1 2 0 3
Former Players 164 33 0 197
Total 184 46 28 258
20 Overall Wins x 9 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 101-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. 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 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 16 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 10 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
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.
Jays Were Among Attendance Leaders
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton finished ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game. Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders, according to figures compiled by the NCAA.
2006-07 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Avg.
1. Kentucky 23,421
2. Syracuse 21,516
3. North Carolina 20,693
4. Tennessee 19,661
5. Louisville 18,488
6. Ohio State 17,530
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Maryland 16,822
9. Arkansas 16,720
10. Illinois 16,618
11. Indiana 16,474
12. Kansas 16,300
13. Creighton 15,909
14. Marquette 15,345
15. Michigan State 14,759
MVC's Top Crowds Ever
Creighton has set MVC attendance records each of the past two seasons. In 2005-06 the program attracted a league-record 236,313 fans, smashing the previous league mark of 192,258 the Bluejays set in 2003-04. Last 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
15,529 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
12,009 Louisville 1967-68
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 74-40 in televised games in the last six seasons, including a 29-17 mark on KMTV-produced games (which does not include CU's record in NCAA Tournament games on KMTV). Creighton went 4-2 in games aired on KMTV in 2002-03, 6-3 in 2003-04, 4-5 in 2004-05, 5-3 in 2005-06 and 6-2 in 2006-07 in KMTV-produced games.
The Jays are also 31-21 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 19-12 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 28-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 22, and possibly as many as 24, regular-season games are slated for television this season.
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).
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception. Creighton has four players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's native Iowans this season include senior Pierce Hibma (Pella), junior Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and freshmen Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella). Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Nate Funk (Sioux City) and Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 422 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
National Stats Report
In the most recent national statistical report that came out on Jan. 7th, the Bluejays were ranked in the top 50 in three team categories. Creighton ranked 20th with 9.8 steals per game. were 41st with a +12.8 scoring margin and 45th withi a +5.8 rebound margin.
Individually, Cavel Witter was 58th with his 85.4% free throw percentage, Josh Dotzler ranked 56th nationally with 2.2 steals per game and 72nd with a 2.12 assist/turnover ratio.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one trifecta in a league-best 446 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Stealing A Share Of The Record
Creighton tied a school-record on Nov. 29 against Savannah State, recording 18 steals in its 26-point victory.
The 18 steals matched the amount recorded on Dec. 18, 1991 at Cleveland State, and later matched on Dec. 12, 1999 against Illinois State.
Last Season Recap
Led by seniors Nate Funk, Manny Gakou, Nick Porter and Anthony Tolliver, Creighton went 22-11 and advanced to its seventh NCAA Tournament in the past nine years last winter.
Creighton was ranked a best-ever 19th in the preseason Associated Press poll last year, but lost several games early and was just 4-3 before a second-place finish in Honolulu at the Rainbow Classic.
The Bluejays would then open MVC play with a 5-1 record, eventually finishing second with a 13-5 league mark.
The second-seeded Bluejays then won the State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis with victories over Indiana State, Missouri State and #11 Southern Illinois, earning a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Funk, Tolliver and Porter were all named to the all-Tournament Team.
Shipped to New Orleans, La., to take on #15 Nevada, Creighton dropped a 77-71 overtime game to the Wolf Pack in the first round of the NCAA's.
Funk and Tolliver gave Creighton its first pair of first-team all-MVC teammates since 1991. Funk led the Jays in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and assists (3.0 apg.), while Tolliver topped the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.72 bpg.).
Creighton was 15th nationally with its school-record 75.4 percent accuracy at the free-throw line and ranked 23rd nationally, allowing just 60.9 points per game. The Jays also ranked 13th nationally with an MVC-record 15,909 fans per home game.
The 2006-07 campaign marked Creighton's 10th-straight postseason bid and ninth-straight 20-win season.
Canada Trip Recap
Creighton spent Labor Day weekend in Calgary, winning five games in three days. Creighton beat Saskatchewan twice (87-82 and 92-66), Calgary twice (85-77 and 97-78) and Lethbridge once (88-49).
Eleven different Creighton players started at least once, and all 14 Jays scored at least nine points over the course of the weekend.
Dane Watts led Creighton in scoring with 16.0 points per game while also adding 6.4 rebounds per contest. Kenny Lawson Jr. averaged 14.0 points and led the team with 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Josh Dotzler paced the club with 19 assists and 14 steals.
The foreign trip, which is allowed once every four years, was Creighton's first since the 2003-04 trip to Vancouver. That Creighton team opened the season 12-0.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets went on sale on Nov. 7th. Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $11 for adults and $7 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Creighton sold a record 12,888 season tickets for this season. The previous mark was the 12,126 season-tickets bought for the 2006-07 season.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
Metro Area Transit and Creighton University have partnered again this year to provide shuttle bus service from the CU campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season.
The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students. Round-trip cost is $1.00 for Creighton students with identification; $1.00 for children under the age of 18; $1.00 for senior citizens and $2.00 for adults. The shuttle will start one-hour before tip-off and at least two buses will continue to operate the route during the game.
The designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th and Cuming (farside/southbound); 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and 18th & Cass (nearside/eastbound by the Morrison Stadium). The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha Arena entrance.
The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes. Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha Arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of four stops at 24th & Cuming Streets.
Creighton (10-3, 1-2 MVC) plays its first home game of the 2008 calendar year when it welcomes Evansville (5-8, 0-3 MVC) to Omaha.
Wednesday's tip will take place at 7:07 pm and the action will take place at Qwest Center Omaha (17,272).
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2007-08 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Travis Justice will call the action.
Wednesday's game will also air on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 158.
Television Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game against Evansville will air statewide on NET-1 (Cox Channel 12 in Omaha) and also in high definition on NET-HD (Cox Channel 712, for those with that programming tier). Kevin Kugler and Scott Schumacher will announce.
