Saturday, January 1
Milwaukee, Wis.
11:00 AM
Creighton University
at
Marquette
Modestas Kancleris
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Men's Basketball Opens 2022 With Return To Floor at Marquette
12/30/2021 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays will be coming off longest in-season break since 1968
Game #13: Creighton Bluejays at Marquette Golden Eagles
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 • 11:00 a.m.
Fiserv Forum (18,600) • Milwaukee, Wis.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, 1620thezone.com; XM 383; SiriusXM app 973
Television: FS1 (Matt Schumacker, Stephen Bardo)
Series History: Marquette leads, 56-36
Last Meeting: #15 Creighton 71, Marquette 68 on Feb. 6, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wis.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)
Next Game
Back on the floor after more than two weeks off, Creighton (9-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) opens the 2022 calendar year with a New Year's Day game at Marquette (8-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Jan. 1.
   Tip-off at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., is set for 11 a.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2021-22 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasts all home games.
   John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action.
   The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 973 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 383.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Stephen Bardo and be televised on FS1.
   The game will also be video webcast online at http://foxsports.com/live or the FoxSports app.
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 Creighton
Creighton is 9-3 this season, including double-digit wins over No. 9 Villanova (79-59) and No. 24 BYUÂ (83-71). The Bluejays have not played since Dec. 17 after COVID-19 issues within the DePaul (Dec. 20) and Georgetown (Dec. 28) programs that wiped out two previously scheduled contests.
   The Bluejays return seven lettermen but no starters from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall, runner-up in the BIG EAST, and reached the program's first Sweet 16 since 1974.
   Of CU's scholarship returners, only Ryan Kalkbrenner (12.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg., 2.8 bpg.), Alex O'Connell (11.3 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) and Shereef Mitchell (3.5 ppg.) are back after playing last year.
   The Bluejays brought in grad transfers Ryan Hawkins (14.2 ppg., 7.2 rpg.) and KeyShawn Feazell (4.2 ppg., 3.4 rpg.) to bolster the front line. Hawkins leads the squad with 27 three-pointers made and has averaged 23.0 points in three games against top-25 competition.
   Creighton also features the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, with Arthur Kaluma (8.5 ppg,. 4.7 rpg.) and four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Ryan Nembhard (12.7 ppg., 4.8 apg.) starting every game to date.
   Creighton averages 72.5 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the field and has outrebounded foes by 5.2 caroms per contest. The Bluejays have held foes to 39.2 percent shooting and 64.8 points per contest.
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Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 8-5 under first year head coach Shaka Smart, including wins over Illinois, Ole Miss, West Virginia and Kansas State.
   The Golden Eagles, however, are winless sine Dec. 8, having lost three consecutive games since then to nationally-ranked UCLA, Xavier and UConn. MU's game vs. St. John's on Wednesday was not played due to COVID issues within the Red Storm program.
   The Golden Eagles are led in scoring by Justin Lewis (15.7 ppg.) and Darryl Morsell (13.8 ppg.), while Tyler Kolek dishes a league-leading 5.9 assists per contest.
   Kolek also boasts a team-leading 22 steals, while Kur Kuath leads the BIG EAST with 38 blocked shots.
   Marquette shoots 43.4 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from downtown and 70.5 percent at the line while being outrebounded by 2.2 caroms per contest. The Golden Eagles average 72.6 points per game and allow 71.0 points per game.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the series with Creighton by a 56-36 margin, and has a 32-15 lead in Milwaukee.
   Thirteen of the last 14 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
   The series is 8-8 since the teams became BIG EAST rivals, but Creighton has won four of the past five matchups. Each team is 5-3 on the road in that span, and CU has won all three previous trips to Fiserv Forum.
   Greg McDermott is 8-8 in his career against Marquette but has never coached against Shaka Smart.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 262-128 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 542-323 in his 28th season, and is 411-259 in his 21st Division I campaign.
   McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native then coached Creighton to its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20.
   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 is assisted by Alan Huss, Ryan Miller and Jalen Courtney-Williams.
With A Win...
 - Teams with Ryan Hawkins would improve to 169-11 at the college level, and 94-6 in league play.
- Creighton would start 2-0 in BIG EAST play for the second time ever, and first time since the 2013-14 club opened 5-0 in BIG EAST action.
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 all-time at Fiserv Forum, becoming the first visiting team to beat Marquette four times in the facility.
- Creighton would improve to 9-8 vs. Marquette since joining the BIG EAST, including a 6-3 record in Milwaukee.
- Creighton would win at least 10 games for the 27th straight season.
Home Away From Home
Creighton is 3-0 in three previous trips to Fiserv Forum, with victories coming by 66-60, 73-65 and 71-68 scores.
   Since the facility opened in 2018, Marquette owns a 41-15 record in the facility.
   At 3-0, Creighton is the only team to defeat the Golden Eagles there three times, and on Saturday can be the first to beat MU there four times.
   The only other schools to defeat Marquette inside Fiserv Forum multiple times are Seton Hall, St. John's and UConn.
   The NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, who also play at Fiserv Forum, are 98-26 all-time in regular-season games at the arena. The 26 losses have come to 19 different franchises. The only visiting NBA team with three regular-season wins inside Fiserv Forum are the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks are also 16-3 at the facility in the playoffs, with one of those setbacks coming against Toronto.
First To 100, Wins?
Each of Marquette's last six wins over Creighton have been high-scoring affairs, with MU winning by scores of 102-94, 91-83, 90-86, 85-81, 106-104 and 89-84.
   In those six MU victories, Marquette and Creighton combined to make 151 three-point attempts and shot a combined 52.0 percent on all shots (386-742) from the floor.
   Creighton has lost 16 straight games when allowing 90+ points, with four of those setbacks coming at the hands of the Golden Eagles.
   Greg McDermott is 73-4 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points, including a 67-4 mark on the Creighton sideline. Two of those losses have come against Marquette.
   McDermott is also 141-16 as Creighton coach when his teams score 80 or more points, but strangely, just 2-6 against Marquette when scoring 80 or more.
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye to 2021
Saturday marks Creighton's first game of the 2022 calendar season. Among the highlights from 2021...
- Creighton returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1974.
- Creighton finished second in the BIG EAST regular-season standings and second in the BIG EAST Tournament while leading all schools with 15 wins against BIG EAST competition during the 2021 calendar year.
- Creighton owned a 24-10 record in the 2021 calendar year, including four top-25 victories.
- All three seniors on last year's team, in addition to Marcus Zegarowski, are currently playing in the G-League.
- Creighton replaced those men with the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, including four top-100 prospects.
Happy New Year!
Saturday's contest is just Creighton's seventh game ever played on New Year's Day, with the Jays 3-3 so far.
   Creighton lost at Saint Joseph's 50-40 in 1938, lost in Louisville to Morehead State in 1947 by a 65-58 score, beat Illinois State 79-71 in 2007, lost at Indiana State 70-64 in 2010, defeated Drake 73-57 in 2011 and topped Marquette in Omaha in 2020 by a 92-75 count.
   Creighton/Marquette is one of five games in the country that tips off at 11 a.m. Central on Saturday, the first games nationwide of the 2022 calendar year.
Mind The Gap
Creighton is scheduled to take to the court on January 1st for the first time in 15 days (Dec. 17).
   The team hasn't had 15 days between games within a season since Jan. 15-30, 1968.
   Creighton is 12-0 under Greg McDermott when owning more than 15 days between games, though all of those have come after many months off due to the off-season.
Frosh Watch
Creighton is winning at a regular rate despite playing three freshmen (Trey Alexander, Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Nembhard) more than 20 minutes per game.
   On a national basis through Dec. 28, only 179 players classified as freshmen were playing 20 minutes per game per Basketball-Reference.com. Only eight of those men are from the BIG EAST, with three of them from Creighton and three others from Marquette.
   CU is one of nine teams nationally to play three freshmen more than 20 minutes per game, joining Air Force, Dayton, Duquesne, Green Bay, Indiana State, Marquette, Temple and William & Mary. Â
   Narrow that list to schools with three freshmen playing 21.8 minutes per game and the list whittles down to just Creighton and Marquette. Marquette's group, however, features Justin Lewis and Tyler Kolek, both of whom played last season.
Our 2, D Too
Unlike past Creighton teams that thrived from three-point land, this year's Bluejay squad is dominating from two-point range.
   Creighton ranks sixth nationally (per BartTorvik.com) with its shooting 58.5 percent from two-point range. That's its second-best mark ever under Greg McDermott (59.0 in 2017-18) and includes a 64.6 percent mark from inside the paint.
   Defensively, Creighton is holding the opposition to 42.4 percent shooting from two-point range, the nation's 13th-best figure. That's CU's best mark under McDermott, far surpassing the 45.5 percent mark allowed by the 2012-13 club. Bluejay foes are shooting just 47.5 percent in the paint this season.
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Nembhard A Consistent Threat
Ryan Nembhard scored in double-figures each of Creighton's first six games and has had nine points or more in all but one outing this winter.
   In the last 27 years, the only other newcomers to score in double-figures during CU's first six games had been true freshman Doug McDermott (8 straight in 2010-11), redshirt freshman Justin Patton (8 in 2016-17) and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster (8 in 2016-17), who was a junior.
   Nembhard's 152 points through 12 games are the most by any Bluejay freshman since Benoit Benjamin had 157 in 1982-83. Benjamin had 13 points in his 13th game.
Most Points, Newcomers First 12 Games Since 1995-96
   Pts.   Name, Class   Year   After 13
   229   Marcus Foster, Jr.   2016-17   244
   170   Ryan Hawkins, Sr.   2021-22   ? ? ?
   152   Maurice Watson Jr., Jr.   2015-16   162
   152   Ryan Nembhard, Fr.   2021-22   ? ? ?
   151   Doug McDermott, Fr.    2010-11   157
   148   Justin Patton, Fr.   2016-17   165
   138   Gregory Echenique, So.   2010-11   145
   137   Damien Jefferson, So.   2018-19   144
   135   Cole Huff, Jr.   2015-16   149
   130   P'Allen Stinnett, Fr.   2007-08   148
   134   Brody Deren, So.   2001-02   142
   128   Rodney Buford, Fr.   1995-96   145
   121   Darryl Ashford, Jr.   2009-10   128
   120   Ryan Sears, Fr.   1997-98   131
   118   Khyri Thomas, Fr.   2015-16   128
   115   Edward St. Fleur, Jr.   1995-96   117
   109   Doug Swenson, Jr.   1997-98   128
Top 25 Success
A 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova coupled with an 83-71 win vs. No. 24 BYU means Creighton owns a pair double-digit wins over top-25 competition this season, something only three other schools can also claim. Gonzaga's done it three times while Villanova and Iowa State have done it twice.
   The Bluejays have now beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the last seven seasons (2015-16 to 2021-22), something only Gonzaga, Purdue and Villanova can also claim.
   Seven other schools have beaten multiple top-25 foes in each of the previous six seasons -- Baylor (1 so far this season) Florida State, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State (1), Penn State, Texas Tech (1) and West Virginia (1) but are still seeking two top-25 wins this winter.
