Men's Basketball Hosts Bradley For Senior Day on Saturday

Game #30 vs. Bradley • Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 • 2:05 p.m.
Bradley Braves at Creighton Bluejays
Qwest Center Omaha (17,260) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.bigsports590.com
Television: KMTV
Series History: Creighton leads 40-39
Last Meeting: Creighton won 73-68 on Jan. 27, 2010 in Peoria, Ill.

Next Game
Creighton (15-14, 9-8 MVC) will look to send seniors Justin Carter, Chad Millard and Cavel Witter out on a winning note as it hosts Senior Day on Saturday when Bradley (15-13, 9-8 MVC) comes to town in the final regular-season game for both teams.
    Tip-off at Qwest Center Omaha (17,260) is scheduled for 2:05 pm.

Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2009-10 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and and former Bluejay Jimmy Motz will call the action.
    Big Sports 590 will also have a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show on KXSP. The show, hosted by Travis Justice, takes calls after the game as well, also on Big Sports 590.

Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's game is the last of nine scheduled telecasts for KMTV this season. Travis Justice and former Bluejay standout Nick Bahe will be on the call. Satellite coordinates are below:
Galaxy 16 K6 6A Digital
U/L - 14.104.13H
D/L - 11.804.13V

Video Webcast Information
Creighton University Athletics and Jump TV will present a live, pay-per-view video webcast of approximately 15 games this season, including Saturday's game. To sign up for the video webcast, fans can register by going directly to http://www.gocreighton.com. Cost for a monthly pass is $11.95 and a season pass is $69.95.
    Once registered, fans will only need to log-in with their password on game night. The video stream, which will include an audio simulcast of the Big Sports 590 (or KMTV) broadcast, typically begins approximately 15-30 minutes before tipoff featuring live video of Qwest Center Omaha and the audio of the Big Sports 590 pre-game show.
    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
All Creighton basketball games will have live stats this season. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.

Scouting Bradley
Bradley is 15-13 overall and tied with Creighton for fourth-place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 9-8 league record. BU has won five of its last seven games, capturing victories over Northern Iowa and Wichita State in that time.
    Andrew Warren (14.6 ppg.), Taylor Brown (13.6 ppg., 6.9 rpg.) and Sam Maniscalco (12.9 ppg.) give Bradley a high-scoring trio that have combined for 118 three-pointers. All three men also shoot better than 81 percent at the foul line.
    Bradley shoots 44.3 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from three-point land and 72.4 percent at the line. The Braves outscore teams by a 67.8 - 67.4 points per game margin, and have been outrebounded by 1.9 boards per contest.
    The Braves are 4-7 in true road games this season, and will Saturday be playing in front of their largest crowd since losing before 16,276 fans during a season-opening game at BYU.

Scouting Creighton
Picked second in the preseason MVC poll, Creighton is currently tied with Bradley for fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 9-8 league mark. Creighton is 15-14 overall.
    Center Kenny Lawson Jr. leads Creighton in scoring (12.8 ppg.), rebounding (6.6 rpg.) and blocks (1.4) per game while also knocking down 54.0 percent of his shots from the floor and 82.0 percent at the line.
    Justin Carter (9.5 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) and Darryl Ashford (8.1 ppg.) give Creighton a pair of athletic wings who can shoot from the outside or drive to the basket.
    Sophomore point guard Antoine Young (6.4 ppg.) runs the show, leading the team with 79 assists and 21 steals. He had a career-high 22 points at Southern Illinois in Tuesday's overtime victory.
    Creighton's bench averages 26.5 points and 14.8 rebounds per game and is led by Cavel Witter (7.0 ppg.) and Ethan Wragge (6.4 ppg.). Redshirt freshman Josh Jones (3.6 ppg.) has also been a difference-maker of late, averaging 6.6 points in CU's last nine games. Wragge and Jones, however, have moved into the starting line-up for CU's last two wins.
    Creighton averages 69.2 points per game and shoots 43.8 percent from the floor, 32.5 percent from downtown and 69.9 percent at the line. It holds opponents to 67.9 points per game and 42.0 percent shooting. The Jays outrebound teams by 0.2 boards per game.

The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 16th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 324-174 (.651) mark at CU and a career record of 407-241 (.628) in his 21st year as a NCAA Division I head coach.
    Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his 24 years as a head coach at all levels. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
    Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 12 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Mike Jones is the team's graduate manager.
    Jim Les (Bradley, 1986) owns a 141-118 record in his eighth year at his alma mater, which also doubles as his career record. Les was named 1986 MVC Player of the Year and played seven seasons in the NBA. He is assisted by Eric Buescher, Alvin Brooks III and Kyle Vogt.

Series History With Bradley
Creighton leads the all-time series with Bradley by a narrow 40-39 margin, the first time it has ever led in the series. Much of that difference has been made up in the past nine years, as the Jays have won 17 of the past 20 meetings.
    Creighton is 23-13 in Omaha vs. Bradley all-time, including 11 straight home victories. All but three of those 11 wins have been by 11 or more points.
    In the last 28 meetings between the schools, Creighton is 15-1 when holding Bradley to 65 points or less but 5-7 when it allows more than 65 points. Creighton has also won the last 21 meetings when it scores 70 points or more against BU.
    Creighton coach Dana Altman is 21-13 all-time against Bradley and 14-3 against Jim Les.
    A complete series history against Bradley can be found on page seven of this release.

Home Season Finales
Creighton is 13-2 under Dana Altman in its final home game of the regular-season, including a 1-0 mark vs. Bradley. That meeting came in 2008, when the Bluejays emerged with a 111-110 double-overtime win at Qwest Center Omaha.
    CU's last loss in a regular-season home finale came on a senior-less team in 2002 to Drake. The Jays have won 13 straight Senior Night's when they have at least one senior dating to a 1994-95 setback vs. Southern Illinois.

So Long Seniors
Saturday will mark the final regular-season home game in the career for seniors Cavel Witter, Chad Millard and Justin Carter. Over the past four years, Creighton is 86-44 with three 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 Brian Kooienga.
    Witter is a senior guard from Kansas City, Mo., who owns 767 points, 212 assists, 70 steals and 147 rebounds in his career. He's played in 96 games, including four starts, and owns the Qwest Center Omaha record with 42 points in a Senior Day game vs. Bradley in 2008.
    Millard is a senior forward from Goffstown, N.H., who owns 186 points, 149 rebounds, 41 assists and 40 blocked shots in his career. Millard has played in 82 games, including 12 starts, in his career. He is one of four men in the Dana Altman era to have 30 or more blocks and 30 or more three-pointers, joining Rodney Buford, Kyle Korver and Dane Watts.
    Carter is a senior forward from Gaithersburg, Va., who owns 530 points, 345 rebounds and 111 assists in his career. He hasstarted 60 of 61 career games. Carter currently ranks seventh in the MVC in rebounding with 5.9 per game.

Senior Citizens
Below is a list of statistics by the Creighton players honored during Senior Day this century.
Name    Pts.    Reb.    Ast.    Stl.    Min.
Woodfox-09•    20    3    1    3    27
Dotzler-09•    6    1    4    2    21
Sitzmann-09        Did    Not    Play
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 -- 4, 5 or 6
Drake -- 7 or 8
Evansville -- clinched 10th seed
Illinois State -- 2 or 3
Indiana State -- 5, 6 or 7
Missouri State -- 5, 6, 7 or 8
Northern Iowa -- clinched 1st seed
Southern Illinois -- clinched 9 seed
Wichita State -- 2 or 3

Who Needs To Do What?
Here's a bit more about the possible seeds for next week's MVC Tournament.
    With a win on Saturday over Bradley, Creighton will clinch the fourth seed and guarantee a rematch against fifth-seeded Bradley on Friday at 2:30 pm.
    Should Bradley beat Creighton on Saturday, the Braves will be the fourth seed and could play either Creighton, Missouri State or Indiana State.
    If Creighton loses to Bradley, the only way it can be the fifth seed is if Evansville wins at Drake, Indiana State beats Missouri State and Northern Iowa beats Illinois State.
    In other seeding notes not related to Creighton, Illinois State will be the second seed if it wins at Northern Iowa. If not, Wichita State will be the second seed and the Redbirds fall to the third seed.

What's It Going To Take?
With four teams still within a game of .500 in the league standings, the race is most definitely on for teams to claim the best possible seeds for next month's MVC Tournament.
    Notably, since 1997 all 62 teams that had 10 more wins have had a top-six seed, and 71 of the 72 teams with nine or more league triumphs avoided the play-in round as well.
    Below is a chart showing the average MVC record of each seed entering the tournament, as well as the best and worst mark for each seed.
Seed    Avg. MVC Wins    Best W-L    Worst W-L
1    14.69    17-1    13-5
2    12.69    15-3    11-7
3    11.62    12-6    11-7
4    10.92    12-6    10-8
5    9.54    11-7    8-10
6    8.85    11-7    7-11
7    7.31    9-9    5-13
8    6.15    8-10    5-13
9    5.00    7-11    4-14
10    3.23    5-13    0-18

More Tourney Info
Below is a list of average seeds in the MVC Tournament since it expanded to include all 10 teams (1997).
    Notably, Creighton is the only team to avoid the play-in round in the past 13 years, a span that has seen eight different schools to earn the top seed for Arch Madness.
Team    Avg. Seed    Best Seed    Worst Seed
Creighton    2.92    1    6
Southern Illinois    3.31    1    8
Missouri State    4.62    2    10
Bradley    5.15    2    8
Illinois State    5.38    1    10
Wichita State    5.69    1    9
Northern Iowa    5.85    1    10
Evansville    6.85    1    10
Indiana State    7.54    1    10
Drake    7.69    1    10

Streaks In Jeopardy
The following Creighton streaks could end on Saturday with a loss.
    -Creighton's Valley-record streak of 13 straight seasons of 10 or more league wins. This year's team is 9-8 with one game to play.
    -Creighton has been 3-3 or better in its final six MVC games in each of its last 14 seasons. This year's team is 2-3 with one game to play.
    -Creighton has been 5-4 or better through each “half” of league play in 28 straight halves. This year's team is 4-4 with one game to play.
    -Creighton has finished in fourth place or better in 12 straight seasons. A loss would drop the Jays into a tie for fifth place.

