Monday, November 7
Omaha, Neb.
7:30 PM
Creighton University
vs
St. Thomas
#9 Men's Basketball Opens 2022-23 Season Monday vs. St. Thomas
11/3/2022 7:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays seek 13th straight season-opening victory
Game #1:Â St. Thomas Tommies (0-0) at #9 Creighton Bluejays (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 7 • 7:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TICKETS | UST NOTES (PDF) | CU NOTES (PDF) | CU MEDIA GUIDE |
Next Game
No. 9 Creighton (0-0) takes on St. Thomas (0-0) on Monday, Nov. 7 to open the 2022-23 season.
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:30 p.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2022-23 season. John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action. Â
   The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 84 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 84.
Telecast Information
FOX Sports' season tips off Monday, Nov. 7, with exclusive coverage showing live look-ins of eight BIG EAST contests with limited commercials during the BIG EAST OPENING NIGHT TIP-OFF beginning at 5:30 p.m. Central on FS1. Creighton's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe.
   All eight games are available in their entirety on the FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com The entire Creighton game can be seen at http://GoCreighton.com/MBB-UST-CU.
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
Preseason expectations are at an all-time high for a Creighton team returns 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's squad that finished 23-12 and reached BIG EAST Tournament final as well as the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
   The Bluejays return 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner (13.1 ppg,. 7.7 rpg., 2.6 bpg.), who was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
   CU had three men named to the BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team last winter. That trio includes BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Ryan Nembhard (11.3 ppg., 3.9 apg.) as well as Arthur Kaluma (10.4 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) and Trey Alexander (7.4 ppg.).
   The Bluejays also return Shereef Mitchell (3.5 ppg.) and redshirts Mason Miller and Zander Yates, among others.
   Six newcomers will also help supplement the returning core, including transfers Francisco Farabello (4.7 ppg. at TCU) and Baylor Scheierman (16.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 4.5 apg. at South Dakota State).
   Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches and ranked ninth nationally in the preseason Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls.
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Scouting St. Thomas
Longtime Division III powerhouse St. Thomas is coming off a 10-20 season in its initial season at the Division I level.
   Grad students Riley Miller (15.4 ppg., 103 three-pointers last year) joins Parker Bjorklund (12.6 ppg.) as the lone returning starters.
   Transfers Drake Dobbs (Liberty) and Courtney Brown Jr. (Milwaukee) sat out last season and join freshmen Kendall Blue and Andrew Rohde as newcomers expected to make an impact.
   Last year's UST squad averaged 74.7 points per game but allowed 75.3 points per contest and was outrebounded by 5.9 caroms per outing. The Tommies made 11.1 three-pointers per game to rank among the national leaders. Seven UST players made 20 or more three-pointers last winter.
   St. Thomas led the nation in turnover rate last year but were last in effective field goal percentage defense and second-to-last in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
   The Tommies were picked to finish eighth in the Summit League's preseason poll, two spots ahead of Thursday's Bluejay opponent, North Dakota.
The Series With St. Thomas
In a series that dates to 1953, Creighton owns an 8-1 all-time record against St. Thomas. The teams have not met since a 79-39 Bluejay victory in 1976.
   The home team has won all nine meetings in the series.
   Creighton opened both its 1970-71 and 1976-77 seasons with victories over the Tommies.
   Greg McDermott has never coached against St. Thomas or John Tauer.
How Long Has It Been?
Creighton and St. Thomas first played on Dec. 30, 1953. That day was also the day the first color television sets would go on sale (for about $1,175).
   The process was rushed so to coincide so that viewers could watch the Rose Bowl Parade in color.
Maker Returns
Former Creighton assistant coach Mike Maker returns to CHI Health Center Omaha on Monday as the associate head coach of St. Thomas.
   Maker served as a Bluejay assistant under Dana Altman during the 2007-08 campaign. That squad finished 22-11 and reached the Second Round of the NIT.
   Nick Bahe, who will call Monday's tilt for FS1, started all 33 games and averaged 5.8 points per game that season for CU.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 276-137 record entering his 13th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 556-332 entering his 29th season, and is 425-268 entering his 22nd 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...
- Creighton would improve to 1-0 on the season.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 21-1 as a Division I head coach in season-openers, including 21 straight wins, and 13-0 at Creighton.
- Creighton would improve to 90-15 all-time in season-opening games, including a 25-1 mark in the past 26 lid-lifters.
- Creighton would improve to 9-1 all-time against St. Thomas, and 3-0 against the Tommies in season-openers.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 14-0 against teams presently in the Summit League as the coach at Creighton.
It Gets Earlier Every Year
Monday's game will take place on November 7, the third-earliest start date for a season-opener in Creighton basketball history.
   The only earlier starts in program history were in 2019-20 (Nov. 5) and 2018-19 (Nov. 6).
   By comparison, 30 years ago, Creighton's season-opener in 1992-93 didn't take place until Dec. 3rd.
Season Opener History
Creighton owns a sparkling 89-15 record (.856) on opening day, including 12 straight wins and victories in 24 of its last 25 lid-lifters after last year's 90-77 win vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
   Creighton has won 13 of its last 22 season-openers by 20 or more points.
   The Bluejays have outscored foes by an average of 85.04 to 61.68 in the last 22 openers.
Opening Statements
Including last year's 90-77 victory vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Greg McDermott has won each of the last 20 season openers he's coached in, and he is 20-1 at the Division I level in season-openers. That includes double-digit victories in 11 of his first 12 openers on the Creighton sideline.
   Overall as a head coach, McDermott is 25-3 in season-opening games. That includes an impressive 99-point win (137-38) in his first game on the sidelines when he was at Wayne State.
Date   School   Opponent   Result
1994-95   Wayne St.   York   W 137-38
1995-96   Wayne St.   Nebraska-Omaha   L 63-72
1996-97   Wayne St.   St. Francis   W 72-66
1997-98   Wayne St.   Nebraska-Omaha   W 78-76
1998-99   Wayne St.   Mount Marty   W 76-70
1999-00   Wayne St.   South Dakota   L 64-66
11/17/00   NDSU   Macalester   W 81-69
11/16/01   UNI   vs. San Diego State   L 57-71
11/22/02   UNI   at Montana   W 77-71
11/21/03   UNI   Chicago State   W 83-59
11/21/04   UNI   Wayne State   W 84-66
11/20/05   UNI   Western Carolina   W 68-46
11/10/06   Iowa State   UC Riverside   W 69-61
11/09/07   Iowa State   Winston-Salem St.   W 58-44
11/14/08   Iowa State   UC Davis   W 61-58
11/13/09   Iowa State   Idaho State   W 88-68
11/12/10   Creighton   Alabama State   W 71-57
11/11/11   Creighton   N. Carolina A&T   W 97-65
11/09/12   Creighton   North Texas   W 71-51
11/08/13   Creighton   Alcorn State   W 107-61
11/14/14   Creighton   Central Arkansas   W 104-77
11/14/15   Creighton   Texas Southern   W 93-70
11/11/16   Creighton   UMKC   W 89-82
11/10/17   Creighton   Yale   W 92-76
11/06/18   Creighton   Western Illinois   W 78-67
11/05/19   Creighton   Kennesaw State   W 81-55
11/29/20   Creighton   North Dakota State   W 69-58
11/09/21   Creighton   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 90-77
A One And A Two...
Not only is Creighton a perfect 12-0 in season-openers under Greg McDermott, but the Bluejays have started 2-0 in all but one campaign (2019-20) under McDermott as well.
It Can Take Some Time
Creighton opened last year with a brand new starting five and even more questions after struggling out of the gate.
   In the season-opener, the Bluejays trailed Arkansas-Pine Bluff by as much as 15 points (26-11 after 11 minutes) and still trailed 47-38 at the half before using a 39-9 run after the intermission to eventually earn a 90-77 victory.
   Two days later Creighton trailed 24-22 at halftime against Kennesaw State before rallying to post a 51-44 victory in what was a three-point game with just over a minute left.
   CU's third home game of the season, against SIU Edwardsville, was even scarier. The Jays trailed 42-30 at halftime and 56-40 with 15 minutes left before using a game-ending 11-0 run to sneak away with a 70-65 triumph.
   Those three teams owned a combined 18-57 record in 2020-21, making it all the more remarkable that CU rallied to post 23 victories, reach the finals of the BIG EAST Tournament and the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament by season's end.
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked ninth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever.
   The Oct. 17th announcement marked just the fifth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22) and 2020-21 (No. 11). All four of those Bluejay teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament.
   It was also just the 19th time in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those weeks happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done four times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020 and Jan. 7, 2021).
   Creighton has now been ranked 114 times in program history, with 86 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 142-55 all-time as a ranked team, including a 108-43 mark under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in nine of McDermott's 13 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
   Creighton was one of two BIG EAST Conference schools in the poll, joining No. 16 Villanova. North Carolina is atop the poll, just ahead of Gonzaga, Houston and Kentucky.