Creighton's Most Top-25 Wins, Season
   Wins   Season   Top-25 Victims
   6   2019-20   #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
         #12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
         #21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
   4   2016-17   #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
         #16 Butler, #22 Xavier
   4   2017-18   #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
         #20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
   3   2020-21   #5 Villanova, #22 Xavier, #23 UConn
   2   1973-74   #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
   2   2001-02   #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
   2   2006-07   #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
   2   2013-14   #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
   2   2015-16   #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
   2   2018-19   #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson
   2   2021-22   #9 Villanova, #24 BYU
Big Mac On The Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
   The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced those of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category   Pre-McDermott   Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams   18-115   26-36
vs. Top 10 Teams   5-31   11-17
vs. Top 10 on Road   1-28   4-9
vs. Top 25 on Road   2-63   8-16
A Dozen, Cousin
Creighton's 79-59 win vs. Villanova on Dec. 17 was CU's third-largest margin of victory ever over a top-10 team. Each of the top three efforts on that chart, and five of the top six such wins, have come against Villanova.
Top-10 Wins By 12+ Points, CU History
Date   CU Rank   Opponent   Result   CU Coach
01/20/14   NR   at #4 Villanova   W 96-68   McDermott
02/16/14   18   #6 Villanova   W 101-80   McDermott
12/17/21   NR   #9 Villanova   W 79-59   McDermott
03/07/20   11   #8 Seton Hall   W 77-60   McDermott
02/13/21   19   #5 Villanova   W 86-70   McDermott
02/01/20   NR   at #8 Villanova   W 76-61   McDermott
02/09/16   NR   #5 Xavier   W 70-56   McDermott
11/15/16   22   #9 Wisconsin   W 79-67   McDermott
More Like Ryan Streakbrenner
Ryan Kalkbrenner has a couple of impressive streaks going.
   In the last four games, he's had 10, 9, 9 and 9 rebounds, which makes him the first Bluejay with four straight games of 9+ rebounds since Geoffrey Groselle did it in four consecutive contests from Nov. 25-Dec. 5, 2015. No one's done it in five straight games for CU since Doug McDermott had a run of 9, 11, 12, 12 and 10 from Nov. 20-Dec. 10, 2011.
   Kalkbrenner's streak of seven straight games with multiple swats is CU's longest since Livan Pyfrom had a nine game stretch from Jan. 17-Feb. 14, 2001.
Youth Is Served
Creighton has just seven non-freshmen on this year's roster, and is playing multiple freshmen on a consistent basis this season. Creighton has had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game this season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
   Creighton has outscored teams by 92 when it has two freshmen or less on the court, but have played dead even (+0) when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
   All told, 1098:39 of Creighton's 2,400 total minutes (45.78 percent) have been played by freshmen this season.
   By comparison, last season Creighton had a freshman on the floor just 32.4 percent of the time and had multiple freshmen on the floor just 17 minutes (of 1,250) all season (1.4 percent). Only 7.5 percent (465:52 of 6250) of CU's overall minutes were played by freshmen in 2020-21.
Freshmen   Time   Score   Margin
0 freshmen:   Never   --   --
1 freshmen:Â Â Â 33:45Â Â Â 54-49Â Â Â +5
2 freshmen:Â Â Â 290:43Â Â Â 564-477Â Â Â +87
3 freshmen:Â Â Â 119:25Â Â Â 212-211Â Â Â +1
4 freshmen:Â Â Â 24:39Â Â Â 35-39Â Â Â (-4)
5 freshmen:Â Â Â 1:28Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â +3
Nembhard Wins Fourth Freshman Honor
Ryan Nembhard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fourth time in six weeks, the league announced on Monday, Dec. 20.
   Nembhard averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds as Creighton went 1-1. He was previously honored on Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Nov. 29.
   The Aurora, Ontario, Canada native opened his week with seven points, eight assists and his first career blocked shot in a one-point loss against Arizona State. He bounced back with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in his BIG EAST debut, a 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova.
Only In 2020-21 (Let's Hope)
Though Creighton's 14 BIG EAST wins last season were three more than any other team in the BIG EAST, the Bluejays were the second seed in the conference tournament since the league decided before the season to go by winning percentage to determine a league champion and seeds.
   The BIG EAST wasn't alone in this. It was one of eight leagues that saw the top team in winning percentage not be the same team that had the most conference wins.
Wins Leader Not League Champ, Nationally, in 2020-21
League   Conf. Wins Leader   Conf. Champ
American   Houston, 14-3   Wichita St., 11-2
BIG EASTÂ Â Â Creighton, 14-6Â Â Â Villanova, 11-4
Big 10Â Â Â Illinois, 16-4Â Â Â Michigan, 14-3
Conf-USAÂ Â Â UAB, 13-5Â Â Â Louisiana Tech, 12-4
MEACÂ Â Â Norfolk St., 8-4Â Â Â North Carolina A&T, 7-1
   Coppin State, 8-4  Â
MWCÂ Â Â Utah State, 15-4Â Â Â San Diego St., 14-3
Pac-12Â Â Â USC, 15-5Â Â Â Oregon, 14-4
Summit   South Dakota, 11-4   South Dakota St., 9-3
   N. Dakota St., 11-4
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-7 record in its last 24 conference openers after a 79-59 win vs. Villanova in its last outing.
   Greg McDermott is 12-9 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-4 mark at Creighton (6-3 in the BIG EAST).
   The last team to win a share of any BIG EAST regular-season title after losing the league opener was the 2012-13 Georgetown club. No squad has won an outright title after losing the league opener since Notre Dame won the West Division in 2000-01. And no team has won a league outright title in a one-division BIG EAST after losing the league lid-lifter since Georgetown in 1988-89.
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year   Won (Final W-L)   Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11Â Â Â Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12Â Â Â Â Â Â Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13Â Â Â Evansville (13-5)
2013-14Â Â Â Marquette (14-4)
2014-15Â Â Â Â Â Â Providence (4-14)
2015-16Â Â Â St. John's (9-9)
2016-17Â Â Â Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18Â Â Â Â Â Â Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19Â Â Â Providence (9-9)
2019-20Â Â Â Marquette (13-5)
2020-21Â Â Â Â Â Â Marquette (14-6)
2021-22Â Â Â #9 Villanova (TBD)
Up, Up, And Away
Since Feb. 19, 2019, Creighton owns a 33-11 mark in regular-season BIG EAST games. That's six more wins than anyone else in the league in that time.
   Not only that, but Creighton owned the most wins to close the 2018-19 season after Feb. 19th, tied for the most wins in 2019-20, and had the most wins in 2020-21 as well.
Conference Records Since Feb. 19, 2019
(Through Dec. 31, 2021)
Team   After 2/19/19   '19-20   '20-21   '21-22   Total
Creighton   5-0   13-5   14-6   1-0   33-11
Villanova   2-3   13-5   11-4   1-1   27-13
Providence   3-2   12-6   9-10   2-0    26-18
Seton Hall   2-3   13-5   10-9   0-1   25-18
UConn   2-4#   10-8#   11-6   1-1    24-19
Butler   1-4   10-8   8-12   1-0    20-24
Xavier   4-1   8-10   6-7   1-1   19-19
Marquette   2-4   8-10   8-11   0-2    18-27
Georgetown   4-2   5-13   7-9   0-0    16-24
St. John's   1-4   5-13   10-9   0-0    16-26
DePaul   2-3   3-15   2-13   0-1    7-32
#includes 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the AAC
How's This, For Starters?
Creighton and Villanova are the only two teams in the BIG EAST Conference to have used the same starting five for every game this season.
   Creighton's bench has scored 162 points in 12 games, while Nova's reserve corps has scored 146 points in 12 games.
   What makes it all the more impressive is that the five men to start for Creighton this year had combined for ZERO combined starts as Bluejays entering the season, whereas Villanova's Collin Gillespie (87), Justin Moore (41), Jermaine Samuels (76) and Brandon Slater (2) had 206 career starts as a Wildcat entering this winter.
Block Party
After owning seven or more blocked shots in a game just nine times in Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton has five contests this winter with at least seven swats.
   Creighton is 10-4 all-time under McDermott when blocking seven or more shots, and the four losses have come by a combined 10 points.
   Creighton's 5.33 blocked shots per game as a team is its best figure since averaging 6.03 blocks per game in 1984-85.
   Creighton is 6-0 this season when blocking six shots or more. Marquette has had its shot blocked 45 times all season in 13 games and been swatted six or more times in a game just twice.
All Ball
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in the BIG EAST with 2.83 blocked shots per game, a figure that ranks as the best by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin averaged 5.06 blocks per game in 1984-85.
   Though he's got an uphill climb to catch Big Ben, Kalkbrenner is still on track to become the first Bluejay to average more than 2.00 blocks per game since Chad Gallagher (2.19) in 1990-91.
   Making the 7-foot-1 sophomore's accomplishments all the more impressive is that the big man owns 34 blocks but has been called for just 16 fouls. That makes him one of two players nationally (with Indiana All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis) with at least 30 blocks and 16 or fewer fouls.
You've Been Blocked!
Ryan Kalkbrenner had five blocked shots on both Nov. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Nov. 27 vs. SIUE. Just how rare is that? In Greg McDermott's 12 years on the Creighton sideline, the only Bluejay with multiple games of 5+ blocks in the same season had been Gregory Echenique, who did it in 2010-11 (2x) as well as 2012-13 (4x).
   Kaklbrenner became the first Bluejay with five swats in consecutive games since Benoit Benjamin did it in six straight games from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 1985. Benjamin had a streak of 7, 12, 6, 5, 5 and 6 rejections during that stretch.
   Benjamin set MVC records that still stand with 411 career blocks and 162 rejections in 1984-85.
   Kalkbrenner had his third game this season with five swats on Dec. 11 vs. No. 24 BYU, then did it again on Dec. 17 vs. No. 9 Villanova.
Strong League Start Projects To Postseason
Creighton has started 5-2 or better in league play in seven of Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons at the helm.
   Six of those teams to start like that reached the NCAA Tournament, while a seventh reached the quarterfinals of the NIT.
   Each of Creighton's 15 teams since 1988-89 to start 5-2, 6-1 or 7-0 after seven games in league play have reached the postseason, a stretch that includes 10 NCAA Tournaments and five NIT's.
   Last year CU started 6-1 in league play and finished in second place at 14-6 overall in BIG EAST action. The lone loss in last year's hot start was against Marquette.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
   Villanova was a unanimous selection to win the league, with Connecticut and Xavier finishing second and third, respectively. St. John's is fourth, followed by Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. Rounding out the poll are Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul.
   Villanova standout Collin Gillespie was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Nate Watson (Providence), Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Paul Scruggs (Xavier) and Zach Freemantle (Xavier).
   Creighton is the only school in the league that has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
Looking At McDermott's Home Run
The Dec. 17 win vs. No. 9 Villanova marked Greg McDermott's 200th home game as head coach at Creighton.
   He's currently 162-38 on the Bluejay sideline at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Wins On Wins on Wins
Creighton's Nov. 21 loss vs. Colorado State was the first time in the six-year college career of Ryan Hawkins that one of his teams lost on a neutral floor. The Northwest Missouri State transfer is now 40-1 on neutral sites when you include his 3-1 mark this year.
