Men's Basketball Home To Host Marquette On Valentine's Day
2/12/2015 12:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game #26
Marquette Golden Eagles at Creighton Bluejays
Saturday, February 14, 2015 • 12:01 p.m.
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, www.1620thezone.com
Television: FOX Sports 1
Series History: Marquette leads, 49-30
Last Time: Marquette 53, Creighton 52 on 1/14/15 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Next Game
Creighton (11-14, 2-10 BIG EAST) has just two home games all February, and they'll both come in a 56-hour stretch that begins with Saturday's contest vs. Marquette (11-13, 3-9 BIG EAST).
Tip-off at CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 12:01 p.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 The Zone) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2014-15 season. John Bishop and Brody Deren will call the action. The pregame show “Bluejay Shootaround” is hosted by Josh Peterson and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler and will air from 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
Television Information
Saturday's game will be televised by FOX Sports 1, with Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe on the call.
Video Webcast Information
Live streaming video of Saturday's game will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). A cable authorization may be required.
The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit GoCreighton.com and click on the Live Stats icon near the top right of the page for a link to the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 11-14 this season, and 2-10 in BIG EAST play. Creighton snapped a nine-game losing streak on Jan. 28 vs. St. John's (77-74), and earned its second league triumph on Feb. 4 when it defeated Xavier (79-72 in overtime) in Cincinnati.
Guard Austin Chatman (10.4 ppg., 3.8 apg.) leads the team in scoring and assists, while James Milliken (8.4 ppg.) and Rick Kreklow (7.2 ppg.) have come on strong offensively in BIG EAST action.
Creighton is 8-5 this year at home, including a win over then-No. 18 Oklahoma, but 2-8 in true road games.
Creighton returns 11 lettermen from last year's 27-8 team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. Chatman is the only returning starter from that group.
The Bluejays are trying to replace the most victorious senior class in program history, as Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, Doug McDermott and Ethan Wragge combined for 107 wins as well as 5,964 points, 872 three-pointers, 1,062 assists and 2,250 rebounds at CU. All four men are now playing professionally, including McDermott in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls after he averaged 26.7 points per game and swept 14 National Player of the Year awards last winter.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 11-13 this season, including a 3-9 mark in BIG EAST play. The Golden Eagles are 1-6 on the road this season, but that road victory came last Saturday at Seton Hall.
Marquette has used just eight players this season, with all eight men averaging at least 4.3 points and 14.6 minutes per game.
BYU transfer Matt Carlino averages a team-high 14.5 points per game. He tops the club with 76 assists and with 60 three-point baskets. He drained a game-winning three-pointer in the last meeting with Creighton, but has missed the last two games due to a concussion.
Also in double-figures are Duane Wilson (11.7 ppg.) and Indiana transfer Luke Fischer (10.0 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 2.2 bpg.)
Marquette averages 66.0 points per game while allowing just 65.7 points per contest. MU leads the league with 199 steals, but ranks last in the BIG EAST in scoring offense and rebound margin.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his fifth season as head coach at Creighton. He is 118-52 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 398-247 in his 21st season and is 267-183 in his 14th Division I campaign. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Patrick Sellers.
Steve Wojciechowski (Duke, 1998) owns an 11-13 record in his first year at Marquette, which doubles as his career record. Wojciechowski came to Marquette after spending 15 seasons as an assistant coach at Duke and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He is assisted by Chris Carrawell, Brett Nelson and Mark Phelps.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the series with Creighton by a 49-30 margin, but the teams have split 38 all-time meetings in Omaha.
The teams met for the first time in 15 years last season, with CU picking up a pair of double-digit triumphs in their first season as conference rivals since 1927.
In the first meeting this season, Matt Carlino's three-pointer with 11.2 seconds left helped the Golden Eagles win a 53-52 decision in Milwaukee.
Greg McDermott is 0-1 against Steve Wojciechowski as a head coach, but is 2-1 in his career against Marquette.
Last Game
Rysheed Jordan had a career-high 25 points to lead St. John's to an 84-66 win over Creighton last Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm led 15-2 after five minutes and never looked back. Rick Kreklow had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for his first double-double as a Bluejay, while Geoffrey Groselle paced four Creighton players in double-figures with 13 points.
3-Point Contest Looms Saturday Night
Creighton alum Kyle Korver and Marquette alum Wesley Matthews are among eight participants in Saturday night's Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities.
Through games of Feb. 11th, Korver and Matthews were tied with Golden State's (and Davidson alum) Stephen Curry for the NBA lead with 161 three-pointers made, while Korver also leads the league with 52.3 percent accuracy from distance.
The only players in NBA history to lead the NBA in both three-point percentage and three-pointers made in the same season are Darrell Griffith (1983-84) and Mike Dunleavy (1982-83).
2014-15 NBA 3-Pointers Made Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Made
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta 161
Stephen Curry, Golden State 161
Wesley Matthews, Portland 161
4. Klay Thompson, Golden State 155
5. James Harden, Houston 140
2014-15 NBA 3-Point Percentage Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Pct.
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta .523
2. Eric Gordon, New Orleans .449
3. Courtney Lee, Memphis .448
4. Aaron Brooks, Chicago .443
5. Jared Dudley, Milwaukee .442
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver's An All-Star
Creighton alum Kyle Korver was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Tuesday. Ironically enough, he replaced a former Marquette player (Dwyane Wade) on the roster.
Korver leads the NBA in three-pointers made, three-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage (min. 90 FTA) this season.
At 33 years and 11 months, Korver will be the fourth-oldest player to make his NBA All-Star game debut, trailing only Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Sam Cassell and Anthony Mason.
Korver will be Creighton's first participant in the NBA All-Star game since Paul Silas had six points and four steals in 15 minutes in the 1975 All-Star Game.
200th Game At The CenturyLink
Saturday marks Creighton's 200th game at CenturyLink Center Omaha. In that time, the Bluejays own a 169-30 record, and are a near-equally strong 83-21 at home in league play.
Since moving into the facility 12 seasons ago, Creighton has won two regular-season conference titles and four league tournament crowns. The team also has finished second in the league standings five times and runner-up in the conference tournament once.
Below is a list of the single-season and career stat leaders for some key stat categories. Former BIG EAST Player of the Year Doug McDermott owns 13 different career records and 14 single-season marks.
Antoine Young owns the facility record with 268 career assists, but current senior Austin Chatman owns 260 and has four home games remaining.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Leaders
Stat Season Career
Games Played 22 by 8 men 76 K. Lawson Jr.
Games Started 22 by 3 men 71 D. McDermott
Minutes 757 A. Young 2145 D. McDermott
Points 472 D. McDermott 1573 D. McDermott
Points/Game 29.5 D. McDermott 22.2 D. McDermott
Field Goals 161 D. McDermott 563 D. McDermott
Field Goal % .683 G. Echenique .648 G. Echenique
3-point FG 52 B. Woodfox 156 E. Wragge
3-point FG% .559 A. Chatman .483 B. Woodfox
Free Throws 102 D. McDermott 313 D. McDermott
Free Throw % .919 N. Funk .860 C. Witter
Rebounds 158 D. McDermott 534 D. McDermott
Rebounds/Game 8.1 D. McDermott 7.5 D. McDermott
Assists 113 A. Young 268 A. Young
Blocked Shots 31 A. Tolliver 80 Lawson/Echenique
Steals 43 J. Dotzler 120 J. Dotzler
Marquette Marked CU's BIG EAST Debut Last Year
Marquette's last trip to CenturyLink Center Omaha (Dec. 31, 2013) marked Creighton's first BIG EAST Conference game.
That game, which tipped at 9:07 pm Central, drew boisterous sellout crowd of 18,525 fans. Doug McDermott drained a three-pointer on CU's first possession and scored 10 early points as CU took an early 18-6 lead and never trailed.
McDermott finished with a game-high 19 points in Creighton's 67-49 victory against last year's preseason favorites.
Quiet February
Creighton has just two home games during the entire month of February, and both will be in a 56-hour span. Creighton hosts Marquette on Saturday at 12:01 pm, then has a quick turnaround before welcoming Butler on Monday night at 8:15 pm.
It marks the first time since 1975-76 that Creighton has had as few as two home games in the month of February. Ironically, both of those games were also on Feb. 14 and 16.
Slow Starts An Issue
Creighton consistently has fallen behind early in games during its league play, and the problem has been especially prevalent during weekend play.
Creighton has trailed 9-0 in each of its last two Saturday games (Jan. 31 vs. Georgetown and Feb. 7 at St. John's) after falling behind 15-0 at Villanova on Sunday, Jan. 25th. CU also trailed 12-2 to Providence on Saturday, Jan. 17th.
Below is a list of how long it has taken Creighton to fall behind by double-figures for the first time in some of its recent games
First Double-Digit Deficit Time Left Lost By
12-2 at St. John's 15:41 (1st half) 18
Never fell behind by more than 7 at Xavier (Won)
12-2 to Georgetown 15:34 (1st half) 27
Never fell behind by more than 4 vs. St. John's (Won)
11-0 at Villanova 14:50 (1st half) 21
16-6 at Butler 10:23 (1st half) 3
12-2 vs. Providence 16:01 (1st half) 9
21-11 at Marquette 8:00 (1st half) 1
Never fell behind by more than 7 vs. Seton Hall 1
12-2 to DePaul 17:18 (1st half) 10
54-44 at Georgetown 11:37 (2nd half) 15
14-4 at Providence 14:04 (1st half) 12
20-10 at North Texas 7:23 (1st half) 4
More Success At Home
Creighton has won 85 straight home games against teams that enter with a record of .500 or worse. The last team to upset the apple cart was Feb. 25, 2002, when Drake won at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Marquette enters Saturday's game with an 11-13 record, and will be the last Creighton opponent of the regular-season to visit Omaha with a record of .500 or less.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 199 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in the 12-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own an 169-30 (.849) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (10-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 15,069-12,709 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.86 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 52 different times, including seven times last season and four times already this year.
Creighton is also 25-18 all-time in the 43 games at CLCO in which it's fallen behind by double-figures.
Creighton is 71-12 (.855) at CenturyLink Center Omaha under Greg McDermott, including a 40-3 record vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 188-30 (.862) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Creighton's 24-game home win streak that was snapped by Saint Mary's on Dec. 13th was also the longest in facility history by Creighton. The school-record for longest home win streak is 28, done from 1917-1920 and again from 2002-04.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest home win streaks in the 12-year history of CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Streak Dates Snapped By
24 Feb. 19, 2013 - Dec. 9, 2014 Saint Mary's
16 Feb. 9, 2005 - Jan. 31, 2006 Southern Illinois
16 Jan. 19, 2010 - Dec. 22, 2011 Missouri State
14 Feb. 2, 2008 - Dec. 28, 2008 Northern Iowa
11 Nov. 22, 2003 - Feb. 4, 2004 Southern Illinois
Abide's “Better Together Blue Out” Set For Sat.
As part of this year's Pass The Bucket event, Creighton men's basketball fans are encouraged to wear the Abide Network's “Better Together” blue t-shirts to participate in the “Better Together Blue Out” game when the Bluejays host Butler next Monday (8:01 p.m., tip-off). The first 10,000 fans entering the venue that night will receive a complimentary 'Better Together Blue Out' t-shirt (t-shirt-distribution locations will be the venue's main entrance on 10th Street at the top of the escalators, the entrance near the Mutual of Omaha display and the upper level bridge entrance).
Last year's Pass the Bucket event raised $3,200 bringing the three-year total to over $10,000 and Bluejay players will wear Blue and White warm-up shirts for the game.
For just a $1 per-person donation, Creighton fans can help Abide raise money to renovate a home for its Lighthouse program.
Working Overtime
Creighton's Feb. 4th overtime win at Xavier saw Greg McDermott improve to 5-1 in overtime games as Creighton head coach, including a 2-1 mark this season.
The game was also the 100th overtime game in Creighton's history, as the Jays improved to 55-45 in OT all-time.
It was Creighton's first overtime win in a true road game since topping Southern Illinois 72-66 in Carbondale, Ill., on Jan. 7, 2011.
Including that night, 12 of Creighton's last 13 overtime games have been won by the team to score first in the first overtime.
Creighton has played three overtime games for the first time in the same season since 2007-08. Creighton has not played four overtime games in the same season since 2001-02.
Creighton has not won three overtime games in the same season since 2001-02, something it can do with another OT victory.
A complete listing of overtime games can be found on page 164 of the 2014-15 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Better, Together
Creighton had five men score 12 points or more on Feb. 4 at Xavier, as Rick Kreklow (17 points), Geoffrey Groselle (15), Devin Brooks (13), Austin Chatman (12) and James Milliken (12) all reached double-figures.
It was the first time since Creighton's season-opening Nov. 14 win over Central Arkansas with five men in double-figures.
All-time under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 39-7 when four or more men reach double-figures, including a 20-1 mark since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Quest For 15,000 Complete
Creighton has scored 15,069 points all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha, surpassing 15,000 points on Jan. 28 on a second half free throw by Zach Hanson.
Creighton has currently outscored the opposition 15,069 to 12,709 at the 12-year old facility.
Creighton is 14-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CenturyLink Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Ka. Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
Against The Best
Through games of February 11th, Creighton was tied for second nationally with 12 games this season against Top 50 RPI teams.
Oklahoma has played 13 Top 50 teams, while Creighton, Kansas and Kansas State have each played a dozen games vs. Top 50 foes.
Among those that have played 11 Top 50 opponents are Marquette, Georgetown and Providence. Creighton is 3-9 in its games vs. Top 50 competition, with wins over St. John's, Xavier and Oklahoma this winter.
Swiss Army Knife
Devin Brooks continues to do a little bit of everything for Creighton this season.
He leads Creighton in rebounding and steals, and is second on the team in assists.
If it holds, Brooks could join Kyle Korver (2002-03) as the only Bluejays to lead the team in rebounding and steals in the same season.
Brooks had his best game of the season on Feb. 4th at Xavier, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a blocked shot in an overtime victory. Besides being his first career double-double, the 12 rebounds were a career-high while his six assists tied a personal best.
Brooks is one of seven Creighton players with a double-double and six or more assists since 1986-87. Of those men, Brooks is the only one that had 12 rebounds or more in such a game, and also the only one that had three steals or more in his special game.
It's worth mentioning that Benoit Benjamin is the only player in Creighton history to post a triple-double, and all three of those were of the points/rebounds/blocks variety.
