McKenna Returns To Omaha As Men's Hoops Hosts Sycamores Tuesday
1/26/2009 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Next Game
Creighton (15-6, 5-4 MVC) welcomes back former player and assistant coach Kevin McKenna and his Indiana State (4-16, 2-7 MVC) team to Omaha in the middle contest of a three-game homestand.
The game will be played on Tuesday, Jan. 27th at Qwest Center Omaha (17,272) in Omaha, Neb., and tip at 7:05 pm.
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 Jimmy Motz will call the action.
For all home games Big Sports 590 afternoon host Matt Perrault will host a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show. Perrault will also take calls after the game, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Tuesday's game against Indiana State will air statewide on NET-2 (Cox Channel 16 in Omaha). Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe 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 Tuesday's game will be available. Fans can go to http://netnebraska.org/television/stream/flash.html to view the NET-2 broadcast on-line.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton home basketball games will have live stats this season. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton (15-6, 5-4 MVC)
The preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference have won 12 of their past 16 games and are 15-6 overall, including a 5-4 league mark that puts it in a tie for fourth in the conference standings.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox leads the team with 16.2 points per game. His MVC-leading 89.6 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line that ranks 15th nationally. He also ranks second nationally in three-point percentage at 47.9 percent among players with 2.5 makes per game or better.
Also scoring in double-figures are guards P'Allen Stinnett (13.0 ppg., 1.7 spg.) and Cavel Witter (10.1 ppg., 2.6 apg.). Stinnett is a preseason all-Valley pick after sweeping MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors last season. Witter earned a spot on the league's all-bench team last year and is part of a Bluejay bench that averages 27.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
Senior point guard Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 47 steals, while sophomore big man Kenny Lawson Jr. tops the Valley with 34 blocked shots.
Creighton shoots 43.4 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from three-point territory and is also making 77.4 percent of its shots from the line.
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.
Scouting Indiana State (4-16, 2-7 MVC)
Indiana State enters Tuesday's game with a 4-16 mark and is 2-7 in MVC play. Both of ISU's league wins have been impressive, winning in double-overtime at league-leading Northern Iowa on Dec. 28th and claiming an overtime home victory over second-place Illinois State on Jan. 10th.
Junior point guard Harry Marshall, who has played in just 10 games due to an academic-related suspension and a hamstring injury, leads the team with 13.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. His 35.0 minutes per game are the most among all MVC players with 10 games or more under their belt this winter.
Marshall is joined by double-figure scorers Jay Tunnell (10.1 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) and Rashad Reed (10.0 ppg.), with Aaron Carter (9.4 ppg.) close behind.
Indiana State is 2-9 away from home this fall, including a 1-8 mark in true road games.
The Sycamores are 10th in the MVC in both scoring offense (60.2 ppg.) and scoring defense (69.6 ppg.) and ninth in The Valley with a -1.9 rebound margin. ISU shoots 39.2 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent from the line.
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 297-158 (.653) mark at Creighton and a career record of 380-225 (.628) 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 503-249 (.669).
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.
Indiana State is led by Kevin McKenna (Creighton, 1993), who is 19-32 in his second year with the Sycamores. That moves his career mark to 108-65 in six years overall when you factor in four seasons at Division II Nebraska-Omaha. McKenna played at Creighton, and after a six-year NBA career later returned as an assistant coach with the Jays. He is assisted by Greg Lansing, Lou Gudino and Deryl Cunningham.
Series History vs. Indiana State
Creighton owns a 47-22 record all-time against Indiana State and has won 14 of the last 17 games in the series, including a 79-61 victory on Terre Haute on Dec. 31st.
The Bluejays lead the series 23-7 in 30 previous Omaha meetings, including nine straight victories at home.
Fifteen of the last 31 meetings have been decided by six points or less, and the teams have played at least one game decided by eight points or less in the previous 15 seasons.
Dana Altman is 23-10 in his career against Indiana State, including a 11-3 record in Omaha.
Altman is 2-1 against Kevin McKenna in regular-season contests, but did win all three exhibition games against his prot?g?'s Nebraska-Omaha team.
A complete series history against Indiana State can be found on page 10 of this release.
Last Game Recap
Creighton shot a season-low 30 percent and suffered a 74-62 home loss to Drake on Saturday. CU led 35-29 at the half, but the Bulldogs would go on a 21-6 run midway through the second half to take control of the contest.
P'Allen Stinnett and Booker Woodfox each had 15 points to lead Creighton. Drake won the rebound battle 48-35 and got 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from point guard Craig Stanley, while Jonathan Cox added 14 points and 13 rebounds. John Michael Hall added a career-high 15 points for Drake.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Creighton leads the MVC in a pair of categories that Indiana State ranks 10th in the MVC in. The Jays top the league in scoring offense (73.7) and turnover margin (+4.1), while Indiana State is 10th in scoring defense (69.6) and turnover margin (-3.1).
The Jays also lead the league in free throw percentage (77.4 percent) and steals per game (8.2).
Indiana State does not lead the MVC in any team category.
Magic Number?
Creighton has won 46 straight home games in which it has scored 68 or more points in. In fact, the Jays have scored 68 or more in every win this season, regardless of site.
On the other hand, Indiana State is 0-8 this season when allowing 68 or more points in regulation, and averages 69.6 points per game allowed.
And One More Number
Creighton has beaten Indiana State in 14 of the past 15 meetings when the Bluejays have scored 55 points or more.
In the 92-game history of Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton has been held under 55 points just once, a 53-52 NIT loss to Miami (Fla.) that ended the 2005-06 season.
Room To Board
The rebound differential between Creighton and its opponent has stood at 10 or larger in 13 of the 21 games to date.
The Jays have won the boards by 10 or more four times (going 3-1), but lost on the glass by double-digits on nine occasions (going 5-4).
In the eight games that the rebound discrepancy has been a single-digit, CU is 7-1.
Second Half Turnaround?
Creighton fans are hoping this season turns around like the 2000-01 campaign did. That season, like this one, saw the preseason favorite Bluejays drop to 5-4 at the midway point after a loss on Jan. 24th.
The 2000-01 team would post a win on Jan. 27th to start an 11-game win streak that helped carry the team to the MVC regular-season title and eventual at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The key victory in that stretch (game three of the 11 straight wins) was a 77-71 victory at Indiana State that snapped the Sycamores' 22-game home win streak.
Over .500 Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 27 straight trips through the league, including the first half this year.
Creighton's 27 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, far ahead of Illinois State (3), Drake (3), Northern Iowa (2) and Bradley (2).
Here's how Dana Altman's clubs have fared in the various halves of the MVC season since his arrival:
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2008-09 5-4 --
2007-08 5-4 5-4
2006-07 6-3 7-2
2005-06 7-2 5-4
2004-05 5-4 6-3
2003-04 7-2 5-4
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
1994-95 3-6 1-8
Total 84-51 (.622) 79-47 (.627)
Birds of Prey
Creighton has lost a total of 18 home games in the last nine seasons, including last Saturday's setback to Drake. 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 17 home losses with a win in its next home game by an average of 16.47 points, including nine 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 it lost to Evansville and Indiana State.
Creighton's Home Losses, Last Nine Years
Home Loss Next Home Game
L 62-74, Drake Tuesday vs. Indiana State
L 66-69, N. Iowa W 73-72 (OT) vs. So. Illinois
L 60-68 ot, #22 Drake W 65-63, Wichita State
L 67-80, Illinois St. W 77-59, 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
McKenna A CU Grad & Hall of Famer
Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna spent 13 seasons on the Creighton sidelines as either a player (1977-81) or assistant coach (1994-2001, 2005-07).
As a player, McKenna currently ranks 12th in Creighton history with exactly 1,500 career points. He remains ranked in CU's career top-10 lists in field goal attempts, free-throw percentage and assists. Two of his teams (1977-78 and 1980-81) reached the NCAA Tournament. McKenna was enshrined into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 for his exploits.
As an assistant coach, McKenna was part of four NCAA Tournament teams (1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2006-07) as well as two NIT clubs (1997-98 and 2005-06). He was a member of Dana Altman's first staff at Creighton.
Sycamore Delight
The 2007-08 season saw Booker Woodfox take home MVC Sixth Man of the Year honors, and he was at his best against Indiana State. In two games versus the Sycamores, Woodfox was 12-for-15 from the field (80 percent), including 11-of-14 from three-point range (78.6 percent), while averaging 18 points per game.
In the first meeting vs. ISU this winter, Woodfox scored 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Close Games With The Sycamores
Fifteen of the last 31 games between Creighton and Indiana State have been decided by six points or less. The teams have played a game decided by eight points or less in each of the previous 15 seasons.
The first meeting this year was a 79-61 Bluejay victory in Terre Haute on New Year's Eve.
McKenna vs. Altman, Head-to-Head
Tuesday will mark the fifth time that Kevin McKenna has coached from the visiting bench against Dana Altman at Qwest Center Omaha.
Obviously he did it last year (an 86-69 Creighton win), but McKenna's Nebraska-Omaha clubs faced Creighton teams in the exhibition season in three of the four seasons McKenna coached the Mavericks as well.
Creighton won all three exhibition games, but each were decided by single-digits, and the Division II visitors had leads in the final three minutes in two of the three contests.
Notably, in the Nov. 9, 2003 exhibition game that was the first college game ever played at Qwest Center Omaha, UNO led by 15 points with 10:39 to play before CU rallied for an overtime win.
McKenna vs. Altman at Qwest Center Omaha
11/06/01* Creighton 62, Nebraska-Omaha 53
11/05/02* Creighton 75, Nebraska-Omaha 72
11/09/03* Creighton 72, Nebraska-Omaha 66 (OT)
01/19/08 Creighton 86, Indiana State 69
*exhibition game
Jays Look For 10 Home Wins, Again
With a win on Tuesday against Indiana State, Creighton can win its 10th home game this season. Creighton has won 10 or more home games in 12 straight seasons, a streak they will push to 13 with its next home win.
That would set a school-record, as Creighton also previously won 10 or more home games in 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign.
Career Highs All Around
Three different Bluejays had career-high point totals in last Tuesday's win at Evansville.
Sophomore Casey Harriman had career-high totals in points (11), assists (5) and blocked shots (2). Harriman's previous bests in those categories had been 10 points, three assists and one block.
Junior Justin Carter had a career-high point total (14). His previous best had been 13 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 20th.
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. also had a career-high point total, finishing with 16 points. Lawson had scored 15 points on three previous occasions, most recently vs. Fresno State on Dec. 22nd.
The play of these three helped offset a night when CU's three double-figure scorers entering the night (Booker Woodfox, P'Allen Stinnett and Cavel Witter) combined to go 7-for-19 from the field and score a total of 20 points.
Productive Bench
Despite the absence of Chad Millard (ankle), Creighton's bench put together a staggering stat line last Tuesday at Evansville, contributing 34 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists in CU's 22-point road win.
