Creighton University Athletics
Saturday, January 7
Providence, R.I.
1:10 PM
Creighton University
at
Providence
Cole Huff
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
#10 Men's Basketball Seeks Road Win at Providence on Saturday
1/5/2017 5:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton seeks 15-1 start
Download Notes as a PDF
Game #16: #10 Creighton at Providence • Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 • 1:05 p.m. CST
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410) • Providence, R.I.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; www.1620thezone.com
Television: CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Tina Cervasio)
Series History: Providence leads, 12-5
Last Meeting: Providence 70, Creighton 66 on March 2, 2016 in Providence, R.I.
Next Game
No. 10 Creighton (14-1, 2-1 BIG EAST) remains on the East Coast when it heads to Rhode Island to take on Providence (11-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday.
Tip-off at Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410) in Providence, R.I., is set for 1:05 p.m. Central.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2016-17 season, while KOOO (101.9 FM) will also broadcast all home games. The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
John Bishop and former Bluejay Nick Bahe will call the action.
Television Information
Saturday's game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, which can be found in Omaha on Cox Cable channel 234 and 1234 (HD).
Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas will announce, with Tina Cervasio serving as sideline reporter.
Video Webcast Information
CBS Sports Network games are sometimes available to watch on-line, but require a subscription. Visit CBSSports.com/watch/cbssportsnetwork for more details.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting No. 10 Creighton
Creighton ranks 10th in the Associated Press poll after a stellar start to the season that includes wins over No. 9 Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, Buffalo, Akron, Nebraska, Arizona State, Seton Hall and St. John's.
Creighton's 13-0 start was the program's best since 1942-43, and came to an end on New Year's Eve with an 80-70 loss to No. 1 Villanova. The Bluejays bounced back from that setback with a wire-to-wire 85-72 win at St. John's on Wednesday.
The Bluejays are putting up 88.1 points per game (10th nationally) while shooting 53.6 percent from the field (second nationally) and 42.1 percent from three-point territory (fifth nationally).
Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster (18.7 ppg.) leads the Bluejays in scoring, and is averaging the most points by a Bluejay newcomer since Cyril Baptiste in 1969-70. He's scored 15 points or more in 14-of-15 games so far, and has already been named Paradise Jam MVP and a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week in this young season.
Maurice Watson Jr. (13.3 ppg., 8.8 apg.) was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection and runs the Bluejay attack. He's the nation's active leader in career assists (771), and his 8.8 assists per game this year rank lead in the country.
Two Omaha products in the starting line-up are also doing big things. Khyri Thomas averages 12.4 points per game, and is second on the team in blocks, assists and rebounding. Redshirt freshman big man Justin Patton averages 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He's shooting 74.8 percent from the field (third nationally) and has 39 dunks already, including five slams on Wednesday.
Scouting Providence
Providence is 11-5 on the season and 1-2 in the BIG EAST after stopping a three-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 76-70 win over Georgetown. The Friars are a perfect 10-0 at home.
Rodney Bullock (17.9 ppg., 6.5 rpg.) leads PC in both scoring and rebounding, while Emmitt Holt (13.2 ppg., 5.9 rpg.), Jalen Lindsey (10.3 ppg.) and Kyron Cartwright (10.0 ppg., 7.1 apg.) also average in double-figures.
No other player averages more than 4.4 points per game.
The Friars average 69.9 points per game and yield 63.5 points per contest.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his seventh season as head coach at Creighton. He is 155-73 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 435-268 in his 23rd season and is 304-204 in his 16th Division I campaign. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Preston Murphy.
Ed Cooley (Stonehill, 1994) is 206-141 in his 11th year as a head coach, including a 114-72 mark in his sixth year at Providence. He was previously coach at Fairfield before heading to Friartown. Cooley is assisted by Ivan Thomas, Brian Blaney and Jeff Battle.
The Series With Providence
Providence owns a 12-5 lead in a series that dates back to 1961, including a 7-1 lead in Rhode Island.
Providence has won six of the seven meetings since the two became BIG EAST foes, including five straight wins in the series.
Greg McDermott is 1-6 against Providence and Ed Cooley. Cooley is 6-2 against the Bluejays, as his Fairfield team fell on March 22, 2010 in a CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament game that was the last one ever played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Murphy Returns To Rhode Island
Second year Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy returns to the area where he starred in college on Saturday when the Jays visit Providence.
Murphy played at Rhode Island from 1995-99, where he scored 1,218 career points and added 352 rebounds, 324 assists and 140 steals.
Murphy drained 183 three-pointers in his career for the Rams, who reached the Elite Eight in 1998. He was also an assistant coach at Rhode Island from 2010-14.
Point Guard Duel?
Saturday's match-up at the Dunkin' Donuts Center features two of the top three distributors in the college game.
Creighton's Maurice Watson Jr. leads the nation with 132 assists and 8.8 assists per game.
His Providence counterpart, Kyron Cartwright, ranks third with 114 assists and sixth with 7.1 assists per game.
Patton Takes Down Red Storm
Redshirt freshman center Justin Patton had a career-night on Wednesday in his team's 85-72 win over St. John's.
Patton had a career-high 25 points, tied his high with four assists, and his nine rebounds were one away from his previous best of 10. Patton had five dunks himself, and three of his four assists led to a dunk as well.
The only other Creighton player with a game of 25/9/4 or better under coach Greg McDermott was his son, three-time All-American Doug McDermott.
Doug McDermott had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists exactly three years earlier on January 4, 2014 in a win at Seton Hall, and first did it on January 30, 2013 with a 29/10/4 night vs. Missouri State.
On Pace For History?
Justin Patton has made 74.8 percent of his field goal attempts this season, good enough to lead the BIG EAST and rank third nationally in 2016-17.
