Men's Basketball Plays for MVC Title Saturday vs. Redbirds
2/26/2009 1:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Next Game
Creighton (24-6, 13-4 MVC) looks to secure at least a share of its 14th MVC regular-season title all-time on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Illinois State (22-7, 11-6 MVC).
The Bluejays and Redbirds will square off at 1:05 pm at Qwest Center Omaha (17,272) in Omaha, Neb.
Bluejay guards Dustin Sitzmann, Josh Dotzler and Booker Woodfox, as well as senior manager Tyler Monahan will be honored following the game as part of Senior Day festivities.
CU Athletics is requesting all fans wear a blue shirt to create a “blue-out” effect for the national television audience.
Illinois State Redbirds at Creighton Bluejays
Qwest Center Omaha (17,272) ? Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.bigsports590.com
Television: ESPN2
Series History: Illinois State leads 37-23
Last Meeting: Creighton won 75-51 in Omaha on Feb. 1, 2009
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2008-09 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
The game can also be heard on Sirius satellite radio channel 122.
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 home games, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will be televised nationally by ESPN2, with Lou Canellis and Mark Adams on the call.
Video Webcast Information
Saturday's game will not be video webcast.
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 (24-6, 13-4 MVC)
The preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference have won nine straight games and 21 of their past 25 games to improve to 24-6 overall.
Creighton's 13-4 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference is tied for first with Northern Iowa heading into the final day of the regular-season. The Panthers will host Evansville at 7:30 pm on Saturday night.
MVC Player of the Year candidate Booker Woodfox leads the team with 15.8 points per game and ought to be included in the discussion of the nation's best shooters. The senior guard leads the nation in three-point percentage (51.3 percent) and ranks eighth nationally in free-throw percentage (89.1 percent).
Also scoring in double-figures is sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett (12.4 ppg., 1.4 spg.). Stinnett is a preseason all-Valley pick after sweeping MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors last season.
Senior point guard Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 64 steals and is fifth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.00), while sophomore big man Kenny Lawson Jr. tops The Valley with 49 blocked shots.
Creighton shoots 45.1 percent from the floor, 39.6 percent from three-point territory and is also making 76.5 percent of its shots from the line.
The Bluejays returned 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 Illinois State (22-7, 11-6 MVC)
Illinois State brings its first two-game losing streak of the season to Omaha after dropping a heartbreaking 69-67 double-overtime game to Northern Iowa on Senior Night at Redbird Arena on Tuesday.
Now 22-7 overall and 11-6 in league play, the Redbirds are locked into the third seed at next week's State Farm MVC Tournament. Illinois State is 7-5 in true road games this season and 4-4 in Valley road tilts.
Oregon transfer Champ Oguchi (14.8 ppg., 5.8 rpg.) tops the team in scoring. Oguchi has also made a team-high 73 three-point buckets and shoots 81.4 percent from the stripe.
ISU's second-leading scorer is preseason Valley Player of the Year Osiris Eldridge. Eldridge averages 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and has scored 43 points in two previous trips to Omaha.
Also in double-figures are guards Lloyd Phillips (11.1 ppg.) and Emmanuel Holloway (10.2 ppg.). Both men are transfers from Iowa Western CC, located just across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The Redbirds average 70.9 points per game while allowing 62.8 per contest. ISU shoots 44.5 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent at the line. ISU also tops the league with a +4.8 rebound margin.
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 306-158 (.659) mark at Creighton and a career record of 389-225 (.634) 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 512-249 (.673).
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.
Illinois State is led by Tim Jankovich, who is 47-17 in his second year with the Redbirds. That moves his career mark to 100-74 in seven years overall as a Division I head coach. Jankovich has also been an assistant coach at Kansas and Illinois and a head coach at North Texas. He is assisted by Rob Judson, Anthony Beane and Paris Parham.
Series History vs. Illinois State
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 37-23 margin. Illinois State has won the past four contests, but the Bluejays have won 12 of the last 18 meetings.
The series is tied 14-14 in games played in Omaha. The Redbirds will be attempting to win in consecutive trips to Omaha for the first time since 1994-97.
Creighton coach Dana Altman is 16-15 all-time against Illinois State and 0-3 against Tim Jankovich-led teams.
A complete series history against Illinois State can be found on page 10 of this release.
Last Game Recap
Casey Harriman scored all 10 of his points in the final 7:21 as Creighton overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to win at Missouri State, 65-59, on Tuesday. Creighton was held to a season-low 21 points in the first half and trailed 32-21 at the break before a big second half. Harriman would hit back-to-back treys with just more than six minutes to go, and CU would not trail again.
In addition to Harriman's 10-point outburst, Cavel Witter had 11 points and six assists while P'Allen Stinnett also chipped in with 11 points. Three MSU players had 11 points each.
Home Season Finales
Creighton is 12-2 under Dana Altman in its final home game of the regular-season, but has not played Illinois State on Senior Night in that run.
CU's last loss in a regular-season home finale came on a senior-less team in 2002 to Drake. The Jays have won 12 straight Senior Night's when they have at least one senior dating to a 1994-95 setback vs. Southern Illinois.
Creighton has never played Illinois State in its final regular-season home game of the season.
So Long Seniors
Saturday will mark the final regular-season home game in the career for seniors Josh Dotzler, Booker Woodfox and Dustin Sitzmann. Over the past four years, Creighton is 88-38 with four 20-win seasons and three postseason appearances (one NCAA, two NIT's) to date. The trio will be honored after Saturday's game, along with senior manager Tyler Monahan.
Dotzler is a senior guard from Omaha who owns 408 points, 366 assists, 190 steals and 180 rebounds in his career. He's played in 112 games, including 91 starts, and ranks in the top-seven in CU history in both assists and steals.
Sitzmann is a senior guard from LeMars, Iowa, who owns 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his career. Sitzmann has played in 40 games, all as a reserve, while seeing 77 minutes of action.
Woodfox is a senior guard from Lewisville, Texas, who owns 775 points, 141 rebounds and 73 assists in his career. Woodfox has played in 62 games, including 29 starts, and is on pace to set CU records for three-point percentage in a season and career.
Senior Citizens
Below is a list of statistics by the Creighton players honored during Senior Day this century.
Name Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Min.
