Semifinal Saturday Preview vs. Evansville
3/3/2012 2:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Updated Creighton Notes
Saturday, March 3, 2012 – 4:05 pm Central
Creighton (26-5) vs. Evansville (16-14)
St. Louis, Mo. – Scottrade Center
Media
Options
Television: Fox Sports Midwest; Comcast SportsNet Chicago; DirecTV
671; Dish Network 418, AT&T U-Verse 748
Video Webcast: http://es.pn/mvc-ue-creighton (Free), except in NE, MO, IA, KS, IN, IL
Radio: KXSP 590 AM (Omaha); 101.1 FM (St. Louis)
Live Stats: http://mvc.statbroadcast.com
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his second season as head coach at Creighton, where he owns a 49-21 mark. 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 329-216 in 18 seasons and is 198-152 in 11 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.
McDermott is 7-5 all-time in the MVC Tournament, including the 2004 title while at Northern Iowa. He is 1-1 in the play-in round, 4-2 in the quarterfinals, 1-2 in the semifinals and 1-0 in the championship game.
Series History vs. the Purple Aces
Creighton is 26-10 all-time against Evansville, including a 1-1 mark this
season. Creighton won the only previous MVC Tournament meeting in 1999, which
was also the only previous neutral site encounter. Evansville hasn't beaten
Creighton twice in the same season since 1994-95.
Oscar, Bird, Doug
Creighton's Doug McDermott enters the semifinals of Arch Madness with 718 points this year. With 21 points on Saturday, he can set CU's single-season record for points in a year, breaking a mark set in 1967-68 by Bob Portman.
Last year McDermott set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581. This season, McDermott has 718 points, passing Rodney Buford (581 points in 1996-97) for most points in school history by a sophomore. McDermott also just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 700 points in a season, and trails only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list.
McDermott's 1,299 career points to date are most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Portman (1,195).
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 Sophomore Scorers, MVC History
Pts. Name, School Years
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
718 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
738 Bob Portman (Jr.) 1967-68
734 Bob Harstad (Jr.) 1989-90
718 Doug McDermott (So.) 2011-12
688 Benoit Benjamin (Jr.) 1984-85
681 Bob Portman (Sr.) 1968-69
MVC Tournament History
Creighton owns a 38-20 all-time record in MVC Tournament play. Creighton's 10 MVC Tournament titles are five more than any other school, while its 38 wins and .655 winning percentage in league tourney action is also tops.
Creighton is 18-12 in the quarterfinals, 10-7 in the semifinals and 10-1 in the championship games.
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Evansville in the MVC Tournament, having beaten the Purple Aces 70-61 in the 1999 championship game.
Call It A Comeback
Creighton started slowly on Friday, falling behind 9-0 and 12-2 before adjusting to its surroundings. It was the fifth time this season that Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits, only to rally to win. Creighton also did it at San Diego State (down 17), at Wichita State (11) and in home games vs. Northern Iowa (11) and Evansville (14).
By comparison, last year Creighton was 1-7 in games in which it fell behind by double-figures.
Opposites
Attract
Saturday's Evansville-Creighton match-up features two teams that have been on
opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to Arch Madness success.
Creighton owns league-best totals of 38 wins, a .655 winning percentage and 10 titles at the MVC Tournament. On the other hand, Evansville improved to 5-17 at the MVC Tournament with Friday's quarterfinal win over Missouri State. This is just the second semifinal appearance for UE, as the 1999 team reached the final before losing to Creighton.
The Ryan Express
Creighton could not stop Evansville guard Colt Ryan on Feb. 21st. Ryan scored a CenturyLink Center Omaha record 43 points, making 17-of-24 attempts, before coming up empty on a potential game-winning shot at the end of overtime.
Ryan's 43 points were the most allowed by the Jays since Nebraska-Kearney's Bart Kofoed scored 43 points against CU on Dec. 21, 1985.