The best season-ending mark in NCAA history, with a minimum of 5 FG/game, is 74.6 percent in 1980-81 by Oregon State's Steve Johnson.
That being said, Patton's marksmanship this season trails two other men who are also on pace to set the NCAA record for field goal percentage, as UNCW's Devontae Cacok is at 81.1 percent and UCF's Tacko Fall not far behind at 80.0 percent this season.
The chart below lists the top-five single-season marks for field goal percentage in NCAA history entering 2016-17:
Best FG %, NCAA History
(minimum 5 FG/game)
1. Steve Johnson, Oregon State 1980-81 235-315 .746
2. Dwayne Davis, Florida 1988-89 179-248 .722
3. Evan Bradds, Belmont 2015-16 210-294 .714
4. Keith Walker, Utica 1984-85 154-216 .713
5. Steve Johnson, Oregon State 1979-80 211-297 .710
Let It Fly
Creighton had nine dunks in Wednesday's win at St. John's, tying a season-high first done on December 9th vs. Longwood.
Justin Patton assisted on one dunk to Khyri Thomas, as well as two of Marcus Foster's three dunks.
Patton also had five dunks himself, giving him 39 for the season. His 19 dunks on lobs alone (including one at St. John's) this season match the career number of total dunks in four seasons for Doug McDermott from 2010-14.
Paint It Blue
Creighton had 52 points in the paint on Wednesday at St. John's, matching its most paint points in any league game since joining the BIG EAST.
Creighton also had 52 points in the paint last February, also against St. John's, in a 100-59 romp over the Johnnies.
Creighton has not had more than 52 points in the paint in any other conference games since 2004-05.
Wire-To-Wire Road Win
Creighton never trailed in Wednesday's 85-72 win at St. John's, throwing a lob to Marcus Foster in the opening seconds en route to a 7-0 lead out of the gates.
It was just the second time in Creighton's 28 all-time BIG EAST road games that the Bluejays never trailed.
The only previous time came on January 20, 2014, in a 96-68 win at No. 4 Villanova. In that contest, Creighton made a three-pointer on its first nine possessions and finished with a league-record 21 trifectas overall.
Against The BIG EAST
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2014, Creighton is unbeaten at home against St. John's, the only team it can say that for. On Saturday, CU treks to Providence, one of two places it hasn't won (along with Georgetown).
Team CU Home Games CU Road Games
Butler 2-1 1-2
DePaul 2-1 3-0
Georgetown 2-1 0-3
Marquette 2-1 2-1
Providence 1-2 0-3
Seton Hall 2-2 2-1
St. John's 3-0 2-2
Villanova 1-3 1-2
Xavier 2-1 1-1
Total 17-12 12-16
Road Warriors
Creighton is a perfect 6-0 away from home this winter, with those wins coming by an average of 15.4 points per game. Creighton's victims in that time include Washington State, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Arizona State and St. John's.
Creighton has scored 93.2 points per game in those road/neutral contests this season, shooting 54.6 percent from the floor and 48.9 percent from three-point range. CU has averaged 11.3 three-pointers per game away from home this season.
Two Bluejay veteran reserves, Toby Hegner (11-21, 52.4%) and Isaiah Zierden (11-19, 57.9%), have combined to shoot 55 percent from long-range in 40 attempt, while Maurice Watson Jr. (5-8) and Justin Patton (2-3) are also shooting at a prolific clip from deep in those contests outside Omaha.
Creighton has won its first six games away from home for just the second time since World War II, having also done it in 2012-13.
Creighton last won its first seven games away from home in 1942-43. That team opened a school-record 16-0, winning its first eight road/neutral games, before losing in the NIT to Washington & Jefferson.
Building A Resume
Creighton entered Thursday tied for first nationally with five top-51 RPI wins, per figures on WarrenNolan.com.
Creighton, Baylor, Clemson and Florida State had five top-51 wins, a good sign with No. 52 Providence up next.
Creighton's strength of schedule currently ranks 21st.
A Great Start
Despite last Saturday's loss to Villanova, Creighton is still off to a great start with a 14-1 record.
In fact, it's the sixth time in the last 15 years that Creighton has started 13-2 or better through 15 games, which includes 14-1 starts in 2002-03, 2012-13 and 2016-17.
Watson A Senior CLASS Candidate
Creighton men's basketball point guard Maurice Watson Jr. is one of 30 NCAA men's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected as candidates for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate basketball.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Watson averages 13.3 points per game this season and leads the nation with 8.8 assists per game and 132 total assists. Watson's 766 career assists is also the most among the nation's active players. He was named a Preseason All-BIG EAST pick and is one of the leaders on a Bluejay basketball team that is off to a 14-1 start and ranked 10th nationally.
Watson is the seventh Creighton Men's Basketball student-athlete to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, joining Kyle Korver (2002-03), Anthony Tolliver (2006-07), Dane Watts (2007-08), Josh Dotzler (2008-09), Kenny Lawson Jr. (2010-11), Doug McDermott (2013-14). Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four® and NCAA Women's Final Four® this spring.
Three-Point Options
Toby Hegner's fourth and final trey at Arizona State was the 100th trifecta of his career. He now owns 101, and is the fourth active Bluejay with 100 or more three-pointers, joining Marcus Foster (173, with 35 at CU), Isaiah Zierden (147) and Cole Huff (156, with 89 at CU).
Zierden is tied with 2009 MVC Player of the Year Booker Woodfox's for 10th place in Creighton history with 147 career three-pointers.
3FG Name Years
371 Kyle Korver 1999-03
334 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
274 Doug McDermott 2010-14
245 Ryan Sears 1997-01
212 Rodney Buford 1995-99
206 Jahenns Manigat 2010-14
200 Nate Funk 2002-07
185 Matt Roggenburk 1986-90
177 Duan Cole 1987-92
147 Booker Woodfox 2007-09
147 Isaiah Zierden 2013-17
Jays Remain 10th In AP Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team is ranked 10th in the country in this week's Associated Press poll for the second straight week. The Jays held steady despite a loss to No. 1 Villanova last week.