   Among the opponents on Creighton's schedule who made the preseason top-25 are No. 12 Texas, No. 16 Villanova and No. 25 Texas Tech, as well as potential Maui Jim Maui Invitational foes Arkansas (No. 10), Arizona (No. 17) and San Diego State (No. 19).
   Creighton is also ninth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever in the coaches poll.
Top 10 Under McDermott
Prior to Greg McDermott's 2010 arrival, Creighton had spent one week ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll in program history (10th on Jan. 20, 2003, when Dana Altman's team led by Kyle Korver lost at Steve Merfeld's Evansville team).
   Under McDermott, Creighton has spent 18 weeks in the top 10, including at least one week in five different seasons (1 week in 2012-13; 8 weeks in 2016-17, 3 weeks in 2019-20, 5 weeks in 2020-21 and 1 week so far this year).
   Creighton's best AP ranking ever is seventh, done three times (March 9, 2020; March 16, 2020; Jan. 4, 2021).
Making An Entrance
Last year 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 in last year's opener 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.
   CU's best opening-day effort in history would have to be the way Creighton Hall of Famer Bob Harstad began his senior season. Harstad went 13-for-13 from the floor and 12-for-13 at the line to score 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
   Below is a list of some of Creighton's most famous players and how they performed in their regular-season debuts in a Bluejay uniform.
Name, Yr.   Pts.   Reb.   Ast.   Stl.   Min.   Result
Zegarowski, 2018Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 18Â Â Â W 78-67
Foster, 2016Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 28Â Â Â W 89-82
Patton, 2016Â Â Â 12Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 22Â Â Â W 89-82
Thomas, 2015Â Â Â 18Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 26Â Â Â W 93-70
McDermott, 2010Â Â Â 16Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 32Â Â Â W 71-57
Stinnett, 2007Â Â Â 23Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 26Â Â Â W 74-62
Tolliver, 2003Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 7Â Â Â W 79-44
Funk, 2002Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21Â Â Â W 106-50
Kyle Korver, 1999Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 10Â Â Â W 70-62
Buford, 1995Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 19Â Â Â W 63-59
Harstad, 1987Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21Â Â Â L 49-70
Gallagher, 1987Â Â Â 10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 37Â Â Â L 49-70
Benjamin, 1982Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 22Â Â Â W 98-54
McKenna, 1977   14   3   7   ?   ?   W 95-66
Harmon, 1971   21   7   ?   ?   ?   W 74-62
C. Baptiste, 1969   24   17   ?   ?   ?   W 84-62
Portman, 1966   9   ?   ?   ?   ?   W 78-76
Silas, 1961   22   29   ?   ?   ?   W 85-51
Gibson, 1954   19   ?   ?   ?   ?   W 66-51
Hello, World
Creighton has eight players who could make their regular-season Bluejay debuts on Monday vs. St. Thomas; Francisco Farabello, Jasen Green, Fredrick King, Mason Miller, Baylor Scheierman, Ben Shtolzberg, Zander Yates and Evan Young.
   Below is a look at how Creighton's current players have done in their regular-season and Creighton debuts in a Division I uniform.
Name   Pts.   Reb.   Ast.   Stl.   Min.
Kaluma•   15   8   3   0   24
Nembhard•   15   4   10   1   36
Mitchell•   8   6   3   3   28
Kalkbrenner   8   2   1   1   11
Alexander   5   4   1   2   22
Scheierman (SDSU)Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21
Davis      0   0   0   0   1
Osmani   0   0   0   0   1
Christofilis   0   1   0   0   2
Farabello (TCU)•   0   0   5   1   26
•indicates game started
Newcomer Report
Six players made their exhibition debut in a Creighton uniform in the win vs. Drury as senior transfers Francisco Farabello and Baylor Scheierman, as well as freshmen Fredrick King, Ben Shtolzberg, Jasen Green and Evan Young. combined for 44 points, 23 rebounds and 15 assists in 84 minutes of action in Creighton's 109-57 triumph last week.
   Below is a look at how Creighton's newcomers have produced in their exhibition debuts since 2017:
2022
Scheierman/Farabello/King
Shtolzberg/Green/Young
44 pts., 23 reb., 15 ast., 84 min (W 109-57)
2021
Alexander/Andronikashvili/Christofilis
Feazell/Hawkins/Kaluma/Kancleris
Miller/Nembhard/Yates
56 pts., 37 reb., 15 ast., 155 min (W 76-61)
2019
Mitchell/Windham/Zeil/Jones
25 pts., 18 reb., 0 ast., 68 min (W 95-63)
2018
Bishop/Canfield/Cashaw/
Froling/Jefferson/Zegarowski
40 pts., 20 reb., 9 ast., 96 min. (W 101-57)
2017
Alexander/Ballock/Epperson/Joseph/Suarez
27 pts., 16 reb., 9 ast., 67 min. (W 96-67)
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the last 10 times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year. Eight of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
   Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in seven of its last 10 season-openers, including 58.5 percent marksmanship vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff in this year's lid-lifter. That ranked as CU's best mark in an opener since shooting 59.4 percent in 2002-03. That 2002-03 squad featured All-American Kyle Korver and finished 29-5.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG%   Year   Opponent   Postseason
.541Â Â Â 1997-98Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NIT
.524   1998-99   Towson State   NCAA
.569   2000-01   Western Illinois   NCAA
.594   2002-03   UT Arlington   NCAA
.500   2012-13   North Texas   NCAA
.556   2013-14   Alcorn State   NCAA
.528   2015-16   Texas Southern   NIT
.508Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NCAA
.558   2017-18   Yale   NCAA
.524   2019-20   Kennesaw St.   Postseason CCD
.585   2021-22   Ark.-Pine Bluff   NCAA
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 23 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 11 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
   Put another way...of CU's 18 teams to score 90 points in an opener, 11 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
   Here's a look at Creighton's last nine teams to score 90 or more points in a season-opener, which includes last year's team that scored 90 points in the season-opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
            Final   Post-
   Score   Opponent   Date   W-L   Season
   93-47   UT-San Antonio   11/30/90   24-8   NCAA
   93-48   Towson State   11/14/98   22-9   NCAA
   96-50   Western Illinois   11/20/00   24-8   NCAA
   106-50   Texas-Arlington   11/17/02   29-5   NCAA
   97-65   N. Carolina A&T   11/11/11   29-6   NCAA
   107-61   Alcorn State   11/08/13   27-8   NCAA
   104-77   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   14-19   --
   93-70   Texas Southern   11/14/15   20-15   NIT
   92-76   Yale   11/10/17   21-12   NCAA
   90-77   Ark.-Pine Bluff   11/09/21   23-12   NCAA
Good Defense, A Good Sign
Each of the last nine times that Creighton has held its season-opening opponent to 50 points or less, the Bluejays have advanced to the postseason. It hasn't happened since 2006, however.
   That list is seen below:
Date   Opponent   Score   NCAA/NIT
11/30/73   Regis   W 93-38   NCAA
11/27/76Â Â Â St. Thomas (MN)Â Â Â W 79-39Â Â Â NIT
11/30/90   UT San Antonio   W 93-47   NCAA
11/14/98   Towson State   W 93-48   NCAA
11/20/00   Western Illinois   W 96-50   NCAA
11/17/02   Texas-Arlington   W 106-50   NCAA
11/22/03   San Diego   W 76-44   NIT
11/15/04   Alcorn State   W 74-40   NCAA
11/13/06   Mississippi Valley St.   W 78-42   NCAA
It's A New Day
Monday will mark the first time that Creighton has ever played a game that counted on November 7th. There's only one other day on the calendar between November 5th - March 25th that CU hasn't played on.
   That day? December 24th.
Scheierman Reaches The Summit
Senior Baylor Scheierman was named Summit League Player of the Year last season at South Dakota State, which could be a good sign considering that Creighton opens the season with back-to-back Summit League foes.
   In two games against St. Thomas last season, Scheierman averaged 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 66.7 percent shooting.
   In two games against North Dakota last season, Scheierman averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 57.7 percent shooting.
   Scheierman approached a triple-double in his Bluejay exhibition debut with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 18 minutes of work.
An Area for Improvement
One area that Creighton will look to improve in 2022-23 is its marksmanship from behind the arc, as last year's 30.8 percent shooting from deep was its worst as a team since 1993-94.
   The Creighton staff is confident those numbers can improve as its talented freshman class is now sophomores.
   Last year's freshmen combined to shoot 27.2 percent from deep (85-313), but they're not the first Bluejay freshmen to struggle early on from downtown, as seen in the chart below of some other prominent marksmen.
   Even that chart is a little misleading, as Doug McDermott shot 15-of-53 (.283) from deep in his first 20 games of his freshman year before finishing 32-of-63 (.508) in his last 19 games. Likewise, Kyle Korver was shooting 11-for-41 (.268) from downtown after his first 14 contests before blistering the nets to the tune of 52-of-104 (.500).
   As a Freshman   Other College Years
Name   3FG-3FGA   3FG%   3FG-3FGA   3FG%
Ky. Korver   63-145   .434   308-674   .457
McDermott   47-116   .405   237-482   .492
Ty. Alexander   32-96   .333   178-469   .380
Ballock   44-135   .326   264-638   .414
Keeping It 100
Monday will be Creighton's 100th non-conference home game under Greg McDermott.