It marked just the second time in the past 15 years that Creighton's bench had recorded 14 or more assists in a game. Last season Creighton's bench had 77 points, 29 rebounds and 15 assists in a 110-73 victory over Houston Baptist.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 297 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 163 triumphs in regular-season conference games are tied with Eddie Hickey for second in league history.
Hickey will be entering the MVC Hall of Fame this March in conjunction with Arch Madness. Both men above him, Henry Iba and Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
A win on Tuesday would move Altman past Hickey for second on the all-time list for wins in MVC league play.
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
163 Dana Altman Creighton
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 297 Dana Altman Creighton
Backboard Beatdown
Creighton beat Evansville by 12 on the glass last Tuesday, matching its largest positive rebound margin of the year.
That came just three days after the Bluejays were outrebounded 47-22 in its loss at Wichita State on Jan. 17, the worst beating on the glass in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton.
Creighton has lost the rebound battle by 20 or more four times in the past 15 years, losing all four games. On the other hand, CU is 8-1 in the past 15 years when winning the rebound battle by 20 or more rebounds.
The last time CU had been outrebounded by 25 or more had been Jan. 25, 1992, when Tulsa outrebounded the Jays 49-22 in a 80-65 Golden Hurricane victory in Tulsa.
Future Game Times?
Below is the timeline for the selection processes for the 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters event on Friday-Saturday, February 20-21 and the Wildcard Weekend of Saturday, Feb. 28 on Fox and ESPN2.
For BracketBusters, ESPN will announce the television pairings for the 13-telecast package ? six games on ESPN2, five games on ESPNU and two games on ESPN360 ? on Monday, February 2. The actual dates, times and networks for those match-ups, though, will not be announced until Monday, February 9.
In terms of the Wildcard Weekend, ESPN will make its men's basketball selection on Thursday, February 5 for the Saturday, February 28 telecast. That game is slated to tip at 1:05 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
Once ESPN selects its telecast for that date, the league ? working in conjunction with Fox Sports Midwest ? will make its men's basketball selection on February 5 for its February 28 telecast at 7:35 pm. Central on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
All five men's games on February 28 ? Drake @ Bradley; Evansville @ UNI; Illinois State @ Creighton; Missouri State @ Indiana State; Wichita State @ Southern Illinois ? are eligible for consideration by ESPN and Fox Sports Midwest.
Home Cooking
Creighton is 39-10 at home all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in MVC games (.796), compared to a 24-26 (.480) road record in the MVC during that stretch.
Only five MVC visiting schools (DU, ILS, MSU, UNI, SIU) have ever won a game in the six-year old Qwest Center Omaha. In fact, four Valley schools have not won a game in Omaha since the decade started.
Below is a look at Creighton's current home winning streaks over current league foes:
Opponent CU Streak Last Opp. Win in Omaha
Bradley Won 10 1/17/98
Drake Lost 2 1/24/09
Evansville Won 9 1/04/99
Illinois State Lost 1 12/29/07
Indiana State Won 9 1/04/99
Missouri State Won 3 2/05/05
Northern Iowa Lost 1 1/6/09
So. Illinois Won 2 1/20/07
Wichita State Won 16 2/22/92
Woodfox From Distance
Booker Woodfox has made a three-pointer in 17 straight games, a streak that began on Nov. 25, 2008 at UALR. The last CU player with a three-point streak that long was Jimmy Motz, who had a trey in 17 straight games from Feb. 19, 2005 - Jan. 15, 2006.
Creighton's last player with a three-point streak of more than 17 was Johnny Mathies, who compiled a trey in 20 consecutive games from Dec. 22, 2004 to Feb. 28, 2005.
Big Shot Booker Strikes Again
Creighton's Booker Woodfox drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 21.4 seconds left in overtime against Southern Illinois on Jan. 14th. It was the second time in as many seasons that Woodfox hit a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of a one-point win, as he hit a game-winner to beat Oral Roberts with 26.5 seconds left last season.
Fellow teammate P'Allen Stinnett hit five different shots on Jan. 14th that gave CU the lead against Southern Illinois and now has 13 go-ahead baskets this year, trailing Kenny Lawson Jr.'s team-best 14.
Below is a list of Creighton's baskets that gave them a lead this season, as well as baskets that gave the team the lead for good.
Gave CU Lead Got Lead Last
Name Lead For Good 2 Minutes
Kenny Lawson Jr. 14 3 0
P'Allen Stinnett 13 4 1
Booker Woodfox 10 4 1
Justin Carter 4 2 0
Chad Millard 3 1 0
Kaleb Korver 2 1 0
Antoine Young 2 0 0
Cavel Witter 2 0 0
Josh Dotzler 1 0 1
Casey Harriman 1 0 0
Cardiac Kids
Creighton's win over Southern Illinois on Jan. 14th marked the seventh time in the past two seasons that Creighton won in which it trailed or had been tied at some point in the final minute, but first time this season.
Five of those seven wins came at home, and three of the games featured a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 30 seconds.
Margin Opponent Date
-5 Bradley 3/1/08
-4 Saint Joseph's 12/9/07
-4 Southern Illinois 1/14/09
-3 Rhode Island 3/18/08
-2 at Oral Roberts 2/23/08
-1 Wichita State 2/2/08
Tie at Missouri State 1/5/08
Lawson's Blocked Shot Streak Lives On
Sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr. owns a league-high 34 blocked shots. Lawson has a blocked shot in 20 of CU's 21 contests this season including one in each of the last 14 games.
The last Creighton player with a blocked shot in 14 consecutive games was Brody Deren, who had a stretch of 17 in a row from Feb. 4 - Dec. 6, 2003.
Lawson owns 62 career blocked shots, moving him into 10th on CU's all-time list.
Most Blocked Shots, CU History, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
79 Adam Reid 1994-97
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01
75 Jeffrey Day 2004-06
62 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-Pres.
59 Rodney Buford 1995-99
Blocking Bookends
Sophomore post men Kenny Lawson Jr. and Kenton Walker are both leading the MVC in blocked shots, albeit in two different categories.
Lawson's 34 blocked shots for the season are four more than his closest competition, Bradley's David Collins.
Walker's 12 blocked shots in league action are tied with Collins and Lawson for the lead league in conference games.
Creighton's last player to lead the league in blocked shots for an entire season is Brody Deren, who had 56 swats during the 2002-03 season when he was also a sophomore.
Team of the Decade?
Below is the records for each MVC school since the start of the 2000-01 season, ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton leads the MVC with 198 overall wins in the decade.
MVC Standings (2000-01 to 1/26/09)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 106 47 .693 198 80 .712
Southern Illinois 114 39 .745 198 86 .697
Missouri State 84 69 .549 155 117 .570
Northern Iowa 78 75 .510 147 120 .551
Wichita State 78 75 .510 148 121 .550
Illinois State 70 83 .458 139 124 .529
Bradley 74 79 .484 145 130 .527
Drake 67 86 .438 132 129 .506
Evansville 49 104 .320 96 156 .381
Indiana State 45 108 .294 100 163 .380
Let's Start With Dotzler
Josh Dotzler has started each of Creighton's last 55 games, winning 37 of those starts. The streak dates back to the final contest of the 2006-07 campaign and is the longest active string in the Missouri Valley Conference.
For his career, Dotzler has made 82 starts, with CU winning 55 of them (67.1 percent).
Step Right Up Young Man
Antoine Young scored 27 points in his first 16 games with Creighton, but has since exploded to score 41 points over the past five games.
That includes 13 points at Bradley and 12 points at Wichita State, making him the only Bluejay player in double-figures in both those contests.
Young delivered the best game of his fledgling career on Jan. 10th at Bradley. Young had a career-best 13 points while adding two assists and a team-high two steals in 21 minutes.
Young, who had entered the contest 0-for-11 from three-point range, also went 2-for-2 from downtown in the victory.
Young continued to provide a boost off the bench with six points, three assists and a rebound in 19 minutes off the bench against SIU, including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
He had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the game at Wichita State on Jan. 17th.
Toe The Line
Creighton has also shot the ball well from the free-throw line, moving up to 10th nationally with its 77.4 percent rate from the charity stripe. That's even more impressive when you consider CU's 364 free throw makes are also 12th nationally.
Creighton and Kentucky are the only teams in the country to rank in the top-12 in both free-throw makes and free-throw percentage.
Most Free Throw Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. Wyoming 19 408 551 74.0
2. Niagara 20 387 530 73.0
3. UTEP 19 380 530 71.7
4. Marquette 19 379 531 71.4
5. North Texas 19 377 541 69.7
6. North Carolina 19 376 505 74.5
7. Xavier 19 375 555 67.6
8. Vermont 20 373 526 70.9
9. Oklahoma 20 370 548 67.5
10. Kentucky 20 368 466 79.0
11. Connecticut 19 365 534 68.4
12. Creighton 21 364 470 77.4
Best Free Throw Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. UC Davis 20 313 384 81.5
2. Utah Valley State 17 265 335 79.1
3. Green Bay 21 327 414 79.0
4. Utah 19 308 390 79.0
5. Kentucky 20 368 466 79.0
6. Southern Utah 20 324 411 78.8
7. Maryland 19 267 343 77.8
8. Washington State 19 206 265 77.7
9. Loyola (Md.) 22 363 467 77.7
10. Creighton 21 364 470 77.4
11. Michigan 20 254 328 77.4
12. Drake 21 333 440 75.7
More Free Throw Notes
Creighton has made 187-of-231 free throws in the past 10 games, good for 81.0 percent.
The Bluejays have made at least 75 percent of its free throw attempts in 11 of the past 13 games, while incredibly, its opponents have not reached 75 percent in any game during that time.
CU is shooting a remarkable 79.3 percent at the line away from home this winter.
Creighton has had a better free throw percentage than its opponent 16 of the past 17 games, and 19-of-21 games overall this year. The only teams to out-pinpoint the Jays at the line have been UALR and Evansville.
Below is some recent free throw trends:
Cashing In At The Line
Booker Woodfox 47-50 last 14 games (94.0%)
Kenton Walker 17-19 last 9 games (89.5%)
Cavel Witter 32-37 last 12 games (86.5%)
Antoine Young 14-16 last 5 games (87.5%)
P'Allen Stinnett 23-27 last 7 games (85.2%)
One of Three
Creighton ranks tied for 10th nationally with 180 three-pointers made and is 18th with its 39.2 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
On a national basis, the only other schools to be in the top-18 of both categories is Illinois State and Oklahoma State.