Bahe-08? 9 2 3 0 29
Watts-08? 7 4 0 0 34
Hibma-08? 0 3 0 0 21
Funk-07? 16 0 5 0 34
Tolliver-07? 11 7 2 0 32
Porter-07? 17 4 3 0 25
Gakou-07 2 0 0 0 7
Day-06 5 4 2 1 26
Mathies-06? 18 5 4 7 39
Motz-06 6 0 0 0 12
McKinney-05? 12 4 4 1 29
Miliner-05? 5 2 0 0 21
Dabbert-04 13 5 1 0 22
Deren-04? 6 10 2 0 19
Grimes-04? 16 8 2 0 29
Lindeman-04? 15 5 5 0 32
House-03? 28 6 1 0 22
Korver-03? 13 7 3 1 28
Bowden-03? 4 2 1 2 20
Walker-01? 13 2 2 1 22
Sears-01? 9 0 2 2 23
Pyfrom-01 12 8 3 1 23
Huss-01? 0 0 1 1 7
Haynes-01 6 1 1 2 18
Angner-01 4 0 0 3 9
? indicates game started
Possible Seeds
Heading into Saturday's games, here's the potential seeds that each league school could be, according to the MVC's Mike Kern:
Bradley -- 4 or 5
Creighton -- 1 or 2
Drake -- 7 or 8
Evansville -- 4, 5 or 6
Illinois State -- clinched 3rd seed
Indiana State -- 8 or 9
Missouri State -- clinched 10th seed
Northern Iowa -- 1 or 2
Southern Illinois -- 5, 6, 8 or 9
Wichita State -- 5, 6, 7 or 8
Jays Will Be 1st or 2nd Seed
Creighton will be either the first or second seed when the State Farm MVC Tournament is played, March 5-8, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Below is the tournament schedule:
Thursday, March 5th
Game 1: #8 seed vs. #9 seed 6:00 pm
Game 2: #7 seed vs. #10 Missouri State 8:30 pm
Friday, March 6th
Game 3: G1 winner vs. #1 seed (FSN Midwest) 12:05 pm
Game 4: #4 seed vs. #5 seed (FSN Midwest) 2:35 pm
Game 5: G2 winner vs. #2 seed (FSN Midwest) 6:05 pm
Game 6: #3 Illinois St. vs. #6 seed (FSN Midwest) 8:35 pm
Saturday, March 7th
Game 7: G3 winner vs. G4 winner (FSN Midwest) 1:35 pm
Game 8: G5 winner vs. G6 winner (FSN Midwest) 4:05 pm
Sunday, March 8th
Game 9: G7 winner vs. G8 winner (CBS) 1:05 pm
What Are The Scenario's?
Official MVC Tournament pairings will be announced by the league office on Saturday night at www.mvc.org after play concludes in the game that starts at 7:30 pm between Evansville and Northern Iowa. That game will air regionally on FSN Midwest, but can be seen in on Cox Channel 2 in the Omaha market.
Northern Iowa clinches the top seed with a win over Evansville or a Creighton loss. Creighton will be the top seed with a win over Illinois State AND a UNI loss to Evansville.
Creighton will be the second seed if it loses to Illinois State or Northern Iowa defeats Evansville. If both Creighton and Evansville win, then UNI will be the second seed.
Searching For A Title
Creighton enters the final weekend of the regular-season tied for first in the MVC with Northern Iowa. Both teams own a 13-4 league record.
Creighton could clinch a share of the MVC title with a win over Illinois State OR a Northern Iowa loss to Evansville.
Creighton could clinch the outright title with a win over Illinois State AND a UNI loss to Evansville.
Creighton owns a combined 13 all-time regular-season titles (7 outright, 6 shared), more than any other league school. Creighton's 10 MVC Tournament titles are twice as many as any other school.
Creighton's last outright regular-season title came in 2000-01, while its last shared regular-season crown was in 2001-02. The Jays last won the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference in 2007.
A complete list of Creighton's conference titles can be found on page 110 of the media guide.
MVC Champs = NCAA Bid?
Including Drake last year, 15 straight Missouri Valley regular-season champions have reached the NCAA Tournament. Illinois State (1992-93) was the last squad to win the league's regular-season crown and not make it.
Favorites Chasing A Title?
The preseason favorites in the MVC, Creighton has a chance to win the league title on Saturday with a victory over Illinois State or a UNI loss to Evansville.
Since 1985-86, the preseason poll has accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 10 times out of 24 polls.
The last Valley favorite to win the regular-season title was Southern Illinois in 2004-05.
Within Reach?
With a win on Saturday, Creighton could...
-Win nine straight regular-season MVC games for the first time since the 2000-01 team won its final nine MVC contests.
-Improve to 14-4 in MVC play. All three previous times CU has had 14 or more league wins, it has reached the NCAA Tournament.
-Snap a four-game losing skid to Illinois State.
-Win 25 games in a season. Only the 2002-03 team that won 29 games has won more.
An Unlikely Turnaround?
Creighton trailed Northern Iowa by three games in the league standings with six conference games left, heading into a road game against the first-place Panthers on Feb. 8th.
Creighton left Cedar Falls with a 77-71 road win, snapping UNI's school-record 11-game win streak, and sending notice that the race was on for the regular-season title.
Since that day, Creighton has won all five of its MVC games, while UNI has gone 2-3 in those games.
The Case For Creighton
Below are some highlights on Creighton's profile, in the event it would need an at-large bid:
-A record of 24-6 overall and 13-4 mark (tied for first place) in a top-10 conference.
-A 9-4 record against top-100 opponents.
-Eight true road wins, including victories at top-100 foes Saint Joseph's, Bradley, Northern Iowa and Evansville.
-One of five teams to defeat Dayton this year (77-59 on Dec. 10).
-Las Vegas Classic champions, defeating Fresno State and DePaul on a neutral floor.
-Winners of the nine consecutive games and 20 of the past 25 games.
-One of four teams nationally with two different win streaks of nine or more this year, joining North Carolina, Xavier and Connecticut.
Attendance Remains Strong
Creighton has attracted 258,999 fans heading into its Feb. 28th home game vs. Illinois State, a figure that already ranks second in the 102-year history of the MVC. The only mark that is higher is last year's Creighton season. Creighton can break that record with a crowd of 17,002 or more fans on Saturday vs. Illinois State.
The Jays are also on pace to set an MVC record in average attendance. Creighton is averaging 16,187 fans currently (10th nationally), just ahead of the 15,909 average from 2006-07.