Broadcast outlets still needing coordinates will need to contact NET for authorization. Out-of-town sports bars and homes will not be granted permission and won't have the necessary hardware to receive the equipment.
Video Webcast Available
A free video webcast of Wednesday's game will be available. Fans can go to http://netnebraska.org/television/stream/ to view the NET-1 broadcast on-line.
Live Stats Information
Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton improved to 10-3 overall (1-2 in the MVC) with a 50-49 victory at Missouri State on Saturday night.
The 2007-08 Creighton team boasts just one returning starter from last year's MVC Tournament champion squad that finished 22-11 and played in the NCAA's for the seventh time in nine years.
That starter is leading scorer and rebounder Dane Watts (13.6 ppg., 6.7 rpg.), who is expected to make his 100th consecutive start on Wednesday. Watts also leads the team with 12 blocked shots.
Leading a Bluejay bench that averages 41.5 points per contest (second-most nationally) is freshman P'Allen Stinnett, who averages 11.4 points per game and drained the game-winning free-throw in Springfield on Saturday.
The Bluejays are 8-1 at home this season, including wins over DePaul, Nebraska, Saint Joseph's and UALR. CU averages a league-best 15,529 fans per home contest as well.
As a team, Creighton averages 75.3 points per game while allowing just 62.5. The Jays also own a +5.8 rebound advantage on the boards. CU is shooting 46.0 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from three-point range and 71.8 percent at the line.
Scouting Evansville
Evansville enters Wednesday with a 5-8 record and is tied for ninth in the MVC with an 0-3 league mark. The Purple Aces have Valley losses to league co-leaders Indiana State and Drake, as well as fourth-place UNI thus far.
Junior guard Jason Holsinger paces the UE offense with 13.7 points per game. The southpaw also leads the team with 59 assists, 33 three-point baskets and 45.8 percent shooting from downtown.
Also in double-figures is Shy Ely, who has averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The Purple Aces average 60.6 points per game and allow 62.8 per contest. UE shoots 42.5 percent from the floor, 39.7 percent from downtown and 70.8 percent at the line.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 14th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 270-144 (.652) mark at CU and a career record of 353-211 (.626) in 19 years as a 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 previous 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 is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Mike Maker. Nick Earnest is the team's film coordinator.
One of the greatest players in Evansville history, Marty Simmons was hired to coach his alma mater in March after spending five previous years at SIU-Edwardsville. Simmons averaged 25.9 points per game as a senior in 1987-88, when he placed ninth in the voting for AP Player of the Year. He owns a record of 5-8 at Evansville, which moves his career record to 103-81 in seven seasons overall. He is assisted by Marcus Belcher, Jimmy Elgas and Ben Wierzba.
The Series With Evansville
Creighton leads the all-time series with Evansville by an 18-8 count, including a 10-2 lead in Omaha. The Bluejays have won the last eight Omaha meetings by an average of 20.25 points, but last year had to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to win by five in Omaha.
Each of Creighton's last six losses in the series has been by single-digits, and only one of the 26 all-time meetings has been decided by fewer than four points.
Dana Altman is 18-8 all-time against Evansville and has never faced Marty Simmons.
Last Game Recap
P'Allen Stinnett's free-throw with 56.9 seconds left proved to be the difference as Creighton escaped Springfield, Mo., with a 50-49 win at Missouri State. The Bluejays led 29-15 at the half and by as much as 35-17 in the second half before a Missouri State surge tied the game twice in the final two minutes. Stinnett hit the second of two free throws to give CU the lead, and the Jays forced an MSU turnover on the next possession.
CU then milked the shot clock and missed a three-point try with 12 seconds to play, and Spencer Laurie airballed an off-balance three-pointer as time expired to give CU the win.
Stinnett led all players with 18 points, while MSU was paced by 12 from Laurie and Chris Cooks.
Inside Out and Upside Down
A look at the MVC standings through three games only how meaningless the league's preseason poll actually is.
The top four teams in the preseason poll (SIU, BU, MSU and CU) have a combined 3-9 league record, while the bottom four teams in the preseason poll (UE, DU, INS and UNI) are a combined 8-4 in conference action.
99 and Counting...
Dane Watts has started Creighton's last 99 games, dating to his first start on Dec. 28, 2004.
In fact, the only MVC game he didn't start was his first, a Dec. 22, 2004 loss at Evansville.
Watts' streak ranks as the MVC's longest active streak of consecutive starts, and is also fifth nationally according to STATS Inc. through Jan. 6.
Longest Active String of Consecutive Starts
Source: STATS -- Chicago
Through Jan. 7, 2008
Rk. Name, School Streak Next
1. Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown 114 01/08
2. Dominique Kirk, Texas A&M 110 01/12
3. Leon Williams, Ohio 108 01/12
4. William Byrd, Ark.-Pine Bluff 101 01/12
5. Dane Watts, Creighton 99 01/09
6. Gabe Moore, Indiana State 96 01/09
7. Mark Porter, Wagner 95 01/10
Century Club For Hibma
Speaking of 100, Saturday marked the 100th game in the career of Bluejay senior Pierce Hibma. Hibma owns 24 career starts to date and also owns 283 points, 154 rebounds and 59 assists in his career.
Book It!
Creighton junior guard Booker Woodfox had a career-high 16 points in last Wednesday's game against Indiana State, easily eclipsing his previous best of 11 points at Xavier on Dec. 5. Woodfox drained 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc to score his 16 points in just 16 minutes of action.
Woodfox's owns a team-high 18 three-point baskets this season. He also leads the squad with 43.9 percent accuracy from long-range. Woodfox started the season just 4-of-19 from behind the arc (21.1 percent), but has drained 14-of-22 from downtown (63.6 percent) in the past six contests.
Hammons Success = MVC Champs = NCAA?
Including last Saturday, Creighton has won just six times in 21 tries at Missouri State all-time.
Even better, each of those previous five Bluejay teams to win in Springfield went on to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament that March.