Most 3-Point Field Goal Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. VMI 19 257 693 37.1
2. Eastern Kentucky 20 211 545 38.7
3. Troy 21 194 543 35.7
4. Liberty 21 193 547 35.3
5. Davidson 19 190 497 38.2
6. Portland State 20 187 505 37.0
7. Oklahoma State 18 185 446 41.5
8. Illinois State 20 183 465 39.4
9. UNC-Wilmington 21 182 529 34.4
10. Creighton 21 180 459 39.2
Belmont 18 180 502 35.9
Best 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. California 20 130 277 46.9
2. Oklahoma State 18 185 446 41.5
3. Austin Peay 19 144 350 41.1
4. Cornell 18 143 349 41.0
5. IPFW 20 135 331 40.8
6. Notre Dame 18 168 414 40.6
7. North Dakota State 19 137 340 40.3
8. Green Bay 21 166 412 40.3
9. Southern Illinois 20 131 328 39.9
10. New Mexico State 20 137 345 39.7
11. Marist 22 165 416 39.7
12. Tennessee Tech 19 141 356 39.6
13. Air Force 18 118 299 39.5
14. UC Irvine 19 122 310 39.4
Illinois State 20 183 465 39.4
16. Baylor 19 170 432 39.4
17. Western Illinois 20 110 280 39.3
18. Creighton 21 180 459 39.2
Fish Gets Call From Hall
Creighton University assistant coach Brian Fish has been named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Team. He and 16 other former Indiana high school basketball standouts will be honored at a dinner on March 25 in Indianapolis.
Fish will be the just the seventh graduate in Seymour High School history to be honored. To qualify for the honor, a player must have graduated high school 25 years ago.
Fish still holds Seymour career records for charges taken (42), free throws made (390) and free throws attempted, ranks second with 1,400 points and is fourth with 128 steals, 505 field goals made and 1,112 field goals attempted.
Altman Records 500th Win
Creighton head coach Dana Altman picked up his 500th win as a college head coach at all levels on New Year's Eve against Indiana State.
Altman owns a career record of 503-249 in 24 years as a head coach at the Division I and junior college levels. Altman owns 29 wins at Southeast Junior College (1982-83), 94 wins at Moberly Junior College (1983-86), 15 wins at Marshall (1989-90), 68 wins at Kansas State (1990-94) and 297 victories at Creighton (1994-Present).
Comparison To Past Years After 21 Games
Below is a comparison after 21 games of this year's team to that of last year's team, as well as the memorable 2002-03 squad that finished 29-5, and the 2000-01 team that also started 15-6 but would win the MVC regular-season title, with season-bests in bold:
Statistic 2008-09 2007-08 2002-03 2000-01
W-L Record 15-6 15-6 19-2 15-6
MVC W-L 5-4 6-5 9-1 7-4
FG% .434 .456 .516 .435
3FG% .392 .379 .407 .342
3FG/Game 8.6 8.6 8.8 7.2
FT% .774 .716 .684 .693
Reb. Margin -3.5 +3.3 +1.5 +1.3
Assists 287 316 382 312
Turnovers 270 315 280 293
Blocks 80 69 81 72
Steals 172 172 194 197
PPG Scored 73.7 72.0 82.7 73.0
PPG Allowed 65.2 62.8 64.1 64.2
Woodfox Automatic At The Line Too
Not only has Booker Woodfox been lights-out from the field, but it's carried over to the free-throw line. Despite one of the nation's most unique pre-shot rituals, Woodfox drained a Creighton-record 36 straight free throws from Dec. 6-Jan. 3rd.
The 36 straight makes is four more than the previous Creighton record set by Michael Lindeman. The streak was seventh-longest in MVC history, and the longest in five years by a league player not named Blake Ahearn (Ahearn holds six of the 12 best streaks in MVC history).
For the season, Woodfox leads the MVC with 89.6 percent marksmanship from the line (69-77).
Most Consecutive Free Throws Made, MVC History
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/20/03 - 2/14/04)
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/19/04 - 2/28/05)
57 Vince Greene, ILS (1/18/04 - 11/30/04)
51 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/15/05 - 1/29/06)
48 Marcus Wilson, Evansville (12/1/96 - 2/2/97)
44 James Gillingham, BU (2/8/03 - 2/25/03)
36 Booker Woodfox, CU (12/6/08 - 1/6/09)
35 Aaron Zobrist, Bradley (12/27/96 - 1/27/97)
34 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/22/06 - 1/24/07)
32 Michael Lindeman, CU (1/23/03 - 12/3/03)
32 Blake Ahearn, MSU (11/17/03 - 12/20/03)
32 Josh Young, DU (11/19/08 - 12/12/08)
P For 3
Sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett drained a three-pointer on the first possession of both halves, as well as a double-clutch banked trey at the first-half buzzer, en route to shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range at Indiana State on Dec. 31. The six three-pointers was a career-high for Stinnett, who opened his career with five three-pointers in the second half of a 2007 win over DePaul.
Stinnett is one of seven players on the current roster who have made three or more three-pointers in a game during their Bluejay career.
A Perfect December
Creighton went 9-0 in December, closing out a perfect month with a Dec. 31 win at Indiana State. This marks Creighton's first-ever unbeaten month when playing nine games or more. Creighton's last previous undefeated December came in 2003-04, when the team went 7-0.
Nine-Game Win Streak Ended
Creighton had its longest win streak in nearly five years end when its nine-game win streak was snapped on Jan. 3rd at Illinois State.
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.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest win streaks under Dana Altman.
Creighton's Longest Win Streaks Under Dana Altman
W's Dates Postseason?
12 Nov. 22, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004 NIT
11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 NCAA
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 29, 2002 NCAA
9 Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998 NIT
9 Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 1999 NCAA
9 Dec. 2-31, 2008 ? ? ?
They Hit How Many?
Creighton drained 15-of-24 three-point attempts in its road win at Indiana State on Dec. 31st. The 15 three-pointers were tied for third-most ever, and the most by the Jays since they set a school and MVC record with a 20-of-30 display from downtown in a Feb. 19, 2005 win over Chattanooga.
Among games that Creighton has made 10 or more three-pointers all-time, Creighton's 62.5 percent shooting behind the arc was fourth-best in history, and its best since the 20-for-30 (66.7 percent) against Chattanooga.
Creighton is 20-0 under Dana Altman when making 10 or more three-pointers and 54 percent or better of those attempts from downtown.
Creighton has made 10 three-pointers or more seven times this season, making at least 40 percent of its tries in six of those contests.
Heating Up December
Booker Woodfox was red-hot from the field in the nine games played in December. Woodfox scored 180 points in 219 minutes in nine December games, all Bluejay wins. Woodfox shot 58-for-99 from the floor in that time (58.6 percent), including 35-of-60 (58.3 percent) from three-point land. Woodfox also hit 29-of-31 free throws (93.5 percent) in December.
Leading Scorer, Again
Booker Woodfox led Creighton in scoring during seven straight games from Dec. 6-28, averaging 21.3 points per game in that time. In Dana Altman's 15-year tenure, Creighton's only longer streak was by Rodney Buford, who twice had eight straight games.
Consec. Games as Leading Scorer, Under Altman
Games Name Dates
8 Rodney Buford Jan. 27-Feb. 17, 1997
8 Rodney Buford Feb. 23-Dec. 2, 1998
7 Rodney Buford Jan. 2-20, 1997
7 Booker Woodfox Dec. 6-28, 2008
What A Year!
Booker Woodfox showed his shooting proficiency during the entire calendar year of 2008. His accuracy from the field, three-point line and free-throw line all jumped by 12 percent or more, while his scoring average has jumped 8.7 points per game when compared to his 2007 figures.
Below is a comparison of his first 11 games from last year (the year 2007), compared to his games since the calendar turned to 2008.
Statistic 2007 2008 2009
Games 11 36 6
FG-FGA 19-56 167-338 23-63
FG% .339 .494 .365
3FG-3FGA 12-33 88-182 12-34
3FG% .364 .484 .353
FT-FTA 8-12 83-99 19-22
FT% .667 .838 .864
Rebounds 17 103 8
Rebounds Per Game 1.5 2.9 1.3
Assists 12 50 2
Turnovers 11 34 3
Points 58 505 77
Points Per Game 5.3 14.0 12.8
Book It!
Booker Woodfox is 56-of-117 (47.9 percent) from three-point range this season.
For his career, he is 112-of-249, which computes to 45.0 percent, just behind the school-record figure achieved by 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
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4498 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 112-249
.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
Woodfox's 56 three-point baskets are tied for 37th-most nationally. Woodfox is one of 57 players nationally who made 53 or more three-pointers through games of Jan. 25th, but the only man from that group to hit 47.9 percent or more of those attempts.
Heavy Lumber For Woodfox
Booker Woodfox had a career-high in several categories during CU's 69-58 win at Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6. Woodfox had career-highs with 29 points, nine field goals and seven three-pointers while also matching his previous best with seven rebounds.
The seven three-pointers by Woodfox were the most by a Creighton player since Nate Funk made seven trifectas at Nebraska on Nov. 18, 2006.
Additionally, he was the first player in Creighton history to make at least seven three-pointers while shooting 75 percent or better from behind the arc in the same game. Below is a list of Creighton players to make seven treys in a game.
Creighton's Most 3-Pointers Made, Single-Game
3FG-A Name, Opponent Date
9-14 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
8-13 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
8-15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
8-13 Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
7-12 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
7-10 Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
7-11 Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
7-15 Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
7-11 Nate Funk at Nebraska 11/18/06
7-9 Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's 12/06/08
Woodfox Was MVC Player of the Week #2
Senior guard Booker Woodfox was named State Farm MVC Player of the Week on Dec. 29 after averaging 22 points in three wins. He was 21-34 from the floor (61.8 percent), 11-19 from three-point range (57.9 percent) and perfect in 13 free throw attempts.
Woodfox opened the week by averaging 25 points to earn MVP honors in two wins at the Las Vegas Classic, including 26 points against DePaul. The Lewisville, Texas, native closed out his week with a team-best 16 points in a 12-point win over Wichita State.
It was the second time in December that Woodfox was honored (also Dec. 8th).
Woodfox Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton University guard Booker Woodfox was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 8th. Woodfox, a senior guard from Lewisville, Texas, was the third different Bluejay to win the award in the first four weeks of the season (joining P'Allen Stinnett & Cavel Witter).
Woodfox scored 43 points in 44 minutes while averaging 21.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as Creighton posted a pair of double-digit victories against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. He made 14-of-20 shots from the field (70 percent), including 10-of-14 from three-point range (71.4 percent) while also making 71.4 percent (5-7) of his shots at the line.
Woodfox had a career-high with 29 points in CU's win against Saint Joseph's while also tying his personal-best with seven rebounds. He drained 9-of-13 shots overall, including 7-of-9 tries from three-point territory. Woodfox became the only player in CU history to make at least seven three-pointers while converting 75 percent or more of his attempts from long-range in the same game.
Woodfox began his week with 14 points in 17 minutes of a 24-point win over Mississippi Valley State, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown.
This was the first time Woodfox has been named MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn three MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades last season.
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.
Steal Leader
KenPom.com, a college basketball website dedicated to statistics, ranks Creighton guard Josh Dotzler among its best defenders. The site calculates that Dotzler earns a steal on 6.3 percent of all defensive possessions that he's in the game for, the nation's second-best rate.
