Men's Basketball Visits George Mason Saturday
12/9/2009 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game #8 at George Mason • Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 • 1:05 p.m. EST (12:05 pm Central)
Creighton Bluejays at George Mason Patriots
Patriot Center (10,000) • Fairfax, Va.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.bigsports590.com
Television: KMTV
Series History: Creighton leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Creighton won 76-63 in Omaha, Neb., on Feb. 21, 2009
Next Game
Creighton (3-4) makes a rare trip to the East Coast when it travels to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason (4-5).
Saturday's game will begin at 1:05 pm Eastern (12:05 pm Central) and be played at Patriot Center (10,000) on the Mason campus.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2009-10 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Kevin Sarver will call the action.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's game is the second of eight telecasts for KMTV this season. Travis Justice and Nick Bahe will be on the call. Satellite coordinates are below:
GALAXY 16 K10 10B
12:30-15:30 ET
UL 14.189.38 (H)
DL 11.889.38 (V)
Video Webcast Information
Saturday's game will be video webcast by George Mason. To sign up to purchase, fans can visit Mason website at www.gomason.com, then select “Patriot Vision” under the “Fan Zone” tab along the top.
Subscribers to Creighton's annual or monthly pass on www.gocreighton.com should have the George Mason game added to their subscription and be able to receive the video feed at no additional cost thanks to an agreement between Creighton and George Mason.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton 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 George Mason
George Mason has gone 4-5 against a challenging schedule to date. The Patriots have beaten Liberty, Dartmouth, Indiana and UNC Wilmington, but lost to #5 Villanova, #21 Georgia Tech, Tulane, George Washington and Dayton. Six of Mason's nine games have been decided by five points or less, including three by three points or less.
The Patriots offer a balanced scoring attack, led by preseason all-CAA performer Cam Long (11.8 ppg.). Freshman Luke Hancock averages 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while twice earning CAA Rookie of the Week honors.
The Patriots shoot 40.9 percent from the floor, 32.6 percent from three-point range and 64.7 percent at the line. Mason averages 63.0 points per game and allows 63.4 per contest and is outrebounded by 4.4 boards per game.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 3-4 on the young season, but coming off a 67-61 win over in-state rival Nebraska last Sunday.
The Bluejays have home wins over Florida A&M, UALR and Nebraska, but lost on the road at No. 21 Dayton and in Orlando to No. 15 Michigan, Xavier and Iona.
The Bluejays returned eight lettermen and three starters from last year's team that went 27-8 and made a 12th straight postseason appearance.
Kenny Lawson Jr. (13.3 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots and is the only player averaging in double-figures.
Four other men average between 8.7 and 9.9 points per game, a group consisting of Darryl Ashford (9.9), Justin Carter (9.0), Ethan Wragge (9.0) and P'Allen Stinnett (8.7).
Creighton averages 71.9 points per game and shoots 44.7 percent from the floor. It holds opponents to 70.7 points per game and 44.6 percent shooting. The Jays outrebound foes by 0.5 boards per game.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 16th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 312-164 (.655) mark at CU and a career record of 395-231 (.630) in his 21st year as a NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his 24 years as a head coach at all levels. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. 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 12 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Mike Jones is the team's graduate manager.
George Mason is coached by Jim Larranaga (Providence, 1971), now in his 13th season with the Patriots. Larranaga owns a 430-317 career record in 26 years of coaching, including a 233-147 mark with George Mason. Larranaga is GMU's all-time leader in men's basketball victories and has helped the school to postseason appearances in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. He was named National Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading Mason to the Final Four.
Previously, he served 11 seasons as head coach at Bowling Green and two at American International. He is assisted by Chris Caputo, Michael Huger and Eric Konkol.
The Series With George Mason
Creighton is 3-0 all-time against George Mason, with each meeting coming in the past five years.
Creighton beat a Final Four-bound George Mason team 72-52 on Nov. 22, 2005 in Fairfax, Va., in the first match-up. The following year Creighton topped George Mason 58-56 in Omaha on Nov. 25, 2006.