Halftime Score A Good Indicator
Incredibly, just two of Creighton's first 13 games have had a lead change in the second half.
The most recent contest came in Creighton's Dec. 9 home victory over Saint Joseph's. In that contest, Creighton and St. Joe's combined for four ties and six lead changes after the break. In overtime, CU scored the first six points and went on to a 90-84 win.
The Nov. 9 season-opener against DePaul is the only other Bluejay contest with a lead change in the second half. Creighton trailed that game by six at the break but went on to win by 12, 74-62.
Million Fan March
Creighton is closing in on welcoming its one millionth basketball fan to Qwest Center Omaha.
The Bluejays have hosted 970,393 fans in 72 all-time regular-season and NIT home games. The works out to an average of 13,478 fans per home contest in the five-year span of the facility.
Based on CU's average home crowds of 15,529 this year, it appears likely that the millionth fan will be welcomed in a Jan. 19 game against Indiana State.
Halftime Advantage
Creighton's 47-20 halftime lead over Nebraska on November 24 was the second-largest intermission margin in the five-year history of Qwest Center Omaha. Creighton led Alcorn State 39-11 on Nov. 15, 2004 for the largest halftime margin.
Wednesday's opponent, Evansville, owns the Qwest Center Omaha record for a halftime lead over Creighton. The Aces led 48-34 in last season's meeting in Omaha.
Below is a list of Creighton's top halftime leads and deficits at Qwest Center Omaha:
CU's Largest Halftime Leads at Qwest Center
Margin Score Opponent Date
28 39-11 Alcorn State 11/15/04
27 47-20 Nebraska 11/24/07
23 41-18 St. Bonaventure 11/29/03
21 42-21 Bethune Cookman 12/03/03
20 31-11 Nebraska 12/11/05
20 37-17 San Diego 11/22/03
CU's Largest Halftime Deficits at Qwest Center
Margin Score Opponent Date
-14 34-48 Evansville 02/07/07
-13 29-42 Illinois State 12/29/07
-11 27-38 Indiana State 02/22/06
-10 19-29 Miami (Fla.) 03/20/06
-10 28-38 Bradley 01/18/06
Tenacious D
Saturday's 50-49 win at Missouri State improved Creighton head coach Dana Altman to 42-0 in his Division I coaching career when his teams allow 50 points or less.
Saturday's victory marked the Bluejays fewest points in a win since a 50-48 victory over Nebraska on Dec. 11, 2004. The Jays hadn't won a Valley contest when scoring 50 points or fewer since a 50-47 victory at Wichita State on Feb. 23, 1994.
Creighton is allowing 62.5 points per game so far. This marks the sixth straight season the Jays have allowed less than 65 points per game.
Mid-Week Maestro's
Creighton has never lost a game at Qwest Center Omaha on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, going a combined 19-0 on those dates.
Thirteen of those wins came on a Wednesday, while five others were on Thursday's. Creighton's only Friday night home game since 1997 was this season's opening win over DePaul, giving the Jays a 1-0 home record on Friday night at the five-year old facility.
All That Jazz
Creighton's only current NBA player, Kyle Korver, plays for Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. Sloan played at Evansville from 1962-65.
Stinnett Takes Another Newcomer Honor
Freshman P'Allen Stinnett earned his second MVC Newcomer of the Week honor when he was selected on Jan. 7 for his play during the week of Dec. 30-Jan. 6.
Stinnett averaged 11.5 points per game in road games at Indiana State and Missouri State. He scored a game-high 18 points against the Bears, including the game-winning free throw with 56.9 seconds left in the Jays 50-49 win.
Stinnett Off To A Good Start
P'Allen Stinnett has scored 148 points in his first 13 games as a Bluejay. That ranks as the most by any CU player in their first 13 games since Nate King scored 203 points to open his 1993-94 campaign.
Putting it in perspective, former Bluejay Anthony Tolliver scored just 22 points all of his freshman season. Tolliver ended with 1,004 career points and was named second-team all-MVC (2005-06) and first-team all-MVC (2006-07) before graduating last May.
10 x 10 Points
According to January 6 research by Navy men's basketball SID Chris Forman, Creighton's offensive diversity puts them in select company as one of six schools nationally to have 10 different players score 10 points in a game this year.
Wofford has 11 different players that have scored at least 10 points to lead all schools. Others with 10 players to score 10 points in a game, besides Creighton, include Duquesne, Navy, Southeast Missouri State, Belmont and Lipscomb.
Birds of Prey
Creighton has lost a total of 15 home games in the last eight seasons. Following almost every setback, Creighton has taken out its frustration in its next regular-season home game.
Creighton has followed all but one of its previous 14 home losses with a win in its next home game by an average of 18.5 points, including eight double-digit triumphs.
Since February of 2000, Creighton has suffered consecutive home losses just once, as it fell Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, 2004 to Kent State and Wyoming, respectively.
The last time CU dropped consecutive MVC contests at home was Jan. 4 and Jan. 17, 1999, when they lost to Evansville and Indiana State.
Home Losses, Last Eight Years
Home Loss Next Home Game
L 67-80, Illinois St. Wednesday vs. Evansville
L 58-64, Drexel W 71-54, Wichita State
L 57-58, S. Illinois W 71-55, Indiana State
L 52-53, Miami Fla. W 78-42, Miss. Valley State
L 67-74, S. Illinois W 67-62, Fresno State
L 71-79, Missouri St. W 83-82, Northern Iowa
L 77-82, Illinois St. W 73-69, Wichita State
L 63-69, S. Illinois W 82-67, Drake
L 64-68, Wyoming W 71-62, Bradley
L 58-67, Kent State L 64-68, Wyoming
L 70-71, Nebraska W 74-40, Alcorn State
L 60-61, S. Illinois W 74-56, Bradley
L 73-75, Drake W 106-50, Texas-Arlington
L 77-79, S. Illinois W 83-56, Northern Iowa
L 65-72, Xavier W 90-65, Miss. Valley State
Lawson Earns First Start
Redshirt freshman Kenny Lawson Jr. made the first start of his young career on Saturday at Missouri State, replacing Chad Millard in the opening line-up.