The same website ranks Booker Woodfox eighth in offensive rating, a calculation of a player's offensive efficiency from two-point range, three-point range and the free-throw line, as well as scarcity of turnovers per minute played.
Crowds Increase For League Action
Compared to its non-conference crowds, Creighton's attendance has increased in MVC action each of the previous eight 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 14,544 16,122 +10%
2008-09 15,844 so far 16,579 so far +4.6%
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Jan. 25th, Booker Woodfox ranked second in three-point field goal percentage (47.9%), 15th in free-throw percentage (89.6%) and 50th in three-pointers per game (2.8). Josh Dotzler ranked 27th with a 2.42 assist/turnover ratio and 38th with 2.2 steals per game. Kenny Lawson Jr. was 94th with 1.6 blocked shots per game, Cavel Witter's 84.4 percent free-throw percentage ranked 58th.
As a team, Creighton is ranked ninth in free-throw percentage (77.4), 17th in turnover margin (+4.1), 18th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.2) and 19th in three-point field goals per game (8.6).
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 173 career steals ranks him for fourth in CU history. Dotzler's 330 career assists places him eighth in Creighton history, two behind current Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna from his playing days at CU.
Dotzler is one of four players in CU history with more than 150 steals and 300 career assists, joining Ryan Sears, Duan Cole and Latrell Wrightsell.
Steals (Since 1979-80)
Stl. Name Years
283 Ryan Sears 1997-01
195 Rodney Buford 1995-99
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
173 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
172 Kyle Korver 1999-03
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
330 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
323 Nate Funk 2002-07
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 463 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 11.6 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25.8 minutes per game.
Creighton has had at least 10 players average 10.7 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 regulation-length game this year. By comparison, seven individuals throughout the MVC average 32 minutes per game or more.
Trio Reaches 500 Points in Year Two
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett became the 12th player to score 500 or more points in their first two seasons at Creighton under Dana Altman.
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 reached 500 career points in his 44th game on Dec. 22 against Fresno State, tied for third-quickest in the Altman era.
Junior guard Cavel Witter scored his 500th career point on Jan. 20th at Evansville, which was his 53rd career game.
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 St.
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.
Cavel Witter 53 1/20/09 at Evansville
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.
Korver Adds Spark Off The Bench
Sophomore Kaleb Korver has made 24-of-46 three-point shots in his past 16 games off the bench, an impressive 52.2 percent.
Korver has not made a two-point basket since Jan. 2, 2008, and each of his last 38 field goals have been worth three points.
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).
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 487 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
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 31 charges in 21 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
Casey Harriman n/a 17 6 23
Josh Dotzler 4 5 5 14
Chad Millard n/a 7 4 11
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 3 8
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 3 5
Justin Carter n/a n/a 3 3
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 3 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 2 2
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 31 323
Walker Nabs Double-Double
Sophomore center Kenton Walker became the only current member of the Creighton team to record a double-double, when he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against Mississippi Valley State on December 2nd.
Walker's 10 points tied for the second-highest scoring output of his young career, while his 10 rebounds were one more of his previous career-best.
What's Your Twenty?
This was the 12th straight year that Creighton has won at least 13 of its first 20 games. Each of the previous 11 seasons it has done that, it reached the postseason. Here's a look at Creighton's record after 20 games in the 15 seasons under Dana Altman.
Creighton -- First 20 Games Under Dana Altman
Year First 20 W-L Final W-L Postseason
2008-09 15-5 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2007-08 14-6 22-11 NIT
2006-07 13-7 22-11 NCAA
2005-06 15-5 20-10 NIT
2004-05 13-7 23-11 NCAA
2003-04 17-3 20-9 NIT
2002-03 18-2 29-5 NCAA
2001-02 14-6 23-9 NCAA
2000-01 14-6 24-8 NCAA
1999-00 14-6 23-10 NCAA
1998-99 14-6 22-9 NCAA
1997-98 14-6 18-10 NIT
1996-97 10-10 15-15 ---
1995-96 11-9 14-15 ---
1994-95 6-14 7-19 ---
Witter Named MVC Player of the Week
Cavel Witter was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his work in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and four-time defending Summit League champ Oral Roberts.
Witter averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench while leading Creighton in scoring.
He shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (6-9) while also hitting 80 percent (12-15) at the line.
It was Witter's first career honor as MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice last season.
Sitzmann Was Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Senior guard Dustin Sitzmann was named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26.
A senior from LeMars, Iowa, Sitzmann scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Bluejay career, as CU defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50) on Nov. 20 and Oral Roberts (87-65) on Nov. 22.
Sitzmann, who has a 3.871 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, made 2-of-3 shots from the field (66.7 percent). He played a combined seven minutes in the victories, as CU improved to 26-2 all-time in games in which he's appeared at the time.
Jays Were 3-0 Once Again
Creighton's win against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22nd gave it a 3-0 start for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. The 2006-07 team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's previous 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Tuesday will be the 366th game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
3 Players, 20 Points, First 3 Games
Creighton had three different players score 20 or more points during its first three contests this winter. P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) did it against New Mexico, while Cavel Witter (25) did it against Oral Roberts.
This is the first time it's happened in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton, as well as the first time its happened at Creighton in at least 30 years.
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 points and eight rebounds at Bradley on Jan. 10, owns eight career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won seven of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 77.9-63.2.
Creighton is 18-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 21-13 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.
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 90-54 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 33-22 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, 6-2 in 2006-07 and 5-4 last year in KMTV-produced games. So far this year CU is 3-3 on KMTV.
The Jays are also 41-28 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 22-16 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 20 are slated for television this season, including all but two MVC games.
Dynamic Duo, Part II?
From 1987-91, Creighton big men Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were known as the “Dynamic Duo”. Both men were named MVC Player of the Year (Harstad in 1990, Gallagher in 1991) and finished their careers first and second in school history for points scored.
It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos.
The current duo became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era.
CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991.
Thirty-Point Bluejays
With 30 points on Nov. 16 against New Mexico, P'Allen Stinnett became one of six Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other five players that did it were Cavel Witter, Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
42 Cavel Witter Bradley 03/01/08 W 111-110
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita State 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford Southern Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @Northern Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri State 02/15/97 L 82-88
30 P'Allen Stinnett New Mexico 11/16/08 W 82-75
What A Start!
The 2007-08 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Booker Woodfox scored 26 points in his first career start against New Mexico on Nov. 16.
Woodfox's 26 points are the most by a Bluejay in their first career start since at least 1980.
Stinnett Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton sophomore P'Allen Stinnett claimed MVC Player of the Week honors Nov. 17. Stinnett scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 82-75 come-from-behind victory over New Mexico while also adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
This was his second career MVC Player of the Week accolade, as he also won the award last season on Feb. 11, 2008. Stinnett also picked up three MVC Newcomer of the Week honors last year en route to sweeping Valley Newcomer and Freshman of the Year laurels.
P'henomenal Debut x 2
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points last year 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 30 points in this year's opener were the most by a Creighton player in the season lid-lifter since Bob Harstad scored 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 46 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 54 straight games when scoring 72 points or more at all sites dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 65 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.
Who Are Those Guys?
Creighton also has two walk-ons practicing with the team that might suit up on but are not listed in the media guide.
No. 24 is Matt Dorwart, a 6-7 freshman forward from Sidney, Neb. Dorwart played at Sidney High School and averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.
No. 40 Derek Sebastian is a 6-5 freshman guard/forward from Loveland, Colo. Sebastian played at Thompson Valley High School, where he averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
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.
Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 75-13 when winning this category, including an 14-3 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 58-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players have spent time on NBA rosters this season. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) was with San Antonio and is currently on a 10-day contract with New Orleans.
Tolliver averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes during 19 games with San Antonio. He was cut by the Spurs on January 7th but resurfaced in the NBA on Jan. 21st when he signed a 10-day contract with the Hornets.
Korver is averaging 8.2 points in 22.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Largest...Crowd...Ever...
Creighton drew its largest crowd, a record crowd for the state of Nebraska, and a record for a league game in its win against Wichita State on Dec. 28, 2008 as 17,954 attended the game at Qwest Center Omaha.
It upped CU's season average attendance to 16,003 and bettered the previous Creighton single-game mark (17,607 vs. Drexel - 2/17/07).
Louisville formerly held the league's single-game attendance record for a regular-season conference game (17,661 vs. Cincinnati, Feb. 22, 1969).
Jays Among Attendance Leaders, Again
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,111 fans per game, which puts them on pace for a league record for home attendance.
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in attendance, averaging 15,333 fans per game during the 2007-08 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game.
Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders in 2007-08, as compiled by the NCAA.
2007-08 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 22,554
2. North Carolina 20,497
3. Syracuse 20,345
4. Tennessee 20,267
5. Louisville 19,481
6. Maryland 17,950
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Arkansas 17,148
9. Indiana 16,876
10. Memphis 16,748
11. Illinois 16,618
12. Ohio State 16,587
13. Kansas 16,409
14. Marquette 16,239
15. Creighton 15,333
16. North Carolina State 15,043
MVC Attendance Record Falls
Creighton broke the MVC record for single-season home attendance with 276,000 fans in 2007-08, surpassing the 2005-06 team which drew 236,313 fans in 17 games to hold the old mark.
Creighton has set MVC attendance (either average or total home fans) records each of the past three seasons. The 2006-07 club raised the bar by attracting 15,909 fans per game. Last year's team was close to that, averaging 15,333 fans per home game.
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
191,440 Louisville 1974-75
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,111 so far Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
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 11 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the three that didn't 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 11 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.); 2007-08
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 92 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 77-15 (.837) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 16-0 figure on Wednesday's, a 6-0 mark on Thursday's and a 1-0 mark on Friday's. The 15 losses have been by a combined 85 points.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 6,804-5,710 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.9 points per game.
The Jays have led wire-to-wire 19 different times.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 208-46 in the last nine seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just four times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Nine Years
Year Men Women Combined
2008-09 9-2 7-3 16-5
2007-08 16-2 11-1 27-3
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 120-18 88-28 208-46
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 39-of-41 and 49 of its last 53 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.
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. 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
Double-Digit Comebacks at Home
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 23 of its 92 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 15 of those 23 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
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
01/24/09 Drake 14 L 62-74
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 9 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
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.
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 568 of the team's 1,548 points (36.7 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 19 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including 10 such efforts 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.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
The State Farm Shuttle presented by the Creighton Birdcage and State Farm Insurance will provide complimentary transportation 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.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game.
The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blue's Alumni Grill (outside the new Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
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 three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Ticket Information
Single game tickets for regular-season home games went on sale on Nov. 11 at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha 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.
Morrison Stadium also sells tickets (in-person only) from 9:00 am-4:30 pm weekdays.
Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 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 an MVC-record 13,615 season tickets for this year. The previous MVC record had been the 12,888 season-tickets Creighton fans bought for the 2007-08 season.
