Men's Basketball Begins Tour of Iowa Wednesday at Drake
2/3/2009 11:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Next Game
Creighton (17-6, 7-4 MVC) begins a two-game trek through Iowa when it plays a Wednesday game at Drake (14-9, 5-6 MVC).
Tip off at Drake Knapp Center (7,002) in Des Moines, Iowa, is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
Creighton Bluejays at Drake Bulldogs
Drake Knapp Center (7,002) ? Des Moines, Iowa
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.bigsports590.com
Television: KMTV (Omaha); Mediacom (Des Moines)
Series History: Creighton leads 86-56
Last Meeting: Drake won 74-62 on Jan. 24, 2009 in Omaha, Neb.
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 Kevin Sarver will call the action.
Wednesday's game will also air on Sirius satellite radio channel 090.
For all home games, as well as Wednesday's trip to Des Moines, Big Sports 590 afternoon host Matt Perrault will host a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show. Perrault will also take calls after the game, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game is the seventh of nine games scheduled for broadcast by KMTV this season. Travis Justice (play-by-play) and former Bluejay Nick Bahe (analyst) will announce. Coordinates for the KMTV feed are below:
Satellite Coordinates: Galaxy 16 K10 10F
Band: Digital KU
Downlink Freq.: 11910.38 Vertical
Data Rate: 5.5 Mbps
Symbol Rate: 3.978 Msps
FEC: 3/4
On-Air Talent: Travis Justice, Nick Bahe
Video Webcast Information
Creighton University Athletics and Jump TV will present a live, pay-per-view video webcast of approximately 20 games this season, including Wednesday's contest. To sign up for the webcast, fans can register by going directly to http://www.gocreighton.com. Cost for a season pass is $59.95. Single games are available for $6.95 each.
Once registered, fans will only need to log-in with their password on game night. The video streams the KMTV telecast of the game.
In order to view the webcast, users must have high speed Internet access (cable modem or DSL service) and Windows Media Player version 9.0 or above.
Live Stats Information
Drake Athletics plans to offer live stats for Wednesday night's game. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page for the link to the Drake site.
Scouting Creighton (17-6, 7-4 MVC)
The preseason favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference have won 14 of their past 18 games and are 17-6 overall, including a 7-4 league mark that ties it for second place in the conference standings.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox leads the team with 16.0 points per game. His MVC-leading 88.5 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line ranks 15th nationally. He also ranks second nationally in three-point percentage at 47.6 percent among players with 2.5 makes per game or better.
Also scoring in double-figures is sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett (12.9 ppg., 1.6 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 52 steals, while sophomore big man Kenny Lawson Jr. tops the Valley with 38 blocked shots.
Creighton shoots 43.8 percent from the floor, 39.2 percent from three-point territory and is also making 75.9 percent of its shots from the line.
The Bluejays return 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's 22-11 team that made an 11th straight postseason appearance, reaching the second round of the NIT.
Scouting Drake
Drake is 14-9 overall and 5-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs have lost five of the past six games, but their lone win in that time was a 74-62 win in Omaha over Creighton.
The defending regular-season champs are topped by preseason all-MVC picks Josh Young (16.0 ppg.) and Jonathan Cox (11.9 ppg., 8.4 rpg.). Young owns 43 three-pointers and ranks among the national leaders with his 85.8 percent accuracy at the line, while Cox tops the MVC in rebounds and has drained 40 treys.
Josh Parker scores 10.8 points per contest, has made 39 three-pointers and converted 45.3 percent of his shots from long-range.
The Bulldogs average 66.1 points per game while allowing 62.2 per contest. Drake shoots 42.9 percent from the floor, 35.2 percent from downtown and 75.4 percent at the line. Drake is also +0.9 on the boards.
Drake is 10-4 at home this year, but has lost consecutive home games to Northern Iowa and most recently Evansville. The Bulldogs average 5,119 fans per home contest.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 15th year as head coach of the Bluejays.
He owns a 299-158 (.654) mark at Creighton and a career record of 382-225 (.629) in his 20th year as a NCAA Division I head coach when you add four seasons at Kansas State and one at Marshall. Tack on four years at the junior college level and Altman's overall record as a college head coach is 505-249 (.670).
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his first 23 years as a head coach. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 11 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Nick Bahe is the team's graduate manager.
Mark Phelps (Old Dominion, 1996) is 14-9 in his first year with Drake. Phelps, a longtime assistant to Herb Sendek at North Carolina State and Arizona State, replaced National Coach of the Year Keno Davis when Davis left for Providence in the off-season. Phelps is assisted by Justin Ohl, Kareem Richardson and Mike Gibson.
Series History vs. Drake
Creighton leads the all-time series with Drake by an 86-56 margin, but the Bulldogs lead the series 35-31 in Des Moines. CU's 86 wins and 142 meetings with Drake are easily its most against any opponent.
Despite Drake's current four-game win streak in the series, Creighton has won nine of the last 14, 12 of the last 18 and 19 of the past 27 meetings between the schools.
Current Creighton sophomore Kaleb Korver is the brother of former Drake standout Klayton Korver, who started on last season's 28-5 Bulldog team.
Dana Altman is 19-11 against Drake and 0-1 against Mark Phelps.
A complete series history against Drake can be found on page 10 of this release.
Last Game Recap
Kenton Walker scored a career-high 15 points to lead four players in double-figures as Creighton topped Missouri State, 75-51, on Super Bowl Sunday in Omaha.
Creighton led just 31-29 at the half before a 25-10 run to open the second stanza put MSU away. Kyle Weems had his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to top Missouri State.
Carter Named Valley Newcomer of the Week
Junior Justin Carter has been named this week's (Feb. 2nd) State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week.