   He enters the evening 91-8 in the first 99.
November Reign
Creighton is a 67-1 all-time in regular-season home games that take place on or before Nov. 26th. The lone loss came in 2018 when it lost to Ohio State.
   Creighton has won 74 of its 76 regular-season November home games since 1990, falling only to Boise State in 2012 and Ohio State in 2018.
   Overall, Creighton is 104-20 in regular-season November games at all sites since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 323 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 20-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 265-58 (.820) 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 25,229-21,189 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.51 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 86 different times.
   Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 22 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
   Creighton is also 32-34 all-time in the 66 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 40-28 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 168-40 (.808) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 61 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 284-58 (.830) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Jays At Home Against Winless Teams
Creighton's opponent on Monday, St. Thomas, is 0-0. The Bluejays have won 43 straight home games against teams that are winless entering the night, winning those games by an average of 24.35 points. Fifteen of those wins came by 30 points or more, and only five were decided by single-digits.
   The streak dates to a 77-70 loss versus an 0-2 SMU team on Dec. 3, 1994. That game was Dana Altman's home debut at Creighton.
   Since the start of the 2002-03 season Creighton has won 124 of its last 126 home games against teams that enter the night with a record of .500 or worse.
Creighton at Home vs. Winless Teams, Since 12/3/1994
Opp. W-L    Opponent   CU Result   Date
   0-4   UMKC   W 75-61   12/17/94
   0-1   UMKC   W 70-68   11/25/96
   0-0   UMKC   W 81-59   11/14/97
   0-0   Towson   W 93-48   11/14/98
   0-1   Western Illinois   W 96-50   11/20/00
   0-1   North Carolina A&T   W 72-51   11/18/01
   0-0   Texas-Arlington   W 106-50   11/17/02
   0-3   San Diego   W 79-44   11/22/03
   0-1   Bethune-Cookman   W 69-49   12/03/03
   0-0   Alcorn State   W 74-40   11/15/04
   0-0   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 83-58   11/20/04
   0-0   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 87-55   11/19/05
   0-1   Miss. Valley State   W 78-42   11/13/06
   0-4   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 74-39   11/29/06
   0-0   DePaul   W 74-62   11/09/07
   0-2   Miss. Valley State   W 76-46   11/17/07
   0-2   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 82-50   11/20/08
   0-9   Miss. Valley State   W 82-58   12/02/08
   0-7   Southern   W 71-60   12/15/08
   0-1   Florida A&M   W 78-53   11/17/09
   0-0   Alabama State   W 71-57   11/12/10
   0-1   Northern Arizona   W 74-70   11/14/10
   0-0   N. Carolina A&T   W 97-65   11/11/11
   0-1   Chicago State   W 95-61   11/13/11
   0-0   North Texas   W 71-51   11/09/12
   0-2   Presbyterian   W 87-58   11/18/12
   0-4   Longwood   W 105-57   11/20/12
   0-0   Alcorn State   W 107-61   11/08/13
   0-1   UMKC   W 96-70   11/11/13
   0-3   Tulsa   W 82-72   11/23/13
   0-0   Central Arkansas   W 104-77   11/14/14
   0-1   Chicago State   W 84-66   11/16/14
   0-1   Texas Southern   W 93-70   11/14/15
   0-2   UTSA   W 103-78   11/17/15
   0-0   UMKC   W 89-82   11/11/16
   0-0   Yale   W 92-76   11/10/17
   0-1   Alcorn State   W 109-72   11/12/17
   0-0   Western Illinois   W 78-67   11/06/18
   0-0   East Tennessee State   W 75-69   11/11/18
   0-0   Kennesaw State   W 81-55   11/05/19
   0-2   North Dakota State   W 69-58   11/29/20
   0-0   Ark.-Pine Bluff   W 90-77   11/09/21
   0-1   Kennesaw State   W 51-44   11/11/21
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning eight of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2021-22 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   118 (79.2%)   31 (20.8%)
Assists   284 (60.9%)   182 (39.1%)
Starts   104 (59.4%)   71 (40.6%)
Points   1,360 (56.2%)   1,062 (43.8%)
Minutes   3,881 (54.9%)   3,194 (45.1%)
Charges Taken   7 (53.8%)   6 (46.2%)
Rebounds   663 (53.3%)   580 (46.7%)
Steals   98 (51.0%)   94 (49.0%)
3FG Made   83 (35.3%)   152 (64.7%)
Youth Is Served
In case you've forgotten, Creighton had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game last season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
   All told, 3171:36 of Creighton's 7,075 total minutes (44.83 percent) were played by freshmen last season.
   By comparison, in 2020-21 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 freshman:Â Â Â 34:23Â Â Â 59-49Â Â Â +10
2 freshmen:Â Â Â 962:14Â Â Â 1,692-1,578Â Â Â +114
3 freshmen:Â Â Â 347:15Â Â Â 611-407Â Â Â +4
4 freshmen:Â Â Â 45:54Â Â Â 54-85Â Â Â (-31)
5 freshmen:Â Â Â 1:28Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â +3
Watch This
Creighton has four men that made the preseason watch list for their respective position.
   Ryan Nembhard is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard. Nembhard is the fourth different Bluejay in the last 12 years named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, joining Antoine Young (2011-12), Maurice Watson Jr. (2016-17) and Marcus Zegarowski (2020-21).
   Baylor Scheierman is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Julius Erving Award, given to the nation's best small forward. Scheierman is Creighton's first player in the nine seasons of the Julius Erving Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Arthur Kaluma is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Karl Malone Award, given to the nation's best power forward. Kaluma is Creighton's first player in the nine seasons of the Karl Malone Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation's best center. Kalkbrenner joins Justin Patton (2016-17) as Creighton's second player in the nine seasons of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Creighton (4) is one of six schools with four or more MBB players on a watch list, joining Duke (5), Kentucky (5), Arizona (4), Gonzaga (4) and UCLA (4).
   CU's four watch list student-athletes match the totals of the rest of the BIG EAST combined (Xavier 2, Villanova 1, UConn 1).
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day on Oct. 18th at Madison Square Garden.
   It's the first time since 2012-13 that Creighton has been chosen as a preseason favorite in its league, though that recognition came in CU's final season in the Missouri Valley Conference.
   This is the 10th time Creighton has been tabbed as the preseason favorite (also 1989-90, 1990-91, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2012-13), though the first nine occurrences all happened in the Missouri Valley Conference. Four of those MVC teams finished first (1990-91, 2000-01, 2008-09, 2012-13), while the other five took second place. Six of those nine Bluejay squads went on to win the MVC Tournament (1990-91, 1998-99, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12, 2012-13) and seven of the nine squads played in the NCAA Tournament (1990-91, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12, 2012-13).
   The Bluejays collected eight first-place votes and earned 98 points in the poll. Xavier was picked second in the poll with 86 points, including two first-place votes. Villanova, the defending BIG EAST Tournament champion, was one point behind Xavier with 85 points and received one first-place vote from the men's basketball head coaches, who did not vote for their own teams. Connecticut was picked fourth with 77 points and Providence was fifth with 62 points. St. John's and Seton Hall finished sixth and seventh with 62 and 52 points, respectively. Butler was eighth with 36 points, four points ahead of ninth-place Marquette with 32 points. Georgetown was 10th with 21 points and DePaul 11th with 12 points.
   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)
2021-22   8th   4th   -
2022-23   1st   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
         Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a second season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 39 of the last 40 seasons. McDermott is in his ninth season in the NBA.
   Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
We're Jamming!
Ryan Kalkbrenner owned 69 dunks last season, giving him 98 in his career. As a team, Creighton owned 132 dunks last season, including nine vs. Georgetown on Feb. 12th and eight vs. No. 18 UConn on March 2nd.
   Here's a look at the Creighton student-athletes with 20 or more dunks in a season, and 25 or more dunks in a career, under Greg McDermott:
Most Creighton Dunks, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Name   Year
74   Martin Krampelj   2018-19
72   Justin Patton   2016-17
69   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2021-22
50   Christian Bishop   2020-21
38   Christian Bishop   2019-20
36   Gregory Echenique   2012-13
33   Martin Krampelj   2017-18
30   Gregory Echenique   2011-12
29   Marcus Foster   2017-18
29   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-21
24   Gregory Echenique   2010-11
23   Marcus Foster   2016-17
22   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2010-11
21   Alex O'Connell   2021-22
21   Arthur Kaluma   2021-22
20   Khyri Thomas   2017-18
Most Creighton Dunks, Career, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Name   Years
121   Martin Krampelj   2015-19
103   Christian Bishop   2018-21
98   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
90   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
72   Justin Patton   2016-17
52   Marcus Foster   2016-18
51   Khyri Thomas   2015-18
38   Will Artino   2011-15
33   Zach Hanson   2013-17
25   Geoffrey Groselle   2012-16
25   Damien Jefferson   2018-21
Most Creighton Dunks, Team, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Year   Team W-L
144Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â 25-10 (NCAA)
132Â Â Â 2021-22Â Â Â 23-12 (NCAA)
107Â Â Â 2017-18Â Â Â 21-12 (NCAA)
106Â Â Â 2018-19Â Â Â 20-15 (NIT)
90Â Â Â 2020-21Â Â Â 22-9 (NCAA)
60Â Â Â 2019-20Â Â Â 24-7 (Postseason Canceled)
58Â Â Â 2015-16Â Â Â 20-15 (NIT)
56Â Â Â 2010-11Â Â Â 23-16 (CBI)
54Â Â Â 2012-13Â Â Â 28-8 (NCAA)
42Â Â Â 2011-12Â Â Â 29-6 (NCAA)
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 to 2021-22
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   3,624   4th  Â
FG Percentage   .477   4th  Â
3FG Percentage   .377   5th  Â
Assists   6,580   6th  Â
FG Made   11,240   8th  Â
Points   31,452   10th  Â
Wins   276   29th  Â
Winning Percentage   .669   32nd  Â
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Since 1992-93, only six true freshmen have started Creighton's regular-season opener.
