Photo by: Corey Solotorovsky
Men's Basketball Puts Win Streak On The Line Wednesday at St. John's
2/21/2022 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays seek a season sweep over the Red Storm
Game #27: Creighton Bluejays at St. John's Red Storm
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 • 5:30 p.m. Central
Carnesecca Arena (5,602) • Queens, N.Y.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; 1620thezone.com; XM 391; SiriusXM app 981
Television: FS1 (Kevin Kugler, Bill Raftery)
Series History: Creighton leads, 14-10
Last Meeting: Creighton 87, St. John's 64 on Jan. 29, 2022 in Omaha, Neb.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | SJU NOTES (PDF)
Next Game
Creighton (18-8, 10-5 BIG EAST) opens its final road trip of the regular-season on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when it faces St. John's (15-11, 7-8 BIG EAST).
Tip-off at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y., is set for 5:30 p.m. Central.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2021-22 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasts all home games.
John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action.
The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 981 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 391.
Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game will be called by Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery and be televised on FS1.
The game will also be video webcast online at http://foxsports.com/live or the FoxSports app.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton has won five straight games to improve to 18-8 this season, and 10-5 in league play.
The Bluejays own wins over No. 9 Villanova (79-59), No. 17 UConn (59-55) and No. 24 BYU (83-71), and are 8-5 away from home this season.
The Bluejays return seven lettermen but no starters from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall, runner-up in the BIG EAST, and reached the program's first Sweet 16 since 1974.
Creighton has four players averaging at least 11.5 points per game, including the trio of Ryan Hawkins (14.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), Ryan Nembhard (15.3 ppg., 4.3 apg.) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.9 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 2.8 bpg.).
Alex O'Connell (12.3 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) had 27 points in a Valentine's Day win vs. Georgetown, his third game in the last month of 22 points or more.
More than 39 percent of Creighton's points this season have come from freshmen, who composed much of the team's top-10 recruiting class.
Creighton averages 69.8 points per game while allowing 66.3 per game. CU shoots 45.4 percent from the floor, 31.4 percent from deep and 72.8 percent at the line. The Jays are +3.0 on the glass but have also turned the ball over an average of 14.5 times per game.
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 15-11 overall and 7-8 in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm are 11-6 at home and have been idle since defeating Butler on Friday, 91-57.
Preseason All-BIG EAST wing Julian Champagnie tops the Red Storm in scoring (19.2 ppg.), rebounding (6.6 rpg.) and three-pointers made (56).
Champagnie, as well as sophomore point guard Posh Alexander, (14.5 ppg., 5.4 apg., 4.3 rpg., 2.2 spg.) give the Johnnies two of the top talents in the league.
Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler (10.1 ppg.) was averaging just 7.7 points per game at the end of January, but has seven straight games of 11 points or more and averaged 16.1 points in February.
The Red Storm average 79.2 points per game and shoot 45.3 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from deep and 67.1 percent at the line. The Johnnies block 5.88 shots per game and pick up 9.35 steals per contest while forcing opponents into 16.42 miscues per contest.
The Series With St. John's
Creighton is 14-10 all-time against St. John's, and 12-5 in the rivalry since joining the BIG EAST. The Bluejays are 4-4 in the BIG EAST era in road games in the series, and 4-8 all-time in New York against the Johnnies.
Creighton has scored 87 points in each of its last three victories vs. St. John's, including a 94-76 win in Queens, a 97-79 victory in Omaha last season and an 87-64 win in Omaha last month.
Greg McDermott is 12-5 against St. John's. He is 6-7 against Mike Anderson (4-1 as CU coach), with eight of those meetings coming when McDermott coached Iowa State and Anderson led Missouri. Four of those eight meetings were decided by six points or less, and two went to overtime.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 271-133 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 551-328 in his 28th season, and is 420-264 in his 21st Division I campaign.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native then coached Creighton to its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Alan Huss, Ryan Miller and Jalen Courtney-Williams.
With A Win...
- Creighton would win its season-best sixth straight game and win its sixth straight BIG EAST game for the first time since winning six in a row from Dec. 17, 2020 to Jan. 9, 2021.
- Creighton would improve to 9-5 away from home this season, including a 6-4 mark in true road games and a 5-4 record in BIG EAST road contests.
- Win or lose, Creighton will extend its stretch of being .500 or better in league play to 34 games, the BIG EAST's only active streak longer than 16.
- Teams with Ryan Hawkins would improve to 178-16 at the college level, and 103-11 in league play.
- Creighton would improve to 7-1 in BIG EAST play this month.
Won By One
Creighton defeated Marquette 83-82 on Sunday, improving to 1-1 on the season in games decided by one point.
It was Creighton's first one-point win since defeating UC Santa Barbara 63-62 in the First Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, which started CU's first run to the Sweet 16 since 1974.
Creighton improved to 3-0 all-time in games to end in an 83-82 score, with the others being a 2005 win over Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team, and a 2002 NCAA Tournament win over No. 15 Florida in double-overtime.
Creighton is now 9-9 in one-point games under Greg McDermott and 82-77 in program history in one-point games.
Creighton had not played consecutive one-point games since Feb. 7, 2018 (won at DePaul, 76-75) and Feb. 10, 2018 (lost to #5 Xavier, 72-71).
St. John's is 11-6 in games decided by one point since 2010-11.
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Though much is made of the influx of freshmen on this year's Creighton team, the Bluejays are 5-1 this season in games decided by five points or less.
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 8-2 in one-possession games (decided by 3 or less). Those eight victories by three points or less are tied for ninth-most nationally in that span and trails only Xavier (9) among BIG EAST schools. St. John's has four wins by three points or less in the past two seasons.
Freshman Honors Continue
Ryan Nembhard was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season on Feb. 21 after leading the conference with 17 assists last week. Nembhard averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game as Creighton went 3-0.
The Aurora, Ontario, Canada product had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds while playing all but 42 seconds in an 88-77 win vs. Georgetown on Monday.
Three nights later he played all but 22 seconds in a 71-59 victory at DePaul. He had 19 points, six assists and three rebounds in the win, including his first dunk of the season.
He closed out the week with 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in an 83-82 win vs. Marquette. He tied his season-high with four three-pointers made and assisted Ryan Hawkins' lay-up with two minutes left that gave Creighton the lead for good.
Nembhard leads CU with 112 assists and 33 steals and is on pace to become the first BIG EAST freshman to play more than 34 minutes per game in a decade.
Nembhard was previously recognized on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29, Dec. 20 and Jan. 17 and becomes CU's first six-time Freshman of the Week since Doug McDermott won seven such honors from the Missouri Valley Conference in 2010-11. Nembhard, along with teammates Trey Alexander (Jan. 24, Feb. 7) and Arthur Kaluma (Feb. 14), have now combined to win nine of the league's 14 Freshman of the Week awards this season. That includes five of the past six weeks.
AOC vs. New York's Team
Senior guard Alex O'Connell had a career-high 28 points in Creighton's win over St. John's last month, making 9-of-14 shots including a career-high six three-pointers.
He also helped limit Red Storm standout Julian Champagnie to three points on 1-for-10 shooting in the first half as the Bluejays raced to a 49-34 halftime lead.
Last season O'Connell made his Bluejay debut at St. John's with six points in 12 minutes.
He then had a season-best 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the rematch in Omaha.
Milestones Within Reach
Creighton is nearing a number of milestones.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 491 career points and is nine shy of 500.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 94 offensive rebounds and is six away from becoming the first Bluejay with 100 offensive rebounds in one season since Randall Crutcher had 101 in 1996-97.
- Ryan Hawkins owns 2,463 career points and is 37 shy of 2,500. Only 75 players have ever scored 2,500 or more points at the Division I level (only).
- Ryan Hawkins owns 248 career steals and is two shy of 250.
- Ryan Hawkins has made 346 career three-pointers and is four shy of 350.
The Votes Are In
Creighton received votes in both major polls this week.
The Jays got one vote in the AP poll, its first time being mentioned by the writers since January 3rd.
CU also got 12 points in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, good for 32nd place. It's the first time CU's received any votes in the Coaches Poll since the preseason edition, when it was 35th.
Red Storm Warning
Creighton is 4-4 in road games at St. John's since joining the BIG EAST, including a 4-2 mark at Carnesecca Arena.
Five of the previous six meetings at Carnesecca in CU's BIG EAST era have been decided by double-figures, including each of the past three, and they've been decided by an average of 13.5 points.
Creighton has won all four of those games when it has held the Johnnies to 76 points or less, but lost when surrendering 91 and 81 points.
February Favorites
Creighton is 6-1 in the month of February, including a 3-1 road record. CU has won three of those games by four points or less.
During the month, Creighton has five players averaging in double-figures, led by Ryan Hawkins (18.0 ppg., 8.3 rpg.).
In the past three seasons, Creighton owns a 16-4 mark in BIG EAST games during the month of February. That ranks as the best in the BIG EAST, through games of Feb. 21.
BIG EAST Records in February, 2019-20 to Present
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 16 4 .800
Providence 13 6 .684
Seton Hall 13 7 .650
Villanova 14 8 .636
Xavier 9 10 .474
St. John's 8 11 .421
Butler 9 14 .391
Marquette 7 11 .389
Georgetown 7 15 .318
Connecticut 8 6 .571
DePaul 4 16 .200
Shortest Month Also The Busiest
Creighton is scheduled to play nine games in the shortest month of the year, February.
If everything takes place as planned, it'd be CU's first month with nine games since January of 2017, when the Bluejays went 7-2.
The last time Creighton played nine games during the month of February came in 2009. That Bluejay squad went 9-0 in those games, winning by an average of 11.67 points per game, en route to a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
Creighton is 6-1 so far in February.
Turnover Tidbits
St. John's has forced 16.42 turnovers per game, easily the best in the BIG EAST and 19th-most nationally, but haven't forced more than 16 turnovers in any of its past eight games.
SJU owns a league-best +3.85 turnover margin per game figure, while Creighton is a league worst -3.35 per game in the same category.
In league play, the figures are even more eye-opening, as St. John's is +4.13 per game while Creighton is -4.33 per contest.
Posh A Scary Spice
- Posh Alexander is one of four players nationally since 2009-10 to average at least 2.50 steals and 2.50 offensive rebounds per game. The others are Furman's Matt Rafferty (2018-19), McNeese State's Kevin Hardy (2014-15) and Duquesne's Damian Saunders (2009-10).
- Posh Alexander owns 59 offensive rebounds, but just 41 defensive rebounds this season.
- Posh Alexander has had at least one steal in 47 of his 48 career games. The exception was last season's game at Creighton, when he had eight points, six rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes without a steal.
.500 Or Better in League Play, Again
Creighton is 10-5 in league play and has clinched a .500 mark or better in league play once again. It is the 26th time in the last 27 seasons that Creighton has gone .500 or better in league play.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous five seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
10's All Around
Creighton is 10-5 in league play after earning its 10th conference win of the season on Sunday.
Creighton has now won 10 or more league games in 23 of the last 26 seasons (including 2021-22).
Another 10!
Sunday's win vs. Marquette was Creighton's 10th home wins this season. The Bluejays have now reached double-figures in that category for the 25th time in the last 26 seasons.
The only exception in that time came in 2014-15, when the Jays won nine times at home.
Creighton also surpassed 200,000 home fans for the season on Sunday for the 16th time in the last 17 years. The only exception was the 2020-21 season that was impacted by COVID-19, which restricted crowds nationwide.
44 Doubles Up
Ryan Hawkins has had double-doubles in three of Creighton's last four games, all of which were Bluejay victories.
He became the first Bluejay with three straight double-doubles since Martin Krampelj from Jan. 3-10, 2018.
On Sunday vs. Marquette (17 points, 9 rebounds), Hawkins finished one double-double shy of becoming the first Bluejay with four straight double-doubles since Doug McDermott from Nov. 25-Dec. 10, 2011.
Since the 1994-95 season, Hawkins, Krampelj and McDermott (twice) are the only three Bluejays to record three straight double-doubles.
What's In A Number
There's little doubt that Duke forward Christian Laettner was one of the greatest college players of his generation nearly 30 years ago from 1988-92.
What you might not realize is that Laettner's career stats are quite comparable to what Ryan Hawkins has accomplished at the college level.
Laettner's teams went 123-26 with a pair of national titles, whereas as Hawkins' teams have gone 177-16 overall (142-15 when he plays).
Comparing Christian Laettner & Ryan Hawkins
Year NCAA Titles PTS REB 3FG AST STL
Laettner 2 2,460 1,149 79 273 243
Hawkins 3 2,463 1,145 346 218 248
Elite Company For Hawkins
Creighton senior Ryan Hawkins owns 2,463 career points and 1,145 career rebounds, though the majority of his totals were accumulated at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State.
That's more points than legends such as Alonzo Mourning (2,001), Bob Lanier (2,067), Tim Duncan (2,117), Derrick Coleman (2,143), Patrick Ewing (2,184), Ralph Sampson (2,225), Jerry West (2,309), Lew Alcindor (2,325) and Christian Laettner (2,460).
Only 17 other Division I players in NCAA history have finished their careers with 2,463 points and 1,145 rebounds or more.
Name, School(s) Last Year Pts. Reb.
Lionel Simmons, La Salle 1990 3,217 1,429
Mike Daum, South Dakota State 2019 3,067 1,236
Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1960 2,973 1,338
Danny Manning, Kansas 1988 2,951 1,187
Elvin Hayes, Houston 1968 2,884 1,602
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2009 2,872 1,219
Larry Bird, Indiana State 1979 2,850 1,247
David Robinson, Navy 1987 2,669 1,314
Michael Brooks, La Salle 1980 2,628 1,372
Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest 1955 2,587 1,802
Calvin Natt, La.-Monroe 1979 2,581 1,285
Terry Taylor, Austin Peay 2021 2,507 1,248
Caleb Green, Oral Roberts 2007 2,503 1,189
Elgin Baylor, College of Idaho/Seattle 1958 2,500 1,559
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame 2010 2,476 1,222
Nick Fazekas, Nevada 2007 2,464 1,254
Ryan's Pave Way To Road Success
Creighton has five road wins this season, and Ryan Hawkins has had a double-double in each of them.
In those five contests, Hawkins has led CU with 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while he's shot 50 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Ryan Kalkbrenner has averaged a double-double in those five road wins too, collecting 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game on 60.0 percent shooting from the floor.
Those two, combined with namesake Ryan Nembhard, have combined to score 244 of CU's 366 points (66.7 percent) in the five road victories.
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan
Ryan Hawkins (40:00), Ryan Nembhard (39:38) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (34:39) combined to play 95.2 percent of the maximum minutes in Creighton's win at DePaul on Thursday. Three days later, Hawkins (39:37), Nembhard (38:54) and Kalkbrenner (37:07) played 96.3 percent of the minutes.
Hawkins became the first Bluejay to play a complete game since Ty-Shon Alexander logged all 40 minutes on Jan. 7, 2020 vs. No. 16 Villanova.
