
#8 Men's Basketball Seeks 4-0 Start Against Texas Southern
11/16/2023 3:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays will honor 1963-64 team at halftime
Game #4:Â Texas Southern Tigers (0-2 before 11/16) at #8 Creighton Bluejays (3-0)
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 • 7:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha\
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | TSU NOTES | PROGRAM | TICKETS |
Next Game
No. 8 Creighton (3-0) hosts Texas Southern (0-2 before Thursday's game at Virginia) on Saturday, Nov. 18. Â
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:30 p.m.
   The first 400 students will take home a free tie-dye bucket hat.
   Creighton will honor Ryan Kalkbrenner prior to the game in recognition of the senior center recently becoming the second player in program history with 200 career blocked shots.
   Creighton will also honor members of its 1963-64 team at halftime.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop and Taylor Stormberg will call the action. Â
   The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on https://siriusxm.us/SXM992.
Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe and be televised on FS2. The game will also be video webcast on the FoxSports app or at http://foxsports.com/live. Cable authorization may be required.
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 #8 Creighton
Ranked eighth nationally in the preseason AP and Coaches polls, Creighton has lofty expectations after coming one possession shy of the program's first Final Four last March. Wins over Florida A&M (105-54), North Dakota State (89-60) and Iowa (92-84) have done nothing to diminish those hopes.
   The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.7 ppg., 75.0 FG%), senior forward Baylor Scheierman (16.3, 5.0 rpg., 4.0 apg) and junior guard Trey Alexander (21.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 6.0 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
   Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.0 ppg,. 3.7 apg., 46.2 3FG%), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU is one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally.
   Creighton's bench has provided 30.3 points per game to date, a group led by Francisco Farabello (9.0 ppg.; 60.0 3FG%), Fredrick King (8.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) and Isaac Traudt (8.3 ppg., 50 3FG%) leading the way.
    Creighton was picked to finish second of 11 teams in a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches. It's No. 8 spot in the polls was its best preseason rank in program history.
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Scouting Texas Southern
Texas Southern was 0-2 prior to Thursday's game at Virginia, falling in road games at both New Mexico (92-55 on Nov. 6) and Arizona State (63-52 on Nov. 11). The Tigers went 14-21 last year while winning their third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title and are once again favored to win the league this winter.
   The Tigers have scored just 53.5 points per game as a team, with Jonathan Cisse (9.5 ppg.) and PJ Henry (9.5 ppg.) leading the way. Henry was named the 2023-24 SWAC Preseason Player of the Year.
   TSU shoots 30.9 percent from the floor, 18.9 percent from downtown and 50 percent at the line.
The Series vs. Texas Southern
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Texas Southern, defeating the Tigers 93-70 on Nov. 14, 2015.
   That game saw five Bluejays score in double-figures, led by 18 points in the collegiate debut of Khyri Thomas.
   Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is 2-0 all-time against Texas Southern (1-0 as Creighton coach) but has never squared off against Johnny Jones.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 303-150 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 583-345 in his 30th season, and is 452-281 in his 23rd 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 has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and its first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
   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 Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.
With A Win...
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 on the season.
- Creighton would improve to 2-0 all-time against Texas Southern.
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 for the ninth time in 14 seasons under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would improve to 99-9 in non-conference home games under Greg McDermott.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 12-0 all-time against the current members of the SWAC, and 7-0 as CU's coach.
- Creighton would improve to 282-60 (.825) all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha.
Welcome Back!
Creighton will recognize its 1963-64 team on Saturday at halftime. This season marks the 60th anniversary of Creighton's 1963-64 squad, which finished the season 22-7 overall under the direction of legendary Bluejay head coach Red McManus.
   The Bluejays started the season 9-0, including a one-point win over fourth-ranked Arizona State, a double-overtime win over Utah State that was followed by an overtime win at Iowa, and a victory over Gonzaga. CU also defeated Notre Dame twice and Marquette once while averaging 84.2 points per game, which was helped by 124-point showing at Miami (Fla.) that remains a single-game program record.
   Individually, Paul Silas averaged 19 points and 22 rebounds per game while Chuck Officer, Fritz Pointer and Charlie Brown also averaged in double-figures. Silas grabbed 57 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games, including 27 in a win over Oklahoma City as the Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16.
   Silas was also named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American, the Catholic Colleges Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American by the UPI and Associated Press.
   Among those scheduled to be recognized from that era are assistant coach Herb Millard, Santos Jimenez, Carl Silvestrini, Fritz Pointer, Fred Losch, the daughter (Mimi) and son (Kevin) of the late head coach John J. "Red" McManus, and the daughter (Paula) and grandson (Max) of the late Paul Silas.
Almost a Trey-Double?
Trey Alexander finished Tuesday's win vs. Iowa with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, finishing just shy of becoming CU's first player in history to record a traditional points/rebounds/assists triple-double.
   Alexander had six of his nine assists in the first 12:21 of the second half, but CU's only basket in the final 7:39 was a score by Alexander himself.
   Creighton's only triple-doubles in history all came from Benoit Benjamin. "Big Ben" had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks vs. Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1984, had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985 and had 29 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks on Feb. 2, 1985 vs. Bradley.
   Alexander isn't the only current Bluejay to finish a game one assist shy of a triple-double, as Baylor Scheierman and 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal win over Villanova.
   Alexander's performance was still good enough for his first career double-double, as his 11 rebounds were a career-high and his nine assists matched his career-best.
   Alexander enters Saturday averaging 21.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Per Basketball-Reference.com, the only man in the previous 32 seasons to finish a year with those averages or better was Memphis phenom Anfernee Hardaway (22.8 ppg., 8.5 rpg., 6.4 apg.) in 1994-95.
Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how the start of the year compares to his first two years combined.
Category   2023-24   2021-23
Games Played   3   72
20-Point Games   3   5
Dunks   3   2
Double-Doubles   1   0
Points Per Game   21.3   10.6
Rebounds Per Game   7.3   4.0
Assists Per Game   6.0   2.5
Steals Per Game   2.0   0.9
Back on FS2
Saturday's game will appear on FS2, a network that the Bluejays have experienced great success on.
   CU is 17-1 all-time on FS2, including last Saturday's 89-60 win over North Dakota State. CU has outscored foes by an average of 88.22 - 65.56 in those contests, with all but two of victories coming by double-figures.
Upset Alert
Don't be fooled by Texas Southern's record...the Tigers open this year with nine straight road/neutral games and don't play at home for another month.
   That hasn't prevented TSU from pulling some major upsets in recent seasons.
   In 2014 the Tigers won road games at No. 25 Michigan State as well as Kansas State.
   In 2018 Texas Southern opened the season with a win at Baylor and later picked up wins at No. 18 Oregon and Texas A&M.
   In 2021 the Tigers defeated No. 20 Florida.
   And last year Texas Southern defeated the same Arizona State team that would defeat Creighton a month later.
NCAA Regulars
Texas Southern and Creighton are two of the 19 teams in the nation to have appeared in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments.
   One of the other teams was the Iowa team that Creighton defeated on Tuesday.
   Here's the full list: Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Colgate, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Southern, UCLA, UConn, USC.
Reserves Step Up
Creighton's bench stepped up in a big way in Tuesday's 92-84 win over Iowa, outscoring its Hawkeye counterparts 32-18 as Francisco Farabello (14 points) and Fredrick King (12 points) led the way.
   This year the Creighton bench has scored 91 points in three games, an average of 30.33 points per contest. That's well above last year's 10.68 points per game, not to mention the 9.60 points per game in 2021-22.
   Creighton's last team to score 90 or more points through three games was its 2017-18 club, which had 104 points off the pine at this point.
   Creighton's bench hasn't averaged more than 20 points for a full season since 2017-18 (24.42), and its high in 13 completed seasons under Greg McDermott is 27.21 (2014-15).