Creighton (15-6, 5-4 MVC) welcomes back former player and assistant coach Kevin McKenna and his Indiana State (4-16, 2-7 MVC) team to Omaha in the middle contest of a three-game homestand.
The game will be played on Tuesday, Jan. 27th at Qwest Center Omaha (17,272) in Omaha, Neb., and tip at 7:05 pm.
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 Jimmy Motz will call the action.
For all home games Big Sports 590 afternoon host Matt Perrault will host a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show. Perrault will also take calls after the game, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Tuesday's game against Indiana State will air statewide on NET-2 (Cox Channel 16 in Omaha). Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe 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 Tuesday's game will be available. Fans can go to http://netnebraska.org/television/stream/flash.html to view the NET-2 broadcast on-line.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton home basketball games will have live stats this season. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton (15-6, 5-4 MVC)
The preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference have won 12 of their past 16 games and are 15-6 overall, including a 5-4 league mark that puts it in a tie for fourth in the conference standings.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox leads the team with 16.2 points per game. His MVC-leading 89.6 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line that ranks 15th nationally. He also ranks second nationally in three-point percentage at 47.9 percent among players with 2.5 makes per game or better.
Also scoring in double-figures are guards P'Allen Stinnett (13.0 ppg., 1.7 spg.) and Cavel Witter (10.1 ppg., 2.6 apg.). Stinnett is a preseason all-Valley pick after sweeping MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors last season. Witter earned a spot on the league's all-bench team last year and is part of a Bluejay bench that averages 27.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game.
Senior point guard Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 47 steals, while sophomore big man Kenny Lawson Jr. tops the Valley with 34 blocked shots.
Creighton shoots 43.4 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from three-point territory and is also making 77.4 percent of its shots from the line.
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.
Scouting Indiana State (4-16, 2-7 MVC)
Indiana State enters Tuesday's game with a 4-16 mark and is 2-7 in MVC play. Both of ISU's league wins have been impressive, winning in double-overtime at league-leading Northern Iowa on Dec. 28th and claiming an overtime home victory over second-place Illinois State on Jan. 10th.
Junior point guard Harry Marshall, who has played in just 10 games due to an academic-related suspension and a hamstring injury, leads the team with 13.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. His 35.0 minutes per game are the most among all MVC players with 10 games or more under their belt this winter.
Marshall is joined by double-figure scorers Jay Tunnell (10.1 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) and Rashad Reed (10.0 ppg.), with Aaron Carter (9.4 ppg.) close behind.
Indiana State is 2-9 away from home this fall, including a 1-8 mark in true road games.
The Sycamores are 10th in the MVC in both scoring offense (60.2 ppg.) and scoring defense (69.6 ppg.) and ninth in The Valley with a -1.9 rebound margin. ISU shoots 39.2 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent from the line.
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 297-158 (.653) mark at Creighton and a career record of 380-225 (.628) 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 503-249 (.669).
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.
Indiana State is led by Kevin McKenna (Creighton, 1993), who is 19-32 in his second year with the Sycamores. That moves his career mark to 108-65 in six years overall when you factor in four seasons at Division II Nebraska-Omaha. McKenna played at Creighton, and after a six-year NBA career later returned as an assistant coach with the Jays. He is assisted by Greg Lansing, Lou Gudino and Deryl Cunningham.
Series History vs. Indiana State
Creighton owns a 47-22 record all-time against Indiana State and has won 14 of the last 17 games in the series, including a 79-61 victory on Terre Haute on Dec. 31st.
The Bluejays lead the series 23-7 in 30 previous Omaha meetings, including nine straight victories at home.
Fifteen of the last 31 meetings have been decided by six points or less, and the teams have played at least one game decided by eight points or less in the previous 15 seasons.
Dana Altman is 23-10 in his career against Indiana State, including a 11-3 record in Omaha.
Altman is 2-1 against Kevin McKenna in regular-season contests, but did win all three exhibition games against his prot?g?'s Nebraska-Omaha team.
A complete series history against Indiana State can be found on page 10 of this release.
Last Game Recap
Creighton shot a season-low 30 percent and suffered a 74-62 home loss to Drake on Saturday. CU led 35-29 at the half, but the Bulldogs would go on a 21-6 run midway through the second half to take control of the contest.
P'Allen Stinnett and Booker Woodfox each had 15 points to lead Creighton. Drake won the rebound battle 48-35 and got 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from point guard Craig Stanley, while Jonathan Cox added 14 points and 13 rebounds. John Michael Hall added a career-high 15 points for Drake.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Creighton leads the MVC in a pair of categories that Indiana State ranks 10th in the MVC in. The Jays top the league in scoring offense (73.7) and turnover margin (+4.1), while Indiana State is 10th in scoring defense (69.6) and turnover margin (-3.1).
The Jays also lead the league in free throw percentage (77.4 percent) and steals per game (8.2).
Indiana State does not lead the MVC in any team category.
Magic Number?
Creighton has won 46 straight home games in which it has scored 68 or more points in. In fact, the Jays have scored 68 or more in every win this season, regardless of site.
On the other hand, Indiana State is 0-8 this season when allowing 68 or more points in regulation, and averages 69.6 points per game allowed.
And One More Number
Creighton has beaten Indiana State in 14 of the past 15 meetings when the Bluejays have scored 55 points or more.
In the 92-game history of Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton has been held under 55 points just once, a 53-52 NIT loss to Miami (Fla.) that ended the 2005-06 season.
Room To Board
The rebound differential between Creighton and its opponent has stood at 10 or larger in 13 of the 21 games to date.
The Jays have won the boards by 10 or more four times (going 3-1), but lost on the glass by double-digits on nine occasions (going 5-4).
In the eight games that the rebound discrepancy has been a single-digit, CU is 7-1.
Second Half Turnaround?
Creighton fans are hoping this season turns around like the 2000-01 campaign did. That season, like this one, saw the preseason favorite Bluejays drop to 5-4 at the midway point after a loss on Jan. 24th.
The 2000-01 team would post a win on Jan. 27th to start an 11-game win streak that helped carry the team to the MVC regular-season title and eventual at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The key victory in that stretch (game three of the 11 straight wins) was a 77-71 victory at Indiana State that snapped the Sycamores' 22-game home win streak.
Over .500 Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 27 straight trips through the league, including the first half this year.
Creighton's 27 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, far ahead of Illinois State (3), Drake (3), Northern Iowa (2) and Bradley (2).
Here's how Dana Altman's clubs have fared in the various halves of the MVC season since his arrival:
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2008-09 5-4 --
2007-08 5-4 5-4
2006-07 6-3 7-2
2005-06 7-2 5-4
2004-05 5-4 6-3
2003-04 7-2 5-4
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
1994-95 3-6 1-8
Total 84-51 (.622) 79-47 (.627)
Birds of Prey
Creighton has lost a total of 18 home games in the last nine seasons, including last Saturday's setback to Drake. 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 17 home losses with a win in its next home game by an average of 16.47 points, including nine 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 it lost to Evansville and Indiana State.
Creighton's Home Losses, Last Nine Years
Home Loss Next Home Game
L 62-74, Drake Tuesday vs. Indiana State
L 66-69, N. Iowa W 73-72 (OT) vs. So. Illinois
L 60-68 ot, #22 Drake W 65-63, Wichita State
L 67-80, Illinois St. W 77-59, 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
McKenna A CU Grad & Hall of Famer
Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna spent 13 seasons on the Creighton sidelines as either a player (1977-81) or assistant coach (1994-2001, 2005-07).
As a player, McKenna currently ranks 12th in Creighton history with exactly 1,500 career points. He remains ranked in CU's career top-10 lists in field goal attempts, free-throw percentage and assists. Two of his teams (1977-78 and 1980-81) reached the NCAA Tournament. McKenna was enshrined into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 for his exploits.
As an assistant coach, McKenna was part of four NCAA Tournament teams (1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2006-07) as well as two NIT clubs (1997-98 and 2005-06). He was a member of Dana Altman's first staff at Creighton.
Sycamore Delight
The 2007-08 season saw Booker Woodfox take home MVC Sixth Man of the Year honors, and he was at his best against Indiana State. In two games versus the Sycamores, Woodfox was 12-for-15 from the field (80 percent), including 11-of-14 from three-point range (78.6 percent), while averaging 18 points per game.
In the first meeting vs. ISU this winter, Woodfox scored 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Close Games With The Sycamores
Fifteen of the last 31 games between Creighton and Indiana State have been decided by six points or less. The teams have played a game decided by eight points or less in each of the previous 15 seasons.
The first meeting this year was a 79-61 Bluejay victory in Terre Haute on New Year's Eve.
McKenna vs. Altman, Head-to-Head
Tuesday will mark the fifth time that Kevin McKenna has coached from the visiting bench against Dana Altman at Qwest Center Omaha.
Obviously he did it last year (an 86-69 Creighton win), but McKenna's Nebraska-Omaha clubs faced Creighton teams in the exhibition season in three of the four seasons McKenna coached the Mavericks as well.
Creighton won all three exhibition games, but each were decided by single-digits, and the Division II visitors had leads in the final three minutes in two of the three contests.
Notably, in the Nov. 9, 2003 exhibition game that was the first college game ever played at Qwest Center Omaha, UNO led by 15 points with 10:39 to play before CU rallied for an overtime win.
McKenna vs. Altman at Qwest Center Omaha
11/06/01* Creighton 62, Nebraska-Omaha 53
11/05/02* Creighton 75, Nebraska-Omaha 72
11/09/03* Creighton 72, Nebraska-Omaha 66 (OT)
01/19/08 Creighton 86, Indiana State 69
*exhibition game
Jays Look For 10 Home Wins, Again
With a win on Tuesday against Indiana State, Creighton can win its 10th home game this season. Creighton has won 10 or more home games in 12 straight seasons, a streak they will push to 13 with its next home win.
That would set a school-record, as Creighton also previously won 10 or more home games in 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign.
Career Highs All Around
Three different Bluejays had career-high point totals in last Tuesday's win at Evansville.
Sophomore Casey Harriman had career-high totals in points (11), assists (5) and blocked shots (2). Harriman's previous bests in those categories had been 10 points, three assists and one block.
Junior Justin Carter had a career-high point total (14). His previous best had been 13 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 20th.
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. also had a career-high point total, finishing with 16 points. Lawson had scored 15 points on three previous occasions, most recently vs. Fresno State on Dec. 22nd.
The play of these three helped offset a night when CU's three double-figure scorers entering the night (Booker Woodfox, P'Allen Stinnett and Cavel Witter) combined to go 7-for-19 from the field and score a total of 20 points.
Productive Bench
Despite the absence of Chad Millard (ankle), Creighton's bench put together a staggering stat line last Tuesday at Evansville, contributing 34 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists in CU's 22-point road win.