Ryan has played against Creighton six times in his career, and set a career-high point total three times (26 and then 31 as a freshman, 43 last week). Ironically, he shot just 3-of-12 and scored 14 points in his only victory against Creighton earlier this year.
Instant Classic, Instant Rematch
Saturday's semifinal is a rematch of last Tuesday's 91-90 overtime game in Omaha won by Creighton. In that contest, the Bluejays trailed by 14 points with eight minutes left before making a final push capped by a third-chance tip-in by Gregory Echenique. In the overtime, Colt Ryan missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds, a rare miss for the junior sharpshooter who poured in an arena record 43 points.
Chalk It
Up
The first six games of Arch Madness has seen the team with the better seed win
each game. Since Arch Madness expanded to its current 10-team format in 1997,
this is just the second time that has happened. It previously happened in 2002,
a tournament that saw second-seeded Creighton topple top-seeded Southern
Illinois in the final.
Fresh
Legs?
Both Creighton and Evansville had to play Friday evening, meaning it's a fairly
quick turnaround before playing on consecutive games for the first time all
season. Creighton used five reserves for a total of 66 minutes on Friday, while
Evansville played four reserves for a total of 46 minutes.
Heading Towards The Top 10
The MVC hasn't had a player rank in the top-10 nationally in scoring since Illinois State's Tarise Bryson finished fourth in 2000-01 at 22.8 points per contest.
The MVC hasn't had two players finish in the top-10 in scoring since Bradley's Hersey Hawkins and Southern Illinois's Steve Middleton in 1987-88.
Currently, Creighton's Doug McDermott (23.2) is third and Evansville's Colt Ryan (20.5) is 13th.
Ryan's head coach, Marty Simmons, ranked sixth nationally by averaging 25.9 points per game as a senior at Evansville in 1987-88. The Purple Aces were not part of the MVC at that time.
McDermott owns an MVC-best 22 games of 20 or more points this season, while Ryan has done it on 16 occasions. No other player has done it more than eight times.
Double-Double
Doug
Doug McDermott had his team-best 10th
double-double of the season on Friday, finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds
in a win over Drake. McDermott's the first Bluejay with a double-double in
Valley Tournament play since Justin
Carter & Kenny Lawson Jr. both did it in the 2010 MVC Tournament quarterfinals vs.
Bradley.
McDermott is the first Creighton player with 10 double-doubles in a season since 1990-91, when both Bob Harstad (11) and Chad Gallagher (10) did it.
Shooter's
Touch
Antoine Young entered Friday a career 25.5 percent shooter
in MVC Tournament play, making 12-of-47 shots in his career in St. Louis. On
Friday, he made his first six field goal attempts and finished with 16 points.
Young previously had scored in double-figures in Creighton's quarterfinal games
in 2009 and 2011.
History As A Second Seed
Creighton is 18-3 all-time as the second seed, including titles in four of its past five appearances in that spot. Creighton has won five titles overall from the second seed (1981, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2007).
The second seed has won 13 of the 34 tournament titles all-time, which is tied for most in event history with the top seed. The second seed owns a 39-14 record in the event since the tournament moved to St. Louis in 1991, the best winning percentage of any slot.
After yesterday, the No. 2 seed has won at least one game in 13 straight tournaments, reached the final in 10 of the previous 13 seasons and won the title in five of the previous nine years.
Random Valley Tournament Facts
-Creighton is the only Valley school that has not appeared in the play-in round since that format began in 1997.
-Creighton has won its last nine games at the MVC Tournament decided by four points or less.
-Creighton is 8-2 in its last 10 MVC Tournament games when playing an opponent with a better seed than the Bluejays.
-Creighton has won the tournament seven of the last 11 times it has won its first game in St. Louis.
-The last three times Creighton faced Drake in the MVC Tournament, the winner of that game won the tournament.
-Creighton, which enters the MVC Tournament with one-point wins in its last two games of the regular-season, opened the 2003 and 2009 MVC Tournaments with a one-point win. The Jays were also a second-seed in both 2003 and 2009, winning the 2003 event.