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, with the other three finishing in the top four of the league standings. 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 and 2008-09. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 12 Years
1st Place    2000-01
Tied for First    2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.), 2008-09
2nd Place    1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd    1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place    2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place    1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08

Deans of The Valley
Saturday's game features The Valley's two longest-tenured coaches: Creighton's Dana Altman (324 wins at Creighton in 16 seasons) and Bradley's Jim Les (141 wins in eight years) have combined to win 465 games at their respective schools, while the league's other eight head coaches have combined for 463 wins with their respective teams in 26 seasons.

Breakout Games vs. Bradley
Three Bluejay guards have experienced break-out games in the past against Bradley.
    Earlier this year Josh Jones, in his first dose of extended playing time, had a then-career-high with 13 points in 21 minutes in a win at Bradley.
    Last year Antoine Young broke into double-figures for the first time in his career with 13 points in a Jan. 10 road win at Bradley.
    In 2008, Cavel Witter had a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points (double his previous high) in a 111-110 double-overtime win over Bradley, then followed it up with 15 points and eight assists in a four-point MVC Tourney victory over the Braves six days later.

Road Win Equals A Home Win?
Creighton completed the season sweep of Evansville on February 3rd when it beat the Purple Aces in Omaha.
    Since 2002-03, all 20 times the Bluejays beat a Valley rival on the road before hosting the same team, Creighton has completed the sweep with a home victory, as seen below. Creighton's final remaining chance to complete a season sweep at home will come Saturday when Bradley comes to Omaha.
Year    Opponent    Road Mtg.    Home Mtg.
2002-03    Illinois State    76-57    95-82
2002-03    Northern Iowa    65-52    84-75
2002-03    Bradley    65-58    88-65
2002-03    Indiana State    74-46    77-54
2003-04    Illinois State    56-55    72-63
2003-04    Bradley    66-49    74-56
2003-04    Indiana State    61-44    69-65
2004-05    Drake    61-58    82-67
2004-05    Northern Iowa    67-66    83-82
2005-06    Northern Iowa    55-52    63-55
2005-06    Indiana State    69-53    67-62
2006-07    Evansville    75-62    79-74
2006-07    Northern Iowa    62-54    66-55
2007-08    Wichita State    68-65    65-63
2007-08    Northern Iowa    68-59    74-50
2007-08    Missouri State    50-49    88-67
2008-09    Indiana State    79-61    73-62
2008-09    Bradley    73-64    79-65
2008-09    Evansville    79-57    89-84
2009-10    Evansville    72-64    84-71

Qwest Center Omaha Record Watch
With Saturday potentially being Creighton's last home game of the season, several Qwest Center Omaha records are within reach.
    Kenny Lawson Jr. needs eight defensive rebounds to set a record for defensive rebounds in a season with 80, one more than Dane Watts.
    Lawson needs seven rebounds to set a record for rebounds per game. Currently at 6.93 rebounds per home game, Lawson is just ahead of the previous mark of 6.89 per game by Watts.
    From a career perspective, Cavel Witter needs to make one free throw to move past Johnny Mathies. Both men have made 164 career free throws at Qwest Center Omaha.
    Witter also appears to be a near-certainty to close his career as the facility's free throw percentage leader. He is currently at 85.9 percent, well ahead of the second-place 81.7 percent by Nate Funk.
    Justin Carter is the all-time leader for rebounds per game with 5.7, just ahead of the 5.6 by Nick Porter. Carter needs three rebounds to remain ahead of Porter's average.
    Lawson's 67 career blocks at Qwest Center Omaha are four behind the record of 71 swats by Anthony Tolliver.
    Last but not least, Creighton can also set an average attendance record not only for Qwest Center Omaha, but for the MVC. The Bluejays are averaging 15,934 fans per game. To remain ahead of last year's standard of 15,930 per game, CU must attract at least 15,877 fans on Saturday.

Road Win Trio
Creighton has three road victories in The Valley this season, winning at Bradley, Southern Illinois and Evansville.
    The Jays also won at all three schools last season.
    Since Evansville joined the league in 1994-95, Creighton is the only team to earn road wins over those three schools in consecutive seasons.

Birds of Prey
Creighton's last MVC home game came on February 13th, a 67-63 loss to Illinois State.
    The Jays will be looking to avoid dropping consecutive MVC contests at home since Jan. 4 and Jan. 17, 1999, when it lost to Evansville and Indiana State.
    Since those consecutive MVC home losses in 1999, Creighton has lost a total of 16 Valley home games, including the Feb. 13 setback to Illinois State. Following every home Valley setback, Creighton has taken out its frustration in its next MVC home game.
    Creighton has followed all but one of its previous 15 Valley home losses with a win in its next MVC home game by an average of 12.0 points, including eight double-digit triumphs.
Creighton's MVC Home Losses, Last 11 Years
Home Loss    Next MVC Home Game
L 63-67, Illinois State    Saturday vs. Bradley
L 52-60, N. Iowa    W 73-69, Drake
L 62-74, Drake    W 73-62, Indiana State
L 66-69, N. Iowa    W 73-72 (OT) vs. So. Illinois
L 60-68 ot, #22 Drake    W 65-63, Wichita State
L 67-80, Illinois St.    W 77-59, Evansville
L 57-58, S. Illinois    W 71-55, Indiana State
L 67-74, S. Illinois    W 67-62, Indiana State
L 71-79, Missouri St.    W 83-82, Northern Iowa
L 77-82, Illinois St.    W 73-69, Wichita State
L 63-69, S. Illinois    W 82-67, Drake
L 60-61, S. Illinois    W 74-56, Bradley
L 73-75, Drake    W 84-63, Drake
L 77-79, S. Illinois    W 83-56, Northern Iowa
L 83-92, S. Illinois    W 102-69, Evansville
L 58-59, Missouri St.    W 70-66, Drake

Young Not Restless
Antoine Young had a (then) season-best with 13 points in last Tuesday's game at Northern Iowa. He also tied career-highs with four rebounds and three steals in the game while limiting preseason all-Valley counterpart Kwadzo Ahelegbe to six points on 2-of-8 shooting.
    Young followed that up with nine points in the win over Loyola Chicago.
    Young added a career-high with 22 points at Southern Illinois, including six of CU's final eight points in overtime. He made seven field goals as well as 8-of-9 free throws in the win.
    In Creighton's last 10 games, Young is Creighton's third-leading scorer at 9.0 points per game and tops the team with 29 assists and 11 steals.

Point Taken
Antoine Young's 22 points were a career-high for the sophomore point guard.
    It was also the most by a starting Bluejay point guard since Johnny Mathies had 24 on Nov. 26, 2005 in double-overtime win vs. Dayton.

Closer Than You'd Think
While Northern Iowa guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe is being mentioned as a potential MVC Player of the Year candidate, some of his numbers aren't too different than those of CU's Antoine Young.
Statistic    Ahelegbe    Young
FG-FGA    99-252    69-167
FG Pct.    .393    .413
3FG's Made    19    10
Assists    78    79
Turnovers    86    38
Assist/Turnover Ratio    0.91    2.08
Steals    18    21
Points/Minute    0.351    0.262
Rebounds/Minute    0.105    0.060
Assists/Minute    0.093    0.110

Double-Double Trouble
For the second time this season Kenny Lawson Jr. has had double-doubles in consecutive games. Prior to Lawson, the last previous Bluejay player to have two straight double-doubles that was Anthony Tolliver in 2006.
    Lawson had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola Chicago last Saturday, then had 12 points and 10 boards at Southern Illinois on Wednesday.
    In case you are wondering, the last Bluejay with double-doubles in three straight games was Nate King, who managed four consecutive double-doubles in a row from Dec. 29, 1993 to Jan. 8, 1994.
    King is also the last Bluejay to have three straight games of 10 or more rebounds.
    Below is a list of the individuals with Creighton's most double-doubles under Dana Altman.
Most Double-Doubles, Season
(since 1994-95)
    Double-Doubles    Name    Year
    7    Rodney Buford    1997-98
    6    Randall Crutcher    1996-97
    6    Kyle Korver    2002-03
    6    Anthony Tolliver    2006-07
    6    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2009-10
    5    Chuckie Johnson    1995-96
    5    Ben Walker    2000-01

Most Double-Doubles, Career
(since 1994-95)
    Double-Doubles    Name    Year
    11    Rodney Buford    1995-99
    11    Anthony Tolliver    2003-07
    10    Kyle Korver    1999-03
    9    Randall Crutcher    1994-97
    9    Ben Walker    1997-01
    6    Chuckie Johnson    1995-97
    6    Dane Watts    2004-08
    6    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2006-Pres.