   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 three seasons in the NBA.
   Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State.
   In 2021-22, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma started the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, marking the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos). Both men ended up on the BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team, with Nembhard being named Freshman of the Year.
   The last time Creighton started three true freshmen in a regular-season opener was 1987-88 (Chris Rodgers, Bob Harstad, Chad Gallagher).
Who Are These Guys?
After returning just two total starts in from its Sweet 16 squad team to open 2021-22, Creighton returns a 104 starts from last year's club.
   Creighton has won 20 or more games each of the previous seven times (and 11 of the last 12 times) it has returned 100 or more starts.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2022-23Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 104Â Â Â ? ? ?
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 23-12
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
20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 23 wins in 2021-22, securing a seventh straight 20-win season.
   Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the previous seven seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
22 of 24 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 22 of the last 24 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 24 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 23 times, Creighton and Kentucky 22 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 24 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons     2021-22 W-L
Gonzaga   24   28-4
Kansas   24   34-6
Duke   23   32-7
Creighton   22   23-12
Kentucky   22   26-8
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 276 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .668 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.   276-137   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
Multiple Choices
For the first time since 1964-65, Creighton had five men average in double-figures for an entire season last season. Last year's double-figure group included Ryan Hawkins (13.8 ppg.), Ryan Kalkbrenner (13.1), Alex O'Connell (11.8), Ryan Nembhard (11.3) and Arthur Kaluma (10.4).
   Creighton had not had five or more men finish a season averaging 10 or more points per game since the 1964-65 club had SIX men average in double- figures (Neil Johnson, 17.3; Elton McGriff, 15.0; Fritz Pointer, 14.3; Tim Powers, 12.6; Bob Miles, 11.9; Charlie Brown (11.6), though Johnson only played in 8-of-23 games.
   Creighton has won each of its last 25 games when five or more players score in double-figures, a streak that dates to Jan. 9, 2019 vs. Marquette.
Dynamic Duo
Creighton was one of 11 schools to earn at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball in 2021-22, a list that featured Arkansas, Baylor, Creighton, Indiana, Iowa State, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
   Those 11 schools, in addition to 13 others (Arizona, Delaware, Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Longwood, Montana State, Tennessee, Texas, UConn, Villanova and Virginia Tech) were the only 24 schools with both men's and women's basketball teams to make the Big Dance.
   This season, Creighton is one of nine teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Arizona, Baylor, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including four such rallies last season. In its NCAA Tournament win vs. San Diego State, Creighton trailed 35-21 late in the first half.
   Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
   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 Under McDermott
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
14   vs. San Diego State   03/17/22
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
11   DePaul   01/22/22
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
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.   18,192   Marquette   02/20/22
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 50th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 112 offense, and No. 19 defense. Creighton's No. 19 defense was its best mark in the 20 seasons of the KenPom era.
   Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom in six of the previous 11 seasons.
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 112Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 23-12
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.56 points per home game (16,735 points in 208 home games), a figure that climbs to 80.07 points in non-conference home games (8,324 points in 99 home games).
   Creighton is 127-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Super Seven
Greg McDermott joined some select company when he directed his troops to a seventh NCAA Tournament last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history.
   McDermott is one of five head coaches in Creighton history to lead seven different NCAA Tournament teams.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   11
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   7
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 948 straight games. The streak is the nation's 13th-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 (entering 2022-23)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,161   UNLV   11/7
   2.   1,151   Duke   11/7
   3.   1,094   Western Kentucky   11/10
   4.   1,083   East Tennessee State   11/7
   5.   1,062   Oakland   11/7
   6.   1,060   Pacific   11/7
   7.   1,057   Texas   11/7
   8.   1,003   Marshall   11/7
   9.   996   Baylor   11/7
   10.   987   Princeton   11/7
   11.   982   Gonzaga   11/7
   12.   956   Long Island   11/7
   13.   948   Creighton   11/7
   14.   941   Mount St. Mary's   11/7
   15.   930   Tennessee State   11/7
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 948 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,455 trifectas, an average of 7.86 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 142 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 266 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 45-9 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 22-18 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 17 times   3: 34 times
4:   73 times   5:  101 times   6: 101 times
7:  142 times   8:  118 times   9: 91 times
10: 77 times   11: 53 times   12: 52 times
13: 44 times   14: 19 times   15: 7 times
16: 7 times   17: 3 times   19: 1 time
20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Fun Fact
Creighton is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous three seasons.
   Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, only Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have done so.
McDermott's Coaching Tree
A bunch of former Greg McDermott protégés are thriving at the Division I level.
   Eric Henderson led South Dakota State to the first 18-0 season in Summit League history. The Jackrabbits went 30-5 after winning the Summit League Tournament and clinching an NCAAA bid.
   North Dakota State's Dave Richman went 23-10 overall and finished as the runner-up in the Summit League standings and Summit League Tournament to Henderson's SDSU team.
   Ben Jacobson won the MVC regular-season title while coaching Northern Iowa. The Panthers went 20-12 and reached the NIT.
   Drake's Darian DeVries led the Bulldogs to a 25-11 mark and runner-up finish in the MVC (to Jacobson's UNI team) in the regular-season and the league tournament. Drake played in the CBI.
   Steve Lutz led his Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team to a 24-12 record and a Southland Conference Tournament title in his first year as a head coach, with the Islanders reaching the NCAA Tournament First Four. He inherited a 5-19 team that hadn't won 20 games or had a winning record since 2016-17.
   TJ Otzelberger turned around Iowa State in his first year in Ames. He inherited a 2-22 team (0-18 Big 12) and turned it into a team that reached the Sweet 16 and finished 22-13.
   Patrick Sellers led Central Connecticut State to an 8-24 record in his first season with the Blue Devils, including a victory in the Northeast Conference Tournament.
McDermott's Exhibition History
Greg McDermott is 30-0 in fall exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including an 10-0 mark at UNI, a 7-0 record at Iowa State, and a 13-0 mark at Creighton. All but one of his triumphs have been by double-digits.
   Below is a list of McDermott's exhibition games at the Division I level.
Greg McDermott's Division I Exhibition Scores
Date   McD School   Opponent   Result
2001-02   UNI   London Leopards   W 89-74
2001-02   UNI   Lake Superior State   W 74-63
2002-03   UNI   Dominican National Team   W 73-56
2002-03   UNI   H.P. Minnesota   W 90-76
2003-04   UNI   H.P. Minnesota   W 89-79
2003-04   UNI   Australian Select Team   W 92-58
2004-05   UNI   Dubuque   W 93-34
2004-05   UNI   SW Minnesota State   W 71-40
2005-06   UNI   Lewis   W 77-50
2005-06   UNI   Wayne State   W 74-57
11/03/06   Iowa State   EA Sports   W 58-57
11/06/06   Iowa State   Wayne State   W 55-41
11/01/07   Iowa State   Dubuque   W 66-38
11/04/07   Iowa State   EA Sports   W 74-63
11/08/08   Iowa State   Nebraska-Omaha   W 74-54
11/02/09   Iowa State   Black Hills State   W 96-47
11/06/09   Iowa State   UNC Pembroke   W 106-54
11/04/10   Creighton   Northern State   W 79-67
11/06/11   Creighton   Rockhurst   W 81-42
11/02/12   Creighton   Mary   W 89-51
11/01/13   Creighton   Northern State   W 89-61
11/07/14   Creighton   Sioux Falls   W 91-72
11/06/15   Creighton   Upper Iowa   W 113-77
11/04/16   Creighton   Wayne State   W 93-46
10/26/17   Creighton   Nebraska-Omaha   W 96-67
11/03/17   Creighton   UNC Pembroke   W 93-70
10/27/18   Creighton    Winona State   W 101-57
11/01/19   Creighton   McKendree   W 95-63
10/30/21   Creighton   Upper Iowa   W 76-61
10/30/22   Creighton   Drury   W 109-57
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2022-32 season went on sale on October 14th.
   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.
