Men's Basketball Faces DePaul Tonight in Championship Game
12/23/2008 2:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Updated Creighton Basketball Notes
2008-09 Season -- Game #12
Creighton Bluejays (9-2, 0-0 MVC) vs. DePaul Blue Demons (7-4, 0-0 Big East)
Las Vegas, Nev. ? Orleans Arena (6,500)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 -- 7 pm (9 pm Central)
Creighton Probable Starters
No. Name Ht. Pos. Yr. PPG RPG Hometown
1 Justin Carter 6-4 G/F Jr. 7.0 4.6 Gaithersburg, Md.
10 P'Allen Stinnett 6-3 G So. 12.2 2.8 Las Vegas, Nev.
12 Josh Dotzler 6-1 G Sr. 2.8 1.5 Omaha, Neb.
14 Booker Woodfox 6-1 G Sr. 17.0 3.3 Lewisville, Texas
25 Kenny Lawson Jr. 6-9 C So. 8.9 5.8 Oceanside, Calif.
Next Game
Creighton (9-2) plays for the championship of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic when it meets DePaul (7-4) on Tuesday night at 7 pm (9 pm Central).
All games will be played in Orleans Arena (6,500) in Las Vegas, Nev. Plenty of tickets are available.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2008-09 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
Television Broadcast Information
No games from the Las Vegas Classic will be televised.
Video Webcast Available
All of Tuesday's games from the Las Vegas Classic will be video webcast live to NCAA basketball fans around the world. To access broadcasts, fans can log on through their individual school athletic websites or http://b2tv.com/upcoming_events.asp.
Viewers will need a high-speed Internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player to watch the Las Vegas Classic live through the partnership with B2 Networks.
All games from the Las Vegas Classic can be purchased for a price of $8 per contest.
Subscribers to Creighton's JaysLive video webcast package will NOT receive these games as part of their subscription.
Live Stats Information
The Las Vegas Classic will not have live stats.
Scouting Creighton (9-2)
Creighton has won six straight games by double-digits, including three over postseason teams from 2008, and enters Tuesday night with a 9-2 record.
The Bluejays return 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's 22-11 team that made an 11th straight postseason appearance, reaching the second round of the NIT.
Booker Woodfox leads the team with 17.0 points per game and has led the Jays in scoring each of the last five games. He has made a team-best 35 three-point baskets this season, shooting 54.7 percent behind the arc. Woodfox has made 26-of-41 three-pointers (63.4 percent) over the past six games.
Also in double-figures is preseason all-MVC pick P'Allen Stinnett, who averages 12.2 points per game and is second on the team with 19 steals. He had a career-high seven steals in CU's win last Monday over Southern.
On the defensive side, Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 31 steals. Kenny Lawson Jr. leads the MVC with 21 blocked shots and has also upped his averages to 8.9 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
Creighton shoots 44.2 percent from the floor, 39.4 percent from three-point territory and is also making 74.6 percent of its shots from the line.
Scouting DePaul (7-4)
DePaul has won three straight games, including a 65-61 win over Saint Louis on Monday, to advance into the finals of the Las Vegas Classic. The Blue Demons return three starters and five lettermen from last year's team that finished 11-19 overall and were 6-12 (tie-12th) in the Big East Conference.
Three players average in double-figures for DePaul, led by Dar Tucker's 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. Mac Koshwal averages a double-double inside, averaging 13.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Koshwal is the only player on the Blue Demons to shoot better than 42 percent from the floor, converting at a 60.9 percent clip. Rounding out the high-scoring trio for DePaul is Will Walker, who scores 10.8 points per game and owns a team-best 18 steals.
As a team, DePaul averages 66.5 points per game but yields 65.5 per contest. The Blue Demons shoot 39.8 percent from the floor as a squad and 26.6 percent from three-point range. At the line, DePaul is 62.1 percent. DePaul has also been outrebounded by two boards per contest.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 15th year as head coach of the Bluejays.
He owns a 291-154 (.654) mark at Creighton and a career record of 374-221 (.629) in his 20th year as a NCAA Division I head coach when you add four seasons at Kansas State and one at Marshall. Tack on four years at the junior college level and Altman's overall record as a college head coach is 497-245 (.670).
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his first 23 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 11 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Nick Bahe is the team's graduate manager.
DePaul is coached by Jerry Wainwright (Colorado College, 1968), who owns a 50-52 record in his fourth year with the Blue Demons. Wainwright owns a career mark of 236-196 in 15 years overall. He is assisted by Gary DeCesare, Ramon Williams and Scott Wainwright.
The Series With DePaul
DePaul leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 15-6 margin, including a 1978 NCAA Tournament victory in Wichita, Kan. that remains the only neutral site meeting to date.
The teams last met in last year's season-opener, a 74-62 Bluejay victory in Omaha that saw CU overcome an early 23-6 deficit. P'Allen Stinnett had 23 points (all in the second half) for CU in that victory, while Will Walker scored 13 points to lead DePaul.
Creighton head coach Dana Altman is 1-1 against DePaul and Jerry Wainwright. Altman is 4-5 at Creighton against the Big East Conference, including wins over DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame and Providence.
Series History vs. DePaul
Blue Demons lead series, 15-6
Home: 2-6 Away: 4-8 Neutral: 0-1
Date Site W-L Score
12/21/37 at DePaul W 44-37
02/18/39 at Creighton L 31-39
02/01/41 at DePaul W 60-48
12/14/57 at DePaul W 67-55
01/07/58 at Creighton L 56-62
02/27/60 at DePaul L 65-82
01/31/77 at DePaul W 84-75
02/01/78 at Creighton (3ot) L 82-85
03/12/78 at Wichita, Kan.-% L 78-80
12/30/78 at DePaul L 70-88
01/28/80 at Creighton L 73-84
02/09/81 at DePaul L 57-83
01/11/82 at Creighton L 67-76
12/27/82 at DePaul L 66-68
12/31/83 at Creighton (ot) L 57-59
12/27/84 at DePaul L 58-87
02/17/86 at Creighton W 74-61
12/17/86 at DePaul L 64-74
03/16/90 at DePaul-# L 72-89
11/30/05 at DePaul L 57-72
11/09/07 at Creighton W 74-62
% NCAA Tournament
# National Invitation Tournament
Last Game Recap
Creighton outscored Fresno State 46-27 in the second half to break free from a 38-all tie at the half and defeat the Bulldogs, 84-65. Creighton outrebounded Fresno State 36-28 and forced 21 turnovers on the evening. Booker Woodfox led Creighton to its sixth straight win with 24 points, while Kenny Lawson Jr. tied his career-high with 15 points. Additionally, Cavel Witter had career-highs in assists (9), steals (5) and rebounds (6) off the bench for CU. Fresno State was paced by 21 points from freshman phenom Paul George.