It marked just the second time in the past 15 years that Creighton's bench had recorded 14 or more assists in a game. Last season Creighton's bench had 77 points, 29 rebounds and 15 assists in a 110-73 victory over Houston Baptist.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 297 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 163 triumphs in regular-season conference games are tied with Eddie Hickey for second in league history.
Hickey will be entering the MVC Hall of Fame this March in conjunction with Arch Madness. Both men above him, Henry Iba and Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
A win on Tuesday would move Altman past Hickey for second on the all-time list for wins in MVC league play.
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
163 Dana Altman Creighton
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 297 Dana Altman Creighton
Backboard Beatdown
Creighton beat Evansville by 12 on the glass last Tuesday, matching its largest positive rebound margin of the year.
That came just three days after the Bluejays were outrebounded 47-22 in its loss at Wichita State on Jan. 17, the worst beating on the glass in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton.
Creighton has lost the rebound battle by 20 or more four times in the past 15 years, losing all four games. On the other hand, CU is 8-1 in the past 15 years when winning the rebound battle by 20 or more rebounds.
The last time CU had been outrebounded by 25 or more had been Jan. 25, 1992, when Tulsa outrebounded the Jays 49-22 in a 80-65 Golden Hurricane victory in Tulsa.
Future Game Times?
Below is the timeline for the selection processes for the 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters event on Friday-Saturday, February 20-21 and the Wildcard Weekend of Saturday, Feb. 28 on Fox and ESPN2.
For BracketBusters, ESPN will announce the television pairings for the 13-telecast package ? six games on ESPN2, five games on ESPNU and two games on ESPN360 ? on Monday, February 2. The actual dates, times and networks for those match-ups, though, will not be announced until Monday, February 9.
In terms of the Wildcard Weekend, ESPN will make its men's basketball selection on Thursday, February 5 for the Saturday, February 28 telecast. That game is slated to tip at 1:05 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
Once ESPN selects its telecast for that date, the league ? working in conjunction with Fox Sports Midwest ? will make its men's basketball selection on February 5 for its February 28 telecast at 7:35 pm. Central on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
All five men's games on February 28 ? Drake @ Bradley; Evansville @ UNI; Illinois State @ Creighton; Missouri State @ Indiana State; Wichita State @ Southern Illinois ? are eligible for consideration by ESPN and Fox Sports Midwest.
Home Cooking
Creighton is 39-10 at home all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in MVC games (.796), compared to a 24-26 (.480) road record in the MVC during that stretch.
Only five MVC visiting schools (DU, ILS, MSU, UNI, SIU) have ever won a game in the six-year old Qwest Center Omaha. In fact, four Valley schools have not won a game in Omaha since the decade started.
Below is a look at Creighton's current home winning streaks over current league foes:
Opponent CU Streak Last Opp. Win in Omaha
Bradley Won 10 1/17/98
Drake Lost 2 1/24/09
Evansville Won 9 1/04/99
Illinois State Lost 1 12/29/07
Indiana State Won 9 1/04/99
Missouri State Won 3 2/05/05
Northern Iowa Lost 1 1/6/09
So. Illinois Won 2 1/20/07
Wichita State Won 16 2/22/92
Woodfox From Distance
Booker Woodfox has made a three-pointer in 17 straight games, a streak that began on Nov. 25, 2008 at UALR. The last CU player with a three-point streak that long was Jimmy Motz, who had a trey in 17 straight games from Feb. 19, 2005 - Jan. 15, 2006.
Creighton's last player with a three-point streak of more than 17 was Johnny Mathies, who compiled a trey in 20 consecutive games from Dec. 22, 2004 to Feb. 28, 2005.
Big Shot Booker Strikes Again
Creighton's Booker Woodfox drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 21.4 seconds left in overtime against Southern Illinois on Jan. 14th. It was the second time in as many seasons that Woodfox hit a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of a one-point win, as he hit a game-winner to beat Oral Roberts with 26.5 seconds left last season.
Fellow teammate P'Allen Stinnett hit five different shots on Jan. 14th that gave CU the lead against Southern Illinois and now has 13 go-ahead baskets this year, trailing Kenny Lawson Jr.'s team-best 14.
Below is a list of Creighton's baskets that gave them a lead this season, as well as baskets that gave the team the lead for good.
Gave CU Lead Got Lead Last
Name Lead For Good 2 Minutes
Kenny Lawson Jr. 14 3 0
P'Allen Stinnett 13 4 1
Booker Woodfox 10 4 1
Justin Carter 4 2 0
Chad Millard 3 1 0
Kaleb Korver 2 1 0
Antoine Young 2 0 0
Cavel Witter 2 0 0
Josh Dotzler 1 0 1
Casey Harriman 1 0 0
Cardiac Kids
Creighton's win over Southern Illinois on Jan. 14th marked the seventh time in the past two seasons that Creighton won in which it trailed or had been tied at some point in the final minute, but first time this season.
Five of those seven wins came at home, and three of the games featured a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 30 seconds.
Margin Opponent Date
-5 Bradley 3/1/08
-4 Saint Joseph's 12/9/07
-4 Southern Illinois 1/14/09
-3 Rhode Island 3/18/08
-2 at Oral Roberts 2/23/08
-1 Wichita State 2/2/08
Tie at Missouri State 1/5/08
Lawson's Blocked Shot Streak Lives On
Sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr. owns a league-high 34 blocked shots. Lawson has a blocked shot in 20 of CU's 21 contests this season including one in each of the last 14 games.
The last Creighton player with a blocked shot in 14 consecutive games was Brody Deren, who had a stretch of 17 in a row from Feb. 4 - Dec. 6, 2003.
Lawson owns 62 career blocked shots, moving him into 10th on CU's all-time list.
Most Blocked Shots, CU History, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
79 Adam Reid 1994-97
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01
75 Jeffrey Day 2004-06
62 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-Pres.
59 Rodney Buford 1995-99
Blocking Bookends
Sophomore post men Kenny Lawson Jr. and Kenton Walker are both leading the MVC in blocked shots, albeit in two different categories.
Lawson's 34 blocked shots for the season are four more than his closest competition, Bradley's David Collins.
Walker's 12 blocked shots in league action are tied with Collins and Lawson for the lead league in conference games.
Creighton's last player to lead the league in blocked shots for an entire season is Brody Deren, who had 56 swats during the 2002-03 season when he was also a sophomore.
Team of the Decade?
Below is the records for each MVC school since the start of the 2000-01 season, ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton leads the MVC with 198 overall wins in the decade.
MVC Standings (2000-01 to 1/26/09)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 106 47 .693 198 80 .712
Southern Illinois 114 39 .745 198 86 .697
Missouri State 84 69 .549 155 117 .570
Northern Iowa 78 75 .510 147 120 .551
Wichita State 78 75 .510 148 121 .550
Illinois State 70 83 .458 139 124 .529
Bradley 74 79 .484 145 130 .527
Drake 67 86 .438 132 129 .506
Evansville 49 104 .320 96 156 .381
Indiana State 45 108 .294 100 163 .380
Let's Start With Dotzler
Josh Dotzler has started each of Creighton's last 55 games, winning 37 of those starts. The streak dates back to the final contest of the 2006-07 campaign and is the longest active string in the Missouri Valley Conference.
For his career, Dotzler has made 82 starts, with CU winning 55 of them (67.1 percent).
Step Right Up Young Man
Antoine Young scored 27 points in his first 16 games with Creighton, but has since exploded to score 41 points over the past five games.
That includes 13 points at Bradley and 12 points at Wichita State, making him the only Bluejay player in double-figures in both those contests.
Young delivered the best game of his fledgling career on Jan. 10th at Bradley. Young had a career-best 13 points while adding two assists and a team-high two steals in 21 minutes.
Young, who had entered the contest 0-for-11 from three-point range, also went 2-for-2 from downtown in the victory.
Young continued to provide a boost off the bench with six points, three assists and a rebound in 19 minutes off the bench against SIU, including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
He had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the game at Wichita State on Jan. 17th.
Toe The Line
Creighton has also shot the ball well from the free-throw line, moving up to 10th nationally with its 77.4 percent rate from the charity stripe. That's even more impressive when you consider CU's 364 free throw makes are also 12th nationally.
Creighton and Kentucky are the only teams in the country to rank in the top-12 in both free-throw makes and free-throw percentage.
Most Free Throw Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. Wyoming 19 408 551 74.0
2. Niagara 20 387 530 73.0
3. UTEP 19 380 530 71.7
4. Marquette 19 379 531 71.4
5. North Texas 19 377 541 69.7
6. North Carolina 19 376 505 74.5
7. Xavier 19 375 555 67.6
8. Vermont 20 373 526 70.9
9. Oklahoma 20 370 548 67.5
10. Kentucky 20 368 466 79.0
11. Connecticut 19 365 534 68.4
12. Creighton 21 364 470 77.4
Best Free Throw Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. UC Davis 20 313 384 81.5
2. Utah Valley State 17 265 335 79.1
3. Green Bay 21 327 414 79.0
4. Utah 19 308 390 79.0
5. Kentucky 20 368 466 79.0
6. Southern Utah 20 324 411 78.8
7. Maryland 19 267 343 77.8
8. Washington State 19 206 265 77.7
9. Loyola (Md.) 22 363 467 77.7
10. Creighton 21 364 470 77.4
11. Michigan 20 254 328 77.4
12. Drake 21 333 440 75.7
More Free Throw Notes
Creighton has made 187-of-231 free throws in the past 10 games, good for 81.0 percent.
The Bluejays have made at least 75 percent of its free throw attempts in 11 of the past 13 games, while incredibly, its opponents have not reached 75 percent in any game during that time.
CU is shooting a remarkable 79.3 percent at the line away from home this winter.
Creighton has had a better free throw percentage than its opponent 16 of the past 17 games, and 19-of-21 games overall this year. The only teams to out-pinpoint the Jays at the line have been UALR and Evansville.
Below is some recent free throw trends:
Cashing In At The Line
Booker Woodfox 47-50 last 14 games (94.0%)
Kenton Walker 17-19 last 9 games (89.5%)
Cavel Witter 32-37 last 12 games (86.5%)
Antoine Young 14-16 last 5 games (87.5%)
P'Allen Stinnett 23-27 last 7 games (85.2%)
One of Three
Creighton ranks tied for 10th nationally with 180 three-pointers made and is 18th with its 39.2 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
On a national basis, the only other schools to be in the top-18 of both categories is Illinois State and Oklahoma State.