10+ Pts, 10+ Reb, 6+ Assists In A Game, Since 1986-87
Name, Opponent Pts. Reb. Ast. Date
Rod Mason vs. Southern Illinois 21 11 6 02/21/87
Rodney Buford at Iowa 24 11 7 11/25/98
Kyle Korver vs. Southern Illinois 12 10 6 03/10/03
Grant Gibbs at St. John's 12 11 6 02/09/14
Austin Chatman vs. Oklahoma 17 11 6 11/19/14
Devin Brooks at Xavier 13 12 6 02/04/15
Rick Kreklow at St. John's 10 10 6 02/07/15
Magic Number Is 70
Creighton is 7-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more, and has won 25 straight games when reaching that milestone.
Since 1981, Creighton is 4-0 against Marquette when reaching 70+ points, but 1-10 when failing to reach that milestone.
Long-Distance Streak Surpasses 700
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 705 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the 23rd-longest active streak, though Feb. 11th.
Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Creighton has also made four or more three-pointers in 60 straight games. That streak began in CU's 2013-14 season-opener.
Thanks to help from STATS Inc., and various SID's, below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point steaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (through 2/11)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 932 UNLV 2/14
2. 924 Kentucky 2/14
3. 920 Vanderbilt 2/14
4. 896 Duke 2/14
5. 863 Western Kentucky 2/14
6. 858 Arkansas 2/14
7. 852 East Tennessee State 2/12
8. 850 Pacific 2/12
9. 829 Oakland 2/15
10. 815 Texas 2/14
11. 806 Princeton 2/13
12. 787 Florida 2/12
13. 770 La Salle 2/14
14. 767 Marshall 2/14
15. 756 Baylor 2/14
16. 738 LIU-Brooklyn 2/12
17. 736 Cornell 2/13
18. 724 Gonzaga 2/12
19. 718 Tennessee State 2/12
20. 716 Mount St. Mary's 2/12
21. 715 Samford 2/12
22. 707 East Carolina 2/14
23. 705 Creighton 2/14
24. 685 Weber State 2/12
25. 670 DePaul 2/18
670 Lafayette 2/14
27. 660 Davidson 2/14
Five Year Plan A Success
There were 54 Division I coaches that were hired prior to the 2010-11 season, and of that group, 37 remain at the helm of that same program, including Creighton coach Greg McDermott.
McDermott leads that group with 118 victories to lead that group. It's three more than the man he replaced at Creighton, current Oregon coach Dana Altman, and nine more than the coaches with the third-most wins, through games of Feb. 7.
Head Coaches Hired Prior to 2010-11, Sorted By Wins
School Coach Total W Total L
Creighton Greg McDermott 118 52
Oregon Dana Altman 115 53
Iona Tim Cluess 109 51
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 107 53
Going With A Senior-Laden Line-Up
When Greg McDermott started Austin Chatman, Devin Brooks, Rick Kreklow, Avery Dingman and Will Artino on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31, it marked the first time that Creighton started five seniors in the same game since at least 1977-78 (records before that are inconclusive).
Creighton has used nine different starting line-up combinations this season, its most in any campaign since starting 11 combo's in 1994-95.
By comparison, CU had used just 10 different starting combinations in his first four seasons at the helm, and utilized the same starting five in every game in 2011-12 and also 2012-13.
Still Tough At Home
Creighton is 8-5 at home this season, moving to 39-7 at CenturyLink Center Omaha over the course of the last three seasons.
Below is a list of the records at home for each BIG EAST club since the start of the 2012-13 campaign. Creighton's 39 wins at home in that time are tied for second-most in the league, two behind Villanova.
Team Home W-L Since 2012-13
Villanova 41-5
Creighton 39-7
Georgetown 39-7
Xavier 38-7
Providence 38-10
St. John's 38-14
Marquette 36-10
Butler 34-10
Seton Hall 29-19
DePaul 24-23
Who To Defend?
Avery Dingman had a club-high eight points on Jan. 31 vs. Georgetown, becoming the 10th different leading scorer this season for the Bluejays.
Creighton's top two scorers in non-conference play, Austin Chatman and Isaiah Zierden, currently rank fourth and eighth on the team in points per game in league action.
Creighton's top two scorers in BIG EAST action, James Milliken and Rick Kreklow, were sixth and eighth, respectively, on the team in scoring in non-conference play.
What's Your 20?
Creighton has 11 men on its roster who have started five or more Division I games if you include redshirting transfers Cole Huff and Mo Watson Jr.
Of those 11, nine of them own at least one career game of 20 points or more, including five men this season (James Milliken, Austin Chatman, Toby Hegner, Will Artino, Isaiah Zierden).
The last time Creighton had five different players score 20 or more points in the same season was 2010-11, when Antoine Young, Doug McDermott, Kenny Lawson Jr., Ethan Wragge and Josh Jones did it.
The only active Bluejays with five Division I starts or more who have yet to reach the 20-point plateau are Rick Kreklow (high of 18) & Zach Hanson (11).
Opponents Coming In After A Loss
When Creighton hosts Marquette on Saturday, the Golden Eagles will be licking their wounds after a mid-week defeat to Xavier.
Since opening league play against Providence, 11 of Creighton's last 12 BIG EAST opponents will have lost the game prior to facing the Bluejays, including 10 straight.
CU Opponent Game Before
Georgetown Lost at Xavier by 17
DePaul Beat Xavier by 3
Seton Hall Lost at Xavier by 11
Marquette Lost at Georgetown by 6
Providence Lost to St. John's by 13
Butler Lost at Georgetown by 2
Villanova Lost at Georgetown by 20
St. John's Lost to Duke by 9
Georgetown Lost to Xavier by 13
Xavier Lost at Seton Hall by 8
St. John's Lost at Butler by 23
Marquette Lost by 20 to Xavier
More Than 3,000,000 Served
Creighton surpassed the 3 million fan mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Jan. 31 when it hosted No. 21 Georgetown.
To date, Creighton has attracted 3,010,823 fans in 199 games to date at the 12-year-old facility, an average of 15,130 fans per game.
Creighton's 1,000,000th fan at CenturyLink Center Omaha was honored on Jan. 19, 2008, in CU's 74th game at the facility. That fan, Jared Stickrod, was then a 10-year old from Omaha who received numerous prizes, including an autographed basketball and season tickets for the 2008-09 campaign.
Creighton surpassed the 2,000,000 fan mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha in its 141st game at the facility on Dec. 4, 2011 vs. Nebraska. Sam King was the fan selected as No. 2,000,000 and received a haul of prizes that includes four season tickets for 2012-13.
Papillion native Drew D'Ercole was recognized as the 3,000,000th fan on Saturday received the following prize package:
-Two 2015-16 MBB season tickets
-Private Championship Center tour
-Honorary Guest for the 2/14 Marquette Game & locker room tour
-Doug McDermott & Kyle Korver Bobbleheads
-Apparel Items
-Autographed Memorabilia
-$300 in gift cards
-Appearance on video board during game
Some Loyal Fans
Creighton has attracted 221,501 fans at home this season, the 10th straight season it has surpassed 200,000 fans at home.
Creighton had never attracted more than 141,000 home fans in any season prior to the opening of CenturyLink Center Omaha, and now has done it in 12 straight seasons.
Creighton has led its conference in home attendance in all 12 years since moving into CenturyLink Center Omaha.
21, By A Freshman
Toby Hegner's 21 points vs. St. John's on Jan. 28 were the most by a Creighton freshman since Doug McDermott had 21 vs. Oregon on March 28, 2011, and the most by a freshman reserve since Ethan Wragge had 21 points vs. Xavier on Nov. 27, 2009.
The scoring binge of 21 points came in his first game as a reserve after he had started the first 21 games of his Creighton career.
Bench Matches Up
In two games against St. John's this season, Creighton's bench scored 44 points on Jan. 28th and 45 more on Feb. 7th against the Red Storm.
Those two performances were its most since scoring 54 in a double-overtime non-conference win over South Dakota in December.
The 45 points off the bench are Creighton's most ever in a BIG EAST game, and matched the most in any league game since scoring 45 points off the pine vs. Drake on Jan. 8, 2013.
By comparison, Creighton's starting line-up tallied 33 points in the first meeting and 21 points in the rematch against St. John's.
Making The Best of Charity
Despite its perimeter shooting woes, Creighton has done a solid job at the free throw line this season. The Bluejays lead the BIG EAST with 74.2 percent marksmanship from the charity stripe.
The figure ranks 23rd-best nationally, and is on pace to be Creighton's seventh-best mark in a single-season since the category was kept in records that date to 1951-52.
Moving On Up
Austin Chatman has moved into fifth in Creighton history on the career assist chart, and now owns 467 in his career. Each of the other top six on the list reached the NCAA Tournament as seniors.
Most Career Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
505 Antoine Young 2008-12
498 Grant Gibbs 2011-14
467 Austin Chatman 2011-Pres.
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
388 Josh Dotzler 2005-09
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
Zierden Sidelined By Knee Injury
Isaiah Zierden will miss the rest of the year after suffering a season-ending injury to his right knee for the second straight campaign.
Zierden was carried off the floor with 4:05 left in the first half on Jan. 21 at Butler and did not return.
An MRI on Jan. 23 determined that Zierden partially tore the MCL in his knee, while also suffering an injury to his patella.
The uncommon injury is very similar to one he suffered last March at Xavier, which caused him to miss CU's last seven games.
Narrow Losses
Per STATS Inc., Creighton was the nation's only team that had three different losses by three points or less from Jan. 10-24.
Creighton owned four losses by four points or less during its recently-ended nine-game skid. Those four losses featured eight shot attempts in the final minute that could have tied the game or put the Bluejays ahead, all but one of which were missed.
Before that bad luck stretch, Creighton's senior class had been 16-4 in games decided by four points or less amongst the 118 contests it had played since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
This season Creighton is 3-5 in games decided by four points or less.
Games Decided By 4 Points Or Less Under McDermott
W-L Year
2010-11 2-6
2011-12 8-1
2012-13 3-2
2013-14 3-0
2014-15 3-5
Technically Speaking
Greg McDermott was issued a rare technical foul when the officials booked the Creighton head coach on Jan. 17 vs. Providence.
It was the first technical foul that McDermott had been whistled for in five years on the Bluejay sideline, and his first overall since Feb. 17, 2010 when he was head coach at Iowa State. In between, McDermott coached 153 games without one.
Some other facts about the technical foul...
-Greg McDermott had two technical fouls in his four seasons as Iowa State head coach and five technical fouls in five years as head coach at Northern Iowa.
-It was the first technical foul on the Creighton bench in a home game since Dana Altman was given one vs. Drexel on Feb. 17, 2007, and just the second one since Jan. 13, 2000 at home on the CU bench.
-It was Creighton's first technical foul since Grant Gibbs had one on Feb. 6, 2013 at Indiana State. Creighton had played 65 complete games since its last technical.
-It was just the ninth technical foul Creighton has been called for in five seasons under Greg McDermott. Gregory Echenique had three, Grant Gibbs had two, and there's been one each for Avery Dingman, Will Artino, and the Bluejay bench (Steve Lutz).
Pink Out Auction Raises Thousands
As part of the nationwide American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer event, men's basketball fans were encouraged to wear pink to promote cancer awareness and participate in the “Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out” game when the Bluejays hosted Providence on Jan. 17.
Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink jerseys for the game and, like last year's event, fans had the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer by purchasing the apparel via auction (the shooting shirt can be personalized – last name, nickname, etc.).
The first 16,000 fans entering the venue last Saturday received a complimentary pink t-shirt courtesy of CHI Health and Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.
This year's Creighton vs. Cancer jersey auction raised $16,384.03, and the past four seasons have seen $109,675.14 raised. Past auctions have raised $20,600 (2012), $24,444 (2013) and $48,247.11 (2014).
Below is a list showing what each item sold for:
Jersey #1 $2651 Jersey #2 $650
Jersey #4 $455 Jersey #5 $1,527
Jersey #10 $585 Jersey #11 $506
Jersey #15 $630 Jersey #21 $955
Jersey #22 $960 Jersey #23 $590
Jersey #31 $725 Jersey #32 $826
Jersey #40 $730 Jersey #41 $610
Jersey #50 $710 D. McDermott jersey $800
Basketballs $200, 202.50, 204.03, 212.50, 220, 250
More About One-Point Games
Despite the two one-point losses in January, Greg McDermott is still 5-3 in one-point games on the Creighton sideline.
Creighton entered January 12-1 in its previous 13 one-point games, and had been 22-6 in one-point games since 2000, prior to the two losses.
It's the first time that Creighton has played consecutive one-point games since defeating Evansville (93-92 in OT) and Indiana State (61-60) in February of 2012.
Creighton had not lost one-point games in the same month since February of 1996, and those weren't consecutive.
It's the first time that Creighton lost consecutive one-point games since January of 1980.
Winning Formulas
Below are the records for each current BIG EAST school over the previous four, eight and 14 (since 2000-01) seasons, ranked by overall wins, through games of Feb. 13, 2015.
Most Wins Since 2000-01
Team W L
Butler 353 141
Creighton 346 150
Xavier 346 144
Villanova 326 164
Marquette 325 164
Georgetown 319 161
Providence 253 212
Seton Hall 243 218
St. John's 229 230
DePaul 193 265
Most Wins - Last 10 Years (2005-06 to Present)
Team W L
Butler 247 92
Villanova 232 97
Xavier 230 101
Creighton 227 108
Georgetown 224 99
Marquette 219 113
Seton Hall 165 146
Providence 165 146
St. John's 159 151
DePaul 114 194
Most Wins - Last 4 Years (2011-12 to Present)
Team W L
Creighton 95 36
Villanova 84 40
Georgetown 83 39
Marquette 81 45
Butler 81 47
Xavier 77 49
Providence 74 52
Seton Hall 68 57
St. John's 66 56
DePaul 47 75
Range With Rick
Senior Rick Kreklow has started to find his offensive rhythm in the last nine games.
In those contests, he's averaged 11.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 34-for-70 from the field and 20-of-44 from three-point range.
With 10 or more points in four straight games from Jan. 10-21, Kreklow scored in double-figures during consecutive contests for the first time in his five-year college career, which spans three schools.
Kreklow sank a career-high five three-pointers on Feb. 4 at Xavier, making his first four tries from long-range.
Academic Excellence
The Creighton Men's Basketball team owned a cumulative 3.14 GPA in the 2014 Fall semester. The mark is the program's highest figure in records dating back to 1999.