   The Creighton program has not averaged more than 28 points per game off the bench since its 2007-08 club accounted for 36.91 points per game and actually outscored its starting five (34.61) that season. Saturday's analyst for FS2, Nick Bahe, started all 33 games for that Bluejay squad.
Good Things Come In 3's
Baylor Scheierman has made multiple three-pointers in each of the last 19 November games he's played in, and three or more triples in each of his last seven November contests.
   Scheierman is the first Bluejay to open the season with three straight games with three or more trifectas since Ty-Shon Alexander did it the first six games in 2018-19.
   Speaking of three-pointers, Isaac Traudt has become Creighton's first freshman to open his career with three straight games of multiple triples since Ryan Sears in 1997-98. No CU freshman has done in it the last 30 years in the first four games of a season.
Long Time, No See
Creighton sophomore Johnathan Lawson was a teammate at Memphis with TSU's Jahmar Young, Jr., last season, though it does not appear as though Young played in any games.
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Nov. 15th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 16 in eight different categories.
   Rank   Category   Stat
   1   Fouls Per Game   9.0
   1   Winning Percentage   1.000
   1   Effective FG%   .672
   2   Three-Pointers Per Game   13.3
   6   Field Goal Percentage   .563
   11   Three-Point Attempts Per Game   31.7
   12   Rebound Margin   +18.0
   16   Scoring Offense   95.3
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One Of A Kind
Trey Alexander did a little bit of everything last Saturday vs. North Dakota State, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals.
   He's the first Bluejay in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons on the Creighton sideline with at least 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in the same game. In fact, it hadn't been done by a Creighton player since Kyle Korver had 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals at TCU on Dec. 4, 2001. Up that minimum to five steals and the last Bluejay to do it was Rodney Buford (20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals) vs. Southwest Missouri State on Jan. 21, 1998.
   This season, the only other player nationally with  at least 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in a game is UConn's Tristen Newton, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and four assists last Saturday vs. Stonehill.
This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander has started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State and 23 points vs. Iowa.
   He's just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first three games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14.
   McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
   Alexander is the first player to score 20 points or more in three consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Zegarowski from Dec. 7-17, 2019. No Bluejays has done it in four games in a row since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.
Fast Start
Creighton has scored 89 points or more in each of its first three games, something only the 2017-18 team had ever done.
   Creighton's previous three teams to score 286 points or more through three games were its 2017-18, 2013-14 and 2002-03 clubs.
   CU's 2017-18 team finished 21-12 and made the NCAA Tournament.
   The 2013-14 team went 27-8 overall and featured the National Player of the Year, Doug McDermott.
   The 2002-03 team finished 29-5 and starred Kyle Korver.
   Creighton has scored 194 points through two games, its most since the 2017-18 club had 201 points at that point.
Ruthless Efficiency
Through games of Wednesday, Creighton ranks first nationally in effective field goal percentage (.672) and sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.563).
   The Bluejays are shooting 71.6 percent from two-point range (63-88) and 42.1 percent from three-point range (40-95) thus far.
   Creighton has shot 51.6 percent or better in every game this year, the first time its done that in each of its first three contests since 2002-03. The 2002-03 club did it in the first four games.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 988 straight games. The streak is the nation's 10th-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 (11/16)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,194   UNLV   11/17
   2.   1,192   Duke   11/17
   3.   1,118   East Tennessee State   11/17
   4.   1,098   Texas   11/19
   5.   1,097   Oakland   11/19
   6.   1,095   Pacific   11/18
   7.   1,037   Marshall   11/19
   8.   1,022   Gonzaga   11/20
   9.   1,022   Princeton   11/18
   10.   988   Creighton   11/18
      988   Long Island   11/21
   12.   976   Mount St. Mary's   11/18
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 988 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,825 trifectas, an average of 7.92 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 147 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 285 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 66-15 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 28-25 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 19 times   3: 36 times
4:   75 times   5:  103 times   6: 101 times
7:  147 times   8:  124 times   9: 93 times
10: 83 times   11: 57 times   12: 57 times
13: 45 times   14: 19 times   15: 7 times
16: 8 times   17: 3 times   18: 1 time
19: 2 times   20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each game this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 50 in a row if you his final 10 games at South Dakota State.
   Scheierman's streak is the longest streak in Creighton history, seven more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
   Also listed is the nation's longest active streaks of games with a three-pointer, per the FOX Sports research team.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
   Streak   Name   Dates of Streak
   40   Baylor Scheierman   Nov. 7, 2022 - Present
   33   Ty-Shon Alexander   Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
   31   Booker Woodfox   Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
   28   Kyle Korver   Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
   27   Kyle Korver   Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer
Nation's Longest Active Streaks (11/13)
   Streak   Name, School   Next Game
   67   Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall   11/19
   50   Baylor Scheierman, Creighton / S. Dakota St.   11/18
Scheierman Drains 250th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 255 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.5 percent clip.
   Scheierman also owns 1,635 points, 956 rebounds, 454 assists and 121 career steals.
   Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman is the nation's only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 225 three-pointers, 425 assists and 900 rebounds.
Quickest To Pizza!!!
For the last few decades, Godfather's Pizza has had a promotion for Creighton Basketball season ticket holders to provide a free mini pizza with the purchase of a drink if the Bluejays hit a certain scoring threshold, which has been 75 since 2005-06 (and was 70 before that).
   In its opener, those fans were rewarded by a Steven Ashworth three-pointer with 14:32 left in the second half.
   Since moving to CHI Health Center Omaha, it was the fourth-quickest that the Bluejays have reached that mark (yes, we track that). A look at the others:
Quickest to 75 Points at CHI Health Center Omaha
   Time Left   Opponent   Date   Final Score
   15:06   Longwood   12/09/16   W 113-58
   14:56   USC Upstate   12/20/17   W 116-62
   14:42   Campbell   11/25/11   W 104-81
   14:32   Florida A&M   11/07/23   W 105-54
   13:52   Coe   12/20/18   W 110-60
   13:45   UMKC   11/11/16   W 89-82
   13:33   Houston Baptist   12/17/07   W 110-73
   13:14   Coppin State   12/28/15   W 102-77
   13:14   UTSA   11/17/15   W 103-78
   12:33   North Texas   12/21/15   W 105-82
   12:33   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   W 106-77
Century Club
Creighton opened the season with a 105-54 victory over Florida A&M on Nov. 7th. A few nuggets about that.
- Creighton improved to 65-3 all-time when scoring 100 points or more, and 27-1 when scoring 105 points or more.
- Creighton's only 100-point game last year was a 104-76 home win over St. John's on Jan. 25, 2023.
- After scoring 100 points in the season opener in the first 93 years in program history, Creighton has done it three additional times in Greg McDermott's 14-year tenure. CU hadn't scored 100 points in a season opener since a 104-77 victory vs. Central Arkansas to open the 2014-15 campaign.
- Creighton ranks tied for ninth nationally with 24 games of 100 points or more since the start of the 2010-11 season, which coincides with Greg McDermott's arrival. Among Power 6 teams, only North Carolina (34) has more.
- What's crazy about Greg McDermott's teams scoring 100 points or more 24 times at Creighton is that neither his Iowa State teams (127 games) or Northern Iowa teams (153 games) ever cracked the century mark, and reached 90 points or more only six times.
A One And A Two...
Not only is Creighton a perfect 14-0 in season-openers under Greg McDermott, but the Bluejays have started 2-0 in all but one campaign (2019-20) under McDermott as well. That 2019-20 team, of course, went on to share the BIG EAST regular-season title.
   Eleven of McDermott's 14 Bluejay squads have started 3-0. A win on Saturday would be McDermott's ninth 4-0 team at Creighton.
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the previous 10 times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year. That's a good omen considering that Creighton shot 56.7 percent in its 2023-24 lid-lifter.
