Men's Basketball Hosts #18 UConn on Wednesday

Game #29: #18 Connecticut Huskies at Creighton Bluejays
Wednesday, March. 2, 2022 • 7:30 p.m.
CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM; 1620thezone.com; KOOO 101.9 FM; XM 388; SiriusXM app 978
Television: FS1 (Kevin Kugler, Nick Bahe)
Series History: Creighton leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: Creighton 59, #17 Connecticut 55 on 2/1/22 in Hartford, Conn.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | UCONN NOTES (PDF)

Next Game
Creighton (19-9, 11-6 BIG EAST) opens the final week of the regular-season with a home game against No. 18 Connecticut (21-7, 12-5 BIG EAST) that could decide the No. 3 seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament.
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Fan Appreciation Night
A special 90-minute beverage promotion will be available to early-arriving fans on Wednesday before the Bluejays take on Connecticut at 7:30 p.m. Venue doors open at 6:00 pm, and the promotion, available from 6:00-7:30 pm, only, includes 12-ounce beers and soft drinks for $1.00 each in the Bud Light Zone area.

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 978 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 388.

Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game will be called by Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe 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
Picked to finish eighth in the preseason BIG EAST poll, Creighton has won six of its last seven games to improve to 19-9 this season, and 11-6 (fourth place) in league play.
   The Bluejays already own three top-25 wins this season, having defeated No. 9 Villanova (79-59), No. 17 UConn (59-55) and No. 24 BYU (83-71), and are 10-3 at 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 11.3 points per game, including the trio of Ryan Hawkins (14.3 ppg., 7.8 rpg.), Ryan Nembhard (11.3 ppg., 4.4 apg.) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (12.2 ppg., 7.4 rpg., 2.8 bpg.). Nembhard, however, was injured on Feb. 23 and will miss the rest of the year.
   Alex O'Connell (12.0 ppg., 5.2 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 38 percent of Creighton's points this season have come from freshmen, who composed much of the team's top-10 recruiting class.
   Creighton averages 69.5 points per game while allowing 66.9 per game. CU shoots 45.1 percent from the floor, 30.8 percent from deep and 72.4 percent at the line. The Jays are +2.7 on the glass but have also turned the ball over an average of 14.4 times per game.

Scouting #18 Connecticut
Connecticut is 21-7 overall and 12-6 in BIG EAST play. The Huskies have won five games in a row and own wins this season over Villanova, Auburn, Marquette (2x), among others.
   RJ Cole (16.1 ppg., 4.2 apg.), Adama Sanogo (14.9 ppg,. 8.2 rpg., 2.0 bpg.) and Tyrese Martin (13.3 ppg., 7.4 rpg.) pace the Huskies in scoring and Isaiah Whaley has 58 of UConn's league-high 184 blocked shots.
   The Huskies average 76.7 points per game and shoot 44.0 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from three-point range and 75.1 percent at the line. UConn outrebounds foes by 7.6 caroms per contest and holds foes to 39.9 percent shooting from the floor.

The Series With Connecticut
Creighton is 4-0 all-time against UConn, with all four meetings taking place in the last 15 months.
   Last year Creighton defeated the Huskies in Storrs (76-74), Omaha (74-66) and New York City (59-56).
   This year's first match-up was contested in Hartford and also won by the Bluejays, 59-55.
   Greg McDermott is 4-0 against Connecticut.
   McDermott is 4-1 all-time in head-to-head meetings vs. Dan Hurley, as Hurley's Rhode Island team defeated Creighton 84-72 in the First Round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament in a game contested in Sacramento, Calif.

The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 272-134 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 552-329 in his 28th season, and is 421-265 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 fourth straight home game.
- Creighton would clinch a top-five seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and opening round bye.
- Win or lose, Creighton will extend its stretch of being .500 or better in league play to 36 games, the BIG EAST's only active streak longer than 18.
- Creighton would improve to 5-0 against UConn all-time.
- Teams with Ryan Hawkins would improve to 179-17 at the college level, and 104-12 in league play.
- Creighton would improve to 28-40 all-time vs. top-25 teams under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would improve to 4-5 this season vs. top-25 teams, tied for the eighth-most top-25 wins nationally.
- Creighton would pick up its fourth top-25 win in a season for just the fourth time (joining 2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20).
- Creighton would improve to 11-5 in its last 16 BIG EAST games vs. top-25 teams at any site.
- Creighton would pick up its sixth Quad 1 win of the season.
- Creighton would improve to 5-2 against the top five teams in the current BIG EAST standings.