A Tradition of Win Streaks
Creighton has won two games in a row for the fifth time this season, but can attain its first three-game win streak with a victory on Saturday.
    Creighton has had at least one five-game win streak in each of the past 12 seasons, and 20 such streaks overall in the 16-year tenure of Dana Altman.
    Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the postseason all 15 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
    11    Jan. 27 - March 6, 2009    NIT
    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    NIT
    8    Feb. 16-March 7, 2005    NCAA
    7    Four Times
    6    Four Times
    5    Four Times

OT History
Tuesday's 83-78 overtime win at Southern Illinois improved Creighton to 50-44 in its overtime history, and was its first OT win since a home victory over Southern Illlinois last season.
    It also moved Dana Altman to 16-12 at Creighton in overtime games, including a 1-1 mark this winter.
    Creighton not played consecutive overtime games since Feb. 9 and Feb. 12, 1994.

Tolliver Returns to NBA
Former Bluejay center Anthony Tolliver has signed a contract with Golden State that will last the rest of the season. Previously this year he played in two games for Portland. He has also spent time on NBA rosters with Cleveland, San Antonio and Charlotte since graduating from Creighton to all-Valley acclaim in 2007.
    Tolliver has collected four double-doubles and is now averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest for the Warriors.
    He joins former All-American Kyle Korver as Bluejay alumni currently in the NBA. Korver plays for the Utah Jazz, and is averaging 6.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game this year while shooting 60.4 percent from three-point range.

Comparing AT to P'OB
How impressive is Anthony Tolliver's 16-game start with Golden State? Let's compare to fellow Valley alum Patrick O'Bryant, who went to Bradley.
    In 18 games with Golden State, Tolliver has 171 points and 102 rebounds. He has had four double-doubles and had a career-high of 29 points on Feb. 10 vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.
    In 40 career games with Golden State (after being selected with the ninth overall pick in 2006), O'Bryant had 66 points and 50 rebounds. He never had an NBA double-double or scored more than 16 points.
    And in case you were wondering, in five head-to-head meetings in college, O'Bryant averaged 8.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks compared to Tolliver's 12.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. Tolliver's CU team won three of those five games.

Defense Stepped Up
Creighton made just one field goal in the final 9:20 of the game at Bradley on Jan. 27th, but its defense stood up to the test down the stretch in its Jan. 27 win, allowing just one point in the final 3:55 to the Braves.
    Bradley had five different chances to tie the score or take the lead in the final three minutes. On each occasion, Creighton got the badly-needed defensive stop and/or rebound.
    2:58 (CU 69-68) - Chris Roberts misses FT, rebound goes out of bounds to the Jays.
    2:23 (CU 69-68) - Ethan Wragge picks off Andrew Warren pass.
    1:13 (CU 71-68) - Chris Roberts misses three-pointer, Chad Millard grabs rebound.
    0:19 (CU 71-68) - Andrew Warren misses three-pointer, Antoine Young grabs rebound.
    0:10 (CU 71-68) - Sam Maniscalco misses three-pointer, Justin Carter grabs rebound.

Nine Weapons
Creighton is the only team in the country to have nine different players with 10 or more three-pointers this season. That ties a school-record as the Bluejays previously did that in both 2007-08 as well as 2005-06.
    No other MVC school has more than seven players with 10 three-point makes this year.
    Creighton is also the nation's only school with eight players to have made 15 or more three-pointers this season.

Lawson Jr. Attending Boarding School
Kenny Lawson Jr. leads Creighton with 192 rebounds this season, and now has 502 in his career. That makes Lawson CU's first junior to reach the 500-rebound milestone since former Valley Player of the Year Chad Gallagher in 1989-90.
    Lawson, who also owns 125 career blocks, is the first Bluejay junior with 125 career blocks since Benoit Benjamin (1984-85).

Boffo On The Boards
Creighton has outrebounded the opposition in each of its last five games, its longest stretch since doing so in seven straight games in 2006-07.
    For the season, Creighton is outrebounding teams by an average of 34.8 - 34.6 per game.
    The Jays 34.8 rebounds per game ranks as its highest figure for a season since 2001-02.

Give Me Five
Creighton's has used eight different starting line-ups this season, including the quintet of Josh Jones, Justin Carter, Kenny Lawson Jr., Antoine Young and Ethan Wragge the past two wins.
    Each of the last four times Creighton has used six or more different starting five's (2007, 2002, 2000, 1999) over the course of a season, that team has reached the NCAA Tournament.
    Below is a list of the number of different starting line-ups by season in the past dozen years by Creighton.
Year    Different Starting Line-ups
2009-10    8
2008-09    5
2007-08    5
2006-07    5
2005-06    4
2004-05    6
2003-04    2
2002-03    2
2001-02    6
2000-01    4
1999-00    7
1998-99    8

Freshmen Get First Starts
Two Bluejay freshmen made their first career starts last Saturday night, Josh Jones and Ethan Wragge.
    It was the first time that Creighton started two freshmen in the same game since March 21, 2008, when Kenny Lawson Jr. and P'Allen Stinnett both started at Florida.
    With Antoine Young (Bellevue) and Jones (Omaha) in the starting line-up, it marked the first time since March 16, 2000 that the Jays started two Omaha-area preps in the same game. In that game vs. Auburn, Omaha natives Matt West and Donnie Johnson both started.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Creighton is 6-2 in Missouri Valley Conference games this season to have been decided by five points or less. Over the past two years, that record improves to 9-3.
    In the history of Qwest Center Omaha, Creighton is 19-5 against MVC schools and 25-9 overall in games decided by five or less points.
    Saturday's foe, Bradley, is 3-4 in league games decided by five or fewer points this year.
    For the season, 29 of the MVC's 85 games have been decided by five points or less.

Jays Go Back To Bock
After a month on the sidelines, reserve guard Andrew Bock saw his first action since Jan. 16th when he played five minutes on Feb. 16th against Northern Iowa.
    Bock made his only shot from the field, a three-pointer, and also drained two free throws. His lone turnover came on a strong move to the hoop in which he was whistled for a charge.
    Bock also had a basket in the final minute of last Saturday's win over Loyola Chicago, giving him seven points in seven minutes last week.

Army of Iowans
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 506 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
    Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
    Creighton had two players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's native Iowans this season include juniors Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella).
    Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver and Pierce Hibma (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Nate Funk (Sioux City) and Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls).

Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 114 regular and postseason contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time in seven seasons at the facility.
    The Bluejays own a 96-18 (.842) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 22-0 figure on Wednesday's, a 6-0 mark on Thursday's and a 1-0 mark on Friday's.
    Creighton has outscored its opponents 8,412-7,111 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.4 points per game. The 18 losses have been by a combined 99 points (5.5 ppg.). Creighton has led wire-to-wire 24 different times, including five times this year.

Helping Hands
Creighton had 21 assists on 25 baskets in its Feb. 9 win over Indiana State, including all 11 first half baskets.
    Since January 27, 2009, Creighton is 18-1 against MVC schools when recording 11 or more assists, and just 2-8 when its assist total is 10 or less.
    This year's Creighton team is averaging 15.0 assists in its nine league wins, but just 8.8 helpers in its eight league setbacks.
    For the season Creighton is averaging 13.6 assists per game, a figure that moves to 12.1 in league play.
    It assists on 63.5 percent of made field goals in wins, and just 49.5 percent in its losses.

Lawson The Law At The Stripe
Kenny Lawson Jr. has made 35 of his last 38 free throws and had his streak of consecutive makes snapped at 19 on Feb. 9 vs. Indiana State. He had been seeking to become the first Bluejay in recorded history to stand 6-foot-9 or taller and make 20 or more straight shots at the line.
    Among Bluejays with 20 or more attempts this year, Lawson shoots a team-best 82.0 percent at the line.
    He is a career 75.1 percent free throw shooter, the best mark by a Bluejay 6-foot-9 or taller since 6-foot-10 Doug Swenson shot 75.1 percent from 1997-99.

Wragge Sinking Shots
Freshman forward Ethan Wragge has made at least one three-pointer in each of his last 16 games, the longest streak by any Bluejay this winter.
    Wragge's streak establishes the Creighton record by a freshman, breaking the mark of 12 previously held by Rodney Buford from Jan. 12 - Feb. 14, 1996.
    It's the longest streak by a Bluejay (regardless of year) since senior guard Booker Woodfox closed last season with a trey in his final 31 contests.
    Below is a streak of the MVC's longest active streaks of games with a three-pointer:
Consec. Games With a 3-Pointer (MVC - Active)
    Streak    Name, School    Next
    20    Tony Freeman, SIU    2/27
    16    Ethan Wragge, CU    2/27
    16    Adam Templeton, DU    2/27
    Below is a chart comparing the freshmen years of Wragge and Kyle Korver:
Stat    Wragge    Korver
Team W-L    15-14    23-10
Games Started    2    1
Points/Game    6.4    8.8
FG-FGA    59-138    97-204
FG Pct.    .428    .475
3-Point FG-FGA    52-127    63-145
3-Point Pct.    .409    .434
FT-FTA    16-19    34-38
FT Pct.    .842    .895
Rebounds/Game    2.3    3.1
MInutes/Game    15.1    18.2

Toughest Thing In Basketball
Did you realize that Creighton has as many true road wins this season as the combined total of true road wins by North Carolina, Notre Dame, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and DePaul this year?
    It's often been said that winning on the road is the toughest thing to do in college sports, and this year's Creighton team has found that out.
    After going 8-4 on the road last winter, Creighton is currently 3-9 in true road games this year.
    The Bluejays have plenty of company in their struggles away from home, as 13 BCS schools (of 73 BCS schools total) enter tonight with one or fewer true road wins this season: BCS Schools, 1 or Less True Road Wins, 2009-10
(Through Feb. 24, 2010)
School    Home W-L    Road W-L
DePaul    6-7    0-10
Georgia    11-3    0-9
LSU    10-7    0-7
Colorado    11-2    1-10
South Carolina    11-3    1-8
Rutgers    12-5    1-8
Nebraska    11-5    1-8
Iowa    8-9    1-7
Oklahoma    11-2    1-7
North Carolina    12-5    1-7
Washington    17-2    1-6
Notre Dame    16-2    1-6
Indiana    7-8    1-6

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 last season on Feb. 11 with a win over Bradley. No other Valley school has ever put together more than six straight 20-win seasons.
    There's no doubt that this streak appears to be in serious jeopardy, with Creighton owning two games before MVC Tournament and just 14 wins to date:
    Creighton is one of six teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 11 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse. All but Creighton (currently 15-14) have already reached 20 wins this year.