Two men's basketball players, Tyler Clement and Gabriel Connealy, have owned perfect 4.00 GPA's throughout their entire college career.
Overall, Creighton's student-athletes owned a 3.37 GPA in the fall, also a record. Of CU's 279 student-athletes, 126 of them (45.2 percent) made the Dean's List (3.50 or better).
How's This, For Starters?
James Milliken scored a team-high 20 points in the Jan. 10 game vs. Seton Hall, the second time this season he's scored 20 or more.
Milliken was the ninth different leading scorer that Creighton had in its first 17 games this winter.
Milliken had his outburst in his first career start, as he became the first Bluejay since Booker Woodfox to score 20 or more in his first career start. Woodfox had 26 points vs. New Mexico on Nov. 16, 2008, the start of a season that saw him earn MVC Player of the Year accolades.
The only other players to do so since the 1994-95 season have been Kellen Miliner (20 vs. Alcorn State on Nov. 15, 2004), Nerijus Karlikanovas (20 at Missouri State on Jan. 10, 1999).
Clement Steps Up
Tyler Clement played 62 minutes in Creighton's first 16 games, before the redshirt freshman walk-on logged a career-high 26 minutes on Jan. 10 vs. Seton Hall.
Clement dished a career-high four assists and added two rebounds, one point and one steal while subbing for an injured Austin Chatman.
Clement checked in for the first time with 8:59 left in the first half, then played all but 2:53 of the remainder of the contest.
It's not the first time that Clement has come to the rescue for Creighton this season. He replaced a foul-prone Chatman with CU down 24 points at North Texas and 15:56 left. Creighton would eventually lose by four points, with Clement playing 12 minutes during that frantic comeback attempt.
Artino Doubles His Fun
Senior center Will Artino has started CU's last six games and on Jan. 10 vs. Seton Hall delivered his third career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while also playing a career-best 35 minutes.
It was Artino's team-high second double-double of the winter.
Artino has made 61.7 percent of his career field goal attempts. That's the second-best mark in Creighton history among players with 300 or more career attempts.
Pct. Name, Years FGM-FGA
.625 Gregory Echenique, 2010-13 374-598
.617 Will Artino, 2011-Pres. 234-379
.611 Mike Grimes, 2000-04 292-478
.585 Vernon Moore, 1981-85 649-1,109
.562 Benoit Benjamin, 1982-85 610-1,085
Stadium Journey Loves The Link
The website StadiumJourney.com has reviewed more than 2,050 venues in the last four years and recently ranked Creighton's home, CenturyLink Center Omaha, as the 83rd-best venue overall and seventh-best for college basketball in its 2014 rankings of Top 100 Stadium Experiences.
The home to Creighton Baseball and the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, is located across the parking lot from CenturyLink Center Omaha and came in 14th in the rankings.
The ratings take into account the food & beverage served in the stadium, the overall atmosphere, the neighborhood where the stadium is located, the fans, access (which includes traffic, parking, ability to move around, and restrooms), the overall return on investment, and one final “extras” category.
When summarizing CenturyLink Center Omaha, the website concluded:
“This is a very good college atmosphere. The fans are very friendly and will welcome opposing fans. The band, the dance team, the cheerleaders are all good and add to the college experience. The contests held during breaks in the action add to the fun and they command the attention of most of the fans.”
Rk. Facility Home Hoops Tenant
30. Rupp Arena Kentucky
35. FedEx Forum Memphis
44. Carrier Dome Syracuse
57. Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Utah State
63. Phog Allen Fieldhouse Kansas
74. Crisler Center Michigan
83. CenturyLink Center Omaha Creighton
98. Dean E. Smith Center North Carolina
One Of The Best Leagues Around
The BIG EAST Conference remains the second-ranked league in the RPI ratings according to WarrenNolan.com, confirming the developing consensus that the league is once again powerful.
According to CBS Sports, no league has had more NCAA Tournament bids in the last three seasons than the 21 earned by the BIG EAST.
Below is a list of the top 10 leagues, through games of February 11th:
Rk. Conference RPI
1. Big 12 .5940
2. BIG EAST .5825
3. Atlantic Coast .5757
4. Big Ten .5723
5. Pacific 12 .5657
6. Southeastern .5651
7. Atlantic 10 .5354
8. American Athletic .5307
9. West Coast .5251
10. Mid-American .5167
Trey Troubles
Creighton has made 23-of-54 three-pointers (42.6 percent) in its BIG EAST victories this season, but just 61-for-217 (28.1 percent) from deep in its league losses.
For the season Creighton is shooting 33.1 percent from three-point land.
In the last four years under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 36-30 (.545) when shooting 40.00 percent or worse from three-point range. While respectable, that pales in comparison to CU's 59-6 (.908) mark the last four years when shooting better than 40.00 percent from downtown.
Lower the standards to 30%, and it's still impressive. Creighton is 84-16 in the past four years when shooting 30 percent or better from deep, compared to 11-20 when shooting 29.99 percent or less.
Last season, Creighton led the nation with 41.4 percent shooting from deep, a figure that ranked ahead of 43 teams overall field goal percentage nationally.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked to finish ninth in its second season as BIG EAST Conference members according to a preseason poll of league coaches. Villanova was picked first with 81 points and nine first-place votes, while Georgetown (67, 1), St. John's (65), Xavier (52) and Providence (49) round out the top half. The predicted lower half was Seton Hall (43), Butler (28), Marquette (28), Creighton (25) and DePaul (12).
The ninth-place prognostication is the program's lowest mark since being tabbed 10th of 11 Missouri Valley Conference teams in 1995-96. That team tied for fifth in The Valley. It also snaps a streak of 14 straight years being picked fourth or higher in its preseason league poll.
Creighton did not have any honorees on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Teams, which was led by Preseason Player of the Year D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera from Georgetown.
This marks the first time since 2009-10 that Creighton has not had the Preseason Conference Player of the Year. It's also just the sixth time in the last 20 years that Creighton did not have a first team all-conference honoree in the preseason.
Early Birds Get The Win
When Creighton's offense gets rolling under Greg McDermott, the results have been evident. Creighton has won 50 straight games under McDermott when scoring 40 or more points in the first half.
CU has also won 68 straight home games when scoring 40 or more points in the first half dating to a Feb. 3, 2002 loss to Southern Illinois, including a perfect 60-0 mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Groselle Makes The Leap To MBA
Redshirt junior center Geoffrey Groselle finished the requirements to earn his undergraduate degree in Financial Analysis in just 3.5 years on December 18th. One day later, he learned that he'd been accepted into Creighton's MBA program, then came out that night and grabbed a career-best six rebounds in 11 first half minutes.
Groselle continued his strong play on Dec. 21 at North Texas, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
He led Creighton with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the league opener at Providence, playing a 22 minutes. Groselle made his first career start in the Jan. 3 game at Georgetown.
Groselle had a career-high seven rebounds and tied his high with 15 points on Feb. 4 at Xavier while seeing a career-best 26 minutes of clock time.
He followed that up with 13 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes at Georgetown last Saturday.
3-Headed Monster
Creighton has used three men who alternate playing time at the “5” position for most of this season, Will Artino, Zach Hanson and Geoffrey Groselle.
While none of them have stats that might jump off the page individually, as a collective group they're tough to beat, combining for 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 37.7 minutes per game, all while shooting 57.7 percent from the floor.
Name MPG FG-FGA RPG PPG
Artino 15.9 64-118 4.2 6.0
Hanson 13.8 43-76 2.9 4.8
Groselle 10.5 43-66 2.1 4.6
Total 37.7 150-260 8.7 14.4
Toughest Thing In Sports
Creighton is 26-20 in true road games the last four years, and 42-27 when you also include neutral site games.
Last year's team was 7-4 in true road games and 4-4 at neutral sites. Each of Creighton's last 11 NCAA Tournament qualifiers have had 10 or more road/neutral wins.
Creighton is currently 2-8 in true road games this season, and 3-9 away from home when you factor in a pair of games in Niceville, Fla., during the Emerald Coast Classic.
Will The Thrill
Will Artino leads Creighton in rebounds per 40 minutes (10.7 rpg.) and is second in points per 40 minutes (15.2 ppg.) this season.
Among players to play 100 or more minutes in any season during Greg McDermott's tenure, Artino has consistently put up big numbers.
In those five seasons, a player has averaged at least 10.0 rebounds per 40 minutes nine times, with Artino accounting for four of those seasons.
Most Rebounds Per 40 Minutes, Since 2010-11
(Minimum 100 minutes, Season)
REB/40 Name Year
12.4 Will Artino 2012-13
12.2 Gregory Echenique 2011-12
11.9 Will Artino 2011-12
11.6 Gregory Echenique 2012-13
11.3 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
10.7 Will Artino 2014-15
10.3 Doug McDermott 2011-12
10.2 Gregory Echenique 2010-11
10.0 Will Artino 2013-14
Higher and Higher
Austin Chatman entered December with a career-high of 19 points, but in seven December contests he averaged 17.3 points, including five games of 19 or more.
Chatman tied his career-high with 19 points in road games against both Tulsa and Nebraska, then upped the ante with 24 points in a Dec. 9 double-overtime win over South Dakota.
All 24 of his points against the Coyotes came in the final 16 minutes of regulation and the overtime sessions.
Of Creighton's 26 points during the overtime, Chatman made or assisted all six field goals, and also drained five of the team's 10 free throws.
He followed that up with another 19 point effort against Saint Mary's on Dec. 14, then threw in 20 more points vs. Texas-Pan American on Dec. 19.
Awesome Austin
Austin Chatman had identical stat lines in two games to start the month of December. In road games at Tulsa and Nebraska, Chatman had exactly 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in both games.
Before Chatman, the last time a Creighton player had any game with at least 19/7/6 or more in each category was Ryan Sears at Southern Illinois on Jan. 8, 2000.
Before Chatman, Creighton's last player with two games of 19/7/6 in the same season was Rodney Buford, who did it in 1998-99.
Chatman also became the first Creighton player to own at least a share of the team in lead in points/rebounds/assists in consecutive games since Kyle Korver on Dec. 7 & 14, 2002.
Chatman was also stellar in the win over South Dakota on Dec. 9, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds. In the process, he became the first Bluejay with 24 points and eight assists in the same game since Sears in the same Jan. 8, 2000 game listed above.
Through games of February 11th, Chatman was one of 22 players nationally, and one of nine seniors with at least 261 points, 92 rebounds and 95 or more assists.
Careful Chatman
Austin Chatman owns a 95/44 assist/turnover ratio (2.16) this season, a figure that ranks sixth in the BIG EAST and 89th nationally.
Last season Chatman finished third in the BIG EAST with a 2.6 assist/turnover ratio, good for 29th nationally.
For his career, Chatman owns 467 assists compared to 221 turnovers, good for a 2.11 ratio. The man considered by many to be Creighton's best point guard in recent history, Ryan Sears, finished his career with a 2.26 assist/turnover ratio.
Senior Trio Joins Elite Group
Seniors Will Artino, Austin Chatman and Avery Dingman joined some elite company with Creighton's Dec. 7 win at Nebraska, as the trio became the rare Bluejay players to appear in four wins vs. Nebraska.
Creighton's only previous six men to play in four career wins over the Cornhuskers were Kyle Korver, Joe Dabbert, Mike Grimes, Michael Lindeman, Tyler McKinney and Ethan Wragge.
Of those six, only Korver and McKinney had never played in a loss against NU, something Dingman, Artino and Chatman can now claim.
Halftime Lead A Key
Creighton was 26-0 last year when leading at halftime, but just 1-8 when trailing at intermission.
This year's team is 8-2 when leading at half, 3-11 when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when tied at the break.
Creighton has won all but two of its last 43 games played when leading at the half, and is 96-12 overall under Greg McDermott when up after 20 minutes.
7-Foot Surprise
Redshirt junior center Geoffrey Groselle had the best game of his Bluejay career on Nov. 25th, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 12 minutes of playing time. His play earned him a pair of standing ovations from the more than 17,400+ fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Groselle had owned just 44 career points in the first 36 games of his career before his outburst.
Groselle has made 57-of-86 career field goal attempts, good for 66.3 percent.
What A Difference A Year Makes
The star of Creighton's team last year, Doug McDermott, scored 3,150 points as a Bluejay.
The players on the 2014-15 Creighton team have scored a total of 3,484 career points in a Bluejay uniform entering Saturday's game.
Last year McDermott averaged 14.0 points in the first half of games. This year, the team's leading scorer (Austin Chatman) averages 10.4 points for an entire game.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 14 victories under Greg McDermott after trailing by double-figures at some point, including three games this year, and seven such comebacks away from home.
On Nov. 19, Creighton trailed 42-24 to No. 18 Oklahoma with 18:30 to go before putting together a comeback for the ages. It was CU's largest comeback victory under Greg McDermott (see chart below), the second-largest since 2000 (see chart below), and the second-biggest in the history of CenturyLink Center Omaha (see chart, left column on page five).
On the other hand, CU is 102-5 under McDermott when putting together double-digit leads, including wins 90 of the last 91 times.
Double-Digit Comebacks Under Greg McDermott
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
Largest Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2000
Deficit Opponent Date
19 (25-6) Wichita State 01/28/06
18 (37-19) #17 Western Kentucky 11/27/01
18 (42-24*) #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 (34-17) Missouri State 02/12/03
17 (25-8) DePaul 11/09/07
17 (52-35*) Rhode Island 03/18/08
17 (31-14) at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 (53-37*) TCU 01/26/03
16 (43-28*) at Drake 02/04/06
16 (59-43*) New Mexico 11/16/08
16 (31-15) at Evansville 02/16/13
15 (54-39*) Wichita State 02/02/08
*second half
Zierden Earns Honor
Sophomore guard Isaiah Zierden was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Emerald Coast Classic. He led the Bluejays in scoring during three of the four games in the event, including both contests in Florida.
Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 14 of the previous 16 seasons, and has done so once again this winter. Each of Creighton's last 15 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton also started 5-0 or better for the fourth straight year. The only previous time CU has started 5-0 in four straight years had come in a five-year stretch from 1916-17 to 1920-21.
Balanced Offense
Creighton owns nine players who are averaging 4.6 points per game or more this season. Ten players have scored 11 or more points in a game this year, and CU has seen 10 different leading scorers.
The last time CU had 11 different men score in double-figures during the same season was 2009-10.
