2014-15 Men's Basketball Recap
4/10/2015 11:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2014-15 Recap
Creighton wrapped up the 2014-15 season with a 14-19 record, and was tied for ninth place in its second season in the BIG EAST with a 4-14 league mark. The Bluejays endured a rebuilding year that included eight losses in the final minute, but a group that still kept playing hard and never gave up despite the program's first losing record in nearly 20 seasons.
Looking to replace a historically great senior class that featured Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Ethan Wragge, Creighton entered the 2014-15 season as one of the nation's great mysteries. Who would step up to take the place of the National Player of the Year and the NCAA's fifth-all-time leading scorer (McDermott)? Or the marksmanship from Wragge, one of the program's greatest outside shooters? The leadership and passing ability of veteran guard Gibbs? The energy and defensive spark from Manigat?
While replacing those four men would prove to be near-impossible, the Bluejays still did what they could to produce 14 wins, including a pair of wins over eventual Sweet 16 teams (Oklahoma and Xavier) and earn a fourth consecutive double-figure victory over Nebraska.
Creighton started the 2014-15 season with a 5-0 record and brief return into the national rankings after the team earned a 65-63 win over No. 18 Oklahoma in the third game of the season. After following that Sooner victory with wins over future postseason teams North Carolina Central and Eastern Illinois, Creighton hit the road for the first time in late November when it ventured to Niceville, Fla., for the Emerald Coast Classic.
Creighton lost a close game vs. eventual NCAA foe Ole Miss before defeating Middle Tennessee to enter December with a 6-1 record. After losing at Tulsa to open December, Creighton would fall behind by double-digits early at Nebraska on Dec. 7th. The Jays would regroup at half and recover to hand the Cornhuskers just their second defeat at Pinnacle Bank Arena, as Greg McDermott improved to 11-0 in his career in head-to-head meetings with Tim Miles.
Creighton followed up that contest with consecutive home overtime games. The Bluejays defeated South Dakota in double-overtime before seeing its 24-game home win streak snapped by Saint Mary's on Dec. 13. A week later CU regrouped to improve to 9-2 after a win over Texas-Pan American, only to drop its final non-conference game at North Texas after nearly escaping a 26-point deficit.
The schedule-makers did Creighton no favors when it came to the opening of BIG EAST action. The Jays were sent on the road to play at defending league tournament champion Providence before visiting 25th-ranked Georgetown three days later. The Jays would drop both. CU returned home to host first-place DePaul on Jan. 7th, and the Blue Demons would post a wire-to-wire win after a hot start from three-point land.
On Jan. 10th Creighton would battle injuries but nearly took down the nation's No. 19 ranked team, Seton Hall, only to see Sterling Gibbs drain a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to earn the Pirates a one-point win. It was the first of four one-point losses for Creighton during the season.
Four days later featured similar heartbreak. This time it was Marquette's Matt Carlino drain a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 15 seconds of an eventual one-point Golden Eagles victory.
Creighton returned home to drop a 74-65 game vs. Providence during the annual “Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out”, then lost another close game on the road at Butler. that also saw the team lose shooting guard Isaiah Zierden for the season with a knee injury.
The losing skid reached nine after a 71-50 loss at No. 4 Villanova before Creighton would return to the win column with a 77-74 victory over St. John's.
One week later, Creighton handed future Sweet 16 qualifier Xavier its first home loss of the year as the Jays won a 79-72 decision at a soldout Cintas Center.
The Jays would drop a game to St. John's at Madison Square Garden before earning a 77-70 win over Marquette on Valentine's Day. Two days later No. 18 Butler scored with 1.9 seconds left to top the Jays at home, 58-56.
Greg McDermott would earn his 400th win as a college head coach on Feb. 24th with a road win at DePaul. Making the win even more memorable is that he was joined by his entire family, including sons Nick and Doug who both reside in Chicago.
Creighton lost another one-point game to Seton Hall to close out February before dropping consecutive home games by four points and one point to the eventual league tournament finalists (Villanova and Xavier) to wrap up the regular-season.
The 10th-seeded Bluejays would handle seventh-seeded DePaul by a 78-63 decision in the first round of the tournament before a late rally by 23rd-ranked and second-seeded Georgetown ended the Jays season, 60-55.
Senior guard Austin Chatman would surpass 1,000 career points at Madison Square Garden during the BIG EAST Tournament, and would end up leading the Bluejays in both scoring and assists.
Fellow senior guard Devin Brooks, who spent much of the year coming off the bench, led the Jays in both rebounds and steals.
While Chatman and Zierden carried much of the scoring load in non-conference play, it was the emergence of Rick Kreklow, James Milliken and Geoffrey Groselle in BIG EAST play who helped the Jays down the stretch.
Kreklow was a fifth-year transfer from Cal who fit perfectly into the Creighton culture, and quickly became a fan favorite. Milliken had numerous scoring outbursts and his strong finish at the BIG EAST Tournament will undoubtedley have him as a marked man heading into his senior campaign. And by year's end Groselle emerged atop a three-way battle for playing time at center, playing some of his best ball down the stretch as his health finally cooperated.
The return of Milliken and Groselle, along with emerging big men such as Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson gives Creighton fans hope for the future. Throw in redshirts Ronnie Harrell, Cole Huff and Mo Watson Jr., plus a talented recruiting class, and it's easy to see why fans are already salivating over the prospects for next year.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 The Zone) broadcasted all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2014-15 season, with John Bishop and Nick Bahe calling the action. In Bahe's absence, Brody Deren, Rob Simms and Rob Anderson also filled in as guest analyst on occasion. The pregame show “Bluejay Shootaround” was hosted by Josh Peterson and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler. The audio was also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
Television Information
Creighton had 30 of its 33 games appear on television in 2014-15. The only three contests not televised (Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee and Tulsa) were streamed for free. Of the 30 telecasts, 21 aired nationally on FOX Sports 1.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season had free live stats on GoCreighton.com.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) finished his fifth season as head coach at Creighton. He is now 121-57 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 401-252 after his 21st season and is 270-188 after his 14th Division I campaign. McDermott was assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Patrick Sellers.
Eight Out Of 17 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns eight league tournament titles in the last 17 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (13), Duke (10), Winthrop (9) and Creighton (8).
Senior Day Memories
Creighton honored seven seniors following its March 7 home game vs. Xavier, as Will Artino, Devin Brooks, Austin Chatman, Gabriel Connealy, Avery Dingman, Rick Kreklow and Mogboluwaga Oginni were recognized.
