Men's Basketball Hosts Akron Sunday
12/7/2012 5:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
2012-13 Creighton Men's Basketball
Game #10 vs. Akron • Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 • 1:05 pm
Akron Zips at #16 Creighton Bluejays
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.am590espnradio.com
Television: NET; ESPN Full Court
Series History: Series tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Akron 76, Creighton 67 on 2/19/11 in Akron, Ohio
Next Game
No. 16 Creighton (8-1) returns home to host Akron (4-2) on Sunday (Dec. 9) afternoon in a 1:05 pm game.
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha's ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2012-13 season, including Sunday. T. Scott Marr and Brody Deren will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.
TV Broadcast Information
Sunday's game will air statewide on NET and NET-HD (Cox Channel 12 and 1012 in Omaha). Larry Punteney and Nick Bahe will announce.
The game will also be carried nationally on ESPN Full Court. Digital coordinates are below:
Data Rate 19.392658
Symbol Rate 14.028731
FEC 3/4
AMC 9 @ 83° W
Transponder 21 Slots A&B
Downlink Frequency 12129.000 MHz (H)
Video Webcast Available
Sunday's game will be webcast free of charge at http://www.netnebraska.org/sports as well as at http://es.pn/mbb-AKRONvsCREIGHTON.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the top of the page for a link the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton is 8-1 this season, including wins over Wisconsin, Arizona State, UAB, Saint Joseph's and Nebraska. Creighton's only loss this year has come against Boise State on Nov. 28th.
Junior forward Doug McDermott (21.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg.) is the nation's only returning consensus First Team All-American, as well as the nation's returning scorer (22.9 ppg. last year). He's led the Jays in scoring and rebounding each of the past two seasons, and has already picked up MVC Freshman of the Year, MVC Newcomer of the Year, MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP honors in his career.
The other three returning starters include senior center Gregory Echenique (10.6 ppg., 7.1 rpg., 1.3 bpg.), senior guard Grant Gibbs (7.0 ppg., 6.4 apg.) and junior guard Jahenns Manigat (.468 3FG% last year). Gibbs led the MVC with 176 assists last year, while Echenique had a league-high 57 blocks en route to earning MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Sophomore Austin Chatman replaced three-year starter Antoine Young, the lone player from last year's rotation to depart. Chatman is averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 assists per contest.
The Bluejays returned 10 lettermen and four starters from last year's 29-6 team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and have been widely praised for having one of the nation's most potent offenses.
Creighton is shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, 76.4 percent at the line, and outrebounding foes by 5.1 boards per game. CU scores 80.6 points per game.
Scouting Akron
Akron is 4-2 on the young season, with wins over John Carroll, UNC Asheville, Penn State and Middle Tennessee. The only teams to defeat the Zips this winter have been Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma State, both in overtime.
Alex Abreu leads four men in double-figures, averaging 12.2 points per game. He's also tops on the team in assists (5.7 apg.) and steals per game (1.8 spg.).
Senior 7-foot-center Zeke Marshall averages 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots per game. He shoots 60.7 percent from the floor and 69.8 percent at the line.
Also in double-figures are Brian Walsh (11.5 ppg., 4.7 apg.) and Jake Kretzer (10.3 ppg., 4.2 rpg.).
The Zips average 80.2 points per game while allowing just 66.0 per contest. Akron shoots 46.4 percent from the floor, 39.9 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent at the line.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his third season as head coach at Creighton. He led CU to a 29-6 mark last year, and is now 60-23 with the Bluejays. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 340-218 in 19 seasons and is 209-154 in 12 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.
Akron is coached by Keith Dambrot (Akron, 1982), who owns a 188-89 mark in his ninth year with the Zips. He is 296-159 in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Dambrot is assisted by Rick McFadden, Charles Thomas and Terry Weigand. He is also well known as a former head coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where he won state titles with LeBron James as both a freshman and sophomore.
The Series With Akron
Creighton and Akron have split two previous meetings, with the home team winning each time.
Creighton beat the Zips 71-60 in the 2006 NIT in Omaha before falling at Akron 76-67 in 2011 in a non-televised BracketBusters match-up.
Greg McDermott is 0-1 in his career against Akron and Keith Dambrot. Dambrot is 1-1 against Creighton.
Last Game Recap
Creighton made its final trip to the Bob Devaney Sports Center a memorable one, defeating Nebraska, 64-42, on Thursday.
Creighton led 28-17 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead the entire second half. Doug McDermott led CU with 27 points, while Gregory Echenique had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bracket Buster History
Creighton owns a 7-3 record in BracketBusters match-ups, including a 5-2 mark in televised games (Games in 2005, 2010 and 2011 weren't televised)).
In return game rematches, Creighton owns a 3-4 record.
Opponent First Meeting Rematch
Fresno State W 67-66 (H) W 70-62 ot (R)
Kent State L 55-70 (R) L 58-67 (H)
Chattanooga W 100-68 (H) L 64-69 (R)
Fresno State W 67-62 (H) L 54-69 (R)
Drexel L 58-64 (H) W 72-48 (R)
Oral Roberts W 65-64 (R) W 87-65 (H)
George Mason W 76-63 (H) L 72-75 (R)
Loyola Chicago W 78-58 (H) Next Year (R)
Akron L 67-76 (R) Sunday (H)
Long Beach State W 81-79 (H) Next Year (R)
McDermott's BracketBusters Success
Greg McDermott is 8-1 in his career in games associated with the BracketBuster series. McDermott is 5-1 in the original BracketBuster game, and is a perfect 3-0 in the return games.
McDermott in BracketBuster Games
2003 UNI 76, @Louisiana Tech 71 -- (TV)#
2004 UNI 82, @Wis.-Green Bay 75#
2005 @UNI 86, W. Michigan 75 -- (TV)#
2006 @UNI 65, Bucknell 61 (2OT) -- (TV)#
2011 @Akron 76, Creighton 67%
2012 @Creighton 81, Long Beach St. 79 -- (TV)%
McDermott in BracketBuster Rematches
2003 @UNI 75, @Louisiana Tech 72#
2004 @UNI 76, Wis.-Green Bay 65#
2005 UNI 69, @Western Michigan, 63#
#as head coach at Northern Iowa
%as head coach at Creighton
Nothing But (Wins On) NET
NET Sports has televised 18 previous Creighton men's basketball games from CenturyLink Center Omaha.
The Bluejays have won all 18 games they have played at CenturyLink Center Omaha on NET Sports, as seen below:
CU's MBB Games at CenturyLink Center on NET Sports
Date Score Network
11/14/12 Creighton 77, UAB 60 NET-1
2/1/12 Creighton 102, Illinois State 74 NET-1
1/15/12 Creighton 90, Southern Illinois 71 NET-1
2/16/11 Creighton 75, Illinois State 59 NET-1
2/5/11 Creighton 75, Evansville 69 NET-1
1/19/11 Creighton 81, Bradley 68 NET-1
2/9/10 Creighton 65, Indiana State 52 NET-1
2/3/10 Creighton 84, Evansville 71 NET-1
2/17/09 Creighton 89, Evansville 84 NET-1
2/1/09 Creighton 75, Missouri State 71 NET-1
1/27/09 Creighton 73, Indiana State 62 NET-2
1/9/08 Creighton 77, Evansville 59 NET-1
12/9/07 Creighton 90, Saint Joseph's 84 (OT) NET-2
2/7/07 Creighton 79, Evansville 74 NET-1
1/18/07 Creighton 65, Bradley 54 NET-1
1/22/06 Creighton 77, Evansville 58 NET-1
12/11/05 Creighton 70, Nebraska 44 NET-1
2/22/05 Creighton 69, Evansville 64 NETV
Working Overtime
Half of Akron's first six games have gone to overtime this season, while Creighton has yet to play an extra session.
Creighton has won each of its last four overtime games, most recently an 83-79 win over Illinois State in the 2012 MVC Tournament title game.
Creighton is 5-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center in overtime contests, including a 2-0 mark in double-OT games.
The Echenique Factor
Gregory Echenique had a monster game on Thursday, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 26 minutes of action.
Echenique now owns 13 career double-doubles (including seven at Rutgers), but this was just the second time he'd had a game with at least 12-12-2-2. He had a game with 14 points, 16 rebounds, seven blocks and five steals vs. Providence late in his freshman campaign.
Points, Points and More Points
Creighton ranks fourth nationally by averaging 1.176 points per possession this season, ahead of the pace from last year's team that ranked second nationally at 1.15 pps.
The Jays scored at least 1.06 points per possession each of its first eight games this season. In data going back to 2005-06 on bbstate.com, this is the first time the Jays averaged 1.05 pps. or better in six (or more) straight games.
Defensively, Creighton is allowing 0.886 points per possession to rank 52nd nationally. By comparison, last year's team allowed 1.01 per possession to rank 201st nationally, and the 2010-11 squad allowed 1.006 to rank 192nd-best nationally. Seven of Creighton's first nine opponents have been hold under 0.96 points per possession this season.
Defense! Defense!
Creighton ranked 222nd nationally last season in field goal percentage defense at 44.1 percent, one area that the program has tried hard to improve on in the off-season.
The early results have been promising, as CU has limited foes to 39.8 percent marksmanship. That figure ranked 73rd-best nationally in 2012-13 through Thursday's games.
Only one team (Boise State) has shot better than 43.4 percent this season against the Jays.
The 42 points by Nebraska were its fewest against Creighton since 1932, a span of 39 meetings.
Jones Hospitalized
Josh Jones was hospitalized prior to Thursday's game at Nebraska when the senior guard fainted during pre-game warm-ups on the Bob Devaney Sports Center court. The following information was released the morning after by Creighton Athletics:
“Josh's condition has stabilized and he is in the process of being transferred to Omaha for additional testing. His health is our number one priority right now, but he will be off the court until results of some further testing comes in. We appreciate the support and well-wishes from across the state and nation, and look forward to his return to health.” - Greg McDermott
“I want to let everyone know that I am in good spirits and doing well. The support from Bluejay nation has been overwhelming and proves what the Creighton family is all about.” - Josh Jones
Top Four From Three
While Gregory Echenique has yet to attempt a three-point shot this season, Creighton's other top three scorers continue to fill it up from deep.
Austin Chatman (.533), Ethan Wragge (.510) and Doug McDermott (.472) have combined to make 51-of-102 three-point attempts this season, good for 50.0 percent.
Chatman is 7-for-9 from three-point range in the past five games, while McDermott is 11-of-16 from downtown in the past three contests. Wragge started the season 18-for-29 through five games before coming back down to Earth, then hit 3-of-5 treys at Nebraska on Thursday.
Either Wragge or McDermott has had three or more three-pointers in 11 of Creighton's last 12 games dating back to late last season.
McDermott has made 23-of-38 three-point shots (.605) in the month of December in the past two seasons.
Creighton owns four men on its roster who have made 106 or more career three-pointers.
BCS Bracket Buster
Some of Creighton's most thrilling victories in recent seasons have been against teams from the six major college football BCS Conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BIg East), as Creighton owns a 31-21 mark in the past 15 seasons when you include Thursday's triumph.