10 Conference Wins x 13
Last season's Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 13th consecutive season. Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
    This streak is also on the line heading into the final weekend of the regular season, as Creighton has nine MVC wins with just one league contests to play.
    On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 13 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (15). Kansas has already extended its streak with a 13-0 open to Big 12 action this winter.

Postseason x 12
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 12 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is two more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
    The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 12 years are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
    Below is a look at how those teams have done so far this year, through Feb. 24th:
Team    W-L Record    Next Game
Kansas    27-1    2/27
Kentucky    26-1    2/25
Syracuse    26-2    2/27
Duke    23-4    2/25
Gonzaga    22-5    2/25
Michigan State    21-7    2/28
Maryland    20-7    2/27
Florida    20-8    2/27
Oklahoma State    19-8    2/27
Creighton    15-14    2/27
Arizona    13-13    2/25
Stanford    13-14    2/25

Over 200,000 Home Fans, Again
With a crowd of 15,746 fans on Feb. 20th, the Creighton men's basketball team has now drawn 223,078 fans to Qwest Center Omaha this season. The Jays are the only team in MVC history to attain that milestone, something it has done each of the past five seasons.
        Creighton has averaged 14,319 fans in 114 all-time games at Qwest Center Omaha. No other league school has ever drawn more than 13,675 fans per game for a season and none of the other nine current venues has a capacity of 11,600 or greater.

Jays Pass 1.6 Million Fans at Qwest Center
Creighton moved over the 1.6 million fan mark at Qwest Center Omaha in its Feb. 9 home game vs. Indiana State.
    Creighton has attracted 1,632,388 fans in 114 games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average of 14,319 per contest.
    How impressive is that average? No other league school has ever drawn more than 13,675 fans per game for a season and none of the league's other nine current venues has a capacity of 11,600 or greater.

State and Local Pride
When Josh Jones (14) and Antoine Young (12) each scored in double-figures on Feb. 3rd vs. Evansville, it marked a rare daily double.
    The last time two Nebraska prep products had scored in double-figures in the same game for Creighton was March 5, 2000, when Matt West (11) and Justin Haynes (10) did so versus Indiana State in the MVC Tournament.
    The last time two Omaha-area prep products scored in double-figures in the same game for Creighton was Dec. 22, 1997, when West (14) and Kevin Mungin (13) did so at Towson.

Lights Out Shooting
Creighton shot a school-record 66.7 percent from the field in its Feb. 3 win over Evansville, sinking 28-of-42 shots.
    The mark eclipsed the previous Bluejay single-game record of 65.9 percent vs. Drake on Jan. 9, 2007, when CU was 29-of-44.
    Below is Creighton's top-five shooting performances under Dana Altman:
Best FG Percentage, Game, Under Dana Altman
Rk.    Pct.    Opponent (FG-FGA)    Date
1.    .667    Evansville (28-42)    2/03/10
2.    .659    Drake (29-44)    1/09/07
3.    .654    Evansville (34-52)    2/28/00
4.    .643    Illinois State (27-42)    1/01/07
5.    .636    Evansville (28-44)    2/02/97

Speaking of 60 Percent
Creighton has shot 60 percent or better from the field 14 times in 498 games under Dana Altman.
    CU has done it four times each against Drake, Evansville and Illinois State and once each versus Notre Dame and Wichita State.

Jays Win 10 Games at Home, Again
Creighton's win over Evansville on Feb. 3rd was its 10th home victory this season. This is the 14th straight season it has accomplished that feat.
    The current streak of 14 is a school-record, two more than the previous standard of 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign with 10 or more home wins.

Handful Of Options
Creighton had five men score in double-figures in its Feb. 3 win over Evansville, just the fourth time it has done that this season.
    All four times it has happened, Cavel Witter has been a part of that group.
    The Bluejays haven't had six men in double-figures since Dec. 29, 2001 vs. Mississippi Valley State.
    That contest was also the second time this season that Creighton had three reserves score in double-figures in the same game.

Dime Time For Witter
Cavel Witter dished a season-high five assists in CU's Feb. 3 win over Evansville.
    It was the ninth time in his CU career he's had five or more assists. The Bluejays have won eight of those games, outscoring teams by an average of 12.0 points.

Altman Earns 200th MVC Win
Dana Altman owns 202 career wins against Missouri Valley Conference schools since arriving at Creighton, a figure that includes 181 regular-season wins and a league-record 21 MVC Tournament triumphs.
    He was also 3-1 against the MVC while serving as head coach at Kansas State, with all four games taking place against Wichita State.

Bench Getting It Done
Creighton's bench has outscored the opposition 226-133 over the past nine games, including a 30-3 differential on Jan. 30 at Drake.
    What makes that figure all the more impressive is that Creighton played its game at Drake without Darryl Ashford (8.3 ppg.) and played all nine without P'Allen Stinnett (9.2 ppg.).
    Creighton's bench has outscored the opposition 769-605 (+174) this season and 2910-1805 (+1,105) since the start of the 2007-08 campaign.
    The Bluejays have ranked in the top-four nationally in minutes played by their bench in two straight years, and are third nationally this season.

Jones Provides Instant Offense
Redshirt freshman Josh Jones had 20 points in Creighton's first 20 games of the season, but has pumped in 59 points in the last nine games.
    Jones started just 8-of-29 from the field (27.6 percent) this year, but has made 21-of-46 shots (45.7 percent) over the past 10 contests.
    On Jan. 27 at Bradley, Jones hit 5-of-8 shots and scored then-career-high 13 points. His 21 minutes were also a career-high effort.
    Jones then scored six points in 19 minutes at Drake on Jan. 30, including a three-pointer with 8:53 left that produced the game's only tie.
    Jones then erased several career-highs on Wednesday in the win over Evansville, scoring 14 points in 23 minutes in the victory over the Purple Aces.
    Jones followed with 10 points off the bench on Feb. 6 at Missouri State on 4-of-6 shooting.
    In Creighton's first nine MVC games, Jones's experience in league play consisted of one (missed) shot and no points in less than nine minutes (8:50) on the floor.
    Jones' breakout performance at Bradley reminded some of that of Antoine Young last year at Bradley, when Young scored a then-career-high 13 points.
    Young averaged 7.4 points in 17.8 minutes per game from that Bradley game on after averaging just 1.8 points in 9.7 minutes per game in CU's first 16 contests a year ago. He would go on to earn MVC all-Bench Team accolades.

Room To Grow
With eight returners (P'Allen Stinnett, Kenny Lawson Jr., Justin Carter, Cavel Witter, Antoine Young, Kaleb Korver, Casey Harriman and Chad Millard) back from last year's 27-8 team, one of the expected strengths of this year's squad was to be its offensive productivity.
    However, despite increased playing time compared to last year, those same eight men have seen their numbers decrease almost across the board, shooting 0.6 percent better from the field, 5.7 percent lower from three-point range and 3.2 percent lower from the line, which has led to that group averaging 0.1 fewer points per game in 0.7 more minutes per game.
Stat    2008-09    2009-10
FG-FGA    578-1340    464-1063
FG%    .431    .437
3FG-3FGA    176-509    106-367
3FG%    .346    .289
FT-FTA    410-555    313-443
FT%    .739    .707
Games Played    268    212
Points    1742    1347
PPG    6.5    6.4
Minutes    4901    4023
MPG    18.3    19.0

Casey's Countdown
Casey Harriman has started 15 of Creighton's last 17 games, and continues to prove his value on both ends of the court.
    He's scored 41 points over the course of the last seven games after 38 points in the first 11 league contests this winter.
    On Jan. 3rd in win over Evansville, Harriman had seven points and five rebounds. Then on Jan. 6th in the win over Drake, Harriman had 10 points and tied his career-best with three baskets from three-point range.
    He then had a career-high 14 points and season-high five rebounds at Drake on Jan. 30th. Most recently, Harriman had nine points in a win over Evansville on Feb. 3rd.
    On the defensive end of the court, Harriman leads Creighton with 19 charges taken this season.