   He enters Saturday's game vs. Marquette with a team record of 168-11 (.939) at all sites, and has never lost consecutive games at the college level.
   Saturday marks the 100th conference game of Hawkins' college career. He's currently 93-6.
Hawkins Scores 25
Ryan Hawkins scored 25 points vs. No. 19 Iowa State. It was the 96th time in his career that the Atlantic, Iowa native scored in double-figures, and 46th time he's scored 20 points or more in a game.
   Hawkins' 25 points were the most by a Bluejay in any game this season, and most by any CU player against a top-25 team since Marcus Zegarowski scored 25 points in an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova on Feb. 13, 2021.
   Hawkins then scored 25 points against No. 24 BYU in his next outing, making him the first Bluejay with back-to-back games of 25 or more points since Marcus Foster had consecutive 29 point efforts on Feb. 7 & 10, 2018.
   Hawkins is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 25+ points vs. top-25 teams in the same season since Ty-Shon Alexander in 2018-19. Marcus Foster in 2017-18 is the last person with three such games in a season.
The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in each game this winter, as Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner are all entrenched as starters. Those three men are also CU's top three scorers.
   In the Dec. 11 win vs. No. 24 BYU, Nembhard, Hawkins and Kalkbrenner combined for 56 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
    For the season, the "Ryan Express" has contributed 67.2 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 54.0 percent of its points, 47.6 percent of its assists, 47.9 percent of its rebounds grabbed and 42.1 percent of its steals.
   Creighton had not started multiple players with the same first name in the same regular-season game since Nov. 18, 2006, when both Nick Porter and Nick Bahe started against Nebraska.
   Creighton has not had a season in which three players with the same first name all started at least once in the regular-season since at least 1980.
   With so many men named Ryan (not to mention assistant coach Ryan Miller), the Bluejay staff has gone to referring to Hawkins as "Hawk", the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner as "Big Ryan" and Nembhard as "R2", in honor of his uniform number, as well as "Coach Miller".
Elite Company For Hawkins
In 1991 when Creighton was in the Missouri Valley Conference, former Bluejay Bob Harstad (along with Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Xavier McDaniel) was one the answers to the trivia question of "Who are the only four players in MVC history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds"?
   Years later, Doug McDermott finished his career with 3,150 points and 1,088 rebounds, though not all those rebounds came while playing within The Valley.
   So what's the point, you're asking? Creighton senior Ryan Hawkins owns 2,268 career points and 1,034 career rebounds, though the majority of his totals were accumulated at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State.
   Entering this season, only 117 players in NCAA history have achieved 2,000 points and 1,000 points at the Division I level.
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 12 games in recent seasons.
   Of note, Creighton has started 7-5 or better after 12 games in 24 of the past 25 seasons.
Creighton Stats Through 12 Games, Since 1994-95
Year   W-L   PPG   FG%   3FG   10+ PPG guys
2021-22Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 72.5Â Â Â .488Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 4
2020-21Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 83.2Â Â Â .496Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 5
2019-20Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 77.9Â Â Â .467Â Â Â 117Â Â Â 4
2018-19Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 84.8Â Â Â .518Â Â Â 146Â Â Â 4
2017-18Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 92.3Â Â Â .521Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 3
2016-17Â Â Â 12-0Â Â Â 89.8Â Â Â .538Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 4
2015-16Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 86.2Â Â Â .497Â Â Â 109Â Â Â 4
2014-15Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 73.3Â Â Â .441Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 2
2013-14Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 82.9Â Â Â .492Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 2
2012-13Â Â Â 11-1Â Â Â 78.9Â Â Â .509Â Â Â 107Â Â Â 2
2011-12Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 84.3Â Â Â .506Â Â Â 111Â Â Â 2
2010-11Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 67.3Â Â Â .426Â Â Â 85Â Â Â 3
2009-10Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 70.8Â Â Â .447Â Â Â 98Â Â Â 1
2008-09Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 76.9Â Â Â .445Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 3
2007-08Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 77.4Â Â Â .468Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 2
2006-07Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 68.0Â Â Â .433Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 2
2005-06Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 69.4Â Â Â .414Â Â Â 86Â Â Â 3
2004-05Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 68.7Â Â Â .434Â Â Â 93Â Â Â 2
2003-04Â Â Â 12-0Â Â Â 71.2Â Â Â .467Â Â Â 75Â Â Â 1
2002-03Â Â Â 11-1Â Â Â 83.8Â Â Â .520Â Â Â 116Â Â Â 1
2001-02Â Â Â 7-5Â Â Â 76.2Â Â Â .451Â Â Â 71Â Â Â 3
2000-01Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 75.8Â Â Â .446Â Â Â 95Â Â Â 4
1999-00Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 73.3Â Â Â .459Â Â Â 96Â Â Â 2
1998-99Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 76.2Â Â Â .466Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 2
1997-98Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 77.4Â Â Â .473Â Â Â 88Â Â Â 2
1996-97Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 65.4Â Â Â .407Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 2
1995-96Â Â Â 6-6Â Â Â 65.8Â Â Â .389Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 2
1994-95Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 65.0Â Â Â .396Â Â Â 81Â Â Â 4
Speaking of Defense
Creighton had nine blocked shots on Nov. 27 vs. SIUE, tying its most in any game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons. CU also had nine rejections on Feb. 13, 2018 vs. Division II Bemidji State. The nine swats were CU's most against a Division I foe since also posting nine at Evansville on Jan. 3, 2010.
   Of Creighton's nine blocks, eight came in the second half. Seven of those came in the final 15 minutes, when SIUE went just 2-of-16 from the floor.
   Also noteworthy was CU's defense beyond the arc. SIUE made just 1-of-15 three-point tries, tying the fewest trifectas made by a Bluejay opponent under McDermott. It was the fifth time it had happened, and first occasion since No. 5 Xavier shot 1-of-21 on Feb. 9, 2016.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 25 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including two this season. Twelve of those 25 comebacks have come away from home.
   Creighton's comeback from 16 points down vs. SIUE on Nov. 27 was its biggest since rallying from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th.
   If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit   Opponent   Date
18   #18 Oklahoma   11/19/14
17   at San Diego State   11/30/11
16   at Evansville   02/16/13
16   at Seton Hall   01/27/21
16   SIU Edwardsville   11/27/21
15   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   11/09/21
14   Evansville   02/21/12
13   at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
13   Xavier   01/12/14
13   #22 Xavier   12/23/20
12   Saint Joseph's   12/11/10
12   at DePaul   01/17/16
12   East Tennessee State   11/11/18
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
11   vs. Connecticut   03/12/21
10Â Â Â UABÂ Â Â 11/14/12
10   vs. Drake   03/02/12
10   at Nebraska   12/07/14
10   South Dakota   12/09/14
10   St. John's   01/03/18
10   at DePaul   02/07/18
10   Bemidji State   02/13/18
Putting The Jam In Paradise Jam
Creighton had 17 dunks in three games at the Paradise Jam, including eight against Colorado State on Nov. 21. The Bluejays own 54 dunks through 12 games this season, including five in the win over Villanova.
   CU's 54 dunks are its second-most through 12 games during any of Greg McDermott's 12 seasons as Creighton head coach, trailing only the 55 through 12 games of a season by the 2016-17 team.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner leads CU with 26 of those slams after he threw down 29 dunks all of last season in 31 games played. The sophomore's 26 slams to date trail only Justin Patton's 29 dunks through 12 games in the McDermott era.
   CU's 2016-17 team finished with 144 dunks in 35 games, with Patton owning 72 of those slams.
At The Buzzer!
Ryan Nembhard drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds to sink a floater as time expired to give Creighton a 66-64 win vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 22 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.
   Ironically enough, the game-ending play was installed several years ago by former Bluejay assistant Paul Lusk, himself a Southern Illinois grad.
   The basket was Creighton's first go-ahead shot as time expired since Booker Woodfox beat Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2009.
   Prior to Woodfox, Creighton's last previous buzzer-beater had also come against Wichita State, as Anthony Tolliver's shot from the right baseline beat Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2006.
   Nate Funk also hit a buzzer-beater to beat Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls.
   Shots by those four men remain the only game-winning buzzer-beaters by Creighton since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Kalkbrenner Playing Big
In his last 10 games, sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner has set career-highs in rebounds (10 vs. Iowa State and Arizona State), points (19 vs. Brown) and blocked (5 on four occasions).
   Kalkbrenner has had 10 or more points in nine of the past 11 contests, compared to seven total double-figure outings in his 2020-21 freshman campaign that spanned 31 contests.
Five Threats To Score
All five Creighton starters are averaging at least 8.5 points per game this season, a fact made all the more impressive when you consider that these men owned a total of ZERO career starts as a Bluejay entering this winter.
   Creighton has won 22 straight games when five or more players have 10 points or more.
Nembhard's Big Day
Playing his first collegiate road game, freshman point guard Ryan Nembhard thrived in a hostile environment in Lincoln. The Canadian native had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
   Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, the only other Bluejays with a 20/5/5 game were Mitch Ballock (1), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (1), Doug McDermott (2), Khyri Thomas (2), Maurice Watson Jr. (2) and Marcus Zegarowski (3).
   Nembhard is CU's first freshman with a 20/5/5 line since at least 1981-82.
   Nembhard's 22 points were the most by a Bluejay of any year in their first game vs. Nebraska since at least 1980.
Nembhard Earns All-Tourney Honors
Ryan Nembhard earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Paradise Jam after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games.
   Nembhard shot 55.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the line and made a shot at the buzzer vs. Southern Illinois in the third-place game.
   He is CU's first true freshman to pick up All-Tournament Team honors at any event since Doug McDermott was named to the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge All-Tournament Team in 2010.
Hawk Talk
Ryan Hawkins finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 16 at Nebraska. It was just the fourth 15/10/5 game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons at Creighton, and first since Khyri Thomas had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Nov. 15, 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games win at Northwestern.
   The only others with a 15/10/5 game under McDermott were Austin Chatman (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014) and Doug McDermott (30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014).
   Hawkins's performance was CU's first 15/10/5 line without a turnover since at least 1980-81.
Like A Hawk
Ryan Hawkins had 10 or more rebounds in each of CU's first three games. He's the first Bluejay to do that to start a season since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 27 consecutive double-figure rebounding games to open his junior campaign in 1984-85.
   Hawkins owns 40 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career, including each of CU's last two games.
Winning With Defense
Creighton's made its reputation on the offensive side with its "Let It Fly" philosophy, but the Bluejays have won thanks in large part to their defense so far this season.
   Creighton held each of its first four opponents under 40 percent from the field for the first time since at least 1980-81.
   Creighton is holding teams to 39.2 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.
Playing With The Lead
In 315 games at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 85 of those contests, a staggering 27.0 percent of the time.
    Under Greg McDermott at home, Creighton is Â
162-38 and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. He owns an 91-8 record vs. non-conference teams at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Assists 'R' Us
Ryan Nembhard's 10 assists in CU's season-opener were the most by a Bluejay freshman in any game since Marcus Zegarowski had 10 on March 9, 2018 vs. DePaul. He was the nation's ONLY freshman with 10+ assists on the opening night of the college basketball season.
   Prior to Nembhard, no Bluejay (of any year) had dished 10 or more assists in a season-opener since Edward St. Fleur on Nov. 22, 1996 at Wyoming.