Among CU's victims in that time have been Nebraska (12 times), Iowa (three times) DePaul (twice), Florida (twice), Baylor (twice), Oklahoma State (once), Notre Dame (once), Providence (once), Missouri (once), Oregon (once), Northwestern (once), Alabama (once), Wisconsin (once), TCU (once) and Ohio State (once).
Up next for Creighton is a game next Saturday evening at California.
BCS Busters, Again
Creighton improved to 7-1 in the past two seasons vs. teams from BCS conferences with wins in Las Vegas two weeks ago over Wisconsin (Big 10) and Arizona State (Pac 12) and last Thursday's victory at Nebraska. Last year Creighton defeated Alabama (SEC) as well as Big 10 foes Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa, losing only to North Carolina (ACC) in the NCAA Tournament.
In those eight games, All-American Doug McDermott has averaged 24.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, well above his career averages (19.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), as seen below:
McDermott vs. BCS Schools, Last 2 Years
Date Opponent Pts. Reb. Score
11/20/11 vs. Iowa 25 9 W 82-59
12/04/11 Nebraska 24 12 W 76-66
12/22/11 Northwestern 27 5 W 87-79
03/16/12 vs. Alabama 16 10 W 58-57
03/18/12 vs. North Carolina 20 9 L 73-87
11/23/12 vs. Wisconsin 30 8 W 84-74
11/24/12 vs. Arizona State 29 9 W 87-73
12/06/12 at Nebraska 27 4 W 64-42
Chasing History, Part I
Doug McDermott has scored 21 or more points in each of the last five games, moving up to 10th on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,579 career points.
With 27 points on Thursday at Nebraska, McDermott passed Benoit Benjamin's 1,575 career points. Ninth in Creighton history is Vernon Moore, who scored 1,654 points from 1981-85.
At McDermott's current scoring average of 21.9 points per game this year he'll become Creighton's all-time leading scorer in 25 more games. Creighton has a minimum of 23 games remaining this season.
By comparison, both of Creighton's top two all-time leading scorers, Rodney Buford (1995-99) and Bob Harstad (1987-91), had exactly 1,540 points at the end of his junior seasons.
Chasing History, Part II
With Thursday's victory over Nebraska, Greg McDermott became the first Creighton coach in history to win two (or more) of his first three meetings versus the Cornhuskers.
National Rankings
Creighton is ranked in three sports this week. The Bluejays are ranked eighth in men's soccer, 13th/16th in men's basketball and 21st in volleyball.
Since October 1st, those three teams are a combined 36-2-1.
The volleyball team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, the men's basketball team is off to a 8-1 start, and the men's soccer team plays Indiana on Friday in the national semifinals in Hoover Ala., making its fifth College Cup trip since 1996. Should the soccer team advance vs. Indiana, it would play for the school's first national title in history on Sunday at 1 pm against either Georgetown or Maryland.
I See Red People
Creighton extended a lengthy trend of success over teams wearing a shade of red when it won in Lincoln on Thursday.
Creighton men's basketball is now a perfect 14-0 in 2012 against teams that wear red/cardinal/crimson/scarlet/garnet/maroon, as seen below:
Date Opponent Color Score
12/06/12 Nebraska Scarlet W 64-42
12/01/12 Saint Joseph's Crimson W 80-51
11/24/12 Arizona State Maroon W 87-73
11/23/12 Wisconsin Cardinal W 84-74
11/18/12 Presbyterian Garnet W 87-58
03/16/12 Alabama Crimson W 58-57
03/04/12 Illinois State Red W 83-79
02/14/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 88-69
02/01/12 Illinois State Red W 102-74
01/28/12 Bradley Red W 73-59
01/18/12 Missouri State Maroon W 66-65
01/15/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 90-71
01/13/12 Illinois State Red W 87-78
01/07/12 Bradley Red W 92-83
Pick Your Poison
Last season Creighton ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, making 42.4 percent from downtown.
This year's team can still fill it up from long-range (41.7 percent), but are off the charts from close-range as well.
This year's Bluejay team is shooting 59.5 percent from two-point range, tops in the nation. According to data from bbstate.com, no team since at least 2005-06 has shot better than 58.7 from two-point range.
Comparing Offenses
Last season Creighton had one of the nation's most effective and most efficient offenses. With all but one regular from that squad back, we thought we'd take a second to compare the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams through nine games:
Stat 2011-12 2012-13
Record 8-1 8-1
FG Made 278 253
FG% .508 .524
3FG Made 87 80
3FG% .433 .417
FT Made 134 139
FT% .680 .764
Rebound Margin +4.9 +5.1
Assists 191 159
Turnovers 114 107
Scoring Average 86.3 80.6
Scoring Margin +17.7 +19.6
McDermott Earns 60th Win at Creighton
Creighton's win on Thursday was the 60th on the Bluejay sideline for Greg McDermott. McDermott is the third-quickest coach in program history to 60 wins (83 games). The only coaches that were quicker to 60 wins in program history were Tom Apke (77 games) and Arthur A. Schabinger (80).
Pizza Pie, Piled High = Wins
Thanks to a promotion with Omaha-based Godfather's Pizza, Creighton season ticket-holders can get a free mini pizza any time the Jays score 75 points at home.
History has proven that when the team earns the fans pizza, it often leads to a victory as well.
The first three years of CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003-06), Creighton needed 70 points to earn its fans free pizza, and the Jays went 27-3 when reaching that threshold, closing out that run with 12 straight wins.
Since upping the standard to 75 points prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Creighton is a perfect 59-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 71-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.
A New Streak
Now that the impressive streak when scoring 70 or more is over, it's time to look at a few other eye-opening streaks still in play.
Since Greg McDermott took over three years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.89 points per home game (3,427 points in 44 games).
That's a vital number since Creighton is 84-0 at home (57-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 68-0 at home (45-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000.
Whistle While You Work
Creighton has enjoyed a big edge at the line this season, making more free throws than their opponents have attempted.
Creighton is 139-of-182 at the line compared to 82-of-124 shooting from its foes. Creighton's 76.4 percent marksmanship from the line ranks 23rd nationally.
Ball Control Offense
Creighton owns a stellar 159/107 assist/turnover ratio (1.49) as a team to rank 12th nationally, led by Grant Gibbs' unreal 58/9 ratio (6.44).
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by finishing with a 1.48 assist/turnover ratio.
Gibbs is the nation's only player averaging at least 4.5 assists per game while also owning an assist/turnover ratio of 6/1 or better.
On a national basis, Gibbs' 2.85 assist/turnover ratio during the past two years is tops among players with at least 210 assists or more.
Stat Leaders
Statistically, Creighton entered the week ranked among the nation's top-12 in eight different categories. The Jays are second in field goal percentage (.531), sixth in free-throw percentage (.787) and points (661), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.51), 11th in assists per game (17.9) and 12th in points per game (82.6), scoring margin (19.3) and three-point field goals per game (9.0).
Help Me, Help You
Last season Creighton ranked fifth nationally, averaging 17.6 assists per game. This year the Jays are averaging an even better 17.7 helpers per contest.
Sunday's opponent, Akron, has recorded more assists than its opponent in all six games this winter.
Pulling Rank
Creighton is 58-19 all-time as a ranked team, including an 8-1 mark this year.
Sunday's opponent, Akron, is 0-24 all-time as a Division I team against ranked opponents.
In fact, no Mid-American Conference squad has beaten a ranked non-conference team on the road since Feb. 23, 2008 (Kent State vs. #23 Saint Mary's).
Big Road Win
Creighton's 64-42 win at Nebraska matched its largest victory margin in a true road win since an 82-60 win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 2009.
It was also the largest margin in a non-conference road win since winning at Drexel, 72-48, on Dec. 1, 2007.
Before Thursday, last time Creighton won a true road game by 22+ points vs. a BCS-league team was 12/18/76 at Oregon State (90-68).
Scoring On The Badgers
Creighton scored 84 points on Nov. 23rd against Wisconsin's vaunted defense that has ranked among the nation's top-10 in scoring defense in each of the past six seasons.
It was the first time in either of the last two seasons that Wisconsin had allowed 80 points in a game, and the eighth-most allowed in regulation in Bo Ryan's 12 years as a head coach.
McDermott Earns MVC Award
Doug McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week twice this season.
His first honor came Nov. 12th for his performance in a Nov. 9 win vs. North Texas. McDermott had 21 points and 11 rebounds to produce CU's first double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver in 2001-02.
He was also honored on Nov. 26th after averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while earning MVP honors of the Las Vegas Invitational.
McDermott now owns seven career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Hersey Hawkins (14), and Bob Harstad (8) can top.
Bombs Away
Forward Ethan Wragge has been red-hot from downtown to start his junior season, sinking 26-of-51 shots from behind the three-point arc (51.0 percent).
Wragge, who made 16-of-25 from deep in the four games of the Las Vegas Invitational, is Creighton's second-leading scorer at 10.9 points per game despite playing just 17.4 minutes per game. Wragge's 92 points are just seven less than the total from the reserves of Creighton's first eighth opponents this season (99).
Among players with at least 2.5 three-point baskets per game this season, Wragge ranks 19th in the nation in three-point percentage this season.
New Coaches Update
Greg McDermott was one of 53 head coaches hired to coach a school prior to 2010-11. His 60 wins in that span are easily the most of that group, and McDermott, Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Dana Altman (Oregon) are the only men to win a postseason game each of their first two seasons.
Below is a list of the new coaches with 41 or more wins at their school since being hired.
School Coach W-L Next Game
Creighton Greg McDermott 60-23 12/9
Colorado Tad Boyle 55-27 12/8
Iona Tim Cluess 53-23 12/8
Oregon Dana Altman 52-29 12/8
Robert Morris Andy Toole 49-29 12/8
Marshall Tom Herrion 48-30 12/8
UCF Donnie Jones 47-25 12/12
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 45-29 12/7
Clemson Brad Brownell 44-28 12/8
Indiana State Greg Lansing 42-31 12/8
UTEP Tim Floyd 42-31 12/8
Boise State Leon Rice 41-32 12/14
Past Tourney Titles
Creighton's 12th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational title was the program's fifth-ever tournament title in a regular-season event. The Jays previously claimed titles in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2004, the Las Vegas Classic crown in 2008 and last year's Dale Howard Classic in Des Moines.
Creighton won its first game after each of its four previous regular-season tournament titles.
Creighton has also won a record 11 MVC Tournament titles.
Nearly 30, Twice
Doug McDermott scored 30 points against Wisconsin, then put up 29 points one night later versus Arizona State.
In the process, he nearly became the first Bluejay player since 1990 (Bob Harstad) to score 30 points in consecutive games.
As it was, McDermott became the first player with 29 points in consecutive contests since Chad Gallagher had 29 in consecutive games on Jan. 19 & 21, 1991.
McDermott owns 20 or more points in seven of Creighton's first nine games this season, including the past five.
Austin Powers
After spending last year as a back-up to Antoine Young, sophomore Austin Chatman has taken over as Creighton's starting point guard. Creighton's been blessed with a legacy of some of the MVC's best point guards in the last 15 years, a streak that began with four-year starters Ryan Sears(1997-2001), Tyler McKinney (2001-05) and Josh Dotzler (2005-09) at the point before Young ran the offense while starting the last three years.