Captain Charge
Casey Harriman has taken 19 of the 41 charges taken by Creighton this season, doing so while playing in just 26 games this winter. Over the previous seven seasons, the Bluejays have averaged taking 49.2 per year.
    Below is a list of the CU players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season, as well as season and career leaders since '02-03.:
Name    2002-08    '08-09    '09-10    Total
Casey Harriman    17    8    19    44
Darryl Ashford    n/a    n/a    5    5
Antoine Young    n/a    4    4    8
Justin Carter    n/a    9    3    12
Cavel Witter    3    0    3    6
Wayne Runnels    n/a    n/a    3    3
Andrew Bock    n/a    n/a    2    2
Chad Millard    7    4    1    12
Kenny Lawson Jr.    2    4    1    7
P'Allen Stinnett    5    4    0    9
Kaleb Korver    0    3    0    3
Former Players    264    11    n/a    275
Total    298    47    41    386

Most Charges Taken, Season
(since 2002-03)
    Charges    Name    Year
    23    Anthony Tolliver    2006-07
    19    Casey Harriman    2009-10
    17    Mike Grimes    2002-03
    17    Anthony Tolliver    2005-06
    17    Casey Harriman    2007-08
    17    Dane Watts    2007-08

Most Charges Taken, Career
(since 2002-03)
    Charges    Name    Year(s)
    49    Anthony Tolliver    2003-07
    44    Casey Harriman    2007-Pres.
    43    Dane Watts    2004-08
    24    Joe Dabbert    2002-04
    22    Mike Grimes    2002-04
    21    Tyler McKinney    2002-05

Record Breaking Attendance
Creighton attracted 302,676 home fans last season, a figure that was the most in the 102-year history of the MVC. The Jays also set an MVC record in average attendance. Creighton averaged 15,930 fans (12th nationally), just ahead of the 15,909 average from 2006-07.
    This year's Creighton team is averaging 15,934 fans per game so far, which ranks 10th nationally.
2009-10 Attendance Leaders (through 2/24/10)
    Rk.    School    Average    Next Home
    1.    Kentucky    24,080    2/25
    2.    Syracuse    21,188    2/27
    3.    Louisville    19,356    3/6
    4.    Tennessee    18,952    2/27
    5.    North Carolina    18,493    3/2
    6.    Wisconsin    17,230    3/3
    7.    Memphis    16,735    2/27
    8.    Maryland    16,715    3/3
    9.    Kansas    16,441    3/3
    10.    Creighton    15,934    2/27
    11.    Illinois    15,417    2/27
    12.    Marquette    15,351    3/2
    13.    Indiana    15,083    2/25
    14.    Michigan State    14,759    3/4
    15.    Texas    14,543    3/1
    16.    Arizona    13,718    3/4
    17.    Purdue    13,618    2/28

2008-09 Attendance Leaders
    Rk.    School    Average
    1.    Kentucky    23,012
    2.    Syracuse    21,044
    3.    North Carolina    21,035
    4.    Tennessee    20,483
    5.    Louisville    19,397
    6.    Wisconsin    17,230
    7.    Maryland    17,048
    8.    Memphis    16,933
    9.    Kansas    16,350
    10.    Marquette    16,200
    11.    Arkansas    16,043
    12.    Creighton    15,930
    13.    Illinois    15,498

Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
    Home Att.    School    Year
    302,676    Creighton    2008-09
    276,000    Creighton    2007-08
    236,313    Creighton    2005-06
223,078 so far    Creighton    2009-10
    222,728    Creighton    2006-07
    192,258    Creighton    2003-04

Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
    Avg. Att.    School    Year
    15,934 so far    Creighton    2009-10
    15,930    Creighton    2008-09
    15,909    Creighton     2006-07
    15,333    Creighton    2007-08
    13,901    Creighton    2005-06

League's Best, At Home
Since Qwest Center Omaha opened in the 2003-04 season, Creighton owns the most home wins (96) and best home winning percentage (.842) among all Missouri Valley Conference schools.
    In MVC-only action, Creighton's 50 home wins and .806 home winning percentage both are second in The Valley in that time.
MVC Home Records, Since 2003-04
School    All Home    MVC Home
Creighton    96-18    50-12
Missouri State    89-27    43-20
Wichita State    87-25    45-17
Bradley    87-26    43-20
Southern Illinois    83-17    51-12
Northern Iowa    83-22    46-16
Illinois State    82-27    40-23
Drake    69-39    34-28
Indiana State    61-38    31-31
Evansville    60-46    27-36

MVC Road Records, Since 2003-04
School    All Road    MVC Road
Northern Iowa    50-41    34-29
Southern Illinois    48-47    33-29
Creighton    39-48    31-32
Wichita State    39-49    24-39
Missouri State    35-58    19-43
Drake    31-54    20-43
Bradley    31-64    19-43
Illinois State    30-60    17-45
Indiana State    20-75    11-52
Evansville    15-78    7-55

Slimmest of Margins
Creighton won four consecutive home games by four points (Drake), two points (Southern Illinois), one point (Wichita State) and four points (Missouri State) in the month of January.
    This was the first time since 1945-46 that Creighton won four consecutive home games that were each decided by four points or less.
    Creighton is 25-9 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in games decided by five points or less.

Historically After 12 MVC Games
Creighton is currently 9-8 in the MVC as it enters the stretch run of the league slate.
    This is the 15th straight season that Creighton has had a league record of .500 or better after 12 games, and each of the previous 14 campaigns the Jays would also go .500 or better in its final six contests as well.
Year    W-L After 12    W-L Final 6
2009-10    7-5    2-3 so far
2008-09    8-4    6-0
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    122-70 (.635)    59-36 (.621)

Rebound Dominance Usually Equals A Win
Creighton lost at Drake on Jan. 30th despite a commanding 39-24 victory on the boards. Creighton had been victorious in its previous 22 games when winning the rebound battle by 15 or more, winning those games by an average of 22.6 points per game.

Walking A Fine Line
Creighton entered its Jan. 24 game vs. Missouri State last in the Missouri Valley Conference in free throw shooting at 68.1 percent.
    Against the Bears, Creighton was a perfect 15-for-15 in the second half, and made its final 19 attempts of the game.
    Creighton's 15-for-15 second half marksmanship at the line was its most free throws made without a miss for any of the 986 halves Creighton has played under Dana Altman. The previous best was also against Missouri State, as CU went 14-of-14 at the line in the second half of a Feb. 28, 1999 MVC Tournament semifinal game against the Bears.
    Creighton's 19 straight free throws made as a team were its longest stretch of the season, three more than a stretch of 16 in a row on Dec. 16-19. The streak was halted when Wayne Runnels missed CU's first attempt of the game at Bradley the following game.
Most Consecutive FT's Made, Team, 2009-10
    Consec. FT's    Date(s)
    19    Jan. 24, 2010
    16    Dec. 16-19, 2009
    14    Feb. 13, 2010
    12    Dec. 6, 2009
    10    Nov. 17-22, 2009

18-11-7 In The Same Game?
Kenny Lawson Jr.rsquo;s monster game of 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots at Evansville on Jan. 3rd hasn't been seen too often in the history of Creighton basketball.
    To find the last player with to reach each of those categories in the same game, you'd have to go all the back way to Benoit Benjamin, who posted 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocked shots at Bradley on Feb. 12, 1985.
    Most impressively, Lawson stepped up when Creighton needed it most at Evansville. The junior center had six points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in Creighton's game-ending 12-4 run, which spanned the final five minutes.

Carter Loses Knee Brace, Play Improves
Justin Carter played his first nine games of the season with a brace on his left knee, the result of a partially torn MCL suffered when his knee buckled during the exhibition season. During that time, Carter averaged 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 25-of-58 from the field (43.1 percent) and 10-of-21 at the line (47.6 percent).
    Carter shed his knee brace on January 1st, and his play has picked up since then. In the past 17 games, Carter has averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. He's shooting 64-of-133 from the field (48.1 percent) and 42-of-61 at the line (68.9 percent).

Over .500 In The MVC, 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.
    Creighton's 28 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, far ahead of Illinois State (5), Northern Iowa (4), Wichita State (2), Bradley (1) and Drake (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
2009-10    5-4    4-4 so far
2008-09    5-4    9-0
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    89-55 (.618)    92-51 (.643)

What's Your Twenty?
Creighton has been .500 or better after 20 games in each of the last 15 seasons, a streak it extended to 15 with a win on Jan. 24.
    In fact, prior to this season, Creighton had won at least 13 of its first 20 games in 12 straight seasons, going on to reach the postseason each time.
    Here's a look at Creighton's record after 20 games in the 16 seasons under Dana Altman.
Creighton -- First 20 Games Under Dana Altman
Year    First 20 W-L    Final W-L    Postseason
2009-10    10-10    ? ? ?    ? ? ?
2008-09    15-5    27-8    NIT
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    ---

Home Cooking
Creighton is 50-12 at home all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in MVC games (.806), compared to a 31-31 (.500) 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 seven-year old Qwest Center Omaha. The other four Valley schools (BU, UE, INS, WSU) have an Omaha losing streak of 10 or longer.
    Below is a look at Creighton's current home winning streaks over current league foes:
Opponent    CU Home Win Streak    CU W-L at QCO
Bradley    Won 11    6-0
Drake    Won 1    5-2
Evansville    Won 11    7-0
Illinois State    Lost 1    4-3
Indiana State    Won 11    7-0
Missouri State    Won 5    6-1
Northern Iowa    Lost 2    5-2
So. Illinois    Won 3    3-4
Wichita State    Won 17    7-0

Carter Cleans The Glass
Senior Justin Carter grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds in the Jan. 20 game at Illinois State. It was the most boards he had snared in a game since pulling down 15 caroms in last season's finale against Kentucky.