Creighton also has 10 different players with five or more rebounds in a game this year. The Bluejays have had a different player with 10 or more rebounds in five games this season after only having three players with double-figure rebound totals (McDermott, Gibbs, Artino) all last season. Three of those men (Chatman, Milliken, Brooks) are guards.
Poll Position
Creighton is one of 21 teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 in each of the last four seasons.
That select group features Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, San Diego State, Syracuse, UCLA, UConn, Wichita State and Wisconsin.
Creighton has been ranked in 40 weeks of AP polls under Greg McDermott, and ranked between 26th-to-28th in nine other AP polls. The 40 weeks in the top-25 under McDermott is more than all other coaches in Bluejay history combined.
Most Weeks in AP Top 25 at CU, By Coach
Greg McDermott, 2010-Pres. 40
Dana Altman, 1994-2010 18
Tom Apke, 1974-81 5
Eddie Sutton, 1969-74 5
Give Me Five
A win over Eastern Illinois on Nov. 25 was Creighton's fifth straight victory this season. The Bluejays have now had at least one five-game win streak in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the NCAA's, NIT or CBI all 19 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the NCAA/NIT/CBI all seven times they haven't.
Including this year, Creighton has started 5-0 or better in 10 of the last 17 years, including four straight campaigns. The only previous time CU started 5-0 in four straight seasons came during a five-year stretch from 1916-17 to 1920-21.
Playing With The Lead
Creighton has not trailed in four of its 13 home games this season.
In 199 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 52 of those contests, a staggering 26.1 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins last season and four this year.
During recently-ended Creighton's 24-game home winning streak, Creighton led wire-to-wire in 11 of those wins, and trailed for just 103:04 of 970 minutes of action. Only Oklahoma and South Dakota even led the Bluejays in the second half during that streak.
We Shall Overcome
Creighton trailed by 11 points at halftime in its Nov. 19 comeback win over Oklahoma.
It was the first time Creighton trailed at halftime at home since Feb. 2, 2013 against Bradley. The Jays trailed 30-27 at the break but would go on to win, 75-58.
The 11 point halftime deficit was the largest in a home victory since trailing by 15 in the 2008 NIT against Rhode Island.
Creighton is 7-6 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games in which it has TRAILED by 10 points or more at halftime.
Backcourt Boarders
Senior guard Austin Chatman had a career-high 11 rebounds in that Nov. 19 win over Oklahoma, three more than his previous career-high of eight.
Chatman became the first Bluejay player with a game of at least 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the same game at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Link Notes
Creighton is 84-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by 15 points or more.
Creighton is 35-12 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by five points or less.
Creighton is also 14-3 in regular-season home games at CenturyLink Center Omaha decided by two points or less.
Double-Double Opener
Creighton has won either a conference regular-season title or conference Tournament each of its last seven seasons it has had a player with a double-double in the opener (2012-13, 2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).
Each of Creighton's last two players to open the year with a double-double (Doug McDermott in 2012-13 and Kyle Korver in 2001-02) were named MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP.
Why does this matter? Because Will Artino had 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Central Arkansas in this year's opener.
Artino, who played just 17 minutes vs. Central Arkansas, also became the only Bluejay in the last 25 years to have a double-double in 17 minutes or less.
Big Margin Leads To Big Things
This year's Creighton team scored 104 points against Central Arkansas on Nov. 14, a good omen for things to come.
Nine of Creighton's 19 all-time NCAA Tournament teams have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
Here's a look at Creighton's last seven teams to score 90 or more in a season-opener.
Final Post-
Score Opponent Date W-L Season
104-77 Central Arkansas 11/14/14 ? ? ? ? ? ?
107-61 Alcorn State 11/08/13 27-8 NCAA
97-65 N. Carolina A&T 11/11/11 29-6 NCAA
106-50 Texas-Arlington 11/17/02 29-5 NCAA
96-50 Western Illinois 11/20/00 24-8 NCAA
93-48 Towson State 11/14/98 22-9 NCAA
93-47 UT-San Antonio 11/30/90 24-8 NCAA
Milliken Joins Quad Squad
James Milliken's second career shot was a three-pointer from the corner in which he was also fouled. He would go on to successfully complete the rare four-point play.
Isaiah Zierden became the second player this season to do it when he made a four-point play vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 29.
In Greg McDermott's five years at Creighton, the only six men to convert a four-point play have been Milliken, Zierden, Kaleb Korver, Ethan Wragge, Doug McDermott and Avery Dingman.
Of that group, Zierden is the only one to do it twice.
Bluejay Debuts
Senior transfer Rick Kreklow and redshirt freshman Toby Hegner both started on Nov. 14 in the season-opener vs. Central Arkansas. The last player to start their first game at Creighton had been Grant Gibbs, who started the 2011-12 opener. Gibbs was on his fourth year of college at that point, after spending two years at Gonzaga and redshirting one season at Creighton.
Hegner's start was especially historic, as he became just the third freshman to start an opener since 1992-93, joining Bluejay legends Doug McDermott (2010-11) and Ryan Sears (1997-98). Hegner started his first 21 appearances as a Bluejay before coming off the bench on Jan. 28 vs. St. John's.
Hegner became the first freshman in CU history to redshirt his first season, then start the season opener the following year, since freshmen became eligible until 1972-73. McDermott remains the last true freshman to start his first game.
McDermott Sweeps Player of the Year
Doug McDermott swept all 14 National Player of the Year awards handed out by the media in 2013-14.
He was honored by the USBWA (Oscar Robertson Trophy), John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, Associated Press, NABC, CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson Award, Sporting News, Basketball Times, NBCSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, USA Today and Dick Vitale.
In addition, he was also honored with the Senior CLASS Award that took into account his off-court contributions.
It was McDermott's second year with such lofty honor. As a sophomore, he was named CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olson Player of the Year.
McDermott finished his career last March ranking fifth in NCAA history with 3,150 career points.
NCAA Division I - Most Career Points All-Time
Rk. Name, School Years Points
1. Pete Maravich, LSU 1967-70 3,667
2. Freeman Williams, Portland State 1974-78 3,249
3. Lionel Simmons, La Salle 1986-90 3,217
4. Alphonso Ford, Miss. Valley State 1989-93 3,165
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton 2010-14 3,150
6. Harry Kelly, Texas Southern 1979-83 3,066
7. Keydren Clark, Saint Peter's 2002-07 3,058
8. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1984-88 3,008
9. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-60 2,973
10. Danny Manning, Kansas 1984-88 2,951
NBA Representation
This year marks the first time since 1970 that Creighton has three NBA players at the same time, as Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks), Anthony Tolliver (Detroit Pistons) and Doug McDermott (Chicago Bulls) are all in the league.
Including 2014-15, Creighton has now had an NBA player in 31 of the last 32 years.
Korver ranks 15th in NBA history with 1,669 three-pointers and is also seventh in league history with 43.27 percent marksmanship from three-point range (through Feb. 11). Last year he set an NBA record with 127 straight games with a three-pointer, and in 2009-10 he set a single-season NBA mark that still stands with his 53.6 percent shooting from three-point range.
Tolliver ranked 15th in the NBA in three-point percentage with the Charlotte Bobcats (41.3 percent) last season.
McDermott is a rookie who was the 11th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, then traded an hour later to the Chicago Bulls.
Nation's Best Offense?
You can make a case that Creighton boasted the nation's best offensive production last year.
Creighton finished the 2013-14 season leading the nation with 41.4 percent marksmanship from three-point range, a 1.80 assist/turnover ratio and 356 three-point field goals.
The Bluejays were second in assists per game (17.5) and three-pointers per game (10.2), fourth in field goal percentage (.497) and total assists (614), 10th in fewest turnovers per game (9.8), 24th in both scoring average (78.7) and winning percentage and 29th in free throw percentage.
Below is where Creighton ranked nationally in the first four years of the Greg McDermott tenure (top chart), as well as through his first 4.5 years (through Jan. 14):
2010-11 to 2013-14
Category Stat NCAA Rank
FG Percentage .4897 1st
3FG Percentage .4050 1st
Assists 2,407 1st
Assists/Game 16.60 2nd
3FG Made 1,230 2nd
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.436 4th
3FG Made/Game 8.483 5th
FG Made 3,809 9th
Wins 107 15th
Winning Pct. .7379 22nd
2010-11 to Jan. 14, 2015
Category Stat NCAA Rank
FG Percentage .4815 3rd
3FG Percentage .3956 2nd
Assists 2,656 3rd
Assists/Game 16.29 3rd
3FG Made 1,379 3rd
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.406 5th
Three-Mendous Shooting
Creighton owned 356 three-pointers last season, most in school history. The 2012-13 club set the previous school standard with 307 in 36 games.
Creighton's 356 three-pointers ranked 11th-best in NCAA single-season history, and led the nation last year.
In addition, Creighton's 41.4 percent marksmanship from three-point range ranked tied for third-best in school history.
Last year's Creighton team owned 173 three-pointers in BIG EAST play alone, breaking a conference record (in league play) of 155 first set by the 2004-05 Notre Dame team.
Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 15 of the last 16 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 16 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Along with Kentucky, Creighton is one of two schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 15 of the past 16 years.
That's better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (14 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (13 each).
Postseason x 17
Creighton has made the postseason in 17 consecutive seasons. The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 17 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.
Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Louisiana last spring, the Creighton men's basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record seven straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following four programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in seven straight seasons, including 2013-14: Creighton, Kansas, North Carolina and Syracuse.
Eight Out Of 16 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns eight league tournament titles in the last 16 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (12), Duke (10), Winthrop (9) and Creighton (8).
Full House
Last year's Creighton team averaged 17,896 in 16 home dates, good for fifth-nationally, and better than 16 NBA clubs. It's the eighth straight season that CU has been among the nation's top 25 in average home attendance, and the third straight season in the top-six nationally in attendance, as well.
This year's team is sixth nationally in attendance, through games of Feb. 11.
2014-15 Attendance Leaders (through 2/11)
Rk. School Average Next Home
1. Kentucky 23,421 2/14
2. Syracuse 22,306 2/20
3. Louisville 21,251 2/14
4. North Carolina 19,120 2/21
5. Wisconsin 17,279 2/15
6. Creighton 17,039 2/14
7. Kansas 16,411 2/14
8. BYU 16,184 2/12
9. Indiana 15,973 2/15
10. Nebraska 15,522 2/22
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,039 Creighton 2014-15
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has one player from Iowa on this season's team (Waukee native Will Artino), continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps.
Past notable Iowa preps include Doug McDermott (Ames), Grant Gibbs (Marion), Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa prep in 681 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
50 Percent Leads To Wins
Creighton ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage last season, making 49.7 percent of its shots from the floor.
The Bluejays had won 61 straight games when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field before its Jan. 10 loss to Seton Hall when shooting 51.1 percent.
All-time under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 59-2 when shooting 50.01 percent or better.
Special Senior Class
Last year's senior class featured four men who have graduated and moved on to the professional level; Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, Doug McDermott and Ethan Wragge.
During the previous four years, the Jays went 107-38 while appearing in the postseason every season, claiming the 2012-13 MVC regular-season title, as well as the 2012 and 2013 MVC Tournament titles. The 29 wins in 2011-12 tied a school-record, as are the 57 wins from 2011-13 for a two-year span, the 84 wins from 2011-14 the mark for a three-year span and 107 wins are the most-ever in a four-year span at Creighton.
In those four years the team was 64-7 at home, including a 31-5 mark in league play at home, and that group was part of the first teams in school history to win NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons.
The quartet combined for 5,964 points, 2,250 rebounds and 1,062 assists while shooting a combined 872-2013 (43.3%) from three-point range at Creighton.
Most Wins, 3-Year Stretch
W-L Years
84 2011-14
80 2010-13
76 2000-03
72 2001-04
72 2002-05
Most Wins, 4-Year Stretch
W-L Years
107 2010-14
99 1999-03
98 2009-13
97 2008-12
96 2000-04
Closing Strong
Creighton has won 44 of its last 46 games when leading with 5:00 to play.
Overall under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 107-6 when leading with 5:00 left. The Bluejays are also 3-1 under McDermott when tied with 5:00 to play.
CU is 8-45 under McDermott when trailing with 5:00 left, with the last such rally coming on Feb. 4, 2015 at Xavier.
What A Start!
Greg McDermott is 118-52 on the Creighton sideline in his fifth year at the helm. The 118 wins are easily the most in Creighton history in the first five seasons.
How good are McDermott's 118 wins in his fifth season? The only coach to start his Creighton career with more than 108 wins after SIX seasons was Tom Apke (109). Apke also owned the best mark after five seasons, going 93-43 to open his career on the Bluejay sideline.
Most Wins at CU, First Five Seasons
Coach Years W-L After 5 Yrs
Greg McDermott 2010-Pres. 118-52 so far
Tom Apke 1974-78 93-43
Eddie Sutton 1969-73 82-50
Tony Barone 1985-89 78-74
Red McManus 1959-63 78-53
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 85-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 97-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.
Home Run
Since Greg McDermott took over five years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.42 points per home game (6,503 points in 84 home games).
That's a vital number since Creighton is 108-0 at home (79-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 90-0 at home (63-0 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.
Full House
Creighton attracted eight of its 20 largest home crowds in program history last season. Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
4. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
5. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
6. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
7. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
8. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
9. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
10. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
11. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
12. 18,160 Central Arkansas 11/14/14
13. 18,111 Bradley 02/02/13
14. 18,078 Tulsa 11/23/13
15. 18,073 Drake 01/08/13
16. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
17. 17,740 Alcorn State 11/08/13
18. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
19. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
20. 17,665 Missouri State 12/28/11
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 27-8 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Creighton was ranked in the Associated Press top-25 in 11-of-20 weeks and finished 16th in the year-end poll.
Doug McDermott swept all 14 National Player of the Year awards after leading the team with 26.7 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest. He was also named BIG EAST Player of the Year and wrapped his career as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 points.
Ethan Wragge (10.4 ppg.) was named Honorable-Mention All-BIG EAST after finishing in the top-10 in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage.
The Bluejays led the nation in three-pointers made (356), three-point percentage (41.4) and assist/turnover ratio (1.80).
After earning the program's first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2001, Creighton topped Louisiana before falling to No. 24 Baylor in the third round.
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 2014-15 season went on sale on November 3rd 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.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Marquette Golden Eagles at Creighton Bluejays
Saturday, February 14, 2015 • 12:01 p.m.