Creighton has been ranked in all nine AP polls this year, and on Dec. 19 matched a program record when it was ranked ninth.
CU has now been ranked 77 weeks in program history, with 49 of those under the direction of seventh-year head coach Greg McDermott.
The Bluejays are one of four BIG EAST teams in the top-17, as Villanova ranks first, Xavier is 16th and Butler is 18th.
Creighton is ranked 10th in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll. The team has been as high as ninth three times in program history, including Dec. 19 and Dec. 26 this season.
Below is a list of the top weekly rankings in the AP poll in program history:
Best Weekly AP rankings, Creighton History
9th - 3/1/14
9th - 12/19/16
10th - 1/20/03
10th - 11/28/16
10th - 12/5/16
10th - 12/12/16
10th - 12/26/16
10th - 1/2/17
We're Jamming!
Justin Patton has 39 of CU's 69 dunks this season, with Marcus Foster (12), Khyri Thomas (7), Martin Krampelj (4), Toby Hegner (2), Zach Hanson (2), Cole Huff (1), Davion Mintz (1) and Kobe Paras (1) accounting for the others.
That's more dunks than any previous season under Greg McDermott, eclipsing the mark of 58 dunks in 35 games last year.
Here's a look at the Creighton student-athletes with 20 or more dunks in a season, and 19 or more dunks in a career, under McDermott:
Most Creighton Dunks, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks Name Year
39 Justin Patton 2016-17
36 Gregory Echenique 2012-13
30 Gregory Echenique 2011-12
24 Gregory Echenique 2010-11
22 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
Most Creighton Dunks, Career, Since 2010-11
Dunks Name Years
90 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
39 Justin Patton 2016-Pres.
38 Will Artino 2011-15
29 Zach Hanson 2013-Pres.
25 Geoffrey Groselle 2012-16
22 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2010-11
19 Doug McDermott 2010-14
Most Creighton Dunks, Team, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks Year Team W-L
69 2016-17 ? ? ?
58 2015-16 20-15 (NIT)
56 2010-11 23-16 (CBI)
54 2012-13 28-8 (NCAA)
42 2011-12 29-6 (NCAA)
35 2013-14 27-8 (NCAA)
29 2014-15 14-19
About That 13-0 Start
Creighton started this season 13-0 for the first time since the 1942-43 team started 16-0. Creighton also started 13-0 exactly 100 years ago in 1916-17.
Below is a list of Creighton's most successful starts all-time:
Best Starts, Creighton History
Start Year Final W-L First Loss
16-0 1942-43 * 16-1 Washington & Jefferson
13-0 1916-17 ! 18-2 Dubuque
13-0 2016-17 ? ? ? #1 Villanova
12-0 2003-04 # 20-9 Northern Iowa
*Reached NCAA Tournament; #Reached NIT
!No postseason tournaments existed yet
Playing With The Lead
Creighton has trailed for just 83:17 of a possible 600 minutes this season, just 13.9 percent of the time.
Last Saturday's loss to No. 1 Villanova marked the only time all season that Creighton has trailed in the final three minutes of any game, and just the second time (along with Oral Roberts) that Creighton has trailed at any point in the final eight minutes.
#Winning
Creighton reeled off 13 straight wins to start the 2016-17 season. It was Creighton's longest win streak under Greg McDermott, as seen below.
Longest Win Streaks Under Greg McDermott at CU
W's Dates Snapped By
13 Nov. 11, 2016 - Present #1 Villanova
11 Dec. 1, 2012 - Jan. 15, 2013 at Wichita State
11 Dec. 31, 2011 - Feb. 1, 2012 at Northern Iowa
10 Dec. 3, 2013 - Jan. 14, 2014 at Providence
Win Streak History
Creighton's 13-0 start was its sixth streak of 13 straight wins or more all-time, and Creighton's longest winning streak since Tom Apke's 1974-75 club won 14 straight.
The school-record streak is 38 straight wins, set over the course of CU's first four seasons of organized basketball nearly 100 years ago.
Creighton improved to 5-1 all-time in the game after having a winning streak of 13 or longer snapped, losing only in 1975 when it dropped three in a row after a 14-gamer.
Creighton's Longest Win Streaks, All-Time
W's Dates Coach NCAA/NIT
38 Feb. 22, 1917 - Feb. 11, 1920 Mills Didn't exist
17 Mar. 25, 1942 - Mar. 4, 1943 Hickey NIT
16 Jan. 31, 1928 - Jan. 23, 1929 Schabinger Didn't exist
14 Jan. 3 - Feb. 21, 1925 Schabinger Didn't exist
14 Jan. 2 - Feb. 22, 1975 Apke NCAA
13 Nov. 11 - Dec. 28, 2016 McDermott ? ? ?
New Year's Resolution
This year marked the first time Creighton has entered New Year's Day with 13 wins. The previous high of 12 was done in 2012-13 as well as the 2008-09 campaign.
Double-Double Dime-Dropper
Maurice Watson Jr. owns five double-doubles this season, tied for second-most in the BIG EAST behind Angel Delgado (9). All of Watson's double-dips are point/assist double-doubles, as he leads the nation with 8.8 assists per game.
Through January 4th, Watson's six games with 10+ assists this season are one more than UCLA's Lonzo Ball for the national lead, and two more than the four such games by Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox, Syracuse's Franklin Howard, Texas-Arlington's Erick Neal and Arkansas State's Donte Thomas.
Watson owned 10+ assists in four of Creighton's seven games in December. By comparison, in 165 games from 2005-06 to 2009-10, Creighton had a player reach 10 assists in a game just twice.