Carter helped Creighton to an undefeated week, leading the team with 29 points (14.5 ppg.), 15 rebounds (7.5 rpg.) and six steals (3.0 spg.) in double-digit wins over Indiana State and Missouri State. Carter made 10-of-15 shots from the field (66.7 percent), including 2-of-4 from three-point range (50 percent) while also draining 7-of-9 shots from the line (77.8 percent).
He opened his week with career-highs of 17 points, four steals and two blocked shots while tying his best with eight rebounds in Tuesday's 73-62 win over Indiana State. In Sunday's comeback victory over Missouri State, Carter had 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 24-point win after trailing by 10 points early.
Altman Searches For 300th Win With Jays
With a win on Wednesday, Dana Altman can become just the second coach in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to win 300 games at one school.
Altman, who enters Wednesday's game at Drake with a 299-158 mark, can join 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
%Guardians Classic (Kansas City, Mo.)
Drake/Creighton Features Korver, Again
When Creighton meets Drake on Wednesday in Des Moines, it'll mark the 21st straight meeting between the schools that a member of the Korver family has been on the roster.
Two-time Valley Player of the Year Kyle Korver went 6-2 in eight games with Creighton against Drake from 1999-2003.
Brother Klayton Korver was at Drake from 2003-08, going 4-7 against the Bluejays.
Keeping the family tradition in The Valley currently is Creighton sophomore Kaleb Korver. Kaleb is currently 0-4 against Drake.
Sibling Rivalries
Bragging rights in three families will be up for grabs on Wednesday when Creighton and Drake collide.
Creighton sophomore Kaleb Korver's brother, Klayton Korver, played at Drake the previous five seasons (2003-08). The oldest Korver brother, Kyle, starred at Creighton for four years (1999-2003) and is now in his sixth season in the NBA.
Creighton basketball strength and conditioning coach Andy Woodley is the brother of former Drake guard Matt Woodley. Currently an assistant coach at Washington State, Matt ended his career with a school-record 198 steals and was second with 188 three-pointers during his Bulldog career from 1997-2000.
Additionally, current Drake junior forward Adam Templeton is the older brother of incoming Creighton volleyball recruit Caitlin Templeton.
Second Half P'layer?
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett did not score in the first half of either of Creighton's two wins last week, yet finished both nights in double-figures.
Stinnett was 0-for-2 in the first half of the wins over Indiana State and Missouri State, but shot 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) while scoring a combined 25 points in those same games after intermission. He scored 13 points in the final nine minutes of Tuesday's win over Indiana State, then scored 12 points in as many minutes on Sunday vs. Missouri State.
Perhaps as a result of Stinnett's improved scoring output, Creighton outscored those foes by three points in the first half but by 32 points in the second half last week.
Stinnett tops the Bluejay team with 12 different halves of 10 points or more this year, but only two contests with 10 or more points in both halves of the same game.
Walk(er) This Way
Sophomore center Kenton Walker put together the best offensive game of his career in Sunday's 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 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game in 13.0 minutes per contest. He shoots 50.7 percent from the floor, second-best on the team.
Extra Basketball in Des Moines?
Creighton has played nine games at Drake since 2000. Four of those games have gone to overtime, including a 2004 contest that went into double-overtime.
By comparison, Creighton has played in 94 games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha, but only six of those have gone to overtime (including two double-OT games).
BracketBuster Opponent Named
Creighton will play George Mason on Saturday, Feb. 21st as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters event. The Jays will learn its start time and television coverage on Monday.
Creighton is 2-0 all-time against the Patriots, having beaten them in both 2005 and 2006.
Biggest Road Wins
Coming off a three-game homestand, it's been more than two weeks between road games when the Jays visit Drake on Wednesday.
Creighton's 79-57 win at Evansville in its last road contest ranked as the school's fourth-largest victory margin ever out of 363 Valley road games played. 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 victory matched the largest in the MVC this season by a road team in a conference game, as UNI defeated Drake 81-59 on Jan. 17th.
Creighton has not won two straight MVC road games by 10 or more points since the 2002-03 season, when it beat Indiana State (74-46) and Drake (88-68).
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
Give Me Five (Or More) From 3
Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in each of its 23 games this season, the nation's eighth-longest streak. Lower that threshold to four or more three-pointers and the Bluejay streak would stretch to 56 consecutive games, which ranks ninth nationally.
Consecutive Games, 5+ 3-Pointers, Teams
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/3)
Rank No. Team Next Game
1. 46 Portland State 2/5
2. 43 Auburn 2/4
3. 30 VMI 2/4
4. 28 Cornell 2/6
5. 26 Eastern Kentucky 2/5
6. 25 Hartford 2/4
7. 24 Miami (Fla.) 2/4
8. 23 Creighton 2/4
23 Wisconsin 2/5
Consecutive Games, 4+ 3-Pointers, Teams
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/3)
Rank No. Team Next Game
1. 88 Lafayette 2/7
2. 86 Belmont 2/6
3. 85 Davidson 2/5
4. 71 Eastern Kentucky 2/4
5. 64 Liberty 2/4
6. 61 Drake 2/4
61 Michigan 2/5
8. 60 Portland State 2/5
9. 56 Creighton 2/4
10. 54 Valparaiso 2/5
54 Utah Valley 2/5
Woodfox From Distance
Booker Woodfox has made a three-pointer in 19 straight games, a streak that began on Nov. 25, 2008 at UALR. The last CU player with a three-point streak that long was Johnny Mathies, who compiled a trey in 20 consecutive games from Dec. 22, 2004 to Feb. 28, 2005.