Last season, Creighton handed Mason a 76-63 defeat in Omaha as part of BracketBuster Saturday.
Dana Altman is 3-0 against George Mason and Jim Larranaga, and 8-1 all-time against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association. CU is also 2-0 against Georgia State and Towson as well as a 1-1 mark versus Drexel.
Last Game Recap
Creighton beat Nebraska for the ninth time in the past 11 regular-season meetings, topping the Cornhuskers 67-61 before 16,739 fans at Qwest Center Omaha. Kenny Lawson Jr. had his first career double-double, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds, to lead the Bluejays.
Welcome Back, Carter
Senior Justin Carter missed Creighton's first three regular-season games with a partially torn MCL in his left knee, but didn't waste any time making a difference in his return.
Carter played 24 minutes off the bench against No. 15 Michigan on Nov. 26th. He led CU with a career-high 21 points, making 10-of-15 shots from the floor, and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Carter will be playing in front of many family and friends on Saturday, as his hometown of Gaithersburg, Md., is about 30 miles from Fairfax.
Nothing To See Hair
You can't blame the friends and family of Justin Carter if they won't able to recognize the senior forward. That's because he cut his hair on Nov. 21st for the first time in nearly five years.
Prior to the cut, Carter had long dreadlocks that flowed past his shoulders. His new hairstyle is closely cropped and stunned even teammates and coaches.
Virgin(ia) Territory
Saturday's game in Fairfax is the second game Creighton basketball has ever played in the state of Virginia, joining CU's 2005 trip to Mason.
Additionally, it is believed that Creighton has never had a basketball player from the state of Virginia either.
Last Trip To Fairfax
Creighton defeated George Mason, 72-52, in its only previous trip to Fairfax, Va., in 2005. That loss remains Mason's largest home loss since December 22nd, 2001, a span of 107 games.
George Mason is 29-2 at home in its last 31 games at Patriot Center, falling only to UNC Wilmington on Feb. 16, 2008 at the buzzer and to Dayton on Tuesday by one point (56-55).
Long and Winding Road
You won't find any schools with a tougher non-conference road slate than Creighton this fall.
The Jays have three non-conference road games, at Dayton (a 90-80 loss on Nov. 14), at George Mason (Saturday) and at New Mexico (Dec. 19). All three teams are near-unbeatable at home.
Dayton currently owns a 23-game home winning streak at UD Arena (tied for 4th-longest nationally), George Mason owned an 18-game home win streak at Patriot Center (seventh-longest nationally) before it was snapped on Tuesday and New Mexico has won 15 straight games at The Pit (eighth-longest nationally).
Creighton is the only school in the country to play three non-conference road games against teams that were on the top-nine of that list before Tuesday.
Below is the streak of the nation's longest active home win streaks, through games of Dec. 8th.
Rk. Streak Team Next Home Game
1. 46 Kansas 12/9
2. 25 Pittsburgh 12/12
3. 24 Siena 12/23
T4. 23 Dayton 12/11
23 Missouri 12/12
6. 20 Memphis 12/9
7. 17 Western Kentucky 12/22
8. 15 New Mexico 12/16
Lawson Produces 25 & 10
Kenny Lawson Jr. became the first player in The Valley to have 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game this year when he produced those numbers in Creighton's seventh straight regular-season home win over Nebraska on Sunday.
The 25 points were seven more than Lawson's previous best, and his 10 rebounds were a season-high.
He'd owned 11 previous games of at least eight points and eight rebounds in the same contest before finally notching his first double-double in his 77th career contest.
Lawson has now scored in double-figures in six straight games (a career-long streak).
Lawson's 85 points over the past six games are easily his best six-game stretch of his career.
He currently is leading Creighton with 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Lawson One Of Four
Kenny Lawson Jr. became the first Creighton player since 1992 to record 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game against a school from one of the six major BCS football conferences. That dates back to when Mike Amos had 28 points and 17 rebounds against Nebraska.