With 21 points and 10 assists vs. Seton Hall last Wednesday, Watson became CU's first player with 20 points and 10 assists in the same game since Vernon Moore had 21 points and 12 assists vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985.
Watson's Dimes
Maurice Watson Jr. owns 766 career assists to date, easily the most among the nation's active players.
Watson also leads the nation with 8.8 assists per game and with 132 overall helpers.
Watson's 132 assists this year have been spread among nine different players, and have led to 60 three-pointers, 35 lay-ups, 28 dunks and nine other two-point jump shots (see chart, bottom of page four).
Including six converted "and-1" free throw opportunities, Watson's 132 assists have led to 331 points, an average of 22.1 points per game.
Scoring In Bunches
Creighton has scored 1,322 points through 15 games, to rank 10th nationally with 88.1 points per contest.
The 1,322 points are 23 more points than Creighton has EVER scored in its first 15 games of any season, as seen below:
Most Points Through 15 Games, Creighton History
Points Year Final W-L (Postseason)
1,322 2016-17 ? ? ?
1,299 1965-66 14-12
1,289 1970-71 14-11
1,287 2015-16 20-15 (NIT)
1,267 1963-64 22-7 (NCAA)
Pick Pockets
Creighton had 13 steals in last Wednesday's win over Seton Hall. It was the team's most in a game since 17 vs. Tulsa on Dec. 19, 2012, and the most against a conference opponent since 13 vs. Indiana State on Feb. 22, 2006.
Five different Bluejays had multiple steals against the Pirates, with three men owning three thefts.
Khyri Comes Up BIG
Last Wednesday's game vs. Seton Hall was the 18th regular-season contest of Khyri Thomas' career against a BIG EAST team, and by far his best. Thomas had 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals and an assist, validating Kevin Willard's pregame statements about Thomas being one of the BIG EAST's most improved players.
Thomas has scored in double-figures in 16-of-29 career non-conference games, but last Wednesday against Seton Hall was the first time he's reached double-figures in those 18 league games.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott is quick to credit the rise of Thomas to the confidence he got in last year's NIT, where he scored in double-figures in three straight games to take some positive momentum into the off-season.
Bench Bonus
Isaiah Zierden (38) and Toby Hegner (40) have combined for 78 career starts, but this year have spent their time coming off the bench for the Bluejays.
On Dec. 20 at Arizona State, they helped Creighton shake off an early 13-6 deficit with some prolific long-range shooting. Hegner and Zierden combined to shoot 5-for-5 from three-point range during a 17-9 run as Creighton took a 23-22 lead.
CU would trail for just 53 seconds the rest of the game.
Both Zierden and Hegner drained four three-point shots in the game to finish with 12 points a piece as CU's bench outscored the ASU reserves by a 25-4 margin.
Against Seton Hall, Zierden and Hegner were the only two reserves utilized by Greg McDermott. It was the fewest players used by Creighton in any game since December 9, 1993.
100!
Creighton is 101-34 all-time when ranked in the Associated Press poll, picking up its 100th win as a top-25 team last Wednesday when it hosted and beat Seton Hall.
That includes a 67-22 mark under Greg McDermott when ranked.
Standard Five
Per FOX Sports research, Creighton is one of 11 teams nationally that has used the same starting line-up in every game this season, but they're not the only BIG EAST team that can say so.
Joining the Bluejays with a familiar starting five every game has been DePaul.
Foster Named BIG EAST Player of the Week
Marcus Foster was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 26th.
The honor comes after Foster had a season-high 29 points in Creighton's 96-85 win at Arizona State on Dec. 20th. Foster made 10-of-18 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 shots at the line while adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Foster had 17 points after the break, including the team's final four points from the free throw line to hold off ASU's upset bid.
He was previously honored on Nov. 28th.
Patton Commands Attention
Justin Patton scored 18 points at Arizona State adding a career-high four assists to go with a career-high tying three blocked shots.
How rare is it for a Bluejay to have 18 points, four assists and three blocks in a game?
You'd have to go back to Anthony Tolliver, who did it versus Drake on January 9, 2007 when he had 18 points, six assists and five blocked shots against the Bulldogs.
Defense Pitches A Late Shutout
Creighton's offense gets all the attention, but the defense stepped up when it was needed most on Dec. 17 against Oral Roberts.
Creighton found itself trailing 65-60 with 6:08 left after ORU's Albert Owens banked in a three-pointer to stun the crowd. The Golden Eagles would go scoreless in their final 10 possessions the rest of the way.
Creighton would steadily come back, getting two hoops from Justin Patton before a Marcus Foster drive with 3:21 to play gave CU a 66-65 lead.
Neither team would score in the final 3:21 of the contest.
That contest marked the first time since December 22, 2010, that Creighton held an opponent scoreless over the final 6:08 of regulation. That came when CU held Samford scoreless in the final 6:48 of a 58-40 victory.
Those are the only two contests in the 427 games since the start of 2004-05 campaign that the Bluejays have held an opponent scoreless in the final 6:08 of any game.
Watson Dishes To History
Maurice Watson Jr. had 10 assists on Dec. 17th against Oral Roberts after dishing 11 helpers on Dec. 9 vs. Longwood.
Watson joined Grant Gibbs (in 2011-12) as the only Bluejays in the last 25 years with back-to-back games of 10+ assists, with Watson also having accomplished the feat earlier this season in November.
Watson was the first Bluejay with a point/assist double-double in consecutive games since at least 1978-79.
BIG EAST > "Football 5" So Far
Creighton has knocked off teams from the Big Ten (Wisconsin and Nebraska), Pac-12 (Arizona State and Washington State), ACC (North Carolina State) and SEC (Ole Miss) this year, all by nine or more points.