Here's a look at the stats, by year, of the men that Chatman is trying to replace, as well as the performances of each man in their first nine starts.
Freshman Sophomore
Name PPG APG CU W-L PPG APG CU W-L
Sears 10.5 4.8 18-10 8.7 4.0 22-9
McKinney 4.3 2.1 23-9 5.0 4.1 29-5
Dotzler 6.4 4.2 20-10 2.2 2.0 22-11
Young 4.9 1.4 27-8 7.1 3.1 18-16
Chatman 2.4 1.9 29-6 8.7 4.4 8-1
First Nine Career Starts, Recent Point Guards
Name Pts. Reb. Ast. TO Stl.
Sears 93 25 46 22 21
McKinney 58 22 22 6 4
Dotzler 53 15 39 27 28
Young 56 11 23 16 5
Chatman 78 22 40 23 8
Dime Time
Austin Chatman's 11 assists on Nov. 18 vs. Presbyterian were one shy of the CenturyLink Center Omaha record, set last season by Grant Gibbs vs. Northwestern. Chatman entered the game with a career-high of seven assists, then had nine by halftime.
Chatman's 11 dimes led to 30 Bluejay points, and Creighton outscored the Blue Hose 63-26 in his 24 minutes of play.
In addition, Chatman's 11 assists were the most by a Bluejay sophomore since Tyler McKinney had 12 assists in a 81-73 win at Nebraska on Dec. 21, 2002.
Having A Field Day
Creighton shot 50 percent or better in each of its first four games for the first time since 2002-03. That team finished the season 29-5 overall.
Creighton enters Sunday having shot 52.4 percent from the floor in its first nine games, second-best nationally. Each of its five leading scorers are shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
Winning Away From Home
Creighton won a school-record 15 games away from home last season. The Jays went 10-3 in true road games and were also 5-1 on neutral floors.
Creighton's lone neutral-site loss came to North Carolina in a not-so “neutral” Greensboro, N.C., in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team is 3-0 away from home, with each victory against a BCS school (Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska).
Where There's A Will
Sophomore center Will Artino tied his career-high with 13 points in a Nov. 20 win against Longwood. He made 5-of-6 field goal attempts and 3-of-4 foul shots, all in just 11 minutes.
For good measure, Artino also added two steals versus the Lancers, also a career-high.
Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. Each of Creighton's previous 13 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Can't Miss Kid
Gregory Echenique is 35-for-49 (71.4 percent) from the field this season.
Through games of Thursday, Echenique's accuracy leads the country among players with 35 or more field goals made.
Not Half Bad
Doug McDermott outscored Presbyterian 20-17 in the first half in a Nov. 18 win. It was the second-most points McDermott has ever had at halftime, and the fourth-highest half of his career.
McDermott's highest scoring half of his career has been 31 points, done last year in the second half at Bradley when he scored a career-best 44 points.
McDermott has scored 15 points or more in a half 27 times during his career, and Creighton is 25-0 in those contests (twice he's scored 15 or more in both halves).
Crowd Control
Creighton has averaged 16,546 through six home games thus far, the best six-game start in program history.
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by averaging 16,665 fans per home game and was averaging 16,095 fans per home game after six contests.
Rare Air
Gregory Echenique had one of the best all-around games of his career on Nov. 14 in the win vs. UAB, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. For good measure, he made 5-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Echenique was the first Bluejay with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in the same game since Benoit Benjamin had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four swats on Feb. 28, 1985 at Dayton.
Echenique was the first Bluejay to have a 13/16/4 game at home since Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven rejections in a win vs. Marquette on Jan. 27, 1985.
Incredibly, Benjamin had nine different games in his junior season with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks before Echenique ended the 27-year drought.
Jones-ing For Success
Senior guard Josh Jones gave Creighton a spark with 18 points off the bench, all in the second half, in the Nov. 14 victory over UAB.
A notorious streak shooter, Jones put together a personal 10-0 run as CU rallied from a 45-35 deficit with 17 minutes to go to tie the score.
He later had eight points during Creighton's 17-0 run that buried the Blazers and gave CU a 70-55 cushion with 5:55 to go.
Jones' career-high point total is 21, done vs. Davidson in the CBI of his sophomore campaign.
Creighton is now 9-0 all-time when Jones scores 12 points or more, with seven of those games having been played at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Playing With The Lead
In 159 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 38 of those contests, a staggering 23.9 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins at home last season and two wins (Longwood, Saint Joseph's) this season.
Creighton has trailed by double-digits in 37 career games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, only to rally to win 22 of those contests.
On The Trail
Creighton won six games last season after trailing by 10 or more points, including wins away from home at San Diego State and at Wichita State, on neutral floors vs. Drake and Alabama, and in home triumphs over Long Beach State and Evansville.
In its Nov. 14 win vs. UAB, Creighton trailed 45-35 in the second stanza, only to rally for a 77-60 win. It was the first time since Feb. 3, 2010 (vs. Evansville) that Creighton trailed by double-digits at any point before rallying to win by double-figures. That UAB game was also the first time in CenturyLink Center Omaha history that Creighton trailed by double-figures in the second half, yet still won by double-digits.
Creighton, which trailed 37-33 at the half to UAB, is 9-6 in the last two seasons when facing an intermission deficit.
Double-Double Opener
Doug McDermott opened his junior season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9 against North Texas in a 71-51 win.
He was the first Creighton player to have a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver opened his junior campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-51 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Korver would go on to earn MVC Player of the Year accolades as both a junior and as a senior. Last year McDermott was the first player in MVC history named MVC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Creighton has won either the MVC regular-season title or MVC Tournament each of its previous six seasons it had a player with a double-double in the opener (2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).
Doubling Up on Double-Doubles
In addition to Doug McDermott's season-opening double-double (21 pts., 11 reb.) vs. North Texas mentioned above, Gregory Echenique had 13 points and 16 rebounds on Wednesday against UAB.
It marks the first time that Creighton has had two different men with double-doubles in the first two games of the season since 2001-02.
In 2001-02, Kyle Korver had a double-double in the opener (14 pts., 10 reb.), and Brody Deren followed the next game with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a memorable double-overtime win vs. No. 17 Western Kentucky.
Poll Position
Creighton is ranked 13th in this week's USA Today Top 25 Coaches poll and 16th in this week's Associated Press poll. Creighton's season-best rank came the week of Nov. 26th, when it was 11th in both polls.
Creighton was ranked 15th in this year's preseason coaches poll, its first preseason recognition since coming in at No. 23 in 2006-07.
Creighton started this year with a No. 16 preseason ranking by the AP, its highest preseason mark in program history and the best by any MVC school since No. 6 Wichita State in 1981-82.
Pencil Him In
According to STATS Inc., Doug McDermott is one of 15 juniors or seniors nationwide to start every game of his career (min. 2 years played):
Juniors/Seniors To Start Every Game
Source: STATS Inc., through 12/7
Starts Name, School Next Game 114 Brandon Triche, Syracuse 12/8
102 Dorian Green, Colorado State 12/8
83 Doug McDermott, Creighton 12/9
77 Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan 12/8
76 Ray McCallum, Detroit 12/8
75 Frantz Massenat, Drexel 12/8
75 Brian Voelkel, Vermont 12/8
75 Deonte Burton, Nevada 12/8
74 Cody Doolin, San Francisco 12/8
74 Jeromie Hill, UTSA 12/8
73 Holton Hunsaker, Utah Valley 12/8
71 Travis McKie, Wake Forest 12/8
71 Devon Saddler, Delaware 12/8
69 Daniel Miller, Georgia Tech 12/8
68 Marshall Bjorklund, N. Dakota St. 12/9
Chasing History
Doug McDermott has scored 825 points in his first 44 career home games. He is the all-time leading scorer in CenturyLink Center Omaha history.
McDermott also owns CenturyLink Center Omaha career records in points per game (18.8) and rebounds per game (7.7).
McDermott enters Sunday's game with 1,579 career points in all venues, good for 10th in school history.
Super Streak Ends At 37
Doug McDermott's streak of 37 straight games in double-figures came to an end when he was held to five points vs. UAB on Nov. 14th.
McDermott had owned the nation's third-longest active streak in the country, and the longest by any Bluejay since Vernon Moore's stretch of 46 in a row in 1984 and 1985.
McDermott's five points were the second-fewest in his career. His only game lower was his freshman season vs. Saint Joseph's, when he was scoreless in his ninth career contest.
CU's Top 10+ Point Streaks, Since 1981-82
No. Name Dates
46 Vernon Moore Jan. 30, 1984 - Mar. 5, 1985
37 Doug McDermott April 1, 2011-Nov. 9, 2012
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
31 Benoit Benjamin Mar. 8, 1984 - Feb. 20, 1985
Milestone Man
Because he's split his college career between Rutgers and Creighton, you might not realize the rather impressive college stats being generated by Gregory Echenique.
Echenique owns 1,110 points, 815 rebounds and 218 blocked shots in his first 113 games as a collegian. He entered the season as the nation's only active player with at least 1,000 point, 750 rebounds and 200 blocked shots, and is currently the nation's only active player with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 210 or more blocked shots.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 30th in career points, sixth in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Senior center Gregory Echenique played for coach Eric Musselman on the Venezuelan National Team last summer, alongside the likes of former Maryland star and current Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez.
Echenique averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier in Caracas in July against Lithuania and Nigeria, where he went head-to-head against NBA players such as Linas Kleiza, Jonas Valanciunas, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
10 Or More?
Creighton defeated each of its first six opponents by 10 points or more. It's the first time since 1928-29 that Creighton won its first six games by double-digits. The 1928-29 squad did it in eight straight games to start the season.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has four 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 Iowans this season includes senior Grant Gibbs (Marion), junior Doug McDermott (Ames), sophomore Will Artino (Waukee) and redshirt freshman Alex Olsen (Council Bluffs).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 594 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns four starters (Gregory Echenique, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Doug McDermott) from last year's team that finished 29-6. Creighton's roster contains players who made 140 starts a year ago.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2012-13 4 140 ? ? ?
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason poll of league coaches, SID's and media. The Bluejays earned 38-of-40 first-place votes and 398 points overall.
Illinois State was second with 327 points and the remaining two first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was third with 316 points. Wichita State (298) and Evansville (240) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Drake (184), while Indiana State (165), Missouri State (122), Bradley (84) and Southern Illinois (66) round out the rest of the league predictions.
Creighton junior Doug McDermott was named preseason MVC Player of the Year. He's joined on the team by repeat selections Jake Odum (Indiana State) and Colt Ryan (Evansville) as well as new picks Ben Simons (Drake) and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).
Creighton's women were also picked to win the MVC, just the third time in league history the MVC favorites came from the same schools.
Portman To Enter MVC Hall of Fame
Bob Portman will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2013, during a banquet at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Portman played for Creighton from 1966-69 and averaged 24.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his college career.
Portman owns the Creighton records for single-game scoring (51), single-season scoring average (29.5) and career scoring average (24.7). He is also second for points in a season (738) and ranks fourth in career points (1,876), rebounds (979), free throws (382) and field goals made (747).
Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 13 of the last 14 seasons, an unprecedented feat in Missouri Valley Conference history that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 14 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 13 of the past 14 years. That list consists of Creighton, Kent State, Kentucky, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
That's better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (12 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (11 each).
10 Conference Wins x 16
Last season's Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 16th consecutive season.
On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 16 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (18).
Each of the last 16 seasons has seen the team finish fourth place or better in the MVC as well.
Postseason x 15
Creighton has made the postseason in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history.
The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 14 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.
Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Alabama, the Creighton men's basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record five straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following eight programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in five straight seasons, including 2011-12: Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Full House
Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 16,665 fans per home game, in 2011-12. It's the sixth straight season that CU has been among the nation's top-25 in average home attendance, and set an MVC average home attendance record.
Creighton surpassed 200,000 home fans in a season for the sixth time. No other school in the history of the MVC has ever done so.
Creighton also ranked seventh nationally in men's soccer attendance and 10th in baseball attendance, the nation's only school in the top-10 of those three sports.
2011-12 Attendance Leaders (Final)
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 23,721
2. Syracuse 23,618
3. Louisville 21,503
4. North Carolina 20,159
5. Wisconsin 17,181
6. Creighton 16,665
7. Tennessee 16,543
8. Ohio State 16,510
9. Indiana 16,462
10. Kansas 16,300
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
302,676 Creighton 2008-09
297,161 Creighton 2010-11
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
266,632 Creighton 2011-12
246,419 Creighton 2009-10
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
14,495 Creighton 2009-10
Consistent Challengers
Ten of Creighton's last 15 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the five 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, while the 2010-11 club tied for fourth place.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 15 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.), 2011-12 (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; 2009-10
Tied for 4th Place 2010-11
Team of the Millennium?
Below is the records for each MVC school from the start of the 2000-01 season until the start of this season, ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton leads the MVC overall with 280 wins in the millennium, as well as 12 postseason appearances:
MVC Standings (start 2000-01 to end of 2011-12)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 149 67 .690 280 120 .700
Southern Illinois 134 82 .620 238 151 .612
Wichita State 125 91 .579 238 151 .612
Northern Iowa 118 98 .546 226 158 .589
Missouri State 117 99 .542 223 163 .578
Illinois State 99 117 .458 201 175 .535
Bradley 93 123 .431 189 197 .490
Drake 92 124 .426 180 191 .485
Indiana State 79 137 .366 162 212 .433
Evansville 74 142 .343 142 216 .397
Postseason Appearances by MVC Teams
(Since 2000-01)
Team NCAA NIT CBI CIT Total
Creighton 6 4 1 1 12
Wichita State 2 5 1 0 8
Southern Illinois 6 1 0 0 7
Northern Iowa 5 1 0 1 7
Bradley 1 2 1 1 5
Missouri State 0 4 0 1 5
Illinois State 0 5 0 0 5
Indiana State 2 0 1 1 4
Drake 1 0 0 2 3
Evansville 0 0 2 1 3
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 618 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 159 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in its 10 seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 135-24 (.849) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (6-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 11,923-10,074 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.6 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 38 different times, including seven times last season and twice this winter (Longwood, Saint Joseph's).
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 55 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 19 straight (at all sites) when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
In home games only, Creighton has won 93 straight games when scoring 71 or more points since a Feb. 5, 2005 loss to Missouri State.
Here's To History
With the 2012 MVC Tournament title, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott became the first head coach in league history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school.
McDermott previously won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa. The 1988 Northern Iowa grad McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater.
Dance Partners
Only two schools won their league tournament in both men's and women's basketball in 2011-12: Creighton and South Dakota State.
This was the fifth time in MVC history that the same school has won the men's and women's tournament titles in the same season. Creighton, however, was the first program to do it twice (UNI 2010, Creighton 2002 and 2012, Missouri State 1992, Illinois State 1983).
McDermott A Preseason All-American
Junior forward Doug McDermott became the first player in MVC history to be named a preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press. The team was announced on October 28th.
McDermott earned acclaim on 62-of-65 ballots, trailing only Indiana's Cody Zeller. The rest of the team consisted of Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh).
The preseason All-America team was first announced in 1986-87.
Watch This!
Junior Doug McDermott is on the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, two of the top awards in college basketball.
McDermott is the only man who was a finalist for either award to return to school this season.
The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and will be presented on April 7, 2013, in Atlanta.
The Wooden Award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and will handed out the weekend of April 12-13, 2013, in Los Angeles.
Everybody's All-American
Doug McDermott hauled All-America honors on a regular basis last year.
He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Basketball Times and ESPN.com, and a second-team selection by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com. He was also named to the 10-man John R. Wooden Award All-America team.
Prior to McDermott, the only other player honored by the USBWA with All-America status had been second-team selection Kyle Korver in 2003, and the only prior NABC selections from Creighton had been second-teamer Paul Silas (1964) and third-team selections Benoit Benjamin (1985) and Kyle Korver (2003).
Last year McDermott was named CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olson National Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award, though Anthony Davis won both awards.
Scoring In Numbers
Doug McDermott owned 801 points in 35 games last year, an average of 22.9 per contest that ranked him third nationally in scoring.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history and were the most since Bob Portman averaged 26.2 points per game in 1968-69.
Portman, who finished fifth nationally in scoring in 1967-68 (29.5 ppg.), was the only previous Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game made him the first MVC player over 20 points per game since Illinois State's Tarise Bryson (2000-01) and the most by a MVC player since Northern Iowa's Randy Blocker (23.0 ppg.) in 1993-94. Bryson had been the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay had averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad's 22.2 average in 1989-90.
Oscar, Bird, Doug
Doug McDermott set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581 in 2010-11. Last season, McDermott had 801 points, the most single-season points in school history by any player.
McDermott's 1,382 points after two seasons were the most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Bob Portman (1,195). According to STATS Inc., the only other players since 1996-97 with at least 1,382 points or more by the end of their sophomore season had been Davidson's Stephen Curry (1,661 points from 2006-08), Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2005-07) and VMI's Keydren Clark (1,497 points from 2002-04).
He became just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 800 points in a season, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list. His 801 points from last year rank 10th-most in MVC single-season history and were the most by any Valley player since 1988.
Below is a list of the most prolific sophomore scorers in MVC history, as well as the top single-season scorers in Creighton history (all classes):
Top Scorers, MVC History (All Years)
Pts. Name, School Years
1125 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987-88
1011 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959-60
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
978 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1958-59
973 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978-79
959 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1977-78
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
844 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 1984-85
815 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1979-80
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
788 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1986-87
788 Willie Biles, Tulsa 1972-73
Top Sophomore Scorers, MVC History
Pts. Name, School Years
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
680 Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 1979-80
656 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1985-86
Top Scorers, Creighton Single-Season History
Pts. Name (Class) Year
801 Doug McDermott (So.) 2011-12
738 Bob Portman (Jr.) 1967-68
734 Bob Harstad (Jr.) 1989-90
Most Career Points, Active Juniors
Source: Creighton Sports Info/STATS Inc. (12/7)
Rk. Pts. Name, School Next Game
1. 1,579 Doug McDermott, Creighton 12/9
2. 1,225 Devon Saddler, Delaware 12/8
3. 1,196 DeAndre Kane, Marshall 12/8
All-Around Doug
Last season Doug McDermott joined Texas' Kevin Durant (in 2006-07) as the nation's only player since 1996-97 to finish a season with at least 800 points, 280 rebounds and 50 three-pointers.
It came on the heels of McDermott's remarkable freshman season with 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-point baskets.
According to research by STATS Inc., the last two freshmen (before McDermott) to attain 525 points, 270 rebounds and 40 three-pointers in a season were Durant and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) in 2002-03. The previous two freshmen before them to do so, Quentin Richardson (1998-99 at DePaul) and Eddie Griffin (2000-01 at Seton Hall), like Durant and Anthony, were also named the National Freshman of the Year.
Below is the list, compiled by STATS Inc., of all 19 Division I players since 1996-97 to have McDermott's levels of at least 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-pointers in one season.
McDermott, who repeated the feat in 2011-12, joins Kyle Singler (Duke) as one of two men to do it twice.:
581+ Pts., 280+ Reb., 47+ 3FG Since 1996-97
Source: STATS Inc. & Creighton Sports Info
Name, School Year 3FG Reb. Pts.
Kevin Durant, Texas* 2006-07 82 390 903
Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12 54 288 801
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse* 2002-03 56 349 778
Shane Battier, Duke 2000-01 124 285 778
Kyle Singler, Duke 2009-10 85 280 707
Keith Van Horn, Utah 1996-97 58 303 705
Ryan Anderson, Cal 2007-08 64 328 697
Matt Harpring, Ga. Tech 1997-98 52 302 691
Rasual Butler, LaSalle 2001-02 57 283 670
Wendell McKinies, New Mex St. 2011-12 51 374 653
Brian Heinle, CS-Northridge 2000-01 52 293 646
Jae Crowder, Marquette 2011-12 61 295 614
Jamine Peterson, Providence 2009-10 51 315 609
James Posey, Xavier 1998-99 48 322 609
Kyle Singler, Duke 2008-09 69 284 609
Matt Howard, Butler 2010-11 53 285 608
Romain Sato, Xavier 2003-04 75 297 603
Draymond Green, Michigan St. 2011-12 52 392 601
Doug McDermott, Creighton* 2010-11 47 280 581
*Freshmen
Familiar Fives
Creighton utilized the same starting line-up all season long in 2011-12, as Gregory Echenique, Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Antoine Young started all 35 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game were Creighton, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Of those five schools above, the only team to use the same starting five for every game in 2012-13 is Creighton.
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 29-6 and reached the third round of the MVC Tournament last season. Creighton started the year 7-0 to move into the Associated Press top-25, a spot they would hold for 12 of the final 15 weeks.
Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in scoring (22.9), scoring a school-record 801 points. He became the first sophomore named MVC Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
Point guard Antoine Young (12.1 ppg., 4.5 apg.) was a second-team all-Valley pick, while center Gregory Echenique (9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Grant Gibbs was runner-up for MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades after dishing a league-high 176 assists.
The Jays ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.504), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assists (17.6), sixth in home attendance (16,665) and ninth in scoring offense (79.2).
Creighton finished the regular-season second in the MVC before winning its league-record 11th Valley Tournament title to clinch an NCAA bid. At the NCAA's, Creighton topped Alabama 58-57 before falling to No. 4 North Carolina.
Creighton Will Host in 2015, Again
The NCAA announced on Nov. 12, 2012, that Creighton will serve as the host institution on March 20/22, 2015, when the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament returns to CenturyLink Center Omaha for second/third-round games.
This will be the third time in a seven-year span the arena has hosted, having previously done so in 2008 and 2012 to much acclaim.
CenturyLink Center Omaha has previously hosted NCAA finals for women's volleyball (2006, 2008) and wrestling (2010), as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012). This January, it will host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink 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 CenturyLink 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 CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center 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 the 2012-13 season will go on sale on October 29th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CenturyLink 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).