-Creighton is 12-2 in five MVC Tournaments with an MVC Player of the Year on its roster, including titles in three of the last four occurrences.
With A Win
With a win on Saturday, Creighton would improve to 27-5 on the season, tied for second-most wins in program history in a season (2008-09).Only the 2002-03 team that finished 29-5 had more wins.
-Creighton would improve to 39-20 all-time in MVC Tournament action. Both the 39 wins and the .661 win percentage would be tops in event history.
-Creighton would improve to 11-7 all-time in the semifinal round of the MVC Tournament.
-Creighton head coach Greg McDermott would improve to 8-5 in the MVC Tournament, including a 2-2 mark in the semifinal round.
The Case For Creighton
Should Creighton not win the MVC Tournament, it still has an overwhelming case for inclusion into the NCAA Tournament. Consider the following...
-Creighton is the nation's only team with four top-50 RPI wins and 10 true road wins.
-Creighton went 10-3 in true road games this season, setting a school-record for road wins.
-Creighton has been nationally-ranked by either the USA Today/ESPN or Associated Press poll 13 different weeks this season.
-Creighton won road games at San Diego State and Wichita State, making it one of five schools with multiple road wins at top-28 RPI opponents.
-Creighton finished in second-place in the nation's No. 8-ranked league, the MVC, finishing five games ahead of the third-place team.
-Creighton ranked among the national leaders in winning percentage, and with 26 wins.
-Creighton leads the nation in field goal percentage and is second in three-point percentage.
-Creighton owns wins over potential NCAA Tournament teams San Diego State, Wichita State, Northwestern, Iowa and Long Beach State.
-Creighton is the nation's only team to claim three non-conference wins over the Big Ten.
Two Ranked Teams
For the first time in MVC Tournament history, two teams enter the event as ranked squads. Wichita State is ranked 15th this week, while Creighton is 25th.
Incredibly, its the first time since Feb. 8, 1983 that the MVC has had two ranked teams in the same AP poll.
The MVC hasn't had two ranked teams play each other since Jan. 16, 1982, when No. 18 Tulsa beat No. 16 Wichita State, 99-88.
Against Ranked Teams?
In the event No. 25 Creighton and No. 15 Wichita State meet in the final, it'll be the first time a ranked CU team has played a ranked opponent since taking on No. 19 Xavier on Dec. 19, 2003. Creighton owns an 18-117 record all-time against teams ranked in the Associated Press poll, including an 0-1 mark under Greg McDermott.
Creighton has lost nine straight games against ranked competition since its last win, a 67-61 win over No. 11 Southern Illinois in the finals of the 2007 MVC Tournament.
Creighton is 5-22 at neutral sites all-time vs. ranked foes.
You're My Boy, Blue!
Don't be surprised if it seems like half the lower bowl at Scottrade Center is filled with fans wearing blue. Creighton sold 2,575 all-session tickets to Arch Madness this year, most in event history by a single school. The other teams remaining in the tournament (WSU, ILS, UE) combined for 1,958 all-session sales, including 108 from Evansville.
Offense Wins Championships?
Creighton is putting the old saying “Defense wins championships” to the test this season. The Bluejays lead the MVC in scoring offense this season, averaging 79.3 points per game.
Since 1997-98, six of the 14 teams to lead the league in scoring offense went on to win the MVC Tournament (Drake in 2008, ILS in 1998, CU in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003).
By comparison, only two teams that led the league in scoring defense won the MVC Tournament (SIU in 2006, UNI in 2010).
Going On The Offensive
Speaking of offense, Creighton leads the nation in field goal percentage at 50.7 percent.
Since 2005-06 there have been seven teams that finished a year shooting 50.8 percent or better from the field. Six of those seven teams made the NCAA's, going 17-4 in the “Big Dance”, and two (Kansas in 2008 and Florida in 2007) won the national title.
By comparison, nine teams held foes to 56.0 points per game or less in the same six-year span. Those teams combined for just four NCAA bids and went a combined 5-4 in the Big Dance.