Those six non-conference wins over the "Football 5" leagues are the most of any other team in the nation.
The BIG EAST owns 27 non-conference wins over "Football 5" leagues, second-most of any league in the nation.
Both figures are through games of January 4.
MBB Non-Conference Wins Over
"Football 5" Leagues, By Team
6 Creighton
5 Butler
5 Gonzaga
5 UCLA
4 Seton Hall
4 Kansas
4 Xavier
4 Clemson
MBB Wins Over "Football 5" Leagues, By Conference
31 Atlantic Coast
27 BIG EAST
17 Big Ten
16 Big 12
13 Southeastern
12 Pac-12
Foster's Finest
For the third time in seven seasons under Greg McDermott, Creighton has a player with at least 14 games of 15+ points during the team's first 15 games of a season.
Marcus Foster has done it this year, joining Doug McDermott in 2012-13 and 2013-14. McDermott led both those teams to the NCAA Tournament, and was named a First Team All-American after each campaign, as well.
Prior to the arrival of the McDermott's, no Bluejay had opened a season in more than 25 years with 15+ points in 14 of the first 15 games.
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 14 games in recent seasons.
Of note, Creighton has started 10-5 or better after 15 games in 15 of the past 17 seasons.
This year's team, with four double-figure scorers, is only the third time since 1995-96 that Creighton has had more than three players scoring in double-figures after 14 games. Last year's team, as well as the 2010-11 squad, also had four men in double-figures at this point.
Creighton's 88.1 points per game clip is the team's highest mark after 15 games in program history.
Creighton's 53.6 percent field goal percentage through 15 games is the best mark in the last 23 years, a good trend since the next three spots are owned by the three winningest teams in program history.
Creighton's 136 three-pointers through 15 games are fourth-most in the last 23 years, as well.
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG 10+ PPG guys
2016-17 14-1 88.1 .536 136 4
2015-16 10-5 85.8 .500 133 4
2014-15 9-6 70.1 .420 126 2
2013-14 13-2 81.5 .483 170 2
2012-13 14-1 79.5 .512 143 2
2011-12 13-2 83.2 .513 134 2
2010-11 10-5 66.7 .430 101 3
2009-10 7-8 70.6 .444 115 1
2008-09 12-3 75.6 .446 132 3
2007-08 12-3 74.9 .462 122 2
2006-07 10-5 68.1 .447 93 2
2005-06 11-4 69.3 .430 111 3
2004-05 10-5 67.9 .439 117 2
2003-04 13-2 70.8 .462 91 2
2002-03 14-1 82.7 .518 141 1
2001-02 10-5 76.1 .451 95 3
2000-01 11-4 74.7 .437 115 4
1999-00 10-5 71.0 .459 120 2
1998-99 11-4 75.6 .461 124 2
1997-98 9-6 74.7 .461 106 2
1996-97 7-8 65.5 .405 78 2
1995-96 8-7 65.9 .397 87 2
1994-95 6-9 63.5 .390 102 4
1,000 x 3
Cole Huff became the third member of the current Creighton team to surpass 1,000 career points when he reached the mark at Nebraska on Dec. 7. Huff entered the game with 999 points (including 527) at Nevada, then added 13 points in the win on 4-of-5 shooting from long-range.
Marcus Foster surpassed the 1,000 point mark during the Nov. 29 win over Buffalo. Foster owns 281 points this season, and scored 875 points during his first two seasons at Kansas State. It took Foster 69 games total to reach the mark.
Last year Maurice Watson Jr. surpassed 1,000 career points (including Boston), and he now owns 1,492 career points.
Creighton has never previously had three players with 1,000 career points on the roster at the same time.
Terrific Start
Junior Marcus Foster's 281 points so far are the most by any Bluejay newcomer through 15 games since at least 1979-80. His 18.7 points per game is the best by a Bluejay newcomer since Cyril Baptiste's 18.9 points per game in 1969-70.
For comparison, Doug McDermott had 197 points through 14 games and 202 points after the 16th career game of his freshman season. He would finish his career with 3,150 in 145 career games to rank fifth in NCAA history.
Most Points, Newcomers First 15 Games Since 1995-96
Pts. Name, Class Year After 16
281 Marcus Foster, Jr. 2016-17 ? ? ?
208 Justin Patton, Fr. 2016-17 ? ? ?
197 Doug McDermott, Fr. 2010-11 202
194 Maurice Watson Jr., Jr. 2015-16 221
179 Rodney Buford, Fr. 1995-96 189
177 P'Allen Stinnett, Fr. 2007-08 189
176 Cole Huff, Jr. 2015-16 176
162 Brody Deren, So. 2001-02 170
156 Gregory Echenique, So. 2010-11 167
152 Ryan Sears, Fr. 1997-98 168
Baker's Dozen For Watson
Maurice Watson Jr. had a CenturyLink Center Omaha 13 assists in a Dec. 3 win over Akron. That's one more than the previous record held by Creighton's Grant Gibbs vs. Northwestern on December 22, 2011.
The contest was the third of Watson's Creighton career with 13 or more helpers, and fifth overall as a collegian.
Per Sports-Reference.com, Watson is one of nine men with five games of 13+ assists since 2010-11, and the only active player. He's joined on that list by players such as Kris Dunn, Kendall Marshall and Michael Carter-Williams. The list is topped by Marshall and LIU-Brooklyn's Jason Brickman, with 10 each.
Watson now owns three of Creighton's eight games all-time of 13+ assists, with Ralph Bobik (3), Latrell Wrightsell (1) and Jason Bey (1) owning the others.
It Do Run, Run
Creighton ranks seventh in the KenPom.com's Adjusted Offensive rankings this year and 64th in tempo as of Thursday morning.