It was the 29th time in Hawkins' college career that he's played 40 minutes or more, and second time this winter.
For the season, Creighton has had at least one player named Ryan on the floor for all but 31:37 of action and has been outscored 67-44 in that time.
The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in each game this winter, as Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner are all entrenched as starters. Those three men are also three of CU's top four scorers (along with Alex O'Connell).
In the Dec. 11 win vs. No. 24 BYU, Nembhard, Hawkins and Kalkbrenner combined for 56 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots. On Feb. 12th the trio combined for 57 points, 30 rebounds and 13 assists in an 80-66 win at Georgetown. Most recently, they had 56 points and 27 rebounds in a 71-59 win at DePaul on Feb. 17th.
For the season, the "Ryan Express" has contributed 68.9 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 53.7 percent of its points, 49.6 percent of its assists, 51.1 percent of its rebounds grabbed and 45.9 percent of its steals.
Creighton had not started multiple players with the same first name in the same regular-season game since Nov. 18, 2006, when both Nick Porter and Nick Bahe started against Nebraska.
Creighton has not had a season in which three players with the same first name all started at least once in the regular-season since at least 1980.
With so many men named Ryan (not to mention assistant coach Ryan Miller), the Bluejay staff has gone to referring to Hawkins as "Hawk", the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner as "Big Ryan" and Nembhard as "R2", in honor of his uniform number, as well as "Coach Miller".
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
Villanova was a unanimous selection to win the league, with Connecticut and Xavier finishing second and third, respectively. St. John's is fourth, followed by Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. Rounding out the poll are Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul.
Villanova standout Collin Gillespie was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Nate Watson (Providence), Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Paul Scruggs (Xavier) and Zach Freemantle (Xavier).
Creighton is the only school in the league that has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th ? ? ? --
Feazell The Key
KeyShawn Feazell has put together three strong performances for the Bluejays in the past 10 days.
Feazell is a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in those four contests, including five dunks and his first two three-pointers of the season.
Wins On Wins on Wins
Creighton's Nov. 21 loss vs. Colorado State was the first time in the six-year college career of Ryan Hawkins that one of his teams lost on a neutral floor. The Northwest Missouri State transfer is now 40-1 on neutral sites when you include his 3-1 mark this year.
He enters Wednesday's game at St. John's with a team record of 177-16 (.917) at all sites. He's lost consecutive games in his career just twice.
CU's January 1st win at Marquette marked the 100th conference game of Hawkins' college career, while the Feb. 14 win vs. Georgetown was his 100th conference victory. He's currently 102-11 in league games.
Hawk Talk
Ryan Hawkins had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on Feb. 12 at Georgetown.
It was just the fifth 15/10/5 game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons at Creighton, and first since Hawkins finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 16, 2021 at Nebraska.
Prior to Hawkins, no Bluejay had collected a 15/10/5 line since Khyri Thomas had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Nov. 15, 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games win at Northwestern.
The only others with a 15/10/5 game under McDermott were Austin Chatman (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014) and Doug McDermott (30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014).
Hawkins' performance at Nebraska was CU's first 15/10/5 line with 0 turnovers since at least 1980-81.
The 30/10/5 Line
Ryan Hawkins had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Creighton's Feb. 12 win at Georgetown.
He's the first Bluejay with a 30/10/5 line since Doug McDermott had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014.
Doug McDermott (8x), Kenny Lawson Jr. (once) and Hawkins (once) are CU's only players with a 30 point & 10 rebound game (regardless of assist numbers) in 12 seasons under Greg McDermott.
Per Basketball-Reference.com, Hawkins joined former Oklahoma phenom Trae Young (on 1/13/18 vs. TCU) as the nation's only players since 2010-11 with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, 8 three-pointers and a steal in the same game.
Hawkins owns seven double-doubles in league play, tops in the BIG EAST.
Ready, Aim, Fire!
Ryan Hawkins launched 18 three-point attempts in win at Georgetown on Feb. 12, the most in CU history by one player in a game.
By comparison, Hawkins had attempted just 17 three-pointers in his previous five games.
Hawkins' 18 three-point attempts were the most by a player in any BIG EAST game since Markus Howard shot 4-for-18 from deep in an overtime loss at Butler on Jan. 24, 2020, but Hawkins is the BIG EAST's only player since 2010-11 with 18 three-point tries or more in a regulation game.
Hawkins is one of four players nationally since 2010-11 with at least 18 three-point attempts and 12 or more rebounds in the same game, and first since South Dakota State's Mike Daum at IPFW on Feb. 18, 2017.
The eight triples by Hawkins is tied for fourth-most in CU's single-game history and the most since Mitch Ballock made eight trifectas vs. Marquette on Dec. 14, 2020. It also tied Hawkins' personal-high done while at Northwest Missouri State against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 2, 2019.
Most 3-Pointers in a Game, Creighton History
3FG Name, Opponent Date
11 Mitch Ballock vs. DePaul 03/09/19
9 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
8 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Isaiah Zierden at DePaul 01/17/16
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
Most 3-Point Attempts in a Game, Creighton History
FGA Name, Opponent Date
18 Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
Ty-Shon Alexander vs. Villanova 01/13/19
14 Kyle Korver vs. BYU 12/07/02
Kyle Korver at Nebraska 12/21/02
Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
The Big Man Puts On A Big Show
Ryan Kalkbrenner had career-highs with both 22 points and 15 rebounds in the Feb. 12 victory at Georgetown.
His 15 rebounds were three more than his previous best, done vs. Marquette on Jan. 1, 2022.
Kalkbrenner's 15 rebounds were the most by a Bluejay since Christian Bishop had 15 rebounds vs. Ohio last March in the win that clinched CU's first Sweet 16 trip since 1974.
Kalkbrenner's 15 rebounds were the most by a Bluejay in a true road win since Ben Walker had 15 in a win at Baylor on Dec. 4, 1999.
Making Kalkbrenner's accomplishments all the more impressive is that he played on an ankle he sprained on Feb. 1 in a win at No. 17 UConn. In that game and the two that followed, Kalkbrenner had a combined 11 points and 19 rebounds on 4-of-18 shooting before the performance, which included six dunks.
Kalkbrenner is the third Bluejay under Greg McDermott with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in the same game, joining Doug McDermott (33 points & 15 rebounds vs. Tulsa on 11/23/13) and Kenny Lawson Jr. (30 points & 18 rebounds vs. Saint Joseph's on 12/11/10).
Besides Kalkbrenner, the only BIG EAST players with a 20/15 this year are Julian Champagnie and Adama Sanogo (three times).
Feb. 12 Standouts
Creighton defeated Georgetown on Feb. 12 thanks to a combined 52 points and 27 rebounds from post players Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Hawkins.
It was the first time two Bluejays combined for more than 50 points and 25 rebounds in the same game since a Jan. 21, 1991 win at Bradley. On that day, Chad Gallagher had 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Bob Harstad added 26 points and 13 rebounds.
It was also the first time multiple Bluejays had 10 field goals in the same game since Jan. 5, 1991, also vs. Bradley. During that contest, Gallagher made 11 baskets and Harstad drained 12.
Passing Fancy
Creighton had a season-high 26 assists on 30 field goals in the Feb. 12 victory at Georgetown.
Creighton assisted on all 12 three-pointers, all nine dunks and five of its eight lay-ups. Two of its four unassisted hoops came on offensive putbacks.
Creighton's 26 assists were truly a team effort, as Trey Alexander (6), Ryan Hawkins (6) and Alex O'Connell (5) all had season-highs in helpers.
Creighton's 26 assists were its most at any site since having 28 on Dec. 1, 2020 vs. Nebraska-Omaha and its most in a true road game since distributing 28 assists on 33 baskets at Bradley on Jan. 7, 2012 on an evening that saw Doug McDermott score 44 points.
CU's 26 assists exceeded its number of assists in its previous three games (24), combined.
Jays Surpass 25K at CHI
Creighton has scored 25,105 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, surpassing 25,000 points on Feb. 14, 2022 vs. Georgetown on a bucket by Ryan Hawkins.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 25,105 to 21,062 at the 19-year old facility in 321 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 24-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Ka. Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15 16,000-13,498 (211) Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16 17,000-14,349 (224) Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17 18,000-15,166 (235) Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17 19,000-15,927 (246) Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18 20,000-16,741 (258) Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19 21,000-17,619 (270) Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19 22,000-18,463 (282) Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20 23,000-19,280 (294) Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
02/13/21 24,000-20,103 (306) Zegarowski FG vs. #5 Villanova
02/14/22 25,000-20,950 (320) Hawkins 3FG vs. Georgetown
Technically Speaking
Greg McDermott was issued a rare technical foul when the officials booked the Creighton head coach on Feb. 8th vs. Butler.
It was just the fifth technical foul that McDermott has been whistled for in 12 years on the Bluejay sideline, and his first since Dec. 8, 2018 at Nebraska. McDermott also picked up technical fouls on Jan. 27, 2018 vs. Georgetown, March 3, 2015 vs. Villanova and Jan. 17, 2015 against Providence.
Some other facts about technical fouls...
- Greg McDermott had two technical fouls in his four seasons as Iowa State head coach and five technical fouls in five years as head coach at Northern Iowa. That means Feb. 8th was his 680th game in 21 seasons as a Division I head coach, but just his 12th technical.
- It remains just the fifth technical foul issued to a Creighton coach in the first 319 games at CHI Health Center Omaha. Besides four to McDermott, Dana Altman was also given one on Feb. 17, 2007.
- It was just the 35th technical foul Creighton has been called for in 12 seasons under Greg McDermott. Others with technical fouls include Alex O'Connell (4), Gregory Echenique (3), Maurice Watson Jr. (3), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (2), Justin Patton (2), Damien Jefferson (2), Will Artino (1), Steve Lutz (1), Avery Dingman (1), Isaiah Zierden (1), Khyri Thomas (1), Christian Bishop (1), Arthur Kaluma (1), Martin Krampelj (1), Denzel Mahoney (1), Davion Mintz (1) and Ryan Nembhard (1). KeyShawn Feazell picked up a technical foul on Feb. 14 vs. Georgetown, as well. Since McDermott took over prior to 2010-11, the Bluejays own 36 technical fouls in 404 games (compared to 65 by its opponents).
- Since the start of the 1994-95 season, Creighton had played 908 games and been charged with 75 technical fouls.
Work Of Art
Arthur Kaluma led Creighton in scoring on Feb. 8 with 16 points vs. Butler, the latest in a string of good performances by the Bluejay freshman.
Prior to missing the last three wins with an injury, Kaluma averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last three games and his 11.6 points per game over CU's previous five games led the team.
Kaluma, who made 16-of-32 free throws (50 percent) in CU's first 17 games, has drained 12-of-14 foul shots (85.7 percent) since then.
Best In Class
Seniors Ryan Hawkins (365 points) and Alex O'Connell (321 points) are atop the Bluejay leaderboard when it comes to points scored this season.
No Bluejay senior has led the team in scoring since 2017-18 (Marcus Foster), and the last time CU's top two scorers were seniors was 2013-14 (Doug McDermott & Ethan Wragge).
On the other end of the spectrum, freshman Ryan Nembhard leads the Bluejays with 33 steals so far this season. CU hasn't had its steals leader be a freshman since P'Allen Stinnett in 2007-08.
Stepping It Up
Ryan Hawkins has averaged 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in seven contests against ranked teams, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 45.9 percent from three-point range and 94.1 percent at the line.
By comparison, Hawkins averages 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds against unranked foes, shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from downtown and 75.0 percent from the stripe.
They Are Called Free Throws, After All
After shooting a combined 124-for-161 (77.0 percent) from the line over the last 10 games, Creighton has climbed to 72.8 percent shooting at the free throw line for the season (131st nationally). That's a significant improvement over last year's team that ranked 322nd nationally with 64.0 percent marksmanship at the stripe.
Individually, Alex O'Connell is shooting 84.4 percent and has sunk 27 of his last 31 free throws, Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 29 of his last 37 attempts and Ryan Hawkins has drained 23 of his past 27 tries.
As a team, Creighton is shooting 79.1 percent (68-86) in the last two minutes of a game or overtime this season and 77.1 percent (108-140) in the last five minutes of a game or overtime.
All Ball
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in the BIG EAST and 15th nationally with 2.77 blocked shots per game, a figure that ranks as the best by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin averaged 5.06 blocks per game in 1984-85.
Though he's got an uphill climb to catch Big Ben, Kalkbrenner is still on track to become the first Bluejay to average more than 2.00 blocks per game since Chad Gallagher (2.19) in 1990-91.
Kalkbrenner's 72 swats are the second-most in school history by a sophomore, but still far behind Benjamin's 157 in 1983-84. Benjamin, who had seasons of 162, 157 and 92 rejections, is the only player with more.
Of Kalkbrenner's 72 blocked shots this year, only 15 have gone out of bounds, whereas Creighton has rebounded 39 of the rejections.
Making the 7-foot-1 sophomore's accomplishments all the more impressive is that the big man owns 72 blocks but has been called for just 37 fouls. Through games of Feb. 20, that made him the nation's only player with more than 50 blocked shots and 37 personal fouls or less.
Kalkbrenner owns 110 career blocked shots. He ranks seventh in Creighton history in that category and became the third-fastest Bluejay to reach 100 blocks when he did it in his 53rd career game.
Most Career Blocked Shots (Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
174 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
110 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Present
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
82 Christian Bishop 2018-21
Most Blocked Shots, Season (Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
162 Benoit Benjamin (Jr.) 1984-85
157 Benoit Benjamin (So.) 1983-84
92 Benoit Benjamin (Fr.) 1982-83
72 Ryan Kalkbrenner (So.) 2021-22
70 Chad Gallagher (Sr.) 1990-91
62 Chad Gallagher (Jr.) 1989-90
62 Gregory Echenique (Sr.) 2012-13
57 Doug Swenson (Jr.) 1997-98
57 Anthony Tolliver (Sr.) 2006-07
57 Gregory Echenique (Jr.) 2011-12
56 Brody Deren (Jr.) 2002-03
56 Kenny Lawson Jr. (So.) 2008-09
Fewest Games to 100 Career Blocks
Games Name Date, Opponent
31 Benoit Benjamin 12/6/83 vs. Rockhurst
47 Doug Swenson 1/30/99 at Northern Iowa
53 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2/8/22 vs. Butler
57 Gregory Echenique 2/14/12 at Southern Illinois
64 Brody Deren 3/9/03 vs. Wichita State
84 Kenny Lawson Jr. 1/3/10 at Evansville
91 Chad Gallagher 2/19/90 at Drake
105 Anthony Tolliver 1/6/07 at Evansville
121 Joe Dabbert 2/18/04 vs. Indiana State
SWAT Team
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns a blocked shot in each of Creighton's last 24 games, including multiple rejections in all but three of those contests.