Woodfox's streak is the longest active streak in the MVC and 26th-nationally according to STATS Inc.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Individuals
Courtesy STATS Inc. (through 2/2)
Rank No. Name, Team Next Game
1. 51 Roge'r Guignard, UT-Arlington 2/4
2. 37 Austin Kenon, VMI 2/4
3. 33 Josh Akognon, Cal St Fullerton 2/5
4. 31 Craig Moore, Northwestern 2/4
5. 27 Talor Battle, Penn State 2/5
27 Tyrone Lewis, Niagara 2/6
27 LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor 2/7
8. 25 Ryan Schneider, Marist 2/7
9. 24 Jack McClinton, Miami Fla. 2/4
24 Jimmy Baron, Rhode Island 2/5
24 Ryan Wittman, Cornell 2/6
24 Matthew Dotson, Belmont 2/6
13. 23 Chase Adams, Centenary 2/5
23 Jodie Meeks, Kentucky 2/3
23 Jamarco Warren, Charleston So. 2/7
16. 22 Ravern Johnson, Mississippi St. 2/3
22 Adam Teague, Navy 2/7
18. 21 Robert Vaden, UAB 2/4
21 Jared Stohl, Portland 2/5
21 Sean Ogirri, Wyoming 2/3
21. 20 David Holston, Chicago State 2/4
20 T.J. Campbell, Portland 2/5
20 B.J. Holmes, Texas A&M 2/4
20 Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin 2/5
20 Grayson Flittner, Gardner-Webb 2/4
26. 19 Booker Woodfox, Creighton 2/4
19 Nick Calathes, Florida 2/3
19 Obi Muonelo, Oklahoma State 2/4
Room To Board
The rebound differential between Creighton and its opponent has stood at 10 or larger in 13 of the 23 games to date.
The Jays have won the boards by 10 or more four times (going 3-1), but lost on the glass by double-digits on nine occasions (going 5-4).
In the 10 games that the rebound discrepancy has been a single-digit, CU is 9-1.
Creighton is 10-1 when winning the rebound battle this year, while its opponent on Wednesday, Drake, is 10-0 when outrebounding the opposition.
Creighton, which has outrebounded its past two opponents, has not won the rebounding battle in three consecutive MVC games since Feb. 2-10, 2008.
According to research from sports information intern Rob Beuerlein on February 2nd, Creighton's -3.0 rebound margin ranks second-worst among teams nationally with 17 or more wins. VMI (-10.9) is the only other school with 17 wins or more and a rebounding margin worse than -1.1.
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:
-Currently 3-2 on the MVC road, Creighton has now won three or more Valley road contests in 14 straight seasons.
-Since 2000-01, Creighton has gone to the NCAA Tournament all five times it has won five 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 six wins away from home (four 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.
Jays Reach 10 Home Wins, Again
Last Tuesday's 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.
Attendance Remains Strong
Creighton has attracted 208,565 fans heading into its Feb. 11th home game vs. Bradley, a figure that ranks fourth in the 102-year history of the MVC. The only marks that are higher are the previous three Bluejay seasons.
The Jays are also on pace to set an MVC record in average attendance. Creighton is averaging 16,043 fans currently, 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
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
208,565 Creighton 2008-09
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
191,440 Louisville 1974-75
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,043 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
Carter Carries Jays
Junior Justin Carter had one of his best all-around games last Tuesday 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 114 rebounds and ranks third with 40 assists while playing the power forward position.
Carter has started each of his first 23 games at Creighton. The last player that could say that was Ryan Sears, who started all 28 games as a freshman in 1997-98. Sears would go on to start all 124 games of his Bluejay career.
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
23 Justin Carter 2008-Present
Ball Control
Creighton point guards Josh Dotzler, Antoine Young and Cavel Witter have done an admirable job of taking care of the ball in the past three games, combining for just three turnovers in that span.
Against Missouri State on Feb. 1st, Dotzler and Young both had one turnover, giving the CU backcourt trio a combined two turnovers in 55 minutes.
The trio combined for seven assists in 60 minutes of action without a turnover in the win over Indiana State on Jan. 27th. One game earlier against Drake on Jan. 24th, Dotzler had the trio's lone turnover in 55 combined minutes.
Witter has played turnover-free ball in the past three games, the first time he has played two or more consecutive games without a turnover for Creighton.
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 71-for-134 in the final seven minutes of regulation in its 17 wins this season, good for 53.0 percent. That figure includes Stinnett shooting 15-of-15 from two-point range, and the team shooting 25-of-60 (41.7 percent) from three-point 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 299 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 165 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. 165 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. 299 Dana Altman Creighton
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.
Future Game Times?
Below is the timeline for the selection processes for the 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters event on Friday-Saturday, February 20-21 and the Wildcard Weekend of Saturday, Feb. 28 on Fox and ESPN2.
For BracketBusters, ESPNU has already announced the television pairings for the 13-telecast package ? six games on ESPN2, five games on ESPNU and two games on ESPN360. The actual dates, times and networks for those match-ups, though, will not be announced until Monday, February 9. Creighton will play George Mason in the event this year, in Omaha.
In terms of the Wildcard Weekend, ESPN will make its men's basketball selection on Thursday, February 5 for the Saturday, February 28 telecast. That game is slated to tip at 1:05 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
Once ESPN selects its telecast for that date, the league ? working in conjunction with Fox Sports Midwest ? will make its men's basketball selection on February 5 for its February 28 telecast at 7:35 pm. Central on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City and Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
All five men's games on February 28 ? Drake @ Bradley; Evansville @ UNI; Illinois State @ Creighton; Missouri State @ Indiana State; Wichita State @ Southern Illinois ? are eligible for consideration by ESPN and Fox Sports Midwest.
Over .500 Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 27 straight trips through the league, including the first half this year.