Lawson was also just the fourth player in the Dana Altman era (1994-Present) with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game, joining Anthony Tolliver, Rodney Buford and Randall Crutcher. That list is below:
25 Points & 10 Rebounds, Under Altman
Name (Points, Rebounds) vs. Opp. Date
Kenny Lawson Jr. (25/10) vs. Nebraska 12/06/09
Anthony Tolliver (26/10) vs. Xavier 12/18/05
Rodney Buford (30/10) at Northern Iowa 12/30/97
Rodney Buford (28/11) at Drake 01/24/98
Randall Crutcher (25/12) at Illinois State 02/24/97
Looking Ahead For Lawson
Kenny Lawson Jr. will be looking to notch a second consecutive double-double on Saturday against George Mason.
No Creighton player has had consecutive double-doubles since Anthony Tolliver on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 2006.
No Creighton player has had 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in consecutive games since Mike Amos on Dec. 7 & 10, 1992.
Junior Year, Game No. 7 A Big One
Creighton's last center, Anthony Tolliver, took a big step forward in his junior season, something that Kenny Lawson Jr. seems to be doing as well.
Tolliver's year-end stats in 30 games as a junior (13.2 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) are nearly identical to those Lawson Jr. has put up (13.3 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) through seven games.
Tolliver had a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds in the seventh game of his junior campaign, a home win over Xavier. Lawson had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the seventh game of his junior campaign last Sunday, a home win over Nebraska.
Tolliver was named second-team all-MVC as a junior and first-team all-Valley as a senior. He finished his career with 1,004 points, 603 rebounds and 136 blocked shots.
Below are the numbers comparing Tolliver and Lawson by year, as well as through 77 career games.
Stat Tolliver Lawson Jr.
Freshman PPG 0.8 5.9
Freshman RPG 1.3 4.2
Freshman BPG 0.3 0.8
Sophomore PPG 4.2 8.5
Sophomore RPG 4.4 4.8
Sophomore BPG 0.7 1.6
Junior PPG 13.2 13.3
Junior RPG 6.7 6.7
Junior BPG 1.6 1.1
Points Thru 77 Games Played 364 599
Rebounds Thru 77 Games Played 279 364
Blocks Thru 77 Games Played 62 92
Wins Thru 77 Games Played 53 54
Speaking Of Tolliver
Former Bluejay Anthony Tolliver (2004-07) is off to a terrific start in the NBA's Developmental League.
The “A-Train” has started four games for the Idaho Stampede and currently ranks fifth in the league in rebounding (11.5 rpg.) and sixth in scoring (23.8 ppg.). He also ranks second in the league with 12 three-pointers made and is fourth in the league with three double-doubles.
He is shooting 52 percent from the field (30-57) and made a D-League season-best six three-pointers on Nov. 30 against Reno. Tolliver has single-game highs of 30 points and 17 rebounds in a game this year.
For his play in the first week of the season, Tolliver was named the NBA Developmental League Co-Performer of the Week on Dec. 9th.
Jays Learn To Finish
After being outscored 122-91 in the final nine minutes of its first six games, Creighton outscored Nebraska 24-15 in the final nine minutes on Sunday to overcome a 46-43 deficit and win 67-61.
Part of the improvement came at the free throw line, where CU went 12-for-12 down the stretch. Creighton has now made 28-of-30 shots at the line in the final nine minutes of its past four games (93.3 percent).
The Jays also took care of the ball late in the game, not making a turnover in the final 11:52.
Creighton scored in 12 of its final 16 possessions down the stretch. In the four times it did not score, the Jays picked up a defensive stop on three of Nebraska's next four offensive trips.
Two of the Best
While Creighton and George Mason sometimes operate under the national spotlight, they've been two of the nation's most consistent programs over the past 13 seasons (starting with '97-98 when Jim Larranaga arrived at Mason).
Below is a chart showing how the two programs stack up with a national power like North Carolina in the past 13 years.
Comparing CU, Mason & UNC, Last 13 Years
Statistic CU Mason UNC
Overall W-L 276-115 233-147 316-110
Overall Win % .706 .613 .742
League W-L 149-67 138-71 127-65
League Win % .690 .660 .661
NCAA Appearances 7 4 10
NIT Appearances 5 3 1
Bench To Be Key vs. George Mason
Creighton's bench has played a big role in all three previous meetings against George Mason. In each contest, Creighton's starters were outscored by Mason's starting five, but in each case the Bluejays got the win.