Kalkbrenner is the first Bluejay with a swat in 20 straight games or longer since Benoit Benjamin began a streak of 28 consecutive contests with a swat on Dec. 14, 1984, a streak that only ended when he left early for the NBA Draft.
You've Been Blocked!
Ryan Kalkbrenner had five blocked shots on both Nov. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Nov. 27 vs. SIUE. Just how rare is that? In Greg McDermott's 12 years on the Creighton sideline, the only Bluejay with multiple games of 5+ blocks in the same season had been Gregory Echenique, who did it in 2010-11 (2x) as well as 2012-13 (4x).
Kalkbrenner owns seven different games this season with five blocks or more, with three of those coming against top-25 foes (BYU, Villanova, Xavier).
Kalkbrenner became the first Bluejay with five swats in consecutive games since Benoit Benjamin did it in six straight games from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 1985. Benjamin had a streak of 7, 12, 6, 5, 5 and 6 rejections during that stretch.
Benjamin set MVC records that still stand with 411 career blocks and 162 rejections in 1984-85.
Block Party
After owning seven or more blocked shots in a game just nine times in Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton has eight contests this winter with at least seven swats.
Creighton is 11-6 all-time under McDermott when blocking seven or more shots, and the six losses have come by a combined 34 points.
Creighton's 4.58 blocked shots per game as a team this winter is its best figure since averaging 6.03 blocks per game in 1984-85.
Creighton is 8-3 this season when blocking six shots or more.
Top 25 Success
A 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova coupled with an 83-71 win vs. No. 24 BYU means Creighton owns a pair double-digit wins over top-25 competition this season, something only 12 other schools can also claim. Gonzaga has done it four times, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Villanova have done it three times while Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Iowa State, Memphis and Rutgers have also done it twice.
The Bluejays have now beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the last seven seasons (2015-16 to 2021-22), something only Baylor, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova can also claim. Four other schools have beaten multiple top-25 foes in each of the previous six seasons -- Florida State (1), Michigan (1), Penn State (1) and West Virginia (1) but are still seeking two top-25 wins this winter.
Creighton's Most Top-25 Wins, Season
Wins Season Top-25 Victims
6 2019-20 #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
#12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
#21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
4 2016-17 #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
#16 Butler, #22 Xavier
4 2017-18 #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
#20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
3 2020-21 #5 Villanova, #22 Xavier, #23 UConn
3 2021-22 #9 Villanova, #17 UConn, #24 BYU
2 1973-74 #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
2 2001-02 #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
2 2006-07 #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
2 2013-14 #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
2 2015-16 #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
2 2018-19 #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson
Frosh Watch
Creighton is winning at a regular rate despite playing three freshmen (Trey Alexander, Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Nembhard) more than 24 minutes per game.
On a national basis through Feb. 20, only 144 players classified as freshmen (true, redshirt or otherwise) were playing 24 minutes per game per Basketball-Reference.com.
Only seven of those freshmen are from the BIG EAST, and besides Alexander, Kaluma and Nembhard the only other true freshmen in the BIG EAST playing 24 minutes per game or more are Georgetown's Aminu Mohammed and Butler's Jayden Taylor.
CU is the only team nationally to play three true freshmen more than 24 minutes per game.
And speaking of freshman minutes, Nembhard ranks third nationally among true freshmen with 35.1 minutes per game. The next-closest freshman from a Power 5 or BIG EAST program is Boston College's Jaeden Zackery (34.0 mpg.).
Youth Is Served
Creighton has just seven non-freshmen on this year's roster, and is playing multiple freshmen on a consistent basis this season. Creighton has had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game this season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
Creighton has outscored teams by 131 when it has two freshmen or less on the court, but have been outscored by 40 points when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
All told, 2413:39 of Creighton's 5,250 total minutes (45.97 percent) have been played by freshmen this season.
By comparison, last season Creighton had a freshman on the floor just 32.4 percent of the time and had multiple freshmen on the floor just 17 minutes (of 1,250) all season (1.4 percent). Only 7.5 percent (465:52 of 6250) of CU's overall minutes were played by freshmen in 2020-21.
Freshmen Time Score Margin
0 freshmen: Never -- --
1 freshmen: 33:45 54-49 +5
2 freshmen: 669:55 1,224-1,098 +126
3 freshmen: 272:58 478-490 (-12)
4 freshmen: 45:54 54-85 (-31)
5 freshmen: 1:28 5-2 +3
Kalkbrenner Doubles Up
Midway into his sophomore season, Ryan Kalkbrenner has surpassed all of his totals from all of last season already.
Last season Kalkbrenner had 182 points, 108 rebounds, 38 blocks and 29 dunks in 422 minutes. This year Kalkbrenner owns 309 points, 191 rebounds, 72 blocks and 52 dunks in 728 minutes.
A big part of that has been his increased stamina. Even though his minutes per game have nearly doubled from 13.6 to 27.6 minutes per game, his per-minute stats have also risen.
Per 40 Minutes - Ryan Kalkbrenner
Year PTS/40 REB/40 BLOCKS/40 DUNKS/40
2020-21 17.3 10.2 3.6 2.7
2021-22 17.0 10.5 4.0 2.9
Arthur The Great?
Arthur Kaluma is just Creighton's fifth true freshman since 1983-84 to average 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The only others to do it are Doug McDermott (2010-11), Rodney Buford (1995-96), Bob Harstad (1987-88) and Chad Gallagher (1987-88).
What do McDermott, Buford, Harstad and Gallagher have in common? They rank as the top four career scorers in Creighton Basketball history.
8 PPG & 4 RPG as True Freshmen Since 1983-84
Name, Fr. Year Fr. PPG Fr. RPG Career Pts.
Doug McDermott, 2010-11 14.9 7.2 3,150
Rodney Buford, 1995-96 14.5 4.2 2,116
Bob Harstad, 1987-88 9.0 8.5 2,110
Chad Gallagher, 1987-88 11.4 5.3 1,983
Arthur Kaluma, 2021-22 9.3 5.0 204
Not Your Ordinary Freshman
Arthur Kaluma had a season-high 20 points on Jan. 19 vs. St. John's.
Kaluma (9.0 ppg.) and classmate Ryan Nembhard (11.5 ppg.) are attempting to become the seventh and eighth Creighton freshmen in the past 28 seasons to average at least 10 points per game.
In that span, five previous Bluejay freshmen have averaged 10.5 points per game or more, and each was named league Freshman of the Year.
Before this season, Creighton hadn't had a freshman score 20 points in a game since Marcus Zegarowski vs. Coe on Dec. 20, 2018.
Nembhard, who had a career-high 23 points vs. Xavier on Jan. 29, is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 20 points or more as a true freshman since Doug McDermott in 2010-11.
CU Freshmen With 20+ Point Games, Since 1994-95
20+ Point Games Name Season
6 Rodney Buford 1995-96
6 Doug McDermott 2010-11
5 Justin Patton 2016-17
4 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-08
3 Kyle Korver 1999-00
2 Terrell Taylor 1999-00
2 Ryan Nembhard 2021-22
1 Ryan Sears 1999-00
1 Ben Walker 1999-00
1 Ethan Wragge 2009-10
1 Toby Hegner 2014-15
1 Khyri Thomas 2015-16
1 Mitch Ballock 2017-18
1 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-19
1 Arthur Kaluma 2021-22
Most Points Per Game, CU Freshmen, Since 1994-95
PPG Name Season
14.9 *Doug McDermott 2010-11
14.5 *Rodney Buford 1995-96
12.9 *Justin Patton 2015-16
12.6 *P'Allen Stinnett 2007-08
11.5 Ryan Nembhard 2021-22
10.5 *Ryan Sears 1997-98
10.4 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-19
*Went on to win league Freshman of the Year
Filling The Gym
Creighton ranks sixth nationally this season with 16,524 fans per home game.
2021-22 NCAA Home Attendance Per Game Leaders
Through 2/20/22
Rank School Average
1. Kentucky 19,223
2. Arkansas 19,001
3. Syracuse 18,717
4. North Carolina 18,316
5. Tennessee 17,706
6. Creighton 16,524
7. Wisconsin 16,393
8. Kansas 16,243
9. Indiana 15,673
10. BYU 15,254
Kaluma In Elite Company
Arthur Kaluma is one of four freshmen nationally from the BIG EAST or a Power Five Conference to be averaging at least 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocked shots per game this season.
He's joined by a pair of projected top-3 NBA Draft picks, Duke's Paolo Banchero and Auburn's Jabari Smith, as well as Michigan's Moussa Diabate.
Power 5/BIG EAST Frosh With 9 PPG/4 RPG/0.7 BPG
Name, School PPG RPG BPG
Paolo Banchero, Duke 16.9 8.4 1.0
Jabari Smith, Auburn 16.3 6.7 1.0
Moussa Diabate, Michigan 9.3 5.7 0.8
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton 9.3 5.0 0.7
What's The Difference?
Creighton is off to a 10-5 start in league play, but the difference in a number of categories really jump out.
Stat 10 BE Wins 5 BE Losses
Points Scored Per Game 73.6 57.6
Points Allowed Per Game 63.0 75.0
Rebound Margin +5.6 -5.6
Offensive Rebounds/Game 11.0 7.2
3FG Made Per Game 8.6 5.0
A/TO Ratio 150/147 45/76
CU's FG% Defense .373 .441
After Halftime Score 368-313 156-227
Ryan Hawkins Points/Game 18.5 5.8
Ryan Kalkbrenner Reb./Game 9.1 5.4
R. Andronikashvili Assists/Game 1.9 0.2
Defense Steps Up
Creighton allowed just 15 points in the second half of its Jan. 22 victory vs. DePaul.
It was the fewest points allowed in the second half of a game against a Division I team since the Bluejays did it twice in a 10-day span in 2001 when Alan Huss was wrapping up his senior season.
DePaul's 47 points were the least allowed by Creighton in a conference game since joining the BIG EAST, and fewest since a 59-45 win vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2013.
Iron Men
Creighton's Ryan Nembhard ranks second in the BIG EAST with 35.1 minutes per game as he attempts to become the first freshman to lead the BIG EAST in minutes per game (all games) in the last 15 seasons.
Nembhard's 35.1 minutes per game average in all games is on pace to be the most by a BIG EAST freshman in 10 years, as Providence's LaDontae Henton (37.2), St. John's Maurice Harkless (36.1) and St. John's D'Angelo Harrison (35.3) all did it in 2011-12. No BIG EAST freshman has averaged more than 34 minutes per game since.
Hawkins, Villanova or COVID?
It's tough to predict who will win the national title in mid-January, but if the past is any indication, there was a good chance an unstoppable force was on the floor at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 5th.
Each of the past six basketball seasons have seen either Villanova, Ryan Hawkins or COVID-19 emerge above all others end the season.
Villanova won the Division I national title in 2015-16 and 2017-18.
Hawkins was part of the Northwest Missouri State teams that won national titles at the Division II level in 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2020-21.
COVID-19 ended the 2019-20 season, a year in which Creighton and Villanova were likely headed towards top-three seeds. Meanwhile, Hawkins' Northwest Missouri State team was the top-ranked squad in the Division II ranks and finished with 31-1 overall record and on a 23-game win streak.
Year National Champion
2015-16 Villanova
2016-17 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
2017-18 Villanova
2018-19 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
2019-20 COVID-19
2020-21 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
Up, Up And Away
Since Feb. 19, 2019, Creighton owns a 42-16 mark in regular-season BIG EAST games. That's two more wins than anyone else in the league in that time.
Not only that, but Creighton owned the most wins to close the 2018-19 season after Feb. 19th, tied for the most wins in 2019-20, and had the most wins in 2020-21 as well.
Conference Records Since Feb. 19, 2019
(Through Feb. 21, 2022)
Team After 2/19/19 '19-20 '20-21 '21-22 Total
Creighton 5-0 13-5 14-6 10-5 42-16
Villanova 2-3 13-5 11-4 14-3 40-15
Providence 3-2 12-6 9-10 12-2 36-20
UConn 2-4# 10-8# 11-6 10-5 33-23
Seton Hall 2-3 13-5 10-9 7-8 32-25
Marquette 2-4 8-10 8-11 9-7 27-32
Xavier 4-1 8-10 6-7 7-8 25-26
Butler 1-4 10-8 8-12 6-11 25-35
St. John's 1-4 5-13 10-9 7-8 23-34
Georgetown 4-2 5-13 7-9 0-15 16-39
DePaul 2-3 3-15 2-13 3-13 10-44
#includes 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the AAC
Among The Best
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 128 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 93 league victories are second-most.
Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins, 2013-14 to 2/18/22
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 128 30 .810
Creighton 93 68 .578
Providence 90 68 .570
Xavier 87 67 .565
Seton Hall 83 76 .522
Butler 78 85 .479
Marquette 77 84 .478
St. John's 61 98 .384
Georgetown 58 98 .372
DePaul 33 124 .210
Connecticut 21 11 .656
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 26 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including three such rallies this season. In its Jan. 22 win vs. DePaul, CU trailed 34-23 a minute into the second half before beginning its push.
Twelve of those 26 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's comeback from 16 points down vs. SIUE on Nov. 27 was its biggest since rallying from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
10 UAB 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
Nembhard Bags Fifth Freshman Honor
Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season on Monday, Jan. 17th.
Nembhard had 18 points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds in an 80-73 defeat at #17 Xavier on Saturday. Nembhard's eight field goals were a season-best while his three steals matched his personal high.
The Aurora, Ontario, Canada product was previously honored on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29 and Dec. 20.
Nembhard is Creighton men's basketball's first player named Freshman or Newcomer of the Week five times in the same season since Doug McDermott was recognized as Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week seven times in 2010-11.
O'Connell Can
Senior Alex O'Connell has scored in double-figures in 12 of the past 17 games.
After scoring in double-figures in 16 of 125 contests over his first four seasons at Duke and Creighton, O'Connell has scored 10 or more points in 18-of-26 battles this season.
He scored a career-high 22 points at No. 17 Xavier on Jan. 15th, making 7-of-10 shots, 4-of-6 three-pointers and all four free throw tries, before upping that with a new high of 28 points vs. St. John's on Jan. 19, including a career-high six three-pointers. He also scored 27 points on Feb. 14 in a win vs. Georgetown.
The Georgia native is averaging 12.3 points per game overall this season and 13.1 points per game in BIG EAST action.
We're Jamming!
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 52 dunks this season and 81 in his career. As a team, Creighton owns 100 dunks this season, including nine vs. Georgetown on Feb. 12th.
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
52 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
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
90 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
81 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
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
144 2016-17 25-10 (NCAA)
107 2017-18 21-12 (NCAA)
106 2018-19 20-15 (NIT)
100 2021-22 18-8 so far
90 2020-21 22-9 (NCAA)
60 2019-20 24-7 (Postseason Canceled)
58 2015-16 20-15 (NIT)
56 2010-11 23-16 (CBI)
54 2012-13 28-8 (NCAA)
42 2011-12 29-6 (NCAA)
35 2013-14 27-8 (NCAA)
29 2014-15 14-19
Our 2, D Too
Unlike past Creighton teams that thrived from three-point land, this year's Bluejay squad is dominating from two-point range.