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, www.1620thezone.com
Television: FOX Sports 1
Series History: Marquette leads, 49-30
Last Time: Marquette 53, Creighton 52 on 1/14/15 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Next Game
Creighton (11-14, 2-10 BIG EAST) has just two home games all February, and they'll both come in a 56-hour stretch that begins with Saturday's contest vs. Marquette (11-13, 3-9 BIG EAST).
Tip-off at CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 12:01 p.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 The Zone) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2014-15 season. John Bishop and Brody Deren will call the action. The pregame show “Bluejay Shootaround” is hosted by Josh Peterson and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler and will air from 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.
The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
Television Information
Saturday's game will be televised by FOX Sports 1, with Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe on the call.
Video Webcast Information
Live streaming video of Saturday's game will be available via FOXSportsGO.com for desktop users, and via the FOX Sports GO app for mobile devices (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones and select Window devices). A cable authorization may be required.
The FOX Sports GO mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store or the Windows Store.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit GoCreighton.com and click on the Live Stats icon near the top right of the page for a link to the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 11-14 this season, and 2-10 in BIG EAST play. Creighton snapped a nine-game losing streak on Jan. 28 vs. St. John's (77-74), and earned its second league triumph on Feb. 4 when it defeated Xavier (79-72 in overtime) in Cincinnati.
Guard Austin Chatman (10.4 ppg., 3.8 apg.) leads the team in scoring and assists, while James Milliken (8.4 ppg.) and Rick Kreklow (7.2 ppg.) have come on strong offensively in BIG EAST action.
Creighton is 8-5 this year at home, including a win over then-No. 18 Oklahoma, but 2-8 in true road games.
Creighton returns 11 lettermen from last year's 27-8 team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. Chatman is the only returning starter from that group.
The Bluejays are trying to replace the most victorious senior class in program history, as Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, Doug McDermott and Ethan Wragge combined for 107 wins as well as 5,964 points, 872 three-pointers, 1,062 assists and 2,250 rebounds at CU. All four men are now playing professionally, including McDermott in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls after he averaged 26.7 points per game and swept 14 National Player of the Year awards last winter.
Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 11-13 this season, including a 3-9 mark in BIG EAST play. The Golden Eagles are 1-6 on the road this season, but that road victory came last Saturday at Seton Hall.
Marquette has used just eight players this season, with all eight men averaging at least 4.3 points and 14.6 minutes per game.
BYU transfer Matt Carlino averages a team-high 14.5 points per game. He tops the club with 76 assists and with 60 three-point baskets. He drained a game-winning three-pointer in the last meeting with Creighton, but has missed the last two games due to a concussion.
Also in double-figures are Duane Wilson (11.7 ppg.) and Indiana transfer Luke Fischer (10.0 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 2.2 bpg.)
Marquette averages 66.0 points per game while allowing just 65.7 points per contest. MU leads the league with 199 steals, but ranks last in the BIG EAST in scoring offense and rebound margin.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his fifth season as head coach at Creighton. He is 118-52 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 398-247 in his 21st season and is 267-183 in his 14th Division I campaign. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Patrick Sellers.
Steve Wojciechowski (Duke, 1998) owns an 11-13 record in his first year at Marquette, which doubles as his career record. Wojciechowski came to Marquette after spending 15 seasons as an assistant coach at Duke and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He is assisted by Chris Carrawell, Brett Nelson and Mark Phelps.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the series with Creighton by a 49-30 margin, but the teams have split 38 all-time meetings in Omaha.
The teams met for the first time in 15 years last season, with CU picking up a pair of double-digit triumphs in their first season as conference rivals since 1927.
In the first meeting this season, Matt Carlino's three-pointer with 11.2 seconds left helped the Golden Eagles win a 53-52 decision in Milwaukee.
Greg McDermott is 0-1 against Steve Wojciechowski as a head coach, but is 2-1 in his career against Marquette.
Last Game
Rysheed Jordan had a career-high 25 points to lead St. John's to an 84-66 win over Creighton last Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm led 15-2 after five minutes and never looked back. Rick Kreklow had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for his first double-double as a Bluejay, while Geoffrey Groselle paced four Creighton players in double-figures with 13 points.
3-Point Contest Looms Saturday Night
Creighton alum Kyle Korver and Marquette alum Wesley Matthews are among eight participants in Saturday night's Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities.
Through games of Feb. 11th, Korver and Matthews were tied with Golden State's (and Davidson alum) Stephen Curry for the NBA lead with 161 three-pointers made, while Korver also leads the league with 52.3 percent accuracy from distance.
The only players in NBA history to lead the NBA in both three-point percentage and three-pointers made in the same season are Darrell Griffith (1983-84) and Mike Dunleavy (1982-83).
2014-15 NBA 3-Pointers Made Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Made
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta 161
Stephen Curry, Golden State 161
Wesley Matthews, Portland 161
4. Klay Thompson, Golden State 155
5. James Harden, Houston 140
2014-15 NBA 3-Point Percentage Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Pct.
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta .523
2. Eric Gordon, New Orleans .449
3. Courtney Lee, Memphis .448
4. Aaron Brooks, Chicago .443
5. Jared Dudley, Milwaukee .442
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver's An All-Star
Creighton alum Kyle Korver was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Tuesday. Ironically enough, he replaced a former Marquette player (Dwyane Wade) on the roster.
Korver leads the NBA in three-pointers made, three-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage (min. 90 FTA) this season.
At 33 years and 11 months, Korver will be the fourth-oldest player to make his NBA All-Star game debut, trailing only Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Sam Cassell and Anthony Mason.
Korver will be Creighton's first participant in the NBA All-Star game since Paul Silas had six points and four steals in 15 minutes in the 1975 All-Star Game.
200th Game At The CenturyLink
Saturday marks Creighton's 200th game at CenturyLink Center Omaha. In that time, the Bluejays own a 169-30 record, and are a near-equally strong 83-21 at home in league play.
Since moving into the facility 12 seasons ago, Creighton has won two regular-season conference titles and four league tournament crowns. The team also has finished second in the league standings five times and runner-up in the conference tournament once.
Below is a list of the single-season and career stat leaders for some key stat categories. Former BIG EAST Player of the Year Doug McDermott owns 13 different career records and 14 single-season marks.
Antoine Young owns the facility record with 268 career assists, but current senior Austin Chatman owns 260 and has four home games remaining.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Leaders
Stat Season Career
Games Played 22 by 8 men 76 K. Lawson Jr.
Games Started 22 by 3 men 71 D. McDermott
Minutes 757 A. Young 2145 D. McDermott
Points 472 D. McDermott 1573 D. McDermott
Points/Game 29.5 D. McDermott 22.2 D. McDermott
Field Goals 161 D. McDermott 563 D. McDermott
Field Goal % .683 G. Echenique .648 G. Echenique
3-point FG 52 B. Woodfox 156 E. Wragge
3-point FG% .559 A. Chatman .483 B. Woodfox
Free Throws 102 D. McDermott 313 D. McDermott
Free Throw % .919 N. Funk .860 C. Witter
Rebounds 158 D. McDermott 534 D. McDermott
Rebounds/Game 8.1 D. McDermott 7.5 D. McDermott
Assists 113 A. Young 268 A. Young
Blocked Shots 31 A. Tolliver 80 Lawson/Echenique
Steals 43 J. Dotzler 120 J. Dotzler
Marquette Marked CU's BIG EAST Debut Last Year
Marquette's last trip to CenturyLink Center Omaha (Dec. 31, 2013) marked Creighton's first BIG EAST Conference game.
That game, which tipped at 9:07 pm Central, drew boisterous sellout crowd of 18,525 fans. Doug McDermott drained a three-pointer on CU's first possession and scored 10 early points as CU took an early 18-6 lead and never trailed.
McDermott finished with a game-high 19 points in Creighton's 67-49 victory against last year's preseason favorites.
Quiet February
Creighton has just two home games during the entire month of February, and both will be in a 56-hour span. Creighton hosts Marquette on Saturday at 12:01 pm, then has a quick turnaround before welcoming Butler on Monday night at 8:15 pm.
It marks the first time since 1975-76 that Creighton has had as few as two home games in the month of February. Ironically, both of those games were also on Feb. 14 and 16.
Slow Starts An Issue
Creighton consistently has fallen behind early in games during its league play, and the problem has been especially prevalent during weekend play.
Creighton has trailed 9-0 in each of its last two Saturday games (Jan. 31 vs. Georgetown and Feb. 7 at St. John's) after falling behind 15-0 at Villanova on Sunday, Jan. 25th. CU also trailed 12-2 to Providence on Saturday, Jan. 17th.
Below is a list of how long it has taken Creighton to fall behind by double-figures for the first time in some of its recent games
First Double-Digit Deficit Time Left Lost By
12-2 at St. John's 15:41 (1st half) 18
Never fell behind by more than 7 at Xavier (Won)
12-2 to Georgetown 15:34 (1st half) 27
Never fell behind by more than 4 vs. St. John's (Won)
11-0 at Villanova 14:50 (1st half) 21
16-6 at Butler 10:23 (1st half) 3
12-2 vs. Providence 16:01 (1st half) 9
21-11 at Marquette 8:00 (1st half) 1
Never fell behind by more than 7 vs. Seton Hall 1
12-2 to DePaul 17:18 (1st half) 10
54-44 at Georgetown 11:37 (2nd half) 15
14-4 at Providence 14:04 (1st half) 12
20-10 at North Texas 7:23 (1st half) 4
More Success At Home
Creighton has won 85 straight home games against teams that enter with a record of .500 or worse. The last team to upset the apple cart was Feb. 25, 2002, when Drake won at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Marquette enters Saturday's game with an 11-13 record, and will be the last Creighton opponent of the regular-season to visit Omaha with a record of .500 or less.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 199 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in the 12-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own an 169-30 (.849) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (10-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 15,069-12,709 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.86 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 52 different times, including seven times last season and four times already this year.
Creighton is also 25-18 all-time in the 43 games at CLCO in which it's fallen behind by double-figures.
Creighton is 71-12 (.855) at CenturyLink Center Omaha under Greg McDermott, including a 40-3 record vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 188-30 (.862) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Creighton's 24-game home win streak that was snapped by Saint Mary's on Dec. 13th was also the longest in facility history by Creighton. The school-record for longest home win streak is 28, done from 1917-1920 and again from 2002-04.
Below is a list of Creighton's longest home win streaks in the 12-year history of CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Streak Dates Snapped By
24 Feb. 19, 2013 - Dec. 9, 2014 Saint Mary's
16 Feb. 9, 2005 - Jan. 31, 2006 Southern Illinois
16 Jan. 19, 2010 - Dec. 22, 2011 Missouri State
14 Feb. 2, 2008 - Dec. 28, 2008 Northern Iowa
11 Nov. 22, 2003 - Feb. 4, 2004 Southern Illinois
Abide's “Better Together Blue Out” Set For Sat.
As part of this year's Pass The Bucket event, Creighton men's basketball fans are encouraged to wear the Abide Network's “Better Together” blue t-shirts to participate in the “Better Together Blue Out” game when the Bluejays host Butler next Monday (8:01 p.m., tip-off). The first 10,000 fans entering the venue that night will receive a complimentary 'Better Together Blue Out' t-shirt (t-shirt-distribution locations will be the venue's main entrance on 10th Street at the top of the escalators, the entrance near the Mutual of Omaha display and the upper level bridge entrance).
Last year's Pass the Bucket event raised $3,200 bringing the three-year total to over $10,000 and Bluejay players will wear Blue and White warm-up shirts for the game.
For just a $1 per-person donation, Creighton fans can help Abide raise money to renovate a home for its Lighthouse program.
Working Overtime
Creighton's Feb. 4th overtime win at Xavier saw Greg McDermott improve to 5-1 in overtime games as Creighton head coach, including a 2-1 mark this season.
The game was also the 100th overtime game in Creighton's history, as the Jays improved to 55-45 in OT all-time.
It was Creighton's first overtime win in a true road game since topping Southern Illinois 72-66 in Carbondale, Ill., on Jan. 7, 2011.
Including that night, 12 of Creighton's last 13 overtime games have been won by the team to score first in the first overtime.
Creighton has played three overtime games for the first time in the same season since 2007-08. Creighton has not played four overtime games in the same season since 2001-02.
Creighton has not won three overtime games in the same season since 2001-02, something it can do with another OT victory.
A complete listing of overtime games can be found on page 164 of the 2014-15 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Better, Together
Creighton had five men score 12 points or more on Feb. 4 at Xavier, as Rick Kreklow (17 points), Geoffrey Groselle (15), Devin Brooks (13), Austin Chatman (12) and James Milliken (12) all reached double-figures.
It was the first time since Creighton's season-opening Nov. 14 win over Central Arkansas with five men in double-figures.
All-time under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 39-7 when four or more men reach double-figures, including a 20-1 mark since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Quest For 15,000 Complete
Creighton has scored 15,069 points all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha, surpassing 15,000 points on Jan. 28 on a second half free throw by Zach Hanson.
Creighton has currently outscored the opposition 15,069 to 12,709 at the 12-year old facility.
Creighton is 14-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CenturyLink Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Ka. Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
Against The Best
Through games of February 11th, Creighton was tied for second nationally with 12 games this season against Top 50 RPI teams.
Oklahoma has played 13 Top 50 teams, while Creighton, Kansas and Kansas State have each played a dozen games vs. Top 50 foes.
Among those that have played 11 Top 50 opponents are Marquette, Georgetown and Providence. Creighton is 3-9 in its games vs. Top 50 competition, with wins over St. John's, Xavier and Oklahoma this winter.
Swiss Army Knife
Devin Brooks continues to do a little bit of everything for Creighton this season.
He leads Creighton in rebounding and steals, and is second on the team in assists.
If it holds, Brooks could join Kyle Korver (2002-03) as the only Bluejays to lead the team in rebounding and steals in the same season.
Brooks had his best game of the season on Feb. 4th at Xavier, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a blocked shot in an overtime victory. Besides being his first career double-double, the 12 rebounds were a career-high while his six assists tied a personal best.
Brooks is one of seven Creighton players with a double-double and six or more assists since 1986-87. Of those men, Brooks is the only one that had 12 rebounds or more in such a game, and also the only one that had three steals or more in his special game.
It's worth mentioning that Benoit Benjamin is the only player in Creighton history to post a triple-double, and all three of those were of the points/rebounds/blocks variety.