Monday, Nov. 7 • 7:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TICKETS | UST NOTES (PDF) | CU NOTES (PDF) | CU MEDIA GUIDE |
tomorrow, it's time. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/20q4C4EN2z
— Creighton Men's Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 7, 2022
Next Game
No. 9 Creighton (0-0) takes on St. Thomas (0-0) on Monday, Nov. 7 to open the 2022-23 season.
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:30 p.m.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2022-23 season. John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action. Â
   The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 84 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 84.
Telecast Information
FOX Sports' season tips off Monday, Nov. 7, with exclusive coverage showing live look-ins of eight BIG EAST contests with limited commercials during the BIG EAST OPENING NIGHT TIP-OFF beginning at 5:30 p.m. Central on FS1. Creighton's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe.
   All eight games are available in their entirety on the FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com The entire Creighton game can be seen at http://GoCreighton.com/MBB-UST-CU.
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
Preseason expectations are at an all-time high for a Creighton team returns 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's squad that finished 23-12 and reached BIG EAST Tournament final as well as the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
   The Bluejays return 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner (13.1 ppg,. 7.7 rpg., 2.6 bpg.), who was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
   CU had three men named to the BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team last winter. That trio includes BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Ryan Nembhard (11.3 ppg., 3.9 apg.) as well as Arthur Kaluma (10.4 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) and Trey Alexander (7.4 ppg.).
   The Bluejays also return Shereef Mitchell (3.5 ppg.) and redshirts Mason Miller and Zander Yates, among others.
   Six newcomers will also help supplement the returning core, including transfers Francisco Farabello (4.7 ppg. at TCU) and Baylor Scheierman (16.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 4.5 apg. at South Dakota State).
   Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason poll of league coaches and ranked ninth nationally in the preseason Associated Press and USA Today Top 25 polls.
  Â
Scouting St. Thomas
Longtime Division III powerhouse St. Thomas is coming off a 10-20 season in its initial season at the Division I level.
   Grad students Riley Miller (15.4 ppg., 103 three-pointers last year) joins Parker Bjorklund (12.6 ppg.) as the lone returning starters.
   Transfers Drake Dobbs (Liberty) and Courtney Brown Jr. (Milwaukee) sat out last season and join freshmen Kendall Blue and Andrew Rohde as newcomers expected to make an impact.
   Last year's UST squad averaged 74.7 points per game but allowed 75.3 points per contest and was outrebounded by 5.9 caroms per outing. The Tommies made 11.1 three-pointers per game to rank among the national leaders. Seven UST players made 20 or more three-pointers last winter.
   St. Thomas led the nation in turnover rate last year but were last in effective field goal percentage defense and second-to-last in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
   The Tommies were picked to finish eighth in the Summit League's preseason poll, two spots ahead of Thursday's Bluejay opponent, North Dakota.
The Series With St. Thomas
In a series that dates to 1953, Creighton owns an 8-1 all-time record against St. Thomas. The teams have not met since a 79-39 Bluejay victory in 1976.
   The home team has won all nine meetings in the series.
   Creighton opened both its 1970-71 and 1976-77 seasons with victories over the Tommies.
   Greg McDermott has never coached against St. Thomas or John Tauer.
How Long Has It Been?
Creighton and St. Thomas first played on Dec. 30, 1953. That day was also the day the first color television sets would go on sale (for about $1,175).
   The process was rushed so to coincide so that viewers could watch the Rose Bowl Parade in color.
Maker Returns
Former Creighton assistant coach Mike Maker returns to CHI Health Center Omaha on Monday as the associate head coach of St. Thomas.
   Maker served as a Bluejay assistant under Dana Altman during the 2007-08 campaign. That squad finished 22-11 and reached the Second Round of the NIT.
   Nick Bahe, who will call Monday's tilt for FS1, started all 33 games and averaged 5.8 points per game that season for CU.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 276-137 record entering his 13th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 556-332 entering his 29th season, and is 425-268 entering his 22nd 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...
- Creighton would improve to 1-0 on the season.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 21-1 as a Division I head coach in season-openers, including 21 straight wins, and 13-0 at Creighton.
- Creighton would improve to 90-15 all-time in season-opening games, including a 25-1 mark in the past 26 lid-lifters.
- Creighton would improve to 9-1 all-time against St. Thomas, and 3-0 against the Tommies in season-openers.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 14-0 against teams presently in the Summit League as the coach at Creighton.
It Gets Earlier Every Year
Monday's game will take place on November 7, the third-earliest start date for a season-opener in Creighton basketball history.
   The only earlier starts in program history were in 2019-20 (Nov. 5) and 2018-19 (Nov. 6).
   By comparison, 30 years ago, Creighton's season-opener in 1992-93 didn't take place until Dec. 3rd.
Season Opener History
Creighton owns a sparkling 89-15 record (.856) on opening day, including 12 straight wins and victories in 24 of its last 25 lid-lifters after last year's 90-77 win vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
   Creighton has won 13 of its last 22 season-openers by 20 or more points.
   The Bluejays have outscored foes by an average of 85.04 to 61.68 in the last 22 openers.
Opening Statements
Including last year's 90-77 victory vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Greg McDermott has won each of the last 20 season openers he's coached in, and he is 20-1 at the Division I level in season-openers. That includes double-digit victories in 11 of his first 12 openers on the Creighton sideline.
   Overall as a head coach, McDermott is 25-3 in season-opening games. That includes an impressive 99-point win (137-38) in his first game on the sidelines when he was at Wayne State.
Date   School   Opponent   Result
1994-95   Wayne St.   York   W 137-38
1995-96   Wayne St.   Nebraska-Omaha   L 63-72
1996-97   Wayne St.   St. Francis   W 72-66
1997-98   Wayne St.   Nebraska-Omaha   W 78-76
1998-99   Wayne St.   Mount Marty   W 76-70
1999-00   Wayne St.   South Dakota   L 64-66
11/17/00   NDSU   Macalester   W 81-69
11/16/01   UNI   vs. San Diego State   L 57-71
11/22/02   UNI   at Montana   W 77-71
11/21/03   UNI   Chicago State   W 83-59
11/21/04   UNI   Wayne State   W 84-66
11/20/05   UNI   Western Carolina   W 68-46
11/10/06   Iowa State   UC Riverside   W 69-61
11/09/07   Iowa State   Winston-Salem St.   W 58-44
11/14/08   Iowa State   UC Davis   W 61-58
11/13/09   Iowa State   Idaho State   W 88-68
11/12/10   Creighton   Alabama State   W 71-57
11/11/11   Creighton   N. Carolina A&T   W 97-65
11/09/12   Creighton   North Texas   W 71-51
11/08/13   Creighton   Alcorn State   W 107-61
11/14/14   Creighton   Central Arkansas   W 104-77
11/14/15   Creighton   Texas Southern   W 93-70
11/11/16   Creighton   UMKC   W 89-82
11/10/17   Creighton   Yale   W 92-76
11/06/18   Creighton   Western Illinois   W 78-67
11/05/19   Creighton   Kennesaw State   W 81-55
11/29/20   Creighton   North Dakota State   W 69-58
11/09/21   Creighton   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 90-77
A One And A Two...
Not only is Creighton a perfect 12-0 in season-openers under Greg McDermott, but the Bluejays have started 2-0 in all but one campaign (2019-20) under McDermott as well.
It Can Take Some Time
Creighton opened last year with a brand new starting five and even more questions after struggling out of the gate.
   In the season-opener, the Bluejays trailed Arkansas-Pine Bluff by as much as 15 points (26-11 after 11 minutes) and still trailed 47-38 at the half before using a 39-9 run after the intermission to eventually earn a 90-77 victory.
   Two days later Creighton trailed 24-22 at halftime against Kennesaw State before rallying to post a 51-44 victory in what was a three-point game with just over a minute left.
   CU's third home game of the season, against SIU Edwardsville, was even scarier. The Jays trailed 42-30 at halftime and 56-40 with 15 minutes left before using a game-ending 11-0 run to sneak away with a 70-65 triumph.
   Those three teams owned a combined 18-57 record in 2020-21, making it all the more remarkable that CU rallied to post 23 victories, reach the finals of the BIG EAST Tournament and the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament by season's end.
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked ninth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever.
   The Oct. 17th announcement marked just the fifth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22) and 2020-21 (No. 11). All four of those Bluejay teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament.
   It was also just the 19th time in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those weeks happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done four times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020 and Jan. 7, 2021).
   Creighton has now been ranked 114 times in program history, with 86 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 142-55 all-time as a ranked team, including a 108-43 mark under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in nine of McDermott's 13 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
   Creighton was one of two BIG EAST Conference schools in the poll, joining No. 16 Villanova. North Carolina is atop the poll, just ahead of Gonzaga, Houston and Kentucky.
   Among the opponents on Creighton's schedule who made the preseason top-25 are No. 12 Texas, No. 16 Villanova and No. 25 Texas Tech, as well as potential Maui Jim Maui Invitational foes Arkansas (No. 10), Arizona (No. 17) and San Diego State (No. 19).
   Creighton is also ninth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever in the coaches poll.