Lawson had six points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist while helping to limit MSU center Drew Richards to three points and two rebounds.
The change was the first in Creighton's starting line-up this season.
Watts Nearing 1,000 Points
Creighton senior Dane Watts owns 957 career points and stands just 43 points from becoming the 32nd member of the school's 1,000-point club (see media guide pages 90-93).
Watts has averaged 8.7 points in 110 career games, including a career-best 13.6 ppg. this year. His single-game high is 29 points.
Getting Defensive
Creighton held Missouri State without a field goal for the final 10:07 of the first half, then without a basket for the first 2:15 of the second half. That 12:22 is the longest period without a field goal by any Bluejay opponent this season.
Creighton has 13 different stretches this season in which it has held an opponent without a field goal for more than five minutes in a row, as seen below:
CU Holding Opponents 5:00+ Without a FG (13)
Span Opponent, Date Half
12:22 at Missouri State, 1/5 Both
8:57 at Indiana State, 1/2 1st
8:43 at Drexel, 12/1 Both
7:51 Arkansas-Little Rock, 12/22 1st
7:27 at Drexel, 12/1 1st
7:19 Savannah State, 11/29 Both
6:46 Mississippi Valley State, 11/17 2nd
6:41 North Carolina Central, 12/20 1st
5:21 Nebraska, 11/24 1st
5:13 Arkansas-Little Rock, 12/22 2nd
5:12 Mississippi Valley State, 11/17 1st
5:11 at Indiana State, 1/2 2nd
5:02 North Carolina Central, 12/20 2nd
More Defensive Excellence
When Creighton bolted to a 29-15 halftime lead last Saturday at Missouri State, it helped set a couple of Hammons Student Center records.
Missouri State's 15 points in the first half were its fewest in the 32-year history of Hammons Student Center, which has hosted 486 games. MSU's previous low had been 19 against Arkansas on Dec. 18, 1983.
It was also MSU's lowest scoring half at any site since they got 14 points at Purdue on Dec. 23, 1991.
Missouri State's 4-of-22 shooting in the first half (18.2 percent) was the lowest marksmanship by a Bluejay opponent in a half since Nebraska was just 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) in the first half of a loss to Creighton on Dec. 11, 2005.
A Strong Start
Creighton is 10-3 after 13 games, its best start since the 2003-04 team began 12-1. Like this year's club, that team also played exhibition games in Canada prior to the start of the season.
The Jays have now opened 10-3 or better after 13 games five times under Dana Altman. CU was 12-1 in 2003-04 and 2002-03 and 10-3 in 2000-01 and 1998-99 before this season.
Prior to the 1998-99 season, CU hadn't started 10-3 or better since an 11-2 start in 1980-81.
Reserve Corps
Creighton's 77 bench points on Dec. 17 against Houston Baptist were its most in at least 20 years.
The 77 points is incredible when you consider that Dana Altman's 1994-95 Bluejay team (his first at Creighton) had a single-game season-high point total of 76.
Bench Press
Creighton's bench has outscored its own starting five by a 539-440 margin through 13 games. The 55.1 percent of scoring coming from CU's bench easily the nation's best mark, through games of Jan. 6 according to Allan Spear at STATS Inc.
Percentage of Points Scored by Bench
Source: STATS -- Chicago ? Through Jan. 6
Rk. Team Start% Bench%
1 Creighton 44.94 55.06
2 Southeast Missouri State 49.71 50.29
3 Texas State 49.73 50.27
4 North Carolina A&T 49.95 50.05
5 Buffalo 50.83 49.17
6 Central Michigan 51.01 48.99
7 Long Island 53.28 46.72
8 Duquesne 54.40 45.60
9 Arkansas-Little Rock 54.65 45.35
10 Cal State Northridge 55.37 44.63
Creighton has scored 31 or more bench points every game this fall but two, compared to a high of 30 for last year's team. This year's team averages 41.5 points per game off the pine, the second-highest mark nationally through Jan. 6 as well.
Bench Scoring Per Game
Source: STATS -- Chicago ? Through Jan. 6
Rk. Team G Bench PPG
1 Texas State 13 43.38
2 Creighton 13 41.46
3 Duquesne 13 40.23
4 Virginia Military 13 39.31
5 Southeast Missouri State 16 38.38
6 North Carolina A&T 13 36.85
7 Cal State Northridge 13 35.77
8 Central Michigan 13 35.54
9 Buffalo 13 34.15
10 Long Island 13 33.92
Last year's Bluejay club had 356 bench points for the entire season, an average of 10.8 points per game.
Creighton's bench has outscored the opposition's bench by a 539-277 margin, which amounts to a +20.2 point per game differential. Here's a breakdown of CU's starters and bench this season:
Stat CU Starters CU Bench
Points 440 539
Minutes 1365 1260
FG% .448 .472
3FG% .336 .378
FT% .743 .701
Rebounds 235 233
Assists 109 92
Steals 66 61
All About The Bench-amins
Creighton's Dec. 20 win over North Carolina Central marked the third time this season that the Creighton bench had outscored the entire line-up of the other team.
In that game, Creighton's bench scored 61 points, while the North Carolina Central squad scored 54 total.
CU's bench has also outscored the entire teams from Savannah State (60-52) and Houston Baptist (77-73) this year.
Balancing Act
Creighton has 11 players averaging 12.0 minutes per game or more, with all of those men scoring at least 3.3 points per game as well. Four of CU's top five scorers have one start or less this year.
All 14 Bluejays on the roster have scored at least six points or more.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 270 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 149 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
A victory on Wednesday against Evansville would make him the third coach in conference history to earn 150 wins in conference action.