McDermott Named MVC Player of the Year
Doug McDermott became the first sophomore in league history to be named Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year.
McDermott leads The Valley and ranks third nationally with 23.2 points per game and is also first in the MVC with 49.0 percent accuracy from three-point range. He also ranks second in the conference in rebounding (8.2 rpg.).
McDermott's five MVC Player of the Week accolades were the most by any individual in a season in 25 years, and the only sophomores in league history with more points in a season are Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird.
McDermott is the first Creighton player named MVC Player of the Year since Booker Woodfox in 2009, and fifth different Bluejay overall, a group that also includes Bob Harstad (1989), Chad Gallagher (1991), Kyle Korver (2002 and 2003), and Woodfox (2009).
McDermott's honor gives Creighton six MVC Player of the Year awards, tying Bradley and Southern Illinois for most all-time.
He is the first player to be named MVC Player of the Year from a non-championship team since Kyle Korver in 2002-03.
He is just the second player in MVC history to be named both MVC Freshman of the Year (2011) and MVC Player of the Year (2012), joining Southern Illinois' great Ashraf Amaya (1990 FOY and 1992 POY).
Echenique Named MVC's Top Defender
Junior center Gregory Echenique is the first player in Creighton history to be named MVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Echenique leads the MVC with 51 blocked shots this season and with 1.6 blocks per game. He's also fifth in the MVC with 7.4 rebounds per contest, and second with 61.2 percent shooting from the field.
In league play, Echenique led the MVC with 1.7 blocks per game and 2.8 offensive rebounds per game, while also ranking second in rebounds per game (8.2) and field goal percentage (.630), fifth in defensive rebounds per contest (5.3) and 10th in free throw percentage (.811).
Sneaking Up On Two Milestones
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.
Just a junior, Echenique owns 969 points, 724 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in his first 100 games as a collegian.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 41st in career points, seventh in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.
Won By One
Creighton won its Feb. 21 game vs. Evansville by a single point, 93-92, then topped Indiana State 61-60 last Saturday. The Bluejays are now 3-0 in one-point games this winter after going 0-1 a year ago.
Creighton had not played two straight games decided by one point since the 2003 MVC Tournament, when it beat Indiana State and Wichita State by one point each before throttling Southern Illinois, 80-56, in the championship game.
After going 1-6 in games decided by three points or less this year, the Bluejays are 6-1 in games decided by three points or less this year.
Dingman Rings It Up
Freshman Avery Dingman showed off his sweet stroke, scoring 14 points in Creighton's overtime win over Evansville on Feb. 21st. The freshman from Branson, Mo., made 5-of-6 shots and tied a career-high with 14 points. He drained 4-of-5 three-point attempts in the game. Creighton is 7-0 when Dingman scores four points or more this season.
Rare Bird
Doug McDermott's averages of 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, combined with his shooting percentages of 60.7 percent overall, 49.0 percent from three-point range and 79.0 percent from the line are something you usually only see in a video game.
McDermott is the nation's only player averaging better than 19 points per game who shoots better than 54 percent from the field.
Since 2008-09, no player nationally has averaged more than 20 points per game while shooting 48.0 percent from three-point range, regardless of the number of attempts.
Also, since 2004-05 McDermott is one of two sophomores nationally to average 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game or more. The other player to do that came in 2008-09 and was former Oklahoma and current Los Angeles Clippers standout Blake Griffin. Griffin had 90 dunks in his sophomore season, while McDermott owns one dunk this year (at Bradley).
Nebraska's Finest
Antoine Young hails from south Omaha suburb of Bellevue, and statistically is one of the top homegrown products in Nebraska history to play at Creighton.
Young's 486 assists are most in program history by a Nebraska product, 97 more than the 388 by predecessor Josh Dotzler (another Bellevue product and Young's former high school teammate).