Higher & Higher
Despite an off-shooting night (3-of-11), Cavel Witter had career-bests in three other key categories to help Creighton to a win last night. Witter had career-highs with nine assists, six rebounds and five steals. Impressively, Witter only had one turnover on the offensive end. His previous bests in those categories had been eight assists (twice last year), five rebounds (four times) and four steals (twice).
Also matching a career-high on Monday night was sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr., who scored 15 points for the third time in his young career, and Justin Carter, who tied his best with seven rebounds.
Altman vs. the BCS
Since coming to Creighton, Dana Altman owns a 22-22 record against the schools that compose the big six “BCS” conferences in Division I. Altman is 0-2 against the ACC, 4-5 against the Big East, 13-10 against the Big 12, 3-3 against the Big 10 and 2-2 against the SEC. He has never faced a Pac-10 school.
The Missouri Valley Conference is 4-17 against the BCS conferences this year, including a 0-4 mark against the Big East. Indiana State lost to both DePaul and #11 Louisville, UNI lost to #15 Marquette and Wichita State lost to #16 Georgetown.
Carter Scoring, Rebounding Better
Junior college transfer Justin Carter has seen his numbers increase as his comfort level and confidence on the floor increases. Carter has scored in double-figures in consecutive games while also grabbing seven rebounds in consecutive contests.
Prior to the past two games, Carter had one career game in double-figures and had never grabbed more than six caroms in a contest with the Jays.
Turnovers Tell The Story
Creighton had just one second-half turnover against Fresno State while forcing 14 by the Bulldogs after intermission on Monday. CU's only turnover of the second half was an offensive goaltending call on Justin Carter that came on the club's second of 31 second-half possessions. Creighton outscored Fresno State 21-0 off turnovers in the second half and 24-8 for the game.
Sitzmann Sees First Half Action
With four CU guards saddled by two fouls in the first half, senior Dustin Sitzmann got some rare first-half minutes on Monday against Fresno State. Sitzmann played the final 38 seconds of the first half, helping CU get the defensive stand that preceded Casey Harriman's shot at the first-half buzzer that tied the game at 38. Sitzmann also played the final 1:38 of the game, but did not record any statistics in his floor time. Creighton is now 30-2 all-time when Sitzmann plays.
Seven Beats Three, Again
Creighton had four players score in double-figures on Monday night against Fresno State and seven different men scored at least six points. By comparison, Fresno State had all but 11 of its 65 points from the trio of Paul George (24), Dwight O'Neil (16) and Sylvester Seay (17).
Creighton has three players averaging 10.5 per game or more, while three others score at least 5.8 per contest.
Recent Tournament Titles?
Creighton has won eight different events in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton. The Bluejays have won MVC Tournament titles in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007, as well as Guardians Classic titles in both 2002 and 2004.
Six In A Row
Creighton takes a six-game win streak into Tuesday night's game against DePaul.
The Bluejays have had at least one five-game win streak in 12 straight seasons, and 19 such streaks overall in the 15-year tenure of Dana Altman.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 14 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the postseason all six times they haven't.
Winning By Double-Digits, Too
Creighton has won six straight games, all by double-digits.
Creighton had not had six straight wins by 10 points or more since February 2-22, 1965. A double-digit win against DePaul would give CU its first run of seven straight wins by 10 or more points since a stretch of 10 in a row Feb. 21, 1928 to Jan. 23, 1929.
Connections To UNLV Coaches
Current UNLV head coach Lon Kruger preceded current Creighton head coach Dana Altman as head coach at Kansas State before both men would eventually wind up at their current schools.
Altman served as an assistant to Kruger at Kansas State from 1986-89 before eventually replacing him as the head coach in 1990. Current UNLV assistant coach Greg Grensing was an assistant on Altman's four teams at K-State before joining Altman's Creighton staff from 1994-2005. This is Grensing's fourth year with the Running Rebels.
Former UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour is also the lead television analyst on the Missouri Valley Conference basketball package. Spoonhour previously coached at MVC member Missouri State as well.
Stinnett Returns Home
P'Allen Stinnett returns to his hometown when Creighton heads to Las Vegas in the coming days. Stinnett graduated from Palo Verde High School in 2006 after a standout career in which he was named Nevada's 4A Player of the Year and averaged 19.9 points as a senior.
Stinnett has played in The Orleans Arena before while playing in the 2004 and 2005 state tournament.
Stinnett has made an immediate impact since coming to Creighton, sweeping MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors in 2008 while averaging 12.6 points per game and claiming a team-best 53 steals.
This season Stinnett was a preseason all-MVC pick. He is averaging 12.2 points and 1.9 steals per game to rank second on the team in both categories.
Stealing The Show
P'Allen Stinnett had seven steals last Monday night against Southern University, three more than his previous best.
Stinnett's seven steals tied a Qwest Center Omaha record for thefts by a Creighton player in a single game. Johnny Mathies previously had seven steals on Feb. 22, 2006 against Indiana State.
His seven swipes also matched the most in a single-game by a Creighton player in the 15-year tenure under Dana Altman, done four times previously.
Stinnett is one of nine players with seven or more steals in a game, while Latrell Wrightsell and Rodney Buford have both done it twice. The Creighton record for steals in a game is nine by Michael Johnson on Dec. 14, 1981 vs. Saint Joseph's.
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Dec. 21st, Josh Dotzler ranks tied for eighth nationally with 3.1 steals per game.
Booker Woodfox fourth with his 53.4 percent accuracy from three-point range through games and is 46th with 3.1 treys per contest.
As a team, Creighton's 10.5 steals per contest were eighth-most in the country, which greatly aids a team ranked 12th nationally with a +6.1 turnover margin. CU is also 11th with 8.9 three-pointers per game, 1st in three-point field goal defense (28.7 percent), 35th in three-point field goal percentage (39.4 percent) and 35th in free-throw percentage (74.1 percent).