During the past four years, Creighton went 98-41. The team went to the NCAA Tournament each of the previous three seasons, winning a game each trip. The group also won two league tournament and one regular-season conference titles.
The senior class was also 4-0 against in-state rival Nebraska (with all four wins by double-digits), 9-2 in conference tournament play, and combined for 2,832 points, 1,463 rebounds and 869 assists in a collective 186 starts at CU.
Even more impressively, all seven men are on track to have finished up their undergraduate degrees by the end of the spring semester in May.
Grand Achievement
A free throw vs. DePaul on March 11th made senior guard Austin Chatman the 39th member in program history to reach 1,000 career points. It came in the 138th game of his Creighton career, which is more than any other player in school history needed to reach the milestone.
Chatman led Creighton with 11.5 points per game and averaged 7.3 points per game during his Bluejay career, and finished 37th all-time on Creighton's all-time scoring chart.
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 15 Bluejays
Name Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Long-Distance Streak Surpasses 700
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 713 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the 23rd-longest active streak.
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 68 straight games, the nation's third-longest such string. That streak began in CU's 2013-14 season-opener.
Courtesy Stats Inc., below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point steaks.
Longest Active Streaks of 4+ 3FG's
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 70 Villanova -
2. 69 Iona -
3. 68 Creighton -
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 940 UNLV --
2. 939 Kentucky --
3. 931 Vanderbilt --
4. 911 Duke --
5. 871 Western Kentucky --
6. 869 Arkansas --
7. 859 East Tennessee State --
8. 857 Pacific --
9. 835 Oakland --
10. 825 Texas --
11. 815 Princeton --
12. 797 Florida --
13. 779 La Salle --
14. 775 Marshall --
15. 766 Baylor --
16. 745 LIU-Brooklyn --
17. 744 Cornell --
18. 737 Gonzaga --
19. 724 Tennessee State --
20. 723 Mount St. Mary's --
21. 721 Samford --
22. 716 East Carolina --
23. 713 Creighton --
24. 679 Lafayette --
25. 676 DePaul --
26. 670 Davidson --
20+ Wins in 15 of 17 Seasons
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 15 of the last 17 seasons (including 2014-15), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just three schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 17 years: Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas.
Kentucky , Florida, Texas and Syracuse have each done it in 16 of the last 17 seasons.
Along with Arizona, Xavier, Kent State and Connecticut, Creighton is one of five schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 15 of the past 17 years.
NCAA Success
Creighton is one of 18 schools to have won an NCAA Tournament game in at least three of the last four seasons.
Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State and North Carolina are the only five teams to have won at least one game all four seasons.
The list of teams with an NCAA win in three of the last four campaigns consists of Arizona, Creighton, Florida, Iowa State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon, Saint Louis, San Diego State, Syracuse, Wichita State and Wisconsin.
One-Point Setbacks
Creighton went 0-4 in games decided by one point this season, tied for the most such losses nationally. Florida, Georgia Tech and Fairfield also owned four losses by a single-point.
Speaking of Florida, the Gators lost a pair of games by one point to Ole Miss, joining Creighton (vs. Seton Hall) to lose two games by one point to the same opponent this season.
More About One-Point Games
Despite four one-point losses this season, Greg McDermott is 5-5 overall 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 four losses.
January marked 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 games, both by one-point, since January of 1980.
The 1979-80 season was the last previous time that Creighton had four losses by a single point in the same season.
Creighton's two one-point games vs. Seton Hall marked just the second time ever that it has played two games in the same season against the same opponent that were decided by one point, joining two such tangles with Drake in 1946-47. CU split those games vs. Drake, meaning Seton Hall is the only school to ever defeat the Bluejays by exactly one point twice in the same season.
Late Game Madness
Creighton had seven different BIG EAST games this season in which the Bluejays lost after allowing a go-ahead score in the final minute, including five in the final 16 seconds.
Since arriving at Creighton five seasons ago, Greg McDermott's teams are now 8-11 in games that go to overtime or have a lead change in the final minute of regulation. His teams were 6-3 prior to this year, but are just 2-8 in those situations this season.
Notably, the 2012-13 Creighton season did not have a game all season that went to overtime or have a lead change in the final three minutes.
Last Minute BIG EAST Losses This Year
Date Opponent Lead/Tie Time Lost Lead Final
3/7 Xavier 73-72 :6.3 74-73
3/3 Villanova 67-66 :50.3 76-72
2/28 at Seton Hall 66-65 :15.9 67-66
2/16 #19 Butler 56-56 :1.9 58-56
1/21 at Butler 59-58 :53.0 64-61
1/14 at Marquette 52-50 :11.2 53-52
1/10 #19 Seton Hall 67-65 :2.2 68-67
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Before this season, Creighton's current senior class had been 11-3 in games decided by three points or less amongst the 118 contests it had played since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
This season Creighton was 3-6 in games decided by three points or less. The six losses by three points or fewer this season was tied for eighth-most in the nation.
Games Decided By 3 Points Or Less Under McDermott
W-L Year
2010-11 1-6
2011-12 7-1
2012-13 2-2
2013-14 2-0
2014-15 3-6
Difference Maker At The Point
The improved play of Austin Chatman in the last month was a big key for Creighton as it has stepped up its play down the stretch.
Chatman averaged 5.9 points per game on 23.8 percent shooting, including 13.8 percent from downtown as Creighton lost its first eight league games. Chatman never scored more than 11 points in any of those contests.
In the last 12 games, during which time Creighton was 5-7, Chatman averaged 12.8 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor as well as 38.2 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
Chatman had 23 points in the Feb. 28 game at Seton Hall, making a career-high five three-point baskets, and also tying a career-high by swiping three steals. He followed that up with 21 points on March 3 vs. Villanova for his fourth 20-point effort of the season.
He scored in double-figures in nine of his last 12 games.
104 Straight Starts For Chatman
Senior point guard Austin Chatman started each of Creighton's last 104 games, a streak that dates back to the season-opener of the 2012-13 campaign.
Chatman has directed the Bluejays to a 69-35 record in that span, including a pair of trips to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and a 8-4 record in conference and NCAA Tournament play.
With his start on Feb. 28 at Seton Hall, Chatman became the eighth player in the last 20 years to make 100 career starts at Creighton, and just the sixth in that time with 100 or more straight starts, joining Doug McDermott (145), Ryan Sears (124), Jahenns Manigat (121), Dane Watts (119) and Antoine Young (107) in that category.