Most 3-Point Field Goal Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. VMI 19 257 693 37.1
2. Eastern Kentucky 20 211 545 38.7
3. Troy 21 194 543 35.7
4. Liberty 21 193 547 35.3
5. Davidson 19 190 497 38.2
6. Portland State 20 187 505 37.0
7. Oklahoma State 18 185 446 41.5
8. Illinois State 20 183 465 39.4
9. UNC-Wilmington 21 182 529 34.4
10. Creighton 21 180 459 39.2
Belmont 18 180 502 35.9
Best 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. California 20 130 277 46.9
2. Oklahoma State 18 185 446 41.5
3. Austin Peay 19 144 350 41.1
4. Cornell 18 143 349 41.0
5. IPFW 20 135 331 40.8
6. Notre Dame 18 168 414 40.6
7. North Dakota State 19 137 340 40.3
8. Green Bay 21 166 412 40.3
9. Southern Illinois 20 131 328 39.9
10. New Mexico State 20 137 345 39.7
11. Marist 22 165 416 39.7
12. Tennessee Tech 19 141 356 39.6
13. Air Force 18 118 299 39.5
14. UC Irvine 19 122 310 39.4
Illinois State 20 183 465 39.4
16. Baylor 19 170 432 39.4
17. Western Illinois 20 110 280 39.3
18. Creighton 21 180 459 39.2
Fish Gets Call From Hall
Creighton University assistant coach Brian Fish has been named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Team. He and 16 other former Indiana high school basketball standouts will be honored at a dinner on March 25 in Indianapolis.
Fish will be the just the seventh graduate in Seymour High School history to be honored. To qualify for the honor, a player must have graduated high school 25 years ago.
Fish still holds Seymour career records for charges taken (42), free throws made (390) and free throws attempted, ranks second with 1,400 points and is fourth with 128 steals, 505 field goals made and 1,112 field goals attempted.
Altman Records 500th Win
Creighton head coach Dana Altman picked up his 500th win as a college head coach at all levels on New Year's Eve against Indiana State.
Altman owns a career record of 503-249 in 24 years as a head coach at the Division I and junior college levels. Altman owns 29 wins at Southeast Junior College (1982-83), 94 wins at Moberly Junior College (1983-86), 15 wins at Marshall (1989-90), 68 wins at Kansas State (1990-94) and 297 victories at Creighton (1994-Present).
Comparison To Past Years After 21 Games
Below is a comparison after 21 games of this year's team to that of last year's team, as well as the memorable 2002-03 squad that finished 29-5, and the 2000-01 team that also started 15-6 but would win the MVC regular-season title, with season-bests in bold:
Statistic 2008-09 2007-08 2002-03 2000-01
W-L Record 15-6 15-6 19-2 15-6
MVC W-L 5-4 6-5 9-1 7-4
FG% .434 .456 .516 .435
3FG% .392 .379 .407 .342
3FG/Game 8.6 8.6 8.8 7.2
FT% .774 .716 .684 .693
Reb. Margin -3.5 +3.3 +1.5 +1.3
Assists 287 316 382 312
Turnovers 270 315 280 293
Blocks 80 69 81 72
Steals 172 172 194 197
PPG Scored 73.7 72.0 82.7 73.0
PPG Allowed 65.2 62.8 64.1 64.2
Woodfox Automatic At The Line Too
Not only has Booker Woodfox been lights-out from the field, but it's carried over to the free-throw line. Despite one of the nation's most unique pre-shot rituals, Woodfox drained a Creighton-record 36 straight free throws from Dec. 6-Jan. 3rd.
The 36 straight makes is four more than the previous Creighton record set by Michael Lindeman. The streak was seventh-longest in MVC history, and the longest in five years by a league player not named Blake Ahearn (Ahearn holds six of the 12 best streaks in MVC history).
For the season, Woodfox leads the MVC with 89.6 percent marksmanship from the line (69-77).
Most Consecutive Free Throws Made, MVC History
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/20/03 - 2/14/04)
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/19/04 - 2/28/05)
57 Vince Greene, ILS (1/18/04 - 11/30/04)
51 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/15/05 - 1/29/06)
48 Marcus Wilson, Evansville (12/1/96 - 2/2/97)
44 James Gillingham, BU (2/8/03 - 2/25/03)
36 Booker Woodfox, CU (12/6/08 - 1/6/09)
35 Aaron Zobrist, Bradley (12/27/96 - 1/27/97)
34 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/22/06 - 1/24/07)
32 Michael Lindeman, CU (1/23/03 - 12/3/03)
32 Blake Ahearn, MSU (11/17/03 - 12/20/03)
32 Josh Young, DU (11/19/08 - 12/12/08)
P For 3
Sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett drained a three-pointer on the first possession of both halves, as well as a double-clutch banked trey at the first-half buzzer, en route to shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range at Indiana State on Dec. 31. The six three-pointers was a career-high for Stinnett, who opened his career with five three-pointers in the second half of a 2007 win over DePaul.
Stinnett is one of seven players on the current roster who have made three or more three-pointers in a game during their Bluejay career.
A Perfect December
Creighton went 9-0 in December, closing out a perfect month with a Dec. 31 win at Indiana State. This marks Creighton's first-ever unbeaten month when playing nine games or more. Creighton's last previous undefeated December came in 2003-04, when the team went 7-0.
Nine-Game Win Streak Ended
Creighton had its longest win streak in nearly five years end when its nine-game win streak was snapped on Jan. 3rd at Illinois State.
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.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest win streaks under Dana Altman.
Creighton's Longest Win Streaks Under Dana Altman
W's Dates Postseason?
12 Nov. 22, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004 NIT
11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 NCAA
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 29, 2002 NCAA
9 Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998 NIT
9 Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 1999 NCAA
9 Dec. 2-31, 2008 ? ? ?
They Hit How Many?
Creighton drained 15-of-24 three-point attempts in its road win at Indiana State on Dec. 31st. The 15 three-pointers were tied for third-most ever, and the most by the Jays since they set a school and MVC record with a 20-of-30 display from downtown in a Feb. 19, 2005 win over Chattanooga.
Among games that Creighton has made 10 or more three-pointers all-time, Creighton's 62.5 percent shooting behind the arc was fourth-best in history, and its best since the 20-for-30 (66.7 percent) against Chattanooga.
Creighton is 20-0 under Dana Altman when making 10 or more three-pointers and 54 percent or better of those attempts from downtown.
Creighton has made 10 three-pointers or more seven times this season, making at least 40 percent of its tries in six of those contests.
Heating Up December
Booker Woodfox was red-hot from the field in the nine games played in December. Woodfox scored 180 points in 219 minutes in nine December games, all Bluejay wins. Woodfox shot 58-for-99 from the floor in that time (58.6 percent), including 35-of-60 (58.3 percent) from three-point land. Woodfox also hit 29-of-31 free throws (93.5 percent) in December.
Leading Scorer, Again
Booker Woodfox led Creighton in scoring during seven straight games from Dec. 6-28, averaging 21.3 points per game in that time. In Dana Altman's 15-year tenure, Creighton's only longer streak was by Rodney Buford, who twice had eight straight games.
Consec. Games as Leading Scorer, Under Altman
Games Name Dates
8 Rodney Buford Jan. 27-Feb. 17, 1997
8 Rodney Buford Feb. 23-Dec. 2, 1998
7 Rodney Buford Jan. 2-20, 1997
7 Booker Woodfox Dec. 6-28, 2008
What A Year!
Booker Woodfox showed his shooting proficiency during the entire calendar year of 2008. His accuracy from the field, three-point line and free-throw line all jumped by 12 percent or more, while his scoring average has jumped 8.7 points per game when compared to his 2007 figures.
Below is a comparison of his first 11 games from last year (the year 2007), compared to his games since the calendar turned to 2008.
Statistic 2007 2008 2009
Games 11 36 6
FG-FGA 19-56 167-338 23-63
FG% .339 .494 .365
3FG-3FGA 12-33 88-182 12-34
3FG% .364 .484 .353
FT-FTA 8-12 83-99 19-22
FT% .667 .838 .864
Rebounds 17 103 8
Rebounds Per Game 1.5 2.9 1.3
Assists 12 50 2
Turnovers 11 34 3
Points 58 505 77
Points Per Game 5.3 14.0 12.8
Book It!
Booker Woodfox is 56-of-117 (47.9 percent) from three-point range this season.
For his career, he is 112-of-249, which computes to 45.0 percent, just behind the school-record figure achieved by 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
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4498 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 112-249
.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
Woodfox's 56 three-point baskets are tied for 37th-most nationally. Woodfox is one of 57 players nationally who made 53 or more three-pointers through games of Jan. 25th, but the only man from that group to hit 47.9 percent or more of those attempts.
Heavy Lumber For Woodfox
Booker Woodfox had a career-high in several categories during CU's 69-58 win at Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6. Woodfox had career-highs with 29 points, nine field goals and seven three-pointers while also matching his previous best with seven rebounds.
The seven three-pointers by Woodfox were the most by a Creighton player since Nate Funk made seven trifectas at Nebraska on Nov. 18, 2006.
Additionally, he was the first player in Creighton history to make at least seven three-pointers while shooting 75 percent or better from behind the arc in the same game. Below is a list of Creighton players to make seven treys in a game.
Creighton's Most 3-Pointers Made, Single-Game
3FG-A Name, Opponent Date
9-14 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
8-13 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
8-15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
8-13 Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
7-12 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
7-10 Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
7-11 Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
7-15 Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
7-11 Nate Funk at Nebraska 11/18/06
7-9 Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's 12/06/08
Woodfox Was MVC Player of the Week #2
Senior guard Booker Woodfox was named State Farm MVC Player of the Week on Dec. 29 after averaging 22 points in three wins. He was 21-34 from the floor (61.8 percent), 11-19 from three-point range (57.9 percent) and perfect in 13 free throw attempts.
Woodfox opened the week by averaging 25 points to earn MVP honors in two wins at the Las Vegas Classic, including 26 points against DePaul. The Lewisville, Texas, native closed out his week with a team-best 16 points in a 12-point win over Wichita State.
It was the second time in December that Woodfox was honored (also Dec. 8th).
Woodfox Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton University guard Booker Woodfox was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 8th. Woodfox, a senior guard from Lewisville, Texas, was the third different Bluejay to win the award in the first four weeks of the season (joining P'Allen Stinnett & Cavel Witter).
Woodfox scored 43 points in 44 minutes while averaging 21.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as Creighton posted a pair of double-digit victories against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. He made 14-of-20 shots from the field (70 percent), including 10-of-14 from three-point range (71.4 percent) while also making 71.4 percent (5-7) of his shots at the line.
Woodfox had a career-high with 29 points in CU's win against Saint Joseph's while also tying his personal-best with seven rebounds. He drained 9-of-13 shots overall, including 7-of-9 tries from three-point territory. Woodfox became the only player in CU history to make at least seven three-pointers while converting 75 percent or more of his attempts from long-range in the same game.
Woodfox began his week with 14 points in 17 minutes of a 24-point win over Mississippi Valley State, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown.
This was the first time Woodfox has been named MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn three MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades last season.
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.
Steal Leader
KenPom.com, a college basketball website dedicated to statistics, ranks Creighton guard Josh Dotzler among its best defenders. The site calculates that Dotzler earns a steal on 6.3 percent of all defensive possessions that he's in the game for, the nation's second-best rate.