Block Party
Kenny Lawson Jr.'s seven blocked shots against Evansville on Jan. 3rd were two more than his previous high and tie the most by any player in The Valley this season (Indiana State's Josh Crawford also had seven swats at UE).
    The last Creighton player with seven or more blocked shots in a game was Doug Swenson, who had eight rejections against UMKC on Nov. 18, 1998.
    The last MVC player with seven or more blocks in a game was Bradley's Patrick O'Bryant, who had nine vs. Tennessee Tech on Feb. 18, 2006.
    The Creighton record for blocks in a game by one player is 12, set by Benoit Benjamin at Bradley on Feb. 2, 1985.
    As a team, Creighton's nine blocked shots were its most since it blocked nine shots against Evansville on Jan. 9, 2008 in a game played in Omaha. Lawson had three blocks in that game.
Creighton's Most Blocked Shots (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
125    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2006-Pres.
    109    Doug Swenson    1997-99

Millard Scores Six Points
Chad Millard entered its Jan. 13th game vs. Southern Illinois with two points in 45 minutes spread out over 13 games this season.
    Against Southern Illinois, Millard converted a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays to score six points in his first three minutes on the floor, providing a spark and some aggressiveness for a team badly in need of both traits.
    A transfer to Creighton after one year at Louisville, Millard started his first 12 games as a Bluejay in the 2007-08 season but has come off the bench in his past 70 appearances since then.
    Beset by foot injuries throughout the fall, Millard hasn't let his limited playing time affect him.    After that win, his comments in the press conference displayed some of the maturity one might expect from a fifth-year senior:
    “As everyone knows, my career has been real up and down, battling injuries and stuff like that,'' Millard said. “To actually get in a game and have some meaningful minutes, it's an unbelievable feeling. And to come away with a win, it's a memory I'm going to have for the rest of my life.''

Young With The Winner
Antoine Young delivered Creighton's first game-winning shot of the season, connecting on a six-foot shot from the right side of the lane to beat Southern Illinois on Jan. 13th, 71-69.
    It was the first time that Creighton hit a game-winning shot in the final five seconds of a game since Booker Woodfox's buzzer-beater to top Wichita State last March 6. Woodfox hit a shot as time expired to beat the Shockers, 63-62.
    Creighton hadn't won a game after being in that kind of situation (with the ball in a tie game with less than 10 seconds left) since Nov. 25, 2006. On that day Dane Watts made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to beat George Mason, 58-56.
    Ironically enough, Creighton was in the exact same situation in the rematch with Southern Illinois on Feb. 23rd. On that occasion, Young and Kenny Lawson Jr. would miss potential game-winning shots, but the Jays would win in overtime.

Altman Earns 400th Division I Win
Dana Altman earned his 400th win as a Division I head coach on Jan. 13 when his team beat the same club he topped for his 100th and 200th career Division I victories, Southern Illinois.
    Altman owns a 407-241 record in 21 years as a Division I head coach, including 324 wins at Creighton, 68 wins at Kansas State and 15 wins at Marshall.
    Altman has a 324-174 mark in 16 years at Creighton, an average of 20.3 wins per season. This is especially impressive when you consider that Creighton had just 24 wins total in the three seasons prior to his arrival.

    Win #    Game #    Opponent    Date
    50    94    at UC-Santa Barbara    12/30/92
    100    195    Southern Illinois    01/29/96
    150    280    Illinois State    01/23/99
    200    351    at Southern Illinois    02/10/01
    250    414    Bradley    02/08/03
    300    486    vs. Wichita State    03/06/05
    350    559    Houston Baptist    12/17/07
    400    636    Southern Illinois    01/13/10

Lawson Passes Board Test
Kenny Lawson Jr. had 14 rebounds in the Jan. 1st game at Indiana State. Not only was that a season-high, but it was also three more than his previous career-high of 11 boards. His 14 caroms are tied for second-most in the MVC this season.
    Since Dana Altman took over 16 years ago, eight different Bluejays have had at least one game of 14 or more rebounds but no player has multiple games of 14 or more boards.
Most Rebounds, Game, Under Dana Altman
    Reb.    Name, Opponent    Date
    16    Donald Davenport vs. Missouri St.    1/21/95
    15    Ben Walker at Baylor    12/4/99
    15    Justin Carter vs. Kentucky    3/23/09
    14    Rodney Buford vs. Northern Iowa    2/16/98
    14    Doug Swenson vs. Towson    11/14/98
    14    Brody Deren at Bradley    1/5/04
    14    Anthony Tolliver at Bradley    1/31/07
    14    Kenny Lawson Jr. at Indiana St.    1/1/10

Lawson Chasing Rebound Leaders Too
Kenny Lawson Jr. has 117 rebounds in his past 17 games, moving his season average to 6.6 rebounds per game. Since Dana Altman took over 16 years ago, the only player to average at least 7.0 rebounds for a season is Rodney Buford, who did it twice.
    Buford averaged 7.3 boards per game in 1997-98, then followed that up by averaging 7.2 caroms per contest the following season.

40 Percent Barometer
Creighton is holding opponents to 42.0 percent shooting from the floor this season, seeking to hold the opposition under 40 percent for the year for the first time since the 1962-63 team held opponents to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor (706-1795).
    Over the last 16 years, Creighton has been extremely successful when holding opponents to 40 percent or lower shooting from the field, sporting a 146-20 record, as seen below:
W-L Record When Opp. Under 40.0 FG%
Year    When Opp. Under 40.0%
2009-10    8-3
2008-09    11-1
2007-08    10-2
2006-07    13-1
2005-06    10-3
2004-05    8-0
2003-04    8-1
2002-03    12-0
2001-02    9-1
2000-01    10-1
1999-00    11-0
1998-99    11-0
1997-98    8-1
1996-97    5-1
1995-96    8-4
1994-95    4-1
TOTAL    146-20

Decade Leaders
Creighton went an impressive 229-97 in the recently completed decade from Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2009.
    Below is the stat leaders for the decade, with more detailed info available page 13 of these notes:
Category    Stat    Name
Games Played    135    Nate Funk
Games Started    119    Dane Watts
Minutes Played    3,686    Nate Funk
Points    1,754    Nate Funk
Points Per Game    14.9    Kyle Korver
Field Goals Made    621    Nate Funk
Field Goals Attempted    1,307    Nate Funk
Field Goal Percentage    .635    Livan Pyfrom
3-Pt. Field Goals Made    360    Kyle Korver
3-Pt. Field Goal Attempts    779    Kyle Korver
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct.    .468    Matt West
Free Throws Made    312    Nate Funk
Free Throws Attempted    410    Anthony Tolliver
Free Throw Pct.    .894    Kyle Korver
Rebounds    686    Dane Watts
Rebounds Per Game    6.1    Ben Walker
Fouls    326    Dane Watts
Assists    430    Tyler McKinney
Blocked Shots    138    Brody Deren
Steals    196    Josh Dotzler

Among The Decade's Best, Nationally
Creighton ranked among the nation's best schools during the recently-ended decade (Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2009), ranking 22nd nationally with 229 wins and 21st with a .702 win percentage. Below are those lists, as tabulated by STATS Inc., and Creighton Sports Information.
Most Wins (Jan. 1, 2000 thru Dec. 31, 2009)
Rank    School    W-L
1.    Duke    294-59
2.    Kansas    284-67
3.    Memphis    271-81
4.    Gonzaga    266-64
5.    Florida    260-87
6.    Texas    256-89
7.    Pittsburgh    255-84
8.    Utah State    254-78
    North Carolina    254-93
    Syracuse    254-95
11.    Illinois    253-92
    Connecticut    253-87
13.    Michigan State    249-95
14.    Kentucky    246-93
15.    Oklahoma    242-91
16.    Xavier    239-92
17.    Butler    236-87
    Wisconsin    236-96
19.    Kent State    234-101
20.    Louisville    233-104
21.    Arizona    232-104
22.    Creighton    229-97
    Oklahoma State    229-104
24.    Western Kentucky    227-91
    Ohio State    227-104

Best Win Percentage
(Jan. 1, 2000 thru Dec. 31, 2009)
Rank    School    W-L    Win %
1.    Duke    294-59    .833
2.    Kansas    284-67    .809
3.    Gonzaga    266-64    .806
4.    Memphis    271-81    .770
5.    Utah State    254-78    .765
6.    Pittsburgh    255-84    .752
7.    Florida    260-87    .749
8.    Connecticut    253-87    .744
9.    Texas    256-89    .742
10.    Illinois    253-92    .733
11.    North Carolina    254-93    .732
12.    Butler    236-87    .731
13.    Syracuse    254-95    .728
14.    Oklahoma    242-91    .727
15.    Kentucky    246-93    .726
16.    Michigan State    249-95    .724
17.    Xavier    239-92    .722
18.    Western Kentucky    227-91    .714
19.    Wisconsin    236-96    .711
20.    Stanford    227-96    .703
21.    Creighton    229-97    .702
22.    Kent State    234-101    .699
23.    Louisville    233-104    .691
24.    Arizona    232-104    .690
25.    Oklahoma State    229-104    .688

MVC Team of the Decade?
Below is the records for each MVC school for the recently completed decade (Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2009), ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton led the MVC overall with 229 wins and a .702 win percentage in the decade, as well as nine postseason appearances, as can be seen by the numbers below through games of Dec. 31, 2009:
MVC Standings (Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2009)
        MVC    only          All Games
Team    W    L    Pct.    W    L    Pct.
Creighton    125    54    .698    229    97    .702
Southern Illinois    130    50    .722    224    103    .685
Missouri State    97    82    .542    185    134    .580
Northern Iowa    92    89    .508    173    138    .556
Wichita State    88    92    .489    175    142    .552
Bradley    89    91    .494    171    150    .533
Illinois State    81    99    .450    161    146    .524
Drake    72    108    .400    145    162    .472
Indiana State    63    117    .350    129    178    .420
Evansville    62    118    .344    116    177    .396

Postseason Appearances by MVC Teams
(Since 1999-2000)
Team    NCAA    NIT    CBI    CIT    Total
Creighton    6    4    0    0    10
Southern Illinois    6    2    0    0    8
Wichita State    1    3    1    0    5
Bradley    1    2    1    1    5
Northern Iowa    4    0    0    0    4
Missouri State    0    4    0    0    4
Illinois State    0    3    0    0    3
Indiana State    2    0    0    0    2
Drake    1    0    0    1    2
Evansville    0    0    0    1    1

MVC Success After the 1/3 Mark
January 13th was Creighton's sixth MVC game of the season, marking the 1/3rd point of the league slate. The Bluejays have never had a losing record after exactly six league games under Dana Altman.
    Currently at 9-8 in the league, Creighton has not been under .500 in league play after six games or more at any time since Jan. 17, 1998, when the team was 3-4. That squad responded with nine straight wins and advanced to the NIT.