Top 10 Under McDermott
Prior to Greg McDermott's 2010 arrival, Creighton had spent one week ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll in program history (10th on Jan. 20, 2003, when Dana Altman's team led by Kyle Korver lost at Steve Merfeld's Evansville team).
   Under McDermott, Creighton has spent 18 weeks in the top 10, including at least one week in five different seasons (1 week in 2012-13; 8 weeks in 2016-17, 3 weeks in 2019-20, 5 weeks in 2020-21 and 1 week so far this year).
   Creighton's best AP ranking ever is seventh, done three times (March 9, 2020; March 16, 2020; Jan. 4, 2021).
Making An Entrance
Last year 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 in last year's opener 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.
   CU's best opening-day effort in history would have to be the way Creighton Hall of Famer Bob Harstad began his senior season. Harstad went 13-for-13 from the floor and 12-for-13 at the line to score 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
   Below is a list of some of Creighton's most famous players and how they performed in their regular-season debuts in a Bluejay uniform.
Name, Yr.   Pts.   Reb.   Ast.   Stl.   Min.   Result
Zegarowski, 2018Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 18Â Â Â W 78-67
Foster, 2016Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 28Â Â Â W 89-82
Patton, 2016Â Â Â 12Â Â Â 8Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 22Â Â Â W 89-82
Thomas, 2015Â Â Â 18Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 26Â Â Â W 93-70
McDermott, 2010Â Â Â 16Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 32Â Â Â W 71-57
Stinnett, 2007Â Â Â 23Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 26Â Â Â W 74-62
Tolliver, 2003Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 7Â Â Â W 79-44
Funk, 2002Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21Â Â Â W 106-50
Kyle Korver, 1999Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 10Â Â Â W 70-62
Buford, 1995Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 19Â Â Â W 63-59
Harstad, 1987Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21Â Â Â L 49-70
Gallagher, 1987Â Â Â 10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 37Â Â Â L 49-70
Benjamin, 1982Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 22Â Â Â W 98-54
McKenna, 1977   14   3   7   ?   ?   W 95-66
Harmon, 1971   21   7   ?   ?   ?   W 74-62
C. Baptiste, 1969   24   17   ?   ?   ?   W 84-62
Portman, 1966   9   ?   ?   ?   ?   W 78-76
Silas, 1961   22   29   ?   ?   ?   W 85-51
Gibson, 1954   19   ?   ?   ?   ?   W 66-51
Hello, World
Creighton has eight players who could make their regular-season Bluejay debuts on Monday vs. St. Thomas; Francisco Farabello, Jasen Green, Fredrick King, Mason Miller, Baylor Scheierman, Ben Shtolzberg, Zander Yates and Evan Young.
   Below is a look at how Creighton's current players have done in their regular-season and Creighton debuts in a Division I uniform.
Name   Pts.   Reb.   Ast.   Stl.   Min.
Kaluma•   15   8   3   0   24
Nembhard•   15   4   10   1   36
Mitchell•   8   6   3   3   28
Kalkbrenner   8   2   1   1   11
Alexander   5   4   1   2   22
Scheierman (SDSU)Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 6Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 21
Davis      0   0   0   0   1
Osmani   0   0   0   0   1
Christofilis   0   1   0   0   2
Farabello (TCU)•   0   0   5   1   26
•indicates game started
Newcomer Report
Six players made their exhibition debut in a Creighton uniform in the win vs. Drury as senior transfers Francisco Farabello and Baylor Scheierman, as well as freshmen Fredrick King, Ben Shtolzberg, Jasen Green and Evan Young. combined for 44 points, 23 rebounds and 15 assists in 84 minutes of action in Creighton's 109-57 triumph last week.
   Below is a look at how Creighton's newcomers have produced in their exhibition debuts since 2017:
2022
Scheierman/Farabello/King
Shtolzberg/Green/Young
44 pts., 23 reb., 15 ast., 84 min (W 109-57)
2021
Alexander/Andronikashvili/Christofilis
Feazell/Hawkins/Kaluma/Kancleris
Miller/Nembhard/Yates
56 pts., 37 reb., 15 ast., 155 min (W 76-61)
2019
Mitchell/Windham/Zeil/Jones
25 pts., 18 reb., 0 ast., 68 min (W 95-63)
2018
Bishop/Canfield/Cashaw/
Froling/Jefferson/Zegarowski
40 pts., 20 reb., 9 ast., 96 min. (W 101-57)
2017
Alexander/Ballock/Epperson/Joseph/Suarez
27 pts., 16 reb., 9 ast., 67 min. (W 96-67)
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the last 10 times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year. Eight of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
   Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in seven of its last 10 season-openers, including 58.5 percent marksmanship vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff in this year's lid-lifter. That ranked as CU's best mark in an opener since shooting 59.4 percent in 2002-03. That 2002-03 squad featured All-American Kyle Korver and finished 29-5.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG%   Year   Opponent   Postseason
.541Â Â Â 1997-98Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NIT
.524   1998-99   Towson State   NCAA
.569   2000-01   Western Illinois   NCAA
.594   2002-03   UT Arlington   NCAA
.500   2012-13   North Texas   NCAA
.556   2013-14   Alcorn State   NCAA
.528   2015-16   Texas Southern   NIT
.508Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NCAA
.558   2017-18   Yale   NCAA
.524   2019-20   Kennesaw St.   Postseason CCD
.585   2021-22   Ark.-Pine Bluff   NCAA
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 23 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 11 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
   Put another way...of CU's 18 teams to score 90 points in an opener, 11 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
   Here's a look at Creighton's last nine teams to score 90 or more points in a season-opener, which includes last year's team that scored 90 points in the season-opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
            Final   Post-
   Score   Opponent   Date   W-L   Season
   93-47   UT-San Antonio   11/30/90   24-8   NCAA
   93-48   Towson State   11/14/98   22-9   NCAA
   96-50   Western Illinois   11/20/00   24-8   NCAA
   106-50   Texas-Arlington   11/17/02   29-5   NCAA
   97-65   N. Carolina A&T   11/11/11   29-6   NCAA
   107-61   Alcorn State   11/08/13   27-8   NCAA
   104-77   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   14-19   --
   93-70   Texas Southern   11/14/15   20-15   NIT
   92-76   Yale   11/10/17   21-12   NCAA
   90-77   Ark.-Pine Bluff   11/09/21   23-12   NCAA
Good Defense, A Good Sign
Each of the last nine times that Creighton has held its season-opening opponent to 50 points or less, the Bluejays have advanced to the postseason. It hasn't happened since 2006, however.
   That list is seen below:
Date   Opponent   Score   NCAA/NIT
11/30/73   Regis   W 93-38   NCAA
11/27/76Â Â Â St. Thomas (MN)Â Â Â W 79-39Â Â Â NIT
11/30/90   UT San Antonio   W 93-47   NCAA
11/14/98   Towson State   W 93-48   NCAA
11/20/00   Western Illinois   W 96-50   NCAA
11/17/02   Texas-Arlington   W 106-50   NCAA
11/22/03   San Diego   W 76-44   NIT
11/15/04   Alcorn State   W 74-40   NCAA
11/13/06   Mississippi Valley St.   W 78-42   NCAA
It's A New Day
Monday will mark the first time that Creighton has ever played a game that counted on November 7th. There's only one other day on the calendar between November 5th - March 25th that CU hasn't played on.
   That day? December 24th.
Scheierman Reaches The Summit
Senior Baylor Scheierman was named Summit League Player of the Year last season at South Dakota State, which could be a good sign considering that Creighton opens the season with back-to-back Summit League foes.
   In two games against St. Thomas last season, Scheierman averaged 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 66.7 percent shooting.
   In two games against North Dakota last season, Scheierman averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 57.7 percent shooting.
   Scheierman approached a triple-double in his Bluejay exhibition debut with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 18 minutes of work.
An Area for Improvement
One area that Creighton will look to improve in 2022-23 is its marksmanship from behind the arc, as last year's 30.8 percent shooting from deep was its worst as a team since 1993-94.
   The Creighton staff is confident those numbers can improve as its talented freshman class is now sophomores.
   Last year's freshmen combined to shoot 27.2 percent from deep (85-313), but they're not the first Bluejay freshmen to struggle early on from downtown, as seen in the chart below of some other prominent marksmen.
   Even that chart is a little misleading, as Doug McDermott shot 15-of-53 (.283) from deep in his first 20 games of his freshman year before finishing 32-of-63 (.508) in his last 19 games. Likewise, Kyle Korver was shooting 11-for-41 (.268) from downtown after his first 14 contests before blistering the nets to the tune of 52-of-104 (.500).
   As a Freshman   Other College Years
Name   3FG-3FGA   3FG%   3FG-3FGA   3FG%
Ky. Korver   63-145   .434   308-674   .457
McDermott   47-116   .405   237-482   .492
Ty. Alexander   32-96   .333   178-469   .380
Ballock   44-135   .326   264-638   .414
Keeping It 100
Monday will be Creighton's 100th non-conference home game under Greg McDermott.
   He enters the evening 91-8 in the first 99.