Getting Trendy
Though Creighton owned just one player averaging more than 10.0 points per game this season (Austin Chatman's 11.5 ppg.), the team saw seen a variety of scorers step to the forefront during the past 10 games.
In those 10 games, in which Creighton was 4-6 with three wins away from home, no less than five men were scoring at least 9.1 games per clip (Austin Chatman 13.4; Devin Brooks 10.4; James Milliken 12.6; Rick Kreklow 9.4; Geoffrey Groselle 9.1). All five aforementioned men owned at least four double-figure scoring games during those 10 contests.
During those games, Creighton also outrebounded teams by an average of 3.3 caroms per contest.
McDermott Earns 400th Win As A Head Coach
Greg McDermott picked up his 400th win as a college head coach during the Feb. 24 win at DePaul. He's won 50 or more games at four different schools, and owns a .614 career winning percentage in 21 seasons and 653 games as a head coach.
McDermott reached the 300-win milestone vs. San Jose State on March 15, 2011. Since that victory, McDermott is 101-45 on the sideline.
Bench Matches Up
Creighton's bench outscored the opposition's bench in 13 of the last 16 games, and 26 of 33 contests overall this season. For the year, the Bluejay bench outscored its counterparts 898-563.
The 898 points off the bench are the most in the five-year Greg McDermott era, and Creighton's most since scoring 923 points off the pine in 2008-09 under Dana Altman.
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.By comparison, Creighton's starting line-up tallied 33 points in the first meeting and 21 points in the rematch against St. John's.
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.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Dramatics
Butler's Roosevelt Jones hit a game-winning shot with 1.9 seconds left to beat Creighton on Feb. 16th. The shot with 1.9 left was the least amount of time remaining on any shot to beat the Jays at the venue.
After allowing just two game-winning go-ahead scores in the last 10 seconds in the first 11 seasons at CenturyLink Center Omaha, Creighton allowed that to happen three times this season alone.
Creighton is now 7-5 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds in the 12-year old facility.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver Lighting It Up
Creighton alum Kyle Korver finished tied for fifth of eight participants in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities.
In 2014-15 Korver was third in the NBA with 221 three-pointers made, and led the league with 49.2 percent accuracy from distance. It's the NBA-record third time he's led the NBA in three-point percentage.
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. Stephen Curry, Golden State 286
2. Klay Thompson, Golden State 239
3. Kyle Korver, Atlanta 221
4. James Harden, Houston 208
5. J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers 200
2014-15 NBA 3-Point Percentage Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Pct.
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta .492
2. Eric Gordon, New Orleans .448
3. Stephen Curry, Golden State .443
4. Klay Thompson, Golden State .439
5. J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers .437
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver's An All-Star
Creighton alum Kyle Korver was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Ironically enough, he replaced a former BIG EAST player (Marquette's Dwyane Wade) on the roster.
Korver leads the NBA in three-point percentage, is third in three-pointers made this season.
At 33 years and 11 months, Korver became the fourth-oldest player to make his NBA All-Star game debut, trailing only Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Sam Cassell and Anthony Mason.
Korver was 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. Korver's 21 points in 16 minutes included seven three-pointers (second-most all-time) and made him Creighton's all-time leading scorer in NBA All-Star game history.
203 Games At The CenturyLink
The Feb. 14 win over Marquette marked Creighton's 200th game at CenturyLink Center Omaha. All-time, Creighton now owns a 170-33 record, and are a near-equally strong 84-24 at home in league play, at the facility.
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.
Senior Austin Chatman finished his career with an arena record 275 career assists in the facility.
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 275 A. Chatman
Blocked Shots 31 A. Tolliver 80 Lawson/Echenique
Steals 43 J. Dotzler 120 J. Dotzler
More Success At Home
Creighton has won 86 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.
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 finished 2014-15 at the helm of that same program, including Creighton coach Greg McDermott.
McDermott owns 121 victories, trailing only the man he replaced at Creighton, current Oregon coach Dana Altman (123), among coaches in their fifth year.
Head Coaches Hired Prior to 2010-11, Sorted By Wins
School Coach Total W Total L
Oregon Dana Altman 123 56
Creighton Greg McDermott 121 57
Iona Tim Cluess 118 54
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 115 56
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 203 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in the 12-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own an 170-33 (.837) 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 15,347-12,987 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.63 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 52 different times, including seven times last season and four times this year.
Creighton is also 25-19 all-time in the 44 games at CLCO in which it's fallen behind by double-figures.
Creighton is 73-15 (.830) 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 189-33 (.851) 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
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 played three overtime games for the first time in the same season since 2007-08.
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 40-8 when four or more men reach double-figures, including a 21-2 mark since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Quest For 15,000 Complete
Creighton has scored 15,347 points all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha, surpassing 15,000 points on Jan. 28 on a second half free throw by Zach Hanson.
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
Swiss Army Knife
Devin Brooks did a little bit of everything for Creighton this season.
He led Creighton in rebounding and steals, and was second on the team in assists.
Brooks joined 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
Still Tough At Home
Creighton went 9-8 at home this season, moving to 40-10 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 40 wins at home in that time are fourth-most in the league, four behind Villanova.
Team Home W-L Since 2012-13
Villanova 44-5
Georgetown 42-7
St. John's 41-15
Creighton 40-10
Providence 40-11
Xavier 39-9
Marquette 37-12
Butler 35-12
Seton Hall 30-20
DePaul 24-26
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). That group also started on March 7 during Creighton's Senior Day.
Creighton used 10 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.
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, ranked second 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 prior to BIG EAST play starting.
What's Your 20?
Creighton has 11 men on its roster who have started 10 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 19) & Zach Hanson (11).
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 3,079,130 fans in 203 games to date at the 12-year-old facility, an average of 15,168 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 Jan. 31st 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 attracted 289,808 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.
Moving On Up
Austin Chatman moved into fifth in Creighton history on the career assist chart, finishing with 493 in his career.
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
493 Austin Chatman 2011-15
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 missed the second half 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.
Unlike last offseason, Zierden elected to have surgery this time around, as he underwent a medical procedure in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13th.
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.
McDermott earned his second technical foul on March 3 vs. No. 4 Villanova.
Some other facts about the first 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 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
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 the end of the 2014-15 campaign.