   Eight of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
   Including 2023-24, Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in eight of its last 12 season-openers.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG%   Year   Opponent   Postseason
.541Â Â Â 1997-98Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NIT
.524   1998-99   Towson State   NCAA
.569   2000-01   Western Illinois   NCAA
.594   2002-03   UT Arlington   NCAA
.500   2012-13   North Texas   NCAA
.556   2013-14   Alcorn State   NCAA
.528   2015-16   Texas Southern   NIT
.508Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NCAA
.558   2017-18   Yale   NCAA
.524   2019-20   Kennesaw St.   Postseason CCD
.585   2021-22   Ark.-Pine Bluff   NCAA
.567Â Â Â 2023-24Â Â Â Florida A&MÂ Â Â ? ? ?
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 24 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 11 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
   Put another way...of CU's 18 teams (before 2023-24) to score 90 points in an opener, 11 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
   Here's a look at Creighton's last 10 teams (including 2023-24) to score 90 or more points in a season-opener:
            Final   Post-
   Score   Opponent   Date   W-L   Season
   93-47   UT-San Antonio   11/30/90   24-8   NCAA
   93-48   Towson State   11/14/98   22-9   NCAA
   96-50   Western Illinois   11/20/00   24-8   NCAA
   106-50   Texas-Arlington   11/17/02   29-5   NCAA
   97-65   N. Carolina A&T   11/11/11   29-6   NCAA
   107-61   Alcorn State   11/08/13   27-8   NCAA
   104-77   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   14-19   --
   93-70   Texas Southern   11/14/15   20-15   NIT
   92-76   Yale   11/10/17   21-12   NCAA
   90-77   Ark.-Pine Bluff   11/09/21   23-12   NCAA
   105-54   Florida A&M   11/07/23   ? ? ?   ? ? ?
November Reign
Creighton is a 74-1 all-time in regular-season home games that take place on or before Nov. 26th. The lone loss came in 2018 when it lost to Ohio State.
   Creighton has won 81 of its 83 regular-season November home games since 1990, falling only to Boise State in 2012 and Ohio State in 2018.
   Overall, Creighton is 113-21 in regular-season November games at all sites since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
A Head Start
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
   Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points., and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
   Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
   Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   126 (82.9%)   26 (17.1%)
Rebounds   860 (67.9%)   411 (32.1%)
3FG Made   207 (64.9%)   112 (35.1%)
Points   1833 (64.8%)   995 (35.2%)
Steals   119 (64.3%)   66 (35.7%)
Minutes   4693 (63.0%)   2757 (37.0%)
Starts   111 (60.0%)   74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken   16 (59.3%)   11 (40.7%)
Assists   308 (53.0%)   273 (47.0%)
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth.
   The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
   This week is the 24th in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
   Creighton has now been ranked 124 times in program history, with 96 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 154-63 all-time as a ranked team, including a 120-51 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
      Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
   Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
   Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU is seventh in the Nov. 13th Coaches poll.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day.
   It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.
   The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).
   Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.
   In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.
   Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.
   This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had two men named Preseason First Team All-Conference in its Missouri Valley Conference days in 2006-07 (Anthony Tolliver, Nate Funk).
   Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention. Â
   Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22   8th   4th   -
2022-23   1st   3rd   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
         Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24   2nd   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
         Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played 100 or more Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Nov. 15, 2023
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   3,983   3rd  Â
FG Percentage   .477   4th
Assists   7,219   6th  Â
3FG Percentage   .376   6th
FG Made   12,357   7th  Â
Points   34,566   9th  Â
Wins   303   24th  Â
Winning Percentage   .669   31st
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns 111 starts from last year's team, its most since bringing back 124 starts from its 2020-21 club.
   Creighton has won 20 or more games each of the previous eight times (and 12 of the last 13 times) it has returned 100 or more starts.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2023-24Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 111Â Â Â ? ? ?
2022-23Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 104Â Â Â 24-13
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 23-12
2020-21Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 22-9
2019-20Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 24-7
2018-19Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 57Â Â Â 20-15
2017-18Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 21-12
2016-17Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 25-10
2015-16Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 20-15
2014-15Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 14-19
2013-14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 144Â Â Â 27-8
2012-13Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 140Â Â Â 28-8
2011-12Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 29-6
2010-11Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 23-16
2009-10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 18-16
2008-09Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 27-8
2007-08Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 44Â Â Â 22-11
2006-07Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 22-11
2005-06Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 20-10
2004-05Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 23-11
2003-04Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 20-9
2002-03Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 159Â Â Â 29-5
2001-02Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 23-9
2000-01Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 24-8
1999-00Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 23-10
1998-99Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 22-9
1997-98Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 18-10
1996-97Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 126Â Â Â 15-15
1995-96Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 14-15
1994-95Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 52Â Â Â 7-19
1993-94Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 73Â Â Â 7-22
1992-93Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 8-18
1991-92Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 51Â Â Â 9-19
1990-91Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 132Â Â Â 24-8
1989-90Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 127Â Â Â 21-12
1988-89Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 20-11
1987-88Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 16-16
1986-87Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 9-19
1985-86Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 48Â Â Â 12-16
1984-85Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 20-12
1983-84Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 17-14
1982-83Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 77Â Â Â 8-19
1981-82Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 7-20
1980-81Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 21-9
Four Of A Kind
Creighton has four players that were named to a Preseason Watch List in Steven Ashworth (Bob Cousy Point Guard), Trey Alexander (Jerry West Shooting Guard), Baylor Scheierman (Julius Erving Small Forward) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center).
   Creighton is one of six schools to have four men listed at a position, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette and UConn.
   Those same four men were named to CBS Sports Preseason Top 100 And 1 player listings, with Kalkbrenner (5), Alexander (12), Scheierman (26) and Ashworth (76) making CU the only school with three of the top 30 players or four of the top 76 players. Kansas and Duke were the only other teams with four players listed in the Top 100 And 1.
   Last but not least, both Alexander and Kalkbrenner were two of 20 players on the NABC's Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The only other schools with two players on that list were Duke and USC.
Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
   Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
   Both are playing for Creighton this season.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022 and 2023. That makes CU one of seven teams in the country to have a win in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and UCLA.
   The only other time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons came in 2012, 2013 and 2014, also under Greg McDermott.
   Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last eight seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
   Creighton is one of seven teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the last four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Liberty, San Diego State and Southern California.
   Creighton is one of just eight teams to have reached at least two of the last three Sweet 16s. Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA have done it each of the last three seasons, while Alabama, Creighton, Michigan and Villanova have done it twice each.
23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the last 25 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 25 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons     2022-23 W-L
Gonzaga   25   31-6
Kansas   25   28-8
Duke   24   27-9
Creighton   23   24-13
Kentucky   23   22-12
Dynamic Duo
Creighton is also one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that includes Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
   This season, Creighton was one of eight teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.
   The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men's and women's basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll both this season and last season are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
   Creighton is one of 11 schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball each of the past two seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Texas and UConn.
   The only schools with at-large bids in each of the previous two years in both men's and women's basketball are Baylor, Creighton, Indiana and Miami (Fla.).
A Dozen Will Do
Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous four seasons.
   Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have also done it the previous four years.
   Creighton has now owned a .500 mark or better in league play 27 times in the last 28 seasons.
   The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous six seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
   Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
   If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Under McDermott
Deficit   Opponent   Date
18   #18 Oklahoma   11/19/14
17   at San Diego State   11/30/11
16   at Evansville   02/16/13
16   at Seton Hall   01/27/21
16   SIU Edwardsville   11/27/21
15   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   11/09/21
14   Evansville   02/21/12
14   vs. San Diego State   03/17/22
13   at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
13   Xavier   01/12/14
13   #22 Xavier   12/23/20
12   Saint Joseph's   12/11/10
12   at DePaul   01/17/16
12   East Tennessee State   11/11/18
11   at Wichita State   12/31/11
11   Northern Iowa   01/10/12
11   vs. Alabama   03/16/12
11   vs. Ole Miss   11/21/16
11   vs. Connecticut   03/12/21
11   DePaul   01/22/22
10Â Â Â UABÂ Â Â 11/14/12
10   vs. Drake   03/02/12
10   at Nebraska   12/07/14
10   South Dakota   12/09/14
10   St. John's   01/03/18
10   at DePaul   02/07/18
10   Bemidji State   02/13/18
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 303 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .669 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.   303-150   Greg McDermott   2010-Pres.