November Reign
Creighton is a 67-1 all-time in regular-season home games that take place on or before Nov. 26th. The lone loss came in 2018 when it lost to Ohio State.
   Creighton has won 74 of its 76 regular-season November home games since 1990, falling only to Boise State in 2012 and Ohio State in 2018.
   Overall, Creighton is 104-20 in regular-season November games at all sites since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 323 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 20-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 265-58 (.820) 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 25,229-21,189 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.51 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 86 different times.
   Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 22 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
   Creighton is also 32-34 all-time in the 66 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 40-28 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 168-40 (.808) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 61 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 284-58 (.830) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Jays At Home Against Winless Teams
Creighton's opponent on Monday, St. Thomas, is 0-0. The Bluejays have won 43 straight home games against teams that are winless entering the night, winning those games by an average of 24.35 points. Fifteen of those wins came by 30 points or more, and only five were decided by single-digits.
   The streak dates to a 77-70 loss versus an 0-2 SMU team on Dec. 3, 1994. That game was Dana Altman's home debut at Creighton.
   Since the start of the 2002-03 season Creighton has won 124 of its last 126 home games against teams that enter the night with a record of .500 or worse.
Creighton at Home vs. Winless Teams, Since 12/3/1994
Opp. W-L    Opponent   CU Result   Date
   0-4   UMKC   W 75-61   12/17/94
   0-1   UMKC   W 70-68   11/25/96
   0-0   UMKC   W 81-59   11/14/97
   0-0   Towson   W 93-48   11/14/98
   0-1   Western Illinois   W 96-50   11/20/00
   0-1   North Carolina A&T   W 72-51   11/18/01
   0-0   Texas-Arlington   W 106-50   11/17/02
   0-3   San Diego   W 79-44   11/22/03
   0-1   Bethune-Cookman   W 69-49   12/03/03
   0-0   Alcorn State   W 74-40   11/15/04
   0-0   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 83-58   11/20/04
   0-0   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 87-55   11/19/05
   0-1   Miss. Valley State   W 78-42   11/13/06
   0-4   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 74-39   11/29/06
   0-0   DePaul   W 74-62   11/09/07
   0-2   Miss. Valley State   W 76-46   11/17/07
   0-2   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   W 82-50   11/20/08
   0-9   Miss. Valley State   W 82-58   12/02/08
   0-7   Southern   W 71-60   12/15/08
   0-1   Florida A&M   W 78-53   11/17/09
   0-0   Alabama State   W 71-57   11/12/10
   0-1   Northern Arizona   W 74-70   11/14/10
   0-0   N. Carolina A&T   W 97-65   11/11/11
   0-1   Chicago State   W 95-61   11/13/11
   0-0   North Texas   W 71-51   11/09/12
   0-2   Presbyterian   W 87-58   11/18/12
   0-4   Longwood   W 105-57   11/20/12
   0-0   Alcorn State   W 107-61   11/08/13
   0-1   UMKC   W 96-70   11/11/13
   0-3   Tulsa   W 82-72   11/23/13
   0-0   Central Arkansas   W 104-77   11/14/14
   0-1   Chicago State   W 84-66   11/16/14
   0-1   Texas Southern   W 93-70   11/14/15
   0-2   UTSA   W 103-78   11/17/15
   0-0   UMKC   W 89-82   11/11/16
   0-0   Yale   W 92-76   11/10/17
   0-1   Alcorn State   W 109-72   11/12/17
   0-0   Western Illinois   W 78-67   11/06/18
   0-0   East Tennessee State   W 75-69   11/11/18
   0-0   Kennesaw State   W 81-55   11/05/19
   0-2   North Dakota State   W 69-58   11/29/20
   0-0   Ark.-Pine Bluff   W 90-77   11/09/21
   0-1   Kennesaw State   W 51-44   11/11/21
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning eight of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2021-22 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   118 (79.2%)   31 (20.8%)
Assists   284 (60.9%)   182 (39.1%)
Starts   104 (59.4%)   71 (40.6%)
Points   1,360 (56.2%)   1,062 (43.8%)
Minutes   3,881 (54.9%)   3,194 (45.1%)
Charges Taken   7 (53.8%)   6 (46.2%)
Rebounds   663 (53.3%)   580 (46.7%)
Steals   98 (51.0%)   94 (49.0%)
3FG Made   83 (35.3%)   152 (64.7%)
Youth Is Served
In case you've forgotten, Creighton had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game last season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
   All told, 3171:36 of Creighton's 7,075 total minutes (44.83 percent) were played by freshmen last season.
   By comparison, in 2020-21 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 freshman:Â Â Â 34:23Â Â Â 59-49Â Â Â +10
2 freshmen:Â Â Â 962:14Â Â Â 1,692-1,578Â Â Â +114
3 freshmen:Â Â Â 347:15Â Â Â 611-407Â Â Â +4
4 freshmen:Â Â Â 45:54Â Â Â 54-85Â Â Â (-31)
5 freshmen:Â Â Â 1:28Â Â Â 5-2Â Â Â +3
Watch This
Creighton has four men that made the preseason watch list for their respective position.
   Ryan Nembhard is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard. Nembhard is the fourth different Bluejay in the last 12 years named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, joining Antoine Young (2011-12), Maurice Watson Jr. (2016-17) and Marcus Zegarowski (2020-21).
   Baylor Scheierman is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Julius Erving Award, given to the nation's best small forward. Scheierman is Creighton's first player in the nine seasons of the Julius Erving Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Arthur Kaluma is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Karl Malone Award, given to the nation's best power forward. Kaluma is Creighton's first player in the nine seasons of the Karl Malone Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of 20 candidates on the watch list for the 2023 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation's best center. Kalkbrenner joins Justin Patton (2016-17) as Creighton's second player in the nine seasons of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award to be named to the watch list at any point.
   Creighton (4) is one of six schools with four or more MBB players on a watch list, joining Duke (5), Kentucky (5), Arizona (4), Gonzaga (4) and UCLA (4).
   CU's four watch list student-athletes match the totals of the rest of the BIG EAST combined (Xavier 2, Villanova 1, UConn 1).
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day on Oct. 18th at Madison Square Garden.
   It's the first time since 2012-13 that Creighton has been chosen as a preseason favorite in its league, though that recognition came in CU's final season in the Missouri Valley Conference.
   This is the 10th time Creighton has been tabbed as the preseason favorite (also 1989-90, 1990-91, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2012-13), though the first nine occurrences all happened in the Missouri Valley Conference. Four of those MVC teams finished first (1990-91, 2000-01, 2008-09, 2012-13), while the other five took second place. Six of those nine Bluejay squads went on to win the MVC Tournament (1990-91, 1998-99, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12, 2012-13) and seven of the nine squads played in the NCAA Tournament (1990-91, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12, 2012-13).
   The Bluejays collected eight first-place votes and earned 98 points in the poll. Xavier was picked second in the poll with 86 points, including two first-place votes. Villanova, the defending BIG EAST Tournament champion, was one point behind Xavier with 85 points and received one first-place vote from the men's basketball head coaches, who did not vote for their own teams. Connecticut was picked fourth with 77 points and Providence was fifth with 62 points. St. John's and Seton Hall finished sixth and seventh with 62 and 52 points, respectively. Butler was eighth with 36 points, four points ahead of ninth-place Marquette with 32 points. Georgetown was 10th with 21 points and DePaul 11th with 12 points.
   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)
2021-22   8th   4th   -
2022-23   1st   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
         Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a second season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 39 of the last 40 seasons. McDermott is in his ninth season in the NBA.
   Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
We're Jamming!
Ryan Kalkbrenner owned 69 dunks last season, giving him 98 in his career. As a team, Creighton owned 132 dunks last season, including nine vs. Georgetown on Feb. 12th and eight vs. No. 18 UConn on March 2nd.
   Here's a look at the Creighton student-athletes with 20 or more dunks in a season, and 25 or more dunks in a career, under Greg McDermott:
Most Creighton Dunks, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Name   Year
74   Martin Krampelj   2018-19
72   Justin Patton   2016-17
69   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2021-22
50   Christian Bishop   2020-21
38   Christian Bishop   2019-20
36   Gregory Echenique   2012-13
33   Martin Krampelj   2017-18
30   Gregory Echenique   2011-12
29   Marcus Foster   2017-18
29   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-21
24   Gregory Echenique   2010-11
23   Marcus Foster   2016-17
22   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2010-11
21   Alex O'Connell   2021-22
21   Arthur Kaluma   2021-22
20   Khyri Thomas   2017-18
Most Creighton Dunks, Career, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Name   Years
121   Martin Krampelj   2015-19
103   Christian Bishop   2018-21
98   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
90   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
72   Justin Patton   2016-17
52   Marcus Foster   2016-18
51   Khyri Thomas   2015-18
38   Will Artino   2011-15
33   Zach Hanson   2013-17
25   Geoffrey Groselle   2012-16
25   Damien Jefferson   2018-21
Most Creighton Dunks, Team, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks   Year   Team W-L
144Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â 25-10 (NCAA)
132Â Â Â 2021-22Â Â Â 23-12 (NCAA)
107Â Â Â 2017-18Â Â Â 21-12 (NCAA)
106Â Â Â 2018-19Â Â Â 20-15 (NIT)
90Â Â Â 2020-21Â Â Â 22-9 (NCAA)
60Â Â Â 2019-20Â Â Â 24-7 (Postseason Canceled)
58Â Â Â 2015-16Â Â Â 20-15 (NIT)
56Â Â Â 2010-11Â Â Â 23-16 (CBI)
54Â Â Â 2012-13Â Â Â 28-8 (NCAA)
42Â Â Â 2011-12Â Â Â 29-6 (NCAA)
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 to 2021-22
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   3,624   4th  Â
FG Percentage   .477   4th  Â
3FG Percentage   .377   5th  Â
Assists   6,580   6th  Â
FG Made   11,240   8th  Â
Points   31,452   10th  Â
Wins   276   29th  Â
Winning Percentage   .669   32nd  Â
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Since 1992-93, only six true freshmen have started Creighton's regular-season opener.