Creighton ranks 37th nationally (per BartTorvik.com) with its shooting 54.1 percent from two-point range. That includes a 58.7 percent mark from inside the paint.
Defensively, Creighton is holding the opposition to 43.2 percent shooting from two-point range, the nation's ninth-best figure. That's CU's best mark under McDermott, far surpassing the 45.5 percent mark allowed by the 2012-13 club. Bluejay foes are shooting just 47.2 percent in the paint this season.
#1 In The Record Book; #44 In Your Program
Ryan Hawkins leads every active player at the Division I level in career rebounds (1,145) and field goals made (882) and is second in points (2,463).
Hawkins also ranks in the top 11 among the nation's active Division I players in double-doubles (4th), games played (7th), three-pointers made (10th) and steals (11th).
And while it's not among the categories the NCAA tracks among active players, it's worth noting that Hawkins owns 109 career games of 10 or more points. The NCAA Division I record in that category is 135, done by former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-7 record in its last 24 conference openers after a 79-59 win vs. Villanova in its last outing.
Greg McDermott is 12-9 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-4 mark at Creighton (6-3 in the BIG EAST).
The last team to win a share of any BIG EAST regular-season title after losing the league opener was the 2012-13 Georgetown club. No squad has won an outright title after losing the league opener since Notre Dame won the West Division in 2000-01. And no team has won a league outright title in a one-division BIG EAST after losing the league lid-lifter since Georgetown in 1988-89.
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year Won (Final W-L) Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11 Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12 Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13 Evansville (13-5)
2013-14 Marquette (14-4)
2014-15 Providence (4-14)
2015-16 St. John's (9-9)
2016-17 Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18 Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19 Providence (9-9)
2019-20 Marquette (13-5)
2020-21 Marquette (14-6)
2021-22 #9 Villanova (TBD)
Hawkins Scores 25
Ryan Hawkins scored 25 points vs. No. 19 Iowa State. It was the 96th time in his career that the Atlantic, Iowa native scored in double-figures, and was the 46th time he's scored 20 points or more in a game.
At the time, Hawkins' 25 points were the most by a Bluejay in any game this season, and most by any CU player against a top-25 team since Marcus Zegarowski scored 25 points in an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova on Feb. 13, 2021.
Hawkins then scored 25 points against No. 24 BYU in his next outing, making him the first Bluejay with back-to-back games of 25 or more points since Marcus Foster had consecutive 29 point efforts on Feb. 7 & 10, 2018.
Hawkins is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 25+ points vs. top-25 teams in the same season since Ty-Shon Alexander in 2018-19. Marcus Foster in 2017-18 is the last person with three such games in a season.
At The Buzzer!
Ryan Nembhard drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds to sink a floater as time expired to give Creighton a 66-64 win vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 22 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.
Ironically enough, the game-ending play was installed several years ago by former Bluejay assistant Paul Lusk, himself a Southern Illinois grad.
The basket was Creighton's first go-ahead shot as time expired since Booker Woodfox beat Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2009.
Prior to Woodfox, Creighton's last previous buzzer-beater had also come against Wichita State, as Anthony Tolliver's shot from the right baseline beat Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2006.
Nate Funk also hit a buzzer-beater to beat Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls.
Shots by those four men remain the only game-winning buzzer-beaters by Creighton since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Only In 2020-21 (Let's Hope)
Though Creighton's 14 BIG EAST wins last season were three more than any other team in the BIG EAST, the Bluejays were the second seed in the conference tournament since the league decided before the season to go by winning percentage to determine a league champion and seeds.
The BIG EAST wasn't alone in this. It was one of eight leagues that saw the top team in winning percentage not be the same team that had the most conference wins.
Wins Leader Not League Champ, Nationally, in 2020-21
League Conf. Wins Leader Conf. Champ
American Houston, 14-3 Wichita St., 11-2
BIG EAST Creighton, 14-6 Villanova, 11-4
Big 10 Illinois, 16-4 Michigan, 14-3
Conf-USA UAB, 13-5 Louisiana Tech, 12-4
MEAC Norfolk St., 8-4 North Carolina A&T, 7-1
Coppin State, 8-4
MWC Utah State, 15-4 San Diego St., 14-3
Pac-12 USC, 15-5 Oregon, 14-4
Summit South Dakota, 11-4 South Dakota St., 9-3
N. Dakota St., 11-4
Five Threats To Score
All five of Creighton's regular starters are averaging at least 9.3 points per game this season, a fact made all the more impressive when you consider that these men owned a total of ZERO career starts as a Bluejay entering this winter.
Creighton has won 24 straight games when five or more players have 10 points or more.
Nembhard's Big Day
Playing his first collegiate road game, freshman point guard Ryan Nembhard thrived in a hostile environment in Lincoln. The Canadian native had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, the only other Bluejays with a 20/5/5 game were Mitch Ballock (1), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (1), Doug McDermott (2), Khyri Thomas (2), Maurice Watson Jr. (2) and Marcus Zegarowski (3).
Nembhard is CU's first freshman with a 20/5/5 line since at least 1981-82.
Nembhard's 22 points were the most by a Bluejay of any year in their first game vs. Nebraska since at least 1980.
Nembhard Earns All-Tourney Honors
Ryan Nembhard earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Paradise Jam after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games.
Nembhard shot 55.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the line and made a shot at the buzzer vs. Southern Illinois in the third-place game.
He is CU's first true freshman to pick up All-Tournament Team honors at any event since Doug McDermott was named to the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge All-Tournament Team in 2010.
Like A Hawk
Ryan Hawkins had 10 or more rebounds in each of CU's first three games. He's the first Bluejay to do that to start a season since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 27 consecutive double-figure rebounding games to open his junior campaign in 1984-85.
Hawkins owns 46 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 939 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 (2/20)
Rk. Streak School Next
1. 1,156 UNLV 2/22
2. 1,140 Duke 2/23
3. 1,090 Western Kentucky 2/26
4. 1,080 East Tennessee State 2/23
5. 1,058 Oakland 2/24
6. 1,056 Pacific 2/21
7. 1,050 Texas 2/23
8. 996 Marshall 2/21
9. 989 Baylor 2/21
10. 981 Princeton 2/25
11. 975 Gonzaga 2/24
12. 952 Long Island 2/24
13. 939 Creighton 2/23
14. 937 Mount St. Mary's 2/24
15. 926 Tennessee State 2/24
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 939 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,398 trifectas, an average of 7.88 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 140 times, more than any figure.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 265 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Creighton has also made a trifecta in the first half of 309 straight games (since going 0-7 vs. Drake on Jan. 23, 2013).
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 44-7 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 18-16 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 5 times 2: 16 times 3: 33 times
4: 72 times 5: 100 times 6: 101 times
7: 140 times 8: 117 times 9: 90 times
10: 77 times 11: 53 times 12: 51 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
Winning With Defense
Creighton's made its reputation on the offensive side with its "Let It Fly" philosophy, but the Bluejays have won thanks in large part to their defense so far this season.
Creighton held each of its first four opponents under 40 percent from the field for the first time since at least 1980-81.
Creighton is holding teams to 39.6 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.
Assists 'R' Us
Ryan Nembhard's 10 assists in CU's season-opener were the most by a Bluejay freshman in any game since Marcus Zegarowski had 10 on March 9, 2018 vs. DePaul. He was the nation's ONLY freshman with 10+ assists on the opening night of the college basketball season.
Prior to Nembhard, no Bluejay (of any year) had dished 10 or more assists in a season-opener since Edward St. Fleur on Nov. 22, 1996 at Wyoming.
Making An Entrance
Arthur Kaluma (15) and Ryan Nembhard (15) became CU's first true freshmen to debut with 10 points or more since Khyri Thomas had 18 points vs. Texas Southern in 2015.
Nembhard (15 pts., 10 ast.) and Ryan Hawkins (16 pts., 11 reb.) were the first Bluejays since at least 1980 with double-doubles in the season-opener of their debut campaign. No CU player (of any year) had started the season with a double-double since Will Artino (14 pts., 10 reb.) in 2014-15 vs. Central Arkansas.
Kaluma's eight rebounds were the most by a true freshman in the regular-season opener since Martin Krampelj in 2015 and the most by any Bluejay freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Patton snared eight rebounds in his 2016 debut.
Kaluma had four blocked shots on Nov. 9 vs. UAPB. The last previous Bluejay newcomer with multiple blocked shots in a season-opener? That'd be Artino on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. North Carolina A&T. Kaluma's four swats were the most by any Bluejay (of any year) on Opening Day since Jeffrey Day had five swats vs. Alcorn State to open the 2004-05 campaign.
Kaluma (15 & 8) became Creighton's second freshman since at least 1973 to debut with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds, joining Doug McDermott (16 & 7) in 2010.
Ryan Hawkins grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the most by a Bluejay since Damien Jefferson had 12 in 2018. Other than Jefferson, no one's had more than 11 rebounds in their CU debut since Cyril Baptiste snared 17 caroms in 1969. When Hawkins followed with 10 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State, he became CU's first player (of any year) with 10+ rebounds in CU's first two games since Doug Swenson in 1998-99.
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Between 1992-93 and 2020-21, only four true freshmen started Creighton's regular-season opener. Then on Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma got the nod on opening night. Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists while Kaluma owned 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
This season marked the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos).
About the other true freshmen to start...
Ryan Sears did so in 1997-98. The point guard would go on to start all 124 games of his CU career and remains the program's all-time career assist (570) and steals (283) leader.
Doug McDermott did so in 2010-11, and he went on to start all 145 games of his career. He would graduate as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and is the only three-time First Team All-American since 1986. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
Khyri Thomas got a start in 2015-16 and remained in CU's starting five each of his first 24 games, and 96-of-102 career contests with the Jays. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in the NBA.
Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State. Mitchell finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of work.
My Name Is...
Only five men who played for Creighton last season are back this winter, and none of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game.
Per research by TCU, Creighton's 18.0 percent of minutes returning ranks third-lowest among all teams nationally, and is the least among all teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 Conference.
Lowest Percentage of Minutes Returning
School Pct. of Minutes Returning
Tennessee-Martin 0.0
Portland 8.5
Creighton 18.0
Missouri 19.7
Duquesne 23.2
Iowa State 25.1
Robert Morris 26.3
Boston College 27.6
South Alabama 28.6
TCU 29.2
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only five of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that much of the production from 2020-21 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Starts 2 (1.3%) 153 (98.7%)
3FG Made 25 (8.5%) 268 (91.5%)
Assists 68 (14.0%) 417 (86.0%)
Points 371 (15.8%) 1,984 (84.2%)
Minutes 1,124 (18.0%) 5,126 (82.0%)
Steals 39 (18.1%) 177 (81.9%)
Rebounds 207 (20.7%) 794 (79.3%)
Charges Taken 5 (29.4%) 12 (70.6%)
Blocks 39 (37.9%) 64 (62.1%)
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 38 of the last 39 seasons.
Last year five Bluejays appeared in an NBA game, as McDermott was joined by Ty-Shon Alexander, Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas and Anthony Tolliver.
McDermott is in his eighth season in the NBA. Last year he with Indiana he averaged a career-high 13.6 points per game.
Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through Feb. 20, 2022
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 3,567 3rd
3FG Percentage .379 3rd
FG Percentage .478 4th
Assists 6,465 5th
FG Made 11,018 9th
Points 30,845 9th
Wins 271 30th
Winning Percentage .671 32nd
Top-10 Class
Creighton signed four top-100 players en route to inking the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. That also ranks as the best class in the BIG EAST Conference.
Here's how the nation's top-10 classes shake out:
1. Memphis
2. Michigan
3. Gonzaga
4. Tennessee
5. Duke
6. LSU
7. Creighton
8. Florida State
9. Connecticut
10. Kentucky
In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 22 wins last season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
Only six teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous six seasons: Belmont, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
21 of 23 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 21 of the last 23 seasons (entering 2021-22), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 23 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 22 times, Creighton and Kentucky 21 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 23 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons 2020-21 W-L
Gonzaga 23 31-1
Kansas 23 21-9
Duke 22 13-11
Creighton 21 22-9
Kentucky 21 9-16
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 271 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .671 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. 271-133 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
Who Are These Guys?
For the first time since at least 1980-81, Creighton will not return any of its five starters as Mitch Ballock, Christian Bishop, Damien Jefferson, Denzel Mahoney and Marcus Zegarowski are all gone after combining to make 152-of-155 possible starts last season.
In fact, there's only been four previous times in the last 40 years that just one starter has returned. Those four occurrences came in 1985-86 (went 12-16), 2007-08 (22-11), 2014-15 (14-19) and
2015-16 (20-15).
Shereef Mitchell started two games last season when Zegarowski was injured, and no other active Bluejay had ever started a game for CU prior to CU's Nov. 9 season-opener. In the previous 40 seasons, Creighton's always returned players who combined for at least 40 starts in the previous season.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2021-22 0 2 ? ? ?
2020-21 5 124 22-9
2019-20 4 136 24-7
2018-19 2 57 20-15
2017-18 2 72 21-12
2016-17 4 130 25-10
2015-16 1 64 20-15
2014-15 1 49 14-19
2013-14 4 144 27-8
2012-13 4 140 28-8
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton continued to be highly regarded by KenPom.com, and finished last season ranked 22nd overall. That included the nation's No. 25 offense, and No. 32 defense.
Creighton had not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
Last season was the sixth different time in the last 10 seasons that Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom.
Creighton has finished with an offensive and defensive rating in the top-83 nationally every season since 2015-16. Nationally, the only nine other schools that can claim that (entering 2021-22) are Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Maryland, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Team W-L
2010-11 66 174 23-16
2011-12 5 166 29-6
2012-13 5 66 28-8
2013-14 2 124 27-8
2014-15 59 138 14-19
2015-16 43 76 20-15
2016-17 32 46 25-10
2017-18 25 58 21-12
2018-19 47 83 20-15
2019-20 3 78 24-7
2020-21 25 32 22-9
2021-22 118 29 18-8 so far
Playing With The Lead
In 321 games at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 85 of those contests, a staggering 26.5 percent of the time.
Under Greg McDermott at home, Creighton is
167-39 and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. He owns an 91-8 record vs. non-conference teams at CHI Health Center Omaha.
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 321 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 19-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 264-57 (.822) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 25,105-21,062 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.60 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 85 different times.
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 40-27 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 167-39 (.811) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. In that same span, CU owns an 91-8 home record vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 283-57 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.64 points per home game (16,611 points in 206 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.08 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.