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Game #10 vs. Akron • Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 • 1:05 pm
Akron Zips at #16 Creighton Bluejays
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.am590espnradio.com
Television: NET; ESPN Full Court
Series History: Series tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Akron 76, Creighton 67 on 2/19/11 in Akron, Ohio
Next Game
No. 16 Creighton (8-1) returns home to host Akron (4-2) on Sunday (Dec. 9) afternoon in a 1:05 pm game.
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha's ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2012-13 season, including Sunday. T. Scott Marr and Brody Deren will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.
TV Broadcast Information
Sunday's game will air statewide on NET and NET-HD (Cox Channel 12 and 1012 in Omaha). Larry Punteney and Nick Bahe will announce.
The game will also be carried nationally on ESPN Full Court. Digital coordinates are below:
Data Rate 19.392658
Symbol Rate 14.028731
FEC 3/4
AMC 9 @ 83° W
Transponder 21 Slots A&B
Downlink Frequency 12129.000 MHz (H)
Video Webcast Available
Sunday's game will be webcast free of charge at http://www.netnebraska.org/sports as well as at http://es.pn/mbb-AKRONvsCREIGHTON.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the top of the page for a link the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton is 8-1 this season, including wins over Wisconsin, Arizona State, UAB, Saint Joseph's and Nebraska. Creighton's only loss this year has come against Boise State on Nov. 28th.
Junior forward Doug McDermott (21.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg.) is the nation's only returning consensus First Team All-American, as well as the nation's returning scorer (22.9 ppg. last year). He's led the Jays in scoring and rebounding each of the past two seasons, and has already picked up MVC Freshman of the Year, MVC Newcomer of the Year, MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP honors in his career.
The other three returning starters include senior center Gregory Echenique (10.6 ppg., 7.1 rpg., 1.3 bpg.), senior guard Grant Gibbs (7.0 ppg., 6.4 apg.) and junior guard Jahenns Manigat (.468 3FG% last year). Gibbs led the MVC with 176 assists last year, while Echenique had a league-high 57 blocks en route to earning MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Sophomore Austin Chatman replaced three-year starter Antoine Young, the lone player from last year's rotation to depart. Chatman is averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 assists per contest.
The Bluejays returned 10 lettermen and four starters from last year's 29-6 team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and have been widely praised for having one of the nation's most potent offenses.
Creighton is shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, 76.4 percent at the line, and outrebounding foes by 5.1 boards per game. CU scores 80.6 points per game.
Scouting Akron
Akron is 4-2 on the young season, with wins over John Carroll, UNC Asheville, Penn State and Middle Tennessee. The only teams to defeat the Zips this winter have been Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma State, both in overtime.
Alex Abreu leads four men in double-figures, averaging 12.2 points per game. He's also tops on the team in assists (5.7 apg.) and steals per game (1.8 spg.).
Senior 7-foot-center Zeke Marshall averages 12.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots per game. He shoots 60.7 percent from the floor and 69.8 percent at the line.
Also in double-figures are Brian Walsh (11.5 ppg., 4.7 apg.) and Jake Kretzer (10.3 ppg., 4.2 rpg.).
The Zips average 80.2 points per game while allowing just 66.0 per contest. Akron shoots 46.4 percent from the floor, 39.9 percent from three-point range and 70.1 percent at the line.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his third season as head coach at Creighton. He led CU to a 29-6 mark last year, and is now 60-23 with the Bluejays. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 340-218 in 19 seasons and is 209-154 in 12 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.
Akron is coached by Keith Dambrot (Akron, 1982), who owns a 188-89 mark in his ninth year with the Zips. He is 296-159 in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Dambrot is assisted by Rick McFadden, Charles Thomas and Terry Weigand. He is also well known as a former head coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where he won state titles with LeBron James as both a freshman and sophomore.
The Series With Akron
Creighton and Akron have split two previous meetings, with the home team winning each time.
Creighton beat the Zips 71-60 in the 2006 NIT in Omaha before falling at Akron 76-67 in 2011 in a non-televised BracketBusters match-up.
Greg McDermott is 0-1 in his career against Akron and Keith Dambrot. Dambrot is 1-1 against Creighton.
Last Game Recap
Creighton made its final trip to the Bob Devaney Sports Center a memorable one, defeating Nebraska, 64-42, on Thursday.
Creighton led 28-17 at the half and maintained a double-digit lead the entire second half. Doug McDermott led CU with 27 points, while Gregory Echenique had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bracket Buster History
Creighton owns a 7-3 record in BracketBusters match-ups, including a 5-2 mark in televised games (Games in 2005, 2010 and 2011 weren't televised)).
In return game rematches, Creighton owns a 3-4 record.
Opponent First Meeting Rematch
Fresno State W 67-66 (H) W 70-62 ot (R)
Kent State L 55-70 (R) L 58-67 (H)
Chattanooga W 100-68 (H) L 64-69 (R)
Fresno State W 67-62 (H) L 54-69 (R)
Drexel L 58-64 (H) W 72-48 (R)
Oral Roberts W 65-64 (R) W 87-65 (H)
George Mason W 76-63 (H) L 72-75 (R)
Loyola Chicago W 78-58 (H) Next Year (R)
Akron L 67-76 (R) Sunday (H)
Long Beach State W 81-79 (H) Next Year (R)
McDermott's BracketBusters Success
Greg McDermott is 8-1 in his career in games associated with the BracketBuster series. McDermott is 5-1 in the original BracketBuster game, and is a perfect 3-0 in the return games.
McDermott in BracketBuster Games
2003 UNI 76, @Louisiana Tech 71 -- (TV)#
2004 UNI 82, @Wis.-Green Bay 75#
2005 @UNI 86, W. Michigan 75 -- (TV)#
2006 @UNI 65, Bucknell 61 (2OT) -- (TV)#
2011 @Akron 76, Creighton 67%
2012 @Creighton 81, Long Beach St. 79 -- (TV)%
McDermott in BracketBuster Rematches
2003 @UNI 75, @Louisiana Tech 72#
2004 @UNI 76, Wis.-Green Bay 65#
2005 UNI 69, @Western Michigan, 63#
#as head coach at Northern Iowa
%as head coach at Creighton
Nothing But (Wins On) NET
NET Sports has televised 18 previous Creighton men's basketball games from CenturyLink Center Omaha.
The Bluejays have won all 18 games they have played at CenturyLink Center Omaha on NET Sports, as seen below:
CU's MBB Games at CenturyLink Center on NET Sports
Date Score Network
11/14/12 Creighton 77, UAB 60 NET-1
2/1/12 Creighton 102, Illinois State 74 NET-1
1/15/12 Creighton 90, Southern Illinois 71 NET-1
2/16/11 Creighton 75, Illinois State 59 NET-1
2/5/11 Creighton 75, Evansville 69 NET-1
1/19/11 Creighton 81, Bradley 68 NET-1
2/9/10 Creighton 65, Indiana State 52 NET-1
2/3/10 Creighton 84, Evansville 71 NET-1
2/17/09 Creighton 89, Evansville 84 NET-1
2/1/09 Creighton 75, Missouri State 71 NET-1
1/27/09 Creighton 73, Indiana State 62 NET-2
1/9/08 Creighton 77, Evansville 59 NET-1
12/9/07 Creighton 90, Saint Joseph's 84 (OT) NET-2
2/7/07 Creighton 79, Evansville 74 NET-1
1/18/07 Creighton 65, Bradley 54 NET-1
1/22/06 Creighton 77, Evansville 58 NET-1
12/11/05 Creighton 70, Nebraska 44 NET-1
2/22/05 Creighton 69, Evansville 64 NETV
Working Overtime
Half of Akron's first six games have gone to overtime this season, while Creighton has yet to play an extra session.
Creighton has won each of its last four overtime games, most recently an 83-79 win over Illinois State in the 2012 MVC Tournament title game.
Creighton is 5-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center in overtime contests, including a 2-0 mark in double-OT games.
The Echenique Factor
Gregory Echenique had a monster game on Thursday, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 26 minutes of action.
Echenique now owns 13 career double-doubles (including seven at Rutgers), but this was just the second time he'd had a game with at least 12-12-2-2. He had a game with 14 points, 16 rebounds, seven blocks and five steals vs. Providence late in his freshman campaign.
Points, Points and More Points
Creighton ranks fourth nationally by averaging 1.176 points per possession this season, ahead of the pace from last year's team that ranked second nationally at 1.15 pps.
The Jays scored at least 1.06 points per possession each of its first eight games this season. In data going back to 2005-06 on bbstate.com, this is the first time the Jays averaged 1.05 pps. or better in six (or more) straight games.
Defensively, Creighton is allowing 0.886 points per possession to rank 52nd nationally. By comparison, last year's team allowed 1.01 per possession to rank 201st nationally, and the 2010-11 squad allowed 1.006 to rank 192nd-best nationally. Seven of Creighton's first nine opponents have been hold under 0.96 points per possession this season.
Defense! Defense!
Creighton ranked 222nd nationally last season in field goal percentage defense at 44.1 percent, one area that the program has tried hard to improve on in the off-season.
The early results have been promising, as CU has limited foes to 39.8 percent marksmanship. That figure ranked 73rd-best nationally in 2012-13 through Thursday's games.
Only one team (Boise State) has shot better than 43.4 percent this season against the Jays.
The 42 points by Nebraska were its fewest against Creighton since 1932, a span of 39 meetings.
Jones Hospitalized
Josh Jones was hospitalized prior to Thursday's game at Nebraska when the senior guard fainted during pre-game warm-ups on the Bob Devaney Sports Center court. The following information was released the morning after by Creighton Athletics:
“Josh's condition has stabilized and he is in the process of being transferred to Omaha for additional testing. His health is our number one priority right now, but he will be off the court until results of some further testing comes in. We appreciate the support and well-wishes from across the state and nation, and look forward to his return to health.” - Greg McDermott
“I want to let everyone know that I am in good spirits and doing well. The support from Bluejay nation has been overwhelming and proves what the Creighton family is all about.” - Josh Jones
Top Four From Three
While Gregory Echenique has yet to attempt a three-point shot this season, Creighton's other top three scorers continue to fill it up from deep.
Austin Chatman (.533), Ethan Wragge (.510) and Doug McDermott (.472) have combined to make 51-of-102 three-point attempts this season, good for 50.0 percent.
Chatman is 7-for-9 from three-point range in the past five games, while McDermott is 11-of-16 from downtown in the past three contests. Wragge started the season 18-for-29 through five games before coming back down to Earth, then hit 3-of-5 treys at Nebraska on Thursday.
Either Wragge or McDermott has had three or more three-pointers in 11 of Creighton's last 12 games dating back to late last season.
McDermott has made 23-of-38 three-point shots (.605) in the month of December in the past two seasons.
Creighton owns four men on its roster who have made 106 or more career three-pointers.
BCS Bracket Buster
Some of Creighton's most thrilling victories in recent seasons have been against teams from the six major college football BCS Conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BIg East), as Creighton owns a 31-21 mark in the past 15 seasons when you include Thursday's triumph.