Per figures from StatBroadcast.com, Creighton has scored on at least half of its possessions in all but three games this season, despite averaging just 14 seconds per possession.
Creighton Offense
Opponent Poss. Scores Pts/Poss. Sec/Poss.
UMKC 80 40 1.113 :14
#9 Wisconsin 68 35 1.162 :15
Washington St. 84 44 1.226 :13
NC State 80 45 1.400 :15
Ole Miss 70 35 1.229 :15
Loyola (Md.) 71 40 1.155 :14
Buffalo 79 43 1.177 :13
Akron 70 37 1.171 :12
Nebraska 78 37 .987 :12
Longwood 82 54 1.378 :13
Oral Roberts 71 30 .930 :13
Arizona State 78 41 1.231 :14
Seton Hall 76 44 1.171 :15
#1 Villanova 70 32 1.000 :14
St. John's 72 38 1.181 :16
TOTALS 1,129 594 1.171 :14
BIG EAST Playing Big
Though the BIG EAST may not be considered of the traditional "Football 5" Conferences due to its lack of big time football, the performance of the league has been big time for a long time.
The league has owned a top-five RPI in the NCAA RPI rankings in every season since 2000-01, as seen below:
BIG EAST in Conference RPI Rankings
2016-17: 1st (per WarrenNolan.com)
2015-16: 4th
2014-15: 3rd
2013-14: 4th
2012-13: 2nd
2011-12: 2nd
2010-11: 1st
2009-10: 3rd
2008-19: 4th
2007-08: 5th
2006-07: 5th
2005-06: 3rd
2004-05: 2nd
2003-04: 4th
2002-03: 5th
2001-02: 3rd
2000-01: 3rd
Top Five RPI
According to WarrenNolan.com on Thursday morning, Creighton ranked No. 7 nationally in the RPI.
Villanova was first, Xavier was fifth and Butler sixth, which has helped the BIG EAST to No. 1 in the conference RPI rankings.
15 Treys & 50 Percent?
Creighton shot made 44-of-81 three-point attempts in three games at the Paradise Jam, good for 54.3 percent, in its only three previous games outside Omaha.
The Bluejays shot 15-of-28 (53.6%) against Washington State, 13-of-27 (48.1%) against North Carolina State and 16-of-26 (61.5%) in the title tilt vs. Ole Miss.
In program history, Creighton owns 11 all-time games in which it has made 15 or more three-pointers and shot 50 percent or better, as seen below. Two of those were in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Best 3FG%, Minimum 15 3FG Made
3FG% Opponent 3FG-3FGA Date
.667 Chattanooga 20-30 02/19/05
.640 Chicago State 16-25 12/29/13
.625 at Indiana State 15-24 12/31/08
.615 vs. Ole Miss 16-26 11/21/16
.600 at #4 Villanova 21-35 01/24/14
.600 Texas-Arlington 15-25 11/17/02
.600 vs. IUPUI 15-25 11/25/02
.593 Drake 16-27 01/08/13
.536 Missouri State 15-28 01/30/13
.536 vs. Washington State 15-28 11/18/16
.533 Evansville 16-30 01/04/99
First Half Blitz
Creighton led 62-25 at halftime on Dec. 9 vs. Longwood. The 62 points were a CenturyLink Center Omaha record for points in a half, and the most by the Bluejays in any half since scoring 63 in the second half of a 106-50 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 17, 2002.
Creighton's 55-point win was also its largest since that same 106-50 win over Texas-Arlington on Nov. 17, 2002.
Creighton has won 70 straight games in which it has scored 42 or more points in the first half, and 55 straight when scoring 44 or more in the first half.
Assist Leader
Not only is Maurice Watson Jr. is the nation's active leader in assists with 771, but he's also fourth in steals (183), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (2.12) and 12th in field goals made (570).
Watson is the nation's only active Division I player with at least 500 field goals and 600 assists.
Below is a look at the national active leaders in assists and steals, through Jan. 4.
Active Leaders in Career Assists
1. Maurice Watson Jr., Creighton 771
2. Monte Morris, Iowa State 625
3. Alec Wintering, Portland 554
4. Marquis Wright, Siena 523
5. Siyani Chambers, Harvard 513
Active Leaders in Career Steals
1. Paris Lee, Illinois State 212
2. Justin Robinson, Monmouth 190
3. Monte Morris, Iowa State 184
4. Maurice Watson Jr., Creighton 183
5. Damon Lynn, NJIT 180
Shooting Stars
Creighton has shot 53.6 percent from the field this season, and an equally impressive 42.1 percent from three-point range.
No team has shot better than 47 percent from three-point territory for an entire season since Indiana (47.6) in 1988-89. When Creighton led the nation in three-point shooting percentage in 2013-14, it finished the year at 41.4 percent.
Big man Justin Patton is shooting 74.8 percent from the field (third nationally), with 39 dunks among his 92 made field goals.
Each of Creighton's seven players with four or more made three-pointers have connected on 35.7 percent or better of their shots from downtown.
Hanson Hurt
Senior center Zach Hanson was expected to miss 8-12 weeks after tearing a tendon and the ligaments in his left ankle during Creighton's win over Ole Miss on Nov. 21st.
Hanson underwent surgery on Nov. 28th.
A Pierre, S.D., native, Hanson was averaging 8.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the field in 13.2 minutes per game.
Though he will not be on the court, look for Hanson to maintain a strong leadership role on the team as he mentors freshmen centers Justin Patton and Martin Krampelj.
Omaha's Team
Creighton has started Omaha natives Justin Patton and Khyri Thomas in each of its games so far.
It's the first time Creighton has started two Omaha products in the same game since March 16, 2000 vs. Auburn, when Matt West (Omaha Westside) and Donnie Johnson (Omaha Central) earned a nod.