What's At Stake
Creighton can clinch a top-5 seed (and subsequent opening round bye) in the BIG EAST Tournament with a win in any of its final two games. A loss by Seton Hall in that time would also do the trick.
   UConn can clinch a top-three seed in the BIG EAST Tournament with a win on Wednesday at Creighton.

Groundhog Day?
Last season Creighton became the first BIG EAST team to beat UConn multiple times in the same season since Syracuse went 3-0 against the Huskies in 2011-12. That Syracuse team had also been the last BIG EAST team to beat the Huskies three times in the same campaign.
   Creighton is the only team that UConn has ever played four or more times without a victory.
   The only teams to ever beat UConn each of its first four meetings have been Creighton, Duke, Fordham, UMass, New Hampshire, New York University, Purdue, SMU, Syracuse, Worcester Polytechnic and Yale. Of that group, only Fordham, UMass, New Hampshire, New York University, Syracuse and Worcester Polytechnic have started 5-0 (or better) against the Huskies.
   Neither Creighton nor UConn has ever led by more than 12 points at any time in any of the 165 minutes over any of the four meetings during the past two seasons, which included 32 ties and 24 lead changes. In the game played in Storrs last winter, Creighton trailed by four points with 21 seconds left before eventually forcing overtime when Damien Jefferson scored with 0.2 seconds left in regulation.

In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton has 19 wins and is one victory shy of a seventh straight 20-win season.
   Creighton entered this season as one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last six seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon. All those other schools have 20 or more wins this season except Oregon (17).

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   2021-22 W-L
Gonzaga   23   31-1   24-3
Kansas   23   21-9   23-5
Duke   22   13-11   25-4
Creighton   21   22-9   19-9
Kentucky   21   9-16   23-6

On The Double!
Ryan Hawkins leads the BIG EAST in double-doubles, both overall and in league play.
   His 11 overall double-doubles are two more than Georgetown's Aminu Mohammed. His nine double-dips in league play are four more than UConn's Adama Sanogo and Seton Hall's Alexis Yetna.
   No BIG EAST player has had 11 or more double-doubles since 2019-20, when Xavier's Tyrique Jones (21), DePaul's Paul Reed (18) and Georgetown's Omer Yurtseven (13) all did so.
   Hawkins' 11 double-doubles are the most in a season by any Bluejay since Doug McDermott had 11 as a sophomore in 2011-12. No CU player has had 12 or more double-doubles since Bob Harstad had 12 in 1989-90.
Most CU Double-Doubles Since 1987-88, Season
   D-D   Name   Year
   13   Bob Harstad   1988-89
   12   Bob Harstad   1989-90
   11   Bob Harstad   1990-91
   11   Doug McDermott   2011-12
   11   Ryan Hawkins   2021-22
   10   Chad Gallagher   1990-91
   10   Doug McDermott   2012-13

Most CU Double-Doubles Since 1987-88, Career
   D-D   Name   Year
   42   Bob Harstad   1987-91
   37   Doug McDermott   2010-14
   24   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   13   Martin Krampelj   2015-19
   11   Rodney Buford   1995-99
   11   Anthony Tolliver   2003-07
   11   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
   11   Ryan Hawkins   2021-22

Alexander Named Wins Freshman Award, Again
Trey Alexander was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, Feb. 28th. Alexander averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game as the Bluejays went 1-1 last week.
    Alexander had all 16 of his career-high 16 points in the second half of Creighton's 81-78 win at St. John's on Wednesday. He made 7-of-10 shots from the field and added five rebounds in addition to tying his career high with six assists while helping CU overcome a 46-39 halftime deficit.
    Alexander then had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and CU's only steal on Saturday evening at #11 Providence in his first career start as CU's point guard.
   Alexander was previously recognized on Jan. 24 and Feb. 7. Combined with teammates Ryan Nembhard (Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29, Dec. 20, Jan. 17, Feb. 21) and Arthur Kaluma (Feb. 14), Creighton has now won 10 of the league's 15 Freshman of the Week awards this season, including six of the past seven weeks.