   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 three seasons in the NBA.
   Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State.
   In 2021-22, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma started the opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, marking the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos). Both men ended up on the BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team, with Nembhard being named Freshman of the Year.
   The last time Creighton started three true freshmen in a regular-season opener was 1987-88 (Chris Rodgers, Bob Harstad, Chad Gallagher).
Who Are These Guys?
After returning just two total starts in from its Sweet 16 squad team to open 2021-22, Creighton returns a 104 starts from last year's club.
   Creighton has won 20 or more games each of the previous seven times (and 11 of the last 12 times) it has returned 100 or more starts.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2022-23Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 104Â Â Â ? ? ?
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 23-12
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
20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 23 wins in 2021-22, securing a seventh straight 20-win season.
   Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the previous seven seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
22 of 24 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 22 of the last 24 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 24 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 23 times, Creighton and Kentucky 22 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 24 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons     2021-22 W-L
Gonzaga   24   28-4
Kansas   24   34-6
Duke   23   32-7
Creighton   22   23-12
Kentucky   22   26-8
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 276 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .668 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.   276-137   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
Multiple Choices
For the first time since 1964-65, Creighton had five men average in double-figures for an entire season last season. Last year's double-figure group included Ryan Hawkins (13.8 ppg.), Ryan Kalkbrenner (13.1), Alex O'Connell (11.8), Ryan Nembhard (11.3) and Arthur Kaluma (10.4).
   Creighton had not had five or more men finish a season averaging 10 or more points per game since the 1964-65 club had SIX men average in double- figures (Neil Johnson, 17.3; Elton McGriff, 15.0; Fritz Pointer, 14.3; Tim Powers, 12.6; Bob Miles, 11.9; Charlie Brown (11.6), though Johnson only played in 8-of-23 games.
   Creighton has won each of its last 25 games when five or more players score in double-figures, a streak that dates to Jan. 9, 2019 vs. Marquette.
Dynamic Duo
Creighton was one of 11 schools to earn at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball in 2021-22, a list that featured Arkansas, Baylor, Creighton, Indiana, Iowa State, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
   Those 11 schools, in addition to 13 others (Arizona, Delaware, Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Longwood, Montana State, Tennessee, Texas, UConn, Villanova and Virginia Tech) were the only 24 schools with both men's and women's basketball teams to make the Big Dance.
   This season, Creighton is one of nine teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Arizona, Baylor, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including four such rallies last season. In its NCAA Tournament win vs. San Diego State, Creighton trailed 35-21 late in the first half.
   Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
   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 Under McDermott
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
14   vs. San Diego State   03/17/22
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
11   DePaul   01/22/22
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
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.   18,192   Marquette   02/20/22
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 50th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 112 offense, and No. 19 defense. Creighton's No. 19 defense was its best mark in the 20 seasons of the KenPom era.
   Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom in six of the previous 11 seasons.
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 112Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 23-12
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.56 points per home game (16,735 points in 208 home games), a figure that climbs to 80.07 points in non-conference home games (8,324 points in 99 home games).
   Creighton is 127-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Super Seven
Greg McDermott joined some select company when he directed his troops to a seventh NCAA Tournament last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history.
   McDermott is one of five head coaches in Creighton history to lead seven different NCAA Tournament teams.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   11
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   7
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 948 straight games. The streak is the nation's 13th-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 (entering 2022-23)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,161   UNLV   11/7
   2.   1,151   Duke   11/7
   3.   1,094   Western Kentucky   11/10
   4.   1,083   East Tennessee State   11/7
   5.   1,062   Oakland   11/7
   6.   1,060   Pacific   11/7
   7.   1,057   Texas   11/7
   8.   1,003   Marshall   11/7
   9.   996   Baylor   11/7
   10.   987   Princeton   11/7
   11.   982   Gonzaga   11/7
   12.   956   Long Island   11/7
   13.   948   Creighton   11/7
   14.   941   Mount St. Mary's   11/7
   15.   930   Tennessee State   11/7
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 948 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,455 trifectas, an average of 7.86 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 142 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 266 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 45-9 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 22-18 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 17 times   3: 34 times
4:   73 times   5:  101 times   6: 101 times
7:  142 times   8:  118 times   9: 91 times
10: 77 times   11: 53 times   12: 52 times
13: 44 times   14: 19 times   15: 7 times
16: 7 times   17: 3 times   19: 1 time
20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Fun Fact
Creighton is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous three seasons.
   Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, only Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have done so.
McDermott's Coaching Tree
A bunch of former Greg McDermott protégés are thriving at the Division I level.
   Eric Henderson led South Dakota State to the first 18-0 season in Summit League history. The Jackrabbits went 30-5 after winning the Summit League Tournament and clinching an NCAAA bid.
   North Dakota State's Dave Richman went 23-10 overall and finished as the runner-up in the Summit League standings and Summit League Tournament to Henderson's SDSU team.
   Ben Jacobson won the MVC regular-season title while coaching Northern Iowa. The Panthers went 20-12 and reached the NIT.
   Drake's Darian DeVries led the Bulldogs to a 25-11 mark and runner-up finish in the MVC (to Jacobson's UNI team) in the regular-season and the league tournament. Drake played in the CBI.
   Steve Lutz led his Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team to a 24-12 record and a Southland Conference Tournament title in his first year as a head coach, with the Islanders reaching the NCAA Tournament First Four. He inherited a 5-19 team that hadn't won 20 games or had a winning record since 2016-17.
   TJ Otzelberger turned around Iowa State in his first year in Ames. He inherited a 2-22 team (0-18 Big 12) and turned it into a team that reached the Sweet 16 and finished 22-13.
   Patrick Sellers led Central Connecticut State to an 8-24 record in his first season with the Blue Devils, including a victory in the Northeast Conference Tournament.
McDermott's Exhibition History
Greg McDermott is 30-0 in fall exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including an 10-0 mark at UNI, a 7-0 record at Iowa State, and a 13-0 mark at Creighton. All but one of his triumphs have been by double-digits.
   Below is a list of McDermott's exhibition games at the Division I level.
Greg McDermott's Division I Exhibition Scores
Date   McD School   Opponent   Result
2001-02   UNI   London Leopards   W 89-74
2001-02   UNI   Lake Superior State   W 74-63
2002-03   UNI   Dominican National Team   W 73-56
2002-03   UNI   H.P. Minnesota   W 90-76
2003-04   UNI   H.P. Minnesota   W 89-79
2003-04   UNI   Australian Select Team   W 92-58
2004-05   UNI   Dubuque   W 93-34
2004-05   UNI   SW Minnesota State   W 71-40
2005-06   UNI   Lewis   W 77-50
2005-06   UNI   Wayne State   W 74-57
11/03/06   Iowa State   EA Sports   W 58-57
11/06/06   Iowa State   Wayne State   W 55-41
11/01/07   Iowa State   Dubuque   W 66-38
11/04/07   Iowa State   EA Sports   W 74-63
11/08/08   Iowa State   Nebraska-Omaha   W 74-54
11/02/09   Iowa State   Black Hills State   W 96-47
11/06/09   Iowa State   UNC Pembroke   W 106-54
11/04/10   Creighton   Northern State   W 79-67
11/06/11   Creighton   Rockhurst   W 81-42
11/02/12   Creighton   Mary   W 89-51
11/01/13   Creighton   Northern State   W 89-61
11/07/14   Creighton   Sioux Falls   W 91-72
11/06/15   Creighton   Upper Iowa   W 113-77
11/04/16   Creighton   Wayne State   W 93-46
10/26/17   Creighton   Nebraska-Omaha   W 96-67
11/03/17   Creighton   UNC Pembroke   W 93-70
10/27/18   Creighton    Winona State   W 101-57
11/01/19   Creighton   McKendree   W 95-63
10/30/21   Creighton   Upper Iowa   W 76-61
10/30/22   Creighton   Drury   W 109-57
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2022-32 season went on sale on October 14th.
   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 BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs. Iowa State. Press Conference - 10/17/25
Tuesday, October 14
Creighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