Back-to-Back Days = Wins
One of the benefits to Dana Altman's frequent substitution patterns is that it keeps plenty of fresh legs on the bench. That strategy works best when Creighton enters tournament play requiring them to play on back-to-back days.
Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Creighton owns 16-0 record on the first day of events they have played back-to-back games in (including Monday's win over Fresno State). They are 13-2 in the second day of back-to-back games, and 6-2 when playing on a third-straight day. The Jays have won three games in three days at six of the last 10 Missouri Valley Conference Tournaments. They have also won back-to-back games four different times in Guardians Classic action without a loss.
CU's only setbacks in these situations have been MVC Tournament semifinal losses in 2001 (Indiana State) and 2008 (Drake), and setbacks in the finals of the Energia Systems Thanksgiving Tournament in November of 2000 and at Hawaii in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic finals in December, 2006.
In Tournament Play?
Including Monday night's win over Fresno State, Creighton is now 18-7 in regular-season tournaments under Dana Altman. The Jays have reached the championship game in each of its past six tournament appearances, including titles in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2004.
At Neutral Sites?
Creighton is 77-59 (.566) all-time at neutral sites, including a 34-18 (.654) mark under Dana Altman. Altman owns a 32-11 (.744) record in neutral site games that have not been part of the NCAA Tournament.
Turnovers Tell The Story
Creighton forced 20 Northern Colorado turnovers on Dec. 13, converting those into 37 points. The Jays then forced 29 turnovers by Southern on Dec. 15th, converting those into 34 points.
The 37 points off turnovers against Northern Colorado were the most since CU started tracking the stat six years ago.
Additionally, Creighton's +28 margin in points off turnovers against Southern (34-6) were its best mark in the past six years.
Dotzler Top 10 in Assists & Steals
After seven previous games with exactly five steals in his career, Josh Dotzler had a career-best six steals on Dec. 13 against Northern Colorado.
Creighton turned all six of those steals into points, scoring 13 points on its ensuing possessions.
Dotzler's 157 career steals ranks tied for fifth in CU history with his former teammate, Johnny Mathies.
Dotzler's 299 career assists places him 10th in Creighton history, just ahead of Kyle Korver's 294.
With one more assist, he'll join Ryan Sears, Duan Cole and Latrell Wrightsell as the only players in CU history with more than 150 steals and 300 assists in a career.
Steals (Since 1979-80)
Stl. Name Years
283 Ryan Sears 1997-01
195 Rodney Buford 1995-99
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
172 Kyle Korver 1999-03
157 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
157 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
154 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
323 Nate Funk 2002-07
317 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
299 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
Korver Nets Career Highs
Sophomore Kaleb Korver has set career-highs in most statistical categories during two of his past four games. Korver had career-highs with 12 points, five rebounds and four three-point baskets in the Dec. 10 win over Dayton.
On Dec. 13 against Southern, Korver had career-highs with 25 minutes, 14 points and two steals, while also matching his Dayton effort by making four trifectas.
Korver has made 13-of-20 treys in the past five games (65.0 percent). In his past seven games off the bench, Korver is 18-of-29 from downtown, an impressive 62.1 percent.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 10.5 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25 minutes per game.
Creighton has had at least 10 players average 10.5 minutes per game or more in each of previous three seasons, as well.
Creighton has not used anyone for more than 32 minutes in any game this year. By comparison, seven individuals throughout the MVC average 32.0 minutes per game or more.
Microwave Man
Booker Woodfox has been red-hot from the field in the past six games. Woodfox has scored 121 points in 134 minutes in six games this month, all Bluejay wins. Woodfox is shooting 41-for-67 from the floor in that time (61.2 percent), including 26-of-41 (63.4 percent) from three-point land.
Woodfox is averaging 20.2 points per game in this recent hot stretch, doing all that in just 22.3 minutes per game. He has made just five turnovers in that same span.
Book It!
Helped by his 26-of-41 effort from downtown in the past six games (63.4 percent), Booker Woodfox is 35-of-64 (54.7 percent) from three-point range this season.
For his career, he is 91-of-196, which computes to 46.4 percent, putting him ahead of noted marksman Kyle Korver. The only previous player in CU history to shoot better than 44.2 percent from three-point range in their career was two-time MVC Player of the Year Korver, who made 45.3 percent from downtown while hitting 371-of-819 from long-range.
Creighton's 3-Point Percentage Leaders, Career
(Minimum 100 Attempts)
Pct. Name, Years 3FGM-FGA
.4643 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 91-196
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4415 Rod Mason, 1986-88 132-299
.4404 Nerijus Karlikanovas, 1998-00 48-109
.4306 Michael Lindeman, 2000-04 62-144
.4293 Duan Cole, 1987-92 176-410
.4065 Nate Funk, 2002-07 200-492
.4053 Matt West, 1996-00 92-227
.4051 Matt Petty, 1989-93 143-353
.4017 Darin Plautz, 1989-91 94-234
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 477 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Stinnett & Woodfox Reach 500 Points
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett became the 12th player to score 500 or more points in their first two seasons at Creighton under Dana Altman when he did it on Dec. 10 vs. Dayton.
However, the only one to do it in fewer than the 40 games Stinnett needed is CU's all-time leading scorer, Rodney Buford, who needed just 35 games.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox went over 500 points last night vs. DePaul in his 44th career game. That's tied for the third-quickest to 500 under Altman with Doug Swenson.
500+Points In First 2 Years Under Dana Altman
Name Games to 500 pts. Date
Rodney Buford 35 12/7/96 vs. UNI
P'Allen Stinnett 40 12/10/08 vs. Dayton
Doug Swenson 44 1/20/99 at Evansville
Booker Woodfox 44 12/22/08 vs. Fresno State
Kyle Korver 48 1/11/01 vs. Indiana St.
Tad Ackerman 48 2/8/96 at So. Illinois
Edward St. Fleur 49 1/30/97 at Missouri St.
Ryan Sears 51 2/14/99 at Illinois St.
Nick Porter 54 2/7/07 vs. Evansville
Johnny Mathies 55 2/16/05 at Wichita St.
Brody Deren 56 2/12/03 vs. Missouri St.