3.   165-66   Arthur A. Schabinger    1922-1935
4.   138-118   John J. "Red" McManus    1959-1969
5.   130-64   Tom Apke   1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
   The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
11/26/05   Dayton   W 91-90*   Funk FG   :5.7
01/28/06   Wichita St.   W 57-55   Tolliver FG   :0.0
11/25/06   George Mason   W 58-56   Watts FT   :7.5
03/18/08   Rhode Island   W 74-73   Witter 3FG   :3.2
01/13/10   Southern Illinois   W 71-69   Young FG   :1.3
02/18/12   Long Beach St.   W 81-79   Young FG   :0.3
01/28/14   St. John's   W 63-60   McDermott 3FG   :2.8
01/18/20   Providence   W 78-74   Zegarowski 3FG   :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
03/20/06Â Â Â Miami (Fla.)Â Â Â L 53-52Â Â Â G. Diaz FTÂ Â Â :2.6
01/20/07   Southern Illinois   L 58-57   B. Mullins FG   :4.1
01/10/15   #19 Seton Hall   L 68-67   S. Gibbs 3FG   :2.2
02/16/15   #19 Butler   L 58-56   R. Jones FG   :1.9
03/07/15   Xavier   L 74-73   D. Davis FT's   :6.3
01/12/16   #12 Providence   L 50-48   K. Dunn FG   :0.0
02/22/17   Providence   L 68-66   K. Cartwright 3FG   :2.4
02/10/18   #5 Xavier   L 71-72   Q. Goodin FT's   :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
    Rank   Att.   Opponent   Date
   1.   18,868   Providence   03/08/14
   2.   18,859   Georgetown   01/25/14
   3.   18,831   #1 Villanova   12/31/16
   4.   18,797   #6 Villanova   02/16/14
   5.   18,759   #1 Gonzaga   12/01/18
   6.   18,742   Seton Hall   02/23/14
   7.   18,735   Wichita State   02/11/12
   8.   18,613   Wichita State   03/02/13
   9.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   10.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   11.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   12.   18,509   Villanova   02/04/23
   13.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   14.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   15.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   16.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   17.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   18.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   19.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21
   20.   18,286   #21 Connecticut   02/12/23
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 341 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 281-60 (.824) 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 26,704-22,325 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.84 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 89 different times.
   Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
   Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 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 40-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 184-42 (.814) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 64 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 98-9 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 300-60 (.833) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.58 points per home game (18,210 points in 226 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.16 points in non-conference home games (9,005 points in 107 home games).
   Creighton is 138-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
   McDermott is one of five head coaches in Creighton history to lead seven or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   12
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   8
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
   Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year   Off. Rating   Def. Rating   Overall Rank
2010-11Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 174Â Â Â 98
2011-12Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 166Â Â Â 28
2012-13Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 15
2013-14Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 17
2014-15Â Â Â 59Â Â Â 138Â Â Â 79
2015-16Â Â Â 43Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 40
2016-17Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 46Â Â Â 28
2017-18Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 30
2018-19Â Â Â 47Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 55
2019-20Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 12
2020-21Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 22
2021-22Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 50
2022-23Â Â Â 23Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 12
2023-24Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 31Â Â Â 11
Kalkbrenner Repeats As Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
   Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
   Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
   Honors   Name, School   Years (*ties)
   4   Patrick Ewing, Georgetown   1982, 83, 84, 85
   3   Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown   1989, 90*, 92
   2   Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown   1990, 91
   2   Allen Iverson, Georgetown   1995, 96
   2   Etan Thomas, Syracuse   1999, 00
   2   John Linehan, Providence   2001, 02
   2   Emeka Okafor, Connecticut   2003, 04
   2   Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut   2008, 09
   2   Kris Dunn, Providence   2015*, 16
   2   Khyri Thomas, Creighton   2017*, 18
   2   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2022, 23
Kalkbrenner Surpasses 1,000 Points
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,202 career points, as he became the 45th men's player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 on Feb. 25, 2023 at Villanova. He was the first Bluejay to score 1,000 since Marcus Zegarowski did it on Jan. 20, 2021 vs. Providence.
   He currently ranks 29th in program history. Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever:
Most Career Points, Creighton History
   Rank   Pts.   Name   Years
   1.   3,150   Doug McDermott   2010-14
   2.   2,116   Rodney Buford   1995-99
   3.   2,110   Bob Harstad    1987-91
   4.   1,983   Chad Gallagher    1987-91
   5.   1,876   Bob Portman    1966-69
   6.   1,801   Kyle Korver   1999-03
   7.   1,754   Nate Funk   2002-07
   8.   1,682   Rick Apke    1974-78
   9.   1,661   Paul Silas   1961-64
   10.   1,654   Vernon Moore    1981-85
   11.   1,575   Benoit Benjamin    1982-85
   12.   1,526   John C. Johnson   1975-79
   13.   1,500   Kevin McKenna   1977-81
   14.   1,437   Eddie Cole   1951-55
   15.   1,369   Gene Harmon   1971-74
   16.   1,361   Duan Cole   1987-92
   17.   1,342   Antoine Young   2008-12
   18.   1,313   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
   19.   1,309   Ryan Sears   1997-01
   20.   1,304   Mitch Ballock   2017-21
   21.   1,303   Elton Tuttle   1951-54
   22.   1,293   Marcus Zegarowski   2018-21
   23.   1,292   Marcus Foster   2016-18
   24.   1,272   Bob Gibson   1954-57
   25.   1,267   Wally Anderzunas   1965-67, 1968-69
   26.   1,254   Gary Swain   1983-87
   27.   1,241   Ty-Shon Alexander   2017-20
   28.   1,238   Ben Walker   1997-01
   29.   1,202   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   30.   1,196   Ray Yost   1951-54
   Kalkbrenner also ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 204.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
   Blk.   Name   Years
   411   Benoit Benjamin   1982-85
   204   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   183   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   174   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
   153   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 487 of 727 career shots, putting him at 67.0 percent overall. That places the senior center fifth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 400 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 400 FG, 4FG/game)
   Pct. (FG-FGA)   Name, School   Years
   .746 (469-629)   Udoka Azubuike, Kansas   2016-20
   .740 (497-672)   Tacko Fall, UCF   2015-19
   .678 (828-1222)   Steve Johnson, Oregon State   1976-81
   .677 (441-651)   Michael Bradley, Kentucky/Villanova   1998-01
   .670 (487-727)   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2020-Pres.
   .668 (566-847)   Murray Brown, Florida State   1976-80
   .667 (740-1109)   Evan Bradds, Belmont   2013-17
   .665 (411-618)   Lee Campbell, MTSU, Missouri State   1987-90
   .664 (496-747)   Warren Kidd, Middle Tennessee State   1990-93
   .664 (702-1058)   Todd MacCulloch, Washington   1995-99
   .662 (476-719)   Joe Senser, West Chester   1975-79
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a third season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. McDermott is in his 10th season in the NBA. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 season went on sale on September 28th.
   Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
   For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 • 7:30 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha\
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | TSU NOTES | PROGRAM | TICKETS |
Next Game
No. 8 Creighton (3-0) hosts Texas Southern (0-2 before Thursday's game at Virginia) on Saturday, Nov. 18. Â
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is set for 7:30 p.m.
   The first 400 students will take home a free tie-dye bucket hat.