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
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :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
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season went on sale on October 18th. Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 • 5:30 p.m. Central
Carnesecca Arena (5,602) • Queens, N.Y.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; 1620thezone.com; XM 391; SiriusXM app 981
Television: FS1 (Kevin Kugler, Bill Raftery)
Series History: Creighton leads, 14-10
Last Meeting: Creighton 87, St. John's 64 on Jan. 29, 2022 in Omaha, Neb.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | SJU NOTES (PDF)
Next Game
Creighton (18-8, 10-5 BIG EAST) opens its final road trip of the regular-season on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when it faces St. John's (15-11, 7-8 BIG EAST).
Tip-off at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y., is set for 5:30 p.m. Central.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2021-22 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasts all home games.
John Bishop and former Bluejay Taylor Stormberg will call the action.
The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 981 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 391.
Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game will be called by Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery and be televised on FS1.
The game will also be video webcast online at http://foxsports.com/live or the FoxSports app.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton has won five straight games to improve to 18-8 this season, and 10-5 in league play.
The Bluejays own wins over No. 9 Villanova (79-59), No. 17 UConn (59-55) and No. 24 BYU (83-71), and are 8-5 away from home this season.
The Bluejays return seven lettermen but no starters from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall, runner-up in the BIG EAST, and reached the program's first Sweet 16 since 1974.
Creighton has four players averaging at least 11.5 points per game, including the trio of Ryan Hawkins (14.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), Ryan Nembhard (15.3 ppg., 4.3 apg.) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.9 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 2.8 bpg.).
Alex O'Connell (12.3 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) had 27 points in a Valentine's Day win vs. Georgetown, his third game in the last month of 22 points or more.
More than 39 percent of Creighton's points this season have come from freshmen, who composed much of the team's top-10 recruiting class.
Creighton averages 69.8 points per game while allowing 66.3 per game. CU shoots 45.4 percent from the floor, 31.4 percent from deep and 72.8 percent at the line. The Jays are +3.0 on the glass but have also turned the ball over an average of 14.5 times per game.
Scouting St. John's
St. John's is 15-11 overall and 7-8 in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm are 11-6 at home and have been idle since defeating Butler on Friday, 91-57.
Preseason All-BIG EAST wing Julian Champagnie tops the Red Storm in scoring (19.2 ppg.), rebounding (6.6 rpg.) and three-pointers made (56).
Champagnie, as well as sophomore point guard Posh Alexander, (14.5 ppg., 5.4 apg., 4.3 rpg., 2.2 spg.) give the Johnnies two of the top talents in the league.
Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler (10.1 ppg.) was averaging just 7.7 points per game at the end of January, but has seven straight games of 11 points or more and averaged 16.1 points in February.
The Red Storm average 79.2 points per game and shoot 45.3 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from deep and 67.1 percent at the line. The Johnnies block 5.88 shots per game and pick up 9.35 steals per contest while forcing opponents into 16.42 miscues per contest.
The Series With St. John's
Creighton is 14-10 all-time against St. John's, and 12-5 in the rivalry since joining the BIG EAST. The Bluejays are 4-4 in the BIG EAST era in road games in the series, and 4-8 all-time in New York against the Johnnies.
Creighton has scored 87 points in each of its last three victories vs. St. John's, including a 94-76 win in Queens, a 97-79 victory in Omaha last season and an 87-64 win in Omaha last month.
Greg McDermott is 12-5 against St. John's. He is 6-7 against Mike Anderson (4-1 as CU coach), with eight of those meetings coming when McDermott coached Iowa State and Anderson led Missouri. Four of those eight meetings were decided by six points or less, and two went to overtime.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 271-133 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 551-328 in his 28th season, and is 420-264 in his 21st Division I campaign.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native then coached Creighton to its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Alan Huss, Ryan Miller and Jalen Courtney-Williams.
With A Win...
- Creighton would win its season-best sixth straight game and win its sixth straight BIG EAST game for the first time since winning six in a row from Dec. 17, 2020 to Jan. 9, 2021.
- Creighton would improve to 9-5 away from home this season, including a 6-4 mark in true road games and a 5-4 record in BIG EAST road contests.
- Win or lose, Creighton will extend its stretch of being .500 or better in league play to 34 games, the BIG EAST's only active streak longer than 16.
- Teams with Ryan Hawkins would improve to 178-16 at the college level, and 103-11 in league play.
- Creighton would improve to 7-1 in BIG EAST play this month.
Won By One
Creighton defeated Marquette 83-82 on Sunday, improving to 1-1 on the season in games decided by one point.
It was Creighton's first one-point win since defeating UC Santa Barbara 63-62 in the First Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, which started CU's first run to the Sweet 16 since 1974.
Creighton improved to 3-0 all-time in games to end in an 83-82 score, with the others being a 2005 win over Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team, and a 2002 NCAA Tournament win over No. 15 Florida in double-overtime.
Creighton is now 9-9 in one-point games under Greg McDermott and 82-77 in program history in one-point games.
Creighton had not played consecutive one-point games since Feb. 7, 2018 (won at DePaul, 76-75) and Feb. 10, 2018 (lost to #5 Xavier, 72-71).
St. John's is 11-6 in games decided by one point since 2010-11.
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Though much is made of the influx of freshmen on this year's Creighton team, the Bluejays are 5-1 this season in games decided by five points or less.
Since the start of last season, Creighton is 8-2 in one-possession games (decided by 3 or less). Those eight victories by three points or less are tied for ninth-most nationally in that span and trails only Xavier (9) among BIG EAST schools. St. John's has four wins by three points or less in the past two seasons.
Freshman Honors Continue
Ryan Nembhard was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season on Feb. 21 after leading the conference with 17 assists last week. Nembhard averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game as Creighton went 3-0.
The Aurora, Ontario, Canada product had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds while playing all but 42 seconds in an 88-77 win vs. Georgetown on Monday.
Three nights later he played all but 22 seconds in a 71-59 victory at DePaul. He had 19 points, six assists and three rebounds in the win, including his first dunk of the season.
He closed out the week with 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in an 83-82 win vs. Marquette. He tied his season-high with four three-pointers made and assisted Ryan Hawkins' lay-up with two minutes left that gave Creighton the lead for good.
Nembhard leads CU with 112 assists and 33 steals and is on pace to become the first BIG EAST freshman to play more than 34 minutes per game in a decade.
Nembhard was previously recognized on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29, Dec. 20 and Jan. 17 and becomes CU's first six-time Freshman of the Week since Doug McDermott won seven such honors from the Missouri Valley Conference in 2010-11. Nembhard, along with teammates Trey Alexander (Jan. 24, Feb. 7) and Arthur Kaluma (Feb. 14), have now combined to win nine of the league's 14 Freshman of the Week awards this season. That includes five of the past six weeks.
AOC vs. New York's Team
Senior guard Alex O'Connell had a career-high 28 points in Creighton's win over St. John's last month, making 9-of-14 shots including a career-high six three-pointers.
He also helped limit Red Storm standout Julian Champagnie to three points on 1-for-10 shooting in the first half as the Bluejays raced to a 49-34 halftime lead.
Last season O'Connell made his Bluejay debut at St. John's with six points in 12 minutes.
He then had a season-best 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the rematch in Omaha.
Milestones Within Reach
Creighton is nearing a number of milestones.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 491 career points and is nine shy of 500.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 94 offensive rebounds and is six away from becoming the first Bluejay with 100 offensive rebounds in one season since Randall Crutcher had 101 in 1996-97.
- Ryan Hawkins owns 2,463 career points and is 37 shy of 2,500. Only 75 players have ever scored 2,500 or more points at the Division I level (only).
- Ryan Hawkins owns 248 career steals and is two shy of 250.
- Ryan Hawkins has made 346 career three-pointers and is four shy of 350.
The Votes Are In
Creighton received votes in both major polls this week.
The Jays got one vote in the AP poll, its first time being mentioned by the writers since January 3rd.
CU also got 12 points in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll, good for 32nd place. It's the first time CU's received any votes in the Coaches Poll since the preseason edition, when it was 35th.
Red Storm Warning
Creighton is 4-4 in road games at St. John's since joining the BIG EAST, including a 4-2 mark at Carnesecca Arena.
Five of the previous six meetings at Carnesecca in CU's BIG EAST era have been decided by double-figures, including each of the past three, and they've been decided by an average of 13.5 points.
Creighton has won all four of those games when it has held the Johnnies to 76 points or less, but lost when surrendering 91 and 81 points.
February Favorites
Creighton is 6-1 in the month of February, including a 3-1 road record. CU has won three of those games by four points or less.
During the month, Creighton has five players averaging in double-figures, led by Ryan Hawkins (18.0 ppg., 8.3 rpg.).
In the past three seasons, Creighton owns a 16-4 mark in BIG EAST games during the month of February. That ranks as the best in the BIG EAST, through games of Feb. 21.
BIG EAST Records in February, 2019-20 to Present
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 16 4 .800
Providence 13 6 .684
Seton Hall 13 7 .650
Villanova 14 8 .636
Xavier 9 10 .474
St. John's 8 11 .421
Butler 9 14 .391
Marquette 7 11 .389
Georgetown 7 15 .318
Connecticut 8 6 .571
DePaul 4 16 .200
Shortest Month Also The Busiest
Creighton is scheduled to play nine games in the shortest month of the year, February.
If everything takes place as planned, it'd be CU's first month with nine games since January of 2017, when the Bluejays went 7-2.
The last time Creighton played nine games during the month of February came in 2009. That Bluejay squad went 9-0 in those games, winning by an average of 11.67 points per game, en route to a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
Creighton is 6-1 so far in February.
Turnover Tidbits
St. John's has forced 16.42 turnovers per game, easily the best in the BIG EAST and 19th-most nationally, but haven't forced more than 16 turnovers in any of its past eight games.
SJU owns a league-best +3.85 turnover margin per game figure, while Creighton is a league worst -3.35 per game in the same category.
In league play, the figures are even more eye-opening, as St. John's is +4.13 per game while Creighton is -4.33 per contest.
Posh A Scary Spice
- Posh Alexander is one of four players nationally since 2009-10 to average at least 2.50 steals and 2.50 offensive rebounds per game. The others are Furman's Matt Rafferty (2018-19), McNeese State's Kevin Hardy (2014-15) and Duquesne's Damian Saunders (2009-10).
- Posh Alexander owns 59 offensive rebounds, but just 41 defensive rebounds this season.
- Posh Alexander has had at least one steal in 47 of his 48 career games. The exception was last season's game at Creighton, when he had eight points, six rebounds and six assists in 33 minutes without a steal.
.500 Or Better in League Play, Again
Creighton is 10-5 in league play and has clinched a .500 mark or better in league play once again. It is the 26th time in the last 27 seasons that Creighton has gone .500 or better in league play.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous five seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
10's All Around
Creighton is 10-5 in league play after earning its 10th conference win of the season on Sunday.
Creighton has now won 10 or more league games in 23 of the last 26 seasons (including 2021-22).
Another 10!
Sunday's win vs. Marquette was Creighton's 10th home wins this season. The Bluejays have now reached double-figures in that category for the 25th time in the last 26 seasons.
The only exception in that time came in 2014-15, when the Jays won nine times at home.
Creighton also surpassed 200,000 home fans for the season on Sunday for the 16th time in the last 17 years. The only exception was the 2020-21 season that was impacted by COVID-19, which restricted crowds nationwide.
44 Doubles Up
Ryan Hawkins has had double-doubles in three of Creighton's last four games, all of which were Bluejay victories.
He became the first Bluejay with three straight double-doubles since Martin Krampelj from Jan. 3-10, 2018.
On Sunday vs. Marquette (17 points, 9 rebounds), Hawkins finished one double-double shy of becoming the first Bluejay with four straight double-doubles since Doug McDermott from Nov. 25-Dec. 10, 2011.
Since the 1994-95 season, Hawkins, Krampelj and McDermott (twice) are the only three Bluejays to record three straight double-doubles.
What's In A Number
There's little doubt that Duke forward Christian Laettner was one of the greatest college players of his generation nearly 30 years ago from 1988-92.
What you might not realize is that Laettner's career stats are quite comparable to what Ryan Hawkins has accomplished at the college level.
Laettner's teams went 123-26 with a pair of national titles, whereas as Hawkins' teams have gone 177-16 overall (142-15 when he plays).
Comparing Christian Laettner & Ryan Hawkins
Year NCAA Titles PTS REB 3FG AST STL
Laettner 2 2,460 1,149 79 273 243
Hawkins 3 2,463 1,145 346 218 248
Elite Company For Hawkins
Creighton senior Ryan Hawkins owns 2,463 career points and 1,145 career rebounds, though the majority of his totals were accumulated at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State.
That's more points than legends such as Alonzo Mourning (2,001), Bob Lanier (2,067), Tim Duncan (2,117), Derrick Coleman (2,143), Patrick Ewing (2,184), Ralph Sampson (2,225), Jerry West (2,309), Lew Alcindor (2,325) and Christian Laettner (2,460).
Only 17 other Division I players in NCAA history have finished their careers with 2,463 points and 1,145 rebounds or more.
Name, School(s) Last Year Pts. Reb.
Lionel Simmons, La Salle 1990 3,217 1,429
Mike Daum, South Dakota State 2019 3,067 1,236
Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1960 2,973 1,338
Danny Manning, Kansas 1988 2,951 1,187
Elvin Hayes, Houston 1968 2,884 1,602
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2009 2,872 1,219
Larry Bird, Indiana State 1979 2,850 1,247
David Robinson, Navy 1987 2,669 1,314
Michael Brooks, La Salle 1980 2,628 1,372
Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest 1955 2,587 1,802
Calvin Natt, La.-Monroe 1979 2,581 1,285
Terry Taylor, Austin Peay 2021 2,507 1,248
Caleb Green, Oral Roberts 2007 2,503 1,189
Elgin Baylor, College of Idaho/Seattle 1958 2,500 1,559
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame 2010 2,476 1,222
Nick Fazekas, Nevada 2007 2,464 1,254
Ryan's Pave Way To Road Success
Creighton has five road wins this season, and Ryan Hawkins has had a double-double in each of them.
In those five contests, Hawkins has led CU with 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while he's shot 50 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Ryan Kalkbrenner has averaged a double-double in those five road wins too, collecting 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game on 60.0 percent shooting from the floor.
Those two, combined with namesake Ryan Nembhard, have combined to score 244 of CU's 366 points (66.7 percent) in the five road victories.
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan
Ryan Hawkins (40:00), Ryan Nembhard (39:38) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (34:39) combined to play 95.2 percent of the maximum minutes in Creighton's win at DePaul on Thursday. Three days later, Hawkins (39:37), Nembhard (38:54) and Kalkbrenner (37:07) played 96.3 percent of the minutes.
Hawkins became the first Bluejay to play a complete game since Ty-Shon Alexander logged all 40 minutes on Jan. 7, 2020 vs. No. 16 Villanova.
It was the 29th time in Hawkins' college career that he's played 40 minutes or more, and second time this winter.
For the season, Creighton has had at least one player named Ryan on the floor for all but 31:37 of action and has been outscored 67-44 in that time.
The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in each game this winter, as Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner are all entrenched as starters. Those three men are also three of CU's top four scorers (along with Alex O'Connell).