Terrell Taylor 59 2/17/01 vs. Wyoming
Larry House 59 2/22/03 vs. Fresno St.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has three 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 Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and sophomores Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver and Pierce Hibma (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 453 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
MVC Preseason Poll
For the second time in three years, Creighton has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Creighton was picked first on 36 of the 39 ballots to earn 386 of a possible 390 points. Last year's favorite, Southern Illinois, earned two first-place votes and totaled 322 points for second place, just ahead of Illinois State, which garnered 309 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Drake (274), Bradley (219), UNI (186), Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).
The preseason all-MVC team is headlined by preseason player of the year Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State). Joining Eldridge on the first team are P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton), Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) and the Drake tandem of Jonathan Cox and Josh Young. Honorable-mention picks include the Bradley pair of Theron Wilson and Andrew Warren, as well as the Evansville duo of Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger.
20 Overall Wins x 10 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 10 straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Postseason x 11
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is one more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 11 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 17 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 11 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins x 12
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 12th 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 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 62 charges last season, with Casey Harriman and Dane Watts sharing the team lead with 17 charges taken. Over the previous six seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 48.7 per year.
So far this season, Creighton has taken 17 charges in 11 games.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-07 ?07-08 ?08-09 Total
Josh Dotzler 4 5 3 12
Justin Carter n/a n/a 3 3
Casey Harriman n/a 17 3 20
Chad Millard n/a 7 2 9
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 2 2
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 1 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 1 1
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 0 5
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 17 309
Double-Double Eludes Lawson
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. hasn't notched a double-double in his young career, but he's been steadily getting closer.
Lawson, who had 10 rebounds and nine points against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6, owns seven career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won six of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 78.6-63.1.
Creighton is 16-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 17-9 in games he's appeared in and snared less than five caroms.
25 Points Off The Bench, Again
Cavel Witter scored 25 points off the bench in CU's Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts.
It marked the second time in his career he's done that, as the junior guard torched Bradley for a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points on March 1, 2008, in a double-overtime win over Bradley.
Before Witter, Creighton had not had a player score 25 points or more off the bench since March of 2002.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 49 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 64 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
Turning Point?
One common theme when Creighton is successful is that they have had an advantage in “points off turnovers” in many of those contests.
Last season, Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 70-11 when winning this category, including a 9-1 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 57-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players are on NBA rosters. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) plays for San Antonio.
Tolliver is averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11 minutes per game with San Antonio. In the D-League, Tolliver averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8 percent from three-point range from Dec. 2-18 with the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League.
Korver is averaging 8.3 points in 21.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 291 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history. Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 291 Dana Altman Creighton
3-Point Weapons
Creighton had nine different players that made 10 or more three-pointers last season. Five of those men made 39.3 percent or more of their attempts from long-range.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton, Duke, Marquette, New Mexico and Portland State were the nation's only teams with seven different players to own 20 or more treys. Of that group, CU was the only team with all seven players to make 24 or more three-pointers.
When shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, Creighton has won 36-of-38 and 46 of its last 50 games.
Recruits Inked
A pair of prep standouts signed letters-of-intent in November to join the Creighton men's basketball team next year.
Andrew Bock is a 6'1” guard from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Calif. Bock averaged 18 points and eight assists per game while helping the Eagles to a 27-4 record. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Citrus Belt League last season.
Ethan Wragge (RAH-gy) is a 6'8” forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., where he attends Eden Prairie High School. He averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game and owns the school record for three-point baskets made. He made 91 percent of his free-throw attempts last year. His team finished 19-9 last winter.
Both men will be freshmen and have four years of eligibility.
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its season-opening win over New Mexico, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 27 times in the last nine seasons.
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
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
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
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
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
Academically Tops In The MVC Too
Creighton ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference in graduation success rate (94.7 percent) among all sports.
Also, for the fourth time in the six-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2007-08 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average over the 2007-08 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
Creighton had seven men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year, which helped the team to a 3.01 GPA overall.
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 Avg. Rank
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
Rk. School Avg. Rank
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
Rk. School Avg. Rank
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
Bench Points Add Up
Creighton owned 41 different double-figure scoring games last season off the bench, compared to a total of 30 during the previous three years combined. In fact, there were only four (of 33) contests in which it didn't have a double-figure scorer off the bench.
Last year's team scored 18 or more bench points in every game but one, with a low of 13.
This year, the Bluejay bench has scored 331 of the team's 840 points (39.4 percent). Take out the season-opening win over New Mexico and that number rises to 322-of-758 points (42.5 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more three times.
This year's Creighton team has produced 11 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including five from Cavel Witter.
Last Season Recap
Creighton put together a second consecutive 22-11 season last fall, reaching the second round of the NIT with a team featuring nine newcomers.
P'Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg.) swept MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors after leading Creighton in scoring, while senior Dane Watts (11.3 ppg.) led the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Booker Woodfox (9.6 ppg.) was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year as the leader for a bench that outscored CU's starters by 76 points for the season.
Updated Numbers
Below is an update to a few of the charts normally found in Creighton's basketball release:
Stat Creighton Opponent +/-
Bench Scoring 331 218 +113
Points In The Paint 259 276 (-17)
Points Off Turnovers 263 132 +131
2nd-Chance Points 113 109 +4
Substitutions 558 377 +181
Career Stats vs. DePaul
Name G-S FG Pct 3FG Pct FT Pct Reb Avg A T B S Pts Avg HI
Stinnett 1-0 9-15 .600 5-7 .714 0-2 .000 4 4.0 3 3 0 3 23 23.0 23
Millard* 2-1 8-12 .667 3-5 .600 2-3 .667 7 3.5 4 2 1 1 21 10.5 15
Witter 1-0 2-2 1.000 1-1 1.000 2-2 1.000 0 0.0 3 0 0 1 7 7.0 7
Dotzler 2-2 5-15 .333 2-4 .500 0-2 .000 7 3.5 10 4 0 5 12 6.0 7
Harriman 1-0 2-7 .286 1-4 .250 0-0 --- 3 3.0 0 1 0 1 5 5.0 5
Lawson 1-0 1-6 .167 0-0 --- 1-1 1.000 4 4.0 0 0 1 1 3 3.0 3
Korver 1-0 1-2 .500 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 1 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 2.0 2
Woodfox 1-0 0-4 .000 0-3 .000 0-0 --- 1 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0.0 --
Walker 1-0 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 0 0.0 0 1 0 1 0 0.0 --
Totals 11-3 28-63 .444 12-24 .500 5-10 .500 27 2.5 22 12 2 14 73 6.6 23
*includes Millard's game at Louisville vs. DePaul.