Creighton's 27 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, far ahead of Illinois State (3), Drake (3), Northern Iowa (2) and Bradley (2).
Here's how Dana Altman's clubs have fared in the various halves of the MVC season since his arrival:
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2008-09 5-4 2-0 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) 81-47 (.633)
Home Cooking
Creighton is 41-10 at home all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in MVC games (.804), compared to a 24-26 (.480) road record in the MVC during that stretch.
Only five MVC visiting schools (DU, ILS, MSU, UNI, SIU) have ever won a game in the six-year old Qwest Center Omaha. In fact, four Valley schools have not won a game in Omaha since the decade started.
Below is a look at Creighton's current home winning streaks over current league foes:
Opponent CU Streak Last Opp. Win in Omaha
Bradley Won 10 1/17/98
Drake Lost 2 1/24/09
Evansville Won 9 1/04/99
Illinois State Lost 1 12/29/07
Indiana State Won 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
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 14 go-ahead baskets this year, one behind Kenny Lawson Jr.'s team-best 15.
Below is a list of Creighton's baskets that gave them a lead this season, as well as baskets that gave the team the lead for good.
Gave CU Lead Got Lead Last
Name Lead For Good 2 Minutes
Kenny Lawson Jr. 15 4 0
P'Allen Stinnett 14 5 1
Booker Woodfox 12 4 1
Justin Carter 7 2 0
Antoine Young 5 0 0
Chad Millard 3 1 0
Kaleb Korver 2 1 0
Cavel Witter 2 0 0
Casey Harriman 2 0 0
Kenton Walker 2 0 0
Josh Dotzler 1 0 1
Lawson's Blocked Shot Streak Lives On
Sophomore center Kenny Lawson Jr. owns a league-high 38 blocked shots. Lawson has a blocked shot in 21 of CU's 23 contests this season. Lawson owns 66 career blocked shots, moving him into 10th on CU's all-time list.
Most Blocked Shots, CU History, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
79 Adam Reid 1994-97
76 Livan Pyfrom 1999-01
75 Jeffrey Day 2004-06
66 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-Pres.
59 Rodney Buford 1995-99
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 38 blocked shots for the season are four more than his closest competition, Bradley's David Collins.
Lawson and Collins share the Valley lead in conference play with 16 blocks each, while Walker is close behind with 15 league swats.
Creighton's last player to lead the league in blocked shots for an entire season is Brody Deren, who had 56 swats during the 2002-03 season when he was also a sophomore.
Team of the Decade?
Below is the records for each MVC school since the start of the 2000-01 season, ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton leads the MVC overall with 200 wins in the decade.
MVC Standings (2000-01 to 1/28/09)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 108 47 .697 200 80 .714
Southern Illinois 115 40 .742 199 87 .696
Missouri State 84 71 .542 155 119 .566
Northern Iowa 80 75 .516 149 120 .554
Wichita State 79 76 .510 149 122 .550
Illinois State 71 84 .458 140 125 .528
Bradley 75 80 .484 146 131 .527
Drake 67 88 .432 132 131 .502
Evansville 51 104 .329 98 156 .386
Indiana State 45 110 .290 100 165 .377
Let's Start With Dotzler
Josh Dotzler has started each of Creighton's last 57 games, winning 39 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 84 starts, with CU winning 57 of them (67.9 percent).
Toe The Line
Creighton has also shot the ball well from the free-throw line, moving up to 11th nationally with its 75.9 percent rate from the charity stripe. That's even more impressive when you consider CU's 390 free throw makes are also tied for 15th nationally.
Creighton, North Carolina, Kentucky, Green Bay and Loyola (Md.) are the only teams in the country to rank in the top-15 in both free-throw makes and free-throw percentage.
Most Free Throw Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. Wyoming 21 452 611 .740
2. Niagara 23 428 588 .728
3. UTEP 21 425 596 .713
4. Marquette 21 419 581 .721
North Carolina 21 419 557 .752
6. Connecticut 22 417 600 .695
7. Kentucky 22 415 524 .792
Florida Gulf Coast 25 415 595 .697
9. Oklahoma 22 405 596 .680
North Texas 21 405 573 .707
11. Xavier 21 401 589 .681
Vermont 22 401 564 .711
13. Loyola (Md.) 24 400 522 .766
14. Washington 21 396 582 .680
15. Creighton 23 390 514 .759
Green Bay 24 390 491 .794
Best Free Throw Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP FTM FTA Pct.
1. UC Davis 21 335 414 .809
2. Green Bay 24 390 491 .794
3. Kentucky 22 415 524 .792
4. Southern Utah 22 355 449 .791
5. Utah 21 354 448 .790
6. Utah Valley 19 306 393 .779
7. Washington State 21 222 286 .776
8. Maryland 21 287 370 .776
9. Michigan 22 278 360 .772
10. Loyola (Md.) 24 400 522 .766
11. Creighton 23 390 514 .759
12. Lafayette 22 322 426 .756
13. James Madison 23 364 482 .755
14. Drake 23 356 472 .754
15. North Carolina 21 419 557 .752
One of Four
Creighton ranks 17th nationally with 194 three-pointers made and is 10th with its 39.2 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
On a national basis, the only other schools to be in the top-17 of both categories is Oklahoma State, Green Bay and Notre Dame.
Most 3-Point Field Goal Makes, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. VMI 20 281 744 .378
2. Eastern Kentucky 22 226 588 .384
3. Liberty 23 214 602 .355
4. Portland State 22 207 560 .370
5. Davidson 21 206 548 .376
6. Belmont 20 204 560 .364
7. Oklahoma State 20 203 499 .407
Troy 23 203 570 .356
9. UNC-Wilmington 23 201 584 .344
10. Creighton 23 194 495 .392
11. Illinois State 22 193 502 .384
12. Green Bay 23 191 466 .410
13. Hartford 23 189 568 .333
St. Francis (NY) 21 189 515 .367
15. Notre Dame 20 188 467 .403
Michigan 22 188 582 .323
17. Drake 23 186 528 .352
Best 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, Nationally
Rank Team GP 3FG 3FGA 3Pct.