Most Wins Since 2000-01
Team W L
Butler 358 146
Xavier 353 149
Creighton 349 155
Villanova 337 165
Marquette 327 170
Georgetown 325 164
Providence 258 216
Seton Hall 244 224
St. John's 234 234
DePaul 193 271
Most Wins - Last 10 Years (2005-06 to Present)
Team W L
Butler 252 97
Villanova 243 98
Xavier 237 106
Georgetown 230 102
Creighton 230 113
Marquette 221 119
Providence 170 150
Seton Hall 166 152
St. John's 164 155
DePaul 114 200
Most Wins - Last 4 Years (2011-12 to Present)
Team W L
Creighton 98 41
Villanova 95 41
Georgetown 89 42
Butler 86 52
Xavier 84 54
Marquette 83 51
Providence 79 56
St. John's 71 60
Seton Hall 69 63
DePaul 47 81
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 produced his fourth career double-double on Feb. 14 vs. Marquette when he scored 12 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds.
Artino has made 61.5 percent of his career field goal attempts. That's the second-best mark in Creighton history among players with 300 or more career attempts, and is seventh nationally among active players with 240 or more career field goals.
Pct. Name, Years FGM-FGA
.625 Gregory Echenique, 2010-13 374-598
.615 Will Artino, 2011-Pres. 256-416
.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
Trey Troubles
Creighton made 39-of-91 three-pointers (42.9 percent) in its BIG EAST victories this season, but just 93-for-299 (31.1 percent) from deep in its league losses.
For the season Creighton shot 34.5 percent from three-point land.
In the last four years under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 37-33 (.529) when shooting 40.00 percent or worse from three-point range. While respectable, that pales in comparison to CU's 61-8 (.884) 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 87-21 in the past four years when shooting 30 percent or better from deep, compared to 11-20 when shooting 29.99 percent or less.
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 (then) 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.
Groselle reached double-digits for an unprecedented third straight game on Feb. 14 vs. Marquette, recording 12 points.
3-Headed Monster
Creighton has used three men who alternated 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 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 38.2 minutes per game, all while shooting 58.2 percent from the floor.
Name MPG FG-FGA RPG PPG
Artino 16.2 86-155 4.7 6.1
Groselle 12.3 72-111 2.5 5.4
Hanson 11.5 47-86 2.4 3.8
Total 38.2 205-352 9.2 14.6
Toughest Thing In Sports
Creighton is 27-21 in true road games the last four years, and 44-29 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 went 3-9 in true road games this season, and is 5-11 away from home when you factor in games in Niceville, Fla., during the Emerald Coast Classic, and at Madison Square Garden during the BIG EAST Tournament.
Will The Thrill
Will Artino leads Creighton in rebounds per 40 minutes (11.5 rpg.) and is second in points per 40 minutes (15.1 ppg.) this season.
Among those 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
11.5 Will Artino 2014-15
11.3 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
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.
Careful Chatman
Austin Chatman owned a 121/67 assist/turnover ratio (1.81) this season, a figure that ranked seventh in the BIG EAST and 150th 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 owned 493 assists compared to 244 turnovers, good for a 2.02 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 was 11-6 when leading at half, 3-12 when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when tied at the break.
Creighton has won all but six of its last 50 games played when leading at the half, and is 99-16 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 86-of-131 career field goal attempts, good for 65.6 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 4,036 career points in a Bluejay uniform.
Last year McDermott averaged 14.0 points in the first half of games. This year, the team's leading scorer (Austin Chatman) averages 11.5 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 105-6 under McDermott when putting together double-digit leads, including wins 93 of the last 95 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.
Poll Position
Creighton is one of 21 teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 at some point 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. 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 now made the NCAA's, NIT or CBI 19 of the previous 20 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 did not trail in four of its 17 home games this season.
In 203 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 52 of those contests, a staggering 25.6 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.
Link Notes
Creighton is 84-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by 15 points or more.
Creighton is 35-15 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by five points or less.
Creighton is also 14-5 in regular-season home games at CenturyLink Center Omaha decided by two points or less.
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. He later had a four-point play vs. Xavier on March 7th, then made another in the BIG EAST Tournament vs. Georgetown on March 12.
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 (2x) and Milliken (3x) are the only ones to do it more than once.
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.
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 11th in NBA history with 1,729 three-pointers and is also sixth in league history with 43.25 percent marksmanship from three-point range. 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?
Creighton has ranked as one of the nation's top offensive teams since Greg McDermott took over prior to the 2010-11 season. The Jays rank among the national leaders in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, assists, assist/turnover ratio, field goal percentage, and winning.
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally in the first five years of the Greg McDermott era.
2010-11 to 2014-15
Category Stat NCAA Rank
3FG Percentage* .3930 2nd
Assists 2,856 3rd
FG Percentage .4768 4th
3FG Made 1,492 4th
Assists/Game 16.045 5th
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.382 5th
3FG Made/Game 8.382 9th
FG Made 4,555 22nd
Wins 121 T-25th
Winning Percentage .6798 T-34th
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.
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 was sixth nationally in attendance.
Creighton was the fist team to average 17,000+ fans, despite a losing record, since Louisville in 2000-01.
2014-15 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Syracuse 23,854
2. Kentucky 23,572
3. Louisville 22,030
4. North Carolina 19,582
5. Wisconsin 17,279
6. Creighton 17,048
7. Kansas 16,383
8. Indiana 16,288
9. BYU 16,125
10. Nebraska 15,569
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,048 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 689 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 60-2 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
98 2011-15
97 2008-12
Closing Strong
Creighton has won 47 of its last 52 games when leading with 5:00 to play.
Overall under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 110-11 when leading with 5:00 left. The Bluejays are also 3-1 under McDermott when tied with 5:00 to play.
CU is 8-47 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 121-57 on the Creighton sideline in his fifth year at the helm. The 121 wins are easily the most in Creighton history in the first five seasons.
How good are McDermott's 121 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. 121-57
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 86-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 98-0 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 77.06 points per home game (6,781 points in 88 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
The 2014-15 season included two of the school's top-16 home crowds ever. 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. 17,971 #19 Butler 02/16/15
17. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
18. 17,740 Alcorn State 11/08/13
19. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
20. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
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.
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.
Creighton wrapped up the 2014-15 season with a 14-19 record, and was tied for ninth place in its second season in the BIG EAST with a 4-14 league mark. The Bluejays endured a rebuilding year that included eight losses in the final minute, but a group that still kept playing hard and never gave up despite the program's first losing record in nearly 20 seasons.