Among CU's victims in that time have been Nebraska (12 times), Iowa (three times) DePaul (twice), Florida (twice), Baylor (twice), Oklahoma State (once), Notre Dame (once), Providence (once), Missouri (once), Oregon (once), Northwestern (once), Alabama (once), Wisconsin (once), TCU (once) and Ohio State (once).
Up next for Creighton is a game next Saturday evening at California.
BCS Busters, Again
Creighton improved to 7-1 in the past two seasons vs. teams from BCS conferences with wins in Las Vegas two weeks ago over Wisconsin (Big 10) and Arizona State (Pac 12) and last Thursday's victory at Nebraska. Last year Creighton defeated Alabama (SEC) as well as Big 10 foes Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa, losing only to North Carolina (ACC) in the NCAA Tournament.
In those eight games, All-American Doug McDermott has averaged 24.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, well above his career averages (19.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), as seen below:
McDermott vs. BCS Schools, Last 2 Years
Date Opponent Pts. Reb. Score
11/20/11 vs. Iowa 25 9 W 82-59
12/04/11 Nebraska 24 12 W 76-66
12/22/11 Northwestern 27 5 W 87-79
03/16/12 vs. Alabama 16 10 W 58-57
03/18/12 vs. North Carolina 20 9 L 73-87
11/23/12 vs. Wisconsin 30 8 W 84-74
11/24/12 vs. Arizona State 29 9 W 87-73
12/06/12 at Nebraska 27 4 W 64-42
Chasing History, Part I
Doug McDermott has scored 21 or more points in each of the last five games, moving up to 10th on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,579 career points.
With 27 points on Thursday at Nebraska, McDermott passed Benoit Benjamin's 1,575 career points. Ninth in Creighton history is Vernon Moore, who scored 1,654 points from 1981-85.
At McDermott's current scoring average of 21.9 points per game this year he'll become Creighton's all-time leading scorer in 25 more games. Creighton has a minimum of 23 games remaining this season.
By comparison, both of Creighton's top two all-time leading scorers, Rodney Buford (1995-99) and Bob Harstad (1987-91), had exactly 1,540 points at the end of his junior seasons.
Chasing History, Part II
With Thursday's victory over Nebraska, Greg McDermott became the first Creighton coach in history to win two (or more) of his first three meetings versus the Cornhuskers.
National Rankings
Creighton is ranked in three sports this week. The Bluejays are ranked eighth in men's soccer, 13th/16th in men's basketball and 21st in volleyball.
Since October 1st, those three teams are a combined 36-2-1.
The volleyball team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, the men's basketball team is off to a 8-1 start, and the men's soccer team plays Indiana on Friday in the national semifinals in Hoover Ala., making its fifth College Cup trip since 1996. Should the soccer team advance vs. Indiana, it would play for the school's first national title in history on Sunday at 1 pm against either Georgetown or Maryland.
I See Red People
Creighton extended a lengthy trend of success over teams wearing a shade of red when it won in Lincoln on Thursday.
Creighton men's basketball is now a perfect 14-0 in 2012 against teams that wear red/cardinal/crimson/scarlet/garnet/maroon, as seen below:
Date Opponent Color Score
12/06/12 Nebraska Scarlet W 64-42
12/01/12 Saint Joseph's Crimson W 80-51
11/24/12 Arizona State Maroon W 87-73
11/23/12 Wisconsin Cardinal W 84-74
11/18/12 Presbyterian Garnet W 87-58
03/16/12 Alabama Crimson W 58-57
03/04/12 Illinois State Red W 83-79
02/14/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 88-69
02/01/12 Illinois State Red W 102-74
01/28/12 Bradley Red W 73-59
01/18/12 Missouri State Maroon W 66-65
01/15/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 90-71
01/13/12 Illinois State Red W 87-78
01/07/12 Bradley Red W 92-83
Pick Your Poison
Last season Creighton ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, making 42.4 percent from downtown.
This year's team can still fill it up from long-range (41.7 percent), but are off the charts from close-range as well.
This year's Bluejay team is shooting 59.5 percent from two-point range, tops in the nation. According to data from bbstate.com, no team since at least 2005-06 has shot better than 58.7 from two-point range.
Comparing Offenses
Last season Creighton had one of the nation's most effective and most efficient offenses. With all but one regular from that squad back, we thought we'd take a second to compare the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams through nine games:
Stat 2011-12 2012-13
Record 8-1 8-1
FG Made 278 253
FG% .508 .524
3FG Made 87 80
3FG% .433 .417
FT Made 134 139
FT% .680 .764
Rebound Margin +4.9 +5.1
Assists 191 159
Turnovers 114 107
Scoring Average 86.3 80.6
Scoring Margin +17.7 +19.6
McDermott Earns 60th Win at Creighton
Creighton's win on Thursday was the 60th on the Bluejay sideline for Greg McDermott. McDermott is the third-quickest coach in program history to 60 wins (83 games). The only coaches that were quicker to 60 wins in program history were Tom Apke (77 games) and Arthur A. Schabinger (80).
Pizza Pie, Piled High = Wins
Thanks to a promotion with Omaha-based Godfather's Pizza, Creighton season ticket-holders can get a free mini pizza any time the Jays score 75 points at home.
History has proven that when the team earns the fans pizza, it often leads to a victory as well.
The first three years of CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003-06), Creighton needed 70 points to earn its fans free pizza, and the Jays went 27-3 when reaching that threshold, closing out that run with 12 straight wins.
Since upping the standard to 75 points prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Creighton is a perfect 59-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 71-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.
A New Streak
Now that the impressive streak when scoring 70 or more is over, it's time to look at a few other eye-opening streaks still in play.
Since Greg McDermott took over three years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.89 points per home game (3,427 points in 44 games).
That's a vital number since Creighton is 84-0 at home (57-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 68-0 at home (45-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000.
Whistle While You Work
Creighton has enjoyed a big edge at the line this season, making more free throws than their opponents have attempted.
Creighton is 139-of-182 at the line compared to 82-of-124 shooting from its foes. Creighton's 76.4 percent marksmanship from the line ranks 23rd nationally.
Ball Control Offense
Creighton owns a stellar 159/107 assist/turnover ratio (1.49) as a team to rank 12th nationally, led by Grant Gibbs' unreal 58/9 ratio (6.44).
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by finishing with a 1.48 assist/turnover ratio.
Gibbs is the nation's only player averaging at least 4.5 assists per game while also owning an assist/turnover ratio of 6/1 or better.
On a national basis, Gibbs' 2.85 assist/turnover ratio during the past two years is tops among players with at least 210 assists or more.
Stat Leaders
Statistically, Creighton entered the week ranked among the nation's top-12 in eight different categories. The Jays are second in field goal percentage (.531), sixth in free-throw percentage (.787) and points (661), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.51), 11th in assists per game (17.9) and 12th in points per game (82.6), scoring margin (19.3) and three-point field goals per game (9.0).
Help Me, Help You
Last season Creighton ranked fifth nationally, averaging 17.6 assists per game. This year the Jays are averaging an even better 17.7 helpers per contest.
Sunday's opponent, Akron, has recorded more assists than its opponent in all six games this winter.
Pulling Rank
Creighton is 58-19 all-time as a ranked team, including an 8-1 mark this year.
Sunday's opponent, Akron, is 0-24 all-time as a Division I team against ranked opponents.
In fact, no Mid-American Conference squad has beaten a ranked non-conference team on the road since Feb. 23, 2008 (Kent State vs. #23 Saint Mary's).
Big Road Win
Creighton's 64-42 win at Nebraska matched its largest victory margin in a true road win since an 82-60 win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 2009.
It was also the largest margin in a non-conference road win since winning at Drexel, 72-48, on Dec. 1, 2007.
Before Thursday, last time Creighton won a true road game by 22+ points vs. a BCS-league team was 12/18/76 at Oregon State (90-68).
Scoring On The Badgers
Creighton scored 84 points on Nov. 23rd against Wisconsin's vaunted defense that has ranked among the nation's top-10 in scoring defense in each of the past six seasons.
It was the first time in either of the last two seasons that Wisconsin had allowed 80 points in a game, and the eighth-most allowed in regulation in Bo Ryan's 12 years as a head coach.
McDermott Earns MVC Award
Doug McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week twice this season.
His first honor came Nov. 12th for his performance in a Nov. 9 win vs. North Texas. McDermott had 21 points and 11 rebounds to produce CU's first double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver in 2001-02.
He was also honored on Nov. 26th after averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while earning MVP honors of the Las Vegas Invitational.
McDermott now owns seven career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Hersey Hawkins (14), and Bob Harstad (8) can top.
Bombs Away
Forward Ethan Wragge has been red-hot from downtown to start his junior season, sinking 26-of-51 shots from behind the three-point arc (51.0 percent).
Wragge, who made 16-of-25 from deep in the four games of the Las Vegas Invitational, is Creighton's second-leading scorer at 10.9 points per game despite playing just 17.4 minutes per game. Wragge's 92 points are just seven less than the total from the reserves of Creighton's first eighth opponents this season (99).
Among players with at least 2.5 three-point baskets per game this season, Wragge ranks 19th in the nation in three-point percentage this season.
New Coaches Update
Greg McDermott was one of 53 head coaches hired to coach a school prior to 2010-11. His 60 wins in that span are easily the most of that group, and McDermott, Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Dana Altman (Oregon) are the only men to win a postseason game each of their first two seasons.
Below is a list of the new coaches with 41 or more wins at their school since being hired.
School Coach W-L Next Game
Creighton Greg McDermott 60-23 12/9
Colorado Tad Boyle 55-27 12/8
Iona Tim Cluess 53-23 12/8
Oregon Dana Altman 52-29 12/8
Robert Morris Andy Toole 49-29 12/8
Marshall Tom Herrion 48-30 12/8
UCF Donnie Jones 47-25 12/12
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 45-29 12/7
Clemson Brad Brownell 44-28 12/8
Indiana State Greg Lansing 42-31 12/8
UTEP Tim Floyd 42-31 12/8
Boise State Leon Rice 41-32 12/14
Past Tourney Titles
Creighton's 12th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational title was the program's fifth-ever tournament title in a regular-season event. The Jays previously claimed titles in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2004, the Las Vegas Classic crown in 2008 and last year's Dale Howard Classic in Des Moines.
Creighton won its first game after each of its four previous regular-season tournament titles.
Creighton has also won a record 11 MVC Tournament titles.
Nearly 30, Twice
Doug McDermott scored 30 points against Wisconsin, then put up 29 points one night later versus Arizona State.
In the process, he nearly became the first Bluejay player since 1990 (Bob Harstad) to score 30 points in consecutive games.
As it was, McDermott became the first player with 29 points in consecutive contests since Chad Gallagher had 29 in consecutive games on Jan. 19 & 21, 1991.
McDermott owns 20 or more points in seven of Creighton's first nine games this season, including the past five.
Austin Powers
After spending last year as a back-up to Antoine Young, sophomore Austin Chatman has taken over as Creighton's starting point guard. Creighton's been blessed with a legacy of some of the MVC's best point guards in the last 15 years, a streak that began with four-year starters Ryan Sears(1997-2001), Tyler McKinney (2001-05) and Josh Dotzler (2005-09) at the point before Young ran the offense while starting the last three years.