   Creighton will honor Ryan Kalkbrenner prior to the game in recognition of the senior center recently becoming the second player in program history with 200 career blocked shots.
   Creighton will also honor members of its 1963-64 team at halftime.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop and Taylor Stormberg will call the action. Â
   The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on https://siriusxm.us/SXM992.
Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe and be televised on FS2. The game will also be video webcast on the FoxSports app or at http://foxsports.com/live. Cable authorization may be required.
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 #8 Creighton
Ranked eighth nationally in the preseason AP and Coaches polls, Creighton has lofty expectations after coming one possession shy of the program's first Final Four last March. Wins over Florida A&M (105-54), North Dakota State (89-60) and Iowa (92-84) have done nothing to diminish those hopes.
   The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.7 ppg., 75.0 FG%), senior forward Baylor Scheierman (16.3, 5.0 rpg., 4.0 apg) and junior guard Trey Alexander (21.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 6.0 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
   Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.0 ppg,. 3.7 apg., 46.2 3FG%), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU is one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally.
   Creighton's bench has provided 30.3 points per game to date, a group led by Francisco Farabello (9.0 ppg.; 60.0 3FG%), Fredrick King (8.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) and Isaac Traudt (8.3 ppg., 50 3FG%) leading the way.
    Creighton was picked to finish second of 11 teams in a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches. It's No. 8 spot in the polls was its best preseason rank in program history.
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Scouting Texas Southern
Texas Southern was 0-2 prior to Thursday's game at Virginia, falling in road games at both New Mexico (92-55 on Nov. 6) and Arizona State (63-52 on Nov. 11). The Tigers went 14-21 last year while winning their third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title and are once again favored to win the league this winter.
   The Tigers have scored just 53.5 points per game as a team, with Jonathan Cisse (9.5 ppg.) and PJ Henry (9.5 ppg.) leading the way. Henry was named the 2023-24 SWAC Preseason Player of the Year.
   TSU shoots 30.9 percent from the floor, 18.9 percent from downtown and 50 percent at the line.
The Series vs. Texas Southern
Creighton is 1-0 all-time against Texas Southern, defeating the Tigers 93-70 on Nov. 14, 2015.
   That game saw five Bluejays score in double-figures, led by 18 points in the collegiate debut of Khyri Thomas.
   Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is 2-0 all-time against Texas Southern (1-0 as Creighton coach) but has never squared off against Johnny Jones.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 303-150 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 583-345 in his 30th season, and is 452-281 in his 23rd 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 has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and its first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
   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 Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.
With A Win...
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 on the season.
- Creighton would improve to 2-0 all-time against Texas Southern.
- Creighton would improve to 4-0 for the ninth time in 14 seasons under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would improve to 99-9 in non-conference home games under Greg McDermott.
- Greg McDermott would improve to 12-0 all-time against the current members of the SWAC, and 7-0 as CU's coach.
- Creighton would improve to 282-60 (.825) all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha.
Welcome Back!
Creighton will recognize its 1963-64 team on Saturday at halftime. This season marks the 60th anniversary of Creighton's 1963-64 squad, which finished the season 22-7 overall under the direction of legendary Bluejay head coach Red McManus.
   The Bluejays started the season 9-0, including a one-point win over fourth-ranked Arizona State, a double-overtime win over Utah State that was followed by an overtime win at Iowa, and a victory over Gonzaga. CU also defeated Notre Dame twice and Marquette once while averaging 84.2 points per game, which was helped by 124-point showing at Miami (Fla.) that remains a single-game program record.
   Individually, Paul Silas averaged 19 points and 22 rebounds per game while Chuck Officer, Fritz Pointer and Charlie Brown also averaged in double-figures. Silas grabbed 57 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games, including 27 in a win over Oklahoma City as the Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16.
   Silas was also named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American, the Catholic Colleges Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American by the UPI and Associated Press.
   Among those scheduled to be recognized from that era are assistant coach Herb Millard, Santos Jimenez, Carl Silvestrini, Fritz Pointer, Fred Losch, the daughter (Mimi) and son (Kevin) of the late head coach John J. "Red" McManus, and the daughter (Paula) and grandson (Max) of the late Paul Silas.
Almost a Trey-Double?
Trey Alexander finished Tuesday's win vs. Iowa with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, finishing just shy of becoming CU's first player in history to record a traditional points/rebounds/assists triple-double.
   Alexander had six of his nine assists in the first 12:21 of the second half, but CU's only basket in the final 7:39 was a score by Alexander himself.
   Creighton's only triple-doubles in history all came from Benoit Benjamin. "Big Ben" had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks vs. Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1984, had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985 and had 29 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks on Feb. 2, 1985 vs. Bradley.
   Alexander isn't the only current Bluejay to finish a game one assist shy of a triple-double, as Baylor Scheierman and 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal win over Villanova.
   Alexander's performance was still good enough for his first career double-double, as his 11 rebounds were a career-high and his nine assists matched his career-best.
   Alexander enters Saturday averaging 21.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Per Basketball-Reference.com, the only man in the previous 32 seasons to finish a year with those averages or better was Memphis phenom Anfernee Hardaway (22.8 ppg., 8.5 rpg., 6.4 apg.) in 1994-95.
Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how the start of the year compares to his first two years combined.
Category   2023-24   2021-23
Games Played   3   72
20-Point Games   3   5
Dunks   3   2
Double-Doubles   1   0
Points Per Game   21.3   10.6
Rebounds Per Game   7.3   4.0
Assists Per Game   6.0   2.5
Steals Per Game   2.0   0.9
Back on FS2
Saturday's game will appear on FS2, a network that the Bluejays have experienced great success on.
   CU is 17-1 all-time on FS2, including last Saturday's 89-60 win over North Dakota State. CU has outscored foes by an average of 88.22 - 65.56 in those contests, with all but two of victories coming by double-figures.
Upset Alert
Don't be fooled by Texas Southern's record...the Tigers open this year with nine straight road/neutral games and don't play at home for another month.
   That hasn't prevented TSU from pulling some major upsets in recent seasons.
   In 2014 the Tigers won road games at No. 25 Michigan State as well as Kansas State.
   In 2018 Texas Southern opened the season with a win at Baylor and later picked up wins at No. 18 Oregon and Texas A&M.
   In 2021 the Tigers defeated No. 20 Florida.
   And last year Texas Southern defeated the same Arizona State team that would defeat Creighton a month later.
NCAA Regulars
Texas Southern and Creighton are two of the 19 teams in the nation to have appeared in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments.
   One of the other teams was the Iowa team that Creighton defeated on Tuesday.
   Here's the full list: Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Colgate, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Southern, UCLA, UConn, USC.
Reserves Step Up
Creighton's bench stepped up in a big way in Tuesday's 92-84 win over Iowa, outscoring its Hawkeye counterparts 32-18 as Francisco Farabello (14 points) and Fredrick King (12 points) led the way.
   This year the Creighton bench has scored 91 points in three games, an average of 30.33 points per contest. That's well above last year's 10.68 points per game, not to mention the 9.60 points per game in 2021-22.
   Creighton's last team to score 90 or more points through three games was its 2017-18 club, which had 104 points off the pine at this point.
   Creighton's bench hasn't averaged more than 20 points for a full season since 2017-18 (24.42), and its high in 13 completed seasons under Greg McDermott is 27.21 (2014-15).
   The Creighton program has not averaged more than 28 points per game off the bench since its 2007-08 club accounted for 36.91 points per game and actually outscored its starting five (34.61) that season. Saturday's analyst for FS2, Nick Bahe, started all 33 games for that Bluejay squad.
Good Things Come In 3's
Baylor Scheierman has made multiple three-pointers in each of the last 19 November games he's played in, and three or more triples in each of his last seven November contests.
   Scheierman is the first Bluejay to open the season with three straight games with three or more trifectas since Ty-Shon Alexander did it the first six games in 2018-19.