In Creighton's 72-52 win in 2005, Creighton's bench outscored the Patriots 32-6.
In Creighton's 58-56 win in 2006, Creighton's bench outscored the Patriots 15-2.
In Creighton's 76-63 win in 2009, Creighton's bench outscored the Patriots 30-15.
Over those three meetings, Creighton's bench has hit 26-of-51 shots (51.0 percent), compared to Mason's 9-of-30 marksmanship (30 percent) from its reserves.
Wragge Shooting The Lights Out
Ethan Wragge has made 17-of-34 shots from three-point range this season, good for 50 percent, which ranks third in the MVC among players with a minimum of one trey per game.
Among freshmen nationally, Wragge's 50 percent marksmanship ranks tied for second-best among players who have made 2.4 or more trifectas per game.
Duke frosh Andre Dawkins has hit 20-of-39 treys (51.3 percent) in eight games to lead the nation's freshmen.
Tied with Wragge for second place is Kansas freshman phenom Xavier Henry, who is 19-for-38 from long-range through seven games for the top-ranked Jayhawks.
East Coast Bias?
Saturday's game at George Mason will already be the fifth game this season in the Eastern Time Zone for Creighton.
The Jays are currently 0-4 in the Eastern Time Zone this year, having lost at Dayton and three other times in Orlando, Fla.
Creighton, which still plays at Indiana State on January 1st, has not played five or more games in the Eastern Time Zone since the 1970-71 club played six such games under the direction of Eddie Sutton.
That 1970-71 season saw them play one game each in Charlotte, N.C., South Bend, Ind., Olean, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and two games in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Road Warriors
The Missouri Valley Conference has recorded an 11-7 record in true road contests this year. The 11 road wins are already more than all of last year (10).
In recent history, road success has translated into multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament.
Recent MVC Non-Conference Road Records
2008-09 -- 10-24 (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 3 CIT, 1 CBI)
2007-08 -- 18-26 (1 NCAA, 3 NIT, 1 CBI)
2006-07 -- 19-20 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2005-06 -- 17-18 (4 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2004-05 -- 14-20 (3 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2003-04 -- 12-23 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)
Bracket Buster Rematch History
Creighton owns a 5-2 record in BracketBusters match-ups, including a 4-2 mark in televised games (the 2/19/05 win over Chattanooga was not on television). In the rematches, Creighton owns a 3-3 record.
Opponent First Meeting Rematch
Fresno State W 67-66 (H) W 70-62 ot (R)
Kent State L 55-70 (R) L 58-67 (H)
Chattanooga W 100-68 (H) L 64-69 (R)
Fresno State W 67-62 (H) L 54-69 (R)
Drexel L 58-64 (H) W 72-48 (R)
Oral Roberts W 65-64 (R) W 87-65 (H)
George Mason W 76-63 (H) Saturday
Winning From Within
Creighton beat Nebraska on Sunday despite making just 1-of-10 three-point shots. That snapped a streak of 74 straight games making four or more treys (the nation's fifth-longest active streak).
Creighton had made just one three-pointer in a game just once previously in Dana Altman's 476-game tenure at CU, on Jan. 20, 2007 vs. Southern Illinois.
Creighton's 508 straight games with at least one trifecta is the MVC's longest active streak.
Creighton has not made a three-point basket in the second half in either of its last two games.
Bracket Buster Trivia
Did you know that Creighton played in the first game in BracketBusters history? The Jays defeated Fresno State 67-66 on Feb. 22, 2003, in an 11 am game on the inaugural weekend then known as Bracket Buster Saturday.
Under .500 After Seven Games
Creighton's current 3-4 record matches its worst seven-game start to a season since the 1994-95 club also opened 3-4.
Creighton's 1988-89 team started 3-4 but would end up winning the MVC regular-season and MVC Tournament titles, reaching the NCAA Tournament and finishing 20-11.