10+ Pts, 10+ Reb, 6+ Assists In A Game, Since 1986-87
Name, Opponent Pts. Reb. Ast. Date
Rod Mason vs. Southern Illinois 21 11 6 02/21/87
Rodney Buford at Iowa 24 11 7 11/25/98
Kyle Korver vs. Southern Illinois 12 10 6 03/10/03
Grant Gibbs at St. John's 12 11 6 02/09/14
Austin Chatman vs. Oklahoma 17 11 6 11/19/14
Devin Brooks at Xavier 13 12 6 02/04/15
Rick Kreklow at St. John's 10 10 6 02/07/15
Magic Number Is 70
Creighton is 7-0 this season when scoring 70 points or more, and has won 25 straight games when reaching that milestone.
Since 1981, Creighton is 4-0 against Marquette when reaching 70+ points, but 1-10 when failing to reach that milestone.
Long-Distance Streak Surpasses 700
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 705 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the 23rd-longest active streak, though Feb. 11th.
Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Creighton has also made four or more three-pointers in 60 straight games. That streak began in CU's 2013-14 season-opener.
Thanks to help from STATS Inc., and various SID's, below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point steaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (through 2/11)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 932 UNLV 2/14
2. 924 Kentucky 2/14
3. 920 Vanderbilt 2/14
4. 896 Duke 2/14
5. 863 Western Kentucky 2/14
6. 858 Arkansas 2/14
7. 852 East Tennessee State 2/12
8. 850 Pacific 2/12
9. 829 Oakland 2/15
10. 815 Texas 2/14
11. 806 Princeton 2/13
12. 787 Florida 2/12
13. 770 La Salle 2/14
14. 767 Marshall 2/14
15. 756 Baylor 2/14
16. 738 LIU-Brooklyn 2/12
17. 736 Cornell 2/13
18. 724 Gonzaga 2/12
19. 718 Tennessee State 2/12
20. 716 Mount St. Mary's 2/12
21. 715 Samford 2/12
22. 707 East Carolina 2/14
23. 705 Creighton 2/14
24. 685 Weber State 2/12
25. 670 DePaul 2/18
670 Lafayette 2/14
27. 660 Davidson 2/14
Five Year Plan A Success
There were 54 Division I coaches that were hired prior to the 2010-11 season, and of that group, 37 remain at the helm of that same program, including Creighton coach Greg McDermott.
McDermott leads that group with 118 victories to lead that group. It's three more than the man he replaced at Creighton, current Oregon coach Dana Altman, and nine more than the coaches with the third-most wins, through games of Feb. 7.
Head Coaches Hired Prior to 2010-11, Sorted By Wins
School Coach Total W Total L
Creighton Greg McDermott 118 52
Oregon Dana Altman 115 53
Iona Tim Cluess 109 51
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 107 53
Going With A Senior-Laden Line-Up
When Greg McDermott started Austin Chatman, Devin Brooks, Rick Kreklow, Avery Dingman and Will Artino on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31, it marked the first time that Creighton started five seniors in the same game since at least 1977-78 (records before that are inconclusive).
Creighton has used nine different starting line-up combinations this season, its most in any campaign since starting 11 combo's in 1994-95.
By comparison, CU had used just 10 different starting combinations in his first four seasons at the helm, and utilized the same starting five in every game in 2011-12 and also 2012-13.
Still Tough At Home
Creighton is 8-5 at home this season, moving to 39-7 at CenturyLink Center Omaha over the course of the last three seasons.
Below is a list of the records at home for each BIG EAST club since the start of the 2012-13 campaign. Creighton's 39 wins at home in that time are tied for second-most in the league, two behind Villanova.
Team Home W-L Since 2012-13
Villanova 41-5
Creighton 39-7
Georgetown 39-7
Xavier 38-7
Providence 38-10
St. John's 38-14
Marquette 36-10
Butler 34-10
Seton Hall 29-19
DePaul 24-23
Who To Defend?
Avery Dingman had a club-high eight points on Jan. 31 vs. Georgetown, becoming the 10th different leading scorer this season for the Bluejays.
Creighton's top two scorers in non-conference play, Austin Chatman and Isaiah Zierden, currently rank fourth and eighth on the team in points per game in league action.
Creighton's top two scorers in BIG EAST action, James Milliken and Rick Kreklow, were sixth and eighth, respectively, on the team in scoring in non-conference play.
What's Your 20?
Creighton has 11 men on its roster who have started five or more Division I games if you include redshirting transfers Cole Huff and Mo Watson Jr.
Of those 11, nine of them own at least one career game of 20 points or more, including five men this season (James Milliken, Austin Chatman, Toby Hegner, Will Artino, Isaiah Zierden).
The last time Creighton had five different players score 20 or more points in the same season was 2010-11, when Antoine Young, Doug McDermott, Kenny Lawson Jr., Ethan Wragge and Josh Jones did it.
The only active Bluejays with five Division I starts or more who have yet to reach the 20-point plateau are Rick Kreklow (high of 18) & Zach Hanson (11).
Opponents Coming In After A Loss
When Creighton hosts Marquette on Saturday, the Golden Eagles will be licking their wounds after a mid-week defeat to Xavier.
Since opening league play against Providence, 11 of Creighton's last 12 BIG EAST opponents will have lost the game prior to facing the Bluejays, including 10 straight.
CU Opponent Game Before
Georgetown Lost at Xavier by 17
DePaul Beat Xavier by 3
Seton Hall Lost at Xavier by 11
Marquette Lost at Georgetown by 6
Providence Lost to St. John's by 13
Butler Lost at Georgetown by 2
Villanova Lost at Georgetown by 20
St. John's Lost to Duke by 9
Georgetown Lost to Xavier by 13
Xavier Lost at Seton Hall by 8
St. John's Lost at Butler by 23
Marquette Lost by 20 to Xavier
More Than 3,000,000 Served
Creighton surpassed the 3 million fan mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha on Jan. 31 when it hosted No. 21 Georgetown.
To date, Creighton has attracted 3,010,823 fans in 199 games to date at the 12-year-old facility, an average of 15,130 fans per game.
Creighton's 1,000,000th fan at CenturyLink Center Omaha was honored on Jan. 19, 2008, in CU's 74th game at the facility. That fan, Jared Stickrod, was then a 10-year old from Omaha who received numerous prizes, including an autographed basketball and season tickets for the 2008-09 campaign.
Creighton surpassed the 2,000,000 fan mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha in its 141st game at the facility on Dec. 4, 2011 vs. Nebraska. Sam King was the fan selected as No. 2,000,000 and received a haul of prizes that includes four season tickets for 2012-13.
Papillion native Drew D'Ercole was recognized as the 3,000,000th fan on Saturday received the following prize package:
-Two 2015-16 MBB season tickets
-Private Championship Center tour
-Honorary Guest for the 2/14 Marquette Game & locker room tour
-Doug McDermott & Kyle Korver Bobbleheads
-Apparel Items
-Autographed Memorabilia
-$300 in gift cards
-Appearance on video board during game
Some Loyal Fans
Creighton has attracted 221,501 fans at home this season, the 10th straight season it has surpassed 200,000 fans at home.
Creighton had never attracted more than 141,000 home fans in any season prior to the opening of CenturyLink Center Omaha, and now has done it in 12 straight seasons.
Creighton has led its conference in home attendance in all 12 years since moving into CenturyLink Center Omaha.
21, By A Freshman
Toby Hegner's 21 points vs. St. John's on Jan. 28 were the most by a Creighton freshman since Doug McDermott had 21 vs. Oregon on March 28, 2011, and the most by a freshman reserve since Ethan Wragge had 21 points vs. Xavier on Nov. 27, 2009.
The scoring binge of 21 points came in his first game as a reserve after he had started the first 21 games of his Creighton career.
Bench Matches Up
In two games against St. John's this season, Creighton's bench scored 44 points on Jan. 28th and 45 more on Feb. 7th against the Red Storm.
Those two performances were its most since scoring 54 in a double-overtime non-conference win over South Dakota in December.
The 45 points off the bench are Creighton's most ever in a BIG EAST game, and matched the most in any league game since scoring 45 points off the pine vs. Drake on Jan. 8, 2013.
By comparison, Creighton's starting line-up tallied 33 points in the first meeting and 21 points in the rematch against St. John's.
Making The Best of Charity
Despite its perimeter shooting woes, Creighton has done a solid job at the free throw line this season. The Bluejays lead the BIG EAST with 74.2 percent marksmanship from the charity stripe.
The figure ranks 23rd-best nationally, and is on pace to be Creighton's seventh-best mark in a single-season since the category was kept in records that date to 1951-52.
Moving On Up
Austin Chatman has moved into fifth in Creighton history on the career assist chart, and now owns 467 in his career. Each of the other top six on the list reached the NCAA Tournament as seniors.
Most Career Assists (Since 1970-71)
Ast. Name Years
570 Ryan Sears 1997-01
549 Ralph Bobik 1971-74
505 Antoine Young 2008-12
498 Grant Gibbs 2011-14
467 Austin Chatman 2011-Pres.
458 Randy Eccker 1974-78
430 Tyler McKinney 2001-05
418 Vernon Moore 1981-85
388 Josh Dotzler 2005-09
382 Duan Cole 1987-92
Zierden Sidelined By Knee Injury
Isaiah Zierden will miss the rest of the year after suffering a season-ending injury to his right knee for the second straight campaign.
Zierden was carried off the floor with 4:05 left in the first half on Jan. 21 at Butler and did not return.
An MRI on Jan. 23 determined that Zierden partially tore the MCL in his knee, while also suffering an injury to his patella.
The uncommon injury is very similar to one he suffered last March at Xavier, which caused him to miss CU's last seven games.
Narrow Losses
Per STATS Inc., Creighton was the nation's only team that had three different losses by three points or less from Jan. 10-24.
Creighton owned four losses by four points or less during its recently-ended nine-game skid. Those four losses featured eight shot attempts in the final minute that could have tied the game or put the Bluejays ahead, all but one of which were missed.
Before that bad luck stretch, Creighton's senior class had been 16-4 in games decided by four points or less amongst the 118 contests it had played since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
This season Creighton is 3-5 in games decided by four points or less.
Games Decided By 4 Points Or Less Under McDermott
W-L Year
2010-11 2-6
2011-12 8-1
2012-13 3-2
2013-14 3-0
2014-15 3-5
Technically Speaking
Greg McDermott was issued a rare technical foul when the officials booked the Creighton head coach on Jan. 17 vs. Providence.
It was the first technical foul that McDermott had been whistled for in five years on the Bluejay sideline, and his first overall since Feb. 17, 2010 when he was head coach at Iowa State. In between, McDermott coached 153 games without one.
Some other facts about the technical foul...
-Greg McDermott had two technical fouls in his four seasons as Iowa State head coach and five technical fouls in five years as head coach at Northern Iowa.
-It was the first technical foul on the Creighton bench in a home game since Dana Altman was given one vs. Drexel on Feb. 17, 2007, and just the second one since Jan. 13, 2000 at home on the CU bench.
-It was Creighton's first technical foul since Grant Gibbs had one on Feb. 6, 2013 at Indiana State. Creighton had played 65 complete games since its last technical.
-It was just the ninth technical foul Creighton has been called for in five seasons under Greg McDermott. Gregory Echenique had three, Grant Gibbs had two, and there's been one each for Avery Dingman, Will Artino, and the Bluejay bench (Steve Lutz).
Pink Out Auction Raises Thousands
As part of the nationwide American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer event, men's basketball fans were encouraged to wear pink to promote cancer awareness and participate in the “Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out” game when the Bluejays hosted Providence on Jan. 17.
Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink jerseys for the game and, like last year's event, fans had the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer by purchasing the apparel via auction (the shooting shirt can be personalized – last name, nickname, etc.).
The first 16,000 fans entering the venue last Saturday received a complimentary pink t-shirt courtesy of CHI Health and Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.
This year's Creighton vs. Cancer jersey auction raised $16,384.03, and the past four seasons have seen $109,675.14 raised. Past auctions have raised $20,600 (2012), $24,444 (2013) and $48,247.11 (2014).
Below is a list showing what each item sold for:
Jersey #1 $2651 Jersey #2 $650
Jersey #4 $455 Jersey #5 $1,527
Jersey #10 $585 Jersey #11 $506
Jersey #15 $630 Jersey #21 $955
Jersey #22 $960 Jersey #23 $590
Jersey #31 $725 Jersey #32 $826
Jersey #40 $730 Jersey #41 $610
Jersey #50 $710 D. McDermott jersey $800
Basketballs $200, 202.50, 204.03, 212.50, 220, 250
More About One-Point Games
Despite the two one-point losses in January, Greg McDermott is still 5-3 in one-point games on the Creighton sideline.
Creighton entered January 12-1 in its previous 13 one-point games, and had been 22-6 in one-point games since 2000, prior to the two losses.
It's the first time that Creighton has played consecutive one-point games since defeating Evansville (93-92 in OT) and Indiana State (61-60) in February of 2012.
Creighton had not lost one-point games in the same month since February of 1996, and those weren't consecutive.
It's the first time that Creighton lost consecutive one-point games since January of 1980.
Winning Formulas
Below are the records for each current BIG EAST school over the previous four, eight and 14 (since 2000-01) seasons, ranked by overall wins, through games of Feb. 13, 2015.
Most Wins Since 2000-01
Team W L
Butler 353 141
Creighton 346 150
Xavier 346 144
Villanova 326 164
Marquette 325 164
Georgetown 319 161
Providence 253 212
Seton Hall 243 218
St. John's 229 230
DePaul 193 265
Most Wins - Last 10 Years (2005-06 to Present)
Team W L
Butler 247 92
Villanova 232 97
Xavier 230 101
Creighton 227 108
Georgetown 224 99
Marquette 219 113
Seton Hall 165 146
Providence 165 146
St. John's 159 151
DePaul 114 194
Most Wins - Last 4 Years (2011-12 to Present)
Team W L
Creighton 95 36
Villanova 84 40
Georgetown 83 39
Marquette 81 45
Butler 81 47
Xavier 77 49
Providence 74 52
Seton Hall 68 57
St. John's 66 56
DePaul 47 75
Range With Rick
Senior Rick Kreklow has started to find his offensive rhythm in the last nine games.
In those contests, he's averaged 11.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 34-for-70 from the field and 20-of-44 from three-point range.
With 10 or more points in four straight games from Jan. 10-21, Kreklow scored in double-figures during consecutive contests for the first time in his five-year college career, which spans three schools.
Kreklow sank a career-high five three-pointers on Feb. 4 at Xavier, making his first four tries from long-range.