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
258,999 Creighton 2008-09
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
16,187 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
2008-09 Attendance Leaders (Thru 2/25/09)
Rk. School Average Next
1. Kentucky 22,870 2/28
2. North Carolina 20,985 2/28
3. Syracuse 20,792 3/1
4. Tennessee 20,482 3/8
5. Louisville 19,346 3/1
6. Memphis 17,583 2/28
7. Wisconsin 17,230 3/1
8. Maryland 16,995 3/3
9. Kansas 16,356 3/1
10. Creighton 16,187 2/28
11. Marquette 16,027 3/7
12. Arkansas 15,839 3/1
13. Illinois 15,364 2/26
14. Ohio State 15,251 3/8
15. Indiana 14,283 3/3
Nation's Best Shooter?
Creighton guard Booker Woodfox continues to sink shots from all distances and angles, making his case as one of the nation's top shooters.
Woodfox ranks first in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage (51.3 percent) and is eighth in free-throw percentage at 89.1 percent, which makes him the only player in the country to rank in the top-10 nationally in both three-point percentage and free-throw percentage.
Below is a list of nine incredible figures as they relate to Woodfox:
1. Leads the nation in three-point percentage (51.3 percent), including 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) shooting from distance in the past three games.
2. Only player to rank in the top-10 nationally in both 3FG% and FT%.
3. Set a Creighton record with 36 consecutive made free throws earlier this season.
4. Has made 43-of-44 free-throw attempts away from home this season (97.7 percent), including 25-of-25 in MVC road games this year.
5. Is shooting 57.0 percent (45-79) from three-point range in non-MVC games.
6. When you subtract nine games played in January when he was hobbled by a bum ankle, Woodfox has shot 56.7 percent from three-point land (68-120) this season.
7. Has made 60 percent (9-15) of his three-point attempts in games televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU this year
8. On pace to shatter CU's single-season and career marks for three-point accuracy.
9. Has made 60.5 percent (26-43) of his three-pointers the last nine games and 65.4 percent (17-26) from downtown the past six games.
Woodfox Named Player of the Week, Again
Creighton guard Booker Woodfox claimed his third MVC Player of the Week honor on Monday after averaging 17.5 points in wins over Evansville and George Mason last week. Woodfox made 13-of-20 shots from the floor (65 percent) and hit 8-of-9 three-point attempts (88.9 percent) in the wins.
The only other player to earn MVC Player of the Week accolades this season has been Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge.
The Nation's Longest Active Win Streaks
Creighton's nine-game win streak is tied for third-longest nationally. Below is that list, through Feb. 25th:
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 18 Memphis 2/26
2. 10 Citadel 2/26
3. 9 Weber State 2/26
9 Creighton 2/28
9 LSU 2/28
9 American 2/28
9 Radford 2/28
8. 8 Kent State 2/26
8 Jackson State 2/28
8 Utah 2/28
Pair of 9's
Creighton is currently on a nine-game winning streak after posting nine straight wins earlier this season from Dec. 2-31, a stretch snapped by Illinois State.
This is the first time in school history that Creighton has had two win streaks of nine or longer in the same season.
Creighton is one of four teams in the nation to have multiple winning streaks of nine or longer this year, joining Connecticut, North Carolina and Xavier.
A Tradition of Win Streaks
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 20 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 ? ? ?
9 Jan. 27, 2009 - Present ? ? ?
8 Feb. 16-March 7, 2005 NCAA
7 Four Times
6 Four Times
5 Four Times
Perfect Months?
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.
Creighton is currently 8-0 in the month of February. A win on Saturday would give the school its first ever unbeaten February in which it played nine or more games.
Creighton's last unbeaten February, regardless the number of games played, came when the 2000-01 team went 8-0.
Second Half Surges
Creighton has scored 40 or more second half points in each of the past nine games, all wins.
Creighton's bench, which no doubt contributes to that success, has outscored the opponents 184-47 in those second halves and has out-assisted its opponent's reserves 30-8. Creighton's reserves have made 17-of-30 three-point attempts (56.7 percent), while the reserves of the opposition are just 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from downtown in this run.
24 Wins Helps The Cause For NCAA's
Creighton currently has 24 wins, all against Division I opponents.
According to Jerry Palm from http://www.collegerpi.com, only 13 teams in the past 15 years have missed the NCAA Tournament with 24 or more Division I wins.
Only two of those teams were in leagues ranked in the top-10 in the RPI, New Mexico (2008) and Missouri State (1997). The Missouri Valley Conference is currently ranked ninth.
In that same 15 year span, only four teams have missed the NCAA's with 25 or more wins. Robert Morris last year, Akron and Vermont in 2007 and Butler in 2002.
The 24-Win Group
Creighton is one of nine schools with 24 or more wins this season through Feb. 25.
Wins Schools
26 Connecticut
25 Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Utah State
24 Creighton, Missouri, Memphis, North Carolina, LSU
23, 24, 25
Creighton picked up its 20th win this season on Feb. 11th with a win over Bradley. This is the 21st time that Creighton has won 20 or more games, but only once before has it gotten there quicker on the calendar.
In the 2002-03 season, Creighton became the nation's first team to 20 wins when it beat Northern Iowa on Feb. 4th. That Creighton team won a school-record 29 games.
Below is a list of the campaigns in which Creighton has had 23 or more wins in a season.
Wins Year(s)
29 2002-03
24 2008-09, 2000-01, 1990-91
23 2004-05, 2001-02, 1999-00, 1973-74, 1921-22
Local Flavor
Illinois State guards Lloyd Phillips and Emmanuel Holloway both hail from Iowa Western Community College, located just across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The radio crew for those Iowa Western teams was Jake Ryan and Jeff Gogerty. Ryan also serves as public address announcer for Creighton men's basketball.
ESPN All-Access
Creighton's current basketball team features three men that helped out with ESPN's 2008 coverage of the Men's College World Series, held annually in Omaha at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.
Kaleb Korver, Antoine Young and Chad Millard have all held roles that includes setting up the announcer's booth, serving as grips, working with the camera men that venture into the crowd and other assorted duties.
The CWS returns to Omaha for a 60th consecutive year from June 13-24 and will once again be seen on ESPN and ESPN2.
Bright Lights, Big Wins
Creighton is 26-9 in its last 35 games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, and will be making its fourth appearance of the year on the self-proclaimed World Wide Leader on Saturday.