In the Dec. 11 win vs. No. 24 BYU, Nembhard, Hawkins and Kalkbrenner combined for 56 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots. On Feb. 12th the trio combined for 57 points, 30 rebounds and 13 assists in an 80-66 win at Georgetown. Most recently, they had 56 points and 27 rebounds in a 71-59 win at DePaul on Feb. 17th.
For the season, the "Ryan Express" has contributed 68.9 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 53.7 percent of its points, 49.6 percent of its assists, 51.1 percent of its rebounds grabbed and 45.9 percent of its steals.
Creighton had not started multiple players with the same first name in the same regular-season game since Nov. 18, 2006, when both Nick Porter and Nick Bahe started against Nebraska.
Creighton has not had a season in which three players with the same first name all started at least once in the regular-season since at least 1980.
With so many men named Ryan (not to mention assistant coach Ryan Miller), the Bluejay staff has gone to referring to Hawkins as "Hawk", the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner as "Big Ryan" and Nembhard as "R2", in honor of his uniform number, as well as "Coach Miller".
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
Villanova was a unanimous selection to win the league, with Connecticut and Xavier finishing second and third, respectively. St. John's is fourth, followed by Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. Rounding out the poll are Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul.
Villanova standout Collin Gillespie was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Nate Watson (Providence), Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Paul Scruggs (Xavier) and Zach Freemantle (Xavier).
Creighton is the only school in the league that has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th ? ? ? --
Feazell The Key
KeyShawn Feazell has put together three strong performances for the Bluejays in the past 10 days.
Feazell is a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in those four contests, including five dunks and his first two three-pointers of the season.
Wins On Wins on Wins
Creighton's Nov. 21 loss vs. Colorado State was the first time in the six-year college career of Ryan Hawkins that one of his teams lost on a neutral floor. The Northwest Missouri State transfer is now 40-1 on neutral sites when you include his 3-1 mark this year.
He enters Wednesday's game at St. John's with a team record of 177-16 (.917) at all sites. He's lost consecutive games in his career just twice.
CU's January 1st win at Marquette marked the 100th conference game of Hawkins' college career, while the Feb. 14 win vs. Georgetown was his 100th conference victory. He's currently 102-11 in league games.
Hawk Talk
Ryan Hawkins had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on Feb. 12 at Georgetown.
It was just the fifth 15/10/5 game in Greg McDermott's 12 seasons at Creighton, and first since Hawkins finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 16, 2021 at Nebraska.
Prior to Hawkins, no Bluejay had collected a 15/10/5 line since Khyri Thomas had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Nov. 15, 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games win at Northwestern.
The only others with a 15/10/5 game under McDermott were Austin Chatman (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014) and Doug McDermott (30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014).
Hawkins' performance at Nebraska was CU's first 15/10/5 line with 0 turnovers since at least 1980-81.
The 30/10/5 Line
Ryan Hawkins had 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Creighton's Feb. 12 win at Georgetown.
He's the first Bluejay with a 30/10/5 line since Doug McDermott had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014.
Doug McDermott (8x), Kenny Lawson Jr. (once) and Hawkins (once) are CU's only players with a 30 point & 10 rebound game (regardless of assist numbers) in 12 seasons under Greg McDermott.
Per Basketball-Reference.com, Hawkins joined former Oklahoma phenom Trae Young (on 1/13/18 vs. TCU) as the nation's only players since 2010-11 with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, 8 three-pointers and a steal in the same game.
Hawkins owns seven double-doubles in league play, tops in the BIG EAST.
Ready, Aim, Fire!
Ryan Hawkins launched 18 three-point attempts in win at Georgetown on Feb. 12, the most in CU history by one player in a game.
By comparison, Hawkins had attempted just 17 three-pointers in his previous five games.
Hawkins' 18 three-point attempts were the most by a player in any BIG EAST game since Markus Howard shot 4-for-18 from deep in an overtime loss at Butler on Jan. 24, 2020, but Hawkins is the BIG EAST's only player since 2010-11 with 18 three-point tries or more in a regulation game.
Hawkins is one of four players nationally since 2010-11 with at least 18 three-point attempts and 12 or more rebounds in the same game, and first since South Dakota State's Mike Daum at IPFW on Feb. 18, 2017.
The eight triples by Hawkins is tied for fourth-most in CU's single-game history and the most since Mitch Ballock made eight trifectas vs. Marquette on Dec. 14, 2020. It also tied Hawkins' personal-high done while at Northwest Missouri State against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 2, 2019.
Most 3-Pointers in a Game, Creighton History
3FG Name, Opponent Date
11 Mitch Ballock vs. DePaul 03/09/19
9 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
8 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Isaiah Zierden at DePaul 01/17/16
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
Most 3-Point Attempts in a Game, Creighton History
FGA Name, Opponent Date
18 Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
15 Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
Ty-Shon Alexander vs. Villanova 01/13/19
14 Kyle Korver vs. BYU 12/07/02
Kyle Korver at Nebraska 12/21/02
Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
The Big Man Puts On A Big Show
Ryan Kalkbrenner had career-highs with both 22 points and 15 rebounds in the Feb. 12 victory at Georgetown.
His 15 rebounds were three more than his previous best, done vs. Marquette on Jan. 1, 2022.
Kalkbrenner's 15 rebounds were the most by a Bluejay since Christian Bishop had 15 rebounds vs. Ohio last March in the win that clinched CU's first Sweet 16 trip since 1974.
Kalkbrenner's 15 rebounds were the most by a Bluejay in a true road win since Ben Walker had 15 in a win at Baylor on Dec. 4, 1999.
Making Kalkbrenner's accomplishments all the more impressive is that he played on an ankle he sprained on Feb. 1 in a win at No. 17 UConn. In that game and the two that followed, Kalkbrenner had a combined 11 points and 19 rebounds on 4-of-18 shooting before the performance, which included six dunks.
Kalkbrenner is the third Bluejay under Greg McDermott with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in the same game, joining Doug McDermott (33 points & 15 rebounds vs. Tulsa on 11/23/13) and Kenny Lawson Jr. (30 points & 18 rebounds vs. Saint Joseph's on 12/11/10).
Besides Kalkbrenner, the only BIG EAST players with a 20/15 this year are Julian Champagnie and Adama Sanogo (three times).
Feb. 12 Standouts
Creighton defeated Georgetown on Feb. 12 thanks to a combined 52 points and 27 rebounds from post players Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Hawkins.
It was the first time two Bluejays combined for more than 50 points and 25 rebounds in the same game since a Jan. 21, 1991 win at Bradley. On that day, Chad Gallagher had 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Bob Harstad added 26 points and 13 rebounds.
It was also the first time multiple Bluejays had 10 field goals in the same game since Jan. 5, 1991, also vs. Bradley. During that contest, Gallagher made 11 baskets and Harstad drained 12.
Passing Fancy
Creighton had a season-high 26 assists on 30 field goals in the Feb. 12 victory at Georgetown.
Creighton assisted on all 12 three-pointers, all nine dunks and five of its eight lay-ups. Two of its four unassisted hoops came on offensive putbacks.
Creighton's 26 assists were truly a team effort, as Trey Alexander (6), Ryan Hawkins (6) and Alex O'Connell (5) all had season-highs in helpers.
Creighton's 26 assists were its most at any site since having 28 on Dec. 1, 2020 vs. Nebraska-Omaha and its most in a true road game since distributing 28 assists on 33 baskets at Bradley on Jan. 7, 2012 on an evening that saw Doug McDermott score 44 points.
CU's 26 assists exceeded its number of assists in its previous three games (24), combined.
Jays Surpass 25K at CHI
Creighton has scored 25,105 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, surpassing 25,000 points on Feb. 14, 2022 vs. Georgetown on a bucket by Ryan Hawkins.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 25,105 to 21,062 at the 19-year old facility in 321 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 24-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Ka. Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15 16,000-13,498 (211) Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16 17,000-14,349 (224) Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17 18,000-15,166 (235) Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17 19,000-15,927 (246) Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18 20,000-16,741 (258) Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19 21,000-17,619 (270) Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19 22,000-18,463 (282) Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20 23,000-19,280 (294) Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
02/13/21 24,000-20,103 (306) Zegarowski FG vs. #5 Villanova
02/14/22 25,000-20,950 (320) Hawkins 3FG vs. Georgetown
Technically Speaking
Greg McDermott was issued a rare technical foul when the officials booked the Creighton head coach on Feb. 8th vs. Butler.
It was just the fifth technical foul that McDermott has been whistled for in 12 years on the Bluejay sideline, and his first since Dec. 8, 2018 at Nebraska. McDermott also picked up technical fouls on Jan. 27, 2018 vs. Georgetown, March 3, 2015 vs. Villanova and Jan. 17, 2015 against Providence.
Some other facts about technical fouls...
- Greg McDermott had two technical fouls in his four seasons as Iowa State head coach and five technical fouls in five years as head coach at Northern Iowa. That means Feb. 8th was his 680th game in 21 seasons as a Division I head coach, but just his 12th technical.
- It remains just the fifth technical foul issued to a Creighton coach in the first 319 games at CHI Health Center Omaha. Besides four to McDermott, Dana Altman was also given one on Feb. 17, 2007.
- It was just the 35th technical foul Creighton has been called for in 12 seasons under Greg McDermott. Others with technical fouls include Alex O'Connell (4), Gregory Echenique (3), Maurice Watson Jr. (3), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (2), Justin Patton (2), Damien Jefferson (2), Will Artino (1), Steve Lutz (1), Avery Dingman (1), Isaiah Zierden (1), Khyri Thomas (1), Christian Bishop (1), Arthur Kaluma (1), Martin Krampelj (1), Denzel Mahoney (1), Davion Mintz (1) and Ryan Nembhard (1). KeyShawn Feazell picked up a technical foul on Feb. 14 vs. Georgetown, as well. Since McDermott took over prior to 2010-11, the Bluejays own 36 technical fouls in 404 games (compared to 65 by its opponents).
- Since the start of the 1994-95 season, Creighton had played 908 games and been charged with 75 technical fouls.
Work Of Art
Arthur Kaluma led Creighton in scoring on Feb. 8 with 16 points vs. Butler, the latest in a string of good performances by the Bluejay freshman.
Prior to missing the last three wins with an injury, Kaluma averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last three games and his 11.6 points per game over CU's previous five games led the team.
Kaluma, who made 16-of-32 free throws (50 percent) in CU's first 17 games, has drained 12-of-14 foul shots (85.7 percent) since then.
Best In Class
Seniors Ryan Hawkins (365 points) and Alex O'Connell (321 points) are atop the Bluejay leaderboard when it comes to points scored this season.
No Bluejay senior has led the team in scoring since 2017-18 (Marcus Foster), and the last time CU's top two scorers were seniors was 2013-14 (Doug McDermott & Ethan Wragge).
On the other end of the spectrum, freshman Ryan Nembhard leads the Bluejays with 33 steals so far this season. CU hasn't had its steals leader be a freshman since P'Allen Stinnett in 2007-08.
Stepping It Up
Ryan Hawkins has averaged 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in seven contests against ranked teams, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 45.9 percent from three-point range and 94.1 percent at the line.
By comparison, Hawkins averages 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds against unranked foes, shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from downtown and 75.0 percent from the stripe.
They Are Called Free Throws, After All
After shooting a combined 124-for-161 (77.0 percent) from the line over the last 10 games, Creighton has climbed to 72.8 percent shooting at the free throw line for the season (131st nationally). That's a significant improvement over last year's team that ranked 322nd nationally with 64.0 percent marksmanship at the stripe.
Individually, Alex O'Connell is shooting 84.4 percent and has sunk 27 of his last 31 free throws, Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 29 of his last 37 attempts and Ryan Hawkins has drained 23 of his past 27 tries.
As a team, Creighton is shooting 79.1 percent (68-86) in the last two minutes of a game or overtime this season and 77.1 percent (108-140) in the last five minutes of a game or overtime.
All Ball
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in the BIG EAST and 15th nationally with 2.77 blocked shots per game, a figure that ranks as the best by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin averaged 5.06 blocks per game in 1984-85.
Though he's got an uphill climb to catch Big Ben, Kalkbrenner is still on track to become the first Bluejay to average more than 2.00 blocks per game since Chad Gallagher (2.19) in 1990-91.
Kalkbrenner's 72 swats are the second-most in school history by a sophomore, but still far behind Benjamin's 157 in 1983-84. Benjamin, who had seasons of 162, 157 and 92 rejections, is the only player with more.
Of Kalkbrenner's 72 blocked shots this year, only 15 have gone out of bounds, whereas Creighton has rebounded 39 of the rejections.
Making the 7-foot-1 sophomore's accomplishments all the more impressive is that the big man owns 72 blocks but has been called for just 37 fouls. Through games of Feb. 20, that made him the nation's only player with more than 50 blocked shots and 37 personal fouls or less.
Kalkbrenner owns 110 career blocked shots. He ranks seventh in Creighton history in that category and became the third-fastest Bluejay to reach 100 blocks when he did it in his 53rd career game.
Most Career Blocked Shots (Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
174 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
110 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Present
109 Doug Swenson 1997-99
104 Joe Dabbert 2000-04
82 Christian Bishop 2018-21
Most Blocked Shots, Season (Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
162 Benoit Benjamin (Jr.) 1984-85
157 Benoit Benjamin (So.) 1983-84
92 Benoit Benjamin (Fr.) 1982-83
72 Ryan Kalkbrenner (So.) 2021-22
70 Chad Gallagher (Sr.) 1990-91
62 Chad Gallagher (Jr.) 1989-90
62 Gregory Echenique (Sr.) 2012-13
57 Doug Swenson (Jr.) 1997-98
57 Anthony Tolliver (Sr.) 2006-07
57 Gregory Echenique (Jr.) 2011-12
56 Brody Deren (Jr.) 2002-03
56 Kenny Lawson Jr. (So.) 2008-09
Fewest Games to 100 Career Blocks
Games Name Date, Opponent
31 Benoit Benjamin 12/6/83 vs. Rockhurst
47 Doug Swenson 1/30/99 at Northern Iowa
53 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2/8/22 vs. Butler
57 Gregory Echenique 2/14/12 at Southern Illinois
64 Brody Deren 3/9/03 vs. Wichita State
84 Kenny Lawson Jr. 1/3/10 at Evansville
91 Chad Gallagher 2/19/90 at Drake
105 Anthony Tolliver 1/6/07 at Evansville
121 Joe Dabbert 2/18/04 vs. Indiana State
SWAT Team
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns a blocked shot in each of Creighton's last 24 games, including multiple rejections in all but three of those contests.
Kalkbrenner is the first Bluejay with a swat in 20 straight games or longer since Benoit Benjamin began a streak of 28 consecutive contests with a swat on Dec. 14, 1984, a streak that only ended when he left early for the NBA Draft.
You've Been Blocked!