1. California 22 141 308 .458
2. North Dakota State 21 152 368 .413
3. Cornell 20 161 391 .412
4. New Mexico State 22 153 376 .407
5. Oklahoma State 20 203 499 .407
6. Portland 22 174 429 .406
7. Green Bay 24 196 484 .405
8. Notre Dame 20 188 467 .403
9. IPFW 22 144 358 .402
10. Robert Morris 23 155 388 .399
11. Western Illinois 22 122 308 .396
12. Northwestern 19 156 394 .396
13. UCLA 21 160 405 .395
Northern Colorado 23 160 405 .395
15. Austin Peay 21 158 400 .395
16. Penn State 22 173 439 .394
17. Creighton 23 194 495 .392
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, but has since exploded to score 59 points over the past seven games.
That includes 13 points at Bradley and 12 points against both Indiana State and Wichita State.
Young delivered the best game of his fledgling career on Jan. 10th at Bradley. Young had a career-best 13 points while adding two assists and a team-high two steals in 21 minutes.
Young, who had entered the contest 0-for-11 from three-point range, also went 2-for-2 from downtown in the victory.
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 505-249 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 299 victories at Creighton (1994-Present).
Comparison To Past Years After 23 Games
Below is a comparison after 23 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 16-6 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 17-6 17-6 21-2 17-6
MVC W-L 7-4 8-5 11-1 9-4
FG% .438 .459 .518 .437
3FG% .392 .385 .408 .344
3FG/Game 8.4 8.5 8.8 7.4
FT% .759 .716 .687 .697
Reb. Margin -3.0 +3.3 +2.0 +1.7
Assists 318 348 419 343
Turnovers 295 339 315 318
Blocks 90 73 97 77
Steals 191 189 212 213
PPG Scored 73.7 72.1 83.0 73.0
PPG Allowed 64.4 61.8 64.7 63.7
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 88.5 percent marksmanship from the line (77-87).
Most Consecutive Free Throws Made, MVC History
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/20/03 - 2/14/04)
60 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/19/04 - 2/28/05)
57 Vince Greene, ILS (1/18/04 - 11/30/04)
51 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/15/05 - 1/29/06)
48 Marcus Wilson, Evansville (12/1/96 - 2/2/97)
44 James Gillingham, BU (2/8/03 - 2/25/03)
36 Booker Woodfox, CU (12/6/08 - 1/6/09)
35 Aaron Zobrist, Bradley (12/27/96 - 1/27/97)
34 Blake Ahearn, MSU (12/22/06 - 1/24/07)
32 Michael Lindeman, CU (1/23/03 - 12/3/03)
32 Blake Ahearn, MSU (11/17/03 - 12/20/03)
32 Josh Young, DU (11/19/08 - 12/12/08)
P For 3
Sophomore guard P'Allen Stinnett drained a three-pointer on the first possession of both halves, as well as a double-clutch banked trey at the first-half buzzer, en route to shooting 6-of-8 from three-point range at Indiana State on Dec. 31. The six three-pointers was a career-high for Stinnett, who opened his career with five three-pointers in the second half of a 2007 win over DePaul.
Stinnett is one of seven players on the current roster who have made three or more three-pointers in a game during their Bluejay career.
Nine-Game Win Streak Ended
Creighton had its longest win streak in nearly five years end when its nine-game win streak was snapped on Jan. 3rd at Illinois State.
The Bluejays have had at least one five-game win streak in 12 straight seasons, and 19 such streaks overall in the 15-year tenure of Dana Altman. Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 14 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the postseason all six times they haven't.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest win streaks under Dana Altman.
Creighton's Longest Win Streaks Under Dana Altman
W's Dates Postseason?
12 Nov. 22, 2003-Jan. 11, 2004 NIT
11 Jan. 27-March 3, 2001 NCAA
10 Nov. 17-Dec. 29, 2002 NCAA
9 Jan. 21-Feb. 16, 1998 NIT
9 Nov. 22-Dec. 21, 1999 NCAA
9 Dec. 2-31, 2008 ? ? ?
A Perfect December
Creighton went 9-0 in December, closing out a perfect month with a Dec. 31 win at Indiana State. This marks Creighton's first-ever unbeaten month when playing nine games or more. Creighton's last previous undefeated December came in 2003-04, when the team went 7-0.
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 eight times this season, making at least 40 percent of its tries in seven of those contests.
Heating Up December
Booker Woodfox was red-hot from the field in the nine games played in December. Woodfox scored 180 points in 219 minutes in nine December games, all Bluejay wins. Woodfox shot 58-for-99 from the floor in that time (58.6 percent), including 35-of-60 (58.3 percent) from three-point land. Woodfox also hit 29-of-31 free throws (93.5 percent) in December.
Leading Scorer, Again
Booker Woodfox led Creighton in scoring during seven straight games from Dec. 6-28, averaging 21.3 points per game in that time. In Dana Altman's 15-year tenure, Creighton's only longer streak was by Rodney Buford, who twice had eight straight games.
Consec. Games as Leading Scorer, Under Altman
Games Name Dates
8 Rodney Buford Jan. 27-Feb. 17, 1997
8 Rodney Buford Feb. 23-Dec. 2, 1998
7 Rodney Buford Jan. 2-20, 1997
7 Booker Woodfox Dec. 6-28, 2008
What A Year!