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. 270 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. 149 Dana Altman Creighton
4. 126 Phog Allen Kansas
10 Conference Wins x 11 Seasons
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for an 11th consecutive season. 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).
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, and the two that didn't both won the MVC Tournament.
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.)
One of the Best Programs Around
Every five years since 1997, Basketball Times has evaluated the best of the best NCAA programs -- those that have won two-thirds of their games over the previous 10 season span. The 2007 edition of the report had 29 teams that met that qualification, including Creighton.
Those 29 schools were then ranked from 1-29 on categories like 10-year winning percentage, number of active NBA players, freshman graduation rate and US News & World Report's academic peer assessment score, as well as a subjective vote of 10 panelists who judged teams based on “program cleanliness” and “head coach ranking”.
Creighton finished an impressive seventh, trailing only Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Stanford, Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Basketball Times Overall Rankings
Rk. School Ave. Ranking
1. Duke 3.7
2. North Carolina 7.5
3. Florida 8.0
4. Stanford 8.8
5. Gonzaga 10.0
Michigan State 10.0
7. Creighton 10.2
8. Kansas 10.8
9. Xavier 11.5
10. Illinois 12.0
11. Arizona 13.5
12. Connecticut 13.7
13. Syracuse 14.5
14. Butler 14.8
15. College of Charleston 15.2
Southern Illinois 15.2
Texas 15.2
18. Kentucky 16.0
Pennsylvania 16.0
20. Maryland 17.3
21. Pittsburgh 17.5
22. Utah State 18.3
23. Kent State 18.8
24. Utah 20.2
25. Cincinnati 20.5
26. Murray State 20.7
Oklahoma 20.7
28. Oklahoma State 21.0
29. Memphis 23.0
Small Screen Superstars
Creighton's Dec. 22 game against UALR began a 14-game stretch in which each Bluejay game will be televised.
Five of those games will air on KMTV, two games each will air on FSN Midwest, ESPNU and ESPN2 and one game will be on Mediacom (Des Moines), Cox 2 (Omaha) and NET-1.
Creighton's Feb. 13 game at Evansville is the only contest on the remaining docket that will definitely not be televised.
ESPN will announce BracketBuster pairings and coverage for the Feb. 23 game in early February, while the MVC office will announce television coverage for CU's March 1 game with Bradley in early February as well.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton's recent wins over Houston Baptist , North Carolina Central and UALR continued five impressive streaks.
Creighton has won 30 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 34 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 55 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 43 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 14 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
To The Century Mark And Beyond
Creighton's 110 points on Dec. 17 against Houston Baptist were its most points in a game since 1985, and fourth-most in school history.
It marked Creighton's 41st all-time game of 100 or more points. CU is 39-2 in those games.
It marked Creighton's first 100 point game since a 100-68 win over Chattanooga on Feb. 19, 2005.
CU's 110 points were its most since scoring 115-80 over Indiana State on Jan. 19, 1985.
Below is a list of Creighton's top-five scoring games all-time. A complete list can be found on page 145 of the 2007-08 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Score Opponent Date
124-94 Miami (Fla.) 02/10/1964
120-76 Nevada 12/21/1962
115-80 Indiana State 01/19/1985
110-73 Houston Baptist 12/17/2007
109-81 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 12/16/1967
40-Point Halves = Wins
Creighton scored 43 points in the first half of its Dec. 22 win over UALR.
Dating to Jan. 29, 2005, Creighton has won its last 33 games when it scores at least 40 points in a half.
Creighton's 61 points in the second half of its Dec. 20 win over Houston Baptist were its most in any half since scoring 63 in the second half of a 106-50 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 17, 2002.
Lawson Was MVC Newcomer of the Week
Redshirt freshman Kenny Lawson Jr. was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 26 for his performance from Dec. 17-24. Lawson averaged 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game off the bench while hitting 70.6 percent of his shots from the floor in three CU wins.
The Oceanside, Calif., native led Creighton in scoring on Dec. 17 and 20, with 15 points against Houston Baptist and 13 points vs. North Carolina Central, respectively.
Lawson became the first Bluejay freshman to lead Creighton in scoring during consecutive games since Terrell Taylor on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9, 1999. Like Lawson, Taylor did it while coming off the bench in both games he paced the team in scoring.
Plenty of Newcomer Awards
On Dec. 26, Kenny Lawson Jr. became the fourth different Bluejay to earn a MVC Newcomer of the Week Award in the first seven weeks of the season. Previously, P'Allen Stinnett (Nov. 12), Cavel Witter (Dec. 3) and Chad Millard (Dec. 10) had been honored.
Prior to this season, CU had only had three different individuals earn the honor at any time (Nick Porter and Josh Dotzler in 2005-06 and Isacc Miles last season).
Creighton is the third school in the five-year history of the MVC Newcomer of the Week award to have four different players honored during the same season.
Last year's Illinois State team (Dom Johnson, Boo Richardson, Anthony Slack and Osiris Eldridge) and the 2004-05 Bradley team (Patrick O'Bryant, Daniel Ruffin, Tony Bennett and Lawrence Wright) can also make that claim.
If either Aaron Brandt, Booker Woodfox, Casey Harriman, Kenton Walker or Kaleb Korver also earn the honor this year, CU would become the first squad to have five different players honored in the same season with the weekly Newcomer award.
Millard Named Newcomer of the Week
Sophomore Chad Millard was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 10. Millard averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots in games against No. 21 Xavier and Saint Joseph's.
Millard helped key Creighton's win over Saint Joseph's with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots.
Versatility A Bonus
Through games of Jan. 7, Creighton's Chad Millard and Drake's Jonathan Cox were the only MVC players with at least 10 blocks and 10 three-pointers made this season.
Millard has 16 three-pointers and 11 blocked shots this year. Cox has 16 three-pointers and 17 blocked shots to date.