Ryan Kalkbrenner had five blocked shots on both Nov. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Nov. 27 vs. SIUE. Just how rare is that? In Greg McDermott's 12 years on the Creighton sideline, the only Bluejay with multiple games of 5+ blocks in the same season had been Gregory Echenique, who did it in 2010-11 (2x) as well as 2012-13 (4x).
Kalkbrenner owns seven different games this season with five blocks or more, with three of those coming against top-25 foes (BYU, Villanova, Xavier).
Kalkbrenner became the first Bluejay with five swats in consecutive games since Benoit Benjamin did it in six straight games from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 1985. Benjamin had a streak of 7, 12, 6, 5, 5 and 6 rejections during that stretch.
Benjamin set MVC records that still stand with 411 career blocks and 162 rejections in 1984-85.
Block Party
After owning seven or more blocked shots in a game just nine times in Greg McDermott's first 11 seasons on the Bluejay sideline, Creighton has eight contests this winter with at least seven swats.
Creighton is 11-6 all-time under McDermott when blocking seven or more shots, and the six losses have come by a combined 34 points.
Creighton's 4.58 blocked shots per game as a team this winter is its best figure since averaging 6.03 blocks per game in 1984-85.
Creighton is 8-3 this season when blocking six shots or more.
Top 25 Success
A 79-59 win vs. No. 9 Villanova coupled with an 83-71 win vs. No. 24 BYU means Creighton owns a pair double-digit wins over top-25 competition this season, something only 12 other schools can also claim. Gonzaga has done it four times, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Villanova have done it three times while Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Iowa State, Memphis and Rutgers have also done it twice.
The Bluejays have now beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the last seven seasons (2015-16 to 2021-22), something only Baylor, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova can also claim. Four other schools have beaten multiple top-25 foes in each of the previous six seasons -- Florida State (1), Michigan (1), Penn State (1) and West Virginia (1) but are still seeking two top-25 wins this winter.
Creighton's Most Top-25 Wins, Season
Wins Season Top-25 Victims
6 2019-20 #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
#12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
#21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
4 2016-17 #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
#16 Butler, #22 Xavier
4 2017-18 #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
#20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
3 2020-21 #5 Villanova, #22 Xavier, #23 UConn
3 2021-22 #9 Villanova, #17 UConn, #24 BYU
2 1973-74 #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
2 2001-02 #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
2 2006-07 #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
2 2013-14 #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
2 2015-16 #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
2 2018-19 #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson
Frosh Watch
Creighton is winning at a regular rate despite playing three freshmen (Trey Alexander, Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Nembhard) more than 24 minutes per game.
On a national basis through Feb. 20, only 144 players classified as freshmen (true, redshirt or otherwise) were playing 24 minutes per game per Basketball-Reference.com.
Only seven of those freshmen are from the BIG EAST, and besides Alexander, Kaluma and Nembhard the only other true freshmen in the BIG EAST playing 24 minutes per game or more are Georgetown's Aminu Mohammed and Butler's Jayden Taylor.
CU is the only team nationally to play three true freshmen more than 24 minutes per game.
And speaking of freshman minutes, Nembhard ranks third nationally among true freshmen with 35.1 minutes per game. The next-closest freshman from a Power 5 or BIG EAST program is Boston College's Jaeden Zackery (34.0 mpg.).
Youth Is Served
Creighton has just seven non-freshmen on this year's roster, and is playing multiple freshmen on a consistent basis this season. Creighton has had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game this season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
Creighton has outscored teams by 131 when it has two freshmen or less on the court, but have been outscored by 40 points when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
All told, 2413:39 of Creighton's 5,250 total minutes (45.97 percent) have been played by freshmen this season.
By comparison, last season Creighton had a freshman on the floor just 32.4 percent of the time and had multiple freshmen on the floor just 17 minutes (of 1,250) all season (1.4 percent). Only 7.5 percent (465:52 of 6250) of CU's overall minutes were played by freshmen in 2020-21.
Freshmen Time Score Margin
0 freshmen: Never -- --
1 freshmen: 33:45 54-49 +5
2 freshmen: 669:55 1,224-1,098 +126
3 freshmen: 272:58 478-490 (-12)
4 freshmen: 45:54 54-85 (-31)
5 freshmen: 1:28 5-2 +3
Kalkbrenner Doubles Up
Midway into his sophomore season, Ryan Kalkbrenner has surpassed all of his totals from all of last season already.
Last season Kalkbrenner had 182 points, 108 rebounds, 38 blocks and 29 dunks in 422 minutes. This year Kalkbrenner owns 309 points, 191 rebounds, 72 blocks and 52 dunks in 728 minutes.
A big part of that has been his increased stamina. Even though his minutes per game have nearly doubled from 13.6 to 27.6 minutes per game, his per-minute stats have also risen.
Per 40 Minutes - Ryan Kalkbrenner
Year PTS/40 REB/40 BLOCKS/40 DUNKS/40
2020-21 17.3 10.2 3.6 2.7
2021-22 17.0 10.5 4.0 2.9
Arthur The Great?
Arthur Kaluma is just Creighton's fifth true freshman since 1983-84 to average 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The only others to do it are Doug McDermott (2010-11), Rodney Buford (1995-96), Bob Harstad (1987-88) and Chad Gallagher (1987-88).
What do McDermott, Buford, Harstad and Gallagher have in common? They rank as the top four career scorers in Creighton Basketball history.
8 PPG & 4 RPG as True Freshmen Since 1983-84
Name, Fr. Year Fr. PPG Fr. RPG Career Pts.
Doug McDermott, 2010-11 14.9 7.2 3,150
Rodney Buford, 1995-96 14.5 4.2 2,116
Bob Harstad, 1987-88 9.0 8.5 2,110
Chad Gallagher, 1987-88 11.4 5.3 1,983
Arthur Kaluma, 2021-22 9.3 5.0 204
Not Your Ordinary Freshman
Arthur Kaluma had a season-high 20 points on Jan. 19 vs. St. John's.
Kaluma (9.0 ppg.) and classmate Ryan Nembhard (11.5 ppg.) are attempting to become the seventh and eighth Creighton freshmen in the past 28 seasons to average at least 10 points per game.
In that span, five previous Bluejay freshmen have averaged 10.5 points per game or more, and each was named league Freshman of the Year.
Before this season, Creighton hadn't had a freshman score 20 points in a game since Marcus Zegarowski vs. Coe on Dec. 20, 2018.
Nembhard, who had a career-high 23 points vs. Xavier on Jan. 29, is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 20 points or more as a true freshman since Doug McDermott in 2010-11.
CU Freshmen With 20+ Point Games, Since 1994-95
20+ Point Games Name Season
6 Rodney Buford 1995-96
6 Doug McDermott 2010-11
5 Justin Patton 2016-17
4 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-08
3 Kyle Korver 1999-00
2 Terrell Taylor 1999-00
2 Ryan Nembhard 2021-22
1 Ryan Sears 1999-00
1 Ben Walker 1999-00
1 Ethan Wragge 2009-10
1 Toby Hegner 2014-15
1 Khyri Thomas 2015-16
1 Mitch Ballock 2017-18
1 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-19
1 Arthur Kaluma 2021-22
Most Points Per Game, CU Freshmen, Since 1994-95
PPG Name Season
14.9 *Doug McDermott 2010-11
14.5 *Rodney Buford 1995-96
12.9 *Justin Patton 2015-16
12.6 *P'Allen Stinnett 2007-08
11.5 Ryan Nembhard 2021-22
10.5 *Ryan Sears 1997-98
10.4 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-19
*Went on to win league Freshman of the Year
Filling The Gym
Creighton ranks sixth nationally this season with 16,524 fans per home game.
2021-22 NCAA Home Attendance Per Game Leaders
Through 2/20/22
Rank School Average
1. Kentucky 19,223
2. Arkansas 19,001
3. Syracuse 18,717
4. North Carolina 18,316
5. Tennessee 17,706
6. Creighton 16,524
7. Wisconsin 16,393
8. Kansas 16,243
9. Indiana 15,673
10. BYU 15,254
Kaluma In Elite Company
Arthur Kaluma is one of four freshmen nationally from the BIG EAST or a Power Five Conference to be averaging at least 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocked shots per game this season.
He's joined by a pair of projected top-3 NBA Draft picks, Duke's Paolo Banchero and Auburn's Jabari Smith, as well as Michigan's Moussa Diabate.
Power 5/BIG EAST Frosh With 9 PPG/4 RPG/0.7 BPG
Name, School PPG RPG BPG
Paolo Banchero, Duke 16.9 8.4 1.0
Jabari Smith, Auburn 16.3 6.7 1.0
Moussa Diabate, Michigan 9.3 5.7 0.8
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton 9.3 5.0 0.7
What's The Difference?
Creighton is off to a 10-5 start in league play, but the difference in a number of categories really jump out.
Stat 10 BE Wins 5 BE Losses
Points Scored Per Game 73.6 57.6
Points Allowed Per Game 63.0 75.0
Rebound Margin +5.6 -5.6
Offensive Rebounds/Game 11.0 7.2
3FG Made Per Game 8.6 5.0
A/TO Ratio 150/147 45/76
CU's FG% Defense .373 .441
After Halftime Score 368-313 156-227
Ryan Hawkins Points/Game 18.5 5.8
Ryan Kalkbrenner Reb./Game 9.1 5.4
R. Andronikashvili Assists/Game 1.9 0.2
Defense Steps Up
Creighton allowed just 15 points in the second half of its Jan. 22 victory vs. DePaul.
It was the fewest points allowed in the second half of a game against a Division I team since the Bluejays did it twice in a 10-day span in 2001 when Alan Huss was wrapping up his senior season.
DePaul's 47 points were the least allowed by Creighton in a conference game since joining the BIG EAST, and fewest since a 59-45 win vs. Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2013.
Iron Men
Creighton's Ryan Nembhard ranks second in the BIG EAST with 35.1 minutes per game as he attempts to become the first freshman to lead the BIG EAST in minutes per game (all games) in the last 15 seasons.
Nembhard's 35.1 minutes per game average in all games is on pace to be the most by a BIG EAST freshman in 10 years, as Providence's LaDontae Henton (37.2), St. John's Maurice Harkless (36.1) and St. John's D'Angelo Harrison (35.3) all did it in 2011-12. No BIG EAST freshman has averaged more than 34 minutes per game since.
Hawkins, Villanova or COVID?
It's tough to predict who will win the national title in mid-January, but if the past is any indication, there was a good chance an unstoppable force was on the floor at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 5th.
Each of the past six basketball seasons have seen either Villanova, Ryan Hawkins or COVID-19 emerge above all others end the season.
Villanova won the Division I national title in 2015-16 and 2017-18.
Hawkins was part of the Northwest Missouri State teams that won national titles at the Division II level in 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2020-21.
COVID-19 ended the 2019-20 season, a year in which Creighton and Villanova were likely headed towards top-three seeds. Meanwhile, Hawkins' Northwest Missouri State team was the top-ranked squad in the Division II ranks and finished with 31-1 overall record and on a 23-game win streak.
Year National Champion
2015-16 Villanova
2016-17 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
2017-18 Villanova
2018-19 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
2019-20 COVID-19
2020-21 Ryan Hawkins (Northwest Missouri State)
Up, Up And Away
Since Feb. 19, 2019, Creighton owns a 42-16 mark in regular-season BIG EAST games. That's two more wins than anyone else in the league in that time.
Not only that, but Creighton owned the most wins to close the 2018-19 season after Feb. 19th, tied for the most wins in 2019-20, and had the most wins in 2020-21 as well.
Conference Records Since Feb. 19, 2019
(Through Feb. 21, 2022)
Team After 2/19/19 '19-20 '20-21 '21-22 Total
Creighton 5-0 13-5 14-6 10-5 42-16
Villanova 2-3 13-5 11-4 14-3 40-15
Providence 3-2 12-6 9-10 12-2 36-20
UConn 2-4# 10-8# 11-6 10-5 33-23
Seton Hall 2-3 13-5 10-9 7-8 32-25
Marquette 2-4 8-10 8-11 9-7 27-32
Xavier 4-1 8-10 6-7 7-8 25-26
Butler 1-4 10-8 8-12 6-11 25-35
St. John's 1-4 5-13 10-9 7-8 23-34
Georgetown 4-2 5-13 7-9 0-15 16-39
DePaul 2-3 3-15 2-13 3-13 10-44
#includes 2018-19 and 2019-20 in the AAC
Among The Best
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 128 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 93 league victories are second-most.
Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins, 2013-14 to 2/18/22
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 128 30 .810
Creighton 93 68 .578
Providence 90 68 .570
Xavier 87 67 .565
Seton Hall 83 76 .522
Butler 78 85 .479
Marquette 77 84 .478
St. John's 61 98 .384
Georgetown 58 98 .372
DePaul 33 124 .210
Connecticut 21 11 .656
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 26 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including three such rallies this season. In its Jan. 22 win vs. DePaul, CU trailed 34-23 a minute into the second half before beginning its push.
Twelve of those 26 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's comeback from 16 points down vs. SIUE on Nov. 27 was its biggest since rallying from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
10 UAB 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
Nembhard Bags Fifth Freshman Honor
Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season on Monday, Jan. 17th.
Nembhard had 18 points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds in an 80-73 defeat at #17 Xavier on Saturday. Nembhard's eight field goals were a season-best while his three steals matched his personal high.
The Aurora, Ontario, Canada product was previously honored on Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29 and Dec. 20.
Nembhard is Creighton men's basketball's first player named Freshman or Newcomer of the Week five times in the same season since Doug McDermott was recognized as Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week seven times in 2010-11.
O'Connell Can
Senior Alex O'Connell has scored in double-figures in 12 of the past 17 games.
After scoring in double-figures in 16 of 125 contests over his first four seasons at Duke and Creighton, O'Connell has scored 10 or more points in 18-of-26 battles this season.
He scored a career-high 22 points at No. 17 Xavier on Jan. 15th, making 7-of-10 shots, 4-of-6 three-pointers and all four free throw tries, before upping that with a new high of 28 points vs. St. John's on Jan. 19, including a career-high six three-pointers. He also scored 27 points on Feb. 14 in a win vs. Georgetown.
The Georgia native is averaging 12.3 points per game overall this season and 13.1 points per game in BIG EAST action.
We're Jamming!
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 52 dunks this season and 81 in his career. As a team, Creighton owns 100 dunks this season, including nine vs. Georgetown on Feb. 12th.
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
52 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
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
90 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
81 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
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
144 2016-17 25-10 (NCAA)
107 2017-18 21-12 (NCAA)
106 2018-19 20-15 (NIT)
100 2021-22 18-8 so far
90 2020-21 22-9 (NCAA)
60 2019-20 24-7 (Postseason Canceled)
58 2015-16 20-15 (NIT)
56 2010-11 23-16 (CBI)
54 2012-13 28-8 (NCAA)
42 2011-12 29-6 (NCAA)
35 2013-14 27-8 (NCAA)
29 2014-15 14-19
Our 2, D Too
Unlike past Creighton teams that thrived from three-point land, this year's Bluejay squad is dominating from two-point range.