The same website ranks Booker Woodfox eighth in offensive rating, a calculation of a player's offensive efficiency from two-point range, three-point range and the free-throw line, as well as scarcity of turnovers per minute played.
Crowds Increase For League Action
Compared to its non-conference crowds, Creighton's attendance has increased in MVC action each of the previous eight 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 14,544 16,122 +10%
2008-09 15,844 so far 16,579 so far +4.6%
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Jan. 25th, Booker Woodfox ranked second in three-point field goal percentage (47.9%), 15th in free-throw percentage (89.6%) and 50th in three-pointers per game (2.8). Josh Dotzler ranked 27th with a 2.42 assist/turnover ratio and 38th with 2.2 steals per game. Kenny Lawson Jr. was 94th with 1.6 blocked shots per game, Cavel Witter's 84.4 percent free-throw percentage ranked 58th.
As a team, Creighton is ranked ninth in free-throw percentage (77.4), 17th in turnover margin (+4.1), 18th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.2) and 19th in three-point field goals per game (8.6).
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 173 career steals ranks him for fourth in CU history. Dotzler's 330 career assists places him eighth in Creighton history, two behind current Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna from his playing days at CU.
Dotzler is one of four players in CU history with more than 150 steals and 300 career assists, joining Ryan Sears, Duan Cole and Latrell Wrightsell.
Steals (Since 1979-80)
Stl. Name Years
283 Ryan Sears 1997-01
195 Rodney Buford 1995-99
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
173 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
172 Kyle Korver 1999-03
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
330 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
323 Nate Funk 2002-07
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 463 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 11.6 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25.8 minutes per game.
Creighton has had at least 10 players average 10.7 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 regulation-length game this year. By comparison, seven individuals throughout the MVC average 32 minutes per game or more.
Trio Reaches 500 Points in Year Two
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett became the 12th player to score 500 or more points in their first two seasons at Creighton under Dana Altman.
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 reached 500 career points in his 44th game on Dec. 22 against Fresno State, tied for third-quickest in the Altman era.
Junior guard Cavel Witter scored his 500th career point on Jan. 20th at Evansville, which was his 53rd career game.
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 St.
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.
Cavel Witter 53 1/20/09 at Evansville
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.
Korver Adds Spark Off The Bench
Sophomore Kaleb Korver has made 24-of-46 three-point shots in his past 16 games off the bench, an impressive 52.2 percent.
Korver has not made a two-point basket since Jan. 2, 2008, and each of his last 38 field goals have been worth three points.
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).
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 487 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
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 31 charges in 21 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
Casey Harriman n/a 17 6 23
Josh Dotzler 4 5 5 14
Chad Millard n/a 7 4 11
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 3 8
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 3 5
Justin Carter n/a n/a 3 3
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 3 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 2 2
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 31 323
Walker Nabs Double-Double
Sophomore center Kenton Walker became the only current member of the Creighton team to record a double-double, when he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against Mississippi Valley State on December 2nd.
Walker's 10 points tied for the second-highest scoring output of his young career, while his 10 rebounds were one more of his previous career-best.
What's Your Twenty?
This was the 12th straight year that Creighton has won at least 13 of its first 20 games. Each of the previous 11 seasons it has done that, it reached the postseason. Here's a look at Creighton's record after 20 games in the 15 seasons under Dana Altman.
Creighton -- First 20 Games Under Dana Altman
Year First 20 W-L Final W-L Postseason
2008-09 15-5 ? ? ? ? ? ?
2007-08 14-6 22-11 NIT
2006-07 13-7 22-11 NCAA
2005-06 15-5 20-10 NIT
2004-05 13-7 23-11 NCAA
2003-04 17-3 20-9 NIT
2002-03 18-2 29-5 NCAA
2001-02 14-6 23-9 NCAA
2000-01 14-6 24-8 NCAA
1999-00 14-6 23-10 NCAA
1998-99 14-6 22-9 NCAA
1997-98 14-6 18-10 NIT
1996-97 10-10 15-15 ---
1995-96 11-9 14-15 ---
1994-95 6-14 7-19 ---
Witter Named MVC Player of the Week
Cavel Witter was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his work in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and four-time defending Summit League champ Oral Roberts.
Witter averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench while leading Creighton in scoring.
He shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (6-9) while also hitting 80 percent (12-15) at the line.
It was Witter's first career honor as MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice last season.
Sitzmann Was Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Senior guard Dustin Sitzmann was named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26.
A senior from LeMars, Iowa, Sitzmann scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Bluejay career, as CU defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50) on Nov. 20 and Oral Roberts (87-65) on Nov. 22.
Sitzmann, who has a 3.871 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, made 2-of-3 shots from the field (66.7 percent). He played a combined seven minutes in the victories, as CU improved to 26-2 all-time in games in which he's appeared at the time.
Jays Were 3-0 Once Again
Creighton's win against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22nd gave it a 3-0 start for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. The 2006-07 team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's previous 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Tuesday will be the 366th game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
3 Players, 20 Points, First 3 Games
Creighton had three different players score 20 or more points during its first three contests this winter. P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) did it against New Mexico, while Cavel Witter (25) did it against Oral Roberts.
This is the first time it's happened in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton, as well as the first time its happened at Creighton in at least 30 years.
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 points and eight rebounds at Bradley on Jan. 10, owns eight career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won seven of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 77.9-63.2.
Creighton is 18-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 21-13 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.
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 90-54 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 33-22 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, 6-2 in 2006-07 and 5-4 last year in KMTV-produced games. So far this year CU is 3-3 on KMTV.
The Jays are also 41-28 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 22-16 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 20 are slated for television this season, including all but two MVC games.
Dynamic Duo, Part II?
From 1987-91, Creighton big men Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were known as the “Dynamic Duo”. Both men were named MVC Player of the Year (Harstad in 1990, Gallagher in 1991) and finished their careers first and second in school history for points scored.
It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos.
The current duo became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era.
CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991.
Thirty-Point Bluejays
With 30 points on Nov. 16 against New Mexico, P'Allen Stinnett became one of six Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other five players that did it were Cavel Witter, Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
42 Cavel Witter Bradley 03/01/08 W 111-110
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita State 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford Southern Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @Northern Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri State 02/15/97 L 82-88
30 P'Allen Stinnett New Mexico 11/16/08 W 82-75
What A Start!
The 2007-08 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Booker Woodfox scored 26 points in his first career start against New Mexico on Nov. 16.
Woodfox's 26 points are the most by a Bluejay in their first career start since at least 1980.
Stinnett Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton sophomore P'Allen Stinnett claimed MVC Player of the Week honors Nov. 17. Stinnett scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 82-75 come-from-behind victory over New Mexico while also adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
This was his second career MVC Player of the Week accolade, as he also won the award last season on Feb. 11, 2008. Stinnett also picked up three MVC Newcomer of the Week honors last year en route to sweeping Valley Newcomer and Freshman of the Year laurels.
P'henomenal Debut x 2
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points last year 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 30 points in this year's opener were the most by a Creighton player in the season lid-lifter since Bob Harstad scored 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 46 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 54 straight games when scoring 72 points or more at all sites dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 65 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.
Who Are Those Guys?
Creighton also has two walk-ons practicing with the team that might suit up on but are not listed in the media guide.
No. 24 is Matt Dorwart, a 6-7 freshman forward from Sidney, Neb. Dorwart played at Sidney High School and averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.
No. 40 Derek Sebastian is a 6-5 freshman guard/forward from Loveland, Colo. Sebastian played at Thompson Valley High School, where he averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
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.
Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 75-13 when winning this category, including an 14-3 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 58-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players have spent time on NBA rosters this season. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) was with San Antonio and is currently on a 10-day contract with New Orleans.
Tolliver averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes during 19 games with San Antonio. He was cut by the Spurs on January 7th but resurfaced in the NBA on Jan. 21st when he signed a 10-day contract with the Hornets.
Korver is averaging 8.2 points in 22.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Largest...Crowd...Ever...
Creighton drew its largest crowd, a record crowd for the state of Nebraska, and a record for a league game in its win against Wichita State on Dec. 28, 2008 as 17,954 attended the game at Qwest Center Omaha.
It upped CU's season average attendance to 16,003 and bettered the previous Creighton single-game mark (17,607 vs. Drexel - 2/17/07).
Louisville formerly held the league's single-game attendance record for a regular-season conference game (17,661 vs. Cincinnati, Feb. 22, 1969).
Jays Among Attendance Leaders, Again
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,111 fans per game, which puts them on pace for a league record for home attendance.
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in attendance, averaging 15,333 fans per game during the 2007-08 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game.
Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders in 2007-08, as compiled by the NCAA.
2007-08 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 22,554
2. North Carolina 20,497
3. Syracuse 20,345
4. Tennessee 20,267
5. Louisville 19,481
6. Maryland 17,950
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Arkansas 17,148
9. Indiana 16,876
10. Memphis 16,748
11. Illinois 16,618
12. Ohio State 16,587
13. Kansas 16,409
14. Marquette 16,239
15. Creighton 15,333
16. North Carolina State 15,043
MVC Attendance Record Falls
Creighton broke the MVC record for single-season home attendance with 276,000 fans in 2007-08, surpassing the 2005-06 team which drew 236,313 fans in 17 games to hold the old mark.
Creighton has set MVC attendance (either average or total home fans) records each of the past three seasons. The 2006-07 club raised the bar by attracting 15,909 fans per game. Last year's team was close to that, averaging 15,333 fans per home game.
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
191,440 Louisville 1974-75
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,111 so far Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
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 11 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the three that didn't 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 11 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.); 2007-08
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 92 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 77-15 (.837) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 16-0 figure on Wednesday's, a 6-0 mark on Thursday's and a 1-0 mark on Friday's. The 15 losses have been by a combined 85 points.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 6,804-5,710 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.9 points per game.
The Jays have led wire-to-wire 19 different times.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 208-46 in the last nine seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just four times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Nine Years
Year Men Women Combined
2008-09 9-2 7-3 16-5
2007-08 16-2 11-1 27-3
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 120-18 88-28 208-46
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 39-of-41 and 49 of its last 53 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.
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. 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
Double-Digit Comebacks at Home
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 23 of its 92 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 15 of those 23 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
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
01/24/09 Drake 14 L 62-74
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 9 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
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.
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 568 of the team's 1,548 points (36.7 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 19 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including 10 such efforts 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.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
The State Farm Shuttle presented by the Creighton Birdcage and State Farm Insurance will provide complimentary transportation 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.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game.
The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blue's Alumni Grill (outside the new Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
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 three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Ticket Information
Single game tickets for regular-season home games went on sale on Nov. 11 at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha 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.
Morrison Stadium also sells tickets (in-person only) from 9:00 am-4:30 pm weekdays.
Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 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 an MVC-record 13,615 season tickets for this year. The previous MVC record had been the 12,888 season-tickets Creighton fans bought for the 2007-08 season.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs. Iowa State. Press Conference - 10/17/25
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