Saturday, November 28
CenturyLink Center Omaha
7:01 PM
Creighton University
5-1
97
vs
67
Western Illinois
5-1
1
2
F
Western Illinois
31
36
67
Creighton
44
53
97
James Milliken
Photo by: Brandon McKenna
Men's Basketball Knocks Off Unbeaten Western Illinois, 97-67
11/28/2015 9:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton improves to 5-1 with wire-to-wire win
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Men's Basketball had four men in double-figures and never trailed in a 97-67 win over previously unbeaten Western Illinois on Saturday.
Khyri Thomas led Creighton (5-1) with 18 points while Geoffrey Groselle had another strong performance with 17 points and nine rebounds. Also in double-figures was James Milliken (12) and Isaiah Zierden (11). CU scored on 42-of-66 possessions, averaging 1.47 points per trip against a scoring defense that came in ranked ninth nationally while allowing just 57.6 points per contest.
Western Illinois (5-1) was led by 14 points from Garret Covington. The Leathernecks, who entered the night leading the country in three-point percentage at 51.8 percent from deep, finished 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from downtown on Saturday.
The Bluejays led 44-31 at the half thanks in part to a 28-15 edge on the glass in the opening 20 minutes. Milliken (12 points) and Groselle (9 points, 6 rebounds) were the main beneficiaries before the break.
Any chance of a Western Illinois comeback was quickly squashed as CU opened the second half with a 14-7 blitz that seven points by Thomas and five more from Maurice Watson Jr. Thomas would score 14 points in 10 minutes of play after intermission as Creighton sank 20-of-32 field goals in the second half.
Creighton's offensive outburst made it the nation's only team this season to score 97 or more points in a game in which it's had four or fewer turnovers.
Creighton returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Arizona State in a game that starts at 8:05 pm Central and will air on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 40-5 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha against teams that enter the contest with 0 or 1 loss ... Geoffrey Groselle had a career-high three blocked shots and tied his best with nine rebounds, which was set on Wednesday ... Greg McDermott won his 126th game on the Creighton sideline, tied with Eddie Hickey for fifth in Bluejay history ... Creighton has won 70 straight games when scoring 90 points or more dating to a loss in 1988, and Greg McDermott improved to 32-0 all-time as a Division I head coach (26-0 at Creighton) when scoring 90+ points ... Greg McDermott is now 76-15 in home games as Creighton's head coach and hasn't trailed in 29 of those games ... Creighton has won 98 straight home games when scoring 75+ points ... Redshirt freshman Ronnie Harrell Jr. made his Creighton debut, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 13 minutes of play.
Khyri Thomas led Creighton (5-1) with 18 points while Geoffrey Groselle had another strong performance with 17 points and nine rebounds. Also in double-figures was James Milliken (12) and Isaiah Zierden (11). CU scored on 42-of-66 possessions, averaging 1.47 points per trip against a scoring defense that came in ranked ninth nationally while allowing just 57.6 points per contest.
Western Illinois (5-1) was led by 14 points from Garret Covington. The Leathernecks, who entered the night leading the country in three-point percentage at 51.8 percent from deep, finished 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from downtown on Saturday.
The Bluejays led 44-31 at the half thanks in part to a 28-15 edge on the glass in the opening 20 minutes. Milliken (12 points) and Groselle (9 points, 6 rebounds) were the main beneficiaries before the break.
Any chance of a Western Illinois comeback was quickly squashed as CU opened the second half with a 14-7 blitz that seven points by Thomas and five more from Maurice Watson Jr. Thomas would score 14 points in 10 minutes of play after intermission as Creighton sank 20-of-32 field goals in the second half.
Creighton's offensive outburst made it the nation's only team this season to score 97 or more points in a game in which it's had four or fewer turnovers.
Creighton returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Arizona State in a game that starts at 8:05 pm Central and will air on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES: Creighton improved to 40-5 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha against teams that enter the contest with 0 or 1 loss ... Geoffrey Groselle had a career-high three blocked shots and tied his best with nine rebounds, which was set on Wednesday ... Greg McDermott won his 126th game on the Creighton sideline, tied with Eddie Hickey for fifth in Bluejay history ... Creighton has won 70 straight games when scoring 90 points or more dating to a loss in 1988, and Greg McDermott improved to 32-0 all-time as a Division I head coach (26-0 at Creighton) when scoring 90+ points ... Greg McDermott is now 76-15 in home games as Creighton's head coach and hasn't trailed in 29 of those games ... Creighton has won 98 straight home games when scoring 75+ points ... Redshirt freshman Ronnie Harrell Jr. made his Creighton debut, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 13 minutes of play.
Team Stats
WIU
CU
FG%
.450
.507
3FG%
.455
.417
FT%
.500
.630
RB
29
47
TO
9
4
STL
2
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
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