20 Point Scorers Off The Bench
Creighton has had three individuals score more than 20 points this season, and two did it in a reserve role.
Justin Carter scored a career-high 21 points off the bench in the overtime setback to Michigan on Nov. 26th.
A day later, Ethan Wragge had a career-best 21 points off the bench against Xavier.
Before those two games, Creighton hadn't had a player score 20 points off the bench since Cavel Witter had 25 points against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22, 2008.
Keeping It Fresh
The 21 points scored by Ethan Wragge against Xavier were the most by a Bluejay freshman since P'Allen Stinnett had 22 points against Rhode Island on March 18, 2008. Stinnett had four games of 20 or more points as a freshman en route to sweeping MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors.
Wragge's 21 points came in just 17 minutes. That made him the first CU player to score more than 20 points in less than 20 minutes since Vernon Moore put up 21 points in 19 minutes against Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 24, 1984.
Wragge's five three-pointers against Xavier were the most by a CU freshman since Stinnett had five three-pointers in a season-opening win over DePaul on Nov. 9, 2007.
Game Could Turn Over This Stat
Creighton has been outscored in points off turnovers in all four losses this year, but owned the edge in the same category in all three wins.
Bock Knocks 'Em Down
True freshman Andrew Bock has made 16-of-17 free throws this season. His 94.1 percent marksmanship from the line leads the Missouri Valley Conference and ranks tied for 16th nationally (fourth among freshmen).
One of Bock's teammates, Cavel Witter, opened his career with 22 straight makes at the line to establish a school mark (according to available records).
Stinnett Surpasses 900 Points
Junior guard P'Allen Stinnett has surpassed the 900 point milestone, having scored 902 points through the first 74 games of his career.
Looking ahead a game, only Rodney Buford (1,306 points) and Kyle Korver (915 points) have scored more points through 75 games than Stinnett among Creighton players in the Dana Altman era. The rest of the top five is Booker Woodfox (853 through his 67 career games) and Johnny Mathies (763).
Below is the list for most points in all games played under Altman.
Most Points, Dana Altman Era (1994-Pres.)
No. Pts. Name, Games Years
1. 2,116 Rodney Buford (118 games) 1995-99
2. 1,801 Kyle Korver (128 games) 1999-03
3. 1,754 Nate Funk (135 games) 2002-07
4. 1,311 Ryan Sears (124 games) 1997-01
5. 1,238 Ben Walker (124 games) 1997-01
6. 1,152 Dane Watts (130 games) 2004-08
7. 1,031 Johnny Mathies (93 games) 2003-06
8. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver (124 games) 2003-07
9. 979 Terrell Taylor (97 games) 1999-02
10. 902 P'Allen Stinnett (74 games) 2007-10
11. 883 Brody Deren (95 games) 2001-04
20 Overall Wins x 11 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 103-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 11 straight 20-win campaigns, a figure it reached last season on Feb. 11 with a win over Bradley. No other Valley school has ever put together more than six straight 20-win seasons.
Creighton is one of six teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 11 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Postseason x 12
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 12 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is two more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 12 years are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
10 Conference Wins x 13
Last season's Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 13th 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 other current school with at least 13 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (15).
Doubling Up From The Start
Darryl Ashford and Ethan Wragge both scored 11 or more points in each of their first two games at Creighton.
Prior to this season, Creighton hadn't had a player open their career with two or more games of 11 points or more since junior college transfer Edward St. Fleur had 16 points, then 17 points, to start the 1995-96 campaign.
Ashford's 69 points rank as tied for the seventh-best seven-game start in Dana Altman's 16-year tenure, while Wragge's 63 points are the 10th-most. Wragge's total is fifth-most by a freshman under Altman.
In case you are wondering, the most points under Altman in a newcomer's first eight games is 90 by Ryan Sears in 1997-98.