Creighton ranks 37th nationally (per BartTorvik.com) with its shooting 54.1 percent from two-point range. That includes a 58.7 percent mark from inside the paint.
Defensively, Creighton is holding the opposition to 43.2 percent shooting from two-point range, the nation's ninth-best figure. That's CU's best mark under McDermott, far surpassing the 45.5 percent mark allowed by the 2012-13 club. Bluejay foes are shooting just 47.2 percent in the paint this season.
#1 In The Record Book; #44 In Your Program
Ryan Hawkins leads every active player at the Division I level in career rebounds (1,145) and field goals made (882) and is second in points (2,463).
Hawkins also ranks in the top 11 among the nation's active Division I players in double-doubles (4th), games played (7th), three-pointers made (10th) and steals (11th).
And while it's not among the categories the NCAA tracks among active players, it's worth noting that Hawkins owns 109 career games of 10 or more points. The NCAA Division I record in that category is 135, done by former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-7 record in its last 24 conference openers after a 79-59 win vs. Villanova in its last outing.
Greg McDermott is 12-9 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-4 mark at Creighton (6-3 in the BIG EAST).
The last team to win a share of any BIG EAST regular-season title after losing the league opener was the 2012-13 Georgetown club. No squad has won an outright title after losing the league opener since Notre Dame won the West Division in 2000-01. And no team has won a league outright title in a one-division BIG EAST after losing the league lid-lifter since Georgetown in 1988-89.
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year Won (Final W-L) Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11 Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12 Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13 Evansville (13-5)
2013-14 Marquette (14-4)
2014-15 Providence (4-14)
2015-16 St. John's (9-9)
2016-17 Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18 Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19 Providence (9-9)
2019-20 Marquette (13-5)
2020-21 Marquette (14-6)
2021-22 #9 Villanova (TBD)
Hawkins Scores 25
Ryan Hawkins scored 25 points vs. No. 19 Iowa State. It was the 96th time in his career that the Atlantic, Iowa native scored in double-figures, and was the 46th time he's scored 20 points or more in a game.
At the time, Hawkins' 25 points were the most by a Bluejay in any game this season, and most by any CU player against a top-25 team since Marcus Zegarowski scored 25 points in an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova on Feb. 13, 2021.
Hawkins then scored 25 points against No. 24 BYU in his next outing, making him the first Bluejay with back-to-back games of 25 or more points since Marcus Foster had consecutive 29 point efforts on Feb. 7 & 10, 2018.
Hawkins is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 25+ points vs. top-25 teams in the same season since Ty-Shon Alexander in 2018-19. Marcus Foster in 2017-18 is the last person with three such games in a season.
At The Buzzer!
Ryan Nembhard drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds to sink a floater as time expired to give Creighton a 66-64 win vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 22 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.
Ironically enough, the game-ending play was installed several years ago by former Bluejay assistant Paul Lusk, himself a Southern Illinois grad.
The basket was Creighton's first go-ahead shot as time expired since Booker Woodfox beat Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2009.
Prior to Woodfox, Creighton's last previous buzzer-beater had also come against Wichita State, as Anthony Tolliver's shot from the right baseline beat Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2006.
Nate Funk also hit a buzzer-beater to beat Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls.
Shots by those four men remain the only game-winning buzzer-beaters by Creighton since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Only In 2020-21 (Let's Hope)
Though Creighton's 14 BIG EAST wins last season were three more than any other team in the BIG EAST, the Bluejays were the second seed in the conference tournament since the league decided before the season to go by winning percentage to determine a league champion and seeds.
The BIG EAST wasn't alone in this. It was one of eight leagues that saw the top team in winning percentage not be the same team that had the most conference wins.
Wins Leader Not League Champ, Nationally, in 2020-21
League Conf. Wins Leader Conf. Champ
American Houston, 14-3 Wichita St., 11-2
BIG EAST Creighton, 14-6 Villanova, 11-4
Big 10 Illinois, 16-4 Michigan, 14-3
Conf-USA UAB, 13-5 Louisiana Tech, 12-4
MEAC Norfolk St., 8-4 North Carolina A&T, 7-1
Coppin State, 8-4
MWC Utah State, 15-4 San Diego St., 14-3
Pac-12 USC, 15-5 Oregon, 14-4
Summit South Dakota, 11-4 South Dakota St., 9-3
N. Dakota St., 11-4
Five Threats To Score
All five of Creighton's regular starters are averaging at least 9.3 points per game this season, a fact made all the more impressive when you consider that these men owned a total of ZERO career starts as a Bluejay entering this winter.
Creighton has won 24 straight games when five or more players have 10 points or more.
Nembhard's Big Day
Playing his first collegiate road game, freshman point guard Ryan Nembhard thrived in a hostile environment in Lincoln. The Canadian native had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, the only other Bluejays with a 20/5/5 game were Mitch Ballock (1), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (1), Doug McDermott (2), Khyri Thomas (2), Maurice Watson Jr. (2) and Marcus Zegarowski (3).
Nembhard is CU's first freshman with a 20/5/5 line since at least 1981-82.
Nembhard's 22 points were the most by a Bluejay of any year in their first game vs. Nebraska since at least 1980.
Nembhard Earns All-Tourney Honors
Ryan Nembhard earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Paradise Jam after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games.
Nembhard shot 55.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the line and made a shot at the buzzer vs. Southern Illinois in the third-place game.
He is CU's first true freshman to pick up All-Tournament Team honors at any event since Doug McDermott was named to the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge All-Tournament Team in 2010.
Like A Hawk
Ryan Hawkins had 10 or more rebounds in each of CU's first three games. He's the first Bluejay to do that to start a season since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 27 consecutive double-figure rebounding games to open his junior campaign in 1984-85.
Hawkins owns 46 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 939 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 (2/20)
Rk. Streak School Next
1. 1,156 UNLV 2/22
2. 1,140 Duke 2/23
3. 1,090 Western Kentucky 2/26
4. 1,080 East Tennessee State 2/23
5. 1,058 Oakland 2/24
6. 1,056 Pacific 2/21
7. 1,050 Texas 2/23
8. 996 Marshall 2/21
9. 989 Baylor 2/21
10. 981 Princeton 2/25
11. 975 Gonzaga 2/24
12. 952 Long Island 2/24
13. 939 Creighton 2/23
14. 937 Mount St. Mary's 2/24
15. 926 Tennessee State 2/24
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 939 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,398 trifectas, an average of 7.88 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 140 times, more than any figure.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 265 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Creighton has also made a trifecta in the first half of 309 straight games (since going 0-7 vs. Drake on Jan. 23, 2013).
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 44-7 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 18-16 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 5 times 2: 16 times 3: 33 times
4: 72 times 5: 100 times 6: 101 times
7: 140 times 8: 117 times 9: 90 times
10: 77 times 11: 53 times 12: 51 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
Winning With Defense
Creighton's made its reputation on the offensive side with its "Let It Fly" philosophy, but the Bluejays have won thanks in large part to their defense so far this season.
Creighton held each of its first four opponents under 40 percent from the field for the first time since at least 1980-81.
Creighton is holding teams to 39.6 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.
Assists 'R' Us
Ryan Nembhard's 10 assists in CU's season-opener were the most by a Bluejay freshman in any game since Marcus Zegarowski had 10 on March 9, 2018 vs. DePaul. He was the nation's ONLY freshman with 10+ assists on the opening night of the college basketball season.
Prior to Nembhard, no Bluejay (of any year) had dished 10 or more assists in a season-opener since Edward St. Fleur on Nov. 22, 1996 at Wyoming.
Making An Entrance
Arthur Kaluma (15) and Ryan Nembhard (15) became CU's first true freshmen to debut with 10 points or more since Khyri Thomas had 18 points vs. Texas Southern in 2015.
Nembhard (15 pts., 10 ast.) and Ryan Hawkins (16 pts., 11 reb.) were the first Bluejays since at least 1980 with double-doubles in the season-opener of their debut campaign. No CU player (of any year) had started the season with a double-double since Will Artino (14 pts., 10 reb.) in 2014-15 vs. Central Arkansas.
Kaluma's eight rebounds were the most by a true freshman in the regular-season opener since Martin Krampelj in 2015 and the most by any Bluejay freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Patton snared eight rebounds in his 2016 debut.
Kaluma had four blocked shots on Nov. 9 vs. UAPB. The last previous Bluejay newcomer with multiple blocked shots in a season-opener? That'd be Artino on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. North Carolina A&T. Kaluma's four swats were the most by any Bluejay (of any year) on Opening Day since Jeffrey Day had five swats vs. Alcorn State to open the 2004-05 campaign.
Kaluma (15 & 8) became Creighton's second freshman since at least 1973 to debut with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds, joining Doug McDermott (16 & 7) in 2010.
Ryan Hawkins grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the most by a Bluejay since Damien Jefferson had 12 in 2018. Other than Jefferson, no one's had more than 11 rebounds in their CU debut since Cyril Baptiste snared 17 caroms in 1969. When Hawkins followed with 10 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State, he became CU's first player (of any year) with 10+ rebounds in CU's first two games since Doug Swenson in 1998-99.
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Between 1992-93 and 2020-21, only four true freshmen started Creighton's regular-season opener. Then on Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma got the nod on opening night. Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists while Kaluma owned 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
This season marked the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos).
About the other true freshmen to start...
Ryan Sears did so in 1997-98. The point guard would go on to start all 124 games of his CU career and remains the program's all-time career assist (570) and steals (283) leader.
Doug McDermott did so in 2010-11, and he went on to start all 145 games of his career. He would graduate as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and is the only three-time First Team All-American since 1986. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
Khyri Thomas got a start in 2015-16 and remained in CU's starting five each of his first 24 games, and 96-of-102 career contests with the Jays. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in the NBA.
Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State. Mitchell finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of work.
My Name Is...
Only five men who played for Creighton last season are back this winter, and none of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game.
Per research by TCU, Creighton's 18.0 percent of minutes returning ranks third-lowest among all teams nationally, and is the least among all teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 Conference.
Lowest Percentage of Minutes Returning
School Pct. of Minutes Returning
Tennessee-Martin 0.0
Portland 8.5
Creighton 18.0
Missouri 19.7
Duquesne 23.2
Iowa State 25.1
Robert Morris 26.3
Boston College 27.6
South Alabama 28.6
TCU 29.2
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only five of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that much of the production from 2020-21 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Starts 2 (1.3%) 153 (98.7%)
3FG Made 25 (8.5%) 268 (91.5%)
Assists 68 (14.0%) 417 (86.0%)
Points 371 (15.8%) 1,984 (84.2%)
Minutes 1,124 (18.0%) 5,126 (82.0%)
Steals 39 (18.1%) 177 (81.9%)
Rebounds 207 (20.7%) 794 (79.3%)
Charges Taken 5 (29.4%) 12 (70.6%)
Blocks 39 (37.9%) 64 (62.1%)
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 38 of the last 39 seasons.
Last year five Bluejays appeared in an NBA game, as McDermott was joined by Ty-Shon Alexander, Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas and Anthony Tolliver.
McDermott is in his eighth season in the NBA. Last year he with Indiana he averaged a career-high 13.6 points per game.
Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through Feb. 20, 2022
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 3,567 3rd
3FG Percentage .379 3rd
FG Percentage .478 4th
Assists 6,465 5th
FG Made 11,018 9th
Points 30,845 9th
Wins 271 30th
Winning Percentage .671 32nd
Top-10 Class
Creighton signed four top-100 players en route to inking the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. That also ranks as the best class in the BIG EAST Conference.
Here's how the nation's top-10 classes shake out:
1. Memphis
2. Michigan
3. Gonzaga
4. Tennessee
5. Duke
6. LSU
7. Creighton
8. Florida State
9. Connecticut
10. Kentucky
In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 22 wins last season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
Only six teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous six seasons: Belmont, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
21 of 23 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 21 of the last 23 seasons (entering 2021-22), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 23 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 22 times, Creighton and Kentucky 21 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 23 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons 2020-21 W-L
Gonzaga 23 31-1
Kansas 23 21-9
Duke 22 13-11
Creighton 21 22-9
Kentucky 21 9-16
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 271 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .671 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. 271-133 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
Who Are These Guys?
For the first time since at least 1980-81, Creighton will not return any of its five starters as Mitch Ballock, Christian Bishop, Damien Jefferson, Denzel Mahoney and Marcus Zegarowski are all gone after combining to make 152-of-155 possible starts last season.
In fact, there's only been four previous times in the last 40 years that just one starter has returned. Those four occurrences came in 1985-86 (went 12-16), 2007-08 (22-11), 2014-15 (14-19) and
2015-16 (20-15).
Shereef Mitchell started two games last season when Zegarowski was injured, and no other active Bluejay had ever started a game for CU prior to CU's Nov. 9 season-opener. In the previous 40 seasons, Creighton's always returned players who combined for at least 40 starts in the previous season.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2021-22 0 2 ? ? ?
2020-21 5 124 22-9
2019-20 4 136 24-7
2018-19 2 57 20-15
2017-18 2 72 21-12
2016-17 4 130 25-10
2015-16 1 64 20-15
2014-15 1 49 14-19
2013-14 4 144 27-8
2012-13 4 140 28-8
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton continued to be highly regarded by KenPom.com, and finished last season ranked 22nd overall. That included the nation's No. 25 offense, and No. 32 defense.
Creighton had not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
Last season was the sixth different time in the last 10 seasons that Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom.
Creighton has finished with an offensive and defensive rating in the top-83 nationally every season since 2015-16. Nationally, the only nine other schools that can claim that (entering 2021-22) are Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Maryland, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Team W-L
2010-11 66 174 23-16
2011-12 5 166 29-6
2012-13 5 66 28-8
2013-14 2 124 27-8
2014-15 59 138 14-19
2015-16 43 76 20-15
2016-17 32 46 25-10
2017-18 25 58 21-12
2018-19 47 83 20-15
2019-20 3 78 24-7
2020-21 25 32 22-9
2021-22 118 29 18-8 so far
Playing With The Lead
In 321 games at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 85 of those contests, a staggering 26.5 percent of the time.
Under Greg McDermott at home, Creighton is
167-39 and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. He owns an 91-8 record vs. non-conference teams at CHI Health Center Omaha.
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 321 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 19-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 264-57 (.822) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 25,105-21,062 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.60 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 85 different times.
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 40-27 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 167-39 (.811) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. In that same span, CU owns an 91-8 home record vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 283-57 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.64 points per home game (16,611 points in 206 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.08 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.
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
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :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
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season went on sale on October 18th. Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs. Utah Tech Press Conference - 12/22/25
Friday, December 19
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. Marquette Press Conference - 12/20/25
Friday, December 19
Greg McDermot Interview After Xavier Win - 12/17/25
Thursday, December 18
Creighton Men's Basketball Highlights vs. Kansas State - 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