Nembhard To Miss Rest of 2021-22 Season
Guard Ryan Nembhard will miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season after suffering an injury during last Creighton's Feb. 23 win at St. John's. He underwent surgery on his right wrist on Feb. 25th.
   "We are heartbroken for Ryan, who has been such an integral part of our success this season," said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. "He will remain a key part of our team while he is sidelined, but I know he will come back stronger than ever and we look forward to his healthy return."
   A six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and the frontrunner for BIG EAST Freshman of the Year accolades, Nembhard was averaging 11.3 points and a team-leading 4.4 assists per game. He has started all 27 games he participated in and his 34.8 minutes per game are the most by a BIG EAST freshman since 2011-12.

CU's Been There Before, Unfortunately
The injury to Ryan Nembhard isn't the first time in recent memory that Creighton has suffered a injury to a key player late in the year. Each of the previous teams answered the bell and reached the postseason (when one was played).
   In 2019-20 Marcus Zegarowski suffered a knee injury in CU's final regular-season game of the year. Creighton was ranked seventh nationally and headed towards a No. 2 or No. 3 seed before COVID-19 ended the season prematurely.
   In 2017-18, Martin Krampelj suffered a knee injury in CU's 19th game of the season. That team went on to reach the NCAA Tournament.
   In 2016-17, Maurice Watson Jr. suffered a knee injury in CU's 19th game of the season. That team went on to reach the NCAA Tournament.

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 13 other schools can also claim. Gonzaga has done it four times, Baylor, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Villanova have done it three times while Arizona, Kentucky, Iowa State, Maryland, 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 a second top-25 win 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

Ranking News & Notes
- Creighton is 45-155 all-time against top-25 teams. Last Saturday at Providence was CU's 200th game against a ranked foe.
- Creighton is 27-40 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 20 more top-25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 18-115 all-time against top-25 foes.
- Creighton is 9-19 in true road games vs. the top-25 under Greg McDermott, compared to a 2-63 mark before his arrival.
- Creighton's 27 top-25 wins since McDermott took over in 2010 are 39th-most nationally and more than schools like Arizona (26), Maryland (23), LSU (16), Auburn (16), Houston (14), Wichita State (14), USC (11), Memphis (10) and Saint Mary's (7) in that time.
- Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last eight seasons (including 2021-22), and multiple ranked foes in each of the last seven seasons (including 2021-22).
   On a national basis, the only 19 teams with a top-25 win each of the last eight seasons (including 2021-22) are Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier. Clemson, Louisville, South Carolina and Syracuse are still seeking their first top-25 win this season.
- Creighton is 22-23 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 22 wins over ranked teams in that time are 15th-most nationally, and trails only Villanova (30) among BIG EAST clubs. In that same span, Connecticut is just 6-27 against top-25 competition in that time, though Creighton is currently unranked.

Work Of Art
In Wednesday's win at St. John's, Arthur Kaluma returned from a knee injury that sidelined him for four games. The Glendale, Ariz., product had 12 points in 19 minutes, the latest in a string of good performances by the Bluejay freshman.
   In the last nine games he's played, Kaluma has averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
   Kaluma, who made 16-of-32 free throws (50 percent) in CU's first 17 games, has drained 15-of-18 foul shots (83.3 percent) since then.

Stepping It Up
Ryan Hawkins has averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in eight contests against ranked teams, shooting 48.8 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from three-point range and 90.0 percent at the line.
   By comparison, Hawkins averages 14.0 points and 7.6 rebounds against unranked foes, shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from downtown and 75.6 percent from the stripe.