Looking to replace a historically great senior class that featured Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Ethan Wragge, Creighton entered the 2014-15 season as one of the nation's great mysteries. Who would step up to take the place of the National Player of the Year and the NCAA's fifth-all-time leading scorer (McDermott)? Or the marksmanship from Wragge, one of the program's greatest outside shooters? The leadership and passing ability of veteran guard Gibbs? The energy and defensive spark from Manigat?
While replacing those four men would prove to be near-impossible, the Bluejays still did what they could to produce 14 wins, including a pair of wins over eventual Sweet 16 teams (Oklahoma and Xavier) and earn a fourth consecutive double-figure victory over Nebraska.
Creighton started the 2014-15 season with a 5-0 record and brief return into the national rankings after the team earned a 65-63 win over No. 18 Oklahoma in the third game of the season. After following that Sooner victory with wins over future postseason teams North Carolina Central and Eastern Illinois, Creighton hit the road for the first time in late November when it ventured to Niceville, Fla., for the Emerald Coast Classic.
Creighton lost a close game vs. eventual NCAA foe Ole Miss before defeating Middle Tennessee to enter December with a 6-1 record. After losing at Tulsa to open December, Creighton would fall behind by double-digits early at Nebraska on Dec. 7th. The Jays would regroup at half and recover to hand the Cornhuskers just their second defeat at Pinnacle Bank Arena, as Greg McDermott improved to 11-0 in his career in head-to-head meetings with Tim Miles.
Creighton followed up that contest with consecutive home overtime games. The Bluejays defeated South Dakota in double-overtime before seeing its 24-game home win streak snapped by Saint Mary's on Dec. 13. A week later CU regrouped to improve to 9-2 after a win over Texas-Pan American, only to drop its final non-conference game at North Texas after nearly escaping a 26-point deficit.
The schedule-makers did Creighton no favors when it came to the opening of BIG EAST action. The Jays were sent on the road to play at defending league tournament champion Providence before visiting 25th-ranked Georgetown three days later. The Jays would drop both. CU returned home to host first-place DePaul on Jan. 7th, and the Blue Demons would post a wire-to-wire win after a hot start from three-point land.
On Jan. 10th Creighton would battle injuries but nearly took down the nation's No. 19 ranked team, Seton Hall, only to see Sterling Gibbs drain a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to earn the Pirates a one-point win. It was the first of four one-point losses for Creighton during the season.
Four days later featured similar heartbreak. This time it was Marquette's Matt Carlino drain a go-ahead three-pointer in the final 15 seconds of an eventual one-point Golden Eagles victory.
Creighton returned home to drop a 74-65 game vs. Providence during the annual “Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out”, then lost another close game on the road at Butler. that also saw the team lose shooting guard Isaiah Zierden for the season with a knee injury.
The losing skid reached nine after a 71-50 loss at No. 4 Villanova before Creighton would return to the win column with a 77-74 victory over St. John's.
One week later, Creighton handed future Sweet 16 qualifier Xavier its first home loss of the year as the Jays won a 79-72 decision at a soldout Cintas Center.
The Jays would drop a game to St. John's at Madison Square Garden before earning a 77-70 win over Marquette on Valentine's Day. Two days later No. 18 Butler scored with 1.9 seconds left to top the Jays at home, 58-56.
Greg McDermott would earn his 400th win as a college head coach on Feb. 24th with a road win at DePaul. Making the win even more memorable is that he was joined by his entire family, including sons Nick and Doug who both reside in Chicago.
Creighton lost another one-point game to Seton Hall to close out February before dropping consecutive home games by four points and one point to the eventual league tournament finalists (Villanova and Xavier) to wrap up the regular-season.
The 10th-seeded Bluejays would handle seventh-seeded DePaul by a 78-63 decision in the first round of the tournament before a late rally by 23rd-ranked and second-seeded Georgetown ended the Jays season, 60-55.
Senior guard Austin Chatman would surpass 1,000 career points at Madison Square Garden during the BIG EAST Tournament, and would end up leading the Bluejays in both scoring and assists.
Fellow senior guard Devin Brooks, who spent much of the year coming off the bench, led the Jays in both rebounds and steals.
While Chatman and Zierden carried much of the scoring load in non-conference play, it was the emergence of Rick Kreklow, James Milliken and Geoffrey Groselle in BIG EAST play who helped the Jays down the stretch.
Kreklow was a fifth-year transfer from Cal who fit perfectly into the Creighton culture, and quickly became a fan favorite. Milliken had numerous scoring outbursts and his strong finish at the BIG EAST Tournament will undoubtedley have him as a marked man heading into his senior campaign. And by year's end Groselle emerged atop a three-way battle for playing time at center, playing some of his best ball down the stretch as his health finally cooperated.
The return of Milliken and Groselle, along with emerging big men such as Toby Hegner and Zach Hanson gives Creighton fans hope for the future. Throw in redshirts Ronnie Harrell, Cole Huff and Mo Watson Jr., plus a talented recruiting class, and it's easy to see why fans are already salivating over the prospects for next year.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 The Zone) broadcasted all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2014-15 season, with John Bishop and Nick Bahe calling the action. In Bahe's absence, Brody Deren, Rob Simms and Rob Anderson also filled in as guest analyst on occasion. The pregame show “Bluejay Shootaround” was hosted by Josh Peterson and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler. The audio was also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
Television Information
Creighton had 30 of its 33 games appear on television in 2014-15. The only three contests not televised (Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee and Tulsa) were streamed for free. Of the 30 telecasts, 21 aired nationally on FOX Sports 1.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season had free live stats on GoCreighton.com.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) finished his fifth season as head coach at Creighton. He is now 121-57 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 401-252 after his 21st season and is 270-188 after his 14th Division I campaign. McDermott was assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Patrick Sellers.
Eight Out Of 17 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns eight league tournament titles in the last 17 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (13), Duke (10), Winthrop (9) and Creighton (8).
Senior Day Memories
Creighton honored seven seniors following its March 7 home game vs. Xavier, as Will Artino, Devin Brooks, Austin Chatman, Gabriel Connealy, Avery Dingman, Rick Kreklow and Mogboluwaga Oginni were recognized.
During the past four years, Creighton went 98-41. The team went to the NCAA Tournament each of the previous three seasons, winning a game each trip. The group also won two league tournament and one regular-season conference titles.