Seniors Score In Bunches
Creighton's seniors Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma and Dane Watts were averaging 21.5 points per game combined heading into a Dec. 9 game with Saint Joseph's.
In the overtime win, they scored 60 of CU's 90 points. Hibma (17) and Watts (29) both exceeded their previous career-highs by three points each, while Bahe (14) was one shy of his career-best.
CU's seniors scored its final eight points of regulation and added 12 of the team's 20 points in overtime.
Watts Up For Senior CLASS Award
Creighton senior Dane Watts is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which focuses on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition.
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 and complete college education brings.
Watts leads Creighton in scoring and rebounding this season, and has made 93 straight starts. In addition to being a solid student in the classroom, the business management major is actively involved in the community. Watts is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and in the summer of 2006 toured France with Athletes in Action.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in January 2008. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient.
Now in its seventh year for basketball, the award has developed into the nation's premier tribute for college seniors. Previous winners of the men's award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Redick of Duke (2006) and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007).
The Drive For Five
Creighton had its five-game winning streak snapped at Xavier on Dec. 5. The Bluejays have now had at least one five-game win streak in each of the last 11 seasons, and 17 such streaks overall in the 14-year tenure of Dana Altman.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 13 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the postseason all six times they haven't.
3-0 Start, Again
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in nine of the last 10 seasons, including this year's 5-0 open before losing. Last year's team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Thanks in large part to the quick starts to open the year, Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Wednesday will be the 326th game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
Crowds Increase For League Action
Compared to its non-conference crowds, Creighton's attendance has increased in MVC action each of the previous seven years:
Creighton's Yearly Home Attendance
Year Non-MVC Games MVC Games Change
2000-01 7,132 7,268 +2%
2001-02 6,333 6,800 +7%
2002-03 7,401 8,996 +22%
2003-04 11,467 12,443 +9%
2004-05 9,926 12,207 +23%
2005-06 13,404 14,343 +7%
2006-07 15,471 16,153 +4%
2007-08 15,369 16,808 so far +9%
Five Figure Crowds
Creighton hosted 17,607 fans for its Feb. 17, 2007 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 has played 84 straight home games in front of crowds of 8,000 fans or more and 53 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
17,049 Nebraska W 74-62 11/24/07
16,808 Illinois State L 67-80 12/29/07
16,730 Miss. Valley St. W 76-46 11/17/07
16,339 Bradley W 65-54 01/18/07
16,315 Drake W 79-56 01/09/07
16,104 DePaul W 74-62 11/09/07
Helping Hand
Junior point guard Josh Dotzler tied a career-high with 10 assists in the win over Saint Joseph's on Dec. 9.
Dotzler's performance matched his 10 assists in a Feb. 4, 2006 overtime win at Drake.
Dotzler's 10 dimes were also the most in Qwest Center Omaha history by a Creighton player.
For the season, Dotzler leads Creighton with 55 assists, 29 more than any other Bluejay.
P'henomenal Debut
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points on Nov. 9 against DePaul were the most by a Bluejay in their first game since Cyril Baptiste scored 24 points on Dec. 1, 1969 against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Stinnett's 23 points were the most by any Creighton player in a season-opener since Rodney Buford tipped off his senior campaign with 24 points against Towson State on Nov. 14, 1998.
Below is a list of how Stinnett's debut compares with some other notable names in Bluejay history.
Name, Yr. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Min. Result
Stinnett, 2007 23 4 3 3 26 W 74-62
Tolliver, 2003 0 1 2 0 7 W 79-44
Funk, 2002 3 5 4 1 21 W 106-50
Kyle Korver, 1999 2 2 0 1 10 W 70-62
Buford, 1995 3 4 0 0 19 W 63-59
Harstad, 1987 4 5 1 1 21 L 49-70
Gallagher, 1987 10 3 0 0 37 L 49-70
Benjamin, 1982 14 4 1 0 22 W 98-54
McKenna, 1977 14 3 7 ? ? W 95-66
Harmon, 1971 21 7 ? ? ? W 74-62
C. Baptiste, 1969 24 17 ? ? ? W 84-62
Portman, 1966 9 ? ? ? ? W 78-76
Silas, 1961 22 29 ? ? ? W 85-51
Gibson, 1954 19 ? ? ? ? W 66-51
Not Half Bad
P'Allen Stinnett scored all 23 of his points in the second half of Creighton's 74-62 win over DePaul on Nov. 9. The last Bluejay player to score 23 points or more in one half (without the aid of overtimes) was Kyle Korver, who had 26 of his 32 points in the second half of a game at #19 Xavier on Dec. 31, 2002.
Stinnett Named Newcomer Of the Week
P'Allen Stinnett picked up the league's first MVC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 9 after his extraordinary debut against DePaul.
Stinnett had 23 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists in the 74-62 win over DePaul. His 23 points were the most in a Bluejay debut since Cyril Baptiste in 1969, while his 23 point second half was the most by a Creighton player in one half since Kyle Korver on Dec. 31, 2002 at #19 Xavier.
Stinnett Shines Again
Freshman P'Allen Stinnett had 22 points against Illinois State on Dec. 29 in the first MVC game of his career. That ranked as the most by a Bluejay in an MVC debut since Rod Mason scored 23 points on Jan. 10, 1987 at Wichita State.
Jays Ink Pair of Recruits
Creighton signed a pair of left-handed guards on Nov. 14, the first day of the fall signing period.
Antoine Young is an all-state guard from Bellevue West HS in the south Omaha suburb of Bellevue. A 6'0” guard, Young averaged 20.6 points per game last year for the state-runner up. He is coached by Doug Woodard.
Josh Jones is an all-state guard from Omaha Central HS. A 6'2” shooting guard, Jones has helped lead Central to back-to-back state titles. He averaged 18.0 points per game as a junior and is coached by Eric Behrens.
Jones and Young have previously been summer AAU teammates with the Omaha Crusaders.