Academic Excellence
The Creighton Men's Basketball team owned a cumulative 3.14 GPA in the 2014 Fall semester. The mark is the program's highest figure in records dating back to 1999.
Two men's basketball players, Tyler Clement and Gabriel Connealy, have owned perfect 4.00 GPA's throughout their entire college career.
Overall, Creighton's student-athletes owned a 3.37 GPA in the fall, also a record. Of CU's 279 student-athletes, 126 of them (45.2 percent) made the Dean's List (3.50 or better).
How's This, For Starters?
James Milliken scored a team-high 20 points in the Jan. 10 game vs. Seton Hall, the second time this season he's scored 20 or more.
Milliken was the ninth different leading scorer that Creighton had in its first 17 games this winter.
Milliken had his outburst in his first career start, as he became the first Bluejay since Booker Woodfox to score 20 or more in his first career start. Woodfox had 26 points vs. New Mexico on Nov. 16, 2008, the start of a season that saw him earn MVC Player of the Year accolades.
The only other players to do so since the 1994-95 season have been Kellen Miliner (20 vs. Alcorn State on Nov. 15, 2004), Nerijus Karlikanovas (20 at Missouri State on Jan. 10, 1999).
Clement Steps Up
Tyler Clement played 62 minutes in Creighton's first 16 games, before the redshirt freshman walk-on logged a career-high 26 minutes on Jan. 10 vs. Seton Hall.
Clement dished a career-high four assists and added two rebounds, one point and one steal while subbing for an injured Austin Chatman.
Clement checked in for the first time with 8:59 left in the first half, then played all but 2:53 of the remainder of the contest.
It's not the first time that Clement has come to the rescue for Creighton this season. He replaced a foul-prone Chatman with CU down 24 points at North Texas and 15:56 left. Creighton would eventually lose by four points, with Clement playing 12 minutes during that frantic comeback attempt.
Artino Doubles His Fun
Senior center Will Artino has started CU's last six games and on Jan. 10 vs. Seton Hall delivered his third career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while also playing a career-best 35 minutes.
It was Artino's team-high second double-double of the winter.
Artino has made 61.7 percent of his career field goal attempts. That's the second-best mark in Creighton history among players with 300 or more career attempts.
Pct. Name, Years FGM-FGA
.625 Gregory Echenique, 2010-13 374-598
.617 Will Artino, 2011-Pres. 234-379
.611 Mike Grimes, 2000-04 292-478
.585 Vernon Moore, 1981-85 649-1,109
.562 Benoit Benjamin, 1982-85 610-1,085
Stadium Journey Loves The Link
The website StadiumJourney.com has reviewed more than 2,050 venues in the last four years and recently ranked Creighton's home, CenturyLink Center Omaha, as the 83rd-best venue overall and seventh-best for college basketball in its 2014 rankings of Top 100 Stadium Experiences.
The home to Creighton Baseball and the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, is located across the parking lot from CenturyLink Center Omaha and came in 14th in the rankings.
The ratings take into account the food & beverage served in the stadium, the overall atmosphere, the neighborhood where the stadium is located, the fans, access (which includes traffic, parking, ability to move around, and restrooms), the overall return on investment, and one final “extras” category.
When summarizing CenturyLink Center Omaha, the website concluded:
“This is a very good college atmosphere. The fans are very friendly and will welcome opposing fans. The band, the dance team, the cheerleaders are all good and add to the college experience. The contests held during breaks in the action add to the fun and they command the attention of most of the fans.”
Rk. Facility Home Hoops Tenant
30. Rupp Arena Kentucky
35. FedEx Forum Memphis
44. Carrier Dome Syracuse
57. Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Utah State
63. Phog Allen Fieldhouse Kansas
74. Crisler Center Michigan
83. CenturyLink Center Omaha Creighton
98. Dean E. Smith Center North Carolina
One Of The Best Leagues Around
The BIG EAST Conference remains the second-ranked league in the RPI ratings according to WarrenNolan.com, confirming the developing consensus that the league is once again powerful.
According to CBS Sports, no league has had more NCAA Tournament bids in the last three seasons than the 21 earned by the BIG EAST.
Below is a list of the top 10 leagues, through games of February 11th:
Rk. Conference RPI
1. Big 12 .5940
2. BIG EAST .5825
3. Atlantic Coast .5757
4. Big Ten .5723
5. Pacific 12 .5657
6. Southeastern .5651
7. Atlantic 10 .5354
8. American Athletic .5307
9. West Coast .5251
10. Mid-American .5167
Trey Troubles
Creighton has made 23-of-54 three-pointers (42.6 percent) in its BIG EAST victories this season, but just 61-for-217 (28.1 percent) from deep in its league losses.
For the season Creighton is shooting 33.1 percent from three-point land.
In the last four years under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 36-30 (.545) when shooting 40.00 percent or worse from three-point range. While respectable, that pales in comparison to CU's 59-6 (.908) mark the last four years when shooting better than 40.00 percent from downtown.
Lower the standards to 30%, and it's still impressive. Creighton is 84-16 in the past four years when shooting 30 percent or better from deep, compared to 11-20 when shooting 29.99 percent or less.
Last season, Creighton led the nation with 41.4 percent shooting from deep, a figure that ranked ahead of 43 teams overall field goal percentage nationally.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked to finish ninth in its second season as BIG EAST Conference members according to a preseason poll of league coaches. Villanova was picked first with 81 points and nine first-place votes, while Georgetown (67, 1), St. John's (65), Xavier (52) and Providence (49) round out the top half. The predicted lower half was Seton Hall (43), Butler (28), Marquette (28), Creighton (25) and DePaul (12).
The ninth-place prognostication is the program's lowest mark since being tabbed 10th of 11 Missouri Valley Conference teams in 1995-96. That team tied for fifth in The Valley. It also snaps a streak of 14 straight years being picked fourth or higher in its preseason league poll.
Creighton did not have any honorees on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Teams, which was led by Preseason Player of the Year D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera from Georgetown.
This marks the first time since 2009-10 that Creighton has not had the Preseason Conference Player of the Year. It's also just the sixth time in the last 20 years that Creighton did not have a first team all-conference honoree in the preseason.
Early Birds Get The Win
When Creighton's offense gets rolling under Greg McDermott, the results have been evident. Creighton has won 50 straight games under McDermott when scoring 40 or more points in the first half.
CU has also won 68 straight home games when scoring 40 or more points in the first half dating to a Feb. 3, 2002 loss to Southern Illinois, including a perfect 60-0 mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Groselle Makes The Leap To MBA
Redshirt junior center Geoffrey Groselle finished the requirements to earn his undergraduate degree in Financial Analysis in just 3.5 years on December 18th. One day later, he learned that he'd been accepted into Creighton's MBA program, then came out that night and grabbed a career-best six rebounds in 11 first half minutes.
Groselle continued his strong play on Dec. 21 at North Texas, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
He led Creighton with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the league opener at Providence, playing a 22 minutes. Groselle made his first career start in the Jan. 3 game at Georgetown.
Groselle had a career-high seven rebounds and tied his high with 15 points on Feb. 4 at Xavier while seeing a career-best 26 minutes of clock time.
He followed that up with 13 points and five rebounds in 15 minutes at Georgetown last Saturday.
3-Headed Monster
Creighton has used three men who alternate playing time at the “5” position for most of this season, Will Artino, Zach Hanson and Geoffrey Groselle.
While none of them have stats that might jump off the page individually, as a collective group they're tough to beat, combining for 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 37.7 minutes per game, all while shooting 57.7 percent from the floor.
Name MPG FG-FGA RPG PPG
Artino 15.9 64-118 4.2 6.0
Hanson 13.8 43-76 2.9 4.8
Groselle 10.5 43-66 2.1 4.6
Total 37.7 150-260 8.7 14.4
Toughest Thing In Sports
Creighton is 26-20 in true road games the last four years, and 42-27 when you also include neutral site games.
Last year's team was 7-4 in true road games and 4-4 at neutral sites. Each of Creighton's last 11 NCAA Tournament qualifiers have had 10 or more road/neutral wins.
Creighton is currently 2-8 in true road games this season, and 3-9 away from home when you factor in a pair of games in Niceville, Fla., during the Emerald Coast Classic.
Will The Thrill
Will Artino leads Creighton in rebounds per 40 minutes (10.7 rpg.) and is second in points per 40 minutes (15.2 ppg.) this season.
Among players to play 100 or more minutes in any season during Greg McDermott's tenure, Artino has consistently put up big numbers.
In those five seasons, a player has averaged at least 10.0 rebounds per 40 minutes nine times, with Artino accounting for four of those seasons.
Most Rebounds Per 40 Minutes, Since 2010-11
(Minimum 100 minutes, Season)
REB/40 Name Year
12.4 Will Artino 2012-13
12.2 Gregory Echenique 2011-12
11.9 Will Artino 2011-12
11.6 Gregory Echenique 2012-13
11.3 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
10.7 Will Artino 2014-15
10.3 Doug McDermott 2011-12
10.2 Gregory Echenique 2010-11
10.0 Will Artino 2013-14
Higher and Higher
Austin Chatman entered December with a career-high of 19 points, but in seven December contests he averaged 17.3 points, including five games of 19 or more.
Chatman tied his career-high with 19 points in road games against both Tulsa and Nebraska, then upped the ante with 24 points in a Dec. 9 double-overtime win over South Dakota.
All 24 of his points against the Coyotes came in the final 16 minutes of regulation and the overtime sessions.
Of Creighton's 26 points during the overtime, Chatman made or assisted all six field goals, and also drained five of the team's 10 free throws.
He followed that up with another 19 point effort against Saint Mary's on Dec. 14, then threw in 20 more points vs. Texas-Pan American on Dec. 19.
Awesome Austin
Austin Chatman had identical stat lines in two games to start the month of December. In road games at Tulsa and Nebraska, Chatman had exactly 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in both games.
Before Chatman, the last time a Creighton player had any game with at least 19/7/6 or more in each category was Ryan Sears at Southern Illinois on Jan. 8, 2000.
Before Chatman, Creighton's last player with two games of 19/7/6 in the same season was Rodney Buford, who did it in 1998-99.
Chatman also became the first Creighton player to own at least a share of the team in lead in points/rebounds/assists in consecutive games since Kyle Korver on Dec. 7 & 14, 2002.
Chatman was also stellar in the win over South Dakota on Dec. 9, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds. In the process, he became the first Bluejay with 24 points and eight assists in the same game since Sears in the same Jan. 8, 2000 game listed above.
Through games of February 11th, Chatman was one of 22 players nationally, and one of nine seniors with at least 261 points, 92 rebounds and 95 or more assists.
Careful Chatman
Austin Chatman owns a 95/44 assist/turnover ratio (2.16) this season, a figure that ranks sixth in the BIG EAST and 89th nationally.
Last season Chatman finished third in the BIG EAST with a 2.6 assist/turnover ratio, good for 29th nationally.
For his career, Chatman owns 467 assists compared to 221 turnovers, good for a 2.11 ratio. The man considered by many to be Creighton's best point guard in recent history, Ryan Sears, finished his career with a 2.26 assist/turnover ratio.
Senior Trio Joins Elite Group
Seniors Will Artino, Austin Chatman and Avery Dingman joined some elite company with Creighton's Dec. 7 win at Nebraska, as the trio became the rare Bluejay players to appear in four wins vs. Nebraska.
Creighton's only previous six men to play in four career wins over the Cornhuskers were Kyle Korver, Joe Dabbert, Mike Grimes, Michael Lindeman, Tyler McKinney and Ethan Wragge.
Of those six, only Korver and McKinney had never played in a loss against NU, something Dingman, Artino and Chatman can now claim.
Halftime Lead A Key
Creighton was 26-0 last year when leading at halftime, but just 1-8 when trailing at intermission.
This year's team is 8-2 when leading at half, 3-11 when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when tied at the break.
Creighton has won all but two of its last 43 games played when leading at the half, and is 96-12 overall under Greg McDermott when up after 20 minutes.
7-Foot Surprise
Redshirt junior center Geoffrey Groselle had the best game of his Bluejay career on Nov. 25th, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting in just 12 minutes of playing time. His play earned him a pair of standing ovations from the more than 17,400+ fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Groselle had owned just 44 career points in the first 36 games of his career before his outburst.
Groselle has made 57-of-86 career field goal attempts, good for 66.3 percent.
What A Difference A Year Makes
The star of Creighton's team last year, Doug McDermott, scored 3,150 points as a Bluejay.
The players on the 2014-15 Creighton team have scored a total of 3,484 career points in a Bluejay uniform entering Saturday's game.
Last year McDermott averaged 14.0 points in the first half of games. This year, the team's leading scorer (Austin Chatman) averages 10.4 points for an entire game.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 14 victories under Greg McDermott after trailing by double-figures at some point, including three games this year, and seven such comebacks away from home.
On Nov. 19, Creighton trailed 42-24 to No. 18 Oklahoma with 18:30 to go before putting together a comeback for the ages. It was CU's largest comeback victory under Greg McDermott (see chart below), the second-largest since 2000 (see chart below), and the second-biggest in the history of CenturyLink Center Omaha (see chart, left column on page five).
On the other hand, CU is 102-5 under McDermott when putting together double-digit leads, including wins 90 of the last 91 times.
Double-Digit Comebacks Under Greg McDermott
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
Largest Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2000
Deficit Opponent Date
19 (25-6) Wichita State 01/28/06
18 (37-19) #17 Western Kentucky 11/27/01
18 (42-24*) #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 (34-17) Missouri State 02/12/03
17 (25-8) DePaul 11/09/07
17 (52-35*) Rhode Island 03/18/08
17 (31-14) at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 (53-37*) TCU 01/26/03
16 (43-28*) at Drake 02/04/06
16 (59-43*) New Mexico 11/16/08
16 (31-15) at Evansville 02/16/13
15 (54-39*) Wichita State 02/02/08
*second half
Zierden Earns Honor
Sophomore guard Isaiah Zierden was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Emerald Coast Classic. He led the Bluejays in scoring during three of the four games in the event, including both contests in Florida.
Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 14 of the previous 16 seasons, and has done so once again this winter. Each of Creighton's last 15 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton also started 5-0 or better for the fourth straight year. The only previous time CU has started 5-0 in four straight years had come in a five-year stretch from 1916-17 to 1920-21.
Balanced Offense
Creighton owns nine players who are averaging 4.6 points per game or more this season. Ten players have scored 11 or more points in a game this year, and CU has seen 10 different leading scorers.