Johnson, coincidentally, coached Thomas at Omaha Benson High School.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked to finish third in its fourth 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 Xavier and Creighton round out the top three. Seton Hall and Georgetown tied for fourth place, while Butler, Marquette, St. John's, Providence and DePaul rounded out the bottom half.
Creighton guard Maurice Watson Jr. was named Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team, while Marcus Foster was picked to be a Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable-Mention choice.
NBA Representation
This year marks the third straight season that Creighton has three NBA players at the same time, as Kyle Korver (Atlanta Hawks), Anthony Tolliver (Sacramento Kings) and Doug McDermott (Chicago Bulls) are all in the league.
Including 2016-17, Creighton has now had an NBA player in 33 of the last 34 years.
Korver ranks eighth in NBA history with 1,952 three-pointers and is also eighth in league history with 42.9 percent marksmanship from three-point range (through January 4). He set a single-season NBA mark that still stands with his 53.6 percent shooting from three-point range in 2009-10, and is the only player in league history to lead the NBA in three-point percentage three times. He's currently averaging 9.5 points per game while making 40.9 percent of his three-point attempts this year.
Tolliver is averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season for the Kings, his 11th NBA organization.
McDermott is in his third season with the Chicago Bulls, where he's averaging 10.1 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point range for fellow Ames High alum Fred Hoiberg. Hoiberg, ironically, is the same man who replaced Greg McDermott as Iowa State's head coach in 2010.
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally in the since Greg McDermott took over in 2010-11, per Basketball-Reference.com:
2010-11 to 2015-16
Category Stat NCAA Rank
FG Percentage .476 4th
3FG Made 1,775 4th
3FG Percentage .386 5th
Assists 3392 7th
FG Made 5,534 18th
Wins 141 31st
Winning Percentage .662 47th
Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 16 of the last 18 seasons (including 2015-16), 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 18 years: Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas.
Kentucky , Florida, Texas and Syracuse have each done it in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
Along with Arizona, Xavier and Connecticut, Creighton is one of four schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 16 of the past 18 years.
Eight Out Of 18 Tourney Titles
Creighton owns eight league tournament titles in the last 18 years. On a national basis, the only schools that can claim this are Gonzaga (14), Duke (10), Winthrop (9), Creighton (8), Kansas (8) and Kentucky (8).
Full House
Creighton is averaging 17,207 fans per home game this season, fifth-best nationally. That figure would rank 17th best in the NBA, ahead of 14 franchises.
Last year was the 11th straight season that CU has been among the nation's top 25 in average home attendance, and the fifth straight season in the top-10 nationally in attendance, as well.
2016-17 Attendance Leaders (1/6)
Rk. School Average Next Home
1. Kentucky 22,628 1/7
2. Syracuse 20,766 1/7
3. Louisville 19,891 1/11
4. Wisconsin 17,286 1/12
5. Creighton 17,207 1/11
6. Kansas 16,490 1/7
7. Maryland 15,939 1/10
8. Indiana 15,883 1/7
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
Avg. Att. School Year
17,896 Creighton 2013-14
17,207 so far Creighton 2016-17
17,155 Creighton 2012-13
17,048 Creighton 2014-15
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
Some Loyal Fans
Creighton attracted 302,887 fans at home in 2015-16, surpassing 200,000 fans for the 11th straight season. The 302,887 home fans this season ranked as the most in school history.
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 the last 14 seasons (including this year).
Creighton has led its conference in home attendance every year since moving into CenturyLink Center Omaha, which is opening its 14th season.
Creighton's Most Home Fans, Season
Rk. Year G Attendance Average
1. 2015-16 19 302,887 15,941
2. 2008-09 19 302,676 15,930
3. 2010-11 22 297,161 13,507
4. 2012-13 17 291,643 17,155
5. 2014-15 17 289,808 17,048
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 762 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. The streak is the nation's 22nd-longest active streak through games of January 4.
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.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (1/4)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 989 UNLV 1/7
2. 988 Kentucky 1/7
3. 978 Vanderbilt 1/7
4. 962 Duke 1/7
5. 920 Western Kentucky 1/5
6. 915 Arkansas 1/7
7. 906 East Tennessee State 1/5
8. 899 Pacific 1/5
9. 881 Oakland 1/6
10. 874 Texas 1/7
11. 857 Princeton 1/7
12. 847 Florida 1/7
13. 823 Marshall 1/5
14. 822 La Salle 1/7
15. 814 Baylor 1/7
16. 791 LIU-Brooklyn 1/5
17. 787 Gonzaga 1/5
18. 786 Cornell 1/8
19. 771 Mount St. Mary's 1/5
20. 769 Tennessee State 1/5
21. 765 East Carolina 1/7
22. 763 Creighton 1/7
Making A Jump
Creighton went from 14-19 in 2014-15 to 20-15 last season. In the last 50 seasons of Creighton basketball, there has been only six seasons where the team has grown its win total by six or more victories from one year to the next, with two of those gains under the direction of Greg McDermott:
Biggest Win Improvements, Last 50 Years
Jump Year W-L Year W-L
+8 1972-73 15-11 1973-74 23-7
+7 1986-87 9-19 1987-88 16-16
+7 1994-95 7-19 1995-96 14-15
+6 2001-02 23-9 2002-03 29-5
+6 2010-11 23-16 2011-12 29-6
+6 2014-15 14-19 2015-16 20-15
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time. The Villanova crowd of 18,831 on Saturday was third-most in school history.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
6. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
7. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
8. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
9. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
10. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
11. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
12. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
13. 18,160 Central Arkansas 11/14/14
14. 18,111 Bradley 02/02/13
15. 18,084 Seton Hall 12/28/16
16. 18,078 Tulsa 11/23/13
17. 18,073 Drake 01/08/13
18. 17,971 #19 Butler 02/16/15
19. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
20. 17,924 Seton Hall 01/30/16
Multiple Choices
Creighton had four men average in double-figures in 2015-16, Maurice Watson Jr. (14.1), Cole Huff (11.3), Geoffrey Groselle (11.2) and Isaiah Zierden (10.2).