Booker Woodfox showed his shooting proficiency during the entire calendar year of 2008. His accuracy from the field, three-point line and free-throw line all jumped by 12 percent or more, while his scoring average has jumped 8.7 points per game when compared to his 2007 figures.
Below is a comparison of his first 11 games from last year (the year 2007), compared to his games since the calendar turned to 2008 and now 2009.
Statistic 2007 2008 2009
Games 11 36 8
FG-FGA 19-56 167-338 31-84
FG% .339 .494 .369
3FG-3FGA 12-33 88-182 16-43
3FG% .364 .484 .372
FT-FTA 8-12 83-99 27-32
FT% .667 .838 .844
Rebounds 17 103 11
Rebounds Per Game 1.5 2.9 1.4
Assists 12 50 5
Turnovers 11 34 7
Points 58 505 105
Points Per Game 5.3 14.0 13.1
Book It!
Booker Woodfox is 60-of-126 (47.6 percent) from three-point range this season.
For his career, he is 116-of-258, which computes to 45.0 percent, just behind the school-record figure achieved by noted marksman Kyle Korver. The only previous player in CU history to shoot better than 44.2 percent from three-point range in their career was two-time MVC Player of the Year Korver, who made 45.3 percent from downtown while hitting 371-of-819 from long-range.
Creighton's 3-Point Percentage Leaders, Career
(Minimum 100 Attempts)
Pct. Name, Years 3FGM-FGA
.4530 Kyle Korver, 1999-03 371-819
.4496 Booker Woodfox, 2007-Present 116-258
.4415 Rod Mason, 1986-88 132-299
.4404 Nerijus Karlikanovas, 1998-00 48-109
.4306 Michael Lindeman, 2000-04 62-144
.4293 Duan Cole, 1987-92 176-410
.4065 Nate Funk, 2002-07 200-492
.4053 Matt West, 1996-00 92-227
.4051 Matt Petty, 1989-93 143-353
.4017 Darin Plautz, 1989-91 94-234
Woodfox's 60 three-point baskets are tied for 40th-most nationally. Woodfox is one of 84 players nationally who made 54 or more three-pointers through games of Feb. 2nd, but the only man from that group to hit 46.8 percent or more of those attempts.
Heavy Lumber For Woodfox
Booker Woodfox had a career-high in several categories during CU's 69-58 win at Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6. Woodfox had career-highs with 29 points, nine field goals and seven three-pointers while also matching his previous best with seven rebounds.
The seven three-pointers by Woodfox were the most by a Creighton player since Nate Funk made seven trifectas at Nebraska on Nov. 18, 2006.
Additionally, he was the first player in Creighton history to make at least seven three-pointers while shooting 75 percent or better from behind the arc in the same game. Below is a list of Creighton players to make seven treys in a game.
Creighton's Most 3-Pointers Made, Single-Game
3FG-A Name, Opponent Date
9-14 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
8-13 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
8-15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
8-13 Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
7-12 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
7-10 Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
7-11 Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
7-15 Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
7-11 Nate Funk at Nebraska 11/18/06
7-9 Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's 12/06/08
Woodfox Was MVC Player of the Week #2
Senior guard Booker Woodfox was named State Farm MVC Player of the Week on Dec. 29 after averaging 22 points in three wins. He was 21-34 from the floor (61.8 percent), 11-19 from three-point range (57.9 percent) and perfect in 13 free throw attempts.
Woodfox opened the week by averaging 25 points to earn MVP honors in two wins at the Las Vegas Classic, including 26 points against DePaul. The Lewisville, Texas, native closed out his week with a team-best 16 points in a 12-point win over Wichita State.
It was the second time in December that Woodfox was honored (also Dec. 8th).
Woodfox Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton University guard Booker Woodfox was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 8th. Woodfox, a senior guard from Lewisville, Texas, was the third different Bluejay to win the award in the first four weeks of the season (joining P'Allen Stinnett & Cavel Witter).
Woodfox scored 43 points in 44 minutes while averaging 21.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as Creighton posted a pair of double-digit victories against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. He made 14-of-20 shots from the field (70 percent), including 10-of-14 from three-point range (71.4 percent) while also making 71.4 percent (5-7) of his shots at the line.
Woodfox had a career-high with 29 points in CU's win against Saint Joseph's while also tying his personal-best with seven rebounds. He drained 9-of-13 shots overall, including 7-of-9 tries from three-point territory. Woodfox became the only player in CU history to make at least seven three-pointers while converting 75 percent or more of his attempts from long-range in the same game.
Woodfox began his week with 14 points in 17 minutes of a 24-point win over Mississippi Valley State, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown.
This was the first time Woodfox has been named MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn three MVC Newcomer of the Week accolades last season.
MVC Preseason Poll
For the second time in three years, Creighton has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Creighton was picked first on 36 of the 39 ballots to earn 386 of a possible 390 points. Last year's favorite, Southern Illinois, earned two first-place votes and totaled 322 points for second place, just ahead of Illinois State, which garnered 309 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Drake (274), Bradley (219), UNI (186), Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).
The preseason all-MVC team is headlined by preseason player of the year Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State). Joining Eldridge on the first team are P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton), Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) and the Drake tandem of Jonathan Cox and Josh Young. Honorable-mention picks include the Bradley pair of Theron Wilson and Andrew Warren, as well as the Evansville duo of Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger.
Steal Leader
KenPom.com, a college basketball website dedicated to statistics, ranks Creighton guard Josh Dotzler among its best defenders. The site calculates that Dotzler earns a steal on 6.3 percent of all defensive possessions that he's in the game for, the nation's second-best rate.
The same website ranks Booker Woodfox 22nd in offensive rating, a calculation of a player's offensive efficiency from two-point range, three-point range and the free-throw line, as well as scarcity of turnovers per minute played.