From a scoring prospective, Young's 1,303 points ranks third-most in school history by a Nebraska product. John C. Johnson (Omaha) leads that list with 1,526 points, while Schuyler product Gene Harmon (1,369) is second on the list.
With 21 points at Indiana State last Saturday, Young moved past former St. Louis Cardinals baseball great and Omaha native Bob Gibson (1,272) for third place, as well as Omaha native Wally Anderzunas (1,267).
Upping The Antoine
Senior point guard Antoine Young continues to ascend up a few Creighton charts. He's up to a tie for 18th on Creighton's all-time scoring chart, and his 486 assists rank third-most in Bluejay annals. Young is just seven points shy of passing Ryan Sears on CU's scoring list, the player that many think ranks atop the list as the most complete all-around point guard in school history. Young and Sears are the only Bluejays in history with at least 1,000 points and 425 career assists.
Most Career Points
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-99
2. 2,110 Bob Harstad 1987-91
3. 1,983 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
4. 1,876 Bob Portman 1966-69
5. 1,801 Kyle Korver 1999-03
6. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-07
7. 1,682 Rick Apke 1974-78
8. 1,661 Paul Silas 1961-64
9. 1,654 Vernon Moore 1981-85
10. 1,575 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
11. 1,526 John C. Johnson 1975-79
12. 1,500 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
13. 1,437 Eddie Cole 1951-55
14. 1,369 Gene Harmon 1971-74
15. 1,361 Duan Cole 1987-92
16. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
17. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
18. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
1,303 Antoine Young 2008-Present
20. 1,299 Doug McDermott 2010-Present
21. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
Most Career Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
486 Antoine Young 2008-Pres.
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
20-Win Seasons
Creighton has earned its 24th 20-win season in program history. Only two of those teams have won 26 games or more like this year's squad has. Here's a look at Creighton's teams with 20 or more wins.
Previous 20-Win Seasons, Sorted By Wins
W-L Season Postseason?
29-5 2002-03 NCAA (0-1)
27-8 2008-09 NIT (1-1)
25-5 2011-12 TBA
24-8 2000-01 NCAA (0-1)
24-8 1990-91 NCAA (1-1)
23-5 1921-22 --
23-7 1973-74 NCAA (2-1)
23-9 2001-02 NCAA (1-1)
23-10 1999-00 NCAA (0-1)
23-11 2004-05 NCAA (0-1)
23-16 2010-11 CBI (4-2)
22-7 1963-64 NCAA (1-2)
22-9 1998-99 NCAA (1-1)
22-11 2007-08 NIT (1-1)
22-11 2006-07 NCAA (0-1)
21-5 1961-62 NCAA (2-1)
21-7 1976-77 NIT (0-1)
21-9 1980-81 NCAA (0-1)
21-12 1989-90 NIT (0-1)
20-7 1974-75 NCAA (0-1)
20-9 2003-04 NIT (0-1)
20-10 2005-06 NIT (1-1)
20-11 1988-89 NCAA (0-1)
20-12 1984-85 --
Speaking Of Honors
Doug McDermott is also a finalist for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year, an award that collegeinsider.com hands out to the nation's top mid-major player. Fans can vote for McDermott at VoteLouHenson.com.
Senior Group
Creighton honored four men who suited up in their final home game on Feb. 21st; Antoine Young, Matthew Dorwart, Derek Sebastian and Ross Ferrarini, as part of Senior Night festivities.
During the past four years, the Jays have gone 94-45 while appearing in the postseason every season and claiming a share of the 2008-09 MVC regular-season title.
Of the quartet, Young owns the most accomplishments on court. The Bellevue, Neb., native is one of two players in school history with 1,200 points and 450 assists. He led the MVC in assist/turnover ratio as both a sophomore and junior, and last season also paced The Valley in assists per game en route to earning second-team all-MVC honors.
A native of Sidney, Neb., Dorwart is finishing up his fourth year with the program. He's played in 26 games as a Bluejay, amassing eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Off the court he was part of a film crew that produced the award winning documentary “Mato Oput”, which focused on the civil war in Uganda during the past 20 years.