Creighton had not previously had four men finish the year scoring in double-figures since 1979-80, when Kevin McKenna, Jim Honz, George Morrow and Daryl Stovall did so.
This year's team also has four men scoring at a double-figure clip, with Huff not far behind at 9.0 ppg.
Très Bien
Since 2011-12, Creighton is 56-46 (.549) when shooting 40.00 percent or worse from three-point range. While respectable, that pales in comparison to CU's 75-10 (.882) mark the last six years when shooting better than 40.00 percent from downtown.
Lower the standards to 30%, and it's still impressive. Creighton is 114-30 in the last six years when shooting 30 percent or better from deep, compared to 17-27 when shooting 29.99 percent or less.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 16 victories under Greg McDermott after trailing by double-figures at some point. Nine of those comebacks came away from home, including the win over Ole Miss in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 21st.
On Nov. 19, 2014, 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), and the second-biggest in the history of CenturyLink Center Omaha (see chart, left column on page four).
On the other hand, CU is 134-10 under McDermott when putting together double-digit leads, including wins 122 of the last 128 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
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
CenturyLink Center Omaha Dramatics
Providence's Kris Dunn hit a game-winning shot as time expired to beat Creighton last Jan. 12th. It was the first game-winning shot with no time left to ever to beat Creighton at CenturyLink Center Omaha, exceeding the previous low with 1.9 seconds left by Butler's Roosevelt Jones in 2014-15.
Dunn's shot was the first to beat Creighton (at any site) with no time left on the clock since Anthony James drained a game-winning three-pointer for Northern Iowa in a 65-62 win on Feb. 4, 2012 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Creighton is 7-6 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds in the 14-year old facility.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at CLCO, 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 at CLCO, 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
01/12/16 #12 Providence 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
What A Start!
Greg McDermott is 155-73 on the Creighton sideline in his seventh year at the helm. The 155 wins are easily the most in Creighton history in the first seven seasons, way more than Tom Apke's 130.
Most Wins at CU, First Seven Seasons
Coach Years W-L After 7 Yrs
Greg McDermott 2010-Pres. 155-73 so far
Tom Apke 1974-80 130-64
Dana Altman 1994-00 123-86
Red McManus 1959-65 105-75
McDermott Passes McManus On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott currently has 155 victories at Creighton, good for third place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .679 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more 80 years ago.
Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
2. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-35
3. 155-73 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-69
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-81
Watson Dishes and Scores
Maurice Watson Jr. led the team lead in both scoring and assists last season. In fact, Watson had owned or shared the team lead in assists in 23 straight games before that streak was snapped in the NIT vs. Alabama on March 15th.
Watson has also led Creighton in assists every game this season, which means he's led or tied for the team lead in assists in all but three of his 50 games since becoming eligible at Creighton.
Watson became Creighton's sixth player since 1970-71 to lead the club in both points per game and assists per game, as seen below:
Creighton Leaders in PPG & APG, Since 1970-71
Name, Year PPG APG
Kevin McKenna, 1979-80 16.5 3.7
Matt Petty, 1992-93 17.2 3.1
Kyle Korver, 2001-02 15.1 3.3
Nate Funk, 2003-04 11.1 2.7
Nate Funk, 2006-07 17.7 3.0
Austin Chatman, 2014-15 11.5 3.7
Maurice Watson Jr., 2015-16 14.1 6.5
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 231 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in the 14-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 192-39 (.831) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (12-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 17,673-14,888 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.06 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 63 different times, including 11 of its last 28 home games.
Creighton is also 25-23 all-time in the 47 games at CLCO in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 7-8 when down by 10+ points at halftime at The Link, and 31-21 when trailing at halftime at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Creighton is 95-20 (.826) at CenturyLink Center Omaha under Greg McDermott, including a 56-4 record vs. non-conference teams.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go
Creighton averaged 79.63 points per game in 2015-16, and is scoring 88.13 points per game in 2016-17.
Greg McDermott is 42-1 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points, including a 36-1 mark on the Creighton sideline.
In fact, McDermott's team scored 90 or more points 10 times (in 35 games) last season, compared to six total times in 280 games on the sideline in nine years at Northern Iowa and Iowa State.
Creighton had won 75 straight games when scoring 90 or more points at all sites since a Jan. 11, 1988 loss to Southern Illinois, before a March 5th 98-93 loss at Xavier.
Creighton is 56-2 all-time when scoring 100 points or more, including 28 straight wins since a 1977 loss to North Texas.
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 103-1 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha. In other words, Creighton is 115-1 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza. The perfect streak of 101-0 was snapped on Dec. 2, 2015 when Arizona State scored three points in the final 15 seconds to sneak away with a 79-77 victory.
Home Run
Since Greg McDermott took over in 2010, Creighton is averaging 79.13 points per home game (9,179 points in 116 home games).
Since a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000, Creighton is 126-0 at home (96-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more, and 106-0 at home (79-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to that same setback.
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 20-15 last season and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament before being eliminated at BYU. Maurice Watson Jr. (14.1 ppg., 6.5 apg.) led the Bluejays in both scoring and assists, while senior Geoffrey Groselle (6.1 rpg.) led the team in rebounding and set a Creighton record by shooting 70.2 percent from the field.
Creighton's best victories last season included a 70-56 win over No. 5 Xavier, and a pair of wins to claim the title at the Men Who Speak Up Main Event in Las Vegas.
Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game. The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Harper Dining Center (outside the Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2016-17 season went on sale on October 24th.
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 BasketballThursday, July 23
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