   Speaking of three-pointers, Isaac Traudt has become Creighton's first freshman to open his career with three straight games of multiple triples since Ryan Sears in 1997-98. No CU freshman has done in it the last 30 years in the first four games of a season.
Long Time, No See
Creighton sophomore Johnathan Lawson was a teammate at Memphis with TSU's Jahmar Young, Jr., last season, though it does not appear as though Young played in any games.
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Nov. 15th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 16 in eight different categories.
   Rank   Category   Stat
   1   Fouls Per Game   9.0
   1   Winning Percentage   1.000
   1   Effective FG%   .672
   2   Three-Pointers Per Game   13.3
   6   Field Goal Percentage   .563
   11   Three-Point Attempts Per Game   31.7
   12   Rebound Margin   +18.0
   16   Scoring Offense   95.3
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One Of A Kind
Trey Alexander did a little bit of everything last Saturday vs. North Dakota State, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals.
   He's the first Bluejay in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons on the Creighton sideline with at least 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in the same game. In fact, it hadn't been done by a Creighton player since Kyle Korver had 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals at TCU on Dec. 4, 2001. Up that minimum to five steals and the last Bluejay to do it was Rodney Buford (20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals) vs. Southwest Missouri State on Jan. 21, 1998.
   This season, the only other player nationally with  at least 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in a game is UConn's Tristen Newton, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and four assists last Saturday vs. Stonehill.
This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander has started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State and 23 points vs. Iowa.
   He's just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first three games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14.
   McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
   Alexander is the first player to score 20 points or more in three consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Zegarowski from Dec. 7-17, 2019. No Bluejays has done it in four games in a row since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.
Fast Start
Creighton has scored 89 points or more in each of its first three games, something only the 2017-18 team had ever done.
   Creighton's previous three teams to score 286 points or more through three games were its 2017-18, 2013-14 and 2002-03 clubs.
   CU's 2017-18 team finished 21-12 and made the NCAA Tournament.
   The 2013-14 team went 27-8 overall and featured the National Player of the Year, Doug McDermott.
   The 2002-03 team finished 29-5 and starred Kyle Korver.
   Creighton has scored 194 points through two games, its most since the 2017-18 club had 201 points at that point.
Ruthless Efficiency
Through games of Wednesday, Creighton ranks first nationally in effective field goal percentage (.672) and sixth nationally in field goal percentage (.563).
   The Bluejays are shooting 71.6 percent from two-point range (63-88) and 42.1 percent from three-point range (40-95) thus far.
   Creighton has shot 51.6 percent or better in every game this year, the first time its done that in each of its first three contests since 2002-03. The 2002-03 club did it in the first four games.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 988 straight games. The streak is the nation's 10th-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 (11/16)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,194   UNLV   11/17
   2.   1,192   Duke   11/17
   3.   1,118   East Tennessee State   11/17
   4.   1,098   Texas   11/19
   5.   1,097   Oakland   11/19
   6.   1,095   Pacific   11/18
   7.   1,037   Marshall   11/19
   8.   1,022   Gonzaga   11/20
   9.   1,022   Princeton   11/18
   10.   988   Creighton   11/18
      988   Long Island   11/21
   12.   976   Mount St. Mary's   11/18
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 988 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,825 trifectas, an average of 7.92 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 147 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 285 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 66-15 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 28-25 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:   5 times   2: 19 times   3: 36 times
4:   75 times   5:  103 times   6: 101 times
7:  147 times   8:  124 times   9: 93 times
10: 83 times   11: 57 times   12: 57 times
13: 45 times   14: 19 times   15: 7 times
16: 8 times   17: 3 times   18: 1 time
19: 2 times   20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each game this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 50 in a row if you his final 10 games at South Dakota State.
   Scheierman's streak is the longest streak in Creighton history, seven more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
   Also listed is the nation's longest active streaks of games with a three-pointer, per the FOX Sports research team.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
   Streak   Name   Dates of Streak
   40   Baylor Scheierman   Nov. 7, 2022 - Present
   33   Ty-Shon Alexander   Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
   31   Booker Woodfox   Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
   28   Kyle Korver   Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
   27   Kyle Korver   Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer
Nation's Longest Active Streaks (11/13)
   Streak   Name, School   Next Game
   67   Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall   11/19
   50   Baylor Scheierman, Creighton / S. Dakota St.   11/18
Scheierman Drains 250th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 255 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.5 percent clip.
   Scheierman also owns 1,635 points, 956 rebounds, 454 assists and 121 career steals.
   Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman is the nation's only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 225 three-pointers, 425 assists and 900 rebounds.
Quickest To Pizza!!!
For the last few decades, Godfather's Pizza has had a promotion for Creighton Basketball season ticket holders to provide a free mini pizza with the purchase of a drink if the Bluejays hit a certain scoring threshold, which has been 75 since 2005-06 (and was 70 before that).
   In its opener, those fans were rewarded by a Steven Ashworth three-pointer with 14:32 left in the second half.
   Since moving to CHI Health Center Omaha, it was the fourth-quickest that the Bluejays have reached that mark (yes, we track that). A look at the others:
Quickest to 75 Points at CHI Health Center Omaha
   Time Left   Opponent   Date   Final Score
   15:06   Longwood   12/09/16   W 113-58
   14:56   USC Upstate   12/20/17   W 116-62
   14:42   Campbell   11/25/11   W 104-81
   14:32   Florida A&M   11/07/23   W 105-54
   13:52   Coe   12/20/18   W 110-60
   13:45   UMKC   11/11/16   W 89-82
   13:33   Houston Baptist   12/17/07   W 110-73
   13:14   Coppin State   12/28/15   W 102-77
   13:14   UTSA   11/17/15   W 103-78
   12:33   North Texas   12/21/15   W 105-82
   12:33   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   W 106-77
Century Club
Creighton opened the season with a 105-54 victory over Florida A&M on Nov. 7th. A few nuggets about that.
- Creighton improved to 65-3 all-time when scoring 100 points or more, and 27-1 when scoring 105 points or more.
- Creighton's only 100-point game last year was a 104-76 home win over St. John's on Jan. 25, 2023.
- After scoring 100 points in the season opener in the first 93 years in program history, Creighton has done it three additional times in Greg McDermott's 14-year tenure. CU hadn't scored 100 points in a season opener since a 104-77 victory vs. Central Arkansas to open the 2014-15 campaign.
- Creighton ranks tied for ninth nationally with 24 games of 100 points or more since the start of the 2010-11 season, which coincides with Greg McDermott's arrival. Among Power 6 teams, only North Carolina (34) has more.
- What's crazy about Greg McDermott's teams scoring 100 points or more 24 times at Creighton is that neither his Iowa State teams (127 games) or Northern Iowa teams (153 games) ever cracked the century mark, and reached 90 points or more only six times.
A One And A Two...
Not only is Creighton a perfect 14-0 in season-openers under Greg McDermott, but the Bluejays have started 2-0 in all but one campaign (2019-20) under McDermott as well. That 2019-20 team, of course, went on to share the BIG EAST regular-season title.
   Eleven of McDermott's 14 Bluejay squads have started 3-0. A win on Saturday would be McDermott's ninth 4-0 team at Creighton.
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the previous 10 times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year. That's a good omen considering that Creighton shot 56.7 percent in its 2023-24 lid-lifter.
   Eight of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
   Including 2023-24, Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in eight of its last 12 season-openers.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG%   Year   Opponent   Postseason
.541Â Â Â 1997-98Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NIT
.524   1998-99   Towson State   NCAA
.569   2000-01   Western Illinois   NCAA
.594   2002-03   UT Arlington   NCAA
.500   2012-13   North Texas   NCAA
.556   2013-14   Alcorn State   NCAA
.528   2015-16   Texas Southern   NIT
.508Â Â Â 2016-17Â Â Â UMKCÂ Â Â NCAA
.558   2017-18   Yale   NCAA
.524   2019-20   Kennesaw St.   Postseason CCD
.585   2021-22   Ark.-Pine Bluff   NCAA
.567Â Â Â 2023-24Â Â Â Florida A&MÂ Â Â ? ? ?