The last time CU had 11 different men score in double-figures during the same season was 2009-10.
Creighton also has 10 different players with five or more rebounds in a game this year. The Bluejays have had a different player with 10 or more rebounds in five games this season after only having three players with double-figure rebound totals (McDermott, Gibbs, Artino) all last season. Three of those men (Chatman, Milliken, Brooks) are guards.
Poll Position
Creighton is one of 21 teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 in each of the last four seasons.
That select group features Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, San Diego State, Syracuse, UCLA, UConn, Wichita State and Wisconsin.
Creighton has been ranked in 40 weeks of AP polls under Greg McDermott, and ranked between 26th-to-28th in nine other AP polls. The 40 weeks in the top-25 under McDermott is more than all other coaches in Bluejay history combined.
Most Weeks in AP Top 25 at CU, By Coach
Greg McDermott, 2010-Pres. 40
Dana Altman, 1994-2010 18
Tom Apke, 1974-81 5
Eddie Sutton, 1969-74 5
Give Me Five
A win over Eastern Illinois on Nov. 25 was Creighton's fifth straight victory this season. The Bluejays have now had at least one five-game win streak in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
Since 1988-89, the Bluejays have made the NCAA's, NIT or CBI all 19 previous times they've had a five-game winning streak in a season, but missed the NCAA/NIT/CBI all seven times they haven't.
Including this year, Creighton has started 5-0 or better in 10 of the last 17 years, including four straight campaigns. The only previous time CU started 5-0 in four straight seasons came during a five-year stretch from 1916-17 to 1920-21.
Playing With The Lead
Creighton has not trailed in four of its 13 home games this season.
In 199 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 52 of those contests, a staggering 26.1 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins last season and four this year.
During recently-ended Creighton's 24-game home winning streak, Creighton led wire-to-wire in 11 of those wins, and trailed for just 103:04 of 970 minutes of action. Only Oklahoma and South Dakota even led the Bluejays in the second half during that streak.
We Shall Overcome
Creighton trailed by 11 points at halftime in its Nov. 19 comeback win over Oklahoma.
It was the first time Creighton trailed at halftime at home since Feb. 2, 2013 against Bradley. The Jays trailed 30-27 at the break but would go on to win, 75-58.
The 11 point halftime deficit was the largest in a home victory since trailing by 15 in the 2008 NIT against Rhode Island.
Creighton is 7-6 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games in which it has TRAILED by 10 points or more at halftime.
Backcourt Boarders
Senior guard Austin Chatman had a career-high 11 rebounds in that Nov. 19 win over Oklahoma, three more than his previous career-high of eight.
Chatman became the first Bluejay player with a game of at least 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the same game at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Link Notes
Creighton is 84-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by 15 points or more.
Creighton is 35-12 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by five points or less.
Creighton is also 14-3 in regular-season home games at CenturyLink Center Omaha decided by two points or less.
Double-Double Opener
Creighton has won either a conference regular-season title or conference Tournament each of its last seven seasons it has had a player with a double-double in the opener (2012-13, 2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).
Each of Creighton's last two players to open the year with a double-double (Doug McDermott in 2012-13 and Kyle Korver in 2001-02) were named MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP.
Why does this matter? Because Will Artino had 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Central Arkansas in this year's opener.
Artino, who played just 17 minutes vs. Central Arkansas, also became the only Bluejay in the last 25 years to have a double-double in 17 minutes or less.
Big Margin Leads To Big Things
This year's Creighton team scored 104 points against Central Arkansas on Nov. 14, a good omen for things to come.
Nine of Creighton's 19 all-time NCAA Tournament teams have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
Here's a look at Creighton's last seven teams to score 90 or more in a season-opener.
Final Post-
Score Opponent Date W-L Season
104-77 Central Arkansas 11/14/14 ? ? ? ? ? ?
107-61 Alcorn State 11/08/13 27-8 NCAA
97-65 N. Carolina A&T 11/11/11 29-6 NCAA
106-50 Texas-Arlington 11/17/02 29-5 NCAA
96-50 Western Illinois 11/20/00 24-8 NCAA
93-48 Towson State 11/14/98 22-9 NCAA
93-47 UT-San Antonio 11/30/90 24-8 NCAA
Milliken Joins Quad Squad
James Milliken's second career shot was a three-pointer from the corner in which he was also fouled. He would go on to successfully complete the rare four-point play.
Isaiah Zierden became the second player this season to do it when he made a four-point play vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 29.
In Greg McDermott's five years at Creighton, the only six men to convert a four-point play have been Milliken, Zierden, Kaleb Korver, Ethan Wragge, Doug McDermott and Avery Dingman.
Of that group, Zierden is the only one to do it twice.
Bluejay Debuts
Senior transfer Rick Kreklow and redshirt freshman Toby Hegner both started on Nov. 14 in the season-opener vs. Central Arkansas. The last player to start their first game at Creighton had been Grant Gibbs, who started the 2011-12 opener. Gibbs was on his fourth year of college at that point, after spending two years at Gonzaga and redshirting one season at Creighton.
Hegner's start was especially historic, as he became just the third freshman to start an opener since 1992-93, joining Bluejay legends Doug McDermott (2010-11) and Ryan Sears (1997-98). Hegner started his first 21 appearances as a Bluejay before coming off the bench on Jan. 28 vs. St. John's.
Hegner became the first freshman in CU history to redshirt his first season, then start the season opener the following year, since freshmen became eligible until 1972-73. McDermott remains the last true freshman to start his first game.
McDermott Sweeps Player of the Year
Doug McDermott swept all 14 National Player of the Year awards handed out by the media in 2013-14.
He was honored by the USBWA (Oscar Robertson Trophy), John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, Associated Press, NABC, CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson Award, Sporting News, Basketball Times, NBCSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, USA Today and Dick Vitale.
In addition, he was also honored with the Senior CLASS Award that took into account his off-court contributions.
It was McDermott's second year with such lofty honor. As a sophomore, he was named CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olson Player of the Year.
McDermott finished his career last March ranking fifth in NCAA history with 3,150 career points.
NCAA Division I - Most Career Points All-Time
Rk. Name, School Years Points
1. Pete Maravich, LSU 1967-70 3,667
2. Freeman Williams, Portland State 1974-78 3,249
3. Lionel Simmons, La Salle 1986-90 3,217
4. Alphonso Ford, Miss. Valley State 1989-93 3,165
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton 2010-14 3,150
6. Harry Kelly, Texas Southern 1979-83 3,066
7. Keydren Clark, Saint Peter's 2002-07 3,058
8. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1984-88 3,008
9. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-60 2,973
10. Danny Manning, Kansas 1984-88 2,951
NBA Representation
This year marks the first time since 1970 that Creighton has three NBA players at the same time, as Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks), Anthony Tolliver (Detroit Pistons) and Doug McDermott (Chicago Bulls) are all in the league.
Including 2014-15, Creighton has now had an NBA player in 31 of the last 32 years.
Korver ranks 15th in NBA history with 1,669 three-pointers and is also seventh in league history with 43.27 percent marksmanship from three-point range (through Feb. 11). Last year he set an NBA record with 127 straight games with a three-pointer, and in 2009-10 he set a single-season NBA mark that still stands with his 53.6 percent shooting from three-point range.
Tolliver ranked 15th in the NBA in three-point percentage with the Charlotte Bobcats (41.3 percent) last season.
McDermott is a rookie who was the 11th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, then traded an hour later to the Chicago Bulls.
Nation's Best Offense?
You can make a case that Creighton boasted the nation's best offensive production last year.
Creighton finished the 2013-14 season leading the nation with 41.4 percent marksmanship from three-point range, a 1.80 assist/turnover ratio and 356 three-point field goals.
The Bluejays were second in assists per game (17.5) and three-pointers per game (10.2), fourth in field goal percentage (.497) and total assists (614), 10th in fewest turnovers per game (9.8), 24th in both scoring average (78.7) and winning percentage and 29th in free throw percentage.
Below is where Creighton ranked nationally in the first four years of the Greg McDermott tenure (top chart), as well as through his first 4.5 years (through Jan. 14):
2010-11 to 2013-14
Category Stat NCAA Rank
FG Percentage .4897 1st
3FG Percentage .4050 1st
Assists 2,407 1st
Assists/Game 16.60 2nd
3FG Made 1,230 2nd
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.436 4th
3FG Made/Game 8.483 5th
FG Made 3,809 9th
Wins 107 15th
Winning Pct. .7379 22nd
2010-11 to Jan. 14, 2015
Category Stat NCAA Rank
FG Percentage .4815 3rd
3FG Percentage .3956 2nd
Assists 2,656 3rd
Assists/Game 16.29 3rd
3FG Made 1,379 3rd
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.406 5th
Three-Mendous Shooting
Creighton owned 356 three-pointers last season, most in school history. The 2012-13 club set the previous school standard with 307 in 36 games.
Creighton's 356 three-pointers ranked 11th-best in NCAA single-season history, and led the nation last year.
In addition, Creighton's 41.4 percent marksmanship from three-point range ranked tied for third-best in school history.
Last year's Creighton team owned 173 three-pointers in BIG EAST play alone, breaking a conference record (in league play) of 155 first set by the 2004-05 Notre Dame team.
Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 15 of the last 16 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 16 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Along with Kentucky, Creighton is one of two schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 15 of the past 16 years.
That's better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (14 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (13 each).
Postseason x 17
Creighton has made the postseason in 17 consecutive seasons. The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 17 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.
Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Louisiana last spring, the Creighton men's basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record seven straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following four programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in seven straight seasons, including 2013-14: Creighton, Kansas, North Carolina and Syracuse.
Eight Out Of 16 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns eight league tournament titles in the last 16 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (12), Duke (10), Winthrop (9) and Creighton (8).
Full House
Last year's Creighton team averaged 17,896 in 16 home dates, good for fifth-nationally, and better than 16 NBA clubs. It's the eighth straight season that CU has been among the nation's top 25 in average home attendance, and the third straight season in the top-six nationally in attendance, as well.
This year's team is sixth nationally in attendance, through games of Feb. 11.
2014-15 Attendance Leaders (through 2/11)
Rk. School Average Next Home
1. Kentucky 23,421 2/14
2. Syracuse 22,306 2/20
3. Louisville 21,251 2/14
4. North Carolina 19,120 2/21
5. Wisconsin 17,279 2/15
6. Creighton 17,039 2/14
7. Kansas 16,411 2/14
8. BYU 16,184 2/12
9. Indiana 15,973 2/15
10. Nebraska 15,522 2/22
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,039 Creighton 2014-15
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has one player from Iowa on this season's team (Waukee native Will Artino), continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps.
Past notable Iowa preps include Doug McDermott (Ames), Grant Gibbs (Marion), Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa prep in 681 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
50 Percent Leads To Wins
Creighton ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage last season, making 49.7 percent of its shots from the floor.
The Bluejays had won 61 straight games when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field before its Jan. 10 loss to Seton Hall when shooting 51.1 percent.
All-time under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 59-2 when shooting 50.01 percent or better.
Special Senior Class
Last year's senior class featured four men who have graduated and moved on to the professional level; Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, Doug McDermott and Ethan Wragge.
During the previous four years, the Jays went 107-38 while appearing in the postseason every season, claiming the 2012-13 MVC regular-season title, as well as the 2012 and 2013 MVC Tournament titles. The 29 wins in 2011-12 tied a school-record, as are the 57 wins from 2011-13 for a two-year span, the 84 wins from 2011-14 the mark for a three-year span and 107 wins are the most-ever in a four-year span at Creighton.
In those four years the team was 64-7 at home, including a 31-5 mark in league play at home, and that group was part of the first teams in school history to win NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons.
The quartet combined for 5,964 points, 2,250 rebounds and 1,062 assists while shooting a combined 872-2013 (43.3%) from three-point range at Creighton.
Most Wins, 3-Year Stretch
W-L Years
84 2011-14
80 2010-13
76 2000-03
72 2001-04
72 2002-05
Most Wins, 4-Year Stretch
W-L Years
107 2010-14
99 1999-03
98 2009-13
97 2008-12
96 2000-04
Closing Strong
Creighton has won 44 of its last 46 games when leading with 5:00 to play.
Overall under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 107-6 when leading with 5:00 left. The Bluejays are also 3-1 under McDermott when tied with 5:00 to play.
CU is 8-45 under McDermott when trailing with 5:00 left, with the last such rally coming on Feb. 4, 2015 at Xavier.
What A Start!
Greg McDermott is 118-52 on the Creighton sideline in his fifth year at the helm. The 118 wins are easily the most in Creighton history in the first five seasons.
How good are McDermott's 118 wins in his fifth season? The only coach to start his Creighton career with more than 108 wins after SIX seasons was Tom Apke (109). Apke also owned the best mark after five seasons, going 93-43 to open his career on the Bluejay sideline.
Most Wins at CU, First Five Seasons
Coach Years W-L After 5 Yrs
Greg McDermott 2010-Pres. 118-52 so far
Tom Apke 1974-78 93-43
Eddie Sutton 1969-73 82-50
Tony Barone 1985-89 78-74
Red McManus 1959-63 78-53
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 85-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 97-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.
Home Run
Since Greg McDermott took over five years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.42 points per home game (6,503 points in 84 home games).
That's a vital number since Creighton is 108-0 at home (79-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 90-0 at home (63-0 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.
Full House
Creighton attracted eight of its 20 largest home crowds in program history last season. Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
4. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
5. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
6. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
7. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
8. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
9. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
10. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
11. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
12. 18,160 Central Arkansas 11/14/14
13. 18,111 Bradley 02/02/13
14. 18,078 Tulsa 11/23/13
15. 18,073 Drake 01/08/13
16. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
17. 17,740 Alcorn State 11/08/13
18. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
19. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
20. 17,665 Missouri State 12/28/11
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 27-8 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Creighton was ranked in the Associated Press top-25 in 11-of-20 weeks and finished 16th in the year-end poll.
Doug McDermott swept all 14 National Player of the Year awards after leading the team with 26.7 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest. He was also named BIG EAST Player of the Year and wrapped his career as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 points.
Ethan Wragge (10.4 ppg.) was named Honorable-Mention All-BIG EAST after finishing in the top-10 in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage.
The Bluejays led the nation in three-pointers made (356), three-point percentage (41.4) and assist/turnover ratio (1.80).
After earning the program's first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2001, Creighton topped Louisiana before falling to No. 24 Baylor in the third round.
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 2014-15 season went on sale on November 3rd 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.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
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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