2008-09 Season -- Game #12
Creighton Bluejays (9-2, 0-0 MVC) vs. DePaul Blue Demons (7-4, 0-0 Big East)
Las Vegas, Nev. ? Orleans Arena (6,500)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 -- 7 pm (9 pm Central)
Creighton Probable Starters
No. Name Ht. Pos. Yr. PPG RPG Hometown
1 Justin Carter 6-4 G/F Jr. 7.0 4.6 Gaithersburg, Md.
10 P'Allen Stinnett 6-3 G So. 12.2 2.8 Las Vegas, Nev.
12 Josh Dotzler 6-1 G Sr. 2.8 1.5 Omaha, Neb.
14 Booker Woodfox 6-1 G Sr. 17.0 3.3 Lewisville, Texas
25 Kenny Lawson Jr. 6-9 C So. 8.9 5.8 Oceanside, Calif.
Next Game
Creighton (9-2) plays for the championship of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic when it meets DePaul (7-4) on Tuesday night at 7 pm (9 pm Central).
All games will be played in Orleans Arena (6,500) in Las Vegas, Nev. Plenty of tickets are available.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2008-09 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
Television Broadcast Information
No games from the Las Vegas Classic will be televised.
Video Webcast Available
All of Tuesday's games from the Las Vegas Classic will be video webcast live to NCAA basketball fans around the world. To access broadcasts, fans can log on through their individual school athletic websites or http://b2tv.com/upcoming_events.asp.
Viewers will need a high-speed Internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player to watch the Las Vegas Classic live through the partnership with B2 Networks.
All games from the Las Vegas Classic can be purchased for a price of $8 per contest.
Subscribers to Creighton's JaysLive video webcast package will NOT receive these games as part of their subscription.
Live Stats Information
The Las Vegas Classic will not have live stats.
Scouting Creighton (9-2)
Creighton has won six straight games by double-digits, including three over postseason teams from 2008, and enters Tuesday night with a 9-2 record.
The Bluejays return 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's 22-11 team that made an 11th straight postseason appearance, reaching the second round of the NIT.
Booker Woodfox leads the team with 17.0 points per game and has led the Jays in scoring each of the last five games. He has made a team-best 35 three-point baskets this season, shooting 54.7 percent behind the arc. Woodfox has made 26-of-41 three-pointers (63.4 percent) over the past six games.
Also in double-figures is preseason all-MVC pick P'Allen Stinnett, who averages 12.2 points per game and is second on the team with 19 steals. He had a career-high seven steals in CU's win last Monday over Southern.
On the defensive side, Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 31 steals. Kenny Lawson Jr. leads the MVC with 21 blocked shots and has also upped his averages to 8.9 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
Creighton shoots 44.2 percent from the floor, 39.4 percent from three-point territory and is also making 74.6 percent of its shots from the line.
Scouting DePaul (7-4)
DePaul has won three straight games, including a 65-61 win over Saint Louis on Monday, to advance into the finals of the Las Vegas Classic. The Blue Demons return three starters and five lettermen from last year's team that finished 11-19 overall and were 6-12 (tie-12th) in the Big East Conference.
Three players average in double-figures for DePaul, led by Dar Tucker's 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. Mac Koshwal averages a double-double inside, averaging 13.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Koshwal is the only player on the Blue Demons to shoot better than 42 percent from the floor, converting at a 60.9 percent clip. Rounding out the high-scoring trio for DePaul is Will Walker, who scores 10.8 points per game and owns a team-best 18 steals.
As a team, DePaul averages 66.5 points per game but yields 65.5 per contest. The Blue Demons shoot 39.8 percent from the floor as a squad and 26.6 percent from three-point range. At the line, DePaul is 62.1 percent. DePaul has also been outrebounded by two boards per contest.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 15th year as head coach of the Bluejays.
He owns a 291-154 (.654) mark at Creighton and a career record of 374-221 (.629) in his 20th year as a NCAA Division I head coach when you add four seasons at Kansas State and one at Marshall. Tack on four years at the junior college level and Altman's overall record as a college head coach is 497-245 (.670).
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his first 23 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 11 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Nick Bahe is the team's graduate manager.
DePaul is coached by Jerry Wainwright (Colorado College, 1968), who owns a 50-52 record in his fourth year with the Blue Demons. Wainwright owns a career mark of 236-196 in 15 years overall. He is assisted by Gary DeCesare, Ramon Williams and Scott Wainwright.
The Series With DePaul
DePaul leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 15-6 margin, including a 1978 NCAA Tournament victory in Wichita, Kan. that remains the only neutral site meeting to date.
The teams last met in last year's season-opener, a 74-62 Bluejay victory in Omaha that saw CU overcome an early 23-6 deficit. P'Allen Stinnett had 23 points (all in the second half) for CU in that victory, while Will Walker scored 13 points to lead DePaul.
Creighton head coach Dana Altman is 1-1 against DePaul and Jerry Wainwright. Altman is 4-5 at Creighton against the Big East Conference, including wins over DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame and Providence.
Series History vs. DePaul
Blue Demons lead series, 15-6
Home: 2-6 Away: 4-8 Neutral: 0-1
Date Site W-L Score
12/21/37 at DePaul W 44-37
02/18/39 at Creighton L 31-39
02/01/41 at DePaul W 60-48
12/14/57 at DePaul W 67-55
01/07/58 at Creighton L 56-62
02/27/60 at DePaul L 65-82
01/31/77 at DePaul W 84-75
02/01/78 at Creighton (3ot) L 82-85
03/12/78 at Wichita, Kan.-% L 78-80
12/30/78 at DePaul L 70-88
01/28/80 at Creighton L 73-84
02/09/81 at DePaul L 57-83
01/11/82 at Creighton L 67-76
12/27/82 at DePaul L 66-68
12/31/83 at Creighton (ot) L 57-59
12/27/84 at DePaul L 58-87
02/17/86 at Creighton W 74-61
12/17/86 at DePaul L 64-74
03/16/90 at DePaul-# L 72-89
11/30/05 at DePaul L 57-72
11/09/07 at Creighton W 74-62
% NCAA Tournament
# National Invitation Tournament
Last Game Recap
Creighton outscored Fresno State 46-27 in the second half to break free from a 38-all tie at the half and defeat the Bulldogs, 84-65. Creighton outrebounded Fresno State 36-28 and forced 21 turnovers on the evening. Booker Woodfox led Creighton to its sixth straight win with 24 points, while Kenny Lawson Jr. tied his career-high with 15 points. Additionally, Cavel Witter had career-highs in assists (9), steals (5) and rebounds (6) off the bench for CU. Fresno State was paced by 21 points from freshman phenom Paul George.