Making An Entrance
Arthur Kaluma (15) and Ryan Nembhard (15) became CU's first true freshmen to debut with 10 points or more since Khyri Thomas had 18 points vs. Texas Southern in 2015.
   Nembhard (15 pts., 10 ast.) and Ryan Hawkins (16 pts., 11 reb.) were the first Bluejays since at least 1980 with double-doubles in the season-opener of their debut campaign. No CU player (of any year) had started the season with a double-double since Will Artino (14 pts., 10 reb.) in 2014-15 vs. Central Arkansas.
   Kaluma's eight rebounds were the most by a true freshman in the regular-season opener since Martin Krampelj in 2015 and the most by any Bluejay freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Patton snared eight rebounds in his 2016 debut.
   Kaluma had four blocked shots on Nov. 9 vs. UAPB. The last previous Bluejay newcomer with multiple blocked shots in a season-opener? That'd be Artino on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. North Carolina A&T. Kaluma's four swats were the most by any Bluejay (of any year) on Opening Day since Jeffrey Day had five swats vs. Alcorn State to open the 2004-05 campaign..
   Kaluma (15 & 8) became Creighton's second freshman since at least 1973 to debut with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds, joining Doug McDermott (16 & 7) in 2010.
   Ryan Hawkins grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the most by a Bluejay since Damien Jefferson had 12 in 2018. Other than Jefferson, no one's had more than 11 rebounds in their CU debut since Cyril Baptiste snared 17 caroms in 1969. When Hawkins followed with 10 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State, he became CU's first player (of any year) with 10+ rebounds in CU's first two games since Doug Swenson in 1998-99.
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Between 1992-93 and 2020-21, only four true freshmen started Creighton's regular-season opener. Then on Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma got the nod on opening night. Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists while Kaluma owned 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
   This season marked the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos).
   About the other true freshmen to start...
   Ryan Sears did so in 1997-98. The point guard would go on to start all 124 games of his CU career and remains the program's all-time career assist (570) and steals (283) leader.
   Doug McDermott did so in 2010-11, and he went on to start all 145 games of his career. He would graduate as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and is the only three-time First Team All-American since 1986. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
   Khyri Thomas got a start in 2015-16 and remained in CU's starting five each of his first 24 games, and 96-of-102 career contests with the Jays. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in the NBA.
   Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State. Mitchell finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of work.
Top-10 Class
Creighton signed four top-100 players en route to inking the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. That also ranks as the best class in the BIG EAST Conference.
   Here's how the nation's top-10 classes shake out:
1.   Memphis
2.   Michigan
3.   Gonzaga
4.   Tennessee
5.   Duke
6.   LSU
7.   Creighton
8.   Florida State
9.   Connecticut
10.   Kentucky
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 925 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,297 trifectas, an average of 7.89 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 139 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 261 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Creighton has also made a trifecta in the first half of 296 straight games (since going 0-7 vs. Drake on Jan. 23, 2013). That streak was in serious jeopardy on Opening Day this season as CU missed its first 14 three-point tries before a man named Trey (Alexander) extended the streak.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 39-6 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 14-12 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 15 times   3: 31 times
4:   71 times   5:  99 times   6: 99 times
7:  139 times   8:  116 times   9: 89 times
10: 77 times   11: 52 times   12: 49 times
13: 44 times   14: 18 times   15: 7 times
16: 7 times   17: 3 times   19: 1 time
20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 925 straight games. The streak is the nation's 14th-longest active streak.
   Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. 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 (12/29)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next
   1.   1,142   UNLV   1/1
   2.   1,125   Duke   1/1
   3.   1,088   Arkansas   1/4
   4.   1,075   Western Kentucky   12/30
   5.   1,064   East Tennessee State   12/30
   6.   1,044   Pacific   12/30
   7.   1,041   Oakland   12/30
   8.   1,035   Texas   1/1
   9.   982   Marshall   12/30
   10.   974   Baylor   1/1
   11.   970   Princeton   1/2
   12.   963   Gonzaga   12/30
   13.   937   Long Island   12/31
   14.   925   Creighton   1/1
   15.   923   Mount St. Mary's   1/6
   16.   910   Tennessee State   12/30
My Name Is...
Only five men who played for Creighton last season are back this winter, and none of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game.
   Per research by TCU, Creighton's 18.0 percent of minutes returning ranks third-lowest among all teams nationally, and is the least among all teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 Conference.
Lowest Percentage of Minutes Returning
School   Pct. of Minutes Returning
Tennessee-Martin    0.0
Portland    8.5
Creighton   18.0
Missouri   19.7
Duquesne   23.2
Iowa State   25.1
Robert Morris   26.3
Boston College   27.6
South Alabama   28.6
TCUÂ Â Â 29.2
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only five of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that much of the production from 2020-21 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Starts   2 (1.3%)   153 (98.7%)
3FG Made   25 (8.5%)   268 (91.5%)
Assists   68 (14.0%)   417 (86.0%)
Points   371 (15.8%)   1,984 (84.2%)
Minutes   1,124 (18.0%)   5,126 (82.0%)
Steals   39 (18.1%)   177 (81.9%)
Rebounds   207 (20.7%)   794 (79.3%)
Charges Taken   5 (29.4%)   12 (70.6%)
Blocks   39 (37.9%)   64 (62.1%)
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through Dec. 28, 2021
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank  Â
3FG Made   3,465   2nd  Â
3FG Percentage   .381   3rd  Â
FG Percentage   .480   3rd  Â
Assists   6,284   5th  Â
FG Made   10,677   8th  Â
Points   29,900   9th  Â
Wins   262   27th  Â
Winning Percentage   .672   31st  Â
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 38 of the last 39 seasons.
   Last year five Bluejays appeared in an NBA game, as McDermott was joined by Ty-Shon Alexander, Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas and Anthony Tolliver.
   McDermott is in his eighth season in the NBA. Last year he with Indiana he averaged a career-high 13.6 points per game.
   Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Who Are These Guys?
For the first time since at least 1980-81, Creighton will not return any of its five starters as Mitch Ballock, Christian Bishop, Damien Jefferson, Denzel Mahoney and Marcus Zegarowski are all gone after combining to make 152-of-155 possible starts last season.
   In fact, there's only been four previous times in the last 40 years that just one starter has returned. Those four occurrences came in 1985-86 (went 12-16), 2007-08 (22-11), 2014-15 (14-19) and
2015-16 (20-15).
   Shereef Mitchell started two games last season when Zegarowski was injured, and no other active Bluejay had ever started a game for CU prior to CU's Nov. 9 season-opener. In the previous 40 seasons, Creighton's always returned players who combined for at least 40 starts in the previous season.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â ? ? ?
2020-21Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 22-9
2019-20Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 24-7
2018-19Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 57Â Â Â 20-15
2017-18Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 21-12
2016-17Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 25-10
2015-16Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 20-15
2014-15Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 14-19
2013-14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 144Â Â Â 27-8
2012-13Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 140Â Â Â 28-8
2011-12Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 29-6
2010-11Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 23-16
2009-10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 18-16
2008-09Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 27-8
2007-08Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 44Â Â Â 22-11
2006-07Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 22-11
2005-06Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 20-10
2004-05Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 23-11
2003-04Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 20-9
2002-03Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 159Â Â Â 29-5
2001-02Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 23-9
2000-01Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 24-8
1999-00Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 23-10
1998-99Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 22-9
1997-98Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 18-10
1996-97Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 126Â Â Â 15-15
1995-96Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 14-15
1994-95Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 52Â Â Â 7-19
1993-94Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 73Â Â Â 7-22
1992-93Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 8-18
1991-92Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 51Â Â Â 9-19
1990-91Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 132Â Â Â 24-8
1989-90Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 127Â Â Â 21-12
1988-89Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 20-11
1987-88Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 16-16
1986-87Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 9-19
1985-86Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 48Â Â Â 12-16
1984-85Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 20-12
1983-84Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 17-14
1982-83Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 77Â Â Â 8-19
1981-82Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 7-20
1980-81Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 21-9
21 of 23 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 21 of the last 23 seasons (entering 2021-22), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 23 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 22 times, Creighton and Kentucky 21 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 23 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons   2020-21 W-L  Â
Gonzaga   23   31-1  Â
Kansas   23   21-9  Â
Duke   22   13-11  Â
Creighton   21   22-9  Â
Kentucky   21   9-16  Â
In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 22 wins last season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
   Only six teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous six seasons: Belmont, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 262 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .672 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 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.   262-128   Greg McDermott   2010-Pres.
3.   165-66   Arthur A. Schabinger    1922-1935
4.   138-118   John J. "Red" McManus    1959-1969
5.   130-64   Tom Apke   1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in the fall of 2003.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, 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
01/18/20   Providence   W 78-74   Zegarowski 3FG   :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
03/20/06Â Â Â Miami (Fla.)Â Â Â L 53-52Â Â Â G. Diaz FTÂ Â Â :2.6
01/20/07   Southern Illinois   L 58-57   B. Mullins FG   :4.1
01/10/15   #19 Seton Hall   L 68-67   S. Gibbs 3FG   :2.2
02/16/15   #19 Butler   L 58-56   R. Jones FG   :1.9
03/07/15   Xavier   L 74-73   D. Davis FT's   :6.3
01/12/16   #12 Providence   L 50-48   K. Dunn FG   :0.0
02/22/17   Providence   L 68-66   K. Cartwright 3FG   :2.4
02/10/18   #5 Xavier   L 71-72   Q. Goodin FT's   :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
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.   18,831   #1 Villanova   12/31/16
   4.   18,797   #6 Villanova   02/16/14
   5.   18,759   #1 Gonzaga   12/01/18
   6.   18,742   Seton Hall   02/23/14
   7.   18,735   Wichita State   02/11/12
   8.   18,613   Wichita State   03/02/13
   9.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   10.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   11.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   12.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   13.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   14.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   15.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   16.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   17.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   18.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21
   19.   18,257   #5 Xavier   02/10/18
   20.   18,191   DePaul   02/27/18
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton continued to be highly regarded by KenPom.com, and finished last season 22nd. That included the nation's No. 25 offense, and No. 32 defense.
   Creighton had not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
   Last season was the sixth different time in the last 10 seasons that Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom.
Year   Off. Rating   Def. Rating   Team W-L
2010-11Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 174Â Â Â 23-16
2011-12Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 166Â Â Â 29-6
2012-13Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 28-8
2013-14Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 27-8
2014-15Â Â Â 59Â Â Â 138Â Â Â 14-19
2015-16Â Â Â 43Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 20-15
2016-17Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 46Â Â Â 25-10
2017-18Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 21-12
2018-19Â Â Â 47Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 20-15
2019-20Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 24-7
2020-21Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 22-9
2021-22Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 67Â Â Â 9-3 so far
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 315 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 19-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 259-56 (.822) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
   Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
   Creighton has outscored its opponents 24,669-20,666 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.71 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 85 different times.
   Creighton is also 31-33 all-time in the 63 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 38-27 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 162-38 (.815) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. In that same span, CU owns an 91-8 home 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 278-56 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Home Run
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Creighton is averaging 80.88 points per home game (16,175 points in 200 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.08 points in non-conference home games (8,324 points in 99 home games).
   Creighton is 124-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season went on sale on October 18th.
   Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
   For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 • 11:00 a.m.