Creighton is 3-0 this season on ESPN2/ESPNU, winning all three games by double-figures.
In these 35 ESPN appearances, Creighton is 25-2 when scoring 62 points or more, but just 1-7 when scoring 61 points or less.
Last year the Jays went 6-2 on the ESPN family of networks, including thrilling one-point wins over both Rhode Island and Oral Roberts.
Below is CU's recent results on the ESPN family of networks:
Date Opponent Score Network
02/21/09 George Mason W 76-63 ESPNU
02/14/09 at Southern Illinois W 82-60 ESPN2
01/20/09 at Evansville W 79-57 ESPNU
03/21/08 at Florida L 54-82 ESPN2
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 ESPNU
02/23/08 at Oral Roberts W 65-64 ESPN2
02/19/08 Missouri State W 88-67 ESPNU
02/10/08 Southern Illinois W 72-53 ESPNU
02/05/08 Northern Iowa W 74-50 ESPNU
01/26/08 at Southern Illinois L 44-48 ESPN2
01/15/08 at Northern Iowa W 68-59 ESPN2
02/24/07 Wichita State W 71-54 ESPN2
02/17/07 Drexel L 58-64 ESPN2
02/13/07 Northern Iowa W 66-55 ESPNU
02/10/07 at Southern Illinois L 68-72 ESPN2
12/30/06 Missouri State W 77-74 ESPN2
12/06/06 at Dayton L 54-60 ESPNU
02/18/06 Fresno State W 67-62 ESPN
02/14/06 at Wichita State L 61-62 ot ESPNU
01/31/06 Northern Iowa W 63-55 ESPNU
03/07/05 vs. Missouri State W 75-57 ESPN
02/12/05 at Southern Illinois L 67-71 ESPN2
02/09/05 Northern Iowa W 83-82 ESPN2
02/21/04 at Kent State L 55-70 ESPN2
02/07/04 Southern Illinois L 60-61 ESPN2
03/10/03 vs. Southern Illinois W 80-56 ESPN
02/22/03 Fresno State W 67-66 ESPN2
01/18/03 Southern Illinois W 85-76 ESPN2
03/04/02 vs. Southern Illinois W 84-76 ESPN2
02/23/02 at Bradley W 80-64 ESPN2
02/17/01 Wyoming W 84-72 ESPN
02/10/01 at Southern Illinois W 77-63 ESPN
03/06/00 vs. Missouri State W 57-45 ESPN
02/07/00 at Colorado State W 78-67 ESPN
03/01/99 vs. Evansville W 70-61 ESPN
Springfield Springboard?
Creighton has won just seven times in 22 tries at Missouri State all-time, including this year.
Five of the six previous Bluejay teams that won at the Hammons Student Center eventually advanced to the NCAA Tournament, while the sixth earned an NIT bid.
Five In Double-Figures x 3
Creighton placed five men in double-figures in consecutive wins over Bradley, Southern Illinois and Evansville earlier this month.
Prior to that stretch, CU hadn't placed five players in double-figures during the same game since Jan. 31, 2007 when it did so against Bradley.
Creighton had not placed five men in double-figures in three consecutive games in a search back through readily available box scores dating to the 1981-82 season.
Posts With the Most
Creighton centers Kenny Lawson Jr. and Kenton Walker have produced eight double-figure scoring performances in the current nine-game win streak (five by Lawson, three by Walker).
When both men score 10 or more in the same game, CU is 4-0 all-time and has won those games by an average of 25.5 points.
Since Chad Millard's ankle injury on Jan. 14th, Lawson and Walker have almost exclusively shared the center position. They've combined to average 14.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots in 37.3 minutes in the past 12 games.
20 Overall Wins x 11 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 11 straight 20-win campaigns, a figure it reached this season on Feb. 11 with a win over Bradley. No other Valley school owns more than six straight 20-win seasons.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of previous 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Creighton, Duke, Florida Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse have already extended their streak to 11 straight years. Below is a list of where the other school chasing an 11th straight 20-win season currently stand:
Team Current W-L Next Game
Kent State 16-11 Feb. 26
Does 20 Wins = Postseason?
Creighton and Illinois State both have 20 or more wins. Since the NCAA Tournament field was expanded to 64 teams (1985), 62 Valley teams have posted 20 wins prior to "Selection Sunday." All but one reached post-season play (Creighton in 1985 did not).
Tenure? He's Got 15 Years
Dana Altman is the dean of MVC coaches, as he is in his 15th season as head coach at Creighton.
According to a recent article by The Washington Times, Altman's 15 years at CU ranks 16th-longest nationally among active head coaches at one school. Below is that list:
Yrs. Name, School
33 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
31 Dave Bike, Sacred Heart
29 Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
27 Don Maestri, Troy
26 Tom Green, Fairleigh Dickinson
25 Greg Kampe, Oakland
23 Rick Byrd, Belmont; Jim Calhoun, Connecticut; Ron “Fang” Mitchell, Coppin State; Vann Pettaway, Alabama A&M
21 Bob Thomason, Pacific
20 Bob McKillop, Davidson; Gary Williams, Maryland
19 Dave Loos, Austin Peay
16 Kirk Speraw, Central Florida
15 Dana Altman, Creighton; Ron Hunter, IUPUI; Rick Scruggs, Gardner-Webb; Dennis Wolf, Boston University
14 Tom Izzo, Michigan State; Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph's, Scott Nagy, South Dakota State; Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette
10 Conference Wins x 13
Creighton has also 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 teams with at least 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins entering 2008-09 were Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
Kansas already has reached 10 league wins, while Stanford is 4-10 in the Pac-10 and cannot reach 10 league wins this season.
2nd Half Defense = Wins
Creighton's defense has been stellar in the second half of its current nine-game win streak. The Jays have held opponents to 38.8 percent from the floor (97-250) after intermission and just 29.9 percent from three-point range (23-77) in those nine triumphs.
Creighton's defense has held the opposition without a field goal for a five-minute second-half stretch on seven occasions in those past nine games. Some highlights of that stretch is below:
-Held Missouri State to two field goals in final 14:12 on Feb. 1.
-Held Drake without a field goal for stretch of 7:07 on Feb. 4.
-Held UNI without a field goal for a stretch of 8:16 on Feb. 8.
-Held Bradley to one field goal in final 10:48 on Feb. 11.
-Held George Mason without a field goal for a span of 6:29 on Feb. 21.