Higher & Higher
Despite an off-shooting night (3-of-11), Cavel Witter had career-bests in three other key categories to help Creighton to a win last night. Witter had career-highs with nine assists, six rebounds and five steals. Impressively, Witter only had one turnover on the offensive end. His previous bests in those categories had been eight assists (twice last year), five rebounds (four times) and four steals (twice).
Also matching a career-high on Monday night was sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr., who scored 15 points for the third time in his young career, and Justin Carter, who tied his best with seven rebounds.
Altman vs. the BCS
Since coming to Creighton, Dana Altman owns a 22-22 record against the schools that compose the big six “BCS” conferences in Division I. Altman is 0-2 against the ACC, 4-5 against the Big East, 13-10 against the Big 12, 3-3 against the Big 10 and 2-2 against the SEC. He has never faced a Pac-10 school.
The Missouri Valley Conference is 4-17 against the BCS conferences this year, including a 0-4 mark against the Big East. Indiana State lost to both DePaul and #11 Louisville, UNI lost to #15 Marquette and Wichita State lost to #16 Georgetown.
Carter Scoring, Rebounding Better
Junior college transfer Justin Carter has seen his numbers increase as his comfort level and confidence on the floor increases. Carter has scored in double-figures in consecutive games while also grabbing seven rebounds in consecutive contests.
Prior to the past two games, Carter had one career game in double-figures and had never grabbed more than six caroms in a contest with the Jays.
Turnovers Tell The Story
Creighton had just one second-half turnover against Fresno State while forcing 14 by the Bulldogs after intermission on Monday. CU's only turnover of the second half was an offensive goaltending call on Justin Carter that came on the club's second of 31 second-half possessions. Creighton outscored Fresno State 21-0 off turnovers in the second half and 24-8 for the game.
Sitzmann Sees First Half Action
With four CU guards saddled by two fouls in the first half, senior Dustin Sitzmann got some rare first-half minutes on Monday against Fresno State. Sitzmann played the final 38 seconds of the first half, helping CU get the defensive stand that preceded Casey Harriman's shot at the first-half buzzer that tied the game at 38. Sitzmann also played the final 1:38 of the game, but did not record any statistics in his floor time. Creighton is now 30-2 all-time when Sitzmann plays.
Seven Beats Three, Again
Creighton had four players score in double-figures on Monday night against Fresno State and seven different men scored at least six points. By comparison, Fresno State had all but 11 of its 65 points from the trio of Paul George (24), Dwight O'Neil (16) and Sylvester Seay (17).
Creighton has three players averaging 10.5 per game or more, while three others score at least 5.8 per contest.
Recent Tournament Titles?
Creighton has won eight different events in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton. The Bluejays have won MVC Tournament titles in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007, as well as Guardians Classic titles in both 2002 and 2004.
Six In A Row
Creighton takes a six-game win streak into Tuesday night's game against DePaul.
The Bluejays have had at least one five-game win streak in 12 straight seasons, and 19 such streaks overall in the 15-year tenure of Dana Altman.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 14 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the postseason all six times they haven't.
Winning By Double-Digits, Too
Creighton has won six straight games, all by double-digits.
Creighton had not had six straight wins by 10 points or more since February 2-22, 1965. A double-digit win against DePaul would give CU its first run of seven straight wins by 10 or more points since a stretch of 10 in a row Feb. 21, 1928 to Jan. 23, 1929.
Connections To UNLV Coaches
Current UNLV head coach Lon Kruger preceded current Creighton head coach Dana Altman as head coach at Kansas State before both men would eventually wind up at their current schools.
Altman served as an assistant to Kruger at Kansas State from 1986-89 before eventually replacing him as the head coach in 1990. Current UNLV assistant coach Greg Grensing was an assistant on Altman's four teams at K-State before joining Altman's Creighton staff from 1994-2005. This is Grensing's fourth year with the Running Rebels.
Former UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonhour is also the lead television analyst on the Missouri Valley Conference basketball package. Spoonhour previously coached at MVC member Missouri State as well.
Stinnett Returns Home
P'Allen Stinnett returns to his hometown when Creighton heads to Las Vegas in the coming days. Stinnett graduated from Palo Verde High School in 2006 after a standout career in which he was named Nevada's 4A Player of the Year and averaged 19.9 points as a senior.
Stinnett has played in The Orleans Arena before while playing in the 2004 and 2005 state tournament.
Stinnett has made an immediate impact since coming to Creighton, sweeping MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors in 2008 while averaging 12.6 points per game and claiming a team-best 53 steals.
This season Stinnett was a preseason all-MVC pick. He is averaging 12.2 points and 1.9 steals per game to rank second on the team in both categories.
Stealing The Show
P'Allen Stinnett had seven steals last Monday night against Southern University, three more than his previous best.
Stinnett's seven steals tied a Qwest Center Omaha record for thefts by a Creighton player in a single game. Johnny Mathies previously had seven steals on Feb. 22, 2006 against Indiana State.
His seven swipes also matched the most in a single-game by a Creighton player in the 15-year tenure under Dana Altman, done four times previously.
Stinnett is one of nine players with seven or more steals in a game, while Latrell Wrightsell and Rodney Buford have both done it twice. The Creighton record for steals in a game is nine by Michael Johnson on Dec. 14, 1981 vs. Saint Joseph's.
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Dec. 21st, Josh Dotzler ranks tied for eighth nationally with 3.1 steals per game.
Booker Woodfox fourth with his 53.4 percent accuracy from three-point range through games and is 46th with 3.1 treys per contest.
As a team, Creighton's 10.5 steals per contest were eighth-most in the country, which greatly aids a team ranked 12th nationally with a +6.1 turnover margin. CU is also 11th with 8.9 three-pointers per game, 1st in three-point field goal defense (28.7 percent), 35th in three-point field goal percentage (39.4 percent) and 35th in free-throw percentage (74.1 percent).
Back-to-Back Days = Wins
One of the benefits to Dana Altman's frequent substitution patterns is that it keeps plenty of fresh legs on the bench. That strategy works best when Creighton enters tournament play requiring them to play on back-to-back days.
Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Creighton owns 16-0 record on the first day of events they have played back-to-back games in (including Monday's win over Fresno State). They are 13-2 in the second day of back-to-back games, and 6-2 when playing on a third-straight day. The Jays have won three games in three days at six of the last 10 Missouri Valley Conference Tournaments. They have also won back-to-back games four different times in Guardians Classic action without a loss.
CU's only setbacks in these situations have been MVC Tournament semifinal losses in 2001 (Indiana State) and 2008 (Drake), and setbacks in the finals of the Energia Systems Thanksgiving Tournament in November of 2000 and at Hawaii in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic finals in December, 2006.
In Tournament Play?
Including Monday night's win over Fresno State, Creighton is now 18-7 in regular-season tournaments under Dana Altman. The Jays have reached the championship game in each of its past six tournament appearances, including titles in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2004.
At Neutral Sites?
Creighton is 77-59 (.566) all-time at neutral sites, including a 34-18 (.654) mark under Dana Altman. Altman owns a 32-11 (.744) record in neutral site games that have not been part of the NCAA Tournament.
Turnovers Tell The Story
Creighton forced 20 Northern Colorado turnovers on Dec. 13, converting those into 37 points. The Jays then forced 29 turnovers by Southern on Dec. 15th, converting those into 34 points.
The 37 points off turnovers against Northern Colorado were the most since CU started tracking the stat six years ago.
Additionally, Creighton's +28 margin in points off turnovers against Southern (34-6) were its best mark in the past six years.
Dotzler Top 10 in Assists & Steals
After seven previous games with exactly five steals in his career, Josh Dotzler had a career-best six steals on Dec. 13 against Northern Colorado.
Creighton turned all six of those steals into points, scoring 13 points on its ensuing possessions.
Dotzler's 157 career steals ranks tied for fifth in CU history with his former teammate, Johnny Mathies.
Dotzler's 299 career assists places him 10th in Creighton history, just ahead of Kyle Korver's 294.
With one more assist, he'll join Ryan Sears, Duan Cole and Latrell Wrightsell as the only players in CU history with more than 150 steals and 300 assists in a career.
Steals (Since 1979-80)
Stl. Name Years
283 Ryan Sears 1997-01
195 Rodney Buford 1995-99
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
172 Kyle Korver 1999-03
157 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
157 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
154 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
323 Nate Funk 2002-07
317 Latrell Wrightsell 1988-92
299 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
Korver Nets Career Highs
Sophomore Kaleb Korver has set career-highs in most statistical categories during two of his past four games. Korver had career-highs with 12 points, five rebounds and four three-point baskets in the Dec. 10 win over Dayton.
On Dec. 13 against Southern, Korver had career-highs with 25 minutes, 14 points and two steals, while also matching his Dayton effort by making four trifectas.
Korver has made 13-of-20 treys in the past five games (65.0 percent). In his past seven games off the bench, Korver is 18-of-29 from downtown, an impressive 62.1 percent.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 10.5 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25 minutes per game.
Creighton has had at least 10 players average 10.5 minutes per game or more in each of previous three seasons, as well.
Creighton has not used anyone for more than 32 minutes in any game this year. By comparison, seven individuals throughout the MVC average 32.0 minutes per game or more.
Microwave Man
Booker Woodfox has been red-hot from the field in the past six games. Woodfox has scored 121 points in 134 minutes in six games this month, all Bluejay wins. Woodfox is shooting 41-for-67 from the floor in that time (61.2 percent), including 26-of-41 (63.4 percent) from three-point land.
Woodfox is averaging 20.2 points per game in this recent hot stretch, doing all that in just 22.3 minutes per game. He has made just five turnovers in that same span.
Book It!
Helped by his 26-of-41 effort from downtown in the past six games (63.4 percent), Booker Woodfox is 35-of-64 (54.7 percent) from three-point range this season.
For his career, he is 91-of-196, which computes to 46.4 percent, putting him ahead of noted marksman Kyle Korver. The only previous player in CU history to shoot better than 44.2 percent from three-point range in their career was two-time MVC Player of the Year Korver, who made 45.3 percent from downtown while hitting 371-of-819 from long-range.
Creighton's 3-Point Percentage Leaders, Career
(Minimum 100 Attempts)
Pct. Name, Years 3FGM-FGA
.4643 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 91-196
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4415 Rod Mason, 1986-88 132-299
.4404 Nerijus Karlikanovas, 1998-00 48-109
.4306 Michael Lindeman, 2000-04 62-144
.4293 Duan Cole, 1987-92 176-410
.4065 Nate Funk, 2002-07 200-492
.4053 Matt West, 1996-00 92-227
.4051 Matt Petty, 1989-93 143-353
.4017 Darin Plautz, 1989-91 94-234
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 477 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Stinnett & Woodfox Reach 500 Points
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett became the 12th player to score 500 or more points in their first two seasons at Creighton under Dana Altman when he did it on Dec. 10 vs. Dayton.
However, the only one to do it in fewer than the 40 games Stinnett needed is CU's all-time leading scorer, Rodney Buford, who needed just 35 games.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox went over 500 points last night vs. DePaul in his 44th career game. That's tied for the third-quickest to 500 under Altman with Doug Swenson.
500+Points In First 2 Years Under Dana Altman
Name Games to 500 pts. Date
Rodney Buford 35 12/7/96 vs. UNI
P'Allen Stinnett 40 12/10/08 vs. Dayton
Doug Swenson 44 1/20/99 at Evansville
Booker Woodfox 44 12/22/08 vs. Fresno State
Kyle Korver 48 1/11/01 vs. Indiana St.
Tad Ackerman 48 2/8/96 at So. Illinois
Edward St. Fleur 49 1/30/97 at Missouri St.
Ryan Sears 51 2/14/99 at Illinois St.
Nick Porter 54 2/7/07 vs. Evansville
Johnny Mathies 55 2/16/05 at Wichita St.
Brody Deren 56 2/12/03 vs. Missouri St.
Terrell Taylor 59 2/17/01 vs. Wyoming
Larry House 59 2/22/03 vs. Fresno St.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has three 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 Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and sophomores Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver and Pierce Hibma (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 453 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
MVC Preseason Poll
For the second time in three years, Creighton has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Creighton was picked first on 36 of the 39 ballots to earn 386 of a possible 390 points. Last year's favorite, Southern Illinois, earned two first-place votes and totaled 322 points for second place, just ahead of Illinois State, which garnered 309 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Drake (274), Bradley (219), UNI (186), Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).