True Blue Brewster's Crew
Creighton's top two scorers on Nov. 9 against DePaul, freshman P'Allen Stinnett and sophomore Chad Millard, both spent a year of prep school at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. Stinnett was there in 2006-07, while Millard was there in 2004-05.
Stinnett had 23 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Millard had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in the Jays 74-62 win over DePaul.
Preseason Poll
Creighton has been picked fourth in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Southern Illinois was a unanimous selection with 39 first-place votes and a point total of 390. Bradley is second with 311 points while Missouri State is third with 283 points. Creighton comes in fourth with 266 points, just ahead of Illinois State's 235. Rounding out the bottom half is Wichita State (210), UNI (197), Indiana State (110), Drake (80) and Evansville (63).
The preseason all-MVC team does not include any Creighton players and is headed by preseason player of the year Randal Falker (Southern Illinois). Joining Falker on the first team are Eric Coleman (UNI), PJ Couisnard (Wichita State), Deven Mitchell (Missouri State) and Daniel Ruffin (Bradley). Honorable-mention picks include Jeremy Crouch (Bradley), Levi Dyer (Illinois State), Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State), Matt Shaw (Southern Illinois) and Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois).
Cashing In At The Line
Sophomore guard Cavel Witter made each of his first 22 free throw attempts, including a perfect 10-of-10 effort at Drexel, before missing on Dec. 5 at Xavier.
Witter's 22 in a row was tied for the ninth-longest streak in Bluejay records, 10 makes shy of the school record set by Michael Lindeman. Lindeman made 32 in a row from Jan. 23 - Nov. 29, 2003.
Witter's 22 in a row was the best mark in school history to start a season, two better than Kyle Korver's 20 straight to open 2001-02.
Consecutive Free Throws Made (Since 1980)
FT Name Dates of Streak
32 Michael Lindeman Jan. 23-Nov. 29, 2003
28 Kyle Korver Jan. 27-March 15, 2001
27 Matt West Nov. 27, 1999-Jan. 15, 2000
Kyle Korver Jan. 29-Nov. 20, 2000
Nate Funk Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 12, 2007
24 Rick Apke Jan. 22-Feb. 5, 1977
Rod Mason Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 1988
Kyle Korver Mar. 15-Dec. 4, 2001
22 Matt Petty Jan. 4-Feb. 4, 1993
Ryan Sears Feb. 22-Nov. 22, 1999
Nate Funk Feb. 26-Mar. 17, 2005
Cavel Witter Nov. 9-Dec. 1, 2007
Is Anyone Left?
Creighton returned just 24.7 percent of its scoring from last season's team. According to STATS Inc., that ranks 10th-lowest nationally among Division I schools, as seen below.
Lowest Percentage of Points Returning
Source: STATS -- Chicago
Rk. School Last Year Return %
1. Long Beach State 2,575 85 3.3
2. Pepperdine 2,389 223 9.3
3. Colorado State 2,178 309 14.2
4. Florida 3,193 472 14.8
5. Louisiana Tech 1,922 354 18.4
6. Citadel 1,758 363 20.6
7. Eastern Washington 2,443 535 21.9
8. Southeastern Louisiana 2,050 501 24.4
9. Loyola Marymount 2,030 497 24.5
10. Creighton 2,220 548 24.7
Are You Experienced?
How much experience does senior Dane Watts have compared to the rest of the his CU teammates? The chart below shows his stats at CU compared to all of his teammates...combined.
Stat Watts Rest of Team
Starts 99 93
Blocks 36 37
FG Made 332 458
FG Attempts 720 1,054
3FG Made 118 177
3FG Attempts 324 482
FT Made 175 252
FT Attempts 256 359
Points 957 1,347
Off. Rebounds 180 200
Def. Rebounds 381 415
Rebounds 561 615
Who Are These Guys?
Program sales are up as Creighton fans try to figure out who all the newcomers on the roster are this winter.
Creighton has just one regular starter back from last year, Dane Watts. The last time Creighton listed just one returning starter was all the way back in 1985-86, when Gary Swain was the lone returning starter.
Additionally, Creighton's returners accounted for just 44 games started last year. That's the fewest games started that are returning since at least the start of the 1980-81 campaign.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 178-39 in the last eight seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just three times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Eight Years
Year Men Women Combined
2007-08 8-1 5-0 13-1
2006-07 12-2 7-7 19-9
2005-06 15-2 5-7 20-9
2004-05 11-5 12-3 23-8
2003-04 14-2 12-1 26-3
2002-03 17-0 13-1 30-1
2001-02 12-3 11-1 23-4
2000-01 14-0 10-4 24-4
TOTALS 103-15 75-24 178-39
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its Nov. 9 win over DePaul, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 23 times in the last eight seasons, including once this year.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 8 Years
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
03/09/03 vs. Wichita State 13 W 70-69
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05 at Northern Iowa 11 W 67-66
11/30/04 at Xavier 11 W 73-72
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida 11 W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
02/16/05 at Wichita State 10 W 82-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
Double-Digit Comebacks
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 18 of its 72 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 11 of those 18 games, the Bluejays came back to win.
Creighton's incredible streak of 181 straight games without a double-digit home loss (dating to Jan. 3, 1996) was snapped on Dec. 29, 2007 by Illinois State. That had ranked as the nation's oldest streak in that obscure category.
Double Digit Deficits at Qwest Center Omaha
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
12/07/04 Kent State 16 L 58-67
12/18/04 Wyoming 13 L 64-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
02/05/05 Missouri State 15 L 71-79
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
02/11/06 Southern Illinois 14 L 67-74
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 12 L 52-53
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 12 L 57-58
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
12/29/07 Illinois State 19 L 67-80
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton's has played 72 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 60-12 (.833) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 13-0 figure on Wednesday's. The 12 losses have been by a combined 62 points. CU has outscored its opponents 5,262-4,396 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.0 points per game.