Crowds Increase For League Action
Compared to its non-conference crowds, Creighton's attendance has increased in MVC action each of the previous eight years:
Creighton's Yearly Home Attendance
Year Non-MVC Games MVC Games Change
2000-01 7,132 7,268 +2%
2001-02 6,333 6,800 +7%
2002-03 7,401 8,996 +22%
2003-04 11,467 12,443 +9%
2004-05 9,926 12,207 +23%
2005-06 13,404 14,343 +7%
2006-07 15,471 16,153 +4%
2007-08 14,544 16,122 +10%
2008-09 15,844 so far 16,277 so far +2.7%
Statistical Leaders, Nationally
Through games of Feb. 1st, Booker Woodfox ranked second in three-point field goal percentage (47.6%), 15th in free-throw percentage (88.5%) and 57th in three-pointers per game (2.7). Josh Dotzler ranked 21st with a 2.56 assist/turnover ratio and 35th with 2.3 steals per game. Kenny Lawson Jr. was 85th with 1.7 blocked shots per game, Cavel Witter's 84.8 percent free-throw percentage ranked 53rd.
As a team, Creighton is ranked 10th in free-throw percentage (75.9), 14th in turnover margin (+4.1), 16th in three-point field-goal percentage (39.2) and 20th in three-point field goals per game (8.4).
Dotzler Top 10 in Assists & Steals
After seven previous games with exactly five steals in his career, Josh Dotzler had a career-best six steals on Dec. 13 against Northern Colorado. Creighton turned all six of those steals into points, scoring 13 points on its ensuing possessions.
Dotzler's 178 career steals ranks him for fourth in CU history. Dotzler's 336 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
186 Duan Cole 1987-92
178 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
172 Kyle Korver 1999-03
Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
336 Josh Dotzler 2005-Pres.
332 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
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 465 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Big Blue Wave
Eleven different players are averaging 11.6 minutes per game or more this season for Creighton, with no player seeing more than 25.8 minutes per game.
Creighton has had at least 10 players average 10.7 minutes per game or more in each of previous three seasons, as well.
Creighton has not used anyone for more than 32 minutes in any regulation-length game this year. By comparison, eight individuals throughout the MVC average 32 minutes per game or more.
Trio Reaches 500 Points in Year Two
Sophomore P'Allen Stinnett became the 12th player to score 500 or more points in their first two seasons at Creighton under Dana Altman.
However, the only one to do it in fewer than the 40 games Stinnett needed is CU's all-time leading scorer, Rodney Buford, who needed just 35 games.
Senior guard Booker Woodfox reached 500 career points in his 44th game on Dec. 22 against Fresno State, tied for third-quickest in the Altman era.
Junior guard Cavel Witter scored his 500th career point on Jan. 20th at Evansville, which was his 53rd career game.
500+Points In First 2 Years Under Dana Altman
Name Games to 500 pts. Date
Rodney Buford 35 12/7/96 vs. UNI
P'Allen Stinnett 40 12/10/08 vs. Dayton
Doug Swenson 44 1/20/99 at Evansville
Booker Woodfox 44 12/22/08 vs. Fresno St.
Kyle Korver 48 1/11/01 vs. Indiana St.
Tad Ackerman 48 2/8/96 at So. Illinois
Edward St. Fleur 49 1/30/97 at Missouri St.
Ryan Sears 51 2/14/99 at Illinois St.
Cavel Witter 53 1/20/09 at Evansville
Nick Porter 54 2/7/07 vs. Evansville
Johnny Mathies 55 2/16/05 at Wichita St.
Brody Deren 56 2/12/03 vs. Missouri St.
Terrell Taylor 59 2/17/01 vs. Wyoming
Larry House 59 2/22/03 vs. Fresno St.
Korver Adds Spark Off The Bench
Sophomore Kaleb Korver has made 24-of-46 three-point shots in his past 17 games off the bench, an impressive 52.2 percent.
Korver has not made a two-point basket since Jan. 2, 2008, and each of his last 38 field goals have been worth three points.
20 Overall Wins x 10 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 10 straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Postseason x 11
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is one more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 11 years are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton, which also boasts a men's soccer team with 17 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 11 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins x 12
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 12th consecutive season. Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
On a national basis, the only teams with at least 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 488 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 62 charges last season, with Casey Harriman and Dane Watts sharing the team lead with 17 charges taken. Over the previous six seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 48.7 per year.
So far this season, Creighton has taken 33 charges in 23 games.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-07 ?07-08 ?08-09 Total
Casey Harriman n/a 17 7 24
Josh Dotzler 4 5 6 15
Chad Millard n/a 7 4 11
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 3 8
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 3 5
Justin Carter n/a n/a 3 3
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 3 3
Antoine Young n/a n/a 2 2
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 33 325
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.
Witter Named MVC Player of the Week
Cavel Witter was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his work in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and four-time defending Summit League champ Oral Roberts.
Witter averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench while leading Creighton in scoring.
He shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (6-9) while also hitting 80 percent (12-15) at the line.
It was Witter's first career honor as MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice last season.
Sitzmann Was Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Senior guard Dustin Sitzmann was named Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26.
A senior from LeMars, Iowa, Sitzmann scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Bluejay career, as CU defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50) on Nov. 20 and Oral Roberts (87-65) on Nov. 22.
Sitzmann, who has a 3.871 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, made 2-of-3 shots from the field (66.7 percent). He played a combined seven minutes in the victories.
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. Wednesday will be the 368th game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
3 Players, 20 Points, First 3 Games
Creighton had three different players score 20 or more points during its first three contests this winter. P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) did it against New Mexico, while Cavel Witter (25) did it against Oral Roberts.