Most Points, First Seven Games Under Dana Altman
Pts. Name, Class Year
81 Ryan Sears, Fr. 1997-98
80 Tad Ackerman, Jr. 1994-95
78 P'Allen Stinnett, Fr. 2007-08
74 Terrell Taylor, Fr. 1999-00
74 Rodney Buford, Fr. 1995-96
71 Edward St. Fleur, Jr. 1995-96
69 Doug Swenson, Jr. 1997-98
69 Darryl Ashford, Jr. 2009-10
66 Brody Deren, So. 2001-02
63 Ethan Wragge, Fr. 2009-10
Runnels Rebounds Into History
Junior transfer Wayne Runnels became the first Creighton player in 40 seasons to grab nine or more rebounds in each of his first two games as a Bluejay.
Believe it or not, that 1969-70 season saw three different men open their careers with consecutive games of nine or more rebounds.
Cyril Baptiste had five straight such games, Denny Bresnahan had three such games and Nate Stephens had at least two such games to begin their Creighton career.
Newcomers Shine
Creighton had three newcomers score in double-figures during its season-opener against Dayton. Wayne Runnels had 16 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting, Darryl Ashford had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Ethan Wragge had 11 points on 3-of-4 marksmanship.
Combined, those three men accounted for half of Creighton's 80 points at Dayton and made 14-of-19 shots from the floor (73.7 percent).
Newcomers Ashford (17), Wragge (16), Josh Jones (8) and Andrew Bock (6) combined for 47 of CU's 78 points in the win over Florida A&M on Nov. 17th.
The Four-Point Play
Few plays in basketball are as rare as the four-point play, which happen only when a player is fouled while making a three-point shot and then hits the ensuing free throw.
On Nov. 4th against Missouri Western State, P'Allen Stinnett pulled off that rare feat with 13:17 left in the second half.
Stinnett then did it again at Dayton in the season-opener on Nov. 14.
Before Stinnett's magic, Creighton had not had a player convert a four-point play in a regular-season game since Johnny Mathies vs. Evansville on Jan. 22, 2006.
Looking To Fill Dotzler's Shoes
Just like he did four years ago at Bellevue (Neb.) West High School, Antoine Young is looking to fill the shoes of four-year starting point guard Josh Dotzler.
In two exhibition games this fall, Young tied for the team lead with three steals, and had 13 assists without a turnover. Young then had four assists and just a single turnover in the loss at Dayton, two assists and one turnover in the win over FAMU and two assists and a turnover vs. UALR.
Last year Dotzler led the MVC in steals (70) and steals per game (2.0 spg.) while ranking fourth in the nation with a 3.46/1 assist/turnover ratio.
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including four times last season, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 30 times in the last 10 seasons.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 10 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
03/18/09 Bowling Green 14 W 73-71
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
02/24/09 at Missouri State 13 W 65-59
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
02/01/09 Missouri State 10 W 75-51
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton has been picked second in the preseason poll of MVC coaches, SID's and media. Northern Iowa was a near-unanimous pick to win the league, garnering 38-of-39 first-place votes and 389 points overall.
Creighton was second with 336 points and the remaining first-place vote.
Illinois State (299), Southern Illinois (272) and Wichita State (216) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Bradley (208), where it was followed by Indiana State (173), Drake (105), Missouri State (92) and Evansville (55).
Creighton junior guard P'Allen Stinnett is one of six men on the preseason all-MVC team. It's Stinnett's second straight year earning such an accolade. He's joined on the team by UNI's Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Adam Koch, SIU's Tony Freeman, Drake's Josh Young and preseason MVC Player of the Year Osiris Eldridge from Illinois State.
Altman Among These Leaders
Creighton head coach Dana Altman ranks 11th nationally in Division I wins at his current school with 312. The 11 coaches on this list have combined for 4,965 wins, 12 national titles and 26 Final Four appearances.
Records below are through games of Dec. 8th.
Rk. W-L Name, School Next Game
1. 807-288 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 12/10
2. 767-216 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke 12/15
3. 563-206 Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 12/9
4. 423-232 Gary Williams, Maryland 12/12
5. 375-324 Fang Mitchell, Coppin State 12/9
6. 370-264 Bob Thomason, Pacific 12/9
7. 369-239 Bob McKillop, Davidson 12/12
8. 343-139 Tom Izzo, Michigan State 12/10
9. 319-265 Dave Loos, Austin Peay 12/9
10. 317-126 Billy Donovan, Florida 12/10
11. 312-164 Dana Altman, Creighton 12/12
27 Wins in 2008-09
Creighton tied for 15th nationally with 27 wins in 2008-09, and were one of 24 schools with 27 or more wins last season.