The senior class was also 4-0 against in-state rival Nebraska (with all four wins by double-digits), 9-2 in conference tournament play, and combined for 2,832 points, 1,463 rebounds and 869 assists in a collective 186 starts at CU.
Even more impressively, all seven men are on track to have finished up their undergraduate degrees by the end of the spring semester in May.
Grand Achievement
A free throw vs. DePaul on March 11th made senior guard Austin Chatman the 39th member in program history to reach 1,000 career points. It came in the 138th game of his Creighton career, which is more than any other player in school history needed to reach the milestone.
Chatman led Creighton with 11.5 points per game and averaged 7.3 points per game during his Bluejay career, and finished 37th all-time on Creighton's all-time scoring chart.
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 15 Bluejays
Name Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Long-Distance Streak Surpasses 700
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 713 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the 23rd-longest active streak.
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 68 straight games, the nation's third-longest such string. That streak began in CU's 2013-14 season-opener.
Courtesy Stats Inc., below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point steaks.
Longest Active Streaks of 4+ 3FG's
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 70 Villanova -
2. 69 Iona -
3. 68 Creighton -
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 940 UNLV --
2. 939 Kentucky --
3. 931 Vanderbilt --
4. 911 Duke --
5. 871 Western Kentucky --
6. 869 Arkansas --
7. 859 East Tennessee State --
8. 857 Pacific --
9. 835 Oakland --
10. 825 Texas --
11. 815 Princeton --
12. 797 Florida --
13. 779 La Salle --
14. 775 Marshall --
15. 766 Baylor --
16. 745 LIU-Brooklyn --
17. 744 Cornell --
18. 737 Gonzaga --
19. 724 Tennessee State --
20. 723 Mount St. Mary's --
21. 721 Samford --
22. 716 East Carolina --
23. 713 Creighton --
24. 679 Lafayette --
25. 676 DePaul --
26. 670 Davidson --
20+ Wins in 15 of 17 Seasons
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 15 of the last 17 seasons (including 2014-15), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just three schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 17 years: Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas.
Kentucky , Florida, Texas and Syracuse have each done it in 16 of the last 17 seasons.
Along with Arizona, Xavier, Kent State and Connecticut, Creighton is one of five schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 15 of the past 17 years.
NCAA Success
Creighton is one of 18 schools to have won an NCAA Tournament game in at least three of the last four seasons.
Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State and North Carolina are the only five teams to have won at least one game all four seasons.
The list of teams with an NCAA win in three of the last four campaigns consists of Arizona, Creighton, Florida, Iowa State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon, Saint Louis, San Diego State, Syracuse, Wichita State and Wisconsin.
One-Point Setbacks
Creighton went 0-4 in games decided by one point this season, tied for the most such losses nationally. Florida, Georgia Tech and Fairfield also owned four losses by a single-point.
Speaking of Florida, the Gators lost a pair of games by one point to Ole Miss, joining Creighton (vs. Seton Hall) to lose two games by one point to the same opponent this season.
More About One-Point Games
Despite four one-point losses this season, Greg McDermott is 5-5 overall 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 four losses.
January marked 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 games, both by one-point, since January of 1980.
The 1979-80 season was the last previous time that Creighton had four losses by a single point in the same season.
Creighton's two one-point games vs. Seton Hall marked just the second time ever that it has played two games in the same season against the same opponent that were decided by one point, joining two such tangles with Drake in 1946-47. CU split those games vs. Drake, meaning Seton Hall is the only school to ever defeat the Bluejays by exactly one point twice in the same season.
Late Game Madness
Creighton had seven different BIG EAST games this season in which the Bluejays lost after allowing a go-ahead score in the final minute, including five in the final 16 seconds.
Since arriving at Creighton five seasons ago, Greg McDermott's teams are now 8-11 in games that go to overtime or have a lead change in the final minute of regulation. His teams were 6-3 prior to this year, but are just 2-8 in those situations this season.
Notably, the 2012-13 Creighton season did not have a game all season that went to overtime or have a lead change in the final three minutes.
Last Minute BIG EAST Losses This Year
Date Opponent Lead/Tie Time Lost Lead Final
3/7 Xavier 73-72 :6.3 74-73
3/3 Villanova 67-66 :50.3 76-72
2/28 at Seton Hall 66-65 :15.9 67-66
2/16 #19 Butler 56-56 :1.9 58-56
1/21 at Butler 59-58 :53.0 64-61
1/14 at Marquette 52-50 :11.2 53-52
1/10 #19 Seton Hall 67-65 :2.2 68-67
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Before this season, Creighton's current senior class had been 11-3 in games decided by three points or less amongst the 118 contests it had played since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
This season Creighton was 3-6 in games decided by three points or less. The six losses by three points or fewer this season was tied for eighth-most in the nation.
Games Decided By 3 Points Or Less Under McDermott
W-L Year
2010-11 1-6
2011-12 7-1
2012-13 2-2
2013-14 2-0
2014-15 3-6
Difference Maker At The Point
The improved play of Austin Chatman in the last month was a big key for Creighton as it has stepped up its play down the stretch.
Chatman averaged 5.9 points per game on 23.8 percent shooting, including 13.8 percent from downtown as Creighton lost its first eight league games. Chatman never scored more than 11 points in any of those contests.
In the last 12 games, during which time Creighton was 5-7, Chatman averaged 12.8 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor as well as 38.2 percent marksmanship from three-point territory.
Chatman had 23 points in the Feb. 28 game at Seton Hall, making a career-high five three-point baskets, and also tying a career-high by swiping three steals. He followed that up with 21 points on March 3 vs. Villanova for his fourth 20-point effort of the season.
He scored in double-figures in nine of his last 12 games.
104 Straight Starts For Chatman
Senior point guard Austin Chatman started each of Creighton's last 104 games, a streak that dates back to the season-opener of the 2012-13 campaign.
Chatman has directed the Bluejays to a 69-35 record in that span, including a pair of trips to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and a 8-4 record in conference and NCAA Tournament play.
With his start on Feb. 28 at Seton Hall, Chatman became the eighth player in the last 20 years to make 100 career starts at Creighton, and just the sixth in that time with 100 or more straight starts, joining Doug McDermott (145), Ryan Sears (124), Jahenns Manigat (121), Dane Watts (119) and Antoine Young (107) in that category.
