Saturday, November 14
CenturyLink Center Omaha
8:37 PM
Creighton University
1-0
93
vs
70
Texas Southern
0-2
1
2
F
Texas Southern
30
40
70
Creighton
46
47
93
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Basketball Opens Season With 93-70 Win Over Texas Southern
11/14/2015 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays win 21st straight home opener, tying a school record
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a 93-70 win over Texas Southern on Saturday night before 16,538 fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Creighton improved to 1-0 with its 21st straight win in a home opener, tying a school record first set from 1946-66. Texas Southern, which played Friday night at New Mexico and flew into Omaha on Saturday, dropped to 0-2 against a grueling schedule that sees the Tigers open with 12 straight games away from home before a January 2nd game in Houston.
Khyri Thomas, just the third Bluejay in the last 20 years to start the opener as a true freshman (joining Ryan Sears and Doug McDermott), led the Bluejays with 12 points in the first half as they raced to a 46-30 lead at the break. He would finish with a team-high 18 on the night, including three of CU's seven dunks.
Thomas was one of five Bluejays to finish in double-figures, with four of those men being newcomers. Cole Huff had 12 points, Martin Krampelj had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Maurice Watson Jr. added 10 points and seven assists. As a group, CU's newcomers accounted for 53 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists.
Creighton's lone returnee in double-figures was Isaiah Zierden, who started and scored 15 points in 22 minutes in his return from a knee injury last January.
The Bluejays finished the night making 52.8 percent of its shots from the floor (38-72), 35.7 percent from long-range (10-28), and 58.3 percent at the line (7-12). CU owned the glass 39-32 and dished 22 assists compared to just 10 turnovers overall. Creighton outscored TSU 48-26 in the paint, 30-8 off turnovers and 31-8 off the bench. CU also had a 30-4 advantage in fast break points.
Texas Southern was led by 26 points from former Xavier signee Chris Thomas, who made 10-of-14 shots and added four assists in 38 minutes of work. The Tigers shot 26-of-52 from the floor, including 7-of-17, and were 11-of-22 at the line.
The Tigers, which won at Michigan State and Kansas State last season, hung with CU for about 10 minutes before a 9-2 run featuring three three-pointers in 69 seconds pushed the lead into double-figures for the first time. TSU never got closer than seven the rest of the night.
The Bluejays started the second half on a 11-5 run, including two resounding dunks from Thomas, as the margin grew past 20. CU led by as much as 34 (73-39) before settling for the final margin.
Creighton continues play in the Men Who Speak Up Main Event when it returns to action on Tuesday night with a 7:01 pm home game vs. UTSA.
NOTES: Creighton's 21 straight home opening wins ties the school mark first done from 1946-66 ... Six of Creighton's last seven teams to score 90 or more points in the season-opener reached the NCAA Tournament ... Creighton owns 36 dunks in five games this year (three games in Italy, the exhibition vs. Upper Iowa, and tonight), compared to 29 total in 33 regular-season games last winter ... Khyri Thomas' 18 points are the most by a Creighton freshman in their debut since P'Allen Stinnett had 23 in 2007. He would go on to be named MVC Freshman of the Year. For those wondering, Doug McDermott had 16 in his debut ... Creighton played its first game since Feb. 5, 1994 without using a former Iowa high school player, snapping a streak of 689 straight games ... Greg McDermott is now 14-1 all-time in season-openers as a Division I head coach, with 14 straight wins ... Creighton has won 33 straight home games against winless teams, winning those by an average of 26.91 points ... Creighton has won 87 straight home games against teams that are .500 or worse ... Creighton is 50-0 all-time in regular-season home games on or before Nov. 26th ... Creighton is now 83-15 in season-openers, and 18-1 in its last 19 ... Creighton has won 12 of its last 16 openers by 20 or more points ... Creighton is now 87-11 all-time in home openers ... Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 714 straight games, and at least four three-pointers in 69 straight games ... Creighton has won 108 straight home games when scoring 78 or more points ... Creighton is now 61-0 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha when scoring 40 or more points before halftime ... Creighton improved to 171-33 all-time at CenturyLink Cneter Omaha with the win.