Fiserv Forum (18,600) • Milwaukee, Wis.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, 1620thezone.com; XM 383; SiriusXM app 973
Television: FS1 (Matt Schumacker, Stephen Bardo)
Series History: Marquette leads, 56-36
Last Meeting: #15 Creighton 71, Marquette 68 on Feb. 6, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wis.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF)
Next Game
Back on the floor after more than two weeks off, Creighton (9-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) opens the 2022 calendar year with a New Year's Day game at Marquette (8-5, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Jan. 1.
   Tip-off at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., is set for 11 a.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2021-22 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasts all home games.
   John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action.
   The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 973 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 383.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Stephen Bardo and be televised on FS1.
   The game will also be video webcast online at http://foxsports.com/live or the FoxSports app.
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 Creighton
Creighton is 9-3 this season, including double-digit wins over No. 9 Villanova (79-59) and No. 24 BYUÂ (83-71). The Bluejays have not played since Dec. 17 after COVID-19 issues within the DePaul (Dec. 20) and Georgetown (Dec. 28) programs that wiped out two previously scheduled contests.
   The Bluejays return seven lettermen but no starters from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall, runner-up in the BIG EAST, and reached the program's first Sweet 16 since 1974.
   Of CU's scholarship returners, only Ryan Kalkbrenner (12.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg., 2.8 bpg.), Alex O'Connell (11.3 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) and Shereef Mitchell (3.5 ppg.) are back after playing last year.
   The Bluejays brought in grad transfers Ryan Hawkins (14.2 ppg., 7.2 rpg.) and KeyShawn Feazell (4.2 ppg., 3.4 rpg.) to bolster the front line. Hawkins leads the squad with 27 three-pointers made and has averaged 23.0 points in three games against top-25 competition.
   Creighton also features the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, with Arthur Kaluma (8.5 ppg,. 4.7 rpg.) and four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Ryan Nembhard (12.7 ppg., 4.8 apg.) starting every game to date.
   Creighton averages 72.5 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the field and has outrebounded foes by 5.2 caroms per contest. The Bluejays have held foes to 39.2 percent shooting and 64.8 points per contest.
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Scouting Marquette
Marquette is 8-5 under first year head coach Shaka Smart, including wins over Illinois, Ole Miss, West Virginia and Kansas State.
   The Golden Eagles, however, are winless sine Dec. 8, having lost three consecutive games since then to nationally-ranked UCLA, Xavier and UConn. MU's game vs. St. John's on Wednesday was not played due to COVID issues within the Red Storm program.
   The Golden Eagles are led in scoring by Justin Lewis (15.7 ppg.) and Darryl Morsell (13.8 ppg.), while Tyler Kolek dishes a league-leading 5.9 assists per contest.
   Kolek also boasts a team-leading 22 steals, while Kur Kuath leads the BIG EAST with 38 blocked shots.
   Marquette shoots 43.4 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from downtown and 70.5 percent at the line while being outrebounded by 2.2 caroms per contest. The Golden Eagles average 72.6 points per game and allow 71.0 points per game.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the series with Creighton by a 56-36 margin, and has a 32-15 lead in Milwaukee.
   Thirteen of the last 14 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
   The series is 8-8 since the teams became BIG EAST rivals, but Creighton has won four of the past five matchups. Each team is 5-3 on the road in that span, and CU has won all three previous trips to Fiserv Forum.
   Greg McDermott is 8-8 in his career against Marquette but has never coached against Shaka Smart.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 262-128 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 542-323 in his 28th season, and is 411-259 in his 21st Division I campaign.
   McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native then coached Creighton to its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20.
   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 is assisted by Alan Huss, Ryan Miller and Jalen Courtney-Williams.
With A Win...
 - Teams with Ryan Hawkins would improve to 169-11 at the college level, and 94-6 in league play.
- Creighton would start 2-0 in BIG EAST play for the second time ever, and first time since the 2013-14 club opened 5-0 in BIG EAST action.
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 all-time at Fiserv Forum, becoming the first visiting team to beat Marquette four times in the facility.
- Creighton would improve to 9-8 vs. Marquette since joining the BIG EAST, including a 6-3 record in Milwaukee.
- Creighton would win at least 10 games for the 27th straight season.
Home Away From Home
Creighton is 3-0 in three previous trips to Fiserv Forum, with victories coming by 66-60, 73-65 and 71-68 scores.
   Since the facility opened in 2018, Marquette owns a 41-15 record in the facility.
   At 3-0, Creighton is the only team to defeat the Golden Eagles there three times, and on Saturday can be the first to beat MU there four times.
   The only other schools to defeat Marquette inside Fiserv Forum multiple times are Seton Hall, St. John's and UConn.
   The NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, who also play at Fiserv Forum, are 98-26 all-time in regular-season games at the arena. The 26 losses have come to 19 different franchises. The only visiting NBA team with three regular-season wins inside Fiserv Forum are the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks are also 16-3 at the facility in the playoffs, with one of those setbacks coming against Toronto.
First To 100, Wins?
Each of Marquette's last six wins over Creighton have been high-scoring affairs, with MU winning by scores of 102-94, 91-83, 90-86, 85-81, 106-104 and 89-84.
   In those six MU victories, Marquette and Creighton combined to make 151 three-point attempts and shot a combined 52.0 percent on all shots (386-742) from the floor.
   Creighton has lost 16 straight games when allowing 90+ points, with four of those setbacks coming at the hands of the Golden Eagles.
   Greg McDermott is 73-4 as a Division I head coach when his teams score 90 or more points, including a 67-4 mark on the Creighton sideline. Two of those losses have come against Marquette.
   McDermott is also 141-16 as Creighton coach when his teams score 80 or more points, but strangely, just 2-6 against Marquette when scoring 80 or more.
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye to 2021
Saturday marks Creighton's first game of the 2022 calendar season. Among the highlights from 2021...
- Creighton returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1974.
- Creighton finished second in the BIG EAST regular-season standings and second in the BIG EAST Tournament while leading all schools with 15 wins against BIG EAST competition during the 2021 calendar year.
- Creighton owned a 24-10 record in the 2021 calendar year, including four top-25 victories.
- All three seniors on last year's team, in addition to Marcus Zegarowski, are currently playing in the G-League.
- Creighton replaced those men with the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, including four top-100 prospects.
Happy New Year!
Saturday's contest is just Creighton's seventh game ever played on New Year's Day, with the Jays 3-3 so far.
   Creighton lost at Saint Joseph's 50-40 in 1938, lost in Louisville to Morehead State in 1947 by a 65-58 score, beat Illinois State 79-71 in 2007, lost at Indiana State 70-64 in 2010, defeated Drake 73-57 in 2011 and topped Marquette in Omaha in 2020 by a 92-75 count.
   Creighton/Marquette is one of five games in the country that tips off at 11 a.m. Central on Saturday, the first games nationwide of the 2022 calendar year.
Mind The Gap
Creighton is scheduled to take to the court on January 1st for the first time in 15 days (Dec. 17).
   The team hasn't had 15 days between games within a season since Jan. 15-30, 1968.
   Creighton is 12-0 under Greg McDermott when owning more than 15 days between games, though all of those have come after many months off due to the off-season.
Frosh Watch
Creighton is winning at a regular rate despite playing three freshmen (Trey Alexander, Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Nembhard) more than 20 minutes per game.
   On a national basis through Dec. 28, only 179 players classified as freshmen were playing 20 minutes per game per Basketball-Reference.com. Only eight of those men are from the BIG EAST, with three of them from Creighton and three others from Marquette.
   CU is one of nine teams nationally to play three freshmen more than 20 minutes per game, joining Air Force, Dayton, Duquesne, Green Bay, Indiana State, Marquette, Temple and William & Mary. Â
   Narrow that list to schools with three freshmen playing 21.8 minutes per game and the list whittles down to just Creighton and Marquette. Marquette's group, however, features Justin Lewis and Tyler Kolek, both of whom played last season.
Our 2, D Too
Unlike past Creighton teams that thrived from three-point land, this year's Bluejay squad is dominating from two-point range.
   Creighton ranks sixth nationally (per BartTorvik.com) with its shooting 58.5 percent from two-point range. That's its second-best mark ever under Greg McDermott (59.0 in 2017-18) and includes a 64.6 percent mark from inside the paint.
   Defensively, Creighton is holding the opposition to 42.4 percent shooting from two-point range, the nation's 13th-best figure. That's CU's best mark under McDermott, far surpassing the 45.5 percent mark allowed by the 2012-13 club. Bluejay foes are shooting just 47.5 percent in the paint this season.
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Nembhard A Consistent Threat
Ryan Nembhard scored in double-figures each of Creighton's first six games and has had nine points or more in all but one outing this winter.
   In the last 27 years, the only other newcomers to score in double-figures during CU's first six games had been true freshman Doug McDermott (8 straight in 2010-11), redshirt freshman Justin Patton (8 in 2016-17) and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster (8 in 2016-17), who was a junior.
   Nembhard's 152 points through 12 games are the most by any Bluejay freshman since Benoit Benjamin had 157 in 1982-83. Benjamin had 13 points in his 13th game.
Most Points, Newcomers First 12 Games Since 1995-96
   Pts.   Name, Class   Year   After 13
   229   Marcus Foster, Jr.   2016-17   244
   170   Ryan Hawkins, Sr.   2021-22   ? ? ?
   152   Maurice Watson Jr., Jr.   2015-16   162
   152   Ryan Nembhard, Fr.   2021-22   ? ? ?
   151   Doug McDermott, Fr.    2010-11   157
   148   Justin Patton, Fr.   2016-17   165
   138   Gregory Echenique, So.   2010-11   145
   137   Damien Jefferson, So.   2018-19   144
   135   Cole Huff, Jr.   2015-16   149
   130   P'Allen Stinnett, Fr.   2007-08   148
   134   Brody Deren, So.   2001-02   142
   128   Rodney Buford, Fr.   1995-96   145
   121   Darryl Ashford, Jr.   2009-10   128
   120   Ryan Sears, Fr.   1997-98   131
   118   Khyri Thomas, Fr.   2015-16   128
   115   Edward St. Fleur, Jr.   1995-96   117
   109   Doug Swenson, Jr.   1997-98   128
Top 25 Success
A 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova coupled with an 83-71 win vs. No. 24 BYU means Creighton owns a pair double-digit wins over top-25 competition this season, something only three other schools can also claim. Gonzaga's done it three times while Villanova and Iowa State have done it twice.
   The Bluejays have now beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the last seven seasons (2015-16 to 2021-22), something only Gonzaga, Purdue and Villanova can also claim.
   Seven other schools have beaten multiple top-25 foes in each of the previous six seasons -- Baylor (1 so far this season) Florida State, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State (1), Penn State, Texas Tech (1) and West Virginia (1) but are still seeking two top-25 wins this winter.