Last season Creighton became the only school from a top-10 league to ever win 26 or more games by Selection Sunday and not receive an NCAA Tournament bid.
Wins Schools
34 North Carolina
33 Memphis
31 Missouri, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut,
Michigan State
30 Duke, Villanova, Oklahoma, Utah State
28 Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Syracuse
27 Creighton, Davidson, LSU, Charleston, Siena Dayton, Purdue, Penn State, Kansas, Xavier
Tenure? He's Got 16 Years
Dana Altman is the dean of MVC coaches, as he is in his 16th season as head coach at Creighton. His 16 years at CU ranks 15th-longest nationally among active head coaches at one school. Below is that list:
Yrs. Name, School
34 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
32 Dave Bike, Sacred Heart
30 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
28 Don Maestri, Troy
26 Greg Kampe, Oakland
24 Rick Byrd, Belmont; Jim Calhoun, Connecticut; Ron “Fang” Mitchell, Coppin State; Vann Pettaway, Alabama A&M
22 Bob Thomason, Pacific
21 Bob McKillop, Davidson; Gary Williams, Maryland
20 Dave Loos, Austin Peay
17 Kirk Speraw, Central Florida
16 Dana Altman, Creighton; Ron Hunter, IUPUI; Rick Scruggs, Gardner-Webb
15 Tom Izzo, Michigan State; Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph's, Scott Nagy, South Dakota State; Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette
Record Breaking Attendance
Creighton attracted 302,676 home fans last season, a figure that was the most in the 103-year history of the MVC.
The Jays also set an MVC record in average attendance. Creighton averaged 15,930 fans (12th nationally), just ahead of the 15,909 average from 2006-07.
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,081 fans per game so far.
2008-09 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 23,012
2. Syracuse 21,044
3. North Carolina 21,035
4. Tennessee 20,483
5. Louisville 19,397
6. Wisconsin 17,230
7. Maryland 17,048
8. Memphis 16,933
9. Kansas 16,350
10. Marquette 16,200
11. Arkansas 16,043
12. Creighton 15,930
13. Illinois 15,498
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
302,676 Creighton 2008-09
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,081 Creighton 2009-10
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
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. Nine of his last 12 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the four that didn't won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02 and 2008-09. 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 12 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.), 2008-09
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
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 312 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 172 triumphs in regular-season conference games are second-most in league history.
Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Hickey entered the MVC Hall of Fame last March in conjunction with Arch Madness.
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. 312 Dana Altman Creighton
MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 187 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 172 Dana Altman Creighton
3. 163 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 103 regular and postseason contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time in seven seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 87-16 (.845) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 18-0 figure on Wednesday's, a 6-0 mark on Thursday's and a 1-0 mark on Friday's.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 7,631-6,420 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.8 points per game. The 16 losses have been by a combined 87 points (5.4 ppg.). Creighton has led wire-to-wire 21 different times.
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 overall with 213 wins in the decade, as well as nine postseason appearances, as can be seen by the numbers below through games of Dec. 8, 2009:
MVC Standings (2000-01 to Dec. 8, 2009)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 115 47 .710 213 86 .712
Southern Illinois 118 44 .728 205 95 .683
Missouri State 85 77 .525 165 126 .567
Wichita State 83 79 .512 163 128 .560
Northern Iowa 84 78 .519 162 126 .563
Bradley 78 84 .481 160 140 .533
Illinois State 75 87 .463 153 131 .539
Drake 69 93 .426 138 144 .489
Indiana State 50 112 .309 112 170 .394
Evansville 53 109 .327 105 166 .387
Postseason Appearances by MVC Teams
(Since 2000-01)
Team NCAA NIT CBI CIT Total
Creighton 5 4 0 0 9
Southern Illinois 6 1 0 0 7
Bradley 1 2 1 1 5
Wichita State 1 3 1 0 5
Northern Iowa 4 0 0 0 4
Missouri State 0 3 0 0 3
Illinois State 0 3 0 0 3
Drake 1 0 0 1 2
Evansville 0 0 0 1 1
Indiana State 1 0 0 0 1
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton had two 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 juniors 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 484 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 508 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC.