It's About Time
Creighton is 15-7 in the Central Time Zone this season, 0-6 in games played in the Eastern Time Zone and 0-1 in the Mountain Time Zone. The Jays lost three times in Orlando, Fla., and single games at George Mason (in Fairfax, Va.), at Dayton (in Dayton, Ohio), at Indiana State (Terre Haute, Ind.) and at New Mexico (Albuquerque, N.M.).
    Before this season, Creighton had not played five or more games in the Eastern Time Zone of the same season since 1970-71 under the direction of Eddie Sutton. That 1970-71 season saw them play one game each in Charlotte, N.C., South Bend, Ind., Olean, N.Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and two games in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked second in the preseason poll of MVC coaches, SID's and media. Northern Iowa was a near-unanimous pick to win the league, garnering 38-of-39 first-place votes and 389 points overall.
    Creighton was second with 336 points and the remaining first-place vote.
    Illinois State (299), Southern Illinois (272) and Wichita State (216) rounded out the upper half of the league.
    In sixth was Bradley (208), where it was followed by Indiana State (173), Drake (105), Missouri State (92) and Evansville (55).
    Creighton junior guard P'Allen Stinnett is one of six men on the preseason all-MVC team. It's Stinnett's second straight year earning such an accolade. He's joined on the team by UNI's Kwadzo Ahelegbe and Adam Koch, SIU's Tony Freeman, Drake's Josh Young and preseason MVC Player of the Year Osiris Eldridge from Illinois State.

Witter Wonderland
Senior guard Cavel Witter had his two best shooting nights of the season in consecutive home games in late December.
    On Dec. 22nd against Houston Baptist, he made 7-of-10 shots from the floor and finishing with a season-best 18 points. Witter tied a personal best with four three-pointers (done twice previously) and did not have a turnover in 20 minutes of action.
    Witter then had 17 points, including 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range, to lead all scorers in the Northern Iowa game.
    In his career, Creighton is 14-2 when Witter scores 14 or more points. Creighton has won those games by an average of 12.1 points per contest. Creighton is also 9-3 in games that Witter plays and does not commit a turnover.

Better To Give Than Receive
Creighton had 28 assists on its 32 baskets on Dec. 22 against Houston Baptist. Not only were the 28 helpers a season-high and Qwest Center Omaha record, but they were also the most by any Creighton team under the direction of Dana Altman.
    Creighton's 28 assists were its most since 29 assists against Southwest Missouri State on Feb. 10, 1991.

Call It A Comeback
Dana Altman frequently urges his team to play hard all 40 minutes regardless of the score, whether they are up 10 points or down 10 points. In recent seasons Bluejay fans have seen plenty of comebacks, many of which have favored CU.
    Each of the last eight times Creighton has lost a game it led by 10 points or more, it has come away from home. In that same span, Creighton has won eight home games and one road game (at Missouri State, last season) after trailing by 10 points or more.
    The Jays are 80-2 all-time at Qwest Center Omaha in games in which it has held a lead of 10 or more at any point, including 37 straight wins.
    Creighton is also a mind-boggling 18-9 at Qwest Center Omaha in games in which it trails by 10 or more points at any juncture.
    Creighton is 8-0 in Qwest Center Omaha games in which both teams own leads of 10 or more points, and 23-1 in games at Qwest Center Omaha in which there are no lead changes.
    Below is a chart showing how many times Creighton (or its opponent) overcame a 10-point deficit to win a game in the past six years:
Comebacks From 10 Points Down, Last 6 Years
    CU Comebacks    Opp. Comebacks
2009-10    1    3
2008-09    4    2
2007-08    4    2
2006-07    2    2
2005-06    6    1
2004-05    5    3
Total    22    13

Lawson Produces 25 & 10
Kenny Lawson Jr. became the first player in The Valley to have 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game this year when he produced those numbers in Creighton's seventh straight regular-season home win over Nebraska on Dec. 6th.
    The 25 points were seven more than Lawson's previous best, and his 10 rebounds were a season-high.
    He'd owned 11 previous games of at least eight points and eight rebounds in the same contest before finally notching his first double-double in his 77th career contest.
    He currently is leading Creighton with 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

Lawson One Of Four
Kenny Lawson Jr. became the first Creighton player since 1992 to record 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game against a school from one of the six major BCS football conferences. That dates back to when Mike Amos had 28 points and 17 rebounds against Nebraska.
    Lawson was also just the fourth player in the Dana Altman era (1994-Present) with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game, joining Anthony Tolliver, Rodney Buford and Randall Crutcher. That list is below:
    25 Points & 10 Rebounds, Under Altman
Name (Points, Rebounds) vs. Opp.    Date
Kenny Lawson Jr. (25/10) vs. Nebraska    12/06/09
Anthony Tolliver (26/10) vs. Xavier    12/18/05
Rodney Buford (30/10) at Northern Iowa    12/30/97
Rodney Buford (28/11) at Drake    01/24/98
Randall Crutcher (25/12) at Illinois State    02/24/97

Junior Year, Game No. 7 A Big One
Creighton's last center, Anthony Tolliver, took a big step forward in his junior season, something that Kenny Lawson Jr. seems to be doing as well.
    Tolliver's year-end stats in 30 games as a junior (13.2 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) are similar to those Lawson Jr. has put up (12.8 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) through 29 games.
    Tolliver had a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds in the seventh game of his junior campaign, a home win over Xavier. Lawson had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the seventh game of his junior campaign on Dec. 6th, a home win over Nebraska.
    Tolliver was named second-team all-MVC as a junior and first-team all-Valley as a senior. He finished his career with 1,004 points, 603 rebounds and 136 blocked shots.
    Below are the numbers comparing Tolliver and Lawson by year, as well as through 99 career games.
Stat    Tolliver    Lawson Jr.
Freshman PPG    0.8    5.9
Freshman RPG    1.3    4.2
Freshman BPG    0.3    0.8
Sophomore PPG    4.2    8.5
Sophomore RPG    4.4    4.8
Sophomore BPG    0.7    1.6
Junior PPG    13.2    12.8
Junior RPG    6.7    6.6
Junior BPG    1.6    1.4
Points Thru 99 Games Played    672    876
Rebounds Thru 99 Games Played    441    509
Blocks Thru 99 Games Played    92    125
Wins Thru 99 Games Played    66    66

Road Warriors
The Missouri Valley Conference has recorded a 19-16 record in non-conference true road contests this year. The 19 road wins are already more than all of last year (10).
    In recent history, road success has translated into multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament.
Recent MVC Non-Conference Road Records
2008-09 -- 10-24 (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 3 CIT, 1 CBI)
2007-08 -- 18-26 (1 NCAA, 3 NIT, 1 CBI)
2006-07 -- 19-20 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2005-06 -- 17-18 (4 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2004-05 -- 14-20 (3 NCAA, 2 NIT)
2003-04 -- 12-23 (2 NCAA, 2 NIT)

Winning From Within
Creighton beat Nebraska on Dec. 6th, despite making just 1-of-10 three-point shots. That snapped a streak of 74 straight games making four or more treys (the nation's fifth-longest active streak).
    Creighton had made just one three-pointer in a game just once previously in Dana Altman's 16-year tenure at CU, on Jan. 20, 2007 vs. Southern Illinois.
    Creighton's 530 straight games with at least one trifecta is the MVC's longest active streak.

20 Point Scorers Off The Bench
Creighton has had five individuals score more than 20 points this season (including Kenny Lawson Jr. three times), and two did it in a reserve role.
    Justin Carter scored a career-high 21 points off the bench in the overtime setback to Michigan on Nov. 26th.
    A day later, Ethan Wragge had a career-best 21 points off the bench against Xavier.
    Before those two games, Creighton hadn't had a player score 20 points off the bench since Cavel Witter had 25 points against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22, 2008.

Altman Among These Leaders
Creighton head coach Dana Altman ranks 11th nationally in Division I wins at his current school with 323. The 11 coaches on this list have combined for 5,096 wins, 12 national titles and 26 Final Four appearances.
    Records below are through games of Feb. 24th.
Rk.    W-L    Name, School    Next Game
1.    825-290    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse    2/27
2.    783-219    Mike Krzyzewski, Duke    2/25
3.    574-216    Jim Calhoun, Connecticut    2/28
4.    438-236    Gary Williams, Maryland    2/27
5.    381-247    Bob McKillop, Davidson    2/27
    381-272    Bob Thomason, Pacific    2/25
7.    378-339    Fang Mitchell, Coppin State    2/27
8.    357-144    Tom Izzo, Michigan State    2/28
9.    329-134    Billy Donovan, Florida    2/27
10.    328-274    Dave Loos, Austin Peay    2/25
11.    324-174    Dana Altman, Creighton    2/27

Tenure? He's Got 16 Years
Dana Altman is the dean of MVC coaches, as he is in his 16th season as head coach at Creighton. His 16 years at CU ranks 15th-longest nationally among active Division I head coaches at one school. Below is that list:
Yrs.    Name, School
34    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
32    Dave Bike, Sacred Heart
30    Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
28    Don Maestri, Troy
26    Greg Kampe, Oakland
24    Rick Byrd, Belmont; Jim Calhoun, Connecticut; Ron “Fang” Mitchell, Coppin State; Vann Pettaway, Alabama A&M
22    Bob Thomason, Pacific
21    Bob McKillop, Davidson; Gary Williams, Maryland
20    Dave Loos, Austin Peay
17    Kirk Speraw, Central Florida
16    Dana Altman, Creighton; Ron Hunter, IUPUI; Rick Scruggs, Gardner-Webb
15    Tom Izzo, Michigan State; Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph's, Scott Nagy, South Dakota State; Fran O'Hanlon, Lafayette

Welcome Back, Carter
Senior Justin Carter missed Creighton's first three regular-season games with a partially torn MCL in his left knee, but didn't waste any time making a difference in his return.
    Carter played 24 minutes off the bench against No. 15 Michigan on Nov. 26th. He led CU with a career-high 21 points, making 10-of-15 shots from the floor, and also grabbed eight rebounds.