Sebastian hails from Loveland, Colo., and plays on the wing. He's played in 24 games during his four years in the program, producing 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. When he's not on the court, Sebastian has spent this semester student-teaching at Omaha North High School.
Ferrarini is a guard from Omaha in his third year in the program after transferring in from Nebraska in 2009. One of the team's top threats from long-range, Ferrarini owns 17 points and six rebounds in 44 career minutes played over the course of 23 games. Nicknamed “The Godfather”, he's twice had the hoop that gave the Jays 75 points and earned the home crowd free Godfather's Pizza.
Familiar Fives
Creighton has utilized the same starting line-up all season long, as Gregory Echenique, Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Antoine Young have started all 31 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game (through Feb. 26th) were Creighton, Long Beach State, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Young owns 103 consecutive starts, which dates back to the second game of his sophomore season.
Road History
For the first time in 29 attempts Creighton has won a road game at all three of MVC schools in Illinois (Bradley, Illinois State, Southern Illinois) in the same season.
Each of Creighton's first 10 teams to win two Valley road games in Illinois reached the postseason, including six NCAA Tournament squads.
Making Them Ill(inois)
Creighton is 8-0 this season against teams from the state of Illinois, having gone 2-0 against Bradley, Southern Illinois and Illinois State, and 1-0 versus Northwestern and Chicago State.
The last time Creighton played a season without a loss to a team from Illinois was 1973-74.
It's Up, And It's Good
Doug McDermott leads the nation with 276 field goals made this season. That ranks second-most in a season in Bluejay history, and is the most by a CU player since Bob Portman set the record with 303 buckets in 1967-68.
By comparison, no other player in the MVC has more than 185 buckets (Colt Ryan).
Sophomore's Streak Reaches 32
Doug McDermott has scored in double-figures in 32 straight games, CU's longest stretch since Bob Harstad's streak of 32 straight games from Feb. 24, 1990 to Feb. 25, 1991.
CU's Top 10+ Point Streaks, Since 1981-82
No. Name Dates
46 Vernon Moore Jan. 30, 1984 - Mar. 5, 1985
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
32 Doug McDermott April 1, 2011-Present
31 Benoit Benjamin Mar. 8, 1984 - Feb. 20, 1985
27 Bob Harstad Nov. 27, 1989-Feb. 17, 1990
Blocking Behemoth
Gregory Echenique owns 106 career blocked shots in a Creighton uniform, seventh in school history. Echenique also owned 94 blocked shots in 39 games at Rutgers, giving him 200 rejections overall as a collegian.
Career Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
106 Gregory Echenique 2010-Pres.
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
Doubling Up From The Start
Doug McDermott has scored 12 or more points in all 31 games this season. That is CU's longest streak of double-figure games to start a season since Vernon Moore (32) in 1984-85. McDermott is the only player in the MVC to score in double-figures in every game this season, and one of three players nationally with 12 or more points in every team game this winter.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest double-figure scoring streaks to start a season since 1979-80.
Consecutive Double-Figure Scoring Games
To Start Year, Since 1979-80
Consec. Name, Class Year
all 32 Vernon Moore, Sr. 1984-85
31* Doug McDermott, So. 2011-12
28 Benoit Benjamin, Jr. 1984-85
*active
12+ Points, Every Team Game This Year
Streak Name, School Next Game
31 Doug McDermott, Creighton 3/3
30 Kevin Jones, West Virginia 3/3
28 Damian Lillard, Weber State 3/6
National Scoring Leaders
Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in scoring at 23.2 points per game through games of March 2nd. Here's that list.
Rk. Name, School Yr. PPG
1. Reggie Hamilton, Oakland Sr. 25.5
2. Damian Lillard, Weber State Jr. 24.5
3. Doug McDermott, Creighton So. 23.2
4. Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart Jr. 22.0
5. Gerardo Suero, Albany Jr. 21.7
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 605 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC, and longest streak in Valley history.