Creighton's Most Top-25 Wins, Season
   Wins   Season   Top-25 Victims
   6   2019-20   #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
         #12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
         #21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
   4   2016-17   #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
         #16 Butler, #22 Xavier
   4   2017-18   #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
         #20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
   3   2020-21   #5 Villanova, #22 Xavier, #23 UConn
   2   1973-74   #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
   2   2001-02   #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
   2   2006-07   #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
   2   2013-14   #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
   2   2015-16   #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
   2   2018-19   #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson
   2   2021-22   #9 Villanova, #24 BYU
Big Mac On The Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
   The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced those of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category   Pre-McDermott   Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams   18-115   26-36
vs. Top 10 Teams   5-31   11-17
vs. Top 10 on Road   1-28   4-9
vs. Top 25 on Road   2-63   8-16
A Dozen, Cousin
Creighton's 79-59 win vs. Villanova on Dec. 17 was CU's third-largest margin of victory ever over a top-10 team. Each of the top three efforts on that chart, and five of the top six such wins, have come against Villanova.
Top-10 Wins By 12+ Points, CU History
Date   CU Rank   Opponent   Result   CU Coach
01/20/14   NR   at #4 Villanova   W 96-68   McDermott
02/16/14   18   #6 Villanova   W 101-80   McDermott
12/17/21   NR   #9 Villanova   W 79-59   McDermott
03/07/20   11   #8 Seton Hall   W 77-60   McDermott
02/13/21   19   #5 Villanova   W 86-70   McDermott
02/01/20   NR   at #8 Villanova   W 76-61   McDermott
02/09/16   NR   #5 Xavier   W 70-56   McDermott
11/15/16   22   #9 Wisconsin   W 79-67   McDermott
More Like Ryan Streakbrenner
Ryan Kalkbrenner has a couple of impressive streaks going.
   In the last four games, he's had 10, 9, 9 and 9 rebounds, which makes him the first Bluejay with four straight games of 9+ rebounds since Geoffrey Groselle did it in four consecutive contests from Nov. 25-Dec. 5, 2015. No one's done it in five straight games for CU since Doug McDermott had a run of 9, 11, 12, 12 and 10 from Nov. 20-Dec. 10, 2011.
   Kalkbrenner's streak of seven straight games with multiple swats is CU's longest since Livan Pyfrom had a nine game stretch from Jan. 17-Feb. 14, 2001.
Youth Is Served
Creighton has just seven non-freshmen on this year's roster, and is playing multiple freshmen on a consistent basis this season. Creighton has had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game this season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
   Creighton has outscored teams by 92 when it has two freshmen or less on the court, but have played dead even (+0) when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
   All told, 1098:39 of Creighton's 2,400 total minutes (45.78 percent) have been played by freshmen this season.
   By comparison, last season Creighton had a freshman on the floor just 32.4 percent of the time and had multiple freshmen on the floor just 17 minutes (of 1,250) all season (1.4 percent). Only 7.5 percent (465:52 of 6250) of CU's overall minutes were played by freshmen in 2020-21.
Freshmen   Time   Score   Margin
0 freshmen:   Never   --   --
1 freshmen:Â Â Â 33:45Â Â Â 54-49Â Â Â +5
2 freshmen:Â Â Â 290:43Â Â Â 564-477Â Â Â +87
3 freshmen:Â Â Â 119:25Â Â Â 212-211Â Â Â +1
4 freshmen:Â Â Â 24:39Â Â Â 35-39Â Â Â (-4)
5 freshmen:Â Â Â 1:28Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â +3
Nembhard Wins Fourth Freshman Honor
Ryan Nembhard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fourth time in six weeks, the league announced on Monday, Dec. 20.
   Nembhard averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds as Creighton went 1-1. He was previously honored on Nov. 15, Nov. 22 and Nov. 29.
   The Aurora, Ontario, Canada native opened his week with seven points, eight assists and his first career blocked shot in a one-point loss against Arizona State. He bounced back with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in his BIG EAST debut, a 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova.
Only In 2020-21 (Let's Hope)
Though Creighton's 14 BIG EAST wins last season were three more than any other team in the BIG EAST, the Bluejays were the second seed in the conference tournament since the league decided before the season to go by winning percentage to determine a league champion and seeds.
   The BIG EAST wasn't alone in this. It was one of eight leagues that saw the top team in winning percentage not be the same team that had the most conference wins.
Wins Leader Not League Champ, Nationally, in 2020-21
League   Conf. Wins Leader   Conf. Champ
American   Houston, 14-3   Wichita St., 11-2
BIG EASTÂ Â Â Creighton, 14-6Â Â Â Villanova, 11-4
Big 10Â Â Â Illinois, 16-4Â Â Â Michigan, 14-3
Conf-USAÂ Â Â UAB, 13-5Â Â Â Louisiana Tech, 12-4
MEACÂ Â Â Norfolk St., 8-4Â Â Â North Carolina A&T, 7-1
   Coppin State, 8-4  Â
MWCÂ Â Â Utah State, 15-4Â Â Â San Diego St., 14-3
Pac-12Â Â Â USC, 15-5Â Â Â Oregon, 14-4
Summit   South Dakota, 11-4   South Dakota St., 9-3
   N. Dakota St., 11-4
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-7 record in its last 24 conference openers after a 79-59 win vs. Villanova in its last outing.
   Greg McDermott is 12-9 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-4 mark at Creighton (6-3 in the BIG EAST).
   The last team to win a share of any BIG EAST regular-season title after losing the league opener was the 2012-13 Georgetown club. No squad has won an outright title after losing the league opener since Notre Dame won the West Division in 2000-01. And no team has won a league outright title in a one-division BIG EAST after losing the league lid-lifter since Georgetown in 1988-89.
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year   Won (Final W-L)   Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11Â Â Â Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12Â Â Â Â Â Â Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13Â Â Â Evansville (13-5)
2013-14Â Â Â Marquette (14-4)
2014-15Â Â Â Â Â Â Providence (4-14)
2015-16Â Â Â St. John's (9-9)
2016-17Â Â Â Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18Â Â Â Â Â Â Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19Â Â Â Providence (9-9)
2019-20Â Â Â Marquette (13-5)
2020-21Â Â Â Â Â Â Marquette (14-6)
2021-22Â Â Â #9 Villanova (TBD)
Up, Up, And Away
Since Feb. 19, 2019, Creighton owns a 33-11 mark in regular-season BIG EAST games. That's six more wins than anyone else in the league in that time.
   Not only that, but Creighton owned the most wins to close the 2018-19 season after Feb. 19th, tied for the most wins in 2019-20, and had the most wins in 2020-21 as well.
Conference Records Since Feb. 19, 2019
(Through Dec. 31, 2021)
Team   After 2/19/19   '19-20   '20-21   '21-22   Total
Creighton   5-0   13-5   14-6   1-0   33-11
Villanova   2-3   13-5   11-4   1-1   27-13
Providence   3-2   12-6   9-10   2-0    26-18
Seton Hall   2-3   13-5   10-9   0-1   25-18
UConn   2-4#   10-8#   11-6   1-1    24-19
Butler   1-4   10-8   8-12   1-0    20-24
Xavier   4-1   8-10   6-7   1-1   19-19
Marquette   2-4   8-10   8-11   0-2    18-27
Georgetown   4-2   5-13   7-9   0-0    16-24
St. John's   1-4   5-13   10-9   0-0    16-26
DePaul   2-3   3-15   2-13   0-1    7-32
#includes 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the AAC
How's This, For Starters?
Creighton and Villanova are the only two teams in the BIG EAST Conference to have used the same starting five for every game this season.
   Creighton's bench has scored 162 points in 12 games, while Nova's reserve corps has scored 146 points in 12 games.
   What makes it all the more impressive is that the five men to start for Creighton this year had combined for ZERO combined starts as Bluejays entering the season, whereas Villanova's Collin Gillespie (87), Justin Moore (41), Jermaine Samuels (76) and Brandon Slater (2) had 206 career starts as a Wildcat entering this winter.
Block Party
After owning seven or more blocked shots in a game just nine times in Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton has five contests this winter with at least seven swats.
   Creighton is 10-4 all-time under McDermott when blocking seven or more shots, and the four losses have come by a combined 10 points.
   Creighton's 5.33 blocked shots per game as a team is its best figure since averaging 6.03 blocks per game in 1984-85.
   Creighton is 6-0 this season when blocking six shots or more. Marquette has had its shot blocked 45 times all season in 13 games and been swatted six or more times in a game just twice.
All Ball
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in the BIG EAST with 2.83 blocked shots per game, a figure that ranks as the best by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin averaged 5.06 blocks per game in 1984-85.
   Though he's got an uphill climb to catch Big Ben, Kalkbrenner is still on track to become the first Bluejay to average more than 2.00 blocks per game since Chad Gallagher (2.19) in 1990-91.
   Making the 7-foot-1 sophomore's accomplishments all the more impressive is that the big man owns 34 blocks but has been called for just 16 fouls. That makes him one of two players nationally (with Indiana All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis) with at least 30 blocks and 16 or fewer fouls.
You've Been Blocked!
Ryan Kalkbrenner had five blocked shots on both Nov. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Nov. 27 vs. SIUE. Just how rare is that? In Greg McDermott's 12 years on the Creighton sideline, the only Bluejay with multiple games of 5+ blocks in the same season had been Gregory Echenique, who did it in 2010-11 (2x) as well as 2012-13 (4x).
   Kaklbrenner became the first Bluejay with five swats in consecutive games since Benoit Benjamin did it in six straight games from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 1985. Benjamin had a streak of 7, 12, 6, 5, 5 and 6 rejections during that stretch.
   Benjamin set MVC records that still stand with 411 career blocks and 162 rejections in 1984-85.
   Kalkbrenner had his third game this season with five swats on Dec. 11 vs. No. 24 BYU, then did it again on Dec. 17 vs. No. 9 Villanova.
Strong League Start Projects To Postseason
Creighton has started 5-2 or better in league play in seven of Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons at the helm.
   Six of those teams to start like that reached the NCAA Tournament, while a seventh reached the quarterfinals of the NIT.
   Each of Creighton's 15 teams since 1988-89 to start 5-2, 6-1 or 7-0 after seven games in league play have reached the postseason, a stretch that includes 10 NCAA Tournaments and five NIT's.
   Last year CU started 6-1 in league play and finished in second place at 14-6 overall in BIG EAST action. The lone loss in last year's hot start was against Marquette.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
   Villanova was a unanimous selection to win the league, with Connecticut and Xavier finishing second and third, respectively. St. John's is fourth, followed by Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. Rounding out the poll are Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul.
   Villanova standout Collin Gillespie was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Nate Watson (Providence), Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Paul Scruggs (Xavier) and Zach Freemantle (Xavier).
   Creighton is the only school in the league that has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
Looking At McDermott's Home Run
The Dec. 17 win vs. No. 9 Villanova marked Greg McDermott's 200th home game as head coach at Creighton.
   He's currently 162-38 on the Bluejay sideline at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Wins On Wins on Wins
Creighton's Nov. 21 loss vs. Colorado State was the first time in the six-year college career of Ryan Hawkins that one of his teams lost on a neutral floor. The Northwest Missouri State transfer is now 40-1 on neutral sites when you include his 3-1 mark this year.
   He enters Saturday's game vs. Marquette with a team record of 168-11 (.939) at all sites, and has never lost consecutive games at the college level.
   Saturday marks the 100th conference game of Hawkins' college career. He's currently 93-6.