-Held Missouri State without a field goal for a span of 7:06 (last 5:18 of first half and first 2:48 of the second half) on Feb. 24.
Biggest Road Wins
Creighton won four Valley road games by double-digits this season.
Creighton's 79-57 win at Evansville on Jan. 20th ranked as the school's fourth-largest victory margin ever out of 367 Valley road games played. The Jays posted another 22-point Valley road win on Feb. 14th at Southern Illinois, topping the Salukis 82-60.
In fact, since 1933, the Jays had only posted one Valley road win by 22 points or more, a 28-point win in 2003 at Indiana State.
The 22-point victories at Evansville and Southern Illinois match the largest in the MVC this season by a road team in a conference game, as UNI also defeated Drake 81-59 on Jan. 17th and Illinois State beat Drake 67-45 on Feb. 15th.
Below is a list of CU's all-time Valley road wins by 22 points or more:
Largest MVC Road Win Margins, CU History
Score Margin Opponent Date
46-16 +30 at Morningside 2/16/1925
74-46 +28 at Indiana State 1/29/2003
43-17 +26 at Drake 1/15/1932
79-57 +22 at Evansville 1/20/2009
82-60 +22 at Southern Illinois 2/14/2009
Road Reversal
Six of Creighton's MVC road results have been the opposite of how it did in those road trips last season.
In the six Valley venues Creighton lost in last season, it went 5-1. In the three Valley cities Creighton won in last year, it went 2-1.
Opponent 2007-08 2008-09
at Bradley BU 87-59 CU 73-64
at Drake DU 75-65 CU 79-68
at Evansville UE 60-56 CU 79-57
at Illinois State ILS 68-54 ILS 86-64
at Indiana State INS 62-54 CU 79-61
at Missouri State CU 50-49 CU 65-59
at Northern Iowa CU 68-59 CU 77-71
at Southern Illinois SIU 48-44 CU 82-60
at Wichita State CU 68-65 WSU 74-61
Road The Key To Success
College basketball is one of the ultimate home-court sports, as roughly two-thirds of all games are traditionally won by the host school. Creighton's postseason destination often seems to revolve around its success, or lack thereof, while playing on the road.
Consider the following evidence:
-Creighton's 7-2 MVC road record was the school's best mark since the 2001-02 team went also went 7-2.
-Since 2000-01, Creighton has gone to the NCAA Tournament all five times it has won five or more league road games, but visited the NIT each occasion it has earned four or fewer Valley road victories.
-Since 1977-78 (when Creighton rejoined the MVC) it has had five or more road wins nine times. Eight of those nine teams reached the NCAA's while the other reached the NIT. Of the 22 teams with four or less Valley road wins, three reached the NCAA's, four reached the NIT and 15 did not make the postseason.
-Additionally, Creighton currently has 10 wins away from home (eight road, two neutral). Each of the past eight times it has had seven or more wins away from home (road + neutral), the Jays have made the NCAA Tournament.
-Creighton has eight true road wins this season. Four of the five most recent times it has won eight or more true road games, it has made the NCAA's. This is the the first team with eight true road wins since the 1999-2000 club finished 8-6 on the road.
-At 7-2 on the MVC road, Creighton has now won three or more Valley road contests in 14 straight seasons.
Record Chasers
A trio of Bluejay guards are moving up on the school's single-season record lists.
Josh Dotzler leads Creighton with 64 steals thus far. That places him sixth in school history. At his current pace of 2.13 steals per game, and at least two games left, he would finish with 68.27 steals this year.
Most Steals, Season
Stl. Name (Class) Year
80 Ryan Sears (Jr.) 1999-00
73 Ryan Sears (Sr.) 2000-01
72 Latrell Wrightsell (Sr.) 1991-92
70 Duan Cole (Sr.) 1991-92
68 Ryan Sears (So.) 1998-99
64 Josh Dotzler (Sr.) 2008-09
63 James Farr (Jr.) 1987-88
Fellow senior Booker Woodfox has made 82 three-point baskets this season, which ranks tied for third in single-season Creighton history. At his current pace of 2.83 treys per game, he would finish with 87.66 trifectas this season.
Most 3-Point Field Goals Made, Season
3FG Name (Class) Year
129 Kyle Korver (Sr.) 2002-03
100 Kyle Korver (So.) 2000-01
82 Tad Ackerman (Jr.) 1994-95
82 Booker Woodfox (Sr.) 2008-09
79 Kyle Korver (Jr.) 2001-02
Both Woodfox and Cavel Witter are also making a dent on the school's free-throw percentage list. Woodfox is second at 89.1 percent, while Witter is eighth at 86.7 percent.
Free Throw Percentage, (Minimum 70 Attempts)
Pct. Name (Class, Year) FTM-FTA
.908 Kyle Korver (Sr., 2002-03) 109-120
.891 Booker Woodfox (Sr., 2008-09) 82-92
.890 Kyle Korver (Jr., 2001-02) 97-109
.882 Doug Brookins (Sr., 1974-75) 98-111
.880 Mike Caruso (Sr., 1970-71) 95-108
.863 Nate Funk (Sr., 2006-07) 126-146
.8675 Kyle Korver (So., 2000-01) 72-83
.8673 Cavel Witter (Jr., 2008-09) 85-98
.855 Ryan Sears (So., 1989-99) 71-83
More Defense
Creighton held Northern Iowa to season-low 29.0 percent field goal shooting on Feb. 8th. It's the 10th time in the past 15 years that Creighton has held a team under 30 percent from the field.
Below is a list of all the teams to shoot less than 30 percent in a game since Dana Altman came to CU 15 years ago.
Poorest FG Pct., Opponents, Under Altman
Pct. Opponent FG-FGA Date CU Result
.233 Indiana State 10-43 03/02/07 W 59-38
.241 Ark.-Pine Bluff 14-58 11/29/06 W 74-39
.266 CS-Sacramento 17-64 12/14/96 W 59-42
.266 Tulsa 17-64 01/17/96 W 72-59
.273 Western Illinois 15-55 11/20/00 W 96-50
.274 Nebraska 17-62 12/11/05 W 70-44
.286 Indiana State 20-70 01/05/95 W 70-63
.289 Missouri State 13-45 01/05/08 W 50-49
.290 Northern Iowa 18-62 02/08/09 W 77-71
.291 George Mason 16-55 11/22/05 W 72-52
Dominating The Valley
Creighton head coach Dana Altman owns a .500 or better record against every current Valley coach except Southern Illinois mentor Chris Lowery and Illinois State's Tim Jankovich.