Getting Trendy
Though Creighton owned just one player averaging more than 10.0 points per game this season (Austin Chatman's 11.5 ppg.), the team saw seen a variety of scorers step to the forefront during the past 10 games.
In those 10 games, in which Creighton was 4-6 with three wins away from home, no less than five men were scoring at least 9.1 games per clip (Austin Chatman 13.4; Devin Brooks 10.4; James Milliken 12.6; Rick Kreklow 9.4; Geoffrey Groselle 9.1). All five aforementioned men owned at least four double-figure scoring games during those 10 contests.
During those games, Creighton also outrebounded teams by an average of 3.3 caroms per contest.
McDermott Earns 400th Win As A Head Coach
Greg McDermott picked up his 400th win as a college head coach during the Feb. 24 win at DePaul. He's won 50 or more games at four different schools, and owns a .614 career winning percentage in 21 seasons and 653 games as a head coach.
McDermott reached the 300-win milestone vs. San Jose State on March 15, 2011. Since that victory, McDermott is 101-45 on the sideline.
Bench Matches Up
Creighton's bench outscored the opposition's bench in 13 of the last 16 games, and 26 of 33 contests overall this season. For the year, the Bluejay bench outscored its counterparts 898-563.
The 898 points off the bench are the most in the five-year Greg McDermott era, and Creighton's most since scoring 923 points off the pine in 2008-09 under Dana Altman.
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.By comparison, Creighton's starting line-up tallied 33 points in the first meeting and 21 points in the rematch against St. John's.
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.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Dramatics
Butler's Roosevelt Jones hit a game-winning shot with 1.9 seconds left to beat Creighton on Feb. 16th. The shot with 1.9 left was the least amount of time remaining on any shot to beat the Jays at the venue.
After allowing just two game-winning go-ahead scores in the last 10 seconds in the first 11 seasons at CenturyLink Center Omaha, Creighton allowed that to happen three times this season alone.
Creighton is now 7-5 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds in the 12-year old facility.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver Lighting It Up
Creighton alum Kyle Korver finished tied for fifth of eight participants in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities.
In 2014-15 Korver was third in the NBA with 221 three-pointers made, and led the league with 49.2 percent accuracy from distance. It's the NBA-record third time he's led the NBA in three-point percentage.
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. Stephen Curry, Golden State 286
2. Klay Thompson, Golden State 239
3. Kyle Korver, Atlanta 221
4. James Harden, Houston 208
5. J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers 200
2014-15 NBA 3-Point Percentage Leaders
Rk. Name, Team 3FG Pct.
1. Kyle Korver, Atlanta .492
2. Eric Gordon, New Orleans .448
3. Stephen Curry, Golden State .443
4. Klay Thompson, Golden State .439
5. J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers .437
Creighton Alum Kyle Korver's An All-Star
Creighton alum Kyle Korver was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Ironically enough, he replaced a former BIG EAST player (Marquette's Dwyane Wade) on the roster.
Korver leads the NBA in three-point percentage, is third in three-pointers made this season.
At 33 years and 11 months, Korver became the fourth-oldest player to make his NBA All-Star game debut, trailing only Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, Sam Cassell and Anthony Mason.
Korver was 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. Korver's 21 points in 16 minutes included seven three-pointers (second-most all-time) and made him Creighton's all-time leading scorer in NBA All-Star game history.
203 Games At The CenturyLink
The Feb. 14 win over Marquette marked Creighton's 200th game at CenturyLink Center Omaha. All-time, Creighton now owns a 170-33 record, and are a near-equally strong 84-24 at home in league play, at the facility.
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.
Senior Austin Chatman finished his career with an arena record 275 career assists in the facility.
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 275 A. Chatman
Blocked Shots 31 A. Tolliver 80 Lawson/Echenique
Steals 43 J. Dotzler 120 J. Dotzler
More Success At Home
Creighton has won 86 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.
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 finished 2014-15 at the helm of that same program, including Creighton coach Greg McDermott.
McDermott owns 121 victories, trailing only the man he replaced at Creighton, current Oregon coach Dana Altman (123), among coaches in their fifth year.
Head Coaches Hired Prior to 2010-11, Sorted By Wins
School Coach Total W Total L
Oregon Dana Altman 123 56
Creighton Greg McDermott 121 57
Iona Tim Cluess 118 54
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 115 56
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 203 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in the 12-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own an 170-33 (.837) 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 15,347-12,987 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.63 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 52 different times, including seven times last season and four times this year.
Creighton is also 25-19 all-time in the 44 games at CLCO in which it's fallen behind by double-figures.
Creighton is 73-15 (.830) 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 189-33 (.851) 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
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 played three overtime games for the first time in the same season since 2007-08.
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 40-8 when four or more men reach double-figures, including a 21-2 mark since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Quest For 15,000 Complete
Creighton has scored 15,347 points all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha, surpassing 15,000 points on Jan. 28 on a second half free throw by Zach Hanson.
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
Swiss Army Knife
Devin Brooks did a little bit of everything for Creighton this season.
He led Creighton in rebounding and steals, and was second on the team in assists.
Brooks joined 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
Still Tough At Home
Creighton went 9-8 at home this season, moving to 40-10 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 40 wins at home in that time are fourth-most in the league, four behind Villanova.
Team Home W-L Since 2012-13
Villanova 44-5
Georgetown 42-7
St. John's 41-15
Creighton 40-10
Providence 40-11
Xavier 39-9
Marquette 37-12
Butler 35-12
Seton Hall 30-20
DePaul 24-26
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). That group also started on March 7 during Creighton's Senior Day.
Creighton used 10 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.
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, ranked second 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 prior to BIG EAST play starting.
What's Your 20?
Creighton has 11 men on its roster who have started 10 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 19) & Zach Hanson (11).
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 3,079,130 fans in 203 games to date at the 12-year-old facility, an average of 15,168 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 Jan. 31st 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 attracted 289,808 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.
Moving On Up
Austin Chatman moved into fifth in Creighton history on the career assist chart, finishing with 493 in his career.
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
493 Austin Chatman 2011-15
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 missed the second half 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.
Unlike last offseason, Zierden elected to have surgery this time around, as he underwent a medical procedure in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13th.
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.
McDermott earned his second technical foul on March 3 vs. No. 4 Villanova.
Some other facts about the first 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 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
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 the end of the 2014-15 campaign.