Witter Goes For 500
Cavel Witter owns 493 points at Qwest Center Omaha in his career, needing seven more to be the sixth player to reach 500. Nate Funk owns the record with 735 points.
Qwest Center Omaha, Most Career Points
    Rk.    Name, Years    Points (Games)
    1.    Nate Funk, 2003-07    735 (47)
    2.    Johnny Mathies, 2003-06    586 (49)
        Dane Watts, 2004-08    586 (65)
        P'Allen Stinnett, 2007-Pres.    586 (47)
    5.    Anthony Tolliver, 2003-07    507 (61)
    6.    Cavel Witter, 2007-Pres.    493 (50)
    7.    Kenny Lawson Jr., 2006-Pres.    471 (53)
    8.    Booker Woodfox, 2007-09    462 (37)
    9.    Nick Porter, 2005-07    325 (31)
        Kellen Miliner, 2003-05    325 (32)

Keeping It Fresh
The 21 points scored by Ethan Wragge against Xavier were the most by a Bluejay freshman since P'Allen Stinnett had 22 points against Rhode Island on March 18, 2008. Stinnett had four games of 20 or more points as a freshman en route to sweeping MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors.
    Wragge's 21 points came in just 17 minutes. That made him the first CU player to score more than 20 points in less than 20 minutes since Vernon Moore put up 21 points in 19 minutes against Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 24, 1984.
    Wragge's five three-pointers against Xavier were the most by a CU freshman since Stinnett had five three-pointers in a season-opening win over DePaul on Nov. 9, 2007.

27 Wins in 2008-09
Creighton tied for 15th nationally with 27 wins in 2008-09, and were one of 24 schools with 27 or more wins last season.
    Last season Creighton became the only school from a top-10 league to ever win 26 or more games by Selection Sunday and not receive an NCAA Tournament bid.
Wins    Schools
34    North Carolina
33    Memphis
31    Missouri, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut,
    Michigan State
30    Duke, Villanova, Oklahoma, Utah State
28    Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, Syracuse
27    Creighton, Davidson, LSU, Charleston, Siena         Dayton, Purdue, Penn State, Kansas, Xavier

Looking To Fill Dotzler's Shoes
Just like he did four years ago at Bellevue (Neb.) West High School, Antoine Young is looking to fill the shoes of four-year starting point guard Josh Dotzler.
    In two exhibition games this fall, Young tied for the team lead with three steals, and had 13 assists without a turnover. In regular-season action, Young has 79 assists and 38 turnovers, good for a 2.08 assist/turnover ratio. He has had more turnovers than assists in just one of CU's 17 MVC games.
    Last year Dotzler led the MVC in steals (70) and steals per game (2.0 spg.) while ranking fourth in the nation with a 3.46/1 assist/turnover ratio.

Double-Digit Comebacks
Including four times last season and once this year, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 31 times in the last 10 seasons.
    Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 10 Years
Date    Opponent    Deficit    Final Score
01/28/06    Wichita State    19    W 57-55
11/27/01    Western Kentucky    18    W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03    Missouri State    17    W 70-67 ot
11/09/07    DePaul    17    W 74-62
03/18/08    Rhode Island    17    W 74-73
11/16/08    New Mexico    16    W 82-75
02/04/06    at Drake    16    W 72-67 ot
01/26/03    TCU    16    W 89-79
02/02/08    Wichita State    15    W 65-63
02/22/06    Indiana State    14    W 67-62
02/07/07    Evansville    14    W 79-74
03/18/09    Bowling Green    14    W 73-71
12/04/04    High Point    13    W 79-60
03/09/03    vs. Wichita State    13    W 70-69
01/18/03    Southern Illinois    13    W 85-76
02/04/01    at Indiana State    13    W 77-71
02/24/09    at Missouri State    13    W 65-59
01/07/04    at Illinois State    12    W 56-55
01/18/06    Bradley    12    W 80-76
03/01/08    Bradley    12    W 111-110 2ot
12/30/06    Missouri State    11    W 77-74
11/26/05    Dayton    11    W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05    at Northern Iowa    11    W 67-66
11/30/04    at Xavier    11    W 73-72
03/15/02    vs. #15 Florida    11    W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05    Xavier    10    W 61-59
02/16/05    at Wichita State    10    W 82-68
02/01/05    Wichita State    10    W 73-69
12/30/03    Missouri State    10    W 59-54
02/01/09    Missouri State    10    W 75-51
02/03/10    Evansville    10    W 84-71

Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 324 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 181 triumphs in regular-season conference games are second-most in league history.
    Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Hickey entered the MVC Hall of Fame last March in conjunction with Arch Madness.
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
    Wins    Coach    School(s)
1.    486    Henry Iba    Oklahoma A&M
2.    337    Eddie Hickey    Creighton & St. Louis
3.    324    Dana Altman    Creighton

MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
    Wins    Coach       School(s)
1.    187    Henry Iba    Oklahoma A&M
2.    181    Dana Altman    Creighton
3.    163    Eddie Hickey    Creighton & St. Louis

Runnels Rebounds Into History
Junior transfer Wayne Runnels became the first Creighton player in 40 seasons to grab nine or more rebounds in each of his first two games as a Bluejay.
    Believe it or not, that 1969-70 season saw three different men open their careers with consecutive games of nine or more rebounds.
    Cyril Baptiste had five straight such games, Denny Bresnahan had three such games and Nate Stephens had at least two such games to begin their Creighton career.

Dance Regulars
Creighton is one of 20 schools to have appeared in multiple NCAA Tournaments during each of the past five decades.
Multiple NCAA Appearances, Last 5 Decades
Team    60's    70's    80's    90's    00's
Arizona State    4    2    2    2    2
BYU    2    3    5    5    7
Creighton    2    3    2    2    6
DePaul    2    3    9    2    2
Duke    4    2    7    9    10
Kansas    3    4    6    10    10
Kentucky    6    7    9    8    9
Louisville    4    6    8    7    7
Marquette    3    9    3    4    6
North Carolina    3    6    10    10    8
Princeton    7    2    4    6    2
Providence    3    5    2    3    2
Temple    2    3    5    10    4
Texas Tech    2    2    2    2    4
UCLA    7    10    5    10    8
Utah    3    3    3    7    6
UTEP    4    2    6    2    2
Villanova    3    4    8    6    5
Weber State    2    6    2    2    2
Western Kentucky    4    4    4    3    5

Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 530 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC.

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

Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 62 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
    Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more (at all venues), dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
    Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.

Coat, Food Drives A Success
The generosity of some Creighton Basketball fans has paid big dividends for the Siena Francis House in the preseason. More than 675 pounds of food and around 250 coats were collected in separate events connected with Bluejay basketball.
    The food drives took place on both Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 as part of the open practices hosted at D.J. Sokol Arena in the Wayne and Eileen Ryan Athletic Center. Fans were invited to bring canned goods or other perishable items prior to both events. More than 675 pounds of food were collected.
    On Nov. 8th as part of the team's exhibition game against Nebraska-Omaha, fans could exchange new or slightly used coats for two tickets to Creighton's regular-season home opener on Nov. 17 against Florida A&M. Around 250 coats were gathered. Nu-Trend Cleaners then donated to the cause by cleaning of all coats before they were delivered to the Siena Francis House on Nov. 9th.
    The Siena Francis House is Nebraska's largest shelter, serving homeless men, women and children for over 30 years.
    Creighton also raised more than $11,000 in funds for those affected by the Haiti earthquake on Jan. 16th.

Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2009-10 season went on sale on October 26th at 10 am.
    Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). Tickets for the Dec. 6 Nebraska game were $20 for adults and youth.
    For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.

Academically Tops In The MVC Too
Creighton ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference in graduation success rate (94.7 percent) among all sports.
    Also, for the fifth time in the seven-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2008-09 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.32 cumulative grade-point average over the 2008-09 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08.
    Creighton had three men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year.

Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
    The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game. The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blues Alumni Grill (outside the Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
    The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha convention center entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
    Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.

Men's Basketball Hosts Bradley For Senior Day on Saturday

Players Mentioned

Darryl Ashford

Benoit Benjamin

Rodney Buford

Justin Carter

Joe Dabbert

Josh Dotzler

Nate Funk

Chad Gallagher

Mike Grimes

Casey Harriman

Justin Haynes

Pierce Hibma

Donnie Johnson

Josh Jones

Kaleb Korver

Kyle Korver

Kenny Lawson Jr.

Michael Lindeman

Johnny Mathies

Tyler McKinney

Kellen Miliner

Chad Millard

Vernon Moore

Jimmy Motz

Nick Porter

Livan Pyfrom

Wayne Runnels

Ryan Sears

P'Allen Stinnett

Anthony Tolliver

Ben Walker

Dane Watts

Matt West

Cavel Witter

Booker Woodfox

Ethan Wragge

Antoine Young

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