The Charge Chart
Creighton has taken 28 charges so far this season, including five on both Dec. 17 and Dec. 20. 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 2002-06 ?06-07 ?07-08 Total
Casey Harriman n/a n/a 7 7
Dane Watts 15 11 6 32
Chad Millard n/a n/a 5 5
Kenton Walker n/a n/a 3 3
Josh Dotzler 4 0 3 7
Kenny Lawson Jr. n/a 0 1 1
Cavel Witter n/a n/a 1 1
P'Allen Stinnett n/a n/a 1 1
Dustin Sitzmann 0 0 1 1
Pierce Hibma 1 2 0 3
Former Players 164 33 0 197
Total 184 46 28 258
20 Overall Wins x 9 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 101-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. 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 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 16 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 10 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
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.
Jays Were Among Attendance Leaders
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton finished ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game. Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders, according to figures compiled by the NCAA.
2006-07 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Avg.
1. Kentucky 23,421
2. Syracuse 21,516
3. North Carolina 20,693
4. Tennessee 19,661
5. Louisville 18,488
6. Ohio State 17,530
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Maryland 16,822
9. Arkansas 16,720
10. Illinois 16,618
11. Indiana 16,474
12. Kansas 16,300
13. Creighton 15,909
14. Marquette 15,345
15. Michigan State 14,759
MVC's Top Crowds Ever
Creighton has set MVC attendance records each of the past two seasons. In 2005-06 the program attracted a league-record 236,313 fans, smashing the previous league mark of 192,258 the Bluejays set in 2003-04. Last 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
15,529 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
12,009 Louisville 1967-68
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 74-40 in televised games in the last six seasons, including a 29-17 mark on KMTV-produced games (which does not include CU's record in NCAA Tournament games on KMTV). Creighton went 4-2 in games aired on KMTV in 2002-03, 6-3 in 2003-04, 4-5 in 2004-05, 5-3 in 2005-06 and 6-2 in 2006-07 in KMTV-produced games.
The Jays are also 31-21 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 19-12 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 28-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 22, and possibly as many as 24, regular-season games are slated for television this season.
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).
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception. Creighton has four players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's native Iowans this season include senior Pierce Hibma (Pella), junior Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and freshmen Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella). Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Nate Funk (Sioux City) and Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 422 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
National Stats Report
In the most recent national statistical report that came out on Jan. 7th, the Bluejays were ranked in the top 50 in three team categories. Creighton ranked 20th with 9.8 steals per game. were 41st with a +12.8 scoring margin and 45th withi a +5.8 rebound margin.
Individually, Cavel Witter was 58th with his 85.4% free throw percentage, Josh Dotzler ranked 56th nationally with 2.2 steals per game and 72nd with a 2.12 assist/turnover ratio.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one trifecta in a league-best 446 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Stealing A Share Of The Record
Creighton tied a school-record on Nov. 29 against Savannah State, recording 18 steals in its 26-point victory.
The 18 steals matched the amount recorded on Dec. 18, 1991 at Cleveland State, and later matched on Dec. 12, 1999 against Illinois State.
Last Season Recap
Led by seniors Nate Funk, Manny Gakou, Nick Porter and Anthony Tolliver, Creighton went 22-11 and advanced to its seventh NCAA Tournament in the past nine years last winter.
Creighton was ranked a best-ever 19th in the preseason Associated Press poll last year, but lost several games early and was just 4-3 before a second-place finish in Honolulu at the Rainbow Classic.
The Bluejays would then open MVC play with a 5-1 record, eventually finishing second with a 13-5 league mark.
The second-seeded Bluejays then won the State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis with victories over Indiana State, Missouri State and #11 Southern Illinois, earning a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Funk, Tolliver and Porter were all named to the all-Tournament Team.
Shipped to New Orleans, La., to take on #15 Nevada, Creighton dropped a 77-71 overtime game to the Wolf Pack in the first round of the NCAA's.
Funk and Tolliver gave Creighton its first pair of first-team all-MVC teammates since 1991. Funk led the Jays in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and assists (3.0 apg.), while Tolliver topped the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.72 bpg.).
Creighton was 15th nationally with its school-record 75.4 percent accuracy at the free-throw line and ranked 23rd nationally, allowing just 60.9 points per game. The Jays also ranked 13th nationally with an MVC-record 15,909 fans per home game.
The 2006-07 campaign marked Creighton's 10th-straight postseason bid and ninth-straight 20-win season.
Canada Trip Recap
Creighton spent Labor Day weekend in Calgary, winning five games in three days. Creighton beat Saskatchewan twice (87-82 and 92-66), Calgary twice (85-77 and 97-78) and Lethbridge once (88-49).
Eleven different Creighton players started at least once, and all 14 Jays scored at least nine points over the course of the weekend.
Dane Watts led Creighton in scoring with 16.0 points per game while also adding 6.4 rebounds per contest. Kenny Lawson Jr. averaged 14.0 points and led the team with 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game. Josh Dotzler paced the club with 19 assists and 14 steals.
The foreign trip, which is allowed once every four years, was Creighton's first since the 2003-04 trip to Vancouver. That Creighton team opened the season 12-0.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets went on sale on Nov. 7th. Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $11 for adults and $7 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Creighton sold a record 12,888 season tickets for this season. The previous mark was the 12,126 season-tickets bought for the 2006-07 season.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
Metro Area Transit and Creighton University have partnered again this year to provide shuttle bus service from the CU campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season.
The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students. Round-trip cost is $1.00 for Creighton students with identification; $1.00 for children under the age of 18; $1.00 for senior citizens and $2.00 for adults. The shuttle will start one-hour before tip-off and at least two buses will continue to operate the route during the game.
The designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th and Cuming (farside/southbound); 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and 18th & Cass (nearside/eastbound by the Morrison Stadium). The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha Arena entrance.
The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes. Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha Arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of four stops at 24th & Cuming Streets.
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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