Below is his head-to-head record against the current Valley coaching fraternity:
Altman vs. Current MVC Head Coaches
Cuonzo Martin, MSU 2-0
Ben Jacobson, UNI 5-1
Jim Les, BU 13-3
Kevin McKenna, INS 3-1
Gregg Marshall 3-1
Marty Simmons, UE 3-1
Mark Phelps, DU 1-1
Chris Lowery, SIU 4-7
Tim Jankovich, ILS 0-3
TOTAL 34-18
Altman Picks Up 300th Win With Jays
With Creighton's 79-68 win last on Feb. 4 at Drake, Dana Altman became just the second coach in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win 300 games at one school. Altman, who owns a 306-158 mark with the Jays, joins Henry Iba (486 wins at Oklahoma A&M) in that elite group.
Below is a list of some of Altman's milestone wins at Creighton:
W-L Rec. Opponent Date Result
50-55 at Evansville 02/02/98 W 85-76
100-78 Western Illinois 11/20/00 W 96-50
150-95 vs. Notre Dame% 11/26/02 W 80-75
200-109 vs. Ohio State% 11/24/04 W 65-63 (OT)
250-136 Bradley 01/18/07 W 65-64
300-158 at Drake 02/04/09 W 79-68
%Guardians Classic (Kansas City, Mo.)
A Ton of Points
Creighton has scored 2,243 points so far, moving over the 2,000-point barrier for the 11th time in 15 seasons under Dana Altman.
Creighton has had eight previous teams score more than 2,200 points under Altman. Seven of those teams reached the NCAA Tournament, while last year's team reached the second round of the NIT.
Most Points, Season, Under Altman
Rank Points Year Postseason
1. 2,688 2002-03 NCAA
2. 2,421 2004-05 NCAA
2,421 2001-02 NCAA
4. 2,410 1999-00 NCAA
5. 2,360 2007-08 NIT
6. 2,357 1998-99 NCAA
7. 2,325 2000-01 NCAA
8. 2,243 2008-09 ? ? ?
9. 2,220 2006-07 NCAA
10. 2,100 1997-98 NIT
Check The Book's
Booker Woodfox has scored 20 or more points eight times this season, but his 23 points at Drake on Feb. 4 were the first time over the 20-point barrier in Valley action this season.
Creighton is 10-1 when Woodfox scores 20 or more points in his Bluejay career.
Woodfox has made five three-pointers in one game six times this year and eight times in his career. Creighton is 7-1 all-time when Woodfox makes at least five treys.
Iowa Road Sweep
Creighton picked up road wins at both Drake and Northern Iowa this year for the fourth time in five seasons, and seventh time in the past 12 years. Creighton also accomplished the feat in 1997-98, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.
CU's Feb. 8th win over UNI marked the first time Creighton has beaten the same opponent on the road in five straight seasons since topping Washington (Mo.) five years in a row from 1936-40.
Paint It Blue
Creighton has outscored its opponents in the paint in six of the past nine games, all Bluejay victories.
It marks an incredible turnaround from the previous 11 games in which it never once had a game where it scored more paint points.
Creighton post players Kenton Walker, Justin Carter, Casey Harriman and Kenny Lawson Jr. have combined for 285 points, 173 rebounds and 36 blocks the past nine games.
All The Small Things
Josh Dotzler has scored just 28 points in the past nine games, but you'd have a tough time finding a Creighton player doing any better.
In the past nine games (all CU wins), Dotzler has 36 assists, seven turnovers and 17 steals in 195 minutes.
Despite being CU's primary ballhandler, Dotzler owns just 18 turnovers in 17 MVC games this season, including 14 league games with zero or one miscue this winter. He ranked fifth nationally with a 3.13 assist/turnover ratio (now 3.00) through games of last Monday.
Give Me Five (Or More) From 3
Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in each of its 30 games this season, the nation's fifth-longest active streak.
Lower that threshold to four or more three-pointers and the Bluejay streak would stretch to 63 consecutive games, which ranks eighth nationally.
Consecutive Games, 5+ 3-Pointers, Teams
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/25)
Rank No. Team Next Game
1. 53 Portland State 2/28
2. 50 Auburn 2/28
3. 37 VMI 2/28
4. 32 Eastern Kentucky 2/26
5. 30 Creighton 2/28
6. 29 Miami (Fla.) 2/26
Consecutive Games, 4+ 3-Pointers, Teams
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/25)
Rank No. Team Next Game
1. 94 Lafayette 2/28
2. 92 Belmont 2/26
3. 77 Eastern Kentucky 2/26
4. 71 Liberty 2/28
5. 68 Drake 2/28
6. 67 Michigan 2/26
67 Portland State 2/28
8. 63 Creighton 2/28
9. 60 Valparaiso 2/26
Woodfox From Distance
Booker Woodfox has made a three-pointer in 26 straight games, a streak that began on Nov. 25, 2008 at UALR.
Kyle Korver is the last Creighton player with a streak of 26 or longer, as he had separate streaks of 28 (Feb. 7, 2001 to Feb. 6, 2002) and 27 (Feb. 13, 2002 to Jan. 20, 2003) consecutive games with a three-pointer. Korver finished his All-American career tied for sixth in NCAA history with 371 career three-pointers.
Woodfox's streak is the longest active streak in the MVC and 11th-longest nationally according to STATS Inc.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Individuals
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/25)
Rank No. Name, Team Next Game
1. 39 Josh Akognon, Cal St Fullerton 2/26
2. 38 Craig Moore, Northwestern 2/28
3. 32 Tyrone Lewis, Niagara 2/27
4. 30 Ryan Schneider, Marist 2/27
5. 29 Jack McClinton, Miami Fla. 2/26
29 Chase Adams, Centenary 2/26
29 Jamarco Warren, Charleston So. 2/26
8. 28 Ryan Wittman, Cornell 2/27
9. 27 David Holston, Chicago State 2/28
27 Sean Ogirri, Wyoming 2/28
11. 26 Booker Woodfox, Creighton 2/28
26 Robert Vaden, UAB 2/26
13. 25 T.J. Campbell, Portland 2/26
25 Nick Calathes, Florida 3/1
Walk(er) This Way
Sophomore center Kenton Walker put together the best offensive game of his career in the Feb. 1 victory over Missouri State.