Dance Regulars
Creighton is one of 20 schools to have appeared in multiple NCAA Tournaments during each of the past five decades.
Multiple NCAA Appearances, Last 5 Decades
Team 60's 70's 80's 90's 00's
Arizona State 4 2 2 2 2
BYU 2 3 5 5 7
Creighton 2 3 2 2 6
DePaul 2 3 9 2 2
Duke 4 2 7 9 10
Kansas 3 4 6 10 10
Kentucky 6 7 9 8 9
Louisville 4 6 8 7 7
Marquette 3 9 3 4 6
North Carolina 3 6 10 10 8
Princeton 7 2 4 6 2
Providence 3 5 2 3 2
Temple 2 3 5 10 4
Texas Tech 2 2 2 2 4
UCLA 7 10 5 10 8
Utah 3 3 3 7 6
UTEP 4 2 6 2 2
Villanova 3 4 8 6 5
Weber State 2 6 2 2 2
Western Kentucky 4 4 4 3 5
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 55 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
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.
The Charge Chart
Creighton has taken eight charges so far this year after taking 47 in 2008-09. Over the previous seven seasons, the Bluejays have averaged taking 48.4 per year.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-08 '08-09 '09-10 Total
Casey Harriman 17 8 4 29
Darryl Ashford n/a n/a 2 2
Antoine Young n/a 4 1 4
Andrew Bock n/a n/a 1 1
Chad Millard 7 4 0 11
P'Allen Stinnett 5 4 0 9
Justin Carter n/a 9 0 9
Kenny Lawson Jr. 2 4 0 6
Kaleb Korver 0 3 0 3
Cavel Witter 3 0 0 3
Former Players 258 11 n/a 243
Total 292 47 8 347
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
Coat, Food Drives A Success
The generosity of some Creighton Basketball fans has paid big dividends for the Siena Francis House in the preseason. More than 675 pounds of food and around 250 coats were collected in separate events connected with Bluejay basketball.
The food drives took place on both Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 as part of the open practices hosted at D.J. Sokol Arena in the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center. Fans were invited to bring canned goods or other perishable items prior to both events. More than 675 pounds of food were collected.
On Nov. 8th as part of the team's exhibition game against Nebraska-Omaha, fans could exchange new or slightly used coats for two tickets to Creighton's regular-season home opener on Nov. 17 against Florida A&M. Around 250 coats were gathered. Nu-Trend Cleaners then donated to the cause by cleaning of all coats before they were delivered to the Siena Francis House on Nov. 9th.
The Siena Francis House is Nebraska's largest shelter, serving homeless men, women and children for over 30 years.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2009-10 season went on sale on October 26th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000. 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). Tickets for the Dec. 6 Nebraska game will be $20 for adults and youth.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 27-8 and won a share of the MVC regular-season title for the first time since 2001-02. The Jays were then selected to the NIT, where it defeated Bowling Green before falling to Kentucky.
Senior Booker Woodfox was named MVC Player of the Year after averaging 15.8 points and ranking second nationally with 47.6 percent marksmanship from three-point range.
Fellow senior Josh Dotzler led CU in assists and led the MVC in steals while earning a spot on the Valley's All-Defensive Team.
Justin Carter returns after leading Creighton with 5.5 rebounds per contest, while P'Allen Stinnett is the team's top returning scorer after scoring at a 12.5 points per game clip.
Creighton averaged an MVC-record 15,930 fans per game last season, 12th-best nationally.
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 fifth time in the seven-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2008-09 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.32 cumulative grade-point average over the 2008-09 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Creighton had three men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year.
Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University 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 Blues Alumni Grill (outside the 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 convention center 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 convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
