Men's Basketball Meets Middle Tennessee on Saturday in Florida
11/29/2014 4:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Creighton Men's Basketball Game #7 vs. Middle Tennessee • Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 • 5:00 p.m.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. #23 Creighton Bluejays
The Arena (2,200) • Niceville, Fla.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, www.1620thezone.com
Television: None
Series History: First Meeting
Last Time: First Meeting
• No. 23 Creighton (5-1) closes out play in the inaugural Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday at 5 pm Central when it takes on Middle Tennessee (3-2) in Niceville, Fla.
The game will be broadcast on radio on 1620 AM, and there will also be a free video webcast feed at emeraldcoastclassic.com. The game will not be televised.
• Creighton and Middle Tennessee have never met on the hardwood.
• One connection between the two programs is Middle Tennessee assistant coach Greg Grensing. Grensing served as a Creighton assistant coach under Dana Altman from 1994-2005. Grensing is in his third season with the Blue Raiders.
• Creighton will look to avoid a two-game losing streak when it takes the floor on Saturday. The Bluejays were 5-2 after a loss last season, and have not lost on consecutive days since its last trip to Florida, when it lost on Nov. 26 (No. 15 Michigan) and Nov. 27 (Xavier) in 2009 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
• Speaking of Florida, Creighton has struggled in the Sunshine State of late, losing seven straight games in the state since a 1999 NCAA Tournament win over Louisville in Orlando.
• Creighton had two lengthy streaks snapped in Friday's loss. The Bluejays had won 40 straight games when leading with 5:00 left (CU led 61-59 yesterday), and had also won 37 in a row when leading at halftime (CU led 37-31 yesterday at half).
• Another snapped streak revolved around sophomore guard Isaiah Zierden, who led CU with 18 points yesterday while sinking a career-best five three-pointers. Creighton had been 7-0 all-time when Zierden scored in double-figures before the setback.
• Middle Tennessee has not beaten a ranked opponent since its 1989 squad defeated No. 16 Florida State.
• Creighton's 13 three-pointers last night were a season-high. Last year's team, which led the nation with 356 three-pointers made (11th-most in NCAA single-season history), had eight different games with 13 or more three-pointers. Creighton is now 14-3 under Greg McDermott when making 13 or more trifectas in a game.
• Though it attempts a ton of three-pointers, Creighton has enjoyed great success when shooting well prior to Friday's loss. The Bluejays dropped to 55-5 when making 40 pecent or better of its three-point attempts in the last four years.
• Devin Brooks had a season-high 14 points in Friday's game vs. Ole Miss, sinking 3-of-8 three-point field goals. When you include his 6-for-8 marksmanship at last year's Wooden Legacy, Brooks is now 9-for-16 from three-point range on Thanksgiving (Thursday - Sunday) weekend's, and 5-for-37 the rest of the days on the calendar.
• Senior Austin Chatman enters Saturday's game with 401 career assists after becoming the eighth Bluejay to surpass 400 on Friday. He owns at least one helper in all 77 career starts.
• Senior Avery Dingman made his season debut on Friday against Ole Miss, playing five minutes. He had two points and a rebound against the Rebels in his first action since spraining his ankle on Nov. 4th.
• Creighton has won 24 of its last 25 games played before 14,000 fans or more, but once again got tripped up before a small (1,600) crowd on Friday night. Creighton has not won before a crowd of 1,800 or less fans since an 83-75 win over DePaul before 1,200 fans in Las Vegas on Dec. 23, 2008.
• Greg McDermott is 5-0 all-time against the teams currently in Conference USA, including a 3-0 mark at Creighton.
• After the Creighton - Middle Tennessee game, Cincinnati and Ole Miss will meet for the Emerald Coast Classic title at 8 pm on CBS Sports Network. Ole Miss is coached by Andy Kennedy, who was replaced in 2006 as Cincinnati head coach by current Bearcats coach Mick Cronin.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. #23 Creighton Bluejays
The Arena (2,200) • Niceville, Fla.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, www.1620thezone.com
Television: None
Series History: First Meeting
Last Time: First Meeting
• No. 23 Creighton (5-1) closes out play in the inaugural Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday at 5 pm Central when it takes on Middle Tennessee (3-2) in Niceville, Fla.
The game will be broadcast on radio on 1620 AM, and there will also be a free video webcast feed at emeraldcoastclassic.com. The game will not be televised.
• Creighton and Middle Tennessee have never met on the hardwood.
• One connection between the two programs is Middle Tennessee assistant coach Greg Grensing. Grensing served as a Creighton assistant coach under Dana Altman from 1994-2005. Grensing is in his third season with the Blue Raiders.
• Creighton will look to avoid a two-game losing streak when it takes the floor on Saturday. The Bluejays were 5-2 after a loss last season, and have not lost on consecutive days since its last trip to Florida, when it lost on Nov. 26 (No. 15 Michigan) and Nov. 27 (Xavier) in 2009 at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
• Speaking of Florida, Creighton has struggled in the Sunshine State of late, losing seven straight games in the state since a 1999 NCAA Tournament win over Louisville in Orlando.
• Creighton had two lengthy streaks snapped in Friday's loss. The Bluejays had won 40 straight games when leading with 5:00 left (CU led 61-59 yesterday), and had also won 37 in a row when leading at halftime (CU led 37-31 yesterday at half).
• Another snapped streak revolved around sophomore guard Isaiah Zierden, who led CU with 18 points yesterday while sinking a career-best five three-pointers. Creighton had been 7-0 all-time when Zierden scored in double-figures before the setback.
• Middle Tennessee has not beaten a ranked opponent since its 1989 squad defeated No. 16 Florida State.
• Creighton's 13 three-pointers last night were a season-high. Last year's team, which led the nation with 356 three-pointers made (11th-most in NCAA single-season history), had eight different games with 13 or more three-pointers. Creighton is now 14-3 under Greg McDermott when making 13 or more trifectas in a game.
• Though it attempts a ton of three-pointers, Creighton has enjoyed great success when shooting well prior to Friday's loss. The Bluejays dropped to 55-5 when making 40 pecent or better of its three-point attempts in the last four years.
• Devin Brooks had a season-high 14 points in Friday's game vs. Ole Miss, sinking 3-of-8 three-point field goals. When you include his 6-for-8 marksmanship at last year's Wooden Legacy, Brooks is now 9-for-16 from three-point range on Thanksgiving (Thursday - Sunday) weekend's, and 5-for-37 the rest of the days on the calendar.
• Senior Austin Chatman enters Saturday's game with 401 career assists after becoming the eighth Bluejay to surpass 400 on Friday. He owns at least one helper in all 77 career starts.
• Senior Avery Dingman made his season debut on Friday against Ole Miss, playing five minutes. He had two points and a rebound against the Rebels in his first action since spraining his ankle on Nov. 4th.
• Creighton has won 24 of its last 25 games played before 14,000 fans or more, but once again got tripped up before a small (1,600) crowd on Friday night. Creighton has not won before a crowd of 1,800 or less fans since an 83-75 win over DePaul before 1,200 fans in Las Vegas on Dec. 23, 2008.
• Greg McDermott is 5-0 all-time against the teams currently in Conference USA, including a 3-0 mark at Creighton.
• After the Creighton - Middle Tennessee game, Cincinnati and Ole Miss will meet for the Emerald Coast Classic title at 8 pm on CBS Sports Network. Ole Miss is coached by Andy Kennedy, who was replaced in 2006 as Cincinnati head coach by current Bearcats coach Mick Cronin.
Players Mentioned
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