After missing his first two attempts, Walker hit seven of his last eight shots from the field en route to scoring a career-high 15 points.
Walker added five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in 21 minutes of floor time against the Bears.
Walker is averaging 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game in 14.8 minutes per contest. He shoots 54.4 percent from the floor, best on the team.
Historically After 12 MVC Games
The last time that Creighton was 8-4 after 12 MVC games was the 2000-01 season, when it closed out the year with six straight wins to claim the Valley title at 14-4.
This is the 14th straight season that Creighton has had a league record of .500 or better after 12 games, and each of the previous 13 campaigns the Jays would also go .500 or better in its final six contests as well.
Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last seven times it has gone 4-2 or better in its last six MVC games, something already assured this season thanks to a 5-0 finish (so far) heading into Saturday.
Year W-L After 12 W-L Final 6
2008-09 8-4 5-0 so far
2007-08 7-5 3-3
2006-07 9-3 4-2
2005-06 9-3 3-3
2004-05 6-6 5-1
2003-04 9-3 3-3
2002-03 11-1 4-2
2001-02 10-2 4-2
2000-01 8-4 6-0
1999-00 7-5 4-2
1998-99 7-5 4-2
1997-98 8-4 4-2
1996-97 7-5 3-3
1995-96 6-6 3-3
1994-95 3-9 1-5
Total 115-65 (.639) 56-33 (.629)
Room To Board
The rebound differential between Creighton and its opponent has stood at 10 or larger in 15 of the 30 games to date.
The Jays have won the boards by 10 or more five times (going 4-1), but lost on the glass by double-digits on 10 occasions (going 6-4).
In the 15 games that the rebound discrepancy has been a single-digit, CU is 14-1.
Creighton is 13-1 when winning the rebound battle this year, and 18-2 when they are -9 or better on the glass.
Jays Reach 10 Home Wins, Again
The Jan. 27 win over Indiana State was Creighton's 10th home win this season. Creighton has now won 10 or more home games in 13 straight seasons, setting a school-record.
Creighton previously won 10 or more home games in 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign.
Ball Control
Creighton point guards Josh Dotzler and Antoine Young have done an admirable job of taking care of the ball in the past 10 games, combining for just 18 turnovers in that span.
Young has 10 turnovers in 166 minutes of action, while Dotzler has just eight in 212 minutes of play in those 10 games.
Carter Carries Jays
Junior Justin Carter had one of his best all-around games on Jan. 27th in Creighton's victory over Indiana State.
Carter had career-highs with 17 points, four steals and two blocked shots. He also tied his previous best with eight rebounds.
Carter has taken over the team lead with 154 rebounds and ranks third with 54 assists while playing the power forward position. He is vying to become the first junior college transfer to lead Creighton in rebounding in his first season since Chuckie Johnson in 1995-96.
Carter has started each of his first 30 games at Creighton. The last player that could say that was Ryan Sears, who started all 124 games of his Bluejay career from 1997-2001.
Consec. Starts To Open CU Career, Last 15 Years
Starts Name Years
124 Ryan Sears 1997-2001
59 Edward St. Fleur 1995-1997
42 Tad Ackerman 1994-1996
30 Justin Carter 2008-Present
7-Up
Creighton went 7-for-7 from the field in the final seven minutes of its Jan. 27 win over Indiana State, getting four baskets from P'Allen Stinnett and one each from Booker Woodfox, Antoine Young and Kenton Walker.
Creighton has shot 103-for-189 in the final seven minutes of regulation in its 24 wins this season, good for 54.5 percent. That figure includes Stinnett shooting 24-of-27 from two-point range (88.9 percent), and the team shooting 34-of-78 (43.6 percent) from three-point range in that time range.
On the other hand in the final seven minutes of its six losses, Creighton is 16-of-54 from the field (29.6 percent) and 5-of-26 from three-point range (19.2 percent). Stinnett is 0-for-9 from the field in the last seven minutes of CU's six losses this season.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 306 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 171 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 will be entering the MVC Hall of Fame this March in conjunction with Arch Madness.
MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 187 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 171 Dana Altman Creighton
3. 163 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
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. 306 Dana Altman Creighton
Over .500 Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 28 straight trips through the league, including the both halves this year.
Creighton's 28 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, far ahead of Illinois State (4), Northern Iowa (3) and Wichita State (1).
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 8-0 so far
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) 87-47 (.649)
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.
Creighton has currently won nine straight league games, entering Saturday's contest at Missouri State.
Home Cooking
Creighton is 43-10 at home all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in MVC games (.811), compared to a 28-26 (.519) 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 11 1/17/98
Drake Lost 2 1/24/09
Evansville Won 10 1/04/99
Illinois State Lost 1 12/29/07
Indiana State Won 10 1/04/99
Missouri State Won 4 2/05/05
Northern Iowa Lost 1 1/6/09
So. Illinois Won 2 1/20/07
Wichita State Won 16 2/22/92
Lawson's Blocks Way Towards The Top
Sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr. owns a league-high 49 blocked shots. Lawson has a blocked shot in 27 of CU's 30 contests this season. Lawson owns 77 career blocked shots, moving him into eighth 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
77 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-Pres.
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01
75 Jeffrey Day 2004-06
Blocking Bookends
Sophomore post men Kenny Lawson Jr. and Kenton Walker are both among the MVC leaders in blocked shots, albeit in two different categories.
Lawson's 49 blocked shots for the season are five more than his closest competition, Bradley's David Collins.
Walker owns the Valley lead in conference play with 28 blocks, three more than Lawson and two more than Collins.
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.
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 15 go-ahead baskets this year, eight behind Kenny Lawson Jr.'s and Booker Woodfox's team-best 22.
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
Booker Woodfox 22 6 1
Kenny Lawson Jr. 22 5 0
P'Allen Stinnett 15 6 2
Justin Carter 11 3 0
Antoine Young 9 1 0
Kaleb Korver 5 1 0
Cavel Witter 5 0 0
Casey Harriman 5 0 0
Kenton Walker 4 1 0
Chad Millard 3 1 0
Josh Dotzler 1 0 1
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 207 wins in the decade.