Creighton improved to 1-0 with its 21st straight win in a home opener, tying a school record first set from 1946-66. Texas Southern, which played Friday night at New Mexico and flew into Omaha on Saturday, dropped to 0-2 against a grueling schedule that sees the Tigers open with 12 straight games away from home before a January 2nd game in Houston.
Khyri Thomas, just the third Bluejay in the last 20 years to start the opener as a true freshman (joining Ryan Sears and Doug McDermott), led the Bluejays with 12 points in the first half as they raced to a 46-30 lead at the break. He would finish with a team-high 18 on the night, including three of CU's seven dunks.
Thomas was one of five Bluejays to finish in double-figures, with four of those men being newcomers. Cole Huff had 12 points, Martin Krampelj had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Maurice Watson Jr. added 10 points and seven assists. As a group, CU's newcomers accounted for 53 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists.
Creighton's lone returnee in double-figures was Isaiah Zierden, who started and scored 15 points in 22 minutes in his return from a knee injury last January.
The Bluejays finished the night making 52.8 percent of its shots from the floor (38-72), 35.7 percent from long-range (10-28), and 58.3 percent at the line (7-12). CU owned the glass 39-32 and dished 22 assists compared to just 10 turnovers overall. Creighton outscored TSU 48-26 in the paint, 30-8 off turnovers and 31-8 off the bench. CU also had a 30-4 advantage in fast break points.
Texas Southern was led by 26 points from former Xavier signee Chris Thomas, who made 10-of-14 shots and added four assists in 38 minutes of work. The Tigers shot 26-of-52 from the floor, including 7-of-17, and were 11-of-22 at the line.
The Tigers, which won at Michigan State and Kansas State last season, hung with CU for about 10 minutes before a 9-2 run featuring three three-pointers in 69 seconds pushed the lead into double-figures for the first time. TSU never got closer than seven the rest of the night.
The Bluejays started the second half on a 11-5 run, including two resounding dunks from Thomas, as the margin grew past 20. CU led by as much as 34 (73-39) before settling for the final margin.
Creighton continues play in the Men Who Speak Up Main Event when it returns to action on Tuesday night with a 7:01 pm home game vs. UTSA.
NOTES: Creighton's 21 straight home opening wins ties the school mark first done from 1946-66 ... Six of Creighton's last seven teams to score 90 or more points in the season-opener reached the NCAA Tournament ... Creighton owns 36 dunks in five games this year (three games in Italy, the exhibition vs. Upper Iowa, and tonight), compared to 29 total in 33 regular-season games last winter ... Khyri Thomas' 18 points are the most by a Creighton freshman in their debut since P'Allen Stinnett had 23 in 2007. He would go on to be named MVC Freshman of the Year. For those wondering, Doug McDermott had 16 in his debut ... Creighton played its first game since Feb. 5, 1994 without using a former Iowa high school player, snapping a streak of 689 straight games ... Greg McDermott is now 14-1 all-time in season-openers as a Division I head coach, with 14 straight wins ... Creighton has won 33 straight home games against winless teams, winning those by an average of 26.91 points ... Creighton has won 87 straight home games against teams that are .500 or worse ... Creighton is 50-0 all-time in regular-season home games on or before Nov. 26th ... Creighton is now 83-15 in season-openers, and 18-1 in its last 19 ... Creighton has won 12 of its last 16 openers by 20 or more points ... Creighton is now 87-11 all-time in home openers ... Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 714 straight games, and at least four three-pointers in 69 straight games ... Creighton has won 108 straight home games when scoring 78 or more points ... Creighton is now 61-0 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha when scoring 40 or more points before halftime ... Creighton improved to 171-33 all-time at CenturyLink Cneter Omaha with the win.
Team Stats
TSUM
CU
FG%
.500
.528
3FG%
.412
.357
FT%
.500
.583
RB
32
39
TO
20
10
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs. UMES Press Conference - 11/14/25
Thursday, November 13
Creighton & Gonzaga Men's Basketball Press Conferences - 11/11/25
Wednesday, November 12
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability - 11/10/25
Monday, November 10
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. South Dakota Press Conference - 11/5/25
Tuesday, November 04