Game Tested
Senior Antoine Young has played in 138 games as a Bluejay, second-most in school history. Below is a list of the all-time:
Creighton leaders in games played:
GP Name Years
143 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Antoine Young 2008-Pres.
135 Nate Funk 2002-07
130 Dane Watts 2004-08
Mind-Boggling Road Stats
Credit MVC PR guru Mike Kern with this doozy of a road stat. Through games of March 2nd, MVC rivals Creighton (10) and Wichita State (10) each owned 10 or more road wins. The only BCS-member schools with more than eight true road wins was Syracuse (9).
Field Day
Creighton leads the nation in field goal percentage, and has had a better shooting percentage in all 26 of its wins this year. The four times the opposition has had a better field goal percentage, the Jays lost.
Overall, the team with a better field goal percentage has won 36 of CU's last 37 games.
The only MVC team in history to lead the nation in field goal percentage was Bradley in 1967-68 (.524), and the only MVC team in history to lead the nation in three-point percentage was Illinois State in 2002-03 (.440).
Creighton is 17-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
Near The Top Of His Class
Sophomore Doug McDermott owns 1,299 career points in his young career. According to research by Creighton Sports Information's office and STATS Inc., that leads all active sophomores through games of March 2nd.
Most Career Points, Sophomores (through 3/3)
Source: Creighton Sports Information/STATS Inc.
Rk. Pts. Name, School Next
1. 1,299 Doug McDermott, Creighton 3/3
2. 1,111 Jared Sullinger, Ohio State 3/4
3. 1,102 Harrison Barnes, North Carolina 3/3
4. 991 Trey Ziegler, Central Michigan 3/5
5. 986 Terrell Stoglin, Maryland 3/4
6. 981 Will Barton, Memphis 3/3
7. 980 Devon Saddler, Delaware 3/3
8. 970 Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut 3/3
9. 955 DeAndre Kane, Marshall 3/3
10. 934 Terrence Jones, Kentucky 3/4
Pick Your Poison
Creighton is second in the nation from beyond the arc, hitting 42.3 percent of its shots from three-point range.
The Bluejays have been remarkably consistent, making 40 percent or better from three-point range in 22-of-31 games to date. By comparison, CU made 40 percent or better from deep in just 15-of-39 contests a year ago.
Scoring In Numbers
Doug McDermott owns 718 points through 31 games, an average of 23.2 per contest that ranks him third nationally in scoring (through March 2nd).
McDermott's 23.2 points per game would rank fourth-most in CU single-season history and would be 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.), is the only Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott's 23.2 points per game would make 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 Bradley's Curtis Stuckey (25.1 ppg.) in 1990-91. Bryson is the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay has averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad's 22.2 average in 1989-90.
Looking For History
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is seeking to become the first head coach in MVC history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school. McDermott won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa.
McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater. Since he did it in 2004 at Northern Iowa, SIU's Chris Lowery did so in 2006.
Six Out Of 13 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns six league tournament titles in the last 13 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Duke (10), Gonzaga (10), Winthrop (9), Creighton (6), Kansas (6), Kentucky (6) and Utah State (6).
Creighton's 10 Valley Tournament titles are twice as many as the next closest school, Southern Illinois (5).
Ring Bearers
Creighton's current coaching staff and players have combined for seven MVC Tournament championship titles, and one West Coast Conference Tournament title. Darian DeVries has been a part of six championship squads as a Bluejay assistant coach, while Greg McDermott won a title as head coach at Northern Iowa in 2004.
In addition, Grant Gibbs was a redshirt on Gonzaga's 2008-09 team that defeated Saint Mary's in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game. No current Bluejay player has won an MVC Tournament crown.
Here's a breakdown of how many championships each person has been a part of:
Name Titles Won Years
Darian DeVries 6 1999, 2000, '02, '03, '05, '07
Greg McDermott 1 2004
Grant Gibbs 1 2009*
*won a WCC Tourney title as a redshirt at Gonzaga