February Favorites
Creighton went 7-2 in the month of February, including a 4-2 road record. CU won four of those games by four points or less.
   During the month, Creighton had five players averaging in double-figures, led by Ryan Hawkins (17.9 ppg., 8.9 rpg.).
   In the past three seasons, Creighton owns a 17-5 mark in BIG EAST games during the month of February, including a 6-1 record against top-25 competition. That overall record ranks as the best in the BIG EAST.
BIG EAST Records in February, 2019-20 to Feb. 27, 2022
Team   W   L   Pct.
Creighton   17   5   .773
Providence   15   6   .714
Seton Hall   15   7   .682
Villanova   14   9   .609
Xavier   9   12   .429
Connecticut   10   6   .625
Butler   9   16   .360
Marquette   8   11   .421
St. John's   8   13   .381
Georgetown   7   17   .292
DePaul   6   16   .273

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Though much is made of the influx of freshmen on this year's Creighton team, the Bluejays are 6-1 this season in games decided by five points or less.
   Since the start of last season, Creighton is 9-2 in one-possession games (decided by 3 or less). Those nine victories by three points or less are tied for fourth-most nationally (Texas has 11, Drake and South Alabama both have 10) in that span and is tied with Xavier for most among BIG EAST schools. UConn has three wins by three points or less in the past two seasons.
   Creighton has won games this season by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 points.

Getting Offensive On The Glass
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 102 offensive rebounds this season, tops in the BIG EAST. It's the most by a Bluejay since Nate King had 108 in 1993-94 and ranks among the best totals in program history since 1986-87:
Most Offensive Rebounds, Since 1986-87
   OReb   Name   Year
   108   Nate King   1993-94
   110   Bob Harstad   1989-90
   106   Bob Harstad   1987-88
   118   Bob Harstad   1988-89
   102   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2021-22
   101   Randall Crutcher   1996-97

Milestones Within Reach
Creighton is nearing a number of milestones.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 102 offensive rebounds, No one's had more since Nate King had 108 in 1993-94.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner's streak of seven straight games with multiple swats is CU's longest since Livan Pyfrom had a nine game stretch from Jan. 17-Feb. 14, 2001.
- Ryan Hawkins owns 2,498 career points and is two 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 played 5,018 career minutes, having surpassed 5,000 minutes last Saturday at Providence. Since the start of 2009-10, only three other players have played 5,000 minutes or more at the Division I level. Those men include Jacob Gilyard (5,428 at Richmond), Kellan Grady (5,081 Davidson & Kentucky) and Jordan Bohannon (5,041 at Iowa).
- Ryan Hawkins owns nine or more rebounds in each of the last six games. That's the longest streak at CU since at least 1988-89.
- Creighton has scored 30,977 points since Greg McDermott's arrival. With 23 points on Wednesday, the Bluejays would join Gonzaga, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, BYU, Oregon, Belmont and likely Arizona (30,996 before Tuesday's game vs. USC) as teams with 31,000 points or more since the 2010-11 season started.

.500 Or Better in League Play, Again
Creighton is 11-6 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 11-6 in league play after earning its 10th conference win of the season on Feb. 20 vs. Marquette.
   Creighton has now won 10 or more league games in 23 of the last 26 seasons (including 2021-22).

Another 10!
The Feb. 20 win vs. Marquette was Creighton's 10th home win 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 Feb. 20th 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 five of Creighton's last six games, all but one of which were Bluejay victories.
   He became the first Bluejay with three straight double-doubles since Martin Krampelj from Jan. 3-10, 2018.
   On Feb. 20 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.
   He's followed up that "miss" with back-to-back double-doubles at St. John's and Providence.
   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 178-17 overall (143-16 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   2,498   1,167   352   220   248

Elite Company For Hawkins
Creighton senior Ryan Hawkins owns 2,498 career points and 1,167 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 14 other Division I players in NCAA history have finished their careers with 2,498 points and 1,167 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

Ryan's Pave Way To Road Success
Creighton has six road wins this season, and Ryan Hawkins has had a double-double in each of them.
   In those six contests, Hawkins has led CU with 22.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while he's shot 51.1 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from three-point range.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner has averaged a double-double in those six road wins too, collecting 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game on 60.3 percent shooting from the floor.
   Those two, combined with namesake Ryan Nembhard, have combined to score 292 of CU's 443 points (65.9 percent) in the six 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 Feb. 17. 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 36:56 of action and has been outscored 74-43 in that time.