MVC Standings (2000-01 to 2/27/09)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 114 47 .708 207 80 .721
Southern Illinois 117 44 .727 201 92 .686
Missouri State 85 76 .528 157 124 .559
Wichita State 83 78 .516 154 124 .554
Northern Iowa 83 78 .516 152 124 .551
Illinois State 75 86 .466 144 128 .529
Bradley 77 84 .478 149 135 .525
Drake 69 92 .429 135 135 .500
Evansville 53 108 .329 101 160 .387
Indiana State 49 112 .304 105 167 .386
Let's Start With Dotzler
Josh Dotzler has started each of Creighton's last 64 games, winning 46 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 91 starts, with CU winning 64 of them (70.3 percent).
Toe The Line
Creighton has shot the ball well from the free-throw line, moving up to ninth nationally with its 76.5 percent rate from the charity stripe. That's even more impressive when you consider CU's 509 free throw makes are also 11th nationally.
Creighton is the only team in the country to rank in the top-11 in both free-throw makes and free-throw percentage.
One of Four
Creighton ranks ninth nationally with 250 three-pointers made and is 17th with its 39.6 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
On a national basis, the only other school s to be in the top-17 of both categories are Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Eastern Kentucky.
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
Step Right Up Young Man
Antoine Young scored 27 points in his first 16 games with Creighton (1.7 ppg.), but has since exploded to score 111 points over the past 14 games (7.9 ppg.).
That includes 15 points against Evansville, 13 points against Bradley and George Mason and 12 points against both Indiana State and Wichita State.
Young delivered the breakthrough 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 scored a career-high 15 points in Creighton's 89-84 win over Evansville on Feb. 17th. He missed his first six attempts, but would score all his points in the final 14:40 to help CU rally for the victory.
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 512-249 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 306 victories at Creighton (1994-Present).
Comparison To Past Years After 30 Games
Below is a comparison after 30 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 24-6 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 24-6 21-9 26-4 24-6
MVC W-L 13-4 10-8 15-3 14-4
FG% .451 .452 .503 .447
3FG% .396 .372 .392 .369
3FG/Game 8.3 8.4 8.3 7.9
FT% .765 .718 .691 .701
Reb. Margin -2.6 +1.8 +1.0 +1.1
Assists 426 445 511 465
Turnovers 374 424 400 397
Blocks 119 106 131 109
Steals 242 229 256 285
PPG Scored 74.8 72.2 80.3 73.2
PPG Allowed 65.1 64.9 64.7 62.3
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 89.1 percent marksmanship from the line (82-92), which is eighth-best nationally.
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)
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.
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 all-time 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 nine times this season, making at least 40 percent of its tries in eight 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
Book It!
Booker Woodfox is 82-of-160 (51.3 percent) from three-point range this season, best nationally.
For his career, he is 138-of-292, which computes to 47.3 percent, just ahead of 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. Kaleb Korver ranks third on the list with 44.4 percent accuracy.
Woodfox's 82 three-point baskets this season are tied for 25th-most nationally.
Creighton's 3-Point Percentage Leaders, Career
(Minimum 100 Attempts)
Pct. Name, Years 3FGM-FGA
.4726 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 138-292
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4444 Kaleb Korver, 2007-Present 48-108
.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
.4286 Casey Harriman, 2007-Present 51-119
.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
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
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.
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.
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 16,040 16,335 so far +1.8%
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Feb. 22nd, Booker Woodfox ranked first in three-point field goal percentage (51.3%), eighth in free-throw percentage (89.1%) and 36th in three-pointers per game (2.9). Josh Dotzler ranked fifth with a 3.13 assist/turnover ratio and 38th with 2.2 steals per game. Cavel Witter's 86.6 percent free-throw percentage ranked 25th.
As a team, Creighton is ranked ninth in free-throw percentage (76.2), 21st in turnover margin (+3.7), 16th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.6) and 18th in three-point field goals per game (8.4).
Dotzler Top Seven 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 190 career steals ranks third in CU history. Dotzler's 366 career assists places him seventh in Creighton history, just ahead of 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
190 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
366 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
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 5.9 percent of all defensive possessions that he's in the game for, the nation's second-best rate.
The same website ranks Booker Woodfox 10th 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.
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 472 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 10.2 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25.9 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, nine individuals throughout the MVC average 31.8 minutes per game or more, including three Illinois State players.
Two Years, 700 Points Under Altman
Creighton has had four players score 700 or more points in their first two years playing for Dana Altman. Two of those men, Booker Woodfox and P'Allen Stinnett, are currently in the program.
Among players in the Altman era, only Rodney Buford has scored more points in their first two years in the program.
700+Points In First 2 Years Under Dana Altman
Name Points Games Years
Rodney Buford 1,010 59 1995-1997
Booker Woodfox 775 62 2007-2009
P'Allen Stinnett 775 62 2007-2009
Kyle Korver 759 65 1999-2001
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 496 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993.
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 42 charges in 30 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
Justin Carter n/a n/a 8 8
Casey Harriman n/a 17 7 24
Josh Dotzler 4 5 6 15
Chad Millard n/a 7 4 11
Kenton Walker n/a 3 4 7
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 3 8
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 3 5
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 3 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 3 3
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 42 334
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 ---
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.
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. Saturday will be the 375th 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 13 points and nine rebounds at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, owns nine career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won eight of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 78.4-62.8.
Creighton is 24-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 24-13 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 99-54 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 36-22 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. CU is 6-3 on KMTV this year.
The Jays are also 44-28 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 23-16 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. Twenty-two games aired on television this season, including all but one MVC game.
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.
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.
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.
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 51 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 62 straight games when scoring 72 points or more at all sites dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 67 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 83-13 when winning this category, including an 22-3 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 62-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
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. That 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).
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) has spent time this season with both San Antonio and 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. He did not appear with the Hornets and returned to playing for the Des Moines Energy in the NBA D-League. Tolliver left for Turkey on Feb. 25th, where he will finish off this season.
Korver is averaging 8.4 points in 23.2 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 36.2 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
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, including this year. 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 97 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 82-15 (.845) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 17-0 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 7,196-6,035 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.0 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 214-46 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 14-2 9-3 23-5
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 125-18 90-28 215-46
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 24 of its 97 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 16 of those 24 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
02/01/09 Missouri State 10 W 75-51
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including three times this season, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 29 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
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
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 840 of the team's 2,243 points (37.4 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more four times.
This year's Creighton team has produced 30 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including 13 such efforts from Cavel Witter.
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.
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.
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.