Here's a look at the stats, by year, of the men that Chatman is trying to replace, as well as the performances of each man in their first nine starts.
Freshman Sophomore
Name PPG APG CU W-L PPG APG CU W-L
Sears 10.5 4.8 18-10 8.7 4.0 22-9
McKinney 4.3 2.1 23-9 5.0 4.1 29-5
Dotzler 6.4 4.2 20-10 2.2 2.0 22-11
Young 4.9 1.4 27-8 7.1 3.1 18-16
Chatman 2.4 1.9 29-6 8.7 4.4 8-1
First Nine Career Starts, Recent Point Guards
Name Pts. Reb. Ast. TO Stl.
Sears 93 25 46 22 21
McKinney 58 22 22 6 4
Dotzler 53 15 39 27 28
Young 56 11 23 16 5
Chatman 78 22 40 23 8
Dime Time
Austin Chatman's 11 assists on Nov. 18 vs. Presbyterian were one shy of the CenturyLink Center Omaha record, set last season by Grant Gibbs vs. Northwestern. Chatman entered the game with a career-high of seven assists, then had nine by halftime.
Chatman's 11 dimes led to 30 Bluejay points, and Creighton outscored the Blue Hose 63-26 in his 24 minutes of play.
In addition, Chatman's 11 assists were the most by a Bluejay sophomore since Tyler McKinney had 12 assists in a 81-73 win at Nebraska on Dec. 21, 2002.
Having A Field Day
Creighton shot 50 percent or better in each of its first four games for the first time since 2002-03. That team finished the season 29-5 overall.
Creighton enters Sunday having shot 52.4 percent from the floor in its first nine games, second-best nationally. Each of its five leading scorers are shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
Winning Away From Home
Creighton won a school-record 15 games away from home last season. The Jays went 10-3 in true road games and were also 5-1 on neutral floors.
Creighton's lone neutral-site loss came to North Carolina in a not-so “neutral” Greensboro, N.C., in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team is 3-0 away from home, with each victory against a BCS school (Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska).
Where There's A Will
Sophomore center Will Artino tied his career-high with 13 points in a Nov. 20 win against Longwood. He made 5-of-6 field goal attempts and 3-of-4 foul shots, all in just 11 minutes.
For good measure, Artino also added two steals versus the Lancers, also a career-high.
Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. Each of Creighton's previous 13 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Can't Miss Kid
Gregory Echenique is 35-for-49 (71.4 percent) from the field this season.
Through games of Thursday, Echenique's accuracy leads the country among players with 35 or more field goals made.
Not Half Bad
Doug McDermott outscored Presbyterian 20-17 in the first half in a Nov. 18 win. It was the second-most points McDermott has ever had at halftime, and the fourth-highest half of his career.
McDermott's highest scoring half of his career has been 31 points, done last year in the second half at Bradley when he scored a career-best 44 points.
McDermott has scored 15 points or more in a half 27 times during his career, and Creighton is 25-0 in those contests (twice he's scored 15 or more in both halves).
Crowd Control
Creighton has averaged 16,546 through six home games thus far, the best six-game start in program history.
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by averaging 16,665 fans per home game and was averaging 16,095 fans per home game after six contests.
Rare Air
Gregory Echenique had one of the best all-around games of his career on Nov. 14 in the win vs. UAB, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. For good measure, he made 5-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Echenique was the first Bluejay with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in the same game since Benoit Benjamin had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four swats on Feb. 28, 1985 at Dayton.
Echenique was the first Bluejay to have a 13/16/4 game at home since Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven rejections in a win vs. Marquette on Jan. 27, 1985.
Incredibly, Benjamin had nine different games in his junior season with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks before Echenique ended the 27-year drought.
Jones-ing For Success
Senior guard Josh Jones gave Creighton a spark with 18 points off the bench, all in the second half, in the Nov. 14 victory over UAB.
A notorious streak shooter, Jones put together a personal 10-0 run as CU rallied from a 45-35 deficit with 17 minutes to go to tie the score.
He later had eight points during Creighton's 17-0 run that buried the Blazers and gave CU a 70-55 cushion with 5:55 to go.
Jones' career-high point total is 21, done vs. Davidson in the CBI of his sophomore campaign.
Creighton is now 9-0 all-time when Jones scores 12 points or more, with seven of those games having been played at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Playing With The Lead
In 159 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 38 of those contests, a staggering 23.9 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins at home last season and two wins (Longwood, Saint Joseph's) this season.
Creighton has trailed by double-digits in 37 career games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, only to rally to win 22 of those contests.
On The Trail
Creighton won six games last season after trailing by 10 or more points, including wins away from home at San Diego State and at Wichita State, on neutral floors vs. Drake and Alabama, and in home triumphs over Long Beach State and Evansville.
In its Nov. 14 win vs. UAB, Creighton trailed 45-35 in the second stanza, only to rally for a 77-60 win. It was the first time since Feb. 3, 2010 (vs. Evansville) that Creighton trailed by double-digits at any point before rallying to win by double-figures. That UAB game was also the first time in CenturyLink Center Omaha history that Creighton trailed by double-figures in the second half, yet still won by double-digits.
Creighton, which trailed 37-33 at the half to UAB, is 9-6 in the last two seasons when facing an intermission deficit.
Double-Double Opener
Doug McDermott opened his junior season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9 against North Texas in a 71-51 win.
He was the first Creighton player to have a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver opened his junior campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-51 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Korver would go on to earn MVC Player of the Year accolades as both a junior and as a senior. Last year McDermott was the first player in MVC history named MVC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Creighton has won either the MVC regular-season title or MVC Tournament each of its previous six seasons it had a player with a double-double in the opener (2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).
Doubling Up on Double-Doubles
In addition to Doug McDermott's season-opening double-double (21 pts., 11 reb.) vs. North Texas mentioned above, Gregory Echenique had 13 points and 16 rebounds on Wednesday against UAB.
It marks the first time that Creighton has had two different men with double-doubles in the first two games of the season since 2001-02.
In 2001-02, Kyle Korver had a double-double in the opener (14 pts., 10 reb.), and Brody Deren followed the next game with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a memorable double-overtime win vs. No. 17 Western Kentucky.
Poll Position
Creighton is ranked 13th in this week's USA Today Top 25 Coaches poll and 16th in this week's Associated Press poll. Creighton's season-best rank came the week of Nov. 26th, when it was 11th in both polls.
Creighton was ranked 15th in this year's preseason coaches poll, its first preseason recognition since coming in at No. 23 in 2006-07.
Creighton started this year with a No. 16 preseason ranking by the AP, its highest preseason mark in program history and the best by any MVC school since No. 6 Wichita State in 1981-82.
Pencil Him In
According to STATS Inc., Doug McDermott is one of 15 juniors or seniors nationwide to start every game of his career (min. 2 years played):
Juniors/Seniors To Start Every Game
Source: STATS Inc., through 12/7
Starts Name, School Next Game 114 Brandon Triche, Syracuse 12/8
102 Dorian Green, Colorado State 12/8
83 Doug McDermott, Creighton 12/9
77 Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan 12/8
76 Ray McCallum, Detroit 12/8
75 Frantz Massenat, Drexel 12/8
75 Brian Voelkel, Vermont 12/8
75 Deonte Burton, Nevada 12/8
74 Cody Doolin, San Francisco 12/8
74 Jeromie Hill, UTSA 12/8
73 Holton Hunsaker, Utah Valley 12/8
71 Travis McKie, Wake Forest 12/8
71 Devon Saddler, Delaware 12/8
69 Daniel Miller, Georgia Tech 12/8
68 Marshall Bjorklund, N. Dakota St. 12/9
Chasing History
Doug McDermott has scored 825 points in his first 44 career home games. He is the all-time leading scorer in CenturyLink Center Omaha history.
McDermott also owns CenturyLink Center Omaha career records in points per game (18.8) and rebounds per game (7.7).
McDermott enters Sunday's game with 1,579 career points in all venues, good for 10th in school history.
Super Streak Ends At 37
Doug McDermott's streak of 37 straight games in double-figures came to an end when he was held to five points vs. UAB on Nov. 14th.
McDermott had owned the nation's third-longest active streak in the country, and the longest by any Bluejay since Vernon Moore's stretch of 46 in a row in 1984 and 1985.
McDermott's five points were the second-fewest in his career. His only game lower was his freshman season vs. Saint Joseph's, when he was scoreless in his ninth career contest.
CU's Top 10+ Point Streaks, Since 1981-82
No. Name Dates
46 Vernon Moore Jan. 30, 1984 - Mar. 5, 1985
37 Doug McDermott April 1, 2011-Nov. 9, 2012
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
31 Benoit Benjamin Mar. 8, 1984 - Feb. 20, 1985
Milestone Man
Because he's split his college career between Rutgers and Creighton, you might not realize the rather impressive college stats being generated by Gregory Echenique.
Echenique owns 1,110 points, 815 rebounds and 218 blocked shots in his first 113 games as a collegian. He entered the season as the nation's only active player with at least 1,000 point, 750 rebounds and 200 blocked shots, and is currently the nation's only active player with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 210 or more blocked shots.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 30th in career points, sixth in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Senior center Gregory Echenique played for coach Eric Musselman on the Venezuelan National Team last summer, alongside the likes of former Maryland star and current Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez.
Echenique averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier in Caracas in July against Lithuania and Nigeria, where he went head-to-head against NBA players such as Linas Kleiza, Jonas Valanciunas, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
10 Or More?
Creighton defeated each of its first six opponents by 10 points or more. It's the first time since 1928-29 that Creighton won its first six games by double-digits. The 1928-29 squad did it in eight straight games to start the season.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has four 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 Iowans this season includes senior Grant Gibbs (Marion), junior Doug McDermott (Ames), sophomore Will Artino (Waukee) and redshirt freshman Alex Olsen (Council Bluffs).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 594 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns four starters (Gregory Echenique, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Doug McDermott) from last year's team that finished 29-6. Creighton's roster contains players who made 140 starts a year ago.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2012-13 4 140 ? ? ?
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason poll of league coaches, SID's and media. The Bluejays earned 38-of-40 first-place votes and 398 points overall.
Illinois State was second with 327 points and the remaining two first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was third with 316 points. Wichita State (298) and Evansville (240) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Drake (184), while Indiana State (165), Missouri State (122), Bradley (84) and Southern Illinois (66) round out the rest of the league predictions.
Creighton junior Doug McDermott was named preseason MVC Player of the Year. He's joined on the team by repeat selections Jake Odum (Indiana State) and Colt Ryan (Evansville) as well as new picks Ben Simons (Drake) and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).
Creighton's women were also picked to win the MVC, just the third time in league history the MVC favorites came from the same schools.
Portman To Enter MVC Hall of Fame
Bob Portman will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2013, during a banquet at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Portman played for Creighton from 1966-69 and averaged 24.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his college career.
Portman owns the Creighton records for single-game scoring (51), single-season scoring average (29.5) and career scoring average (24.7). He is also second for points in a season (738) and ranks fourth in career points (1,876), rebounds (979), free throws (382) and field goals made (747).
Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 13 of the last 14 seasons, an unprecedented feat in Missouri Valley Conference history that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 14 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 13 of the past 14 years. That list consists of Creighton, Kent State, Kentucky, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
That's better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (12 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (11 each).
10 Conference Wins x 16
Last season's Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 16th consecutive season.
On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 16 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (18).
Each of the last 16 seasons has seen the team finish fourth place or better in the MVC as well.
Postseason x 15
Creighton has made the postseason in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history.
The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 14 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.
Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Alabama, the Creighton men's basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record five straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following eight programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in five straight seasons, including 2011-12: Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Full House
Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 16,665 fans per home game, in 2011-12. It's the sixth straight season that CU has been among the nation's top-25 in average home attendance, and set an MVC average home attendance record.
Creighton surpassed 200,000 home fans in a season for the sixth time. No other school in the history of the MVC has ever done so.
Creighton also ranked seventh nationally in men's soccer attendance and 10th in baseball attendance, the nation's only school in the top-10 of those three sports.
2011-12 Attendance Leaders (Final)
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 23,721
2. Syracuse 23,618
3. Louisville 21,503
4. North Carolina 20,159
5. Wisconsin 17,181
6. Creighton 16,665
7. Tennessee 16,543
8. Ohio State 16,510
9. Indiana 16,462
10. Kansas 16,300
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
302,676 Creighton 2008-09
297,161 Creighton 2010-11
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
266,632 Creighton 2011-12
246,419 Creighton 2009-10
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
14,495 Creighton 2009-10
Consistent Challengers
Ten of Creighton's last 15 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the five 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, while the 2010-11 club tied for fourth place.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 15 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.), 2011-12 (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; 2009-10
Tied for 4th Place 2010-11
Team of the Millennium?
Below is the records for each MVC school from the start of the 2000-01 season until the start of this season, ranked by overall winning percentage. Creighton leads the MVC overall with 280 wins in the millennium, as well as 12 postseason appearances:
MVC Standings (start 2000-01 to end of 2011-12)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 149 67 .690 280 120 .700
Southern Illinois 134 82 .620 238 151 .612
Wichita State 125 91 .579 238 151 .612
Northern Iowa 118 98 .546 226 158 .589
Missouri State 117 99 .542 223 163 .578
Illinois State 99 117 .458 201 175 .535
Bradley 93 123 .431 189 197 .490
Drake 92 124 .426 180 191 .485
Indiana State 79 137 .366 162 212 .433
Evansville 74 142 .343 142 216 .397
Postseason Appearances by MVC Teams
(Since 2000-01)
Team NCAA NIT CBI CIT Total
Creighton 6 4 1 1 12
Wichita State 2 5 1 0 8
Southern Illinois 6 1 0 0 7
Northern Iowa 5 1 0 1 7
Bradley 1 2 1 1 5
Missouri State 0 4 0 1 5
Illinois State 0 5 0 0 5
Indiana State 2 0 1 1 4
Drake 1 0 0 2 3
Evansville 0 0 2 1 3
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 618 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 159 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in its 10 seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 135-24 (.849) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (6-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 11,923-10,074 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.6 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 38 different times, including seven times last season and twice this winter (Longwood, Saint Joseph's).
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 55 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 19 straight (at all sites) when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
In home games only, Creighton has won 93 straight games when scoring 71 or more points since a Feb. 5, 2005 loss to Missouri State.
Here's To History
With the 2012 MVC Tournament title, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott became the first head coach in league history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school.
McDermott previously won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa. The 1988 Northern Iowa grad McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater.
Dance Partners
Only two schools won their league tournament in both men's and women's basketball in 2011-12: Creighton and South Dakota State.
This was the fifth time in MVC history that the same school has won the men's and women's tournament titles in the same season. Creighton, however, was the first program to do it twice (UNI 2010, Creighton 2002 and 2012, Missouri State 1992, Illinois State 1983).
McDermott A Preseason All-American
Junior forward Doug McDermott became the first player in MVC history to be named a preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press. The team was announced on October 28th.
McDermott earned acclaim on 62-of-65 ballots, trailing only Indiana's Cody Zeller. The rest of the team consisted of Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh).
The preseason All-America team was first announced in 1986-87.
Watch This!
Junior Doug McDermott is on the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, two of the top awards in college basketball.
McDermott is the only man who was a finalist for either award to return to school this season.
The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and will be presented on April 7, 2013, in Atlanta.
The Wooden Award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and will handed out the weekend of April 12-13, 2013, in Los Angeles.
Everybody's All-American
Doug McDermott hauled All-America honors on a regular basis last year.
He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Basketball Times and ESPN.com, and a second-team selection by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com. He was also named to the 10-man John R. Wooden Award All-America team.
Prior to McDermott, the only other player honored by the USBWA with All-America status had been second-team selection Kyle Korver in 2003, and the only prior NABC selections from Creighton had been second-teamer Paul Silas (1964) and third-team selections Benoit Benjamin (1985) and Kyle Korver (2003).
Last year McDermott was named CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olson National Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award, though Anthony Davis won both awards.
Scoring In Numbers
Doug McDermott owned 801 points in 35 games last year, an average of 22.9 per contest that ranked him third nationally in scoring.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history and were the most since Bob Portman averaged 26.2 points per game in 1968-69.
Portman, who finished fifth nationally in scoring in 1967-68 (29.5 ppg.), was the only previous Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game made him the first MVC player over 20 points per game since Illinois State's Tarise Bryson (2000-01) and the most by a MVC player since Northern Iowa's Randy Blocker (23.0 ppg.) in 1993-94. Bryson had been the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay had averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad's 22.2 average in 1989-90.
Oscar, Bird, Doug
Doug McDermott set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581 in 2010-11. Last season, McDermott had 801 points, the most single-season points in school history by any player.
McDermott's 1,382 points after two seasons were the most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Bob Portman (1,195). According to STATS Inc., the only other players since 1996-97 with at least 1,382 points or more by the end of their sophomore season had been Davidson's Stephen Curry (1,661 points from 2006-08), Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2005-07) and VMI's Keydren Clark (1,497 points from 2002-04).
He became just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 800 points in a season, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list. His 801 points from last year rank 10th-most in MVC single-season history and were the most by any Valley player since 1988.
Below is a list of the most prolific sophomore scorers in MVC history, as well as the top single-season scorers in Creighton history (all classes):
Top Scorers, MVC History (All Years)
Pts. Name, School Years
1125 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987-88
1011 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959-60
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
978 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1958-59
973 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978-79
959 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1977-78
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
844 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 1984-85
815 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1979-80
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
788 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1986-87
788 Willie Biles, Tulsa 1972-73
Top Sophomore Scorers, MVC History
Pts. Name, School Years
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
680 Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 1979-80
656 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1985-86
Top Scorers, Creighton Single-Season History
Pts. Name (Class) Year
801 Doug McDermott (So.) 2011-12
738 Bob Portman (Jr.) 1967-68
734 Bob Harstad (Jr.) 1989-90
Most Career Points, Active Juniors
Source: Creighton Sports Info/STATS Inc. (12/7)
Rk. Pts. Name, School Next Game
1. 1,579 Doug McDermott, Creighton 12/9
2. 1,225 Devon Saddler, Delaware 12/8
3. 1,196 DeAndre Kane, Marshall 12/8
All-Around Doug
Last season Doug McDermott joined Texas' Kevin Durant (in 2006-07) as the nation's only player since 1996-97 to finish a season with at least 800 points, 280 rebounds and 50 three-pointers.
It came on the heels of McDermott's remarkable freshman season with 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-point baskets.
According to research by STATS Inc., the last two freshmen (before McDermott) to attain 525 points, 270 rebounds and 40 three-pointers in a season were Durant and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) in 2002-03. The previous two freshmen before them to do so, Quentin Richardson (1998-99 at DePaul) and Eddie Griffin (2000-01 at Seton Hall), like Durant and Anthony, were also named the National Freshman of the Year.
Below is the list, compiled by STATS Inc., of all 19 Division I players since 1996-97 to have McDermott's levels of at least 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-pointers in one season.
McDermott, who repeated the feat in 2011-12, joins Kyle Singler (Duke) as one of two men to do it twice.:
581+ Pts., 280+ Reb., 47+ 3FG Since 1996-97
Source: STATS Inc. & Creighton Sports Info
Name, School Year 3FG Reb. Pts.
Kevin Durant, Texas* 2006-07 82 390 903
Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12 54 288 801
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse* 2002-03 56 349 778
Shane Battier, Duke 2000-01 124 285 778
Kyle Singler, Duke 2009-10 85 280 707
Keith Van Horn, Utah 1996-97 58 303 705
Ryan Anderson, Cal 2007-08 64 328 697
Matt Harpring, Ga. Tech 1997-98 52 302 691
Rasual Butler, LaSalle 2001-02 57 283 670
Wendell McKinies, New Mex St. 2011-12 51 374 653
Brian Heinle, CS-Northridge 2000-01 52 293 646
Jae Crowder, Marquette 2011-12 61 295 614
Jamine Peterson, Providence 2009-10 51 315 609
James Posey, Xavier 1998-99 48 322 609
Kyle Singler, Duke 2008-09 69 284 609
Matt Howard, Butler 2010-11 53 285 608
Romain Sato, Xavier 2003-04 75 297 603
Draymond Green, Michigan St. 2011-12 52 392 601
Doug McDermott, Creighton* 2010-11 47 280 581
*Freshmen
Familiar Fives
Creighton utilized the same starting line-up all season long in 2011-12, as Gregory Echenique, Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Antoine Young started all 35 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game were Creighton, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Of those five schools above, the only team to use the same starting five for every game in 2012-13 is Creighton.
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 29-6 and reached the third round of the MVC Tournament last season. Creighton started the year 7-0 to move into the Associated Press top-25, a spot they would hold for 12 of the final 15 weeks.
Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in scoring (22.9), scoring a school-record 801 points. He became the first sophomore named MVC Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
Point guard Antoine Young (12.1 ppg., 4.5 apg.) was a second-team all-Valley pick, while center Gregory Echenique (9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Grant Gibbs was runner-up for MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades after dishing a league-high 176 assists.
The Jays ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.504), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assists (17.6), sixth in home attendance (16,665) and ninth in scoring offense (79.2).
Creighton finished the regular-season second in the MVC before winning its league-record 11th Valley Tournament title to clinch an NCAA bid. At the NCAA's, Creighton topped Alabama 58-57 before falling to No. 4 North Carolina.
Creighton Will Host in 2015, Again
The NCAA announced on Nov. 12, 2012, that Creighton will serve as the host institution on March 20/22, 2015, when the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament returns to CenturyLink Center Omaha for second/third-round games.
This will be the third time in a seven-year span the arena has hosted, having previously done so in 2008 and 2012 to much acclaim.
CenturyLink Center Omaha has previously hosted NCAA finals for women's volleyball (2006, 2008) and wrestling (2010), as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012). This January, it will host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink 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 CenturyLink 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 CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center 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 the 2012-13 season will go on sale on October 29th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CenturyLink 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).
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