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 24 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 11 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
   Put another way...of CU's 18 teams (before 2023-24) to score 90 points in an opener, 11 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
   Here's a look at Creighton's last 10 teams (including 2023-24) to score 90 or more points in a season-opener:
            Final   Post-
   Score   Opponent   Date   W-L   Season
   93-47   UT-San Antonio   11/30/90   24-8   NCAA
   93-48   Towson State   11/14/98   22-9   NCAA
   96-50   Western Illinois   11/20/00   24-8   NCAA
   106-50   Texas-Arlington   11/17/02   29-5   NCAA
   97-65   N. Carolina A&T   11/11/11   29-6   NCAA
   107-61   Alcorn State   11/08/13   27-8   NCAA
   104-77   Central Arkansas   11/14/14   14-19   --
   93-70   Texas Southern   11/14/15   20-15   NIT
   92-76   Yale   11/10/17   21-12   NCAA
   90-77   Ark.-Pine Bluff   11/09/21   23-12   NCAA
   105-54   Florida A&M   11/07/23   ? ? ?   ? ? ?
November Reign
Creighton is a 74-1 all-time in regular-season home games that take place on or before Nov. 26th. The lone loss came in 2018 when it lost to Ohio State.
   Creighton has won 81 of its 83 regular-season November home games since 1990, falling only to Boise State in 2012 and Ohio State in 2018.
   Overall, Creighton is 113-21 in regular-season November games at all sites since the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
A Head Start
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
   Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points., and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
   Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
   Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   126 (82.9%)   26 (17.1%)
Rebounds   860 (67.9%)   411 (32.1%)
3FG Made   207 (64.9%)   112 (35.1%)
Points   1833 (64.8%)   995 (35.2%)
Steals   119 (64.3%)   66 (35.7%)
Minutes   4693 (63.0%)   2757 (37.0%)
Starts   111 (60.0%)   74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken   16 (59.3%)   11 (40.7%)
Assists   308 (53.0%)   273 (47.0%)
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth.
   The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
   This week is the 24th in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
   Creighton has now been ranked 124 times in program history, with 96 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 154-63 all-time as a ranked team, including a 120-51 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
      Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
   Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
   Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU is seventh in the Nov. 13th Coaches poll.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day.
   It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.
   The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).
   Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.
   In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.
   Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.
   This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had two men named Preseason First Team All-Conference in its Missouri Valley Conference days in 2006-07 (Anthony Tolliver, Nate Funk).
   Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention. Â
   Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22   8th   4th   -
2022-23   1st   3rd   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
         Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24   2nd   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
         Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played 100 or more Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Nov. 15, 2023
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   3,983   3rd  Â
FG Percentage   .477   4th
Assists   7,219   6th  Â
3FG Percentage   .376   6th
FG Made   12,357   7th  Â
Points   34,566   9th  Â
Wins   303   24th  Â
Winning Percentage   .669   31st
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns 111 starts from last year's team, its most since bringing back 124 starts from its 2020-21 club.
   Creighton has won 20 or more games each of the previous eight times (and 12 of the last 13 times) it has returned 100 or more starts.
   Returning   Returning Starts    Final
Year   Starters   From Previous Year   W-L
2023-24Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 111Â Â Â ? ? ?
2022-23Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 104Â Â Â 24-13
2021-22Â Â Â 0Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 23-12
2020-21Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 22-9
2019-20Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 136Â Â Â 24-7
2018-19Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 57Â Â Â 20-15
2017-18Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 21-12
2016-17Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 130Â Â Â 25-10
2015-16Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 20-15
2014-15Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 49Â Â Â 14-19
2013-14Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 144Â Â Â 27-8
2012-13Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 140Â Â Â 28-8
2011-12Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 29-6
2010-11Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 23-16
2009-10Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 106Â Â Â 18-16
2008-09Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 27-8
2007-08Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 44Â Â Â 22-11
2006-07Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 120Â Â Â 22-11
2005-06Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 134Â Â Â 20-10
2004-05Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 23-11
2003-04Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 101Â Â Â 20-9
2002-03Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 159Â Â Â 29-5
2001-02Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 23-9
2000-01Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 90Â Â Â 24-8
1999-00Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 23-10
1998-99Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 84Â Â Â 22-9
1997-98Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 18-10
1996-97Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 126Â Â Â 15-15
1995-96Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 100Â Â Â 14-15
1994-95Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 52Â Â Â 7-19
1993-94Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 73Â Â Â 7-22
1992-93Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 64Â Â Â 8-18
1991-92Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 51Â Â Â 9-19
1990-91Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 132Â Â Â 24-8
1989-90Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 127Â Â Â 21-12
1988-89Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 123Â Â Â 20-11
1987-88Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 16-16
1986-87Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 65Â Â Â 9-19
1985-86Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 48Â Â Â 12-16
1984-85Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 20-12
1983-84Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 72Â Â Â 17-14
1982-83Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 77Â Â Â 8-19
1981-82Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 7-20
1980-81Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 21-9
Four Of A Kind
Creighton has four players that were named to a Preseason Watch List in Steven Ashworth (Bob Cousy Point Guard), Trey Alexander (Jerry West Shooting Guard), Baylor Scheierman (Julius Erving Small Forward) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center).
   Creighton is one of six schools to have four men listed at a position, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette and UConn.
   Those same four men were named to CBS Sports Preseason Top 100 And 1 player listings, with Kalkbrenner (5), Alexander (12), Scheierman (26) and Ashworth (76) making CU the only school with three of the top 30 players or four of the top 76 players. Kansas and Duke were the only other teams with four players listed in the Top 100 And 1.
   Last but not least, both Alexander and Kalkbrenner were two of 20 players on the NABC's Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The only other schools with two players on that list were Duke and USC.
Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
   Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
   Both are playing for Creighton this season.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022 and 2023. That makes CU one of seven teams in the country to have a win in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and UCLA.
   The only other time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons came in 2012, 2013 and 2014, also under Greg McDermott.
   Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last eight seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
   Creighton is one of seven teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the last four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Liberty, San Diego State and Southern California.
   Creighton is one of just eight teams to have reached at least two of the last three Sweet 16s. Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA have done it each of the last three seasons, while Alabama, Creighton, Michigan and Villanova have done it twice each.
23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the last 25 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 25 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons     2022-23 W-L
Gonzaga   25   31-6
Kansas   25   28-8
Duke   24   27-9
Creighton   23   24-13
Kentucky   23   22-12
Dynamic Duo
Creighton is also one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that includes Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
   This season, Creighton was one of eight teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.
   The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men's and women's basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll both this season and last season are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
   Creighton is one of 11 schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball each of the past two seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Texas and UConn.
   The only schools with at-large bids in each of the previous two years in both men's and women's basketball are Baylor, Creighton, Indiana and Miami (Fla.).
A Dozen Will Do
Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous four seasons.
   Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have also done it the previous four years.
   Creighton has now owned a .500 mark or better in league play 27 times in the last 28 seasons.
   The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous six seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
   Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
   If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Under McDermott
Deficit   Opponent   Date
18   #18 Oklahoma   11/19/14
17   at San Diego State   11/30/11
16   at Evansville   02/16/13
16   at Seton Hall   01/27/21
16   SIU Edwardsville   11/27/21
15   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   11/09/21
14   Evansville   02/21/12
14   vs. San Diego State   03/17/22
13   at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
13   Xavier   01/12/14
13   #22 Xavier   12/23/20
12   Saint Joseph's   12/11/10
12   at DePaul   01/17/16
12   East Tennessee State   11/11/18
11   at Wichita State   12/31/11
11   Northern Iowa   01/10/12
11   vs. Alabama   03/16/12
11   vs. Ole Miss   11/21/16
11   vs. Connecticut   03/12/21
11   DePaul   01/22/22
10Â Â Â UABÂ Â Â 11/14/12
10   vs. Drake   03/02/12
10   at Nebraska   12/07/14
10   South Dakota   12/09/14
10   St. John's   01/03/18
10   at DePaul   02/07/18
10   Bemidji State   02/13/18
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 303 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .669 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.   303-150   Greg McDermott   2010-Pres.