Most Wins Since 2000-01
Team W L
Butler 358 146
Xavier 353 149
Creighton 349 155
Villanova 337 165
Marquette 327 170
Georgetown 325 164
Providence 258 216
Seton Hall 244 224
St. John's 234 234
DePaul 193 271
Most Wins - Last 10 Years (2005-06 to Present)
Team W L
Butler 252 97
Villanova 243 98
Xavier 237 106
Georgetown 230 102
Creighton 230 113
Marquette 221 119
Providence 170 150
Seton Hall 166 152
St. John's 164 155
DePaul 114 200
Most Wins - Last 4 Years (2011-12 to Present)
Team W L
Creighton 98 41
Villanova 95 41
Georgetown 89 42
Butler 86 52
Xavier 84 54
Marquette 83 51
Providence 79 56
St. John's 71 60
Seton Hall 69 63
DePaul 47 81
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 produced his fourth career double-double on Feb. 14 vs. Marquette when he scored 12 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds.
Artino has made 61.5 percent of his career field goal attempts. That's the second-best mark in Creighton history among players with 300 or more career attempts, and is seventh nationally among active players with 240 or more career field goals.
Pct. Name, Years FGM-FGA
.625 Gregory Echenique, 2010-13 374-598
.615 Will Artino, 2011-Pres. 256-416
.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
Trey Troubles
Creighton made 39-of-91 three-pointers (42.9 percent) in its BIG EAST victories this season, but just 93-for-299 (31.1 percent) from deep in its league losses.
For the season Creighton shot 34.5 percent from three-point land.
In the last four years under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 37-33 (.529) when shooting 40.00 percent or worse from three-point range. While respectable, that pales in comparison to CU's 61-8 (.884) 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 87-21 in the past four years when shooting 30 percent or better from deep, compared to 11-20 when shooting 29.99 percent or less.
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 (then) 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.
Groselle reached double-digits for an unprecedented third straight game on Feb. 14 vs. Marquette, recording 12 points.
3-Headed Monster
Creighton has used three men who alternated 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 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 38.2 minutes per game, all while shooting 58.2 percent from the floor.
Name MPG FG-FGA RPG PPG
Artino 16.2 86-155 4.7 6.1
Groselle 12.3 72-111 2.5 5.4
Hanson 11.5 47-86 2.4 3.8
Total 38.2 205-352 9.2 14.6
Toughest Thing In Sports
Creighton is 27-21 in true road games the last four years, and 44-29 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 went 3-9 in true road games this season, and is 5-11 away from home when you factor in games in Niceville, Fla., during the Emerald Coast Classic, and at Madison Square Garden during the BIG EAST Tournament.
Will The Thrill
Will Artino leads Creighton in rebounds per 40 minutes (11.5 rpg.) and is second in points per 40 minutes (15.1 ppg.) this season.
Among those 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
11.5 Will Artino 2014-15
11.3 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
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.
Careful Chatman
Austin Chatman owned a 121/67 assist/turnover ratio (1.81) this season, a figure that ranked seventh in the BIG EAST and 150th 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 owned 493 assists compared to 244 turnovers, good for a 2.02 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 was 11-6 when leading at half, 3-12 when trailing at halftime and 0-1 when tied at the break.
Creighton has won all but six of its last 50 games played when leading at the half, and is 99-16 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 86-of-131 career field goal attempts, good for 65.6 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 4,036 career points in a Bluejay uniform.
Last year McDermott averaged 14.0 points in the first half of games. This year, the team's leading scorer (Austin Chatman) averages 11.5 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 105-6 under McDermott when putting together double-digit leads, including wins 93 of the last 95 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.
Poll Position
Creighton is one of 21 teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 at some point 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. 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 now made the NCAA's, NIT or CBI 19 of the previous 20 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 did not trail in four of its 17 home games this season.
In 203 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 52 of those contests, a staggering 25.6 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.
Link Notes
Creighton is 84-2 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by 15 points or more.
Creighton is 35-15 all-time at CenturyLink Center Omaha in games decided by five points or less.
Creighton is also 14-5 in regular-season home games at CenturyLink Center Omaha decided by two points or less.
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. He later had a four-point play vs. Xavier on March 7th, then made another in the BIG EAST Tournament vs. Georgetown on March 12.
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 (2x) and Milliken (3x) are the only ones to do it more than once.
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.
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 11th in NBA history with 1,729 three-pointers and is also sixth in league history with 43.25 percent marksmanship from three-point range. 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?
Creighton has ranked as one of the nation's top offensive teams since Greg McDermott took over prior to the 2010-11 season. The Jays rank among the national leaders in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, assists, assist/turnover ratio, field goal percentage, and winning.
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally in the first five years of the Greg McDermott era.
2010-11 to 2014-15
Category Stat NCAA Rank
3FG Percentage* .3930 2nd
Assists 2,856 3rd
FG Percentage .4768 4th
3FG Made 1,492 4th
Assists/Game 16.045 5th
Assist/Turnover Ratio 1.382 5th
3FG Made/Game 8.382 9th
FG Made 4,555 22nd
Wins 121 T-25th
Winning Percentage .6798 T-34th
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.
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 was sixth nationally in attendance.
Creighton was the fist team to average 17,000+ fans, despite a losing record, since Louisville in 2000-01.
2014-15 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Syracuse 23,854
2. Kentucky 23,572
3. Louisville 22,030
4. North Carolina 19,582
5. Wisconsin 17,279
6. Creighton 17,048
7. Kansas 16,383
8. Indiana 16,288
9. BYU 16,125
10. Nebraska 15,569
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,048 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 689 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 60-2 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
98 2011-15
97 2008-12
Closing Strong
Creighton has won 47 of its last 52 games when leading with 5:00 to play.
Overall under Greg McDermott, Creighton is 110-11 when leading with 5:00 left. The Bluejays are also 3-1 under McDermott when tied with 5:00 to play.
CU is 8-47 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 121-57 on the Creighton sideline in his fifth year at the helm. The 121 wins are easily the most in Creighton history in the first five seasons.
How good are McDermott's 121 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. 121-57
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 86-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 98-0 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 77.06 points per home game (6,781 points in 88 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
The 2014-15 season included two of the school's top-16 home crowds ever. 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. 17,971 #19 Butler 02/16/15
17. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
18. 17,740 Alcorn State 11/08/13
19. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
20. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
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.
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 vs. Iowa State. Press Conference - 10/17/25
Tuesday, October 14
Creighton 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