The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in all but one game this winter, as Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Kalkbrenner were all entrenched as starters until Nembhard's season-ending injury on Feb. 23. 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 70.6 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 53.7 percent of its points, 49.1 percent of its assists, 51.5 percent of its rebounds grabbed and 46.0 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".
Ryan's?   Time   Score   Margin
None   36:56   43-74   (-31)
Nembhard Only   40:55   47-84   (-37)
Kalkbrenner Only   9:44   19-13   +6
Hawkins Only   54:24   70-96   (-26)
Nemb/Kalk Only   93:58   145-168   (-23)
Nemb/Hawk Only   201:18   373-329   +44
Kalk/Hawk Only   88:29   161-157   +4
All 3 Ryan's   604:16   1089-953   +136

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   ? ? ?   --

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 vs. Connecticut with a team record of 178-17 (.913) at all sites. He's lost consecutive games in his career just twice, but is coming off a loss on Saturday.
   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 103-12 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 eight 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.

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 406 games (compared to 66 by its opponents).
- Since the start of the 1994-95 season, Creighton had played 910 games and been charged with 75 technical fouls.

Best In Class
Seniors Ryan Hawkins (400 points) and Alex O'Connell (336 points) are first and third 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 34 steals so far this season. CU hasn't had its steals leader be a freshman since P'Allen Stinnett in 2007-08.

They Are Called Free Throws, After All
After shooting a combined 142-for-188 (75.5 percent) from the line over the last 12 games, Creighton has climbed to 72.4 percent shooting at the free throw line for the season (148th 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 82.6 percent and has sunk 27 of his last 32 free throws, Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 39 of his last 49 attempts and Ryan Hawkins has drained 26 of his past 31 tries.
   As a team, Creighton is shooting 76.9 percent (70-91) in the last two minutes of a game or overtime this season and 75.5 percent (111-147) in the last five minutes of a game or overtime.

All Ball
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in the BIG EAST and 15th nationally with 2.75 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 77 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 77 blocked shots this year, only 16 have gone out of bounds, whereas Creighton has rebounded 42 of the rejections.
   Making the 7-foot-1 sophomore's accomplishments all the more impressive is that the big man owns 77 blocks but has been called for just 41 fouls. Through games of Feb. 27, that made him the nation's only player with more than 50 blocked shots and 41 personal fouls or less.
   Kalkbrenner owns 115 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
   115   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
   77   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 26 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 4.56 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.

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. 27, only 147 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 34.8 minutes per game. The next-closest freshman from a Power 5 or BIG EAST program is Boston College's Jaeden Zackery (34.3 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 100 when it has two freshmen or less on the court, but have been outscored by 27 points when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
   All told, 2591:06 of Creighton's 5,650 total minutes (45.86 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 freshman:   33:45   54-49   +5
2 freshmen:   732:28   1,313-1,218   +95
3 freshmen:   293:21   521-520   +1
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 341 points, 207 rebounds, 77 blocks and 56 dunks in 793 minutes.
   A big part of that has been his increased stamina. Even though his minutes per game have nearly doubled from 13.6 to 28.3 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   17.2   10.4   3.9   2.8

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   222

Not Your Ordinary Freshman
Arthur Kaluma had a season-high 20 points on Jan. 19 vs. St. John's.
   Kaluma (9.3 ppg.) and classmate Ryan Nembhard (11.3 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
   11.3   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 2/27/22
   Rank   School   Average
   1.   Syracuse   19,811
   2.   Kentucky   19,280
   3.   Arkansas   19,012
   4.   North Carolina   18,335
   5.   Tennessee   17,971
   6.   Creighton   16,524
   7.   Wisconsin   16,393
   8.   Kansas   16,247
   9.   Indiana   15,764
   10.   Nebraska   15,283

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 0.66 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/0.66 BPG
Name, School   PPG   RPG   BPG
Paolo Banchero, Duke   16.7   8.1   0.93
Jabari Smith, Auburn   16.6   6.8   1.00
Moussa Diabate, Michigan   9.4   5.7   0.76
Arthur Kaluma, Creighton   9.3   5.0   0.67