Hawkins Scores 25
Ryan Hawkins scored 25 points vs. No. 19 Iowa State. It was the 96th time in his career that the Atlantic, Iowa native scored in double-figures, and 46th time he's scored 20 points or more in a game.
   Hawkins' 25 points were the most by a Bluejay in any game this season, and most by any CU player against a top-25 team since Marcus Zegarowski scored 25 points in an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova on Feb. 13, 2021.
   Hawkins then scored 25 points against No. 24 BYU in his next outing, making him the first Bluejay with back-to-back games of 25 or more points since Marcus Foster had consecutive 29 point efforts on Feb. 7 & 10, 2018.
   Hawkins is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 25+ points vs. top-25 teams in the same season since Ty-Shon Alexander in 2018-19. Marcus Foster in 2017-18 is the last person with three such games in a season.
The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in each game this winter, as Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner are all entrenched as starters. Those three men are also CU's top three scorers.
   In the Dec. 11 win vs. No. 24 BYU, Nembhard, Hawkins and Kalkbrenner combined for 56 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
    For the season, the "Ryan Express" has contributed 67.2 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 54.0 percent of its points, 47.6 percent of its assists, 47.9 percent of its rebounds grabbed and 42.1 percent of its steals.
   Creighton had not started multiple players with the same first name in the same regular-season game since Nov. 18, 2006, when both Nick Porter and Nick Bahe started against Nebraska.
   Creighton has not had a season in which three players with the same first name all started at least once in the regular-season since at least 1980.
   With so many men named Ryan (not to mention assistant coach Ryan Miller), the Bluejay staff has gone to referring to Hawkins as "Hawk", the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner as "Big Ryan" and Nembhard as "R2", in honor of his uniform number, as well as "Coach Miller".
Elite Company For Hawkins
In 1991 when Creighton was in the Missouri Valley Conference, former Bluejay Bob Harstad (along with Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Xavier McDaniel) was one the answers to the trivia question of "Who are the only four players in MVC history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds"?
   Years later, Doug McDermott finished his career with 3,150 points and 1,088 rebounds, though not all those rebounds came while playing within The Valley.
   So what's the point, you're asking? Creighton senior Ryan Hawkins owns 2,268 career points and 1,034 career rebounds, though the majority of his totals were accumulated at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State.
   Entering this season, only 117 players in NCAA history have achieved 2,000 points and 1,000 points at the Division I level.
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 12 games in recent seasons.
   Of note, Creighton has started 7-5 or better after 12 games in 24 of the past 25 seasons.
Creighton Stats Through 12 Games, Since 1994-95
Year   W-L   PPG   FG%   3FG   10+ PPG guys
2021-22Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 72.5Â Â Â .488Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 4
2020-21Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 83.2Â Â Â .496Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 5
2019-20Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 77.9Â Â Â .467Â Â Â 117Â Â Â 4
2018-19Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 84.8Â Â Â .518Â Â Â 146Â Â Â 4
2017-18Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 92.3Â Â Â .521Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 3
2016-17Â Â Â 12-0Â Â Â 89.8Â Â Â .538Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 4
2015-16Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 86.2Â Â Â .497Â Â Â 109Â Â Â 4
2014-15Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 73.3Â Â Â .441Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 2
2013-14Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 82.9Â Â Â .492Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 2
2012-13Â Â Â 11-1Â Â Â 78.9Â Â Â .509Â Â Â 107Â Â Â 2
2011-12Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 84.3Â Â Â .506Â Â Â 111Â Â Â 2
2010-11Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 67.3Â Â Â .426Â Â Â 85Â Â Â 3
2009-10Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 70.8Â Â Â .447Â Â Â 98Â Â Â 1
2008-09Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 76.9Â Â Â .445Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 3
2007-08Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 77.4Â Â Â .468Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 2
2006-07Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 68.0Â Â Â .433Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 2
2005-06Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 69.4Â Â Â .414Â Â Â 86Â Â Â 3
2004-05Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 68.7Â Â Â .434Â Â Â 93Â Â Â 2
2003-04Â Â Â 12-0Â Â Â 71.2Â Â Â .467Â Â Â 75Â Â Â 1
2002-03Â Â Â 11-1Â Â Â 83.8Â Â Â .520Â Â Â 116Â Â Â 1
2001-02Â Â Â 7-5Â Â Â 76.2Â Â Â .451Â Â Â 71Â Â Â 3
2000-01Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 75.8Â Â Â .446Â Â Â 95Â Â Â 4
1999-00Â Â Â 9-3Â Â Â 73.3Â Â Â .459Â Â Â 96Â Â Â 2
1998-99Â Â Â 10-2Â Â Â 76.2Â Â Â .466Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 2
1997-98Â Â Â 8-4Â Â Â 77.4Â Â Â .473Â Â Â 88Â Â Â 2
1996-97Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 65.4Â Â Â .407Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 2
1995-96Â Â Â 6-6Â Â Â 65.8Â Â Â .389Â Â Â 69Â Â Â 2
1994-95Â Â Â 5-7Â Â Â 65.0Â Â Â .396Â Â Â 81Â Â Â 4
Speaking of Defense
Creighton had nine blocked shots on Nov. 27 vs. SIUE, tying its most in any game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons. CU also had nine rejections on Feb. 13, 2018 vs. Division II Bemidji State. The nine swats were CU's most against a Division I foe since also posting nine at Evansville on Jan. 3, 2010.
   Of Creighton's nine blocks, eight came in the second half. Seven of those came in the final 15 minutes, when SIUE went just 2-of-16 from the floor.
   Also noteworthy was CU's defense beyond the arc. SIUE made just 1-of-15 three-point tries, tying the fewest trifectas made by a Bluejay opponent under McDermott. It was the fifth time it had happened, and first occasion since No. 5 Xavier shot 1-of-21 on Feb. 9, 2016.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 25 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including two this season. Twelve of those 25 comebacks have come away from home.
   Creighton's comeback from 16 points down vs. SIUE on Nov. 27 was its biggest since rallying from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th.
   If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit   Opponent   Date
18   #18 Oklahoma   11/19/14
17   at San Diego State   11/30/11
16   at Evansville   02/16/13
16   at Seton Hall   01/27/21
16   SIU Edwardsville   11/27/21
15   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   11/09/21
14   Evansville   02/21/12
13   at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
13   Xavier   01/12/14
13   #22 Xavier   12/23/20
12   Saint Joseph's   12/11/10
12   at DePaul   01/17/16
12   East Tennessee State   11/11/18
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
11   vs. Connecticut   03/12/21
10Â Â Â UABÂ Â Â 11/14/12
10   vs. Drake   03/02/12
10   at Nebraska   12/07/14
10   South Dakota   12/09/14
10   St. John's   01/03/18
10   at DePaul   02/07/18
10   Bemidji State   02/13/18
Putting The Jam In Paradise Jam
Creighton had 17 dunks in three games at the Paradise Jam, including eight against Colorado State on Nov. 21. The Bluejays own 54 dunks through 12 games this season, including five in the win over Villanova.
   CU's 54 dunks are its second-most through 12 games during any of Greg McDermott's 12 seasons as Creighton head coach, trailing only the 55 through 12 games of a season by the 2016-17 team.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner leads CU with 26 of those slams after he threw down 29 dunks all of last season in 31 games played. The sophomore's 26 slams to date trail only Justin Patton's 29 dunks through 12 games in the McDermott era.
   CU's 2016-17 team finished with 144 dunks in 35 games, with Patton owning 72 of those slams.
At The Buzzer!
Ryan Nembhard drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds to sink a floater as time expired to give Creighton a 66-64 win vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 22 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.
   Ironically enough, the game-ending play was installed several years ago by former Bluejay assistant Paul Lusk, himself a Southern Illinois grad.
   The basket was Creighton's first go-ahead shot as time expired since Booker Woodfox beat Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2009.
   Prior to Woodfox, Creighton's last previous buzzer-beater had also come against Wichita State, as Anthony Tolliver's shot from the right baseline beat Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2006.
   Nate Funk also hit a buzzer-beater to beat Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls.
   Shots by those four men remain the only game-winning buzzer-beaters by Creighton since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Kalkbrenner Playing Big
In his last 10 games, sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner has set career-highs in rebounds (10 vs. Iowa State and Arizona State), points (19 vs. Brown) and blocked (5 on four occasions).
   Kalkbrenner has had 10 or more points in nine of the past 11 contests, compared to seven total double-figure outings in his 2020-21 freshman campaign that spanned 31 contests.
Five Threats To Score
All five Creighton starters are averaging at least 8.5 points per game this season, a fact made all the more impressive when you consider that these men owned a total of ZERO career starts as a Bluejay entering this winter.
   Creighton has won 22 straight games when five or more players have 10 points or more.
Nembhard's Big Day
Playing his first collegiate road game, freshman point guard Ryan Nembhard thrived in a hostile environment in Lincoln. The Canadian native had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
   Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, the only other Bluejays with a 20/5/5 game were Mitch Ballock (1), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (1), Doug McDermott (2), Khyri Thomas (2), Maurice Watson Jr. (2) and Marcus Zegarowski (3).
   Nembhard is CU's first freshman with a 20/5/5 line since at least 1981-82.
   Nembhard's 22 points were the most by a Bluejay of any year in their first game vs. Nebraska since at least 1980.
Nembhard Earns All-Tourney Honors
Ryan Nembhard earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Paradise Jam after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games.
   Nembhard shot 55.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the line and made a shot at the buzzer vs. Southern Illinois in the third-place game.
   He is CU's first true freshman to pick up All-Tournament Team honors at any event since Doug McDermott was named to the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge All-Tournament Team in 2010.
Hawk Talk
Ryan Hawkins finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 16 at Nebraska. It was just the fourth 15/10/5 game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons at Creighton, and first since Khyri Thomas had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Nov. 15, 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games win at Northwestern.
   The only others with a 15/10/5 game under McDermott were Austin Chatman (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014) and Doug McDermott (30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014).
   Hawkins's performance was CU's first 15/10/5 line without a turnover since at least 1980-81.
Like A Hawk
Ryan Hawkins had 10 or more rebounds in each of CU's first three games. He's the first Bluejay to do that to start a season since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 27 consecutive double-figure rebounding games to open his junior campaign in 1984-85.
   Hawkins owns 40 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career, including each of CU's last two games.
Winning With Defense
Creighton's made its reputation on the offensive side with its "Let It Fly" philosophy, but the Bluejays have won thanks in large part to their defense so far this season.
   Creighton held each of its first four opponents under 40 percent from the field for the first time since at least 1980-81.
   Creighton is holding teams to 39.2 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.
Playing With The Lead
In 315 games at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 85 of those contests, a staggering 27.0 percent of the time.
    Under Greg McDermott at home, Creighton is Â
162-38 and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. He owns an 91-8 record vs. non-conference teams at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Assists 'R' Us
Ryan Nembhard's 10 assists in CU's season-opener were the most by a Bluejay freshman in any game since Marcus Zegarowski had 10 on March 9, 2018 vs. DePaul. He was the nation's ONLY freshman with 10+ assists on the opening night of the college basketball season.
   Prior to Nembhard, no Bluejay (of any year) had dished 10 or more assists in a season-opener since Edward St. Fleur on Nov. 22, 1996 at Wyoming.