3.   165-66   Arthur A. Schabinger    1922-1935
4.   138-118   John J. "Red" McManus    1959-1969
5.   130-64   Tom Apke   1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
   The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
11/26/05   Dayton   W 91-90*   Funk FG   :5.7
01/28/06   Wichita St.   W 57-55   Tolliver FG   :0.0
11/25/06   George Mason   W 58-56   Watts FT   :7.5
03/18/08   Rhode Island   W 74-73   Witter 3FG   :3.2
01/13/10   Southern Illinois   W 71-69   Young FG   :1.3
02/18/12   Long Beach St.   W 81-79   Young FG   :0.3
01/28/14   St. John's   W 63-60   McDermott 3FG   :2.8
01/18/20   Providence   W 78-74   Zegarowski 3FG   :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
03/20/06Â Â Â Miami (Fla.)Â Â Â L 53-52Â Â Â G. Diaz FTÂ Â Â :2.6
01/20/07   Southern Illinois   L 58-57   B. Mullins FG   :4.1
01/10/15   #19 Seton Hall   L 68-67   S. Gibbs 3FG   :2.2
02/16/15   #19 Butler   L 58-56   R. Jones FG   :1.9
03/07/15   Xavier   L 74-73   D. Davis FT's   :6.3
01/12/16   #12 Providence   L 50-48   K. Dunn FG   :0.0
02/22/17   Providence   L 68-66   K. Cartwright 3FG   :2.4
02/10/18   #5 Xavier   L 71-72   Q. Goodin FT's   :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
    Rank   Att.   Opponent   Date
   1.   18,868   Providence   03/08/14
   2.   18,859   Georgetown   01/25/14
   3.   18,831   #1 Villanova   12/31/16
   4.   18,797   #6 Villanova   02/16/14
   5.   18,759   #1 Gonzaga   12/01/18
   6.   18,742   Seton Hall   02/23/14
   7.   18,735   Wichita State   02/11/12
   8.   18,613   Wichita State   03/02/13
   9.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   10.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   11.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   12.   18,509   Villanova   02/04/23
   13.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   14.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   15.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   16.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   17.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   18.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   19.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21
   20.   18,286   #21 Connecticut   02/12/23
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 341 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 281-60 (.824) 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 26,704-22,325 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.84 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 89 different times.
   Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
   Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 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 40-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 184-42 (.814) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 64 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 98-9 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 300-60 (.833) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
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Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.58 points per home game (18,210 points in 226 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.16 points in non-conference home games (9,005 points in 107 home games).
   Creighton is 138-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
   McDermott is one of five head coaches in Creighton history to lead seven or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   12
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   8
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
   Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year   Off. Rating   Def. Rating   Overall Rank
2010-11Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 174Â Â Â 98
2011-12Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 166Â Â Â 28
2012-13Â Â Â 5Â Â Â 66Â Â Â 15
2013-14Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 124Â Â Â 17
2014-15Â Â Â 59Â Â Â 138Â Â Â 79
2015-16Â Â Â 43Â Â Â 76Â Â Â 40
2016-17Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 46Â Â Â 28
2017-18Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 58Â Â Â 30
2018-19Â Â Â 47Â Â Â 83Â Â Â 55
2019-20Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 78Â Â Â 12
2020-21Â Â Â 25Â Â Â 32Â Â Â 22
2021-22Â Â Â 112Â Â Â 19Â Â Â 50
2022-23Â Â Â 23Â Â Â 14Â Â Â 12
2023-24Â Â Â 4Â Â Â 31Â Â Â 11
Kalkbrenner Repeats As Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
   Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
   Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
   Honors   Name, School   Years (*ties)
   4   Patrick Ewing, Georgetown   1982, 83, 84, 85
   3   Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown   1989, 90*, 92
   2   Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown   1990, 91
   2   Allen Iverson, Georgetown   1995, 96
   2   Etan Thomas, Syracuse   1999, 00
   2   John Linehan, Providence   2001, 02
   2   Emeka Okafor, Connecticut   2003, 04
   2   Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut   2008, 09
   2   Kris Dunn, Providence   2015*, 16
   2   Khyri Thomas, Creighton   2017*, 18
   2   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2022, 23
Kalkbrenner Surpasses 1,000 Points
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,202 career points, as he became the 45th men's player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 on Feb. 25, 2023 at Villanova. He was the first Bluejay to score 1,000 since Marcus Zegarowski did it on Jan. 20, 2021 vs. Providence.
   He currently ranks 29th in program history. Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever:
Most Career Points, Creighton History
   Rank   Pts.   Name   Years
   1.   3,150   Doug McDermott   2010-14
   2.   2,116   Rodney Buford   1995-99
   3.   2,110   Bob Harstad    1987-91
   4.   1,983   Chad Gallagher    1987-91
   5.   1,876   Bob Portman    1966-69
   6.   1,801   Kyle Korver   1999-03
   7.   1,754   Nate Funk   2002-07
   8.   1,682   Rick Apke    1974-78
   9.   1,661   Paul Silas   1961-64
   10.   1,654   Vernon Moore    1981-85
   11.   1,575   Benoit Benjamin    1982-85
   12.   1,526   John C. Johnson   1975-79
   13.   1,500   Kevin McKenna   1977-81
   14.   1,437   Eddie Cole   1951-55
   15.   1,369   Gene Harmon   1971-74
   16.   1,361   Duan Cole   1987-92
   17.   1,342   Antoine Young   2008-12
   18.   1,313   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
   19.   1,309   Ryan Sears   1997-01
   20.   1,304   Mitch Ballock   2017-21
   21.   1,303   Elton Tuttle   1951-54
   22.   1,293   Marcus Zegarowski   2018-21
   23.   1,292   Marcus Foster   2016-18
   24.   1,272   Bob Gibson   1954-57
   25.   1,267   Wally Anderzunas   1965-67, 1968-69
   26.   1,254   Gary Swain   1983-87
   27.   1,241   Ty-Shon Alexander   2017-20
   28.   1,238   Ben Walker   1997-01
   29.   1,202   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   30.   1,196   Ray Yost   1951-54
   Kalkbrenner also ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 204.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
   Blk.   Name   Years
   411   Benoit Benjamin   1982-85
   204   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   183   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   174   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
   153   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 487 of 727 career shots, putting him at 67.0 percent overall. That places the senior center fifth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 400 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 400 FG, 4FG/game)
   Pct. (FG-FGA)   Name, School   Years
   .746 (469-629)   Udoka Azubuike, Kansas   2016-20
   .740 (497-672)   Tacko Fall, UCF   2015-19
   .678 (828-1222)   Steve Johnson, Oregon State   1976-81
   .677 (441-651)   Michael Bradley, Kentucky/Villanova   1998-01
   .670 (487-727)   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2020-Pres.
   .668 (566-847)   Murray Brown, Florida State   1976-80
   .667 (740-1109)   Evan Bradds, Belmont   2013-17
   .665 (411-618)   Lee Campbell, MTSU, Missouri State   1987-90
   .664 (496-747)   Warren Kidd, Middle Tennessee State   1990-93
   .664 (702-1058)   Todd MacCulloch, Washington   1995-99
   .662 (476-719)   Joe Senser, West Chester   1975-79
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a third season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. McDermott is in his 10th season in the NBA. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 season went on sale on September 28th.
   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
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Ty Davis
Friday, August 15