What's The Difference?
Creighton is off to an 11-6 start in league play, but the difference in a number of categories really jump out.
Stat   11 BE Wins   6 BE Losses
Points Scored Per Game   74.3   56.5
Points Allowed Per Game   64.4   74.5
Rebound Margin   +5.5   -5.6
Offensive Rebounds/Game   11.7   7.3
3FG Made Per Game   8.5   5.0
A/TO Ratio   170/164   49/84
CU's FG% Defense   .378   .446
After Halftime Score   410-345   181-264
Ryan Hawkins Points/Game   19.1   6.5
Ryan Kalkbrenner Reb./Game   8.9   6.0
R. Andronikashvili Assists/Game   1.8   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 third overall in the BIG EAST with 34.8 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 34.8 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) and 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 43-17 mark in regular-season BIG EAST games. That's three 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. 27, 2022)
Team   After 2/19/19   '19-20   '20-21   '21-22   Total
Creighton   5-0   13-5   14-6   11-6   43-17
Villanova   2-3   13-5   11-4   14-4   40-16
Providence   3-2   12-6   9-10   14-2   38-20
UConn   2-4#   10-8#   11-6   12-5   35-23
Seton Hall   2-3   13-5   10-9   9-8   34-25
Marquette   2-4   8-10   8-11   10-7   28-32
Butler   1-4   10-8   8-12   6-13   25-37
Xavier   4-1   8-10   6-7   7-10   25-28
St. John's   1-4   5-13   10-9   7-10   23-36
Georgetown   4-2   5-13   7-9   0-17   16-41
DePaul   2-3   3-15   2-13   5-13   12-44
#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 94 league victories are second-most.
Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins, 2013-14 to 2/27/22
Team   W   L   Pct.
Villanova   128   31   .805
Creighton   94   69   .576
Providence   92   68   .575
Xavier   87   69   .558
Seton Hall   85   76   .528
Marquette   78   84   .481
Butler   78   87   .473
St. John's   61   100   .379
Georgetown   58   100   .367
DePaul   35   124   .220
Connecticut   23   11   .676

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 13 of the past 19 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 19-of-28 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 12.0 points per game overall this season and 12.5 points per game in BIG EAST action.

We're Jamming!
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 56 dunks this season and 84 in his career. As a team, Creighton owns 106 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
56   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
85   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)
106   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 40th nationally (per BartTorvik.com) with its shooting 54.0 percent from two-point range. That includes a 58.6 percent mark from inside the paint.
   Defensively, Creighton is holding the opposition to 43.4 percent shooting from two-point range, the nation's eighth-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 47.8 percent in the paint this season.
   Wednesday's foe, UConn, ranks fifth-best in two-point field goal percentage defense (.425). The Huskies rank 230th in two-point field goal percentage on offense (.484).

#1 In The Record Book; #44 In Your Program
Ryan Hawkins leads every active player at the Division I level in career rebounds (1,167) and field goals made (895) and is second in points (2,498).
   Hawkins also ranks in the top 12 among the nation's active Division I players in double-doubles (4th), games played (7th), three-pointers made (9th) and steals (12th).
   And while it's not among the categories the NCAA tracks among active players, it's worth noting that Hawkins owns 111 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 48 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career.

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 39.9 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.

Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 941 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 (2/27)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next
   1.   1,158   UNLV   3/2
   2.   1,142   Duke   3/1
   3.   1,091   Western Kentucky   3/2
   4.   1,082   East Tennessee State   3/4
   5.   1,060   Oakland   3/1
   6.   1,059   Pacific   3/3
   7.   1,052   Texas   2/28
   8.   998   Marshall   3/2
   9.   991   Baylor   2/28
   10.   983   Princeton   3/5
   11.   977   Gonzaga   3/7
   12.   954   Long Island   3/2
   13.   941   Creighton   3/2
   14.   939   Mount St. Mary's   3/2
   15.   928   Tennessee State   3/2

Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 941 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,410 trifectas, an average of 7.87 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 141 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 312 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 19-17 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:   101 times   6: 101 times
7:   141 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

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. 27, 2022
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   3,579   3rd
3FG Percentage   .378   4th
FG Percentage   .478   4th
Assists   6,489   5th
FG Made   11,069   9th
Points   30,977   10th
Wins   272   30th
Winning Percentage   .670   31st

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

McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 272 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .670 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.   272-134   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   134   26   19-9 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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Trey Alexander

Mitch Ballock

Christian Bishop

KeyShawn Feazell

Ryan Hawkins

Damien Jefferson

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Arthur Kaluma

Denzel Mahoney

Shereef Mitchell

Ryan Nembhard

Alex O'Connell

Marcus Zegarowski