The preseason all-MVC team is headlined by preseason player of the year Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State). Joining Eldridge on the first team are P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton), Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) and the Drake tandem of Jonathan Cox and Josh Young. Honorable-mention picks include the Bradley pair of Theron Wilson and Andrew Warren, as well as the Evansville duo of Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger.
20 Overall Wins x 10 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 10 straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Postseason x 11
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is one more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 11 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 17 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 11 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins x 12
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 12th 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 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 62 charges last season, with Casey Harriman and Dane Watts sharing the team lead with 17 charges taken. Over the previous six seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 48.7 per year.
So far this season, Creighton has taken 17 charges in 11 games.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-07 ?07-08 ?08-09 Total
Josh Dotzler 4 5 3 12
Justin Carter n/a n/a 3 3
Casey Harriman n/a 17 3 20
Chad Millard n/a 7 2 9
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 2 2
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 1 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 1 1
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 0 5
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 17 309
Double-Double Eludes Lawson
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. hasn't notched a double-double in his young career, but he's been steadily getting closer.
Lawson, who had 10 rebounds and nine points against Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6, owns seven career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won six of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 78.6-63.1.
Creighton is 16-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 17-9 in games he's appeared in and snared less than five caroms.
25 Points Off The Bench, Again
Cavel Witter scored 25 points off the bench in CU's Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts.
It marked the second time in his career he's done that, as the junior guard torched Bradley for a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points on March 1, 2008, in a double-overtime win over Bradley.
Before Witter, Creighton had not had a player score 25 points or more off the bench since March of 2002.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 49 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 64 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
Turning Point?
One common theme when Creighton is successful is that they have had an advantage in “points off turnovers” in many of those contests.
Last season, Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 70-11 when winning this category, including a 9-1 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 57-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players are on NBA rosters. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) plays for San Antonio.
Tolliver is averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11 minutes per game with San Antonio. In the D-League, Tolliver averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8 percent from three-point range from Dec. 2-18 with the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League.
Korver is averaging 8.3 points in 21.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 291 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history. Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 291 Dana Altman Creighton
3-Point Weapons
Creighton had nine different players that made 10 or more three-pointers last season. Five of those men made 39.3 percent or more of their attempts from long-range.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton, Duke, Marquette, New Mexico and Portland State were the nation's only teams with seven different players to own 20 or more treys. Of that group, CU was the only team with all seven players to make 24 or more three-pointers.
When shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, Creighton has won 36-of-38 and 46 of its last 50 games.
Recruits Inked
A pair of prep standouts signed letters-of-intent in November to join the Creighton men's basketball team next year.
Andrew Bock is a 6'1” guard from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Calif. Bock averaged 18 points and eight assists per game while helping the Eagles to a 27-4 record. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Citrus Belt League last season.
Ethan Wragge (RAH-gy) is a 6'8” forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., where he attends Eden Prairie High School. He averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game and owns the school record for three-point baskets made. He made 91 percent of his free-throw attempts last year. His team finished 19-9 last winter.
Both men will be freshmen and have four years of eligibility.
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its season-opening win over New Mexico, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 27 times in the last nine seasons.
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
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
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
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
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
Academically Tops In The MVC Too
Creighton ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference in graduation success rate (94.7 percent) among all sports.
Also, for the fourth time in the six-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2007-08 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average over the 2007-08 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
Creighton had seven men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year, which helped the team to a 3.01 GPA overall.
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 Avg. Rank
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
Rk. School Avg. Rank
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
Rk. School Avg. Rank
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
Bench Points Add Up
Creighton owned 41 different double-figure scoring games last season off the bench, compared to a total of 30 during the previous three years combined. In fact, there were only four (of 33) contests in which it didn't have a double-figure scorer off the bench.
Last year's team scored 18 or more bench points in every game but one, with a low of 13.
This year, the Bluejay bench has scored 331 of the team's 840 points (39.4 percent). Take out the season-opening win over New Mexico and that number rises to 322-of-758 points (42.5 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more three times.
This year's Creighton team has produced 11 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including five from Cavel Witter.
Last Season Recap
Creighton put together a second consecutive 22-11 season last fall, reaching the second round of the NIT with a team featuring nine newcomers.
P'Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg.) swept MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors after leading Creighton in scoring, while senior Dane Watts (11.3 ppg.) led the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Booker Woodfox (9.6 ppg.) was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year as the leader for a bench that outscored CU's starters by 76 points for the season.
Updated Numbers
Below is an update to a few of the charts normally found in Creighton's basketball release:
Stat Creighton Opponent +/-
Bench Scoring 331 218 +113
Points In The Paint 259 276 (-17)
Points Off Turnovers 263 132 +131
2nd-Chance Points 113 109 +4
Substitutions 558 377 +181
Career Stats vs. DePaul
Name G-S FG Pct 3FG Pct FT Pct Reb Avg A T B S Pts Avg HI
Stinnett 1-0 9-15 .600 5-7 .714 0-2 .000 4 4.0 3 3 0 3 23 23.0 23
Millard* 2-1 8-12 .667 3-5 .600 2-3 .667 7 3.5 4 2 1 1 21 10.5 15
Witter 1-0 2-2 1.000 1-1 1.000 2-2 1.000 0 0.0 3 0 0 1 7 7.0 7
Dotzler 2-2 5-15 .333 2-4 .500 0-2 .000 7 3.5 10 4 0 5 12 6.0 7
Harriman 1-0 2-7 .286 1-4 .250 0-0 --- 3 3.0 0 1 0 1 5 5.0 5
Lawson 1-0 1-6 .167 0-0 --- 1-1 1.000 4 4.0 0 0 1 1 3 3.0 3
Korver 1-0 1-2 .500 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 1 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 2.0 2
Woodfox 1-0 0-4 .000 0-3 .000 0-0 --- 1 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0.0 --
Walker 1-0 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 0-0 --- 0 0.0 0 1 0 1 0 0.0 --
Totals 11-3 28-63 .444 12-24 .500 5-10 .500 27 2.5 22 12 2 14 73 6.6 23
*includes Millard's game at Louisville vs. DePaul.
Players Mentioned
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