Making An Entrance
Arthur Kaluma (15) and Ryan Nembhard (15) became CU's first true freshmen to debut with 10 points or more since Khyri Thomas had 18 points vs. Texas Southern in 2015.
   Nembhard (15 pts., 10 ast.) and Ryan Hawkins (16 pts., 11 reb.) were the first Bluejays since at least 1980 with double-doubles in the season-opener of their debut campaign. No CU player (of any year) had started the season with a double-double since Will Artino (14 pts., 10 reb.) in 2014-15 vs. Central Arkansas.
   Kaluma's eight rebounds were the most by a true freshman in the regular-season opener since Martin Krampelj in 2015 and the most by any Bluejay freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Patton snared eight rebounds in his 2016 debut.
   Kaluma had four blocked shots on Nov. 9 vs. UAPB. The last previous Bluejay newcomer with multiple blocked shots in a season-opener? That'd be Artino on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. North Carolina A&T. Kaluma's four swats were the most by any Bluejay (of any year) on Opening Day since Jeffrey Day had five swats vs. Alcorn State to open the 2004-05 campaign..
   Kaluma (15 & 8) became Creighton's second freshman since at least 1973 to debut with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds, joining Doug McDermott (16 & 7) in 2010.
   Ryan Hawkins grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the most by a Bluejay since Damien Jefferson had 12 in 2018. Other than Jefferson, no one's had more than 11 rebounds in their CU debut since Cyril Baptiste snared 17 caroms in 1969. When Hawkins followed with 10 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State, he became CU's first player (of any year) with 10+ rebounds in CU's first two games since Doug Swenson in 1998-99.
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Between 1992-93 and 2020-21, only four true freshmen started Creighton's regular-season opener. Then on Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma got the nod on opening night. Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists while Kaluma owned 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
   This season marked the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos).
   About the other true freshmen to start...
   Ryan Sears did so in 1997-98. The point guard would go on to start all 124 games of his CU career and remains the program's all-time career assist (570) and steals (283) leader.
   Doug McDermott did so in 2010-11, and he went on to start all 145 games of his career. He would graduate as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and is the only three-time First Team All-American since 1986. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
   Khyri Thomas got a start in 2015-16 and remained in CU's starting five each of his first 24 games, and 96-of-102 career contests with the Jays. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in the NBA.
   Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State. Mitchell finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of work.
Top-10 Class
Creighton signed four top-100 players en route to inking the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. That also ranks as the best class in the BIG EAST Conference.
   Here's how the nation's top-10 classes shake out:
1.   Memphis
2.   Michigan
3.   Gonzaga
4.   Tennessee
5.   Duke
6.   LSU
7.   Creighton
8.   Florida State
9.   Connecticut
10.   Kentucky
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 925 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,297 trifectas, an average of 7.89 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 139 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 261 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Creighton has also made a trifecta in the first half of 296 straight games (since going 0-7 vs. Drake on Jan. 23, 2013). That streak was in serious jeopardy on Opening Day this season as CU missed its first 14 three-point tries before a man named Trey (Alexander) extended the streak.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 39-6 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 14-12 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 15 times   3: 31 times
4:   71 times   5:  99 times   6: 99 times
7:  139 times   8:  116 times   9: 89 times
10: 77 times   11: 52 times   12: 49 times
13: 44 times   14: 18 times   15: 7 times
16: 7 times   17: 3 times   19: 1 time
20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 925 straight games. The streak is the nation's 14th-longest active streak.
   Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. 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 (12/29)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next
   1.   1,142   UNLV   1/1
   2.   1,125   Duke   1/1
   3.   1,088   Arkansas   1/4
   4.   1,075   Western Kentucky   12/30
   5.   1,064   East Tennessee State   12/30
   6.   1,044   Pacific   12/30
   7.   1,041   Oakland   12/30
   8.   1,035   Texas   1/1
   9.   982   Marshall   12/30
   10.   974   Baylor   1/1
   11.   970   Princeton   1/2
   12.   963   Gonzaga   12/30
   13.   937   Long Island   12/31
   14.   925   Creighton   1/1
   15.   923   Mount St. Mary's   1/6
   16.   910   Tennessee State   12/30
My Name Is...
Only five men who played for Creighton last season are back this winter, and none of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game.
   Per research by TCU, Creighton's 18.0 percent of minutes returning ranks third-lowest among all teams nationally, and is the least among all teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 Conference.
Lowest Percentage of Minutes Returning
School   Pct. of Minutes Returning
Tennessee-Martin    0.0
Portland    8.5
Creighton   18.0
Missouri   19.7
Duquesne   23.2
Iowa State   25.1
Robert Morris   26.3
Boston College   27.6
South Alabama   28.6
TCUÂ Â Â 29.2
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only five of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that much of the production from 2020-21 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Starts   2 (1.3%)   153 (98.7%)
3FG Made   25 (8.5%)   268 (91.5%)
Assists   68 (14.0%)   417 (86.0%)
Points   371 (15.8%)   1,984 (84.2%)
Minutes   1,124 (18.0%)   5,126 (82.0%)
Steals   39 (18.1%)   177 (81.9%)
Rebounds   207 (20.7%)   794 (79.3%)
Charges Taken   5 (29.4%)   12 (70.6%)
Blocks   39 (37.9%)   64 (62.1%)
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through Dec. 28, 2021
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank  Â
3FG Made   3,465   2nd  Â
3FG Percentage   .381   3rd  Â
FG Percentage   .480   3rd  Â
Assists   6,284   5th  Â
FG Made   10,677   8th  Â
Points   29,900   9th  Â
Wins   262   27th  Â
Winning Percentage   .672   31st  Â
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 38 of the last 39 seasons.
   Last year five Bluejays appeared in an NBA game, as McDermott was joined by Ty-Shon Alexander, Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas and Anthony Tolliver.
   McDermott is in his eighth season in the NBA. Last year he with Indiana he averaged a career-high 13.6 points per game.
   Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Who Are These Guys?
For the first time since at least 1980-81, Creighton will not return any of its five starters as Mitch Ballock, Christian Bishop, Damien Jefferson, Denzel Mahoney and Marcus Zegarowski are all gone after combining to make 152-of-155 possible starts last season.
   In fact, there's only been four previous times in the last 40 years that just one starter has returned. Those four occurrences came in 1985-86 (went 12-16), 2007-08 (22-11), 2014-15 (14-19) and
2015-16 (20-15).
   Shereef Mitchell started two games last season when Zegarowski was injured, and no other active Bluejay had ever started a game for CU prior to CU's Nov. 9 season-opener. In the previous 40 seasons, Creighton's always returned players who combined for at least 40 starts in the previous season.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â ? ? ?
2020-21Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 22-9
2019-20Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 24-7
2018-19Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 57Â Â Â 20-15
2017-18Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 21-12
2016-17Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 25-10
2015-16Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 20-15
2014-15Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 14-19
2013-14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 144Â Â Â 27-8
2012-13Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 140Â Â Â 28-8
2011-12Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 29-6
2010-11Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 23-16
2009-10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 18-16
2008-09Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 27-8
2007-08Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 44Â Â Â 22-11
2006-07Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 22-11
2005-06Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 20-10
2004-05Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 23-11
2003-04Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 20-9
2002-03Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 159Â Â Â 29-5
2001-02Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 23-9
2000-01Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 24-8
1999-00Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 23-10
1998-99Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 22-9
1997-98Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 18-10
1996-97Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 126Â Â Â 15-15
1995-96Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 14-15
1994-95Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 52Â Â Â 7-19
1993-94Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 73Â Â Â 7-22
1992-93Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 8-18
1991-92Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 51Â Â Â 9-19
1990-91Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 132Â Â Â 24-8
1989-90Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 127Â Â Â 21-12
1988-89Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 20-11
1987-88Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 16-16
1986-87Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 9-19
1985-86Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 48Â Â Â 12-16
1984-85Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 20-12
1983-84Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 17-14
1982-83Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 77Â Â Â 8-19
1981-82Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 7-20
1980-81Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 21-9
21 of 23 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 21 of the last 23 seasons (entering 2021-22), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 23 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 22 times, Creighton and Kentucky 21 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 23 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons   2020-21 W-L  Â
Gonzaga   23   31-1  Â
Kansas   23   21-9  Â
Duke   22   13-11  Â
Creighton   21   22-9  Â
Kentucky   21   9-16  Â
In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 22 wins last season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
   Only six teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous six seasons: Belmont, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 262 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .672 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 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.   262-128   Greg McDermott   2010-Pres.
3.   165-66   Arthur A. Schabinger    1922-1935
4.   138-118   John J. "Red" McManus    1959-1969
5.   130-64   Tom Apke   1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in the fall of 2003.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, 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
01/18/20   Providence   W 78-74   Zegarowski 3FG   :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
03/20/06Â Â Â Miami (Fla.)Â Â Â L 53-52Â Â Â G. Diaz FTÂ Â Â :2.6
01/20/07   Southern Illinois   L 58-57   B. Mullins FG   :4.1
01/10/15   #19 Seton Hall   L 68-67   S. Gibbs 3FG   :2.2
02/16/15   #19 Butler   L 58-56   R. Jones FG   :1.9
03/07/15   Xavier   L 74-73   D. Davis FT's   :6.3
01/12/16   #12 Providence   L 50-48   K. Dunn FG   :0.0
02/22/17   Providence   L 68-66   K. Cartwright 3FG   :2.4
02/10/18   #5 Xavier   L 71-72   Q. Goodin FT's   :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
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.   18,831   #1 Villanova   12/31/16
   4.   18,797   #6 Villanova   02/16/14
   5.   18,759   #1 Gonzaga   12/01/18
   6.   18,742   Seton Hall   02/23/14
   7.   18,735   Wichita State   02/11/12
   8.   18,613   Wichita State   03/02/13
   9.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   10.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   11.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   12.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   13.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   14.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   15.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   16.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   17.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   18.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21
   19.   18,257   #5 Xavier   02/10/18
   20.   18,191   DePaul   02/27/18
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton continued to be highly regarded by KenPom.com, and finished last season 22nd. That included the nation's No. 25 offense, and No. 32 defense.
   Creighton had not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
   Last season was the sixth different time in the last 10 seasons that Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom.
Year   Off. Rating   Def. Rating   Team W-L
2010-11Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 174Â Â Â 23-16
2011-12Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 166Â Â Â 29-6
2012-13Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 28-8
2013-14Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 27-8
2014-15Â Â Â 59Â Â Â 138Â Â Â 14-19
2015-16Â Â Â 43Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 20-15
2016-17Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 46Â Â Â 25-10
2017-18Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 21-12
2018-19Â Â Â 47Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 20-15
2019-20Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 24-7
2020-21Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 22-9
2021-22Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 67Â Â Â 9-3 so far
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 315 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 19-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 259-56 (.822) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
   Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
   Creighton has outscored its opponents 24,669-20,666 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.71 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 85 different times.
   Creighton is also 31-33 all-time in the 63 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 38-27 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 162-38 (.815) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. In that same span, CU owns an 91-8 home 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 278-56 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Home Run
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Creighton is averaging 80.88 points per home game (16,175 points in 200 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.08 points in non-conference home games (8,324 points in 99 home games).
   Creighton is 124-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season went on sale on October 18th.
   Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
   For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
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/ Men's BasketballMeet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Ty Davis
Friday, August 15