This is the first time it's happened in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton, as well as the first time its happened at Creighton in at least 30 years.
Double-Double Eludes Lawson
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. hasn't notched a double-double in his young career, but he's been steadily getting closer.
Lawson, who had 10 points and eight rebounds at Bradley on Jan. 10, owns eight career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won seven of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 77.9-63.2.
Creighton is 20-4 in Lawson's career when he has five rebounds or more, but 21-13 in games he's appeared in and snared less than five caroms.
25 Points Off The Bench, Again
Cavel Witter scored 25 points off the bench in CU's Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts.
It marked the second time in his career he's done that, as the junior guard torched Bradley for a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points on March 1, 2008, in a double-overtime win over Bradley.
Before Witter, Creighton had not had a player score 25 points or more off the bench since March of 2002.
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 92-54 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 33-22 mark on KMTV-produced games (which does not include CU's record in NCAA Tournament games on KMTV). Creighton went 4-2 in games aired on KMTV in 2002-03, 6-3 in 2003-04, 4-5 in 2004-05, 5-3 in 2005-06, 6-2 in 2006-07 and 5-4 last year in KMTV-produced games. So far this year CU is 3-3 on KMTV.
The Jays are also 41-28 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 22-16 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 20 are slated for television this season, including all but two MVC games.
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.
It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos.
The current duo became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era.
CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991.
Thirty-Point Bluejays
With 30 points on Nov. 16 against New Mexico, P'Allen Stinnett became one of six Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other five players that did it were Cavel Witter, Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
42 Cavel Witter Bradley 03/01/08 W 111-110
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita State 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford Southern Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @Northern Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri State 02/15/97 L 82-88
30 P'Allen Stinnett New Mexico 11/16/08 W 82-75
Stinnett Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton sophomore P'Allen Stinnett claimed MVC Player of the Week honors Nov. 17. Stinnett scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 82-75 come-from-behind victory over New Mexico while also adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
This was his second career MVC Player of the Week accolade, as he also won the award last season on Feb. 11, 2008. Stinnett also picked up three MVC Newcomer of the Week honors last year en route to sweeping Valley Newcomer and Freshman of the Year laurels.
P'henomenal Debut x 2
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points last year against DePaul were the most by a Bluejay in their first game since Cyril Baptiste scored 24 points on Dec. 1, 1969 against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Stinnett's 30 points in this year's opener were the most by a Creighton player in the season lid-lifter since Bob Harstad scored 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 48 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 56 straight games when scoring 72 points or more at all sites dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 65 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
Who Are Those Guys?
Creighton also has two walk-ons practicing with the team that might suit up on but are not listed in the media guide.
No. 24 is Matt Dorwart, a 6-7 freshman forward from Sidney, Neb. Dorwart played at Sidney High School and averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.
No. 40 Derek Sebastian is a 6-5 freshman guard/forward from Loveland, Colo. Sebastian played at Thompson Valley High School, where he averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
Turning Point?
One common theme when Creighton is successful is that they have had an advantage in “points off turnovers” in many of those contests.
Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 77-13 when winning this category, including an 16-3 mark this winter.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 59-9 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).
Jays Among Attendance Leaders, Again
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,043fans per game, which puts them on pace for a league record for home attendance.
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in attendance, averaging 15,333 fans per game during the 2007-08 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game.
Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders in 2007-08, as compiled by the NCAA.
2007-08 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 22,554
2. North Carolina 20,497
3. Syracuse 20,345
4. Tennessee 20,267
5. Louisville 19,481
6. Maryland 17,950
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Arkansas 17,148
9. Indiana 16,876
10. Memphis 16,748
11. Illinois 16,618
12. Ohio State 16,587
13. Kansas 16,409
14. Marquette 16,239
15. Creighton 15,333
16. North Carolina State 15,043
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 has returned to playing for the Des Moines Energy in the NBA D-League.
Korver is averaging 8.2 points in 22.1 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 35.3 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. Eight of his last 11 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the three that didn't won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 11 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.)
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 94 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 79-15 (.840) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 16-0 figure on Wednesday's, a 6-0 mark on Thursday's and a 1-0 mark on Friday's. The 15 losses have been by a combined 85 points.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 6,952-5,823 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 210-46 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 11-2 7-3 18-5
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 122-18 88-28 210-46
3-Point Weapons
Creighton had nine different players that made 10 or more three-pointers last season. Five of those men made 39.3 percent or more of their attempts from long-range.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton, Duke, Marquette, New Mexico and Portland State were the nation's only teams with seven different players to own 20 or more treys. Of that group, CU was the only team with all seven players to make 24 or more three-pointers.
When shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, Creighton has won 40-of-42 and 50 of its last 54 games.
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 94 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 twice this season, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 28 times in the last nine seasons.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 9 Years
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
03/09/03 vs. Wichita State 13 W 70-69
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05 at Northern Iowa 11 W 67-66
11/30/04 at Xavier 11 W 73-72
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida 11 W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
02/16/05 at Wichita State 10 W 82-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
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 625 of the team's 1,696 points (36.9 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more three times.
This year's Creighton team has produced 22 double-digit scoring games off the bench, including 10 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.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
The State Farm Shuttle presented by the Creighton Birdcage and State Farm Insurance will provide complimentary transportation service from the CU campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game.
The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blue's Alumni Grill (outside the new Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Ticket Information
Single game tickets for regular-season home games went on sale on Nov. 11 at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212.
Morrison Stadium also sells tickets (in-person only) from 9:00 am-4:30 pm weekdays.
Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Creighton sold an MVC-record 13,615 season tickets for this year. The previous MVC record had been the 12,888 season-tickets Creighton fans bought for the 2007-08 season.
